Mahler's 7th Symphony

While I was thinking what I should do today, suddenly I remembered the concert in which Mahler's 7th Symphony would be played by the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) this evening. On Monday, I tried getting this ticket on the website, but I couldn't because of uncertain problems on the website.

Hoping to get the ticket, I spontaneously decided to drive to the Luis Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, where the concert would take place. About one and a half hours later, I got there. I could park near the hall and luckily get the ticket.

The Davies Hall is a big hall accommodating 2700 people. Although this concert was held on a Sunday evening, about 90 percent of the seats were filled.

Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT) appeared and led the tenor horn to start this large symphony. At this point I was totally overwhelmed by the strong and stable sound. Although this symphony was played by a large number of wind instruments, they made the most perfect, strong ensemble that I had ever heard.

I got goose bumps when I heard the sounds of the timpani, which informed me of the start of the final movement, the Rondo Finale.

At the end of this symphony, I was so excited and felt my heartbeats were so fast.

During this concert, I was impressed by one of the viola players. She enthusiastically played it and especially the solo part of the 3rd movement was really beautiful.

I was totally satisfied with this concert. I was sorry that I hadn't known MTT and SFS were really powerful and well organized. From now on, I will frequently check out their concerts on the website of the San Francisco Symphony.

Muir Woods National Monument

This weekend was a long holiday because of Memorial Day. It was cloudy today, but I wanted to drive somewhere. I remembered that my big boss recommended Muir Woods National Monument last week. I decided to go there. I am always wondering why I, living in CA for two years, am always taught about sightseeing spots by visitors coming from Japan.

Everything seemed to be going well. However, when I got to San Francisco, Highway 101 was terribly backed up. Eventually, it took one hour to go through San Francisco. I drove over the Golden Gate Bridge and took Highway 1.

While I was driving on the access road to Muir Woods National Monument, the access road was backed up. This jam was not serious, so I could get out of it in about half an hour.

Finally, I got to the entrance, but I couldn't find a parking lot. I drove searching for a vacant shoulder space. A few minutes afterwards I was able to find a space a long way from the entrance. It was a 20 minute walk from the parking space to the entrance.

When I got there, I was too tired to be impressed. In addition, I took a lot of pictures but most of the pictures were out of focus because I didn't enable the auto focus function. Now the only thing I can write about is that there were a lot of big redwoods.

I think I should go there again in some other day.

Yosemite National Park

On Thursday night, I had dinner with my boss's boss (the big boss), who came here on a business trip from Japan. He wanted me to drive to Yosemite National Park with him on the weekend, because he had never been there. I am not good at driving, so I asked one of my staff to help.

I was supposed to meet with my staff member at 5:40am. When he called me at 5:45am, surprisingly I was still in bed. I got ready in ten minutes and we set off for the hotel where the big boss was staying. We picked him up at 6:15am and headed to Yosemite.

When we were headed towards Yosemite, the big boss wanted to drive. There are three routes to get to Yosemite. We took Highway 120, the northbound route.

We went there directly except for one stop when we had some snacks. At about 11:30, we arrived at the entrance of Yosemite National Park.





We walked around the foot of El Capitan, a 3000-foot vertical rock. I remembered that I came here with my former big boss last year. It seems like the big bosses like Yosemite.





Then we went to the Yosemite Falls. We could walk under the falls. As there was a lot of water in the falls, it was a grandiose view. We took many pictures.









While we were walking back to our car, the big boss found a sign which lead to Mirror Lake. I said "NO!" repeatedly in my mind because it was a hot day and we didn't have any water. However, the big boss spontaneously decided to hike this trail.
















We walked about two hours, struggling with thirst while we stepped over horse manure.






When we reached Mirror Lake, I was almost dehydrated. However, it was so beautiful.






This was the first time I had seen the Half Dome up close. We rested and took a lot of pictures.

After a forty-minute rest, we started to walk on the paved road. On the way, we found a sign of a bus stop and this bus was free of charge. I told the big boss that we should have researched in advance and used this bus in the beginning. He laughed and replied that our jobs had always been just like this. As I understood it, this meant we could always find a better way to do our projects in retrospect. I realized that he was not known as the big boss for nothing.

