The rest of the Austin story

I've "restarted" the Nano story. I had started with the main character being in their early twenties but then realized everyone was strangers to me. So I backed up a bunch in the timeline and the fingers are flying. It's annoying though, how much I can't stop thinking about the story and writing more only increases this feverish feeling. I'm up to 4629 words and I have no poem for the day. I might think up one before bed but don't count on it.


I haven't yet finished describing the trip to Austin that happened last week. I had a great time - went to the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum on Monday. That night I didn't feel so great so I bought a box of cereal and some milk for dinner and rested in the hotel room. I took it easier on Tuesday but went to the State Library right next to the Capitol building and found a goldmine on Ashley's relatives in their stacks. Wednesday I finally got to visit the two small house museums next to the hotel - one was the house of Susanna Dickinson, messenger of the Alamo, and the other was a house O. Henry had lived in for a couple of years.

Colin's conference was finally over and we met up with Ashley and Philip, staying with them the rest of the week. However, after a late lunch of Vietnamese sandwiches on Thursday I fell miserably ill and spent the rest of the time laid up. It was probably food poisoning with a combination of really bad allergies and fatigue. I made it back home and I'm mostly over it by now but I'm still having trouble eating much and get tired a lot.

And tomorrow we hit the road again! This time it's northward, on to see my sister star in a play. I haven't seen my family since the wedding so it'll be nice to see them and see how William's adjusting to college life. As an added bonus, I get to see Becca! Again! For the fourth time this year! And we'll be spending sometime together working on our novels, of course.

Nano 2011, here we go

Today marks the first day of a new Nanowrimo season. I debated whether or not to do it this year, and then decided to shoot for it. Last year was a success, but mostly in the "I can write 50k words of the same story in a month" way and not much else. I looked back at what I would like to have done differently last year and the biggest one was: write things I would want to read and share afterwards. I didn't want to get rid of the carefree writing style, though - I just wanted to not be stuck with one story. I also had some ideas that were nonfiction. And, most importantly, I wanted to use the momentum to advance the stories without worrying about word counts. So 2011 is the Year of the Rebel. Rawr!

Additionally, I plan to pen (type) poems and post them here. The one for the day is not related to the story I'm working on in anyway except that I was writing the story while the event took place.

1

Neighborhood feral cat

white on black the night after Halloween

slinks out of the shadows

sits profile wise

and laps from the birdbath

a makeshift neon green shallow dish

then continues

to the other side

of the patio

back into the night.

In Austin, Texas

On Saturday we flew in at 3. When we left the house early in the morning, the first frost was still on the ground. We picked the last of the tomato crop and brought them inside, hoping that the greener ones will be ripe when we get back.

While Colin was working on his presentations, Ashley and Philip took me to the Light the Night event along with a couple of their Austin friends. The walk (more like a shuffle it was so slow) around the small lake with everyone holding blinking lights was pretty neat. There were tons of dogs there. Then we went to eat at a Tex-Mex place where we had margaritas and then good if slightly pricey food. It was very dark and loud.

Sunday morning I scoped out the book festival. I had plotted out an itinerary based on Saturday's events by mistake; I got there and realized that there was no presentations going on yet since the day started later on Sunday. I also found out that the author I'd hoped to see wasn't able to make it. Despite it all, I had a good time. 

I first went to “The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks” about a book with the same title by Kathleen Flinn. Not surprisingly, 95% of those in attendance were women. Flinn is humorous and made me think about a new angle on the concept of food that I hadn't noticed much before.

On the way back to the hotel for (free) lunch with Colin, I noticed some people milling around outside a theatre. It looked like there might be someone famous out front, with the mobs of cameras and the blocked-off area. Well, what do you know – I turned out to be 20 feet from James Franco. So of course I tried taking a few pictures myself, a couple which actually have his whole face in them instead of just an ear or forehead. I didn't push my way in or anything but I wanted to get proof of my first random celebrity spotting.

After lunch I went back for a few more events, two focusing on history. It was very hot out so I took the opportunity to step into a cafe and get an Italian soda to sip while I ran through the list of authors whose books were on sale at the festival. I also tried to listen to the author of “Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain” but it was in the House Chamber where it was very echo-ey. I could tell he (David Eagleman) was very entertaining but had no clue what he was talking about, so I left early on.

I didn't end up getting any books by any of the speakers I heard, but I did get a 2009 Festival shirt (it's prettier and only $10 instead of $25) and a couple other books - “Cleopatra” by Stacy Schiff and a signed copy of “How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe” by Charles Wu. It's been quite some time since I've bought books full price (okay, so they're paperback, but I'm traveling) but an undisclosed percentage of the sales is going toward the Festival which is free and open to the public. And I really needed a book to replace the one, “Liar's Club,” I started on the flights that I don't want to finish. It's supposed to be funny but it's downright depressing and a weird memoir based on events in which the writer relies on other people's memories and her own vague ones of her childhood. Yeah, I'm gonna go read “Cleopatra” instead.

