It was pouring rain when I left the house for the theatre yesterday morning at 7:00. I trotted out two pieces of technology unused since my public transit commutes in Boston: my Red Wing waterproof boots and my desert camouflage poncho. When I bought the poncho four years ago, I laughed at the desert camo. "This is for all those desert rain storms," I said. Well, yesterday I would have been invisible in the Albuquerque landscape.
The number two bus was right on time as usual, and I played my hand-held Free Cell game as usual on my way down Ventura, east on Academy and south on Eubank. Long about Interstate 40, I looked up from my game and thought I saw a snowflake hit the bus windshield. I kept watching, and soon there were nothing but big fat flakes everywhere. I called Carmen. "Is it snowing there?" No, it wasn't.
I got off at Central Avenue (Historic Route 66) in a blizzard. I put my poncho back on and made my way to the bus stop for the next bus (route 66) and by the time I got to downtown, the snow was rain again. The only visible sign of all that snow is the picturesque dusting of the Sandia Mountains that line the eastern border of Albuquerque.
It's 34 degrees at this time. The kitties have not asked to go outside this morning.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
I Love A Piano
One of the big production numbers in Irving Berlin's White Christmas is "I Love A Piano." When we saw it (twice) in Boston, the set changed three times during that song and dance extravaganza. Colby at Albuquerque Little Theatre is hoping to maybe change it once,
Today we finally finally were able to get started on White Christmas. My project today was to modify three pianos. The little prop piano will have kids dancing on it, so I added four more legs to it to keep it from flipping over when they dance. The baby grand is an old real piano that will have adults dancing on it. I added some structure under the lid and attached it to the heavy duty dolly. The console piano will be used in the rehearsal scenes. I changed its straight casters to swivel casters.
If the plan holds, Wednesday I'll either be building the three-section railroad car that will roll on and off stage, or the back wall of the barn with the sliding doors.
I love real theatre. It's good to be back.
Today we finally finally were able to get started on White Christmas. My project today was to modify three pianos. The little prop piano will have kids dancing on it, so I added four more legs to it to keep it from flipping over when they dance. The baby grand is an old real piano that will have adults dancing on it. I added some structure under the lid and attached it to the heavy duty dolly. The console piano will be used in the rehearsal scenes. I changed its straight casters to swivel casters.
If the plan holds, Wednesday I'll either be building the three-section railroad car that will roll on and off stage, or the back wall of the barn with the sliding doors.
I love real theatre. It's good to be back.
What's The Buzz
I don't believe I've mentioned yet that we live next door to The Snake Man of Albuquerque. His license plate says "Slither" He's been telling me for months about his rattlesnake-hunting expeditions, and about the feature story about him upcoming in New Mexico magazine, but until a week ago, I had never seen any evidence. Monday night he came home after a weekend jaunt, and called me over. He unloaded a tall wooden box out of the back of his SUV. It hit the driveway with a thud, and the box began buzzing.
He carried it into his garage, right up to the chest freezer, which he opened. There were a bunch of plastic "burlap" bags in there, which he said were all frozen rattlesnakes, all still alive, and a plastic 5-gallon bucket with a four-inch hole in the center of the lid. Dave opened the end of the wooden box and thrust his snake-catching stick with a loop on the end into the box. He snatched the loop tight and pulled up a five-foot rattler by the neck. It was writhing, rattling and biting the stick all the way to the bucket. After many tries, Snake Man finally fed the tail end into the bucket, which he said they couldn't escape from, and dropped the rest of the snake in. He repeated the process for two more future snakecicles. The fourth one wriggled enough to pop the lid off of the bucket! Dave looked in and saw that one of the first three had gotten out of the bucket and was trying to escape the freezer. He slammed the lid down on his stick, let loose of the fourth snake and snaked the stick out before any could escape the freezer. He smiled and said, "I guess the lid wasn't on very good." I guess not!
At least now I know that the Snake Man of Albuquerque is on top of things next door.
He carried it into his garage, right up to the chest freezer, which he opened. There were a bunch of plastic "burlap" bags in there, which he said were all frozen rattlesnakes, all still alive, and a plastic 5-gallon bucket with a four-inch hole in the center of the lid. Dave opened the end of the wooden box and thrust his snake-catching stick with a loop on the end into the box. He snatched the loop tight and pulled up a five-foot rattler by the neck. It was writhing, rattling and biting the stick all the way to the bucket. After many tries, Snake Man finally fed the tail end into the bucket, which he said they couldn't escape from, and dropped the rest of the snake in. He repeated the process for two more future snakecicles. The fourth one wriggled enough to pop the lid off of the bucket! Dave looked in and saw that one of the first three had gotten out of the bucket and was trying to escape the freezer. He slammed the lid down on his stick, let loose of the fourth snake and snaked the stick out before any could escape the freezer. He smiled and said, "I guess the lid wasn't on very good." I guess not!
