randvisit (part 1)

Ray Van Kleef's response to my poll question the other day.


I'm typing this from one of the Internet research terminals in D'Youville College Library in Buffalo, where Rand works. Very cool place, and the student lounge food machine has pop tarts and peanut butter Twix...I've seen pop tarts before, but never in a vending machine. Never have seen the peanut butter variety of Twix. Bought one of the peanut butter Twix bars for Jeff, who is a Twix fan. I've managed not to embarrass Rand so far (sorry, Teddy, but I do want to be invited back :-)).

Had lunch at the Morning Glory with Rand and his friend Thomas Woods. Shared a very yummy tuna wrap and a cranberry harvest salad with Rand.

Last night, Allison & Jodi & I went to see "School of Rock" instead of having an actual practice. Really enjoyed this! I had been planning to avoid this because of the trailer and because I don't like Jack Black, but changed my mind because Allison liked it so much the first time.

Thank you to Rand for helping me type this blathering.

October/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ

cat owner poll & more German

Me and Brianna last week (Bryan's and Elizabeth's daughter)


Congrats to William and Mona on the birth of their son, Iain Anders Rucklidge, on Sept. 8th (apologies for the delay, I just found out)!

Had a very windy run yesterday; everyone on the street was grabbing at hats, coats flapping, trying to avoid mini-whirlwinds of leaves and street debris on sidewalks. I had to detour around a small tree lying across the sidewalk, its trunk snapped near the base by the fierce wind.

Many thanks for the useful German advice:

- LEO German English dictionary (online) (thanks, fusselchen)

- Listen to some German bands like "Wir Sind Helden" or "Die Toten
Hosen" (from funky_leelee)

- Useful online resources suggested by Alan Thiesen:

German Gender Hints

German Noun Plurals

German grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary

german.about.com

German tutorials

Elementary German

- Also from Alan (re: my Blathering yesterday about noun gender confusion):

"In German, a young lady has no sex, while a turnip has. Think what
overwrought reverence that shows for the turnip, and what callous
disrespect for the girl." -- Mark Twain, "The Awful German Language"



My friend Cathy, whom I've known since Grade 2.


Hey, I'm going to be hanging out with my friend Rand in Buffalo this weekend! Pretty happy about this since our schedules seem never to coincide very well re: visits. Taking my laptop and working in his library tomorrow; I've promised not to embarrass him TOO much. ;-)

SURVEY FOR CAT OWNERS:

Allison insists that feline cat expressions and body language are as easy to read (or almost as easy) as human; the topic came up during UT practice last week at her place. So I have a survey for all you cat owners out there (non cat owner opinions are also welcome, of course, and actually highly encouraged): Look at the photo below. What mood is Nova in? Allison claims it's obvious, but I'm curious about whether she's right. I was unable to pick up any mood other than the usual "I'm a cat, get over it":



Nova, Allison's and John's cat. How is Nova feeling?
Nova is the cat on our CD cover, by the way. :-)


Have a great weekend, everyone!

October/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ

learning German

I took this photo on a hike at the cottage.


Still plugging away at learning German. After hours of listening to language tapes and going through written language instruction, some of it actually seems to be finally sinking in a bit. Anytime I run into someone who knows even a little bit of German, I beg them to talk to me in the language, to see how much I understand. I listen to German radio and am able to pick out a few words or phrases on occasion (as opposed to ZERO comprehension when I first listened to this station).

I have no idea how I'm ever going to be able to memorize the genders of all the nouns as I learn them; there are THREE genders: male, female and neuter. I suppose that if I forget a gender and say "das" instead of "die", I'll still be understood. To you Germans out there: How forgiving are you of tourists with pathetic German language skills? Would you gasp in horror if I said "die Mädchen" instead of "das Mädchen" in casual conversation? And how difficult was it for you to learn English?

Anyway, I'm having fun despite the occasional "dear lord, what on earth am I getting into" feeling when I'm neck-deep in verb declensions. Maybe I'll have to make it out to a FilkContinental to practise my German someday. Only 1 1/2 months until Jeff and I leave for Vienna!

October/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ

sunrise

Sunrise at the cottage this morning, straight from
my camera (no Photoshop effects).


Congrats to our friends Scott and Karin, who got engaged on Sunday!

Happy belated birthday to Andy, who turned 40 yesterday! ("aiabx" on Blatherchat)

Last week I submitted an article for a new website geared toward teenagers. The editor liked it and has asked for more article ideas, yay! I have another article due this Thursday.

My arms have improved to the point they were at two weeks ago, before I was stupid and pushed them too hard. This time I'm going to be more careful, and continue to rely on ViaVoice for a while even if I can type without pain.



A dragonfly that landed on my sleeve yesterday
during a hike.


Sympatico (our Internet access service) seems to be having a lot of problems lately. Right now, I seem to be able to receive e-mail, but not to send it. I have an account on Yahoo which I use for situations like this; I set the return address to my regular e-mail address. How many of you out there have an "emergency" e-mail address like this? Or at least an account that you can access from any Web browser?



Me.

October/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ

turkey bowl

Cottagers' "Turkey Bowl" teams, from the north (green
shirts) and south (red shirts) ends of the lake.


Jeff's brother's family have left, leaving JBR, Ginny, Jeff and me. We are gradually packing up, moving a bit slower because of yesterday's Thanksgiving feasting. The sky is a brilliant blue, and there is a frosty hint in the breeze, a promise of winter.

Yesterday was the annual Turkey Bowl, where cottagers from the north and south ends of the lake meet to play touch football. Those not involved in the game (most of us) mill about on the sidelines, renewing old acquaintances and catching up on gossip. Children are admired, anecdotes exchanged.



Boat ride from the cottage to the Turkey Bowl site
at the end of the lake. I took this photo by holding the
camera above my head.


When I first began attending the Turkey Bowl with Jeff, I hardly knew anyone, pretended to be more interested in the game than I was so I wouldn't have to worry about talking with anyone. Now many of the faces are familiar; I watched their babies grow into young adults, attended leaseholder meetings and barbecues. Several tell me they enjoyed the article I wrote for an issue of the leaseholder newsletter.

I just spent an hour sitting on a deck chair in the sun with a blanket over my lap, reading a book. The sun was warm enough that I found myself dozing off a few times, waking again when a cloud passing overhead blocked the sunlight, chilling the air.





Took a sauna earlier today, then jumped in the lake. It felt like I was leaping into a vat of ice water; despite my initial toying with the idea of swimming a bit, I found my limbs start to pinwheel madly within a split second of hitting the water...my brain was obviously yelling, "what, are you crazy? get outta here NOW!!" I did it about four times in a row. :-)

Home tomorrow.

October/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