JenniferIp's Xanga

Uncertainty

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:17:40 GMT

Before uncertainty, something to enjoy. He's called Vitas, from Russia. His voice has a really high pitch, countertenor might be... Here are the videos.

His most famous song: Opera #2

Music Video

Lucia Di Lammermoor (il dolce suono)
2 months later, I'll fininsh my study in Sheffield. Time passed really quick since I have been here in 2004.

Graduating means unemployment and a lot of uncertainty to me coz I don't know what's my next step, work or further study? And if I am going to work, what kind of job will it be? Where will it be? How much is the salary? Moving house? Hong Kong or UK? etc...But for furhter study, do I have enough money to go on? Where should I study? What should I study? etc...Those things are really annoying. But the main concern is that I have to be sure I will be graduating this July.

To graduate means a lot of hard work behind. Recently I am fed up with essays! I have one essay needed to be finished next Tue and three more before 27th May. Futhermore, I will have Italian exam and Piano exam in late May and early June. That's what I am really stressful about....and I am preparing for the car theory test as well..

So! In order to reduce the stress, I always go out to other cities to look around. It's mentally and physically unhealthy that I always stuck at home and sit in front of a laptop. I found that in a month (i.e. this March), I have been to four places in UK! (yeah, coz I am not sure whehter I will still stay in UK after graduation, I have to see more!)

9th March 2008 Stonehenge and Bath

20th March 2008 Windsor and Eton

22nd March 2008 Chester

Monday, October 22, 2007

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 15:46:29 GMT

Yesterday

I took a train from Sheffield at 10am and arrived in London at 1:15pm yesterday.

I attended a concert by Yundi Li with the Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall. I was sitting at the Row H 22.

Yundi played the Greig's Piano Concerto in A minor. I really enjoyed it with its powerful and lyrical melodies. It's a really a shock to me coz I have never been so closed to listen to his playing.

There was a lecturer in mathematics sitting on my right hand side and a Japanese women sitting on my left hand side. She was lucky that being able to get the autograph of and photo with Yundi Li.

The Holst was also great and hilarious. The last movement of it was really intriguing with the voice of the ladies choir. I felt like I was out of this planet and embarked on a mysterious trip in the space!

After the concert, I went to Japan Centre in Piccadily to buy books and food stuffs. Around 7pm, I had a dinner at a Korean restaurant in China Town. Then, took a train at 9:30pm going back to Sheffield.

Today, I went to the JET programme talk at 1pm in Arts Tower. At 3pm, I was having a private Japanese class with my new sensei. I really enjoyed it coz 99% of the converstation was conducted in Japanese and I didn't realize I can understand it. However, I didn't know that I fogot so many basic Japanese words...

Practice makes Perfect is always true!

Gambarimsu!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:46:33 GMT

長い夏休みが終わった。１０月から、私の勉強の時間です！でも、私はうれしいです。何で？日本語と、ドイツ語とイタリア語も勉強できます。本当に楽しいです。（音楽の勉強はどこ。。。？）

今日はイタリア語のクラスがあった。美沙さんとゆきさんと一緒に勉強しました。クラスは３時間だけど、楽しいと思う。どうして？会話練習たくさんがあった。

ゆべ、初めで日本語のクラスへ行って、新しい先生に会った、先生は親切だと思います。クラスがちさいけど　（５人だけ）、私たちの会話のチャンスたくさんがあるんです。とてもいい練習だと思います。

私は言語の勉強は大好きです！これから、頑張ります！

明日はドイツ語のクラスがあります！

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 21:44:44 GMT

Welcome Summer!

Haven't updated this blog since March. Quite busy in the university life. Everyone said 2nd year is the hardest year, I agreed.

Now finished all the exams including the DipABRSM. Hope I can pass this time though result will be revealed in October.

Thanks god, I finally become a year 3 student.

決定しました！Going back to Hong Kong on 27th July!!!

Recently, I am addicted to a Japanese drama called 鬼嫁日記１(2005)と２ (2007)．It's really really funny and I wanna watch the whole series!

Also, I have been chasing another series as well: the White Tower.

By the way, I am addicted to her as well, 蛯原友里Ebihara Yuri! She's sosososo beautiful!

2007 Sound On Sound Expo, London

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 00:18:58 GMT

2nd March 2007, Friday

Today I went to Sound On Sound (SOS) Expo, the biggest Music Technology expo in the World! in Kensington Olympia Exhibition Hall. Got up at 7:45pm and took a shower, rushed to the Sheffield train station to catch the train at 8:27am going to St Pancras Station, London.