The bus stopped at Yosemite Village where there were some shops. We had a late lunch. I bought a liter of water and a bucket of ice cream.









Then we went to the parking lot by the free bus. We started to drive home with great satisfaction.

Movie Review - Babel

English in movies is too difficult for me to understand. Therefore, since I came here, I have gone to the movies only three times, one of which is Babel.

Babel, featuring Brad Pitt (Richard), Cate Blanchett (Susan), Adriana Barraza (Amelia) and Rinko Kikuchi (Chieko), is directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. This movie consists of stories in three places, including Morocco, Mexico (the U.S. border) and Japan.

In Morocco, a goatherd buys a rifle from his neighbor. He gives the rifle to his two sons. While they practice shooting, they shoot at a tour bus on which Richard and Susan were riding. Unfortunately the bullet hits Susan. She is in a serious condition. Richard and Susan were traveling to Morocco to mend their marital relationship. The goatherd and the sons run away, but eventually his older son is shot by the Moroccan police.

In San Diego, Amelia, a Mexican nanny, takes care of Richard's children. Amelia is going to Mexico for her son's wedding. However, Richard asks her to take care of his children on the wedding day because his wife is injured. Out of need, Amelia decides to take his children to Mexico across the border. When Amelia, her nephew and children come back to the U.S., they lie to the border officer because Amelia doesn't have the parent's permission to take the children to Mexico. When an officer tries to check them, her nephew drives through the border office without stopping. They are chased by the police.

In Japan, Chieko, a deaf girl, whose mother recently committed suicide, always feels lonely. She always tries to connect to others by exhibiting sexually provocative behavior, most of which doesn't succeed.

These stories are linked by the rifle which Chieko's father gives to the Moroccan man. Although the story was complicated, overall it was well organized. However, I think the following two points should have been improved. First, the description of the relationship between Richard and Susan was not enough. Second, Chieko's story was too strong, so I felt that it didn't suit this movie. Of course I personally enjoyed seeing a lot of her beautiful scenes.

I like Brad Pitt's movies, including Seven and Mr. And Mrs. Smith. Every time I see his movies, I cannot help thinking why Brad Pitt and I are so different. We are the same age......

San Francisco 2

About six months ago, AJ introduced his favorite place in San Francisco. It was Telegraph Hill. I set my destination to the Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill.

I took a BART, a train running in the Bay Area, from Fremont to Montgomery in San Francisco. Then I started to walk to the Coit Tower.

I walked along Montgomery St. It grew steeper near the hill and eventually it became a stairway! I was sweating profusely when I got there.










I paid $4.50 to get to the top of the tower. The seaside view was especially good, as I could see the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge and a lot of yachts on the sea.
















After that, I dropped by my favorite cafe and had a latte and a tuna sandwich. I was really satisfied with this walk.

17-Mile Drive

The 17-Mile Drive is a toll sightseeing road between Monterey and Carmel in California. The other day, I couldn't get there because I got lost. This time, I had a strong gadget; GPS. Thanks to this blessing of civilization, I could get there successfully!

It was a one and a half hour drive from my apartment to one of the entrances of the 17-Mile Drive. At the entrance, I paid $9 and got a route map. I drove along the numbers on the map.





At first I stopped at the beach area through the pine tree road. I was able to smell the full, salty scent after a long time. It was a bitterly cold day, but I watched the waves for a long time without feeling bored.












After that, I drove along the ocean road, stopping to see the beautiful shoreline and rocks.

Then I got to the Pebble Beach Golf Club. I could see the golf course adjacent to the sea. I am a bad golfer but I wanted to play this course. If I had played there, I would have felt great, regardless of my score!












Finally I got to the entrance. This ocean-road drive made me feel really good. I set the destination of the GPS to my apartment and went back home without getting lost.

Hakone Garden

Today, I went to a Japanese garden, named "Hakone Garden", near my apartment. Hakone is the famous hot spring area in Japan. Reading that it was made in the 1910s, I was interested in this tiny garden.




