Saturday, July 11, 2009

Of Coffee, Books, and other mundane things

  mun·dane  adj.  
  1. Of, relating to, or typical of this world; secular.
  2. Relating to, characteristic of, or concerned with commonplaces; ordinary.

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   To start of, let me just say that I'm extremely happy and content with my life at the moment. :) And since I've noticed that the happier I am, the more shallow I tend to be, this will consequently be a "shallow" post full of the mundane trivial things that make up my everyday life. 

   My teaching job is a dream. :) It tends to be hectic at times, and downright depressing during its low points, but really, at the end of the day there's no better feeling than knowing that you've made a difference in a person's life, even in some small way ... like successfully teaching students how to sing the pentatonic scale with hand signs, all by themselves. Or improving a student's wrist movement that has been impeding his piano playing technique. Or being present to witness a 4-year-old tell me his life's goal: "Pag big boy na ako, magiging 'OCTOPUS' Prime na ako at lalabanan ko si Megatron!" Or making sure that the sophomore class memorized the locations and capitals of all the countries in Asia. I always look forward to throwing myself on my soft bed with an aching body after a hard day of honest work.

   I'm happy to say that I finally found the solution to my "coffee" problem, and only wish I'd discovered it sooner as I could have saved myself several months of "tongue-ache." :) All hail the wonder that is DECAF COFFEE!

   I'm rather concerned with my ever growing TBR (to-be-read) pile. All my bookshelves are filled to overflowing capacity, so that I still have a box of books with nowhere to put them. My only comfort is the thought that, sooner or later, I WILL read them all  in this lifetime. And hopefully, I can pass them on to my children and even my grandchildren. :)

   I am now a NUTELLA addict!! (For those of you who are not familiar with this choco-hazelnut spread, this stuff is the heart of Ferrero Rocher chocolates.) Skyflakes + Nutella = Food for the gods.

   My favorite TV channel is now TCM (Turner Classic Movies), where last week I watched Marlon Brando on "Mutiny on The Bounty."  (Incidentally, a remake was done in 1984, starring Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins, Liam Neeson and Daniel Day Lewis. Talk about a DREAM CAST!!) 

   It's official, my new celebrity crush is Marlon Brando. Watch the youtube clip of him delivering Antony's speech ("Friends, Romans, countrymen, LEND ME YOUR EARS!") and you'll have a crush on him too!

   Oh glorious day. How wonderful it is to be alive! :)

   

   

31 comments:

  1. Did you notice my Dad's shirt when you met him? haha =)

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  2. Keith was just sharing his fulfilling teaching experiences, too... I replied that yes, our little "family" has become sort of a "teacher's association". haha =)

    There's nothing shallow about this post, Gabi... and your happiness is contagious. What a glorious day indeed! I'm grilling espresso bbq for lunch. Oh, if only you could come!

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  3. Daniel Day Lewis and Anthony Hopkins... oh, such dignified men! (Shallow reply. hahaha)

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  4. This has been my main focus with my students last year, Gabi!
    What was your approach? I tried showing them the natural position of the hands first (how the wrist is not too high nor too low, how the fingers aren't to curved nor too flat) and told them that if the wrist position goes beyond the natural position while playing, there will be difficulty. The younger ones found that easy to grasp and they got the hang of it in no time. =)

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  5. I find this intellectually funny and inspiring as contrary to your claim of trivialities in this post. Yet, i rather not watch that video clip for it posts a great threat to me -- I'm afraid of falling for him too.hahaha

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  6. yey! im happy that youre happy! i like this post. :)

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  7. come here.theres plenty of nutella and skyflakes. i have to will myself not to put any though, my resistance for chocolate is low =)

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  8. No I didn't, he's a Nutella fan too? :) Great minds think alike?!?!!!

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  9. Haha oo nga no Meewa! Someday I hope to taste that legendary espresso barbeque. Will be sure to bring along some Nutella and skyflakes for dessert ;)

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  10. So true! Mel Gibson and Liam Neeson fall on the other side of the spectrum, dignity-wise, but are no less attractive because of it :p

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  11. Same here, Meewa, only I tend to explain less and do more "showing." I usually ask them to place their fingers on my wrists as I play and demonstrate a circular wrist movement. We do a lot of wrist warm ups during the lesson, I'm trying to make them master the "out-in" wrist movement I myself was taught :)

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  12. HAHAHAHA! Omel, untried virtue is no real virtue at all. Test thyself! hahahaha

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  13. Hahaha thanks Mika! Though I'd be a lot happier if only I'd been able to catch up to the piano recital last Friday. *sigh* hahahaha

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  14. Hahaha Keith, go ahead and indulge. My current philosophy towards food is, "Better to be tubby and happy than sexy and grumpy!" :)

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  15. Sanctus!! I love that song! Ang saya, a variation on Canon in D. :p I hope you can video your choir singing that song when you're finished! :)

    The little boy with the soprano solo is amazing. Grabe. He's an angel!!!

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  16. im arranging it in D major. para high B nalang, i have to train my sop1 to sing that high haha

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  17. yeah, sayang, sir was great! and it was his birthday pa! i wanna do that too, it'll be an interesting way to spend one's birthday

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  18. btw my students wer resistant when they first piece i handed them was in french, now they cant get it out of their heads haha. dalayed gratification is the theme here. i forgot it took me years to sight-read at a passable level haha.

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  19. BACK OFF!! Marlon's MINE!! He was on my desktop wallpaper first! haha

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  20. I agree with Mira; there's absolutely nothing shallow about this post;

    and oh yeah the 'Nutella,' I was just telling Trish of my "torrid love affair" with that brand of spread when I was in Germany; fascinating source of calories and fat,eh;

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  21. Indeed they do. hahaha Written in front of his shirt was a big NUTELLA. =)

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  22. Hahaha... my other friends laugh at me whenever they ask me who my favorite actors are and I say Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins, Paul Newman, and Daniel Day Lewis - they carry amazing "literary" roles! It's nice to know we also have the same taste in actors Gabi!haha

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  23. It's nice to know that, Gabi. =) I've noticed that some teachers do not teach wrist relaxation to a child beginner when it is in fact, in my humble opinion, one of the most important things a child should learn at an early stage.

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  24. Keith, I linked Omel in my blog. That's how he and Gabi knew each other. =)

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  25. Very true, Sir. I gained six pounds (something very gruesome for someone my height haha) because of it last year... but Gabi's right! "Better to be tubby and happy than sexy and grumpy!" It's also a great source of endorphins! haha

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