Tuesday: Got up around 9. Email, shower, breakfast. Squandered time on the computer. Down basement for morning practices. Warm out today. Spoke with S. Paid my parking fine.
In to work. Spent the day working on the infrastructure for determining which add-ons can be used ahead of time. Lunch at my desk. Didn't connect with a women that needed a ride in time for her to come to yoga. Sent in an application to a workshop. Left at 6:40.
KKC, and yoga. Class was arranged a little oddly tonight because of the way things are set up for CR. We wound up facing each wall. Very good to get some yoga practice in. A little sleepy at the end. Talked with Wendy about the upcoming events. Not sure what I'm going to do.
Back home, emptied the dishwasher. Drink of water. Shower in the basement, then converence call with folks from the workshop of a couple weeks ago. Very enjoyable. One fellow was at a hockey match.
Upstairs, some guitar. Talked to MB about the gyrations her company is being put through. The parent company needs to make some losses look more acceptable to investors, so they are decimating MB's company and chalking the losses up as "integration expenses." Bean-counters... gotta love 'em.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
bowls first/threw pen
Monday: Slept late. Much needed. Woke briefly as MB headed out, then more sleep. Then, email, shower, fed cats. Decided to go to KKC and do water bowls before anything else. Found my car had gotten a ticket again. Rats. Had to take down the bowls from the day before. CR's translator was in the kitchen when I arrived. In a lovely UK sounding accent she said "Twice the work!" I just smiled and got on with it. A woman came to just be in the room. I accidentally made a sharp sound with the broom hitting the floor, but she didn't startle. Ngwang asked me if I wanted to eat lunch, but I begged off explaining "Me no eat meat."
Back home, ate breakfast (cereal, coffee) Morning practices. The phone rang during, but they didn't leave a message. Tidied up a little. Off.
At work, began with a little research for the next phase of my project. Got pulled into a long meeting on modes of monitoring. Threw a pen at Dv, in a playful way. Stayed to write that up. And that's about all I did today.
Back home, hello to MB. Sat with the cats for a bit. Showed her John Cleese's eulogy for Graham Chapman. Looked at plane fares. Next April is coming into focus. Guitar for about 20 minutes. Hands are out of shape.
Back home, ate breakfast (cereal, coffee) Morning practices. The phone rang during, but they didn't leave a message. Tidied up a little. Off.
At work, began with a little research for the next phase of my project. Got pulled into a long meeting on modes of monitoring. Threw a pen at Dv, in a playful way. Stayed to write that up. And that's about all I did today.
Back home, hello to MB. Sat with the cats for a bit. Showed her John Cleese's eulogy for Graham Chapman. Looked at plane fares. Next April is coming into focus. Guitar for about 20 minutes. Hands are out of shape.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Blue Man
Sunday: Eventually decided to drive home, rather than sleeping in Maine. Coffee (red French press). Enjoyable conversation in the kitchen of the guesthouse. Packed up my car and hit the road around 3:45 AM. Stopped for some fast breakfast food (for which I was quite grateful) on the way. Otherwise an uneventful drive. Arrived back home a little after 6 AM. Checked email. Sitting. In bed by 7 AM.
Slept until about 10:30. Then slept some more. Shower. My old friend Grf called. Sounds like he's having some health problems. Talked about my 'float.' Ate some cheese on toast while chatting. Down basement for morning practices. Took a little nap. By the time I came up, it was after 3 PM. MB had made an apple pie. We ate a piece while watching "Twin Peaks." Guitar for an hour. Email. Around 6 we headed in to Boston.
Attended the Blue Man Group. The show has been tweaked a bit since last time I went. Good stuff. It was fun watching the outline of Victor do a dance with a neon fishing pole. After the show, chatted with Victor a bit in the lobby. Headed home.
Heated up Thanksgiving leftovers. Jim W stopped by with something for MB to sign. After he left, she and I ate. After cleaning up, more email. Now this. Very sleepy, so soon bed.
Slept until about 10:30. Then slept some more. Shower. My old friend Grf called. Sounds like he's having some health problems. Talked about my 'float.' Ate some cheese on toast while chatting. Down basement for morning practices. Took a little nap. By the time I came up, it was after 3 PM. MB had made an apple pie. We ate a piece while watching "Twin Peaks." Guitar for an hour. Email. Around 6 we headed in to Boston.
Attended the Blue Man Group. The show has been tweaked a bit since last time I went. Good stuff. It was fun watching the outline of Victor do a dance with a neon fishing pole. After the show, chatted with Victor a bit in the lobby. Headed home.
Heated up Thanksgiving leftovers. Jim W stopped by with something for MB to sign. After he left, she and I ate. After cleaning up, more email. Now this. Very sleepy, so soon bed.
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Sauna with NEFFF
Saturday: Slept until around 10:30. Lovely. But the day is shorter. So it goes. Shower and email, then breakfast with MB (eggs and soy sausages). We also made some orange juice. A bit of a mess, because I forgot to switch the juicer attachment.
After cleaning up, took Leo for a wander around the back yard. The little birds that were hovering around the feeder backed off a step. Stowed the tiki torches for next year. Stowed some birdseed in the shed. Some email. Took a walk around the block, then down basement for morning (afternoon at this point) practices.
Sent a song off into the internet space. Packed for my little adventure. Pulled some food together for snacks. Said goodbye to MB and headed out around 4:30.
North, up 95. A light snow falling. Uneventful drive. Called my friend A.R. to wish her a happy birthday.
Arrived at the sauna complex around 7:15. Quite a set-up: At least 4 or 5 individual wood-fired saunas, a large cedar hot tub, and a big enclosed swimming pool, all nestled in the Maine woods. The next 2 and a half hours were spent soaking, and sweating. Some interesting conversation as well. People ran from the hot tub to roll in the snow. One of the organizers scalded his knee.
Around 9:45 we headed back over to the main house. Snacks. Someone began passing around a pipe, and I took an exit from the room to avoid the second-hand smoke. Complications involving who is sleeping where.
After cleaning up, took Leo for a wander around the back yard. The little birds that were hovering around the feeder backed off a step. Stowed the tiki torches for next year. Stowed some birdseed in the shed. Some email. Took a walk around the block, then down basement for morning (afternoon at this point) practices.
Sent a song off into the internet space. Packed for my little adventure. Pulled some food together for snacks. Said goodbye to MB and headed out around 4:30.
North, up 95. A light snow falling. Uneventful drive. Called my friend A.R. to wish her a happy birthday.
Arrived at the sauna complex around 7:15. Quite a set-up: At least 4 or 5 individual wood-fired saunas, a large cedar hot tub, and a big enclosed swimming pool, all nestled in the Maine woods. The next 2 and a half hours were spent soaking, and sweating. Some interesting conversation as well. People ran from the hot tub to roll in the snow. One of the organizers scalded his knee.
Around 9:45 we headed back over to the main house. Snacks. Someone began passing around a pipe, and I took an exit from the room to avoid the second-hand smoke. Complications involving who is sleeping where.
Don't buy anything today
Friday: Slept in a bit, having had a spotty sleep, firmly pinned under two cats for most of the night. MB went out to do some yard-work, and I got up. Email. Shower. Downstairs and had some breakfast (cereal, coffee) with MB. We took turns reading a Guitar Player interview with RF from January 1986. Would like to have seen RF play an ocarina. Cold out today. Down basement for morning practices. Sent in my Mendoza '06 application.
MB and I watched the rest of "Sin City." A visually stunning film, if a bit substanceless. Ate some pumpkin kibbie. Headed in to work. Dropped off a video, and picked up another. Dropped off some unwanted books at the library.
At the office, one other fellow was around. I put in 3 hours or so, getting my new code up on its feet enough to run some data. Left a little before 10 PM.
Back home, MB wasn't back from her BD gig. I called her on the cell and she was almost home. So I waited. We walked to the store and picked up a few necessities. On returning, I heated up some leftovers, and ate while we watched the Twin Peaks pilot. Such a good, creepy, show.
Ryan Tassone in a message to ET challenges RF to prove his "Preternatural sensitivities" by way of the famous debunker James Randi. I wonder, could Ryan scientifically prove that his mother loves him? Life is not a controlled experiment.
MB and I watched the rest of "Sin City." A visually stunning film, if a bit substanceless. Ate some pumpkin kibbie. Headed in to work. Dropped off a video, and picked up another. Dropped off some unwanted books at the library.
At the office, one other fellow was around. I put in 3 hours or so, getting my new code up on its feet enough to run some data. Left a little before 10 PM.
Back home, MB wasn't back from her BD gig. I called her on the cell and she was almost home. So I waited. We walked to the store and picked up a few necessities. On returning, I heated up some leftovers, and ate while we watched the Twin Peaks pilot. Such a good, creepy, show.
