Ta-da!

After countless hours of rehersal, it all came down to 90 nerve-wracking minutes on stage, under the bright lights at Shatin Town Hall. It had been a while since i've performed live, but that anxious/excited feeling never fails to make its presence.

Sue and Guy had just landed in HK after their long-haul flight from Heathrow but there they were, along with my other beloved supporters (YK, Tomoe, Li and of course, hubby) in the audience. Unfortunately i had to attend our 4 hour afternoon dress rehersal so couldn't pick them up at the airport, but managed to sneak away for 5 minutes before tuning to welcome them.

After the concert, it was picture time and after having ours (the orchestra) taken, HKUPO alumni were invivted onstage for a final photo-op. Matt&co thought it was spouses of orchestra members who were joining on stage, so the next thing i knew, Matt was bolting full steam down the aisle and did this giant leap onstage, dodging players, violins and stands... and almost crashed right into me as he grinned up to the camera. Everyone started hooting and hollering, laughing and pointing, and i told him that it was only meant to be orchestra alumni who were supposed to be up here. Ah, it was so funny and he was completely embarassed but i wouldn't let him go back down, no way! See if you can spot him in the pic.

I finished my 3 week practicum on Friday feeling I had learned more than i ever anticipated and was looking forward to seeing my Uni-mates on Monday to compare experiences.

But first, the weekend. On Saturday, we visited Lamma island and lunched at the superb Bookworm Cafe (organic wholesome food with a great vibe), hiked to the local beach for a refreshing swim and some disc-throwing and saw Japan beat HK 53-3 at the Asian World Cup rugby match at the HK football club (not as bad as the last game of 93-3!)

On Sunday we went for a hiking expedition on South-West Lantau island to seek out the perfect spot for our New Year's Eve campsite. As usual, we were rushing about and running for our bus and only until we reached the deserted trail that would not take us through any villages or towns, did we realize we totally forgot to pack a lunch.. oops! Besides the mints Sue had and a couple of bottles of water between us, i've learned I should follow my Girl Guide motto a bit closer to "Always Be Prepared!" Still, we carried on, walking past the Lantau prison (with tennis and basketball courts!), spotting lots of colourful butterflies, and basically working up a huge appetite for our lun-dinner afterwards. But we did accomplish our task of finding a secluded beach, which faces the South China Sea and besides the odd campers and discrete fishermen, it was just us on the fine-sand beach. It is the perfect venue for welcoming 2007, swimming, frisbee throwing, and bonfire building!