Conversation with Ant

Thursday: Woke around 9:30. Not quite enough sleep. Web. Shower. Downstairs and made a smoothie (with some new green nutrient mix) and fed Oscar. He's seeming a bit more skittish being inside since the blender-freak-out. Down basement and email. Morning practices. Drums. Conversation with Ant about the upcoming course.

Off to work. Hot out today. Around on 93, but didn't hit traffic today. A quiet day, making good progress turning longs into long longs. Lunch at my desk. Around 6:30 PM took a walk out to the pharmacy. The usual street scenes. Stayed until 10:30.

Stopped at Third Life on the way home to check on things. The key had gotten bent and I wanted to make sure it still worked. It did. Back home, and made a stir-fry with tofu, mushrooms, baby summer squash, red pepper and onion. Brown rice. MB came home and we ate a bit, then cleaned up.

Guitar. Along with my usual practice, I did some work on sight-reading tonight, using an beginners cello book. Goodnight to MB. Now down basement and to complete the day.

The course fills up

Wednesday: Woke around 11. Still off the caffeine, so sleep is a priority. Web, shower. Fed Oscar, bringing him inside. He didn't enjoy the sound of the blender, as I made a smoothie for breakfast. Down basement and morning practices. Drums. Email and phone calls. Made some calls looking for my missing sweater. Off to work.

Hot today. Hit traffic on the 93 ramp. In at work. Quiet in the office. Continued turning longs to long longs. Took a stroll out and bought some nutritional powder. A older woman in line in front of me traded vitamins like a junkie. Back to work.

Drove home listening to the radio. Hello to MB. Watched the Ms Teen USA of South Carolina try to explain why Americans are ignorant of geography. Oh boy. And, the story of a Idaho Senator attempting to pick up an undercover cop in a men's bathroom slowly explodes across the internet. What fun. MB's brother calls, and I head out to buy some groceries. But first a few emails. Back home and unloading. Some eggs and spinach things for a late dinner. Couldn't remember washing the pan. I must be tired. Or old. Guitar, exploring D Major, among other things. Goodnight to MB. Down basement. Email and course organization. Now to complete the day.

Dinner with Luciano

Wednesday: Woke as MB was heading out, but then, back to sleep. The phone rang, and was ignored. Up around 10. Web. Shower. Fed Oscar, bringing him into the house a little. Some breakfast (yogurt, cereal). Down basement and morning practices. Drums. Back upstairs, and putting away laundry.

Headed off to work, across town. Another day of turning longs into long longs. Got a call from Luciano. Left work to meet him at 6:45... which I did at 7:2o in front of the Charles Playhouse. We drove a few blocks and found parking, then went to dinner at the Buddha's Delight. Yummy gluten "beef." He was very generous in his comments regarding the Guitar Circle New England.

Gave him a ride to Logan. On the way, I rolled up the windows as we entered a tunnel. His right hand was pinched... but luckily unhurt. To have been the person that injured Luciano's hand... I'd have to shave my head and dress in sack cloth for the rest of my days, I think. Dropped him at terminal E. Headed home through Revere.

At the ranch, MB's drum class was just wrapping up. Chatted with Michael G. MB and I hung out in the kitchen a bit while she ate some food. We took a walk up Broadway to the ball-fields near Cedar St, then back along Medford Ave. At home, some playing guitar together. Now down basement, email, and to complete the day.

The Hellboys in Alston

Tuesday: Woke around 7 AM. Downstairs and sitting on the couch while MB showered. Bowl of cereal and green tea. The plumbers showed up not long after, and installed a vent so the furnace could draw air directly from outside. About twice as much as I was expecting. Elevensies, two fried eggs on toast. Fed Oscar. Shower. New strings on the Ovation, watching Young Frankenstein. Ordered strings from Cambridge Music. Down basement and lots of email. Drums. Saw Rth. She'd managed to rent the top floor of the house, so the heat is off her to sell for now. This is a good outcome all around.

In to work. More slogging longs to long longs. Pizza. Later yogurt and a candy bar.

Around 8:30, I called Victor. He was in a recording session in Alston with the Hellboys. Headed over. Spent a bit of time kicking around the studio with Tony, Curt, Victor, Tom R and Luciano. (Gave Luciano the laptop batteries he'd ordered). They played me some of a song titled "Rivers of Pee." MB called. Then, Victor headed home, and the remaining 5 of us walked over to the Sunset Grill some supper. After eating we walked back to the studio. They loaded the car, then I said goodbye. Drove back home, looping around on Storrow. Now, down basement for email and to complete the day.

Reintegration

Monday: Woke around 7, MB heading off to work. Gave myself some quality do-nothing time, web surfing. Shower and such. Downstairs and fed Oscar. To the basement and email. Folded up the tent which had dried over-night. Morning practices. Drums. Laundry.

Off to work, driving across town. Got a couple of slices of pizza at the place closest to the office. It is no longer part of the chain, and has been re-branded. Good. At the office a quiet day of plodding along turning longs to 64 bit objects. Doing without coffee today, and feeling a bit head-achey.

Headed home around 7:30. Stopped at the store for a few essentials. Back home and put things away. Down basement for evening practices. Ate a frozen burrito. MB returned home from her language class. We had a nice conversation about life-long-learning, and our impressions from the course. Down basement. Soon bed.

