I decide not to find any reason for my fourth piano lesson. I love music, that’s it! I have time and I have energy, that’s it! But, just imagine one day, I can play the toy pat bells of music notes with the elderly at the nursing home, would it be wonderful?

The fourth piano lesson was full of music theory. After Yi-hwa instructed me to play the children song Lightly Row with one semitone higher, I learned to play with the black keys on the keyboard. The Key Transposition is to change the tone of music by transposing all accidentals. Transposing a song is like choosing different colors for the coloring page. It’s the same picture painted in a different shade of sounds. It’s a good training for the fingers as well as ears.

Then Yi-hwa lectured on music theory for most of the lesson, including baroque music, counterpoint, invention. Yi-hwa was so excited that she demonstrated many music pieces on the piano, but I could comprehend none, to be honest. She gave me another two CDs of Bach Six Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord by violinist Jaime Laredo and Pianist Glenn Gould. Hopefully if I listen hard at home, I could understand what Yi-hwa talked about eventually.

Look into the future. In a year from today, I could become a better piano player. Or even better, I could join a band as a keyboard player, or I could have a piano recital for family and friends. It’s going to be a dream-come-true.

Writing and blogging makes me an active reader. If to read is to write, to play piano is to compose for piano, I believe. When I told Yi-hwa my driving force to learn piano, she gave me a CD of Pianist Glenn Gould’s interpretation of Bach’s Preludes and Fugues 17-24 for the homework. I listened to the CD as soon as I got home. I liked the music very much, but I had no ideas about fugues. I didn’t know how to report on my listening comprehension of Bach for my piano lesson next week.

During the third class, I was still struggling with the right posture and finger movements with the simple music notes. My index fingers stuck out, my wrists bent, my elbow protruded. And I still couldn’t feel the music with my fingertips.

But I am motivated just the same. I believe in the learning attitude. If I am neither a pianist nor a composer in the end, at least I won’t get Alzheimer Disease. I coordinate my limbs, I stimulate my brain by exercising my arms and legs, I infuse my body with melody and joy. I’m my own cheerleader. Go! Go! Go!

My wish was answered. Yi-hwa taught me how to play “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”, one of the most popular English nursery rhymes, the melody popular belief holds that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the original composer.

I was taught to play the song with five fingers on the piano keys, stretch the index finger (left hand) and the ring finger (right hand) to play G, followed by thumb (left hand) and little finger (right hand) to play A, then return to the original position to play F with the index finger (left hand) and the ring finger (right hand).

For one hour class, Yi-hwa corrected my fingers movement and sitting posture by placing a heavy stainless steel watch on my right wrist to make sure the watch didn’t drop from my wrist. Yi-hwa also adjusted my protruded left elbow to my body constantly. Gosh, I don’t know how long it will take before I can embed the right arms, elbows, wrists, fingers postions in my mind.

Now I’m excited to play and sing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” at any occasions around the world to have fun with the grown-ups as well as the little kids.

At three o’clock this afternoon, I arrived at Yi-hwa’s place. Our first lesson began with correct sitting posture and finger movements. Somehow it reminded me of the catwalk training I had a few years ago. Always keep in mind to Walk Tall & Walk Straight. Then I learned to place my fingers on the keyboard to grasp at the keys to make the sound in the most relaxed way. First, I laid ten fingers on ten different keys to make sound simultaneously. Then I worked on individual fingers, starting with the thumbs, followed by small fingers, index fingers. Small fingers were difficult. They became paralytic at once.

Index fingers were not obedient, because of the nerves between index fingers and middle fingers. It is important to play piano with only DIP( the distal inter-phalangeal joint between the distal phalanx and middle phalanx), not PIP (the proximal inter-phalangeal joint between the middle phalanx and proximal phalanx). It was the first time I realized how little I know of my fingers. It was the first time I realized how valuable my ten fingers were. Now I can tell if a person plays a piano by the way she or he holds the coffee cup.

Being a right-handed person, I thought my right hand could learn piano faster than left hand. It turned out the other way around. My left hand was more relaxed and more natural. My right hand was constantly waiting for the signal from the left brain. From the first piano lesson, I also knew my brain through my finger movement.

Learning piano will be a long journey. Before I get accustomed to playing piano with fingertips, I need to convert myself into a robot, just play without too much thinking of where and how to put my hands on the keyboard. In no time, I shuld be very good at caressing with my fingers. I can hear every sound at my fingertip.

Date: 2009, 10, 11
Side A
1. San Francisco
2. Street of Philadelphia
3. Blowing in the Wind
4. Mrs. Robinson
5. Diana

Side B
1. Unchained Melody
2. You’re Always on My Mind
3. The Power of Love
4. I just Called to Say I Love You
5. The Wind Beneath my Wings

Rob Sheffield’ s “Love is a Mix Tape—Life and Loss, One Song at a Time” is a good reference book of rock music in the 90’s. It is also a superb book of romance. I was moved by the words between the lines, about the love and bond between the opposite two of them.

