Tuesday: Up around 8:30. MB off to work. Web. Email. Unrepentant dawdling. Shower. The new dishwasher arrived. It was leaking water, so mopped the floor. Called about the installation. Continued the tape transfer from the weekend into my laptop. Down basement and morning practices. Today felt significant. Burned some papers, as is traditional. Threw some additional items into the doggie bag from last night, and headed out.
Got in to work late. Not a productive day. Settling back in. Email. Looking for bugs to squash, and having most of them scurry under the counter. Gave B a quick overview of the work I've been doing on my new project. Then, as I was leaving, he and Mtw gave me a look at the stuff they've been working on. It looks good, but I'm not sure it's the best use of programmer time. Left at 7.
Over to KKC. Sn had organized a yoga session, even though Wendy wasn't there to lead tonight. I arrived late. We worked from an audio tape we had made last week. It worked well. Afterwards, helped put things back and empty water bowls. Talked to Sn for awhile. Got gas on the way home.
Hung out with MB. She'd had a tiring day, dealing with consultants, and attending a party put on by the Somerville Arts Council. We talked a little about finances. Soup listening to NPR and reading the owners manual for the new dishwasher. Sitting on the sofa with two cats.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Monday, May 30, 2005
Day 3, heading home
Monday: Milarepa Center, Barnet VT. Up at 5. Stretching. Slept very well in the tent last night. Foggy morning. Down to the main house. Shower. PB on toast, and tea.
Session 1. 6 - 8 AM. After prelim, the long version, coming in right on time.
Breakfast. Some fuzz was discovered on a bagel. Did some bathroom cleaning, sweeping the floor of the shower room. Sat duplicating cassette tapes, enjoying the hum of the machine.
Session 2. 10 - Noon. Experimenting with how much to engage. I helped distribute goodies. Fetched plates for cut up melon. Afterwards, a little juice was spilled.
Noon. Packing. Some photos. Took down my tent (still wet from the rain and fog). Goodbyes. Lunch, hanging with Wnd and a Sanga member. H locked his keys in the trunk of his car, so, a little extra time. Up to my, now empty, room, for quiet time. Departed at 1:45 PM.
Enjoyable conversation with Al and H while driving very fast down 91. Dozing. Listening to a recorded class on H's MP3 player (70 topics). Traffic was not bad. Dropped Al off at his house (next to KKC) after a funny conversation between him and H about paying for gas. Stopped in at KKC for a brief moment, that turned into an hour. Tea with Geshela, Damchoe Hln and H. They asked questions, I mostly kept quiet, not wanting to tax our teacher. H had an interesting comment about this afterwards.
6:15, H gives me a ride home. Unload. Transplanted morning practices. Unpacking. Sponged some mud off the tent, and hung out to dry in the basement.
8:15 MB returns from teaching a BD class. She changes into her civilian attire, and we walk out and about. An 8th grader hustled me out of $5 for a ticket to her graduation event. The restaurant we were thinking of going to was closed. Headed to Union Sq. BD Talk. Decided on Indian food. MB saw the woman from whom she rents the space where she gives BD lessons. And the waiter actually took one of her classes. She is becoming a figure of note in Union Square. Good food. Walked back home, up and over Walnut Street. Talked a little about my current ideas about how the mind incorrectly associates unrelated stimuli.
10:20 Back home. Listened to phone messages, one from the friendly guy to whom I permanently lent my father's lathe. Email. Setup the tape transfer of the recordings of the weekend's classes. Soon bed. Laughing about the poor 'ad copy' on the back of the hand lotion bottle. The history of our nation's descent into idiocy is both documented in, and precipitated by, the output of the mass media advertising industry.
Session 1. 6 - 8 AM. After prelim, the long version, coming in right on time.
Breakfast. Some fuzz was discovered on a bagel. Did some bathroom cleaning, sweeping the floor of the shower room. Sat duplicating cassette tapes, enjoying the hum of the machine.
Session 2. 10 - Noon. Experimenting with how much to engage. I helped distribute goodies. Fetched plates for cut up melon. Afterwards, a little juice was spilled.
Noon. Packing. Some photos. Took down my tent (still wet from the rain and fog). Goodbyes. Lunch, hanging with Wnd and a Sanga member. H locked his keys in the trunk of his car, so, a little extra time. Up to my, now empty, room, for quiet time. Departed at 1:45 PM.
Enjoyable conversation with Al and H while driving very fast down 91. Dozing. Listening to a recorded class on H's MP3 player (70 topics). Traffic was not bad. Dropped Al off at his house (next to KKC) after a funny conversation between him and H about paying for gas. Stopped in at KKC for a brief moment, that turned into an hour. Tea with Geshela, Damchoe Hln and H. They asked questions, I mostly kept quiet, not wanting to tax our teacher. H had an interesting comment about this afterwards.
6:15, H gives me a ride home. Unload. Transplanted morning practices. Unpacking. Sponged some mud off the tent, and hung out to dry in the basement.
8:15 MB returns from teaching a BD class. She changes into her civilian attire, and we walk out and about. An 8th grader hustled me out of $5 for a ticket to her graduation event. The restaurant we were thinking of going to was closed. Headed to Union Sq. BD Talk. Decided on Indian food. MB saw the woman from whom she rents the space where she gives BD lessons. And the waiter actually took one of her classes. She is becoming a figure of note in Union Square. Good food. Walked back home, up and over Walnut Street. Talked a little about my current ideas about how the mind incorrectly associates unrelated stimuli.
10:20 Back home. Listened to phone messages, one from the friendly guy to whom I permanently lent my father's lathe. Email. Setup the tape transfer of the recordings of the weekend's classes. Soon bed. Laughing about the poor 'ad copy' on the back of the hand lotion bottle. The history of our nation's descent into idiocy is both documented in, and precipitated by, the output of the mass media advertising industry.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Day 2
Sunday: Milarepa Center, Barnet VT. Up at 5. Slept in the tent again. Much more successfully than the previous night, but, I awoke with a crick in my neck. Stretching. Into the house, and a cup of tea and a piece of toast. Brief sitting before things got underway.
Session 1. 6 - 8 AM. No commentary, and a very extended middle section. This became the template for the day. Afterwards, I checked the tape, and found that there was a great deal of hum. Took a quick check, but didn't want to disturb Damchoe.
Breakfast, a bagel and some oatmeal. Not finding much need to talk. Walked out and took a white plastic chair out into the field. Lovely morning. Saw a woodchuck running by the stream. Last night I heard a small creature near my tent. One of the other people tenting said they heard a snort which was probably a deer. (I thought that perhaps given my reputation for sinusoidal amplitude that it was me, but, he said no.) Sat for a time, then back into the house.
Did some cleaning of the bathrooms. A tidy bunch of people we have here. Took a quick shower.
Session 2. 10 - 12. I asked to check the cables before things got going, and found the hum was a loose mic connection. Entirely Q&A. I asked a question about heaps and winds, and a good answer was forthcoming. Some mosquitoes were finding their way in an open window.
Lunch. Brown rice and veggie/tofu stuff. Salad. Quite good. Some sitting up in my shared room, then a walk out to the stupa in the drizzle.
Session 3. 3 - 5. Another long middle part.
Gave MB a call and heard about adventures with bran and cats. A call came through for Geshela. Dinner, lentils quinoa and salad. Talked to Wnd. A group shot was assembled outside. Nick couldn't be found. Cookies.
Session 4. A little commentary at the outset, and then another long session, with some additional material at the end.
Afterwards, the completion of the DVD of HHDL's ceremony, and a replay. Sitting around with Damchoe, Dlrs and Wnd, and enjoyable conversation.
Session 1. 6 - 8 AM. No commentary, and a very extended middle section. This became the template for the day. Afterwards, I checked the tape, and found that there was a great deal of hum. Took a quick check, but didn't want to disturb Damchoe.
Breakfast, a bagel and some oatmeal. Not finding much need to talk. Walked out and took a white plastic chair out into the field. Lovely morning. Saw a woodchuck running by the stream. Last night I heard a small creature near my tent. One of the other people tenting said they heard a snort which was probably a deer. (I thought that perhaps given my reputation for sinusoidal amplitude that it was me, but, he said no.) Sat for a time, then back into the house.
Did some cleaning of the bathrooms. A tidy bunch of people we have here. Took a quick shower.
Session 2. 10 - 12. I asked to check the cables before things got going, and found the hum was a loose mic connection. Entirely Q&A. I asked a question about heaps and winds, and a good answer was forthcoming. Some mosquitoes were finding their way in an open window.
Lunch. Brown rice and veggie/tofu stuff. Salad. Quite good. Some sitting up in my shared room, then a walk out to the stupa in the drizzle.
Session 3. 3 - 5. Another long middle part.
Gave MB a call and heard about adventures with bran and cats. A call came through for Geshela. Dinner, lentils quinoa and salad. Talked to Wnd. A group shot was assembled outside. Nick couldn't be found. Cookies.
Session 4. A little commentary at the outset, and then another long session, with some additional material at the end.
Afterwards, the completion of the DVD of HHDL's ceremony, and a replay. Sitting around with Damchoe, Dlrs and Wnd, and enjoyable conversation.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Day 1
Saturday: Milarepa Center, Barnet VT. Up about 5 AM. Somewhat restless sleep in the tent, as half of my body wanted to go numb. In the house, and a cup of tea. Upstairs and brief sitting, waiting for the first session. Just before it began I realized that my stomach needed some ballast. Quick slice of bread.
Session 1. 6-8 AM. Commentary on the D.IS&RB. Sadly not recorded. Then practice, Prlim, 6S (very fast) and Ym.
8ish Breakfast (oatmeal). Took a walk out. The sun was shining for what seemed to be the first time in a minor eternity. Stood in a field enjoying the light. Reorganized my valise, sitting on my bed in the main house.
Session 2. 10-12. Mostly commentary on Vsls. Pain in left hip. Sleepy.
12ish Lunch. Pesto pasta. Salad. The toaster wasn't working. Turned out to be the plug. Nick's birthday, with cake. Took a nap. Woke after about 40 minutes, the tent hot from the sun. Some stretching. Back to the main house and a quick shower. Cleaned the bathrooms a little.
Session 3. 3-5 PM. Began with Q&A. When our questions began to devolve, on with the commentary. Once through 6S and then Ym.
