Today I was asked to sing for an Easter Mass at the Trinity Church. I then went with Ron to have an Easter Lunch at The Tremont House. I had mimosa (champagne and orange juice) which was quite good. I also had salmon, rice, and a chocolate cake with a soft chocolate filling. It was a very good well prepared lunch.
Happy Brightly Decorated Egg Day.
I am in the process of calling and catching up with all my friends in California. Yesterday I talked to my friend Karla who always puts me in a good mood whenever I talk to her. Talked to my friend Sabrina, Jules and David (he is actually in Oregon). Today I got a call from my friend Lauri in Marin County. We had a terrific walk around Angel Island while I lived there. It was an incredible view.
George and I decided to hangout downtown. We had dinner at The Original and then walked around downtown checking out the cute girls. Every time I go downtown I run into people. This evening was no exception. It was a fun evening.
Here are this week's Tonight Show Headlines.
Headlines
These are just really funny.
I went up to Houston to go dancing with my friend Diana. We first ate dinner at Fadi (which is a Mediterranean Restaurant). It was good. We then went swing dancing at the Melody Club Ballroom. I danced with a lot of girls. I even got asked to dance few times. It was nice to finally talk and dance with social dance people.
This evening I went to hear the Galveston Symphony Orchestra. After not playing the Beethoven's 6th very well I decided to give them a second chance. They played Fanfare for the Common Man by Copland pretty well. They played the Adagio for Strings by Barber surprisingly well. They played Capriccio Espagnol by Rimsky-Korsakov pretty well. Then after intermission they played the Piano Concerto No. 2 by Rachmaninoff. The piano soloist played well but the orchestra did not. There was almost a train wreck during the 3rd movement with a miss cue from the conductor and many times the orchestra was not in sync with the pianist. Also, why did they end the concert with this piece I do not know. The Capriccio Espagnol would have been a better ending for the concert. People just do not know how to program concerts anymore. I went to the concert by myself but during intermission I ran into so many people that I know. It was so cool.
George and I went to eat at the Original Mexican Restaurant. It is Saturday night and spring break so besides my enchiladas I also had the Blue Margarita and the Tres Leches cake. We then went downtown to see if there are any cute girls around. There were a lot of cute girls downtown. We also ran into people we knew from the college. One of George's former students and her friend (both play on the other team) were also checking out the girls. I found out later that her friend said I was hot looking :)
Kind of a trip. All four of us making our own opinions of the girls that walk by. It was a fun evening.
This evening I went to a solo guitar concert featuring music from Spain and Brazil. The guitarist was Edward Grigassy. It was really nice to hear solo guitar live. I grew up with hearing Spanish guitar from recordings as well as hearing my Mom play. So it always feels familiar when I hear classical guitar. The 1st half of the concert was music from Spain: Serenata Espanola by Malats, Suite Espanola by Albeniz, Herencia Latina by Pena and finally Homage to Debussy and The Millers Dance by de Falla. After intermission was music from Brazil: Suite Popular Brasinena by Villa Lobos, Bossa en Re" by Morel, "Feitico" and "Uma Valsa e Dos Amores" by Reis and finally "Apelo," "Retrato Brasilero" and "Conto de Ossanha" by de Aquino. I then went back stage and talked to him. It was a great concert.
Here are this week's Tonight Show Headlines.
Headlines
One of my favorites this week.
We had lunch at Las Canarias and sat outside next to the river.
It was a nice setting for lunch. We then walked to La Villita. A little village of shops and museums.
We then walked to Hemisfair Park. Walked back to the car and headed home. Before going into Galveston, we picked up George and had dinner at a barbeque restaurant. After dinner, dropped him off and went home.
It was nice to get out of the area and into a new city for a few days. It allowed me to think about what has happened this semester and to figure out what kind of things I want to happen during the rest of the semester. I received an insight and a new perspective on things. It was a nice vacation.
We had lunch at the Liberty Bar Restaurant. The wall are asymmetrical so it looks like the building is about to fall down. A couple more sites about the Liberty Bar 1 2. It was a good lunch. We walked to The Alamo and walked though the old buildings. We then walked to the
Menger Hotel.
Ron then drove me around to see some nice housing communities with large and old houses. Thy were King Williams Historical District, Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills and Olmos Park. What nice houses. He also took me to Trinity University, is old school where he received his BM and MM in organ and choral conducing. It is a nice looking campus.
We drove by a couple of his early church gigs before studying organ in France. Drove back to the hotel and walked on the riverwalk to Biga on the Banks. A restaurant on the riverwalk.
Ron and I went to Pancake House for lunch and then headed for San Antonio for a few days. It was a nice drive. Still flat as a pancake. I am use to driving in California. When you take long drive somewhere you will either see hills and mountains or go over them. But here, flat as a pancake. We did hit some traffic going into Houston and going out of Houston so the 3 hour drive San Antonio to over 4 hours. We checked into the hotel and I got some free popcorn in the lobby. (I love popcorn and I just can not pass it up). They also had free drinks so I got a screwdriver and Ron got a scotch and water. The hotel is right on the riverwalk so we sat by a window with the river as a view. We then went to a nice restaurant called Silo. I had salmon and it was very good. We came back and walked on the riverwalk. The river is below the city and there are restaurants and pubs along the river. It is a nice looking place.
A few weeks ago, Melanie invited me to the Houston Symphony. He also invited George, Andy and Claudia. Thanks to Andy's fantastic ability to get the wrong directions, we got to the symphony late. We did hear Bruckner's 3rd Symphony. Like all Bruckner's symphonies, they are quite long. The orchestra played it really well. It was nice to hear real musicians. This was everyone's (besides me) 1st time going to the symphony and hearing a live orchestra. They really enjoyed the experience of feeling the music come from the stage instead of a speaker at home or a car. We stopped by Starbucks on the way home. Not my choice but I got a brownie anyway. It was a nice orchestral experience.
George and I went to meet my friend Melanie, her friend Andy and his friend Seth at the Baybrook Mall which is north of Galveston but before you hit Houston. She wanted some opinions about shoes she wanted to get for the symphony tomorrow. I also got my haircut. Jenn, the hairstylist (ya she was kind of cute) used a razor instead of scissors, She did such a great job on my hair that when Melanie looked at me her eyes got big and said I looked so much younger. I guess I looked good. We all then went to the Olive Garden and joined Melanie's friend Elly and her friend Monica. (A lot of friends huh.) It was great hanging out and having fun with a large group of people.
The school provided spuds with cheese, chili and sour cream. I had it without sour cream. They also had ice cream. Still not really sure what it was for. They called it the Spring Fling Celebration to celebrate the turning in of the accreditation report. Some administration pat on the back thing. I do not care. I got free food.
