I just got back from renewing the license for our car. The 2007 tab has a picture of a monorail on it. That makes me a little sad.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Friday, January 27, 2006
I wanted to write something about the separation of Church and State, but those thoughts got pushed aside by the last days of Gladden's life. Here's what I wanted to write. I have worked in a State hospital, and I now work in a County hospital. Both being government hospitals, they separate themselves from religion, but the different ways they go about it fascinates me. The State hospital achieves the separation by ignoring all religions. It does not have a chapel or a chaplain. The County hospital achieves the same separation by embracing all religions and favoring none. Its Department of Spiritual Care conducts regularly scheduled Muslim prayers, Catholic masses, and Buddhist meditations. At the recent Martin Luther King, Jr memorial presentation, the hospital invited Buddhists and Baptists to speak. I prefer the County's approach.
Meanwhile, I have been hooked on Kate Bush's album Aerial. I have to stop myself from playing it too often. My least favorite song is also the song I try the hardest to like. It's on the first disc, and it's called "π." It's a song about a man who loves numbers, especially pi. In it, Kate Bush actually sings the number pi to about a hundred digits or so. If anybody can do it, she can, but it doesn't quite work for me. As for the songs I especially enjoy, it's a toss up between two songs on the second disc: "Sunset," with the way it suddenly changes speed so joyously, and "Somewhere in Between," with its chant-like feeling.
Meanwhile, I have been hooked on Kate Bush's album Aerial. I have to stop myself from playing it too often. My least favorite song is also the song I try the hardest to like. It's on the first disc, and it's called "π." It's a song about a man who loves numbers, especially pi. In it, Kate Bush actually sings the number pi to about a hundred digits or so. If anybody can do it, she can, but it doesn't quite work for me. As for the songs I especially enjoy, it's a toss up between two songs on the second disc: "Sunset," with the way it suddenly changes speed so joyously, and "Somewhere in Between," with its chant-like feeling.
We went to an awards ceremony last night, in which Phillip was recognized for his work towards the University of Washington Combined Fund Drive. There were raffle drawings throughout the event. My ticket won me two tickets to The Burke Museum. As UW employees, Phillip and I can visit The Burke for free.
That, Alanis Morissette, is irony.
(To clarify, there were other State agencies represented last night besides the UW.)
That, Alanis Morissette, is irony.
(To clarify, there were other State agencies represented last night besides the UW.)
Monday, January 23, 2006
After we got home from the Boomtown Cafe last Saturday, and we were putting our already-packed bags in the car, I had a last-minute impulse to bring my "carrot" necklace and wear it to Gladden's burial. I didn't think about the fact that I'd packed my black turtleneck to wear that day. I didn't put on the necklace when I got dressed Sunday morning.
I remembered to pick up my Folklife hat at Pet's house, and bring it home. It wasn't until this morning that I realized that I'd forgotten my favorite necklace at Pet's house.
There is a balance of matter, it seems. Maybe my material inventory has reached its limit. I can't seem to recover something without forgetting something else in the process.
I remembered to pick up my Folklife hat at Pet's house, and bring it home. It wasn't until this morning that I realized that I'd forgotten my favorite necklace at Pet's house.
There is a balance of matter, it seems. Maybe my material inventory has reached its limit. I can't seem to recover something without forgetting something else in the process.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
As I walked out of work on Friday, I met up with the gang from the old clinic: Angela, Catherine, and Vivian. I told them about Gladden's death. Vivian asked me if we were thinking about getting another sugar glider, and I told her that we hadn't decided yet.
"You guys ought to think about getting yourselves a dog or cat," suggested Vivian.
Knowing that my friend tends to be on the conservative side, I grinned and replied, "You mean something normal?"
Vivian laughed and answered, "Yes. Something normal."
I told Phillip about the above conversation on our way to the party Friday evening, and his reaction surprised me. He told me he'd been thinking that our next pet should be something not so bonding. Suddenly, we are thinking about a cat next time - if there is a next time.
