Black Ebony and White Ivory Keys

When exam period comes, I always have an urge to play the piano. Regardless of the number of exams and the amount of material that I have to go through, I still played the piano once in a while in between my exams. I'm not sure if I'm trying to avoid studying or if I'm craving the feeling of playing the piano but when I sit at the piano, on the bench that I have sat on for many many hours before, I am reminded of countless memories. Born into a typical Asian family, I started playing the piano at a fairly young age. I've always tried to talk my mom into letting me skip practice for the day. In fact, we even made compromises. One hour of piano for one hour of Neopets. Of course, the piano hour felt like 5 hours while Neopets felt like 5 minutes, especially with dial up internet back then. Soon the compromise became 1 hour of piano for 2 hours of Neopets! :P

I always complained about practicing too. One of the things I've said when I was so fed up with practicing is "Who invented the piano?!?!...Grr!! >=( " (My dad constantly reminds me of this.) Other excuses that I've came up with: my fingers are too tired, it's too hot, I have too much homework (yea right, I was in elementary), my legs are too tired from dangling (I wasn't able to touch the ground yet). No, my mom did not say "don't practice today" instead, she put a fan behind me and a stool underneath for feet rest.

I dreaded Tuesdays, because Tuesdays were piano lesson days. Afterschool, my mom would always have food prepared for my sister and I and then she'd drive us the 45 minute ride to my piano teacher. My sister did not despise the piano like I did, in fact, she cared for the piano a lot, in the sense of hygeine. She would always make me wash my hands with soap before touching the piano. Till today, I still do that as it has become a habit. I remember the time we had an argument, I can't remember about what, maybe she accused me of not washing my hands when I did. I got really mad and did not have a comeback (as I usually don't, so I went to the kitchen, took some fresh chinese green onions my mom picked from our backyard, and swiped it half way across the piano. As you may know, chinese green onions have a strong smell (especially fresh ones). hehe

Another memory that I remember is that at one of my piano recitals, all the little girls were dressed nicely in dresses but I wore overalls. hahaha  (I'll post up the pic if I find it) As much as I dispised it, and as much as my mom told me that I could quit just after the RCM exam, I did not take that offer. After "finishing" piano with grade 10 RCM, I felt like a part of me is gone, a part of me is missing..though I knew I couldn't take lessons forever. Now, I feel so much better after playing the piano when I have those sudden urges. Whether it was a good exam or the fact that I wanted to rip my notes into pieces, my frustration, my happiness, my sadness, are all thrown out on to the piano as soon as I hit the notes.