Sat on my bed for a little while. MB caught up with me on the phone, and we had a nice conversation.
5:30ish, Dinner. Potato soup, salad and bread. Wnd didn't have a place to sit at first, until something opened up. Enjoyable conversation about the 'laws' of physics. Wnd and I took a walk down and around the stupa a couple of times. She had to get back to help with set-up for the next session. A black fly had a drink from my right hand.
Session 4. 7-9:15 PM. End of the commentary, and much Q&A. I asked about the significance of some elements. 6S and Ym to end.
Downstairs and some chat with Wendy, Nick and Damchoe in the Library. Helped Haim set up a DVD player. We watched part of a DVD of the teaching throne dedication of HHDL. Some conversation about my question with Hln. Conversation about the ego and responsibility with Wnd... And snoring. Gave her my earplugs.
Session 1. 6-8 AM. Commentary on the D.IS&RB. Sadly not recorded. Then practice, Prlim, 6S (very fast) and Ym.
8ish Breakfast (oatmeal). Took a walk out. The sun was shining for what seemed to be the first time in a minor eternity. Stood in a field enjoying the light. Reorganized my valise, sitting on my bed in the main house.
Session 2. 10-12. Mostly commentary on Vsls. Pain in left hip. Sleepy.
12ish Lunch. Pesto pasta. Salad. The toaster wasn't working. Turned out to be the plug. Nick's birthday, with cake. Took a nap. Woke after about 40 minutes, the tent hot from the sun. Some stretching. Back to the main house and a quick shower. Cleaned the bathrooms a little.
Session 3. 3-5 PM. Began with Q&A. When our questions began to devolve, on with the commentary. Once through 6S and then Ym.
Sat on my bed for a little while. MB caught up with me on the phone, and we had a nice conversation.
5:30ish, Dinner. Potato soup, salad and bread. Wnd didn't have a place to sit at first, until something opened up. Enjoyable conversation about the 'laws' of physics. Wnd and I took a walk down and around the stupa a couple of times. She had to get back to help with set-up for the next session. A black fly had a drink from my right hand.
Session 4. 7-9:15 PM. End of the commentary, and much Q&A. I asked about the significance of some elements. 6S and Ym to end.
Downstairs and some chat with Wendy, Nick and Damchoe in the Library. Helped Haim set up a DVD player. We watched part of a DVD of the teaching throne dedication of HHDL. Some conversation about my question with Hln. Conversation about the ego and responsibility with Wnd... And snoring. Gave her my earplugs.
Friday, May 27, 2005
Up to VT
Friday: Up shortly after 8. MB off to work. Shower. Packing. Fed the cats. Down basement for morning practices, completing just before 11. Upstairs and some tidying. M arrives to clean, and shortly thereafter, Wnd. Wnd and I have tea. I have some yogurt and she a piece of toast. Headed out a little after noon.
Driving north. Stopped at a NH liquor-store/rest area. And later in Concord for lunch. Walked around and found a little deli. Soup and roll-ups. Continuing on. Stopped near Frankonia (Flum?) for a little walk. Lovely area. Not so nice weather... but dramatic views of cloud draped mountains.
Arrived at Melirepa Center, VT, about 5:20. Lots of KKC folks and warm welcomes. Carried stuff in. Soup bread and salad, with "the course is already underway" feeling. Interesting watching myself determine what 'volume' of discourse to be appropriate. Settled my bill for the course. Decided my housework contribution will the the equivalent of "Level T." Took a walk out with Wnd to see the stupa at the front edge of the property, overlooking 91. An inch worm hitched a ride on my jacket as we walked around it. Back to the house. I found a monstrous dandelion in the driveway. It looked as if 5 or 6 stems had fused together to form a single uber-stem/flower arrangement. Wendy and Nick arrived. I set up my tent along the northern edge of the field, and completed some practices inside. Very peaceful up here. Wnd told me that two Buddhist retreat centers were independently founded in this small town without either knowing of the other's existence. I said that perhaps this shows that the people deciding where these things should be located know what they're doing. Geshela arrived just as I returned to the main house. Carried a bag in. Some tea with Wendy Nick Wnd and the resident nun. PB and Banana.
Say goodnight: Sim Gen Nan Go.
Driving north. Stopped at a NH liquor-store/rest area. And later in Concord for lunch. Walked around and found a little deli. Soup and roll-ups. Continuing on. Stopped near Frankonia (Flum?) for a little walk. Lovely area. Not so nice weather... but dramatic views of cloud draped mountains.
Arrived at Melirepa Center, VT, about 5:20. Lots of KKC folks and warm welcomes. Carried stuff in. Soup bread and salad, with "the course is already underway" feeling. Interesting watching myself determine what 'volume' of discourse to be appropriate. Settled my bill for the course. Decided my housework contribution will the the equivalent of "Level T." Took a walk out with Wnd to see the stupa at the front edge of the property, overlooking 91. An inch worm hitched a ride on my jacket as we walked around it. Back to the house. I found a monstrous dandelion in the driveway. It looked as if 5 or 6 stems had fused together to form a single uber-stem/flower arrangement. Wendy and Nick arrived. I set up my tent along the northern edge of the field, and completed some practices inside. Very peaceful up here. Wnd told me that two Buddhist retreat centers were independently founded in this small town without either knowing of the other's existence. I said that perhaps this shows that the people deciding where these things should be located know what they're doing. Geshela arrived just as I returned to the main house. Carried a bag in. Some tea with Wendy Nick Wnd and the resident nun. PB and Banana.
Say goodnight: Sim Gen Nan Go.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
3 minutes late
Thursday: Up a little after 8. I woke just before the alarm sounded. MB headed out. Shower. Downstairs, fed the cats. To the basement for personal practice. Got my butt in gear, packed some breakfast, put away laundry, packed the car, put away the garbage can (garbage was collected this morning), and got on the road.
Made good time heading to JP. Arrived for my lesson about 3 minutes late. Another good session with Jun. He showed me his approach to improvised minuet and fugue forms. Pentatonic work. Some comments on my CD. Two hours went quickly.
In to work. Not terribly productive today. Fixed a long standing bug involving precision in time UI. Conversation with Alx. Helped him debug something. Fixed a strange drawing bug. Worked on a drag and drop enhancement. Headed out at 7:45.
Arrived about 3 minutes late to my session with Shawn. Very good tonight. Two pieces of GC Repertoire, and two original compositions of mine. Sound-scape/jam for about 20 minutes.
Back home, MB fed me some leftover pizza from her dinner with Sty. Sty gets to keep the cats. Hanging out. MB washed dishes (new dishwasher next week), while I did some other cleaning. Soon bed.
Made good time heading to JP. Arrived for my lesson about 3 minutes late. Another good session with Jun. He showed me his approach to improvised minuet and fugue forms. Pentatonic work. Some comments on my CD. Two hours went quickly.
In to work. Not terribly productive today. Fixed a long standing bug involving precision in time UI. Conversation with Alx. Helped him debug something. Fixed a strange drawing bug. Worked on a drag and drop enhancement. Headed out at 7:45.
Arrived about 3 minutes late to my session with Shawn. Very good tonight. Two pieces of GC Repertoire, and two original compositions of mine. Sound-scape/jam for about 20 minutes.
Back home, MB fed me some leftover pizza from her dinner with Sty. Sty gets to keep the cats. Hanging out. MB washed dishes (new dishwasher next week), while I did some other cleaning. Soon bed.
Crazy wind
Wednesday: Up around 8. MB also. Looked at email seeing if there was homework for tonight. Didn't see any. MB off. Shower. Brief sitting. The contractor called to say that they were stuck in traffic. Down basement for a somewhat rushed morning practice. The contractor arrived around 10:15. Talked about the details of the furnace/hot water job. Looked at adding a couple radiators, and sprucing up the radiator trim. Signed the proposal and gave him a check. He asked about the computer industry, thinking about future careers for his kids. After he left, packed a breakfast. Felt an 'illness twinge', so took some vitamins. Completed the rest of morning practices. Off to work.
Strange bug fixing session today: There was a moment when nothing I was doing seemed to be working. Alx reminded me about a fix he needed from me, so put that in. Missed the beta. For much of this afternoon, our main transfer server, and email, were both down. Then, the urinal in the men's room began to overflow. It wouldn't stop flushing. Don't know what what was done about it. Gremlins at work. Got involved with Alx, fixing a mistake I made in my check-in. Left at 6:35.
Slightly late at KKC. The strange weather continues unabated. Rain, cold and wind. An information packed '70 topics' class. I asked a question about conceptual thought and analysis. Wnd did the taping tonight. Helped her wrap things up. Wendy mentioned that one of the biggest helpers around the center is getting burned out. Headed out at 9:15.
Back home at 9:33. MB and I were to have hung out, but I didn't see much of her tonight. Not sure what happened. I ate leftover egg-drop soup and a veggie burger. Some email, arranging for transportation to the weekend retreat. Played guitar, working on a composition I had set aside. Reading. MB to bed. Sitting.
For a four-year-old, it is not 'difficult' to reach the candy bar on the top shelf. Effort, strain and 'trying' will not help. Only growing up, or introducing an artificiality (like a ladder) is of any use. So, sometimes things are not 'hard', they are simply unavailable.
Most inane lyrics ever?
Strange bug fixing session today: There was a moment when nothing I was doing seemed to be working. Alx reminded me about a fix he needed from me, so put that in. Missed the beta. For much of this afternoon, our main transfer server, and email, were both down. Then, the urinal in the men's room began to overflow. It wouldn't stop flushing. Don't know what what was done about it. Gremlins at work. Got involved with Alx, fixing a mistake I made in my check-in. Left at 6:35.
Slightly late at KKC. The strange weather continues unabated. Rain, cold and wind. An information packed '70 topics' class. I asked a question about conceptual thought and analysis. Wnd did the taping tonight. Helped her wrap things up. Wendy mentioned that one of the biggest helpers around the center is getting burned out. Headed out at 9:15.
Back home at 9:33. MB and I were to have hung out, but I didn't see much of her tonight. Not sure what happened. I ate leftover egg-drop soup and a veggie burger. Some email, arranging for transportation to the weekend retreat. Played guitar, working on a composition I had set aside. Reading. MB to bed. Sitting.
