Liver Paté En Masque

Monday: MB headed to work, and I slept until about 10. Web, shower. Headed over to KKC to fill water bowls. Didn't hear or see anyone there. Took down some bedraggled Christmas lights on the front. Picked up a quick egg sandwich for breakfast. Back home, ate. Didn't use time as efficiently as I might have. Down basement and exercise and morning practices. Headed to work, dropping a check in the mail for the luthier who will make my next guitar.

At work today, I felt poisonous. I feel so disgruntled and powerless. It's not healthy. Fixed many bugs. Gave Wnd a call. Her computer isn't working, and she's feeling overwhelmed with her mom. I point out she hasn't really processed her father's death yet. On the drive home, felt a little bit of cheerfulness return.

Back home, the poison had followed me. MB is very busy at work as well. I made some french fries. She made Spanikopita. Guitar for a spell, completing a very preliminary version of a new piece, and sending it to Shawn. Down basement for the conclusion of daily practice. This took a good deal longer than anticipated.

wet cats

Sunday: Slept in, having not gotten to bed until 6 AM or so. MB headed off to OCBC. Continued sleeping. Up, shower. Didn't fully make the bed, because the cats were sleeping so sweetly together. Breakfast of eggs, listening to an NPR spot on privacy and serach engines. Depressing stuff.

MB returned from the OCBC congregational meeting around 3 PM. We had some coffee together. She decided to give the cats bathes, and I helped. Leo seemed to take it OK, but Gus was a bit shell-shocked afterwards. Some guitar. Down basement and exercise and practices. Had to cut this short as it was getting near time to leave for guitar circle. Straightened up the basket of magazines in the kitchen.

A good circle meeting. Victor seemed a bit stern at the beginning, and asked me questions about my work with Shawn. I'm not sure why he did this. C Maj in three octaves up and back. Eye of the Needle (working on blend). Askesis. Third Relation. A break, with jokes. Invention 1. This piece is proving to be quite a challenge to Victor and David, who have to play many double-stops, and often where one of the notes rings for twice as long as the other.

Back home, I had some leftover Shepherd's pie, and sat with MB playing word association. Email. MB went to bed. I have some more stuff to do.

energy share

Saturday: MB and I both slept in a bit. Breakfast of cereal and yogurt with her. Coffee. She headed out to her afternoon of dance classes around 12:30. Some guitar. Shower. Pulling things together. Down basement rather late for morning practices. Completed just in time. Drove over to Sulivan and picked up Mb and three others, who were headed to the event. Dm curtsied in a fun way as we shook hands. Got gas (wouldn't take my CC, so had to pay inside), while Mg bought some food at the grocery. And finally on the road. Arrived in Worcester around 5:30. A most enjoyable evening with some gentle-people. I presented some exercises for the group that were well received, and seemed beneficial. Stayed later than anticipated, leaving around 4 AM.

dinner with F and M

Friday: Woke around 9. Brief web. Shower. Coffee and cereal. Played a bit of guitar. Down basement, exercise and morning practices. Bought a couple of books online. Headed to work.

Spent most of the day chasing a bug... many stages in the pipe-line, so hard to know who was dropping the ball. It turned out to be that the whole thing was getting flushed before it got going. Had to leave just before I would have checked in.

Stopped on the way home and picked up a few onions. At the ranch, MB had made some more cookies, and was about to head out to a BD gig, her hair looking very curly and red. Started some water boiling, and F and M arrived. I cooked and they hung out. We talked about F's work, cats, animals, music and so on. I made my Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie. They had brought some salad. A pleasant meal. M liked the food, although she professes to not like mushrooms (I used almost the entire first harvest of portabella mushrooms. The kit has been great fun. Order your own here) Then, hanging out watching Dane Cook, and listening to Myron Cope samples (M is from Pittsburgh). They headed out a bit after 11 PM. MB should be home soon. Completing the day.

MB returns/Car fixed (again)

Thursday: Was going to wake at 7... but it was too early. Slept until 10 or so. Some email. Shower. Called the garage and asked about bringing the car back in. They said they could give me a loaner. Drove over and dropped it off, riding back in a weird little Chevy Cavalier. Had a heck of a time getting back to my street, as road-work was blocking the one-way street that my one-way street is off of. Exercise and morning practice. Made a sandwich for myself for lunch. Called the garage, and the car was ready. They had knocked off a vacuum hose when they were installing the alternator.

Packed my acoustic guitar and stool into the Cavalier, then drove to the garage. Picked up my car, then off to work.

An interesting day in the office. Found and fixed a bug in the control logic of the streaming start/stop code for the "other" driver. Did a performance test and found that it was absolutely horrible. They were expecting us to do our work in very small chunks, so the set-up overhead was killing us. We found that there was a way around this. Two ways actually... which was a bit confusing. But, we got a work-around up on its feet. Handed the hardware back to Dv. Knocked around a bit more, but that was the major work of the day. Headed out around 7:50.

