Project Chiseled Marshmallow

I'm weakening mentally (I give in too easily) and physically (as a result of the giving in). Ever since that episode with London Weight Management (LWM) last weekend, I got a tad paranoid with my body. The "good" agents of LWM called me out of the blue and told me I was entitled to a free body treatment session. How they managed to get my contacts I have no clue. I told them I don't need a free session, but they insisted that I grab the opportunity even though I weighed 54 kg at 170 cm for my height. Out of curiosity I went to check out what they're up to.  To cut the long story short, I walked out of the place WITHOUT trying the free session. I didn't want to after listening to the consultant who didn't use any device to conduct the body check but solely her eyes. I politely declined the offer.

NOTE: Today, I received another call but this time from Mary France Bodyline. Gosh, what's with this people and the slimming programs? How they got my contact details remained a mystery.

From that moment onward, I got paranoid. Well, initially I wasn't affected but now I am. Why? Because the consultant who instructed me to strip leaving only my underwear, told me I'm overweight. (I was like, what?) That I'm "flabby". (OK...) That I'm dark-skinned and my skin tone is uneven. (I walk a lot outdoors as part of my exercise regime, you know.)

Now it got me thinking. Whatever the hell happened to my muscles? I need to fix this. I need to work harder than before. I need a stronger resolve to resist bad foods and re-embrace the good stuff. Will I be able to resist coffee or at least cut down the intake? I need to work it (I've laid out my weekly workout routine).

I'm going to have to BRING IT if I want to go from soft to hard. I don't want to be super hard but a "chiseled marshmallow" sounds good. OK, I'll name this quest Project Chiseled Marshmallow.

P/S: Char kuey teow, fried beehoon, fried rice, fried fish, cakes, cookies... BE GONE! *groans*

Reading Aloud In Italian Is... NOT Easy

As part of my Italian self-study, I have selected the Italian edition of Lonely Planet's Malaysia, Singapore e Brunei travel guide as my read-aloud textbook. In my quest to do so, without a doubt, I encountered some challenges. For today (I started doing this two days ago), the Italian words that initially gave me a hard time while reading them aloud are...

1. l'originalissima
2. colonialismo
3. conquistarono

On their own, they seemed easy to read, but try saying them as part of sentences, that's when the problem sets in. I had to repeat and repeat and repeat before I can say them with a straight face. I spent 30 minutes of reading aloud (and studying) for three paragraphs. I LIKE!

Wordless Wednesday: Come and Ride with Me in a 'Perahu'

Have you tried any of these traditional boats? I took a ride in one during my April trip to Kuching, Sarawak!

Wondrous Words Wednesday: The Italian Edition #2

This week's Wondrous Words Wednesday came early and I can't wait to share with you the art gallery of WHITE SHOE, the short movie inspired by Salvatore Ferragamo's early life. The music on the website www.whiteshoefilm.com (turn on your speakers, please) is absolutely gorgeous and I can't stop listening to it. I think the fans of fantasy will like this.

Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted by Kathy of BermudaOnion's Weblog, so here they are my three words for the week!

Studio per il costume di Salvatore
(In English: The costume study of Salvatore)

Concept Design per "Il viale della sera"
(In English: Concept Design for the avenue in the night)

Illustrazione finale per "la Bottega di Mastro Tomaia"
(In English: The final artwork for "the Workshop of Master Tomaia")

I'm still humming the music that's now deeply engraved in my mind. Also, aren't the illustrations beautiful?

Picture credits: http://whiteshoe.ferragamo.com/#/keyart

Let the Immersion Begin!

Drummers typically take years to learn to move their limbs independently, and guitarists (as I was starting to realize) take many moons to learn to change chords smoothly.

When I looked at the pile of music books I have, I realized I have something in common with Gary Marcus, the author of GUITAR ZERO. He did a small-scale exploratory study (a pilot) to devote a specific amount of time to music. During his family annual retreat (his wife's family owns a lakeside cottage in Canada), he said he brought nearly every piece of musical instrument he owned. "Just because I couldn't play didn't mean I couldn't buy." He also brought a small pile of books on music and other stuff.

When I read in the book what I just wrote above, I immediately turned my head toward the pile of music books I have. It's a modest collection consisting mostly of the For Dummies series. I also have my Ashton acoustic guitar bought many moons ago.