At least now I know that the Snake Man of Albuquerque is on top of things next door.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
The Furnace Man Cometh
Carmen and I were at a small dinner party last night at a fancy dancy house up in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. Just before everyone arrived, our host dropped a six-pack of beer in the garage, and was in the process of cleaning it up when we arrived. This reminded me of a classic Emerson moment from January of 1968 in Odenton, Maryland.
My dad had a tooth pulled on this bitter cold Saturday morning. The dentist stuffed his mouth with gauze and sent him home. Our furnace was on the fritz, so we built a fire in the fireplace in the basement, and my dad was lying on the couch recovering in front of the fire. I was also in the basement, playing with my new birthday present, a road race set.
The furnace man was coming sometime around noon, so my mother went to the grocery store right after bringing home the tooth-pullee. They liked to watch Saturday Night At The Movies with a tall glass of Squirt spiked with gin to drink, and they were out of gin, so she also went to the liquor store. She came home and carried in the groceries through the basement and up the stairs to the kitchen- only the handrail snagged the paper bag, ripped it, the gin bottle fell out and shattered all over the basement floor.
Princess, my big ol' German Shepherd dog had two pet peeves: people who came in trucks, and the ringing of the door bell. So when the furnace man came, he racked up two strikes with the dog. Princess was already growling and barking when the door bell rang, and she ran to the front door to refine her warning. My dad bellowed, "Get the dog! Get the dog!"
I ran up the stairs in my socks. Oh yeah, did I mention that my mother had just waxed the floor at the top of the stairs? So I hit the wax, fell and slid across the short stretch of floor until I was stopped by my shin bashing against the corner of a doorway wall. "Waaaaaaaaaaahhh," I screamed in severe pain. (I still have a crease in my shin bone at that impact point.) Dad was still yelling "Get the dog! Get the dog!" with a big wad of gauze in his mouth. I grabbed Princess' collar and opened the door.
I wish I had had a camera handy to capture the look on the furnace man's face. Here was this teen-aged boy, limping and howling in pain, barely restraining a big German Shepherd that was barking and growling and straining to get at him, my dad bellowing unintelligibly from the basement, and the house reeking of gin. He ran in, dashed down to the furnace, also in the basement, fixed it in no time flat, and got out of there as fast as his legs could carry him. We would love to have heard what he told his wife when he got home.
My dad had a tooth pulled on this bitter cold Saturday morning. The dentist stuffed his mouth with gauze and sent him home. Our furnace was on the fritz, so we built a fire in the fireplace in the basement, and my dad was lying on the couch recovering in front of the fire. I was also in the basement, playing with my new birthday present, a road race set.
The furnace man was coming sometime around noon, so my mother went to the grocery store right after bringing home the tooth-pullee. They liked to watch Saturday Night At The Movies with a tall glass of Squirt spiked with gin to drink, and they were out of gin, so she also went to the liquor store. She came home and carried in the groceries through the basement and up the stairs to the kitchen- only the handrail snagged the paper bag, ripped it, the gin bottle fell out and shattered all over the basement floor.
Princess, my big ol' German Shepherd dog had two pet peeves: people who came in trucks, and the ringing of the door bell. So when the furnace man came, he racked up two strikes with the dog. Princess was already growling and barking when the door bell rang, and she ran to the front door to refine her warning. My dad bellowed, "Get the dog! Get the dog!"
I ran up the stairs in my socks. Oh yeah, did I mention that my mother had just waxed the floor at the top of the stairs? So I hit the wax, fell and slid across the short stretch of floor until I was stopped by my shin bashing against the corner of a doorway wall. "Waaaaaaaaaaahhh," I screamed in severe pain. (I still have a crease in my shin bone at that impact point.) Dad was still yelling "Get the dog! Get the dog!" with a big wad of gauze in his mouth. I grabbed Princess' collar and opened the door.
I wish I had had a camera handy to capture the look on the furnace man's face. Here was this teen-aged boy, limping and howling in pain, barely restraining a big German Shepherd that was barking and growling and straining to get at him, my dad bellowing unintelligibly from the basement, and the house reeking of gin. He ran in, dashed down to the furnace, also in the basement, fixed it in no time flat, and got out of there as fast as his legs could carry him. We would love to have heard what he told his wife when he got home.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Shopping Tips
Yin didn't finish her scoop of canned food last night, which was a good thing because what she left in her dish was all the Yin food I had left in the house. This morning I served up that last bite before I got ready to finally walk to the grocery store after rainy weather kept me home for two days. My list had grown so long during those two days, I knew I had to fire up the Old Lady Grocery Cart for the first time in Albuquerque.
