The perfect holiday and the perfect Thursday

Ah, what a nice warm spring day! Perfect for long walks in the park or jogging sessions around Töölönlahti. Naturally, I spent most of it indoors.
I just arrived home from a performance of Kauniiden Lasten Saari at the university for theatre. While the actors delighted the audience with their energy and talent, I must say I didn't do my very best today. I constantly kept adjusting my chair up and down, always feeling I was either too high to reach the low strings or getting crushed with the weight of it. Playing the right chords was sometimes tricky as well, especially at the parts when I was the only one playing. Well, I suppose this just means it will all go much better tomorrow. In case anyone is interested, here is a list of things I have to always take with me when I'm performing with the harp:
1. Tuning meter and tuning key. For tuning before the performance and a quick check-up during the intermission.
2. Shoes which are sturdy, but, however, with thin soles and as narrow as possible - for managing the seven pedals.
3. All 47 spare strings - in case I arrive to find a string has snapped, or also in case one of the strings snaps during the performance itself - this usually happens during quiet and sensitive pieces.
4. Manicure kit. For those nasty cuticles and for making nails as short as possible to avoid buzzing sounds from the harp. ¨
*********************************************************
In the morning, I attended the main rehearsal of Puccini's Turandot at the opera with some friends from school. Often, we get to visit the rehearsals for free. It was nice to see the great opera, but somewhat tiring to do that in the middle of the day. After that, I lazed around in Museokatu, before heading to the performance.
Yesterday, we had a small birthday party for me at Annika's and Sanna's place. Therefore, I have to add some things to my gift list:
From Annika: Two Annika-Design 2005 candles inside a cracked coconut and the music to a piece by Clare Grundman called "Nocturne for Harp and Wind Ensemble". Naturally, I have to wait a few years before I can play it.
From Pauli and Iina (his girlfriend): A JetLag travel guide to Molvania - a land untouched by modern dentistry. This is absolutely the most hilarious book I have read in a long time and, yesterday, we were all nearly rolling on the floor from laughter, each taking a turn to read a passage from just about any page. The writers have managed to create the imaginary state of Molvania, where public hangings are considered entertainment, text messaging involves Morse code, the language has an extra gender for cheeses, cabbage is a regular ingredient of milkshakes, pop star Olja combines hot latin sounds with cold war rhetoric, and one of the most useful phrases you can use is Kyunkasko sbazko byusba? (Where is the toilet paper?) Not in a long time have I laughed out loud as much as today, when I spent my trips on the tram reading the guide. You have to admit there is a hint of making fun of Eastern European countries, but on the other hand, imagination this witty and hilarious just has to be admired. I urge everyone to read this book, or others in the JetLag travel guide series, which include "Let's go Bongoswana" (with extensive coverage on the Ebola Jungle) and "Surviving Moustaschistan" (for whetting the appetite of the most heavily-vaccinated traveler).
I also got an email from my cousin Mirela in Ecuador.
For downloading a highlight from my harp exam, which was on Monday, visit Martin's blog at www.die-richters.info/martin/blog. At the end of his April 13th entry, there is a link to the piece called "Grave".
Ah, the weekend is almost here. However, I will be spending it with Dominante near Lohja for an intensive rehearsal weekend, which literally could be called "From Bach to Beatles", since we'll use Saturday for rehearsing the B minor mass, and Sunday for the popular music concert in May.
Piece of the day: Elgar's violin concerto. Preferably performed by Hilary Hahn and the London Symphony Orchestra. A perfect model of a violin concerto: Sweeping, passionate, epic and from another world. Including a second movement to die for.
Book of the day: Obviously, the travel guide to MOLVANIA. Especially worth mentioning are the sections on the national sport (the game of PLUTTO, which involves spectators crying Bzoukal! Bzoukal! ("slash his throat") and the country's flora and fauna (not to miss is the thorny cactus FZIBDAT, traditionally thrown at Molvanian brides and often used in cooking due to its bitter taste).