Called Shawn and told him I'd be a little late. Arrived in Arlington about 8:15. Not a bad rehearsal, considering we'd been away from it for two or three weeks. Showed him the new piece I'm working on. It wasn't as straight forward as I thought it would be, but I know it will jell in the end. At the end of our session another guitarist that he is working with showed up.

On my way home, stopped to get a couple slices of pizza. Ate them while watching some more "Return of the King." MB showed up a bit later, having been out belly dancing. Good to see her. We make some tea, and sat around talking. I ate one of the cookies she'd baked earlier. Back-rubs, then she went to bed. I still have some concluding practices to take care of.

Ayahuasca

Wednesday: Up around 9. Brief web, shower, then down basement. Morning practices and exercise.

Quite a lovely day out. Walked up and over the hill to Union Square, and picked up my car. Ouch. Headed to Davis, and to Martsa on Elm. Mg showed up a bit later. We had a nice lunch, getting to know each other, and talking about shared interests. Picked up some cat food, then gave Mg a ride to her office (same building as Elephant Walk). In to work. Noticed the Check Engine light was on.

Knocked a few bugs out of my code, and got the connection I made to re-enable the streaming function under the "other" driver working. Talked to B. Headed home around 8.

Went grocery shopping. Put away the cat food. Put away the groceries. Cleaned the cat box. Took out the garbage and recycling. Talked to my mom. Talked to MB. Ate the last of the Indian food. Watched more of Return of the King. Email. Concluding practices.

smoothing feathers

Tuesday: Didn't sleep so well last night. Up around 10, and some breakfast (mushrooms and eggs). Shower. Down basement. Tidying. The mechanic called and said I needed a new alternator. Caught a cab over to Harvard Square.

Saw Al just as I was walking into the office. He said there was a problem with my check-in. Read my email. Went to talk to Dnl about what was up. Encountered some aggression. I said "groovy" and beat a hasty retreat. Later I asked him if he wanted to get a coffee... We walked out and I smoothed things over. The problem was with the build process in the case where new symbols have been added to a particular library. Set about hooking up a sub-system which has been broken on the trunk for a couple of weeks. Got a call from the mechanic saying my car was ready. Wnd gave a call offering me a ride home. Quite generous of her. She picked up me around 8.

Back at the ranch, after saying goodbye to Wnd, put away dishes, then down basement for exercise and practices. Called MB, and we talked about her day. Left over Indian food watching more of "Return of the King." Sleepy now.

broke down

Monday: MB was up early, and headed out. She'll be out of town for a few days, doing an intensive session of work up in NH. I slept a bit more. It was snowing out. Woke around 9. Wasn't quite as intentional in my morning as I had intended. Web. Shower. Down basement, but first snow shoveling. Then morning practices. More snow shoveling, then headed to KKC.

Stopped at the Home Depot and bought some light-bulbs. The car started fine, but the "warning" and "electricity" lights were on. To KKC, and emptied and filled water bowls, talking to Tsun-ma-la, of hawks and news from India. A fellow who's new to the center was valiantly shoveling out front. I thanked him.

Car started again, but now all the warning lights on the dash were on. I was headed to Davis to meet a friend to talk about a possible venture. The transmission started feeling sluggish. At a stop-light, being a computer guy, I figured I'd "reboot" and shut off the car to restart it. Bad move. Wouldn't turn over, or even think about it. Called triple A on the cell, waving people to drive around me. The tow truck would be here within an hour and a half. I walked over to the nearby gas station, then back to the car. Managed to roll the car back to the side so it wasn't blocking traffic. Waited. And waited. Found an apple in my bag and ate it. Made some calls. Finally connected with my friend and rescheduled the lunch date. Talked to MB. Talked to the garage. Waited in the gas station. Listened to a variety of annoying songs, Bob Marley being a breath of fresh (weed laden) air. The gas station guy didn't make small talk, but seemed uncomfortable with the lack of small talk. After an hour and a half I called Triple A back. "The guy will be there real soon." He showed up about half an hour later (I'd been waiting two hours). He said he'd been towing a flat-bed full of water-logged cars from New Orleans. He hitched up my car and we drove off. Talked about the price of natural gas. He told me about his 24 year old son who has moved back home. Dropped the car at the service station, then wading through slush, caught a cab to Harvard Square. Coffee and an egg salad sandwich (my first substantial food of the day). Got some other folk's changes, and checked in my latest round of bug-fixes. Also installed the third party hardware that I will need for my next bit of work. Talked to MB again. Left work around 6:30. Picked up some stuff at CVS. Caught a cab back home.

Down basement, and the completion of morning practices. Didn't officially exercise today, but the shoveling counts for something. My right hip is bothering me. Ordered some Indian food for delivery. Ate that. Watched some of "Return of the King." Email. To bed.

cabaret/circus

Sunday: Woke around 10, lazed for a bit. Web. Shower. MB was at church, and returned about the time I was heading downstairs. We had some food, breakfast for me and lunch for her. A lazy morning.

