Episode 1: Being a Young Music Teacher and Learning Music

 There is something about music that just draws people in and sparks interest. It's a force that can never be controlled, just appreciated, and I think that's the beauty in this art form, it's literally unstoppable. We are blessed with talents and it's our choice with what we want to do with them.

Well for me, I chose to share and inspire others, especially little kids, with this talent for music. I work as a Piano teacher at a local Music School during the summer, and this summer is actually my first time teaching. I learned music from that school, and until now, I'm still learning. It's a continuous process, infinite.

I am a pianist. I fell in love with the piano the first time that I learned a song, and that song was actually a theme from an Anime that I used to watch, Clannad. But now, aside from teaching how to play the piano, I am also learning how to play another instrument, the violin, what I consider the most elegant and melodic of all string instruments. It's pretty hard to learn, actually. I have been taking lessons for about three weeks now and I am nowhere near the level I was in when I was studying the piano. Frustrating? Yeah, kind of, yet that's just what keeps driving me to practice and to master how to play this gorgeous instrument. Just yesterday, a Sunday, the E string of my violin broke. I was pretty much heart broken, I felt like I ruined all my chances to practice the following week, for my violin teacher was on a trip and I have not yet mastered how to tune a violin, yet alone replace it's strings. So, today, I brought a new set of strings, and boy was it such a challenge to remove, replace and tune the string by myself. It felt like forever, so I gave up and rested for a few moments before trying again. Approximately an hour later, I finally replaced all the strings, now it's time to tune it. And up to now, my violin is half tuned correctly. Well at least I hope it is. God, I am such a newbie. I guess I'll just ask for help from my friend tomorrow, he's actually what I consider a musical prodigy and I look up to him even if he's younger than me.

Next Saturday, the 24th of May, I will be taking part in a recital. I will play the piano as part of an orchestra and also as a violin soloist for my individual performance. I am still not sure whether I'll be assigned to play as piano or violin accompanist  for the kids though. So, please stay tuned for the next Nica Episode.

Book Review: Splintered by A.G. Howard

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Romance, Adventure

Summary: Alice Liddell, went back into the human world to tell the tale of her adventures in Wonderland through Lewis Carrolls children’s classic, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. But of course, nothing is the same once you’ve come back from Wonderland. Alice’s bloodline was cursed by the Red Queen and decades later, her descendants suffer from the curse. 

Alyssa Gardner, hears the thoughts of plants and insects. Was she crazy? Maybe. Her own mother is admitted at the closest mental hospital,and when her mother’s mental health turns for the worst, Alyssa discovers that what she thought was fiction was indeed reality. Alyssa is now on the quest to reverse the curse for the sake of her mother, but what she encounters on this whirlwind of a journey is not what she expected.

Review: 

If you think that this is going to be your normal fairy tale retelling, think again. A.G. Howard takes us unto a whole new world filled with things that we didn’t know from the stories. She spun this delicate web separating the truth from the lies and through this marvelous story we see a new side to the story that we love.

The first thing that drew me in to this book is the cover. Let’s be real, it’s gorgeous and indeed it is striking. Yet, I was unsure if I would love it, because I already have high expectations for this book, and fairy tale retellings are jumping into the mainstream these days, it’s hard to keep the original context and the author adding in their imagination, making it their own.

Plot-wise, it’s very engaging, fast paced and it keeps the reader on edge with added romantic tension. The characters were believable, they might as well be real people that inspired the work as what Alice Liddell was when she inspired the story. The writing is gorgeous, lyrical in the sense that you won’t get tired of the style. And the story, as what I have said is not what you’d expect from a typical retelling, in fact, I do not consider it as a retelling at all. A.G. Howard based it on Alice and then it’s a whole new world from there.

SPLINTERED is the marvelous debut novel by A.G. Howard. It is adventurous as it is heart warming to go back once again to Wonderland and see that particular world through Alyssa’s eyes.

I gave this book the full whooping five stars. 

(This review first appeared at the Book Blog I am part of, The Blabbering Reviews.)

How to Open a BDO Savings Account (with or without Passbook)

Image from Google.