One good thing about all that rain: the path beside my shortcut arroyo (a New Mexico thing- it's a paved drainage ditch that can contain flash floods through the city) that leads to the main road would have most of the dog turd land mines washed away. They're not a problem for walking, I can watch my step and be okay. But Old Betsy's wheels would be more problematic, as the path is narrow and the mines are usually along the edges.
I took my Old Lady Cart to the store many times in Massachusetts, along paved pathways and sidewalks all the way to the store. The biggest problem was that smaller items, such as cat food cans- did I mention I was out of canned cat food?- would fall out of the cart while shopping unless I loaded stuff into my reusable bags at the bottom of the cart. I'd been cogitating about this disasterous consequence these couple of days, and came up with a brilliant solution. Do you know those big, wide blue bags you can get from Ikea? Well, it just so happens that we have a couple of those. I lined the bottom of OLGC with one, and it fit perfectly! I tied the handles to the cart to keep it from collapsing, loaded my reusable bags inside and was off!
While the land mine situation had indeed improved since my last trip along the arroyo, there was another intermittent problem I'd never encountered in Albuquerque: mud! Usually any water that hits the ground dries the instant the sun comes out- but the sun hadn't come out yet at 7:30 this cloudy morning. But we persevered and made it to the store, my Old Lady Cart and I.
Starting with canned food and other structurally secure items, I filled my Ikea bag to the brim, topping it off with produce, eggs and a loaf of bread. I got to the checkout, and thought, "Hey, maybe I can just lift that sucker out of there and unload the cart in one swift fluid motion." This is what is referred to in literature as a best-laid plan. It was a motion, well, a series of herky jerky motions, accompanied by a lot of grunting, not a little cursing, and the little woman behind me in line trying to hold onto the OLC, which was flopping around like a big, ungainly rattletrap fish. I did get the bag out, though, and set it on the belt, a satisfied smile on my beet-red face.
The trip back was the same as the trip out, with the addition of fifty pounds of groceries in the cart. It sank in the mud once, and grazed a freshly supplied land mine, but we're home now, groceries are put away, Cat Juggler is almost posted. It's time to invent a South Beach Diet friendly pumpkin goo dessert! Life is never boring for a minister's wife!
One good thing about all that rain: the path beside my shortcut arroyo (a New Mexico thing- it's a paved drainage ditch that can contain flash floods through the city) that leads to the main road would have most of the dog turd land mines washed away. They're not a problem for walking, I can watch my step and be okay. But Old Betsy's wheels would be more problematic, as the path is narrow and the mines are usually along the edges.
I took my Old Lady Cart to the store many times in Massachusetts, along paved pathways and sidewalks all the way to the store. The biggest problem was that smaller items, such as cat food cans- did I mention I was out of canned cat food?- would fall out of the cart while shopping unless I loaded stuff into my reusable bags at the bottom of the cart. I'd been cogitating about this disasterous consequence these couple of days, and came up with a brilliant solution. Do you know those big, wide blue bags you can get from Ikea? Well, it just so happens that we have a couple of those. I lined the bottom of OLGC with one, and it fit perfectly! I tied the handles to the cart to keep it from collapsing, loaded my reusable bags inside and was off!
While the land mine situation had indeed improved since my last trip along the arroyo, there was another intermittent problem I'd never encountered in Albuquerque: mud! Usually any water that hits the ground dries the instant the sun comes out- but the sun hadn't come out yet at 7:30 this cloudy morning. But we persevered and made it to the store, my Old Lady Cart and I.
Starting with canned food and other structurally secure items, I filled my Ikea bag to the brim, topping it off with produce, eggs and a loaf of bread. I got to the checkout, and thought, "Hey, maybe I can just lift that sucker out of there and unload the cart in one swift fluid motion." This is what is referred to in literature as a best-laid plan. It was a motion, well, a series of herky jerky motions, accompanied by a lot of grunting, not a little cursing, and the little woman behind me in line trying to hold onto the OLC, which was flopping around like a big, ungainly rattletrap fish. I did get the bag out, though, and set it on the belt, a satisfied smile on my beet-red face.
