En Francais, s'il vous plait

So I've started my french class. Apart from being older than the teacher, it looks like a blast. The idea of speaking lazily and dropping off whole syllables is enthralling.

This class came about because I didn't take any foreign language in high school.

Let's see how it goes. Numbers quiz Monday!

Hello, Hello, Hello. Goodbye, Goodbye, Goodbye.

This is a private post intended directly for the following people:
Hayden Thomas
Mark Carter
Taylor Stafford
Just because I never met you doesn't make the impact you've made any less significant.

Unzipped

While my husband (and I) finished our class in early May, our daughter is still in school, on her last week. I reminded her that this is her last Monday, and she was excited. She also noted that she has only one more visit to "resource" each before school is out--music, library, art and PE. It seems like this year went by fast. She is enrolled in a summer program at the arts magnet where she went last year. I went there last week to fill out the paperwork and arrived right at 3pm. All the classes had just let out, and I found myself being jostled as I made my way down the band locker hallway. I hadn't been in a middle school in some time. Are the hallways really that small? Or have I gotten bigger (mentally and physically)? I also noted that leaving my handbag unzipped, as is my practice, might not have been the best idea for that hallway trip, not for what could be taken, but for what could be placed in there for me to discover at a later date. Of course, there was no chewed gum (this was the band hallway, after all) stuck to my wallet, but I realized that zipping my purse was an awfully stodgy and grown-up thought, in a, "You kids quit playing in my yard" kind of way.
I've got to put that mentality in check. For me, even worse than aging physically is aging mentally. I've already stopped listening to the latest emo band (is it Fall Out Boy?), but can watch Twilight over and over, so maybe that evens everything out. I am the oldest gen X-er, born on the cusp of boomer/X and have continually strived for a wholly X attitude.
So unzipped I will stay.

Recent Photos

Make a Smilebox photobook

Lenten Resolutions

There are many things one can "give up" during the season of Lent, the 40 days, excluding Sundays, preceding Easter. One should make a resolution only after prayerful consideration, not on the morn of Ash Wednesday in desperation. I considered giving up something frivolous and time-consuming, so I went with it. And I have stuck to it without a backward glance. But if I don't really miss it, is it really a sacrifice?
Had I chosen to give up some food item, you can bet I'd have broken my resolution by now with flying colors. Had I chosen to give up some wrong thinking, I would have already thought those bad thoughts already.
I was intrigued and moved by the second verse of the recessional hymn we sang yesterday:
In haunts of wretchedness and need, on shadowed thresholds dark with fears
from paths where hide the lures of greed, we catch the vision of thy tears.
It seems that Jesus suffers our sorrows as well. That is comforting.
It also makes participating in wretchedness a lot less alluring knowing that Jesus is watching. Some of my wretched behaviors and thoughts include selfishness, pride, envy and frustration. And some of those behaviors can bring me to tears as well. Perhaps I should have considered giving up those things, not only for Lent, but for all time.
I will begin to consider that my Lenten resolution of 2010.

What we've been up to

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Comme des Garcon - Avignon

This is my new perfume. Like the perfect but elusive "perfect handbag," I'm always on the search for the perfect scent. I've always searched for a great scent that smelled like incense. I ordered some samples from www.luckyscent.com and they arrived today. Along with the above mentioned scent I also received two more from the Comme des Garcon Incense line, Kyoto and Jaisalmer, as well as Olibanum from Profumum. Clearly the winner for me is Avignon, but I knew that even before I tried it based on its rave reviews on the website. Here's how I felt about the other samples, in my order of preference:
Kyoto - Nice incense smell, a little sweeter than Avignon; it is something that I would buy later on. Maybe better for warmer weather.
Jaisalmer - Cedar, cedar cedar, with some benign smoke - not like a fire or cigarettes or cigars, but just smoke for the sake of smoke. Smells like a walk outside in North Carolina in November. Also another one I'd like to have somewhere down the line.
Olibanum by Profumum - Definately my least favorite, the first thing I thought of it was that it smelled like a 55 year old woman who was a heavy smoker, who, upon returning to the office from her smoke break, sprayed perfume on herself to cover the cigarette smell. This is not one I will be purchasing down the line. Which is just fine with me as this stinkpot costs $240.

