Thursday, July 9, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Berryessa swim - 2miles + 1 mile 6/3 Lunch
Jason and I relaxing with a meatloaf sandwich after having swum 3 miles altogether...
Berryessa swim - 2miles + 1 mile 6/3
Another one with the guys in the group from San Francisco Masters Swimming Club!
Berryessa swim - 2miles + 1 mile 6/3
Ernst & I just finished the 2 mile swim, Ernst now preparing the lunch, and Mori to run back to the 1 mile swim
Monday, May 25, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
May 4
Yesterday, May 4th was my dad's birthday. He's now been gone for 12 years. I still remember in NY when I found out that he had just passed away. My boss gave me a couple of weeks off. How different my world was back then... I had no idea where I'd be 12 years later.
Living here in San Francisco has been great. Having lived in NYC for 6 years, I was definitely ready to come back to California. I've made this my home, and I feel very planted with a group of friends that support who I am, without judgment.
However, lately, I've been starting to feel a bit impatient. Impatient isn't necessarily the right word, but more like anxious. It's augmented by my reaching my 38th birthday, realizing the my body is aging, day-by-day. Although I might say that I've never been healthier, I must say that I'm feeling a bit rushed from the fear of having too many things I'm interested in accomplishing in life, that I have not enough time for. Take for example, the piano. I probably practice about 30 minutes a day, and lately I've been working on a few complicated pieces. I would like to give a litte concert at one time, but with the rate I'm going, it won't be for a while. I'm been studying German, which I hope to get better at. I'd love living in another country before I get too settled in. I'd love to play chamber music. I'd love to go more than 2x/month to a concert and immerse myself with live classical music. I'd love to meet people who have passion over music and speak into the wee hours of the morning. I want to cook more traditional Japanese foods. I want to bake more cakes and pastries. I want to learn other cultures and viewpoints. I want to read, read and read more novels and history books. I want to swim across the English Channel. I want to go camping with Himi and someone special. I want to drive to the interior part of the US. I want to visit certain national parks. I want to seriously study music again. I want to go to these summer music festivals in Germany, Switzerland, France and Austria. I want to hear certain pianists perform live. I want to hear Brahms violin concerto in person, and just melt. Iwant to write my book. I want to write a sequel to Natsume Soseki's unfinished book. I want another dog. I want a family. I want, I want, I want...
And somehow, I feel like time is slipping away. I feel like I have lived to build a career. Now, I do have a career. Respected and secure. But I need to rethink how fulfilling it has been for me, and how I can enrich my life further. I feel that my career, which helped enrich my life, is no longer contributing to fufilling my life as it did before. I'm more confident and I'm less concerned about how others see me; however, I feel that I need to find what is the best way for me to fulfill my second half of my life. But this time, not my career being the anchor, but myself.
Living here in San Francisco has been great. Having lived in NYC for 6 years, I was definitely ready to come back to California. I've made this my home, and I feel very planted with a group of friends that support who I am, without judgment.
However, lately, I've been starting to feel a bit impatient. Impatient isn't necessarily the right word, but more like anxious. It's augmented by my reaching my 38th birthday, realizing the my body is aging, day-by-day. Although I might say that I've never been healthier, I must say that I'm feeling a bit rushed from the fear of having too many things I'm interested in accomplishing in life, that I have not enough time for. Take for example, the piano. I probably practice about 30 minutes a day, and lately I've been working on a few complicated pieces. I would like to give a litte concert at one time, but with the rate I'm going, it won't be for a while. I'm been studying German, which I hope to get better at. I'd love living in another country before I get too settled in. I'd love to play chamber music. I'd love to go more than 2x/month to a concert and immerse myself with live classical music. I'd love to meet people who have passion over music and speak into the wee hours of the morning. I want to cook more traditional Japanese foods. I want to bake more cakes and pastries. I want to learn other cultures and viewpoints. I want to read, read and read more novels and history books. I want to swim across the English Channel. I want to go camping with Himi and someone special. I want to drive to the interior part of the US. I want to visit certain national parks. I want to seriously study music again. I want to go to these summer music festivals in Germany, Switzerland, France and Austria. I want to hear certain pianists perform live. I want to hear Brahms violin concerto in person, and just melt. Iwant to write my book. I want to write a sequel to Natsume Soseki's unfinished book. I want another dog. I want a family. I want, I want, I want...
And somehow, I feel like time is slipping away. I feel like I have lived to build a career. Now, I do have a career. Respected and secure. But I need to rethink how fulfilling it has been for me, and how I can enrich my life further. I feel that my career, which helped enrich my life, is no longer contributing to fufilling my life as it did before. I'm more confident and I'm less concerned about how others see me; however, I feel that I need to find what is the best way for me to fulfill my second half of my life. But this time, not my career being the anchor, but myself.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Concert at Zellerbach Hall
So I went to Kristian Zimerman's piano concert at Zellerbach Hall on Friday night. The performance itself was interesting. I've never heard his playing in the past, but I liked his second half program more than the first, which is surprising, because the reason for my attending the concert was to hear him play the last sonata of Beethoven, which was the last piece in the first half of the program. He definitely can play modern pieces well, and I was mesmerized by his playing to say the least (for the second half).