Departing Camp Caravan

Sunday: Woke to the alarm at 6:30. Decided to not jump right out of bed. Personal practice in bed, then headed to group sitting. Sleepy and sniffly. Last breakfast at Camp Caravan. Cheese polenta (sort of like grits) with a couple hard-boiled eggs chopped into it. And some granola. MB was around... she had taken Mark Burgess to the airport at 4 AM, and had almost made it back for morning sitting. Around 9 I went and knocked on the door of Cabin 1 to get Chris and Collin up. They had apparently been up late. Began the process of taking down my tent. Shower. Completed taking down the tent. Shaved. Goodbyes. For some reason I was feeling a little detached. Moved my stuff into the house. Around 10:45 Chris Collin and I headed out. A fairly quiet ride. I asked Collin some about his life in Chicago, and we talked about The 4th Way and Buddhism. Chris was feeling a little car sick so we stopped briefly at a convenience store. Dropped them at terminal B at Logan airport. Didn't have any cash on hand for the tunnel toll, so drove back through Revere. Stopped home and fed Oscar, who seemed quite ravenous.
Sleepy drive back to Camp Caravan. A little hanging and talking with Mark Nancy and Dev who were some of the last ones left. Elan was doing some gardening. I said I could see a longer Guitar Craft course at Camp Caravan, with an integrated Work component. He agreed, and said they would love to have us back. I loaded the car while MB helped with some completion tasks. She drove us back to Somerville, with pleasant conversation, reiterating parts of the course. Back at the ranch, some unpacking and going through accumulated mail. Got a call from Dev saying that Collin had a problem with his flight. Later we learned that he had found a solution. We took a nap (she'd only gotten two hours sleep, and I not much more). I woke around 7:30 and gave her a nudge. She wanted to continue sleeping. Down basement. Going through email. Unpacking. Unrolled the tent to let it dry and immediately began sneezing. Evening practices. Now bed.

Leaky leaky

Saturday:
Woke on my own at 6:18. Shower and brushing the teeth. Back to the tent for my morning practice. To the main house and sitting with the group. Sniffly today.
Breakfast (8am). Granola and a boiled egg. Wandered upstairs to avoid loud amplified guitar. Came back down when it seemed over. The room was still for a little while, then RF stood up and went upstairs to continue with the preparation for his departure. Not long after he quietly left out the back door. Tom had pulled the car around. An "onward and upward" fisting as the car sped away. Tom put on the turn signal in the wrong direction. Back to the tent for a little. Tai Chi at 9:30.

Curt had a Tone Clock going on the top floor and Tony was in the Hall. The idea was that half the group would go to one space, and then switch after an hour. 10:15 I went up with Curt. He put the clock through a number of tonal explorations: C, F#, Db scales, and chord tones in each. 7th chords. The hardest one was at the end. We worked through a permutation of chords where the 5th raised to the next scale degree becoming a new triad. I was stuck on trying to analyze the pattern, and so I was a bit boggled. A few minutes break, and then over to Tony's circle. We worked with sensitivity in passing notes. Some AT work. Passing glances in one direction while passing notes in the other. Passing notes with our backs to the center of the circle. Passing without looking at who we were passing to or from... and so on.

Lunch at 1. Tofu salad, Asian slaw, corn. I volunteered for cleaning. For some reason the kitchen had generated a huge pile of dishes. Perhaps some of it was prep for dinner. I did the "pre wash" phase, passing off to Chris P. A little down time, so back to my tent to rest.

At 3:15 a gathering in the "Enniagram Garden" and planning how to do the necessary work to put the house back in order. Curt walked the inner paths of the Enniagram at the beginning of the meeting. Dev asked for volunteers for various jobs. But, our first job was for the team as a whole. We carried tables and chairs back over to the "Theater" and reconfigured the dining room back into its original state. My team (myself Mark Burgess, Sandra B-C and MB) was cleaning the top two floors of the house. This amounted to a simple sweep and mop. I invented a makeshift "Italian Mop" (a rag at the end of a stick) to make things move along a little faster. We completed our job before the set end time of 6 PM. I helped reset the dining room. At 6, all hands back into the Garden and a few clapping Whiz Circulations before heading to the Hall with guitars.

We had 28 in the circle. Whizing on each scale degree of C all the way around. Various circulation patterns in C, then C Harmonic Minor, then C Lydian Dominant. We had a 3 - 1 forward pattern on the downbeats and a retro 3 + 1 on the offbeats both going at once. We also worked with the Victor Variagation 5 - 2, 3 - 1 and the one Robert had come up with (in retreat, 3, 3, 2, each group starting +1 from the last positions beginning). The team felt a bit fragmented at first, my guess was that it was because of the slightly chaotic work environment of the house cleaning, but we pulled together. A final C scale whizing to complete.

Dinner, late, but not because of the kitchen staff this time. We just ran over. We crushed in 6 to a table. Lasagna and salad. Lots of chatter. Sandra P said "There's lots of leaking going on, and I don't want to get any on me." Some discussion about how the housework went, and how some things that could have gone better could have been anticipated and planned for. My comment was that we were now having to self-organize. RF had headed for home... and this was perhaps a small preview of life back in the outside. I felt like I needed to do something practical, so I helped Pat L prep some dishes for the wash.

Back to my tent for personal practice. Then, to the Hall for our last meeting with guitars. A rock sort of piece with circulated power chords in 13/8 and then a blunt 4/4 section played by the whole ensemble. Another piece was broken up into three roles: chords, zither and melody. Thirds of the circle circulated these roles, the chords shifting between A mn and E. We ended with a complete "greeting circle" where each combination of two players exchange notes.

To the Conservatory for a closing meeting. Not much left to say. And we were all pretty wiped out. Back to the tent briefly. Brushing the teeth. The house is a-buzz with leaky leaky. Now I'm headed back to the tent to complete the day, and sleep.

Last full day with RF

Friday: Woke at 6:30. Slightly restless night, but not unpleasant. Shower, brushing the teeth etc, and brief personal practices followed by sitting with the team. At breakfast, I withdrew to the top floor to avoid the well intentioned emanations. Some discussion about the re-naming of the Infirmary to " The Room of Health Joy Wonderment and Bliss Arising," and how in RF's view GC sometimes comes to a place to help in its energetic evolution/purification/transformation. A loud water hammer began from the basement as soon as the dishes were begun. Dev called Rise to see if he could come up with a solution. Now, back in the tent. Cleaned bits of litter out of my guitar case from when dear departed Gus the cat would sleep in it, in the last weeks of his life. Lost track of the time, and would have been late for Tai Chi. Decided to just hang in the tent and do personal practice.