Now for the online reviews of CdG Avignon that convinced me that I would love it even before I tried it. To amuse myself, when the package arrived I did a blind smell test, and picked CdG as the one I liked best as well as predicting which one it was. Now for Avignon's online reviews:
"One whiff of this and I was back being dragged round medieval European churches as a child."
"It smells so much like a church that my partner (raised Catholic) gets flashbacks."
"LIKE HAVING PASSIONATE SEX IN THE MIDDLE OF ST. PETERS SQUARE ON A SUNDAY MORNING. WICKED."
"Each ingredient in Avignon is an intoxication on its own, but together they multiply into a hallowed resinating presence. Warmth, like the sun hitting the tundra while coming down from the Himalaya. Sobering and mesmerizing."
"Potentially it could have a profound subconscious effect upon those who smell it and grants its wearer the temporary mark of a saint-whether or not they are."

How can I compete with such descriptions? I love it and will be wearing it to my gothic church tonight. Oh, and by the way, after I tried it on and fell in love with it, I found out, through the website, that it is the very scent that Morrissey wears! Yet another reason to try it for yourself.

Now, reach forward and scratch the picture of the bottle for a sample of your own. Or just ask to smell me next time you see me.

endless meme

Things I've done, things I wish I'd done, things I haven't done...


01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink -
02. Swam with dolphins -
03. Climbed a mountain -
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive -
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game -
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon -
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse -
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse -
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment - a
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class .
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as
an "expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking1
03. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Anything not saved will be lost.

Are you sure you want to continue?

Words of wisdom from wii-master. Most people disregard these messages, and I usually do, too. But having lost some things lately, I'm going to start paying more attention.

We're not going to go back to when I lost my passport, and my drill, the latter of which was found. Whenever I find something that I thought was lost, my DH always asks, "Is your passport in there?" I did, however, lose a life that was entrusted to my care on Saturday.

We are dog-sitting for my DD's cello teacher, who is on an extended trip. The charming Mr. Joey is a black mixed breed lab/dachshund who is surprisingly well-behaved for a 7 month old puppy. Of course he loves DH who I refer as his step-dad. DH was at a very long gig so DD & I went to the movies (Wall-E). After running an errand, we came home to a wide open gate and no black dog. The wind was heavy and it pushed the gate open. I immediately called "help-me- find-the-dog-I'm-supposed-to-be-watching-911", my friend Pat. She and I cruised around our neighborhood for over an hour calling out to Joey, but to no avail. Did I mention that same Pat and I had a nice big fat duet/trio the next morning with the Schumacher, our gallery organ? We tried to save our voices but couldn't help calling for the lost guy. Around 11:30pm I get a call from Joey's mom, who tells me that a neighbor of mine has Joey in her garage! She looked up the owner info from Joey's http://www.getmehome.com/ tag. Thank the dog gods! Now I'm barely letting him out to pee.

While we were looking for the dog, the DH had a wedding to DJ. He informed me the next day that some people were having a great time, what with the open bar and all, and that a young man, surrounded by his peers, actually pulled his dick out of his pants. I said, "Wait a minute, did you actually see the dick?" "Yes, I saw his pink pointer." A moment that the reveler probably wishes will be lost, and not saved, especially by the wedding videographer.

At the moment in the Doppler household, we are dealing with a problem so heinous, so vile, that I dare not speak of it here. Nobody is sick or dying, but the Dopplers have some extra houseguests that REALLY need to get LOST!

And on top of that, wii-master's little red scion was completely out today. This was after I played The Seeker and Cherub Rock on hard (thank you!) earlier in the day. A quick call to Nintendo and a short conversation with somebody not in Bangalore or anywhere on that continent and wii-master was back at the ready. To quote an old 80s saying, "I almost lost it."

I watched my Netflix movie last night, "Dancer In The Dark" about a factory worker who loses her eyesight. I think about all the things I've lost over the years. A passport can be replaced (and it was), drills can be bought, dogs come home even if it's not their own home, dicks get taken out (that's a little like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube, once it's out, it's out), and wii-masters get restored. At least I can see.

I am a guitar hero

According to my Wii, that is. I finally mastered the easy section of guitar hero, after about 3 weeks of studying and practicing, all time well-spent. I also got a wi-fi and can play other supposed heros from around the world. I always kick their ass. Could it be I'm playing on medium and they, expert?
I'm ready to buy an electric guitar and amp and tour the world.

