The Chicago Marathon is just a week away!!

Marc will be taking this coming week easy as he prepares for it. He feels good about it, and is aiming for sub 2:25 this year. He just bought a new pair of flats today. They are fire-engine red!

I won't be able to watch him in Chicago this year (I'll be at a conference in Boston), but I know Abel, Maretta & Phil will be cheering him on and snapping lots of pictures along the way (if they are able to keep up with him)!
Since most of us are unable to be there to watch him, here is a good way to track his progress while he runs on Sunday.
Go to: http://www.doitsports.com/results/MSG-signup.tcl?sub_event_id=2161 to sign up.
Enter your email address or cell-phone number to get live updates. It worked amazingly well when I did it last year (eventhough I was also at the sidelines of the race -- it helped us gauge where he was and where to catch him next).
Also, here is the link to the course map:
http://www.chicagomarathon.com/pdf/New%2006%20Course%20Map%20Vert.%20B%20(CMYK).pdf
Wish Marc luck!

I have finally finished the wedding video! This is my first attempt at ever making one, so it took me a while to figure out the various steps (transferring from the tiny videocam tape to a digital version, using the movie maker software, finding the music, visual & audio editing, transferring between computers & mediums -- it also didn't help that my computer decided to give me some hardware problems along the way -- I managed to fashion a temporary fix, but I think more help that is beyond my abilities are in order). Anyway, hopefully it turned out okay by most people's standards. I will be mailing the CDs to family shortly. It's too large (~340MB) to post online due to limitations on my UNC share drive space, but if you are dying to get a copy, let me know (together with your mailing address) and I will burn one for you.

Tonight we get to savor some yummy Indian food -- I'm looking forward to that :) ~ Shuwen

Just got back from the yummy Indian meal at Prabhu's. It was a fun evening of socializing and sharing of wedding adventures. Our friends Rich & Vanessa are preparing theirs in 13 days time out near Asheville, NC. There were also two little kiddies (Yesh & Joy) present who demanded our attention. Shuwen & I are not ready for THAT project yet.

It has been cold here the past three nights, so we finally turned our heat on last night. Shuwen pulled out the humidifier also. It almost seems like winter (but not a real Chicago winter).

On Friday, Shuwen & I decided to have dessert at a relatively new place called the Azure Grille (I get annoyed with that 'e' and think it is pretentious). However, it had a good review, and the reviewer also commented on the name and said the food was amazing despite it, so we decided to give it the benefit of the doubt. The dark chocolate tart was quite excellent! Shuwen is still dreaming about it. The peach cobbler was more ordinary although also good. Our biggest issue at the restaurant was the service. The server was friendly and responsive, but was clearly inexperienced and very informal. We did not think that was appropriate given the ambiance and price of the place. Maybe we are just snobs.

We enjoyed our outing to Memorial Hall last night. Shuwen was especially impressed by Gary Burton who played the vibraphone with 2 sticks in each hand. He and Chick Corea have been collaborating off and on for over 35 years ever since a chance jam session at the ill-fated 1972 Munich Olympic games. The whole performance was phenomenal.

~ Marc