The New Musings of a Quiet Geek

Last night, my church hosted a local artist and her "singing crystal bowls." What is that, you ask? The bowls were fiberglass and of different size that kind of looked like a cross between punch bowls and light fixtures. She'd use two probably hollow sticks and, depending on whether she ran them along the inside or outside of the bowls, it would make some kind of sound; some high pitched. She says they were made using spare material from a computer factory. (I guess how exactly they're made she doesn't even know as it's a trade secret apparently.) Her program had 7 or 8 musical compositions but she paused only twice to reposition the bowls so the whole show was less than an hour. After, our ladies group served pineapple upside-down cake and fruit. When I arrived, the musician needed a place to meditate before her concert but the emcee of the evening could only think of the ladies' room for her to go. I offered to unlock the sanctuary for her. She thanked ...

Since one of my readers' husbands works for the Post Office, I will try to be as diplomatic as possible but there was an incident yesterday that rather pissed me off. Granted, it was maybe 20% my own fault. I was charged on my way home from work to go to the post office and mail off a Inter-Library Loan package. This was the second time I had done this; for work I mean. The first time I did it I was told specifically to hand it to the guy at the desk despite the fact we have a postal machine. I felt stupid standing in line for no apparent reason. This time, I thought "Why don't I just put it in the box and save time?" It wasn't until I had already dropped the package in that I noticed the 13 ounce limit sign. How long has that been effect? And what is the purpose of that? Anthrax can weight much less than that and every package over 13 ounces must be a bomb... It also occurred to me later that maybe the weight issue has to do with what kind of truck they use but i...

In the last installment, our heroes cleaned their teeth, closed a bank account and ate cheeseburgers. And now, possibly, the conclusion to "The Sword of She-Ra!" (Or something like that...) Tuesday (July 3rd), we drove up to Maine and I reconnected with my roommate and his cat. Nothing of import happened. Wednesday, my grandmother had a barbecue. My cousin had to be there of course. We played with his cars and his action figures. It's after afternoons like this that I wonder why I want children... I returned to the apartment to find my cousin/roommate and his friend who came up for the day were going to the movies as soon as my aunt arrived. We went to see Ratatouille . I loved it. Patton Oswalt of The King of Queens was perfect as Remy the Rat and it has Peter O'Toole in it! I have no nitpicks. (Sad, huh?) I debated whether to share with you what happen that night but I've decided I will. My aunt had removed the closet door so we could stick one of the litterbox...

Here's a blow by blow account of my recent Christmas and subsequent vacation for you all to peruse. Christmas Day-I woke up rather late as my cat decided to spend the night before with me and that is difficult for many reasons. We had our stocking and presents and then hit the road for Maine. When we arrived, we had a present exchange. Tuesday- My aunt, who arrived at my grandmother's just before we did the day before was down and a cousin came over so there was a Christmas party of sorts. The downside was that my intestinal thing from Thanksgiving returned but more on that later. That night, we watched the movie The Upside of Anger . I really can't say you should definitely see this movie or that you definitely shouldn't. Overall, it was very well acted and isn't about time Kevin Costner put out a movie that was at least Tin Cup good? The best line came from the writer/director: "Who should I sleep with, Terry? Women like you? Your age? My age? I don't. Y...

On Friday night, my parents and I went to see a production of A Christmas Carol at Hartford Stage. It was really well acted. This version had some interesting aspects to it. One: Scrooge's housekeeper was a transvestite. In fact, the same actor played Jacob Marley... Two: While the Ghosts of Past and Present were how we have come to expect them to look, the Ghost of Christmases Yet To Come wasn't a Grim Reaper type. He was a guy in a top hat and sunglasses riding a funky tricycle. My mother accurately described it as "Tim Burton-inspired." Yesterday, we had the Christmas Pageant at my church. We did the traditional Nativity story this year after letting the kids write something different last year. The best part of the play was watching was watching our preschool kids as sheep. The best part of the whole experience, however, was not having to be in it myself... Yesterday afternoon, my father and I went out to get the tree. It's now up and decorated! Woo Hoo! Last...

The major event of my birthday this year was going to another play but, unlike last year, this was at the Ivoryton Playhouse instead of on Broadway. We saw "An Inspector Calls." The play was very well acted and the plot was very suspenseful. The only drawback I can stress is that when the first act ends, there was some confusion as to if it was intermission or actually over. It could have been over but no one came out to give bows or anything. There was no mention of how many acts in the program as is usual and the director never gave a hint either way when she introduced it. It turned out all right but... This was the most "community theater" experience I've had here in Connecticut in that you could eat in the theater but the actors were still mostly professional. It was a very good time. Yesterday, I went with my mother and a colleague of hers to a Christian Education conference. I personally went to a workshop on children's literature where most age app...