10:15 and a full circle in the Hall. We had 30 in the circle, 6 groups of 5 (or 5 groups of 6... we split it up both ways) RF talked a bit about "ringing the changes" with church bells. We were going to attempt something similar with a 6 note C scale (leaving off the 4th), but we abandoned this, and went back to whizzing with chords in various patterns around the circle. There was a break, and then this continued, with some people leaving. I was only able to stay for a few minutes of the next exercise, which was circulating while also doing a limb rotation. Walked over to the main house at 12:15 and had a personal meeting with Luciano. He showed me some exercises for developing lightness of touch in the left hand. Back to the hall at 12:30. They were working on blues walking base lines in C Man and Db Maj. I took some solos. It's always a bit odd when the blues shows up in a GC context... But this was quite fun. MB and I played Third Relation at a good clip as people were heading out the door. Scott from Indiana joined in adding some high octave doubling and such.

Lunch of mozzarella and tomatoes with bread. "Butteryfly" by Chris, Collin and Mark Burgess. Where's Igor? There were only forks for serving, not eating, and someone had converted our serving fork into their own personal fork. The rest of us served ourselves with our fingers.
Curt sat practicing in the front. Volunteered for the cleaning up from lunch, as did RF. Water hammer in full effect. They didn't need me in the wash-room, so I tidied up the front, taking a rug out and beating it. Drying.
Had a circle of one, working on the C Lydian Dominant composition.
Tea, but no more cookies. So, tea. Back to the tent briefly.
Large circle at 4:45. RF asked each of the people who had led large circles to share any useful information they had discovered. Lots more whacking away at whiz circulations.
GNCE played "Passage" and "Invention 1" 3 times each at RF's request, and I don't think it was because he wanted to hear them again. A jazz tune from Rob.
Polenta. It was announced that Elan Sicroff would be performing in the Hall. Back to the tent, and personal practice. Attended the piano performance. I enjoyed watching how he prepared to perform almost as much as the performance itself. No stress. Very gentle and quiet. I had heard this repertoire before, but having the chance to experience it live in such an intimate setting was quite a treat. One thought: Sometimes in music, its the notes you leave out that actually carry the message. Sometimes the gaps say more than the notes. Back over to the house for pleasant conversation and lemon ice. RF distributed baked goods. When he got around to our table I asked "Have those been dropped on the floor also?" (Earlier a cookie had gotten dropped on the floor, and someone had still happily taken it from him.) He came back a moment later and offered me a half eaten cookie, which I traded him for one that I had just broken in half. RF, Luciano an Tony did the dessert dishes. At 10:15, we had our completion meeting. Several good comments. I wasn't going to say anything, but eventually I found myself talking a little about my glimpses into the inner world of circulation. (group focus of attention in specific ways. how "whizzing" sands down blockages in the energetic flow. etc). Absent Crafties were brought to mind, and a final clapping whiz. Some socializing, some touching on more profound topics that had just been discussed. Brushing the teeth, a gentle rain falling. Walked MB back to her cabin. Now in the tent to complete the day.

Notes on the property

Thursday: Woke with the alarm at 6:30. Shower and such. Not enough time for my personal practice, so over for group sitting. Breakfast, with scrambled eggs and granola. No performances this morning. Chris P makes an excellent dish captain. Back to the tent for personal practice, clipping the nails. Would have enjoyed a nap, but headed to Tai Chi. During the session today a large truck pulled up outside, engine rumbling, and the driver seemed to have a conversation with an unknown other. Grabbed my guitar from the house.
Two concentric circles in the Hall. 5 broken up as 3+2, retreating, with the subdivisions beginning +1 round the circle (in seat numbers, 32143, 54365). Similar 7 pattern (3214354, 6547687...) then alternating, inner circle on the off-beat. Someone became upset and left, and RF took their place. Later he said he found being in the circle a joy. Back over to the house and trying to access the internet again, without success. Used David L's laptop to check email and respond to a couple. To the tent and some hot and sweaty composition in C Lydian Dominant 7. Lunch, with Rise and a couple of friends joining us. Questions about the property and the school that is to be built on part of it. Salad and cream cheese roll ups, nuts and cheese. Dev asked for 8 volunteers for housework and a few hands went up. Chris P asked for volunteers for the dish-room and a host of hands shot up, including mine. It was an easy day for washing. Now back in the toasty tent, shirtless, hoping for a breeze. Working on music, recording into the laptop.

Seeing what was going on, ran into Victor and MB. Did some work with the GCNE upstairs, playing Invention 1. David had some question about the notes.
Tea. I ate too many cookies.
Went to the Hall for a Tone Clock session, but missed getting a seat in the circle. Still quite interesting watching, mostly as a study in music theory. Stood on a chair for time to get an aerial view.
Briefly back to tent, then to AT. Working on walking, freeing the shoulders and neck.
Noticed that as I became concerned with people watching me walk around the circle that my chest collapsed.
Tai Chi. RF next to me. Feeling smelly.
Had a shower, then Dinner. A veggie rice bake with salad. Chris P asked about RF's dislike of the word "Start." At the end, some conversation drove me out. I went to eat dessert in the Hall, and set some chairs up. Back to my tent, and personal practice. At 9:30, to the Hall for a big circle led by Victor, working with several VVV's, the final set being 5 retro, + 2, 3 retro + 1 and 5 forward - 2 3 forward -1 (on the off beats) They had changed the note assignments to blend the octaves back into each other and, when things were hanging together, it sounded quite good. Chirs P said hello to a skunk. We ran until around 11:15. Back to the house, and some talk about what we'd just done.
A couple of hints: As soon as you're done with one pattern, begin watching the next one. Only watch the "1" seat, and count the rest. This gives you more time to see where the next pattern begins.
Back to the tent and some listening to recordings for arrangement ideas. Now to brush teeth and complete the day.