Ryan Tassone in a message to ET challenges RF to prove his "Preternatural sensitivities" by way of the famous debunker James Randi. I wonder, could Ryan scientifically prove that his mother loves him? Life is not a controlled experiment.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Thankful for what we've already got
Thursday: A lovely relaxed morning, MB and I making sure to stay in bed until after the noon bell. "Love Cannot Bear" provided the soundtrack. MB had a notable emotional response to the affirmations in the liner notes. Then, a leisurely breakfast (eggs, soy sausages, etc). Down basement for morning practices.
On surfacing, and after a shower, we got to work on dinner. We were both in the kitchen pretty much continually until we ate, around 7:30. The menu included: mashed potatoes, steamed cauliflower and broccoli, mushroom gravy, cranberry sauce with orange zest, pumpkin pie and marinated baked tempeh. We had most of this stuff on hand. MB bought the tempeh a day or so ago. Quite a feast. After the main course I called my mom (MB doing some clean up thought I was talking to her), and later on we talked to MB's parents who told us about the state of the SC school system and how to make a bookmark from a blueberry. Pie and ice-cream. We watched the rest of "Airplane" ("I can make a hat, or a broach, or a Pterodactyl!"). A little guitar, having missed practice for a few days.
The Pilgrim's Thanksgiving was not a traditional meal. They ate what was at hand. And so, I believe that we should institute a new model. Stop shopping for food one week before Thanksgiving. Then, on the day, make do with whatever is in the house. Be inventive, creative, and maybe even a little thankful.
On surfacing, and after a shower, we got to work on dinner. We were both in the kitchen pretty much continually until we ate, around 7:30. The menu included: mashed potatoes, steamed cauliflower and broccoli, mushroom gravy, cranberry sauce with orange zest, pumpkin pie and marinated baked tempeh. We had most of this stuff on hand. MB bought the tempeh a day or so ago. Quite a feast. After the main course I called my mom (MB doing some clean up thought I was talking to her), and later on we talked to MB's parents who told us about the state of the SC school system and how to make a bookmark from a blueberry. Pie and ice-cream. We watched the rest of "Airplane" ("I can make a hat, or a broach, or a Pterodactyl!"). A little guitar, having missed practice for a few days.
The Pilgrim's Thanksgiving was not a traditional meal. They ate what was at hand. And so, I believe that we should institute a new model. Stop shopping for food one week before Thanksgiving. Then, on the day, make do with whatever is in the house. Be inventive, creative, and maybe even a little thankful.
Future Starlets AAD
Wednesday: MB heading out, and out of bed around 8:30. Brief email and shower. Down basement for morning practices. Carried some furniture up from the basement, still re-setting the house after the party. Boiled water for coffee. Set up the humidifier. The fan in it wasn't working. I was giving it a gentle whack, thinking the bearing had probably just gotten gummed up, when I accidentally dropped it. After that, it worked perfectly. Breakfast (cereal, coffee). Wrote a check to Mark B for picks. On my way to work, dropped this in the mailbox.
Cold out today. In the office, realized that my assessment at the end of the day yesterday was completely off base. Things were not working, simply because there was an entire connection that I had not yet made. Did a bit of work on that. Decided I needed more coffee. Walked out. Picked up "Love Cannot Bear" and a Pork-U-Pine Tree CD. Drinking my coffee and eating a tasty raspberry/chocolate tart, with "Acceptance-Affirming" on in the 'phones, I noticed I wasn't listening. But I was enjoying the coffee and tart. At least a little. Good progress on my project. Headed out at 7:40.
Drove over to the Abbey Lounge to see Melisande perform. Ran into Crazy Eddie and Gene Dante, two of my cohorts from Project Eno. Their band was playing at 9. MB showed up after a bit. We watched Meli's set. It was enjoyable, but I kept being distracted by the hockey game on the TV right above the stage. Somehow appropriate given her country of origin. Stayed also for some of Gene Dante and the Future Starlets. Good stuff.
On my way home, stopped to pick up a movie and a couple slices (where "a couple" means "three") of pizza. Had an enjoyable "Lazy-Boy Friday Night" (on a Wednesday) watching "Sin City," eating pizza and leftover Chinese food. Down basement for some practices. MB called, and then returned later on. When I emerged she was asleep. Two cats now seek heat in my lap.
Cold out today. In the office, realized that my assessment at the end of the day yesterday was completely off base. Things were not working, simply because there was an entire connection that I had not yet made. Did a bit of work on that. Decided I needed more coffee. Walked out. Picked up "Love Cannot Bear" and a Pork-U-Pine Tree CD. Drinking my coffee and eating a tasty raspberry/chocolate tart, with "Acceptance-Affirming" on in the 'phones, I noticed I wasn't listening. But I was enjoying the coffee and tart. At least a little. Good progress on my project. Headed out at 7:40.
Drove over to the Abbey Lounge to see Melisande perform. Ran into Crazy Eddie and Gene Dante, two of my cohorts from Project Eno. Their band was playing at 9. MB showed up after a bit. We watched Meli's set. It was enjoyable, but I kept being distracted by the hockey game on the TV right above the stage. Somehow appropriate given her country of origin. Stayed also for some of Gene Dante and the Future Starlets. Good stuff.
On my way home, stopped to pick up a movie and a couple slices (where "a couple" means "three") of pizza. Had an enjoyable "Lazy-Boy Friday Night" (on a Wednesday) watching "Sin City," eating pizza and leftover Chinese food. Down basement for some practices. MB called, and then returned later on. When I emerged she was asleep. Two cats now seek heat in my lap.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
completed winding
Tuesday: MB's alarm went off at 6, but we didn't really wake up until 8 or so. She headed out. I felt pretty energized this morning. Still getting over sleep deprivation. Email. Shower. Down basement. After mp, completed the mantra winding I'd begun ages ago. Rainy day today.
Drove across town to work, listening to the radio. A brief day at the office. Got my new code up on its feet just enough to run an little data. It seems like it is requesting the same block over and over again though, so more investigation tomorrow. Add-on support. Headed down to see Wnd.
Drove to Newton. The Mass Pike looked terrible, so I decided to take back-roads. Gave Wnd a call and figured out where I was going. It took over an hour to get to her place. We hung out, ate left-overs, watched a pretty grim (but fascinating) show on the Spanish Flu. She gave me some incense for my birthday.
Back home, MB was still out. I went down basement, and had a conference call with some of the folks from the workshop last week. Good to hear their voices. Most doing well. MB returned. She was upstairs practicing guitar when I emerged. I made the bed and folded some sheets and towels while she made lunches. Sorted through mail. It would be nice if bed came before too long.
Drove across town to work, listening to the radio. A brief day at the office. Got my new code up on its feet just enough to run an little data. It seems like it is requesting the same block over and over again though, so more investigation tomorrow. Add-on support. Headed down to see Wnd.
Drove to Newton. The Mass Pike looked terrible, so I decided to take back-roads. Gave Wnd a call and figured out where I was going. It took over an hour to get to her place. We hung out, ate left-overs, watched a pretty grim (but fascinating) show on the Spanish Flu. She gave me some incense for my birthday.
Back home, MB was still out. I went down basement, and had a conference call with some of the folks from the workshop last week. Good to hear their voices. Most doing well. MB returned. She was upstairs practicing guitar when I emerged. I made the bed and folded some sheets and towels while she made lunches. Sorted through mail. It would be nice if bed came before too long.
Monday, November 21, 2005
putting away music gear
Monday: Woke around 8:30 as MB headed out. Web. Downstairs to feed cats. Spent a good chunk of time coiling mic cables and so on, putting the room where the music went on, back in order. Shower. Found my toothbrush had been thrown in the trash. Morning practices. Put things away in the basement. Email. Headed over to KKC.
I couldn't tell if the water bowls had already been done or not, so to be on the safe side, I took them down. Hln said later they already had been. Lots of laughter coming from the living room. Hln gave me a cup of tea.
In to work. Continued my 'feature removal' project, eventually getting things running and hitting bugs in my new code by the end of the day. Also found out what was up with an add-on that we are marketing under our name. Mac and cheese leftovers for lunch. Headed home around 8:10. Rainy out.
MB had just arrived when I got home. I gave her a massage, then we ate some more leftovers, talking about bananas and social action. Some concluding practices and bed soon.
I couldn't tell if the water bowls had already been done or not, so to be on the safe side, I took them down. Hln said later they already had been. Lots of laughter coming from the living room. Hln gave me a cup of tea.
In to work. Continued my 'feature removal' project, eventually getting things running and hitting bugs in my new code by the end of the day. Also found out what was up with an add-on that we are marketing under our name. Mac and cheese leftovers for lunch. Headed home around 8:10. Rainy out.
MB had just arrived when I got home. I gave her a massage, then we ate some more leftovers, talking about bananas and social action. Some concluding practices and bed soon.
40
Woke around 9. MB had to go to OCBC for a bit. Shower. Mom was up too. I headed down to the basement for some morning practices. Then, breakfast with MB and mom. Eggs, little toasts, soy sausage etc. Some unwrapping of presents. We listened to some music, and watched a bit of a DVD. I game my mom a ride to South Station and dropped her in from of the train entrance.
