Well, talk about a pretty packed week/weekend for me. It all started with the Bucksbaum talk at Drake on Tuesday evening. It's an annual talk that takes place twice a year and the university invites world renowed people to speak. The guy who spoke was Nicholas D. Kristof, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The New York Times. He spoke about the situation in Darfur, Sudan. Talk about a very tragic situation. It was a very good talk and he had some gut wrenching images from Darfur. If you want to learn more about the situation in Darfur, check out www.savedarfur.org. On Thursday, I went up to Ames for the musical Evita. I'm familiar with Evita from the movie and the music is well known. However, I was surprised how good the musical was. I had a good time watching the musical. Friday was a pretty laid back day as I did not do a whole lot which was nice. I had something or another going on every evening of the week.
Saturday was another eventful day. It started with the Alzheimer Walk around Waterworks Park. There's a colleague who has been part of the walk for a number of years and when I realized that I did not have anything going on Saturday morning, I figured it would be a good way to get the morning started. I biked to the park from my apartment and that got my blood pumping. The walk was a very leisurely walk and there were quite a lot of people there. A number of those walking were there in memory of someone they knew. After the walk, I biked to the farmers market and it's been quite some time since I've been at the market. I did not get anything, but it was just nice to walk around. I took a shower and headed to the downtown library. Later that day, I was off to Ames again and this time it was for a jazz concert by an up and coming jazz artist named Rachel Price. She's just 22 years old, but she has an amazing voice and I won be surprised if she wins a number of grammy awards in the not too distant future. All of us in attendance thought that it was a great concert. She's not released any cd yet, but she did inform us that it will be coming out soon. Talk about a great day to end a Saturday night.
Today, the young adults served coffee and donuts and there were a good number of us there which made the job so much easier. We had fun and it was nice for the congregation to get to meet other young adults. In the afternoon, I was off to Joel and Kathy's place before heading to Costco to get food for student supper. The 2nd Sunday Group served supper this evening and as always we had a fun time. However, the grill was not working properly and that was a little disappointing, but we survived. We ended up boiling then broiling the brats and the students thought it was very tasty.
Once in a while I have a pretty packed weekend and this was definitely one of them. I really do not mind it as long as there's some down time. I guess my downtime was this evening. I believe next weekend will be a much calmer and manageable weekend. However, life has a way of providing a number of surprises. We'll just have to see what the coming week brings.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Can Life Get Any Better?!
I'm kind of still on a high with the whole Green Card situation and I definitely celebrated over the weekend. On Friday, I went up to Ames for a comedy play entititled, "Wonder Bread Years" and it was hilarious. The premise was really simple - the guy brought the audience back to the wonder bread year where in so many ways, life was so much simpler and toys were non electronic. Granted, the the audience that would relate most to the play would be people 50 years and older, but there were a number of things that I could relate to. I had dinner with Nora, Colleen, Nora's roommate and cousin. It was nice to hang out with the four of them. We had a nice dinner at this Italian restaurant located right next to the Thai restaurant that we had planned on going. The food was good.
On Saturday, I got up to watch the Liverpool game which was really disappointed because Liverpool did not play well at all. Oh, well. It's still early in the season and there are many more games left. However, it would have been nice if they had won. Later that afternoon, I went to Drake's Football game. It was billed as Drake's game of the season because we played the University of Northern Iowa and whoever won go to claim the right to be the "best" football team in the state. Drake was basically ran out of the stadium. The game was a blowout in UNI's favor. The saving grace was that the weather was immaculate. There's not going to be many more sunny days left since it's already fall. Some of the leaves are already changing color. Later that evening, I went to a farewell party for Ashley Templeton who was a RCIA candidate last year. She's going to El Salvador to work for at least a year. My hunch is that she'll be there a number of years. Ashley belongs to the young adults group too. The farewell was held at Drake and it was nice to walk on campus again. One of the former dining halls has been changed in to a social lounge.
After Mass today, I hung around Drake's campus - the library specifically catching up the news and some magazines because at 3PM there was a classical concert. The group that performed was the Borealis Wind Quintet and they were very, very good. Talk about a great way to enjoy a Sunday. Pretty much all the pieces they played I've never heard before. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever attended a wind quintet performance. It was fun and anything to expose me to more classical music, I'm game. The rest of the evening was spent in the apartment just relaxing and winding.
