Ode to Joy

Attended a classical concert at the Civic Center with a few friends. It was aptly titled, 'Ode to Joy' and the music was pretty good. I have to admit, it was the smallest concert hall I have ever been in. Compared to the previous concert halls I have been, this one pales in comparison. I guess I shouldn't be comparing, considering my current location.

Interestingly, I only found out that Ode to Joy was originally written as a poem by a German poet to celebrate the ideal of unity and brotherhood among mankind. It is sung to the music by Beethoven, in the final movement of his Ninth Symphony.

Shostakovich: Festive Overture

Ives: Double Fugue on American Hymns

Bernstein: Candide Overture

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9

ACP Minnesota

I presented my first poster presentation at the American College of Physician Minnesota meeting today. Although I didn't make it past the first round, it was a good experience learning how to present my case. Here is to more poster presentations to come!

My poster (authors' and institution's names have been removed due to confidentiality)

Pumpkin carving

Apparently, the house that we are currently renting, is known infamously to the Malaysian-Singaporean community here as the venue for the annual pumpkin-carving for Halloween. This tradition has been performed in our humble abode for the past 6 years, hosted by previous Mal-Sing occupants, and we were expected to continue the tradition.

We graciously opened our doors, (not as if we had a choice), and welcomed everyone to carved pumpkins in our living room. Luckily, not much mess was made as everyone was very conscientiously trying to clean up after themselves.

I didn't buy a pumpkin this year, but shared it with my housemate and together, we carved our first pumpkin, as can be seen below.

Our carved pumpkin (without candles)

Our carved pumpkin (with candles in the dark)

Joshua Radin in concert

Ever since hearing Joshua Radin's music on Grey's Anatomy and Scrubs, I have enjoyed his music tremendously. I had actually bought tickets to see him perform live in London on March 19 this year, but I was at the BES conference in Harrogate, and was unable to watch him perform.






Fortunately, he performed in Minneapolis and I wasn't going to forgo it this time round. And he was definitely worth it!

Renaissance Fair

Visited the Minnesota Renaissance Fair this weekend, which is supposedly the largest Renaissance Festival in the United States with an annual attendance of 275,000. It amazes me, it really does, a Renaissance Fair here in Minnesota!

As you enter the festival gates, one is welcomed by roaming street characters with a gracious “Good day my lord and lady”, and slowly immersed with the sounds, smells and sights of an authentic 16th century village.

Greetings galore my fair lady

Fencing - the aim is to burst the balloons on the ears!

As usual, the main attractions are the numerous food available to sample, quite similar to the State Fair actually. And pricey too, which explains the photo below. =)

Lady Visa and Master Card are always welcomed!

U2 in concert!

Am back in Chicago to attend U2 in concert!


Honestly, it was very extravagant of me to fly to Chicago just to attend a concert. However, this is U2! I have always wanted to watch them live when I was back in UK but work always got in the way. I am disappointed to say that I have never set foot in Wembley Arena where all the top artists and musicians perform.

When I heard U2 was performing in Chicago, and during a weekend when I was not working, I couldn't resist. As with all U2 concerts, the tickets were all sold out, thus I had to resort to a third party website. At first, I was initially worried how genuine the website would be and also how high the ticket price would be marketed, since everyone is out to make a profit. Luckily for me, I found a decent seller who sold his USD250 ticket to me for only USD200. I guess because it was a single ticket, he couldn't mark it higher.

And the concert was amazing!

The 36o degree stage

Snow Patrol opening act

Bono!

Electrifying stage!

Cloud Gate at Millenium Park - nicknamed The Bean, a sculpture by Anish Kapoor that reflects and distorts the city's skyline

Trip to Amish and State Fair

Am in Ambulatory Clinic rotation this month, which means I have all my weekends free! I had taken my weekends for granted until I started working here in the US, where the concept of weekends is non-existent. Every day is a working day with a day-off every 6-7 days.

Went to an Amish farm auction. I had heard about the Amish community prior but never knew much about them. A bit of Googling informed me that the Amish community do not permit electricity or telephones in their home, with the aim to keep modern world from intruding into their home lifes. They still live and work much as their forefathers did!

Some of the items on auction - a wagon anyone?

Amish-grown vegetables for sale

After the Amish farm, we went to the Minnesota State Fair, which has been reported to be the largest state fair in the whole US of A. This year, a grand total of 1,790497 people attended, according to their website.

Too many Minnesotans

During the state fair, people come to be entertained, to exhibit their best livestock, to show off their abilities in a variety of fields including singing and dancing (think Miss Minnesota Fair!) and most importantly, to enjoy the many different types of food (some weird and wonderful!) - mostly on a stick!

Deep fried alligator on a stick

Cheesecakes on a stick

And the people's favorite - cheese curds!