Recomposition: Vivaldi's Four Seasons

I have no love for recompositions.

I prefer originals, as I feel that it would be what the original composer would want it to be, rather than a twisted new version of somebody else's interpretations on the piece. Or even books. Or even art. Any redo, no thanks. It feels like plagiarism to me.

However, this recomposition of Vivaldi's Four Seasons (even if you don't know it, you will definitely have heard at least one of the pieces before) by Max Richter is so beautiful that I have completely eaten my words.

For any fan of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, to have a new musician come along and redress them with his own original ideas is like insulting the original. It is old classical music, so why turn it into something new? However, Richter, a fan of the music himself, felt that the music has become so familiar to the listeners that they have "stopped listening to it" and it is up to him to recreate something that would make people fall in love with it again. Hence: a recomposition, by adding new layers to a beautiful masterpiece without being too different from the original one.

The scores are familiar, yet infused with new notes and melodies. However, Richter has maintained the minimalistic quality of the pieces by keeping many of the fast, repeated key notes, over twelve tracks (for twelve months) plus a new short "prelude". Even though the music is based on the original Four Seasons, it is an entirely new stand-alone piece altogether.

The prelude is...different. I can almost feel the shimmering mist of the coming Spring through the ambient of both electronic and acoustic strings creating a sonic tide before the actual music begins. The solo lines in the works are more elegant and on its own. The result throughout the sequence is exquisitely played, refreshing and full of charm.

The really interesting part of the new album is that the overfamiliar melodies played tricks with your memory. You remember this...and suddenly, it became different. How is this possible? It's strange, but very interesting. Solo violinist Daniel Hope played the original for decades, and imagine how it was for him to play the recomposed score for the first time.

Max Richter, Daniel Hope

The musicians were a talented bunch as well! Daniel Hope's violin virtuosity is out of the world. If you have even a small interest in classical music, it deserves a listen. It is an absolute delight and you won't be disappointed. :)

Listen to it HERE!

Signs You're A Secret Introvert

Are you a secret introvert? I am!
I am one of those people who can look and sound outgoing, extrovert, and happy-go-lucky, but can end up being very quiet and want to be left alone sometimes.

Here are 23 signs to check if you are a secret introvert! I don't know about you, but I fit so many signs that it creeps me out. Haha. 

1. You find small talk incredibly cumbersome.
-Introverts are notoriously small talk-phobic, as they find idle chatter to be a source of anxiety, or at least annoyance. For many quiet types, chitchat can feel disingenuous.
For me it depends really if I'm trying to get to know that person or not. If I'm already tired then this would be true as I would prefer silence. ;)

2.You go to parties -– but not to meet people.
-If you're an introvert, you may sometimes enjoy going to parties, but chances are, you're not going because you're excited to meet new people. At a party, most introverts would rather spend time with people they already know and feel comfortable around.
Again it depends, but yeah, most of the time I rather spend time with friends than trying to make new ones. 

3. You often feel alone in a crowd.
-Ever feel like an outsider in the middle of social gatherings and group activities, even with people you know?
Millions of times. Sometimes I just don't connect, and that's it.

4. Networking makes you feel like a phony.
-Networking (read: small-talk with the end goal of advancing your career) can feel particularly disingenuous for introverts, who crave authenticity in their interactions.
Yes. To me, friendships and connections should be because one genuinely likes the other, and not for any personal gain. 

5. You've been called "too intense."
-Do you have a penchant for philosophical conversations and a love of thought-provoking books and movies? If so, you're a textbook introvert.
Sometimes. Or rather people say I think too much. What do you want me to do? I observe in silence.

6. You're easily distracted.
-While extroverts tend to get bored easily when they don't have enough to do, introverts have the opposite problem -- they get easily distracted and overwhelmed in environments with an excess of stimulation.
Yes. I like stuff to be interesting, but I get overwhelmed with too many things and will be unable to focus properly. 

7. Downtime doesn’t feel unproductive to you.
-One of the most fundamental characteristics of introverts is that they need time alone to recharge their batteries. This sort of down time feels necessary and satisfying to an introvert.
Yes. Silent time is a way to connect with my inner self so that I can get all my circuits right again and function better.

8. Giving a talk in front of 500 people is less stressful than having to mingle with those people afterwards.
-Introverts don't necessarily shy away from the spotlight. Instead, an introvert might struggle more with meeting and greeting large groups of people on an individual basis.
Absolutely. Having to talk to each one of them is more stressful than to present something I already know, because giving a talk is actually just like talking to myself.

