Archive for "Things to Do"
Cheap Date Idea — Mural Scavenger Hunt
Posted on October 1, 2018 by Ching under Date Ideas, Things to Do.
I wanted to share something fun that Brian and I did recently. It’s absolutely perfect if you’re looking for a cheap date idea. If you’re unfamiliar with Wichita, we have this three-mile stretch on Douglas Avenue called Douglas Design District. It starts at the heart of downtown and ends just beyond Oliver. The stretch is peppered with local businesses — over 300 of them.
Something else that the District is peppered with are these amazing works of art. Everywhere you look you’ll find beautiful murals all over the place. Some of them are massive and breathtaking.
So Brian and I decided to go on a mural scavenger hunt last weekend. Our adventure also coincided with the District’s annual Avenue Art Days event, a tradition that started three years ago and has grown bigger and better each passing year. This year’s dates were September 21-23, culminating in a mural crawl from 12 to 5 pm on September 23 — the same day and time as Open Streets ICT. I’m not sure if they planned it that way but it was absolutely perfect.
Since I teach a Zumba class every Sunday at 2 pm, we figured we wouldn’t have much time to participate in Open Streets ICT festivities but I really wanted to check out these beautiful works of art. Brian and I decided to venture out on Saturday afternoon, the day before Open Streets ICT. It worked out fabulously because, not only did we get to see some amazing murals, we also caught some artists in the act. They were busy finishing thirteen new murals for Avenue Art Days 2018.
Here are a few more pictures of artists at work.
This mural is one that we see all the time because it’s outside our favorite breakfast/brunch spot, Dempsey’s Biscuit Co.
This one called “Wichita The Air Capital” isn’t massive but is one of my favorites from last year. You can find it at Clifton Square, where several other Avenue Art Days installations are located.
This is the one at Dempsey’s Burger Pub at Clifton Square, also from Fall 2017.
Anyway, now that we are several days removed from Avenue Art Days 2018, I can’t wait to head back out to check the finished product of the ones that were in progress last weekend.
Thank you to all of the artists and volunteers who have been working hard to beautify our city since the inception of Avenue Art Days in 2015.
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Master Certificate in Project Management
Posted on September 27, 2018 by Ching under Leadership, Things to Do.
Well, it took more than a year but I am finally done. I received my Master Certificate in Project Management earlier this month from Wichita State University‘s Center for Management Development.
But, as a lifelong learner, I’m never truly done. While I’m finished with this program, there is still so much more to learn.
For now, I need to decide whether to apply for a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. I suppose that would be a reasonable next step. I’m not in a hurry to do it because it’s not required for my current role but I’m thinking this might be something I want to complete in 2019 should my schedule allow it.
I’m still undecided. What do you guys think?
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Crazy Rich Asians Movie Night
Posted on September 24, 2018 by Ching under Food and Drink, Things to Do.
As we are gearing up for another movie watch night with friends to see A Star is Born in a couple of weeks, I was reminded of our last fun movie outing. A bunch of us went to see Crazy Rich Asians.
I had seen movie previews and really wanted to go see it. As my friend Linda and I got to talking about it over Facebook, we came to realize that more people wanted to see it so we got a group together. We decided to make it a full on outing, starting with dinner at Wasabi Sushi Bar East before the movie.
Brian and I got to the restaurant first because we wanted to make sure we had enough space for everyone. We kept having to add more people to the dinner reservation down to the last few moments before dinner. Brian actually started to worry that they might not have a big enough space for our group. Fortunately, the area that they set aside for us was just perfect.
It was just me and Brian at first as we waited for everyone to show up. The restaurant was super busy that night. I’m guessing it’s because they’re close to the movie theater and everyone had the same idea as us. Brian and I were smart enough to make reservations, so we didn’t have to wait. They had our table ready for us when we got there.
As we were waiting for our friends, we saw several large groups (smaller than ours but more than just 4 or 5 people) give us the evil eye for holding up all of that space for just the two of us. There were a couple of times we actually saw people point at our table. We could only imagine they were asking the host why they couldn’t sit there. We were glad when our friends finally started trickling in because we were tired of all the shade we were getting from the people who had to stand there and wait for tables to open up while the two of us we were sitting at this long, mostly empty table by ourselves.
It turned out to be a much larger group than I ever anticipated — even bigger than the groups we had for Mamma Mia! 2 and I Feel Pretty. There were about 20 of us at dinner. A few others skipped dinner due to other commitments and just met us at the theater. We took up 26 seats altogether.
Here are a couple of pictures of the food that Brian and I had. The food was good but not as good as the the original Wasabi on Douglas. They also had a very limited drink menu. That didn’t stop Mike from getting a few bottles of sake, though.
