Fight at the Symphony!

I just got back from a lovely performance at the Symphony, listening to Dvorak's Cello Concerto and Sibelius' Symphony No. 1. At the end, as everyone was applausing, Matt and I started to duck out to get ahead of the crowd...then we heard some yelling behind us. We turned around and saw a 30-something year old man yelling---like in-your-face-yelling---at an elderly woman with a walker. He was saying a bunch of things, but the only thing I could hear was "you're just a mean bitch!" before I exited. Man! It's one thing to see a man yelling at grandma like that...but at the symphony! And loudly enough so that everyone could hear! And while still applausing---the symphony hadn't even left the stage yet!

Lusting updates

So...I finally caved and bought a TIVO HD -- it should arrive tomorrow! Can't wait. Hope I don't have any problems getting a multi-stream cable card from Comcast.

And....after searching and searching for awhile, I found a pretty good deal on a Nikon D40, including the 18-55mm lens that comes with all the basic kits. I'm still lusting after the 18-200mm lens but I'll have to wait til I catch a good deal AND am willing to drop a few Benjamins. For the meantime, I'm happy to get the basic camera body -- meeting the seller tomorrow morning after dropping Matt off at the airport (bachelor party in Tahoe for the wedding we're attending Memorial weekend).

Now, to think about the accessories I need....camera bag....tripod...filters....

What I'm lusting after

I've had shopping on my mind lately...of the electronics sort. With the trip to Iceland coming up soon and browsing through various websites in preparation for the trip, I've seen so many gorgeous photos of this country (check out this photoset on flickr)...inspiring me to finally dive into the Digital SLR world. Now, if you know me, you'll know that I lo-o-o-o-ve taking photos. I have a camera with me everywhere I go. I love getting great shots...but I've always avoided diving into DSLRs knowing how expensive of a habit it can get. It's more affordable now (though still pricey) but I've been really feeling the itch to learn more photography skills beyond the basic point-and-shoot. Don't get me wrong: I LOVE my current point-and-shoot (a Canon Powershot SD1000), especially since I have a matching underwater case for it---fabulous for the next diving trip (Hawaii!). But man, it'd be great to take some amazing scenic shots with a nice DSLR. After getting advise from various friends and visiting a camera store or two, I've decided that what I want right now is a Nikon D40 with the Nikon 18-200mm AF-S VR lens.

How did I come to this? Well, I started off knowing that I couldn't go wrong with either Canon or Nikon---it was just a matter of feeling which one felt best. So I went to a store to hold a Canon XTI, Canon XSI, Nikon D40, Nikon D60, and Nikon D80. I had heard that the Canon was slightly smaller so I figured that I would like that one better...but to my surprise, I actually really liked the grip of the Nikon. It just made a difference for how it felt in my hand. I then tried to narrow it down between the D40, D40x, D60 and D80. The difference between the D40x and D60 was so minor that it was pointless to get the D40x, so that was eliminated. The D80 was more expensive and a bit more camera than I really needed now, so I eliminated that. So then it came down to the D60 and D40---both cameras that I would be very happy with. I soon decided that the D40 was for me as I started researching lenses and realized that the $200 difference was better spent on a good lens. I soon fell in love with the 18-200mm just purely due to the convenience of having a lens that has such a wide range. I'd also heard fabulous reviews from friends and websites. It was a no brainer. Sadly, the lens is nearly twice the cost of the body of the camera! I'm spending my days browsing craigslist, ebay, adorama, amazon and bhphoto constantly monitoring prices.

What DSLR do you own and what lenses?

The other thing I'm lusting after is a TIVO. Series 3 or HD, I don't care. I'm just sick and tired of the crappy piece of metal that Comcasts calls a DVR sitting in my living room. All I want is that it can record on dual tuners and record HD. I delete my shows after I watch them so I don't even need much capacity (hence why the HD version is probably totally fine for me as compared to the Series 3)

Lucky week for concerts

It's been a lucky week for concerts. It started with early Wednesday, only about 60 hours after I first heard that Radiohead was coming to Seattle in late August. I've personally never seen Radiohead but have always been a fan. Matt's seen Radiohead a few times already but it's one of his favorite bands ever. Since Sunday evening, I started pinging websites and the work concert alias to see if anyone knew the password for the Pre-Sale that would start on Thursday morning. After a bit of snooping, I learned that the w.a.s.t.e. website historically sells Radiohead tickets about a day before the actual pre-sale and it's just a matter of refreshing the website and being lucky to hit it when it opens up. There were rumors that it would go on sale anytime potentially between 1am and 7am PST Wednesday morning. Despite needing to wake up for my 7:45am pilates session, I stayed up Tuesday night til 1:15am or so refreshing the site, ultimately succumbing to my sleepiness. Matt tried again at 2am and 5am with no luck. On a fluke, as I woke up around 7:30am (I literally roll out of bed and wander acros the street for pilates), I went to my computer, refreshed the website, and voila! I scored 4 tickets on the 100-level. SCORE! On top of that, since I got the tickets through the w.a.s.t.e. website, I saved myself from the ridiculous $15+ Ticketmaster fees. Total fees here = ~$7. Extremely satisfying purchase.

