lovely weekend

Last spring at our annual Passover celebration, several friends asked Robert when we were going to Tanglewood this summer. Robert was taken by surprise -- was it already time to think about our trip out west? Yes, as it turned out. I'd been asking him to pick a weekend, I'd conspicuously left the brochure out, and after a few reminders, had given up and decided that we'd try again in 2008.

Robert was so mortified that he'd missed all this attempted communication that he sprang into action. He found the brochures, which I'd finally put away, and picked some concerts. He ordered tickets and reserved a spot at one of our favorite B&Bs.

And this past weekend we went!

We saw two concerts at Tanglewood, both conducted by Kurt Masur, who seemed to be in top form. KM is a favorite of both the BSO and its fans. The soloist Friday night was Joshua Bell, another of our favorites, and well-loved by the audience. The "guest artist" on Sunday was Kurt Mazur, himself, in honor of his recently-celebrated 80th birthday. And the music was lovely. On Friday, the orchestra placed two pieces by Prokofiev (surprisingly listenable) and Beethoven's 1st Symphony. On Sunday, we heard three Mozart symphonies, 39, 40, and 41. The latter is also known as Jupiter.

On Saturday night, we went to Jacob's Pillow for a wild "variety show" of a brand-new all-male troupe, Bad Boys of Dance, led by the ballet-trained Rasta Thomas. There were beautiful balletic leaps and twirls, vertical and horizontal splits, the macarena, hiphop, tap, and references to the Wizard of Oz, all mixed into one of the most enjoyable evenings of dance that I've seen in ages.

We also dashed off to the Norman Rockwell museum and the Clark, which is currently showing a terrific exhibit of the "Unknown Monet," pastels and drawings from early to late years. A delight from both museums was seeing pencil sketches that were later turned into paintings, so you could look at the process from rough draft and scattered ideas to finished piece.

And it turned out that Jacob's Pillow was holding an open house this weekend, so we went to that too. We went for the dance, but stumbled on a couple of presentations about African American Heritage in the area, and related to the Pillow. One of the presenters talked about the Underground Railroad in the area and her research to learn more about it; the other talked about his uncle who was a lumberman and who provided the beams for the main theater at Jacob's Pillow. We later chatted with the presenters and other representatives. Robert bought their recently published book and I learned that the daughter of the woman who spoke about the Underground Railroad was Norman Rockwell's model for The Problem We All Live With.

Oh yes, and we bumped into friends, picnicked with other friends out for the day, and caught up a bit with the lives of our innkeepers. A full weekend; I'm a tad exhuasted, but otherwise quite happy.

hbd, Mark

My friend Mark Stanley would have been 50 years old yesterday. He's been gone twelve and a half years already. Were he alive today, that would amount to a full quarter of his entire life. It's two and a half times longer than I knew him, though I felt like I knew him for a lifetime.

I already feel a bit wistful about my upcoming birthday. My birthdays can be quite joyous, but also laden with people long gone, as if I'm celebrating for all of us, not just for me.

a feather in my cap

I'm not the trendiest of people. I live in the suburbs, I'm married and cook for my husband, I drive a five-year old sedan (albeit a sporty German car), and I make googoo eyes at my cats. I contra dance and go to classical music concerts. But every now and then, I feel right proud of myself for being ahead of the curve, if only slightly.

Several months ago, I stumbled on a web site that is so cute and so funny that it has become a guilty pleasure, a little like the small squares of chocolate I eat every day. I'm talking about yes!~ lolcats ~ in the form of ICanHasCheezburger (the image that started it all is on the left).

Well, Time magazine has just discovered this site and has published a short and very fun article about it. (Apologies if the link does not persist.) But for once, I discovered something before Time did.

OK, back to my standard-issue life...

But did he have another cat?