Over to KKC. Choden Rinpoche, day 2. I was a little less sleepy today, but still drifted in and out. The sound system was better behaved, except we had some interference with the wireless mic. Afterwards, home.
Leftover Chinese food. Got a call from Shawn saying he wouldn't be able to pick up his drums for a week or so. Decided to deal with them sooner rather than later. Packed them up. Noticed a little ding on my electric guitar that hadn't been there before. Drove Shawn's drums over to his house, and left them on the porch. Back home, some daily practices in the basement.
Guitar Circle: MB's friend Ivny was observing. Circulation. IBE counting. Askesis. Thrack clapping. Talking. Improvisation.
Back home, and some more food and cake, talking about the universal end game. Sleepy.
Over to KKC. Choden Rinpoche, day 2. I was a little less sleepy today, but still drifted in and out. The sound system was better behaved, except we had some interference with the wireless mic. Afterwards, home.
Leftover Chinese food. Got a call from Shawn saying he wouldn't be able to pick up his drums for a week or so. Decided to deal with them sooner rather than later. Packed them up. Noticed a little ding on my electric guitar that hadn't been there before. Drove Shawn's drums over to his house, and left them on the porch. Back home, some daily practices in the basement.
Guitar Circle: MB's friend Ivny was observing. Circulation. IBE counting. Askesis. Thrack clapping. Talking. Improvisation.
Back home, and some more food and cake, talking about the universal end game. Sleepy.
Saturday, November 19, 2005
party
no breakfast, mp, setting up, dangling (MB rescued me), kkc at 1:50. Slightly late. trouble with the mic. Sleepy. Back home to get directions. Slept a little. Socialize. Back home continue setting up. Bn. MB and gang take off. Kit arrives. Jm and Jul. Jun. Shawn.
Jun
Bird Mancini
Shawn and Glenn
Shawn Glenn and Jun, plus Billy from Bird Mancini.
Shawn Glenn and Victor
Guitar Circle New England
F showed but didn't play.
RT wouldn't play.
MB returned and danced (in costume) to IBE and BI (and maybe another). Good stuff. Ngwangs eyes got big. Mta showed up for a bit and ate some food. RT entered with pizza and I said "Pizza man!" I floated and mingled as best I could. Mom seemed to have a good time. Victor was the last to leave. MB and I cleaned up the kitchen. Quite a night!
Jun
Bird Mancini
Shawn and Glenn
Shawn Glenn and Jun, plus Billy from Bird Mancini.
Shawn Glenn and Victor
Guitar Circle New England
F showed but didn't play.
RT wouldn't play.
MB returned and danced (in costume) to IBE and BI (and maybe another). Good stuff. Ngwangs eyes got big. Mta showed up for a bit and ate some food. RT entered with pizza and I said "Pizza man!" I floated and mingled as best I could. Mom seemed to have a good time. Victor was the last to leave. MB and I cleaned up the kitchen. Quite a night!
Friday, November 18, 2005
Floating
Friday: Saw MB leave, then slept in. Web and shower. M arrived to do house cleaning. Down basement for morning practices. Put away laundry. Went out to the grocery store and bought stuff for the party. Unpacked the perishable part of it, then headed out.
Drove to Guitar Center and picked up a couple of PA speakers and some mic cables. Parked at work, and walked to the Gnomon to pick up my b-day flyers. Then in to work finally. A very brief day. Handed out some invites. Continued ripping an old feature out of the program. Shawn gave me a call at 5:30. I walked out and met hum around 5:50.
Back to my place, we unloaded the PA speakers and MB arrived. We all headed off to Manchester NH. There, I spent two hours in a 'sensory deprivation' tank, and MB one hour. It's a bit of a misnomer, because your senses have plenty of input, except for the eyes. But it was a very good experience. A real chance to allow relaxation to occur. I thought I heard bird song near the end, but apparently I was hallucinating. Then, they put a little b-day creation that Shawn had put together over the speakers in the pod. Many friends and relatives wishing me a happy one. Very touching... feeling isolated floating in the dark, yet surrounded by so much love.
The three of us had a nice post-float dinner at an Italian restaurant around the corner (I had eggplant parm, a salad, and tiramisu for dessert. Yum!) Quite an evening.
Back home, Shawn assembled his drums in our dining room. We played each other some little vids on our laptops, then I gave him a ride to a friend's house in the city. Hit construction traffic on the way back, making it a long ride. Now, completing practices for the day.
Drove to Guitar Center and picked up a couple of PA speakers and some mic cables. Parked at work, and walked to the Gnomon to pick up my b-day flyers. Then in to work finally. A very brief day. Handed out some invites. Continued ripping an old feature out of the program. Shawn gave me a call at 5:30. I walked out and met hum around 5:50.
Back to my place, we unloaded the PA speakers and MB arrived. We all headed off to Manchester NH. There, I spent two hours in a 'sensory deprivation' tank, and MB one hour. It's a bit of a misnomer, because your senses have plenty of input, except for the eyes. But it was a very good experience. A real chance to allow relaxation to occur. I thought I heard bird song near the end, but apparently I was hallucinating. Then, they put a little b-day creation that Shawn had put together over the speakers in the pod. Many friends and relatives wishing me a happy one. Very touching... feeling isolated floating in the dark, yet surrounded by so much love.
The three of us had a nice post-float dinner at an Italian restaurant around the corner (I had eggplant parm, a salad, and tiramisu for dessert. Yum!) Quite an evening.
Back home, Shawn assembled his drums in our dining room. We played each other some little vids on our laptops, then I gave him a ride to a friend's house in the city. Hit construction traffic on the way back, making it a long ride. Now, completing practices for the day.
Reentry
Thursday: Woke around 8:30 as MB headed out, but slept in after she left. Brief web. Shower. Unpacking and laundry. Eventually down basement for morning practices. Packed the car with my electric rig, and headed out.
A good but brief day at work. B said I had been missed, which was nice of him. Continued removing a feature that is no longer needed in the application. Consulted with Dv about adding a new feature for developers that need to analyze data as a pre-pass to processing. Left work around 7:20.
In Arlington, chilly out. Walked up the street and hooked up with Shawn. We got some pizza and then I got a tea and little cookies at Starbucks. Ran through our set a couple of times in the rehearsal space. The first run through was rough, but the second significantly improved. Ended at 10:15. Loaded Shawn's drums into my car and gave him a ride home. On my drive home, ironed out a few details about tomorrow's plans, and the line up for Saturday's party.
Back home, unloaded the drums, carried stuff from the dining room downstairs. Made a stage sort of area. Gave MB a back-rub. She told me about a health-care informational meeting that she had at work today. I made some directions to my place and sent them out. A few things left to do, then bed.
A good but brief day at work. B said I had been missed, which was nice of him. Continued removing a feature that is no longer needed in the application. Consulted with Dv about adding a new feature for developers that need to analyze data as a pre-pass to processing. Left work around 7:20.
In Arlington, chilly out. Walked up the street and hooked up with Shawn. We got some pizza and then I got a tea and little cookies at Starbucks. Ran through our set a couple of times in the rehearsal space. The first run through was rough, but the second significantly improved. Ended at 10:15. Loaded Shawn's drums into my car and gave him a ride home. On my drive home, ironed out a few details about tomorrow's plans, and the line up for Saturday's party.
Back home, unloaded the drums, carried stuff from the dining room downstairs. Made a stage sort of area. Gave MB a back-rub. She told me about a health-care informational meeting that she had at work today. I made some directions to my place and sent them out. A few things left to do, then bed.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Day 3
Monday: Rain.
Woke at 5:50, but stayed in bed until 6:30 or so. Shower.
7 AM Session 1, physical warm up
8 AM breakfast (waffles)
Took a walk up the hill to the east. Looked in to the two teepees in the small field.
9:30 Session 2
12:30 Lunch (Enchiladas)
Downtime (a sort of nap and some daily practice)
3:00 Session 3
5:45 Half of team back to farm house.
6 PM Dinner (rice, salad, soup)
another half nap. Guitar practice
7 PM Session 4, ending around 10:30
Back to the farm house. Hanging out. Played some guitar while people chatted.
Woke at 5:50, but stayed in bed until 6:30 or so. Shower.
7 AM Session 1, physical warm up
8 AM breakfast (waffles)
Took a walk up the hill to the east. Looked in to the two teepees in the small field.
9:30 Session 2
12:30 Lunch (Enchiladas)
Downtime (a sort of nap and some daily practice)
3:00 Session 3
5:45 Half of team back to farm house.
6 PM Dinner (rice, salad, soup)
another half nap. Guitar practice
7 PM Session 4, ending around 10:30
Back to the farm house. Hanging out. Played some guitar while people chatted.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Day 2
Sunday: 5:45 Woke. MP. 6:30 gong. 7 morning session (warm ups) 8 breakfast (new age stuff) mp, cleaned toiletries bag 9:20 gong.
9:30 Session 2.