Monteverdi & mitochondria

My friend forwarded this to me a while ago. It's 90 minutes of Trinity Wall Street performing Monteverdi's Vespers in its entirety, complete with period instruments, concluding with 5 minutes of applause. This occurred in NY on some random Tuesday night in January. It amazes me to think that a work of this magnitude is offered mid-week. I suppose there are other pressing performances which take up the coveted Friday and Saturday night slots. The vocal soloists are fantastic and the little continuo organ is perfect for that setting.

What would prompt Monteverdi to write such a lengthy muscial offering? Without doing any research on the piece in order to approach it with pure-mind, I wonder about the story behind the Vespers. My analytical side screams "a commissioned work! so he can eat and pay rent! it has nothing to do with God! just smile and write the music!" Or, on a less greedy sense, "I must write what the people want to hear" (here, the Catholic church is implied to be the "people"). I'm not a full-on paid church musician but have 18 years' experience in that area, and I can tell you even today's priests don't care much for lenghty musical works. Perhaps it's one of many pieces Monteverdi wrote that he didn't get to hear in his lifetime. Maybe his mental footnote on the Vespers was "more power to the souls who undertake such a grand work."

Or maybe, just maybe, Monteverdi actually wrote this beautiful, complex, difficult, mysterious work to honor a God that he thought equally beautiful, complex, difficult and mysterious.

At the same time I was listening to the Vespers, and yes, I did watch/listen to the whole performance, my DH was studying for his anatomy class. We talked about the different organelles and their functions. Taken individually, it's not hard to remember what each of them do. There is always a little cartoon drawing of what the smooth endoplastic reticulum looks like, as well as all of the others. It's easy to memorize these things. But more difficult to grasp the matrices which make up the human body. It is a daily task for me to appreciate the interconnectedness of life. How everybody looks the same on the inside. How many trillions of mitochondria I have inside, powering my limbs to move. How the eye can transmit light into images for my brain. How electrons cannot be in one place at any given time, but that we are all made of electrons coming into and going out of existence.

Then I wonder how long Monteverdi's Vespers would be if he knew about mitochondria.

Monk

I realize the show "Monk" has been on for quite a while. I watch a lot of A&E so the show is advertised a lot there. Before I even saw it I knew the premise. Monk is somewhat of a particular person, to the point of it controlling his life, and he is also in some kind of police work. That said, I watched part of an episode for the first time the other day.
So he's seeing a psychiatrist or therapist, probably about his OCD. He appears tortured, not being able to relax when something is out of place. This has taken over his life. The Dr. suggests medication, which is quickly dismissed by Monk. "Just the thought of all those chemicals in my body..." that is his excuse for not trying the meds. But the good Dr. gives him a small bottle and urges him to take one when he feels ready. After screwing up an investigation into a cop shooting by not wanting to physically apprehend a suspect (for fear of soiling his clean hands) he decides its time to take the pills.
The next few scenes shows Monk doing things very uncharacteristic of him--eating off someone else's place and using their (used) utensils, being overly jovial, you get the picture. This is where I had to turn it off.
I ventured to guess, although I might be wrong, that Monk loses his "edge" for noticing the small things while he's on the meds, and although he is happier, he is less efficient in his work. It can only end with Monk deciding not to take the meds any longer (because then it wouldn't be a show, then, would it?). Since I didn't even watch the rest of the episode, one twist could have been that the pills were actually a placebo, and the OCD is really all in Monk's mind (where else would it be?).
This episode is a disservice to those people who have OCD and those who have it and decide to treat their disorder with medication. You don't get goofy, lazy and careless after taking one pill. You don't get goofy, lazy or careless at all. What does happen, what is supposed to happen, is that you don't get so hung up on things mentally. Think about an endless tape loop of your own voice telling you things that need to be done. Not just a friendly reminder, "You really should take that laundry out of the dryer" but more like standing at the dryer with a stopwatch telling yourself that the dryer timer must be off about 2 minutes because I know it's been more than 20 minutes since I put that stuff in there! Just a little bit different.
Don't be fooled by Hollywood making a fool out of someone with a disorder that has a full spectrum of manifestations. For some, it means they are able to do 14 stitches per inch in a hand-quilted blanket. Others can concentrate for hours, writing, mixing, arranging or playing music. A lot of people that are like this become doctors. Unfortunately, some people with OCD also work for the IRS.
I like to embrace it as a strength, not a weakness, and you should too, Monk.