The kitchen hits their stride

Wednesday: Woke feeling like I didn't want to get out of bed. Up you lazy bastard. Shower and so on. Brief morning practice. Sitting with the group, nose running. Breakfast out at the Hall of Movements, then back in time to hear Pat L sing. Some discussion of the previous day's work. Some interesting variations from Victor, introducing retrograde. Not much on the board for the morning, as personal meetings were ongoing. Visited the house of joy and delight, changed the strings on my guitar.
Tai Chi.
Grabbed my guitar and went back to the hall. Guitar work with MB: Alternating notes in C Maj. Third relation. Some music theory. Then work on my new composition. Back to the tent. Now time for lunch. Warm and sunny today. I've partially taken off the tent's fly allowing more breeze through.
Lunch was a most delicious black bean soup, with cheese and jalapeño peppers.
A visit from the pianist Elan Sicroff who answered questions about his approach to playing and performing. I volunteered for the washing up. We got through it in about 35 minutes, but then noticed some dishes we'd overlooked. Back to the tent, and some down-time. A brief nap and personal practice.
Victor led a circle in the Hall, working on various variations of variegated circulations. Notes in C Maj, skipping (forming thirds) [5-2, 3-1] on the down beats and [ret 3 - 1 3 - 1, 2] on the off beats (or something like that). Put the fly back on the tent.
AT, looking at the shoulders, leading into
Tai Chi
Dinner. Pasta with Alfredo sauce and salad. Amazing poached pears with nuts and whipped cream for dessert. Quiet visited for some time. Discussions of the days work, including some very good observations by Chris P. The Tone Clock circle earlier in the day (which I'd missed) had been using the same altered C scale that I've been experimenting with for a couple of months now. A large spider hung from a web outside the window in my field of vision.
Some down time in the tent, and then in the Conservatory, RF gave those of us with an established morning sitting a meditation exercise (though not really a meditation).
Some work with the GCNE, and a little circulating C Lydian Dominant. Observed them working with Victor's piece. Some joshing around. Borrowed dental floss from MB. Hanging in the dining hall, trying to get at the internet. Now to complete the day.

Perhaps its an Ark

Tuesday: Woke again at 6:18, but dozed until 6:30. Cold in the night. Quick communal shower and brushing teeth etc. Brief personal practice and then sitting with the team. The person on duty for coffee and tea had set their alarm 5 minutes early. I didn't realize this until I had completed my sitting and was standing up. Oh well. Breakfast, I took my cup of tea bowl of granola banana and egg over to the steps of "The Hall." Sunny and quiet. A little talking when I got back. I had missed Pat L sing. Odd moment with Sandra in the hall, she was walking past, and I got out of her way. She asked "Is someone coming through the door?" and I said "No, I was getting out of your way." So she walked through the door, just as Victor walked up from the other side. I was left feeling like she thought I had tricked her.
Back in my tent, personal practice and tidying.
Tai Chi, and then a meeting with guitars in the Hall. A group of "high flyers" demonstrated "Victor 1" (Alternating Variegated 5-2 and 3-1) in various keys. The "mere mortals" (including myself) in the outer circle worked with the keys of C and G major. I stayed and did some work with "Victor 1" + 1 with return and later + 2 with return, with the scale tones of C going around the circle and the tonic shifting to the beginning chair on each new pattern. At the end we also played with alternating C melodic minor (ascending) and C natural minor (descending).
Lunch, hummus bread cheese olives. Some comments on our work. A good question from Chris about how to prepare, if one has no expectations.
I volunteered for lunch wash up.
Afterwards, made a couple of phone calls, including wishing my mom a happy birthday.
"The Hall" with 12 seats in the center. Robert introduced the "Tone Clock" method of circulation where each person has an assigned note, and then the pattern is determined by the music.
Tea, and some yummy cake. Helped J Bgr with directions towards NJ from Logan.
Got caught up in trying to use the internet to check email, and missed the beginning of the re-formed "tone clock" group. I went in, not sure if I should sit down, or leave. Mark B also arrived and sat down directly. He didn't receive a very warm welcome, so I decided to depart.
Personal practice on a shaky wooden stool behind a trailer.
AT, working with head pelvis relationship.
Tai Chi.
Dinner: tofu slices and carrots, plus a vegetable medley. A discussion of where the course is, and what we are to do. I prefer keeping group discussion to the practical. Once people start philosophizing... Delicious chocolate cake with peaches. Few volunteers for washing up. RF was willing to do dishes again (he already had yesterday). I didn't want him to do that. I guess Jaxie felt the same way, 'cause she stepped in before I could. Back to the tent for personal practice.
10:15 and over to the Hall. Two circles, 12 on the inner and 13 on the outer. After establishing notes, dividing the octave into equal parts, several scales (what I remember: C, G, E and A major, C Natural Minor, and A Natural minor, maybe some others). The first line of Eye of the Needle first played by the inner and then the outer circles. This seemed promising. One large circle, and lots of "magic chord whizzing" first as 3 groups, then as 2, then as one large group. The GCNE minus one assembled to work on their performance material. I went back to my tent. Now to complete the day.

"We're all in the same boat together, and it's going down... Unless, perhaps, it's an ark."

The Middle is at the Beginning

Monday: Woke at 6:18. Shower and brushing the teeth. Morning practices. Sitting with the group. Had a banana and tea for breakfast. Avoided the performance. Hanging out in the tent. Nap. Missed the beginning of Tai Chi, so, some stretches. Made another call to AT&T and determined that my phone could not be used via bluetooth to access the internet.

Large circle in the Hall with RF. Working on forms again. Alternating smaller groups in the center to demonstrate.