Arrived at 10:50am, went to the expo by tube, took about 30 minutes. Arrived the venue near 12noon (that's the time I have precisely calculated).

It needs 10 pounds entry fee but I registered online in advance so I only needed to pay 7.5 pounds.

To be honest, my schedule was quite tight coz the organizer had seminars on sound recording, in the basement, from 12-1:30pm, 2-2:40pm, 3-4:15pm and the closing time is 5pm. So, I don't have much time to hang around other stalls...

The Poster..

Outside the Olympia Expo

Inside the Olympia Expo

12:00 to 1:30pm Recording Session Begins! Followed by Q&A session.

Session hosted by SOS editors boards and performed by SOS band.

Drumkits...

Bass...

SOS editor Paul White (right)

Vocals...note the duvet on the back, it's to absorb any reflected sounds, prevent the sounds bounce back to the microphone. also the shield behind the microphone, it's to absorb the sounds as well..

Time for adding percussion..

A Closer look at the drumkit and microphones

2:00 to 2:40pm Producer Panal and Followed by Q&A session. They are famous UK producers making CD of Lily Allen..and others...

3:00 to 4:15pm Mix and Mastering Session Begins! Followed by Q&A session. It's all about enhancing the sound quality of the original recording. All about Equalizer and compressor.

Evident of attending the Expo..

So many enthusiasists attedning the seminar...I was always in the front row!

When there's a time between the seminars, I went upstairs to see what's happening. Here's the lucky draw prizes for everyday! It's £65K worth of equipment giveaway!

Prizes inside the "room"

A Closer look....APPPLLLEEEEE!!

Also on the ground floor..Steinberg Demo Theatre

Finally, after finishing all seminars, I went to the first floor to browse the stalls and get the contacts of companies for my lecturer.

I like this one! CD-ROM/DVD cover printer

New product from SE, to absorb reflective sounds.

Genelec

Edirol

I like this Home Studio, it's really comfortable. What a pleasure of doing your own recording and mixing in such an incredible home!

Of course...AKG is a must in the Expo. See? Limited Edition, Not for Sale.

I like Yamaha as well.

Other snapshots

Korg

I left the expo at 5:20pm, with bags of leaflets I got from the stalls. Also, I have subscribed the Sound on Sound magazine there coz I can get a Sennheiser headphone for free. In addition, I've subscibed to Musictech as well, got a dynamic microphone. That's what I needed.

Planned to stay a hostel in West Kensington for a night (coz at first, I planned to visit the expo for 2 days. But it seems one day is enough). However, it's raining and I thought I can use my return train ticket (which is valid from 2nd March to 1st Apr) to go back to Sheffield. Then went to St Pancras and finally got on a train at 7:25pm. Arrived Sheffield at 9:50pm.

I would definitely come back to this event next year and reccommend more friends to go. It's very well organized especially in the seminars parts, it's all explained. And I'm glad that I could even meet the producers on the spot. I saw some audience even gave out their demo to the producers after the seminars was finished.

A Great Success of Sound on Sound.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 22:53:12 GMT

Race Analysis

RaceAnalysis Explained

71%		Korean/Japanese
29%		Chinese

0%		East Indian
0%		Middle Eastern
0%		Eastern European
0%		Southern European
0%		Anglo Saxon
0%		South East Asian


Personality Profile			Rank	Celebmatch Faye Wong
Intelligence	6.8	Very Intelligent	10412
Risk	3.5	Low Risk	63862
Ambition	6.7	High Ambition	9514
Gay Factor	1.0	Very Low Gay Factor	68547
Honor	7.3	High Honor	1499
Politeness	6.0	Average Politeness	20810
Income	6.4	$30,000 - $50,000	27740
Sociability	4.5	Low Sociability	62783
Promiscuity	2.0	Very Unpromiscuous	69307

YOUR ARCHETYPE:

Personality Profile:

You are a long-term planner, diligent worker and avoid risk as much as possible. You are of above average intelligence and have the ability to focus on tasks that seem unimportant at present, but can lead to greater things in the foreseeable future. You are not keen to interact with others or make social connections. You would rather gain material wealth before putting yourself in a position to be judged. You are not confrontational unless someone directly opposes your intellectual beliefs. You are highly concerned with your social status. You are keen to avoid risks that could jeopardize your long-term plans. You take a calculated approach to life, working hard to control all aspects of it in order to not leave anything important to chance.