I'm walking in a beautiful town in Italy and meet a man pushing a rather fancy baby perambulator. When I peek in, I see an enormous cat that he's taking out for a stroll. I pick up the cat to hold it and realize that there's a smaller cat underneath (mini-me-ow?). I start talking to the man and he says that he and his partner each have one cat, but their two cats each have their own personal cat. I reply "Do you have any other cats?"

Apparently, asking this question out loud woke Robert up. He hopped out of bed, and I never did get an answer to my question. Darn.

more pics

http://picasaweb.google.com/koathe/NikonD40DayThree, click Slideshow.
Preview: More cats, more plants, a sunset. Big Yawn!!!

way too much fun, day 2

More pics here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/koathe/NikonD40Day2

and click Slideshow.

it's here! it's here!

My new camera arrived yesterday. I played with it a bit today. I'm now familiar with the most automatic of automatic features, including the "point-and-shoot" features. I'm planning to read up on the documentation (yes! rtfm! and a few books!) and figure out the less automated side soon. In the meantime, here is a small selection of the mostly-good 150+ first photos I took today. Wow.

For best viewing, go here: http://picasaweb.google.com/koathe/NewCamera and click Slideshow.

There are some features I already like a lot -- fast startup, fast focus, and much better flash than I'm used to. Also, if you're in a menu or reviewing photos, you don't have to get out of that mode to take more pictures -- you just start focusing and you automatically switch to taking pictures. I imagine there will be more to report as I learn more.

the ever elusive koa, just chillin

and in other news

I had a great customer service experience today, one that almost negated the awful one I had a few nights ago. Over a year ago, Robert and I were together and I was listening to something fabulous on my noise-reduction headphones. I wanted Robert to hear it too so I passed the 'phones to him. He twisted a little to the left when he should have twisted to the right, there was a snap, and, well, the headphones were unusable (though still working -- they just wouldn't stay on my head anymore).

Robert felt bad, but not so bad that he was willing to do anything about it. I just felt kind of hopeless and discouraged. So the headphones have sat in a little pile of stuff that never got put away.

Yesterday, I noticed that a colleague had a similar pair of headphones by the same company and I started talking to him about them. Another colleague joined into the conversation, and when he heard that I had a pair of broken headphones already, he suggested that I call customer service, even though the 'phones were way out of warranty.

This morning, I did just that. After going through the brief (press 1 if it's tuesday, press 2 if it's any other day of the week) phone menu, I reached an agent who was intelligent, helpful, empowered, and funny. In fact, we were both able to get the other laughing. After I explained the situation, he asked if he could put me on hold for a few minutes. When he came back, he said that I just needed to send the equipment in and he'd send out a replacement.

At this point, I admitted that I'd lost a few of the accessories and was wondering if I could order them. He said that actually, they're not going to fix the headphones I send back, and they're not even going to send me a refurbished pair. They're sending a brand-new pair, from the factory, all accessories included. Wow.

I have the feeling that work is going to get a lot noisier in the next few weeks, and there is that upcoming trip we're taking. It's time to have working headphones again. Bose Corporation, you rock!

we're sorry for the inconvenience

Have you ever noticed that when someone claims to be sorry for the inconvenience, they're usually not? When they say that they're just trying to protect you, they're usually trying to protect themselves?

Today, I made plane reservations for our fall trip -- three legs on two different airlines. For some reason, the more expensive charge went through, but the less expensive charge, for a flight from Athens to Barcelona, triggered a fraud investigation.

The reason given was that although I live in Boston, I was doing business with a company whose USA headquarters is in Miami. (Of course, I did the transaction over the Web, so I'm not sure how I was supposed to know where the company was based.)

The credit card company was sorry for the inconvenience (a phrase that the woman I spoke to had apparently been trained to say about fifty times a minute), but they had denied the charge, simple as that. And they couldn't reinstate it, either. They were sorry for the inconvenience, but I had to deal with the airline myself. Apparently, they don't provide that "service," but they *were* sorry for the inconvenience, and they were just trying to protect thems-er- me.