The trip back was the same as the trip out, with the addition of fifty pounds of groceries in the cart. It sank in the mud once, and grazed a freshly supplied land mine, but we're home now, groceries are put away, Cat Juggler is almost posted. It's time to invent a South Beach Diet friendly pumpkin goo dessert! Life is never boring for a minister's wife!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
With Apologies
I have been having so much fun writing about my adventures on the road in The Gospel of Rand McNally, I fear I have been neglecting my huge fan base for Cat Juggler. The sad truth is that there has not been much to write about in my life recently. We all know that Carmen did her first full Sunday flying solo a few days ago, and that she did a great job. Monday I finally got Yin on video rolling in the sunshine. Yesterday's big project was gutting, peeling, cooking and pureeing a pumpkin for some yummy South Beach Diet friendly desserts yet to come, with toasted pumpkin seeds as a by-product. I was going to walk to the grocery store for a long list of stuff for the dessert and for the rest of our nutritional needs, but a huge storm blew up and ruined that plan. Today it's chilly and rainy- rare in New Mexico- and my primary function (I've already fed the kitties and scooped the litter box) is waiting for Colby to call from Albuquerque Little Theatre to tell me he's ready to begin in earnest building for White Christmas.
The kitties heard me open the back door this morning and came running as usual, but when they discovered the state of the weather outside, they high-tailed it back inside. We're all hoping for clearing skies and a return of that sunshine to which we've become accustomed. I have four pounds of pumpkin goo waiting for sweet transformation. And I'm out of peanut butter! We got trouble right here in the Land of Enchantment.
Some of my favorite moments await me at the blog next door, The Gospel Of Rand McNally, and I'm itching to get back to it. Once Colby calls, my huge raft of free time will slip out from under me. Much as I am ready to get to work at a paying job, this blogging thing has busted loose a logjam of words that are aching to be typed!
The kitties heard me open the back door this morning and came running as usual, but when they discovered the state of the weather outside, they high-tailed it back inside. We're all hoping for clearing skies and a return of that sunshine to which we've become accustomed. I have four pounds of pumpkin goo waiting for sweet transformation. And I'm out of peanut butter! We got trouble right here in the Land of Enchantment.
Some of my favorite moments await me at the blog next door, The Gospel Of Rand McNally, and I'm itching to get back to it. Once Colby calls, my huge raft of free time will slip out from under me. Much as I am ready to get to work at a paying job, this blogging thing has busted loose a logjam of words that are aching to be typed!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Rolling Rolling 2
My girl was outside today, and I was able to get to the camera in time to catch her in the act of rolling around in the sunshine! It only took three weeks for her to get comfortable enough outside to roll and for me to have the camera handy enough to catch it!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
A Glimmer
As some of you know, I have been volunteering at Albuquerque Little Theatre these past few weeks. Yesterday I was hoping to start on the next show, "Irving Berlin's White Christmas" but Colby hasn't yet had his designs approved by the powers that be. There are eleven sets for this show, in a theatre that has no fly capability, almost no wing space, and a very small stage. Any set not in use has to roll out the back into the shop. A big job, and four weeks to get it all ready.
So yesterday I was going down the punch list for "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," which opens on the 23rd and runs through Hallowe'en weekend. I shored up weak areas of the big 24' X 7' ramp which I built and Colby installed onstage. I built some small platforms on the backside of the big tree on the set so actors can stand behind it and act from the treetop. I built a mirror on a stand for Icabod to do a routine with. I was done at about 3:00, and waited in line to talk to Colby.
When everyone else had scattered to do their thing, I asked Colby what our next move might be. He said, "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but...you know White Christmas is a hell of a lot of work. I'm submitting a contract to the Board to hire you on just for this show, because it needs to be a real nice job, and I can't do it by myself if you get a job or for whatever reason can't volunteer enough hours to get it all done. If they approve it." I smiled and said, "I won't hold you to it. And thank you." Woo hoo! Somebody wants me to build scenery in Albuquerque!
So yesterday I was going down the punch list for "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," which opens on the 23rd and runs through Hallowe'en weekend. I shored up weak areas of the big 24' X 7' ramp which I built and Colby installed onstage. I built some small platforms on the backside of the big tree on the set so actors can stand behind it and act from the treetop. I built a mirror on a stand for Icabod to do a routine with. I was done at about 3:00, and waited in line to talk to Colby.
When everyone else had scattered to do their thing, I asked Colby what our next move might be. He said, "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but...you know White Christmas is a hell of a lot of work. I'm submitting a contract to the Board to hire you on just for this show, because it needs to be a real nice job, and I can't do it by myself if you get a job or for whatever reason can't volunteer enough hours to get it all done. If they approve it." I smiled and said, "I won't hold you to it. And thank you." Woo hoo! Somebody wants me to build scenery in Albuquerque!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Rolling Rolling
My little blind girl was siezed with the compulsion to roll around on a sun-baked area of our back patio yesterday. She flopped down on her side and rolled over on her back, feet flailing in the air in her first moment of total relaxation outside. It was heartwarming to watch her be comfortable and joyful outside for the first time in her life.
Tuesday afternoon she heard a little butterfly (or was it a moth?) flying nearby, reared up on her hind legs and swatted in the direction of the sound. The insect landed on a flower and she lost track of it, but swatted a few more times in the direction of the last place she heard it. It was very very cute.