Punkins and Prohibition

The two topics I wanted to blog about aren't related except that they've come into my consciousness the past 24 hours. They interest me, but I know that what I find fascinating would bore others to tears - I hope that this is short and humorous enough to entertain instead.

First, punkins:

I was just wondering about the differences in pronunciation of the word "pumpkin." My grandpa always pronounces it as "punkin." When I tried to search for what might be the reason for the wildly different ways of saying it, I was only able to find a dictionary entry stating that the pronunciation was: 

[puhmp-kin or, commonly, puhng-kin]

Then I found a hubpage made about pumpkins. No mention of how to pronounce it, but the article is educational. My favorite part was the history of how the pumpkin pie came about:

 instead of cutting them into strips and baking them, the colonists cut off the top, scooped out the seeds, and then filled the hollow pumpkin with milk, honey and spices. Once filled, they replaced the top and baked the pumpkin in the hot coals of a fire thereby inventing pumpkin pie

I still am not quite sure what regional differences, etc. there are - I'm open to ideas.

Prohibition:

One of the stranger aspects of volunteering at a church library that has been out of commission for years is finding, for lack of a better word, archaic texts. "Bombs of Infinite Power" which has been "stockpiled" by Allen R. Blegen is merely a long list of short and popular Bible passages. While this can be explained by the publication date, which is 1964, there is no reason to have it in any current library, only in archives. 

Another old pamphlet-sized monograph is titled "To Drink or Not to Drink? A Vital, Personal Problem Facing America To-Day" by James W. Johnson. There is no publication date listed, but it's clear it was after the Great War (World War I) and before World War II, during the Prohibition Era (1920-33). I had expected to see a religious argument but there was very little Biblical reference.

Instead, it started out with a numerated list of reasons drinking should be legal. Not too bad, I give the writer points for attempting to give voice to both sides. However, there are the four pages of both introduction and anti-Prohibition arguments contrasting the 16 pages of why Prohibition is necessary.

The four main points:

1. Liberty
1. PRO Obviously, thinking men and women should be able to have the choice and if they're not thinking, they're only hurting themselves, not others.
2. CON But they're not hurting just themselves; we have a duty to be our brother's keeper. The Law should uphold the moral law. States have to give up some of their liberty to become part of the United States. "The appeal for personal liberty is powerful. The appeal for brotherhood is overwhelming."
2. Old Customs
1. PRO We have indulged in alcoholic beverages for ages. "The abuse of wine was always condemned, not wine used in moderation."
2. CON Just because we've always done it doesn't mean we should continue to do it. Think about polygamy ("Even when practiced under the camouflage of religion the Mormons ...") and slavery.
3. Physical Needs
1. PRO Alcohol can be stimulating and cheering when used in moderation. It is even recommended by doctors in certain cases of physical illness.
2. CON Even for the cases which alcohol can help, there are alternatives which work just as well, if not better. There are far too many negative outcomes ("The alcoholic ward, the crime committed in drunken frenzy, the suicidal act ...") to deny that it is usually tragic for the many.
4. The Social Instinct
1. PRO "In all social gatherings from time immemorial, at feasts, banquets and celebrations, the use of wine has been the custom." And being good social animals is important.
2. CON The saloon is the poor man's club, but "it must be admitted that poverty is increased by drinking." Along with the patriotic duty that calls for every man to be his fittest.

And it goes on to describe other pro-Prohibitionist points, most of which are no big surprise, including the argument that man must be protected from his temptations but that the expressed desire of the majority for the Prohibition will win out in the end. "There may be a return to (previous) conditions ... but such a setback will only be temporary. Because, as Lincoln so tersely said, 'You can't fool all the people all the time.'"

The passage I find most amusing is the one about the "very real difference between the temperament of Americans and the temperament of foreigners." How Americans are intense, high-strung, and keen, which is responsible for excess in many ways. "We cannot even enter into our sports without often suffering more from exhaustion and overplay than we benefit from the relaxation and the exercise. This is especially true of our young men and women. It is not equally true of most foreigners."

Can't you just hear the grumpy old man's voice in your head from 80 to 90 years ago?

Camping, stick bugs, and brown snakes

Yesterday afternoon we left to go camping for one night, the third visit to Kettle Moraine SP - South. It's only an hour (usually an hour and a half because of traffic) away from our house, in the woodsier, lumpier, and rockier areas of Wisconsin.

We were gone for less than 24 hours but it was rejuvenating. We had a walk-in site which was mostly uphill from the car than "in." I forgot the can opener but was able to use my pocket knife. We had way too much food but that is not an especially big problem. We are discovering that the little pot the stove (Mini Trangia) came with might not be quite big enough; we used the normal, larger pot I packed for both meals. Then again, we ended up with more food than we could eat and making meals is a bit different when backpacking (I wouldn't take a whole can of mixed veggies, for instance, but some dehydrated stuff instead).