The party Friday evening was my present clinic's "Holiday Party." The party was at Dennis and his partner's house on Queen Anne Hill. (Dennis said he thought it was cute that I introduced Phillip as "my husband.") Turnout was not nearly as big as I was expecting. I spent most of the party hanging out with the Social Workers. This was the first time Phillip and I had gone to a party without having to leave before eight o'clock. Strangely, the party started dying out at just about eight, and Phillip and I left when half the guests had already left. Still, it was an enjoyable party while it lasted.
Saturday morning, Phillip and I rode the bus downtown, where a group from his office had volunteered some cleanup work for the Boomtown Cafe. I volunteered to clean the stove and grill, figuring that it was the toughest job, and would take me all of the morning and afternoon, and would have the best sense of accomplishment when I was done. I had figured right.
On the bus ride back home, I decided that I don't get downtown often enough.
When we got home, Saturday afternoon, we packed up the car and drove to Eatonville, where we met Pet for dinner at Puerto Vallarta. That place has become one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in the state. The food is good and inventive. Then we followed Pet back to her house, where Phillip and I spent the night.
This morning, the three of us went out hunting for a geocache. Pet is recovering from surgery, and this was her first geocaching hunt in three months. So it was especially disappointing that we all had to log Did Not Finds.
Then we continued on to the real reason for Phillip and me going to Pet's house: We buried Gladden T Hart.
When we were planning the burial, earlier this week, Pet had two concerns: That the ground would be too frozen to dig, and would be too covered with snow to get to. I had another concern: Our car had never seen snow, and I wasn't sure how it would do. With an engine and a motor crammed on top of the drive wheels, and 150 pounds of batteries over the rear wheels, it didn't seem like weight on the wheels would be a problem. I was concerned, however, about those low friction tires.
There was some snow on the forest road, and The Green Machine did just fine. There were patches of snow in the woods, but not much. The ground was soft. We buried Gladden, with a short ceremony, on the other side of the fallen tree from Gladys and Squeak. That was Phillip's decision, and it was a good one. Gladden is now close enough to the girls that he can visit them, but he still has the privacy he loves so much.
Then I hiked over to check on "The Girls" (our geocache, not the sugar gliders). Pet had also been concerned that the nearby creek might have flooded from all the days of recent rain and damaged the cache. Pet was right. It looked as if the creek had flooded. The cache container was sitting in a couple of inches of water, but was undamaged, and its contents were dry. I replaced the cache, and placed a rock on top of it to anchor it down. I posted a note tonight that the geocache is still waiting for its Second To Find.
Phillip has asked that we not do a similar geocache from Gladden, to respect his privacy.
When I drove Phillip and me home today, I took the long way, through Tukwilla and Renton, then along Lake Washington, to avoid the traffic from the Seahawks game.
After we got home, we went swimming in the basement pool, which was warmer that it's been in years. The pool has been much too cold for me for too long, and all I've been doing is wading, when I go in at all. Today, I did some swimming.
I went to yoga class this evening, to make up for missing class on Friday. It was Bianca's class, but Beth was substituting for her. I'm sorry to report that for the first time, I did not enjoy class much. For one thing, I was tired from the busy weekend, and from the long drive, and from the swimming. Plus, I hadn't had a shower all day, my hair felt dirty, and I imagined that I smelled like chlorine. Then there was Beth's teaching style. I felt like I was in a speed yoga class. It was one asana right after another right after another. Beth liked to announce the names of the asanas in Sanskrit only - I'd grown used to Lisa's bilingual names. Then there was Beth's confusing habit of demonstrating mirror images of the asanas. For instance, she would instruct us to lift our left legs into Vrksasana while lifting her right leg as she faced us. I've been practicing yoga almost steadily for a year and a half, and this evening, I felt lost most of the time. Plus, I was tired and I stunk.
"You guys ought to think about getting yourselves a dog or cat," suggested Vivian.
Knowing that my friend tends to be on the conservative side, I grinned and replied, "You mean something normal?"
Vivian laughed and answered, "Yes. Something normal."
