Things I enjoy

Okay, this is just, as my daughter would say, "Random."

I was flying home from Texas a couple of days ago and realized that my favorite parts of flying are 1) getting to the destination relatively quickly, and 2) the great changes in G forces. It is like a roller coaster without the jolting and jarring that my back can no longer tolerate. Remember, enjoy those roller coasters when you are young because if you are lucky enough, you'll eventually be in one of the categories that should not ride them anymore. I guess the G force thing is what used to make people throw up so much. I remember some of my first airplane rides--not the small aircraft I rode in for fun with my friend's Dad. Those barf bags were really used! I can remember hearing someone throwing up in nearly every flight. I don't recall the flights being any different. Why don't people throw up anymore? Did we get stronger? Did those people just never fly anymore? I doubt it. The flights now are much rougher and the conditions are much more primitive now than they were then. At that time, it was rare to have to sit next to someone. The flight attendants were called stewardesses and they had to be drop-dead gorgeous. They were assigned to desk jobs once they hit 40, got fat, or became pregnant. In the middle of the flight they roamed the aisles and passed out decks of cards, blankets, pillows and little gold-covered plastic wing pins. Every girl wanted to grow up to be a stewardess. Then, once I grew up, they became flight attendants and they look/act more like drill sargeants than Barbie dolls. The thrill is gone.

Well, one more thing I like is a brief thunderstorm. It washes everything off and my dog wants to be held. Otherwise, he is quite independent. He's getting better after his surgery. Now, we have the job of trying to keep him from overusing the reconstructed knee. He is a rascal.

I'll take a picture soon. My camera says it has a battery problem. I think there is no flash. Where is my techie-daughter during my time of crisis?

Where did it go????

Okay, earlier tonight I wrote an entry and saved it but couldn't ever find it again. That makes me very sad. I really don't want to rewrite it. :o((((

Ode to Yankee Doodle

Whew! Was I glad to get home from work today!!

There was a major thunderstorm (complete with hail!) yesterday at my school. A couple of trees in neighboring yards had fallen and closed some streets and the remainder of the leaf/branch debris was a little scary looking. When I went into the building, I was told that there was no electrical power in the gymnasium. I am generally the one who does work orders and I am a little mechanically inclined, so they asked me to help the custodian open up a fuse box. Seemed easy enough, right?

None of our keys fit the lock for the fuse box. Our head custodian just retired at the first of May after many, many years of service in this building. Her replacement works nights, but the building is new to him. The second in command is very nice and can handle most of the work, but she is new to the building and speaks (and understands) very little English. Finally, we decided to call the retired expert. She told me we aren't allowed access to that fuse box. I spent about 30 minutes checking every other fuse box I could find and finally went to the gym to see how bad the outage was. I walked in and heard the fans running and every light was on.

Always verify that there is a problem before you spend a lot of effort to solve it.


School is out Monday at 11 a.m., so the teachers are inventing things for the kids to do to entertain them. A teacher found me at lunch time and asked me if I'd help her out later in the day. The second grade classes were having a talent show. The teachers asked different kids what there talent was. Alex wanted to show off his skill at whistling. Another boy in the class had assured the class that whistling was not a talent. This teacher asked if I would come to the class and whistle a song to support him and prove that it was a talent. (I know, that is a reach, but we're talking about second graders.) I love to sing, but I whistle a lot, too.

Okay, about thirty minutes later, Alex was brought to meet with me about our "talent." I asked him what he wanted to whistle. "Ode to Joy" was his response. Wow! I was impressed. He whistled it for me and I really was impressed because he whistled both breathing in and out. He told me that the only song he couldn't whistle was "Yankee Doodle." Okay, that is not my favorite song, but I can't see how it is more difficult than "Ode to Joy." I told him it was pretty plain and couldn't be made fancy very easily, but I whistled it and asked him if he wanted to try it.

"No."

"But I am sure you could whistle it! It isn't that hard! Why can't you sing it?"

He said, "I just don't like that song!" Oh.

We went to the talent show and he whistled his ode to joy and I whistled "Yankee Doodle."

Kids are terrific!

Pet peeves

Hmm. My niece, Hol, is having AC problems right now and she lives in a warm, humid area. I'll keep her in my prayers in regards to that. It is awful to be so uncomfortable. How did my generation make it so long without AC? I guess we just didn't know better. Friday was my school's field day and also a Code Orange day. Some of the parents were so worried about that. Sheeesh. I HATE hot weather.

We also had a little first grader who spent all of the month of May in the office during his recess times. Why? Because of his allergies. That was why I was amazed when he told me that his family was going to go camping over Memorial Day. "FIve days with no electricity!" One of my pet peeves is when kids have to spend time in the office. Whoever put them there is not going to be supervising them, I guarantee! They are bored and it takes only a few minutes before they start bothering the office staff. We would not be allowed to teach the normal classroom group--we aren't qualified as teachers--but we are allowed to supervise those students a teacher cannot handle, while we are also doing our own work!

Let's see. What else? patterns that don't live up to their measurements. Of course, women should be able to take their measurements and sew something up. My daughter and I recently went looking for a sundress for her. They are all slinky looking. She was looking for something a little more wholesome--the Doris Day look, I guess. I finally suggested we look for a pattern and material. We found just the right thing. It has been years, so I took her measurements and set out making this dress. It is one that you sew up the top and sew up the bottom, hem first, and then put the whole thing together at the end. At the end, I realized that she isn't a size 10 (I had my suspicions at first, since she wears a 5 or 7 usually, but the patterns don't have junior sizes) so I've been trying to take this monster up ever since. Looked like the top needed about two to three INCHES taken out. Why post the measurements at all?

Speaking of sizes, why can't she just pull down a 5 and carry it home? My husband manages to do that with his clothes!

