Happy 2007!

I would like to wish all my dear friends and family a happy and prosperous New Year!

Merry Christmas

I would like to send my warm holiday greetings to all my family and friends who read my blog frequently. Thank you for your love, support and encouragement. It's a blessings that we get to easily share the wonderful moments of our lives with each other right here no matter how far apart we are. May your Christmas wishes all come true this year!

The Quicktime I posted here is a video and photo montage of the recent images I took during the holidays season, edit to the melodious carol of Maureen McGovern, The Christmas Tree.

I Heart NY

There are too many wonderful pictures of New York for me to post them here, so I uploaded them to Flickr.com. Check it out.

Millennium Park

November 28: This was the only nice weather day we had in Chicago, and I was glad that we get to visit the Millennium Park for the first time since it was completed. The "Cloud Gate" by British artist Anish Kapoor, was one of the most fascinating sculpture I've ever seen before. The ultra reflective polished stainless steel was like a mirror, distorting the reflection of the Chicago skyline, giving the visitors a whole new perspective of the cityscape. Also, what amazes me is the size of the sculpture. It was rare to see a simple form in such large scale (33-feet high/66-feet long).

Nearby was the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, designed by Frank Gehry. The proscenium was definitely Gehry's signature style - brushed stainless steel ribbons. It looked beautiful at night when it was lit up with colorful alternating lights. However, the most amazing part of the pavilion was the gigantic trellis shaped like a big bubble, made out of crisscrossing pipes, over the Great Lawn. The function of the trellis acted as grids for speakers and lights during concert events. The pavilion seats over 10,000 people.

Vacation Ends

We parted at Dean & DeLuca in SoHo, hugging and saying goodbye knowing that we will not see each other for at least another couple of years. When I left, I didn't turn back. I didn't want to make this goodbye a big deal, so as if we're going to see each other more often. I got onto the N train at Prince St Station right at the corner, heading towards Times Square. The ride was a little melancholy. Three weeks ago, my high school best friends Joshua and Derrick flew all the way from Southeast Asia to come celebrate Thanksgiving with me and Derrick's partner joined us later and we all traveled to Chicago and New York City. The whole trip was very memorable because of the change of sceneries, the change of pace and the change of weather. Time flies when we were having a great time. However, the trip was packed with all sorts of happenings. Three different hotels, one snow storm that caused us 6 hours of delay at Midway Airport, and three Broadway shows later, the vacation ended, and our memories were captured by three digital cameras and over a thousand shots. It was a privilege that we get to spend time with each other, and teased each other like when we were in high school again. It is amazing that after so many years, whenever we get together, it felt like we had just parted yesterday. True friendship can withstand the test of time. Ours has been 15 years since I left.