My week in review

An out-of-town friend of mine complained about my change in blogging habits. It wasn't the decrease in my posting frequency, or the lack of my reviews of the various entertainment events I see. Rather, she just missed reading about my life--what I was doing with my time. So I am now going to start a weekly post just to cover the highlights. Maybe I'll throw in a comment or two.

Sunday: Watched the Indy 500, rooting for Danica Patrick. Later my wife and I watched the Tudors.

Tuesday: Went to the Empire State Pride Agenda offices, to call people to ask them to call their State Assembly members to get them to vote for the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA). I made 34 calls, talked to 16 answering machines and about a dozen actual, live people. (Later in the week we found out GENDA is on the Assembly calendar and will probably be voted on next Tuesday.)

After that, I went to dinner at Lips Restaurant with someone I had met there a couple of times over the years, who was up from Alabama for a visit.

Wednesday: Went with my wife to a concert of a choral group one of her friends is in.

Saturday: Went with my wife to hear the New York Philharmonic--an excellent concert with Emanuel Ax performing Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto, the "Emperor." He favored us with an encore. Prior to that we attended a "Friends' Night," an opportunity for donors to the orchestra to meet some of the orchestra members for a half-hour or so. I think this was the third year we have gone to one of these. This year we spoke with the English horn player Thomas Stacey, who told us about the orchestra's recent trip to North Korea, and violinist Fiona Simon, who talked a bit about some of the various personal relationships between orchestra members--she joined the orchestra after marrying a Philharmonic member. We also spoke briefly with orchestra pianist Harriet Wingreen.