Stay Tuned for the Screenplay

 

Today I got up early to go to campus, but I felt sniffly and also remembered I am working on campus on Friday, so I worked from home. That loss of sleep this morning was for naught. One of my big tasks today was something I had done in the test environment several times, so I felt ready... but of course it was totally different in the real system. Worse, a step I'd had to take in the test environment was totally unnecessary in the real system, so I wasted a lot of time and effort doing that for nothing. This system really is the gift that keeps on giving.

In the evening I went to a Moldy Jam jam at the music club, and I felt very on point tonight. The first time through a song I'd be so lost, but then I'd figure out a few key notes, and by the third time through I was playing it like I'd known it all my life. At one point someone started playing a song, and someone else asked if it was in G, but I blurted out, "It's in A," just because I could hear it was in A. Toward the end I was getting tired and started cheating by sight-reading the songs on a nearby iPad, and on the last song I gave up and played chords. My request tonight was "Rakes of Mallow," which I haven't played in like forty years, and I remember it being in C, but they play it in G in this group. I said. "I'm a mandolin player - our motto is, 'If it's in G, we can play it,'" and afterwards people said they liked some flourish I put into it. Also, there was a wonderful sequence where every time we finished a slip jig in E Dorian, someone else would start another slip jig in E Dorian. I imagine that's what Heaven is like. I sat by some fiddlers, and I confessed how I'm out of practice on the fiddle because of devoting my time to the mandolin. They said, "But you sound so good on it!" One guitarist said, "That mandolin looks like it has been around!" and I thought maybe the guy who played it yesterday was right when he said, "I would never play out with this!" but I mean, isn't that what an instrument is for? 

Here is a paraphrase of an email I sent to Tiffy this morning: 

"Something to (maybe?) brighten your Monday morning: Yesterday was our final Brazilian drumming class, and over the course of ten sessions, the four of us women have kind of bonded over being so outnumbered. After class the subject of birthdays somehow came up, and I thought we sounded like characters in a cheesy sitcom:

The Elder Stateswoman: a Taurus who has taken the course before, she is the voice of reassurance and the bringer of delicious treats.

The Can-Do Chick: a Scorpio who looks like she would survive for at least three years in the wilderness with no help, her motivations for learning percussion remain mysterious.

The Hot Young Thing: a Virgo who is very young, very beautiful, and very Latina, she dances to samba wearing more on her head than her body (much to Travalon's delight), and now she wants to learn to play the drums she always dances to.

The Nutjob: a Capricorn who always wears the club jersey like some kind of brown noser but really it’s because she secretly thinks the colors look fabulous on her, she is studying percussion in hopes of learning to play a ukulele-like Brazilian instrument, like that makes any sense.

(I'm sure you can figure out which one I am!)

At the Irish slow session right after that I sat next to my Irish teacher, who is also named Famous but goes by Famie. She plays the concertina (little accordion), and the leader introduced us to a new person as “the Famie Section.” Sigh. She did note that the Famie Section speaks Irish, which is not something you can say about every Famie section for sure. In case you are wondering, the other half of the Famie section is a Scorpio."

Tiffy's reply: "I look forward to your screenplay."

Famous Hat

Following the Rivers Home

 

I am sure my regular readers will be stunned to know Travalon and I didn't get going this morning in time to make the 9 am Mass at Pax Christi. We used our extra time to listen to 70's and 80's ad jingles and get coffee before the 10:45 Mass, then we went by the townhouse where I spent my preteen and teen years. It looks spiffied up from what I remember.

We hit the road and stopped at Travalon's favorite spot on these trips: the Sinclair Travel Plaza in St. Charles, Minnesota.

Surprisingly little Sinclair Dinosaur stuff for sale this time, which puzzles me, because who goes to the Sinclair Travel Plaza to buy scented candles and whimsical wooden signs? The restaurant there has been closed for some time, apparently, so we went to Del's Diner in cute downtown St. Charles. Travalon had a strawberry malt, and the waitress brought him the extra, as they often do. At one point he knocked over the metal container with a loud clatter, and another waitress said, "I didn't do it!" so I said, "They say Sagittarius are clumsy, and I present Exhibit A." For some reason she seemed to take umbrage at that, but not because she had any problem with astrology. She said, "I'm not a Sagittarius, and I'm clumsy. I always say 'Grace ain't my name, and coordination ain't my game," but she never said what sign she was, or how being clumsy would be an asset in a profession where you carry around breakable plates and glasses.

