It's a wintry wonderland here in New Jersey, and the weather this morning was particularly bad. Despite shoveling the snow twice in the past 36 hours, I could only stand helplessly as heavy snow fell from the sky early this morning. Unable to make it out to our church in the city despite the snow tapering off, we decided to see if we could attend service at the local Presbyterian church in our neighborhood. Unfortunately, we found that the church was closed due to the snow and were on the way home when I saw out my driver's side window that another local church, Community Congregational Church, had just begun service and we could still catch most of it. So we pulled into the parking lot and scurried in.
As we stepped into the hall near the sanctuary, we were welcomed warmly by an Asian gentleman, who turned to Daniel and said, "Hey there! Would you like to be a shepherd?" Before I could open my mouth, Sarah was enthusiastically volunteering our son and removing his jacket, hat and mittens. Daniel was then escorted to the chapel to be dressed in his full shepherd garb and given his plush lamb toy to carry, where other kids of all ages were similarly adorned in Nativity character outfits.
The service was fantastic and was similar to our annual Lessons and Carols service. There were children presentations and choirs performances interspersed with Scripture readings and a sermon. The music, which was led by a full-time worship director who had graduated from Juilliard (according to Sarah), was excellent. Daniel was quite a trooper marching down the aisle with the other shepherds holding his plush lamb in his arms and then stepping onto the stage as the older kids acted out the 2nd chapter of Luke.
I have to hand it to Daniel and his personal flexibility. He had barely walked into an unfamiliar church when he was volunteered to get dressed and play a role in the Christmas Pageant. It was actually a very welcoming thing to do by the kind folks at the church to allow our son to not just be a spectator, but allow him to dress up and be part of a story which he's heard so many times. I just wonder if I'd feel similarly welcomed if I stepped into a church as a visitor and someone thrust a guitar into my arms and said, "Hey there! Would you like to lead praise and worship?" Knowing me, I'd probably say yes.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
A Chip Off the Old Block
Today I had the pleasure of bringing Daniel to work for our company's "family day" open house holiday party, which is easily one of my favorite days of work in the year. Sarah and I agreed that the train and subway commute into the city wasn't going to be good for little Sophia, so my co-workers were deprived from meeting the two special women in my life.
Daniel loves trains and he was thrilled for the chance to ride on NJ Transit's spanking new double-decker trains. We managed to get seats on Daniel's preferred upper deck with Daniel propped on my computer bag to give him a better view, and his eyes just gazed out of the window the entire time on the trip into Penn Station, the silence broken only with occasional excited whispers of "Daddy, look! Another doubler-decker train!" or "Daddy, look! Switching tracks!"
As soon as we stepped off the train into a crowded Penn Station, I sternly reminded Daniel that under no circumstances should he let go of my hand. A devious thought came across my mind. Almost ten years ago, I was on a missions trip in El Salvador and was responsible on the first day of arrival to e-mail all of our team members' parents to let them know that we had all arrived safely. Upon returning from the Internet Cafe, I told my good friend Don, "I wrote to your father and said 'Dear Mr. Kim, I regret to inform you that your son is dead.'" Don's eyes widened like saucers and he said with a voice with alarm, "You did not just do that. My father has heart problems." I assured him that I was kidding, and he proceeded to call me a "dork" and he also might have punched me a few times. In a similar vein, I was thinking that maybe it'd be funny if I called Sarah and in a panic said, "I can't find Daniel! I just left him alone at the newsstand for ten minutes while I was buying my latte!" and then tell her I was just messing with her after she goes into hysterics. Then I realized that maybe it wouldn't be that funny and I'd surely pay for it with my life.
