The Sleeping Beauty

 Soo last Saturday, to celebrate the end of Term 3 & early celebration for my own birthday, I went and watched my very first Ballet performance! ^^

I arrived at the Arts Center just before 1pm to pick up my tickets.
At that time, the doors weren't opened yet, so people were just waiting outside the doors and on the hallways. I noticed that even though there were several families and groups of young people, most of the audiences were much older than me!!! O.O kind of felt out of place, but nevertheless!


When the doors were opened, I quickly got into line to enter. Upon entering, I received the casts list and explanation of the story --> Which proves helpful, because just then I realized that I don't know this story!! :p:p

State Theater is just simply amazing. It's grand, luxurious, it's magnificent! Loved being in a theatre again. 
A little after 1:30pm, the lights were dimmed, and the show started! For a moment i was transported to when i watched Phantom in Singapore :')
We welcomed the conductor of the beautiful orchestra, and the magic began :)



To be honest, I was a bit sleepy, as expected, especially during 'repetitive' scenes.
Nevertheless! I love the colors in Princess Aurora's 16th birthday bash! Pink & turquoise, fresh & pretty ^^

And at this point, I suddenly know why being a ballerina is hard. Yes, the dancing might be fun, but the precision is dead serious. Also they must stand for minutes only on the tip of their toes!! Yep, not only for seconds, for minutes! >.<

It was an amazing 1st Act!! :)

An hour later, we had the 1st intermission :) Each intermission was for 20 minutes.
When the show started again, I was sleepier!  >.< BUT the story continues beautifully :')
Now the focus moved from Princess Aurora to the Prince.
The corps de ballet were beautiful! And their vibrant costume was stunning.
This act ran for about  40 mins, before we had another intermission.





Before the third act unraveled, the orchestra receiving warm applause from the audience. They were doing a GREAT job!!
Third act started with a dim stage, with lit chandeliers mimicking a hall where Aurora&the Prince's wedding was held. 1st up, the masquerade ^^ what a BEAUTIFUL opening number!!! Lovely! Almost of all the casts were performing, and with such great precision, making the whole stage glows :') Again, it took me back to watching Phantom, with the chandeliers and all :):)

Then some pas de deux, and le Grand pas de deux!!! :')
(although had to admit' there were some 'awkward' moments)
The two main characters performed quite strongly & finished the performance beautifully :')
During the curtain call every one was clapping hard because it was such a good show!
From the chatters I could hear that everyone was having a good time.

Then the final curtain dropped: it was the same red curtain I saw during the BTS ! :)

Overall it was a fun experience, just me myself and I :)

Would definitely go to another ballet!
On the list is (obviously) Swan Lake, the Nutcracker, maybe even some contemporary-ballet shows?


Thanks to The Australian Ballet for this amazing show!

Cheers!
-*^^*-

S2T3W10 DONE!!! ^^

^^

Week 10 is done, Term 3 is OFFICIALLY DONE!!!! ^^

After 10 weeks of hard work, I finally have 2 weeks off ^^

Well, not totally off, bcs lots of catching up and revising to do, but it’s good! :)

To reward myself, today I went and watched The Sleeping Beauty ^^ (Another post coming up on that! ^^ ) But it was phenomenal !

It was my first ballet, my first solo theater-going, and it was fun ^^

The ‘solo’ theme will not end there.

Tomorrow, I will be going on my first ever solo trip!

Although I’m ‘only’ going home, it’s quite a big deal for me cuz I’ve never travelled alone!

BUT I’m excited for that, and even more because I’m finally going home :’)

I’m also very nervous though :’)

But yeah! Just gonna enjoy the next 2 weeks laying low before hitting the books hard for the final term :)

Excited about meeting all my friends and family during these 2 weeks, as well as eating all those food from home :p

I’m prepped and almost ready; hope it will be a quick night!

Will rise bright and early in the morning, and I’ll write from home tomorrow! ^^

-*^^*-

S2T3W9 - What a week!

This week was smiles week :D:D:D

I’m just soooooo excited for the last week (which is next week :D) of the term, that this week has been super smooth :p

Well, not all that smooth.

First, I went online-shopping spree on Monday ^^ hahaa

So naughty I know, but I bought things I really need while watching Soundtrack of a Revolution in HoI class & Litt lecture :p

Making a PayPal account, buying books, shuttle bus ticket… :p

Best day!! :p haha

Then on Tuesday morning, I (not literally) got a heart attack. Like, at 7 in the morning, my intercom was ringing. But I wasn’t expecting anybody. And it was kind of raining outside. So, instead of answering, I got scarred and my heart was just beating a million times a minute. I was terrified !!! Luckily, he was just delivering a package, which came way sooner than expected & I picked up gladly from the post office:p

Comes Wednesday, I went on a morning walk to renew a lease. Then stayed home until my next class ^^

Thursday was hectic! I walked all the way from Mel U to Victoria Street in 20 or so minutes :p Reckless and might not do it again, but it was fun :p:p

Friday was, always, my fav day of the week :) Groceries shopping in the Market & woolies, only 2 classes that day, and I went to the library. Feel diligent? Absolutely. :p  BUT that’s not all! iCare this week was terribly fun and intimate, which I really love :’) Although missing the remaining friends too!! AND we had a lovely cheesecake made by the lovely woman who shared the Word of God too. Double sharing! ^^

Saturday, I was planning to go to the prayer meeting, but lost my energy :( felt bad about it, but I still had the chance to meet fellow iCare friends on a meeting that afternoon. LOVE these guys so much. Their big heart for Jesus and others is truly inspiring. BLESSED!