Okay, this pet peeves business may be a continuing post...

What are your pet peeves???

Appointments

What is it with appointments?

When I was young, back in the dinosaur days, appointments were special things you dressed up for. I never recall going to the doctor's office, even if I had the measles, without having to get all dressed up for that appointment! We never had appointments for playing with another kid or the many other things that require appointments now.


Cars. Why does one need to make an appointment for one's car to get repaired? Still, it is necessary.

Air conditioning/heating. There's another useless appointment. The service industry is all upside down. The service we get is lousy, at best, usually. Don't know how it is where you live, but here in VA, to get service on your AC or Heating, you must have a contract with an HVAC company. We went with the ones who were doing it when we moved in, since the previous owner said they installed the heating/cooling system and had converted the heat from electric to gas. These contracts are a tiered system: the top tier gets first priority when you have a problem, the second tier gets service within 24 or 48 hours and I think that is all there is. In other words, without a contract, you won't see a tech for days after the problem begins.

A couple of years after we bought the house, we had several problems in a row. The humidifier was clogged. The guy fixed it. It reclogged and the moisture collected in the heater and ruined it. When it was replaced, they told us the hose had been reconnected incorrectly and had caused the problem. I reminded them that we NEVER touch those hoses and electronics, so it must have been their technician. Why would I bother it? I'm afraid of it! It is big and noisy and has way more electricity running through it than I care to sample. They looked up in their records and said it probably was his fault but that they had fired him, but we'd still have to pay for a new system.

Other companies' contracts cost a lot more because of the length of our commitment to this company, so we stayed with them. The next few visits were different techs, and I had really liked the first guy. He seemed reliable and could tell me exactly what was wrong and why. However, just last visit, I noticed that the old technician is back again! My husband gets to enjoy these appointments, and I think he doesn't want to bother, but I just wonder how much rehab this guy had before they allowed him back on their payroll. Or was he ever off?

Meme from Hol

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question even if it doesn’t make sense. No Cheating!


How do you feel today?
Ah, se in ciel, benigne stelle (Italian for "Ah, if in heaven, benign stars")

What's your outlook on life?
Dirait on (French for "One would say") It is a dumb song I had to sing last year on my trip to Europe)

What does your family think of you?
Fantasie de Carmen (Fantasy from the opera "Carmen") by Sarasete

What do your friends think of you?
Answer me sung by Renee Fleming

What do your exes think of you?
Wozzeck: The Midnight Sun If you've ever heard Wozzeck, this is an interesting answer!

How's your love life?
In This Very Room (sung by my friend CJ Liotta)

How will your love life be in the future?
Aer tranquillo sung by Rita Streich

Will you get married?
Comfort Ye by Handel from the Messiah (I'm married already.)

Are you good at school?
Finale: Presto, non tanto (It means "quickly, but not a lot" in Italian)

Will you be successful?
Ou va la jeune Indoue (the Bell Song from the opera "Lakme," sung by Joan Sutherland)

What song should they play on your birthday?
Laudamus te (Latin) written by Mozart and sung by Renee Fleming

What song should they play at your graduation?
Caro Nome by Verdi from the opera "Rigoletto" and means "sweet name" Rigoletto's daughter, Gilda (pronounced Zheelda) is in love with Gualtier (Walter) Malde and sings of her love for him in this aria.

The Soundtrack of your life?
O mio babbino caro from the opera "Gianni Schicchi" by Giacomo Puccini This is a song sung by Lauretta, stating that if she isn't allowed to marry Rinuccio, she'll throw herself into the Arno (river.)

You and your best friends are?
You've changed sung by Renee Fleming

Happy times:
Carol of the Birds sung by Kathleen Battle

Sad times:
Then Shall the Eyes of the Blind be Opened by Handel from the Messiah

Every day:
"Rejoice Greatly" by Handel from the Messiah sung by Joan Sutherland

For tomorrow:
E strano...ah, fors lui (also called "Sempre Libera" from the opera La Traviata by Guiseppe Verdi)
E strano means "it's strange" and "sempre libera" means "always free" This is a great aria!

For you:
Oh, zittre nicht mein liebre sohn! which means "Oh, do not tremble, my dear son", but it is being sung by an evil witch who is trying to trick this poor wandering man into helping her. It is from "The Magic Flute" by Mozart.

What does next year have in store for you?
L'adieu les bergers or "The Shepherd's Farewell" by Berlioz

What do you say when life gets too hard?
Vocalise by Rachmaninov sung by Renee Fleming

What song will you dance to at your wedding?
Je suis seul...Ah, fuyez, douce image by Jules Massenet in the opera "Manon") It means "I am only...flee soft image"

What do you want as your career?
Entr'act which, of course, means "between acts" which is a piece of music that plays in the opera "Lakme" by Delibes

Your favorite saying:
Introduction et Rondo Capriccio played by Joshua Bell This is my daughter's FAVORITE violin piece! It most likely would be HER favorite saying!

How will you die?
Scarlatti, Mentre io godo (Aria della Spreanza)
Scarlatti is the composer, I think, and the title means "While I enjoy" and it is Spreanza's aria to sing. This version has Cecilia Bartoli singing it, though.

Please play along! It helps to have an iPod, or another MP3 player. Leave me a link if you play so I make sure not to miss it.


Once again, I don't know other bloggers, so anyone who wants can do this one. It is fun, even if the song titles are hard to read. Of course, it might be easier if the songs were in English. I just don't have many. Definitely no "top 40" types. I listen to and enjoy classical music, and especially opera. Just wish I could speak some of the languages and know what is being sung!

This was fun!

Thanks, Hol!

Okay, now I am supposed to link back to Hol, but I have no idea how to do that. Sorry, but I'll email you to tell you I did this. I will also do the other one that I only just found today!