I first took Daniel to see the Macy's window displays, which detail scenes from the movie Miracle on 34th Street. We got to my office, and Daniel had a blast doing rings with my office chair, playing with some of my trinkets (foam sports balls and Star Wars models) and staring out of my 8th story office window towards the intersection of 42nd and Third scolding the taxis "come on, let's go!" We went to the Conference Center where costumed Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Shrek, Raggedy Ann & Andy waved and exchanged hugs and high-fives with employees' kids, while stockings full of candy were being handed out. In the middle of the room, Santa and Mrs. Claus greeted kids as they sat on Santa's lap and made their requests known, with a photographer snapping a picture which was then put in a frame and given to each visitor.
We returned to my office where he met some of my colleagues, continued some of his artwork on my dry-erase board, ate some more cookies and apple juice, and then we head back home on the train in the middle of a Winter Wonderland.
So Daniel got to do what his dad does every day - if you just swap out hugging children's characters and being fed juice and cookies with facilitating meetings, creating PowerPoint presentations, and doing e-mail - plus add seven more hours to your day, you could hardly tell the difference. Oh, to complete the simulation, I did make Daniel shovel the snow with me when we got home. Being the man in the house is tough, son.
Daniel loves trains and he was thrilled for the chance to ride on NJ Transit's spanking new double-decker trains. We managed to get seats on Daniel's preferred upper deck with Daniel propped on my computer bag to give him a better view, and his eyes just gazed out of the window the entire time on the trip into Penn Station, the silence broken only with occasional excited whispers of "Daddy, look! Another doubler-decker train!" or "Daddy, look! Switching tracks!"
As soon as we stepped off the train into a crowded Penn Station, I sternly reminded Daniel that under no circumstances should he let go of my hand. A devious thought came across my mind. Almost ten years ago, I was on a missions trip in El Salvador and was responsible on the first day of arrival to e-mail all of our team members' parents to let them know that we had all arrived safely. Upon returning from the Internet Cafe, I told my good friend Don, "I wrote to your father and said 'Dear Mr. Kim, I regret to inform you that your son is dead.'" Don's eyes widened like saucers and he said with a voice with alarm, "You did not just do that. My father has heart problems." I assured him that I was kidding, and he proceeded to call me a "dork" and he also might have punched me a few times. In a similar vein, I was thinking that maybe it'd be funny if I called Sarah and in a panic said, "I can't find Daniel! I just left him alone at the newsstand for ten minutes while I was buying my latte!" and then tell her I was just messing with her after she goes into hysterics. Then I realized that maybe it wouldn't be that funny and I'd surely pay for it with my life.
I first took Daniel to see the Macy's window displays, which detail scenes from the movie Miracle on 34th Street. We got to my office, and Daniel had a blast doing rings with my office chair, playing with some of my trinkets (foam sports balls and Star Wars models) and staring out of my 8th story office window towards the intersection of 42nd and Third scolding the taxis "come on, let's go!" We went to the Conference Center where costumed Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Shrek, Raggedy Ann & Andy waved and exchanged hugs and high-fives with employees' kids, while stockings full of candy were being handed out. In the middle of the room, Santa and Mrs. Claus greeted kids as they sat on Santa's lap and made their requests known, with a photographer snapping a picture which was then put in a frame and given to each visitor.
We returned to my office where he met some of my colleagues, continued some of his artwork on my dry-erase board, ate some more cookies and apple juice, and then we head back home on the train in the middle of a Winter Wonderland.
So Daniel got to do what his dad does every day - if you just swap out hugging children's characters and being fed juice and cookies with facilitating meetings, creating PowerPoint presentations, and doing e-mail - plus add seven more hours to your day, you could hardly tell the difference. Oh, to complete the simulation, I did make Daniel shovel the snow with me when we got home. Being the man in the house is tough, son.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Music Hacks versus Music Professionals
Music is arguably one of the greatest unifying forces in the world. The love of music transcends history, geography, racial and socioeconomic lines, and while people may have diverse tastes and talents in music, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who has absolutely no affinity for tones brought together to create some sort of rhythmic harmony.
