How are you? Have you had a good week? Are you enjoying your weekend? I do hope that you have and you are. :- )

On my side, I have completed 4 little size paintings, 1 music work, while kept fighting with the sicknesses.

With sleeping for a long time, have a walk every day, until Friday, the long- term stomachache has been eased a lot; unfortunately, I started to suffer the headache.

Instead of lying on the bed, temporarily, I put down my painting brushes ( the Chinese Bai Miao and Going Bi Paintings require me to use my eyes much. Sometimes the headache starts from the tiredness of my eyes) , took some painkillers, I worked on my piano.

With my limited knowledge on piano, I tried to make an impromptu accompaniment for myself while to sing a Chinese folk song in Chinese and in English for about 12 hours. Then I found that my headache had gone Saturday night. :-)

I can certainly find some ready accompaniment for my singing from the internet and to reduce my work time. However, if I did that, I would not know how to accompany for myself with a piano forever (Just because I have been having a music teacher since 2002, even though I have piano at home, I did not do any impromptu accompaniment until now, for I relied on my music teacher too much). Since I am going to work on the comprehensive art project, since I want to reduce the cost on music and there will not be any ready music for my own project, I must train myself to have the ability to work on several things at the same time.

It is a process to learn some skills; it is an important self-training for improving my own comprehensive ability, includes how to deal with several things at the same time while to live and to fight with the sickness together.

I know the level of my piano and singing is quite low now, I was very happy after I completed my first records. After all, I have had a new beginning rely on myself, just like 5 or 6 years ago, I started to accompany for my own created music with an electronic organ.

I am sure that along with the time, I will be able to do the work better and better, to reduce the music cost and to support my project by myself even if I would not find any support outside after I retir from the securities industry... :-)

With this idea, when I am paining, I listen to the music lessons via DVDs. This week, I have listened to the first 4 lessons by Prof. Zhou Xiaoyan who is one of the best music professors in China from Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

I feel so lucky that I am living in a city that has the first-class public service:

-- Just in the garden I am living in, there is an automatic public library that is connected to the Shenzhen Library, as long as I use me ID and pay 100RMB -about 15.8 USD into the machine, I can get a library card, and than I can borrow or reserve 5 books every time.

-- Tuesday afternoon, I called a public service company and told them that my Internet and TV did not work, in just about 15 minutes, an engineer called me back and told me that they were working on it. Then within about 1 hour, another engineer came to my home to check my TV. After, the Internet and the TV re-started to work, I got phone call once more and I was asked whether everything has worked already...

So, now, even though I am in my winter vacation at home, I do have a good education condition to teach myself...

How about you? Do you have anything special to share?


I am just a student on Art of Painting, Music, English and Management, to work on the web site in my free time. I would really like to do a few things with what I have learned to make this little web site to be an Electronic Bridge of Inter-Art & Cross - Culture Exchange, Chinese Language Learning & Friendship Making. To help the others while to improve myself.

I would like to appreciate you for your understanding, directions, supports and help.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, you are welcome to write to shirley@ebridge.cn or leave your message on Message Board.

Shirley Yiping Zhang
Jan 20, 2013(Beijing Time)