i really should be sleeping now, but i am feeling super hyper. i think it is the coffee; drank two cups of it before the performace because i was feeling lethargic then. seems like i have overdone it now. there is probably still a significant concentration of caffeine in the brain blocking the adenosine receptors. and from wiki, it is the reduction in adenosine activity that leads to an increased activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine that largely accounts for the stimulatory effects of caffeine. so that's a bit info for physiology =)
physio prac was cancelled today due to power cut in the department, so i had an unexpected but welcomed free afternoon. thought i would do some work and catch some sleep, but at around 4.00pm, which was a good five hours before the show, i was feeling jittery already. so years of performance experience does not help very much in alleviating pre-show apprehension. and spending hours "preparing myself mentally"for something that lasts less than 4 minutes is probably why it always seems to me that i have less time and energy than other people to be involved in an array of activities. i have not been utilising time and energy efficiently!
the way around it is probably to learn to focus the mind in the right things at the right time. easier said than done, but i'll just have to keep practising.
so the right thing to do at this hour is to sleep. the first lecture is at 9 in the morning and there are 3 lectures, 1 practical and 1 supervision tomorrow. in the evening, it's the third show for elemental. sometimes i feel like i have to be superwoman to tide through this week.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Snow, White White Snow
it snowed. what delight it was to wake up and be greeted by white snow covering the roofs and branches of trees outside the window. the tranquility it brought with it momentarily took away the sense of urgency to prepare for the new day. for a while, it felt as it was christmas again.
the first flakes came yesterday. but i missed it by a mere five minutes because i was in the lecture theatre. when lecture ended, there were not even traces of the elusive snow anywhere. seniors said it only snows lightly in cambridge, so i thought i would be pleased enough to just see fallen snow. moreover, the weather forecast says it usually snows in the middle of the night. by the time it's morning, the snow would probably have melted.
so it was a pleasant surprise to see white magdalene:-
the first flakes came yesterday. but i missed it by a mere five minutes because i was in the lecture theatre. when lecture ended, there were not even traces of the elusive snow anywhere. seniors said it only snows lightly in cambridge, so i thought i would be pleased enough to just see fallen snow. moreover, the weather forecast says it usually snows in the middle of the night. by the time it's morning, the snow would probably have melted.
so it was a pleasant surprise to see white magdalene:-
and low and behold, IT IS SNOWING RIGHT NOW! i see snowflakes from heaven from my window!
haha, i sounded like a 3-year old getting excited over possibly the commmonest things around =)
and just as the seniors told us last year, you'll know when it snows because everyone (almost) will put "snow" by their msn nicknames. how true, haha.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Daily Blessings
a steaming cup of coffee
fresh toast with jam and margarine
coat, scarf and earmuffs to keep warm
off i go for the first lecture of lent term!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not all children get to go to school. Such is the poverty in Sierra Leone that families need all the resources available to survive, which means child labour. Life expectancy is 39-years-old for men and 42 for women. Often a child is taken from school to replace a deceased mother or father. This brother and sister are making their way to cultivate rice in a field some miles away. The other kids in the village are at school.
(taken from bbc website)
The Long Awaited Parcel
finally, it is here! the parcel that i have been expecting since two months ago and have been checking for its arrival at the porters' since last week!
just couldn't suppress the grin when i was opening it. felt like a child unwrapping christmas presents. well, since i did not get to unwrap any last christmas, might as well assume that this is a LARGE belated one.
tada!
all the goodies from home =)
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
The Last Rehearsal
elemental is just a week away, and the last proper rehearsal for polishing just ended an hour ago. so from now till the real show on tues at the adc where people are actually paying to watch a dance show, there will be only one technical run and one full dress rehearsal for which the full cast can logically be present.
it is not that the organisers of the show or the various performing groups are not putting in enough effort. in fact, a senior told me that we actually had more practices this year compared to last year (are you serious?) . it is just me feeling insecure with the liberal way by which things are run. i feel uncomfortable when there is too much room for spontaneities. it is perhaps the lack of faith in people to do the right/ necessary things when they could give all the reasons to not know what to do. it is perhaps the unconcious belitiling assumption that many will not take the initiative to find out what to do. it is perhaps the result of being under the ruthless rein of the jc cca system, which had seeded in me an urge for iron-fist control.
but the people here, in my dance group at least, are different from those i encountered before. again and again, they have proved that my secret apprehension is plain superfluous. these people join dance because they have the passion for dance and performance, even among them who are complete novices in dance. when we came back for the first rehearsal after six weeks of absolute holiday ( there is no such thing in hc dance hitherto! ), the people actually remember the choreography, despite complaining about not practising much on their own over the hols! they actually care enough to even think of practising by themselves!
i admire our choreographer's faith in people's ability. she lives by the motto "if you say you can't, you won't. you can." when i first talked to her about my interest in joining her piece, she told me all she wanted is commitment. she neither held any auditions to select people for her piece, nor did she do blocking according to the abilities of the dancers. all were treated fairly and equal because she thinks we all can achieve the same. how great an encouragement this is for people who love dance but never had the opportunity to dance, just because they are not good enough!
