Darting Here and There
I haven't been around all that much these past two weeks. Work was incredibly stressful, but now I can relax. This post is about all the totally random stuff that has happened in the last three weeks or so.
The Lion King Musical Review
As noted in this post, I went to see The Lion King musical in San Francisco with my mom and mat_kat. Because all of us had the afternoon free, we were able to walk around and enjoy the city sights before the 8 p.m. show. I bought my mom a gardenia to pin to lapel because she loves the scent. While I was attaching it to her clothes, I heard someone yelling my name. It was my friend, Mick who was in the city for a school project. *laughs* Small world.
We did a bit of shopping around Union Square and had a sushi for a snack. Dinner was at Boudin's. I love their sandwiches; I always pick up a few sourdough loaves to bring home whenever I go to the city. We had cheesecake for dessert at The Cheesecake Factory. I'm not overly fond of this type of cake-it's way too creamy for me-but I enjoyed the scene and conversation. TCF is located in the Macy's building, and the views are stunning.
LK is currently playing at the Orpheum Theatre, and we had seats in the orchestra section. The ticket seller recommended that I pick a section with an aisle seat. I'm really glad I took her suggestion because I had a great view. Here are my thoughts about the show...
• The actors run up and down the aisles as part of the performance; I was so close to them that I actually felt like I was part of the scene.
• The costumes and puppets were amazingly creative. There were actors playing pieces of grass, trees, and animals.
• I was particularly impressed with the actors who played Zazu and Timón. I loved how the actor made Zazu emote by manipulating the eyes in the puppet. Zazu was the perfect, starchy majordomo (or major dumbo as one of the hyenas suggested) and Timón had that nervous energy that was apparent on stage. Both characters provided a lot of comic relief.
• I was a little disappointed when the loud music drowned out some of the singing. I'm very familiar with the score, so I knew what was being sung-I just wanted to hear it.
• The actress who played Rafiki has a beautiful and very powerful voice. The show opened with her chants about the birth of Simba.
• I loved the starry night scene where Mufasa's face appears in the "sky." It was a poignant moment. Speaking of scenes, Mufasa's death and the stampede were brilliantly portrayed. Scar was unctuous and so very evil-loved it.
• The animated version is my all time favorite Disney cartoon, so I was anxious to see the stage version. Simply put, I loved it; it translated beautifully from screen to stage. I can't rank my favorites, but I can tell you that it's definitely in the top five. Les Miserablés is still number one on my list though.
Upcoming stage shows that I will be seeing are Grease and Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity in Las Vegas. More reviews to follow.
Club Picnic
Last weekend was the annual club family picnic; this year it was in park in Alameda. It was the first time we had the event there, and it was great. We had a view of the San Francisco skyline and Oakland Bay Bridge and we could also go swimming or wading. Random picnic musings...
• For once I wasn't in charge of the games, and the kids were so disappointed. I hate to say this, but the person in charge of the games this year slacked off. Nothing was prepared, and she didn't even budge from her seat during game time. Because my mother is the club treasurer, she hands out the cash prizes. She ended up organizing the games by default. I was so angry with the slacker, but what can you do? We improvised, and I think the kids had fun.
• It was a really windy day. I'm glad I brought my kite and bubble mixture. I haven't flown a kite in years, and it was a lot of fun. I'm such a kid.
• The squirrels were a friendly bunch. It was rather amusing to watch them eat the rice I tossed at them. They grabbed the balls of rice in both hands and spun it while they ate. They looked like children.
Today I went to a high school graduation party of a family friend. I was sitting at a table with a bunch of young children-the celebrant's cousins. There were two identical twin nine year old boys sitting close to me. They were dressed exactly alike from the shape of their glasses to their plaid shirts and khakis. One was reading Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code and the other was reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I had a rather intense discussion with both. They were kind of shocked that I knew so much about AF and HP. *grins* If they had been older, I would have told them to check out the discussions and fics at FictionAlley.
The food was yummy, but I was a bit overwhelmed with the ten courses. Yeah, TEN courses plus dessert. *bug-eyed stare* My favorites were the salt and pepper crab and the mushroom/bok choy stir fry.
I hope all of you are having a great weekend. And happyday217, I hope you and E had wonderful time watching PoA! *hugs you*
Tomorrow is Father's Day; my dad and I will be celebrating with dinner and a fishing trip. :D Happy Father's Day to all who celebrate it.
