Alexd00 had mentioned a symphonic orchestra concert coming to Baltimore a while ago, but with the switch in jobs and other things going on I hadn’t planned to join him. Sort of spur of the moment on Thursday night he invited me to come, I checked my schedule and decided on a road trip. I’m so glad that I did.
PLAY! A video game symphony is a world tour of the orchestral scores of some of the most popular video games out there. It’s a unique experience and not only fun but featuring very beautiful arrangements made for symphonic orchestra. The performance we saw on Friday night was by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Handol Choir at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.
Just because it was arranged from scores for video games doesn’t mean the music wasn’t every bit as beautiful, complex and lyrical as some of my favorite classical composers. The choir was lovely too, adding a depth to the concert that I hadn’t anticipated. There was a large screen display suspended above the main stage featuring clips of greatest moments from each video game as the piece was played, timed and chosen to accompany the music perfectly. That particular aspect really captured those in the audience who might have otherwise not been able to enjoy the music.
A couple of pet peeves:
since when are worn, ragged t-shirts with shorts and untied canvas sneakers considered appropriate wear for a symphonic orchestral concert?
do not be surprised when you show up late that they will hold you at the door until in between musical pieces to go find your seats.
Ok. Moving on.
I really enjoyed the evening overall - because the music was above all else very enjoyable. Alexd00 is definitely a great person to go with too, so I had a wonderful night. Personal favorites were arrangements from the scores of Kingdom Hearts, World of Warcraft, The Legend of Zelda, Chrono Cross and Guild Wars. There was a cello solo that melted my heart and a really wonderful viola solo. I was impressed by a very challenging piano solo from Castlevania. There was a challenging soprano solo for the choir also that was a treat to hear.
The weekend wasn’t over yet. The next day Alexd00 took me to an Orioles game. It was a very entertaining game against Detroit with highlights through most of the innings. The Orioles went into an extra inning and won with an incredible home run that not only left the stadium but bounced across the street and hit the very large building on the other side. Even with my limited baseball knowledge (as in close to none) I was appreciating the game. I even bought an Orioles baseball cap from a vendor with a cute tiny pooch named Lucy who looked to be a long haired chihuahua. Since Lucy liked me and didn’t usually take to people, the vendor gave me a decent discount on my hat. It was a little hot and humid, but fun and Alexd00 remembered to buy me funnel cake. 
Filed under: Family and Friends, Fun Time on July 20th, 2008 | No Comments »
I’m a little annoyed right now. Nothing serious - just a bit vexed about a situation. I truly believe it will work itself out, and I’m keeping an eye on it to make sure that it does. It’s just that some people are a penny wise, pound foolish and I get enough of that with my husband that I don’t want to have to deal with it in other people who don’t have the protection of my affections to save them from my ire.
So I took my energy and dove into WoW for a bit of leveling and some grinding out hunting animals for their skin. I got my pet and need to think of a name for my Nightstalker kitty. My leatherworking skill is coming along, as is my supporting skinning skill.
Hopefully the source of my annoyance will have been resolved in the next week or I might quit grinding in WoW and end up grinding my teeth.
Filed under: Gaming on July 17th, 2008 | 1 Comment »
I love books. I’ve always loved to read. As a child I found it both an escape and a relief from the pressures of the real world.
Just to give you an idea of my reading affecting my life - I was sent to a summer camp in middle school because I was unable to interact with my peer group. My vocabulary and speech patterns were too different because of my advanced reading. Some people might have been horrified, my parents just shrugged and told me to work on my social skills so that I could keep on reading without criticism from teachers. So I went to camp and brought a book with me everyday.
I love the feel of paper under my fingers and truly believe paperback format is one of the handiest ways to have an escape route when caught in a crowded waiting room or at a truly boring parental obligation party.
My dilemma? I go on business trips fairly often now in my new job. Travel is scheduled about twice a month. I have to ride a plane maybe once a month so far. Books, even paperbacks, can get heavy - especially when one thinks about how many books I can read in the evenings on a business trip or on route via plane. I need a lightweight, space saving solution.
Right now I’ve got Mobi Pocket Reader on my Blackberry. It’s ok. Words per page are limited and there’s a bit of lag between pages. It’s annoying to flip back to re-read a desired section. But the biggest issue is how often I need to flip page because of the limitation for words per page. Also, even though I’m supposed to be able to surf the web to buy additional books, it’s been my experience that I can only do it while connected to a PC in order to do this without worrying about dropping the connection and failing during download. Besides, the more media I have directly on the Blackberry, the slower y Blackberry processes and for some reason Mobi Reader won’t acknowledge the files when they are saved to a microSD card instead.
I’m thinking about the Kindle by Amazon. It’s a first generation concept technology that’s supposed to take reading into the future. It’s a wireless reading device that’s supposed to be light weight and paper-like. It’s supposed to be wireless and allow for shopping and download anytime anywhere. Long battery life is a big plus as well.
Nathan Bransford is a literary agent that I respect and I enjoy reading his informative blogs. He’s given his impression of the Kindle here.
It’s fairly ok in regards to price - but do I want to give up my paperbacks in order to save my shoulder or my back during travel? I’m thinking maybe. Especially now that some airlines are charging for bags that are checked in - the ability to just have a carry on with all my necessities is getting to be an imperative instead of just a convenience on arrival.
Filed under: Books and Reading, Work on July 14th, 2008 | No Comments »
So yesterday, the hubby left with the daddy to drive down to mommy;s house and pick up moving truck and a few items from the house that they’d agreed to let daddy have. They were in and out in less than 30 minutes.
They got here where Ryan and I joined the fray. All of daddy’s furniture, books and random etc. was neatly added to the truck in about 30 minutes.
We drove to the new location and unloaded…in under 30 minutes.
Literally moving daddy from my house to his new apartment saw us done by 11am. No lie. And that’s covering a full compliment of bedroom furniture including king sized bed, sofa lighting, kitchen set and all sorts of whatnot. Plus five or six heavy boxes of Thai kung fu sagas. That’s also including a trip to the storage area by my mom’s house 45 minutes away to get the truck and stuff in the first place.
Even I was impressed and I’d seen my hubby move stuff before. I guess him moving the entire heavy box spring by himself was kind of interesting - usually those are a two man job simply due to size and awkwardness. He also man handled the coffee table (not so heavy), the bedroom six drawer tall chest (kinda heavy) and other stuff that normal sane people just don’t do by themselves. He’s just not right in the head.
And heck, he’s not even paying for it really - at most he’s just a tiny bit stiff from the running up and down stairs and carrying stuff activity.
Did I mention yet that I love my husband? He’s also incredibly attractive when he’s being all buff and manly like that. 
Filed under: Of House and Home on July 13th, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Daddy’s latest warning for Kaiser is to threaten to ship him to China…where dogs are not necessarilly companions.
Of course, he doesn’t mean it.
And it does kind of sound funny.
But yeah, my dogs are not to be shipped to China, ever.
Filed under: Pets on July 12th, 2008 | No Comments »
So most of my workouts over the last couple of years have been non-intellectually intensive walkies. Not a whole lot of stuff going on but minimal cardio there. Some strength training but not as much as there should have been. I even fell out of playing DDR.
I decided last night to do a session of Pilates.
Reasons for this: As out of shape as I am, I needed to lengthen and stretch stuff to regain some range of movement. I also felt that retraining my core was of highest priority both because that’s where I’m the softest and also because it would have such an impact on everything else. It’s also not as heavy impact as DDR or heavy duty strength training would be.
It went well, with really good feeling through my muscles. I have a higher energy level today which is a significant response considering just the one workout. Circulation and consciousness of my form have improved overall so I think it was a good choice.
I’ll probably do another session tonight and tomorrow - and then I’ll be doing some variable lifting on Saturday as we help Daddy move out and into his new apartment. That’s the plan anyway.
Filed under: Health and Fitness on July 10th, 2008 | No Comments »
So for the entirety of the long commute to ImClone, I’ve been struggling to keep my weight under control while wasting several hours of every day in commuting (something like three or four hours).
Oh poor me. Whatever.
Yah well, that handicap is no longer an issue so I need to take this cream puff me that swelled in the car and slim it down to a me that I like.
Hubby is a champ and has been poking me to go walkies with the dogs fairly frequently. That’s not hardcore cardio but it’s definitely a good start. I should hit the treadmill and simultaneously catch up on some anime.
Another issue was that I lost a decent amount of flexibility from spending so much of my day sitting either in car or in office. I need to increase my flexibility and lengthen my muscles again. So I need to get back into the habit of stretching every day.
So back to working out for me - more seriously than before and also back to stretching routines.
I also think that with the company of Sophie and her friend Kat, I’ll finally go check out Koresh for dance classes. The class schedule and curriculum structure suit my needs really well because as a travel heavy career person now I can’t commit to a full “year” of classes on specific days because I might miss them for work. Koresh has classes structured independantly so you can attend or not as fits into your schedule, the classes are stand alone.
So hopefully, I’ll be able to slim down the cream puff and tone a bit into a healthier me.
Filed under: Health and Fitness on July 9th, 2008 | 1 Comment »