9. When you get on the subway, you sit at the end of the bench -– not in the middle.
-Whenever possible, introverts tend to avoid being surrounded by people on all sides. They are likely to sit in places where they can get away when they're ready to easily. 
Definitely! Even at restaurants and so on, I'd rather find a corner and not in the middle. Having everyone around me is overwhelming. 

10. You start to shut down after you’ve been active for too long.
-Do you start to get tired and unresponsive after you've been out and about for too long? It's likely because you’re trying to conserve energy. Short of a quiet place to go, many introverts will resort to zoning out.
This is like the most correct sign ever. I do that all the time. After a lot of talking and laughing for the whole day, I just shut up afterward and listen to others talking instead. My friends will always, always go: "Are you okay? Why are you so silent?"

11. You're in a relationship with an extrovert.
-It's true that opposites attract, and introverts frequently gravitate towards outgoing extroverts who encourage them to have fun and not take themselves too seriously.
Used to be. Unfortunately, yeah, opposites do attract. But someone too extroverted will drain all my energy away, so it's not really a good thing.

12. You'd rather be an expert at one thing than try to do everything.
-The dominant brain pathways introverts use is one that allows you to focus and think about things for a while, so they’re geared toward intense study and developing expertise.
Hmm yes. I ruled it down to perfectionism though. If I can I'll try to be an expert on everything :P

13. You actively avoid any shows that might involve audience participation.
-Yes! I'm scared of those. I'd rather not go up front, thank you very much.

14. You screen all your calls -- even from friends.
-You may not pick up your phone even from people you like, but you’ll call them back as soon as you’re mentally prepared and have gathered the energy for the conversation.
HAHA. Yes. I mostly pick up friends' calls though. But if it's an unknown number, chances are I'll just ignore the call. But if you're a friend and you suddenly need to talk, I might need a few minutes trying to structure an answer.

15. You notice details that others don't.
-The upside of being overwhelmed by too much stimuli is that introverts often have a keen eye for detail, noticing things that may escape others around them.
Yes. It weirds me out that some other people don't notice what I notice. I keep my eyes and ears open even though I'm doing something.

16. You have a constantly running inner monologue.
-“Extroverts don’t have the same internal talking as we do,” says Olsen Laney. “Most introverts need to think first and talk later."
True. I do. I don't literally talk to myself, but thoughts run inside my head all the time. 

17. You have low blood pressure.
-A 2006 Japanese study found that introverts tend to have lower blood pressure than their extroverted counterparts.
Yes I do!

18. You’ve been called an “old soul” -– since your 20s.
-Introverts observe and take in a lot of information, and they think before they speak, leading them to appear wise to others.
I'm not 20s yet, and I've never been called "old soul", mostly because I don't really talk philosophy with others. I keep my thoughts to myself. And also sometimes I have no idea things that I've been wondering about are actually valid. For example I didn't know I've been thinking about "quantum physics" since forever. I didn't know that the theory is called QP. 

19. You don't feel "high" from your surroundings.
-Neurochemically speaking, things like huge parties just aren’t your thing. Extroverts and introverts differ significantly in how their brains process experiences through "reward" centers.
It depends. Sometimes I do if I'm really happy at that moment. If I don't feel happy/comfortable with the situation, then no.

20. You look at the big picture.
-When describing the way that introverts think, Jung explained that they're more interested in ideas and the big picture rather than facts and details. Of course, many introverts excel in detail-oriented tasks -- but they often have a mind for more abstract concepts as well.
I look toward the future and the overall idea. But I fuss over details too, so maybe this point doesn't apply. And for abstract concepts: I hate mathematical concepts. I love concepts like the very existence of life though. ;) 

21. You’ve been told to “come out of your shell.”
-Introverted adults often say that as children, they were told to come out of their shells or participate more in class.
Yes when I'm silent and not actually participating in the conversation. I am out of shell though, I'm just observing and listening attentively. 

22. You alternate between phases of work and solitude, and periods of social activity.
-This may manifest in introverts as going through periods of heightened social activity, and then balancing it out with a period of inwardness and solitude.
Yes. Sometimes I hang around with people, have fun and just be crazy, and then when the feelings subside I go home and shut myself in a room and do my own thing.

