Robot Research Study

 

Today I worked on campus, and I was a research subject in a study using a robot to move stuff around. It seemed silly, since I could have moved the stuff around in a fraction of the time it took me to get the robot to do it, but I got $23 in cold, hard cash. Why $23? It was because I was paid $15/hour for doing this for an hour and a half. Then Hardingfele and I took a walk in the afternoon, and in the evening Travalon and I played pickleball. I think I like tennis better, but it's definitely fun, and I'm definitely terrible at it.

When I tried to post some more of Travalon's photos, I got an error message, but I was able to post these screenshots of the train going by in our neighborhood. 

Then I realized I was trying to load too many photos at once. Here are more photos from Thursday.

And here are photos from Travalon's trip on Saturday.

This may be the awesome graffiti I saw on a train as I was heading to Adoration some weeks ago. I remember it looking like this, and being on a brown car.

I still have to get the screenshots from his videos on Saturday, plus we're probably going to have more videos tomorrow. I'm taking the day off of work, and we're watching trains.

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Important Work Meeting on the Union Terrace

 

Today I worked on campus and walked with my colleague at lunch. I showed her my Year of the Pig necklace and she confirmed that it was the Chinese character for "pig." She said, "Why would you wear this?" so apparently it's not a thing in China to wear your sign in jewelry fashion like it is with Western zodiac signs. I said, "But I am a pig - that girl told me so in Spanish. I should wear this necklace to the health club and wave it in her face: 'Soy cochina! Es verdad!'" Sorry, I am too lazy to figure out how to make the upside-down exclamation points in Spanish. Why? Because I'm a pig!

Usually we have our staff meetings on Wednesday at ten in a meeting room overlooking the lake, but today we met at 3:30 on the Union Terrace. The chair bought a pitcher of beer, even though she didn't partake of any, and we sat around chatting about not much work-related stuff. Travalon joined us and had some beer too. The chair was a little weirded out that some deans were sitting at a nearby table and only drinking water and lemonade at their outdoor meeting, like they would judge us or something. It's not like we constantly drink alcohol on work time, and I really don't think the deans were paying any attention to us. It was a beautiful day, a bit cooler than it has been lately, so Travalon and I hung out some more after all my coworkers left. We had cheeseburgers and corn on the cob, then we headed home and played some tennis, but we were terrible. Maybe it's partly because the balls are so bounceless, but we did find one that made that satisfying "ponk!" sound when you hit it. We sat on the dock for a little bit after tennis, then I joined a meeting of the "secret" club I'm in to discuss chasing your dreams. I don't think I'll chase the dream I once had, of being a man who was making $21 bills with my face on them, and when the police hauled me away, I asked, "How did you catch me?" 

During Night Prayer, Rich was very tired, and when I asked why during our chat afterwards, he said, "I picked up a virus," so I said, "How did you do that? Did you buy it a drink?" He also asked when exactly people started using the term "merch" for merchandise, so I said, "October 23, 2011 at 5:34 in the evening." I guess I've been in a jocular mood all day, ever since confusing not one but two coworkers by pointing at the ceiling and saying, "This isn't the best ceiling I've ever seen, but it's up there." Of course, as my readers may remember, my own office ceiling is so scary that it has been known to suddenly develop an ominous crack as I sat below it. But that's just par for the course for the Killer Building.

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Hanging Out with Jilly Moose

 

This morning Travalon, our neighbor, and I went to a new French bakery, where we got fresh-baked croissonts, then we met Jilly Moose at Jiffy Lube for coffee and sat outside. It was a beautiful day. Our neighbor had to head to her son's barbecue, but she lent her pickleball equipment to Jilly Moose and me, and we played in the midday heat. We weren't particularly good, and one of the cranes was watching us. Every time I said something about "the crane is watching us," it perked up like it knew I was talking about it. I don't know where its mate was, and I'm not here to be judged on my pickleball game by modern-day dinosaurs. Then again, our mailman also could see us because he was pulled over across from the tennis court, and unlike the crane he could tell people how badly we play. 

Then Travalon joined us for a walk on Governor's Island, and we saw a lot of boats in Three Foot Bay. It was such a hot day that I thought swimming sounded like a great idea, but we didn't end up doing any swimming. We did get lunch at Athens Grill, then Travalon headed off to Milwaukee to meet with his old teacher and see Ringo Starr, while Jilly Moose and I went to Cherokee Marsh to take another walk. Even though it was shady there, we were still very hot. The flavor of the day at Culver's was midnight toffee, and I told Jilly Moose that is their very best flavor, so we stopped and got some. As we sat in the air conditioning enjoying it, we saw my neighbor's vehicle drive up. She came in and got four pints of custard, including one of midnight toffee. She said, "I heard you mention that it was the flavor of the day today, so I had to stop." Darn right! It's very dark chocolate with a hint of coffee, and then chunks of toffee mixed in.

