I'm exhausted. I got home at 11something last night (or 1, Chicago time), exchanged a few words with Sweetie, then woke up at 7 to see Sweetie off to work. And then I went almost immediately back to sleep. I woke up at 9, read some of the paper, ate breakfast, and... went back to sleep. At noon, I woke up again and I've been awake (although less than productive) ever since.
I still have to write about the pizza night, and I have some more impressions of Chicago to share, but I'm unmotivated at the moment. I also still have three days' worth of newspapers to finish.
Take care,
CM
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Suzanne
This one is kind of a cheat, since this photo is from BlogHer06. Suzanne's hair is longer now. But I couldn't leave her out, could I?
Count Mockula
I was browsing Suebob's (of Red Stapler fame) blog, and found that she'd posted pictures from BlogHer. Here's me with her stapler.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Not gonna remember it all.
Saturday after the keynote address, we walked down the Navy Pier to a reception at the Children's Museum. It was sort of oddly laid out -- there was a massive crush in the front entryway, and you had to push through a crowd to get to an area that was relatively empty, but there was blaring music. People came around with trays of food again (including dolmas and spanikopita -- yum!), and I drank water and sat (actually stood -- there were no chairs) with Plain Jane Mom and One Weird Mother (I'll put links later, I'm on battery power) and Des and Alex Elliot. Suzanne thought she was stuck watching our bags, so she stayed in the crowded corner the whole night. It was too loud, so we couldn't really communicate, and she thought she was watching the bags, but we thought she knew and was coming over, but had gotten in a conversation. All in all, it was a pleasant enough reception. I really wanted to talk to folks, so I didn't break away and check out the museum, but I would have like it, I think.
After quite a while, we decided to check out "Venetian Night," a once a year happening at the waterfront where boats get all decorated with lights and parade by a crowd of onlookers. Well, we walked a long way, so when we finally found a good waterfront spot of lawn with hundreds upon hundreds of other people, we figured we'd found it. We waited quite a while, and finally a fire boat came by playing music with tons of lights, dancing firemen, and a dancing cow (Mrs. O'Leary's, presumably). We were like "Yay! Finally!" Then 45 minutes passed and another boat came by. Then another 45 minutes or so, and a fireworks show began. It turns out that the boats were all further down! But the fireworks show was one of the most incredible I've seen in my life. It was really long, but it was filled with colorful ones, glittry ones, those giant bursting spheres... It was great.
Then we were hungry, so we walked to the "River East" area, where Suzanne said there were good restaurants. By the time we got there, we had been walking a long time and were REALLY hungry, so we stopped in pretty much the first acceptable-looking place, Von's Thai Kitchen. It was really... mediocre. They brought us this grated daikon dish and described is as "encompassing all the flavors of our kitchen." Yeah, I was expecting something like that tart, spicy green papaya salad, not, well, raw-ass unseasoned daikon. And it did pretty much encompass all the flavors of their kitchen. Nothing was horrible, it just wasn't that good.
We crashed out that night. Anyone who noticed that I haven't blogged in a few days while on a blogging-themed adventure will now understand why -- after we left the keynote, there was no time to bust out the laptop and no place to get wifi. We got back to the hotel well after midnight, so I wasn't logging on then. In fact, we crashed out hard.
The next morning there was supposed to be an "un-conference." The idea was, you gather, come up with ideas about things you'd like to talk about that came up (or didn't) in the conference itself, and then anyone can lead a little table session. The thing said breakfast started at 9, so we wandered down shortly thereafter and started to get our food. They had bagels, but only a couple toasters, so we had to wait, then we went into the main room and sat down with our food. Almost immediately, a tall woman in linen pants said "Okay, everyone come get in the circle." Most people looked nonplussed and said they were still eating. She made a couple more passes, trying to get everyone in the circle, but most, like me, had a mug, a plate, and silverware, and were more comfortable at a table than in a chair alone. We stayed put and ate. Finally, the woman got really frustrated (it's only 9:20 at this point) and goes "Okay, everyone needs to be in the circle RIGHT NOW. You can bring your plate, or you can eat in 15 minutes." The four of us just stayed put. I wasn't moving before I was done with breakfast. I was hungry, I can get a little hypoglycemic, and ... just no! Don't boss me around! So we sat. She came over to us and snapped "You guys need to get in the circle." Suzanne snapped back, something like "No, I'm going to finish my breakfast." The woman stood up, walked a few steps away, and a woman looked from us to her, and the linen lady (let's call her Type-A bitch, or TAB) and TAB shrugged and rolled her eyes like we were real assholes. Within another 15 seconds or so, she walked back my the table and muttered under her breath "Fine, don't join the circle then." But my favorite, favorite part, was that she immediately launched into the principles of an unconference -- that whoever shows up is who's meant to, whatever happens is supposed to (like people eating their fucking breakfast, right?), blah blah, easygoing tolerance. I'm thinking she needs a different job. It's like Donald Trump running a Buddhist monastery. It's the wrong personality. Anyway, there was a bit of additional stuff (Suzanne wrested the mic out of TAB's hands to introduce herself), but we didn't stay long at all.
We checked out, Alex called her parents for a ride, and Suzanne, Des and I set out for an adventure!
Our first stop was a river/lake tour by boat! We took the 90 minute tour, because it was the same price as the 60 minute, and it was leaving in a few minutes. It was really a great view of the city -- it gave you some space to look at the buildings. We saw a building where Al Capone had a private elevator to his office, and which had decor on top made of gold. We saw several buildings that curved with the river, or had architecture designed to reflect the water, to allow residents to have a view but not see into others' apartments, we saw a building so narrow that there was no room for a ramp to parking, so they instead had a car elevator, and it cost $60,000 a year to park your car there. We saw the Sears Tower, the John Hancock building, one of the world's largest stores (something like two full city blocks, and seven stories). I may not be remembering all the details accurately at this point, but the buildings were gorgoues. The tour guide had a lot to say about the architechture, which was right up my alley. Oh! The buildings were not allowed to interfere with the train lines, so they built OVER the tracks, using only like five support beams to hold up the entire building. There were also some funny stories about buildings that were designed so that there could be four corner offices on each corner, and one build cylindrical so there were NO corner offices.
We turned around and went out to Lake Michigan. Apparently, they needed to reverse the flow of the river so that not all the pollution went into the lake (I hope I'm not conflating stories, but I may be), so they did! To get out to the lake, we had to go through a lock and rise to the right level first. We had a great view from there of the skyline and of Navy Pier.
When our tour was done, we walked to Grant Park (highlight -- the coolest fountain ever), Millenium Park (highlight -- a reflective kidney bean statue), walked a Frank Gehry designed bridge, almost walked through the middle of a baseball game. We got lunch and ice cream, and then walked back to the hotel to get our luggage. On the way, we saw a sculpture by Miro and another by Picasso.
Then Suzanne's dad came to get us. The drive was LOVELY, and we saw Wrigley Field, the zoo, and acres of parkland. We also went through some different neighborhoods. I'll have to say more on my impressions of Chicago later.
