What to say about 2007? It has been a wonderful year that I enjoyed. There has been ups and downs this year.
January: A favorable moment that I can tell was on January 10, 2007. I finally bought a Nintendo Wii. Here's the story, I waited for the whole morning at Carlingwood Mall and then I was close to leaving the mall until I saw the Purolator guy and then I finally got it. Due to my dumb thinking, I didn't go back home and instead went to Carleton University. I was totally worried having to carry the Wii but it was humourous too because I was carrying like a goof.
February: One "defining" moment was February 12, 2007 when the lion dance troupe had a performance at the National Gallery of Canada. It was for the 18th Annual CAO Sweetheart Lunch for the Arts. What happened later on was that the Mayor of Ottawa, Larry O'Brien made a bombshell announcment that he wouldn't be funding the arts in Ottawa. The new media made a big deal the next day when our lion dance troupe "scared" the Mayor. It was unbelievable that one of the lions was on the front page of the Ottawa newspapers.
Another thing was that I didn't know Jim Bryson (Amanda Putz's favorite musician) was at the event. I will explain Amanda Putz from the September section.
Aside from that, I finally went to Winterlude on February 18, 2007. It was the final day of Winterlude and I went along with my friends to Jacques Cartier Park in Gatineau, Quebec. Before walking down to the park, we had a tough time walking from Byward Market to the park. It was pretty brutal. All in all, it was fun going to Jacques Cartier Park. Relive back a few images on here, http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenny-wu/sets/72157601201590386/
April: Not much happened in March and semi-fast forward to April. A memorable moment was on April 28, 2007. That was when I stayed up so late to finish up a take-home exam. How is it memorable? Well, it was the final assignment to end off my term in university. I was kept company and listened to music all over in Hong Kong. I messaged Alyson Hau to play "All Good Things (Come to an End)" by Nelly Furtado because the song meant that all good things come to an end as I finally finish my studies at Carleton University. It was bittersweet to be finally done with university.
May: The only moment was on May 31, 2007 and it was the sold out Feist concert at Bronson Centre. I got a good view at the concert and the only downside was that my brother could not use the D-SLR camera. For whatever reason, I guess it had to do with copyrights because D-SLR cameras bring out a perfect image. All in all, it was an amazing concert and one of the precursors to getting into Canadian independent music.
The only down part was seeing a very close family friend pass away. It was in early May.
June: The big day happened and it was on June 12, 2007. That was when I had my convocation at Carleton University. The worse part was that I was sweating from waiting at the old gym at Carleton and to make things worse, the Field House was not cold too. It was nice to shake hands with astronaut and Carleton University chancellor, Marc Garneau. I finally get my degree in Political Science and a minor in Canadian Studies.
There were the usual things I have done like the lion dance performance at the Dragon Boat Race Festival in Ottawa. I also checked out Montreal on June 23, 2007 and I haven't been to Montreal since 2002 for Just For Laughs.
July: July 15, 2007 was when I went to the Kanye West concert at Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest. It was a great concert but it was also a rainy night and ended up getting my hat soaked. It was great to hear old and new songs like "Touch The Sky" and "Stronger".
August: August 17-19, 2008, went to Toronto and on Saturday, August 18, 2007, checked out the Rogers Chinese Lantern Festival.
Links from Flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenny-wu/sets/72157601564776079/. The lanterns were amazing to watch. I also got some Apple accessories at The Apple Store.
September: Starting off September, on the 2nd of that month, I went to Camp Fortune Aerial Park. It was a fun and challenging having to climb and swing down wires. I thought it was scary when gliding but overall it was just fun. Photos on this link, http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenny-wu/sets/72157601823891560/
On September 11, 2007, I finally met Amanda Putz at the CBC Ottawa Broadcast Centre for the second FUSE taping but I missed the "season premiere" taping from a week earlier. Why is it significant? Well, I got in contact with her via MySpace in early 2007. Originally, I did not know she left to Hong Kong in Summer of 2006. So, I left an email to CBC Bandwidth but it was too late. In the email, I told her to meet up this person in Hong Kong. What did surprise me in early 2007 was that Amanda did get in contact with Alyson Hau as I was skimming through her MySpace. I was totally astounded because it felt coincidental that Amanda would get to meet Alyson Hau. Amanda got to host a indie show by the same name from CBC Radio One (excluding Toronto on Saturdays) on RTHK Radio 3 for several months. The thing is that I am used to her as a radio host but it's different that she is a radio DJ as well as she is also a host for CBC Radio 3. Prior to her return to Ottawa, she was one of the benefactors to getting me into Canadian independent music. Another thing I forgot is that Amanda Putz is a Saskatchewanian. Since September 2006, I encountered a few graduate Journalism students from Saskatchewan. It was a feeling different having to hang out with them because I was the lone person from Ottawa and see a different perspective from those amazing people. I think Amanda Putz is the last person from Saskatchewan that I have encountered. Aside from the Saskatchewan Rough Riders winning the 2007 Grey Cup, it is time to end my experience of knowing people from Saskatchewan. Overall, she is a great person and without you informing about CBC Radio 3 on the Internet, I wouldn't get into Canadian indie music. It was also nice to have you mention me on-air during the Web Radio broadcast.
On September 30, 2007, I got to check Mont. Tremblant. It is a great place for skiing, but I went with no snow. Going to the summit was breathtaking.
Link to the photos, http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenny-wu/sets/72157602215220552/.
Rounding out October through December:
- Several lion dance performance from Double Ten to the Canadian Olympic Committee.
- Went to several CBC Fuse tapings and one memorable taping was at the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, QC. Maybe Smith and Christine Fellows. [Flick link]
- The Acorn concert at Barrymore's Music Hall. A funny moment was when I was sitting and watching, Amanda Putz taps my shoulder and she was taking photos.
- Ending off 2007 (December 31, 2007) was going to Major's Hill Park for the fireworks at 18:57pm. [Flickr Link from New Year's Eve]
Happy 2008 Everyone!