And then there's the "annual retreat". I live in a fairly nice, resort-ish sort of place in Penang, and I'm thinking EVERY DAY CAN BE MY RETREAT right here at home! So what am I waiting for? I can do this. The author's goal during the retreat and immersion was simply to become acquainted with some of music's most basic elements, individual notes, and chords. I'm thinking this is where I'll be starting, too.

So... for more random updates on GUITAR ZERO and my quest to play guitar, please follow me on my Facebook page.

GUITAR ZERO: The (fun) Science of Learning to be Musical

Maybe I didn't have talent, and maybe I was old (or at least no longer young), but I was willing to take it slow. Could adults like me acquire new skills if we approached them bit-by-bit, owl-style?

I bless the day (just a few days ago) I found GUITAR ZERO (ISBN: 9781851689620) by Gary Marcus. Having read just the first chapter, I was given the hope that at age 36 (I'm no longer young) I can still succeed at playing the guitar, learning French and Japanese (which I abandoned more than a decade ago), and revisit Mandarin. I'm currently learning Italian and doing surprisingly well, which strengthens my belief that this book is the real deal.

The part where Gary mentioned the willingness to take it slow, that's where it resonated with me. Relating it to my Italian studies, I AM doing it really slowly, enjoying every syllable and sound of the language. In short, I'm not in a hurry.

In the case of French, it was really difficult but I love languages. I soon gave up when it got really tough and I couldn't pronounce the words to save my life. Same went with Japanese, but I gave up because I couldn't handle the kanji (characters that look like Chinese writings).

As for my guitar playing, I've lost all the calluses I proudly acquired on my left fingers when Italian took over. I need to get a better grip of my time. The chords are so difficult (this was the real problem) and my fingers were crying uncle (this is not the real problem; I love pain). I'm not exactly proud of my memory either be it the brain or finger memory. HOWEVER, Guitar Zero came to the rescue. I am going to read the book, tweet about it, blog about it, and hopefully you too would be inspired to pursue your secret dreams or quests.


From the back cover:

On the eve of his fortieth birthday, renowned cognitive scientist Gary Marcus decided to fulfil a livelong dream and learn to play the guitar. He had tried many times before – failing miserably. This time, he decided to use the tools of his 'trade' to see if he might succeed. On his quest he jams with twelve-year-olds and takes master classes with guitar gods. A groundbreaking exploration of the allure of music, Guitar Zero is also an empowering case for the mind's ability to grow throughout life.

Wondrous Words Wednesday: The Italian Edition

As promised, here's my first Italian edition of the Wondrous Words Wednesday. This is hosted by Kathy of BermudaOnion's Weblog. Last week I said an idea hit me to participate with Italian words and I present you my first three words:

gestualità meaning gestures. Altri fanno riferimento a gli spaghetti, al romanticismo o alla moda; talvolta citano l'eccessiva gestualità, l'essere rumorosi, il talento musicale, la classe e la creatività. 

In English: Others refer to spaghetti, to romance or fashion; sometimes citing excessive gestures, being noisy, the musical talent, the class and the creativity.

This is related to an article I was reading about Stereotipi: veri o falsi (Italian Stereotypes: True or False?). Continuing on, here are two more from the same article:

bandiera meaning flag. Per di più, i colori della pizza margherita sono gli stessi della bandiera dell'Italia: la mozzarella è bianca, il pomodoro rosso e il basilico verde.

In English: Furthermore, the colors on the Margherita pizza are the same as the flag of Italy: the mozzarella is white, the tomato red and the basil green.

sportello meaning car door. In secondo luogo, possiamo sicuramente osservare che ancora oggi molti uomini italiani passano a prendere la ragazza a casa e la riaccompagnano, aprono e chiudono lo sportello della machina per farla salire e scendere, e le offrono la cena.

In English: Secondly, we can definitely observe that even today many Italian men take the lady back home, they open and close the car door to let her get on and off, and they offer dinner.

***

That's all I have for today! Don't you love Italy already?

I find my journey to learning Italian is a wonderful one and I'm getting better at comprehending texts. These days I try to read aloud more often in order to practice speaking the language. More for you next Wednesday!