We dropped our things off and then pretty quickly went to meet a friend of Suzanne's at Blind Faith, a vegetarian restaurant in... Evanston? I got a little disoriented about which suburb we were in. It was a vegetarian cafe, and I had Bibim Bop (a korean rice dish with veggies). It wasn't exactly like the Korean dish, but it was delicious, and I ate until I thought I might throw up! And, you know, then we split cake.
Back at the ranch, we got out Trivial Pursuit and stayed up until almost 1 in a hotly contested game (Suzanne was in the lead for a long time, but her mom eventually won). I was doing okay, but I was so tired I kept getting easy ones wrong ("Oh, the crazy NRA guy, you know. Moses. I can picture him...")
This morning we slept in a bit, then Suzanne made us Cream of Wheat (no lumps). We drove to the Baha'i temple, which was really beautiful. We walked around the gardens a bit, but it was hot outside, so after that we turned around and went back to get Suzanne's mom for lunch. The four of us met her dad, Suebob, Suebob's brother-in-law and neice, and the friend from last night for INCREDIBLE south Indian food at Udupi Palace. It was really, really good (although mild), and we ate family style, so I got to try three kinds of dosas, muttar paneer, aloo gobi, palaak paneer, sambar, the eggplant stuff, and I can't even recall what else. Oh, it was delicious!
I'm now at O'hare waiting at my gate, and it's boiling hot. I guess they haven't heard of air conditioning. I also can't find an outlet, so I'm not at 35% battery power, and ought to sign off. I was hoping to hear from Mom and Sweetie, but I'm out of time.
I had a great trip, and I really thing this last little bit, just spending non-conference time together, was some of the very best. I have never had the opportunity to miss Suzanne and Des before, but now I do.
Okay, later, all, with impressions of Chicago, and hopefully NO drama of the flight back (besides the fact that I'm a bit delayed).
After quite a while, we decided to check out "Venetian Night," a once a year happening at the waterfront where boats get all decorated with lights and parade by a crowd of onlookers. Well, we walked a long way, so when we finally found a good waterfront spot of lawn with hundreds upon hundreds of other people, we figured we'd found it. We waited quite a while, and finally a fire boat came by playing music with tons of lights, dancing firemen, and a dancing cow (Mrs. O'Leary's, presumably). We were like "Yay! Finally!" Then 45 minutes passed and another boat came by. Then another 45 minutes or so, and a fireworks show began. It turns out that the boats were all further down! But the fireworks show was one of the most incredible I've seen in my life. It was really long, but it was filled with colorful ones, glittry ones, those giant bursting spheres... It was great.
Then we were hungry, so we walked to the "River East" area, where Suzanne said there were good restaurants. By the time we got there, we had been walking a long time and were REALLY hungry, so we stopped in pretty much the first acceptable-looking place, Von's Thai Kitchen. It was really... mediocre. They brought us this grated daikon dish and described is as "encompassing all the flavors of our kitchen." Yeah, I was expecting something like that tart, spicy green papaya salad, not, well, raw-ass unseasoned daikon. And it did pretty much encompass all the flavors of their kitchen. Nothing was horrible, it just wasn't that good.
We crashed out that night. Anyone who noticed that I haven't blogged in a few days while on a blogging-themed adventure will now understand why -- after we left the keynote, there was no time to bust out the laptop and no place to get wifi. We got back to the hotel well after midnight, so I wasn't logging on then. In fact, we crashed out hard.
The next morning there was supposed to be an "un-conference." The idea was, you gather, come up with ideas about things you'd like to talk about that came up (or didn't) in the conference itself, and then anyone can lead a little table session. The thing said breakfast started at 9, so we wandered down shortly thereafter and started to get our food. They had bagels, but only a couple toasters, so we had to wait, then we went into the main room and sat down with our food. Almost immediately, a tall woman in linen pants said "Okay, everyone come get in the circle." Most people looked nonplussed and said they were still eating. She made a couple more passes, trying to get everyone in the circle, but most, like me, had a mug, a plate, and silverware, and were more comfortable at a table than in a chair alone. We stayed put and ate. Finally, the woman got really frustrated (it's only 9:20 at this point) and goes "Okay, everyone needs to be in the circle RIGHT NOW. You can bring your plate, or you can eat in 15 minutes." The four of us just stayed put. I wasn't moving before I was done with breakfast. I was hungry, I can get a little hypoglycemic, and ... just no! Don't boss me around! So we sat. She came over to us and snapped "You guys need to get in the circle." Suzanne snapped back, something like "No, I'm going to finish my breakfast." The woman stood up, walked a few steps away, and a woman looked from us to her, and the linen lady (let's call her Type-A bitch, or TAB) and TAB shrugged and rolled her eyes like we were real assholes. Within another 15 seconds or so, she walked back my the table and muttered under her breath "Fine, don't join the circle then." But my favorite, favorite part, was that she immediately launched into the principles of an unconference -- that whoever shows up is who's meant to, whatever happens is supposed to (like people eating their fucking breakfast, right?), blah blah, easygoing tolerance. I'm thinking she needs a different job. It's like Donald Trump running a Buddhist monastery. It's the wrong personality. Anyway, there was a bit of additional stuff (Suzanne wrested the mic out of TAB's hands to introduce herself), but we didn't stay long at all.
We checked out, Alex called her parents for a ride, and Suzanne, Des and I set out for an adventure!
Our first stop was a river/lake tour by boat! We took the 90 minute tour, because it was the same price as the 60 minute, and it was leaving in a few minutes. It was really a great view of the city -- it gave you some space to look at the buildings. We saw a building where Al Capone had a private elevator to his office, and which had decor on top made of gold. We saw several buildings that curved with the river, or had architecture designed to reflect the water, to allow residents to have a view but not see into others' apartments, we saw a building so narrow that there was no room for a ramp to parking, so they instead had a car elevator, and it cost $60,000 a year to park your car there. We saw the Sears Tower, the John Hancock building, one of the world's largest stores (something like two full city blocks, and seven stories). I may not be remembering all the details accurately at this point, but the buildings were gorgoues. The tour guide had a lot to say about the architechture, which was right up my alley. Oh! The buildings were not allowed to interfere with the train lines, so they built OVER the tracks, using only like five support beams to hold up the entire building. There were also some funny stories about buildings that were designed so that there could be four corner offices on each corner, and one build cylindrical so there were NO corner offices.
We turned around and went out to Lake Michigan. Apparently, they needed to reverse the flow of the river so that not all the pollution went into the lake (I hope I'm not conflating stories, but I may be), so they did! To get out to the lake, we had to go through a lock and rise to the right level first. We had a great view from there of the skyline and of Navy Pier.
When our tour was done, we walked to Grant Park (highlight -- the coolest fountain ever), Millenium Park (highlight -- a reflective kidney bean statue), walked a Frank Gehry designed bridge, almost walked through the middle of a baseball game. We got lunch and ice cream, and then walked back to the hotel to get our luggage. On the way, we saw a sculpture by Miro and another by Picasso.
Then Suzanne's dad came to get us. The drive was LOVELY, and we saw Wrigley Field, the zoo, and acres of parkland. We also went through some different neighborhoods. I'll have to say more on my impressions of Chicago later.