Can life get any better than the weekend I had? I don't think so! This coming week will be pretty eventful too. Stay tuned to the blog!
On Saturday, I got up to watch the Liverpool game which was really disappointed because Liverpool did not play well at all. Oh, well. It's still early in the season and there are many more games left. However, it would have been nice if they had won. Later that afternoon, I went to Drake's Football game. It was billed as Drake's game of the season because we played the University of Northern Iowa and whoever won go to claim the right to be the "best" football team in the state. Drake was basically ran out of the stadium. The game was a blowout in UNI's favor. The saving grace was that the weather was immaculate. There's not going to be many more sunny days left since it's already fall. Some of the leaves are already changing color. Later that evening, I went to a farewell party for Ashley Templeton who was a RCIA candidate last year. She's going to El Salvador to work for at least a year. My hunch is that she'll be there a number of years. Ashley belongs to the young adults group too. The farewell was held at Drake and it was nice to walk on campus again. One of the former dining halls has been changed in to a social lounge.
After Mass today, I hung around Drake's campus - the library specifically catching up the news and some magazines because at 3PM there was a classical concert. The group that performed was the Borealis Wind Quintet and they were very, very good. Talk about a great way to enjoy a Sunday. Pretty much all the pieces they played I've never heard before. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever attended a wind quintet performance. It was fun and anything to expose me to more classical music, I'm game. The rest of the evening was spent in the apartment just relaxing and winding.
Can life get any better than the weekend I had? I don't think so! This coming week will be pretty eventful too. Stay tuned to the blog!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
This day in history - Green Card.
Today will go down in history for me as I got the approval for my US permanent residency. Yay! When I got up this morning, I just had a funny feeling about the day. I just could not pinpoint what it was but went with the flow. Work wise, nothing really stood out and I was busy helping a colleague with reports, but throughout the day, the funny feeling kept gnawing at me. I took half the day off to watch soccer and thirty minutes before I left, I received a voicmail from the lawyer's office asking me to give them a call. Here I was thinking it was going to be more bad news regarding my immigration status. Lo and behold I was told that I my green card application was approved. As excited as I was, I was still a little cautious and asked her if it just meant that they received my approval notice and not the card. She told me that she had both and it was ready to be picked up later that day. You can't imagine the joy that went through my entire being! I shared the news with the office staff and they all congratulated me which was touching. Joel was out of the office, but I called him on his cellphone and told him about the good news. He was exhilarated for me and said it's time to pop open the good wine. That's for sure.
So, after the soccer game, I trooped over to the law firm and the lawyer handed me my green card without any major fan fare. In case you're wondering, the green card is not even green in color. It's the size of a credit card and pretty much looks like a driver's license. You can't fathom what the card means to me especially after all the hoops I've been through over the years. It's definitely the culmination of many years of ups and downs dealing with the immigration department.
I went to Mass and for me, it was most definitely a Mass of Thanksgiving and shared the news with the regular crowd and they were so happy for me. I then headed over to John's apartment so he too could share my joy. John and I chatted for a while before he had to meet some people for dinner. Instead of celebrating, I went back to my apartment, warmed up some leftovers and called my parents. Dad was out walking and mom answered the phone. From the tone of her voice, I could tell she was excited and happy for me as any mom would be. We talked for quite some time and she even texted my sis who sent a congratulatory text back to mom for me. Dad got back from his walk and mom did not say anything so I broke the news to him. Needless to say he too was happy and excited for me.
Later that evening, I sent out a mass e mail letting people know about the good news, and it was wonderful to hear back from them all congratulating me. That got me thinking how truly blessed I've been to have such dear friends who mean the world to me. They sincerely shared my joy and knew how monumental this day meant for me. Deep down I know I could not have done this myself and I have many people to thank especially Joel and the Board of Directors at Aging Resources who got the ball rolling. My only hope and wish is that in the future, I'll have the opportunity to pass it on to someone else. Joel told me a number of times that he's had people help/mentor him over the years and he's taken it upon himself to do the same if and when the opportunity arises. That's a pivotal life lesson I've learned from him.
