Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Birthday Surprise for Mr. Lin!

Hello everyone,

Today is Mr. Lin's birthday!!!  Last year, we planned a pretty elaborate surprise for him (elaborate because there were more people in the studio and required more coordinating), and I think we about gave him a heart attack!  We didn't get to do the whole shebang of decorating the door and inside of his studio this time around (but there are still some decorations left over from last year that he keeps around year around haha), but we did get most of our studio together and surprise him when he got to school  =)  

He was definitely surprised, hopefully pleasantly so, and this is what we had waiting for him!


It was a baseball themed 'party' this year because he's always talking about baseball during our lessons, so we assumed he really enjoys it  ;)  haha  we had a baseball card, a baseball cupcake, a pencil sharpener that says 'Mr. Lin's' written on it, and a jar of pencils that has 'Stolen from Cho Liang Lin' engraved on them.  


It was really fun to get the whole studio together to surprise him on his birthday, and though he says he's not going to schedule lessons on his birthday from now on, we think he enjoyed it  ;)




Happy Birthday Mr. Lin!  
Thank you so much for always pushing us to be our best, and expecting us to do what we at first think to be impossible.  It's been tough at times trying to live up to his expectations, and also trying learn to have the same kind of expectations for myself, but I really feel like I've grown a lot during these two-ish years  =)

If you see him today, please wish him the happiest of birthdays!
--Janny

Monday, January 27, 2014

Life Lately,,,

Hello everyone!

I'm back!! and hopefully I will get to blog more than once a month now that my doctoral auditions are finally over!!  yup yup.  everything is now out of my hands, and all I have to do is wait...  and wait some more..  haha  not sure which part of this process is worse, really; the auditioning or the waiting.

As you can imagine, I spent most of my breathing moments in a practice room during this time, but I did manage to leave it once in a blue moon and capture some of these...

Like this one, on an incredibly beautiful day in Houston.  a welcome change from the Polar Vortex, eh?

and this one, on an impromptu ice cream date with the boy on another beautiful day before the winter storm hit Houston...  Choco taco!  haven't had one of these since,,, high school?  haha

Walking around Rice....

chillin on a bench while people/squirrel watching..



Little did we know that only a couple of days later, we would have ice, rain, snow, etc...  and that I would be in Austin, panicking about my cancelled audition...  which was not so bad in the end because I got to catch up with Grace, have In n Out, and enjoy having some time in Austin before coming back to Houston.

And would you believe it, one day later, it was nice enough for an ice cream date...



This yo-yo-ing of weather has really gotten my wardrobe confused  haha  I put my winter coat away, go around in my sandals one day, and the next day I have to take out my winter coat and put on my Uggs..  

We are projected to have another winter storm tomorrow (even though today is incredibly beautiful!) so we may have yet another snow day!  yay no school!  =D

I hope you are all either bundled up or enjoying this beautiful weather (probably both, if where you live is anything like Houston) and have a wonderful week!

--Janny

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

New Jersey, NYC, and Boston with the larks!!

Hello everyone!!

I ended up taking an unplanned break from blogging because I didn't end up bringing my computer with me on my audition spree...  and I have to admit, it was tough at first (I spend so much time on my computer!!) but actually, it wasn't so bad once a couple days passed.  haha  Anyway, the past two weeks have been a blur of practicing, rehearsing, auditioning, spending time with the larks and the amazing friends we have in Boston!

The beginning of our trip started with some time spent in New Jersey (Timmay's stomping grounds)! We arrived in the middle of the Polar Vortex, so we ended up spending most of our time indoors cooking up a storm (as we always do.  like look at that roasted chicken!  haha) and cramming hardcore for our upcoming audition!  


Also, we met one of the most generous people ever: Cathie.  She is such an incredibly sweet lady who heard us play a couple of years ago and when she found out that we were back, she insisted on taking us out for a meal and giving us a tour of her charming home.  oh, and giving us cake!  haha  It was such a warm-fuzzies kind of an afternoon, and we are just so blessed. and so grateful for her  =)


Then, we stomped around NYC for a couple of hours before heading up to Boston!



Can I just say, I absolutely LOVE Boston. I have loved the city from the first visit when I was about 16, and every visit, I fall deeper and deeper in love with the place. It was Abers' first time in Boston, and she fell in love with the city as well!  I knew she would!  haha

We were only there for about 1.5 days, but we got in a coaching with Bayla Keyes (who is just amazing and we are absolutely in love with her) and also our audition!
and we also got in a photo with Beethoven  ;)  haha


THEN!!  party time!  haha  so many of our friends came out to Charile's Kitchen in Harvard Square, and we had such a fun time!  
These awesome photos were taken by one of my friends, Bryan Tyler, who is a wonderful violist! Tim and I met and played with him at Foulger a couple years back, and it's been so great keeping in touch with him!  Check him out here!

With Bryan himself! =)




^^ oh, that burger?  Double jalapenos burger.  so good.  but your lips will burn.  you have been warned!  haha

Bryan's candid shot of me  haha



Boston...  Love the city, love the people...  basically head over heels in love with the place, and I'm going to live there some day  =)

So yeah, that's what's been happening in my life for the past 2 weeks!  I hope you have all had a wonderful month so far, and thanks for stopping by!
--Janny