23. You're a writer.
-Introverts are often better at communicating in writing than in person, and many are drawn to the solitary, creative profession of writing. Most introverts say that they feel most creatively charged when they have time to be alone with their thoughts.
Yes! Obviously. I love writing. I love putting out my thoughts on paper because I have too many of them running around in my mind. I love having them all out on something that I can read and make sense of. I love words!

-Reposted from HERE.
I scored about 20/23!
Weird right? OMG. How about you guys? :)

Never Knew This Is Quantum Physics

So mind-blown today.

I didn't even know what I've been thinking and wondering about for so many many years is called Quantum Physics. In fact I thought I was the only one weird enough to think about things like questioning my own existence. And even if I were to guess, I would never have picked Physics as the field it would be in. Physics is so...logical and mathematical, and proving our existence is so...philosophical.

So I was dazed for an hour after our IB Physics teacher (I'm not in his class though) announced within my hearing distance that quantum physics has a theory about parallel universes and that something only exist and is definite if we observe and focus on it.

As a child I've always wondered if people and things actually exist when we're not physically with them. For example, if I'm away from my family, are my family still there? Doing all the things that they're doing when I was there? Or do they exist only when I'm with them?
I've also wondered am I really here, in this world, looking at this definite object, being conscious of my existence in this space? I find that I can't focus too long on this thought, because if I do, I get really really confused and start to feel non-existent, like feeling that I'm not actually here at all, these people around me aren't actually real at all.
And I get very disorientated, so I stop.

And sometimes I even wonder if those cars on the road that pass by me, if I can't see their drivers, are they really there? And say I'm sitting in a restaurant near my college, but the college isn't in my field of vision. Does it only physically exist when I walk toward it and it comes into my vision? Is the space outside of the room I'm in a nothingness until I walk out of the room?

I know, these are disturbing questions. But I've always thought of them since I was in primary school. Like 8 or 9. But I never knew that part of what I was pondering about is called "quantum physics", something that has been popularised to be one of the most difficult subjects to understand out there.

So yeah. Totally stunned for a long time and after when my friends and I went for lunch, we discussed about it over fried rice, and came to the conclusion that life is just a lie. HAHAHA.
So don't take life too stressed and too seriously, just live it the way you want it to be. :)

Reading up on theories of Quantum Physics for fun. ;)
This is so interesting. I'll write something about it later when I've finished the article. :)
Now I can add another to my ever-growing list of interests haha.

Love,

YEB Duty Timetables With LY!

Yes I'm aware that I've gone a week long without posting anything, and I don't have the photos for today, so I'm very very sorry. However we've been much too busy trying to arrange a timetable that everyone would be okay with for booth duty for Year End Ball.

Yes I'm part of the YEB Committee. There are six departments and I chose Admin, because I'm not good with numbers (Finance), art (Creative), charisma (Marketing), technical stuff (Audio) and communicating with companies and keep on prompting them to speed up their decisions. (Sponsorship).

HA. Not true actually. I could've been in any of them. I just feel that I'm more natural in Admin, hence will be using less time to finish my tasks.
Admin work is more inside the team than outside. And we deal with the backbone of everything, so we don't really have a specific job scope.

I would say that this committee is much more efficient than all the other committees I've ever joined. Not a surprise seeing as half of us are Student Council members, which you'd have to have the guts to apply and the ability to pass the interview. And the other half, (including me), well we'd have to actually want be a part of this to even apply in the first place right?

There was this quote about the most efficient team members are those who want to do the job, so yeah, we're all highly efficient so far. You can't imagine the horror of having to do everything by yourself because you have half-baked team members. I am impressed with this committee because everyone does their tasks SO well, to the point of feeling that all of them have a perfectionist streak in them.

Anyway today I devoted half a day of time to arranging the duty timetable for the ticket booth with LiYin, one of my Admin department comrades. It was hellish; we didn't even know where to start at first. And there were so many complications, especially as our committee is choked full of IB juniors, who are the busiest people in the college with ongoing projects about everything imaginable.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
8.30am- 9.30 am	Dharishini Effah	Li Yin Stephanie Chua	Effah Moses	Michelle Soo Ying	Alicia Sandhiya
9.30am- 10.30am	Sandhiya Alicia	May Theng Pei Ying	Darren Abigail	Li Yin	Natalie Abigail
10.30am- 11.30am	Dharishini Mujib	Dharishini Mujib	Joey Alicia	Koji Michelle	-
11.30am- 12.30 pm	Stephanie Siew Stephanie Wong	-	May Theng Stephanie Wong	Sandhiya Stephanie Wong	Michelle Abigail
12.30pm- 1.30 pm	Darren Koji	Moses Mujib	Darren Joey	Stephanie Siew Darren	Alicia Li Yin
1.30pm- 2.30 pm	Fern Abigail	Fern Koji	Effah Li Yin	Moses Mujib	Joey Stephanie Chua
2.30pm- 3.30pm	Fern Natalie	-	Michelle	Fern Natalie	Stephanie Siew* Pei Ying
3.30pm- 4.30pm	May Theng Soo Ying	Pei Ying Stephanie Wong	May Theng* Stephanie Chua	Pei Ying Stephanie Siew	Moses Soo Ying