On both of these occasions I was camera-free, or there would be pictures posted over there. I guess I'll just have to start taking a camera with me every time we go outside.
Tuesday afternoon she heard a little butterfly (or was it a moth?) flying nearby, reared up on her hind legs and swatted in the direction of the sound. The insect landed on a flower and she lost track of it, but swatted a few more times in the direction of the last place she heard it. It was very very cute.
On both of these occasions I was camera-free, or there would be pictures posted over there. I guess I'll just have to start taking a camera with me every time we go outside.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Infection
The cat juggler in me won't let this moment pass without mentioning that our little blind girl, Yin, now comes running when she hears the back door opening. She still hasn't relaxed out there on the back patio, but she hurries out the door and wanders for a long time where a couple of weeks ago she feared to tread.She has the heart of a lion.
The infection mentioned in the title is, of course, in the computer I depend on for email, job hunting, Facebooking and blogging. It reared its ugly head early Friday morning when I first fired 'er up. The worst one called itself Windows Police Pro Anti Virus. It attached itself to Internet Explorer, stopped me from going online "until I paid for the service" which involved my credit card info. If I weren't so hinky about credit card transactions on the internet- indeed if I weren't suspicious of everything on the Internet- if I were naive, in other words, I might have been bullied into complying. So I tried to delete it with the Control Panel, but guess what- the Control Panel was completely disabled as well.
Luckily, Carmen had just purchased a copy of Norton 360, which I loaded on Saturday evening after the Balloons Flailing In The Wind show. First it uninstalled AVAST!, which had done nothing about the infection after repeated attempts to root it out. Then it scanned out and fixed FOUR viral problems. Saturday night I was back online and able to load my balloon pix onto Facebook, play a word in my Scrabble game with Cyndie, check my email, post the previous Cat Juggler story, and finish the London story on thegospelofrandmcnally blog. I shut down, then on Sunday morning fired up again, only to find EVERYTHING disabled including Norton. I read my Norton booklet this morning, looking for a phone number for support. I was told that I could get my phone number from their website. Aaaaaaaaaaaugh!!!
What fixed it (for now, anyway) was to start the computer with the Norton disc in the drive and reboot starting with the Norton disc. After I did, it reported another virus caught- another virus in Anti Virus clothing. So for now I'm back in business.
No wonder my dad hates his computer. One of my pet peeves (there are so many!) is a tool that makes your work fast and easy, malfunctioning so that all of your time and energy is taken up trying to make the tool do anything useful. Technology. Whatever happened to stone knives and bear skins?
The infection mentioned in the title is, of course, in the computer I depend on for email, job hunting, Facebooking and blogging. It reared its ugly head early Friday morning when I first fired 'er up. The worst one called itself Windows Police Pro Anti Virus. It attached itself to Internet Explorer, stopped me from going online "until I paid for the service" which involved my credit card info. If I weren't so hinky about credit card transactions on the internet- indeed if I weren't suspicious of everything on the Internet- if I were naive, in other words, I might have been bullied into complying. So I tried to delete it with the Control Panel, but guess what- the Control Panel was completely disabled as well.
Luckily, Carmen had just purchased a copy of Norton 360, which I loaded on Saturday evening after the Balloons Flailing In The Wind show. First it uninstalled AVAST!, which had done nothing about the infection after repeated attempts to root it out. Then it scanned out and fixed FOUR viral problems. Saturday night I was back online and able to load my balloon pix onto Facebook, play a word in my Scrabble game with Cyndie, check my email, post the previous Cat Juggler story, and finish the London story on thegospelofrandmcnally blog. I shut down, then on Sunday morning fired up again, only to find EVERYTHING disabled including Norton. I read my Norton booklet this morning, looking for a phone number for support. I was told that I could get my phone number from their website. Aaaaaaaaaaaugh!!!
What fixed it (for now, anyway) was to start the computer with the Norton disc in the drive and reboot starting with the Norton disc. After I did, it reported another virus caught- another virus in Anti Virus clothing. So for now I'm back in business.
No wonder my dad hates his computer. One of my pet peeves (there are so many!) is a tool that makes your work fast and easy, malfunctioning so that all of your time and energy is taken up trying to make the tool do anything useful. Technology. Whatever happened to stone knives and bear skins?
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Fun In Albuquerque
Our friend Karen from Orlando arrived yesterday. We picked her up at the airport, had a very late lunch at one of the hundreds of Mexican restaurants and came home. The Sandia Mountains lit up bright pink at sunset while the women were out for a walk. Afterward the prudent thing to do was to go to bed early in preparation for our 4:30 wake-up call for the Balloon Fiesta.
