Piano Lessons with PianoNanny

Back in college, I really wanted to take piano lessons but thesis and other senior-school stuff prevented me to do so. I would read online articles on how to play the piano but as our thesis progresses the lesser the time I'm able to allot on my piano lessons until such time I barely sleep and have no option but to drop my online piano lessons and focus my full time attention on our thesis.

After graduation, I became preoccupied looking for a job that I totally forgot about the piano. Then one time, I was so stressed with work that I when I got home, I locked myself in my room and played Enya and that reminded me of how eagerly I was before to learn to play the piano. I searched the net for possible schools, I even considered enrolling in Yamaha until I came across this ad about a piano tutor who offers cheap piano lessons. I phoned the person and inquired about the details. But when I was about to start my lesson, Fujitsu Ten Solutions Philippines called. I was bored with my previous company then that I opted to file my resignation and join FTSP. Once again, I have to postpone my piano lessons since the salary that I'll be getting from FTSP is not as much as the one from my previous employer.

Then just last week, Irish, my office mate, asked me to take violin lessons with her and Sir Arch. I told her that I also wanted to take piano lessons but violin will also be fine. We went to Megamall canvassing for violin and also for possible violin classes. We still have to look for other institutions that offer violin or piano classes and compare prices.

No work for us last Thursday and Friday, May 1 and 2, so I spend my long weekends at home. I'm supposed to review for our Nihongo class but I just spend most of my time reading piano lessons at PianoNanny.com.

So far I've learned the following:

• Melodic Names (including sharps and flats) of the notes on the Keyboard.



• Melodic Names (including sharps and flats) of the notes on the Staff.



• Rhythmic Names of the notes on the Staff (quarter, eighth, sixteenth, half, and whole).



• The length (size or time signature) of a measure and how to figure it.



• Treble Clef (to be played by our right hand).



• Bass Clef (to be played by our left hand).

Meanwhile, enjoy this artistic pieces I've found on Flckr:

Treble Clef

Bass Clef

That would be it for this post. I have to go back to PianoNanny. I meant to document my progress here. So wish me the best of luck! ^_^

Life's a Beach

There is no better way to enjoy the summer than to spend some time at the beach getting a tan, island hopping, and collecting shells. Our first destination was Tondol Beach in Anda Pangasinan. It was almost a six-hour drive from Ortigas but you can cut the travel time by two or three hours if you average 120 on the road. The beach offers a long stretch shallow and calm water which is ideal for sunbathers.





Upon getting there, after unloading our bags from the car and securing them on the rooms, we immediately changed to our swim wears, put sunblock on, and hit the beach. It was one of the fine beaches we have here in the Philippines.

Irish and I planned to get up early before the sun on the next day to jog around the beach, continue collecting shells, and watch the sun rise but failed to do so. After the breakfast, we rented boats. They were just actually a fishing boat with no cover up or something, which took us to Hundred Islands at the expense of burning our skin.

On our way back, we spotted this little island and decided to stop there for a few minutes which was stretched to hours with our churning stomachs. We just forgot about the time since we were having so much time dipping and swimming in the shallow water. After our island hopping, we had a hearty lunch courtesy of Dudes aunt. We had tinola and some inihaw! Yummy! I want to go back and take my friends there.

The next beach that I visited this summer was Coral View Beach Resort in Morong Bataan during our company outing. I must say that the beach looks much better in pictures. I can't help comparing it with Tondol Beach but our stay there was fun nevertheless. We went to Pawikan Island but since there's nothing much to see or do there we decided to go snorkeling. Afterwards, we had photo shoot with Sir Archie as our photographer. Haha!

I can't wait for our next escapades!! ^_^

Amazing Race Craze

This team will win the race! I've got high hopes on both of these guys. I wasn't able to watch the 12th episode of the Amazing Race Asia 2 but my sister did and she told me that Mark and Rovilson snatched the first place back from the Singaporean team, Adrian and Collin. The final season is on the 14th and I hope Mark and Rovilson can outsmart the other teams and arrive at the pit stop first.

So while the race is still on, feast your eyes on the following pictures!! :D

Christmas Rush

This Christmas rush is giving me a headache. I'm not yet done with my shopping and malls are jam-packed with hurried shoppers like me. So now I don’t know where else to go to complete my list.

This week has been the most tiring one this December—practice, party, and shopping. We had practice from Monday, December 17, until Thursday, December 20. The practice lasts from four to five hours a day on the average so I usually got home at around 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. given that I live almost in the province. Last Wednesday I went to UST for the Paskuhan, a university-wide Christmas celebration. I missed the fireworks so I guess I just have to browse for some clips of it in Youtube and wait for eternity before I can play the entire thing since I'm now using a dial-up connection. I planned of going home early that night but got home at 1 a.m. instead. Lastly, yesterday was our Christmas party which was held in Crowne Plaza and has the theme: Visua Kei: FTSP Goes Glam Rock!

The glamorous rockers!