My birthday

Okay, so anyone not interested in reading about a day of joy, family, friends and fun would do well to just leave this site now and go to mope somewhere else!
First, some lists.
Here are the things I got, and from whome.
A microwave oven (!!!!!) from Mummy and Daddy.
Nivea face moisturiser from Dea.
A freaky red nose Daddy got for free from Burger King in Hamburg (hahahaha, I'm not sure I got that one quite right)
Hilary Hahn playing Elgar's violin concerto and Vaughan Williams' serenade. From Mummy/Daddy.
Chopin nocturnes & preludes (cd). From Daddy.
A book by Noah Gordon called "The Physician" from Martin.
Empty balloons to blow up from Sari.
A card from Katariina.
The newest recording of Bach Cantatas with the Monteverdi Choir and Gardiner conducting. From me, naturally. Playing in the background
That's what I got yesterday and today, but I'm still expecting some presents tomorrow and after tomorrow. Then, a list of phone calls and text messages, which were surprisingly many!!
Text messages from:
Kaarina
Annika
Auntie Diala (Two messages)
Nana (two messages)
Jarno
Karoliina (who, by the way, also has her birthday today).
Maiju
Annika (Martin's little sister)
Filip
Timo (my former classmate!! big surprise!!!!!)
Sanna
Valeria (my piano teacher).
Phone calls:
Heikki (my godfather) 2 phone calls.
Robby from Ecuador.
Then, some emails from:
Omi and
Andy.
Very nice!! Thank you everybody!!!
Anyway, my day started at Museokatu, where I spent last night. I didn't sleep very well and headed to Tapiola in the morning. There, I had my harp exam. The jury consisted of Timo Veijola, the principal of EMO (Espoon Musiikkiopisto), Reija Bister, the harpist of RSO (Radion Sinfoniaorkesteri), and Pauliina Kallio, the harpist of Lohjan Kaupunginorkesteri. For a detailed account (and for those who can read German),visit Martin's blog for a charming summary of the event. Martin himself came to listen, too, which was very nice, and he even recorded the exam, so you'd better reserve your copy now to avoid disappointment.
I got the highest mark possible from the exam. Great! After that, I met Pauli down town, and we had lunch at a Chinese restaurant. He paid for it, and said it's part of my present. I'll find out what the other part is on Wednesday. Then, I went to my school in Ruoholahti and met friends there. I'm afraid at this point I really MUST make a list of people I seriously expected to hear from on my birthday, but who didn't give one little sign of life. Here they are. But please don't take this list seriously, I love you people all, too, and understand that sometimes you just forget birthdays. Don't worry. HOWEVER. Here they are.
Mikko
Pasi (who actually sent me a text message but about something completely different)
Antti (with whom I am chatting right now but who's still not saying a thing)
Anyway. After visiting Ruoholahti, I taught in CM and then went to the rehearsal of Dominante. Oh yes, and they all sang to me for my birthday. That was very nice!
In the evening, I still went to Museokatu to pick up my toothbrush and toothpaste, which I had forgotten there.
My harp teacher told me today that she thinks that if I would want to become a harpist, I could do it, and she asked me not to close out that option completely, and that I'm not too old to start, because she herself started when she was 22. I was very very happy when she told me that, because I've always felt ridiculous, imagining myself playing some of the greatest harp music ever composed like Grandjany's Rhapsodie or Saint-Saens's Fantaisie, but she told me I will be able to do it some day.
In a way, this doesn't change my attitude to the harp - I take the hobby seriously, but realise it shouldn't in any way take up time from my main studies at school. Naturally it can't take the place of the piano or other things in my life, but it certainly makes my musical life so much more exciting!!! But, in a way, what my teacher told me DOES change my attitude completely, because now I know that my teacher is very happy with me and that's one of the nicest things to feel. Also, I feel like wanting to progress faster and faster, and I keep wondering how far I will be in one year, or five, or twenty!
All in all, I must say that I am very happy with what is going on right now. Monday is not a bad day to have a birthday, because if the rest of the week goes as well as today, it'll be fabulous! Not to mention the rest of the year.