Susie's Blog

I am thinking about changing another blog site. This one is up to the limit and they are starting to charge me. I don't want to use this one anymore. Anyway, before i found a new one, i will go back to

http://susiewangrocks.spaces.live.com

welcome to re loate with me!!

Thursday I got lots of teenage boys coming for lessons. Right from 7 am in the morning. Teenager boys are my favorite population to work with. Today I had a few adult guys coming for singing too. They are mostly in their 20s, bringing a guitar to sing for me. I work on their technique and then interpretation, sometimes some ideas about the song writing. OZ boys from age 16 are already looking very mature. They all come in with very strong aftershave or perfume. I always asked if they bloody drank the whole bottle of perfume. These boys all went to private school so with their private school uniforms they really all look extremely handsome. I develop technique to work with those boys. Some I do shout at if they don't get it, some I just have to do the soft method that get into their core. When I see them perform and shine like that on stage, i always have incredible sense of proudness that I was part of the creator of those wonderfully handsome talented OZ boys.

Gosh I love this typical OZ breakfast. Everytime after gym i would finish a plate like this. Trying to cut it down to just twice a week.

After teaching early morning. I got the 73 year old Alastiar here for singing. Gosh I love working with him. Such a deep baritone voice and whatever I asked him to sing and work on you could see result straight away. After him I drove straight to Belly dance class. I found the class was bit easy today. could do it without using brain. Not very good. My brain is seldom in use already. Then off to see my spanish dressmaker Mary. I was bringing in a few dress designs that I drew to show her and got her to give me a quote. I want my little girls and big girls to have some costumes made for the end of year showcase. Quite a big of discussion with Mary. Fun though. I could just visualise how gorgeous the girls will look with my design. Mary said the big girls she would charge 200 for a dress. then small girl about 150. I think that's fair enough. So this afternoon I told some of the girls and they picked the colours for their dresses. Quite exciting. We went to the Taiwanese bento again. The owner was pretty cute and smart. That guy is going to do very well by the look of that business. Anyway back to studio sing play and dance all afternoon. Good job. very happy.

Love to upload some photos here. Yiching always harrass me to upload photos cause she doesn't like to read (can you see a bossier sister in law there? ) I still don't know how. Apple is too advance for me. As richard said, is it so easy that you find it hard? I jsut don't have the patient to learn how to use it. Surely one day i can do everything. Just like I phone. I couldn't do anything on I phone when I first got it. Now after a year I can do everything on I phone. You just learn with time. So let me just float with life. Surely i can use macbook soon.

This year is a very good year. Who says if it's the year of your Zodiac year, it will not go as smooth?  This year my business is so much bigger my holidays are so much longer and my family has so many weddings. I just got back from Taiwan last week. And 7 weeks later for term 3 school holidays I am going to New york for 10 days. Then after 10 years term 4 I will be off to Singapore and taiwan from 14th Dec till February. My job is a happy one that pays well too. And everyone does what I want them to do. The only thing that is not smooth is that I am still single and in no signs of getting married or with anyone. However funny enough this is the first time i feel truly happy. even without anyone I am happy. I just knew that even if I never get married or with anyone I will be ok. I used to be happy but at the same thing hoping it will happen and i will be happier. Now I am happy as it is and knowing if its not happening I will still be happy. This really comes a long way and I hope the high spirit will stay that way!!

This week I spent quite a lot of time calling and visiting around some venue trying to book a theater for our end of year showcase. This year I can feel it's going to be even bigger. So I am looking at a theater with a proper stage, green room, comfortable sitting with 200-300 people capacity. Man. I really should have done it earlier. Zenith theater in Chatswood is totally booked out till late dec. It's aroun $1540 for 5 hours. Theater by the sea in Manly fits around 300 people. They are $200 each hour and i will need 5 hours at least as well. They booked out totally. Independent theater in North Sydney. Still available and beautiful professional recital venue. But they are more than $2000 and I have to get their ushers and managers too plus ticket sales.....shit man how much is that going to cost me? No way. The interesting thing is that after to speaking about 10 mins with the event manager on the phone he asked for my name, I said "Susie Wang". He then said "Oh my god. You are not the Susie Wang I know are you?" I was thinking...yeah right. Who are you... then he suddenly said "Susie!! You stayed at my house twice in London!! and I stayed in your brother's room when I came to sydney remember!!" Oh my god. That's my friend Los. 2 years I haven't contacted him and He is English so I didn't know that after he married an OZ girl they moved back to Sydney!! And he got a job as the event coordinator at independent theater!! What a small world. I told him I can't afford his theater I will keep looking but it was awesome to chat with him for a long time on the phone. Small world. what a small world.

Going to New York is something that I have been wanting to do for years. I want to see Ivy. At one stage I almost really need to see Ivy. Imagine how much fun we can have together. New York has the best singing teacher. I know exactly who to go to and so look forward to hear what she can do. New York has the best flamenco teacher too. Broadway musicals!! I can see one a day everyday. I can buy the music scores that you can never buy in Sydney or Asia. Since this Monday I have been around all travel agency trying to find a good deal to go to New York. It's never cheap to go there. Finally today 5 mins before teaching, I checked Qantas website for fun. There is a ticket for $1660!! Qantas is never so cheap to go New York and it's Qantas. Just before the kid is coming in, I booked it with $25 deposit. After teaching when I checked happily I realised gees. I spell my own name wrong. Thank God I didn't pay for the full amount. If I have to lose it I will learn from my own stupidity. After teaching I went dinner with friends first. Then at 10:30 pm I called Qantas. No hassle. They changed for me just like that and the 25 dollars can be refunded. So I paid in full straightaway. This time my name is right. And New York here I come in 7 weeks.