Downstairs, and morning practices. Put exercise off until later. At 3, I came up, and we headed off to Newton. We attended a fun cabaret/circus performance at a Middle Eastern restaurant. We arrived early. The sound-check was interminable ("Check 1-2" over and over again, just working on one microphone.) But lots of fun little acts, and good food (we got 4 appetizers, since they didn't have any vegetarian entrees). This was the MC's first performance in the States. Good fun. (Catching kisses in a paper bag. Breaking his nose. Miming a trip to Las Vegas. Trying to suck someone up with a straw, balancing things on his face, and so on.) Some good belly-dancing. MB's aerialist teacher balanced a candle on her head, and played on the trapeze. We headed home around 6.

Back home, hanging out. Talking through some stuff. Guitar. Then, down basement for exercise and the completion of daily practices. Had some eggs and mushrooms. Delicious. Soon bed.

L'allegro il Penseroso ed il Moderato

Saturday: Woke around 10 with both cats on my chest. Didn't know where MB was until just before I got out of bed. She was in the office being quiet. She reminded me that the Mark Morris dance company was in town. There were tickets left for this evening's performance, so we decided to go. While I was completing the transaction, she took a shower. Then me.

We were low on food-stuffs in the house, so we walked out to the grocery store and bought a few essentials. I made some breakfast for myself, listening to NPR. A funny spot about John Denver's connection with EST. MB headed out to her afternoon of dance classes. Some emailing, then down basement for exercise and by then, afternoon, practices. Harvested most of the rest of the mushrooms.

Upstairs and putting away laundry. Some guitar. Coffee. Looked into booking the Argentina trip through Orbitz, and found that it did much better than the travel agent. MB returned home. She got dressed, and we left the house right at 7 PM.

We parked in Boston at the "Motor Mart" and walked over to the Wang. We attended Mark Morris Dance Group's "L'allegro il Penseroso ed il Moderato"

Set to the music of Handel and the words of John Milton and Charles Jennens, L'Allegro, Morris' seminal masterwork, the groundbreaking, full-length ballet, has been described as a work of "utopian grandeur" and "a masterpiece of craft, invention and feeling."

Quite an amazing work. And a fun bit of prancing about. It is only recently that the Western world could produce dance of this freedom. Although the medium is motion, the language is that of music. I got a brownie and a coffee at intermission.

Back home, a quicky supper of sorts, some hanging out with MB, then she headed upstairs to work. I went ahead and actually booked our tickets to Argentina. Saved over $1000, and shortened each direction of the trip by about 12 hours.

first mushroom harvest

Friday: Very little sleep last night, waking at 6:10 AM. Shower, and down basement for exercise and morning practices. Came back up. Laundry. Hello to MB, who commented that the bedroom felt a bit like Grand Central Station last night. Headed off to a dentist appointment.

Arrived on time (well, two minutes late, but very close). Dr. B performed my cleaning. He turned on the TV, because we heard a daytime talk-show wafting from the next room, with jokes about dentists. Vapid stuff. Teeth are good. Stopped at the CVS on my way out, and got an egg and cheese bagel and coffee. Saw some people arguing over a parking spot. Lovely day out: unnaturally warm and sunny. Ate my bagel sitting in my car, then off to work.

Arrived around 10:30. Dnld hit me up for at 20. A long but not terribly productive day. Bug thwacking. One involved a very elaborate hardware set-up, but turned out to be a wild-goose-chase. Did however lead to Htch showing me a deficiency in my code that he had noticed at some point. Spent some time addressing that. Consulting with Dv. B not in the office. Felt a bit dreamy due to the short night of sleep. Coffee at one point. Wandered out later and got some pizza. Found myself strangely being the broker for a photo shoot. Got a call from MB a bit after 10, and headed home not long after that.

Picked her up at the house, then drove to the T station to collect her car. She had gotten a ride from Franklin with an artist fellow, and had forgotten to have him drop her there. Stopped at the donut shop and had some coffee and a nice chat. Back home, considered our travel options for the GC course, talked about making money, and being a teacher. Some guitar, working on my new composition. Down basement for the tail end of my practices. Showed MB the progress of the mushrooms, which practically doubled in size since morning. Picked a few. Surprisingly late now.

gc travel plans

Thursday: Woke about 9:30, and felt like I had received a gift. Web, then shower. Down basement for exercise and morning practices. Ate a little yogurt for breakfast. Confirmed that the problem with the faulty track-light, is with the light-bulb, and not the transformer.

At work, got a coffee, although my stomach was grieving me a bit today. MB had taken the wrong lunch bag, leaving me a PB&J, which I happily ate. Random bug fixing. Got a call from the travel agent. The trip to Argentina is considerably more expensive and inconvenient than I thought it would be. Also, my long-time friend and ex-band-mate Moni wrote to say she'd be in town exactly when the GC course is going on. The expense of the course is coming into focus. Walked out and got a burrito. Stayed until around 10:30.