^ This is our product! :D

But we managed it between the two of us, and good job too! We agreed that we would never have been able to complete this without each other. Thanks LY, appreciate your effort. :)
*although I'm hoping you won't ever see this, or I'll never hear the end of it in school.*

Update: Oh no, we totally left out 6 other people! Redo! Omg. This calls for another half day of maniacal laughter and drama. O.O

Love,

A College-Student Blogger's Desperation

Or more specifically, an IB student blogger. :/
Painfully aware that I haven't been blogging much recently and have ran out of scheduled posts. Am trying "desperately" to keep the blog running. As of now I am completely overwhelmed with all the studying that I have to do for the coming tests (in fact I have four of them over the next week), and all the homework and presentations that I have to do. As well as participating in many other activities AND juggling sleep time that I totally need and deserve. 

Hence I'll not be updating here that often until I get my schedule right and have some more free “me” time that I can do whatever I want. So don't be surprised if I go a week without posts. I won't go missing forever, but just so you know. :)

I believe that for the next two years, future blog posts will be kept shorter due to the ever-increasing IBDP workload. Oh well. As long as I keep this alive. :D

I'll write more soon! Keep in touch,

One Belated Birthday Gift

Here's a belated present from JJ for me! <3
Super love it, so pretty!
Best point: it actually fits. Without her having to measure my wrist. HAHAHA. This is a best friend symptom.

Here's what I wrote on Facebook:
Thanks for being one of the few in my life where in your presence, I can truly be myself, think out loud and say incomprehensible stupid things, giggle at secret crushes together, share lame jokes and still laugh uncontrollably, fight with you and not wanna talk for days, expose all my "deep dark secrets" without shame, not being in the same school for 2 & 1/2 years and STILL, be able to trust 101% that you will be there for me whenever, wherever and forever. :DD

I have never been so sure of anyone as my best friends, and I'm absolutely glad that you are one of them. :)

I know this is super cheesy but I still have to say: love you always, my bestie of 5 & 1/2 years!
Hugs and kisses :)

Blessed and loved,

Ethan's Photography: KL Bird Park Part 3/3 (Final)

Hi guys, here's the final part of the KL Bird Park photography post. Remember from Part 2, Ethan and I spotted a few peacocks? 

Well here they are, in not-so-full glory. I can't get them to spread their feathers, but they are still very pretty!

Waterfall Aviary:

Flamingos! :D

Making circular waves with its feet

Ethan wasnt't ready for the sudden flight of the bird

Folding its leg to scratch its head

Gymnastic ;)

Drinking

Group of flamingos

A black swan floats past

The Incubation Room:

Chicks!

See the hatched chick? <3 cute ;)

Ostrich/Emu feeding next:

Hey, where's my vegetable?

Southern Cassowary: It has a black body and a very colourful head ;)

Eagles:

It looks permanently surprised O.O

Changeable Eagle-Hawk 

The Great Hornbill:

Red hornbill? Don't know what this is...but it came all the way from the other end of its cage right up to where I was. Expecting some food maybe? All we could do is to take its photo though. :)

Since when chicken is a hornbill?!

I was trying to take the photo of the guineafowl when this BIRD came flying into Ethan's view. LOL.

Guineafowl :)

Children feeding the birds ;)

The Great Hornbill again ;) Slightly unclear photos because the photos were taken outside of the cage.
Not sure why the wires aren't so visible.

I thought doves are only white O.O

Crowned pigeon, apparently. Looks a bit like peacock to me.

A peacock on top of a tree branch

Taken with phone just before leaving

Ethan wants to be in the picture, so another one before we left. 

This concludes the final part of this photography post series. :)

Hope you enjoyed the photos!

P.S: All photos are 100% unedited except for addition of watermark.

Love,