Definitely a classical concert weekend.

It was definitely a classical weekend to say the least. On Friday night, I attended a classical concert by the chamber ensemble of the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields Orchestra. This is only one of the best orchestras in the world and anyone who knows anything about classical music would have heard of this group. Needless to say the music was flawless and the playing was technically brilliant. The Brahms and Mendelssohn pieces were exquisite. The Shostakovich piece was a little too dark for my taste but still amazing nonetheless. By far, this was definitely one of the best classical concerts I’ve ever attended. We gave them a standing ovation. It would have been nice if the auditorium was packed, but those of us in attendance knew we experienced a magical evening.

Anna and I went to the last downtown Farmer’s Market for the season. As expected there were not too many produce vendors around since it’s pretty much the fall season and soon it’ll be winter. I did have Anna try the famous breakfast burrito which I utterly adore and she liked it. We then went to the Science Center of Iowa where they had trick or treat for little kids. There were so many kids dressed up in their cute little costumes. How adorable! Anna had never been into the Science Center so it was a fun experience for her. We then watched the movie, “Robots” on the IMAX screen and that was pretty darn cool to say the least. Anna had to go and set up for a concert later that evening. The group that she belongs to (www.facultylounge.net) was playing at a fundraiser sponsored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

That evening, I went to the DM Symphony performance and it was outstanding. Definitely a great selection of music. One of the pieces was a world premier by a music professor at a local college. It had a very Midwest feel to it and resonated with many people in attendance. If you’re familiar with American composers and their music, you would be somewhat familiar with the piece that was played. We living in the Midwest definitely appreciated it.

Sunday was not too eventful. The young adults served coffee and donuts then I had RCIA. Work at the facility was pretty low key which was nice. However, I heard the cops were called at the other facility. I’m sure I’ll find out more about it when I’m there on Wednesday.

That really was the week/weekend in a nutshell.

Anna.

Well, I guess I should let you know that I’m no longer in the “market”. I’m now dating Anna. A little background about Anna. We went to Drake together and I knew her older sister who was active at St. Catherine. Anna actually transferred to Drake. We are the same age and during the last two years at Drake, we hung out with the same people especially those who went to St. Catherine. She’s a vocal music teacher at an area high school and has been doing that for a number of years although, she may be thinking of changing her profession. We’ll just have to wait and see where that goes. Anna’s from Bismark, North Dakota which is pretty north. She has a fraternal twin sister who is married and living in Minneapolis. Gretchen, her older sister whom I know is a lawyer and working in downtown Chicago. That’s Anna for you. So, how did we end up dating? Well, like I said we’ve known each other for quite some time and she’s been part of the young adults group and just spending time in a group or together has been a lot of fun. Moreover, we’re comfortable with one another. It helps that I find her tremendously attractive too! We have a lot of similar interests (musicals, movies, etc.) so that made the decision much easier. I kind of took the plunge the middle of last week by sending her an e mail – I like to write and tend to do a better job expressing myself in words. In the e mail I basically asked her if she would be open to the possibility of us pursuing this friendship further and added more flowery words in the e mail. Her answer cracked me up. It was a simple sentence which went, “I thought you’d never ask!” With a smiley face to end it. The weekend was spent talking and getting to know one another better. We watched a movie and had a couple of meals together. So, am I happy? You bet I am. Only time will tell where this will lead, but for right now, we’re both enjoying each other’s company as much as we’re able to spend time together. Be happy for me.

Saturday evening, I had dinner at Panom and David’s house. She prepared “pho” and some spring and egg rolls for dinner. It was an amazing meal and all of us had such a fun time with one another. Like I told Panom, I had a blast just spending time with her kids. Both Aiden and Keegen are such cuties. It did not take as long for Keegen to warm up to me compared to the last time I saw him. Aiden and I had a blast. He’s definitely lost his baby looks and is looking like a young kid. I hope I get to meet up with them more often since I really do think the world of her kids.

That was the weekend in a nutshell.

Malaysian dinner and MET Opera.