Strangely and sadly, music is something that also divides. You see this in churches all the time, and I've had a front row seat in some of the conflicts that people in a church will have around worship styles, lyrics and genres as well as the philosphy of who is "permitted" to perform music at a church service and whether those people should be compensated financially or not. I've noticed that some opinions around especially the last point are largely correlated around the "professional" musicianship of the person - whether that be in the form of formalized training at a conservatory or a record of performing as a paid musician in clubs, orchestras, or festivals. People with these background tend to have very different opinions than people who I will affectionately call "hacks" - folks who are lawyers, doctors, contruction workers or otherwise ordinary Joes who simply like to sing or play an instrument decently well. For better or for worse, these conflicts are not confined to the church.
I came across a recent article about unrest at the New York Philharmonic due to the perception of the orchestra members that not only was a guest conductor incompetent, but the invitation to conduct was made only because of generous donations given in the past. Depending on your point of view, you can either view Gilbert Kaplan as a wannabe egocentric hack who has bought his way onto the conductor's lectern at the expense of a more well-deserving conductor who actually has formally studied the craft and has a depth of experience of the subject matter. On the other hand, you might view the complaining orchestra members as elitist snobs who hold thinly veiled resentment that they're being conducted by someone who hasn't required the same years of blood, sweat and tears to be a competent conductor and who has more wealth than most of the orchestra members could ever dream of.
My wife has a piano performance degree from Juilliard, so I've experienced some of the mindframe differences firsthand. When planning our wedding, I had suggested Twila Paris' "How Beautiful" for our special music, which was something that I enjoyed hearing at a number of my friends' weddings. Sarah might have been less outraged if I had suggested that we serve McDonald's Extra Value Meals at our reception. I remember at the time being a little miffed at that, feeling there was a little "musical elitist snob" in her response. Thankfully, we've come a long way in terms of mutually appreciating each other's point of view - she recognizes my musical opinions, albeit untrained are valid and important; I recognize that music is something that is something that she knows, loves and appreciates deeply - and much more than I do. Sarah, while being a big proponent and defender of classical music, also acknowledges that musicians can be immensely self-focused and elitist.
And that elitism does bother me. There's nothing more irritating that the implication that a layperson "can't understand" the transcendant power of song or "can't appreciate or identify truly good music" simply because I didn't go to Juilliard or Curtis or perform at Carnegie Hall. I've even heard classical musicians lament that popular music "isn't good music" despite the fact that it is loved and purchased is large volumes by the masses. Before soon, there emerges a bitterness that classical music performers are paid so much less than Kanye West or Beyoncé (nevermind Kobe Bryant and Adam Sandler), and by extension, a bitterness towards an "unsophisticated" public that hasn't created a supply and demand market where everyone who studies classical and jazz music graduates with job offers galore with $200K annual salaries.
To be fair, do insane misalignments exist for the salaries that are offered in American society? Absolutely. I find it absolutely mind-boggling that, for example, educators are paid so little compared to entertainers. But generally speaking, all of us go into a field eyes wide open knowing what our likely financial upside is going to be (e.g. you don't become a librarian for the money). Going back to the issue of hacks versus professionals - if professional musicians want to engender public interest and appreciation around their craft, maybe building a figurative wall between by "those of us who get it" and "those of you who never will" isn't the smartest thing. Specific to the issue with Gilbert Kaplan: here's a guy who loves and appreciates classical music and has been a generous donor - and you're going to encourage his love for the arts by tearing him apart and belittling him? Not the best way to treat your most passionate fans.
By the way, our wedding special music was a Schubert piece by sung by Thami Zungu, a Juilliard classmate of Sarah's. It was incredible.