Small group with Curt on the top floor. Playing only first and last notes of each "sub circulation"

Bread, cheese and tomato soup for lunch. Some demonstrations of forms. 5 - 2 alternating with 3 - 1. A discussion of terminology that I skipped.

Washing up after Lunch with Rob Hank and BR.
Big rain storm 1. Ran back to my tent to make sure it wasn't leaking, and got a good soaking in the process. Rain stopped shortly after.

Small group in the attic with Victor. Working on some forms at higher tempi. Variegated 5 - 1 and 7 - 3.

Tea: Not much place to sit, so outside with a few cookies. I was walking back in, but noticed Quiet was visiting, so back out. Alex was coming and I made a "quiet over there" motion, and he tempered his stride. Suddenly the crickets were as loud as a freight train.

Small group in attic with Curt. Working in two sub-groups alternating on and off the beat, in several patterns, BR giving an interesting perspective as a drummer.

Big rain 2: Tom Redmond arrived. Borrowed his umbrella to go fetch mine.
Walked over to the Hall and told a couple people that:
Tai Chi in the Conservatory. Luciano added some instruction, and showed a new exercise at the end. Deluge had stopped.

Supper of rice and cabbage medley. Discussion of the relative merits of hand cutting versus machine cutting. Happy birthday by the sub-atomic-chamber-ensemble, also known as "Horn up your ass."
Brief contact with the internet, thanks to a kind member of the kitchen staff.
Took a visit to the House of Movements, and was serenaded by someone practicing "Space Oddity."
Some personal practice in the tent. A series of small calamities, including spilling wax on the bed, and the flashlight dying.
A exposition of the morning sitting practice. Sleepy.
A cup of tea. Cool and clear outside. Now to complete the day.

First full day of circulation project

Sunday: 6:25. Crazy shower. Sitting with a sneeze. Breakfast, and half a banana. Hank arrives. Some down time, in the tent. Playing Thrid Rel with MB. Tai Chi with Luciano in the BR. Short break, and circle with guitars.
Basic form left, & right. Left & right with return. Left + 1, Right + 1, left&right + 1 with return. Whiz. Circle in thirds: C, G, A, D, E, B in various permutations of the circulation patterns introduced. Brief break and work in the house.
Circulations in the attic with Luciano. C Maj + 1 up and back in 3 octaves reversing direction at the top. Then "triplets" with the same basic form. Lunch, beet soup, bread and cheese. Billy and friend arrive. Discussion of the mornings work, and "transmission of quality."
Spoke with a "customer service representative" from ATandT, asking how I could use my cell-phone to allow my laptop to access the internet. She was clueless, and said I had to buy some "PC Access Card" even though she couldn't tell me what it would do, or even if it would plug into my computer or into the laptop.
A strange hot meditation session in the tent. Somehow I came out just in time to find a circle forming on the top floor. C Maj up and down in 4 octaves, basic form with return, plus one. "Tea for Two"... with lemon squares. I volunteered for the washing up, along with Scott E. Took about an hour. Just about time for an AT lie-down. The Tai Chi. Then Dinner. The teasing continued about my having not known where the "Conservatory" was. I went to go practice on my own, but MB told me the GCNE was getting together to rehearse. I let them know that I would not be performing. The purpose of the meeting was preparing to perform, so I went back to practice on my own. At 9:45, a large circle in the newly named Movements Hall. Began with clapping including the non-guitar players on the course. Recapitulated the work of the day, adding "whizzing with chords." Helped put away chairs. Brushed teeth. Now to complete the day.

Heading to Camp Caravan

Saturday: Woke around 9:30, brief sitting, shower, saying good-moring to Luciano. Downstairs and made some coffee eggs and toast for the team. Enjoyable breakfast. MB headed off to pick up more people at the airport. Cleaning, doing laundry. MB returned with Colin and Taylor. Not long after, everyone except me headed for Camp Caravan. Wrapping up some DVD stuff. Putting the house back in order. Folding laundry. Packing. MB gave a call around 4, and I drove out to meet her at the car rental place (Logan). Back to the house, some last minute fussing around, and then, who do we see just as we're leaving but F&M. They went in the house to take a load off the feet, and we left.

Made good time in our travels, arriving at CC a little after 6. Hello to friends. Set up my tent. Dinner at 7.

Took one of the last few seats available, which I was later informed was "One of the worst seats in the house." So I moved. Soup and sushi. Then home made ice-cream. A question about whether water is alive.

Volunteered for dish washing. Spent an hour with Tony and David, but they still weren't all done. Meeting in "The Conservatory"... which I thought was in the building with the ballroom. Not. So late for the meeting. Lovely. RF said a bit about the origins of the name "Fripp"

Completed the washing up. Sticky rice. Fun. Now to complete the day.

Advance team departs to Camp Caravan

Friday: MB woke me at 8. Brief sitting in the dance room. Threw on clothes, quick bit of coffee and cereal, fed Oscar, and we were out the door by 8:30. Drove to the airport and picked up the rental van. Then found Curt and a couple of other Crafties. We had parked in the "Over-sized" area, which turned out to be across the vast central parking lot. I went back to my car and the four of them went off to find the van. We all arrived back home about the same time.

Some hanging out. Coffee, people using the wireless. I knocked on the basement door, but no answer. A bit later our comrade turned up, and half an hour later, the team was ready to depart. I waived goodbye from the front landing.

I did some stuff around the house. Shower. Reset the basement space for the next batch of incoming teammates.

Headed out, stopped to find some disk mailers. Didn't find them in two places. Found something usable in the third. MB called from the road saying she was heading home. I put 4 DVDs in the mail, the last of a series of 3. Picked up some pizza and ate it in the shop watching "The People's Court."