Back home, MB was already asleep. She's been really not sleeping as much as she should lately. I nudged her, but then left her alone. Put out the recycling. Emptied the dishwasher. Guitar, hands feeling better than a couple days ago. Some email, and soon bed.

catling/downpour

Wednesday: Slept in a bit. Web. shower. A quick breakfast. Guitar. Got pulled into some interesting emails... but the morning slipped away. Intense rain and wind. Cancled my car appointment. The weather is too warm to trigger the problem starting. Down basement for exercise and morning practice. No flooding in the basemet. Put out the garbage and headed to work.

In the office, continued my work from yesterday. B said they had "spelunked" on my machine and found some code that I hadn't yet checked in. Much back and forth with D today. Talked to MH the photog. Talked to my mom. Played around a little on a new Intel based iMac. Quite fast. Our program runs pretty well, even in emulation. AppleWorks seems to run fine, but does not seem to be included. Stayed until 11, then headed home.

Hung out a bit with MB. She'd made an apple-crisp, and was working at her computer. We found out she got the art-grant from Somerville. Only $400, but still, a little feather in her cap. More guitar. Then web.

Wendy back from CA, and so, yoga

Tuesday: Woke around 9, MB having already left for work. A bit of lazing, then web, shower and some breakfast. Down basement and exercise + morning practices. The mushroom kit that K gave us for Christmas is doing quite well, though I think the basement is a little cool for it.

Headed to work, stopping in the industrial end of town to try to buy a thrust-bearing for the KKC prayer wheel. The place didn't look like it was set up to welcome the general public, so I left in defeat. Strange wasteland.



At the office, continuing my work from yesterday, involving minimizing the disruptions that occur when connections are switched. Then some bug fixing. Coffee. Was on the trail of a bug when I had to leave at 6:30.

Made very good time getting to Medford, which was lucky as I would have been late otherwise. Picked up EC at the T stop. Yoga, first time in quite a while. Very good, though I was sleepy at the end. Good to see Wendy, who'd been on a three week silent retreat in CA. Gave a ride back to EC. Then home.

MB was off in Franklin teaching a BD class. Put things away, then headed down basement for my call with workshop buddies. Took a shower. The conference line was busy until 10:30. Good conversation once connected, with D, C, S and M. Back upstairs, and hello to MB. I gave her a hand massage, then said goodnight. Some noodles and soup. A little guitar, and hopefully bed on the early side.

Ribur Rinpoche's passing

Monday: Up late last night, so slept until 11. Up, shower, a brief sitting and over to KKC. Heard from Tsunma-la that Ribur Rinpoche passed away last night.

"Born in Kham, Tibet, Rinpoche is one of the last of his generation to study with the great Pabongka Rinpoche, the author of Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. A brief biography and photograph of Rinpoche are on the FPMT website at http://www.fpmt.org/teachers/ribur.asp."

Filled water bowls, dodging around a picture and some candles set out in his memory. The center has been reorganized a little. Heard Hln's voice from the kitchen but didn't say hello.

Back home, mom had left me a friendly message on my cell phone. Also, two panicked messages from work. I sent them an email saying I'd be in a bit later. Cut my morning routine short a bit towards this end. Morning practices. Then, removed the green sheet we'd been using as a tablecloth, and put it in the washing machine. In to work, driving across town.

When I arrived, no real problem existed. I checked some code over with RT, which he had put in to fix a bug of my doing. Worked on some other bugs with the rest of the day. Watched the rest of the SJ keynote while things built. Headed home around 9:30.

Back at the ranch, spoke with MB's parents a bit. MB made some lunches while I practiced guitar. Right hand feeling like shite. Working on a new piece... sort of a bossa-nova. Hung with MB a bit, then down basement. Exercise, some web, and now a few concluding practices.

failed the test again

Sunday: Norwalk CT. Woke around 9, and downstairs for some morning practices. MB came down around 10. Coffee and yogurt. Shower, and MB waved a large pink bellows-like plunger at me. Mom made some egg-pies (cheeseless quiche). I did some computering. K had called saying she didn't want to come out in the cold. (The temperature dropped quite a bit in the night). We had a nice brunch, looking out at the white-frosted landscape of the condo complex. I tried giving my car a jump with my mom's car, but it didn't start.

Over to K's for a brief visit. She was watching a football game on TV when we arrived. She lent us an extension cord to help start my car later, and gave us a sherry decanter of my grandmom's. Too brief a visit. Then on our way.

We arrived at SUNY campus just before 3 PM. The dance performance was a little late getting going. Mark Morris. He's a genius... the most musical choreographer I've ever seen. 4 works: some very melodious stuff, then Bartok string quartet (no. 4). I was very happy with this choice of music, as I know the piece well. It was also discordant enough to help keep me alert. A bit of sleep deprivation setting in. Intermission, and I wandered around avoiding the very long line to get coffee. Saw the super-rich rubbing elbows in the upstairs gallery. The second half consisted of a fun piece set to something that sounded like a Bali-wood soundtrack, and then a lyrical yet modern piano and violin duo by a composer I'd never heard of before.