Strangely and sadly, music is something that also divides. You see this in churches all the time, and I've had a front row seat in some of the conflicts that people in a church will have around worship styles, lyrics and genres as well as the philosphy of who is "permitted" to perform music at a church service and whether those people should be compensated financially or not. I've noticed that some opinions around especially the last point are largely correlated around the "professional" musicianship of the person - whether that be in the form of formalized training at a conservatory or a record of performing as a paid musician in clubs, orchestras, or festivals. People with these background tend to have very different opinions than people who I will affectionately call "hacks" - folks who are lawyers, doctors, contruction workers or otherwise ordinary Joes who simply like to sing or play an instrument decently well. For better or for worse, these conflicts are not confined to the church.
I came across a recent article about unrest at the New York Philharmonic due to the perception of the orchestra members that not only was a guest conductor incompetent, but the invitation to conduct was made only because of generous donations given in the past. Depending on your point of view, you can either view Gilbert Kaplan as a wannabe egocentric hack who has bought his way onto the conductor's lectern at the expense of a more well-deserving conductor who actually has formally studied the craft and has a depth of experience of the subject matter. On the other hand, you might view the complaining orchestra members as elitist snobs who hold thinly veiled resentment that they're being conducted by someone who hasn't required the same years of blood, sweat and tears to be a competent conductor and who has more wealth than most of the orchestra members could ever dream of.
My wife has a piano performance degree from Juilliard, so I've experienced some of the mindframe differences firsthand. When planning our wedding, I had suggested Twila Paris' "How Beautiful" for our special music, which was something that I enjoyed hearing at a number of my friends' weddings. Sarah might have been less outraged if I had suggested that we serve McDonald's Extra Value Meals at our reception. I remember at the time being a little miffed at that, feeling there was a little "musical elitist snob" in her response. Thankfully, we've come a long way in terms of mutually appreciating each other's point of view - she recognizes my musical opinions, albeit untrained are valid and important; I recognize that music is something that is something that she knows, loves and appreciates deeply - and much more than I do. Sarah, while being a big proponent and defender of classical music, also acknowledges that musicians can be immensely self-focused and elitist.
And that elitism does bother me. There's nothing more irritating that the implication that a layperson "can't understand" the transcendant power of song or "can't appreciate or identify truly good music" simply because I didn't go to Juilliard or Curtis or perform at Carnegie Hall. I've even heard classical musicians lament that popular music "isn't good music" despite the fact that it is loved and purchased is large volumes by the masses. Before soon, there emerges a bitterness that classical music performers are paid so much less than Kanye West or Beyoncé (nevermind Kobe Bryant and Adam Sandler), and by extension, a bitterness towards an "unsophisticated" public that hasn't created a supply and demand market where everyone who studies classical and jazz music graduates with job offers galore with $200K annual salaries.
To be fair, do insane misalignments exist for the salaries that are offered in American society? Absolutely. I find it absolutely mind-boggling that, for example, educators are paid so little compared to entertainers. But generally speaking, all of us go into a field eyes wide open knowing what our likely financial upside is going to be (e.g. you don't become a librarian for the money). Going back to the issue of hacks versus professionals - if professional musicians want to engender public interest and appreciation around their craft, maybe building a figurative wall between by "those of us who get it" and "those of you who never will" isn't the smartest thing. Specific to the issue with Gilbert Kaplan: here's a guy who loves and appreciates classical music and has been a generous donor - and you're going to encourage his love for the arts by tearing him apart and belittling him? Not the best way to treat your most passionate fans.
By the way, our wedding special music was a Schubert piece by sung by Thami Zungu, a Juilliard classmate of Sarah's. It was incredible.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
What Happens When the Megastar is Gone?
There was some alarm recently when Apple announced that Steve Jobs would not be attending the upcoming Macworld conference. Rumblings began circulating on blogs that Jobs, who is a survivor of pancreatic cancer, was in failing health, with some rumors reporting that he might be dying. I also remember that initial news of his cancer actually caused Apple stock to dive. The questions (again) began to arise: what would happen to the global leader in consumer technology innovation when the person who is considered the face and soul of the company was no longer around? Or taking the question from another angle, how should Apple prepare for the inevitable day when Steve Jobs is no longer around?
