It's been two full years since my crazy final undergraduate recital. If I had it all to do over, I would have dropped the brass quintet piece, added another brass ensemble piece or a vocal piece, and sped up the Arutunian. I'd also print about fifty fewer of those novel-sized programs.

I'm looking forward to getting a new TV in Virginia and playing video games. Over the past few months, the image on my current TV has slowly bled off the top of the screen so every actor looks like a midget with a giant forehead (the bottom half is still properly proportioned). Since almost every video game puts pertinent information like health and time at the top of the screen, it's like I'm playing the games in an iron man competition, blind to all stats. After dying unexpectedly several times in Zelda a few weeks ago, I put the video games on temporary hiatus. I guess I can add "finish all the unfinished video games" to my list of future plans, although it doesn't sound nearly humanitarian or noble enough.

Booty has a rotating list of favourite games she likes to play. In honour of National Girl Scout Leader Day and the forthcoming Booty cookie (sign the petition if it reaches you!) I've decided to summarize the games here:

• Reverse Whack-a-Mole: Tilt sofa cushions into standard fort setup with opening at the top. Hide inside until Brian hovers his face over the opening. Spring out with both paws in front and punch him in the face. Return to hiding. Repeat as desired.
• Fetch: (can be played with fur mouse or string) Chase string around the apartment until Brian gets bored and throws the string in a hard-to-reach location, such as the wet tub or on top of a bookshelf. Retrieve string and bring it back to Brian's chair. Meow until game restarts.
• Bagtie Derby: Chase bagtie in rapidly expanding concentric circles until dizzy, then try to catch it in a straight line when it's thrown.
• DaVinci's Cat's Cradle: Chase bagtie in gadually widening arcs, eventually running up walls to heights of four and five feet. (Matrix Variation involves running up the wall and actually stealing the bagtie by pushing off the wall upside down and catching it in midair.
• Scavenger Hunt: Knock all toys underneath the couch, out of reach. Game ends when there are no toys left.
• Mental Aerobics: Be CRAZY. Sprint around the room, charging at various objects and occasionally run into things while growling. Pretend there are alien cats chasing you. Be CRAZY.
• Mexican Peon Game: Drink lots of water and then pee on the carpet.

My future plans (V of V):
I'd like to learn how to do more with Photoshop, since I currently know the bare minimums required to fake effects. I've seen some incredible artwork created with Photoshop, and it'd be nice to get my hand back into the art-biz somehow. I also plan on reading the instruction manual for my digital camera. All I've ever done with it is point n' click, and there's probably many more options that I don't know about which would make my pictures suck less.

I'd also like to read some on sociology and history from the past hundred years, but it's so much more fun to read books that I've already read before.

All these grandiose plans are of course accompanied by the usual plan to exercise more and get out of the house more. I'll probably do some sports through work like soccer and basketball and ultimate frisbee, and hopefully I'll live in an area that's conducive to jogging to McDonald's. I've even got a book on how to work out without actual equipment, though I haven't done more than skim it so far.

Finally, I want to get back into hiking and biking since northern Virginia is close enough to trails and mountains for both. I'd rather hike on a mountain and bike on a trail, but maybe I'll mix things up and hike on a bike.

The majority of my site seems to have disappeared from Google. It must be some conspiracy by educators of America, in an attempt to combat essay plagiarism.

Today is movie day!

Yesterday's notable search terms:

uri apartment, -get -some urizone booty

Withthe end of the month nearing, you should be wary of slack Friday updates which only contain new cat pictures on the Photos page. I believe the government refers to this as Code Orange, White, and Black.

Euro-tic Adventure, Part VII of X

Friday, April 11, 2008

Friday was a cold and rainy day, once again the perfect time to be on a train. After some more quiches, we bundled onto a 10:35 Regional train (a designation which means that the train will stop in every single backwater town along the way to Barcelona, and not arrive there until around 3 PM.

Because this was the first big travel weekend of the travel season, it was much harder to find an affordable hotel in downtown Barcelona. After several "sorry, we're full" emails before our trip, we finally scored a last-minute reservation at the Husa Via Barcelona in a suburb several miles from downtown. It was so last minute that when we printed maps of all our hotels, we didn't realize that the printer had run out of paper before Barcelona. To make matters worse, no one in the Tourism Booth at the train station had ever heard of it, and everyone spoke Catalon instead of proper Spanish.