It was a pretty fun week I must say. Thursday I cooked the Malaysian dinner for the young adults. I actually took half a day off from work. I started prepping and cooking at 1:30PM and things were pretty much ready by 6PM. Once both curries were in the pot, I just left it on low and let it cook. I even had time to go to Mass that evening. The beef and chicken were bought from Costco and it was very good and flavorful. As soon as my friends through the door, the first comment they made was that it smelled good. I have to say that everything really turned out well and we had more than enough to eat. Everyone was stuffed beyond belief. No one brought appetizers. They all brought dessert. I actually had three waves of people come over the course of the evening due to people’s schedule. That worked out well and everyone had a good time eating and conversing. My dvd player had difficulty showing the photos that were on the DVD-R and the CD-R so I had the photos on my laptop. Brian was the one person who wanted to see the photos and asked me a number of questions about different things. He and his brother, Bill were the last to leave but they are such fun guys. They brought some food back for their mom whose never had Malaysian cuisine before. Bill cracked me up because while he was in Boston, he went to a Malaysian restaurant and as soon as he stepped into my apartment, he made the comment that it definitely brings back memories and the smell of the Malaysian restaurant. It was indeed a fun evening.

On Saturday, Carola and I went to the cinema to watch a live HD showing of the NY Metropolitan Opera (MET) “Salome”. Salome is based on the biblical passage where John the Baptist was beheaded and his head served on a platter. I’ve been wanting to go to an opera performance for quite some time and when this opportunity presented itself, I was not going to pass it up. I joked with Carola that this is the only time people can watch the MET live and chew on popcorn at the same time! There were some minor hitches during the live broadcast, but that’s to be expected with a HD screening live via the satellite. Overall, I would definitely go to other performances at the cinema in a heartbeat. I’ll definitely try my best to make it to the live opera next year in Indianola which is 30 minutes south of DM. What’s really neat about the live broadcast is the fact that you really get to see the performers up close and personal. If one were to go to the MET to watch the performance, the tickets would probably cost close to $350. Carola was happy I thoroughly enjoyed it. We then went to an Italian restaurant close to the cinema for a late lunch. The weather was downright spectacular albeit a little windy, but even the wind did not last long.

Later that evening, I had left a message on a friend’s phone asking her if she wanted to join me at the World Food Festival, but I never heard back from her. I was keen on going and probably should have just gone by myself, but after we got done with lunch, I started watching the fourth season of Boston Legal on DVD and I was too engrossed in it that I really did not mind spending time in my apartment. I had leftover fried rice for dinner and it was more than enough. I have two more discs left to watch and I’ll be done with the fourth season.

That’s kind of how the weekend went for me.

Not too shabby of a week/weekend.

It was a pretty busy week and weekend for me but all in a very good way. I’’ll be attending a number of webinars – web seminars in the office. The beauty of these seminars is that I’m able to attend it yet stay where I am instead of going to a certain location. More and more organizations are doing this and it’s a good way to utilize the technology that’s already there. A couple of upcoming webinars deal with some pretty good issues like depression in older adults so not only I am able to benefit through Aging Resources, it’s also going to help me at the second job. I can’t ask for more.

On Thursday, I went to the play Frost/Nixon based on the Nixon interview a couple of years after Watergate by this British interviewer. It was a very good play and for someone who was not at all familiar with this interview, I learned a lot. I know of Watergate, but nothing more beyond it. Anna and I went to the play together. Previous years, I attended these plays/musicals alone, but Anna was interested too so we ended up getting our tickets together for this year. Well, the first play of the season was very good so I’m definitely looking forward to the others.

I watched one of my dvds on Saturday morning before going shopping at Costco with John later that morning. John left me a voicemail to check up on me and I told him that I’ll be headed to Costco and invited him to join me if he did not have anything going on that morning. We had a fun time. I managed to get some stuff – food wise and also misc. stuff. This Thursday, the young adults will be coming to my apartment and I’ll be cooking a Malaysian meal for all of them in addition to showing them the photos of my trip and sharing my vacation stories. So, I was in need of a couple of stuff from Costco like meat for example! I’m glad I got that taken care off. I’ll actually take half a day off on Thursday to prep and cook the meal so I’m not stressed about trying to get it all done in a very short period of time. Later that evening, Anna and I went to her high school play. She’s the music teacher there and a number of her students were in the play. The title of the play was Lost in Yonkers. It was a good play and I was surprised how much I liked it. I told Anna that I’m glad she invited me because I tend to be a little anti-social when there’s nothing going on. So, I needed a reason to leave my apartment and that was a very good reason.

Sunday was pretty laid back. RCIA program has started so we met after Mass. Then it was off to work at the facility. It was a very quiet day and the residents were all well behaved which made for a good working day and environment.

That’s all the news from me for the week.