The wonders of Whatsapp, a camera phone, and good old buddies. So nice to wake up in the morning to these pictures, these decade long memories of hiking in Taman Negara in Malaysia, and sailing the Windsong.
Cheers to friendship and travels with pals! Some things money can’t buy.
I got lazy with the Christmas cards this year. Not that I sent any last year. But as I thought through writing an imaginary card, I couldn’t think of anything that made this year remarkable especially compared with friends have gotten married, had kids, finished graduate school, moved to new cities, started new jobs, or found new companies.
Oh I’ve had a ton of fun. Travelled plenty – we ushered in the year in New Zealand, over oysters we picked at abandon by our beach campsite. We took a harried and packed week long trip to Spain where we sampled tons of sangria and tapas, skied, and immersed ourselves in the history and architecture of the Moors. Skied in Colorado. Climbed in Kentucky and Arkansas. Canoed the Boundary Waters. Drank our way through Paso Robles and Washington. Hiked the mountains in Seattle and Vancouver. Explored the cultural side of Santa Fe and New York. Enjoyed a gorgeous late fall in DC and finished up the year skiing in Colorado.
Within the city, I’ve enjoyed lots of opera, and got hooked on the trapeze. Sailed a little – not too much this year because I got sidetracked by the trapeze. Drank a lot of wine and read a lot of books. Enjoyed visits from old friends from afar.
If 2011 was the year of the new job and new home, this was a year of fun, fun and more fun. I didn’t set any expectations or aspirations for the year, and consequently, looking back, feel that this has been somewhat an aimless year.
Going into 2012 though, it’s time to stop smelling the flowers and instead re-examine my priorities and goals. I need to figure out how to progress in my career, or what I need to do to change track, especially if our goal is to move out west within the next 5 years.
Will begin by picking up the CFA again… Haha. While I’m unsure if finance figures into the longer term, the content covered will be useful for my current work. If anything too, the intensive studying should help me refocus and get me off hours spent web surfing in the evenings.
Stock Taking in Prior Years:
1. 2010
2. 2009, right before my move back to Chicago
3. 2008
4. 2007
5. 2006
6. 2005
Look at how bare the trees and the mountains in the back are. Usually everything would be under a blanket of white
For all our hand wringing over the dismal snowfall this season, we actually had three really good days skiing. The snow was crunchy but thankfully not icy.
We spent all 3 days on Breckenridge since it looked like it had the most snow of all the resorts in the area. Plus, we had prime parking spots that were only a few feet away from the lifts.
The days got progressively warmer. On Friday, it was bracingly cold with temperatures in the low teens. By Christmas day, it was warm enough (40 degrees) for us to lunch al fresco under the sun.
Too bad we have to leave tomorrow! Although I was really fatigued by the end of the runs yesterday, today I felt I could ski for a couple more days straight. Oh well. Here’s hoping for a ton of powder for when we return in February!
Off to the airport to Colorado for a white Christmas. Hopefully there’ll be a bonanza of that fresh white stuff that has been falling on Colorado on the high slopes!
Otherwise this week has been spent catching up with friends. Grabbed dinner at Tasting Room with Rachel and Thomas Monday. Enjoyed a long and raucous meal at Double Li with 6 other friends. Even though the group hadn’t met one another before, the conversation flowed as freely as the bottles of sparkling everyone brought to share. On Wednesday, we caught up with yet another group of friends over beer, hot pot, and wine. Loving the great start to the festive season!
Angela came to town for the weekend, in part to take her Board exams, in part to hang out and catch up. It’s been over a year since I last saw her in person, since she never seemed to be in town whenever I popped into NYC for the weekend.
We had fun lounging around, stuffing our faces (Fresh, San Soo Gab San, Panes, Julius Meinl, Socca, Southport Grocery, and 90 Miles Cuban). In between whining about feeling too stuffed, we gossiped. If only PY and RX were in town too; that would have been such a reunion! It’s amazing how much we have changed and stayed the same in the 10 years we’ve known each other!
At the very least, Angela and I making plans to hit RX up in Paris in the spring time.
Twice this month now, I was getting ready to leave work early to hit the gym, when a message pops up in my inbox: there’s an extra spot for wine tasting! Come on down!
What’s a girl to say to that? I mean, should I risk being typecast as uptight and demur? Haha. And it’s Italian sparkling wines!!!
The tasting was great, by the way. I bought a bottle of Prosecco, because it was so floral, so off-dry, and so delicious that I couldn’t possibly say no. Especially during the holiday season.
But I have started, what I hope, a new routine. Running on the elliptical or swimming, at least three times a week. At the end of October, I signed up for a gym membership through work. So far, the track record, if I do say so myself, has been pretty commendable. And I’m chuffed to say that after a month and a half of cardio, my heart rate is way lower than when I started. Weight-wise, I don’t see a difference, but that’s not much my main concern as the horrific loss of stamina.
It’s sad to think that ten years ago, when I arrived at the U of C, I placed out of all the physical education requirements. I was probably in the best shape of my life, having recently trekked up to the base of Everest. Fast forward a decade, I can barely hike to the bottom of the climbing crag without wheezing like I’ve been given the fright of my life. 
I liked to think that I was still active, and exercised often. But hiking showed me that while I am probably stronger than I have ever been, climbing and the trapeze don’t provide much in the way of stamina.
So, let’s see how this new regiment comes along!
Since the indoor trapeze rig in Chicago is still not yet open, I’ve been looking to get my trapeze fix wherever I can. I think Jeff’s given up on the trapeze, but he was game enough to sign up for the silks class. At the last minute, we were able to convince his brother Joe to sign up for the trampoline class around the same time (although I think he didn’t think it was really his cup of tea, after bouncing around for a good part of an hour).