There's a parallel of sorts in New York City Church circles, specifically in Redeemer Presbyterian Church where Tim Keller has a tremendous following among urban Christians all around the metropolitan area. Tim is no doubt a tremendously gifted preacher, a person who I'd say is the most eloquent teacher of the Word that I've had the privilege of hearing speak from the pulpit. He has a superb ability to interlace his biblical exposition with pop culture, everyday anecdotes and editorials from the New York Times without it coming off as contrived. He has an incisive wit which will cause you to laugh first, and then be convicted after the fact. Perhaps most impressive, he has the uncanny ability to capture the attention of both Christian and non-Christian alike, though a fellow PCA elder remarked that while he thought highly of Tim's sermons, the basic lessons are essentially the same after a three-year cycle.
In an article in the New York Times, Tim was referenced as Manhattan's leading evangelist and spoke of his remarkable effectiveness in building a multi-thousand member church amongst a sea of urbanites better known for their worship of money, fashion and fame. But was there a downside to the "cult of Tim"? I attended Redeemer as a business school student and saw some of it firsthand. For one, it was apparent that there were tons of people who would come in and hear Tim's sermon and otherwise not get involved in the life of the church (these people tended to greatly outnumber those who were also engaged in fellowship groups, etc.) because the only thing that drew them into Redeemer was the preaching. Second, I found it alarming that people would literally come only to hear Tim Keller preach. I was sitting in a service during the summer where after the praise band finished, and Terry Gyger stepped up to preach. On cue, as many as twenty people got up out of their pews and walked out of the church, apparently making up their mind that only a Tim Keller sermon would justify the investment of their precious time.
It wasn't just remarkably rude and inappropriate, it's a small scale example of what may happen in a post-Tim Keller Redeemer. I don't think this is necessarily a given, as I know that Redeemer constantly encourages their members to get plugged into the church beyond sitting in on sermons. Whether people are heeding this exhortation or not is a different question entirely. I understand that John Lin (who was Sarah's former English Ministry pastor back in Connecticut, by the way) preaches with increasing frequency, and I can only hope that he never had the unfortunate occurrence of being walked out on simply because he wasn't Tim Keller.
The reality is that there's so much more to Redeemer than just Tim - I know people who love their music and arts ministries, Hope for New York provides care for people all over the city, I have a friend who is in their Gotham Fellows Faith & Work program, I have friends that absolutely love the fellowship groups, and they planted an absolutely amazing church in the Morningside Heights area (wink). I just hope that the people within and outside of that church recognize and embrace those things before they have no choice but to do so.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Fantasy Super Bowl 2008
After a hard fought regular season and two rounds of playoffs, I'm happy to say that my Millburn Mustangs have made it to the big one - the championship game of the Yahoo! Fantasy Football "Suncoast League" run by my B-school buddy's brother. The championship game is the matchup of the #1 and #2 seeds, and the fact that I won the regular season with an 8-5 record says something about the parity of the league, which I had anticipated before the season started.
Here are the rosters for this clash of titans:
The Millburn Mustangs (8-5)
QB Jay Cutler
WR Hines Ward
WR Antonio Bryant
WR Wes Welker
RB DeAngelo Williams
RB Pierre Thomas
TE Jason Witten
K Rob Bironas
D DeMeco Ryans
D Lance Briggs
DB Quintin Mikell
DB Kerry Rhodes
DL Justin Tuck
DL A.J. Hawk
I made a decision to pick up running back Pierre Thomas of the Saints, who was actually a free agent, opting to sit both Marion Barber and Clinton Portis, who have racked up some nice stats through the season but are injured. I also gave the nod to Jay Cutler over Kurt Warner as I'm not bullish on how Warner's performance playing against a tough New England Patriots defense at Gillette Stadium, especially after a mediocre Vikings defense ate him up at home last week.