The next concert score was a last minute idea to check out the Chris Rock: No Apologies event at the Paramount on Friday night. Admittedly, since this was not through any pre-sale or anything, I just got 2 tickets through Craigslist for a bit more than actual ticket value. I just felt lucky to get tickets for this very sold out show. It was all worth it as it was an awesome awesome comedy show. Matt and I were laughing so much throughout both the 1/2 hour opening act and Chris's 1.5 hour act that our jaws got sore from grinning so much. We've now seen Lewis Black and Robin Williams in person, and hands down Chris Rock was the most enjoyable out of all of them. He definitely delivered and I highly recommend checking him out if he ever comes through your city.

Grrrrrrrr.......

My car got broken into either last night or Sunday night. I realized this when I went downstairs to drive to work today and saw this:


I then opened the car door and saw this:


They had rummaged through all my stuff in the glove compartment and left it out:


Bastards left behind the rock they used to break the window:


Fortunately, I don't really keep much valuable in my car so they really didn't get anything of much value. All items taken:

Outlook Mobile GPS receiver ship gift.

USB car charger. Came with the GPS receiver.

Mini USB cable. Came with the GPS receiver.

A set of nice headphones gifted to me by Ben in Hong Kong
That's about it---all things that were just given to me. Cost to me = $315.95 to replace the driver's side window. Working from home today and waiting for the Auto Glass guys to come over this afternoon.

Called the police to file a report. Apparently, they only physically come over if your transmission's been messed with, which it hasn't.

Grrrrrr.....

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

The KU Jayhawks are the 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball National Champions!!!! I'm so incredibly excited! (and listen, I'm never excited about sports but Jayhawks basketball is the one thing I do get into) I actually remember the last time they won, in 1988, with Larry Brown as Coach, Danny Manning the star player, and Scooter Barry living next door to me with his uncle's family. Ever since, I've been waiting for them to win again. Over and over I've seen them come oh so close but not quite enough to cinch the win. Every year, they seem to have a near perfect season but something makes them falter and fall off the bracket. But this year, they did it and I'm damn proud of them.



This game was really awesome to watch as Memphis is a very comparable team. The last 2 minutes of the game was jaw dropping. I really thought Memphis had it with 10 points up on KU and multiple foul shot opportunities...but they let it slip with, what was it, 5 missed foul shots in a row. To see KU come back like that was amazing...and to cinch it to a tie to go into overtime with only the 3rd scoring 3-pointer at the end (in the picture here) was so incredibly lucky. The overtime game itself just went smoothly and KU came back with their reliable, tight, inside shots. Soon after the game ended, the TV showed a shot of downtown Lawrence with all fans spilling onto Massachusetts St.---oh man, I would've loved to be there. Congratulations Jayhawks! Job well done.

Since my last post, I've had the opportunity to see 2 more amazing performances at Benaroya Hall: Lang Lang and Anne-Sophie Mutter. Both were totally amazing, but I have to say, Lang Lang totally blew me away. It was my first time watching him play and he is absolutely outstanding. He plays the piano with such finesse and ease, and his command of difficult passages is mind blowing. One interesting aspect of this performance is that there were about 3 rows of audience seats on the stage -- I'd never seen that in all my years of attending the Seattle Symphony! I wonder how the sound carries sitting on the stage. He returns this Fall playing a concert mostly of Chopin---definitely getting tickets to that!

With the lack of much television lately, in addition to watching our Netflix movies more often, I've been getting into Battlestar Gallactica. Now, many would say I'm doing it a disgrace by jumping right into Season 3 and getting the briefing from Matt on the first 2 seasons....but that's a lot of hours of television!

Also been trying to work out a lot more as I've had a crazy weight gain in the last 6 months. This week was okay though I made up for it on the weekend:
Monday - 45 minutes of the Crunch Pilates-Yoga workout. Harder than I expected.
Thursday - 30 minutes of interval running
Saturday - 25 min. of strength training. 30 min of cardio
Sunday - 25 min. of strength training. 20 min of cardio
I've started clipping out workouts in magazines, stapling them together and carrying it to the gym with me. Surprisingly, it's helped a lot in disciplining me and guiding me through a good workout. Generally, I know how to use the machines but I don't really approach the workouts with any structure. I'm currently using Shape Magazine's Month 3 Bikini-Body Countdown workout--it's a pretty good one! I didn't realize they have other workouts in this category -- will have to try those out too.