Long ago I posted a blog on Bon Journal called “Teaching from the Gut.” By the title, I meant teaching a subject you know so intimately that it feels as though it’s coming out of your gut. You’re so confident of the subject that you don’t need to do additional research to make sure you got it right.
That’s how I felt about teaching math, piano, and now, Mandarin.
In the final part of this four-part blog post about my high school reunion, I reflect upon why my high school classmates should and would want to attend the next reunion. I write this because I struggled against my own reservations (part one) to attend this particular reunion and had years earlier come up with rational excuses for not attending previous reunions.
Funny, every time I type “Kubasaki” WordPress autocorrects it to “Kabuki.” What does Kubasaki mean? I told a stranger that the word came from my last name. He believed me. Continue reading
My high school reunion cruise of July 10-13, 2015 in the Caribbean was a much anticipated event. Thanks to Julie, one of the organizers who reminded me to pay the $200 deposit by December and the remaining amount in April, I eventually did reserve a cabin and book my flights and attend this reunion. I say “thanks” because I had great reservations. Continue reading
In 2006, I moved to Utrecht, the fourth largest city in the Netherlands, eager to join the cyclists on the streets of cobblestones. For the previous two years I was commuting from Bussum, a village of 10,000, by train to Utrecht and by foot to Utrecht Conservatory. Continue reading
When I learned of the plane crash yesterday, I immediately searched for the film music of James Horner. Still in shock, I quickly assembled a blog post on the theme from the Titanic. In the spur of that moment, I decided to give a solo piano concert of his music to share with local audiences here on Wednesday July 1st. Continue reading
Tower Bridge, London 2001
The third Sunday in June is declared for Father’s Day, first celebrated in 1910 in the USA but not proclaimed as such until years later.
Coincidentally, June 21st is also Summer Solstice, the longest day in the year, and thus a very important milestone for those who have traversed the long winter months. It’s the one day in the year that I’d target a concert.
On Maui, every day is a warm summer day. I stopped celebrating summer solstice because it’s an endless summer no matter which day it is.
Instead, I shall look for my dad’s favorite songs.
My dad never hesitated to share titles of the songs he loved. In his last years, he took a liking to Youtube. One of his favorite singers was Joan Baez. Continue reading
Before the iPhone, the video quality was not high definition.
Before the iPhone, I wore a watch regularly. Sure, I always took it off whenever I practised the piano.
Here is a video taken before I got my smartphone. It seems strange to see my left hand wearing a watch. The original blog post appeared in Concertblog.