Buckets of rain have been predicted for the next several days. But I slept through this morning's rainfall and am now experiencing sunshine mixed with puffy clouds. I should probably get outside and breathe some fresh air before the heavens open.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
Alaska and the Play
Both enterprises have completed successfully, and I'm starting to get back to other matters.
We had amazingly good weather on the trip - absolutely no rain and several days of actual sun, including in Ketchikan, which only gets 30 days without rain each year. Jan and I survived our ziplining expedition near Juneau, saw spectacular views on the White Pass Railway out of Skagway, and had a fabulous dinner aboard ship one night. Other highlights include karaoke singing, scenic cruising in the Tracy Arm, and cute animals folded from towels that showed up in our stateroom every night. I was also pleasantly surprised to have had no problems with seasickness or indigestion.
As to the play, we never did get a final copy of the script, although the versions we did receive became increasingly complete and polished. A character and her scenes were deleted while I was out of town, and some of my lines changed after I had started to memorize them. But there were enough rehearsals after I returned for me to get up to speed. Our six performances were sold out, and the audience was very engaged. We done good.
We had amazingly good weather on the trip - absolutely no rain and several days of actual sun, including in Ketchikan, which only gets 30 days without rain each year. Jan and I survived our ziplining expedition near Juneau, saw spectacular views on the White Pass Railway out of Skagway, and had a fabulous dinner aboard ship one night. Other highlights include karaoke singing, scenic cruising in the Tracy Arm, and cute animals folded from towels that showed up in our stateroom every night. I was also pleasantly surprised to have had no problems with seasickness or indigestion.
As to the play, we never did get a final copy of the script, although the versions we did receive became increasingly complete and polished. A character and her scenes were deleted while I was out of town, and some of my lines changed after I had started to memorize them. But there were enough rehearsals after I returned for me to get up to speed. Our six performances were sold out, and the audience was very engaged. We done good.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Long Time no Write
I'm still wearing the brace on my ankle and not singing with Occupella.
On the other hand, I auditioned for a new play, called "Mad Love" that's supposed to open in less than a month, even though the script isn't final yet. At three rehearsals per week, though, progress should be rapid. On the third hand, I'll be missing several rehearsals starting a week from now, so I really hope the script is final before I leave for ten days.
Jan and I are booked on an Olivia cruise of Alaska that leaves from Vancouver on the 16th of this month. I just printed out my boarding pass and luggage tags, and am starting to compile a mental packing list.
I went on a Caribbean cruise with my grandparents when I was eight or so, and had a wonderful time, so I have hopes for this cruise, after I get over my usual "leaving my nest" anxiety. And we have booked excursions at each landfall, plus some indulgences aboard ship. I'm a touch worried about seasickness; I was fine on the cruise a half century ago, but have become much more sensitive to motion since then. But I plan to bring three different seasickness remedies, so that should be covered.
In the meantime, I have been participating in phone banking as part of PICO California's push to support Proposition 30 - a revenue-raising measure that's a combination of the governor's proposal and the Millionaire's Tax. Cold-calling people is one of my least favorite things to do, but at least we're not asking them for money. I even managed to rope Jan into joining me for a session last night. She's a natural.
If you live in California, please vote yes on Prop. 30. The money will go to K-12 and higher education, and local police and fire services, and will prevent even deeper cuts than we've already experienced in these services. 90% of the revenue will come from raising state income taxes on people earning more than $250,000 a year, and the rest from nudging up the state sales tax by a quarter of a percent. State coffers are bare, so we only get what we pay for.
And of course, if you live anywhere in America, please be sure to re-elect President Obama. Romney would undo the policies that are healing our economy. The GOP seeks to restore the 'winnner take all,' 'I've got mine; you're on your own,' 'women and children last' policies that nearly crashed the economy and would return women to the status of child-bearing machines. Heaven forfend!
On the other hand, I auditioned for a new play, called "Mad Love" that's supposed to open in less than a month, even though the script isn't final yet. At three rehearsals per week, though, progress should be rapid. On the third hand, I'll be missing several rehearsals starting a week from now, so I really hope the script is final before I leave for ten days.
Jan and I are booked on an Olivia cruise of Alaska that leaves from Vancouver on the 16th of this month. I just printed out my boarding pass and luggage tags, and am starting to compile a mental packing list.