The Park-And-Ride lot was less than a mile away. We arrived there at 5:30, boarded a school bus and headed for Fiesta Park. First order of business: Carmen was told by locals to be sure and have a Breakfast Burrito. She and Karen have an amendment to that rule: DON'T have a Breakfast Burrito. Second: buy blankets and gloves at the Walgreen's tent. It was COLD!
A bunch of balloons were inflating as we arrived in time for the Morning Glow. As soon as they were standing ready to launch, the Master of Ceremonies (who could talk nonstop about balloons for hours at a stretch- we can vouch for that) called for an "all burn," and all the balloons lit up with a burst of flame. Then M.C. Yammer called for a "flicker burn." They all did short blasts to light each balloon for a second per blast. This went on for a while as balloon after balloon rose into the still-dark sky and did bright burns on command until they had drifted far away.
Meanwhile, many hundreds more balloons were being inflated. By the time the sun came over the Sandia Mountains, the sky was packed with bright colors. The Darth Vader balloon went up to loud cheers. The Creamland Dairy cow took off. Nemo, Pepe Le Pew, Humpty Dumpty and a couple of bees became airborne. By 8:30, they were pretty much all up- all five hundred or so.
We left and went to breakfast, came home and took a nap. Arthur and Bethany from Boston called about 2:00 to arrange meeting up for a very late lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Old Town before we all went back for the evening Fiesta Festivities. There wasn't a balloon in sight when we arrived this time. There were probably fifteen kites in the air, and the balloon crews were arriving on the field, unpacking and setting up for the Evening Magic Glow. Within an hour there were about a hundred balloons standing, tethered, waiting for dusk. Before dusk, however, a gusty breeze kicked up. The balloons all began flailing back and forth, falling over and deflating. Soon the call was made to abandon the glow show except for the "candlesticks," the gas flamers shooting fire high in the dark sky without balloons on top. When they ended that show, we left as the moved-up fireworks began. Arthur and Bethany went back to their Bed And Breakfast, and we came home. I downloaded 128 new pictures onto my computer, fired up Norton to chase some malware out of my Internet Explorer, and here I am at last, after two days cut off from email, Facebook and Cat Juggler. It's good to be back.
The Park-And-Ride lot was less than a mile away. We arrived there at 5:30, boarded a school bus and headed for Fiesta Park. First order of business: Carmen was told by locals to be sure and have a Breakfast Burrito. She and Karen have an amendment to that rule: DON'T have a Breakfast Burrito. Second: buy blankets and gloves at the Walgreen's tent. It was COLD!
A bunch of balloons were inflating as we arrived in time for the Morning Glow. As soon as they were standing ready to launch, the Master of Ceremonies (who could talk nonstop about balloons for hours at a stretch- we can vouch for that) called for an "all burn," and all the balloons lit up with a burst of flame. Then M.C. Yammer called for a "flicker burn." They all did short blasts to light each balloon for a second per blast. This went on for a while as balloon after balloon rose into the still-dark sky and did bright burns on command until they had drifted far away.
Meanwhile, many hundreds more balloons were being inflated. By the time the sun came over the Sandia Mountains, the sky was packed with bright colors. The Darth Vader balloon went up to loud cheers. The Creamland Dairy cow took off. Nemo, Pepe Le Pew, Humpty Dumpty and a couple of bees became airborne. By 8:30, they were pretty much all up- all five hundred or so.
We left and went to breakfast, came home and took a nap. Arthur and Bethany from Boston called about 2:00 to arrange meeting up for a very late lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Old Town before we all went back for the evening Fiesta Festivities. There wasn't a balloon in sight when we arrived this time. There were probably fifteen kites in the air, and the balloon crews were arriving on the field, unpacking and setting up for the Evening Magic Glow. Within an hour there were about a hundred balloons standing, tethered, waiting for dusk. Before dusk, however, a gusty breeze kicked up. The balloons all began flailing back and forth, falling over and deflating. Soon the call was made to abandon the glow show except for the "candlesticks," the gas flamers shooting fire high in the dark sky without balloons on top. When they ended that show, we left as the moved-up fireworks began. Arthur and Bethany went back to their Bed And Breakfast, and we came home. I downloaded 128 new pictures onto my computer, fired up Norton to chase some malware out of my Internet Explorer, and here I am at last, after two days cut off from email, Facebook and Cat Juggler. It's good to be back.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Aging Well
Somehow, in the last three moves and four years of lendings, our copy of The Honesty Room by Dar Williams evaporated- or maybe slipped into another dimension. So this week I bought it again. I am listening to it as I write. I had to click on the Cat during my favorite song, "You're Aging Well." I first heard it played and sung by Cyndie G. Cox many many years ago. Since then I've seen Dar in concert twice (once in Cambridge, MA) and still, that song brings tears to my eyes. I think of my mother, who halfway believed the signs the signmakers made, and my wife, who could have heeded the signs but didn't. Carmen could have stayed in Arkansas, married a good old boy and been barefoot and pregnant ever since. What a criminal waste of material that would have been.
