February update
Over my Christmas and New Year week stay in Sydney, I managed to rack up 3 hours of relaxing massage and a pedicure. I seem to spend a lot of my money on massages when I go to Sydney because we don't have the walk in massage places in Albury. The pedicure, well, I didn't buy that one. Leysa did and I got funny looks from people walking past the place at Hornsby Westfield. Lets just get one thing clear, I won't get a manicure haha. While in Sydney, I succumbed to purchasing an upright piano. It's not a well known brand - Kohler and Campbell, but its tone is very bright. I've just had to be weary of my practising hours. When I used my digital piano, I could practise at any time. I think the hours for acceptable noise levels are from 8am-10pm. Still hoping I can make the eisteddfod this year, but it could conflict with WYD2011 Madrid! The eisteddfod should be the least of my worries...I still need to practise up and learn new pieces.
Gershwin Prelude 1
Recorded after the Albury Eisteddfod. A few slips here and there (hey I'm human right?). Looking forward to play this at the Wagga Eisteddfod. Hope it all goes well!
Eisteddfod update
The Albury Eisteddfod went well this year. I was really happy that some friends came to add to the crowd on the Tuesday night, otherwise I would have been playing alone! My performances went really well on Tuesday but I need to work a bit more on my Black Note Etude for the Wagga Eisteddfod (haven't played there in years!). So now that there's a bit over a month until then, I can get back into my fitness, which is pretty much just for tennis. Anyone know of some good Fitness News sites for me? Every time I think about exercising these days, I think back on when I would find ways to lose weight the easy way - quick fix solutions like tablets or simply go to the gym but eat Maccas afterwards haha! I never would have looked at changing my diet back then...the hcg diet or hcg drops would have looked interesting though. I'm sure there would be some skeptics that are against the hcg diet, just like my Powerbalance band too (another story about that later 
)
Cleanup
I've got a lot of junk in my room...organised junk I might add. I just wanted to get rid of the clutter I have accumulated over the number of years. It's quite annoying to see how much useless stuff I kept that went straight to the bin. I'm going to make it a weekly chore at least to get rid of some of the clutter. Cleaning through stuff always takes so much longer than expected because you analyse every single thing you throw away. In my case, I stumbled across something surreal
Click on image to open full size
Ahhh, the joys of cleaning up - brings back memories (not that I can remember this one clearly as such).
Eisteddfod Pieces
I finally got around to uploading the rest.
Nocturne Op. 15 No. 2 - Chopin
Prelude and Fugue XX Book II - JS Bach
Study in Blue, White and Gold - Hyde
Albury-Wodonga Eisteddfod 2008
So after 4 years of hiding in the dark, I have finally returned to the place that started it all. I love the Albury-Wodonga Eisteddfod! It brings meaning to all the hard work (or lack of ) you have achieved during the year and to showcase your pieces against your contemporaries. Performing isn't easy. I don't consider myself to be a performer. I've had a few bad experiences in my day at the eisteddfod. Sometimes you will play well at home, but as soon as you are placed into different situations, your mind and fingers play games with you. It's not fun I'm telling you - and every musician will tell you that.
I entered myself in the 18 and over sections as an attempt to get myself motivated into completing my AmusA. I had left it unfinished at the beginning of year 12 and uni. Now back from all that, I rekindled the dusty pieces and performed them last Tuesday. I was lucky enough to play good and win in those sections. I'll be posting all the videos as soon as I have time to upload them all. Enjoy and please comment!
Beethoven Sonata Op. 10 No. 2 1st Movement