12:30 Lunch
12:55 To cars
1 Departed on field trip to ruins
1:30 Arrive
2:15 (aprx) leave
2:50 back at camp
3 Session 3.
6: Dinner
7: Some daily practice
7:30 Last gong of the day. Session 4.
10:30 End
Called MB
Hot tub. Like a noodle.
9:30 Session 2.
12:30 Lunch
12:55 To cars
1 Departed on field trip to ruins
1:30 Arrive
2:15 (aprx) leave
2:50 back at camp
3 Session 3.
6: Dinner
7: Some daily practice
7:30 Last gong of the day. Session 4.
10:30 End
Called MB
Hot tub. Like a noodle.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
In Ohio
Saturday: Woke at 4:50 AM. Shower, and completed packing. Brief sitting, and the cab was at the door. Said goodbye to a sleepy MB, and then was off to the airport. Talked with the cabbie about being a night owl. An unremarkable flight to Detroit. I slept some. Also drank as much OJ as they would give me. Had the row to myself. A crazy color-organ psychedelic walkway was nearly too much on only 3 hours sleep. A bagel. In Detroit, while waiting for the next flight, I deleted some unused pictures off my cell phone. A puddle-jumper to Cincinnati. Some cross-winds while landing, and a surprisingly loud decent of the landing gear. Found the baggage pickup, and made contact with the woman that was riding with me to the center. My guitar was not in evidence. At the baggage desk I learned that it didn't make it onto the plane with me out of Boston. They said they would send it along to the center. Mgs and I got the shuttle to the rental car company. A pinched face woman wearing a pin symbolizing joyous children sat across from us. Got the car, and got on the road.
Stopped for some lunch at a food court. I got a vegetarian sub. Tasty, but my sunglasses were missing when we went to leave. Then I thought about the satisfying 'thump' the waste had made as I slid it into the trash receptacle, and realized they had been on the tray. Dopiness is its own reward. A short while later we were at the retreat center. We barely had time to get settled before the first session began. Talking with D.A. I found out that there are strange similarities between this center, and the Roundhouse where the NST weekend was held last week:
*Both facilities feature roundish structures. The roundhouse is round, this one has a main octagonal building.
*Both facilities were designed by women with a vision, who also founded the center. Traditional architects were not consulted.
*Both facilities were designed to bring communities together.
*The location for the main buildings of both facilities was guided by an intuitive sense of the energy of the land.
*Both facilities use a 'unique napkin ring' method for reducing waste at meal-time.
Not to state the obvious, but "It's a sign!"... I just wish I knew of what!
The weather was absolutely lovely today. Mild for this time of year and sunny. A light wind blowing fallen leaves about. I feel a great buoyancy at this place.
After the first session, during which time I made a nice connection with one of the more experienced participants, we had dinner. A pasta with vegetarian chili dish and salad. Quite good. I sat at the table with Bdi and others and talked about the temperaments present in different parts of the country.
A lovely soak in the hot-tub. With foot rubs under the stars.
Gave MB a call, leaving a message that I was alive and feeling fine.
The second session of the evening, ending with a lot of jumping around and drumming. Amazing the amount of energy I have at this point.
Back to the farmhouse. I was very lucky in my room assignment. I have one all to myself, and it has a little stuffed monkey in it and it's just wonderful. A quick shower. Morning practices.
Stopped for some lunch at a food court. I got a vegetarian sub. Tasty, but my sunglasses were missing when we went to leave. Then I thought about the satisfying 'thump' the waste had made as I slid it into the trash receptacle, and realized they had been on the tray. Dopiness is its own reward. A short while later we were at the retreat center. We barely had time to get settled before the first session began. Talking with D.A. I found out that there are strange similarities between this center, and the Roundhouse where the NST weekend was held last week:
*Both facilities feature roundish structures. The roundhouse is round, this one has a main octagonal building.
*Both facilities were designed by women with a vision, who also founded the center. Traditional architects were not consulted.
*Both facilities were designed to bring communities together.
*The location for the main buildings of both facilities was guided by an intuitive sense of the energy of the land.
*Both facilities use a 'unique napkin ring' method for reducing waste at meal-time.
Not to state the obvious, but "It's a sign!"... I just wish I knew of what!
The weather was absolutely lovely today. Mild for this time of year and sunny. A light wind blowing fallen leaves about. I feel a great buoyancy at this place.
After the first session, during which time I made a nice connection with one of the more experienced participants, we had dinner. A pasta with vegetarian chili dish and salad. Quite good. I sat at the table with Bdi and others and talked about the temperaments present in different parts of the country.
A lovely soak in the hot-tub. With foot rubs under the stars.
Gave MB a call, leaving a message that I was alive and feeling fine.
The second session of the evening, ending with a lot of jumping around and drumming. Amazing the amount of energy I have at this point.
Back to the farmhouse. I was very lucky in my room assignment. I have one all to myself, and it has a little stuffed monkey in it and it's just wonderful. A quick shower. Morning practices.
Friday, November 11, 2005
The spleen is on the opposite side from the lungs
Friday: Woke around 8:30 as MB headed out, but lazed a bit. Web. Shower and defolliclation. Cats. Down basement for morning practices. Packed. Vacuumed. Completed packing. Recorded another quickie improvised loop.
A pretty day out, but coldish (40s F). At work, continued my excising of a feature that has outlived its usefulness. Some talking with Al, which always seems to be a little longer than strictly necessary. Found and removed a good bit of code that has been rotted and actually doing nothing for several years. Lunch at my desk thanks to MB. A flurry of emails involving someone with no way to get to the course from the airport. Left at 6:30.
Back home, and hello to MB. Stc and Rb showed up shortly, and we drove to dinner at the Tibetan restaurant in Teele Square. Good food. Rb is a funny fellow, talks a mile a minute. At one point, after a loud bit about "high colonics" and noticing the people sitting next to us were looking at us with a perhaps slightly vexed gaze, he said to them "Don't worry, I'm here all week!" And a bit about his 'jumblies' being visible through a bathroom window. Smoking like a chimney after saying that he thought that the lungs were only on the right side of the body. We were almost in an accident on the way home. Indeed, he drives like a maniac.
MB and I hung out a bit. I have a few more things to attend to, and then to bed, for an early rise and off to my yoga weekend.
A pretty day out, but coldish (40s F). At work, continued my excising of a feature that has outlived its usefulness. Some talking with Al, which always seems to be a little longer than strictly necessary. Found and removed a good bit of code that has been rotted and actually doing nothing for several years. Lunch at my desk thanks to MB. A flurry of emails involving someone with no way to get to the course from the airport. Left at 6:30.
Back home, and hello to MB. Stc and Rb showed up shortly, and we drove to dinner at the Tibetan restaurant in Teele Square. Good food. Rb is a funny fellow, talks a mile a minute. At one point, after a loud bit about "high colonics" and noticing the people sitting next to us were looking at us with a perhaps slightly vexed gaze, he said to them "Don't worry, I'm here all week!" And a bit about his 'jumblies' being visible through a bathroom window. Smoking like a chimney after saying that he thought that the lungs were only on the right side of the body. We were almost in an accident on the way home. Indeed, he drives like a maniac.
MB and I hung out a bit. I have a few more things to attend to, and then to bed, for an early rise and off to my yoga weekend.
raking leaves/b2a shuffle
Thursday: Slept in a little. Web. Email. Shower. Cats. Basement. Brought in recycling bin. Put away laundry, while eating a power bar. Raked leaves, getting up the bulk of them. Made some phone calls trying to obtain shuttle service from the airport no luck. Decided to just use a rental car. Made a reservation, but then wanted to check whether they took debit cards (since I don't use credit cards). The phone number gave me no access to a live person. I finally resorted to choosing the option "to report an accident" trying to talk to a live operator. I was put on indefinite hold. I hung up and found the information I wanted on the web.
Loaded car with electric rig. In the process, the strap on my rack came off and the corner landed on my toe. Yowe! Off to work. A decision was made in conversation with B and Dv. Looked over APIs with Dv. Talked with Dv and Eln. I spent the rest of the day ripping out a feature we no longer need. I've been working towards ripping out this feature for years. MB had made me a quesasilla sort of thing, which I ate at my desk. Tea. Mk said "This is the first time in my life that I said 'use freeze-spray' and it actually worked!" Headed out around 7:20.
Arrived in Arlington about 7:55. Walked to Starbucks and phoned up Shawn. We rendezvoused at the coffee shop. I got a coffee, although I'd been wanting to cut back on caffeine. A good rehearsal, running through our rep, and then working on a new rhythmic treatment for a bit of standard GC repertoire. I suggested a triplet shuffle in a 4/4 frame, and it wound up working quite well. Gave Shawn a ride home.
Back home, looked up directions to the place I'll be driving on Saturday. MB and I ate rice pudding, and watched some of the classic movie "Airplane." This film is some sort of comic zenith, I believe. And don't call me Shirley. Gave MB a little tutorial on how to use the somewhat complicated TV set-up that we have.
We had a good laugh about the "Animatronic Crafty Hand."
