Restful day, more sheet music and Josh's sublime rendition

• Joel sends a text message most unexpectedly to say he hopes I have a restful day because I deserve it.
• I finally find a copy of the piano solo arrangements of John Williams' movie score for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban--which I finally scratch off my wish list. Can't wait to try them out.
• Listening to Josh Groban's sublime rendition of You Raise Me Up after hearing Christian Bautista sing the same song at today's Presidential Inauguration. The latter performance simply pales in comparison to the former.

At work with a stuffy nose

Some notes I took in the course of another day at work:

• Hating myself for not remembering whether or not I had already taken my cold medicine.
• Having breakfast at my desk with a stuffy nose ain't fun. But at least the bread pudding from the COOP tasted divine.
• My nose seems to be clearing up a bit. So maybe I DID take that decongestant tablet.
• But then again, maybe not. Sigh!
• Conducting a meeting with a stuffy nose ain't fun. And it ain't funny either.

Another accompaniment

Another item has been scratched off my wish list: sheet music of Morten Lauridsen's Dirait On. Of course, I promptly trooped down to our basement and spent the next hour or two learning the accompaniment at my trusty Yamaha P-80. I even managed to make a digital recording of my playing and posted it on my Sound Cloud account.

Confined

My "baby" has finally gone to "hospital" for "reconstructive facial surgery." I'll be missing it while it will be there for approximately a week. Sniff! Of course, I'm referring to my 1999 Honda City which got bumped over a month ago and sustained minor damage on the front passenger's side bumper, fender and headlight.

A real royal visit

Such a delightful sight to see Britain's Queen Elizabeth II having a brief visit with Andy Murray and Jarkko Nieminen right after their second round match in Centre Court in Wimbledon. I couldn't help but smile as I watched that moment play out on television tonight. Both Murray and Nieminen must be beside themselves with having been accorded this extraordinary privilege.

Forced break

Today, am considering using my PC only when necessary. My wrist(s) is aching again so operating the mouse can sometimes be excruciating. And thankfully, there are only handful of papers to go through and sign, registration finally being over. Good excuse to sit back here at my desk and read a book for a change, huh?

Marathon match

It's already the fourth day of Wimbledon, half of the men's draw have played their second round matches and yet the first round match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut has not ended. (The match was suspended due to darkness for the second time at 59-all in the fifth set!) I must admit I was totally floored when I found out about this while scanning news headlines on the Internet this morning. You've got to feel both admiration and pity for the poor fellows in this epic battle of wills.

Toronto earthquake

While chatting with my sister via Yahoo! Messenger earlier, she didn't reply for quite a while only to finally pop up nearly half an hour later to say that they had to evacuate their office building because there had been an earthquake. Turned out to be quite a strong earthquake--and a rare one in that part of the world.

Late lunch together, iced tea and lightning

• Having Joel offer to wait for me to be done with my 12nn-1pm lecture class so that we can still have lunch together. ('Twas awfully considerate of him, don't you think?)
• Bottomless iced tea at Sulyaw, of course.
• Watching another of nature's spectacular light show on the drive home, courtesy of a thundercloud hovering over the northern part of town.

A wedding, streaming video and a waltz

• Looking forward to singing and/or playing the piano during a wedding this October. Joel had sent a text message this morning asking if I'd be interested. Although the date had not been set, I naturally agree to do so.
• Watching streaming live video of the finals match at Halle, Germany between Federer and Hewitt (even if Federer lost).
• Hearing Alexandre Desplat's Benjamin and Daisy from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. A most delicate wistful waltz. I can imagine Benjamin and Daisy lightly tripping in time to it.

Grace before meals, white flowers and book in bed

• Being surprised by Joel when he initiates praying grace before meals at lunchtime yesterday. He had not done so for such a long time.
• Taking photos of the shrub by the garage in bloom. The tiny white flowers that bloom in clusters of three are simply delightful.
• Relaxing in bed in the late afternoon light, reading Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring.

Lab manual, mooncakes and cross connections

• Joel shows me his brand new copy (they had just received their order from the publisher) of the laboratory manual he revised over the summer.
• Joel buys a package of four mini mooncakes for dessert at lunchtime and shares them with me.
• The cross connections among the VoIP phones in our office resulting in hilarious mix-ups.

Stranded, joking with Joel and level three

• Being stranded with Joel at the mall during an unexpected downpour after lunchtime (both of us late for our respective meetings!) ...
• ... and then later, when the rain had abated slightly, walking with him back to our offices all the while joking how he can remove his shoes and socks, wring his socks dry in front of his colleagues at the meeting and putt up his feet at the conference table to dry ("Oh, so sorry. You won't mind, would you?").
• Clearing a second board on Alchemy for the first time--and after not playing it for several years at that!

Reunion, over and done with and online games

• Spending the past two days attending the faculty conference with Joel, exchanging notes and stories after having not seen each other for nearly two weeks.
• Getting the minutes of all six executive committee meetings held in the past month over and done with. Phew!
• Rediscovering my favorite online games (Jumble, Dinotopia, Fowl Words and Alchemy) after some six years of not playing them.