02 November 2009

Día de los muertos and Requiem

Two weekends ago, though I was pretty beaten down by a cold, I dragged myself out of bed to go Austin's Día de los muertos celebration downtown. It's a parade and street festival with tents and a stage for live music. It's only a block long, and we didn't stay very long, but all three of us really enjoyed it.



Unfortunately that was the highlight of my otherwise lost and bedridden weekend. Here are a few more photos of the little man on the playground.



This last weekend was a little better for me. Last Friday, the little man wore his handmade Superman costume (thanks J!) to school. He didn't want to wear the removable cape, though, even though I tried to convince him he would be just like Superman and Super Grover. And there were two other Supermans in his class. They were all so cute! That afternoon in his class, they had a little party and both Mama D and I went. Here are a few pictures of the little man before school, struggling to not wear the cape.



Saturday, Mama D played spectacularly with the St. Edward's orchestra, performing Danse Macabre, excerpts from Pictures at an Exhibition, The Noonday Witch, and a little bit of Mahler's Symphony No. 1.

And that Halloween evening, even though he refused to put on his costume, the little man had a great time at J's party. Since this post doesn't have enough photos, here is another slideshow from party.



Sunday was Day of the Dead, and I spent my morning run reflecting on the loss of one of the co-founders of my company to brain cancer. As my lungs burned and I coughed up phlegm (residual from the cold), I thought about what a remarkable life he had. Later that morning, D and I went to Central Presbyterian to hear the performance of the Requiem by John Rutter. It was a Requiem that I had not heard before. The arrangement was made specifically for the Wild Basin Woodwind Quintet. I really enjoyed the music and it was perfect to be in that moment contemplating life and death and everyone.