what I do before exams

Sectionals at the All White Girls School a.k.a SouthSea for the first time, and it was strange, coming from so many KoolPurple sectionals. For one, they did the 起立行礼坐下 (qi li xing li zuo xia i.e. stand bow sit) thing at which I was totally appalled so I told them not to do it. And then they were standing around at a loss. I felt bad for disrupting the ritual but it was too embarrassing. But the awkward moment passed, and then 2 hours of figuring out fingerings for the whole Borodin Quartet that I haven't played. They were really responsive though, and could be cued to silence, thankfully.

Bought Creative Inspire T10 speakers because my old ones died, and they are awesome. I played the Sibelius Violin Concerto with them and heard all the bass parts that were pretty much non-existent with my previous speakers. And choral music sounds great on it because you can adjust the treble-bass balance. I don't consider myself an audiophile, the new speakers were chosen because they were black, and looked decent enough; it's such a ear-cleansing experience.

Finished Nick Hornby's "The Complete Pollysyllabic Spree" - a collection of his book reviews in the Believer, and he is rib-splittingly funny it is hazardous to read his stuff on public transport because it not being able to laugh out loud, and having to settle for silently convulsing while trying to stifle laughter might just trigger a heart attack. At the beginning of chapter is a "Books Read" and "Books bought" list, and books bought are not always books read.

I bought Middlemarch about a year ago, and it is still sitting untouched, while I go a-whoring with other books (required readings not included). Am almost through "Speaking to an Angel", a collection of short stories put together by Nick Hornby (he's my flavour of the month), as a fundraiser for autistic children. I love short stories because finishing one story or more per bus/train/taxi ride gives such a sense of fulfilment and *pauses for effect* self-efficacy. The latter is essential to ageing individuals who lose confidence in its absence.

Reading gerontology notes is giving me an acute awareness of my mortality; it's sweet. Sometimes I need to be reminded that life is, to quote Michael Cunningham, nothing more than a temporary inconvenience.