On the drive home, mom gave me some advice that I didn't accept graciously. This soured the rest of the evening, and much of the day, retroactively. We snaked an extension cord out a window, and after a few attempts, got my car running. I tried to make amends but too much poison was in the air. We left around 7 PM and drove north on the Merit. MB dozed. I fought to avoid dozing. We stopped for bad pizza, gas, coffee and Aquatic Experiences just over the boarder into MA. Home by a little after 10 PM. Swapped cars with MB. She slipped and fell in the driveway, but was unhurt. Her car door was frozen shut. Unpacking, and so on. Some hanging out with the cats. Down basement for the completion of my daily exercise and practices.

1) I've come to realize that I have an arm's length relationship with my hands.
2) Sometimes, I just need to take a Brain Movement.

falling trees in CT

Saturday: MB woke me around 11, as she was heading out. Up late, wake late schedule continues. Web surfing and shower. Made some breakfast, and I was just sitting down to eat when MB returned. Not long after she headed back out to a string of three dance classes (two BD and one aerial). Down basement and exercise and afternoon practices. Little Portabella mushrooms are showing themselves growing from the kit that K gave me for Christmas. Did some cleaning upstairs and hung a whacky little cat picture that MB gave me for Christmas. Packing. Some coffee and snacks. MB gave a call asking for a ride home from her classes, so off to do that. Picked her up near Kaya restaurant in Porter Square. Back home, I played guitar. A little more coffee, and then we headed out. I drove, heading south to my mom's. MB napped. A very warm day, rain falling, getting progressively colder as the evening wore on. We had a pit-stop on the Merit Pkwy in CT. Not long after that we saw greenish lightening in the sky. Traffic stopped cold. We sat for perhaps 10 or 15 minutes not moving at all. I called my mom, and she called me simultaneously. She was just getting on the train in NYC, having seen the NY Philharmonic (Red Violin and Strauss Alpine). The train she was to take was delayed by an hour, so she was getting on the local with some drunk high school kids. Eventually traffic began to move. The cause of the delay was a downed tree. And beyond that two more. We drove under the first one, which was still hanging across the road. The wind was high, and sticks were being broken off, loudly striking the soft-top of the car. The following two trees were being dismantled by road crews with chain-saws by the time we reached them. Despite our delays we still arrived at my mom's condo before she did. I took the dog out for a walk, the wind whipping around, and the rain turning to icy snow. He didn't seem to want to do any solid business. I kept leading him around. I thought to myself how humbling it was to have ones life reduced to waiting on the excretory functions of a small canine being. I gave up waiting and took him back in. MB and I hung out a bit, eating some of the pumpkin pie my mom had left for us. She got in around 1 AM. Some more hanging out. Tea. And so on. Soon bed.

the version from hell

Friday: Was at work until 6 AM. The source code control system failed me miserably. I thought I had everything squared away, and then I discovered my build wouldn't run. Slunk home in defeat.

Arrived home just as MB was getting up to go to work. Scared her in the bathroom. She said goodbye, and after a brief sitting, I got some sleep.

Woke around noon. M was downstairs cleaning. Email and shower. Said hello to M and thanked her for not waking me. Down basement for exercise and morning practices. Realized M might be holding off on using the central vacuum system (which makes a lot of noise in the basement), so I told her to "let it rip." After my work, spent some time cleaning out my valise. Off to work.

Sort of an odd day. Dn checked his stuff in. There was talk amongst the staff of going out and drinking. I discovered that a particular feature which was shoved in at the last minute was the pet project of the director of R&D. It had not been asked for by users, and no one knows exactly why he thinks its such a good idea. It's good to be king, but I found myself pissed at the disparity in our degrees of creative control. Started a new build, but didn't get much done. Headed home around 9.

Back home, grilled the sandwich MB had packed for my lunch, and cooked some veggies in the microwave. MB and I watched the second half of the extended version of the Two Towers. Some of the added scenes really do add detail to the film, but some might have done better being left on the cutting room floor, perhaps. Some web surfing. Spent quite awhile fussing with the Bluetooth connection with my cell-phone. This is an example of a technology that in many respects is more trouble than its worth.

watching digital paint dry with one eye

Thursday: Woke around 9, having not gotten terribly much sleep. Dim memory of MB saying goodbye as she headed out. Up, and some email. Internet acting wonky. Shower. Breakfast, much the same as yesterday. Did a little research into the matter to which I had committed to yesterday. Began making the travel arrangements for the GC course in April. Down basement, and exercise and morning practice. The little bit of exercise that I've been doing each day is beginning to have a noticeable effect on how my body feels. Mailed off the town census, and headed to work.