In at the office, more turning shorts into longs. There were chocolate goodies in the front, but they were a bit stale. Al came and talked to me quite a bit. He's heading on vacation in a place that is about to get hit with a big hurricane. Does that sound like fun? Burrito. Around 7:30 I concluded that I was too fried to do any more work. Headed home.

Stopped for a moment at the top of the Somerville hill, then home. Hello to Oscar. Evening practices. Down basement and some graphics work. MB called from the road. I put on some water to boil. She returned, feeling tired, having driven many miles, and put in quite a heroic effort today. We decided I should go to the airport to pick up the next bacth on my own.

Back to Logan. I met Luciano right away. It turns out that Terminal B is split into two halves. Lance was in the other half. Eventually Mark found us as well. Back home, some tea and goodies, talking about the Chinese language and plans for the next day. (Rolling your Rs: With the tip of the tongue, it's just a release, and then a return.) Good-nights. Some more graphics work in the basement and now to bed.

Details of Oscar's past and a team member arrives

Thursday: I was up quite late, so sleeping until noon didn't really do much. Up, and still feeling strange having no cats in the house. Web. Shower. Fed Oscar. Re-heated some coffee. Down basement and more cleaning and fussing around. Morning practices. No drums, because I had the windows open and didn't want the sound floating around too much. Had a bowl of cereal and the coffee. Taking out garbage. Was fixing the wind-chimes when a boy started talking to me from the rear-neighbor's porch. It turns out: Oscar is about 10 years old. This guy got him when he was 8 and he's 18 now. They tried to catch Oscar when they moved to Virgina, but Oscar got away and they had to leave. The boy, Larry, didn't mention Oscar by name, he just kept saying "the cat." He offered me $50 to trap Oscar for him, but I declined, saying the cat was happy, and we should let it be. He seemed to agree with me.

Headed out, stopping at a Starbucks to buy some ground coffee. They didn't have a French Press, so I had to go to the Tags. MB called while I was there saying she'd bought a pastry for our guest, but that it had sat in the car too long. I stopped on the way to H Sq and bought a few nibblies.

At the office a short day. Alx talking to me about various XML relating things. More "turning short numbers into longer numbers." Headed home around 5:30. Back home put the coffee and other goodies in the basement. A white cat was curled up in the backyard with Oscar. We're becoming "cat central." MB and I drove out to Logan, making good time. Parked and met our guest at baggage claim. An uneventful drive back home, the lights shining brighter, talking about the Simpsons. We gave a tour of the neighborhood, pointing out coffee shops and places to walk. Then, we showed him to his quarters in the basement. Things seemed satisfactory, so we said goodnight.

Hanging out on the back porch with MB. Called Shawn and told him I'd like the evening off. Then some food (leftover noodles, toast) Oscar came into the house briefly and then left. More hanging out. Practiced guitar for a bit. MB came down and we some work on the circulation pieces. Then a restringing party, watching a bit of "Young Frankenstein" (I'm glad you like the food... you just made a yummy sound.) Tea and Toast. Now to complete the day.

Gus is in the ground

Wednesday: MB woke me around 9 asking "how long will it take..." "To say goodbye?" I finished her sentence... "Not long." I got up and threw on some clothes and went downstairs. MB carried the body of Gus the cat wrapped in a towel (given to her by a member of the team on an intro to GC course). "What do I do?" "Put the cat in the hole." Gus actually looked quite peaceful down in the hole, but MB couldn't get the towel out from around him gently, so it became his burial shroud. Very gracefully, MB shoveled earth on to our little friend. We picked rocks out of the soil as she did this. When she was done I started pouring water on top to help compact the earth. MB had a batch of Impatiens that she adroitly planted in the muddy dirt. I piled the rocks up around the edges. Gus was in the ground.

Oscar appeared from behind the fence, again giving the illusion that Gus had managed a stunt worthy of Houdini.

She headed off to work and I took a shower. I had a nice breakfast of eggs and coffee, listening to how the polar ice caps are melting, and how the Russians are making a "land grab" for the newly accessible areas. Happy thoughts. Down basement for morning practices and drums. Put some odd gauge strings on my old ovation. Paid some bills. Laundry. Did some tidying. The cleaning person came, much appreciated, and I headed out.

I took a batch of now un-needed supplies to the vet. They took them back and gave me $150. Headed towards work. A quiet day in the office, realizing that the extension of the addressable space may need to be done in two segments. Still, just a few more bits would help a lot.

MB came and picked me up at 8 PM. We drove over to Alston and had a nice dinner "on Gus" at the Grasshopper. Then, we walked around getting some coffee and ice cream. We were sitting on the steps of a church, when a young man said to us, and to some other people standing around "Do any of you have cracks? If you do just say yes." No one said a thing. Is this a common question to be asked by a stranger in this part of the world, I wondered? Our fingers were sticky from the ice cream, so we were happy to have some little wipes in MBs newly detailed car.

Back home, we took a walk over to Sty's apt and watered plants. No cats in sight, I wonder where they are? Back home, cleaning and organizing in the basement in preparation for its use by a member of the team. On the back porch, a fat racoon. In the basement, many spiders. I mostly left them alone.

Gus passes

Tuesday: Woke after a good, but somewhat displaced, night's sleep. Morning practices. Drums. Some tidying. Talked to the people from the condo board. Checked in on Gus. Wasn't doing well. Treatments. Offered food, but he didn't seem interested. Set up a barricade in the kitchen door so he could at least wander between the bathroom and the kitchen. Called F & M and told them they might want to come give him a send off. M was in town as luck would have it. They said they'd also take care of Gus for the couple of days that we didn't have coverage. Called the pet sitter and left a message that she was off the hook. Shower. Was going to have left over smoothie, but the ring from the milk top had fallen in, and I decided I didn't want to drink chopped up plastic.