I've also been experimenting with how to keep the sleeping pads from drifting apart in the night and creating a cold gap. There is a strappy device that I spotted online but couldn't find it being sold and some people complained it didn't work anyway. Then I found a suggestion to use some of that sticky shelf liner stuff under the pads. We tried a couple of squares of that the last trip. There was less drifting but nowhere near enough anchorage and the liner actually rolled up in the night.

So this time I got more (it's $1.50 for 5 feet - and Menard's has a $1.50 mail-in rebate), enough to be able to wrap in width-wise. I didn't want to glue it, so I sewed up one end of the two pieces and then used twist ties to bind the opposite ends while setting up camp. The metal twist ties poked through, so that needs to be changed. I also think wrapping it in the center instead of near the top might help things. But all in all, after I readjusted once when we were settled in, there was only a negligible amount of drifting.

The moon was full and bright last night. We kept nice and warm, but some critter (probably a raccoon) got his paws on an open package of graham crackers (the threat of wildlife getting into food is very low there and we thought things were well tucked away). We also spotted a stick insect missing a leg:

And a (very harmless) brown snake in its red stage:

And now we're back home, with drippy noses. Don't feel particularly sick but there's a vague feeling that we're both fighting something. This means it's simple noodles and canned sauce for dinner since I'm not up to making anything more adventurous.

And talk of shoes and ships and sealing wax ...

computer

Something I've recently taken up (again) is running. Or, rather, jogging. I started out when the temperatures were finally dropping down to a reasonable range in late August. One thing that prompted me to do it was "Born to Run." I enjoyed the story and was intrigued by the idea of "natural running."

I've been feeling some physical improvements - strong and more endurance. I've also been constantly quelling shin splints, which aren't debilitating since I run in short sections between walking. The key word is slow. Still, I've been able to run more frequently and longer. If you don't care to read the details about shoes, you might want to skip the next three paragraphs (they contain blisters).

As for the natural running method, I looked at barefoot shoes. The Vibram Five Fingers wouldn't work for me, simply because of my weird toes; the second-to-smallest curls under the middle one and trying to straighten it out is uncomfortable. So, I spotted some similar shoes by Merrell. I really like Merrell; their shoes really do last a looong time. I have a pair of shoes I bought for study abroad (where I walked a LOT - some of it with cheap flip flops that my roommate in Rome was shocked I still wore after we came back) and they're still my main pair of shoes.

I got really excited about the Merrell Pure Glove (Mary Jane style), especially when I found out they were 30% off at REI where I have a gift certificate. I looked at the store but they only had one pair that were too large. So I ordered a half size down online. Still seemed too big. Ordered the next size down and those seemed just right. Then I made the classic rookie mistake of taking them with me to SF - and getting a huge blister on my heel less than a mile into walking. This really surprised me - all the reviews raved about how they fit so well. So I guessed they were still too big. Except instead of length-wise, it looks like they were too wide (I have quite narrow feet). I could have ordered yet another pair to try but I wasn't optimistic about the idea; instead, I just boxed them up and sent them back. Eventually I will get a pair of Merrell Pace to try, which look a lot more like normal tennis shoes and are definitely fit more snugly all around when I tested them in the store.

Meanwhile, both pairs of old running shoes I tried didn't work (gave me blisters). Luckily, I have a pair of shoes I bought in India that don't have much cushioning and I've been using those. I can't quite remember what brand they are and I'm out and about right now. *end shoe stories*

Colin and I have both been having computer scares lately. Thank goodness we have a backup system. We're near an Apple store where Colin took his computer last night after it become completely unresponsive and found that they had to replace the motherboard. Which they did for free and we were able to pick it up this morning.

My own machine has been acting crankier than usual (on top of having very shot battery life). It would probably be a good idea just to get the next machine before this one completely up and dies. *sigh* Then again, over three years for an early version of a netbook is not bad. I've been looking both at newer netbooks and at computers that come with Linux. Sadly, they're almost mutually exclusive categories, although some of the Linux computers are on the smaller side, with an exception of Asus X101 that has a great price to boot. The solid state hard drive and the no ethernet port makes me pause, so I'm keeping an eye out for more reviews.

Okay, we're going to head home now. It's yet another glorious day outside!

San Francisco, Second Time Around

It's been over a month since I last posted and I hardly realized it. On the other hand, I don't believe that the wedding was less than two months ago. Not because I don't like being married but it was so very nice to have all that over with.

We just got home from San Francisco last night. It amuses me to think of Colin needing training on how to talk to people but then again it was mandatory for everyone who is presenting at the conference next month. Annoying that they (still) can't let him know in a more reasonable amount of time in advance but this time Colin was much more determined that I come along after having been so sick the last time he went.