I've never heeded the signs. Of course, that's why I'm unemployed now. No college, still getting dirty every day at fifty six, but with a thousand stories to tell. I wouldn't trade a minute of it. Luckily, my current predicament is merely a minor setback instead of a disaster, but even so, there are many good things that have come out of this period of too much time on my hands. I learned Powerpoint; I joined Facebook; I am a valued volunteer at the theatre; and I have very much enjoyed writing this crapola. I'm thinking of starting another blog devoted to my hundreds of travel stories. There are some good ones.
I'll find a job here, I know I will. I hope it is less strenuous and time-consuming than my past twenty two years. Those days of ten to sixteen hour days didn't give me time to amuse myself so completely. The signmakers keep trying to tell me I'm doing things wrong. My sign reads: If You're Not Enjoying Your Life, You're Not Doing It Right! So there, amen.
I've never heeded the signs. Of course, that's why I'm unemployed now. No college, still getting dirty every day at fifty six, but with a thousand stories to tell. I wouldn't trade a minute of it. Luckily, my current predicament is merely a minor setback instead of a disaster, but even so, there are many good things that have come out of this period of too much time on my hands. I learned Powerpoint; I joined Facebook; I am a valued volunteer at the theatre; and I have very much enjoyed writing this crapola. I'm thinking of starting another blog devoted to my hundreds of travel stories. There are some good ones.
I'll find a job here, I know I will. I hope it is less strenuous and time-consuming than my past twenty two years. Those days of ten to sixteen hour days didn't give me time to amuse myself so completely. The signmakers keep trying to tell me I'm doing things wrong. My sign reads: If You're Not Enjoying Your Life, You're Not Doing It Right! So there, amen.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Ass Whippin'
The ramp for Sleepy Hollow is built. Some high school kids were scheduled to go to Albuquerque Little Theatre today and put a base coat of paint on it. Colby likes grey. He's the TD (Technical Director for those of you not in show biz) and he's happy to have me around. His other volunteer carpenter Matthew is 86 years old and can only work one day a week.
The December show is the one Colby is really worried about. They're doing Irving Berlin's White Christmas, a show with eleven different sets. They have no fly space, very little wing space and no budget to speak of. Colby's excited because Carmen and I saw it twice in Boston- once with MD Fogg and spouse- and I've done automated scenery before, as well as other forms of moving set pieces. We're going to have to pull every trick in the book to do this show justice with the time and money and space available for it. Good thing I'm not in The Secret Garden.
The title of this posting refers to yesterday, a nine hour day volunteering down at ALT. At about 3:30, Matthew and I finished building and assembling the 7 foot by 24 foot ramp. Matthew went home, and I crawled around on the floor for three more hours cutting and attaching 36 legs to make it show-worthy. A nine-hour strenuous day after three months of sitting at my computer just about kicked my ass. For a lot of my show biz career, a nine-hour day meant we were going home early. Maybe I'm getting older. Maybe I could get used to ten to sixteen hour days again. Truth is, I don't want to get my ass whipped like that any more.
The December show is the one Colby is really worried about. They're doing Irving Berlin's White Christmas, a show with eleven different sets. They have no fly space, very little wing space and no budget to speak of. Colby's excited because Carmen and I saw it twice in Boston- once with MD Fogg and spouse- and I've done automated scenery before, as well as other forms of moving set pieces. We're going to have to pull every trick in the book to do this show justice with the time and money and space available for it. Good thing I'm not in The Secret Garden.
The title of this posting refers to yesterday, a nine hour day volunteering down at ALT. At about 3:30, Matthew and I finished building and assembling the 7 foot by 24 foot ramp. Matthew went home, and I crawled around on the floor for three more hours cutting and attaching 36 legs to make it show-worthy. A nine-hour strenuous day after three months of sitting at my computer just about kicked my ass. For a lot of my show biz career, a nine-hour day meant we were going home early. Maybe I'm getting older. Maybe I could get used to ten to sixteen hour days again. Truth is, I don't want to get my ass whipped like that any more.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
What The Flux!
My Sunday morning musings were skewed today by two things: being busy busy busy, and my self-torture over yesterday's audition for The Secret Garden.
