a day in the life of piano monkey

it has been countless chains of counting recently. the end of the year crunch. things wrapping up, things starting, things that are about to start and things that are progressing. and this is the last sunday in banff residency 2009 and i am sitting in my favorite cafe, communitea in canmore, drinking my favorite black tea (it's called market spice tea and i have been mail ordering it all the way from toronto during the spring and summer. like a proper addict, i am very glad that i have acquired some...) and yes, this is it. the winter has came and you can feel that from the air- much sharper and clear. it's going to drop down to -25 'c tomorrow morning, as confirmed by the senior audio monkey. brr. cold. cutting. lovely. the time when you can really feel the warmth of another person near by, the warmth that can be felt from the proximity. in the midst of the still air, occasionally broken by the razor-sharp edged wind. and the flakes of frozen water, all in different ...

funny i havent even noticed that the days creeped up and went by right under my own eyes. it is october! rather than looking at some arbitrary calendar, however, i have been so luck to be reminded by the beautifully cold morning air. those air that freezes your boogers and bring a bit of tears first thing the morning. the air that makes to think: knee socks. and the low clouds and disappearing mountains. at times the cascades just outside my window plays hide and seek during winter. when the fluff clouds come down and cover them in ambiguity. only hints, or only memories of them across the thick air. and these fogs are not the same kind that one see in summer- hot, wet and heavy. these are proper autumnal fogs: cold, fresh, sharp. almost a week in banff have whizzed by and i casually just walked out from the first recording session. get music on monday. record first thing on friday. kinda tough no? much drama but am glad that it is out and done now and i think actually it will t...

as the steam rises from my pot,i look at the small, tiny discoloured leaves, uncurling and relaxing. the leaves stretch out from a long slumber- shreds of aspalathus linearis, commonly known as rooibos or red bush tea, grew in a small region in south africa, in cederberg region of the western cape province. rooibos tea is made from dried rooibos plant, from the needle-like leaves, so technically it is not a tea, but a tisane, a herbal infusion. from the initial planting, it takes about 18 months for the bush to mature for first harvest. each spring, little yellow flowers will come up and transform into a simple legume with single seed inside. then when it's ready, POP, goes the seed. tiny as they are, the bush tenders used to go to the anthills to collect the seeds. imagine the surprise from the ants: you are robbing us, we found those seeds and brought them home- well, nearly! thieves! literally taking it from our jaws! well, the seeds are collected little more ethically now, ...