There was an old Japanese house, a pond where carp was swimming, a small artificial waterfall and a wisteria tunnel. In addition, there was a bamboo garden and a tea garden around the main garden area. I felt pretty much like being in Japan!













I put pictures of this garden on my another blog and a friend of mine put a comment "Why don't you call me if you are in Japan?"

San Francisco

It was sunny yesterday. I felt like walking around San Francisco where there is a lot of beautiful scenery and a lot of hills. I planned to walk on Valeijo St. from west to east.

I rode on a cable car to get to a starting point. Riding on a cable car wasn't comfortable but the scenery from inside was great.







There were many stairways on Valeijo St. They were very tough for me, not exercising on a regular basis. In this season, the weather in San Francisco is cool, so I wore a coat. Therefore, I felt so hot that I broke into a sweat.





At North Beach, my destination, I went into a cafe and had a latte and a tuna sandwich. They were really delicious.







I really enjoyed walking around San Francisco. I will go to San Francisco again soon!

Car navigation system

I haven't wanted to drive since I came here. I have always got lost. This is because I can't pick up on the positional relationship to my destination even if I see signs of streets or cities.

The other day I wanted to drive to Monterey but I couldn't get there. I couldn't find the intersection to Monterey while I was driving on Highway 101. I was really disgusted with myself and bought a GPS. (Car navigation system)




Today, I drove to a winery near my town using the GPS. I could get there easily! This worked very well. The map was easy to watch and the guidance was really accurate. I should have bought this earlier. From now on, I will be able to go to wherever I like!

Sore back

I recently have had a sore back for a month. This is because I rarely exercise every day. When I was in Japan, for my commute, I waked from my house to a station, stood in a train and walked from the station to my office. When I think back, this were really good for keeping up my health. Now, living in California, I drive from my apartment to my office and walk from a parking lot to my office (just 3 minutes). How on earth can I keep my health in this situation? I should go to a gym in my apartment and exercise as soon as possible…

Golden Week

We can go back to Japan once a year at the company's expense and have a nine-day holiday. What a nice company! I arrived here on May 8, 2005, so I can use this holiday by May 7 at this time.

In Japan, many people have a long holiday, called Golden Week, from the end of next week. I planned to go back to Japan at this time to hang out with my friends. Before I booked an air ticket, I asked them if they could meet me during this holiday. They replied that they were supposed to work during this holiday. I was really disappointed and suddenly got reluctant to go back. I am about to relinquish this wonderful right...

Cherry Blossom

Today, I strolled around Mountain View Station. I saw beautiful trees. When I glanced at them, I thought they were cherry blossoms. I came close to them and figured out they were completely different trees.

Suddenly I missed cherry blossoms in Japan. We Japanese really like cherry blossoms. That is because we love the way cherry blossoms all come out together and soon blow off all together. In the full bloom season, many Japanese people rush into parks to drink and eat under cherry trees.

Some Japanese people think the cherry blossoms' life is the beautiful, ideal life style. I prefer the drinking life style under the cherry trees to the cherry blossoms' life style...

My favorite music

I love classical music. My favorite composers are Mahler, Brahms, Bruckner, Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky. I always enjoy listening to their symphonies, piano concertos and violin concertos. They are passionate, thrilling or relaxing. I appreciate some rock music and Japanese-pop music. However, I believe none of them can exceed classical music.

There are many CD shops in the Bay Area, but they sell few classical music CDs. The other day, I noticed a CD shop in a book store where I always go. There were lots of classical music CDs! I found Mahler’s symphony No.9 conducted by Karajan and Stravinsky’s Petrushka played by Pollini which I have wanted for a long time. Of course I bought them immediately. I was really satisfied with this deal.

Easter Mass

It is Easter Sunday today, so I went to a Catholic church at Stanford University. I am not Christian, however I was excited because I had never gone to mass. A lot of students of Stanford University and ordinary people were there. The mass consisted of reading the bible, delivering a speech by a preacher, singing carols and serving a piece of bread and a sip of water. It was too bad that I couldn't listen to the preacher's speech very well because the sound system was not good. However, the carols were beautiful, the sound of the organ was gorgeous and the sacrament made me holy. I had a really good evening.