For a four-year-old, it is not 'difficult' to reach the candy bar on the top shelf. Effort, strain and 'trying' will not help. Only growing up, or introducing an artificiality (like a ladder) is of any use. So, sometimes things are not 'hard', they are simply unavailable.
Most inane lyrics ever?
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Downward Dog
Tuesday: Took my time with morning practices today. Laundry. Packed a breakfast. Off to work. Still raining today. Enjoyable. The rain helps me to feel peaceful and centered.
At work, wrapped up a couple of small features, requested by users. Mtw gave me some direction as to how to alter a bit of our UI to differentiate two modes. Didn't think much of the result. Will have to work with him on it. Some consultation with Dv. Headed out a little after 6:30.
KKC. Arrived a little late for yoga (quite a bit of traffic again today). Strong class tonight. Stayed alert through the end. Sleep is my friend. Afterwards, Wnd was making labels with her new label-maker for the library. I sat around listening to people talk about adopting dogs. Talked with Shn about the open studio that he and his partner hosted. Over 1000 guests. Wendy gave Wnd and I a little private lesson, showing us some of the finer points of 'downward dog.'
Back home, MB had made spanakopita and a salad. I made some egg-drop soup, and had a meal that left me feeling more satisfied than any in recent memory. Did some dishes. A bit of reading. Soon bed.
At work, wrapped up a couple of small features, requested by users. Mtw gave me some direction as to how to alter a bit of our UI to differentiate two modes. Didn't think much of the result. Will have to work with him on it. Some consultation with Dv. Headed out a little after 6:30.
KKC. Arrived a little late for yoga (quite a bit of traffic again today). Strong class tonight. Stayed alert through the end. Sleep is my friend. Afterwards, Wnd was making labels with her new label-maker for the library. I sat around listening to people talk about adopting dogs. Talked with Shn about the open studio that he and his partner hosted. Over 1000 guests. Wendy gave Wnd and I a little private lesson, showing us some of the finer points of 'downward dog.'
Back home, MB had made spanakopita and a salad. I made some egg-drop soup, and had a meal that left me feeling more satisfied than any in recent memory. Did some dishes. A bit of reading. Soon bed.
Monday, May 23, 2005
Sakadawa
Monday: Up around 8:30. The phone rang and got me out of bed. One of the contractor's (the one I was planning on going with) mom died. Her colleague is coming Wednesday to talk about the job. MB into the shower. Then me. She headed off to a check-up, and to give her cousin a ride to the hospital (they coincidentally were going the same place at the same time.) Down basement for morning practices. Completed in good time today, without feeling like I was rushing. Packed a little breakfast. Over to KKC, dropping off a DVD at the store on the way. People there were in the midst of cooking lunch. Water bowls had already been fill, it being Sakadawa. I said hi, then continued on. Dropped my paid parking ticket in the mail.
Mellow day in the office. I fixed a couple of bugs, checked in stuff from before. The rain and gloom persists. Began working on a small feature to satisfy some user requests. Meals at my desk. Continued to be testy with Dv. Said something about "Hallucinogenic, Anti-Aliased, Translucent, Militaristic" graphics, which I'm sure landed quite strangely. Almost stayed late, but something told me to go to KKC. Long drive, the rain slowing traffic.
Arrived late for the goings-on. Just sat and listened for most of it, feeling quite happy and in my element. Afterwards, with some help from Cln, carried many tea-lights out to the hut on the porch, re-lighting the ones that went out in transit. Gave the room a sweep and shut things down.
Back home, MB had made a salad. I ate that, along with some leftover tortellini. Hanging out with the wife. Read some from a book, recommended to me by Tm at the recent GC course. Good stuff. Played a little piano, and then some guitar. Soon bed.
Mellow day in the office. I fixed a couple of bugs, checked in stuff from before. The rain and gloom persists. Began working on a small feature to satisfy some user requests. Meals at my desk. Continued to be testy with Dv. Said something about "Hallucinogenic, Anti-Aliased, Translucent, Militaristic" graphics, which I'm sure landed quite strangely. Almost stayed late, but something told me to go to KKC. Long drive, the rain slowing traffic.
Arrived late for the goings-on. Just sat and listened for most of it, feeling quite happy and in my element. Afterwards, with some help from Cln, carried many tea-lights out to the hut on the porch, re-lighting the ones that went out in transit. Gave the room a sweep and shut things down.
Back home, MB had made a salad. I ate that, along with some leftover tortellini. Hanging out with the wife. Read some from a book, recommended to me by Tm at the recent GC course. Good stuff. Played a little piano, and then some guitar. Soon bed.
Yard work
Sunday: Up around 9. Shower. Brief. MB had poured me a bowl of cereal. Off to KKC. Interesting discussion today about the artificiality of conceptualization... But it got a bit tangled at the end. Wnd and I drove back to my place. I started a recording spooling from computer to cassette. We drove to Union Square. No room in the first coffee house, and the second didn't seem quite right. Decided on having lunch at the little Mexican restaurant. Quite a bit of food. Walked around, continuing the discussion from class. Stopped to reconstruct a family history from the front and back of a headstone, dates ranging from 1820 to 1908. The fellow married twice, survived both wives and all his children, and lived to be 88 years old. Wnd gave me a ride back to my place.
Did some yard work with MB. She moved an azalea, and put in the butterfly bush and the other climbing hydrangea. I cut the grass and pruned the hedge along the back side of the yard. We had some tea. No circle tonight. Gave my mom a call. Down basement. I convinced MB to go see Star Wars with me. Out to Revere. Good fun.
Did some yard work with MB. She moved an azalea, and put in the butterfly bush and the other climbing hydrangea. I cut the grass and pruned the hedge along the back side of the yard. We had some tea. No circle tonight. Gave my mom a call. Down basement. I convinced MB to go see Star Wars with me. Out to Revere. Good fun.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Rainy Hydrangeas
Up around 9:30. Shower. Brief sitting. MB and I drove out to the local garden center and bought a couple of climbing hydrangeas and a butterfly bush. Back home, toting them with the top down. Ate a breakfast of odds and ends, hanging out with MB. Down basement for morning practices.
Organized the magazine bin, recycling the bulk of the back issues. Burned some paper in the fire pit. Drove to Porter Square. Attended a concert at St. James Episcopal Church. Small ensembles, solo harp, solo piano. A young girl turned pages for her father. Jun played several pieces and then an improvisation based on a theme given to him by someone in the audience. (several sections: Baroque, Fugue, Romantic and Jazz). Quite brilliant.
Back home. Shopping with MB at the nearby supermarket. Rainy day. We put away groceries, then took stock of the baseboard radiator covers that need replacing. We cooked dinner together. An improvisation on leftovers. A stir-fry, over riced-potatoes, with a curry sauce. Ate watching an episode of "The Wire." Mta and F showed up briefly, picking up a few CDs to borrow. Cleaned up. Another episode. Soon bed.
Organized the magazine bin, recycling the bulk of the back issues. Burned some paper in the fire pit. Drove to Porter Square. Attended a concert at St. James Episcopal Church. Small ensembles, solo harp, solo piano. A young girl turned pages for her father. Jun played several pieces and then an improvisation based on a theme given to him by someone in the audience. (several sections: Baroque, Fugue, Romantic and Jazz). Quite brilliant.
Back home. Shopping with MB at the nearby supermarket. Rainy day. We put away groceries, then took stock of the baseboard radiator covers that need replacing. We cooked dinner together. An improvisation on leftovers. A stir-fry, over riced-potatoes, with a curry sauce. Ate watching an episode of "The Wire." Mta and F showed up briefly, picking up a few CDs to borrow. Cleaned up. Another episode. Soon bed.
Dishwasher Flamingos
Friday: Up around 9. An odd morning. MB was vacuuming. Up and shower. Stretching. MB made a nice omelette for us. Breakfast together! We saw a squirrel eating a tulip bulb, on top of the shed. Quite humorous. Down basement for morning practices. Saw I had received a parking ticket. MB came down to tell me that her cousin needed her to give him a ride from the hospital (he was having a problem with his knee). Then he called say he didn't need a ride. Then he called to say that he did. MB drove off. After morning practices, upstairs. I ordered some electric guitar strings. MB returned just as I was leaving.
In to work. Before actually heading in, I picked up an energy drink, and a couple slices of pizza, which I consumed at my desk. Checked in some stuff for the beta that was going out. More minor bug fixing. MB called to let me know the service person had taken a look at our dishwasher. It will cost something like $250 to repair, and maybe more. They are suggesting buying a new unit. Left work about 7:45.
Drove to Porter Square, arriving at the Elephant Walk before MB, who was on her way, walking from our house. I sat in the downstairs bar area until she arrived. A nice dinner with my lovely wife. 5 years ago on this day, we met for the first time, and had an early dinner at this very restaurant.
Afterwards, we stopped at the video store. Somehow, we decided on Pink Flamingos. Back home, and popped it in. It's a twisted movie, but there's also something sort of warm hearted about it. MB was shocked and amazed! Now, she's off to bed, I soon to follow.
In to work. Before actually heading in, I picked up an energy drink, and a couple slices of pizza, which I consumed at my desk. Checked in some stuff for the beta that was going out. More minor bug fixing. MB called to let me know the service person had taken a look at our dishwasher. It will cost something like $250 to repair, and maybe more. They are suggesting buying a new unit. Left work about 7:45.
Drove to Porter Square, arriving at the Elephant Walk before MB, who was on her way, walking from our house. I sat in the downstairs bar area until she arrived. A nice dinner with my lovely wife. 5 years ago on this day, we met for the first time, and had an early dinner at this very restaurant.
Afterwards, we stopped at the video store. Somehow, we decided on Pink Flamingos. Back home, and popped it in. It's a twisted movie, but there's also something sort of warm hearted about it. MB was shocked and amazed! Now, she's off to bed, I soon to follow.
Friday, May 20, 2005
Music with Jun / Photos with Wendy
Thursday: Up around 8. Stretching as MB was in the shower. Shower for me. She off to work, and me down basement, for morning practices. Up around 10:15. A little stuff shuffling, and then off to my first music lesson with Jun, in JP. Ate some cheese and crackers MB had packed for my lunch on the way.