Headed out, stopping at the post office. A woman loudly talked to the person who was on the job. I mailed a couple DVDs to California. Picked up a couple of slices of pizza for "breakfast." Back in the car and over to Porter Sq. Bought strings or rather unusual gauges. In to work, and more "long number" efforts. Got a call from Ant and we straightened a few things out. Talked to MB. Talked to a loan officer and got some figures. Picked up a tofu burrito. Listened to a CD by CZ. Stayed until 8:30.

Headed over to Porter Sq, to the apt of F & M. Visited a little with their cats, including to young stripy ones, Bengal (m) and Cordelia (f). I'd gotten a parking ticket in the 10 minutes I was inside. Back to my place. Gus had not moved from the place I'd left him earlier. I showed F how to administer fluids. We put the oven on to cook a frozen pizza. M picked up Gus and carried him into the living room. I put on a movie "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp." Gus made a few strange mews. F took him into his lap so he could lie more comfortably. I paused the movie. His breathing slowed to short gasps. He twitched, and died.

F and I looked at each other. F handed him on the towel to me. I carried him into the downstairs bathroom, his body more limp than any living thing could be. I set him down and closed the door. F was crying a little and giving M a hug. I gave him a hug too. We went out on the back porch, and up walked Oscar. One black cat gone, another arrives. After hanging out awhile, I put the pizza in. MB returned from some shopping and I told her what happened. She was upset, but we both knew this was actually a very good way for Gus to exit. We'd both been concerned about what would happen if he was getting sicker and sicker while we were at the course, or if he died while we were gone. After some hugs, we joined F and M and the four of us sat down to eat pizza and potato salad.

After cleaning up we all drove back to F and M's. MB got to visit with their cats. Then we headed back to our place. MB and I dug a grave for Gus in the far corner of the yard. We got down a good couple of feet, but not before the handle on the P.O.S. shovel broke. I took a shower, some more hanging out, and now, in the basement to complete the day.

Long numbers, Gus slowing down

Monday: Slept a little late, but up late, so feeling groggy. Web. Got Gus, who wasn't looking so good, and gave him some treatments. Shower. Downstairs and fed the cats and made a smoothie. Down basement, morning practices and drums. Worked on the DVDs and burned a couple new masters. Put away tools I'd been using to build the furnace doors. Swept up in the garage a bit. Added some extra insulation to the doors for good measure. Paid bills. Called the Somerville condo board, and looked into loans (about this house down the street).

Headed to work, it starting to rain. Got a coffee at Starbucks just as the "sky opened up." At work began a "long number" project by making a wrapper object, and doing batch search and replaces. Wound up simplifying some other classes in the process. Got some stuff compiling by the end of the day. Shut the computer down, since the power is going off in the am.

Back home. Gus had made a mess upstairs and was not wanting to move around much. I cleaned up after him and gave him some more fluids, then quarantined him in the downstairs bathroom. Down basement and played with some hardware, trying to do a format conversion. Didn't work so well, and I gave up. Some evening practices. MB returned home. When I was done with a segment, upstairs and hello. She was hanging with Gus. We ate some leftover noodles, talking about our friend RH. I mentioned a "level 4ish" idea, but I guess it wasn't a good time. Made the bed. Some guitar practice. Down basement and doing some research on how to export AppleWorks draw documents in a format that can be edited. The best method thus far seems to be to print to PDF, and then use a draw program that can open PDFs. Now to complete the day.

Art exhibit in the woods

Sunday, Cape Cod: A lovely sleep-in, waking around 11. Up, and sitting in the closest.
Downstairs and fat cat was inside and being frightened by the dog. I took kitty outside and gave it some pets. Ate a bowl of cereal and coffee. Hello to mom, who suggested I eat on the porch. Hello to N. I read some news online. Had some yogurt and fruit mixture that MB had made. Mom and N went outside to do some sketching. I said hello to the owner, who was talking to the artists, and asked her what was wrong with the "Californian Theater" organ. Back inside, I cleaned up my applications folder, and reinstalled some software, and deleted some unused installers. MB and I played guitar on the side porch. Mom made a salad and we had a nice lunch on the back porch: salads, chips and spreads. I set some washing going in the machine in the basement. We all had some pie and ice cream, and then, it was time to go. We drove, mom and N in one car, and MB and I in the other, to Dennis, and an art show. Mostly pottery and some nice paintings. Some young girls excitedly showed my mom and I some broken pieces behind the exhibit saying "They're free." Around 6:30, MB and I headed back to Boston. We hit some traffic on Rt 3, but not too bad. We got in around 8:30. Gus had made some messes but seemed OK. Cleaning up and putting things away. Salad and "Vegetarian American Chop-Suey." Down basement and working on some video editing. Hanging with MB. Soon to complete the day.

Eating and beaching

Saturday, Cape Cod: Woke around 10. MB did some reading. Morning sitting in the closet. Shower. Downstairs and hello to Ncy who is also staying here with mom. Made some eggs, MB made a yogurt fruit mix, and we all had breakfast out on the porch. Took a walk with the dog down to the water. Some guitar in the side screened in area. We piled into my car and drove to the store to pick up stuff for lunch. Sandwiches and cold salads, which we ate back at the house. A drive to a bay side beach. Walking in the shallows. Watching a wedding, bagpipes, flowers etc. Drove across to the ocean side, and more beach time, watching waves and kites. Back to the house some quiet time and washing up. Out for dinner at a Chinese place. MB's fortune: You have inexhaustible wisdom and power. Must have been the Scorpion Bowl. Stopped at the video store and made some selections. Neighbor Cln left a message on MB's cell saying Gus had been located. Back to the house for pie, and ice cream. MB and I watched a frivolous movie after the others went to bed.

Keys and a microwave

Friday: Up around 10, web, Gus (slowing down), shower. Fed G and O. Drank leftover smoothie and had a bowl of cereal for breakfast. A good bit of guitar. Down basement. Put the hardware on the furnace doors. They're pretty much done. Morning practices and drums. More NeoOffice db investigation. Nice online community for support for OpenOffice and NeoOffice, perhaps balancing out the bugginess.

