20 posts tagged “dan chan magic man”

August proved to be a challenging month for the Chan Clan.  Much of the month was dedicated to shows, conventions, long days, not enough sleep, and long drives throughout the state of California.  On August 30th, we left the house at 6 AM and drove 3 hours to Aromas, California for Aromas Day.  Dan and I were not only going to perform for the Aromas Day festivities, but Dan was also invited to speak about how God has worked in his life to allow him to have the life he lives now.

Talk about fun filled and busy summer!  We've been so packed out with shows, travel, and vacations that I haven't had time to blog!  Here's a little sneak preview of what's to come!

For my 30th birthday, Dan gave me one of the most unique and thoughtful gifts I've ever received: an Illusionist locket.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Illusionist locket or the movie, The Illusionist tells the story of Eisenheim, a magician in turn of the century Vienna, who uses his abilities to secure the love of a woman far above his social standing.  There is a scene in the movie where Eisenheim gives his sweetheart a locket that is shaped like an oval.  With a single twist, the locket is then heart shaped. Upon opening this heart, a small photo of Eisenheim was revealed, with no folds, tears, or scratches visible.

The Illusionist locket that Dan presented to me is very similar to the movie locket; it starts as an oval, with a single twist it turns into a heart, and the photo enclosed does not have any tears, splits, or folds.  The locket I received is very unique as it doesn't hold just one photo - it holds two different photos!  What a completely fitting gift from my magician!  A magic trick that reminds me of Dan, and two photos enclosed within it - one of James and one of Grace!

"Look out, Kat's got a case of latex fever - she got bit by the latex bug!!"

I am so ballooned out!  Last week, Dan, James, and I all drove down to So. Cal to attend two balloon conferences, Diamond Jam and Balloon Camp.  We were also invited to perform for Balloon Camp, so it wasn't just a vacation - it was a working one!  (Although, I bet my work conferences are a lot more fun than most people's work conferences...!)

Our week started out with Diamond Jam - a primarily twisters conference.  This was my first twisters convention and boy - talk about being inspired!!  I was lucky enough to be able to take classes from some of the world's best twisters, including from Ed Chee, Rie Hosokai, Ori Livney, Ralph Dewey, and Robbie Furman (just to name a few!!!).  I also got to jam with some of the best, as well as make a lot of new friends! 
 

I think James made even more friends than me and Dan combined - he was such a hit among the balloon artists!  So much, in fact, that at one point, people started to ask "where is my baby?"  He tried his best to make as many appearances as possible, but unfortunately he did have to sleep, and sometimes the smoke in the casino got so bad that he had to retire to the hotel room for the evening.  I found out from Dan that sometimes he would try to caffiene himself up to stay awake.  Too bad he couldn't open the can...

Because it was my first balloon convention, I decided not to enter any major competitions just so I could see what these competitions are like.  I did, however, enter a few minor competitions, and actually won 2nd place in a Halloween twister competition, and 1st place in a 40 minute endurance competition (you have to use three of every type of balloon in the jam room, including 160s, 260s, 350s, geos, hearts, 640s..etc and create it into a wearable hat).  I think next year I'll enter into the "big boy" leagues!

Last Sunday, Dan, James, and I went on our first big family vacation - Las Vegas, baby!  James had his first airplane flight ever - and to my delight, he ate on the way up and down, and slept the whole time in between!  I guess I can't brag too much - it was only a one hour flight, after all.  ;)

The weather in Vegas was as it should be - hot!  But because it's spring, it wasn't triple digits flaming hot, so James and I were able to stroll along the strip, check the hotels, and go shopping in the new Planet Hollywood "Miracle Mile" shopping mall!  Our main reason of going out to Vegas, however, was for a magic conference.  While Dan spent a majority of his time at the conference, James and I did get the opportunity to hit up the strip, shop, and see a lot of the sights.  Ah, such is the life of Dan Chan Magic Man and Kat the Acrobat! 

I decided that of the hotels, the Bellagio is the most baby-friendly...not only are a lot of the artwork on the ceiling (thus allowing James to look at something), but it's also bright and cheerful!  The exhibit we saw was a flower and butterfly exhibit.  James also was enamored with the Bellagio fountains...he watched them 3 times straight and was happily squealing in delight each time!  We even got the chance to see the fountains at night once, so he saw the fountain literally in a different light!

While we didn't get to stay at the Bellagio, we did get to stay at the Orleans.  It's not too far from the strip and there is a shuttle bus that goes to and from the strip every 15 minutes.  James especially liked the fact that he not only got to swim in the bathtub everyday, but he also got his very own king-sized bed to sleep on for three nights!  Talk about luxury!
Our trip was a lot of fun - we're hoping to take another out of state trip (hopefully further away from California!) soon!

It's finally arrived - the blue blazing summer hot performances.  I hate 'em!  The performances themselves are the same - it's just that the weather is terrible!   Dan and I had 2 shows today and I thought I was going to melt into a puddle of sweat on the floor!  But it's the price we pay to escape the fluorescent cubicle jungle, I suppose.  Ah well.

So today we had two pretty fun performances.  The first was at an absolutely gorgeous house in Livermore.   The two story house was in a court located right next to line and lines of grapevines.  The family practically had their own vineyard view from their backyard!  One the guests looked pretty familiar to me - he was an older, cheerful looking gentleman.  After the show, we were talking to the mother who hired us and joked that we originally thought that we had a famous sport commentator hire us when we received her deposit - her husband's name is Joe Madden and we mistook him for John. 

"John?  Oh, that's my father-in-law over there - want me to introduce you to him?"

Lo and behold, that friendly looking old chap sitting there watching us perform and who was now kicking back watching his grandkids get ready to swim was none other than the John Madden.  Out of respect for the family, we didn't take any photos - but it was pretty cool to share a few sandwiches with the family at their house and teach their grandson a few tricks.   All in a days work for Dan Chan the Magic Man and Kat the Acrobat, I suppose!

We couldn't hang out too long because we had another show to attend to in Palo Alto, so we bid our adieus and began our next long drive.  The next house was a more modest looking than the house we saw in Livermore, although initial looks can be deceiving.  After the show, we were invited to hang out, have some snacks, and got to take a peek in the house.  Downstairs, this family built a theater room, complete with a wooden ticket taking booth!  It looked like the booth in the picture to the left, except a little smaller.  Again, out of respect for the family's privacy, we aren't posting photos.  Seeing the uniqueness of the homes today made Dan and I think - what will we do with our house in the future?

Dan already envisioned a room with a theater stage complete with spotlight, surround sound, and full video recording capabilities.  I have a little more modest vision of a huge kitchen complete with convection oven, gas burner/grill, and sun room connected (complete with herb, fruit, and vegetable garden in the back!)

After all the performance fun, we stopped by Stanford shopping center for some R&R and OJ until James decided he had enough fun today - then we went home.  It's so nice to be home after such an exciting day!

I know Dan posted this on his blog - but I can't resist because I'm so proud of him:

Dan is Magician of the Year for Ring 216: