Stanford Community Day

Today was Community Day at Stanford. The university put on a big expo to show off the different departments and activities. We only went for the morning, so we didn't do too many activities, but we were there long enough to hear a band, win a raffle prize, fence with foam swords, row a kayak, putt a golf ball, make sock puppets, paint part of a mural, get a balloon, eat lunch, pop the balloon, and visit one booth at the science section. The Stanford Society of Women Engineers had two activities at their booth: make a puff mobile (car made from paper, straws, LifeSavers, and tape that you try to blow across a table) and build with marshmallows. Mary made a two-story house with an attic. Audrey made hors d'ouvres.

Chamber Music

Today Jeff (the guitar player) and I had our first coaching with Dawn Harms. She's a violinist with the San Francisco Symphony who teaches at Stanford. Jeff and I have been working on a couple of duos since the fall, but haven't been able to get a faculty coach until now. We played the first section of "In the Dragon's Garden" by David Kechley. The piece was inspired by the composer's visit to a Japanese garden and starts out with a dreamy, rippling effect. It was really helpful to have another pair of ears to guide us through the piece. Dawn had a lot of great suggestions to bring out the drama in the piece. We'll work on the next section at our next meeting. We hope to perform the whole thing at the June chamber music recital.

Dawn runs a week-long chamber music camp called Music at Kirkwood during the summer. That's something I'd like to do someday - spend a week in the mountains playing chamber music. Of course, it takes a few days to get used to the altitude, so the wind players always have a hard time breathing at first. It would still be a lot of fun.

Happy Easter

It was fun having Mom and Dad here for Easter. I played for the Easter service at church, so I went early to rehearse and the rest of the gang followed. The music director had picked out some strange hymns in minor keys, but the service ended with "Jesus Christ is Risen Today", with the trumpet player and me on the descant. Finally, it sounded like Easter! After church, Scott went home to put the ham in the oven, and the kids had an egg hunt. Mary and Audrey looked so pretty in their dresses, hats, gloves, and purses. It was hard to get them both in one photo, though, because Audrey didn't want to stand still.

We had two of the international families from the Fellowship over for Easter dinner and another egg hunt. The kids had never hunted for Easter eggs before, and they really enjoyed finding eggs and seeing what kind of candy was inside. The stuffed cabbage was a bit dry, but still tasted good. The kids tore up the apartment while the grown-ups sat around and talked about life in our different countries. It was fun to share our holiday with our friends.

Dinner and a Show

The fellowship took us all to dinner and a play in San Francisco. Scott and I spent the day visiting Alcatraz and Fisherman's Wharf with Mom and Dad and the kids. Then we dropped them off at the train station, changed clothes in the car, and joined our friends for dinner at historic John's Grill, home of the Maltese Falcon (at least, it was -- the Falcon was stolen recently).

The play was "After the War" by Philip Kan Gotanda. We saw it at the beautiful American Conservatory Theater. Here's their description of the play:

Fillmore Street. San Francisco. 1946. A place to call home?

When more than 100,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned by the U.S. government during World War II, San Francisco's bustling Japantown suddenly became an urban ghost town. African Americans from the neighboring Fillmore District, rural whites from the Midwest, and other societal outcasts began to fill the vacant neighborhood. But what happened when the Japanese Americans came back?
In this world premiere commissioned and developed by A.C.T., Philip Kan Gotanda (The Wash, A.C.T.'s Yohen) portrays an unexpected grouping of characters as they struggle to revive a community shattered by the effects of the war. Radiantly hopeful, heart-wrenchingly honest, and deeply infused with the jazz rhythms of the neighborhood, After the War is a powerful valentine to San Francisco—and to the everyday people who built this city with their lives, loves, and stories.

We really enjoyed the play. It was very funny in places, and quite emotional in others. I really hoped the characters would be able to find happiness. The rotating set was cool, too. It was a treat to dress up and have a grown-up evening.

Fuzzy Wuzzy Icky

Springtime is caterpillar season at Stanford. Gazillions of them are dangling from oak trees and light posts, and crawling all over the ground. On Monday, when we showed Mom and Dad around campus, Mary was itchy all over just from thinking about caterpillars. Tuesday when I came out of class, I flicked a few caterpillars off the baby seat on the back of my bike. Then, when I started to unlock the bike and get on, I found dozens of them on the bike lock, handlebars, gear shift, bike frame, and tires. Next time I'll be careful not to park under a tree!

Mom and Dad's visit

Mom and Dad are visiting us this week. Check out Mom's blog for write-ups about Stanford, Chinatown, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Exploratorium.

Visit Mom's Blog

Mom started a blog to tell about her adventures visiting us here. Check it out.