Drove over to Home Depot. A guy was getting a bunch of locks re-keyed, and I had to wait for the locksmith. Copied house keys. Picked up a few things for the basement, including a microwave oven. Hit traffic on 93, but it cleared on the long off-ramp to Storrow. In the office, more debugging and testing. Quick burrito. Some talking with B about sick cats. Told him about what I intend to do next. Decided to check my stuff in. Perhaps not perfect, but well along. Stayed until around 8:30.

Headed back home. Looked for a Starbucks, but the one on my way wasn't open. Settled for donut shop coffee. Unloaded the car and set out the microwave. Down basement for evening practices. MB watering plants outside. Quick packing. MB had set things out for our neighbor to look after Gus while we're away. On the road around 10:30 or 11 heading to The Cape. We made good time, and arrived around 1 AM. (Had a little trouble finding the house, but otherwise no problems). Hanging out with mom, some snacks. Soon bed.

A house in need, and a cheese party

Thursday: Up, gus shower etc. Made a smoothie for breakfast. Down basement and morning stuff, drums. Wrote a couple checks. Some more work on understanding the db module of NeoOffice. Put the guitar and stool in the car. Worked on the trim on the furnace doors, cutting down some nails to not be too long, shaping the side trim pieces, sanding, finally gluing and nailing. Rth showed me around the house two doors down. Quite a place, in much need of repair and love. The floor layout reminds me a lot of my old apartment. It could even have been the same builder.

Headed off to work driving across town. My mom had left a message on my cell, so I returned the call and got her cell. Dropped checks in the mail. Hot out today.

At the office, another day of testing. Finding bugs in my code, and existing bugs. (Transition time-stamps.) Lunch at my desk thanks to MB (a sandwich with greens to be added at the last minute). Crln had left a message on my cell saying she was going to be at the party, so my plans changed. (She had several things for me that I needed to get). Met Shawn at 7:30 and over to Arlington. Elt was working in the space when we arrived. He told us about his recent lessons with the guitarist of Mission of Burma. A so-so rehearsal on my part. My head was elsewhere and fingers felt a little stiff. Wrapped it up and headed for Brighton, and a party at Cthy the guitarist for AQM's house.

In the backyard: much cheese. Story about a Craig's List apt-mate, arrested by 7 policemen, and never seen again. Another apt-make woke in the AM "I was hoping I could handle this on my own, but we have to go to court"... leading to eviction. The real purpose of the little flowers in glass tubes, heroin technique caught on film, the rear-end of the South End, G.D's Kiss impersonations. Two cute gay guys from France making out. Crlyn arrived with (bf?) Jsh in tow. She gave me chocolate, a CD and a check, all very welcome. Pn and Shawn seemed to have a nice connection. Leaving around 1, gave Shawn a ride home.

Back to my place, MB already asleep. Completing the day.

Head wins, wall loses

Wednesday: Woke in the late morning. Web. Gus treatments (setting water to boil) shower. Fried eggs and coffee. Down basement. Email. Morning practices, drums. A bit of tidying. Said hello to neighbor C and across the way Rth. May go look at a place for sale tomorrow.

In the car, and headed out. Drove up to Fresh Pond, and over to Aztech Electronics. A lovely hot sunny day. Picked up my old 8 track reel-to-reel, and 4 track cassette decks, which had been in for service, and the Mouse Amp that I'd inherited from Christine. JWS had called saying he was on his way to return a table of mine. Poor communication. I told him to meet me in H Sq. Arriving there, into the office. Al showed me some of what he was working on, and the idiocy of it made me literally beat my head against the wall. The wall was dented in the process, but my head seemed unscathed. Took a walk out. Banking. JWS called and said he was in th square. I told him to hang out. Went to the pharmacy and picked up my usual prescription without a problem. Picked up the table from JWS. Spent the rest of the day testing, and fixing small things. I'm making progress, but I found some big holes as well. Stayed until about 11:30.

Back home across town. Hello to MB. Ate a frozen burrito out of the microwave for dinner. Hanging out, talking about the upcoming GC course. Took out the recycling. Now, to complete the day.

Lots of light, but not golden

Tuesday: Woke around 9:30... earlier than I would have liked, but sleep was not returning, so up. MB returned from a trip to get her car's oil changed. Shower. Gus treatments. MB went back out to pick up Gus supplies. Quick breakfast of smoothie, yogurt with peaches and a little scone. Down basement, morning practices, drums. Did some more work on the furnace door. Realized the design could be a little simpler than I had thought. Sprayed some foam into cracks. A bit of guitar. MB asked if I wanted some salad.

Off to work, salad in hand. Stopped at the dry cleaner and picked up some shirts. Across town. Iced coffee at Starbucks. Again today, I spent most of my time diffing code. Made a few tweaks, and took notes on what I wanted to test. Damn near everything. Al showed me some of the UI stuff, which struck me as not very well designed. Walked out around 5:45. T kindly gave me my paycheck. It was too late to deposit it (I'm waiting for a new card) and the pharmacy said my insurance wouldn't cover a prescription that I'd been given. It would have cost $187 without coverage, and it was sort of optional, so I said I didn't want it. Picked up a tofu burrito on my way back to the office. Saw Kyo, who told me she's moving to Florida. Stayed until 6:30.

Hit a little traffic on the way to KKC. Another evening with Lama Zopa. He spent a lot of this evening addressing some issues that are particularly difficult for Westerners to relate to in the teachings (from my perspective). Jn and some women friends appeared. A bit from the Golden Light sutra (first two chapters). Jn reappeared, then left. Extensive good wishes sent at the end. The end of the end was around 2:10 AM.

Back home, MB already asleep. A quick snack. Now down basement to complete the day.