I’m getting a new fridge because my old one started leaking. What do my broken fridge and piano practice have in common? Let me explain. We push the fridge out of the cabinet and I’m trying to disconnect the water line with a wrench. Am I supposed to twist the top or bottom part? I don’t know but I try both and neither work. “Get…read more
Sometimes I’m sitting at the piano bench, playing a familiar piece, and I expect my dad to peek his head around the door. “Was that you, playing?” He’d say, chuckling. I want him to peek around the door when I’m playing, just one more time. So badly. Maybe it’s cheesy, but it feels like no time has passed. I still play the pieces he printed, and I still remember. It…read more
A coworker sits in my office to show me mysql database queries and jquery. When I ask a weird question, he says, “What makes you think that way?” That’s such a clever way to make someone realize they’re being stupid. It forces them to walk through their thought process, so you can understand how they think. It’s a good strategy for teaching music: Instead of giving the answer to the student,…read more
I am reading through the notes for Lumohacks and it makes me so excited for the next one. Thank goodness we live in a time where anyone can start something they care about. I wanted to create change in the healthcare sector using technology—this turned into Canada’s first major health hackathon. Located in Vancouver, BC, engineers and entrepreneurs explored the underlying issues of living with major…read more
It’s the season of love! This would be a good time for someone to declare love for me or push me out a window. Maybe I’ll watch Netflix and chill with ice cream on Valentine’s Day and invite Megz over for Lord of the Rings. My friend Matthew approves of this and sends me a bunch of love songs for the piano. “They’re from the past 5 decades,” he says.…read more
I’m working in web development for a bit. I wanted to see if I could do it because I taught myself all the web languages I know. People are surprised that I wanted to code all day, but it’s like a test: Am I good enough? Would I spend my days throwing my keyboard out the window? HR might eventually tell me, “Now, use Siri to recite your code.” Does being a self-taught…read more
This was one of my hardest years by far. And though I try to be strong and resilient, all I’ve been doing is chugging on, really. So, I thought I’d recap some of the ways I’ve pushed myself this year, along with some of the community’s favourite articles, and my top articles about piano. I started lifting weights. Many girls ask why I lift.…read more
This weekend we woke up early to go skiing again. I’m still pondering whether people who are happy with their lives crave escape, though I’ve discovered small ways to escape the drama and busyness of daily life. Recently I’ve felt there’s been too much going on. If you’re feeling it too, I invite you to follow along as I clear my head with a detox.…read more
The world of piano can be confusing. There are many options and not nearly enough time to research every one. I get a lot of questions about the best equipment for beginner pianists. Throughout the years of teaching piano, I’ve done a lot of research and experimented with different tools. Here are the must-have tools for beginner pianists: A Piano Piano Finger Exercise Book Piano Method Book…read more
Last month my friend and I said we’d go skiing this winter. We live beside beautiful mountains and we don’t even ski once a year–it’s ridiculous. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you probably know that I follow through on decisions, regardless of how questionable. That’s how I found myself getting up at 4:30am on a Saturday for the opening day of…read more