Last night, we went to the Big E up in West Springfield. It was apparently Connecticut Day so the parade was all CT all the time. It was the longest parade I have ever watched. It went on like forever. We got a baked potato at the Maine Building and a Spiced Apple Cider Donut at the Vermont building as well as sharp cheese called "The Preacher." I wanted to get "The Green Mountain Boys" which was supposedly XX-sharp but my father wouldn't go for it. We then went to the Sam Adams Beer Garden where I ordered an Octoberfest. Mine was 20 ounces so it looked huge compared to the little cups of chardonnay my parents ordered. We then went over to get the special Big E cream puff. Has anyone heard Clay Aiken's new song? He's covering Badfinger's "Without You" of all things and, I really hate say this, it's pretty good... We're having another Movie Night a week from tomorrow. We've decided today that we're going to watch Akeela...

Thursday June 22nd-I'm carrying my laundry down the stairs and my knee, the left one, decides it had been in place for two and a half years and that was enough. Thankfully, my father had returned from Maine so he was here to call the paramedics. I think this was the farthest my knee went over since the very first time in 7th grade. Anyway, it's still immobilized and I see the doctor tomorrow. Friday June 23rd-My father and I stay for the night at my aunt's in New Hampshire before going to Maine to the woods. I'm the cool cousin now apparently but more on that later. We watched The New World with Colin Farrell who did a very good job I think. My aunt was busy putting my cousin to bed and my uncle slept through the whole thing but my father and I enjoyed it for the most part. My only complaint was that they dragged it out in a few places for artistic reasons, I think. Sunday June 25th-I come out of the woods briefly to meet my date at the food court at the Maine Mall. ...

My parents have started their vacation and I've started my vacation from them. I realize my last post may have been a little too geeky even for me. It is possible I just have a quirky sense of humor that's easily ignored. We shall see although, I admit, there are times I do not like being ignored. In other news, the Sox-Braves game last night gave me fits. And they won! They're trying to kill me, I swear! One more word on this topic: will it be a good thing to put a pitcher on the mound that the royally sucky KC Royals dumped? I mean if they aren't willing to use him, and I'm sure they need pitching, he has to really suck. I think it was Francona who suggested he may pitch better on a contender. That's not my personality at all. I wouldn't say to myself, "We suck so I'm going to feel free to suck." Then again, I see the glass as half-full only half the time... We went to a joint graduation party for neighboring high school graduates we know. Th...

I'm posting because I'm royally irritated and I have no one else to bitch to. For a couple months we at my church have been planning a Church Family Movie Night. We specifically called it such so people without families wouldn't feel out of place in coming. The original plan by the Christian Ed committee that I'm on was to show The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe because it appealed to everyone say 5th grade and up, maybe even younger. I would love to see it a third time myself. This event was being planned in conjunction with the Deacons. One of the Deacons who has children ages around 2 and 5 thought that this movie was too scary for young children, which it probably is. My father tells me today that the crappy new Herbie the Love Bug movie with Lindsay Lohan will be shown instead. In my opinion, and I'm sure I could find film critics who agree with me, this movie would only appeal to young children of which we have only a handful or two, middle school ag...

Chinchilla You scored 25 nervousness! You really should be more nervous. People want to make coats out of you, you know. It's a harsh, harsh world, my friend. Link: The Small Nervous Animal Test written by zombieface on OkCupid Free Online Dating , home of the 32-Type Dating Test Ok, I'm warming up to Mark Loretta given his ninth inning heroics today but I'm still not convinced the trade was a good thing as Josh Bard wasn't particularly good on Saturday. Yesterday, I ran a Easter Egg Hunt for the kids at church. I really should have given the little kids a headstart as I had intended but I forgot and I also really should have collected all the plastic eggs and should not have let the kids take the baskets home. Maybe I'll remember all these things next time. Last night or maybe Saturday night, I finally got my sleep cycle back to normal after finishing the mail room assignment Friday morning. Oh, get this we finished at 4am instead of 7am so I had to wait alm...

Happy New Year. I'm back. I just spent a week up in Maine helping my cousin as I mentioned I was going to. It was a good time although most of what we did doesn't translate into good blog reading. I didn't really see any movies this time except for walking down to see Narnia again but, now that I think about it, I guess the straight to DVD "movie" Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story also counts. That was so good. We watched it once then we watched it again later in the week with the audio commentary on and it was just as funny. I also got the chance to watch a bootleg copy of the new Doctor Who series which was very good as well. They've done a good job speeding up the action and dialogue. I left there Friday afternoon. My father arranged to stay at my mother's step-mother's before driving back down here. My cousin who just turned six was there unbeknownst to me. If I had known I would have stayed downtown. I ended up playing a lot of rather bor...

No, my aunt will not have her surgery so, despite the suggestion by my cousin that I come up anyway, I'm still here in CT. No, my reasons were not in fact including the one I mentioned earlier but perhaps the overly optimistic chance something employment-wise will happen, I haven't even started my Christmas shopping, there could be something wrong with the brakes of one of the cars and frankly, I'm tired. No, I haven't heard from the two matches I referred to in awhile but another match I had thought was gone for good contacted me today so...I don't know. I'm just saying... More eventful things did actually occur, however. On Friday, I helped my mother with a "Parents Night Out" child care thing at her church. I was The Bank during a game of Cat-in-the-Hat-opoly and I pressed play on The Polar Express , which was very boring actually, and I also met the returning parents at the door. They didn't need me really and I was told I'd be paid whic...