In addition to Aging Resources, where would I be if not for the community of Saint Catherine of Siena Catholic Student Center? They welcomed me back with open arms after I left the seminary and were there to provide support in every way shape or form during one of my most enduring and trying times when I did not know where life was headed. St. Kate's is not just a community, but one big family in my books. Even if they don't know it, I've adopted them whether they like it or not!
Today truly is a very special day in so many way and I'm not sure if words can even describe it, and I'm sure things will really sink in over the coming days. Where will all of us be if not for friends and loved one who are they for you through thick and thin no matter what? I am truly blessed and there's no other way to say/describe it.
So, after the soccer game, I trooped over to the law firm and the lawyer handed me my green card without any major fan fare. In case you're wondering, the green card is not even green in color. It's the size of a credit card and pretty much looks like a driver's license. You can't fathom what the card means to me especially after all the hoops I've been through over the years. It's definitely the culmination of many years of ups and downs dealing with the immigration department.
I went to Mass and for me, it was most definitely a Mass of Thanksgiving and shared the news with the regular crowd and they were so happy for me. I then headed over to John's apartment so he too could share my joy. John and I chatted for a while before he had to meet some people for dinner. Instead of celebrating, I went back to my apartment, warmed up some leftovers and called my parents. Dad was out walking and mom answered the phone. From the tone of her voice, I could tell she was excited and happy for me as any mom would be. We talked for quite some time and she even texted my sis who sent a congratulatory text back to mom for me. Dad got back from his walk and mom did not say anything so I broke the news to him. Needless to say he too was happy and excited for me.
Later that evening, I sent out a mass e mail letting people know about the good news, and it was wonderful to hear back from them all congratulating me. That got me thinking how truly blessed I've been to have such dear friends who mean the world to me. They sincerely shared my joy and knew how monumental this day meant for me. Deep down I know I could not have done this myself and I have many people to thank especially Joel and the Board of Directors at Aging Resources who got the ball rolling. My only hope and wish is that in the future, I'll have the opportunity to pass it on to someone else. Joel told me a number of times that he's had people help/mentor him over the years and he's taken it upon himself to do the same if and when the opportunity arises. That's a pivotal life lesson I've learned from him.
In addition to Aging Resources, where would I be if not for the community of Saint Catherine of Siena Catholic Student Center? They welcomed me back with open arms after I left the seminary and were there to provide support in every way shape or form during one of my most enduring and trying times when I did not know where life was headed. St. Kate's is not just a community, but one big family in my books. Even if they don't know it, I've adopted them whether they like it or not!
Today truly is a very special day in so many way and I'm not sure if words can even describe it, and I'm sure things will really sink in over the coming days. Where will all of us be if not for friends and loved one who are they for you through thick and thin no matter what? I am truly blessed and there's no other way to say/describe it.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Another Nice weekend.
It's Sunday and I'm currently typing this from the library. I just had brunch with the Skidmores - Sarah was back for the weekend which was nice. I was supposed to have dinner with her before she went back to college, but that did not happen so it was nice to catch up with her and see how things are going. She seems to be doing well at the Kansas City Art Institute and maybe if I have some free weekend, I'll make it over to visit her in October. Later this afternoon, I'll be helping Charlene with student supper. She had signed up with a couple of people and I guess they need to get some tables moved and ready for the students. I do not have anything going on today so I volunteered. That's kind of one of the reasons why I'm at the library instead of being back in my apartment. Since I'm already out, it does not make sense to go back and forth.
I have to say that overall I had a pretty good weekend. After work on Friday, I watched a couple of movies that I borrowed from the library. I finally watched Schindler's List in its entirety. Talk about a moving movie and a powerful soundtrack. That's a classic for sure. There were other movies I saw but Schindler's List stood out for me.
