Carnegie Hall

University of Texas Wind Ensemble
Right now, I'm sitting in the Park Central Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. We are staying about 5 blocks north of Time Square. We're getting ready to go down to Greenwich village and catch some Jazz. Last night, Cara and I went to see the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center. Afterwards, we found a small Irish pub to have a Guiness and soak up the Irish atmosphere. Later, we went over to the Upper West side to "Northwest" (a small slightly swanky bar in Chelsea) to meet Cara's friend Angela. The bar was so cool. It was very dimly lit with candles on all the tables. It was a very intimate place. There were about 10 people in the bar when we arrived so it felt like we had the place to ourselves. Soon, though, I realized that at one of the tables was Matt Dillon (yes, the actor). I was a little starstruck, but I managed to keep it cool and just give a little wave. So, after a few glasses of wine, we called it a night and headed back to the hotel. Today, Cara's parents, mom and Jimmie arrived. After Cara was finished with her rehearsal at Carnegie, we did a little sightseeing. We visited "The Gates" exhibit in Central Park and went down to the World Trade Center site. Tomorrow, Cara performs with the UT Wind Ensemble at Carnegie Hall. We still have two more days of New York so I'll have to update things later and I'll post pictures when we return. Cheers!!!

Lauded composer premieres at Texas

Lauded composer premieres at Texas
To read about the concert, check out the news article. If you look closely, you'll see Cara (looking quite pensive) sitting front and center.

Last night, Cara played in the World Premier of John Corgliano's "Circus Maximus!" It was an amazing performance. Several of our friends attended the show. Thanks guys! I can't tell you how proud I was to be able to watch Cara perform in such a fantastic piece of music. In a little more than 1 week, she will be performing with the UT Wind Ensemble at Carnegie Hall. I can't wait!  

I hope that everyone has a great valentine's day. This heart is dedicated to my beautiful girlfriend Cara. I love you, babe! 

Nobel laureate speaks about genes - The Daily Texan

A couple of years ago, Clint Leysath, Beth Erlichman and I initiated a graduate student sponsored lectureship. Our plan was to invite the most successful scientists in our fields of study. We gathered together a great group of interested graduate students and just dove into this thing. We never imagined that we would be hobnobbing with Nobel Prize winners but, that is exactly what has happened. Last year it was Nobel Prize winner Richard Roberts. On Wednesday and Thursday, we hosted Nobel Prize winner Sydney Brenner. These are the Michael Jordans of science. It's pretty amazing! Even though it has only been two years since we started this, it has already been a bigger success than we could have ever imagined. Check out our write-up in the UT paper (Nobel laureate speaks about genes - The Daily Texan). I even got a little blurb at the end of the article.
In addition to these scientists, we have also been able to meet other Nobel prize winners including: Paul Berg, Ghobind Khorana, John E. Walker, Michael Brown and Eric Wieschaus. What an experience! You can check out the Nobel Prize website to read about them:
Nobel Prize Winners

Cara and I went to visit our pug on Sunday! They were beautiful puppies and we can't wait to bring one home. There are more pictures but you'll have to go through my website: 

Can anyone explain this to me?

Oh, Georgie. What were you thinking?

Margot's birthday celebration ended with the girls dancin' on the bar at the Coyote Ugly Saloon! Great night! To see more birthday pics visit my picture website: http://www.flickr.com/photos/55122975@N00/sets/ 

So, Cara survived Lasek surgery, but, now, she has to wear these goggles when she sleeps for 2 weeks!!! I guess being able to see clearly is worth it. Heehee! Isn't she cute. 

Guess who's comin' to Austin!!!

"Real World" Hits Lone Star State - Dec 22, 2004 - E! Online News
Well, this should be interesting. The MTV Real World is coming to our town. Can't say that I watch Real World anymore, but it's kinda cool to know that they will be filming in Austin. Plus, if you've never been to Austin, this'll be an opportunity to see how much fun it is to live here.

Cara and I will soon be the proud parents of a new pug puppy. This is the first picture of the litter. One of these little girls will be ours!!!  

The Avalon...our New Year's Eve Adventure! 

NEW YEAR'S EVE 2005

Finally, I can tell you the story of New Year's Eve. It was a blur of a night. We kicked off the festivities at Brian's apartment before piling on the T and we came as close as I've ever been to the Boston Red Sox "Green Monster" left field wall as we headed down to what turned out to be a massive rave party at the Avalon:
AVALON.
Not the best place for a bunch of preppy white folks, but I must admit that I made the best of it. The sea of gyrating people was hypnotizing and all I could do was raise the roof all night, that is, according to Cara and Brian. Not nice to make fun of my dancin'. But anyway, I can't endorse the club simply because the bouncers turned out to be extremely rude and bartenders were slower than any I've ever seen (Even the incredibly slow G-Vegas bartenders had one up on these folks!) Needless to say, there were some folks who didn't enjoy the show as much as I did. See pics of the "go-go" dancers above. All in all, a merry time was had by me and, I think, Steph was a happy party-goer, as well. Had a bratwurst on the way back to the T and all too soon the night was over. As long as I keep up this blog, I'll be stickin' to my resolution. Cheers to Boston! But, I think next year we'll pick a new city for our celebration. Get ready Brian! Next year, you'll be making the flight to who knows where?! London, maybe? What do you say, Matthew?

It's official!!!!! I'm finished with ECU.

Wow! Well, I've been incredibly busy these last few days. I have been bustin' my rump trying to complete my Master's thesis. Most people know that even though I've been out of ECU for 2 1/2 years, now, I had yet to complete my Master's degree. It's a long story, but I wanted to start my PhD before I turned 30 so I jetted out of ECU without finishing the writing for my MS thesis. Well, more than 2 years later, I've finally completed it!!! It's unbelievable. It was so difficult trying to write my thesis and work on my PhD. I don't recommend anyone attempt it. At times, I thought I would crash and burn in both programs. So, needless to say, I'm ecstatic!!! Hell of a way to start off the new year. I have to say thanks to all of my friends and family for supporting me. It was really helpful to have people encouraging me to complete it rather than telling me to forget about it. Cara stuck with me through it all and she'll never know how grateful I am for that. She had to spend many nights without me over the last year while I sat in front of my computer screen with bloodshot eyes and somehow we pulled off, together. If you're curious, you can read my thesis by going to my webspace at: https://webspace.utexas.edu/jlv1212/www/.

Happy New Year!!! Boston 2005 

Aloha!

I miss being at home and doing a little surfing, but I've never seen waves like this!
Check this out:
Big Waves!!!

The Power of Jeeps!

This is why I love jeeps!

Amazing Jeep

The Killers (Island Records)

The band of the day is The Killers. As I'm working tonight, I'm listening to these guys rip! Not a bad song on their new album. This band has officially become the theme band for New Year's Eve 2005. I happened to bring the CD with me to Boston and it managed to find its way into the stereo on several occassions. Now, when I hear it, I think of Boston. I'll give the details of my Boston trip soon. I'm a little too busy working on my thesis.
Cheers!!!
Check out The Killers:
The Killers (Island Records)

And, here's the lovely couple, Beth and Glenn, at MatzaBall. Thanks guys! I had a blast. 

Well, here is one of the few photos to prove that I attended the Matzaball. The sweet red-head (not me) is "RUN" Mike's sister who happened to be in attendance.