Jilly Moose wondered where we could see deer, and I said I often see them in the woods across from the bluff near my house. We went there and took yet another walk, but we didn't see any deer today. By then we had walked over seven miles, so we just went back to my place and chillaxed on my porch with some refreshing iced tea. A lot of the people we know were at a eucharistic congress, but we didn't register in time to go to that. However, I'd rather have been hiking through the woods like we did on such a lovely day. Soon it will be cold out, so we have to take advantage of this warm weather while we still can.

Here is a photo our neighbor took of a maple tree at Devil's Lake.

And here are some cute mushrooms she saw there.

Jilly Moose says there is a very pretty tree she sees changing colors outside the window of her new apartment, so if she sends me a picture of it, I will post it. From her description, I'm guessing it is another maple. I just love maples in the fall!

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Apple Oatmeal Chicken Espresso at Inshallah Supper Club

 

Yesterday I worked from home and took off at three, because Tiffy, Richard Bonomo, and I were going to take a Betty Lou Cruise. However, they had canceled it the day before so instead I played pickleball with my neighbor, and we saw people leaving a Betty Lou Cruise. I highly suspect they canceled our regularly scheduled Friday Fish Fry Cruise (they said due to low registration numbers) because they got a more lucrative offer from a private charter, and that was what we saw the people leaving. Then Tiffy and Rich came over, and we went to Mariner's for fish fry. When Travalon got done with work, he joined us too.

Today was Tiffy's birthday. This morning Travalon and I met Tiffy, Rich, Jilly Moose, and the woman with the fabulous porch at Fair Trade for coffee, then Tiffy, Travalon, Jilly Moose, and I went up to the Farmers' Market around the Square, where I bought what I really need: another plant. It's a kalanchoe with purple smudges on its leaves. Travalon went to the Union Terrace, since it was such a beautiful day, while we ladies went to the Globe for lunch and sat outside. Tiffy said she needed to get her free medium bubble tea from Sencha, and I said, "They're only giving you a medium because you're a Virgo. If you were a Libra, they'd let you get a large." She said, "That made me think of something - I can get a free bubble tea for a week after my birthday, but I have to get my free Starbucks drink on my actual birthday." So we went to Starbucks, where I abstained but Tiffy got her birthday drink, and Jilly Moose ordered an apple oat milk shaken espresso. However, when the barista announced it, both Tiffy and I heard "apple oatmeal chicken espresso," and we thought, Dang, Starbucks really is getting adventurous! I said, "That would make an excellent blog post title." Then Jilly Moose headed home, while Tiffy and I went to the roof of her sister's building. In the elevator there was a sign that said if you gave blood at an upcoming blood drive, you would get a T-shirt (supplies limited) and a coupon for a haircut by email. We were surprised to learn that you can get haircuts by email these days, but I guess you can do everything on the computer.

In the evening, Rich drove Travalon, Tiffy, Jilly Moose, and me to Ishnala, the famous supper club where "the only thing they overlook is Mirror Lake." Rich and Tiffy both had trouble remembering what it was called, and they were thinking it was Inshallah, but when Tiffy googled that to find the menu, she discovered it was an Arabic saying. I said, "Just remember that it's Fishnala, but you gotta get the F outta there," and Rich thought that was a good mnemonic, even if he didn't appreciate the naughty part. Ishnala is in an incredibly beautiful location, in the woods around Mirror Lake, and they told us there would be a four-hour wait (they don't take reservations), but we enjoyed going for walks as we waited. There was also live music down on the beach, a guy singing Jimmy Buffet songs (RIP!) and other stuff. There were so many people there that we couldn't find a real seat in any of the five bars or the many seats and tables scattered around the place, so we sat on two rocks by the path, and a waitress kept coming by and bringing us brandy old-fashioneds and duck tenders. (We did have to pay for them.) There was a free wine-tasting that I did not try, but Travalon and Jilly Moose did. I went to the gift shop and ended up buying a sea foam green Ishnala hoodie that says: "I'm so old-fashioned" and has a drawing of the drink on it. That was partly practical, because I was wearing a light dress, and we weren't sure how cool it would get as we waited outside.  

