Life as J

Last night, I read one of the most engaging, imaginative books I've ever opened - Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code . The only prior knowledge I had of the novel was that it has incredible staying power on the Bestseller list, in part due to its highly controversial content which has sparked many publishings and outrage among religious groups. Other than that, I was clueless - I was expecting a very interesting read, but never thought to find such a gripping piece of literature. I was fortunate enough to have gotten the illustrated special edition, allowing me to properly visualize all of the pieces of artwork and symbology referenced by the author. I was hooked by the Prologue, after which I took my only break until I finished the entire book. Reading became my sole purpose - I skipped dinner, not because I was too caught up to notice the time, but because the words were enough to feed my appetite. If you've read it, I'm sure you know what I mean. If you haven't,...

I celebrated Thanksgiving (American) in New York - both Thursday and Friday were spent in Manhattan - then Friday night and Saturday in Boston. Thursday morning, I left my apartment with my roommate (since she was also headed to New York, but for different reasons) and we drove down to Boston and took a bus to New York from South Station . Surprisingly, it only took 3.5 hours to reach Chinatown in New York as opposed to 4.5. That left me with plenty of time to explore the southern part of the city. I hailed a cab and was whisked to Ground Zero - the site of the World Trade Center. There were warning signs everywhere because of the ongoing construction, but there was a memorial/tribute created for the public as well. It was quiet at that time since most of the population was uptown for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, so I was able to reflect on the events in peace. Though it's been 4 years since the attacks, there remains a solemn atmosphere surrounding the area. I stro...

This past weekend has been pretty lazy, the only highlights being Harry Potter and a potluck dinner. Of course, Harry Potter came first, but I'll relate my views on the movie at the end of this post so that those of you who don't want to read spoilers can skip it. The potluck was insane. There was so much food, all Chinese(!), that it would have been fit for an army. Well, a small army. I pigged out as usual, spooning myself samples of everything, but something strange happened - I felt full after my first helping! I figured something must have been wrong with my senses, because I've never before been full after one helping at a potluck. Thus, I took a break, then took 2 helpings of desserts - I really couldn't have stopped myself, it was all so tempting! Anyway, after all that food, I was close to bursting. Literally. Afterwards, it was all I could do not to "burst". Question - does this mean my eating capacity has forever been compromised by my dai...

Before my mind gets filled with Harry Potter... What was that? I feel like I watched two hours of (a few) beautiful people talking and acting like VIPs, but nothing happened. Okay, let's rewind. I'm giving a brief review of Ocean's Twelve - late, but oh well, at least I won't spoil anything. (This is your warning to stop reading if you haven't seen the movie and don't want to read spoilers.) The opening was cute, focusing on the main players of the game - George Clooney and Brad Pitt. I felt the other members were a bit rushed - I had no clue what was going on with a few of them - but the main point came across: the guy they pulled the last job on wanted his money back. One thing that kind of grated on me was the way cameos were handled. In some movies, cameos fit - the short 15-second stint contributes a pinch of substance in the plot. This movie wasn't like that. Topher's appearance was like a breath of pot smoke - hazy, left you feeling confus...

I hate being sick. Last week, I tried to fight a sore throat that just wouldn't go away (I didn't think to buy medicine as a back-up plan). On Friday, it won and developed into a cough. Thankfully, I managed to get a lot of sleep on Saturday, which helped me beat back the cough to a manageable state, but that just allowed me to progress to the next stage - stuffy nose. On Sunday, my best friend was a roll of toilet paper (not to worry, it was soft) and all the fluids I had left in the apartment. Since I'd already gone out on Friday night and Saturday night (for the concert and musical, respectively), I decided to quarantine myself in my room for Sunday - partially because I just wanted to relax, partially because I didn't want to spread my germs to my roommate. This plan allowed me to catch up on some old TV episodes I'd been meaning to watch, as well as a few movies. Now, I can safely say that I've seen all 10 seasons of Friends episodes (no, I didn't...

This weekend, I attended a concert at the Boston Symphony Hall - presented by the Yan-Huang Performing Arts. Yup, the music was mainly Chinese (with a bit of Brahms thrown in). I was most impressed with the violin concerto, performed by Bin Huang, which was almost flawlessly executed - the melody was really beautiful, and her expressiveness could be felt all the way in the back corner of the auditorium (where I was sitting). There was a little bit of awkwardness during the duet between the violinist and the cellist, but that was forgiven by the audience's standing ovation. The piano concerto, on the other hand, was a huge disappointment. During the entire piece, mistakes were as frequent as conductor cues! Probably even more frequent, if I dare to tell the truth. Aside from finger slips, there were times when the pianist was off-sync from the rest of the orchestra. I felt so terrible for Li Fan, I would excuse the hiccups and put my faith in hopes that he would improve - fa...

Alright, due to comments made regarding my previous chosen template, I've adapted a new template from a different Blogger style. Hopefully this is more pleasing to the eye - this time, I don't think I'll be able to cause grimaces from poor colour coordination! I just finished reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, just in time for the release of the movie adaptation this Friday. I'm really looking forward to seeing how Keira Knightley will play Elizabeth Bennet - apparently, her performance has already received great reviews . For those of you who haven't had a chance to read the novel, it's about a family of 5 sisters and their mother, whose only wish is to see each of her daughters married. The family is poor and their estate will be inherited, not by any of the daughters, but by a disagreeable cousin (thus the necessity for marriage). Throughout the book, 3 of the sisters constantly attract the attention of gentlemen from a myriad of backgrounds. E...

I wish I had my camera this weekend, but unfortunately, it's still with the Repairs department at Canon. I sent it in because they issued a recall on the casing because of the tendency for black spots to appear (which they did). I'll hopefully be getting it back within 7-10 business days. I went to Beaver Brook on Saturday to take a look at the Fall colours that make New Hampshire so beautiful this time of year. Walking through the forest, the view wasn't as pretty as I'd hoped - most of the leaves had already fallen off due to the heavy rains from all the hurricanes. When we came to a meadow though, that's when it hit me - we saw a mountain covered in both deciduous and coniferous trees, creating a palette of striking reds and golds intermixed with luscious greens. We walked for a good couple of hours and passed the meadow again, but it wasn't late enough to see the sunset behind the trees. That would have been gorgeous. Otherwise, the hike/walk was pre...