We tackled this problem head on by just taking the Metro out to the suburb, Saint Joan Despi, and asking people in the city. After two or three miles of walking around the entire city based on faulty directions from a local who was either clueless or vindicative, we found a swank hotel with a helpful clerk who had a map of the city and circled our hotel. So, we spent the first afternoon in Spain on a complete walking tour of our entire suburb, which was fairly normal, and much more modern than France.

To make up for this detour, our cheap hotel turned out to be a super-swank chain -- the type that rich, retired Americans probably go to when they want to experience Spain without getting dirty. The rooms were huge, included satellite TV and a bidet, and surpassed anything the Mariott corporation might have thrown at us. To relax after our long hike with all our bags on us (thank goodness for packing light), we opted to stay in the suburbs this evening rather than go into Barcelona proper.

We wandered through several fun markets and shops in search of dinner and wine to take back to our plush accomodations, but the only wine available here came in tiny boxes. It tasted just fine though, and after exploiting the giant bath tub for cleanliness' sake, we were soon asleep while it rained all night long.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Saturday was summarized by this months' 12 of 12 entry and started with the 8 block walk from our hotel to the train station, followed by a thirty minute train ride into the city.

Dumped out at the Placa Catalunya, we wandered down Las Ramblas -- the wide market-y thoroughfare that runs for two miles out to the sea. The clusters of merchants on this stretch are grouped into categories, starting with pets for sale, followed by street performers dressed up as statues, flowers, and ending with artists. We also narrowly avoided an overweight middle-aged clown who tried to hug us and may have been a pedophile.

After some rambling, we ducked into one of the many narrow allies off the Ramblas and made our way to the Cathedral of Santa Eulalia, Barcelona's star church which turned out to be closed for renovations. While the construction was in progress, the entire facade of the church was covered with a gigantic silk screen that showed the church as it was supposed to appear (similar in design to those T-shirts with the naked lady bodies printed on the front). Walking through the area was enjoyable despite the prevalence of modern stores, and a variety of street musicians could be found everywhere. Some played strange UFO-shaped instruments that seemed like convex steel drums.

For lunch we found a great deal on tapas and sangria at La Porta Fermissa. I was a little disappointed by tapas, since I was expecting a particular delicacy like crepes or shepherd's pie. Instead, I found that tapas just meant "snacks" and could be anything from chicken wings to tuna omelettes. After getting over my lexiconal disappointment, I found the food to be quite tasty anyhow, even the cold octopus salad.

After lunch we did several more miles of walking -- we probably should have taken the Metro, but it was a beautiful day. We walked up to see the Casa Battlo and the Casa Mila, two buildings built by the famed architect, Gaudi. The latter had long lines, so we decided to come back later. Next we walked to the Sagrada Familia, which is Catalon for "Big-Assed Incomplete Church of Ridiculous Height" and took the tour. At first glance, it's pretty awe-inspiring, but when you get inside and learn that it's only 60% of its final height (and that there will be a giant cross the size of a zeppelin on top), it's just plain silly.

Big-assed church was followed by ice cream in the park, and then a Metro ride to Parc Guell overlooking the city from the west. The park was a very pleasant location, although a bit underwhelming since we expected there to be Gaudi sculptures all over the park, rather than just the central pavilion. We got to listen to a digeridoo band, a lazy horrible trumpet player sitting on a bench, and a violinist playing Carmen to a karaoke CD. After reaching the highest point in the park, we also took a picture of Barcelona's penis building, which is covered in LED lights that light up a million different ways.

We returned to the Ramblas for a dinner of paella and beers, and then picked up some groceries at a modern mega-mart across the street. The store was about to close and the crowds inside were ridiculous -- we almost expected to encounter a hurricane based on how bare the shelves were and how long it took us to check out. After a quick stop in Burger King for free toilet usage, we took our forty minute train back to Saint Joan Despi. The walk back to Husa was slightly seedy, but we were accompanied by several other train-patrons in the worst parts near the station. We arrived home around midnight and stumbled into bed.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

After getting Rebecca a coffee so she would stop falling asleep everywhere, we got in line for the Casa Mila, one of Gaudi's apartment buildings containing a mock 1920s apartment and several levels of museum exhibits. The tour was a fun affair, although we made the mistake of taking the stairs to the top rather than waiting in line for the lift. From the outside, this building most closely resembled an Oompa-Loompa hut, and the chimney decorations on the roof looked like stormtrooper heads on pikes.