What joy! Our buzzer went off after only three hours! As we were heading into the restaurant, a guy joked, "How much can I pay you for that buzzer?" The restaurant was just as beautiful inside, and it was like being in a tree house. And the food! It did not disappoint. I've read that Ishnala is the best supper club in the state, and I believe it. The filet mignon was so good! The ice cream drinks and the chocolate mousse were so beautiful that Tiffy and I had trouble choosing. We did get the mousse but then could only eat half - I guess we could have split one? Maybe I should have made it a real supper club experience and gotten the grasshopper. Travalon got the special Ishnala ice cream drink, caramel with Rumchata, and he said it was the best ice cream drink he'd ever had. (I tasted it, and it was really good.) I have been wanting to go to Ishnala for years, since we always see it when we hike at Mirror Lake State Park, and it did not disappoint at all. Too bad it's not open in the winter, because Rich, Travalon, and I can't go for our birthdays.

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Epic Lotus Battle and Super Blue Moon

 

The Hive Mind has spoken, and they all think the odd "duck" we saw at Horicon Marsh was a juvenile gallinule:

Yesterday nothing too exciting happened; I worked from home and then went to Adoration. Today Travalon picked me up from work right when I got done, so we got home much earlier than usual and played some tennis. Wow, was I bad! Not that - and I can't emphasize this point enough - I was ever any good, but usually I could at least hit the ball and it would go... somewhere. Today I kept missing. Toward the end I was doing a little better, but then as we got tired, I was worse again, so we quit after almost half an hour. Maybe playing pickleball got me out of "tennis shape," not that I was ever in it to begin with...

Our neighbor did send the photos of us battling the lotuses in our boat. Behold our epic Lotus Battle! (Spoiler Alert: we won.)

The only other exciting thing that happened today was when I asked my colleague if she wanted to walk as usual at lunch, she said the button had come off her pants. (Unlike me, in my light top and shorts, she had checked the weather report before getting dressed this morning.) I asked the coworker most likely to have a sewing kit if she could help us, and she had the most elaborate sewing kit ever. She said she has an even better one at home. I have a very basic one at home and never thought to bring one to work. It took four of us to get the needle container open, but my colleague was able to sew her button back on. She said, "I came to the right department! You have a sewing kit and people that can open it!" So we were able to walk together, after all.

 

Just now we went out to look at the Super Blue Moon, and Travalon took this photo of it:

It was so beautiful. One of our neighbors said she saw the moonrise as they were driving back home, and it was glorious. I love when the rising moon looks like a big gold coin in the sky.

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Not a Manic Monday At All

 

Mondays are so relaxing when I can work from home. When the alarm went off, for a moment I was confused and thought I'd accidentally set it on a Sunday, but then I remembered we had gone to Mass yesterday. I got up, had a leisurely cup of coffee, logged in, got lots of work done (and lots of laundry!), and talked to my boss who was back from a week's vacation. He says our usual staff meeting on Wednesday will be in the afternoon this week, on the Union Terrace, so that's something to look forward to. I walked with my neighbor, and after work we played pickleball. When Travalon came home, I asked if he'd like to swim or play tennis, and he said tennis so we didn't have to drive to the health club. That made sense, it was a little cooler today and perfect for sports outdoors but not so perfect for swimming. Then I asked if he would be okay with just sitting on the dock, since the pickleball had worn me out and I realized I didn't want to play tennis. He thought that sounded like a grand idea, so we sat on the dock drinking a beer before dinner. If Mondays were always this relaxing, I would never dread them.

I took a photo of the leopard-patterned rosary I got at the shrine in Champion, but it's not downloading from the cloud, so enjoy this photo of cedar cones that my neighbor took.

I took this photo of a balloon on the sign for the Betty Lou Cruises. It seems familiar.

So I just googled it, and it's called an Eye Spot Balloon, or a Scare Eye Balloon. It's supposed to keep birds away. I'm not sure why they put it on their sign - did birds like to mess with it? I personally would be more worried about people messing with it, but that balloon probably wouldn't scare most people off. It wouldn't scare me off, since as my regular readers know, I love things with eyes on them. Looks like I could get my own set of a white one, a yellow one, and a black one for $33.33. Maybe something to keep in mind for our dock, since the fake owls we have out there don't seem to do much for keeping the birds away.

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Pilgrimage to Champion

 

Friday after work and before I talked to Tiffy, I played pickleball with my neighbor again. We played so much this past week that I lost three and a half pounds! I can see why this craze is sweeping the nation - not only is it fun, it does seem to work for weight loss!