We also had a huge Universal dinner :p super cheap & satisfying! Def gonna take my family here one day!

Today, during the rehearsal for the service I was somehow feeling disconnected. But thank God! He is with us and His presence was just so heavily flooding in the midst of us. We had an Indo style dinner at Meetbowl, South Melbourne ( I think ). Cheap eats definitely! :D Stopped by McD before heading home, watching Captain America on the TV & catching up with old friends :’)

Next week, I’ll be writing from home :’)

I SO CAN’T WAIT.

CHEERS!!!
-*^^*-

50th Anniversary!!

Yeterday, September 10, 2015, my paternal grandparents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary!
They both gleamed with so much love and blessings :')

50 years is not a short time - I haven't even lived half of it.
Yet, this is what I always see from my grandparents: they care about each other deeply. Always looking out for each other, always thinking about each other. It's inspiring!
It seems like they were never bored by each other :p
That has got to be a combination of hard work, love, and His blessings :)

Yesterday they had a celebration dinner, and how I wish I could be there!!!! :'(
The huuugggeee family gathered together, with friends and extended family, just celebrating love & His grace over their marriage.


I'm so thankful to have them in my life. Seeing them still being very productive in their work, doing what they are passionate about, and still spending time with family and with friends!
They love to travel around the world, and always bring back lovely souvenirs for us back home :p
I'm very thankful that at this age, they are still very healthy and strong. Loving God more than ever.

They have been an inspiration for our family; like a glue for our extended family.
Their wisdom, joy, humility, are just amazing, and I miss them a lot.

I am the first grandchildren that had gone & studied abroad. I hope I've made them proud :')


Happy anniversary Mak & Kong!
I love you both so much. Stay healthy, happy, and blessed!

Let's celebrate once I'm home :D

CHEERS!
-*^^*-

S2T3W8 - Two more weeks to go!!!

Can you believe it? I certainly cannot!
Two weeks. 14 days. 336 hours. 20160 minutes. Probably a bit more. But.

I just cannot wait for the journey and to reaching home! :D

This week was okay, I guess.
I mean, got all my stuff going in the right direction.

Oh! And the highlight got to be watching Ballet bts ^^
LOVELOVELOVE.

And also, Empowerment Night @Church --> EmpoNite for short :p
I was SO blessed, looking at all my friends, my second family here in Melb, just "Sinking Deep" in His presence and grace.
Magnificent.
Honored to be part of it & part of such a great team!

It's Father's Day here in Aussie, and while I've 'celebrated' Father's Day in June, it's my dad's birthday weekend! A bit hectic with all of the surprises the Semarang team had prepared, but I'm humbled by the love, you guys!
Since I'm here, gonna celebrate your birthday with mine then, daddy.
SOON.

Tonight the rain suddenly poured, and as you know, Melbourne rain is incredible. It was raining heavily but what made it 'special' is the wind. I think my umbrella is not working well after that storm. :'(
My hair shoes pants jacket is all wet and had all these seeds/small leaves stuff brought by the wind. Oh well. Time to turn on the heater in my room & stay warm ^^


Okay.
This post is very straightforward because I have been encouraging myself to do just that. Go for it. Go crazy. Make mistakes. Take the risks. Even though it is not comfortable, even though it feels weird and wrong. Nothing will be in vain with God :)


BUT One more assignment is down,  two to go, another two is in progress to be finished on Term 4.
I am just overwhelmed, God!

CHEERS!!!

-*^^*-

BTS Sleeping Beauty

Today I went to the theater to watch a one-hour look on the Sleeping Beauty rehearsal!

On the theater foyer, there were exhibitions of costumes and sketches of the original costumes for the Sleeping Beauty production. Then we went inside the glorious State Theater to enjoy what's happening behind the scene.

We were greeted by a huge red curtain, with golden embellishments on it. The detail and precision of that curtain was breathtaking.

During this behind the scene, we watched mainly the ballet company's warm up session, and then had a look on the grand pas-de-deux of the Sleeping Beauty.

They were still tweaking it here and there to perfect the routine, but it was beautiful anyway! The piano was playing softly as the two dancers performed. Even though it was just a plain rehearsal with no costumes and props and set, it was heartfelt and beautiful to watch. You can almost hear the dancers whispering you the story.

It was very exciting! I never watched a live ballet class, even though I REALLY WANT TO! :p
AND what's more exciting is I'll be seeing those guys again in about two weeks, to catch them perform the Sleeping Beauty ^^ Very excited about that!! :D

It was a rare experience, and I'm very glad I got to go :)


I still have 2 weeks worth of slaving away on my assignments,
but until then, I'll try to have as much fun & hold on to the fact that it's going to be awesome.

Cheers!
-*^^*-