she is fantastic when it comes to working under pressure. there were several crises since we began rehearsals for the piece. any of them could have driven an ordinary choreographer mad. once, a handful of people who said they would be in the piece decided to change their minds after they learnt the choreography. then, there were difficulties finding venues for rehearsals, such that the already pitiful number of rehearsal sessions became uncertain. a few days ago, we thought we would be missing a dancer because she had to be in poland for an award presentation ceremony organised for her by a university during the period of the show. and just yesterday, a fellow dancer had an accident and could barely get out of bed without help, which means she cannot perform! poor choreographer had to think of ways to cover her absence in the very last rehearsal! but she did not blow up, which is very professional. put it simply, she is C-O-O-L.
i am keeping my fingers crossed that things will turn out alright for all six nights next week. i have never done performances in five consecutive nights before. the closest was just two. and even then i was drained, like every bit of energy in me was squeezed out, after the adrenaline rush wore off. really hope all of us have the strength to juggle work and performance to last for the week. and from what we did for rehearsal just now, i think the show is going to be exciting =)
it is not that the organisers of the show or the various performing groups are not putting in enough effort. in fact, a senior told me that we actually had more practices this year compared to last year (are you serious?) . it is just me feeling insecure with the liberal way by which things are run. i feel uncomfortable when there is too much room for spontaneities. it is perhaps the lack of faith in people to do the right/ necessary things when they could give all the reasons to not know what to do. it is perhaps the unconcious belitiling assumption that many will not take the initiative to find out what to do. it is perhaps the result of being under the ruthless rein of the jc cca system, which had seeded in me an urge for iron-fist control.
but the people here, in my dance group at least, are different from those i encountered before. again and again, they have proved that my secret apprehension is plain superfluous. these people join dance because they have the passion for dance and performance, even among them who are complete novices in dance. when we came back for the first rehearsal after six weeks of absolute holiday ( there is no such thing in hc dance hitherto! ), the people actually remember the choreography, despite complaining about not practising much on their own over the hols! they actually care enough to even think of practising by themselves!
i admire our choreographer's faith in people's ability. she lives by the motto "if you say you can't, you won't. you can." when i first talked to her about my interest in joining her piece, she told me all she wanted is commitment. she neither held any auditions to select people for her piece, nor did she do blocking according to the abilities of the dancers. all were treated fairly and equal because she thinks we all can achieve the same. how great an encouragement this is for people who love dance but never had the opportunity to dance, just because they are not good enough!
she is fantastic when it comes to working under pressure. there were several crises since we began rehearsals for the piece. any of them could have driven an ordinary choreographer mad. once, a handful of people who said they would be in the piece decided to change their minds after they learnt the choreography. then, there were difficulties finding venues for rehearsals, such that the already pitiful number of rehearsal sessions became uncertain. a few days ago, we thought we would be missing a dancer because she had to be in poland for an award presentation ceremony organised for her by a university during the period of the show. and just yesterday, a fellow dancer had an accident and could barely get out of bed without help, which means she cannot perform! poor choreographer had to think of ways to cover her absence in the very last rehearsal! but she did not blow up, which is very professional. put it simply, she is C-O-O-L.
i am keeping my fingers crossed that things will turn out alright for all six nights next week. i have never done performances in five consecutive nights before. the closest was just two. and even then i was drained, like every bit of energy in me was squeezed out, after the adrenaline rush wore off. really hope all of us have the strength to juggle work and performance to last for the week. and from what we did for rehearsal just now, i think the show is going to be exciting =)
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Alas, the DNA coin!
i was just so pleasantly surprised when my friend nonchalantly placed three 2 pound coins on the table for me-- lying among them is the elusive DNA 2 pound coin! thought i'll never lay my hands on one, as all nat scis i know are vying for it since the day the lecturer introduced it to us. my friend just had not realised that the treasure had been lying quietly in his wallet! after the initial shock and excitement he kindly let me keep it, despite having wanted one for himself just as much. thank you wei shen!
the handsome double helix
the lecturers never fail to remind us that watson and crick made the discovery in the cavendish lab, which is in cambridge but oh-so-far-away. similarly, they never fail to emphasise that the discovery of the z scheme in photosynthesis, the cloning of the first animal (note: dolly the sheep from scotland was the first mammal), etc. etc. etc. were done in cambridge. what a way to inspire us to win more nobel prizes for the university!
the handsome double helixdescription from wikipedia:
Released in 2003in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA.
Reverse: Representation of the DNA double helix, DNA DOUBLE HELIX above, 1953 TWO POUNDS 2003 below. Edge inscription: DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID followed by a decorative side view of a double helix.
Reverse: Representation of the DNA double helix, DNA DOUBLE HELIX above, 1953 TWO POUNDS 2003 below. Edge inscription: DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID followed by a decorative side view of a double helix.
the lecturers never fail to remind us that watson and crick made the discovery in the cavendish lab, which is in cambridge but oh-so-far-away. similarly, they never fail to emphasise that the discovery of the z scheme in photosynthesis, the cloning of the first animal (note: dolly the sheep from scotland was the first mammal), etc. etc. etc. were done in cambridge. what a way to inspire us to win more nobel prizes for the university!