Arrived on time, finding the entrance to his basement apartment around the side of the house. He kindly gave me some V-8 and a Japanese cookie as a welcoming offering. Then next hour and 45 minutes or so, were spent in the enthusiastic discussion of music theory. The breadth of Jun's knowledge is quite amazing. He has studied at both the New England Conservatory and Berklee, and can switch back and forth between Classical and Jazz idioms effortlessly. This session was covering the basics, and then moving on. I think he was trying to gauge my level of understanding, to know where to begin. We talked about scales and modes, the history of Western music, the octotonic scale, the melodic minor scale, and its relation to the altered scale, pentatonic scales (including some traditional Japanese pentatonic scales), diminished and augmented resolutions... etc. Lots of stuff! I hope we can take a few of these concepts and work on actually having me apply them.
In to work. Continued my efforts on the bug that had been handed off to me yesterday. With good result. Talked with Dv and later Dv and B about a problem Dv is having with an API mismatch. Rbt and B talked to me about some UI issues. Headed out around 7:20.
Drove out Route 2 to Lincoln. Found Wendy and Nick's house, nestled among the trees at the end of a cul-de-sac. The prayer flags were a dead giveaway. She showed me around. They had just had some trees cut down. Funny cats (one likes to lick Scotch Tape.) Tea. Chat. We scanned photos, and sorted through ones that had already been scanned, all in preparation of my uploading them to the KKC website. Nick arrived home around 10:30. I left around 11.
Back home. MB was already showered, and heading to bed. She told me about her BD rehearsal with Za-Beth. We hung out for a little while. I left her to sleep. An egg on toast. Tortellini. Down basement now. Need to complete a few morning practices, before I call it a night.
Arrived on time, finding the entrance to his basement apartment around the side of the house. He kindly gave me some V-8 and a Japanese cookie as a welcoming offering. Then next hour and 45 minutes or so, were spent in the enthusiastic discussion of music theory. The breadth of Jun's knowledge is quite amazing. He has studied at both the New England Conservatory and Berklee, and can switch back and forth between Classical and Jazz idioms effortlessly. This session was covering the basics, and then moving on. I think he was trying to gauge my level of understanding, to know where to begin. We talked about scales and modes, the history of Western music, the octotonic scale, the melodic minor scale, and its relation to the altered scale, pentatonic scales (including some traditional Japanese pentatonic scales), diminished and augmented resolutions... etc. Lots of stuff! I hope we can take a few of these concepts and work on actually having me apply them.
In to work. Continued my efforts on the bug that had been handed off to me yesterday. With good result. Talked with Dv and later Dv and B about a problem Dv is having with an API mismatch. Rbt and B talked to me about some UI issues. Headed out around 7:20.
Drove out Route 2 to Lincoln. Found Wendy and Nick's house, nestled among the trees at the end of a cul-de-sac. The prayer flags were a dead giveaway. She showed me around. They had just had some trees cut down. Funny cats (one likes to lick Scotch Tape.) Tea. Chat. We scanned photos, and sorted through ones that had already been scanned, all in preparation of my uploading them to the KKC website. Nick arrived home around 10:30. I left around 11.
Back home. MB was already showered, and heading to bed. She told me about her BD rehearsal with Za-Beth. We hung out for a little while. I left her to sleep. An egg on toast. Tortellini. Down basement now. Need to complete a few morning practices, before I call it a night.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
A Tale of Two Contractors / The Pit
Wednesday: Up at 6:30 AM. Shower. Brief sitting. The first contractor arrived around 7:30. They looked things over and gave me a quote. The price was right. Continuation of morning practices. The second contractor called and after some discussion she said she was on her way. Said goodbye to MB. Bowl of cereal. Printed out some texts. Burned the mistakes (as is traditional). The second contractor arrived around 11. Her price was the same, and she seemed a bit more knowledgeable and experienced than the other guys. Gave me some good information.
Headed off to work, stopping at the quick-oil-change place. They tightened the drain-plug and filter, but said they couldn't see where the leak was coming from. I got a tour of what it's like in the 'downstairs' (the pit) of one of those places... and a look at the bottom of my car. Chilly and overcast again. Clearing in the afternoon.
More bug fixing at work. I encountered a couple of situations today where my habitual response would have been to be hostile, but decided to opt for playfulness. These little personal triumphs motored me through the rest of the day. It is important to feel good about your successes, I think. Lunch at my desk. A job was passed off to me, which I spent the rest of the day looking into. Headed out at 6:10.
Stopped at the pizza place near KKC, and had a couple of quick slices. Quite hungry for some reason. Brief teaching tonight. Sleepy. Then, chanting and cookies. Sleepy. I helped pass around the goodies, which was a nice break. Did some sweeping up afterwards. Talked to Wendy, Shn and Wnd.
Back home, put some cardboard under my car. In the morning I should be able to see if I still have an oil leak. Put out the recycling and garbage. Made a strange quick dish of frozen soy-beef, frozen veggies and instant mashed potatoes. Hung with MB. Washed dishes. Some experimenting with image gallery software. Soon bed.
Headed off to work, stopping at the quick-oil-change place. They tightened the drain-plug and filter, but said they couldn't see where the leak was coming from. I got a tour of what it's like in the 'downstairs' (the pit) of one of those places... and a look at the bottom of my car. Chilly and overcast again. Clearing in the afternoon.
More bug fixing at work. I encountered a couple of situations today where my habitual response would have been to be hostile, but decided to opt for playfulness. These little personal triumphs motored me through the rest of the day. It is important to feel good about your successes, I think. Lunch at my desk. A job was passed off to me, which I spent the rest of the day looking into. Headed out at 6:10.
Stopped at the pizza place near KKC, and had a couple of quick slices. Quite hungry for some reason. Brief teaching tonight. Sleepy. Then, chanting and cookies. Sleepy. I helped pass around the goodies, which was a nice break. Did some sweeping up afterwards. Talked to Wendy, Shn and Wnd.
Back home, put some cardboard under my car. In the morning I should be able to see if I still have an oil leak. Put out the recycling and garbage. Made a strange quick dish of frozen soy-beef, frozen veggies and instant mashed potatoes. Hung with MB. Washed dishes. Some experimenting with image gallery software. Soon bed.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Tea and Something Evil
Tuesday: Up around 8. Not much sleep last night. Shower. Brief morning practices. No sign of the contractor. Made some breakfast (eggs). The contractor called and said she'd be around at 10:30. Rest of my morning practices. The contractor called back saying she was stuck in traffic. Gave me a much better price than the other two.
Headed to work. Dropped off a DVD at the video store. Tea and 'something evil.' Went back to bug fixing for today. Dnl asked me some questions about disk allocation. Called another contractor with the BTU rating of our existing boiler. Lunch at my desk, thanks to MB. Backed up my laptop. It seems plans are moving forward on a project that I feel is quite misguided. This is an opportunity to practice non-attachment. Headed out around 6:40. Very pretty drive, marred only by my irrational aggression towards cars bearing Republican bumper-stickers.
Arrived for yoga about 10 minutes late. I led a few simple postures as Wendy talked to a visitor to the center. A couple times tonight I felt some strength in places that usually feel weak. Sleepy at the end. Talked to Wendy and Wnd a bit after class.
Back home. The screen door was locked, so I had to go around back to get in. Didn't see much of MB this evening. She was upstairs working on things. Made an egg-drop soup and watched "Law and Order." Wnd's friend's sister had three lines in the show. Grisly episode. Now, a little guitar, then bed.
Headed to work. Dropped off a DVD at the video store. Tea and 'something evil.' Went back to bug fixing for today. Dnl asked me some questions about disk allocation. Called another contractor with the BTU rating of our existing boiler. Lunch at my desk, thanks to MB. Backed up my laptop. It seems plans are moving forward on a project that I feel is quite misguided. This is an opportunity to practice non-attachment. Headed out around 6:40. Very pretty drive, marred only by my irrational aggression towards cars bearing Republican bumper-stickers.
Arrived for yoga about 10 minutes late. I led a few simple postures as Wendy talked to a visitor to the center. A couple times tonight I felt some strength in places that usually feel weak. Sleepy at the end. Talked to Wendy and Wnd a bit after class.
Back home. The screen door was locked, so I had to go around back to get in. Didn't see much of MB this evening. She was upstairs working on things. Made an egg-drop soup and watched "Law and Order." Wnd's friend's sister had three lines in the show. Grisly episode. Now, a little guitar, then bed.
Over the hill
Monday: Slept in a little, ignoring alarms. MB left early to go to a meeting in NH. Eventually out of bed. Email. Shower. Brief morning practices, then over to KKC. Drove behind a car with the bumper sticker "Guns don't kill people, abortion clinics kill people." The water bowls had to be emptied before they were filled. Swept. Didn't see anyone but heard voices. Ngawang is leaving for India today. Back home, the rest of morning practices. Put my CD for J in an envelope. Moved some kitchen stuff down basement. Washed a few dishes.
Stopped by the PO and put my CD in the mail. Chilly and overcast. In to work (very late). Made some phone calls about the furnace, and getting the dishwasher fixed. Completing less interesting, but necessary, parts of the new project. Fixed some flaws in the code I'd written on Friday. Cold in the office. Talked to B about how things are going. Talked to M about frame formats. Decided not to try to go see Ngawang off. Worked until a little after 9.
Back home, said hello to MB. Talked about Gus' pills. Ate a veggie burger listening to a show on NPR about pension funds. I'm not sure which makes me feel more like I'm about "over the hill": the dusting of gray hairs I noticed in my temples today, or the fact that I found this topic really quite interesting. Played electric guitar for about an hour, doing some composition for J, and a little recording for S. It felt good to be fully engrossed. MB is already asleep. Me soon too.
Stopped by the PO and put my CD in the mail. Chilly and overcast. In to work (very late). Made some phone calls about the furnace, and getting the dishwasher fixed. Completing less interesting, but necessary, parts of the new project. Fixed some flaws in the code I'd written on Friday. Cold in the office. Talked to B about how things are going. Talked to M about frame formats. Decided not to try to go see Ngawang off. Worked until a little after 9.
Back home, said hello to MB. Talked about Gus' pills. Ate a veggie burger listening to a show on NPR about pension funds. I'm not sure which makes me feel more like I'm about "over the hill": the dusting of gray hairs I noticed in my temples today, or the fact that I found this topic really quite interesting. Played electric guitar for about an hour, doing some composition for J, and a little recording for S. It felt good to be fully engrossed. MB is already asleep. Me soon too.
