"Only the pure in heart can make a good soup"

-Ludwig van Beethoven

Last night I went to the orchestra. My sister and I made a night out of it. We went and picked up tickets at Orchestra Hall. UBS is a sponser of the Minnesota Orchestra and their way of saying thank you was a private concert for UBS employees and clients.

After we picked up tickets, we made our way over to Brit's Pub for dinner. After a couple of Strongbows and a delicious steak sandwich, it was off to the show.

Led by Osmo Vänskä, the first half was made up of Symphony 2 and Symphony 7 by Ludwig van Beethoven. I was reminded how amazing Beethoven's work is. The man was a musical genius. His music is simply beautiful. That in and of itself is enough to leave you in awe. When you try to process the idea that he was deaf, it takes that awe to a whole new level. How does someone who can't hear put notes together to make such brilliant harmony? How do you know how dramatic the difference between piano and forte is? I realize he didn't start losing his hearing until his twenties but still...it's remarkable. The orchestra did a beautiful job. Osmo himself was a treat to watch. In a word, he was animated. I love watching conductors who really get into it.

Beethoven's works were followed by an intermission. Essentially it was a big dessert bar in the lobby from Lunds/Byerlys. The lobby was packed to the point where it was almost impossible to move. It was good getting to see some of the people from the old Minnetonka office.

The second half of the show got a little long. They never actually told us what the musical selections were. Of course it was good but again, it got a little long. It was well worth it considering the tickets and parking was free. Plus I got my culture for the week :)

"I'm kind of jealous of the life I'm supposedly leading."

-Zach Braff

That's google's quote of the day. I found it amusing.

It's been busy over the past month.

On December 17th, I started my job in Wayzata. All things considered, it's ok. The people I work with are great. The hours are better than my old job by a half an hour every day. The drive is even a little better...especially on the way home. I really struggle with the salary. When I was inerviewing for a new position, I was told by both potential supervisors that I was significantly underpaid. When they went to division for approval they were told that they weren't allowed to give me a raise because I was transferring with like titles and it was end of the year raise cylce season. At this point, I'm just rambling because I'm still bitter. I just need to get over it.

I took off several days around Christmas. My brother was home from Colorado so it was nice to spend some extra time with him. He came up to visit some people here in the cities. We followed each other on the way down to my parents house. On the way, the dash lights and the tail lights decided to go out on my car...in the dark. So that was a fun repair.

Christmas day started well enough. Great presents and food. Good time with the family. We sat down for dinner around 5. Before you know it, we called an ambulance to take Mom to the hospital. She was having a difficult time breathing. She had some congestion in her chest and after a couple of nights in the hospital, she was on her way home. She seems to be doing better now.

New Years Eve I went to the party I always go to with a combination of my high school and college friends. It's always a good time and a great way to bring in the new year.

Last weekend, some of the college friends and I headed up to Lutsen for the annual drink a lot and ski trip. I'm not much of a skiier due to my not so good right knee, but the night time sledding down the ski runs was fun.

Today I'm at home. I woke up with a headache that I couldn't get rid of. I did go to work for a couple of hours but it was pretty useless. I came home and took a nap. That helped some. I had some lunch and I'm back to hanging out on the couch. I think another nap might be in the works.

I have a fairly busy week this week. Tomorrow night i'm going to a private performance of the Minnesota Orchestra through work. Saturday afternoon my sister and I are going to see Avenue Q at the State Theater. Then Saturday night is the Swarm home opener. After that, I should be able to lie low for a little while. It will be good for both my energy level and my bank account.

That's all I've got for now. Hopefully it won't be so long before the next update.

turn it up all the way to 11...

...then click here

Kudos to Ace for this one. Thanks!!

transition week

This is the last week I will be working in the Minnetonka office. One week from today, I will report in at the Wayzata office. I'm not super excited. I went through a lot of crap before accepting the position there. I will mostly be doing the same things I'm doing now. My hope is that there will be some opportunity for growth. I hope it's the right decision and it works out well in the end. Only time will tell.

That's pretty much the only thing going on worth rambling about. Have a good week!

here I am...

...rock you like a hurricane. So it's more of a snow storm than a hurricane but you get the idea.


I [heart] winter.

gobble gobble gobble

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Thanksgiving is without a doubt my favorite holiday of the year. I love the simplicity of it. You don't have to get worked up about presents. Family and good food, that's it.

More updates on the job hunt. At this point, I pretty much have my choice between a position in the St. Paul office and the Wayzata office. That's right, I said Wayzata. The opportunity from that office came from nowhere. I had no idea they were even hiring at that office until the Branch Manager called me one morning. The day he called I was non-officially offered the position. If they officially offered me the position, and for some reason I would turn it down, it could give up my rights to any severance pay I would receive from UBS after the Minnetonka office closes. The position in Wayzata is doing exactly what I'm doing now but it would come with a significant pay raise. I went to visit the office last Friday. It was awesome. The office is on Lake Street overlooking Wayzata Bay. My visit went really well. It sounds like they will be officially offering me the job early next week and if the offer is good, I'm going to accept it. I'm ready to be done with all of the not knowing what is going on.

Zeke: After talking to Kitty, it sounds like we're going to throw something together. Any good ideas?
edit: I didn't notice that I'm scheduled to go see "A Christmas Carol" at 7:30 Saturday night. Somehow I don't think a Saturday party will work. Unless we all think Friday night would work...

Captain: I didn't see it until Sunday. I'm not so good about checking my cell phone over the weekend…or anytime for that matter. Sorry. :(

I'm in love with the ordinary

I always forget how much I really dig the song "The World You Love" by Jimmy Eat World until I listen to it.

It has been an insane week.

Monday I had an interview over in the St. Paul UBS office. I think it went well enough. I'm just waiting to hear back on a time to go over and meet with the financial advisors that I would potentially be working with.

Tuesday I woke up with a giant bump on my forehead. It was about the diameter of a quarter, red, swollen and it gave off a yellowish clear liquid a lot like the liquid inside of a blister. Whoosh! Off to the doctor I went. The official diagnosis was cellulitis. The doc put me on antihistamines and antibiotics. As of this morning, the bump is gone. Now I just have some really gross dead skin. Good times.

Wednesday I was exhausted all day. It was probably just my body getting used to the meds. It was nothing a little Guitar Hero III couldn't cure. Oh yeah! We got Guitar Hero III for the Xbox on Sunday. It's rocktastic.

Yesterday was pretty normal. Work, Guitar Hero, The Office, Greys and bed.

Today I'm planning a retirement party for a lady at work. After work I'm going computer shopping for my mom. Tomorrow I get my haircut and after that I'll go to mom and dad's to set up whatever I end up buying for a computer tonight.

That's all for now. Hope you have a great weekend!