We dropped our things off and then pretty quickly went to meet a friend of Suzanne's at Blind Faith, a vegetarian restaurant in... Evanston? I got a little disoriented about which suburb we were in. It was a vegetarian cafe, and I had Bibim Bop (a korean rice dish with veggies). It wasn't exactly like the Korean dish, but it was delicious, and I ate until I thought I might throw up! And, you know, then we split cake.
Back at the ranch, we got out Trivial Pursuit and stayed up until almost 1 in a hotly contested game (Suzanne was in the lead for a long time, but her mom eventually won). I was doing okay, but I was so tired I kept getting easy ones wrong ("Oh, the crazy NRA guy, you know. Moses. I can picture him...")
This morning we slept in a bit, then Suzanne made us Cream of Wheat (no lumps). We drove to the Baha'i temple, which was really beautiful. We walked around the gardens a bit, but it was hot outside, so after that we turned around and went back to get Suzanne's mom for lunch. The four of us met her dad, Suebob, Suebob's brother-in-law and neice, and the friend from last night for INCREDIBLE south Indian food at Udupi Palace. It was really, really good (although mild), and we ate family style, so I got to try three kinds of dosas, muttar paneer, aloo gobi, palaak paneer, sambar, the eggplant stuff, and I can't even recall what else. Oh, it was delicious!
I'm now at O'hare waiting at my gate, and it's boiling hot. I guess they haven't heard of air conditioning. I also can't find an outlet, so I'm not at 35% battery power, and ought to sign off. I was hoping to hear from Mom and Sweetie, but I'm out of time.
I had a great trip, and I really thing this last little bit, just spending non-conference time together, was some of the very best. I have never had the opportunity to miss Suzanne and Des before, but now I do.
Okay, later, all, with impressions of Chicago, and hopefully NO drama of the flight back (besides the fact that I'm a bit delayed).
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Keynote speaker
We went to our last session and snuck out a few minutes early to get Amy Sedaris to sign our books. Then we had a refreshment time with cotton candy, pretzels and popcorn!
Our keynote speaker is Elizabeth Edwards, and she's interesting and well-informed, but we're a bit burned out, and I've been browsing the internet. I'm multitasking.
The only sort of poor planning here at Blogher has been that there's no dinner hour. There are snacks, then sessions, then cocktail hour... If we actually left at the end of the cocktail party (9pm), we wouldn't get dinner until afterwards, which is sort of what happened yesterday, although we left at 8. We still had to drop stuff off at the hotel, walk to the restaurant, and wait for our food, so we didn't eat until after 10.
Our keynote speaker is Elizabeth Edwards, and she's interesting and well-informed, but we're a bit burned out, and I've been browsing the internet. I'm multitasking.
The only sort of poor planning here at Blogher has been that there's no dinner hour. There are snacks, then sessions, then cocktail hour... If we actually left at the end of the cocktail party (9pm), we wouldn't get dinner until afterwards, which is sort of what happened yesterday, although we left at 8. We still had to drop stuff off at the hotel, walk to the restaurant, and wait for our food, so we didn't eat until after 10.
Video?
Well, we got free bags today from a company that rhymes with Hey Ho Hell. We saw people walking around yesterday with them, and they're really nice, with padded sides and a padded pocket in the middle for a laptop. Cool. Actually, it's a little funny, because we dropped off our BlogHer bags at the hotel and packed more lightly today, and then we were all "Oh, it's so nice to only have one bag today." And then we saw the Hey Ho Hell table with the nice bags and got in line. I swear I'll give another tote to charity. I got my nametag thing hole-punched so I couldn't come get another, and I was talking to the gal, and I think I distracted her, because then I had to ask for the bag.
Speaking of Hey Ho Hell, Des and I then went into their video booth thing and made a video! If you have the appropriate plug-in (I don't), theoretically you can view it here.
If you can't see it, basically we introduce ourselves, then break into a Pet Shop Boys song. When we first squished in, I was way in the foreground and Des in the background, and it reminded me of a Pet Shop Boys video.
We went to our session and I sat at the advanced table because I was a bit late and that's where my friends were, but it was a bit over my head. Sometimes I like it when things are over my head, because it's challenging and helps me process it, but I think I have a lot to learn about what the hell CSSs ARE before I start figuring out how to use them on my blog to make floating objects or whatever.
Now I know I'm going to sound like an obsessive fanboy stalker, but I knew Amy Sedaris was speaking after lunch, at 1:30. So... I came to the room at about 12:45 and plugged in my laptop and parked in the front row. I even bought the book of hers that I already own so I could get it signed. It is now 15 minutes before the session is scheduled to start, and the room is packed. I suspect some people will end up crowded onto the floor and spill out into the hall.
*****
Fifteen minutes have elapsed and I didn't post because I was looking for the Pet Shop Boys video, and in the meantime, Amy Sedaris walked in and people are going NUTBALLS with cameras. Sigh, I love her.
Speaking of Hey Ho Hell, Des and I then went into their video booth thing and made a video! If you have the appropriate plug-in (I don't), theoretically you can view it here.
If you can't see it, basically we introduce ourselves, then break into a Pet Shop Boys song. When we first squished in, I was way in the foreground and Des in the background, and it reminded me of a Pet Shop Boys video.
We went to our session and I sat at the advanced table because I was a bit late and that's where my friends were, but it was a bit over my head. Sometimes I like it when things are over my head, because it's challenging and helps me process it, but I think I have a lot to learn about what the hell CSSs ARE before I start figuring out how to use them on my blog to make floating objects or whatever.
Now I know I'm going to sound like an obsessive fanboy stalker, but I knew Amy Sedaris was speaking after lunch, at 1:30. So... I came to the room at about 12:45 and plugged in my laptop and parked in the front row. I even bought the book of hers that I already own so I could get it signed. It is now 15 minutes before the session is scheduled to start, and the room is packed. I suspect some people will end up crowded onto the floor and spill out into the hall.
*****
Fifteen minutes have elapsed and I didn't post because I was looking for the Pet Shop Boys video, and in the meantime, Amy Sedaris walked in and people are going NUTBALLS with cameras. Sigh, I love her.
Oh yeah, and I got freaky with Ronald McDonald
Doesn't he look like he's gettin' buck wild?
If you find this sex-ay, you might enjoy Statue Molesters.
If you find this sex-ay, you might enjoy Statue Molesters.
Saturday morning
(You may feel free to ignore this one; I'm being a silly mcsillyhead.)
First of all, Mom and Boompah, I wish I had my camera, because we passed Siskel and Ebert Way this morning, then a few blocks later, the Playboy Enterprises headquarters.
Now we're at breakfast, which is good. They announced today "Oh, by the way, there's vegetarian food available, you just have to ask for it." So Des asked, and got strangely watery oatmeal. I ate the food that was out for the normals, and it was pretty good, even the strange hash brown casserole glop.
Now we're listening to a panel on whether the world is being taken over by robots. Apparently not, it's just fear of the unknown.