What did I do? Well, I rode a lot of public transportation, for one, which I didn't mind. Sitting, watching the landscape go by, doing crossword puzzles, and reading is much preferred over driving in a strange place. On Monday I went and visited Kelsay. Since she was north of SF and I was in Redwood City, it took almost two hours one way to get there. We had a great time catching up. She took me to a couple of cool eats in her area (a shotglass of gazpacho, anyone?) and then we went back to her apartment for a bit. It was nice to see her cat Kiki again who she'd gotten while in Kzoo.

Colin and I went to a Thai restaurant near the hotel that was amazingly good. The awkward teenage boy who served us reminded me of my brother. My food came out on top of a dish with charcoal bits in it still burning so it continued boiling for quite some time. Colin had the leftovers for the next two lunches and never got tired of it.

Tuesday I went to the Winchester Mystery House near San Jose. It took even longer to get there because I mistakenly assumed that the light rail ended at the house but instead it ended at the neighborhood named Winchester. No problem, just had to catch a bus. While waiting, I went across the street to a Safeway and grabbed up some quick lunch bites. By the time the tour was done, I had very little spare time and decided just to start heading back to Redwood City. So didn't see as much as I had anticipated seeing but I enjoyed the day and that was (and always is) the point. I did, however, stress out slightly (mostly with the fact that I was running later than I'd planned and my phone was dead) when I tried to take a different walking route back to the hotel and found myself going on a fairly large detour through a Latino neighborhood. Thankfully, Colin didn't worry; he got to the room a couple minutes after I did. That night we went to a American/German restaurant where I had grilled chicken and mashed potatoes. We took a slice of a chocolate pie back to the hotel for dessert.

Wednesday I decided to go back to San Jose but this time straight to downtown. Colin didn't need to pick up one of his coworkers so we had a nice breakfast at Cafe La Tartine before I dropped him off and parked at the next train stop south (saving 4 bucks on the ticket - and I didn't have to pay for parking). I had anticipated using the "daily" pass which I'd gotten Tuesday and didn't expire until 3 PM but when I went to board the bus to downtown, I saw that there was a free shuttle going to exactly where I wanted to go: the San Jose Library.

Yes, I am totally a library geek. And yes, I pretty much spent all day there. It's an awesome library - 8 floors, gazillions of desks with power outlets at each one, sunlight throughout the whole building, and gorgeous views of the city and the mountains beyond ... It is a unique library, too; it serves as both the San Jose University's and the public's library and I've gotta say it pulls it off very well.

I found a letterbox which sadly didn't contain its stamp but I stamped in anyway. I looked around in the room dedicated to Salinger (I really like his little portable typewriter) and then in the one for Beethoven. I was actually given an impromptu tour by one of the librarians in the Beethoven library (including the display with a lock of the composer's hair) and then told that someone would be giving a performance that afternoon on the various piano predecessors. I immediately scrapped all other plans and ran out for a quick lunch of sushi (which was delicious even if they were so big I could barely chew them).

After that, I walked over to where the Peralta Adobe and the Fallon House were then continued on to the train station. It was not a terribly long walk but it was hot (90 degrees), sunny, and dry, so I stopped to get a frozen drink that was possibly the best coconut drink I have ever had. Upon reaching the station, I realized I'd missed all the trains I thought I might be able to catch (it was too hot to walk any faster) and the next was in half an hour. Sitting still in the air conditioned room was blissful. I arrived early near where Colin was, and found a public access area on the water. There was a very steady wind from the northeast which made me chilly (big change from San Jose!). I sat and read until Colin was ready to go. Dinner was at a Mexican restaurant where we shared a tortilla dish.

Thursday (yesterday) our flight was boarding at noon and we were both worn out so we just took it easy getting going. We sat in a Peet's for a little bit before heading to the car rental place. On our flight, we played with the Chromebooks that were being lent out. I was mostly neutral about it; while it's true the vast majority of my computer time is online, I don't want everything through the browser. The price is a bit higher than I care for, too. I had to love the long battery life, of course. Things were running slowly and the free onboard wifi cut out a couple times. I spent time looking around at options for my next computer (my current one gave me a scare recently) and then switched to reading an analog book.

After the four hour flight and no lunch, we were ravenous and had Applebee's before heading home. Slept well last night, despite suddenly waking myself up, with Colin sitting and reading next to me. He gave me the strangest look and asked what I'd been dreaming about. I couldn't remember and he said that I'd been talking a lot of gibberish (which I sometimes do especially when really tired). "Oh. Okay," and then I crashed back to sleep.

I think I'll post pictures and a couple other stories later ... this is quite long enough as it is. Oh, and perhaps I'll talk about what else is going on these days, sooner rather than later (oy).