You tend to be a perfectionist and quite self-conscious. You sometimes wish you were less reserved and more like some others you see who are more bold and outspoken in social situations. But as much as you try to be like them, you cannot, because you care too much about the future to ever be comfortable taking risks in social situations.

Your view of other types
Academic types can end up rich but it will take longer than with Boss types . You see Boss types as potential business clients and as great resources to expand your contacts. Therefore you treat them with respect. For the most part you do not respect Artist types , however there are some Alpha Artists that you give some credit to. You look down upon Blue collar types as you consider them ignorant. You see White collar types as unsuccessful versions of yourself, but because of work situations you may have to interact with them often. You have very little in common with Charmers , therefore you avoid them. You consider Gambler types to make foolish decisions, and for the most part you do not interact with them. At times you feel sorry for Drifters .

Other types' view of you
Boss types consider you to be a valuable resource of advice. They constantly interact with you to make better decisions and they often respect your opinion. For the most part Artist types do not interact with you for they rather take it easy. They however may like you because of your knowledge of subjects that they find interesting. Blue collar types find you boring and uptight, they have very little in common with you. White collar types may respect your accomplishments and ambition. Charmer types regard you as mostly withdrawn from life and too uppity to hang around with. Gambler types think that because you play so safe you miss out on great opportunities. Drifter types have no regard for you, because your repetitive routines seem boring to them.

Alpha academic: Solid long-term planner. Highly intelligent, ambitious and loyal to close ones.

Expected Occupations: Lawyer, Doctor, Investment Banker, Chief Accountant, Corporate Consultant, Head Engineer, Stock Broker, Business owner (professional skill/knowledge based business operation)

Beta academic: Not as intelligent or ambitious as Alpha Academics, but still focused on being materially successful.

Expected Occupations: Lawyer, Doctor, Investment Analyst, Accountant, Architect, Engineer, Professor, Researcher, Psychologist

Theta academic: Not as intelligent as Alpha and Beta academics, but still intelligent.

Expected Occupations: Pharmacist, Accountant, Teacher, Journalist, Computer Technician

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 21:35:57 GMT

Today it's the recording for Sam.

Me, Sam and Becki met at the Music Department to take the recording kits down to the Drama Studio. Arriving there at 11:35pm and we began to put the things together. Sam tested it when performers rehearsing.

Flash Memory Card recorder

Me and Becki when to Scott's Pastry to grab the food..

Becki and Sam

Where the microphones are placed

The music is for wind quitet. To be honest, I found the concert boring and sleepy. Finally, we finished packing at 2:30pm and the kits were put in my house until the evening.

We met up again at 7pm in front of my apartment and took the kits up to Arts Tower for Becki's practice with recording. I just helped the set up and left coz I think it's quite straightforward.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 21:27:21 GMT

20th February 2007

Went to Firth Court to see the installation of the microphone for a piano recital at night. I arrived a 2pm and left at 2:45pm coz I got lecture at 3:10pm. I really learn how to select the best microphones for recording but I think I've missed the part after I left.

The Mixing desk inside the chamber.

Where the microphones should be placed... Ate kebab with Yoji at 3am.....after leaving the IT centre

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 21:22:35 GMT

19th February 2007

I'm serious on my study. Here're photos of putting microphones to the drumkit that our team needs to record later.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 21:18:59 GMT

18th February 2007

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Went to Western Park Museum (opened in 1887) with Yoji and Tetsuya at 1pm. It's under reconstruction for 2 and half years (since I came to Sheffield....). It's quite interesting to know the history of Sheffield and the importance of Sheffield towards the Steel industry.

The view to Firth Court, Sheffield University Having dinner at Noodle Inn afterwards.. (Oh, I'm looking very fat on the photo.....) Tetsuya and Yoji I haven't met Tetsuya for about 2 years when he's an exchange student from Rikkyu University, Tokyo. Now he's going to graduate this March and already got a job offer from Hitachi.

He loves travelling I reckon. This time he's showing me the trip to Zimbabwe, South Africa and Bostwana. He always gives very detailed illustration of places he went. I'm so amazed. But sometimes I get bored because there're too many photos... and even Yoji escaped to kitchen to take a nap.

Indeed, I gained knowledge from him. He showed me the image of Africa that I haven't imagined. Or I have the stereotype in my mind: yellow and spacious land and very hot. He's so good at making friends around the world as well. Whenever I asked where he stayed during the trip, he always answers "in my friend's house", even for 3 weeks!

To be honest, I haven't seen all of his trip photos at this time. So, I think I'll meet him before he sets off to the Europe.