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Kitchen Reset / OCBC Gig
Sunday: Slept later than I intended, waking around 7:45. Quick shower. Stretching. Brief morning practice in the basement. Pulled our gear together and out the door. We stopped at the Sherman Cafe for bagels and tea. Got to OCBC just after 9, right as Victor was arriving. Loaded in and got things set up. I MB and I sat watching eating our food. The rest of the gang arrived. Sound checking. MB, Terry and I did a little Invention 10 practice. And then, we were on.
Circulation. Eye of the Needle. Invention 10. I flubbed in EotN, and major gremlins in the PA (the high end sounded like it was going through a wah peddle). Much sitting, not fidgeting. Sermon was on bridging cultural barriers. Circulation. Asturias. During the offering. And some more Circulation to close out. Many supportive comments. It was good to see the OCBC crowd. It's been quite a while since I stopped attending regularly, in favor of Sundays at KKC.
Back home. Some emailing. MB took a nap. Morning practices in the basement. Tried to fix the 'cat clock.' The forecast was for rain, but it never really came. Spent most of the rest of the afternoon doing a kitchen 'reset': Collecting together utensils and appliances we don't use, rearranging the space. The end result was far superior to the starting point. Gave Shawn a call, and found that we were meeting tonight, after all. A quick bite to eat (pizza and egg-drop-noodle-soup). Headed to Arlington.
Arrived about 10 minutes late. Walked to the CVS with Shawn and got an energy drink. Rehearsal for two hours, he on a sit-down kit rather than the smaller kit he has been working with for our other sessions. Good stuff. 3 pieces are coming together nicely. Some improvisation to round out the evening.
Back home, put the cat clock back together. It's not working, but maybe it just needs new batteries. Email. Soon bed.
Perhaps goodness can be like an inverted black hole, having once reached a point of critical mass, holds nothing in, radiates to touch everything in existence, never to be extinguished, illuminating all.
Circulation. Eye of the Needle. Invention 10. I flubbed in EotN, and major gremlins in the PA (the high end sounded like it was going through a wah peddle). Much sitting, not fidgeting. Sermon was on bridging cultural barriers. Circulation. Asturias. During the offering. And some more Circulation to close out. Many supportive comments. It was good to see the OCBC crowd. It's been quite a while since I stopped attending regularly, in favor of Sundays at KKC.
Back home. Some emailing. MB took a nap. Morning practices in the basement. Tried to fix the 'cat clock.' The forecast was for rain, but it never really came. Spent most of the rest of the afternoon doing a kitchen 'reset': Collecting together utensils and appliances we don't use, rearranging the space. The end result was far superior to the starting point. Gave Shawn a call, and found that we were meeting tonight, after all. A quick bite to eat (pizza and egg-drop-noodle-soup). Headed to Arlington.
Arrived about 10 minutes late. Walked to the CVS with Shawn and got an energy drink. Rehearsal for two hours, he on a sit-down kit rather than the smaller kit he has been working with for our other sessions. Good stuff. 3 pieces are coming together nicely. Some improvisation to round out the evening.
Back home, put the cat clock back together. It's not working, but maybe it just needs new batteries. Email. Soon bed.
Perhaps goodness can be like an inverted black hole, having once reached a point of critical mass, holds nothing in, radiates to touch everything in existence, never to be extinguished, illuminating all.
Somerville Armory
Saturday: Up around 8:30, MB still in bed. Shower. Brief morning practices in the guest room, as MB went downstairs and made tea. A little laughing and hanging out. As MB got ready, I felt a little between things. She headed off to ballet class around 10:30. Continuation of morning practices in the basement. Around 11, I packed the trunk of the car with some yucky stuff (old paint, smoke detectors, thermostats, brake fluid) and drove over to the DPW where they happily accepted all my toxic waste. Picked up cat food. Filled up the gas tank. All this had taken less than an hour, so, I decided to get my oil changed. Drove to Union Square and waited for about 15 minutes, and then another 5 for the actual job. Valvoline owes me a penny.
Back home, fed the cats, and had some snacks. MB arrived around 1, and Terry not long after. We worked on the JSB Invention 10 for an hour. Much of that was spent just working on our triplet circulation feel. After he left, I spent the next couple hours working on a mix CD for my new music teacher. Sample rate wrangling. At 4:30, MB and I walked up to Highland Ave, to the old castle-like Somerville Armory, which is now being renovated into some sort community art center. Dusty. Lots of fun seeing inside this old building, which I'd been wondering about for years. We missed the mayors speech, but stood around eating potato salad, and talking to MB's friend Sty. Lots of people. A couple of bands. We looked at the work-permits, which were tacked to the wall, and tried to figure out what was going to be done to the place. Walked back home. The fellow that was supposed to come look at the furnace, didn't.
More work on the mix-CD. Still feeling a little between things. Finally hit "burn" around 8. MB headed off to dance a BD gig. Down basement for more morning practices. Hard juggling them on days like this, with no schedule.
At 9:30, I gave F and M a call. Headed over to their place around 10, listening to my freshly burned CD in the car. Saw their new cat, who is provisionally, and coincidentally, named Desdemona. Walked around Somerville with F, getting a couple of slices of pizza, and talking about the Boston Red Sox, Cats, Ghosts, Extra Terrestrials and Gnosticism. Need to read more about Saint Thomas, for whom I've always had an affinity, given my middle name, and skeptical nature.
Took the long way home, listening to the rest of the CD. A fun disk. Back at the ranch, typed up some brief liner notes. Completion of practices. MB returned from her evening out just before 1 AM.
Back home, fed the cats, and had some snacks. MB arrived around 1, and Terry not long after. We worked on the JSB Invention 10 for an hour. Much of that was spent just working on our triplet circulation feel. After he left, I spent the next couple hours working on a mix CD for my new music teacher. Sample rate wrangling. At 4:30, MB and I walked up to Highland Ave, to the old castle-like Somerville Armory, which is now being renovated into some sort community art center. Dusty. Lots of fun seeing inside this old building, which I'd been wondering about for years. We missed the mayors speech, but stood around eating potato salad, and talking to MB's friend Sty. Lots of people. A couple of bands. We looked at the work-permits, which were tacked to the wall, and tried to figure out what was going to be done to the place. Walked back home. The fellow that was supposed to come look at the furnace, didn't.
More work on the mix-CD. Still feeling a little between things. Finally hit "burn" around 8. MB headed off to dance a BD gig. Down basement for more morning practices. Hard juggling them on days like this, with no schedule.
At 9:30, I gave F and M a call. Headed over to their place around 10, listening to my freshly burned CD in the car. Saw their new cat, who is provisionally, and coincidentally, named Desdemona. Walked around Somerville with F, getting a couple of slices of pizza, and talking about the Boston Red Sox, Cats, Ghosts, Extra Terrestrials and Gnosticism. Need to read more about Saint Thomas, for whom I've always had an affinity, given my middle name, and skeptical nature.
Took the long way home, listening to the rest of the CD. A fun disk. Back at the ranch, typed up some brief liner notes. Completion of practices. MB returned from her evening out just before 1 AM.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Sunspots
Friday: Up a bit after 9. Feeling quite good today. Web. Shower. Morning practices. Put together a lunch. And off to work. Another beautiful spring day.
Fairly solid day at work, though I was feeling a little distracted. Talked to B a little about the Stata center, Mk about synchronization primitives. Did some proofing for Jm and showed him a new small feature he didn't know about. Talked to Dv about PowerBooks. RF is playing my home-town. Ordered some tickets. Took a walk out to get a little sun. Still see a little afterimage, so maybe I got too much. Worked until about 10.
Called in an order for a pizza on my drive home. Picked up another DVD of "The Wire", and then the pizza. Home, and a guy's night alone, with food and a movie. Then some guitar. MB was out with friends at a couple BD gigs. Something isn't working with the dishwasher. MB arrived home about 1:20. Soon bed.
Fairly solid day at work, though I was feeling a little distracted. Talked to B a little about the Stata center, Mk about synchronization primitives. Did some proofing for Jm and showed him a new small feature he didn't know about. Talked to Dv about PowerBooks. RF is playing my home-town. Ordered some tickets. Took a walk out to get a little sun. Still see a little afterimage, so maybe I got too much. Worked until about 10.
Called in an order for a pizza on my drive home. Picked up another DVD of "The Wire", and then the pizza. Home, and a guy's night alone, with food and a movie. Then some guitar. MB was out with friends at a couple BD gigs. Something isn't working with the dishwasher. MB arrived home about 1:20. Soon bed.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Analog Devices
Thursday: Up a little before 8. MB headed out. Shower. Sorted through some mail. Unpacked the glasses (anniversary present). Down basement for morning practices. Headed to work. Lovely day out.
More heavy code lifting today. My sense of the value of the time I spend at work fluctuates quite a bit. Today was a high value day, I think. B took a half day. His car apparently sprung a gas leak. Headed out around 5 to go hang with Wnd.
Quite a bit of traffic heading to her place. We had a nice time, doing some Tibetan study, watching "Wallace and Grommet", eating a bit of food, and talking about some of the topics we're studying. She also gave me a tour of her office. She has a cubicle, above which she's made sort of a 'ceiling' out of a plastic tarp (to keep the heat in). She showed me the room where they do their hardware testing. Pretty interesting.
Back home. MB left a message she's on her way back from a BD gig. A bit of guitar. Got ready for bed.
More heavy code lifting today. My sense of the value of the time I spend at work fluctuates quite a bit. Today was a high value day, I think. B took a half day. His car apparently sprung a gas leak. Headed out around 5 to go hang with Wnd.
Quite a bit of traffic heading to her place. We had a nice time, doing some Tibetan study, watching "Wallace and Grommet", eating a bit of food, and talking about some of the topics we're studying. She also gave me a tour of her office. She has a cubicle, above which she's made sort of a 'ceiling' out of a plastic tarp (to keep the heat in). She showed me the room where they do their hardware testing. Pretty interesting.