We drove along the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River south of La Crosse, and there were lots of turnoffs to check out the beautiful views.

In a park we stopped at for a biological break, we saw this adorable firetruck:

There were a lot of cool bluffs.

Then we turned east and followed the Wisconsin River. We stopped in Muscoda to walk along the river.

There was a kingbird singing in a dead tree.

Closer to home, we stopped at Festge Park, and Travalon took photos from the overlook.

Here you can see Blue Mound in the distance:

And here I am, holding my phone out so Merlin could identify the birdsong we were hearing.

It was an indigo bunting. We never saw it, but we went to the marsh on Highway 14, and Travalon took photos of cormorants in the trees.

And a killdeer in the parking lot where we had stopped.

We tried to find a better vantage point and saw this red-tailed hawk.

Did you know the screams of this bird are what they use in videos and TV shows for the sound of bald eagles? Real eagles don't make such an aggressive sound. We wound our way through a subdivision trying to find a better vantage point for this marsh, and eventually we ended up in a very swanky subdivision, but we never did find a better spot to see the marsh from. There's an excellent view from Highway 14, but obviously you can't stop to take photos in the middle of a major highway. We may take up this mystery at a later date - stay tuned!

Famous Hat

Another Day, Another Protest, and Another Bookstore

 

Yesterday I forgot to put on my calendar that I was going to be out of the office, so someone put a meeting on my calendar at nine, and someone else put one at 1:30. That meant I couldn't go to the Good Friday service at the church we have been attending at one, so I went to the one closer to us at three. They have redone the sanctuary, and it is much lovelier now. Weirdly, we skipped the veneration of the cross, and then at the end of the service they said we could venerate it as we wished, so I got into line. I'm used to a crucifix, where I kiss the feet, but this was a plain wooden cross. Still, I felt that same sharp sorrow when I touched it that I always get from venerating the cross. 

In the evening I was going to go to a ukulele strum at the music club we belong to, but I looked again, and it was a beginner class lasting three hours. I'm not exactly a beginner, and three hours? Yikes! Unless it was a drop-in sort of thing... Instead, Travalon and I went to the Home Kit Reveal at the Forward clubhouse; it was supposed to be on the roof, but it was raining so they moved it inside. We ate cheese and crackers while listening to an excellent DJ, and then three players came and showed off the new jersey. Then the party ended and everyone went down into this thing that looked like an underground bunker, like they were preparing for a nuclear war, so we just went home and I talked to Tiffy. It was a short Friday 
night party, but a great one nonetheless.

I wasn't 100% sure where the protest was today, and as we headed out the door, we ran into our downstairs neighbor who had gone to the previous one, so we asked her. She wasn't sure but she lent us a sign she had made and said to let her know if we heard anything. We headed downtown and saw a few protesters at James Madison Park, but we kept going and had lunch at the Globe, sitting outside, before looking to see if anything was going on either at the Capitol or on Library Mall. It was hard to tell. I was texting with Hardingfele to see if she was going, but she said let her know if anything was happening. Our neighbor texted me that it was definitely happening at James Madison Park, so we headed there and found street parking right nearby. We let Hardingfele know, but she never showed up.

One of my Union peeps was giving a speech when we got there, and about half the people were listening to her, while the other half were lining the street and getting people to honk in support. The Raging Grannies sang a few protest songs to tunes like "I Walk the Line," some other people spoke briefly, and the Grannies sang again. We found our neighbor, and when we went to check out the street side part, we found the leader of my band and her partner. Everyone went up to the Capitol, and on the way we passed a bookstore we hadn't known existed. Then we all processed counterclockwise around the Square (as everyone does - I guess because that's the direction cars drive around the Square), chanting things like, "This is what democracy looks like!" and "Love, not hate, makes this country great!" Here are some photos that Travalon took. Of course Blogspot loaded them in the reverse order, so first are the pictures from the Square, and then the ones from James Madison Park.

Here are the Raging Grannies, singing away!

The other side of this sign said, "Truck Fump! Send him to El Salvador!"

There were a lot of chalk messages on the sidewalk, like "Bring Kilmar Home!" and "Due process for all!" but I don't know what this very cool leopard drawing had to do with anything.