I continued to work on my swing and layout. I think it’s amazing that I’ve caught that trick twice before – Brian and Steve are really excellent catchers and linesmen respectively to help me make those two catches before, because I think my swing still needs a ton of work. But the staff at the NYC rig were really, really great – they were very generous and helpful with tips on how I can better improve my technique. Towards the end, they were even trying to convince me to change my air ticket, so I could stay for a couple more days of tutelage. Haha.
It was a great workout! Perfect excuse for later pigging out at The Cannibal, where I met up with an elementary school friend and her boyfriend to catch up on old times over the most delicious Trappist ale and heaping plates of pig’s head, veal and other assorted meat.
Jeff was a little hesitant when I told him we were going to watch a Handel opera. The last time we caught his Hercules at the Lyric, we left at intermission, bored senseless by the endless repetition and glacial moving plot. We’d better order coffee, he said worriedly, when we placed our dessert orders at Cafe Boulud.
But we needn’t have worried much. As expected, there was a ton of reiterations of sentiments. But the story line was tight and moved along at a good pace. We wished there was more than one duet though – it was lovely hearing the blending of the voices of the soprano and countertenor in Io t’Abbraccio. I guess duets (and trios and quartets and choruses) are a rare thing in Baroque opera. It’s definitely interesting to see the development of the operatic styles through the ages. In Rodelinda, all actions completely grind to a stop while the character sings his/her aria vs. in Wagner’s operas where the music is conceived as a “continuous melody” and the arias drive the story along.
That evening we caught the opera, the Lyric released an announcement stating that it had appointed Renee Fleming’s personal manager into the newly created position of Director of Public Relations. My initial reaction – she’s not secure enough as Creative Director? Or is she trying to maneuver her way into the top job at the Lyric? She definitely has a ton of influence, not only at the Lyric, but at the Met, where she convinced the company to produce the Rodelinda opera for her back in 2004. The opera is not that much a soprano showcase however – all characters had long and demanding parts.
We had a solid cast to watch that evening. We greatly enjoyed Fleming’s singing, especially in the duet aria with tenor Joseph Kaiser. Stephanie Blythe, with her powerful voice, is always a delight to listen to. The two countertenors were great too, and we were very impressed with Iestyn Davies – his voice seemed stronger at times than Andreas Scholl. The Classical Review has a great review here.
Oh, and I love, love, love the seats at the Met. I’ve only been there two other times before. The first, I bought a standing ticket to the double bill, Rusticana and Pagliacci; the second, I had orchestra-level seats at the back. This time, we bought tickets in the front center of the family circle, and had excellent views. The seats were spaced generously apart, so we didn’t have to squash our knees into the backs of the seats in front of us, nor had to lean forward to peer over the heads of the people in front of us. I’ve greatly enjoyed watching the close-up live in HD performances at the Met, but it’s something special to sit and take in the entire wide stage at a glance. Oh for another weekend trip to catch another opera live!
I always love visiting New York City – there’s such a ton to do, it’s difficult planning an itinerary. This trip, I only had the weekend in town, so I jammed it as best as I could.
In the morning, we had brunch at Congee Village with Jeff’s family. Loved the flavorful congee – I haven’t found a restaurant that offers half as good a porridge in Chicago unfortunately. And the price is definite value for money. Our table of 8 ordered a dozen dishes, and the total bill with tips came only up to $75!
After lunch, we caught the Broadway play, Seminar. Between that and the opera, we had just about enough time to squeeze in a meal at Cafe Boulud.
The one thing I’ve definitely taken for granted eating at fine dining restaurants in Chicago is that for the most part, the dress code is a little more casual. At El Ideas, we can get away with wearing a nicer sweater or shirt, but apart from that, the jeans and sneakers stay on.
I felt compelled to dig out my nicer dress pants and boots for Cafe Boulud however, and still felt a little intimidated by the sharply suited waiters hovering over us.
We had a half bottle of Burgundy red to go with our seafood pasta appetizer of uni, shrimp, and lobster. It was delicious, and I could have easily slurped another plateful. For entrees, we shared the puff-pastry wrapped sea bass and pan seared duck, both excellent, if un-exciting choices. The hazelnut dessert with salted nuts was the highlight of the evening, especially paired with an off-dry French red. We also lingered over the basket of madelines they laid out with our coffee. Soft, they puffed warm air into our mouths when we bit into it.
Jeff was really nice to give in to me when I asked, could we please, pretty please go watch Alan Rickman in his new play on Broadway, Seminar?
The play, by Theresa Rebeck, is about a grouchy celebrity editor who holds a private writing seminar and who then seems to take an unwholesome delight in ripping their work to shreds. The plot is simple, with no twists, but the dialogue was smart and wicked.
Rickman was at his snarling, blistering best. He delivered punches in his deliciously low voice that reverberated off the floors of the stage. The audience, consisting mostly of an older set – and then us, lapped it up.
One of my favorite lines: You want my honest opinion? Well I think you are not without talent. Your writing is like a whore. You are a whorishly good writer. You will never be on a panel, but if you want to make it rich, you should go to Hollywood.
After the show, we left the theater, intending to make our way up to Lincoln Center. Outside, however, long lines had formed. It turned out that people were waiting for Alan Rickman to appear. Haha so we joined in the waiting. Jerry O’Connell, one of the actors in the play, made an appearance, and diligently shook hands with everyone before he and a couple other cast members strolled off around the block. Alas, to everyone’s visible and audible disappointment, Alan decided to hide from his adoring fans and sent word that he wasn’t going to appear.
Oh well, but at least we did see him up close and in the flesh!
Jerry O’Connell signing autographs