I was planning on getting up early to watch Liverpool on the TV, but was awakened by my neighbor blasting his music at 5AM. You got that right - 5AM. Normally, I would be unhappy, but because I had planned on getting up at 5:30AM, it really did not bother me too much. What was disappointing is that the Liverpool game was not shown. Instead, they showed Australian football. Aargh ... talk about frustrating. So, I had planned on waxing the car after the Liverpool game but ended up getting that started at 7:30AM. It was a cool and crisp morning and for me, just perfect weather to be waxing. It took me an hour and a half to get it all waxed and I was happy with how it turned out. By the time I got done, the sun was just beginning to shine on the car so talk about perfect timing. I then went to the library and caught up on some reading materials. Nothing too exciting. Later in the afternoon, I watched some football on tv - both American College Football and British Football. They ended up showing the delayed telecast of the Liverpool game so I caught a little of that. That evening was the opening of the On Stage Classical Concert Series at the Art Center. I was pumped for that and the group that performed was the Mozaique Chamber Orchestra. Most of the people who made up the chamber were faculty at Drake and DM Symphony players. It was a very good concert and one of the pieces they played at the same piece that was played at the Drake faculty concert last Monday. I did not mind listening to it twice because I liked that piece. That was definitely a great way to end a Saturday evening.
Don't have too much going on this week. I'll be headed up to Ames for a play on Friday and I hope to meet up with two of my former religious education students. One of them is Kevin's daughter Colleen who just started her Freshmen year at Iowa State. I'll be fun to see how she's doing there. Next Sunday, another classical/jazz concert series begin so I'll be looking forward to that too. During the week, I don't think there's too much going on. Oh, the young adults will be going out for dinner at this tapas restaurant and most of them have not been there before so it'll be nice for a big group of us to go there.
That's pretty much all the news from me. It was a nice weekend and I can't wait to see what this coming week/weekend holds.
I have to say that overall I had a pretty good weekend. After work on Friday, I watched a couple of movies that I borrowed from the library. I finally watched Schindler's List in its entirety. Talk about a moving movie and a powerful soundtrack. That's a classic for sure. There were other movies I saw but Schindler's List stood out for me.
I was planning on getting up early to watch Liverpool on the TV, but was awakened by my neighbor blasting his music at 5AM. You got that right - 5AM. Normally, I would be unhappy, but because I had planned on getting up at 5:30AM, it really did not bother me too much. What was disappointing is that the Liverpool game was not shown. Instead, they showed Australian football. Aargh ... talk about frustrating. So, I had planned on waxing the car after the Liverpool game but ended up getting that started at 7:30AM. It was a cool and crisp morning and for me, just perfect weather to be waxing. It took me an hour and a half to get it all waxed and I was happy with how it turned out. By the time I got done, the sun was just beginning to shine on the car so talk about perfect timing. I then went to the library and caught up on some reading materials. Nothing too exciting. Later in the afternoon, I watched some football on tv - both American College Football and British Football. They ended up showing the delayed telecast of the Liverpool game so I caught a little of that. That evening was the opening of the On Stage Classical Concert Series at the Art Center. I was pumped for that and the group that performed was the Mozaique Chamber Orchestra. Most of the people who made up the chamber were faculty at Drake and DM Symphony players. It was a very good concert and one of the pieces they played at the same piece that was played at the Drake faculty concert last Monday. I did not mind listening to it twice because I liked that piece. That was definitely a great way to end a Saturday evening.
Don't have too much going on this week. I'll be headed up to Ames for a play on Friday and I hope to meet up with two of my former religious education students. One of them is Kevin's daughter Colleen who just started her Freshmen year at Iowa State. I'll be fun to see how she's doing there. Next Sunday, another classical/jazz concert series begin so I'll be looking forward to that too. During the week, I don't think there's too much going on. Oh, the young adults will be going out for dinner at this tapas restaurant and most of them have not been there before so it'll be nice for a big group of us to go there.
That's pretty much all the news from me. It was a nice weekend and I can't wait to see what this coming week/weekend holds.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
A Nice Weekend.
Ah, it's a gorgeous Sunday afternoon and I have to different curries cooking right now (Kurma and Rendang). Life could not be any better. I came back from the Olahs not too long ago. Joel called me right after Mass and told me to come over for brunch if I did not have anything going on because he made some turkey and both he and Kathy do not eat dark meat and they figured I would be interested in the meat. So, I motored over there for brunch which was really nice. It's been quite some time since I made it to their place. Since the weather is close to perfect, I'll be headed back there again later in the evening and this time there will be another couple joining us. Kathy will get the fire going in the grill and we'll just sit around the fire and shoot some breeze. That's the life I tell you. In case you're wondering why I have two different curries cooking right now, I figured since I'm in the mood to cook I might as well cook as much as I can. Needless to say the curry will last me for some time. I also have some spaghetti sauce in the freezer so I'm pretty much set with food for quite some time.
