How are you?

This is just a short letter to say Hello to you.

This week, I am still busy on the volume one of my series books ? checked the music and poem translation, corrected the writing about the poems, had music lessons and did singing practices. By the good help from my English directors and music professor, this work has gotten some good comments from my American art mentor -- Dr. Bill R. Booth, he said:

Dear Shirley:

I have read the poems and with one except the translations are fine , in the one it only needed a simple word added which I will share with you when I send all my remarks.

I also took the time to listen to some of the singing, you have a beautiful singing voice and it is clear and melodic. Great Work I cannot wait to hear all of your songs

And see all the paintings.

Dr. Bill R. Booth

If there is nothing special, I will enter the recording room next Friday.

I will hand in most parts of the things I should do to the publishing house in the end of August and then go back to Beijing to study painting in September.

Now, I have compressed my first group of music works from 31 songs to be 27 and now from 27 to 12; made sure the basic frame of the series books; defined my own yearly workload on the comprehensive art and the future writing on the stories behind my paintings. Except the two projects, I will focus myself on painting.

This week, I had some opportunities to watch something about London Olympic Games. I watched the dive, basketball and running. I felt it was so beautiful when the divers were jumping into the water, the athletes were running on the tracks. I was impression at the good cooperation in the best basketball teams.

It let me think of the excited times when I was win in the competitions as an former athlete of 800 meters, 1500 meters and 3000 meters. I can not imagine why and how I am in the so poor health now?

Therefore, the 2012 London Olympic Games has also inspired me to make a plan to recover my own health.

After all, this week, I suffered the serious headache for one night and one day so that I had to get up and put my neck on my exercise machine in the midnight, to reduce the sharp ache. Also, I felt extremely uncomfortable on my heart in another night, so that I had to lie on the bed at once at about 9:00pm, to prevent the sudden death. The latter happened first time in 1993, after I worked continuously for 36 or 48 hours in a newspaper office. The second time it happened during I worked on the most difficult course in USA in the Christmas vacation in the early of 2009 ? I did not go out of the yard for 17 days and I worked for 15 hours every day, sometimes 18 hours. Recently, it has happened several times in Beijing and in Shenzhen.

Since I know clear, all of my sicknesses come to me because of the too much work and too short rest, so, now, I have truly realized that the first assignment I should give myself is to have more rest and to do more exercise, to protect my heart, to overcome the sicknesses and to improve my own health level. Otherwise, all of the dreams will be a zero. Right?

This Thursday was the 5 anniversary that my first American art and music teacher Mr. Charlie K passed away. I prepared and I started a painting for him for a memory, however, I could not complete it because of my suddenly uncomfortable on my heart and I will not have any time to paint before I leave for Beijing. I do feel guilt and sorry to Mr. Charlie K. and his family members.

How about you? Have you watched any competitions of 2012 London Olympic Games? Do you have anything special to share?

Shirley Yiping Zhang
Auguest 13, 2012(Beijing Time)