Coda

All good things must come to an end. This is gonna be my last week of project in the great land of DC area, after a full swing of six months travelling back and forth Chicago - DC!

Just on my flight this morning, I counted the amount of air trips I've taken for the past six months and it amounted to more than 48 trips! In six months alone! And that does not include leisure trips. It probably sounds normal for other road warriors out there... as it sounds normal to all my co-workers. Many people ask me if I ever get tired of travelling and my response have always been, No way! It's been a blast! Maybe not yet.. since I'm still technically single so flying everywhere at anytime is no sweat at all. In fact, it's more like a free treat or a short holiday.. with some work involved. :)

Anyways, since this blog is here for a reason, and one of that reason is (i hope) to inform you of lil' things I've learned throughout my journey... Here is a list of travel advice and what nots, in case you're planning on visiting the capitol area, specifically the wonderful sunny area of Tysons Corner, VA!

- Best airport to land: Reagan National Airport in DC IF and ONLY IF you're flying ATA. No long security lines, no hassle checking in... it's the heaven for air travellers. Worst scenario: Flying United from Chicago to the Washington Dulles airport (in the suburb). LONG lines for everything, and let me just tell you.. Gate G stands for Ghetto.. so come prepared.

- Best Hotel to stay in Tyson's Corner: When money is not the issue, then Ritz Carlton is the place to be! Ritz stands for service and by Golly, they really mean it! A warm plate of brownies awaits in your room when you check in, twice room-cleaning service; one in the morning and another one in the evening, in which they'll dim the lights, place chocolates on your down-feather pillows, make the bed and turn on the music to a soft classical piece. Mmmmm...
Next to that will be the Marriott (my personal favorite!). Hilton is always too crowded for me, they always have some conferences going on so I always feel like staying in a college dorm. And they had a black out for 45 mins during my last stay!! They have great gym though.

- Best Asian cuisine around Tyson's Corner: For Korean, try the $12 lunch buffet at Songbird. For Thai, go to TaraThai or PayaThai. For Japan, the Chirashi and spicy salmons at Mikado are pretty good. Chinese? The Hunan King.. I'm not sure if it's the best since all chinese restaurants in this area honestly taste almost the same! :P

- And this goes for other business travellers out there... During my down time, when I had enough of watching HBO or splurging at the nearest Mall, I tried to be active in looking for creative yet educative ways in spending my time. Some places that may be interesting: Personal Mandarin courses since there are a lot of Asians (including Chinese) around this area.. I've had some sessions and eventually got some new Chinese friends. Music lessons is pretty cool too (http://www.musicarts.com/). There's one around this area and a piano lesson cost around $100 per month. You can rent out musical instruments too. Dance lessons with Arthur Murray is also not a bad idea.

So my point is don't get stuck in your hotel room doing nothing (of course, unless if you need to work) coz it can get pretty depressing! And if you just got tired of happy hours or have no team dinners/activities in your agenda.. then there're a lot of other options available! Just go to Yahoo Local, and search whatever you wanna do and Bam, you're there!

So, there it is.. my two cents for the travelling world. This journey won't stop here though, since I'm gonna be travelling somewhere else for a different project starting next week.
But I'll surely miss my team here, and I'll surely miss Washington DC!

The Power of Do Re Mi..

Music is such a powerful tool.
I am not a professional musician (at least not yet!) yet I enjoy listening and playing all sorts of music styles and instruments. The fact that you can paint images of emotions, messages or even places through certain arrangements of melodies really amazes me. Each note a song carries can lift your discouraged soul, break your heart, or brings you to deep thinking through its lyrics.
Imagine movies without music and you’ll get a bland presentation, just like a cake without taste.

It’s at times like this when I truly realize that I love music so much! To create a beautiful ballad is like inviting people to just stop and enter a tale of love, a journey from one melody to another. And what so great about music is, it’s not the only world in which this tale exists. When one listens to a song, the music in that song is just a media for one’s mind to travel wherever it may lead. Music is just a vehicle where listeners have the freedom of creating their own imagination of whatever messages or emotions that music brings. For instance, when you hear a Mozart piece, person A might imagine a beautiful castle with royal surroundings, where person B might have a classic museum with beautiful paintings in mind.

That’s why music is so universal. It’s a language anyone can understand and comprehend, not merely limited to those who can play musical instruments or music literate. I’m currently listening to Mandarin music although my Mandarin skill is very very limited. The chance of me understanding every words the singer is singing is slim to none. Still, I'm able to grasp every stroke of emotions that the singer/musician tries to capture through his or her music.
That is a place I’m longing to be at. To create beautiful music, and add another melody to this world.