Back home. MB left a message she's on her way back from a BD gig. A bit of guitar. Got ready for bed.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Third Anniversary
Wednesday: Up around 8:30, feeling buzzy today as well, although not as much as other days following yoga. Expectation... Decided to cut the grass before taking my shower. Lovely weather out. Probably the nicest spring day we've had so far. The grass was longer than I like to let it get before cutting, so the job took a bit longer than usual. Afterwards, laundry, and breakfast. MB had left me a nice little book of 'coupons' for our anniversary. I looked at that while eating breakfast. Called the DPW and asked about disposing of old smoke detectors. Shower. Down basement for morning practices. Ordered a book online. Headed out. Talked to Cln next-door about the new porch they just had built. She wasn't as happy about it as I expected her to be.
Picked up some fire wood and charcoal brickettes at the grocery. Headed over to the mall and bought some cookware as a house gift to ourselves. The ladies ringing me up seemed quite flummoxed by the cash register. I declined their offer of a discount for opening a charge account. In to work (finally).
Solid code produced on my new project. B seemed harried today. Don't know why. Ate MB's lunch from yesterday (she'd forgotten it). Brief day. Enjoyable little conversation with Mk. Consulted with Chs on semaphore implementations. Left a little after 7.
MB was in the kitchen when I arrived. We opened presents (glasses, pans) and then she got back to her cooking. I lit the charcoal out in the fire-pit. This was it's inaugural fire. (Been sitting unused since Christmas). Back inside, I made veggie and tempeh shish-kabobs, marinated with olive oil, tamari and stir-fry sauce. Popped them on the grill. We lit tiki torches. MB made rice.
We ate outside. After cleaning up, MB took out the trash and I bundled up the boxes the pans came in. We watched an installment of "The Wire" on DVD. MB did some sewing. Guitar for me. She's off to bed. Me to follow soon.
Picked up some fire wood and charcoal brickettes at the grocery. Headed over to the mall and bought some cookware as a house gift to ourselves. The ladies ringing me up seemed quite flummoxed by the cash register. I declined their offer of a discount for opening a charge account. In to work (finally).
Solid code produced on my new project. B seemed harried today. Don't know why. Ate MB's lunch from yesterday (she'd forgotten it). Brief day. Enjoyable little conversation with Mk. Consulted with Chs on semaphore implementations. Left a little after 7.
MB was in the kitchen when I arrived. We opened presents (glasses, pans) and then she got back to her cooking. I lit the charcoal out in the fire-pit. This was it's inaugural fire. (Been sitting unused since Christmas). Back inside, I made veggie and tempeh shish-kabobs, marinated with olive oil, tamari and stir-fry sauce. Popped them on the grill. We lit tiki torches. MB made rice.
We ate outside. After cleaning up, MB took out the trash and I bundled up the boxes the pans came in. We watched an installment of "The Wire" on DVD. MB did some sewing. Guitar for me. She's off to bed. Me to follow soon.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Full Sun Salutation
Tuesday: Up around 8:30 feeling energized. Web. Shower. Down basement for practices. Filled the bird feeder. Lovely spring day out. Grass needs to be cut very soon.
Drove by KKC, seeing Geshela leaving for a ride in someone's car. He gestured for me not to come talk to him. But the way he did it was so friendly, it made me grin. I picked up a USB cable. Then headed for work.
Some back and forth with a couple developers, but most of the day was spent header wrangling. This is an interesting part of the design process. It's where the abstract becomes pinned down. Ideally, once the headers are done, the implementation should almost write itself. Took a walk out and did some shopping. Lunch at my desk. The MP3 player I was hoping to transfer files from would require a change in firmware to work with Mac OS X. Left work at 6:30.
KKC. Arrived just as yoga was getting going. Wnd didn't come tonight, as she needs to help out her dad tomorrow. A good session. Wendy showed us the 'full sun salutation' (slightly modified... I think she left out the downward facing dog posture.) I stayed well focused through the meditation session. I guess today I wasn't as sleep deprived as I have been in the past. Leaving the eyes open slightly helps also.
After the session I talked to Emlo (who is staying at the center for a little while). I think he's a native Spanish speaker. We did our best to discuss weighty philosophical topics, despite the language barrier. He left me reading a book, that was probably flying over my head. Saw Hln and Ngawang as I put back the MP3 player. Ngawang does his best to teach me Tibetan phrases, but, I'm not much of a student. His wrists were hurting him from too much email. I showed him a better typing posture.
Back home, hello to MB, a veggie burger (listening to a bit on NPR about the fight over Creationism and "Intelligent Design" in the Kansas school system.) Guitar practice, feeling tense, but not in terrible form. One of the cats made a big stink.
Some people have a funny definition of "Agreement." Two examples:
Judge May asked Mr Milosevic whether he wished the full 32-page indictment, charging him with crimes committed in Kosovo in 1999, to be read out. Mr Milosevic told him: "That's your problem."
Crucifiction? Yes? Good. Out of the door, line on the left, one cross each. Next! Crucifiction?
Drove by KKC, seeing Geshela leaving for a ride in someone's car. He gestured for me not to come talk to him. But the way he did it was so friendly, it made me grin. I picked up a USB cable. Then headed for work.
Some back and forth with a couple developers, but most of the day was spent header wrangling. This is an interesting part of the design process. It's where the abstract becomes pinned down. Ideally, once the headers are done, the implementation should almost write itself. Took a walk out and did some shopping. Lunch at my desk. The MP3 player I was hoping to transfer files from would require a change in firmware to work with Mac OS X. Left work at 6:30.
KKC. Arrived just as yoga was getting going. Wnd didn't come tonight, as she needs to help out her dad tomorrow. A good session. Wendy showed us the 'full sun salutation' (slightly modified... I think she left out the downward facing dog posture.) I stayed well focused through the meditation session. I guess today I wasn't as sleep deprived as I have been in the past. Leaving the eyes open slightly helps also.
After the session I talked to Emlo (who is staying at the center for a little while). I think he's a native Spanish speaker. We did our best to discuss weighty philosophical topics, despite the language barrier. He left me reading a book, that was probably flying over my head. Saw Hln and Ngawang as I put back the MP3 player. Ngawang does his best to teach me Tibetan phrases, but, I'm not much of a student. His wrists were hurting him from too much email. I showed him a better typing posture.
Back home, hello to MB, a veggie burger (listening to a bit on NPR about the fight over Creationism and "Intelligent Design" in the Kansas school system.) Guitar practice, feeling tense, but not in terrible form. One of the cats made a big stink.
Some people have a funny definition of "Agreement." Two examples:
Judge May asked Mr Milosevic whether he wished the full 32-page indictment, charging him with crimes committed in Kosovo in 1999, to be read out. Mr Milosevic told him: "That's your problem."
Crucifiction? Yes? Good. Out of the door, line on the left, one cross each. Next! Crucifiction?
Monday, May 09, 2005
3rd Commentary
Monday: Strange energy boost visited me in a dream last night. Up around 8:30, as MB headed out. Brief morning practices. Shower, then down basement for the rest. Fed the cats. Headed to KKC.
Swept up the teaching room. Said hello to Geshela and Damchoe. Filled water bowls. In to work.
Chased down a bug in some third party code today. This is really a full time job. Thinking a lot about "plan b" today. Got a note from my mom. Wish I had given her a call yesterday. More code on my new project, header jockying giving way to some preliminary methods. Lunch at my desk. Walked out to the pharmacy. A young spunky jazz quartet (stand-up bass, drums, two saxophones) were blaring away at the pit. I pondered the question "Am I able to hear and see at the same time." Left work at 6:30.
KKC: Geshela's third and final evening of commentary on the short Y.S. A bit compressed at the end, I thought. Many questions still unanswered. Said a brief hello and goodbye to Wnd. Had a nice conversation with Wendy about practice, and yoga.
Stopped at the grocers on the way home, giving MB a call to help me with the list. Shopping. Back home a bit after 10. Put away groceries. We talked about some news stories we'd heard today, and Josephine Baker's "Rainbow Tribe." Email. J is back from Japan.
Swept up the teaching room. Said hello to Geshela and Damchoe. Filled water bowls. In to work.
Chased down a bug in some third party code today. This is really a full time job. Thinking a lot about "plan b" today. Got a note from my mom. Wish I had given her a call yesterday. More code on my new project, header jockying giving way to some preliminary methods. Lunch at my desk. Walked out to the pharmacy. A young spunky jazz quartet (stand-up bass, drums, two saxophones) were blaring away at the pit. I pondered the question "Am I able to hear and see at the same time." Left work at 6:30.
KKC: Geshela's third and final evening of commentary on the short Y.S. A bit compressed at the end, I thought. Many questions still unanswered. Said a brief hello and goodbye to Wnd. Had a nice conversation with Wendy about practice, and yoga.
Stopped at the grocers on the way home, giving MB a call to help me with the list. Shopping. Back home a bit after 10. Put away groceries. We talked about some news stories we'd heard today, and Josephine Baker's "Rainbow Tribe." Email. J is back from Japan.
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Geshe Tsulga's Birthday
Sunday: Up around 8:45. Shower. Down basement for morning practices part 1. Quick cup of tea and cereal with MB. Over to KKC by 10 AM.
Special Insight. I ran sound. Many questions came to mind, but I didn't get the chance to ask any of them. A pot-luck for Geshela's birthday. Much good food. Talked to David K and Wnd. The fund raising I've been working on is going well. Three quarters of the way to our goal. Took a brief drive around Medford on my own. Stopped at the video store on the way home. An afternoon with MB. Nap.
Did a little calking in the stairway and upstairs bathroom. Down basement for morning practices part 2. Rainy chilly day. Headed to South Boston just before 8, arriving right at 8:15.
Terry was back tonight after a bit of a hiatus. Also: Martin, David, Victor. Circulation patterns, including 'the bat wing.' Repertoire for the OCBC gig. Victor gave me some pointers for my solo in Israel. Discussion of logistics for the OCBC gig. Some processing of Friday's gig at the Montessori school. I asked a question about division of attention. Headed home a bit before 11.
Some soup, then ice-cream, listening to the BBC. MB is upstairs listening to Middle Eastern music.
Special Insight. I ran sound. Many questions came to mind, but I didn't get the chance to ask any of them. A pot-luck for Geshela's birthday. Much good food. Talked to David K and Wnd. The fund raising I've been working on is going well. Three quarters of the way to our goal. Took a brief drive around Medford on my own. Stopped at the video store on the way home. An afternoon with MB. Nap.
Did a little calking in the stairway and upstairs bathroom. Down basement for morning practices part 2. Rainy chilly day. Headed to South Boston just before 8, arriving right at 8:15.