Apparently before the internet, there were just lots of lonely people, but then the people found each other and were able to connect over their balloon fetishes or love of old D&D modules. We even briefly discussed adult babies.
As you can tell, this is important business.
I almost forgot to mention last night's cocktail party -- it was one of those ones where waiters walk around with trays, stop by your little group, and you take the food and they wander off. It may seem silly, but I haven't really been to many of those parties, so it seemed to me that it was incredibly sophisticated, like the scene in Spinal Tap with the Billy Crystal mime. They had delicious yummies, too! Only about the first two trays of sushi had avocado-cucumber sushi, but Des and I surrounded those dudes like piranhas in the lake. They also had these triangles of fried goodness with cheese and jalapenos, a couple kinds of bruschetta, some mushroom-cheesy things. Oh. Which is probably why I couldn't finish my second slice of pizza later. But I don't regret it. It was good!
Later I'm hoping I get into a session with Amy Sedaris. I missed Suzie Bright yesterday -- Curses! I suspect the Amy Sedaris one will be packed, but it's right after lunch, so I'm thinking of trying to leave lunch a little early and set up camp in the room. There's a book signing later, too, but of course I didn't bring my book. Bummer.
I like you, too, Amy.
First of all, Mom and Boompah, I wish I had my camera, because we passed Siskel and Ebert Way this morning, then a few blocks later, the Playboy Enterprises headquarters.
Now we're at breakfast, which is good. They announced today "Oh, by the way, there's vegetarian food available, you just have to ask for it." So Des asked, and got strangely watery oatmeal. I ate the food that was out for the normals, and it was pretty good, even the strange hash brown casserole glop.
Now we're listening to a panel on whether the world is being taken over by robots. Apparently not, it's just fear of the unknown.
Apparently before the internet, there were just lots of lonely people, but then the people found each other and were able to connect over their balloon fetishes or love of old D&D modules. We even briefly discussed adult babies.
As you can tell, this is important business.
I almost forgot to mention last night's cocktail party -- it was one of those ones where waiters walk around with trays, stop by your little group, and you take the food and they wander off. It may seem silly, but I haven't really been to many of those parties, so it seemed to me that it was incredibly sophisticated, like the scene in Spinal Tap with the Billy Crystal mime. They had delicious yummies, too! Only about the first two trays of sushi had avocado-cucumber sushi, but Des and I surrounded those dudes like piranhas in the lake. They also had these triangles of fried goodness with cheese and jalapenos, a couple kinds of bruschetta, some mushroom-cheesy things. Oh. Which is probably why I couldn't finish my second slice of pizza later. But I don't regret it. It was good!
Later I'm hoping I get into a session with Amy Sedaris. I missed Suzie Bright yesterday -- Curses! I suspect the Amy Sedaris one will be packed, but it's right after lunch, so I'm thinking of trying to leave lunch a little early and set up camp in the room. There's a book signing later, too, but of course I didn't bring my book. Bummer.
I like you, too, Amy.
End of Friday
Well, the rest of today was a great deal of fun. During my last workshop, I had to go to the bathroom, so I left my stuff and got up to go. When I came back, someone had taken my right-by-the-door-and-the-outlet seat, so I sat a bit further down the row. Two seats to my right was a woman whose dress and glasses I had admired. As it happened, I couldn’t see the panel at all, so I was sort of glancing around at random as I listened. Well, glasses girl had her laptop out, and I caught out of the corner of my eye that she was browsing at photos. I took a closer look and saw that the photos were... of the naughty type. Some were of the Bettie Page type, and others were more Robert Mapplethorpe. One she lingered on was of a woman’s ass with two large taper candles sticking out of it. Now, that kind of thing doesn’t bother me in the slightest, but I did think it was a little odd. A few minutes later, though, I saw her blogging under the nom de guerre “The Lusty Lady.”
Suzanne, Des and I skipped the last workshop (it was a LONG day) and sat outside. We had a nice time chatting in the warm weather, watching the boats. There was one cool old schooner. Finally, some ice dropped over the edge of the roof and we realized the cocktail party was about ready to start. We headed upstairs and mingled for a long time as we discussed how to get lots of people together for deep dish Chicago style pizza.
We finally almost sorted it out, then needed Alex, then found her but Des and I found the bloggers who were giving out really cool swag (tiny cute purses) and we went and pestered them for a while, and when we came back, our new friend Snigda (I’m doing my best with the spelling) went to the bathroom, and then and then and then... You know how it goes. Finally, we all managed to get to the shuttle without losing anyone (although there were a few tense moments), dropped our stuff off at the hotel because we all had 50 pound packs by then (full of swag!), then headed out to Gino’s East, which was apparently a Planet Hollywood once, but is now covered on every surface in patrons’ graffiti. It was interesting -- they had what appeared to be the original antique windows framed on the wall, but the walls were like corrugated tin. The pizza was delicious! It was almost like a huge piece of lasagna on delightful bready crust. The crust was soft in the middle, slightly crunchy on the outside, slightly buttery... Oh. I ate until I was seriously concerned that I was going to throw up. I had to take a minute.
Chicago is a cool city. It reminds me of New York, but with wider streets and less nasty traffic. There are some really interesting buildings, like the one that houses the Bloomingdale’s here, an incredibly ornate old building. We also passed a Hard Rock and the “Rock and Roll McDonalds.” There was a real mix of people on the street, from those dressed as though they were on their way to the theatre to those dressed as though for a drive-by. It was still quite busy out on the streets even though it was 11 as we were walking back.
Suzanne, Des and I skipped the last workshop (it was a LONG day) and sat outside. We had a nice time chatting in the warm weather, watching the boats. There was one cool old schooner. Finally, some ice dropped over the edge of the roof and we realized the cocktail party was about ready to start. We headed upstairs and mingled for a long time as we discussed how to get lots of people together for deep dish Chicago style pizza.
We finally almost sorted it out, then needed Alex, then found her but Des and I found the bloggers who were giving out really cool swag (tiny cute purses) and we went and pestered them for a while, and when we came back, our new friend Snigda (I’m doing my best with the spelling) went to the bathroom, and then and then and then... You know how it goes. Finally, we all managed to get to the shuttle without losing anyone (although there were a few tense moments), dropped our stuff off at the hotel because we all had 50 pound packs by then (full of swag!), then headed out to Gino’s East, which was apparently a Planet Hollywood once, but is now covered on every surface in patrons’ graffiti. It was interesting -- they had what appeared to be the original antique windows framed on the wall, but the walls were like corrugated tin. The pizza was delicious! It was almost like a huge piece of lasagna on delightful bready crust. The crust was soft in the middle, slightly crunchy on the outside, slightly buttery... Oh. I ate until I was seriously concerned that I was going to throw up. I had to take a minute.