The Lion King Musical Review
As noted in this post, I went to see The Lion King musical in San Francisco with my mom and mat_kat. Because all of us had the afternoon free, we were able to walk around and enjoy the city sights before the 8 p.m. show. I bought my mom a gardenia to pin to lapel because she loves the scent. While I was attaching it to her clothes, I heard someone yelling my name. It was my friend, Mick who was in the city for a school project. *laughs* Small world.
We did a bit of shopping around Union Square and had a sushi for a snack. Dinner was at Boudin's. I love their sandwiches; I always pick up a few sourdough loaves to bring home whenever I go to the city. We had cheesecake for dessert at The Cheesecake Factory. I'm not overly fond of this type of cake-it's way too creamy for me-but I enjoyed the scene and conversation. TCF is located in the Macy's building, and the views are stunning.
LK is currently playing at the Orpheum Theatre, and we had seats in the orchestra section. The ticket seller recommended that I pick a section with an aisle seat. I'm really glad I took her suggestion because I had a great view. Here are my thoughts about the show...
• The actors run up and down the aisles as part of the performance; I was so close to them that I actually felt like I was part of the scene.
• The costumes and puppets were amazingly creative. There were actors playing pieces of grass, trees, and animals.
• I was particularly impressed with the actors who played Zazu and Timón. I loved how the actor made Zazu emote by manipulating the eyes in the puppet. Zazu was the perfect, starchy majordomo (or major dumbo as one of the hyenas suggested) and Timón had that nervous energy that was apparent on stage. Both characters provided a lot of comic relief.
• I was a little disappointed when the loud music drowned out some of the singing. I'm very familiar with the score, so I knew what was being sung-I just wanted to hear it.
• The actress who played Rafiki has a beautiful and very powerful voice. The show opened with her chants about the birth of Simba.
• I loved the starry night scene where Mufasa's face appears in the "sky." It was a poignant moment. Speaking of scenes, Mufasa's death and the stampede were brilliantly portrayed. Scar was unctuous and so very evil-loved it.
• The animated version is my all time favorite Disney cartoon, so I was anxious to see the stage version. Simply put, I loved it; it translated beautifully from screen to stage. I can't rank my favorites, but I can tell you that it's definitely in the top five. Les Miserablés is still number one on my list though.
Upcoming stage shows that I will be seeing are Grease and Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity in Las Vegas. More reviews to follow.
Club Picnic
Last weekend was the annual club family picnic; this year it was in park in Alameda. It was the first time we had the event there, and it was great. We had a view of the San Francisco skyline and Oakland Bay Bridge and we could also go swimming or wading. Random picnic musings...
• For once I wasn't in charge of the games, and the kids were so disappointed. I hate to say this, but the person in charge of the games this year slacked off. Nothing was prepared, and she didn't even budge from her seat during game time. Because my mother is the club treasurer, she hands out the cash prizes. She ended up organizing the games by default. I was so angry with the slacker, but what can you do? We improvised, and I think the kids had fun.
• It was a really windy day. I'm glad I brought my kite and bubble mixture. I haven't flown a kite in years, and it was a lot of fun. I'm such a kid.
• The squirrels were a friendly bunch. It was rather amusing to watch them eat the rice I tossed at them. They grabbed the balls of rice in both hands and spun it while they ate. They looked like children.
Today I went to a high school graduation party of a family friend. I was sitting at a table with a bunch of young children-the celebrant's cousins. There were two identical twin nine year old boys sitting close to me. They were dressed exactly alike from the shape of their glasses to their plaid shirts and khakis. One was reading Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code and the other was reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I had a rather intense discussion with both. They were kind of shocked that I knew so much about AF and HP. *grins* If they had been older, I would have told them to check out the discussions and fics at FictionAlley.
The food was yummy, but I was a bit overwhelmed with the ten courses. Yeah, TEN courses plus dessert. *bug-eyed stare* My favorites were the salt and pepper crab and the mushroom/bok choy stir fry.
I hope all of you are having a great weekend. And happyday217, I hope you and E had wonderful time watching PoA! *hugs you*
Tomorrow is Father's Day; my dad and I will be celebrating with dinner and a fishing trip. :D Happy Father's Day to all who celebrate it.