Having a summer job, managing your own online shop and of course spending the money that you make, it's pretty hard to keep track of all the purchases that you make and soon enough, you'll be left with nothing. That is what I though of when I first thought about opening a bank account. So, recently I opened a Savings Account through Banco de Oro (BDO). BDO is a good choice when opening a bank account, they have pretty much an ATM outlet everywhere and what's more they're usually open from Mondays through Fridays, (also Saturdays, particularly in Malls and their main branch). BDO also supports online banking! Isn't that neat?  Interested in opening a Savings Account? Here is a detailed step by step procedure on how.

1. Choose which account you want to open. BDO has a wide range of Peso Savings Accounts to suit your needs.

Taken from their website, http://www.bdo.com.ph/

               
 2. Make personal appearance and proceed to the New Accounts Section and present the the following requirements.

•  Two (2) valid IDs. If you're under 19 you also have to present your NSO Birth Certificate and a photocopy of it.     Click this link for a list of valid IDs in the Philippines.
•  Also present billing statements, (this is to verify your address) eg. Electric Bill, Telephone or Mobile Phone Bill, Water Bill, Credit Card Bill,  etc.

3. Fill up the application forms that they will provide. Make sure that what you write is precise and correct. You will be required to present about 10 samples of your signature, this is why you have to make a personal appearance at the branch.

4. Provide the opening and maintaining balance. (Please refer to the image above.) Keep in mind, that once your account balance is below the minimum balance requirement, Php 300 will be deducted from your account every month.

5. And you're done! Allow 1 up to 2 days for your account to be activated. Your ATM card will be available after 5 to 7 days. I claimed mine on day 4, all you have to do is present your Passbook (if account has one) and the receipt that you will receive once you open your BDO account.

 And that's it! For more information, check out this Online Brochure or proceed to a BDO branch near you.

Shop-a-holic: Printed Tees and Leggings + Colored Jeggings

Printed Tees, leggings, skirts and jeans have been all the rage this season and I am finally hopping in the band wagon.

I bought 2 pairs of colored jeggings from the ever accommodating and sweet Instagram shop, @kattycatonlineshop. They fit perfectly and the material was really light and stretchy. Usually it's hard to find the right pair of jeans for me, why? I'm tall, and I'm pretty much on the slim side so it's pretty hard to find the right fit. For example when I tried on a pair of acid wash jeans from a well known brand, they hugged the lower part of my legs perfectly but we're too short for my five foot seven stature. Another instance was when they were long enough but it was loose around the waistline so I always had to pull them up when I'm not wearing a belt. Sadly, I had to give them all up.

Basically, my main problem with jeans or bottoms in general is the length. But thank God that jeggings were made. The stretchy material made it possible to hug my legs and at the same time were long enough for me. So, yes, I ended up buying two pairs to see if I'd like them. It's a good thing that I do, too. Thank the heavens for jeggings, leggings and sweatpants!

 But, alas, those aren't the only things that I bought. I stumbled upon another shop at Instagram called @trendlinesph, the home of plain and printed tees. It was a good thing that they were having a pretty good promo for their tees and I also snagged 2 pairs of printed leggings, a pair of plain black ones for good measure.

Check out @kattycatonlineshop and @trendlinesph on Instagram! They offer really great deals for awesome fashion finds!

Welcome to the Nica Episodes!

The only source of knowledge is experience. --Albert Einstein

Goals.

We set multiple goals throughout our every day lives.  We challenge ourselves to finish all of the tasks on our To-Do lists, to scratch things off of our Bucket lists, to live, to learn, to experience new things. I really think that every day given to us is a gift and what we do with our day is our gift to ourselves.

So come and live, learn & experience new things with me here on The Nica Episodes.

Who am I?

Hello there, my name is Nicola, but some people call me Nics or Nica for short. I am 17 years old and living life day after day from the Philippines. I am a college student at the moment, taking up Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Sciences. I am an avid reader, a music lover and teacher, a small entrepreneur, and now, a blogger.

If you'll come across any of my friends and ask about me, they'd probably describe me as loud, a girl who speaks her mind, pretty impulsive and over all a friend you can rely on. I do tend to be quite at times, but I think that's just because I like to write (or in our case, type) things down.

What will I post about?
I personally do not like limiting myself to just one topic, so you can expect to read a lot of different things, like food, fashion, shopping, lifestyle, boys, school, books and a teen's life in general. I am an adventurous teen, I like to challenge myself and I pretty much enjoy exploring and experiencing new things.

So, yea. That's me. You'll probably get to know me more through my posts, so stay tuned for the next Nica Episode.

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