I have two jobs here at home, apart from the job of looking for a job. I fix South Beach Diet friendly meals for Carmen (She's lost 18 pounds in two months) and I clean the house. So from 6:30 to 8:30 I was cooking breakfast stuff and salad toppings for lunches for the week, and washing dishes. After she left for church, the way was clear to change out the litter boxes, vacuum the whole house, mop the bathrooms, hallway, foyer and kitcken, dust and put everything back together. Then I did my regimen of slogging through job search web sites. All of this was woefully behind because of my re-immersion into the wacky world of theatre. Wednesday I went to Musical Theatre Southwest to talk to them about scenery production, then to Albuquerque Little Theatre to talk to them about the same thing. Thursday I bought my first monthly bus pass before heading to MTS to pick up a loaner script for The Secret Garden. Things take a looooong time by bus here in Albuquerque. Friday I built part of a 24 foot ramp for The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow at ALT.
Saturday I did my vocal audition. I was flabberghasted by how nervous I was. My last audition, back in 1986, I was a little nervous, but it didn't affect my performance. Saturday I was appalled by the sounds coming out of my mouth. I have no idea if I was really as bad as I sounded to me, but I know fo sho that I hated it. The raw shame has subsided some now, but I also know fo sho that for the rest of my life, whenever I am reminded of that audition, I will cringe unto paralysis.
I might still get the part of the gruff but cute old gardener- he is a minor character part who doesn't have to sing pretty. I still fit that bill, I think. Meanwhile, I have a Sleepy Hollow ramp to finish and the Secret Garden sets to start, if the Technical Director ever contacts me.
Meanwhile, I might get a call for an interview with the New Mexico School For The Blind, and from some anonymous cabinets etc. shop downtown that advertised on Craig's List Friday. So I might be busy busy busy all the time soon. Or I might just be moderately busy building scenery on a volunteer basis. At least I'll be doing something outside the house. That's a good thing.
I have two jobs here at home, apart from the job of looking for a job. I fix South Beach Diet friendly meals for Carmen (She's lost 18 pounds in two months) and I clean the house. So from 6:30 to 8:30 I was cooking breakfast stuff and salad toppings for lunches for the week, and washing dishes. After she left for church, the way was clear to change out the litter boxes, vacuum the whole house, mop the bathrooms, hallway, foyer and kitcken, dust and put everything back together. Then I did my regimen of slogging through job search web sites. All of this was woefully behind because of my re-immersion into the wacky world of theatre. Wednesday I went to Musical Theatre Southwest to talk to them about scenery production, then to Albuquerque Little Theatre to talk to them about the same thing. Thursday I bought my first monthly bus pass before heading to MTS to pick up a loaner script for The Secret Garden. Things take a looooong time by bus here in Albuquerque. Friday I built part of a 24 foot ramp for The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow at ALT.
Saturday I did my vocal audition. I was flabberghasted by how nervous I was. My last audition, back in 1986, I was a little nervous, but it didn't affect my performance. Saturday I was appalled by the sounds coming out of my mouth. I have no idea if I was really as bad as I sounded to me, but I know fo sho that I hated it. The raw shame has subsided some now, but I also know fo sho that for the rest of my life, whenever I am reminded of that audition, I will cringe unto paralysis.
I might still get the part of the gruff but cute old gardener- he is a minor character part who doesn't have to sing pretty. I still fit that bill, I think. Meanwhile, I have a Sleepy Hollow ramp to finish and the Secret Garden sets to start, if the Technical Director ever contacts me.
Meanwhile, I might get a call for an interview with the New Mexico School For The Blind, and from some anonymous cabinets etc. shop downtown that advertised on Craig's List Friday. So I might be busy busy busy all the time soon. Or I might just be moderately busy building scenery on a volunteer basis. At least I'll be doing something outside the house. That's a good thing.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Finally!
After nearly three months living in a house with a walled-in back yard, our little blind girl has gone outside twice in the last three days. Thursday it was too late to catch any rays, but this afternoon we went out just as the last of the sunny spots were walking away. She circled the patio, taking care not to walk on the gravel (ouch!) that surrounds it. She walked into a ray and stopped, sniffing and turning her face to her first blast of real, unfiltered New Mexico sunshine. I didn't get a picture of it because the camera was in the house and I didn't want to spook her by going inside until after she'd had her fill.
Professor Remus J. Lupin stalked and attacked her a couple of times, being that there were no snails to beat up on out there. This did not concern her. RJL has been stalking and attacking her multiple times a day for six years. She barely notices any more.
Nobody wanted to come in when it was time. I had to pull the old "open a can of cat food" trick. That one almost always works.
Professor Remus J. Lupin stalked and attacked her a couple of times, being that there were no snails to beat up on out there. This did not concern her. RJL has been stalking and attacking her multiple times a day for six years. She barely notices any more.
Nobody wanted to come in when it was time. I had to pull the old "open a can of cat food" trick. That one almost always works.
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