second birth place!


yep. banff centre. frozen winter beauty. cannot be happier.

after finishing my doctoral degree, i went and got a job at the local starbucks. i thought music business is too complicated, politically draining and the rate of success is abysmal.

a kind soul saw that and threw me across the country half way to the banff centre for arts, to play the piano for the residency program participants.

for most of year 2009, i was here, in the mountains, relearning about self- about what music is, who i am, what makes me happy, what i can and cannot to, etc.  after three residencies (winter, summer and fall), i was a new person. a new person with new family- yes, we are far apart most of the time, but the connections are real. this is where the magic happens.

i am here for a very very short visit, just short of ten days.

and being here makes me feel as if ive been punched on the stomach. so many vivid memories, thoughts, recollections, ideas, inspirations, all things that makes a human being jump on feet with joy (fibrillating).  if i had a tail, it would be thumping on the ground with total abandon.

like salmons coming back to its birthplace.  i am not going to die, unlike the fishes.  however, i know that i will be transformed once more by the time i get on the bus again.  it was quite demanding journey getting back here- (though i had generous help of many friends!). but often, one gets through the upstream not because one chooses to, but because one needs to.

the centre may change drastically after this semester. no one really knows.  as one of wee kiddies who had their growth spurt here, i was desperate to get back. and lucky me, here i am.

thank you life...
thank you banff family...

looking forward the wonderful days if short!
and love to all my banff family.
you guys are all in my thoughts, constantly. every corner.
after all, im small and fragile, not anything really exciting.
but through dovetails of your lives that you so generously share, i am richer, better and happier.
what more could one ask for?

tomorrow, the blue heron lady comes for a visit.
oh boy. wag wag thump thump.

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