Terry was back tonight after a bit of a hiatus. Also: Martin, David, Victor. Circulation patterns, including 'the bat wing.' Repertoire for the OCBC gig. Victor gave me some pointers for my solo in Israel. Discussion of logistics for the OCBC gig. Some processing of Friday's gig at the Montessori school. I asked a question about division of attention. Headed home a bit before 11.
Some soup, then ice-cream, listening to the BBC. MB is upstairs listening to Middle Eastern music.
Don't Panic
Saturday: Norwalk CT. Mom's condo. Up around 8:30. Shower and downstairs for brief morning practices, as MB and mom got going upstairs. Mom set out a very nice brunch. Her friend F arrived, having driven down from the Cape. We ate, and talked. Seems like a jolly fellow. Found that his small dog had made a mistake upstairs. We all went for a walk, my mom trying to show us a garden tended by "the sisters"... although no sisters were to be seen. Back at the condo, talk, and throwing the ball for the dogs. MB and I headed out around 1:30.
Stopped for gas. A fellow said the pumps were slow, but they seemed fine to me. MB called her parents on the drive. I chatted with them briefly, while maneuvering in the HOV lane. We stopped, being lured in by a sign proclaiming free coffee and donuts. We didn't find any donuts, but a bunch of wet and cold boy scouts, giving away hot dogs under an a tent. The coffee was OK. Raining the whole way. Back to Somerville about 4:45 PM.
We had some lunch. Clean up, then I went down basement for the rest of my morning practices. MB worked on belly dancing. I reappeared a bit before 8. Enjoyed reading up on, and playing with, some guitar related electronic gadgets. It turned out MB did not need to dance tonight, so we went out and saw "Hitchhiker's Guide." Great fun. MB loved it, and she hasn't been exposed to much D. Adams.
Back home. Tea. Homework. She's off to bed. Me too, soon.
Stopped for gas. A fellow said the pumps were slow, but they seemed fine to me. MB called her parents on the drive. I chatted with them briefly, while maneuvering in the HOV lane. We stopped, being lured in by a sign proclaiming free coffee and donuts. We didn't find any donuts, but a bunch of wet and cold boy scouts, giving away hot dogs under an a tent. The coffee was OK. Raining the whole way. Back to Somerville about 4:45 PM.
We had some lunch. Clean up, then I went down basement for the rest of my morning practices. MB worked on belly dancing. I reappeared a bit before 8. Enjoyed reading up on, and playing with, some guitar related electronic gadgets. It turned out MB did not need to dance tonight, so we went out and saw "Hitchhiker's Guide." Great fun. MB loved it, and she hasn't been exposed to much D. Adams.
Back home. Tea. Homework. She's off to bed. Me too, soon.
Friday, May 06, 2005
Montessori Othello
Friday: Up just after 6 AM. Shower. Down basement for morning practices part one. Upstairs, packed the car with our gear, and a quick cup of tea and a bowl of cereal before getting on the road, with MB, at 7:30. Traffic was not bad heading down 93. Made one wrong turn, but otherwise no problems in the directions. Arrived at the Montessori school around 8:05 AM.
Martin, Victor and the sound man were already there. We brought our gear in and got set up. Still no sign of the others. We were to go on at 9. Dev and Méli arrived shortly before 9, followed by David (David had gotten lost. Dev gave Méli a ride.) We tuned as the wee ones were lead in and arranged on the floor of the gymnasium. Don't have the exact set list, but it was something like: Circulation, Asturias, Invention 10, Eye of the Needle, Homage, (Q&A), Growing Circle, Third Relation, Circulation, Moving Force, Aspiration. While we played, B was interacting with Victor in a pretty hilarious and un-self-conscious way. He fed Victor a carrot during Eye of the Needle. The Q&A section was funny, because the kids were very enthusiastic in putting up their hands, but few of them actually had questions. One said something like "I had a hamster named Victor." and another "When I was at church, I ate candy that came from an egg." One fellow asked how many strings were on our guitars. Invention 10 bass section almost came unglued. After the performance (the kids were starting to wriggle even before Aspiration got underway) many expressions of thanks and appreciation. MB and I left as soon as we could. Back home by 10:30.
Down basement for morning practices part two. Packed a lunch and, in to work. Nice weather out. Brief day at work, reaching 'first code' on my new project. Mostly header jockeying, but code, nonetheless. Cleaned my desk. Back home a bit after 4 PM.
Packed the car, and on the road just after 4:30, heading down to Hartford. Cut across town and over to Newton, picking up i90 West. Lots of traffic, clearing out, farther away from Boston. Arrived in Hartford at 7 PM. Parked, picked up our tickets, and found a little brew pub. Lovely old building, with multi level seating and large semi-circular windows (probably was a factory at some point). We got root-beers and some food. MB said the women's restroom was strange, with very low toilets. Back to the theater a little before 8.
Othello. Quite a good production we both thought. The music for cello by Tony Geballe, that introduced the acts, and worked as an occasional backdrop, was lovely. This drama is so... dramatic! Several times, among all the treachery, jealousy and murder, I wanted to yell "OK you all, just calm down!" We stood in the back for the second act, sipping coffee. A very enjoyable evening. Many thanks to TG!
Drove in the rain down to my mom's house, arriving a little before 1 AM. Good to see her. Can't believe that Christmas was that last time we saw each other in person. Soon bed.
Martin, Victor and the sound man were already there. We brought our gear in and got set up. Still no sign of the others. We were to go on at 9. Dev and Méli arrived shortly before 9, followed by David (David had gotten lost. Dev gave Méli a ride.) We tuned as the wee ones were lead in and arranged on the floor of the gymnasium. Don't have the exact set list, but it was something like: Circulation, Asturias, Invention 10, Eye of the Needle, Homage, (Q&A), Growing Circle, Third Relation, Circulation, Moving Force, Aspiration. While we played, B was interacting with Victor in a pretty hilarious and un-self-conscious way. He fed Victor a carrot during Eye of the Needle. The Q&A section was funny, because the kids were very enthusiastic in putting up their hands, but few of them actually had questions. One said something like "I had a hamster named Victor." and another "When I was at church, I ate candy that came from an egg." One fellow asked how many strings were on our guitars. Invention 10 bass section almost came unglued. After the performance (the kids were starting to wriggle even before Aspiration got underway) many expressions of thanks and appreciation. MB and I left as soon as we could. Back home by 10:30.
Down basement for morning practices part two. Packed a lunch and, in to work. Nice weather out. Brief day at work, reaching 'first code' on my new project. Mostly header jockeying, but code, nonetheless. Cleaned my desk. Back home a bit after 4 PM.
Packed the car, and on the road just after 4:30, heading down to Hartford. Cut across town and over to Newton, picking up i90 West. Lots of traffic, clearing out, farther away from Boston. Arrived in Hartford at 7 PM. Parked, picked up our tickets, and found a little brew pub. Lovely old building, with multi level seating and large semi-circular windows (probably was a factory at some point). We got root-beers and some food. MB said the women's restroom was strange, with very low toilets. Back to the theater a little before 8.
Othello. Quite a good production we both thought. The music for cello by Tony Geballe, that introduced the acts, and worked as an occasional backdrop, was lovely. This drama is so... dramatic! Several times, among all the treachery, jealousy and murder, I wanted to yell "OK you all, just calm down!" We stood in the back for the second act, sipping coffee. A very enjoyable evening. Many thanks to TG!
Drove in the rain down to my mom's house, arriving a little before 1 AM. Good to see her. Can't believe that Christmas was that last time we saw each other in person. Soon bed.
Thursday, May 05, 2005
England Loves Labor, not Lost.
Thursday: Another sleep in. Feeling groggy getting up. Dehydrated? Shower. Moved my car out of the way of the fellows building the porch next door. Down basement for morning practices. Paid bills, and sorted through some papers.
In to work. A pretty day out. Looked into a couple bugs. B is back today. Kth is going on a road trip. Design work on my next project. Built a copy of the branch that will be the starting point for my project. Close to first code. Some email with people from the nearby yoga studio.
Back home at 6:30. Méli was waiting there. MB arrived right after I did. Inside, and work on Invention 10. It went pretty well, although playing with the metronome proved a challenge. Headed out at 7:40.
Arlington, and rehearsal with Shawn. We worked on improv, my piece and some GC rep. Broke a string. Tonight I began to see my potential as a lead player in NST. What fun!
Back home, and made an egg drop soup, talking to MB. We need to get up early tomorrow, so she's off to bed. Ate my soup listening to the British election returns.
In to work. A pretty day out. Looked into a couple bugs. B is back today. Kth is going on a road trip. Design work on my next project. Built a copy of the branch that will be the starting point for my project. Close to first code. Some email with people from the nearby yoga studio.
Back home at 6:30. Méli was waiting there. MB arrived right after I did. Inside, and work on Invention 10. It went pretty well, although playing with the metronome proved a challenge. Headed out at 7:40.
Arlington, and rehearsal with Shawn. We worked on improv, my piece and some GC rep. Broke a string. Tonight I began to see my potential as a lead player in NST. What fun!
Back home, and made an egg drop soup, talking to MB. We need to get up early tomorrow, so she's off to bed. Ate my soup listening to the British election returns.
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
A Charge in Romania
Wednesday: MB headed out early today, on her way to spend some time with a bunch of sixth graders. Up, but then, slept in a bit. Shower. Made a couple phone calls. Forwarded a message to MB from her bank. Morning practices in the basement. The neighbors are having their front porch replaced, so my practice was accompanied by the whine of a circular saw. Put together some materials relating to a small fund-raising project I'm doing at Kurukulla.
Off to work. Clear in the morning, a little rain in the evening. Brief day. B is still out. Looked into a bug, but couldn't reproduce it. Emails with a couple of different people regarding the hard to diagnose interaction between our application, and a plug-in, mediated by the operating system. Tiger is pretty nice, but I found a huge flaw in Spotlight: It seems you can't search at all on server volumes, not even by name... hopefully there's some way to make this work. Some friendly talk with Jn about the housing market, and his search for an apartment mate.
Over to KKC, and set up my little fund-raising station. A good class on the 70 Topics. Quite a download. This is the second class for which I've taken full notes. It's quite a different experience than just sitting and letting the material wash over me. I'm a lot more engaged... but I may miss some things also. I'm more involved in the process of trying to capture the information, than in understanding it. Made a little announcement about the fund raising. Its announced that Geshela will be going back to India for some teachings from HHDL. Wendy and Nick are going also. KKC will be at a near standstill! Some talk with Ngawang and Wnd.