On the ground floor was a special exhibit on Zora Music, which I thought would be fun and musical, but Zora Music turned out to be a Holocaust survivor who mainly drew piles of dead bodies stacked up (five hallways full of them).

We passed a bass trumpeter playing Nesse Dorma in the Metro, and then rode to Barceloneta (the seaside, rougher area of Barcelona). We had sandwiches on a real live Mediterranean beach (complete with bikini-clad volleyball players despite the chilly wind) and then walked along the boardwalk listening to accordian players and mariachi combos. Seeing a crowd in the distance, we ambled over and found the musical group, GADJO, performing a free concert. Their music was quirky (a mix of accordian, guitar, sousaphone, bass, drums, and various swappable woodwinds that channeled The Cardigans, 586, and the soundtrack from Quest for Glory IV) and we even purchased one of their CDs to listen to back home.

By this point in the trip, all the churches were running together. However, the Chocolate Museum was closed on Sundays, so we drank wine in the courtyard of Santa Maria del Mar and then wandered inside after services were over. It was pretty enough, but no Sacre-Coeur. For dinner, we had more paella and sangria, and then took the Metro to Montjuic to see the dazzling fountain/lights show that everyone raves about. Sadly, April 13 is still considered to be off-season, during which the show only occurs on Fridays and Saturdays.

To Be Continued tomorrow...

You can view the Barcelona pictures here .

Just Plain Wednesday

Today is also the eighth anniversary of my recital featuring Doobie.

Review Day

There are no major spoilers in these reviews.

Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? by Thomas Kohnstamm:
Billed as something of an exposé of what really goes into writing a Lonely Planet travel guide, this is really more of a passably entertaining story about a guy running around Brazil doing and selling drugs. Kohnstamm's no Troost, but then again, my exposure to travel literature is limited to the books that Rebecca has finished and left lying around.

Final Grade: C-

Shadow Puppets by Orson Scott Card:
I only read this book last week and can now barely remember any of it -- it's that forgettable, and also suffers from "let's keep milking the villain from the previous books" syndrome. A few interesting insights on philosophy and politics dot an otherwise predictable landscape.

Final Grade: C-

Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card:
This book was a little better than the two that preceded it, (hopefully) closing off the tale of Bean, and continuing the geopolitical struggles in a more interesting manner than the other books. It does a good job of tying all of the loose ends together, and left me satisfied.

Final Grade: B-

2012:
If they had started this 2.5 hour movie 1 hour into it, I would have given it a solid B-. However, too much time is wasted building up characters that you don't really care about, even going as far as using the whole "here's a bunch of random people and they will have mysterious links together by mid-movie" approach that became so copiable after Crash. The first time things start exploding and falling apart, it's kind of cool in an obvious CGI sort of way. The second, third, and fiftieth time things are blowing up, there's really nothing to distinguish from the previous blow-ups.

Final Grade: D-

Recital Day

Part IV of IV

Can you believe that it's already the end of April 2011, or that ten years have passed since I was an undergrad? It's very true that time flies like a banana, when thrown by a monkey. Once the recital had ended, there was nothing else to do but lounge around waiting for grad school to start (This was helped by the fact that I was only taking a bare minimum of 12 credits in that last semester, and I didn't even attend the sole non-music course once I'd established an A). It was also during this period that I started looking for the next big project and turned this website into a blog.

The final piece on the recital, not including the obligatory encore march, was a three movement work called Olio. It featured a completely separate core of trumpet players, including the famous Jason Mirick and nearly as famous Dr. Allen Bachelder (subbing for the rock star, Andrew Simmons) since all of the earlier trumpet players were out at Top of the Stairs drinking after second intermission.

Olio, Movement II (4.1MB MP3)

♠ Olio was one of the first commissions that actual saw a live performance (in my sophomore year), and I was in that dangerous composer phase where I expected that every performer was as good as the ones in my head. As composers mature, they begin to realize that the players in their heads could kick any real player's ass at Festival, and the complexity of their music softens sufficiently. Some composers never realize this and have to pay to get their music performed.

♠ The second movement of this piece was based around a Bb vamp with quartal chords (quards). I had to get creative with the sustained bass line and breathing, because no one had invented a tuba that converted carbon dioxide into oxygen yet.

♠ The genesis of this piece was a percussion recital, so there's random percussion stuff all over -- this is intentional and not an attempt to use every single drum patch on the MIDI keyboard. The vibraphone solo in this movement never came out correctly.

♠ I had not yet been exposed to Les Miserables when I wrote the oboe solo here. Apparently, there are only so many ways you can rearrange notes in music.