Sydney is freezing. Coming back from boiling Taiwan sydney is too much to take. It's great to come back too because everyone is sooo happy to see you. The kids would shout from downstairs as they open the door (I always sit upstairs and look through the TV monitor) and run up to give me a massive hug. We would spend the first 10 mins laughing and talking about crap (yes and I got paid for it). So it's all good.

I bought a new macbook in Taiwan. pretty cool cause it costs me only $59900 with all the softwares installed. They don't let me bargain even one cent but the dude gave me all the stuff and installed them all. I don't have a freakin ideas what they are but as long as they are free they are fine by me. The problem is. I have no idea how to use it. Not even macbook. I found it very confusing and i have no patience to read instruction. Susie never reads instruction of any sort. Anything over than 10 words i got to go. So I checked the free seminar at apple store but the seminars are on saturday morning I got kids coming.

So now the solution is that I turn on my old computer still. Cause all my stuff are there and I can still download and print slowly in the speed of a turtle. Then my new macbook is on right next to it. Cause I can e mai, msn and write blog (can't upload photos yet. no idea how). Then my i phone is there too cause I can do facebook. I am very busy. I look so high tech. and yet so retarded. All at the same time.

My computer is so slow. it takes 40 mins to start. And I can't see anyone's blog. I haven't read all you guys' blogs for a while cause my computer just didn't function. I do everything from I Phone. Sometimes I can't imagine how life can be going on without i phone.

It's ok I will get my new laptop soon. I made the deal today but they haven't got the stocks so I haven't paid anything. If they still can't get the stock by friday then I will have to get it in Taiwan eventually......AH>>>>how did life work out when internet was still not existing....

I love it when William Paid. HAHAHA. What a wonderful dinner.

I put all the photos on facebook and also the photo album here as well. It was such an exhausting two days but we were very happy. Such a beautiful wedding.

My friend and family thinks I don't meet or date any guys. To tell you the truth I do. I meet them everywhere. In the gym, plane, friend's friend, on the street, skating or dancing. I just never talk about it because there is nothing good coming out to talk about. Something really was quite upsetting happened two weeks ago. People around me probably don't have a single clue. I also stopped writing diary now because after a friend of mine died suddently i realised that if I drop dead suddently I will not want anyone to know what sort of things have been going through my mind. Life is funny though. When you are really single, all you feel is boredom sometimes but most of the time you are really happy. When there is a guy or two involve, your happiness starts to depend on how it goes. Today my studen't mum came back from trekking in Napal. She had just gone through a very painful divorce (remember that dad (who is her ex husband)that has girlfriend's naked photo on family computer?) . She told me that the trekking was the best experience she ever had. Just one step at a time and there is nothing else she can think about apart from one step at a time. After 10 days she finished the whole journey. I like that. Life's lesson is just that at the end.

Apart from little kids and teenagers I also have some older clients/students who come and see me once a week. Some we carry on like normal music lessons. Today I have one lady who is in her 50s. Very timid small voice and amazingly she works for lifeline. So all the depressed people call her. That kind of volunteer work. Isn;t she amazing. She gave me great inspiration. Today I contacted lifeline and asked if they offer any trainings. I would love to do it too. Such a challenging thing to do.

Another lady is 62. She has a brain tumour and that affects her gradually. She also starts to have dementia. depression is gradually sinking in too. Every session I make sure she walks out happy. music therapy works in many different ways, with her i use lots of songs to make sure she maintains the memories. Also for self expression. It's very hard to explain what we do but the effect is very powerful. Today i have her husband here, her daughter came (I taught her granddaughter dancing and singing as well). I don't know if you know the song "perhaps love"? That's a very powerful song in situation like this. I had everyone crying with joy at the end.

There are lots of night markets in Taiwan. We love it. None of those in city. Oh yes except every November we have night market on those 4 Saturday nights at the Rocks. Then we have this night market in Chinatown every friday night. Nothing exciting that they sell but gee so many people. Just like in Asia.

I went and had Korean for lunch. All of these cost 10 dollars only. Gees. you don't get that in sydney these days. Especially all of these. Good value for money. I will surely be back.

Before dad went back to Taiwan more than a month ago, he planted some random seeds into these 5 empty pots. Look at it. Now even the flower popped out. What is it anyway? I only watered them with the water that neko didn't want. but they still managed to grow rather beautifully.

My old teacher used to say to  me nstantly, Susie you are not a real artist. A real musician should not think like you. Never think about what profit you can get, you have to think about how you can contribute to the kids!!

I do think about how to contribute to the kids education and how to teach them with all I could in singing piano and dancing. But you know what, I also do think about how to make the school bigger and how to earn more money by creating new classes and target different groups. Nothing glory about not having money at all!!

Today my old wonderful teacher in her 70s, she lives in the public housing after the passing of the husband, being so miserable, broke and lonely. I walked past her studio in city the other day. She has a little sign putting up at the bottom of the building entrance. She never needs to advertise all her life. But this is where she is now. You know, I feel so sorry for her. She used to be the top teacher in the industry and she charged us the earth for the lessons.

She has terrible temper but everyone puts up with it before she is a very good teacher. A true artist. From very early on I know she is terrible with money. Over 20 years of time she rented in the most expensive suburb with the massive house with her good income. I know she has lots of credit card debts too because she didn't know paying off the credit card debt is important. I no longer keep contact with her since few years ago because she gave me lots of stress and I didn't like the influence and comments from her that Susie is way too commercial in my way of running my studio. But Miss, I love you still but look at where you are today. That is the path we shall never follow. Be smart. Never be just the true artist in this modern day.