I had the bento box because it’s a good deal. You get a little bit of everything — tempura veggies, meat (I got the tonkatsu), a few pieces of California roll, and steamed rice. Brian got the crazy crab, which is his favorite thing to get there.
In general, even though we each get our own entrees, we will usually share so he can get some of mine and I can get some of his. It works out better that way because then we get to try more things.
Here are a few pictures of our group at the movie theater.
It was such a fun night. And, the movie was even better than I expected. It had some good laughs and also a smattering of emotional moments. I cried in several parts. The next one we are going to see, A Star is Born, is more of a drama than a rom-com. Brian is actually bracing for a bawl-fest.
Here’s a preview of the next movie. Tell you all about it after. GNG.
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Grace Hill Winery Tour and Tasting
Posted on September 17, 2018 by Ching under Things to Do.
Jay, Becca, Brian and I attended a tour and wine tasting at Grace Hill Winery last month through the Young Professionals of Wichita. We may or may not have been the oldest attendees. LOL.
Everyone met up in the Rotary Club parking lot downtown (which I didn’t even know existed but is pretty cool — I’ll show you pictures of it later) where we boarded a party bus to the winery in Whitewater, which is about 30 minutes away. Here are a few pictures from our outing.
I’m not sure why these two looked so serious. By the way, check out Jay’s spiffy “Rebecca” name tag. LOL.
The two people who ran the wine tasting were very informative. They were also super nice and poured quite generously. I wish I would have blogged about this sooner because, now that I’ve slept since then, I can’t remember their names.
Here are pictures of the wines we got to sample. First up was El Gato Moscato.
This one is Dodging Tornados, a sweet red.
This one is Vignoles. I don’t think I liked this one because it wasn’t memorable to me. I don’t think I liked this next one either.
Chloe’s Cuvee is one of my favorites. We actually bought a bottle of this wine from the gift shop to take home with us.
Peckerhead Red, also a sweet red.
Black Out dessert wine.
This is the Beach Day Rose. It wasn’t part of the wine tasting but it was what the girl was drinking and she let me try some of it.
Just a few of the bottles of wine that was consumed that afternoon.
Gratuitous wine glass picture.
Picture of Grace Hill Winery’s award-winning wines.
Here’s a picture of the wine gift box that we bought.
Just a few pictures from the winery tour part of the afternoon.
I took a picture of the entry as we were getting ready to leave.
Picture of the bus ride to the winery.
Vs. the bus ride back to Wichita when everyone was so much more relaxed, as can be expected after a few glasses of wine.
Some obligatory selfies.
It was a great time and I would totally do it again. I’m glad we decided to go. I’m also glad that Jay and Becca decided to join us.
Until next time. GNG.
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2018 Wichita Corporate Challenge
Posted on September 7, 2018 by Ching under Things to Do.
I usually get super excited about the Wichita Corporate Challenge because it’s the closest that I’m ever going to get to competing in an Olympics type of event. Apparently, I was the only one super excited about it. LOL.
It was like we didn’t even try. And, deservedly, we didn’t place.
I’m not sure how they decided who would compete this year. It seemed very random to me. For instance, they didn’t have Isaac play in the ping pong event. That would have been a guaranteed gold for us.
Another thing I thought was weird was me being assigned to Cornhole. I normally compete in the bowling event. I have to admit, I was very confused about this at first. I didn’t understand why I got assigned to an even that I’d never ever competed in before, other than I think they really didn’t have any other volunteers for it. Who knows? The weird thing is that even though I was competing in an event that I had absolutely no experience in, we actually managed to take third.
In the years I’ve been participating in the Wichita Corporate Challenge I had never earned a medal before. Go figure it’s an event that I absolutely have no training in. LOL. I was actually a little bit frustrated in the beginning because I knew I sucked at Cornhole. I thought there were others much better at Cornhole that should have represented our company and perhaps would have increased our chance of winning. See, I’m a team player. As much as I want to participate in events and play, if I know someone is better then I’m not going to take try and take their spot because I want our team to win.
Like last year for instance, I really, really, really wanted to compete in the ping pong event but I knew that we’d have a better shot with Amy so I was fine with not playing. And it was totally worth it because I got to watch her and Isaac win gold. They obliterated the field.
I was thinking I probably could have served the team better in the bowling event as opposed to Cornhole but I guess things happen for a reason. I never would have medaled in bowling. Everyone else in that event is amazing!
At least with Cornhole luck is much more of a factor. And, lucky for us, she was on our side that day.
* P.S. I realize that this post is a month overdue (the Wichita Corporate Challenge happened last month). I’m still trying to get caught up.
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