Chicago is a cool city. It reminds me of New York, but with wider streets and less nasty traffic. There are some really interesting buildings, like the one that houses the Bloomingdale’s here, an incredibly ornate old building. We also passed a Hard Rock and the “Rock and Roll McDonalds.” There was a real mix of people on the street, from those dressed as though they were on their way to the theatre to those dressed as though for a drive-by. It was still quite busy out on the streets even though it was 11 as we were walking back.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Random notes on bathrooms, earrings, and Chicago
When I got into O'Hare, I (obviously) had to go to the bathroom. Obviously, because I have the world's smallest bladder. Luckily, on the flight, the seat next to me was empty and the woman on the aisle got up twice, so both times I got up to go to the bathroom, figuring that at least that way, she'd only have to get up for me four times, just twice. Anyway, O'Hare airport is BIG. Suzanne's dad told me Des was flying into Terminal 2, and I had to walk probably half a mile from my terminal to hers. I found a bathroom and went in. And was faced with a toilet seat sheathed in wrinkled plastic. A small sign said "Wave hand in front of sensor until seat cover is replaced" or something to that effect. The only sensor I saw was the flushing one, so I waved in front of it (causing inadvertent flushing), but the seat cover stayed put. I did not want to sit on that seat cover. And I didn't want to squat and splash it if it was stuck or something. Finally I realized that the sensor was in the sign itself. I watched as the plastic rotated clockwise until it was all new plastic! Wow, just like those towel roll things in the unsanitary restaurants! I can only hope they don't start over again.
Here at the conference, the bathrooms are pretty accessible, but also busy. I just left between two workshops to find a bathroom, and there was a sign that said restrooms, so like an idiot, I followed it. I knew there were others down another hall, but usually there aren't signs unless the restroom is fairly nearby. No, I went down a long hall, only to find two closed and locked restrooms and ANOTHER sign pointing downstairs. I went downstairs, down another hall, and dodged three fast-moving members of the custodial staff careering towards me with carts and garbage bags, and finally found an empty stall. None of them here seem to have seat covers at all.
Des gave me a pair of earrings this morning that she got on Etsy but that don't fit on her ears with her other earrings. I like them, they fit me, and they match today's outfit! Cute cherries. I forget I have them on, then go in the bathroom and think "Oh! I'm cute!"
This last workshop was about the art of storytelling, and there was what seemed like a real prejudice against my kind of blog. One woman stood up and was careful to announce that she didn't write about the minutiae of daily life, like whether she had a bowl of chicken soup that day. I know that stuff isn't important, and I don't write about anything and everything, but I also don't always feel like I need a story arc. Sometimes, just a toilet seat cover is enough of a laugh for me -- no exposition, character introduction, or denoument required.
Here at the conference, the bathrooms are pretty accessible, but also busy. I just left between two workshops to find a bathroom, and there was a sign that said restrooms, so like an idiot, I followed it. I knew there were others down another hall, but usually there aren't signs unless the restroom is fairly nearby. No, I went down a long hall, only to find two closed and locked restrooms and ANOTHER sign pointing downstairs. I went downstairs, down another hall, and dodged three fast-moving members of the custodial staff careering towards me with carts and garbage bags, and finally found an empty stall. None of them here seem to have seat covers at all.
Des gave me a pair of earrings this morning that she got on Etsy but that don't fit on her ears with her other earrings. I like them, they fit me, and they match today's outfit! Cute cherries. I forget I have them on, then go in the bathroom and think "Oh! I'm cute!"
This last workshop was about the art of storytelling, and there was what seemed like a real prejudice against my kind of blog. One woman stood up and was careful to announce that she didn't write about the minutiae of daily life, like whether she had a bowl of chicken soup that day. I know that stuff isn't important, and I don't write about anything and everything, but I also don't always feel like I need a story arc. Sometimes, just a toilet seat cover is enough of a laugh for me -- no exposition, character introduction, or denoument required.
Here we are after lunch.
Okay, we did our "getting to know you" thing, which was like speed dating. We stood in two big circles and chatted with each person for 30-60 seconds before we moved on. The breakfast wasn't bad -- lots of good fresh fruit, some pastries, bagels, juice...
Our first session was at 10:45, and I chose (somewhat randomly) one about finding your passion. I probably should have known that wasn't up my alley. It was very "I write about this, and here's what I know about it." "Yay, good for you." Ad nauseum. I didn't get much that was practical (other than the names of a bunch of other people's blogs to read). As it turns out, though, my friends who went to a session on "branding" didn't get much either. I guess the valuable advice they got came in this form: "So, how do I get more readers?" "Write better." Oh! Who knew?
At lunch, Des and I had signed up to be at the "books" table, primarily because there were only three other people at that table and the other options were like "Mommies who drink" and "Business." We ended up talking to some nice gals, two of whom are also high school English teachers (small frickin' world, and I'm a magnet).
Now we're on session 2, and I'm not a good multi-tasker, so I'm going to quit in a minute. We're sitting in on "The Art of Storytelling," which is PACKED. Luckily, I got here a little early and am sitting next to an outlet, so I'm charging my laptop.
Let's see, have I missed anything good? I suppose last night at the hotel, when the doorman yelled "Hey Red, how you doin'?" to Des, then gave her a guide that no one else got. We stayed up late talking, probably too loudly and too late for the folks around us, especially since it included snippets like "I get a lot of young pussy." We got our American Girl doll bed, which was a cool pink futon on which Theo looked dashing. I slept surprisingly well and we all got up early to go to the conference for breakfast. We had to wait outside for the shuttle, and it was odd weather to a West coast gal. It was probably almost 80 degrees, but it was raining. The skies were gray, and it actually looked like a winter evening in Sacramento, but quite warm.
Okay, now it's really on, so I'm going to focus.
Our first session was at 10:45, and I chose (somewhat randomly) one about finding your passion. I probably should have known that wasn't up my alley. It was very "I write about this, and here's what I know about it." "Yay, good for you." Ad nauseum. I didn't get much that was practical (other than the names of a bunch of other people's blogs to read). As it turns out, though, my friends who went to a session on "branding" didn't get much either. I guess the valuable advice they got came in this form: "So, how do I get more readers?" "Write better." Oh! Who knew?
At lunch, Des and I had signed up to be at the "books" table, primarily because there were only three other people at that table and the other options were like "Mommies who drink" and "Business." We ended up talking to some nice gals, two of whom are also high school English teachers (small frickin' world, and I'm a magnet).
Now we're on session 2, and I'm not a good multi-tasker, so I'm going to quit in a minute. We're sitting in on "The Art of Storytelling," which is PACKED. Luckily, I got here a little early and am sitting next to an outlet, so I'm charging my laptop.
Let's see, have I missed anything good? I suppose last night at the hotel, when the doorman yelled "Hey Red, how you doin'?" to Des, then gave her a guide that no one else got. We stayed up late talking, probably too loudly and too late for the folks around us, especially since it included snippets like "I get a lot of young pussy." We got our American Girl doll bed, which was a cool pink futon on which Theo looked dashing. I slept surprisingly well and we all got up early to go to the conference for breakfast. We had to wait outside for the shuttle, and it was odd weather to a West coast gal. It was probably almost 80 degrees, but it was raining. The skies were gray, and it actually looked like a winter evening in Sacramento, but quite warm.
Okay, now it's really on, so I'm going to focus.