Leo helped in my diary writing by contributing the following with his posterior:
;oppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp.okkkkkkkkkkkkk[[n9l=
Loaded car with electric rig. In the process, the strap on my rack came off and the corner landed on my toe. Yowe! Off to work. A decision was made in conversation with B and Dv. Looked over APIs with Dv. Talked with Dv and Eln. I spent the rest of the day ripping out a feature we no longer need. I've been working towards ripping out this feature for years. MB had made me a quesasilla sort of thing, which I ate at my desk. Tea. Mk said "This is the first time in my life that I said 'use freeze-spray' and it actually worked!" Headed out around 7:20.
Arrived in Arlington about 7:55. Walked to Starbucks and phoned up Shawn. We rendezvoused at the coffee shop. I got a coffee, although I'd been wanting to cut back on caffeine. A good rehearsal, running through our rep, and then working on a new rhythmic treatment for a bit of standard GC repertoire. I suggested a triplet shuffle in a 4/4 frame, and it wound up working quite well. Gave Shawn a ride home.
Back home, looked up directions to the place I'll be driving on Saturday. MB and I ate rice pudding, and watched some of the classic movie "Airplane." This film is some sort of comic zenith, I believe. And don't call me Shirley. Gave MB a little tutorial on how to use the somewhat complicated TV set-up that we have.
We had a good laugh about the "Animatronic Crafty Hand."
Leo helped in my diary writing by contributing the following with his posterior:
;oppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp.okkkkkkkkkkkkk[[n9l=
Thursday, November 10, 2005
ride sharing/hot donuts with Wnd
Wednesday: Slept in a bit, up briefly, then a little more sleep. Email. Ride sharing for the yoga workshop is becoming a problem. Shower. Fed cats. Down basement for morning practices. A little guitar. Headed out.
At work today, propagating my changes back out into the code-base at large. A decision needs to be made about how to keep everything working. Convert everything over to the new system, or just part? The problem is, if I don't convert everything over, I'll have to maintain dual strategies, and one of them will be difficult for me to test. However, if I convert everything, I might be signing up for a lot more work. Lunch at desk, thanks to MB. Got a call from my mom. Headed out at 6:30.
Raining out, and chilly. Over to KKC. I was expecting more 8000 verses, but it was 70 topics and Tara tonight. I just sat listening for most of it, though I asked for clarification at one point. Made a little announcement about my party. Cookies were distributed. Headed out with Wnd. We went to the grocery store, and she bought some ginger and other stuff.
Her Chai recipe:
Water, milk, black tea, cardamom, ginger, cumin, sugar. Then, over to the hot donut place. Long wait for service. Ate fried sugar blobs talking about education and rote learning contrasted with the inquiry based approach.
Back home a little after 11. Hung with MB for a bit. She ate the donut I brought her. Some more guitar practice. Down basement for concluding practices. Some email.
At work today, propagating my changes back out into the code-base at large. A decision needs to be made about how to keep everything working. Convert everything over to the new system, or just part? The problem is, if I don't convert everything over, I'll have to maintain dual strategies, and one of them will be difficult for me to test. However, if I convert everything, I might be signing up for a lot more work. Lunch at desk, thanks to MB. Got a call from my mom. Headed out at 6:30.
Raining out, and chilly. Over to KKC. I was expecting more 8000 verses, but it was 70 topics and Tara tonight. I just sat listening for most of it, though I asked for clarification at one point. Made a little announcement about my party. Cookies were distributed. Headed out with Wnd. We went to the grocery store, and she bought some ginger and other stuff.
Her Chai recipe:
Water, milk, black tea, cardamom, ginger, cumin, sugar. Then, over to the hot donut place. Long wait for service. Ate fried sugar blobs talking about education and rote learning contrasted with the inquiry based approach.
Back home a little after 11. Hung with MB for a bit. She ate the donut I brought her. Some more guitar practice. Down basement for concluding practices. Some email.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
The iMac Graveyard
Tuesday: Slept deeply, waking around 10 AM. MB was working at home today, and she was talking on the phone. Shower. Fed cats. Down basement for semi-abbreviated morning practices. Laundry. MB got her car inspected, and needed a few things taken care of. Walked with MB over to the polling station (firehouse) and cast ballots in the local elections. The mayor was running unopposed. The most contested slots were for the alderman positions.
In to work. Coffee and muffin. A long day. Continuing reinventing code that I wrote about seven years ago, that has been dutifully functioning ever since. Some consulting with Dv about how this will fit into a subsystem over which he has dominion. Also some consulting with Dnl and B about a feature that Dnl is working on. Often times with a large code base, the path of least resistance is the only viable solution. Or, put another way, you have to pick your battles. Lunch at my desk. Horrible reports about the use of white phosphorus and napalm-like substances in Fallujah. Headed home around 10 PM.
A quick noodle soup, hanging with MB in the kitchen. She had reorganized some of the shelves in our office, but didn't know what to do with my stuff. Practiced a little guitar. Email. Some concluding practices, and then bed.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Reentry, after Colrain
Monday: Woke with MB around 8. Up as she left. Checked email. Shower. Fed cats. Down basement, and did about half of my commitments. Packed the car, including my Ovation, and headed out.
Dropped off the DVD at the shop, then to KKC. Some construction was going on there (the ceiling had been torn out in the living room.) Took down many spent tea-lights. Swept. Filled water bowls.
In to work. Didn't really talk to anyone today. Continuing moving some code into a lower level library. Lunch at my desk of pizza from last night. Feeling too sleepy to concentrate, so got a coffee, although I had thinking I'd try to cut back this week. Headed out around 7:20.
Stopped for a couple more slices of pizza (dinner) at "3 Aces" (en route, and I found parking). At Shawn's house, he had a fire going in the living room. We listened to our recorded efforts of last week. Mostly it needs tightening up at this point, but there were a few structure/content changes as well. We did a bit of playing, ironing out a couple of sections, and working on a new approach to one piece. Headed home about 10:10 PM.
Said hi to MB. Down basement. Glued a louvered door that had cracked at the bottom. Completed my daily practice. Back upstairs. Email. Said goodnight to MB. Now bed for me as well.
Dropped off the DVD at the shop, then to KKC. Some construction was going on there (the ceiling had been torn out in the living room.) Took down many spent tea-lights. Swept. Filled water bowls.
In to work. Didn't really talk to anyone today. Continuing moving some code into a lower level library. Lunch at my desk of pizza from last night. Feeling too sleepy to concentrate, so got a coffee, although I had thinking I'd try to cut back this week. Headed out around 7:20.
Stopped for a couple more slices of pizza (dinner) at "3 Aces" (en route, and I found parking). At Shawn's house, he had a fire going in the living room. We listened to our recorded efforts of last week. Mostly it needs tightening up at this point, but there were a few structure/content changes as well. We did a bit of playing, ironing out a couple of sections, and working on a new approach to one piece. Headed home about 10:10 PM.
Said hi to MB. Down basement. Glued a louvered door that had cracked at the bottom. Completed my daily practice. Back upstairs. Email. Said goodnight to MB. Now bed for me as well.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
NST Weekend, end, and return home.
Sunday: Woke at 5:50 to the alarm. Shower. Morning practices in a cubby on the fourth floor.
7:00 Sitting. Afterwards, a helpful comment.
7:30 Right hand warm up with Tony.
8:00 Breakfast. Eggs, soy sausages. Talk about the performances. David asked Tony if he had any observations. Tony said "yes." Bekkie was most generous. Quiet came and visited. I noted that we ought get cleaning up. I did a little packing.
9:30 (orig sch for 9:15) Circle with guitars. Review of material (right and left hands, C Maj)
10:20ish New folks in library with Victor. Tony for rest of arpeggiations. I enjoyed the triads going up the top two strings.
11 AT work with Steph. Review of Monkey and more applications. Review of arm procedures. Walking, taking in the room. Lie down. I was pretty sleepy.
12 prep for leaving/cleaning meeting. We circled up in the main space. I asked Bekkie some questions about what to clean and so on. We put the library back to more or less the way it was when we arrived. I changed bed clothes in the room MB and I had been staying in.
12:45 Lunch set-up. Decided that we would 'circulate' the condiments.
1 Lunch. The cat came and paid us a visit. Yummy burritos. Selling picks and strings.
2:15 Final meeting. I played "Puppy Wrangler." Thanks all around. I found a way to voice the sentiments that had arisen in me the previous night while listening to Bekkie's story. And we were declared complete. One person said the weekend had been almost free of solicitation. I disagreed with the almost. Immediately after these remarks, Tony offered a "sales pitch" for some upcoming courses. The difference between a sales pitch, and a informational message, is the degree to which the speaker is attached to the outcome. In Guitar Craft, we don't care if you show up or not.
3:00 Goodbyes. I took a spin through the house. An awkward moment saying goodbye to the Kalkas, who, in all likelihood, will be parents the next time I see them. But, I know that they know that I wish them well, so, a little awkwardness doesn't matter so much. Ryan and Christopher stayed behind to be picked up by the shuttle.