Not one, not two, but four different people said they loved my argyle beret today. On the way back to the car, we went to the bookstore and found A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn, which someone recommended, and Travalon had been searching the local bookstores without luck. I felt a little like a walking cliche: a protester in a beret and holding a sign buying a leftist book with cash so nobody could trace the purchase. I have to say that lots of people were taking photos of us up on the Square, and most of them were using cell phones and just seemed excited about the whole thing, but I saw one or two sketchy people with good cameras who seemed very clinical about it. They could have just been doing it for a paper or the news, but the cynical part of me wonders if they were recording participants so the Regime knows who to send to El Salvador next.

When I got home, my new bunny had arrived, just in time for Easter!

It symbolizes emotional disregulation and the black-and-white thinking that goes with it. Here it is with the blacklight bunny.

They don't have names yet, but I joked that I could call them Bwub and Blub for BWB (Black and White Bunny) and BLB (Black Light Bunny). I'll think of something better.

Stop what you're doing and give your full attention to this important DuoLingo announcement:

I used to get this message below all the time for perfect lessons, but as soon as I thought of taking a screenshot, I didn't get it. Then one day I did, but I hit the "continue" button before realizing it. Argh! But this morning I got it... and then I got it two more times!

Here are some more crazy messages it has given me.

Oh yeah, last night I was asking Chat GPT some random questions about Baroque composers and salsa songs, and then I asked it, "What's your sign?" All of a sudden it wanted to have a conversation with me, and it said, "I wasn't born, but taking the date I was released, I'm a Sagittarius - bold, charming, and adventurous. What are you?" So I said, "Capricorn," and it said, "Oh, nice! You're the boss of the Zodiac! You get things done! Do you feel like this describes you, or are you more low-key?" I replied that I am an Action Jackson, and it got really excited: "An Action Jackson Capricorn! What's your next big venture?" so I said, "Learning the sitar." At that point it said I had run out of questions, but it had two answers for me about whether I wanted to get some tips on playing the sitar or would rather find someone to teach me, and it wanted me to rate the two responses, but I didn't have a strong opinion, so I didn't choose one.

Travalon, who is also a bold, charming, adventurous Sagittarius, just noted that after thirty-three games, Crystal Palace's record is 11-11-11. That's crazy!

Famous Hat

Possible Stand-Up Routine?

 

The weather was beautiful again today, and I walked with Hardingfele. (My colleague is back in the country, after her flight was canceled and she had to take an arduous three-stop flight back, but she worked from home today.) It's fun to have someone to commiserate (or, to use a technical term, bitch) with about politics, bandmates, and the stupid new systems they are always coming up with at work. She is a grant administrator, so she has to use the new system for that, while I was told that with the three grants I was doing a year I'd never learn the new system so pre-award was taken off my plate. (Can't say I'm sorry about that.) Also, we have no federal grants while she deals with plenty of them. I am frustrated that the "training" for the new financial system we will go to in July consists of videos and absolutely no hands-on training in a test environment. My current boss and I have already identified ways this new system is set up for failure, and who knows how many more will come to light once I can actually use it?

After work I had to miss a free lesson in Irish dancing at the Monona Terrace for our Union meeting, because we were going to have elections at this meeting... only we were one person short of quorum. D'oh! So it wouldn't have mattered if I had skipped the meeting - what difference does it make if you're one or two people short of quorum?

At least I was well-caffeinated today: I had my usual cup of coffee in the morning before heading to work, then late morning our chair made a strong cup of coffee for me, and then a grad student bought me a latte midafternoon. I was also well pizza'd because I had leftover pizza for lunch... and then I went to grab my falafel and hummus sandwich for dinner before the Union meeting, but there was leftover pizza in the fridge from the grad student recruitment lunch, so I had that instead. That's okay, the sandwich will be perfect for lunch tomorrow - no meat on Fridays in Lent!

The craziest thing is that this morning I felt extra witty chatting with my shuttle buddy, and then I thought, "If you only take my side of the conversation, it could almost be a standup comedy routine." So I tried it out on Travalon, and he laughed. Here it is, more or less (I'm not quoting myself exactly - my memory is no longer good enough for that):