More transportation hassles (some good), then BlogHer
I set off yesterday for the airport, Mom driving, and got there at about 12:30. My plane was supposed to leave at 2:01, but was delayed until 2:25. Which is good, because it allowed me to get a phone call from Suzanne, who was calling to tell me that Des's plane was delayed, and that I might be able to catch a ride with her, as Suzanne's parents were picking her up. I got on the plane thinking that I still might not make it, because she was only supposed to be an hour and a half late, and my plane was originally scheduled to get there two hours after hers, and was half an hour late. But when we touched down, I called Suzanne's dad to ask whether I had missed them or not, and the answer was not. In fact, Des's plane still hadn't landed. Ultimately she was delayed by something like five hours.
In the meantime, I was STARVING, so I went to the nearest food place -- McDonald's. Now, you may have gathered that, as a vegetarian, I'm not a real regular at Mickey D's. I assumed that they had some sort of veggie burger, even if it was just everything-but-the-meat. I asked for that, and the clerk looked at me like I was INSANE. Another woman had to help her. I asked for fries, and she was so flustered she didn't ring them up. All the while, there were two lines, one which didn't appear to go anywhere, and someone was continuously mopping under all our feet. Now, have you ever looked at a McDonald's menu board? It shows burgers stacked high with lettuce, fresh tomatoes, onions, etc. That is just not true. I thought I'd get that-minus-the-meat, but OH NO. No, I got a bun with a dot of ketchup, a hot pickle slice, a slice of American cheese, and some diced onion-like substance. Did I eat it? Yes. But ew. And then I was still so hungry that I bought a slightly damp "roasted vegetable focaccia" sandwich from a Starbucks stand. It was bad, too.
I finally met Des (in person for the first time) in the baggage claim area and we finally sorted out how to get where we needed to be to be picked up. Suzanne's dad is very helpful -- I spoke to him several times on the phone to figure out where to go. When they picked us up, we had a great ride -- Dad was the tour guide to Chicago, and Mom a great conversationalist (and is it okay if I admit to having a little thrill from her accent? At one point she noted that it was "fwaggy." Oh, I love it!).
We drove up to the City Centre hotel and there were Suzanne and Alex Elliot. (And I will continue this after this get-to-know-you activity is over) (Yes, I've been blogging throughout the introductory talking -- but I'm polite, and clap at clapping time.)
In the meantime, I was STARVING, so I went to the nearest food place -- McDonald's. Now, you may have gathered that, as a vegetarian, I'm not a real regular at Mickey D's. I assumed that they had some sort of veggie burger, even if it was just everything-but-the-meat. I asked for that, and the clerk looked at me like I was INSANE. Another woman had to help her. I asked for fries, and she was so flustered she didn't ring them up. All the while, there were two lines, one which didn't appear to go anywhere, and someone was continuously mopping under all our feet. Now, have you ever looked at a McDonald's menu board? It shows burgers stacked high with lettuce, fresh tomatoes, onions, etc. That is just not true. I thought I'd get that-minus-the-meat, but OH NO. No, I got a bun with a dot of ketchup, a hot pickle slice, a slice of American cheese, and some diced onion-like substance. Did I eat it? Yes. But ew. And then I was still so hungry that I bought a slightly damp "roasted vegetable focaccia" sandwich from a Starbucks stand. It was bad, too.
I finally met Des (in person for the first time) in the baggage claim area and we finally sorted out how to get where we needed to be to be picked up. Suzanne's dad is very helpful -- I spoke to him several times on the phone to figure out where to go. When they picked us up, we had a great ride -- Dad was the tour guide to Chicago, and Mom a great conversationalist (and is it okay if I admit to having a little thrill from her accent? At one point she noted that it was "fwaggy." Oh, I love it!).
We drove up to the City Centre hotel and there were Suzanne and Alex Elliot. (And I will continue this after this get-to-know-you activity is over) (Yes, I've been blogging throughout the introductory talking -- but I'm polite, and clap at clapping time.)
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Aaand... my flight's delayed.
It's 1:03, and the plane is supposed to take off at 2:01, but as of now the board says 2:25. The good news -- Sacramento Intergalactic Airport as wireless internet. The bad news, I'm bored and everyone around me is eating stinky hamburgers. Seriously, there are four people in a ten foot radius eating these things. Gugh.
And as I told Sweetie, the book I packed is on the "I'm an elderly priest writing letters to my son" side. Not exactly fun. I did pack a fun book, but it's supposed to be for the trip home. Maybe I'll pick up a sudoku book. I haven't done one of those in a long time, and they make me a little obsessive. But they're fun, and they kill time.
And as I told Sweetie, the book I packed is on the "I'm an elderly priest writing letters to my son" side. Not exactly fun. I did pack a fun book, but it's supposed to be for the trip home. Maybe I'll pick up a sudoku book. I haven't done one of those in a long time, and they make me a little obsessive. But they're fun, and they kill time.
Transportation hell
Yesterday some gals were meeting up from a forum I'm on. I wanted to meet/see them, and it was only in San Francisco. From here to SF on a good day is about 2 hours, so I figured, no big deal. 2 hours there, 2 hours hanging out, 2 hours back. Now, I had agreed to pick up one of the gals in Napa, but it only takes an hour to get to Napa, and I thought it was only an hour from Napa to SF. In fact, I asked her whether it was and she said yes.
Well. I left at 9:45 yesterday and got home after 7. Out of those almost 9 1/2 hours, I did, in fact, hang out with my friends for two hours. So what was happening the other 7 1/2 hours? I was in the car.
It SUCKED. I got out of West Sacramento at about 10am, and almost immediately, the cars in front of me hit their brakes and we all came to a dead stop. I figured that either it was something minor that would get cleared quickly, or something major. It was neither. I sat in stop (mostly) and go traffic for the next hour, and didn't get up to third gear until 11am. Wanna know how far I got in that hour? I got to DAVIS. If you're not from here, you may not be aware that that's less than ten miles, but it is. Oh my GOSH, I was pissed. At that point, obviously I was already late to pick the other gal up, and she called. I told her I was still on my way, because I suspected the other side of the freeway was messed up, too, and didn't want to turn around and deal with that on the way back.
I finally get to Napa, but it has taken me longer to get there than I thought, too. I pick her up and we go to SF. Traffic is fairly clear, and we use the carpool lane, so no big problems until we actually get into the city. We planned to take the Embarcadero directly to Pier 39, but what we didn't realize is that they're shooting some kind of movie on the Embarcadero, so that was slowed way down, too. After making a couple calls to find out where our friends are, we go upstairs in the pier (and then downstairs again, because we were in the wrong section, and then upstairs again, then all the way to the end and around, because we were on the wrong side) and met our friends at 1:30, an hour and a half after we were supposed to.
The drive back wasn't as horrible, but traffic from SF to Napa was slow. We left the Pier at 3:30 but didn't manage to leave the actual city until about 4, then fought traffic, and I finally hit town at 7, as I said. Just unbelievable. I had fun with the girls, but I wouldn't do it again if I knew traffic was going to be like that.