3:30 MB and I were off.
An uneventful drive back in the rain. Stopped for gas and a coffee. Back in Somerville by about 5:45.
Unloaded the car. Unpacked. Down basement for some daily practices, while MB was unpacking. Pizza. Movie (batman). Thunder and lightening.
7:00 Sitting. Afterwards, a helpful comment.
7:30 Right hand warm up with Tony.
8:00 Breakfast. Eggs, soy sausages. Talk about the performances. David asked Tony if he had any observations. Tony said "yes." Bekkie was most generous. Quiet came and visited. I noted that we ought get cleaning up. I did a little packing.
9:30 (orig sch for 9:15) Circle with guitars. Review of material (right and left hands, C Maj)
10:20ish New folks in library with Victor. Tony for rest of arpeggiations. I enjoyed the triads going up the top two strings.
11 AT work with Steph. Review of Monkey and more applications. Review of arm procedures. Walking, taking in the room. Lie down. I was pretty sleepy.
12 prep for leaving/cleaning meeting. We circled up in the main space. I asked Bekkie some questions about what to clean and so on. We put the library back to more or less the way it was when we arrived. I changed bed clothes in the room MB and I had been staying in.
12:45 Lunch set-up. Decided that we would 'circulate' the condiments.
1 Lunch. The cat came and paid us a visit. Yummy burritos. Selling picks and strings.
2:15 Final meeting. I played "Puppy Wrangler." Thanks all around. I found a way to voice the sentiments that had arisen in me the previous night while listening to Bekkie's story. And we were declared complete. One person said the weekend had been almost free of solicitation. I disagreed with the almost. Immediately after these remarks, Tony offered a "sales pitch" for some upcoming courses. The difference between a sales pitch, and a informational message, is the degree to which the speaker is attached to the outcome. In Guitar Craft, we don't care if you show up or not.
3:00 Goodbyes. I took a spin through the house. An awkward moment saying goodbye to the Kalkas, who, in all likelihood, will be parents the next time I see them. But, I know that they know that I wish them well, so, a little awkwardness doesn't matter so much. Ryan and Christopher stayed behind to be picked up by the shuttle.
3:30 MB and I were off.
An uneventful drive back in the rain. Stopped for gas and a coffee. Back in Somerville by about 5:45.
Unloaded the car. Unpacked. Down basement for some daily practices, while MB was unpacking. Pizza. Movie (batman). Thunder and lightening.
NST Weekend, second full day
5:10 woke, 5:40 woke again, 10 minutes before the alarm. Shower. Morning practices in the cubby on the top floor.
7: sitting in the library. Had a cushion under me today. A truck pulled up outside the library, and it was if its idling engine was in the room with us.
7:30 right hand warm up with Tony.
8: breakfast (waffles, sweet almond rice bake, apples). Good discussion about how hostility arises and is handled on guitar craft courses. One of the new fellows seems to do all the talking. It was announced that MB would be leaving the course for a little bit to attend a belly dance contest that she had committed to being part of prior to the course being scheduled. Alex suggested that we ring a bell on the hour to keep a connection with her.
9: Staff meeting at the cottage: Terry had noticed the personal practice time wasn't being used as fully as it might be. I suggested that someone give a little talk about how to approach practicing, and Victor stepped up to the plate.
9:30 meeting with guitars, A min on the A string. C Maj first position, and some C Maj triad arpeggios. Afterwards, showed Ryan and MB chords on a piano. IBE work with David and Alex.
11: MB headed off. AT (monkey at the table, whispered AH in lie-down). Asked a question about the breathing.
12:15 performance meeting with guitars in the library. Checked in on Askesis and IBE.
1 Lunch. A wonderful soup, bread and a cheese plate. There was some discussion of how to practice. I worried that it might have sounded like too much of a hard sell. The puppy-dog ate a whole stick of goat cheese off the cheese plate. And for some reason whenever Terry was going to talk, it would make fuss by tossing around hats or something.
2:15, Decided not to clean up after lunch and experienced some guilt. Walked up the drive and fixed mail box. Its posthole had become enlarged, and it was listing forward. I found a big rock and bolstered its footing.
3 PM Victor's talk on practice. I was very sleepy. I had heard a lot of this material before, but it was great to get it all again in one package. I hope the new guys absorbed some of it.
3:50 A sort of nap, arose feeling revitalized.
4:35 Review Bach with the laptop.
5: Boogie in bedroom on first floor.
5:15 meeting with Tony. I showed him some parts of pieces I've been working on that are giving me trouble, and asked him to help me smooth them out. He had some good suggestions.
5:35 Boogie, Bach, Askesis work.
6:30 quiet time. I did sort of a sitting.
4 Things:
Model of what you want to be, should be specific
fuel
sense of where you are
tools
7:10 PM Dinner. Delicious spinach lasagna. Someone demonstrates that a powerful intellect can be a hindrance. MB returns around 7:40. Some questions about Victor's talk. I took on kitchen clean up, along with Alex and Tony. The dishwasher is also a doggy buffet. Did a little more Invention 10 review. At 9 we gathered in the main space, and Rebekka told us the most amazing story of the Roundhouse. Really a life story... I think we were all so transported that no one knew what to say when she came to the end. So, I gave her a hug and thanked her. I feel like its no coincidence that Guitar Craft has come here. We set the set of the next set for 10. A huddle in the first floor bedroom, and clapping the star pattern. We reset the circle and then after a circle in the library, we snaked on. Playing was difficult for me. The circle was large and so I didn't feel connected to the other folks in the circle, and my sound felt like it was disappearing into the space. Eye of the Needle was pretty terrifying as a result. At some point I decided to be bold, for the sake of the rest of the team, even if I sucked. Came in a measure too early on IBE, so we abandoned that take, and tried again. We played Invention 10 twice because the first time fell apart so badly. But there were good moments. The end of Eye of the Needle, Growing Circle, Astorias. A circle afterwards. A break and then
11: Circle meeting with Guitars. Tony introduced alternate picking and cross picking. And a circulation to close. Brushed teeth and so on. Downstairs and typing. MB, Martin and Ryan talking about Gurdjieff. Terry asked me about ideas for more courses at the Roundhouse. So, I guess it has been not so unsuccessful a venture, if we're coming back. I played The Circles for Martin and Ryan, which seemed to send them off to the land of nod. I'd like to follow, but I have more to do.
7: sitting in the library. Had a cushion under me today. A truck pulled up outside the library, and it was if its idling engine was in the room with us.
7:30 right hand warm up with Tony.
8: breakfast (waffles, sweet almond rice bake, apples). Good discussion about how hostility arises and is handled on guitar craft courses. One of the new fellows seems to do all the talking. It was announced that MB would be leaving the course for a little bit to attend a belly dance contest that she had committed to being part of prior to the course being scheduled. Alex suggested that we ring a bell on the hour to keep a connection with her.
9: Staff meeting at the cottage: Terry had noticed the personal practice time wasn't being used as fully as it might be. I suggested that someone give a little talk about how to approach practicing, and Victor stepped up to the plate.
9:30 meeting with guitars, A min on the A string. C Maj first position, and some C Maj triad arpeggios. Afterwards, showed Ryan and MB chords on a piano. IBE work with David and Alex.
11: MB headed off. AT (monkey at the table, whispered AH in lie-down). Asked a question about the breathing.
12:15 performance meeting with guitars in the library. Checked in on Askesis and IBE.
1 Lunch. A wonderful soup, bread and a cheese plate. There was some discussion of how to practice. I worried that it might have sounded like too much of a hard sell. The puppy-dog ate a whole stick of goat cheese off the cheese plate. And for some reason whenever Terry was going to talk, it would make fuss by tossing around hats or something.
2:15, Decided not to clean up after lunch and experienced some guilt. Walked up the drive and fixed mail box. Its posthole had become enlarged, and it was listing forward. I found a big rock and bolstered its footing.
3 PM Victor's talk on practice. I was very sleepy. I had heard a lot of this material before, but it was great to get it all again in one package. I hope the new guys absorbed some of it.
3:50 A sort of nap, arose feeling revitalized.
4:35 Review Bach with the laptop.
5: Boogie in bedroom on first floor.
5:15 meeting with Tony. I showed him some parts of pieces I've been working on that are giving me trouble, and asked him to help me smooth them out. He had some good suggestions.
5:35 Boogie, Bach, Askesis work.
6:30 quiet time. I did sort of a sitting.