I hung out with Kristi, Brian and a few friends on Friday evening which was nice. Kristi knew I needed to be around people and just have a good laugh. Before that, I went to Drake for a free music faculty concert which was really neat. I fell in love with a Flute, Oboe and Piano Trio by Madeleine Dring. Something about it was very moving and I was not the only person who felt that way. I may even use the balance of the Barnes & Noble gift card to get the CD of the music. That's how highly I thought of the piece.
The weather was perfect for biking and I went on a pretty long bike ride on Saturday. When I need to clear my head or think about other things, I usually bike and it would have been a travesty if I did not bike yesterday. I even bumped into Sonia and David while I was biking. Charlene told me at Mass today that they are training for a marathon. She too was there at Gray's Lake, but she was reading.
Next weekend will be the first of many classicial concerts that I'll be going to. I think it ends up being one concert almost every other week which is nice. I've been looking forward to the start of all my concerts for some time and I can't believe the day is almost here. Yay! I don't think there's other stuff to report. It's just been a nice weekend for me to clear my mind and to start the week afresh. I'm looking forward to the reports slowly arriving over the week. Work is always good because then, I can focus on the job. That's pretty much it for this week.
I hung out with Kristi, Brian and a few friends on Friday evening which was nice. Kristi knew I needed to be around people and just have a good laugh. Before that, I went to Drake for a free music faculty concert which was really neat. I fell in love with a Flute, Oboe and Piano Trio by Madeleine Dring. Something about it was very moving and I was not the only person who felt that way. I may even use the balance of the Barnes & Noble gift card to get the CD of the music. That's how highly I thought of the piece.
The weather was perfect for biking and I went on a pretty long bike ride on Saturday. When I need to clear my head or think about other things, I usually bike and it would have been a travesty if I did not bike yesterday. I even bumped into Sonia and David while I was biking. Charlene told me at Mass today that they are training for a marathon. She too was there at Gray's Lake, but she was reading.
Next weekend will be the first of many classicial concerts that I'll be going to. I think it ends up being one concert almost every other week which is nice. I've been looking forward to the start of all my concerts for some time and I can't believe the day is almost here. Yay! I don't think there's other stuff to report. It's just been a nice weekend for me to clear my mind and to start the week afresh. I'm looking forward to the reports slowly arriving over the week. Work is always good because then, I can focus on the job. That's pretty much it for this week.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Twin Cities
Well, what can I say about the weekend? It was a pretty fun filled and enjoyable weekend to say the least. I left at 6AM on Saturday morning and arrived at Alyssa’s place at around 9:30AM. We chatted a little before she took me around and showed me different places in the Twin Cities. We walked around the Sculptor Garden which was really impressive. All the times I’ve been to the Twin Cities, I’ve never even heard of the Sculptor Gardens. There were some amazing sculptors in and around the gardens. After that we took a peek into the basilica in Minneapolis. It would have been nice to walk around it, but there was a wedding. Oh, I should say that the weather was most perfect over the weekend. The humidity level was low and the actual weather never did hit 90 which made for a pleasant walk. Alyssa then drove me around the different neighborhoods within Minneapolis and I got to see how they all differ. We had lunch at an Indian restaurant and the food was good and authentic. Once lunch got done, we walked to where the new Guthrie Theater is located. Talk about a primo spot to build the theater. It’s located right next to the Mississippi river and also next to the Old Mill site. There’s a couple of really neat paths around the Guthrie. From there we saw where the 35W bridge collapsed and just looking at the rubble brought back some memories of Highland Towers. We made a quick stop in the apartment before going to Mass. Alyssa’s parish is definitely a liberal parish and it was a good Mass experience. We had dinner at a Malaysian restaurant called Peninsula and I was very impressed with the food. We had a couple of appetizers – Popiah, Lobak and Roti Canai. For my entrée, I had Asam Laksa while she had sizzling tofu. I had a bite of her entrée and it was very good. For dessert, I had Ice Kacang and also ordered the peanut pancake. I definitely got my Malaysian fix for sure. After dinner, we had tickets to Comedy Sportz which was an improvisational comedy “battle” between two teams. It was laugh out loud funny and it was the first time I saw something like that. At Comedy Sportz, Marie and Alex, Alyssa’s friends joined us. We then grabbed a bite at Old Chicago and stayed till around 1:30AM.