♠ Musicians have a much more difficult time playing "four notes in the space of three" than they do playing "three notes in the space of two". Based on my previous research with quintuplets, I would suggest that introductory music theory course include lessons on counting higher than 3.

Weekend Wrap-up

Friday

• Took the day off and released , the first of 17 developmental point releases before an initial public release.
• Had Carne Asada for dinner at Los Toltecos, courtesy of the useless Virginia State Tax Refund debit card (by using it only at restaurants, I can always tip in round numbers and easily keep track of the balance).

Saturday

• Cleaned out the basement guest room in anticipation of a future basement dweller, who will continue the legacy started by Eric and Kathy in 2004 - 2005.
• Finally started reading The Mythical Man Month, because the more people tell me that a book is a must-read for my field, the longer it will take for me to get around to it.
• Started the 3rd season of Justified, starring Bubba Gump, while Rebecca went out for a Ladies' Night.

Sunday

• Slept in while Rebecca took her parents to Dulles airport for their trip to China.
• Ate leftover fruit salad from Ladies' Night.
• Went to a party for the Christening of Jack & Kristy's daughter, Annie, and ate smoked salmon off of crackers with cream cheese.

Happy 12th anniversary of the URI! Recital!

Quiz Day: Me Me Me!, Part II

Did you ace the last quiz about me? Try round two! Hover your mouse over the right column to see the correct answers.

Recital Day

Today is the 14th anniversary of my undergraduate recital starring Doobie and Dr. Allen Bachelder.

To give you some idea of how anal-rententive my concert planning activities were, here is one of the seven set changes from the special guide I printed out for the stagehands.

End-of-the-Month Highlights Day

New photos have been added to the Life, 2016 album.

• Events
  • Spent a weekend in Pittsburgh with Elisa and Sayak, F 4/1 - S 4/3.
  
  
  • Had a midweek pizza dinner with the Cranes on W 4/6.
  
  
  • Enlarged the front porch with my dad on F 4/8.
  
  
  • Hiked the Bull Run Bluebell Loop and returned Sydney back to the Ahlbins to live in their new Fredericksburg home on S 4/10.
  
  
  • Reported a water main leak after noticing the street sweating on M 4/11.
  
  
  • Rebecca cut back her work hours a little on M 4/11.
  
  
  • Hiked the Roller Coaster and died, then and ate pizza on S 4/16.
  
  
  • Went to Rebecca's dad's Retirement Party on S 4/17.
  
  
  • Had lo mein at Cheng's on S 4/23.
  
  
  • Jogged through deer in Claude Moore on S 4/24.
  
  
  • Grazed a deer outside the Reston Target on the way to work on T 4/26.
  
  
  • Planning to go to a work-friend's game party on S 4/30.


• Projects
  • Busy at work with 2 simultaneous proposals.
  
  
  • Continued work on Sparkour.


• Consumerism
  • Watching less TV overall. Stalled in House of Cards and catching more quickie comedy entries like Outsourced.
  
  
  • No amazing new music this month, although I did just learn that The Hoosiers had a new album released last October.
  
  
  • Got to level 138 in Overwatch before the Closed Beta ended, and looking forward to the Open Beta that starts next week.

April's Final Grade: B, Healthy blend of indoor and outdoor activities with warming temperatures, though a little heavy on work.

End-of-the-Month Highlights Day

New photos have been added to the Life, 2019 album. Google Photos sucks.

• Events
  • Went to Lake Anne for afternoon walks on W 4/3 and H 4/4, and bumped into our old neighbors, Casey & Amy.
  
  
  • Rebecca went on an overnight trip to Columbus on S 4/6. Maia and I went to Frying Pan Park and then had my parents over for a dinner of cilantro lime flank steak.
  
  
  • Had a solo dad dinner at The V while Maia and Rebecca ate Indian food with Car on S 4/7.
  
  
  • Family dinner date at Burton's on W 4/10.
  
  
  • Hit 15 full-time years at my company (adjusted for my brief intermission) on F 4/12.
  
  
  • Rebecca and Car took the bluebell hike at Bull Run on S 4/13. Maia caught a cold.
  
  
  • Rebecca got sick on S 4/20 so we cancelled our Egg Hunt. I took a walk through Reston with Maia and the grandparents instead, starting at Lake Newport.
  
  
  • Solo dad dinner at Miller's on S 4/21.
  