What? No Photos?

I haven't blogged in a while because I haven't had the time to wait for my photos to upload, which at Blogger can take a while. So I decided while I have the time but not the camera, I'll write about what's been going on since last posting, Nov 2007 (yikes!). A good blog entry doesn't always need photos, right?
We held Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year. We haven't done that before, but were happy to oblige. Hubby made homemade cornbread stuffing that was to die for, along with the normal fare. I ended up making 3 pear-cranberry pies that week (I have awesome step-by-step photos that I will include in a later post). Everbody loved them! I love cranberries and pears and thought the combination couldn't be wrong.
We had the large Christmas party on 12/23 this year, still fewer than what we've had before. Two weekends before that my brother-in-law and his wife moved here permanently from Japan. It is so joyful knowing they are here now and we can see them more often. Santa came down the chimney with lots of toys, but my daughter's favorite is Buzz Lightyear.
Our choir performed Vivaldi's "Gloria" in its entirety before the service on Christmas Eve, then my all-time favorite song in the world sacred and profane, "Here is the Little Door" by Herbert Howells, a transcript you will find in a previous post. Then a sweet little number written by our choir director "Holy Child".
I tried contacting some old friends who live at great distances to see how they are doing, and didn't hear from either of them. I seem to care for these people a bit and always wonder how things are going for them.
Also we got a new central AC/heat for the house and a new shed! Not a woman's idea of Christmas presents but both badly needed.

Children of the Corn, or "He wants you, too, Malachai"

We went to a corn maze/crop circle recently. What fun! The city folks get into the country and can't tell a donkey from a mule. The kids in the image above are in a bin full of dried corn, people. What a hoot!

RADIOHEAD IN RAINBOWS

Radiohead's new release is now available. I downloaded it this morning and have been in it deep for a couple of hours. It is fantastic.
What's different about this release? It's only available via download at this time, and you pay whatever you want to for it. Of course I paid for it since I love the band, but I like that they leave it up to me.
Support the greatest band around and download it today!

Time to learn

I'm trying to learn a new software program so that I can arrange music easier than pencil and staves. Of course I want to hit the ground running but cannot. Must I really go through all those tutorials?
My husband is taking a chemistry class. Woe be unto him.
My daughter is having trouble spelling "into."
We all are learning and growing.

Homemade/Homegrown Goodness!

Earlier in the year, we planted seeds for pumpkin and watermelon, as well as planting a small tomato plant. Now we have a couple of small tomatoes!

During my most recent minivacation from work, I baked 2 loaves of homemade bread. Both of them looked this good, but the first one was inedible. The 2nd one was great!

Near the end of Summer Break

My daughter now has about 3 weeks before school starts. Most kids in today's society keep very busy during the summer with different "camps," swimming lessons, exciting trips and whatnot. As a child I remember melting in the hot sun during tennis camp. I vowed never to force my child into something physically gruelling just to pass the summer time. So last week she's been in strings camp. At first she was excited that she would be sleeping in a sleeping bag, collecting rocks and dirt, and using a combination sunscreen/bug repellent. But I explained to her that it's just a day camp, and that she would be playing the viola, the instrument she chose probably because I have a viola. After the 3rd day she was ready to stay home. I asked her why she didn't want to go. I eventually got out of her that, after her rhythm class, eurythmics class, and class piano, she has to stand up during most of master class.

So do I force her to endure the physical hardship of standing up, or does she switch to the cello, which ensures her seated position during class?

She has already told me that she doesn't want to go to strings camp next year. Perhaps I should have spent the money from camp on individual lessons for her.

I got a nasty blister on my thumb from tennis camp. All my daughter might get is falling arches, which I don't think is possible to get in the pediatric population.

Last Day of Kindergarten

It was my daughter's last day of kindergarten last Friday. There was no boo-hoo-ing this day, although we did cry on the first day of K. Or should I say sob. I held it together that morning, I was the mountain. The husband was gushing fountain. Very sweet--that means that he adores her. Just like he adores his dog, who he just recently started calling by MY term of endearment.

Anyways, recent images of life here in this hemisphere!