On Sunday, Alyssa drove to Hastings, where she’s from to let the dog out. I got to see where she grew up and the neighborhood. Oh, in Hastings, they had this huge Catholic Church the dwarfed everything surrounding it and it was mighty impressive. We had breakfast at the neighborhood diner which had an excellent meal. The rest of the day was spent at the Minnesota State Fair. You know how much I love state fairs and I do have to say that the Minnesota State Fair was a better fair than Iowa (I can’t believe I wrote that in my blog! But credit has to be given when credit it due). Everything is much more spread out and even though there were several hundred thousand people there you never really felt too claustrophobic. I had a great time at the fair and spent a lot of time at the fine at building looking at the different art exhibits. They were mighty impressive to say the least. It was such a neat experience at the state fair. Alyssa was volunteering at the Red Cross while I was walking around at the fair. The biggest, neatest surprise was me bumping into three Drake friends who were a couple of years my junior who lived on my floor and who majored in Psychology. The chances of something like that happening are so minute. We were all excited to see one another and exchanged e mail address and I gave them my card. Talk about a small world. After Alyssa was done volunteering, we walked around the fair together and grabbed a quick bite to eat. The rest of the evening was spent chatting in the apartment.
I headed back to DM the next day and while I was in the Twin Cities, John called me and wondered what I was doing. I told him that I was headed back to DM and would drop by once I got into town. We chatted and caught up with one another then watched a delightful French movie called, “My Best Friend”. We had dinner at the Drake Diner before watching another movie. This time, it was entitled, “No End in Sight” which is a documentary about the war in Iraq and how the Bush Administration got it wrong big time. Go see it if you can because it was a very well made documentary and it kind of scary when you think about the different decisions that’s being made by a select few people without the consultation of others. Needless to say it was a pretty long day for me yesterday and I’m still kind of recovering from it. Overall, it was a good weekend. Don’t think I’ll be driving or going on any short trips in the foreseeable future.
On Sunday, Alyssa drove to Hastings, where she’s from to let the dog out. I got to see where she grew up and the neighborhood. Oh, in Hastings, they had this huge Catholic Church the dwarfed everything surrounding it and it was mighty impressive. We had breakfast at the neighborhood diner which had an excellent meal. The rest of the day was spent at the Minnesota State Fair. You know how much I love state fairs and I do have to say that the Minnesota State Fair was a better fair than Iowa (I can’t believe I wrote that in my blog! But credit has to be given when credit it due). Everything is much more spread out and even though there were several hundred thousand people there you never really felt too claustrophobic. I had a great time at the fair and spent a lot of time at the fine at building looking at the different art exhibits. They were mighty impressive to say the least. It was such a neat experience at the state fair. Alyssa was volunteering at the Red Cross while I was walking around at the fair. The biggest, neatest surprise was me bumping into three Drake friends who were a couple of years my junior who lived on my floor and who majored in Psychology. The chances of something like that happening are so minute. We were all excited to see one another and exchanged e mail address and I gave them my card. Talk about a small world. After Alyssa was done volunteering, we walked around the fair together and grabbed a quick bite to eat. The rest of the evening was spent chatting in the apartment.
I headed back to DM the next day and while I was in the Twin Cities, John called me and wondered what I was doing. I told him that I was headed back to DM and would drop by once I got into town. We chatted and caught up with one another then watched a delightful French movie called, “My Best Friend”. We had dinner at the Drake Diner before watching another movie. This time, it was entitled, “No End in Sight” which is a documentary about the war in Iraq and how the Bush Administration got it wrong big time. Go see it if you can because it was a very well made documentary and it kind of scary when you think about the different decisions that’s being made by a select few people without the consultation of others. Needless to say it was a pretty long day for me yesterday and I’m still kind of recovering from it. Overall, it was a good weekend. Don’t think I’ll be driving or going on any short trips in the foreseeable future.
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