It really didn't matter to the woman I spoke to that I might not be able to reach the airline for at least 24 hours, which could possibly invalidate my travel plans. She was sorry for -- well, you get the general idea. And no, they couldn't have just put the charge on hold until they talked to me. I had triggered a fraud investigation, which caused them to cancel my charge. Plain and simple.

Oh, and I had to answer a bunch of questions about other recent charges I made, though I'm not sure why saying that yes, I had spent my own money using my own credit card convinced her.

(It turned out that I was able to reach the airline. They were really quite lovely and also quite competent, thankfully.)

Sorry for the inconvenience of having to read this. I'm deeply sincere about that.

ah. those old memories! make them stop!!! (ptsd revisited)

It's quite possible that you saw today's Dilbert and didn't even think it was funny because it was so weird. It's so weird, though, because it's true (itz twoo itz twoo, but I digress).

In fact, when I saw Dilbert this morning, I stopped reading the funnies first to laugh and then to immediately run to my computer to recommend the comic to a colleague, also formerly of IBM. I think she was slightly traumatized too.

IBM has a strict privacy policy about customers. I think the basic idea is that you're not allowed to make customer information (name, address, phone number, and so on) available to anyone. When IBM first acquired the company I worked for, they cracked down especially hard on this rule, which I admit is reasonable in theory.

I should point out that you couldn't get into our building without a badge or an escort. There was no sales activity in our building (and therefore not much access to customer information). Nonetheless, for a while, you were not allowed to leave your desk at night until all papers with phone numbers on them were locked up. In fact, your desk had to be cleaned off except for office supplies, and all drawers locked. If a drawer was empty and not locked, I swear to God, you had to affix a sign to it saying "this drawer does not contain any IBM confidential information".

Back to no phone numbers -- you couldn't leave out (tape to the wall, leave on your desk) your hairdresser's or day care provider's phone number. You couldn't post your partner's or your neighbor's or your boss's. And get this -- you couldn't leave out your own business card, even though your name was on your cube wall and your phone number was on your phone, and if you were standing int the cube, well, you probably knew the address, at least approximately. For some odd reason, they did not make us tape over the information on our phone. How inconsistent.

Apparently, the inspectors they hired were none too bright and were unable to tell which phone numbers belonged to customers and which to general every day life. To spare the inspectors from having to pass out too many demerits (collect enough and get fired! -- and I am deadly serious about this), they banned all publicly visible phone numbers.

Anyways, if you saw today's Dilbert and didn't howl with the pain of recognition, consider yourself very lucky indeed.

the hidden life of flowers

I am Theo.

Hear me roar.

everything old is new again in more ways than one

Our harnessing of the sun to provide some of the juice that runs our household has attracted the attention of more than just our neighbors.

Our long-time and well-respected congresscritter, Marty Meehan, has resigned, ostensibly to take a new job but, rumor has it, really to spend more time with his family (what a concept). This has generated a rather heated special election for his seat, including one contender, Niki Tsongas. Ms. Tsongas was the wife of Paul Tsongas, who was once our senator and then presidential aspirant.

Ms. T has already garnered an endorsement from Barney Frank ("an old friend") and Emily's list. She's been speaking out against the war in Iraq and for marriage equality. This week, she announced a theme of energy independence during Independence week. As part of that effort, she and our solar hot water installer (along with three of her staff members and one of his) visited the house for a quick tour of the installation.

Having grown up in Washington, I don't usually get flustery around political celebs. But Ms. Tsongas is one of my heroes. I can't imagine that she lived through the joys of politics as a wife, went through the death of her husband, and now actually wants to go to Washington herself. More power to her!

Anyways, the visit was a delight, and she's just as charming and gracious as I'd hoped. In a later phone call, she said that she was inspired by the visit and woke up in the middle of the night thinking about where she could put solar panels on her own house.

