Picture of What I Work On All Day

See those pieces of glass the pilots are looking through? That's what I do. These are Air Force pilots looking for hurricanes in a C-130J.

Is This The Blog I Started...

I guy works a little overtime and this is what happens to the blog. I don't recognize a thing. Work was a bit crazy the last month or so. It all came to a head one day when we realized that if we were going to release our software, we would have to pull an all nighter. Myself and 5 of my colleagues worked 30 to 40 hours non-stop to get the software out the door. Now I'm editing documents and have time to view/edit the blog again.

Jason Mraz - I'm Yours!!!

A couple of Wednesday's ago..okay, last month (I know, so behind on the blogging). I was at another concert. Janet, Lynn, and I went to see Jason Mraz at the Schintzer. It was a great show!

I admit that I'm not a huge fan of Jason Mraz, but I've liked what's been playing on the radio. This guy is a great performer and really engages the audience. Janet hooked us up with pretty darn good seats, on the floor in the center aisles.

Before the show started, they had this screen up that was encouraging people to take pictures and text them to a number and it would show up on the screen. So then people started just sending text messages and they were scrolling on the screen. Some were funny, others not. That was good entertainment before the show, it definitely set the tone for the remainder of the show..fun and quirky.

An Irish artist by the name of Lissa Hannigan opened for him. Different from what I normally listen to, very mellow, perhaps a little too mellow for me, because I was getting really sleepy. She did like a 30 minute set and then it was time for Jason.

He's really cute. I would not normally say this, but I think the hat and the somewhat scruffiness really go well together. He's got a great voice and I enjoyed all the different beats that came out of his mouth. He had this brass trio with him that were very good and entertaining.

I will admit that I was not familiar with majority of the stuff he played, but it all had great beats so it was easy to just jam along with him. He played "I'm Yours" and the crowd really got into it. He sang the song "Lucky" with Lissa Hannigan (originally sung with Colbie Caillet).

Overall, it was a good show. He had a great encore performance and he really made us clap! During the encore he was taking polaroids of all the band members as he introduced them and then flinging them into the crowds. I thought that was pretty neat. He made one girl happy who got to come on stage - it was her 21st b-day!

Anyway, he was the last concert for 2008 and it was a good way to go out. posted. whew!

Fidelio

I am a lover of the Opera. Ever since freshman year in college (when we were 'forced' to see a dress rehearsal of Turandot) I've been hooked. La Traviata was at the Keller Auditorium during my b-day week, but I missed it, so going to see Fidelio was kind of a 'make up'.

I was fortunte to receive free tickets to the opera so my co-worker and I decided to make a 'date' out of it. She (Jenn) had never been to an opera and thought this would be a fun event.

We drove downtown and had pizza by the slice at this little pizza shop a couple of blocks from the Keller. It was kind of a last minute decision to go to this place and we really liked it. It was like a little hole in the wall, but the waiter was super nice and accomodated our silliness.

The opera was Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven. It was his first and his last. And yes, there is a reason why. It was a fun performance, definitely had some laughs. The music was beautiful, as I expected it to be.

I've posted the plot for you. Please enjoy.

The Plot
ACT I — Spain, eighteenth century. In a prison, Marzelline, daughter of the jailer, Rocco, rejects the attentions of her father’s assistant, Jacquino, who hopes to marry her. Her heart is set instead on the new errand boy, Fidelio. The latter, a hardworking lad, arrives with provisions and dispatches and is distressed by Marzelline’s interest in him, especially since it has the blessing of Rocco. Fidelio is in fact Leonore, a noblewoman of Seville who has come to the jail disguised as a boy to find her husband, Florestan, a political prisoner languishing somewhere in chains. When Rocco mentions a man lying near death in the vaults below, Leonore, suspecting it might be Florestan, begs Rocco to take her on his rounds. He agrees, though the governor of the prison, Don Pizarro, allows only Rocco in the lower levels of the dungeon.

As soldiers assemble in the courtyard, Pizarro learns from the dispatches brought to him that Don Fernando, minister of state, is on his way to inspect the fortress. At this news the governor resolves to kill Florestan, his enemy, without delay and orders Rocco to dig a grave for the victim in the dungeon. Leonore, overhearing his plan, realizes Pizarro’s evil nature and the plight of his victim. After praying for strength to save her husband and keep up hope, she again begs Rocco to let her accompany him to the condemned man’s cell—and also to allow the other prisoners a few moments of air in the courtyard. The gasping men relish their glimpse of freedom but are ordered back by Pizarro, who hurries Rocco off to dig Florestan’s grave. With apprehension, Leonore follows him into the dungeon.

Act II — In one of the lowest cells of the prison, Florestan dreams he sees Leonore arrive to free him. But his vision turns to despair, and he sinks down exhausted. Rocco and Leonore arrive and begin digging the grave. Florestan awakens, not recognizing his wife, and Leonore almost loses her composure at the familiar sound of his voice. Florestan moves the jailer to offer him a drink, and Leonore gives him a bit of bread, urging him not to lose faith. Rocco then blows on his whistle to signal Pizarro that all is ready. The governor advances with dagger drawn to strike, but Leonore stops him with a pistol. At this moment a trumpet sounds from the battlements: Don Fernando has arrived. Rocco leads Pizarro out to meet him as Leonore and Florestan rejoice in each other’s arms.