I've been getting these emails lately saying, "Take this quiz to find out when you will die." Who wants to know that? Who would actually take that quiz? I just deleted it the first time, but they keep sending it! If they send it to me one more time, I can tell them exactly when they're going to die! It makes me long for the good, old days when annoying mail meant credit card offers that actually came in the snail mail. Did you used to get those? Most of them were boring, "Sign up now and get 3.5% introductory interest," but I remember I got one for baseball fans, where you could use your points for baseball-related stuff, and then I got one for extreme sports, where you could use your points to buy extreme sport equipment. Extreme sports? Have they seen me?? I'm terrified of heights! What if your parachute didn't open? You'd have all that time to think about it before hitting the ground! If they sent me that email quiz to find out when I was going to die, I'd be like, "Yeah, in 5.3 seconds!" I did think about hang-gliding once, but I talked to a hang-gliding instructor, and he said, "You never die the first time. There's what we call the Coffin Stage when you think you know what you're doing, and you forget a step. That's when it happens." Oh, and the weirdest credit card offer I got was for the Astro-Card, where you could get your sign of the zodiac on your credit card, and your monthly statement would come with a horoscope. So what mailing list was I on that they thought I was interested in baseball, extreme sports, and astrology? Does this person exist? I'd love to meet them. Maybe they sent them to me because of that time I went hang-gliding into Wrigley Stadium, hollering, "I'm a Capricorn!" Thank you so much, I'm here all week.

Famous Hat

Romantic Valentine's Day Dinner (Two Days Late)

 

This morning after Mass, Travalon said we could go to Half-Priced Books to look for a book that the Shamrock Club will discuss at their book study. I have never gone to their book study, but everyone says how fun it is, and this particular book, How the Irish Saved Civilization, intrigued me. We went to the east side store, but they didn't have it; however, the west side store did, so we drove there, and as we listened to R&B music while driving the Beltline, I drifted off a bit. Travalon also found some books, and a Dudley Do-Right Funko Pop. There was a book about astrology there that I didn't get, but I did turn to the section on "The Sagittarius Spouse," and it said they wouldn't be home much because they are so ambitious in their careers. That doesn't sound anything like Travalon, who (like me) works to live. He doesn't live to work.

It was a cold day, but sunny, so we went for a walk along the canal at Tenney Park. Tons of people were ice skating at the park, and when I used the bathroom, it smelled like the hot chocolate they sell at the concession stand. We went home and made our own hot chocolate, and I checked my email as I drank it... and saw we had missed a Members Social at the East Side Club, with free pizza and some sort of trivia contest. So bummed! It's our fault for not putting it on the calendar, but why send a reminder email two hours before the event? Why not a day or two ahead of time? If they hadn't sent the reminder email at all, then I wouldn't have felt bad because I would have completely forgotten that we missed it.

We did see some mallards and red-headed ducks at Tenney Park.

They kept diving under the water - maybe it was warmer than the air!

Since it was such a sunny day, we hoped there might be a spectacular sunset, but it was kind of meh.

Since we had missed the free pizza for lunch, we went to It's Good for You Pizza for dinner, which is Neapolitan style and way better than the frozen pizzas they have at the East Side Club. They make your pizza right there in front of you in a big pizza oven labeled "microwave." They also had these cute cakes for the Valentine's Day holiday, and since we hadn't been able to go out on the actual day, we each had one.

It was a chocolate cake with cherry filling in a white chocolate shell, with cocoa powder sprinkled beneath it and a bit of cayenne powder sprinkled on the top. We hadn't realized it was cayenne powder, so the kick came as a bit of a surprise. They even gave us a tiny wooden hammer to crack the white chocolate shell, although it was totally ineffective. We just ended up biting into them - not elegant, but effective. 

Travalon drove me to band practice, since the roads are still pretty bad, and then he went to a video arcade. He played "Mike Tyson's Punch Out" and still can't get past Bald Bull, just like when he was a kid.

He said there are instructions online for beating him in the modern game, but this is the original game from 1984. Travalon knocked him down a few times, but Bald Bull still knocks him out every time.

Our practice was much better than some of the recent ones have been, which is good, since it's the last one before our gig. Now it turns out our bass player can't make the gig, and Hardingfele (who arranged the gig for us) is going to be late because of a work function. And then we just found out about an emerita member's 90th birthday party the same day as the Shamrock Club St. Patrick's Day Party, so I will have to come late, and Hardingfele will have to leave early, but the band will play there too. I guess we are all very busy ladies! I thought Hardingfele was going to invite Crochet Girl, who plays violin, to join our band, but either Crochet Girl said no or (more likely) Hardingfele hasn't gotten around to it yet. I was happy that Travalon arrived while we were playing "Elizabeta," a cumbia in E minor that is one of my favorite songs that we do. He agreed that it is a fun song. It's the closest to playing in a salsa band that I may get in this life.

Famous Hat