I went on a Caribbean cruise with my grandparents when I was eight or so, and had a wonderful time, so I have hopes for this cruise, after I get over my usual "leaving my nest" anxiety. And we have booked excursions at each landfall, plus some indulgences aboard ship. I'm a touch worried about seasickness; I was fine on the cruise a half century ago, but have become much more sensitive to motion since then. But I plan to bring three different seasickness remedies, so that should be covered.
In the meantime, I have been participating in phone banking as part of PICO California's push to support Proposition 30 - a revenue-raising measure that's a combination of the governor's proposal and the Millionaire's Tax. Cold-calling people is one of my least favorite things to do, but at least we're not asking them for money. I even managed to rope Jan into joining me for a session last night. She's a natural.
If you live in California, please vote yes on Prop. 30. The money will go to K-12 and higher education, and local police and fire services, and will prevent even deeper cuts than we've already experienced in these services. 90% of the revenue will come from raising state income taxes on people earning more than $250,000 a year, and the rest from nudging up the state sales tax by a quarter of a percent. State coffers are bare, so we only get what we pay for.
And of course, if you live anywhere in America, please be sure to re-elect President Obama. Romney would undo the policies that are healing our economy. The GOP seeks to restore the 'winnner take all,' 'I've got mine; you're on your own,' 'women and children last' policies that nearly crashed the economy and would return women to the status of child-bearing machines. Heaven forfend!
Friday, May 4, 2012
May Thoughts
It's a sunny and windy day in the village, and my cherry tree in the back yard is waving in the wind and raining pink petals.
Now that my torn tendon is on the mend, I'm planning to do more singing with Occupella; it's been too long.
I tried last month to get into the Wells Fargo shareholder meeting, having bought a single share for that purpose. The day before the meeting, I attended three hours of activism training along with 150 other single shareholder/activists. However, the suits were on to us from the start. The building was ringed with police and suits from the crack of dawn, and the gatekeepers kept lying to us about when and where they would let us into the meeting. Only about 20 lucky souls got in and said their piece. Standing around and sitting around in a large crowd of protesters for several hours made me tired and sore, and upset. So I forgot all about the support group meeting that I could have attended, and went directly home.
Jan and I have tickets for two concerts by members of the SF Symphony playing all six of Bach's Brandenburg Concerti this coming Saturday. Should be quite lovely.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Rainy Saturday
So I've started PT for my ankle, and the cold is pretty much gone, but now it's raining out and I'm afraid of a relapse if I go outside and get wet and cold. And I've gotten really, really lazy.
Listened to NPR for a couple of hours this morning, catching "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" live for the first time in a very long time. I usually catch it as a podcast, via my ipod or Kindle Fire. This news quiz is my favorite radio show, and I was pleased to have gotten many of the answers correct.
I caught my cat Einstein in a particularly cute pose today. He enjoys lying on the window sill in the living room, above the baseboard heater, so he gets the benefit of both the rising heat and the view of the street. I keep the blinds closed for privacy, and they hang in front of the sill. Today, his left rear paw hung off the edge of the sill, below the bottom of the blinds. It was the only visible part of his body. His foot is mostly white (he's a gray tabby), and looked rather like a rabbit's foot. It's certainly every bit as soft as a rabbit's foot. And I feel lucky to have him.
The other day I thought I saw him in the back yard, but when I turned around, there he was in the living room - at the same time. The cat in the yard had the same colors in his coat, the same white front and points, and the same black stripes on its tail. It didn't seem to be wearing a collar, and seemed a bit bigger than Einstein, but otherwise looked just like him. And s/he seemed very at home in my yard, so I suspect this is not the first time s/he has visited. Perhaps he has a close relative nearby ...
Anyway, that's all I can think of right now. Stay dry.
Listened to NPR for a couple of hours this morning, catching "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" live for the first time in a very long time. I usually catch it as a podcast, via my ipod or Kindle Fire. This news quiz is my favorite radio show, and I was pleased to have gotten many of the answers correct.
I caught my cat Einstein in a particularly cute pose today. He enjoys lying on the window sill in the living room, above the baseboard heater, so he gets the benefit of both the rising heat and the view of the street. I keep the blinds closed for privacy, and they hang in front of the sill. Today, his left rear paw hung off the edge of the sill, below the bottom of the blinds. It was the only visible part of his body. His foot is mostly white (he's a gray tabby), and looked rather like a rabbit's foot. It's certainly every bit as soft as a rabbit's foot. And I feel lucky to have him.
