My weekend so far:

Friday night- Went to a fundraiser/ performance event to honor the victims of Sichuan Earthquake. Overall, it's good show but it's dragging a bit too long when the one of the hosts talked too much.

Saturday- went to my friend's bridal shower and had a good time. Good food and games! =)

Year of the Rat 2008

Hot Pot Marathon

 This weekend I had a Hot  Pot Marathon. I called it " Hot Pot Marathon" because I continued to have Hot Pot  over for 3 meals. Hahhaa.. Life's good with food indeed. Starting Saturday night, I went to my friend's for Hot Pot with other friends present. We had lamb, beef, tofu, dried tofu, lettuce, wintermelon, mussels, and mushrooms. =) I was so stuffed with good frood that my friend invited me over again for Sunday lunch.  After church service, I went again to my friend's place at York University to have more Hot Pot.  The food was still pretty much same as last night but it's still good. After a hearty lunch, I stayed at my friend's apartment and got acquainted wither her boyfriend. We spent some time watching Chinese show and viewed my friend's Disneyworld trip pictures. I also stayed for dinner as well. Guess what we have for dinner again? Hot Pot of course. haha Still yummy!

So we had such a blast for lunch with another friend and for dinner we had that same friend over lunch and her roommate. We had so much fun eating and hanging out that we have decided that we should do Hot Pot again sometimes in the future. In fact, we are planning to do a 24 hour Hot Pot Marathon in which we have friends over eat till we're stuffed and sleep over at the host friend's residence and then continue to eat for 24 hour. When we're tired of eating, we will have card games to keep ourselves enterained and books to keep ourselves stimulated. Anyway, it's a fun idea indeed. Who knows if it'll actually happen? We will just have to see. 

Handel's Messiah

Today has been an unbelievable day. In spite of the snowstorm, I still managed to attend the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's performance of Handel's Messiah. I bought three tickets on the top right balcony seats for the show for my friends' Christmas gifts. As my friends and I were in line to get another friend who just decided to join us last minute a ticket for the peformance, this lady in her late 50's and early 60's approached us and asked if we are in need of a ticket. Of  course, we replied her with a simple yes. Guess what she then said? Then the lady simply said: "I am giving away my ticket. Do you want it? It's front row seat near the stage." We were simply surprised the two friends and myself. My other friend went to park his car. Then we asked her why's she giving away the ticket. That lady said : "Well, the ticket is for my father. However, due the terrible snowy condition outside, he can't make it so I'm just asking anyone who might want to take this ticket so it will not gone to waste." One of my friends offered to buy the ticket.  So, we gave her about $20 dollars because she didn't want to take any more than that and plus she was just very happy to give the ticket to someone who could use it.

After a brief discussion amongst the three of us minus the other friend in parking lot, it was decided that I should go sit with this lady in the front row seat near the stage because my friend may not be comfortable sitting with strangers and she would feel more at ease sitting with my other two friends (a married couple). So, I joined the lady who sold us the ticket at a very cheap price for the duration of the peformance. She and I sat on the very first row where we have full front view of the orchestra members. We were able to see the volinists, cellists, and choir members, sorprano, mezzo-sorpano, tenor and bass all clearly without obstruction. Though we could not see the drummer, basson, and trumpet players that well. All this happened to me because of the generosity of that lady with whom I sat. She paid $58 dollars for the ticket that's given to me for $20 paid by my friend.

Throughout the 140 minutes of Messiah performance, I simply enjoyed myself immensly, staring and observing  how the violinists moved their bows, the way the four soloist singers sang their parts and the unity of the choir members.  As I listened and read their lyrics to the performance, I was transformed into Handel's music entirely. Handel was brillant in how he arranged the orchestral part, choir, and the soloists so well and to convey the heart of Christian message. He completed the Messiah in 24 days. His friend wrote the words for the piece.

When it was time for the choir to sing the Hallejuah Chorus, Everyone in the audience stood up for the duration of the song. As the last Amen was being sung and the performance came to an end, everyone gave all the performers a standing ovation. This was a musical performance that continued in spite of the horrible snowy weather conditons outside. Just like old cliche states, " The show must go on." In today's case, the show must go snowstorm or not. What a day indeed!

To be able to witness this wonderful performance live, it just makes my Christmas even brighter. I never did think about my health situation for one minute while listening to the performance. It's not only breathtaking and amazing but also memorable. For those who have never gone to Handel's Messiah performance live, you should go to a performance this holiday season so you can also experience the awesome work of music.