I pulled out all the old mix tapes and CDs on the shelves in the warehouse. I wiped out the dust, played the music to remember good old friends, to reminisce good old times. Thanks to Rob and Renee who prompted me to retrieve the old mixed tapes to reflect upon the music I grew up with. It’s healing to listen to the familiar melodies and lyrics of mixed tapes of my own and from my friends.

I don’t recall how long it has been since I last mixed a tape. I think I should do it again for various occasions, tapes for afternoon coffee with strangers , tapes for hiking, tapes for breaking up with lovers, tapes for inspiration, and tapes for biding farewell to beloved ones. Mixing a tape might be as fun as writing an article, if not more.

What I have in mind is that, if we could divide a day into different time slots according to working schedule, mix a tape for sewing, a tape for dancing, a tape for cooking, a tape for reading, a tape for writing, a tape for afternoon siesta, and a tape for contemplating. If time allows, maybe we can mix new tapes on seasonal basis. If we don’t have time to listen to the mix tapes ourselves, they would make splendid birthday presents for our beloved ones.

In the last tape of December 2002, Chapter 22 Via Vespucci, Rob mentioned he took all of Renee’s hats to the Central Park in Summer 2001, he walked around the Great Lawn, left a note on every hat he placed on a bench for people to take away for free. Being a hat aficionado, I wish my husband would give away all my hats like Rob did with Renee’s. Life goes on in a romantic way!

A Big Bowl of Noodles for Longevity

Wow, it’s my 54th birthday today! I owe myself a favor! I’ve got to jot down something on The Spirit to commemorate the significant day in my life.

Honestly speaking, were it not for my birthday, I probably would not write on The Spirit. So, for today, I had a big lunch at a French restaurant with friends. The chef and waitresses sang “Happy Birthday” for us. I had a big dinner with family, my husband and my brother didn’t sing, but they took a lot of photos of me with two big 5 & 4 candles in my hands.

Life is really full of wonders. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. I don’t know what will happen next year on my 55th birthday. And I wouldn’t have thought that I would charter a chorus two months ago? With drumming, singing, dancing, in addition to reading and writing, I am a busy housewife.

Being the editor-in-chie of Yangmingshan National Park Volunteers Group for one year, from July 2009 to June 2010, I spend a lot of time writing notices for 500 plus volunteers on daily basis. I guess it will be the Thanksgiving Day I write on The Spirit. Who knows what will happen in-between? I am curious!

What I have in mind for year 2009 is to have calendar girl photos taken in bikinis. But at first, I needed to firm my body. With that in mind, I walked into a belly dance class for the first time. The moment I began my belly dance 101, I adored the movement of upper-body muscle, neck, arms, shoulders, hands independently, I felt the development of flexibility and strength in me. I loved the movement of lower-body muscle, hip kicks, circles, rolls and body twists, I felt my abdomen firmer and tighter, not to mention the fringe benefit, to reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

In order to observe belly dancers, I went to Persian Heaven for dinner in my Pakistani consume this evening. Persian Heaven is the first Iranian Restaurant in Taipei, featuring two belly dance sessions every evening. The Heaven was a full house of more than 40 patrons, mainly the students and friends of the feature belly dancer. I was alone, set by a busy waitress at table one, shared the table of four with three strangers, and became instant friends with them. It was like having dinner on a luxurious cruise on Arabian Ocean ready to harbor at Karachi.

For starters, I had Heaven Chicken Roll (originally I ordered Seafood Plate to go with my main dish of chicken, but I changed my mind, just because the name of heaven chicken roll. Who would not savor something with heaven as an adjective?) Shirazi Salad, and Iranian Yogurt Soup. For main dish, I ordered BBQ Chicken Wing Special Sauce with Adas Polo. For desserts, I selected rice pudding to go with Iranian coffee.

The belly dancer was young, sexy, and fantastic. She performed two solo sessions, with each session more than 20 minutes. When she vibrated her hip, everybody opened the eyes widely. How could she manage to do it? I could not even move my neck from left to right! But I found my goal at Persian Heaven this evening!

In the name of God, I want to be a belly dancer!

It has been a while since I last wrote on The Spirit in February. It is not because I’m lazy or busy, it is because I am ambitious to take care of many blogs. But when I finally wrote The Total Solar Eclipse to upload on my blog.com, last Thursday, July 22, 2009, I failed. I wrote, If not today, when? It could not be a better day to reactive the Spirit than today, the total solar eclipse of July 22nd, 2009. My husband called me this morning at 9:37 to inform me of the total solar eclipse. He asked me to wear two sunglasses to see the unique phenomenon. So I did, I got on the roof and saw the sun. No wonder, it was not as hot this morning. It was the day I studied most about the universe and astrology. It was the day thousands of millions of people looked at the sky to ponder upon the power of the nature and the meaning of life.