Yesterday Travalon and I met Cecil Markovitch and the woman with the fabulous porch at Cecil's house, and Kathbert (who lives across the hall from Cecil) came to say hi, but we couldn't talk her into joining our pilgrimage. Then Rich drove up "just to say hi," but we did succeed in talking him into joining us. Travalon and I drove in one car with Rich in the backseat, and the others drove in Cecil's car. I told Rich about my mystical experience on Wednesday and asked for advice with the practical implications, and he had some good suggestions, so I will be working on this project. (I still haven't finished my project he inspired on our last pilgrimage, for St. Joseph's Day last year. I was going to write a book about twenty-five things I wished I'd known at twenty-five, but I'm stalled at sixteen.) We stopped at the Schultz Cheese Haus, which the others hadn't been to, then somehow our car ended up at one Culver's in Oshkosh while the other car ended up at the one at the next exit. We found them and had lunch together, and I ordered broccoli as a side instead of French fries. I thought it was fantastic that they offered that option!

We got to the Lady of Good Hope Shrine (I think that's the name?) in Champion a bit later than Cecil had been planning, maybe due to the stop at the Cheese Haus. (That was Travalon's idea, and I thought it was a great one!) Cecil went off to pray, and I went to the gift shop to buy a rosary. I bought a Murano glass one that looks like a leopard - photos soon! Here are photos Travalon took at the shrine. First, the church:

Here's the shrine:

He and I went to a county park nearby and took a hike, since we hadn't gotten any exercise yet. When we returned to the shrine, all of us went to a supper club in Appleton for dinner. I had the daily special, skate, which is a fish like a stingray. It was delicious! And guess what the vegetable was with it? Broccoli! I certainly got my daily recommended allowance of broccoli that day! After dinner everyone else had grasshoppers, but Travalon had a salted caramel ice cream drink, and I got one that was supposed to have an orange flavor, but it just tasted like vanilla ice cream. When will I learn that grasshoppers are the best ice cream drinks? This happens every time I order something else. After that we headed home, and this time Rich rode in the other car, since we didn't have to go back to Cecil's place. When I got home, I still needed steps, and so did my neighbor. Plus she wanted to tell me about the second family she just found out about. That's the danger with these genetics tests... She had asked her new half-sister if her fingers curved the way everyone's does in her family, and as we were walking this woman sent a photo. We just laughed so hard when we saw her fingers curve the same way!

Today Travalon and I went to the bilingual Mass at our church downtown, and I'm really starting to get into it. Some Hispanic people greeted me warmly - it's like we're becoming one group. Plus the priest gave a really good homily about how trying to live without prayer is like trying to drive with your eyes shut, and he also said we shouldn't get news about the church from unreliable sources that say Pope Francis is going to baptize chickens now or you need to prepare for the Second Coming by covering yourself in butter. He says it in both English and Spanish, so I am getting some exposure to Spanish. Then a bunch of us went to brunch nearby, and on the way back Travalon and I went to Fontana Sports to see if they had pickleball sets. I wanted one like my neighbor has, with two paddles and three balls in a handy little bag, but all they had was a huge one that included everything, even the net. We don't need a net - we have a tennis court. Travalon did find yet another stuffed red panda, and I got an Ice Age Trail bucket hat, because if there's one thing I need (besides another rosary), it's another bucket hat. Then we took a walk at Governor's Island and the woods across from the bluff, then he went to Devil's Lake to go swimming. He took some photos.

He brought his good camera but forgot to put the battery back into it, so those photos were with his cell phone. At the dam in Sauk he didn't see any pelicans, but he did see a blue heron.

Meanwhile, I did Irish class and then went to band practice. My one bandmate had taken those early music classes this past week, with her violin tuned to A-440 and her viol tuned to A-415, but I said, "In this band, we tune to A-Accordion." That joke didn't get as big a laugh as I'd hoped, but it's true - we have to tune to the accordion because she can't tune. There is a weird conspiracy theory I've seen online that A should be at 432 Hz because that vibrates with our bodies' natural frequency, and the fact that the modern A is 440 Hz explains everything that's wrong with society these days, but I don't buy that. If they said what was wrong with society today is equal temperament, that I'd believe!

I still feel great joy from my mystical experience on Wednesday of hearing from God directly. The closer you get to the Divine, the less interest you have in money and prestige and other worldly concerns, although you don't lose interest in the material world altogether - in fact, you feel more connected to the natural world. I also listened to some sacred music today that made me feel more connected to the Divine. I have Ma and Pa Hat to thank for this background in both music and religion, since they gave me violin lessons from a very young age and brought me to church. I feel bad for people who haven't had the same exposure, because everyone should get to experience this joy. Once you have felt Divine Love so immediately, you desire the same joy for everyone.

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