Oh, by the way, wanna know what caused that initial huge backup? I still don't know. There were no cars broken down, no tire treads on the side of the freeway, no accidents, no sirens... only, about 2 miles away from the freeway, a plume of smoke of unknown origin. I suspect people were just staring, transfixed, at the smoke.
Well. I left at 9:45 yesterday and got home after 7. Out of those almost 9 1/2 hours, I did, in fact, hang out with my friends for two hours. So what was happening the other 7 1/2 hours? I was in the car.
It SUCKED. I got out of West Sacramento at about 10am, and almost immediately, the cars in front of me hit their brakes and we all came to a dead stop. I figured that either it was something minor that would get cleared quickly, or something major. It was neither. I sat in stop (mostly) and go traffic for the next hour, and didn't get up to third gear until 11am. Wanna know how far I got in that hour? I got to DAVIS. If you're not from here, you may not be aware that that's less than ten miles, but it is. Oh my GOSH, I was pissed. At that point, obviously I was already late to pick the other gal up, and she called. I told her I was still on my way, because I suspected the other side of the freeway was messed up, too, and didn't want to turn around and deal with that on the way back.
I finally get to Napa, but it has taken me longer to get there than I thought, too. I pick her up and we go to SF. Traffic is fairly clear, and we use the carpool lane, so no big problems until we actually get into the city. We planned to take the Embarcadero directly to Pier 39, but what we didn't realize is that they're shooting some kind of movie on the Embarcadero, so that was slowed way down, too. After making a couple calls to find out where our friends are, we go upstairs in the pier (and then downstairs again, because we were in the wrong section, and then upstairs again, then all the way to the end and around, because we were on the wrong side) and met our friends at 1:30, an hour and a half after we were supposed to.
The drive back wasn't as horrible, but traffic from SF to Napa was slow. We left the Pier at 3:30 but didn't manage to leave the actual city until about 4, then fought traffic, and I finally hit town at 7, as I said. Just unbelievable. I had fun with the girls, but I wouldn't do it again if I knew traffic was going to be like that.
Oh, by the way, wanna know what caused that initial huge backup? I still don't know. There were no cars broken down, no tire treads on the side of the freeway, no accidents, no sirens... only, about 2 miles away from the freeway, a plume of smoke of unknown origin. I suspect people were just staring, transfixed, at the smoke.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
I promised bags
Here's the deal -- when I was a teenager, I got a string bag and carried stuff in it. I think I got one for Mom for groceries, and she may have gotten one for my aunt, if I remember right. But they were a real pain in the ass. You had to hold them open to put stuff in, then the stuff would poke out through the big holes and stab you in the thigh.
So we moved on to re-using paper grocery bags. Not every time, but Mom and I were both pretty good about it. That works pretty well, and every once in a while, you're bound to forget, so you get new ones, and the raggedy old ones get recycled.
Several years ago, I got a huge tote bag that I could carry on my shoulder and that fit about 2 paper bags worth of groceries easily. I started using that more frequently. The baggers at almost every store thought I was insane, and I usually ended up bagging my groceries myself, since it seemed to stymie them so ("No, you actually just put the groceries right in this bag here. No, you don't put them in the paper bag first. Yes, I know they're free.") Mom joined me in using cloth totes, and they thought she was crazy, too. In fact, pretty much every cloth-toting neo-hippie I've ever spoken to agrees that stores are not well-equipped to deal with us bag people.
And then, there was a change. I heard a few months ago that they would be charging for bags in San Francisco, 90 minutes south of here. And Ikea started charging for bags (but they sold their own huge totes for cheap). And then Trader Joe's started selling bags, first some canvas ones, and now a whole range of big, small, insulated, etc. This week I went to Costco, and THEY were offering their own big totes. And then the little import grocery/deli near my house started selling expandable canvas totes. And then I went to Raley's and they had their own cloth totes. These last three examples are all in the last few weeks, mind you.
Isn't that great? I don't know whether it's a west coast thing, a Sacramento thing, or an all-over thing, but I'm delighted that, even if it's just a token gesture or another way to market (most of the bags have store logos on them), people are finally making real progress towards environmentalism and cutting down on waste. At least in this one, tiny area. And you know what? The baggers are looking at me like I'm crazy far less often.
So we moved on to re-using paper grocery bags. Not every time, but Mom and I were both pretty good about it. That works pretty well, and every once in a while, you're bound to forget, so you get new ones, and the raggedy old ones get recycled.
Several years ago, I got a huge tote bag that I could carry on my shoulder and that fit about 2 paper bags worth of groceries easily. I started using that more frequently. The baggers at almost every store thought I was insane, and I usually ended up bagging my groceries myself, since it seemed to stymie them so ("No, you actually just put the groceries right in this bag here. No, you don't put them in the paper bag first. Yes, I know they're free.") Mom joined me in using cloth totes, and they thought she was crazy, too. In fact, pretty much every cloth-toting neo-hippie I've ever spoken to agrees that stores are not well-equipped to deal with us bag people.
And then, there was a change. I heard a few months ago that they would be charging for bags in San Francisco, 90 minutes south of here. And Ikea started charging for bags (but they sold their own huge totes for cheap). And then Trader Joe's started selling bags, first some canvas ones, and now a whole range of big, small, insulated, etc. This week I went to Costco, and THEY were offering their own big totes. And then the little import grocery/deli near my house started selling expandable canvas totes. And then I went to Raley's and they had their own cloth totes. These last three examples are all in the last few weeks, mind you.
Isn't that great? I don't know whether it's a west coast thing, a Sacramento thing, or an all-over thing, but I'm delighted that, even if it's just a token gesture or another way to market (most of the bags have store logos on them), people are finally making real progress towards environmentalism and cutting down on waste. At least in this one, tiny area. And you know what? The baggers are looking at me like I'm crazy far less often.
I've got to go in a few minutes
to a hair appointment I've been needing BADLY. Thank goodness Monique happened to have an opening today.
Later remind me to talk about bags.
I'm almost packed for Chicago -- waiting for a few things to come out of the dryer. Getting so excited!!
Later remind me to talk about bags.
I'm almost packed for Chicago -- waiting for a few things to come out of the dryer. Getting so excited!!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Phone fuckery and heroic husband
Believe it or not, I'm now counting the few weeks until school starts. As of Thursday I'm off to Chicago, and Wednesday I have a lunch date in the Bay Area. In a few weeks, I have a week's worth of all-day meetings at school, I still have some work to do for school (both planning and actual physical room-putting-together). So my time to work on the house is coming to a rapid close. I did paint three rooms, but there was more, more to do!
Today Mom came over here to help, and we painted the spare bedroom. In our preparations, I came across and ancient telephone jack. Like, an Alexander Graham Bell era jack. It had four holes in it -- remember those? Anyway, we're not using that phone jack, I can't think of a time in the future when we might, and if we do, we'll need to have the damn thing replaced anyway. I ask Mom what she thinks (yes, you're implicated, Mom!) and she says "Just go ahead and cut the wires and shove them in the wall. I've done it a million times." So I do -- I unscrew the jack, undo the wires, cut them (there was tape on them so they didn't fit through the hole, so I just cut below the tape), shoved them through the hole and patched the hole.
