The title of the post should actually read "busy week", but most things culminated this past weekend; hence the title. GF's birthday was a week ago and the celebrations started the day prior. A nice dinner with the family out in Summerlin was the kick-off event. A good time was had by all and I have it on good authority (from the birthday girl) that my gift was pretty good. :-)
The week went by quickly and there was a little party on Friday after work at a local bar. Everybody seemed to have a good time which is always good. After a stint as the social chairman for my fraternity in college, I have gone out of my way to NOT be in charge of planning events or parties. I find it incredibly stressful and no matter how hard you work, you can never make everybody happy. I much prefer to be invited somewhere rather than having to plan it. This was the second party (this one was much smaller than the first) in a year that I have put together and both of them turned out really well. That being said... I don't see myself rethinking my position on "party planning" anytime soon. GF said she had a good time as we were leaving and that was what was important to me. Mission accomplished.
Saturday (after a late wake-up) was spent helping out Big Bro moving some stuff. It was cold and windy and I walked away from the task with a chill and a sore thumb. I already had a blister due to a recent trip to the skin and cancer institute, and while helping bro out I managed to catch it on something and rip it off. Yeah... go ahead and cringe. I'll wait. It hurt. It STILL hurts. Bowling tomorrow should be interesting.
Following all the physical labor during the day and a short nap, GF and I took off for the final evening of celebration. We had dinner at Il Fornaio (NY NY Casino) prior to the concert. I have had good experiences here before, but that was not the case on Saturday. Our seats were uncomfortably close to the tables around us, and GF had to send back her food TWICE! Unlike other people I dine with from time to time, GF is not one to complain... so when she did I really knew there was a problem. Finally she just changed what her order was and when her food finally did come, all was good. In spite of previous experiences I don't plan to come back here in the near future.
Then it was time for the concert we had been looking forward to for weeks. Andrea Bocelli... Words cannot do justice to this concert. His voice is amazing and hearing him sing in person was a thrill. He is just incredible. While I truly enjoy this style of music, it isn't something I am going to throw in the CD player very often... But the music was so amazing I am considering purchasing some of his CDs.
Our seats weren't great, but not horrible either. We could see most things pretty well, and what we couldn't see was projected up on huge screens in the arena. I am not sure who the orchestra was accompanying him, but they were pretty good. The strings and percussion were dead on, but the woodwinds and brass could have been better. The clarinet soloist didn't have the best tone and I heard the brass flub a few entrances. Oh... and the choir wasn't great either. There was one piece where they really missed the entrance. Woops! In spite of all that, this is still one of my favorite concerts. I have always liked Bocelli, but now I am a fan. If he comes to your town, GO SEE HIM!
Sunday was a late breakfast and then a round of golf with Luke. I shot better than expected. Got a birdie and a few pars. Not too bad for not having picked up my clubs in over two weeks. After golf I had enough time for dinner, the running of a few errands, a bath with jets to sooth my muscles, and then it was time for bed.
It was a great weekend, but damn I was not happy to hear my alarm this morning.
--Chris
The week went by quickly and there was a little party on Friday after work at a local bar. Everybody seemed to have a good time which is always good. After a stint as the social chairman for my fraternity in college, I have gone out of my way to NOT be in charge of planning events or parties. I find it incredibly stressful and no matter how hard you work, you can never make everybody happy. I much prefer to be invited somewhere rather than having to plan it. This was the second party (this one was much smaller than the first) in a year that I have put together and both of them turned out really well. That being said... I don't see myself rethinking my position on "party planning" anytime soon. GF said she had a good time as we were leaving and that was what was important to me. Mission accomplished.
Saturday (after a late wake-up) was spent helping out Big Bro moving some stuff. It was cold and windy and I walked away from the task with a chill and a sore thumb. I already had a blister due to a recent trip to the skin and cancer institute, and while helping bro out I managed to catch it on something and rip it off. Yeah... go ahead and cringe. I'll wait. It hurt. It STILL hurts. Bowling tomorrow should be interesting.
Following all the physical labor during the day and a short nap, GF and I took off for the final evening of celebration. We had dinner at Il Fornaio (NY NY Casino) prior to the concert. I have had good experiences here before, but that was not the case on Saturday. Our seats were uncomfortably close to the tables around us, and GF had to send back her food TWICE! Unlike other people I dine with from time to time, GF is not one to complain... so when she did I really knew there was a problem. Finally she just changed what her order was and when her food finally did come, all was good. In spite of previous experiences I don't plan to come back here in the near future.
Then it was time for the concert we had been looking forward to for weeks. Andrea Bocelli... Words cannot do justice to this concert. His voice is amazing and hearing him sing in person was a thrill. He is just incredible. While I truly enjoy this style of music, it isn't something I am going to throw in the CD player very often... But the music was so amazing I am considering purchasing some of his CDs.
Our seats weren't great, but not horrible either. We could see most things pretty well, and what we couldn't see was projected up on huge screens in the arena. I am not sure who the orchestra was accompanying him, but they were pretty good. The strings and percussion were dead on, but the woodwinds and brass could have been better. The clarinet soloist didn't have the best tone and I heard the brass flub a few entrances. Oh... and the choir wasn't great either. There was one piece where they really missed the entrance. Woops! In spite of all that, this is still one of my favorite concerts. I have always liked Bocelli, but now I am a fan. If he comes to your town, GO SEE HIM!
Sunday was a late breakfast and then a round of golf with Luke. I shot better than expected. Got a birdie and a few pars. Not too bad for not having picked up my clubs in over two weeks. After golf I had enough time for dinner, the running of a few errands, a bath with jets to sooth my muscles, and then it was time for bed.
It was a great weekend, but damn I was not happy to hear my alarm this morning.
--Chris
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