Discussion with L and B, and we decided I'd fix a few bugs, then see where things stood. I did that, rapidly chewing through a half dozen anomalies. We decided I'd make a build with my fixes for L, then do my merge with the trunk. B ordered some pizza, and as we were standing around eating, two programmers got to talking about my feature and speculating about how to solve a difficult problem that I was not planning on addressing. Eventually I said something along the lines of "I just do this to get paid, but knock yourselves out." After giving L a build, and beginning the build of the result of my merge, I headed home.

Hung with MB. Downtime, talking about housework. Some coffee in the kitchen, then back to work. Took my guitar, knowing I'd have a lot of idle time on my hands.

At the office, my build had completed successfully. That was pretty amazing and unexpected. Began the process of putting my changes back on the trunk. This did not go as planned, and I had to begin from scratch several times. The VCS was letting me down, yet again. Some guitar. Getting groggy, but some some focus, made it through Invention 1 without error. Web surfing, while watching digital paint dry with one eye.

np open for b

Wednesday: Slept late. Some email, shower, quick breakfast of a more modest size than yesterday (one fried egg on toast, yogurt, juice and coffee). Played guitar, making it through Invention 1 again. Down basement for exercise and morning practices. Recommitted to an old project. Organized some papers.

In at work, a warm but gray sort of day. Went out for some food with B, Ch and Dn. Mostly talked about work, so, it was a working lunch. Figured out why my add-on development wasn't functioning. A solution came to mind, and I spent the rest of the evening implementing it. Talked with MB. Worked late, heading home around 3 AM.

everything fit

Tuesday: MB headed off in the early morning, and I continued sleeping until around 9. Stayed in bed a bit longer, then up, email, shower. Downstairs and had a quite lavish breakfast (eggs, soy sausages, bagel, yogurt, juice coffee). Down basement, and morning practices. Swapped the order to put exercise last, to give some time to digest. Back upstairs and cut the cat's claws, and brushed their teeth. And off to work.

A productive day in the office. Talked about my crash-while-linking problem with Eln. Consulting with Dv. Got Jn up and running with my engine build. Worked on a new throttling scheme. Didn't quite have the result I had hoped for. Began investigating why the user interface was not updating frequently enough. Headed home at 9:30.

Call with my workshop buds. Only two others were on the call, but it was good to chat. S and I talked about ride-sharing to the next event. Talked about a home renovation fiasco with Mk.

Spent a little time with MB, then guitar. Made it through Invention 1, with only one mistake. MB headed to bed. Some snuggles, then me back downstairs. Ate some steamed buns that Wnd gave me for my birthday (and kept frozen) with a variety of odd condiments. My favorite was the Indian spicy tomato chutney. Watched a bit more of the Two Towers. Email. Soon bed.

late day

Monday: MB gave me a shove when her alarm went off. No, her alarm clock does not sound like snoring. I moved fitfully in and out of sleep until around 11. Up and shower, then over to KKC to fill water bowls. Said hello to Tsunma-la, who was cooking. She apologized for her 'stinky food,' but I said a stinky house is a vibrant house. I later asked her about Asafoetida, but she had no interest in a garlic substitute. Back home, feeling rather strange. Almost called in sick. Down basement and afternoon practices, in a different order, thinking I might take a nap. But, made it through. The physical exercise was very good for me today, providing a grounding that I was in need of. Paid bills. The cost of mailing a letter has gone up to 39 cents. Headed to work, stopping to fill the car's tank.

At the office, investigated why MetroWerks is crashing when I try to link an add-on. No luck in this. The cluster-merge has been put-off again. Moved on to fixing a bug. Then, to adding a few configuration cells to an existing dialog. Alx asked me some questions, which turned into a long discussion with B, and shifted into the unrelated topic of the bowels of various UI components, and why they need fixing. Coffee. Ran benchmarks against previous versions, and the competition. Stayed late enough to make a full day. MB called as she was headed to bed.

Back home, and some left-over pasta, watching the Two Towers. Some email. Soon bed.

down with trees

Sunday: Slept until 11. MB got me out of bed, some email, then downstairs with her for breakfast. Eggs. I took a shower while she completed the clean-up. Couldn't resist watching some of The Two Towers while drinking a little more coffee. Realized I was procrastinating. The sun came out, and I decided to allow myself to absorb some of it. So, a walk up to Highland, and around. Then down basement for afternoon practices and exercise. MB was playing guitar when I emerged. I folded and put away laundry. A spot more food with MB. Worked on Invention 1 for an hour or so, mapping out my notes, and then playing it with the sequencer. Down to South Boston for a GCNE meeting. Improvisation, Eye of the Needle, Askesis (a compositional challenge was thrown down: Ass of the Needle!) Played a loop of two sections for 10 minutes. Invention 1, making it (more or less) through the first page. Improvisation. Third Relation. Victor told us about an allergic reaction he had from eating a stripped beet. MB gave David the portable crib we had borrowed. Back home, MB and I took down the Christmas tree, listening to Aerial. What a large mess the tree left behind! Whose bright idea was it to bring a cut tree into the house? Vacuuming, finding a pen had gotten lodged in the hose. More snacks with MB. She off to bed. Computering, with two cats in the lap.