Thursday, the following morning, I wrote Rest in the Harbor, I downloaded all the articles from The Spirit and tried to close the account full of comments from all kinds of buyers. I could not delete the comments and I decided to start a new one.

After receiving the notification, I deleted all the annoying comments and decide to activate The Spirit. Here I am, sail out again with a great spirit to the blue ocean!

In Han Dynasty, the first century in China, the first female Chinese historian Ban Zhao at age of 70 wrote the most famous lessons for women, four virtues a woman must abide by. They are proper virtue (fude), proper speech (fuyan), proper manner (fuyong), and proper conduct (fugong). They became the Bible for women in China for the past 20 centuries. Ban Zhao was stigmatized by modern feminists for gender discrimination in her lessons for women.

Nobody likes to be told what to do, women don’t, neither do men. But if you are interested in what you’re being told to do, then it is another story.

Last month, upon the request of my husband, I returned to Pu-tzu for a month to take care of my bed-ridden parents-in-law. A month on call day and night? Yes, an entire month. But I found it inspiring to accompany the seniors in the family and I found a new way of living with joy.

January the 6th, on my way home in Pu-tzu from the High Speed Railroad Chia-yi Station, I stopped by the Embroidery Culture Center to borrow the ladies room to take care of my biological need. In the end, I signed up to be a member of the Chia-yi Embroidery Association. I learned the basic needle skills and I purchased all necessary tools, including the frames, needles and many silk yarns of different colors, because I knew once I walked into the big house of my parents-in-law, it would be difficult for me to get out.

Both my parents-in-law received education during the Japanese occupation period. My father-in-law was educated to be the boss of the family. He gives orders and his wife and children follow, so do his children-in-law. From the moment he became bed-ridden, he has been equipped with a beeper in hand. Whenever he needs something, he beeps.

In the past month, I took orders from my bed-ridden father-in-law every 20 minutes or so unless he was asleep. Was I upset? Yes, at night, but during the day, I found peace in my mind with an embroidery frame in hand. The more I embroidered, the more skillful I became. My husband was satisfied with my proper conduct (fugong) and my embroidery works impressed family and friends.

“Sherry, get me some warm water”, requested my father-in-law.
“Yes, sir, right away”, I replied.

“The water is not warm”, complained my father-in-law.
“Okay, I will add hot water in your cup at once”, I grabbed the cup and went upstairs to adjust the water temperature.

“Sherry, I want to go to the toilette”, commanded my father-in-law.
“Yes, Father”, I helped my father stand up to walk to the toilette.

“Ding-Dong”, sounded the beeper of my father-in-law.
“Yes, Father, what can I do for you”, I asked.
“Nothing, I just beep you to see if the beeper works and to check if you’re around”, smiled my father-in-law.

“Sherry”, called my father-in-law.
“Yes, here I am”, I replied.
“Sherry, I’m fond of you, you’re indeed an obedient daughter-in-law. You answer my call without me beeping”, praised me my father-in-law.

At the beginning of year 2009, I was contented that I made many artistic embroidery works in Pu-tzu while taking care of my parents-in-law. I was happy that I had the opportunity to appreciate the Lessons for Women by Ban Zhao and to cherish the Chinese embroidery traditions and cultures inherited from our ancestors. I feel grateful from the bottom of my heart to become a Chinese woman of virtue.

From a housewife to a skilled master of embroidery, there is still a long way to go, but I’m determined to get there no mater how far it could be.

On Christmas day, I got up early. I was invited by Sophia as a model to wear her designer’s hats, to pose for United Daily News. But when the editor-in-chief saw me, she questioned Sophia coldhearted immediately why she invited a middle-aged housewife in stead of a young and pretty girl to pose for one of the major newspapers in Taiwan and if Sophia wanted to ruin her editor-in-chief’s career. Sophia was shocked and speechless. As a hat designer, Sophia thought I was the best model because she designed the hats specifically with me in her image. 

The professions and talents prevailed. Complaints aside, Sophia started converting me into a supermodel, and I exerted every effort to put on my best possible smiling face in front of the lenses. In the end, we won the trust and acknowledgement from both editor-in-chief and the photographer. I am happy for Sophia for achieving her goal to hold an exhibition of designer’s hats in 2008. It was not a small designer’s hats exhibition for a few hundreds of visitors, it was a special report of her designer’s hats on a big newspaper during the Chinese New Year holidays, for tens of thousands of readers.

As for me, I am happy for myself to expand to a new category of modeling successfully. It was another milestone for my newly-begun modeling adventure. On Christmas Day, Santa Claus sent the biggest gifts of self-esteem to Sophia and me, because we dare take the challenge to realize our dreams.

What a Merry Christmas it was today!