The room looked lovely!
And then we cleaned up, Mom left, and I sat down to relax at the computer. And it couldn't find the wireless DSL. Sweetie had come home a few minutes earlier and I knew he had just sat down to use the internet, too. "Hon? Are you able to connect to the internet?" "No." He goes and looks at the phone, which is also not working. "Shit," I think. "What?" "Oh, did I say that out loud?"
I figure out that somehow, Methuzelah's phone jack is integral to the telephone service at our house. I poke through my brand-new, fresh painted patch job and try to reach for the wire. No good. The needle-nose pliers barely open once they're shoved in. I grab a wire hanger, take it apart, and make a hook at one end, trying desperately to hook the wires. No luck. We move the bookcase in Sweetie's room, thinking that perhaps the phone jack there is attached the the wires on the other side of the wall. It doesn't appear to be. I make a bigger hole and fish some more. I go outside and look vaguely at the vents into the crawlspace under the house. This is going to suck. I contemplate. I contemplate hard. I put on sneakers and grab a flashlight. I take off the cover to the crawlspace. I shine the flashlight inside, but it doesn't reach anything. It is dirty and spidery and close in there. I contemplate some more.
Sweetie says "Do you want me to go in there?" I say no -- I'm the one who fucked it up, and I'm going to need to fix it. He asks again, and I say no again. He goes inside. I contemplate. He comes out in work pants, boots, and a sweatshirt, and begins rubber-banding the cuffs of his pants and sleeves. I do not object. I SHOULD object, and it WAS my fault that the crawlspace needed to be entered in the first place. But, well, I REALLY, REALLY didn't want to go in there! I may have just set feminism back 50 years, but I let him be a big manly man and take care of me.
He crawled in, then said "I'm going to hand you the Maglite." I said okay, and reached for it. His feet were still outside. He said "I haven't gotten very far, have I?" "No, baby." He crawled in further, and once he was well under, I went inside so I could guide him to the spot. I crouched by the hole and knocked rhythmically on the floor. Soon, I heard his voice calling for me. I ran towards the sound (in the dining room) and he called again. He was under an air conditioning vent, where the duct is apparently not attached well. We'll have to call about that! He gives up on it and crawls through the area under his office. I hear him there and communicate through the vent. I go shine light through the hole and knock on the floor. Almost immediately, a gray wire pokes through the hole. And then another.
Well, after some trial and error on my part (the two wires had four smaller wires inside each and had to be twisted together in order to work), we have working phone and internet again. And we're building a bulletproof case around the ancient jack.
Today Mom came over here to help, and we painted the spare bedroom. In our preparations, I came across and ancient telephone jack. Like, an Alexander Graham Bell era jack. It had four holes in it -- remember those? Anyway, we're not using that phone jack, I can't think of a time in the future when we might, and if we do, we'll need to have the damn thing replaced anyway. I ask Mom what she thinks (yes, you're implicated, Mom!) and she says "Just go ahead and cut the wires and shove them in the wall. I've done it a million times." So I do -- I unscrew the jack, undo the wires, cut them (there was tape on them so they didn't fit through the hole, so I just cut below the tape), shoved them through the hole and patched the hole.
The room looked lovely!
And then we cleaned up, Mom left, and I sat down to relax at the computer. And it couldn't find the wireless DSL. Sweetie had come home a few minutes earlier and I knew he had just sat down to use the internet, too. "Hon? Are you able to connect to the internet?" "No." He goes and looks at the phone, which is also not working. "Shit," I think. "What?" "Oh, did I say that out loud?"
I figure out that somehow, Methuzelah's phone jack is integral to the telephone service at our house. I poke through my brand-new, fresh painted patch job and try to reach for the wire. No good. The needle-nose pliers barely open once they're shoved in. I grab a wire hanger, take it apart, and make a hook at one end, trying desperately to hook the wires. No luck. We move the bookcase in Sweetie's room, thinking that perhaps the phone jack there is attached the the wires on the other side of the wall. It doesn't appear to be. I make a bigger hole and fish some more. I go outside and look vaguely at the vents into the crawlspace under the house. This is going to suck. I contemplate. I contemplate hard. I put on sneakers and grab a flashlight. I take off the cover to the crawlspace. I shine the flashlight inside, but it doesn't reach anything. It is dirty and spidery and close in there. I contemplate some more.
Sweetie says "Do you want me to go in there?" I say no -- I'm the one who fucked it up, and I'm going to need to fix it. He asks again, and I say no again. He goes inside. I contemplate. He comes out in work pants, boots, and a sweatshirt, and begins rubber-banding the cuffs of his pants and sleeves. I do not object. I SHOULD object, and it WAS my fault that the crawlspace needed to be entered in the first place. But, well, I REALLY, REALLY didn't want to go in there! I may have just set feminism back 50 years, but I let him be a big manly man and take care of me.
He crawled in, then said "I'm going to hand you the Maglite." I said okay, and reached for it. His feet were still outside. He said "I haven't gotten very far, have I?" "No, baby." He crawled in further, and once he was well under, I went inside so I could guide him to the spot. I crouched by the hole and knocked rhythmically on the floor. Soon, I heard his voice calling for me. I ran towards the sound (in the dining room) and he called again. He was under an air conditioning vent, where the duct is apparently not attached well. We'll have to call about that! He gives up on it and crawls through the area under his office. I hear him there and communicate through the vent. I go shine light through the hole and knock on the floor. Almost immediately, a gray wire pokes through the hole. And then another.
Well, after some trial and error on my part (the two wires had four smaller wires inside each and had to be twisted together in order to work), we have working phone and internet again. And we're building a bulletproof case around the ancient jack.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
I finished! No spoilers
Well, I got my book when I got home from grocery shopping yesterday and read until it was time to eat dinner and go to tea with some friends. I got home at 8:30, and read until 11, then woke up this morning and read more or less straight through until 1.
I'm sure some people are faster readers, but I like to linger over details.
I was satisfied. It was more or less what I expected it to be after having been part of the series for 8 years. Adventure, emotion, death, fear, love... good stuff, plus a biblical allegory or two, if I'm not mistaken. And I'm SO glad it finally answered those questions we've all been wondering about. For example, that lingering one about whether Snape is Dumbledore's man or Voldemort's.
Okay, off to see Hairspray with my mom. If you have vibes or anything to spare for my aunt, please send 'em. She's going to be okay, but she's in the hospital and I'd like very much for her to be happy and healthy and out of there as soon as it's mete. Thanks.
I'm sure some people are faster readers, but I like to linger over details.
I was satisfied. It was more or less what I expected it to be after having been part of the series for 8 years. Adventure, emotion, death, fear, love... good stuff, plus a biblical allegory or two, if I'm not mistaken. And I'm SO glad it finally answered those questions we've all been wondering about. For example, that lingering one about whether Snape is Dumbledore's man or Voldemort's.
Okay, off to see Hairspray with my mom. If you have vibes or anything to spare for my aunt, please send 'em. She's going to be okay, but she's in the hospital and I'd like very much for her to be happy and healthy and out of there as soon as it's mete. Thanks.
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