“Nabucco” by Giuseppe Verdi

Yesterday we saw  “Nabucco” by Giuseppe Verdi. The opera was amazing; the costumes and the decorations were very colorful, eye-catching, and mesmerizing. The voices and the music were unforgettable. This opera captures the voice of the ancient Hebrews and their struggle as exiles. I was not familiar with the context of this opera before, and I had no idea that this famous opera depictures the relationship between the king of Babylonia and Hebrew slaves.  I was even more surprised when I learned that “Va Pensiero,” the unofficial national anthem of Italy, was one of the highlights of this particular opera. The most unprecedented thing happened to me during the third act – the solo singer, who was supposed to sing from the audience – was sitting next to me. Naturally, I had no clue, and when he started singing, sitting just 5 inches from me, I got startled.  It was so unexpected! Who would have thought that I was lucky enough to get a ticket next to the performer. That was an unforgettable experience; the singer’s voice was so strong that I felt like a bolt of lightening was going through me. My chair was almost shaking by the power of his voice.  Not to mention that everybody in the entire opera house was glancing in my direction. After he finished his performance, the crowd’s cheers directed towards the singer swept me over. I was shocked and happy.

smart liposuction

On January 24, I did smart liposuction on my upper arms. Did I really need it? Who knows. After years of battling with push-ups and bench press without seeing much results, I decided to do it. To be honest, I became convinced that my biological arm structure is not favorable. Despite my intensive exercises, my upper arms were never firm. I could see results on each part of my body but my arms. I made a decision to have surgery to help me out. The surgery was tolerable with the local anesthesia. The first numbing part was very painful; the rest was a piece of cake.  I did it at the Body Care center, only because it was very near my home—a convenient location. I could walk. I think the doctor should pay a little bit more attention to his patients and stop running between different rooms doing surgeries and injecting Botox at the same time.  The success of smart liposuction mostly depends on the tightening of the skin. To remove fat is always easy, but to tighten the hanging skin without removing it is never an easy task. I got a post surgery garment, which is so tight that I can barely breath. I have to wear it 24/7 for two-three weeks. You get use to it.  The texture of the garment is so rough that I got red mark on my arms.  Two weeks to go.