In the prison courtyard, Don Fernando proclaims justice for all. He is amazed when Rocco brings his friend Florestan before him and relates the details of Leonore’s heroism. Pizarro is arrested, and Leonore herself removes Florestan’s chains. The other prisoners too are freed, and the crowd hails Leonore.

Joshua Radin and Missy Higgins

It had been a while since I've been to a show and now it seems like I'm going to several all at once. I love it! There will be a couple of other posts.

Last week my friends (Janet and Lynn) and I went to see Missy Higgins and Joshua Radin at the Crystal. It was a great show! I'm a fairly new fan of Missy (thanks to Lynn!) and I've been listening to Joshua for a bit now, but just never had the opportunity to see him live.

The three of us met at a grocery store and I drove downtown. We parked our car in the garage adjacent to the Crystal and walked to Henry's for some dinner...I just have to say, I'm not a fan of Henry's. Their bar atmosphere may be good, but their dining experience was lacking. Our server was not very attentive and kind of slow. And how does a restaurant of that size run out of soup spoons? Anyway, sorry for the tangent..we had dinner and left to get in line for the show..only to our surprise, the line was already wrapping around the corner..so much for sitting in the balcony and relaxing! We get in line and already feel out of place. Everyone looked so young and then there we were (we aren't that old tho!).

It's been a while since I've been to the Crystal and I rediscovered that I like the venue. It's a great place for an intimate show. I ended up standing for most of the night, but that was ok. The wall and I became really good friends! I also realized that by 10pm, I was really getting tired! I'm a night owl, but it's different when you're not at home in your pj's...

Onto the show.

Joshua Radin opened and did a great job. He was really funny (and cute!) and told stories about what was inspiring him when he wrote his songs. I like it when artists talk to the audience like that. That guy has had a lot of ex-girlfriends! I was hoping he would play "Closer" but the songs that he did play were still good. He did a duet with Missy Higgins which was cool. I love the fact that these performers write their own songs. Unfortunately his performance was like 30 minutes..a little too short for me! Check him out at www.joshuaradin.com

Missy Higgins was up next. She's from Australia and has a cute little accent. She let like 40 minutes pass before she made it on stage (it was the longest wait ever). But she didn't disappoint. She too is a good performer and I liked her stage presence. She played songs from her first album, so I didn't know those, but she also played a lot from her current album. She saved her current radio hit "Where I Stood" till last, but it was worth it. She explained that she was anti 'encores', so once that song was over, so was the show. Check her out at www.missyhiggins.com

Then we had this incident with the parking garage door being closed. Lame.

Anyway, it was a great show and it made me realize how much I missed going to them.

Trick-or-Treat!

As Jae would say, "trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat, if you don't, I don't care, I'll pull down your underwear!"

The usual crew gathered at the house, aunties, uncles, and grandparents. We had some corned beef and cabbage (on Halloween?) and of course, LOTS of candy!

This year, Jae was a fireman and Hannah was a bear. Pretty darn cute if you ask me.

We left the house without eating dinner (big mistake) and started on our journey of collecting candy. Halloween was shortlived this year, for two reasons.

1. A lot of homes did not have their porchlight on.

2. Hungry Jae = cranky pants Jae = I'm done

Usually, the whole street is lit with lights, but this year, half of the street was dark. We are thinking it's because Halloween fell on a Friday and most families had places to go since there was no school the next day. So we ended up skipping a lot of homes and ventured out a little farther. Along the way, there was a lot of cajoling to say "trick or treat" and "thank you" and constantly picking up the fireman hat that kept falling onto the ground, and telling Jae to go to this and that house. All the while, carrying a sleeping bear (Hannah fell asleep within 10 min of being out). At one point, Jae starts taking off his hat, his head protector, and his glow in the dark stick and starts walking back to our house. We ask him if he's done and he's like, "yes, I'm done". We were kind of surprised, but I think the lack of food and the walking made him tired and cranky.

We finally get home and take our picture at the door and go inside for some grub. Jae eats a little of the corned beef, but then wants candy! He eats a little more than I'd like, but it's once a year, he'll never get to gorge himself like this until next Halloween.

Well, now that he's in, he's the candy helper. Whenever the doorbell rings, he's right there handing out candy. The little trick or treaters must have LOVED Jae, because his idea of handing out candy was taking two FULL handfuls of candy! You should have heard some of the kids and parents..they were like "wow, that's a lot of candy!" I guess it's a good thing for us, less in our house!

We turned off our lights at 8:30 and proceeded to enjoy a somewhat quiet evening. Jae was a little jacked up on sugar, so he didn't get to sleep until 10 and Hannah ended up waking up a couple of times during the night.

Overall, it was another great halloween. It was Hannah's first and she slept through it all! Next year should be fun when she can walk.

Happy Halloween!

It's Raining, it's pouring..

Well, I think the gray season of Oregon is officially here, and just in time for Halloween.

Happy Halloween!