But in my usual fashion, the reason for my write up tonight is to comment on someone who was sitting right next to me. I arrived just in time as the lights were blinking in the lobby signaling that the concert was about to begin. I found my row, and saw that my seat was the second seat from the aisle, neatly open between a man about 45 sitting on the aisle alone, and a couple of my age on the crowd side. I quickly glanced at both parties and thought, oh good. Looks like they're here to hear music. They looked educated, and ready for the concert.
But.... as soon as the concert began, the man on the aisle side started to move his neck, his hands and his fingers as if he was playing the piano. He would jerk his wrist, his knees and his legs sometime with, and sometime obviously not with the music. To me it signaled that he did NOT really know the pieces. But in any case, IT WAS irritating.
I see this a lot: people who are overly "intellectual" that they HAVE to show others they know the music. But he definitely did not play piano. His fingers were not moving LIKE those of a pianist, and he obviously made mistakes. (yes, it was so obvious from where I was sitting, that I can tell he did not know the pieces). Besides, when I glanced at his fingers, he had fingernails that would make noises when they'd hit the keys.
In any case, PEOPLE, please realize that there's nothing cool about being able to fake play a piece in concerts. It's just distracting and just plain RUDE. I call these people, conductorfakes.
But in my usual fashion, the reason for my write up tonight is to comment on someone who was sitting right next to me. I arrived just in time as the lights were blinking in the lobby signaling that the concert was about to begin. I found my row, and saw that my seat was the second seat from the aisle, neatly open between a man about 45 sitting on the aisle alone, and a couple of my age on the crowd side. I quickly glanced at both parties and thought, oh good. Looks like they're here to hear music. They looked educated, and ready for the concert.
But.... as soon as the concert began, the man on the aisle side started to move his neck, his hands and his fingers as if he was playing the piano. He would jerk his wrist, his knees and his legs sometime with, and sometime obviously not with the music. To me it signaled that he did NOT really know the pieces. But in any case, IT WAS irritating.
I see this a lot: people who are overly "intellectual" that they HAVE to show others they know the music. But he definitely did not play piano. His fingers were not moving LIKE those of a pianist, and he obviously made mistakes. (yes, it was so obvious from where I was sitting, that I can tell he did not know the pieces). Besides, when I glanced at his fingers, he had fingernails that would make noises when they'd hit the keys.
In any case, PEOPLE, please realize that there's nothing cool about being able to fake play a piece in concerts. It's just distracting and just plain RUDE. I call these people, conductorfakes.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
So NY times has this article on Iowa and same-sex marriage:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/us/26iowa.html?_r=1&hp
(Hope the link is still alive when you go there)
Without plagiarizing, quoting the Times, "But no legal ruling, people here say, should be seen to suggest that most Iowans favor same-sex marriage. In fact, a poll last year by The Des Moines Register found that 62 percent of Iowans believed marriage should be only between a man and a woman, while 32 percent supported same-sex marriage, and 6 percent were uncertain." This tell you that, at least, people tolerate, even if they don't necessarily believe or support gay rights in Iowa. However, our California governor has completely been swept up by the conservative rhetoric, unable to voice his own personal views and leading the state above the federal or, national level. Obama, on this topic, is unfortunately, not that much better in his speeches, but did voice his opinions against Prop. 8 last November. I cannot give that much more credit to him, either, at this point.
And what I think right now, is: HOW embarrassing it is that Californians, including the governor himself, could not lead the nation on this topic, but rather, have to follow states like Iowa. I don't mean anything negative against the state of Iowa by saying that, but let's face it; we are all VERY surprised that Iowa state legislature ruled for gay marriage, where if the same happened in the California court, rest of the nation would have just raised an eye brow. No "wow!"s or "oh my god, in California"s. It just tells you, in the realm of gay rights, HOW behind our governor is, and HOW he has no leadership . I'm completely disappointed by his lack of foresight or insight on this topic. Utterly disappointed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/us/26iowa.html?_r=1&hp
(Hope the link is still alive when you go there)
Without plagiarizing, quoting the Times, "But no legal ruling, people here say, should be seen to suggest that most Iowans favor same-sex marriage. In fact, a poll last year by The Des Moines Register found that 62 percent of Iowans believed marriage should be only between a man and a woman, while 32 percent supported same-sex marriage, and 6 percent were uncertain." This tell you that, at least, people tolerate, even if they don't necessarily believe or support gay rights in Iowa. However, our California governor has completely been swept up by the conservative rhetoric, unable to voice his own personal views and leading the state above the federal or, national level. Obama, on this topic, is unfortunately, not that much better in his speeches, but did voice his opinions against Prop. 8 last November. I cannot give that much more credit to him, either, at this point.
And what I think right now, is: HOW embarrassing it is that Californians, including the governor himself, could not lead the nation on this topic, but rather, have to follow states like Iowa. I don't mean anything negative against the state of Iowa by saying that, but let's face it; we are all VERY surprised that Iowa state legislature ruled for gay marriage, where if the same happened in the California court, rest of the nation would have just raised an eye brow. No "wow!"s or "oh my god, in California"s. It just tells you, in the realm of gay rights, HOW behind our governor is, and HOW he has no leadership . I'm completely disappointed by his lack of foresight or insight on this topic. Utterly disappointed.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
San Francisco und der Mond.
Maybe you cannot see it very well, but this is Saturday view of the city from Twin Peaks. If you look closely, there's a moon towards the center mountain range (Mt. Diablo left).
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
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