The PlayMakerZ (7-6)
QB Tyler Thigpen
WR Calvin Johnson
WR Braylon Edwards
WR Donald Driver
RB Steve Slaton
RB Brian Westbrook
TE Dallas Clark
K Ryan Longwell
D Calvin Pace
D Chad Greenway
DB Cortland Finnegan
DB Nick Collins
DL Barrett Ruud
DL DeMarcus Ware
This is a good team, which I think has a slight edge over mine in every position except quarterback. The PlayMakerZ defense is definitely stronger as well, with DeMarcus Ware and Calvin Pace being two players who can rack up sacks. I think it'll be a good matchup.
Here are the rosters for this clash of titans:
The Millburn Mustangs (8-5)
QB Jay Cutler
WR Hines Ward
WR Antonio Bryant
WR Wes Welker
RB DeAngelo Williams
RB Pierre Thomas
TE Jason Witten
K Rob Bironas
D DeMeco Ryans
D Lance Briggs
DB Quintin Mikell
DB Kerry Rhodes
DL Justin Tuck
DL A.J. Hawk
I made a decision to pick up running back Pierre Thomas of the Saints, who was actually a free agent, opting to sit both Marion Barber and Clinton Portis, who have racked up some nice stats through the season but are injured. I also gave the nod to Jay Cutler over Kurt Warner as I'm not bullish on how Warner's performance playing against a tough New England Patriots defense at Gillette Stadium, especially after a mediocre Vikings defense ate him up at home last week.
The PlayMakerZ (7-6)
QB Tyler Thigpen
WR Calvin Johnson
WR Braylon Edwards
WR Donald Driver
RB Steve Slaton
RB Brian Westbrook
TE Dallas Clark
K Ryan Longwell
D Calvin Pace
D Chad Greenway
DB Cortland Finnegan
DB Nick Collins
DL Barrett Ruud
DL DeMarcus Ware
This is a good team, which I think has a slight edge over mine in every position except quarterback. The PlayMakerZ defense is definitely stronger as well, with DeMarcus Ware and Calvin Pace being two players who can rack up sacks. I think it'll be a good matchup.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Leaving Bethlehem After Finding Space at the Inn
For our aforementioned trip to Bethlehem, we weren't forced to find shelter in a manger, but instead stayed in a Microtel Inn in nearby Allentown. I've experienced the entire spectrum of overnight accomodations in my lifetime, from motor lodges through the Four Seasons, and I found the stay pleasant enough, with clean new beds and the free continental breakfast handy for feeding the kids. We have not, however, mastered how to get our family of four to sleep well together in a single room. If either of the kids wakes up, the other kid will wake up, and then putting them back to bed in an unfamiliar environment becomes a massive challenge akin to drinking water with a fork.
So we eventually made our way to the Christkindlmarkt, which I had already had less than high hopes for as mentioned in my previous blog. It wasn't so bad, and actually brought back some family memories. Growing up, my mom found (and still finds) antiques and trinkets charming and enjoyed browsing and splashing down some money when something tickled her fancy. My father, on the other hand, absolutely hated (and still hates) not just the pastime, but what he saw as a completely irresponsible waste of money. At some point, he'd lose his temper, get red-faced and yell at my mom, at which point my mom would get infuriated and shout at my dad (tirade of "how I can possibly live with this man" optional), and we'd all drive home in tense silence. Good times.
Thankfully, I've learned to internalize my conviction that antique and crafts shopping is a waste of time and waste of money, and channel my anger into something positive - namely retaliating by secretly spending the mortgage on personal electronics, sports paraphernalia and vintage comic books. But seriously, family time is rich simply because it's family time, and there's so much around us which is seemingly mundane that's quirky, funny, and enjoyable just because of the company I'm keeping. For example, as I was trying to stroll Sophia to sleep, I got to hear a trio of septagenarians from the North Penn Singers (what did you expect in Bethlehem, PA, Andrea Bocelli?) sing The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late). It was absolutely hilarious - intentionally or not. Daniel and I got to watch an artisan with a chainsaw make ice sculptures, during which I kept making comments to my son like, "Don't you try that at home," and "If he starts walking towards us with that chainsaw, Daddy's running away."