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And on a completely different everything-is-old tack, I rearranged my week to have a five-day weekend. I spent the better part of two days researching new cameras. I'm not much of a gadget hound, but in the last 25 years, I've owned one serious film camera, two point-and-shoot film cameras, and two digital cameras. I also once had the opportunity to borrow a fairly high-end film camera for a trip about eight years ago.

I finally decided to get what looks to be an entry-level, but still fairly powerful Digital SLR camera, the Nikon D40, with a lens that allows up to 7.5x zoom, along with a couple of refresher books about exposure (all that f-stop, shutter-speed, and ISO stuff that I once knew and have now forgotten).

Although I've been loving working with digital photography both in and out of the camera, I've been frustrated by the time it takes to turn many cameras on and then by shutter lag (the time it takes to focus and actually snap a shot). One of the promises of DSLRs is that both these times are significantly reduced. However, I'm amused that with this purchase, I'll be going back to a more manual style of picture taking.

This camera does allow for some automation, but also allows for a great deal of manual control, prompting one reviewer to muse about whether this is a point-and-shoot with DSLR features or whether it's a DSLR with point-and-shoot features. I'm looking forward to working with this camera and to learning and relearning how to use it.

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And in the domestic goddess department, for some reason, I've been a jamming demon this year. For a few years, I made jam every year, but then I had a disappointing batch and dropped it for a long time. I'm not sure why I started again this year, perhaps hanging out on our CSA farm, or knowing other people who make jam. I've discovered that it's easiest for me to make it one batch at a time, and it's fairly quick, too. I feel like a little squirrel, storing up for the cold winter to come. I'm thinking about reliving those sweet tastes of summer while watching the snow tumble down.

delights and highlights

When I last wrote, I think we were on the verge of going to New York, and I was slightly dreading it. It turned out to be a lovely party. There were not, as I thought there would be, hordes of thousands. Rather, there were first cousins of the bride and groom and their immediate families -- parents and kids. There was one close friend, practically family, and her husband and child, too.

Mostly the "sides" stayed segregated from each other because we were all dying to catch up with one another. My sis and bro were there with their partners and kids. (My sister's kids are rather recently acquired via her sweetie.)

We drove up in the morning. We stayed for about four hours, chatted intensely, and then drove home. It wasn't that bad a day -- we were out of the house as much as we are on a regular workday. But for some reason, I was exhausted for several days afterward. At least, it felt like it took a few days to feel a little more normal again.

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And this weekend held its own share of delights. On Friday, we were invited to a friend's house in the city where we sat on his abundant porch and ate dinner by candlelight. The weather was just perfect. We'd just survived some extremely hot days, and finally, the temperature had fallen enough so that the air felt crisp.

There were five of us -- the other two live in Philadelphia but are on a fact-finding trip to decide whether to accept a job offer and move up here. Robert and Partner 1 geeked out; the other partner and I discussed restaurants and other fun aspects of living here.

The two men said that they feel like they're not A-list, not even B-list, and perhaps on occasion they're C-list. But our evening was so perfect -- good food, good company, good wine, far-ranging and rather fascinating conversation, and perfect weather as a backdrop -- that I think we just made our own A-list. There is some redemption for us weirdos and misfits.

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On Sunday, Robert and I joined a long-time friend for brunch at our favorite airport cafe in the next town over. Our friend was so taken with it that she pouted for a good long while because it had taken so long for me to tell her about his wonderful find. The weather again was perfect, and there were all sorts of planes taking off and landing. We laughed and gossiped and chatted, generally catching up on the world and its goings on, another soul-filling event.

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In between, the cats continue to bring great joy. Theo no longer chases Koa *every* time he sees her, and so they co-exist far more peacefully. Koa continues to get braver and to recover from her frights more quickly. And as she blossoms, she becomes ever more affectionate. She takes especial pleasure in bed time, when she rolls around on her back, waves her paws in the air, purrs as if there's no tomorrow, and then snuggles up to me for a round of petting and cooing. We will continue to work things out with her.