Back home, and the living-room was full of people watching a movie about Um Kalthoum... a little party following on from the Middle Eastern drum class that MB organizes and holds at our house (the teacher is a really great fellow named Mchl.) I eat some treats and watch a bit of the movie. Everyone leaves. MB and I clean up.
Today, MB discovered that she had been duped into typing her CC number, and other personal information into a scam site, pretending to be PayPal. Her card had been used to buy stuff in Romania. This was due, in part, to her paying for Guitar Craft Journal access (she had never used PayPal before, and wouldn't have fallen for the scam otherwise.)
Guitar for a half hour. The distinct sense of the weight of my right hand, and that utilizing the inertia of its mass is most of what is involved in picking.
Email. A rapprochement with the person with whom I was too honest and unkind.
Off to work. Clear in the morning, a little rain in the evening. Brief day. B is still out. Looked into a bug, but couldn't reproduce it. Emails with a couple of different people regarding the hard to diagnose interaction between our application, and a plug-in, mediated by the operating system. Tiger is pretty nice, but I found a huge flaw in Spotlight: It seems you can't search at all on server volumes, not even by name... hopefully there's some way to make this work. Some friendly talk with Jn about the housing market, and his search for an apartment mate.
Over to KKC, and set up my little fund-raising station. A good class on the 70 Topics. Quite a download. This is the second class for which I've taken full notes. It's quite a different experience than just sitting and letting the material wash over me. I'm a lot more engaged... but I may miss some things also. I'm more involved in the process of trying to capture the information, than in understanding it. Made a little announcement about the fund raising. Its announced that Geshela will be going back to India for some teachings from HHDL. Wendy and Nick are going also. KKC will be at a near standstill! Some talk with Ngawang and Wnd.
Back home, and the living-room was full of people watching a movie about Um Kalthoum... a little party following on from the Middle Eastern drum class that MB organizes and holds at our house (the teacher is a really great fellow named Mchl.) I eat some treats and watch a bit of the movie. Everyone leaves. MB and I clean up.
Today, MB discovered that she had been duped into typing her CC number, and other personal information into a scam site, pretending to be PayPal. Her card had been used to buy stuff in Romania. This was due, in part, to her paying for Guitar Craft Journal access (she had never used PayPal before, and wouldn't have fallen for the scam otherwise.)
Guitar for a half hour. The distinct sense of the weight of my right hand, and that utilizing the inertia of its mass is most of what is involved in picking.
Email. A rapprochement with the person with whom I was too honest and unkind.
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Noga
Tuesday: Up around 8:30. It's been a strange couple of weeks. My psyche has been feeling a bit assaulted. Where is this coming from? Why? Part 1 of morning practices. Shower. Part 2. Downstairs, and cleaned up the table in the front hall. Pulled my stuff for the day together, and headed out.
Picked up some tea and a muffin. The girl with the shocking red hair behind the counter was talking up her idea for a beauty salon. Mellow day in the office. Looking into a couple bugs. Played with the release version of Tiger a bit. "Spotlight" actually seems to do a pretty good job. Mostly design today. Lunch at my desk. More emails with the person with whom I've been too honest (and unkind.) Walked out in the evening at got some pizza, while continuing my design work. MB called and gave me a little shopping list. No yoga tonight (had forgotten about that.) Did a little searching on the web for other yoga studios in town. Left a bit after 9 PM.
Stopped at the grocers and did some shopping. Filled up the tank. It cost $33.33. I'm one of those people in favor of more expensive gasoline. Let's factor the environmental impact, and the cost of research into finding a replacement for this non-renewable resource, into the price.
Back home, and hanging out with MB in the kitchen, drinking juice spritzers. Guitar practice. Email. Soon bed.
Those who fancy themselves benevolent pointed sticks for others, may just be, self-deluded sadists.
Picked up some tea and a muffin. The girl with the shocking red hair behind the counter was talking up her idea for a beauty salon. Mellow day in the office. Looking into a couple bugs. Played with the release version of Tiger a bit. "Spotlight" actually seems to do a pretty good job. Mostly design today. Lunch at my desk. More emails with the person with whom I've been too honest (and unkind.) Walked out in the evening at got some pizza, while continuing my design work. MB called and gave me a little shopping list. No yoga tonight (had forgotten about that.) Did a little searching on the web for other yoga studios in town. Left a bit after 9 PM.
Stopped at the grocers and did some shopping. Filled up the tank. It cost $33.33. I'm one of those people in favor of more expensive gasoline. Let's factor the environmental impact, and the cost of research into finding a replacement for this non-renewable resource, into the price.
Back home, and hanging out with MB in the kitchen, drinking juice spritzers. Guitar practice. Email. Soon bed.
Those who fancy themselves benevolent pointed sticks for others, may just be, self-deluded sadists.
Monday, May 02, 2005
Disappointment
Monday: Up around 8:20 as MB was heading out. Shower. Brief practices. The guys from the DPW arrived, and moved the water reading connection around to the front of the house. Rest of my morning practices in the basement. Headed to KKC about 11:20.
Filled water bowls, saying hello to Ngawang. Found a broom around the corner of the house and returned it to its place. Talked to Tsunmala a bit.
In to work, walking out to the bank, and getting a bagel. Checked my changes of the last few days in. Worked out the recommended solution to some strange interactions with some external software. Didn't really make matters any better. Closed out entries in the bug database. Brief talk with B. Installed Tiger on partition B. Bought a notebook. Headed to KKC around 6:30.
A commentary on some of the material we've been working with. Very dense. I took notes, but it was difficult to capture everything. Geshela sounded pretty disappointed in all of us near the end. I think its for each of us to look where we have come up short. I certainly have my top ten for myself. Talked a little with Damchoe and Wnd. Headed home.
MB had made some noodles. I ate some, and we talked about our days. Guitar. MB worked plugged in. I went upstairs. Its funny, but when my right hand looks right, it doesn't feel right. Hmmm.
A torrent of emails from someone with whom, I was a little too honest.
Filled water bowls, saying hello to Ngawang. Found a broom around the corner of the house and returned it to its place. Talked to Tsunmala a bit.
In to work, walking out to the bank, and getting a bagel. Checked my changes of the last few days in. Worked out the recommended solution to some strange interactions with some external software. Didn't really make matters any better. Closed out entries in the bug database. Brief talk with B. Installed Tiger on partition B. Bought a notebook. Headed to KKC around 6:30.
A commentary on some of the material we've been working with. Very dense. I took notes, but it was difficult to capture everything. Geshela sounded pretty disappointed in all of us near the end. I think its for each of us to look where we have come up short. I certainly have my top ten for myself. Talked a little with Damchoe and Wnd. Headed home.
MB had made some noodles. I ate some, and we talked about our days. Guitar. MB worked plugged in. I went upstairs. Its funny, but when my right hand looks right, it doesn't feel right. Hmmm.
A torrent of emails from someone with whom, I was a little too honest.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
S.O.S.
Sunday: Slept in. The plan was MB and I were going to spend the day together, and so, I didn't go to Kurukulla. This translated into us sleeping the morning away. Probably a good use of time. MB's friend Sty called and asked us out to brunch. Unfortunately, it didn't fit into our schedule. Shower. Down basement for some morning practices. Breakfast (eggs, waffles). Laundry. Down basement for morning practices part 2.
MB and I walked out and visited several artist's spaces that were open to the public as part of Somerville Open Studios. One of the locations was the cat shelter that MB's friend Sty helps out at. Coffee and goodies. In the basement, some photos from Burning Man. On the second floor, large colorful paintings of pencils. An Irish band played on the first floor. Also visited a large building across the way. A painting of a loading dock. Up around on Highland, and into someone's basement, full of dioramas created from found objects. Stopped and saw some fused glass at the house of one of MB's belly dance students. Over close to Davis Square, and to a friend's house (Kt H from OCBC), and necklaces and pottery. We walked into Davis, and, waited at the bus stop. They are showing "Bollywood" movies at the Somerville Theater, at $11 a pop. Took the bus back home. I saw a woman, who looked on the verge of homelessness, with a bag containing 4 or 5 cartons of cigarettes. That's probably close to $200 worth of smokes.
Back home, and some open-face burritos. Music of the day: The Smiths. After clean up, and some email, headed out to Guitar Circle.
Martin brought a friend along tonight. We did some body awareness exercises, including "shadowing." Most of the rest of the night was spent working on Eye of the Needle: Focus of attention, eye contact, counting and so on. I sat in on a little session working on counting the bass line. Some talk about future gigs, actual and potential.
After the circle, MB and I transferred some topsoil to Victor's car. Back home, arriving around 11. I set up a guitar amp for MB. Soon, completion of morning practices in the basement, then bed.
MB and I walked out and visited several artist's spaces that were open to the public as part of Somerville Open Studios. One of the locations was the cat shelter that MB's friend Sty helps out at. Coffee and goodies. In the basement, some photos from Burning Man. On the second floor, large colorful paintings of pencils. An Irish band played on the first floor. Also visited a large building across the way. A painting of a loading dock. Up around on Highland, and into someone's basement, full of dioramas created from found objects. Stopped and saw some fused glass at the house of one of MB's belly dance students. Over close to Davis Square, and to a friend's house (Kt H from OCBC), and necklaces and pottery. We walked into Davis, and, waited at the bus stop. They are showing "Bollywood" movies at the Somerville Theater, at $11 a pop. Took the bus back home. I saw a woman, who looked on the verge of homelessness, with a bag containing 4 or 5 cartons of cigarettes. That's probably close to $200 worth of smokes.
Back home, and some open-face burritos. Music of the day: The Smiths. After clean up, and some email, headed out to Guitar Circle.
Martin brought a friend along tonight. We did some body awareness exercises, including "shadowing." Most of the rest of the night was spent working on Eye of the Needle: Focus of attention, eye contact, counting and so on. I sat in on a little session working on counting the bass line. Some talk about future gigs, actual and potential.
After the circle, MB and I transferred some topsoil to Victor's car. Back home, arriving around 11. I set up a guitar amp for MB. Soon, completion of morning practices in the basement, then bed.
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