the disappearing story

Slept until around 10:30, MB heading out to RI. Email. Shower. Brief sitting. Had a leisurely breakfast (eggs), then drove to the grocery store and bought goodies for KKC. Over there, and set-up for a ceremony. Ed helped. I left right as things were about to get going. Two guys wearing shoes wanted to know if they could sit in. Back home and morning practice and exercise. MB returned while I was at it. Some chatting with her, then I headed off to Wnd's, arriving at 7 PM. I showed her the "disappearing story" exercise. This worked pretty well, but took quite a long time. We ordered out for Indian food, and then went to pick it up. Dinner, quite yummy, discussing the exercise. We watched some of the Fellowship of the Ring. Then headed home. MB returned not long after I did. We had some tea and cookies in the kitchen, then watched the rest of the movie.

Party of the Epiphany

Slept late: noonish. Made hat thing out of a second hand fur. Shower. Down basement for afternoon practices. In to work but, only briefly. Busy while I was there. Ordered some ME food. Got half dressed, and then to Watertown. Picked up food. To party. I was one of the first guests. Apps, and more people showing up. A fellow with home-brew mead. A lovely doctor from Western MA. Talk of hemp, various theories for why humans are hairless, allergies, family stories in the dark, how easy it is to ruin someone's reputation. I got a safety pin. Yummy ME food. A toast to La's mom. Headed out around 1. Gave W and P rides home. Back home myself. Hanging with MB. Then, in to work for a couple of hours, returning, finding a man in the elevator at 5 AM was surprising. Back home and sleep.

five bodies

Thursday: A fitful, but pleasant, sleep, waking with MB around 6 AM. She headed off to work around 7. After a little bit, I got up. Some email. Shower. Fed cats. Down basement. Exercise and morning practice. A bit more email. Headed off to work.

Got a coffee and said hello to Dnld. I completed my work on the monitoring methodology, then fixed a one line bug, that was causing all my work of the last few months to fail completely on some computers. Took a walk out and bought some clothes for the themed-party I'm attending tomorrow. B grilled me as to when my work would be done. I had the thought that I lose my self-respect when I allow myself to be managed in this way. It was so sad to see my father as an older man, at a time in his life when he should have had seniority, be bossed around by kids 3/4 his age. But, such is the lot of an engineer, I guess. Called Shawn and told him I needed a little more time. Got to the studio by 8:30.

A good session with Shawny, though we were both a bit beat. The challenging pieces remain a challenge. Then some looping. Shawn had talked to Christine, and talked about life matters. Gave him a ride to the Porter Red Line. Then home.

Some time with MB. Some leftover spaghetti from last night. Email. Soon bed.

Dinner party with Shawn, R and Sct

Wednesday: Woke around 10, MB getting back from having her car's headlight replaced. The phone rang, and she answered it. My mom. Didn't wind up talking to her. Shower. She put one of her dogs (very elderly) down. Ate a slightly stale bagel, and some leftover tea for breakfast. It was quick anyway. Down basement for morning practices and exercise. Feeling head coldish today. Off to work.

Mellow day working on monitoring logic. Almost completed. Dnl was not able to help me with the VCS, which continues to be flaky. Unrelatedly, went to CVS. Cold out today. Left work at 6:45.

Back home. MB had made brownies, flan and a salad. Popped the lasagna in the oven. Our guests arrived a little after 7:30: Shawn, his new female friend R, and our old bass player, visiting from Chicago, Sct. Stood around the kitchen until the dinner was ready (made R a plate of spaghetti, since she is allergic to mushrooms). Fun conversation, talking about "birds and bees" conversations with parents, and lots of other stuff. After dessert and more chat, they got ready to go. Gave Sct a quick house tour. MB showed R some wedding photos.

After they left, MB and I opened some late Christmas presents from her brother and his wife. Very fun and thoughtful gifts. We listened to the CD of classical Chinese music while cleaning up in the kitchen. Email. MB is typing away upstairs. Soon bed.

Swiftcode

Tuesday: I got to sleep right around the time MB was waking up, our schedules finally slipping past one another. I slept somewhat fitfully until around 10. Up, shower, morning practices in the basement. Car wouldn't start without a jump. This is definitely getting worse. Off to work.

Walked over to my bank, cold and slushy out. Finally was able to send the wire transfer to Hernan for the GC course in April. The Swiftcode number provided in the email is not the Swiftcode... at least not as my bank's wire transfer processing center was concerned. When we substituted the BIC number, in place of the Swiftcode, everything worked fine. Stopped and got a coffee on the way back.

Today was to have been a massive integration, but it didn't happen. I spent some time talking to Dv and B about taking measurements from various points in the signal path. Worked on the monitoring logic. Sandwich at my desk. Headed home at 9:30.