  
  • Family evening at Lake Anne / Calypso's on M 4/22.
  
  
  • Maia and I had quality time while Rebecca attended a weekend-long yoga clinic with Rolf Gates F 4/26 - S 4/28. We had dinner out at Miller's followed by a trip to the pet store on Friday. On Saturday, we visited the grandparents then had dinner at The V.
  
  
  • Went to visit the Whitmers in Taylorstown for a belated Easter on S 4/28, then had Car over for a salmon dinner.


• Projects
  • Got the roof replaced on S 4/6.
  
  
  • Rebecca got super into puzzles after our March cabin trip, and we have done 5 puzzles since then. On S 4/20, we finished a 750 piece puzzle in one sitting.
  
  
  • Rearranged the home office for reduced glare on M 4/29.


• Consumerism
  • Enjoyed watching Santa Clarita Diet (all 3 seasons) this month. No amazing new movies or music this month.
  
  
  • Playing Grim Dawn as a level 40ish Purifier at the moment (after several theorycrafting false starts).
  
  
  • Upgraded my phone to a Samsung S8. Got Rebecca a new laptop to replace her crappy 2014 HP on H 4/25 -- the 2nd generation Dell XPS 13.

April's Final Grade: A, Great weather, lots of time to spend on non-work things, and Maia is super cute.

End-of-the-Month Highlights Day

New photos have been added to the Life, 2020 album.

• Events
  • Virtual Game Night #3 with Mike, Annie, Sam, and Kristen on W 4/1.
  
  
  • Virtual Game Night #4 with Kathy, Chris, Anna, and kids on F 4/3.
  
  
  • Rebecca had a game night / happy hour with her coworkers on S 4/4.
  
  
  • Birthday Video Chat with the grandparents on F 4/10.
  
  
  • Dyed Easter eggs on S 4/11. Had Virtual Game Night #5 with Larry, Janice, Sara, and Karl in the evening.
  
  
  • Easter at home on S 4/12.
  
  
  • Did a virtual painting date through Pinot's Palette on H 4/16.
  
  
  • Video Chat with Mike, Annie, Sam, and Kristen on W 4/22.
  
  
  • Video Chat with the Ahlbins on S 4/26.
  
  
  • Myriad unrecorded dinners, deliveries, and early morning grocery runs throughout the month.
  
  
  • Video Chat with the grandparents on T 4/28.


• Projects
  • Set up a bird feeder full of suet cakes in the backyard on W 4/8.


• Consumerism
  • Enjoyed watching Money Heist this month.
  
  
  • Enjoyed music by Jack Penate, The Fratellis, and AJR this month.
  
  
  • Still playing Elder Scrolls Online exclusively.

April's Final Grade: C, "this is fine".

End-of-the-Month Highlights Day

New photos have been added to the Life, 2022 album.

• Events
  • Watched the Smith cats (Titan and Abby), H 3/31 - H 4/7.
  
  
  • Marc came over for a visit on S 4/2.
  
  
  • Rebecca did a continuing ed. course S 4/9 - 4/10. Meanwhile, I visited my parents for my mom's 81st birthday on S 4/9.
  
  
  • Went on a Spring Break trip to Culpeper, VA and stayed on a cattle farm, M 4/11 - 4/16.
  
  
  • Visited the Ahlbins in Rhoadesville, M 4/11 - T 4/12.
  
  
  • Visited the Hickses in Fredericksburg, W 4/13 and F 4/15.
  
  
  • Went to the Bright Spot Playground and had Mexican food for dinner from Guacamole on H 4/14.
  
  
  • Stopped at Buckland Farm Market on the way home, S 4/16.
  
  
  • Celebrated Easter at home on S 4/17.
  
  
  • Went to the HOA meeting on W 4/20.
  
  
  • Visited my parents with the kids on S 4/23.
  
  
  • Visited the Whitmer clan at Steve's house in Harper's Ferry on S 4/24.
  
  
  • Celebrated Ian's 1st birthday with family on T 4/26.
  
  
  • Maia's spending the weekend with my parents, F 4/29 - S 5/1.


• Projects
  • Painted the front door and sealed some vermin holes in the attic on S 4/23.


• Consumerism
  • Still playing Fallout 76 at Level 123.
  
  
  • Enjoyed watching seasons of Better Call Saul and Dave this month, as well as the movie, Palm Springs.
  
  
  • No amazing new books or music this month.
  
  

April's Final Grade: B, Life is improving though I'm still tired all of the time!