On Friday, we watched a bit of the Concert For Hurricane Relief or whatever it was called. People complain about the media being too liberal but they cut Kanye West off when he pointed out "Bush doesn't care about black people." Interestingly, I was thinking all that day on how lucky it was that the victims were from states that actually voted for him. Can you imagine how slow the response would have been if the Northeast was slammed? Sunday, we went up to OOB, or Old Orchard Beach, ME for those readers not in the know. I went into the men's room of the restaurant where we had dinner that night and discovered how some patrons got around the "no smoking" policy. I wonder why I've never encountered that ingenuity before... We went up mainly to see my Bosnian "sister," F and her family, who live in the area, and say good-bye. After a trip to Bosnia they'll be moving to Detroit. It's a long story why they're moving but this really was o...

On Monday, we went to see the third matchup, or at least the third one we've been to this season, between our favorite minor league team the Portland Seadogs and the New Britain Rock Cats. The third time was the charm because the Seadogs finally won. Maybe it's just me but it seems the Rock Cats have a different number of mascots every game we go to. I think their between inning contests are completely lame as well. In Portland, and I'm pretty sure it's the same in Norwich, the kid races the mascot around all the bases not just second to third. How cheap is that? I was pleased that the two boys they had singing "Take Me Out To the Ballgame" knew the words this time, the previous time they didn't, because now I don't have to rant about how this "God Bless America" crap is ruining America's pasttime. Recently, I've been really enjoying Garbage's new album, "Bleed Like Me." I think it's hands down the best album they...

This week, out of the kindness of my heart, I agreed to be a tribal leader for my mother's Vacation Bible School at her church. I was told I wouldn't have to do anything; just escort kids from one class to another and that I wouldn't have teach anything! In reality, this turns out not to be the case. One: I have to provide discipline. Two: I have to pass out their snack and all the frickin' joy that goes with that. (I have 3rd graders who apparently still aren't old enough to understand the concept of sitting down and being quiet.) and Three: Yesterday, I think it was, my dear mother suggested that the tribes discuss how God loves us. Doesn't this sound like teaching to you? On the bright side, I have two assistants who are around 13, I think. The girl is, thankfully, one of the more competent of that age. To me, from my assisting with two middle school age church school classes many years apart, this is a slowly dying breed. The boy is all right: he doesn't...

I finally have something important to discuss. My mother's car was stolen right out of the driveway. Her glasses were in it so now she can't see well enough to read anything. To add to the intrigue, I was home when it happened and heard nothing. Her car doesn't have rear speakers or even a tape deck so no kid would want to take it for a joy ride. We don't know the exact time of the incident so it could be anywhre by now but hopefully it's still in the metropolitan area. The police accused me of taking it. (Of course, how are they to know I don't drive....) They also informed us of the fine if this was a scam. Those who know my family, do you think we'd do that? No, but I understand why the mentioned it. My mother is extremely shook up. I'm afraid she'll never be the same. At least not for awhile... I'll end on a happier note : You Belong in 1976 1976 If you scored... 1950 - 1959: You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innoce...

Ok, no, I was not staying with a dead guy but if it was any harder getting home today, someone might have been. Ok, I understand, don't like but understand, the T being crowded due to the Marathon and traffic being a clusterfuck. What I don't understand is why the freaking doors of the car I was in didn't open. Why trap me in a car with dehydrated runners throwing up? Consequently, I missed the stop I wanted to get off at and had to lug my freaking bag that much farther. Charmed was worth the wait I think. Even uglified, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe is still hot although I will say her appearance didn't say "spider" to me. I think Chris needs to grow the hell up. Being an Elder, Leo doesn't have much time for the family. Frankly, Chris is/was/will be, whatever, the least likely to be in danger. I don't think it's Leo's fault. I would guess it's Gideon's. Perhaps not surprisingly, Phoebe's "speed dating" was t...

This is the result of the second time I've taken this quiz. The first time I was the Twins, not having seen the second film, I have no idea who they are. This result I know and I must say I am a bit surprised: You are Morpheus, from "The Matrix." You have strong faith in yourself and those around you. A true leader, you are relentless in your persuit. What Matrix Persona Are You? brought to you by Quizilla I saw the third film this afternoon. I was planning to go with "friends" but they apparently went to the 12:30 and decided not, or just forgot to, tell me after inviting me not once, but twice, yesterday if I wanted to go. This is the second time in as many days these ladies have irritated me. Actually, you could say it was just one big irritation. Last night, they asked me if I wanted to go see They Might Be Giants in concert. I mentioned that I didn't hate the band. And then, when the time came, they acted like they never invited me at ...