Down basement and the call with my friends from the course in November. Better attended this week, with some very interesting conversation. Didn't get a chance to talk much with S though. This will have to wait for another day. Upstairs and some time with MB, then to the kitchen. Made sauce, boiled noodles, and then assembled a lasagna. Put it in the fridge, to be cooked tomorrow. Clean up.

Some tea, watching "Lord of the Rings." Today was JRR's birthday, so some wishes to him, wherever he is now. Aur Onnad Meren!

breakfast of scraps/long night at the office

Monday: I slept in a bit, with odd dreams, my arms falling asleep. Up around 10. Late night last, having watched a bit of the Lord of the Rings. The thing that amazes me most about these films is, that overall things actually look the way I pictured them in my mind. I guess that is a testament to both the power of Tolkien's words and the mastery of Jackson's lens.

Breakfast with MB. Fits and starts, scraps and ends. We had the last two eggs (fried), left-over pancakes, left-over coffee, a left-over Danish and so on. A bit after we cleaned up, I headed over to KKC to fill water bowls. Saw Jf and Hln, but the center is strangely empty without Geshela around. Also set up candles for a ceremony to be held this evening. Sat for a time in the library enjoying the quiet.

Back home, and down basement for morning practices and exercise. When this was complete, I came upstairs and said hello to MB. Some conversation, and putting together a shopping list.

Headed to work. Coffee and an expensive sandwich. Said hello to Crs, and talked over a few things. Down to work, hooking up a couple of features that had been broken by my re-plumbing. All fairly successful, though a couple of unanswered questions remained by the time I left around 3:15 AM. Updated to the trunk and began a build. Sent B a summary of my progress.

Slushy snow falling outside for the drive home. All quiet here, MB upstairs asleep. Put away cookies that MB baked. A cup of tea.

flattened by pancakes

Sunday: MB and I slept in until noon. Not surprising, since we were both up until after 5 AM. Up, and a relaxed breakfast of blueberry pancakes, fresh juice and the like. Clean up put us around 2 PM. Our neighbor had shoveled our walk for us. Email, and a request to post the KKC calendar in provisional form. Did that. MB was taking a nap. We'd both been flattened by the pancakes.

Down basement around 4 for "morning" practices and exercise. Then, vacuumed in the basement. Spoke with MB's parents, thanking them for my gift. MB and I talked about plans to visit them in the summer. Ate some bread and cheese. Played a little guitar, then off to guitar circle meeting at Victor's.

Victor, MB, Glenn, David and Martin were all present, which is "all of us" the way things are going these days. Improv, Eye of the Needle (quite good except for the end), Askesis. A break for questions, which turned into a break for pie (MB had baked Victor a birthday pie), which turned into a break for tea, and discussion of the immediate and longer-term vision for the circle. Suggestions about how to accommodate Terry's schedule. A bit of work on Invention 1, Third Relation, a circulation, and then off. On the drive home a youth wearing a baseball cap, his chair tilted back at a steep incline, talking on a cell phone, and driving, weaved between lanes in a hazardous fashion.

NYE, No KKC, but Kasbah and Shawn's

Saturday: Slept in, until noonish. Breakfast with MB (eggs and so on). Somehow by the end of eating, it was 2 PM. Shower. Some computer time. Answered some questions MB had about Invention 1. Down basement. Sweeping. Some exercise. Morning (afternoon) practices.

Spent the late afternoon and early evening listening back to recordings made at my birthday party. Mostly it was as I remembered it. Some good, and some worthy of the dust-bin. Experimented with shifting tracks slightly to make up for travel time between mics. This made for a distinct improvement in the overall tightness of the sound. MB headed out for a belly dance gig in Winthrop.



I drove to KKC around 10 PM. Car wouldn't start and needed a jump. A bit of snow had fallen. No one was at the center. My guess is that the evenings activities mostly fizzled. They hadn't been well promoted, and I think everybody is off in their own world. Drove over to Winthrop, and hung out with MB between sets, and some friends of hers, for about 40 minutes. Bn danced around with a basket on her head giving out flowers. Very loud house music. Crazy energy.




Drove back to Arlington to Shawn's party, arriving 5 minutes before midnight. Rang in the new year with Shawn and a friendly bunch of people. Sang the traditional song. Then, Scrabble and Jenga. I came in last in Scrabble, but had a nice time. Gave a back-rub. MB showed up around 2 AM. More talking and hanging out. One woman was going through some emotional stuff, and Shawn was lending an ear. We later talked about Shawn's living situation, now that the owner of the house is probably going to a nursing home, and all the work that needs to be done on the place. Three guitarists were going at it upstairs. A fire. Food. Sct from Chicago was there, and it was very good to catch up with him a bit. Somehow it got to be 4 AM. MB and I headed home around 4:20, having to sweep off our cars and drive slowly through the snowy streets.