4 Things:
Model of what you want to be, should be specific
fuel
sense of where you are
tools
7:10 PM Dinner. Delicious spinach lasagna. Someone demonstrates that a powerful intellect can be a hindrance. MB returns around 7:40. Some questions about Victor's talk. I took on kitchen clean up, along with Alex and Tony. The dishwasher is also a doggy buffet. Did a little more Invention 10 review. At 9 we gathered in the main space, and Rebekka told us the most amazing story of the Roundhouse. Really a life story... I think we were all so transported that no one knew what to say when she came to the end. So, I gave her a hug and thanked her. I feel like its no coincidence that Guitar Craft has come here. We set the set of the next set for 10. A huddle in the first floor bedroom, and clapping the star pattern. We reset the circle and then after a circle in the library, we snaked on. Playing was difficult for me. The circle was large and so I didn't feel connected to the other folks in the circle, and my sound felt like it was disappearing into the space. Eye of the Needle was pretty terrifying as a result. At some point I decided to be bold, for the sake of the rest of the team, even if I sucked. Came in a measure too early on IBE, so we abandoned that take, and tried again. We played Invention 10 twice because the first time fell apart so badly. But there were good moments. The end of Eye of the Needle, Growing Circle, Astorias. A circle afterwards. A break and then
11: Circle meeting with Guitars. Tony introduced alternate picking and cross picking. And a circulation to close. Brushed teeth and so on. Downstairs and typing. MB, Martin and Ryan talking about Gurdjieff. Terry asked me about ideas for more courses at the Roundhouse. So, I guess it has been not so unsuccessful a venture, if we're coming back. I played The Circles for Martin and Ryan, which seemed to send them off to the land of nod. I'd like to follow, but I have more to do.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
NST Weekend, first full day
Friday: NST Weekend, Colrain MA.
Woke with MB around 6:15, but didn't get out of bed until 6:30. A wait for the bathroom. Someone taking a long shower eventually exited, looking surprised that people were waiting. Shower. Some morning practices, before sitting.
7:30 sitting in the Library. Victor took us through the relaxation exercise. I wished I had brought a mat to sit on. My right foot felt squished. Some clattering around outside was a bit of a distraction. There are challenges like this on the course.
8: Breakfast. MB has volunteered to do breakfast set-up for the three mornings of the course. Poached eggs, English muffins, soy sausages, spinach, Hollandaise sauce. Very tasty. Even the coffee is great here. Victor discovered a spice in little set of hot peppers named "African Bird." I asked for three volunteers for clean-up, and volunteered myself for lunch set-up. Some time remained before the next session, so, morning practices back in the room.
9:30 Circle with guitars. The first primary, and the principals of the left hand. Healthy skepticism was evidenced. Good. Sometimes the only answer can be "give it a try."
11:00 Alexander Technique session with Stephanie. A general discussion about AT, and her experiences. Talking about 'startle' and a little work with releasing from it. Some chair work. I asked a question about getting in and out of a car. Then a lie-down.
12:00 Guitar Circle was scheduled, but AT ran a little long, so Tony suggested personal practice until lunch. Since I was on lunch set-up, I only had about fifteen minutes. Some more daily practices. At 12:35 I went and helped set-out lunch, and empty the dishwasher.
1: Lunch. Another winner! Hummus, baba ganoush, cucumber salad, tabouli, little pitas. I asked for the African Bird. Tony blocked out most of the afternoon for personal practice and meetings. I spent some more time on daily practices, then around 3 picked up the guitar in the main space and began working on first primary variations. The puppy romped through as I was taking a break and we wrestled a bit. Later on, I found that he had torn off and carried away the little padded door to my guitar case compartment. But, his heart is in the right place, without a doubt. I worked on first primary permutations, setting the metronome to 200, and playing one note on every tick, making each note as staccato, and on-the-beat as possible
4: Tea. Some lovely pecan cookies with a dusting of confectioners sugar. I asked some of the new people about their meetings with Tony. He showed up a little later. Questions were asked. It's interesting to me to see how things that seem mysterious and arbitrary, possibly even sinister, to folks just getting acquainted with Guitar Craft, are so completely practical once you've been around the block a few times.
4:30 Personal practice, while a few of those with more experience had meetings with Tony.
5:30 - Circle meeting. The right hand and accompanying principals were introduced. Tony used the 'shake my hand' technique for demonstrating the basic direction. The second primary was briefly touched on.
6:30 Quiet time. I took a walk out and about. Up to the end of the driveway, and then to the barn. I said hello to the goats and chickens.
7:12 Dinner. Another amazing meal. African nut stew with sweet potatoes (but no bird) on rice plus condiments and bread. Silence came knocking. One time it was brushed aside. The next time it stayed for awhile. Victor gave an interesting talk about approaching the wholeness of the course. I remarked on the necessary discomfort when holding who you are in contrast to what you might be. Tony said "Jim said it all: 'my right hand works, why change it?'" We almost ran out of time to eat dessert, which was a yummy apple crisp and ginger ice cream. Almost. Tony pushed the circle meeting later by 15 minutes so we might not offend our hostess.
8:20 Cleanup began. I began typing up the day to avoid a multi-hour diary session in the late night. MB did some drumming.
9:15 Circle with guitars. Circulations changing directions. A three against two, two (and a half) part diddy. A thrackish chord sorta thing with three parts. The new folks are doing pretty amazingly well. But, there's a lot of experience sitting in the circle. Circulation in C Major to end the evening. A performance challenge was issued for tomorrow. The GCNE will play a bit for Bekki tomorrow night. I showed Alex and Martin the bass to Intergalactic Boogie Express. Tomorrow's an early day, so bed soon. 1:03 AM.
Friday, November 04, 2005
En route to NST Weekend, Colrain MA
Thursday: Up around 8, but more sleep until 9. Shower, and checking email. Another cancelation on the course. Disappointing. Breakfast with MB. The eggs in the fridge had turned, so cereal instead. Down basement for sitting. Also culled some unwanted books from the shelves. Paid bills. Pulled together some information for the course, and printed some stuff out. Packed. Booked return trip for a couple of people. Set up details for the cat sitter. Eventually we got on the road around 1:40.
Dropped off keys at the cat sitters house. Stopped at a farm stand on the way out of town and bought some goodies, including a little pie for Tony. A very nice drive. The weather was lovely, and the trees were all colors. Stopped for gas. Got a call from Tony, who was traveling with Terry and Stephanie. One wrong turn at a confusing sign. Arrived at The Roundhouse around 4:20.
Bekkie gave us the grand tour. It's an amazing facility. 4 floors, full of cubbyholes, bunk beds, nooks and crannies. Impossible to do it justice. It would be fun to try to work out a floor plan. Packed to the gills with stuff, and more stuff... most of it really fun and creative stuff, but, stuff none the less. Decided cordoning off the video library wouldn't be worth it. Martin was the next to arrive, then Victor. Around 5:30, I remembered I had to pick up a couple of people at 6. Quite dark now, I drove back towards Greenfield, receiving a call from them en-route. They arrived at the pick-up location (a "Friendly's" restaurant) just after 6. Ryan D and Chris P. Asked them some questions about how they found out about the course on the drive back. Took a wrong turn, and then drove right past the driveway.
Back at the roundhouse, a brief meeting with Tony, Victor, Stephanie and Terry, about practicalities. Dinner at 7, with a very dramatic presentation by our host. Delicious food (egg noodles, mushroom stroganoff, bread, salad. sweet potato pie and whipped cream for dessert). Tony set the frame for the course. Bekkie gave her presentation on house rules and so on. A good bit of information: watch out for the electric fence around the goat pen.
After dinner, we had a little down time. Victor MB and I looked at the stars off the little porch. I walked a bill up to the mailbox. Then at 9:15 We assembled for the inaugural meeting in the 'sun room' area just off the dining area.
I helped one of the new folks get his guitar in tune. Our first guitar session began at 10:15, and ran until about 11:40. Beginning and ending with 'choose a note' clouds. Circulation exercises, in several patterns, using both the chromatic and diatonic (C Maj) scales. This session came to an end around 11:40. Tony declared a midnight guitar curfew.
Several of us moved furniture out of the small library, making the room available for tomorrow's sitting. I did a little sweeping, as Terry K played guitar. It seems everyone has gone to bed. The house is quiet now. 12:17 AM.
Dropped off keys at the cat sitters house. Stopped at a farm stand on the way out of town and bought some goodies, including a little pie for Tony. A very nice drive. The weather was lovely, and the trees were all colors. Stopped for gas. Got a call from Tony, who was traveling with Terry and Stephanie. One wrong turn at a confusing sign. Arrived at The Roundhouse around 4:20.
Bekkie gave us the grand tour. It's an amazing facility. 4 floors, full of cubbyholes, bunk beds, nooks and crannies. Impossible to do it justice. It would be fun to try to work out a floor plan. Packed to the gills with stuff, and more stuff... most of it really fun and creative stuff, but, stuff none the less. Decided cordoning off the video library wouldn't be worth it. Martin was the next to arrive, then Victor. Around 5:30, I remembered I had to pick up a couple of people at 6. Quite dark now, I drove back towards Greenfield, receiving a call from them en-route. They arrived at the pick-up location (a "Friendly's" restaurant) just after 6. Ryan D and Chris P. Asked them some questions about how they found out about the course on the drive back. Took a wrong turn, and then drove right past the driveway.
