TSO celebrates the Crystal@the ROM: March 3!

Summer vacation at last :)
Yesterday morning, two of my students had their violin examinations. Because there was a nice big sign barring teachers and parents from listening in, I stood in a nearby hallway, fidgeting away. I woke up that morning at 6am for some mysterious reason, and with my nerves, I couldn't sleep again. I think I was more nervous that I ever was for any of my own performances. :\ Anyway, their piano accompanist told me they did fine (albeit a few rhythmic booboos), intonation was surprisingly--no, luckily--good (for violinists, unlike pianists, guitarists, and most wind players, placing your fingers down on certain spots takes a lot of precision and dexterity plus a good ear, so for these kids, as a beginner, it's a game of random hit or miss.) We're all glad it's finally over, and I let them have a nice week-long break. A week. So long. I remember after my performances, I was lucky to get a 3-day break... I even had to go to my professor's home once to practice on Christmas Eve. T__T No life? Obviously. For my kids, though, instead of drudging them into what I've been through (which, I think, can only be done if they're serious enough, or, as was in my case, if their parents are serious enough), I want to leave an impression that even though it takes a lot of work to get to the level of perfecting technique automation and polishing your style and expression, the end result is an incredibly tremendous feeling of triumph (whether it be towards your audience, your competitors (heh heh), or yourself) and euphoric accomplishment. Results are mailed in 4-6 weeks. eep. Results are available online this Thursday. eeeep.
Nita comes back from HK tomorrow! Vince comes back this Saturday!! Which means.......... presents!! lol... jkjk.. I just want to see you both again safely back in Toronto.
I might go camping with Vince + Joseph next-next-weekend.. I'm excited to go, although the main purpose of going THERE is to... believe it or not... pray and be good. No electronic devices allowed. Pshhyeah right. Amazingly enough, this place is so popular that it requires a waiting list, which I am currently residing on. If space doesn't free up, then it's camping with Fei, Dexter, and company. Can't wait! I sadly, sadly, have never ridden a canoe, although I've been camping (for music.. what a surprise) for practically every summer of my life (unless I had summer school).
Shifting gears, my brother said the dumbest thing yesterday as I was taking him to Future Shop. If you don't already know, his life is littered with all sorts of problems with my parents because of his girlfriend. Anyway, we were having a candid conversation, until he went, "Jen, you know what you should do? Hurry up and get married."
Me: "....wha--"
Josh: "Then it'll be SO COOL. They (parents) won't nag me as much, and I can say stuff like, 'but Jen doesn't have to come home,' and 'but Jen gets to have kids'."