When I was driving to Ann Arbor on 3/20, I spotted a hot air balloon floating nearby the interstate highway. Since my camera was just in my backpack on the passenger seat, I quickly grabbed it and took a couple of shots:
Balloon first spotted
I-69
Coming closer to view…
Weee……
It sure is a colorful one…isn’t it?
Ok I am just being wuliao…too lazy to blog about my birthday yet, so this is like a teaser?? :P
About a few weeks back (actually come to think of it it's already more than a month ago), my manager signed me up for a one and a half day software training in Chicago. Though it's not exactly a luxurious getaway, a brief "reprieve" from the office was much welcomed.
To save costs, my manager and I carpooled and departed Carmel before daybreak (so that we didn't have to spend an extra night in Chicago). When we reached downtown Chicago it was already 8+am, therefore we went straight to the training. We did not check in to our hotel until that evening.
The highlight of the training session was...well, lunch. It was my second time having deep dish pizza, and it was tasty. Much much tastier than the regular ones that I now detest. Besides the food, I got the chance to get a glimpse at the city working life too. To me, one thing stands out: the seemingly higher stress level associated with working in a faster paced environment. That again made me wonder if I could switch back to a more hectic lifestyle...
We headed back to hotel before having dinner at Rosebud. More on the hotel: it was strategically located (just beside the river, opposite to the newly constructed Trump Tower!) yet cheap (97 bucks per night!). Of course you get what you pay for: the room was oddly shaped and small. Still, it's a steal since I just needed a place to rest for one night.
Dinner at Rosebud was ok, and we (4 of us) went to America Girl Doll after the meal because one of my colleague promised to buy doll's accessories (...) for her daughter. I managed to meet up with Vivian and Shi Ting after that. We went to Noodles Co, as they just got off from work and had not had dinner yet. It was certainly great catching up with old friends!
View from the window of my room
Trump Tower (can't fit the whole thing in one shot)
Narrow room
Long time no see...
Chicago night view 1
Chicago night view 2
Every year, the University Musical Society of the U of Michigan presents a list of world class performances with very affordable ticket prices (with student discount). This year, I still managed to enjoy the discounts thanks to Pei Ying. We went to two concerts in March:
New York Philharmonic (3/7)
· Mendelssohn : A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture (1826)
· Schumann : Symphony No. 4 in d minor, Op. 120 (1841)
· Mussorgsky : Pictures at an Exhibition, arr. Ravel (1874/ arr. 1922)
· Encore - Brahms : Hungarian Dance No. 1
· Encore - Bizet : Farandole
The Silk Road Ensemble, Yo Yo Ma (3/14)
· Kim/Umezaki/Tong : Wandering Winds
· Kayhan Kalhor, arr. Ljova : Mountains are Far Away
· Zhao Jiping : Sacred Cloud Music
· Shane Shananhan : Saidi Swing
· Rabih Abou-Khalil : Arabian Waltz
· Angel Lam : Empty Mountain, Spirit Rain
· Dmitry Yanov-Yanovsky : Paths of Parables
· Colin Jacobsen : Ascending Bird
· Encore - Wu Tong : Sheng solo
· Encore - Traditional : Ethiopian Song “Musiqawi Silt”
The New York Philharmonic was awesome; personally I like the Pictures at an Exhibition a lot. The music supposedly depicts a tour of an art collection. Although it did not summon instant images to my mind, it was an interesting exercise to try surmising the artworks depicted based on the style of the music.
The Yo Yo Ma concert on the other hand was a disappointment. I didn't have high expectation even before attending the concert, as I was aware that I am not a person opened to all types of music. The performances did open my eyes as I was introduced to some new instruments, but really Yo Yo Ma's name should not be put in the title. He was just a participant in the ensemble, and his name was clearly used to boost attendance. Overall it was disappointing to whoever who wants to see him showing off his extraordinary talent.
I should note that there was a decidedly odd work which included a narrator telling stories so lame that they were actually funny. I bet that part managed to wake a lot of people up :)
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