Random Thoughts Prompted by the HOT, Texas Heat

Spent a nice and relaxing weekend in Dallas, and for once, Saturday was not devoted to attending showers or weddings. (But when there are weddings/showers, I do enjoy attending them immensely.) With all that time at hand, I had some time to day dream and wonder about random things:

1. My life right now isn't too different from the college days...

~I don't have a kitchen, but instead a microwave and a dorm fridge
~I don't have my own washer/dryer
~I take public transportation to go to work (vs. school before)
~When I go back to Dallas I bring suitcase full of dirty laundry to wash, and when we go shopping I try on stuff and give it to my husband to pay (vs. mommy/daddy before)

Married Singleness ROCKS!!!

2. Midway Airport is now WiFi! Whoohoo!! I'm looking forward to hours of fun being delayed here in the future. Although, I'll probably need a more "transportable" laptop.

3. How come we are guided so much by this thing called "Sense of Belonging?" In grade school we want to be picked for ____ (fill-in any team sport), in high school we want to be in the "right" club and social clique, in college we want to be included whenever someone's planning a fun party or outing, and post college we want to be the "plus one" of somebody worthy...why? Why are we so afraid of solitude?

4. July 14th, 2006 will now be referred to as the "5th Anniversary of Iris's 25th Birthday." Thanks!!!

5. I need to make more of an effort to let people know that socially I am "Iris Wong." People really do get confused. We have now been referred to twice as "Bryan and Iris Chang." The first time was when Pastor Jireh announced us "husband and wife" at the alter he said "Mr. & Mrs. Bryan Chang," and this Sundays in the Frisco church bulletin it says "please pray for Bryan and Iris Chang as they move to Chicago..." Sigh. Poor Bryan. At least no one wrote "Brian Chang."
So, people, call me Iris Wong. Thanks!

6. Every time I visit Dallas I wonder why we're leaving a place where we have so many friends who love us.

7. "The main purpose of worship is for us to bring our offerings TO God, not for us to receive blessings." This is what Francis said in his sermon this past Sunday. It really resonated with me. When the primary function of a church is "worship," why do we (myself very much included in the "we") get so caught up in who has the best speakers, who has the best Sunday school, who has a more structured children's program, who sings more hymns, less hymns, who uses drums in service, who can give ME what I need the most?
When the heart for worship is right, everything else should fall nicely into place.

8. I like taking showers with soft water.

Got a New Keyboard at Work, and Now There's a Bounce in My Every Key Stroke!

Isn't it funny how sometimes the smallest things can just make your day a little brighter? Today was pretty crazed with back-to-back-to-back-to-back meetings all afternoon, which translated to no time to do the actual work. But when I finally got back to my desk I was happy to take care of my new "pets." (Courtesy of my old boss via the National Geographic Channel.)

I got a new EcoSphere!! It's kind of hard to see in the picture, but it's essentially a glass orb that contains water, gravel, small branch, algae and little shrimpies. They're all supposed to survive in this self-contained ecosystem. VERY cool! I've been staring at these little suckers for the past 15 minutes now.

Ok, so I don't actually have to "take care" of much except for the occassional cleaning of the glass (with 2 magnets), but it's still nice to have "living creatures" around. The shrimp(s?) are supposed to be able to survive for as long as two years in this thing, so I'm curious to see how long my little guys will last. Although, I do wonder if the "lighting conditions" are more ideal if I leave it here at work or if I take it home...thoughts?

P.S. The new keyboard was cool too.

The One and Only Madge

Just got back from the Madonna concert at the United Center...
Hmm.
Let me digest everything for a bit, then perhaps I'll be able to give a review. The food was excellent though (Time Inc. Suite), and the dessert was good too.

Date posted: 6.14.2006
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Ok, I think this concert review cannot be done or read without the underlying understanding that Madonna = controversy. Without it, she wouldn't be Madonna. So with that in mind, let me break down the elements:

• Set Design: It was fairly elaborate--rotating floors, video screens that showed random images, jungle-gym like contraptions, DISCO BALLS, a saddle descending from the ceiling on a pole,...and the infamous disco cross on which she "hung" herself while wearing a crown of thorns. Yeeeaah... She had dancers running around doing acrobatics who at one point came out on roller skates. The overall mood was kinda like dominatrix equestrian morphed into retro disco roller girl.
• Costumes: Lots of tights. Man, she looked pretty DARN good, even for someone who's 48 and had given birth to 2 children. I mean, I don't know many sixteen year-olds who can pull off white leotards nicely...and she did.
• Song/Music Selection: Everything was kind techno-y...even the old stuff was done w/ a hint of techno/disco feel. I wish she did more of the old stuff, which was what I really wanted to see. "Material Girl" did not make the set list, in case you were wondering.
• Room Temperature: I'm making this a category because I forgot to mention that Madonna has it in her contract that the air conditioner cannot be turned on during her performance (because it "dries out the vocal chords - Celine, Mariah, Jessica & Ashlee etc. all have similar clauses in their contracts), so it was hotter than HECK in there. I don't know what the capacity of the United Center is...but just imagine a basketball stadium full of body heat, continuous generating throughout the night.

So, here I must mention one of my pet peeves. Why is it that every celebrity feels the need to infiltrate their "art" with heavy political message? As if, just because you're a celebrity your opinion should be my opinion? Whatever. I can think for myself, thanks. Can't concerts just be concerts, with like, songs and singing and without a not-so-hidden political agenda? Is that too much to ask?

Anyway.

Bottom line: there is no doubt that Madonna puts on quite a show, and she definitely did not hold anything back, especially not her tongue. Did I expect anything less from her? Nope, not really. Do I have the need to ever see her in concert again? Probably not. I'll stick to listening to the "The Immaculate Collections" CD.

Date posted: 6.15.2006