Back at the roundhouse, a brief meeting with Tony, Victor, Stephanie and Terry, about practicalities. Dinner at 7, with a very dramatic presentation by our host. Delicious food (egg noodles, mushroom stroganoff, bread, salad. sweet potato pie and whipped cream for dessert). Tony set the frame for the course. Bekkie gave her presentation on house rules and so on. A good bit of information: watch out for the electric fence around the goat pen.
After dinner, we had a little down time. Victor MB and I looked at the stars off the little porch. I walked a bill up to the mailbox. Then at 9:15 We assembled for the inaugural meeting in the 'sun room' area just off the dining area.
I helped one of the new folks get his guitar in tune. Our first guitar session began at 10:15, and ran until about 11:40. Beginning and ending with 'choose a note' clouds. Circulation exercises, in several patterns, using both the chromatic and diatonic (C Maj) scales. This session came to an end around 11:40. Tony declared a midnight guitar curfew.
Several of us moved furniture out of the small library, making the room available for tomorrow's sitting. I did a little sweeping, as Terry K played guitar. It seems everyone has gone to bed. The house is quiet now. 12:17 AM.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
SnG rough mixes
Wednesday: MB elbowed me in the night. Guess I was snoring. Woke around 8, feeling pretty sluggish. She headed to work. Some web and lazing. Fed cats. Worked on the recording project with Shawn from Sunday, doing rough mixes. Not bad. Burned CDs. Coffee. Shower. Now, feeling pretty peppy. Down basement for morning practices, completed at high velocity. Called the cat sitter. Called the pharmacy. Did a little cleaning. Headed out.
Another very nice day. Dropped Dr. Strangelove off at the video store. At work, felt sheepish for getting in so late. Tracked down a bug that Dv had introduced. Walked out and dropped off a prescription at the pharmacy. Walked to the Harvard Coop and bought a map and some stationery supplies. I paid $29, and got back 29 cents in change. Picked up my prescription. Back at the office, worked at moving a class from one library/code environment, to another. Left at 6:20.
KKC, continuing on with the 8000 Verses. I've been getting a lot out of these sessions. I came across a wonderful exchange with Maitreya, sort of. Tny brought a book for me called "Enslaved by Ducks." After class, gave Wnd a run-down of the audio system. Confessed to Sn that I had felt a little peeved at him for parking on the street rather than in the driveway. Walked with Wnd back to our cars. Headed home.
Back home, MB was watching a DVD of herself belly dancing. I helped her with the sound. We watched for a bit, and then some other dancers. Then I played my project with Shawn for her. She seemed to dig it. Had a quicky dinner of veggie enchilada (microwaved) and cheese toast. MB showed me some of the drum stuff they'd been working on in the class at our house tonight. Ate cake and ice cream from a party that had gone on after the drum class. M tuned the dumbek. A plant that I got in Italy, 2001, that I've given up for dead twice, has come back to life with renewed vigor. Emailing about the NST course, and so on. Soon bed.
Another very nice day. Dropped Dr. Strangelove off at the video store. At work, felt sheepish for getting in so late. Tracked down a bug that Dv had introduced. Walked out and dropped off a prescription at the pharmacy. Walked to the Harvard Coop and bought a map and some stationery supplies. I paid $29, and got back 29 cents in change. Picked up my prescription. Back at the office, worked at moving a class from one library/code environment, to another. Left at 6:20.
KKC, continuing on with the 8000 Verses. I've been getting a lot out of these sessions. I came across a wonderful exchange with Maitreya, sort of. Tny brought a book for me called "Enslaved by Ducks." After class, gave Wnd a run-down of the audio system. Confessed to Sn that I had felt a little peeved at him for parking on the street rather than in the driveway. Walked with Wnd back to our cars. Headed home.
Back home, MB was watching a DVD of herself belly dancing. I helped her with the sound. We watched for a bit, and then some other dancers. Then I played my project with Shawn for her. She seemed to dig it. Had a quicky dinner of veggie enchilada (microwaved) and cheese toast. MB showed me some of the drum stuff they'd been working on in the class at our house tonight. Ate cake and ice cream from a party that had gone on after the drum class. M tuned the dumbek. A plant that I got in Italy, 2001, that I've given up for dead twice, has come back to life with renewed vigor. Emailing about the NST course, and so on. Soon bed.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
ribs and fries
Tuesday: Woke a little before 8, as MB was getting up. As she left, some web, and some more lazing around. Shower. Opened windows and let the upstairs air out. It's a luxury having some warm days to let fresh air into the house. Soon we won't be doing that... until spring. Fed the cats. Morning practices in the basement. Upstairs, and a bowl of cereal. Changed the low 5 strings on my Ovation (the top string broke and was replaced a couple days ago, so this completes the set). The strings on a guitar are enumerable. I spent some time yesterday trying to get a spot out of a jacket. It seems like it pretty much worked. Threw the jacket in the dryer.
Off to work. Stopped at a gas station on the way (full serve). Saw my friend G's cargo container being filled for his one-way trip to Italy. Another day spent messing with project settings. Had a talk with B about features going into this release. Talked with A about approximations of a particular logarithmic curve. Lunch at my desk. Stayed until 6:30, then headed off.
Drove past the Wellington station, thinking the woman I gave a ride to last week might need one again. Didn't see her. KKC for yoga. Only 5 people showed up this week. A strenuous session. I had forgotten my mat, so I just used one of the flat cotton cushions used as a base for sitting. Wendy gave us a meditation on the disintegration of the physical body after death. Quite powerful. Emptied water bowls. Back home by 9:30.
MB and I made some dinner: tofu 'ribs', pan-fried French fries and mixed vegetables. We watched the rest of Dr. Strangelove, then clean up. I put together directions to the NST weekend. Email. Soon bed.
Off to work. Stopped at a gas station on the way (full serve). Saw my friend G's cargo container being filled for his one-way trip to Italy. Another day spent messing with project settings. Had a talk with B about features going into this release. Talked with A about approximations of a particular logarithmic curve. Lunch at my desk. Stayed until 6:30, then headed off.
Drove past the Wellington station, thinking the woman I gave a ride to last week might need one again. Didn't see her. KKC for yoga. Only 5 people showed up this week. A strenuous session. I had forgotten my mat, so I just used one of the flat cotton cushions used as a base for sitting. Wendy gave us a meditation on the disintegration of the physical body after death. Quite powerful. Emptied water bowls. Back home by 9:30.
MB and I made some dinner: tofu 'ribs', pan-fried French fries and mixed vegetables. We watched the rest of Dr. Strangelove, then clean up. I put together directions to the NST weekend. Email. Soon bed.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Precious bodily fluids
Monday: Good sleep last night, although I woke up and stayed awake for perhaps an hour around 3 AM. MB headed off to work, and I got up a little before 9. Brief web. Shower. Cats. Pretty day out again today: warm for this time of year, and clear. Down basement for morning practices. Put water on to boil. Put away laundry. Breakfast. Made various travel arrangements for the NST weekend. A bit of guitar. Headed off to KKC.
Realized my car needed to be inspected, so stopped and had that done. At the center, did some sweeping. Hm was there and we chatted a bit. Filling water bowls, I noticed I hadn't spilled a drop, and then promptly spilled a drop.
In to work. Spent all day rearranging projects, in order to work around a problem in the way we have been linking to debug builds of libraries. Some consulting with Al and B about the range of a parameter for a new feature. MB wrote to say she was meeting her friend Cr in Salem for Halloween festivities. I decided to just work late. Walked out and deposited pay. Got a couple of slices of pizza from Pinocchio's. Received an email from the guy that bought my Larrivee. He's a cop in Miami, and said he's been working basically non-stop since Wilma came through. The truss rod wrench escaped from the compartment in transit, and scratched the guitar a little. That's a bummer. I offered to help pay for repairs.
Stopped at the video store on the way home. Couldn't find Dr. Strangelove. The two employees on duty tried to help, but none of us could find it. Finally found the VHS copy, and headed home. MB and I watched about the first hour. She headed to bed. I'm going to follow before long. Two heat-seeking cats are sitting on me.
Realized my car needed to be inspected, so stopped and had that done. At the center, did some sweeping. Hm was there and we chatted a bit. Filling water bowls, I noticed I hadn't spilled a drop, and then promptly spilled a drop.
In to work. Spent all day rearranging projects, in order to work around a problem in the way we have been linking to debug builds of libraries. Some consulting with Al and B about the range of a parameter for a new feature. MB wrote to say she was meeting her friend Cr in Salem for Halloween festivities. I decided to just work late. Walked out and deposited pay. Got a couple of slices of pizza from Pinocchio's. Received an email from the guy that bought my Larrivee. He's a cop in Miami, and said he's been working basically non-stop since Wilma came through. The truss rod wrench escaped from the compartment in transit, and scratched the guitar a little. That's a bummer. I offered to help pay for repairs.
Stopped at the video store on the way home. Couldn't find Dr. Strangelove. The two employees on duty tried to help, but none of us could find it. Finally found the VHS copy, and headed home. MB and I watched about the first hour. She headed to bed. I'm going to follow before long. Two heat-seeking cats are sitting on me.
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