The other day I thought I saw him in the back yard, but when I turned around, there he was in the living room - at the same time. The cat in the yard had the same colors in his coat, the same white front and points, and the same black stripes on its tail. It didn't seem to be wearing a collar, and seemed a bit bigger than Einstein, but otherwise looked just like him. And s/he seemed very at home in my yard, so I suspect this is not the first time s/he has visited. Perhaps he has a close relative nearby ...
Anyway, that's all I can think of right now. Stay dry.
Monday, March 12, 2012
No News Might be Bad News
So, after I'd been singing with Occupella for a month or so, I got around to seeing a new podiatrist for an injury to my ankle that I believe occurred when I misstepped on a pothole back in October. The highly rated new doctor took an ultrasound image and slapped me in a walking cast, finding that I'd torn a tendon. Thankfully, it was only frayed, not torn clear through, so no surgery was needed, but I stayed in that cast, and mostly off my feet, for six weeks.
I've graduated to wearing a brace and am supposed to begin physical therapy, but now I've got a lovely cold/laryngitis thing that has turned me from a soprano to a bass-baritone. They don't want my germs at the PT office, and I don't blame them any. So now I'm resting my voice as well as my ankle, except for a single balancing-on-one-foot exercise that the doctor told me to do.
Which all explains why I haven't posted recently. My life's been pretty quiet.
I've graduated to wearing a brace and am supposed to begin physical therapy, but now I've got a lovely cold/laryngitis thing that has turned me from a soprano to a bass-baritone. They don't want my germs at the PT office, and I don't blame them any. So now I'm resting my voice as well as my ankle, except for a single balancing-on-one-foot exercise that the doctor told me to do.
Which all explains why I haven't posted recently. My life's been pretty quiet.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Occupella and Me
Leslie Hassberg, who invited me to participate in the human banner on Ocean Beach (Tax the 1%), more recently sent me an e-mail about a group of singers called Occupella that she co-founded. Occupella sings at protests and BART stations in the spirit of Occupy Wall Street. That sounded like major fun to me, so I started attending three weeks ago. My main concern was that I might not know the tunes they'd be using, but it turned out that I already knew most of them, and the others weren't too hard to pick up. And now that I have ink for my printer, I have my own songbook of the words.
It's great fun, singing out my anger at the banks and profit-driven inhumanity in general, and finding harmonies that will blend with whatever chord the guitarist has chosen. Members of the public and members of the group often take video of us, including a BART policewoman the other week. Lots of folks give us a thumbs up in passing or simply join in. It's a very uplifting occupation.
We were asked to act out the words to one song by Leslie, about self-serving falsehoods the elite use to keep the rest of us quiescent, and how they make excellent manure for our gardens. That was a lot of fun, and drew me a compliment from another woman in the group. And I always enjoy singing Nancy Schimmel's version of her mother's Little Boxes that's about tax shelters in the Caymans.
I was planning to sing with them last Friday, in a daylong protest of Citizens United, but it was raining and unpleasant, and I went back to sleep until long after the protest had concluded. Oh well.
I recently acquired some colorful signs about taxing the rich (thanks, Terry), and need to figure out a way to put them on some kind of easel or pole. I'm thinking about the collapsing cane that I bought in Hawaii when my knee was acting up.
It's great fun, singing out my anger at the banks and profit-driven inhumanity in general, and finding harmonies that will blend with whatever chord the guitarist has chosen. Members of the public and members of the group often take video of us, including a BART policewoman the other week. Lots of folks give us a thumbs up in passing or simply join in. It's a very uplifting occupation.
We were asked to act out the words to one song by Leslie, about self-serving falsehoods the elite use to keep the rest of us quiescent, and how they make excellent manure for our gardens. That was a lot of fun, and drew me a compliment from another woman in the group. And I always enjoy singing Nancy Schimmel's version of her mother's Little Boxes that's about tax shelters in the Caymans.
I was planning to sing with them last Friday, in a daylong protest of Citizens United, but it was raining and unpleasant, and I went back to sleep until long after the protest had concluded. Oh well.
I recently acquired some colorful signs about taxing the rich (thanks, Terry), and need to figure out a way to put them on some kind of easel or pole. I'm thinking about the collapsing cane that I bought in Hawaii when my knee was acting up.
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