So one way I decided to find balance in the universe, or at least make up for whatever money Sarah was spending, was to become a sample "mooch", a skill which I've refined at Costco. I innocently made my way towards the herbs and seasoning booths and ever so subtlely picked a generous handful of pretzel sticks and sampled every single dip two or three times, rotating between booths making sure that I returned only when someone else was manning a particular section (Note: this is very hard when you're one of four Asians in a sea of caucasians). Naturally, I came armed with some good questions like: "Now would you recommend sour cream or mayonnaise for the base?" and "Mmm... that's really good - is that taragon that I'm tasting?" and "So it seems like this Texas Ranch seasoning works great as a dip. Any other ways you'd use this?" I think I consumed at least fifty or so samples when the day was done. Lest you think I'm a complete monster without virtue, I did end up buying a $4 packet of Mexican seasoning.
The excursion ended with us visiting a local Railway Museum, which I'm certain was Daniel's favorite part of the trip, and an exhausted and not-well-rested Daniel repeatedly crying "I don't want to go home, I want to stay at the hotel" for an hour as we drove home, to which I replied, "If you like hotels, you can become a management consultant just like Daddy was. Believe me, it gets old really fast."
All in all, it good clean family fun and we got to bond with some friends. I probably should have gotten the Zesty Garlic seasoning.
Friday, December 12, 2008
O Little Town of Bethlehem, PA
After getting a glowing review from a friend of Sarah's, we've decided to get into the Christmas spirit by making our way to Bethlehem... Pennsylvania. It's actually a charming town which has a tradition of having a downtown chock full of the Christmas spirit. Along with some friends also with young kids, we drove a little less than an hour to our destination, ate dinner, and walked through an avenue of pretty lights with brass band Christmas music blaring from overhead speakers.
Main Street, which serves as the heart of downtown, is littered with artsy shops and cafés selling overpriced handmade goods. We walked around in the crisp winter night, but what seemed to appeal most to the kids was the trolley ride which shuttles visitors from the parking garages to various points of interest, including a large lit Christmas tree in the center of town to what might be the main attraction - Christkindlmarkt, which we'll be visiting tomorrow. Christkindlmarkt looks like a massive bazaar of sorts, hawking all sort of trinkets, antiques, hand-made toys, gourmet foods, and various other things that I have absolutely no interest in. In other words, I'll be spending the time surfing on my Blackberry, daydreaming, memorizing Scripture, and brainstorming clever blog topics.
That being said, it's such as blessing to be able to take this little overnight trip. To break from routine and experience another slice of American life is something I definitely appreciate. I hope that I don't spend the lion's share of tomorrow fighting with Daniel around his obsession around a wooden figurine which I'm certain will end up at the bottom of his toy bucket in less than a week.
Main Street, which serves as the heart of downtown, is littered with artsy shops and cafés selling overpriced handmade goods. We walked around in the crisp winter night, but what seemed to appeal most to the kids was the trolley ride which shuttles visitors from the parking garages to various points of interest, including a large lit Christmas tree in the center of town to what might be the main attraction - Christkindlmarkt, which we'll be visiting tomorrow. Christkindlmarkt looks like a massive bazaar of sorts, hawking all sort of trinkets, antiques, hand-made toys, gourmet foods, and various other things that I have absolutely no interest in. In other words, I'll be spending the time surfing on my Blackberry, daydreaming, memorizing Scripture, and brainstorming clever blog topics.
That being said, it's such as blessing to be able to take this little overnight trip. To break from routine and experience another slice of American life is something I definitely appreciate. I hope that I don't spend the lion's share of tomorrow fighting with Daniel around his obsession around a wooden figurine which I'm certain will end up at the bottom of his toy bucket in less than a week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