I told Phillip about the above conversation on our way to the party Friday evening, and his reaction surprised me. He told me he'd been thinking that our next pet should be something not so bonding. Suddenly, we are thinking about a cat next time - if there is a next time.
The party Friday evening was my present clinic's "Holiday Party." The party was at Dennis and his partner's house on Queen Anne Hill. (Dennis said he thought it was cute that I introduced Phillip as "my husband.") Turnout was not nearly as big as I was expecting. I spent most of the party hanging out with the Social Workers. This was the first time Phillip and I had gone to a party without having to leave before eight o'clock. Strangely, the party started dying out at just about eight, and Phillip and I left when half the guests had already left. Still, it was an enjoyable party while it lasted.
Saturday morning, Phillip and I rode the bus downtown, where a group from his office had volunteered some cleanup work for the Boomtown Cafe. I volunteered to clean the stove and grill, figuring that it was the toughest job, and would take me all of the morning and afternoon, and would have the best sense of accomplishment when I was done. I had figured right.
On the bus ride back home, I decided that I don't get downtown often enough.
When we got home, Saturday afternoon, we packed up the car and drove to Eatonville, where we met Pet for dinner at Puerto Vallarta. That place has become one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in the state. The food is good and inventive. Then we followed Pet back to her house, where Phillip and I spent the night.
This morning, the three of us went out hunting for a geocache. Pet is recovering from surgery, and this was her first geocaching hunt in three months. So it was especially disappointing that we all had to log Did Not Finds.
Then we continued on to the real reason for Phillip and me going to Pet's house: We buried Gladden T Hart.
When we were planning the burial, earlier this week, Pet had two concerns: That the ground would be too frozen to dig, and would be too covered with snow to get to. I had another concern: Our car had never seen snow, and I wasn't sure how it would do. With an engine and a motor crammed on top of the drive wheels, and 150 pounds of batteries over the rear wheels, it didn't seem like weight on the wheels would be a problem. I was concerned, however, about those low friction tires.
There was some snow on the forest road, and The Green Machine did just fine. There were patches of snow in the woods, but not much. The ground was soft. We buried Gladden, with a short ceremony, on the other side of the fallen tree from Gladys and Squeak. That was Phillip's decision, and it was a good one. Gladden is now close enough to the girls that he can visit them, but he still has the privacy he loves so much.
Then I hiked over to check on "The Girls" (our geocache, not the sugar gliders). Pet had also been concerned that the nearby creek might have flooded from all the days of recent rain and damaged the cache. Pet was right. It looked as if the creek had flooded. The cache container was sitting in a couple of inches of water, but was undamaged, and its contents were dry. I replaced the cache, and placed a rock on top of it to anchor it down. I posted a note tonight that the geocache is still waiting for its Second To Find.
Phillip has asked that we not do a similar geocache from Gladden, to respect his privacy.
When I drove Phillip and me home today, I took the long way, through Tukwilla and Renton, then along Lake Washington, to avoid the traffic from the Seahawks game.
After we got home, we went swimming in the basement pool, which was warmer that it's been in years. The pool has been much too cold for me for too long, and all I've been doing is wading, when I go in at all. Today, I did some swimming.
I went to yoga class this evening, to make up for missing class on Friday. It was Bianca's class, but Beth was substituting for her. I'm sorry to report that for the first time, I did not enjoy class much. For one thing, I was tired from the busy weekend, and from the long drive, and from the swimming. Plus, I hadn't had a shower all day, my hair felt dirty, and I imagined that I smelled like chlorine. Then there was Beth's teaching style. I felt like I was in a speed yoga class. It was one asana right after another right after another. Beth liked to announce the names of the asanas in Sanskrit only - I'd grown used to Lisa's bilingual names. Then there was Beth's confusing habit of demonstrating mirror images of the asanas. For instance, she would instruct us to lift our left legs into Vrksasana while lifting her right leg as she faced us. I've been practicing yoga almost steadily for a year and a half, and this evening, I felt lost most of the time. Plus, I was tired and I stunk.
