Not every engagement story begins with

The phrase "we decided not to go to the second panel" but I think the really neat ones do. A couple of warnings before you continue:

• Angus and I are pretty dorky people, so our standards of "neat" are most likely very different than yours.
• It is likely to get pretty sappy by the end. I just warn you in case you are allergic.
  

We had decided the night before to miss the second panel of the next day ostensibly because it was likely going to be pretty highly technical and of little interest to the lone clarinetist attendee. So after my first in-person encounter with a real-life LaRouchite(!) at the morning panel, we left the Columbia campus to take a stroll down to a nearby park. It was a little cold and very windy but it was a pleasant walk, as all are with Angus. After wandering around (our progress being hindered by the cold and my sore feet) we found a bench where we could sit down. After a bit, Angus asked if he could ask me two questions. I thought that the first was going to be if my feet were rested enough to walk up a few more hills and the second was going to be about if I had any opinions about lunch plans. His first question was actually if we could kiss a little more (answer: of course). I would come to find out that it was really just a trick so I would close my eyes while he went into his pocket to pull out a pretty little box in preparation for his second question (answer: an emphatic yes!).

To my credit, my hunch about a lunch wasn't completely off, as things did eventually turn to lunch location possibilities. After a little more walking, we ended up at a little diner where we ordered a chocolate milkshake with lunch which caused the men manning the counter to laugh rather loudly at us. We got our outrageous request (it was quite nice) and I ate more of Angus's French fries than he probably would have preferred but he was nice enough not to say anything to me.

After lunch, we bundled back up and went to the conference where we sat (and stood) through a few more panels before heading off to a rather nice dinner with a billion and a half of my closest Federalist friends. I don't know if Angus tipped off his friend Robin before, or if she was just incredibly observant, but she was the first to come over and tell us congratulations. It was very nice to be able to talk to her and I am very glad that she was there.

They made an announcement after dinner was over where they asked us to stand up and wave. Or, more accurately, Angus stood up and waved while I just stood up and buried my head into his shoulder. Socially awkward is a pretty accurate description of me in the best of situations and when I'm in a room full of complete strangers certain characteristics tend to surface and be magnified. But it was a nice dinner and the several attendees who came up after dinner to offer their good wishes were quite sweet.

So, that was the big news from the Madisontastic weekend. I'm very, very happy. I do have to say that it is a little easier being all the way down here in Texas since I've had a little piece of The Yankee around my finger. It's a pretty incredible thing just to glance down and be reminded that the most wonderful man in the world loves me. I am, without question, the luckiest woman in the world.

But turnabout is fair play and the next TMEA convention or Clarinetfest...

And now without a heart to call my own
A greater happiness I've never known
Because his kisses are for me alone.
Who wouldn't say, "Frenesi"?

So when I previously said there would be "surely be much to talk about" when I returned from my trip, I had no idea there would be this much. If The Yankee wants (and has time) to spill the beans that would be great, otherwise you'll have to wait until this evening after my lessons to get the full Sarah take...

Perdido

Not literally perdido of course but, well, it's accurate to a point. I'll be heading off in a few hours to parts northern and non-Texan until Sunday. When I am back in Texas I will not only have a head crammed full of new things that are completely useless to my lessons, but I will also be well-rested, and a whole year older. How's that for a weekend's plans?

While I'm gone, though, make sure to partake in some medal round curling action. (That Canada vs. Finland match should be pretty great.) Sign this map, read some of the neat blogs over in the sidebar and keep an eye on those penguins! I return late Sunday evening, (but probably won't really be back until Monday after my lessons). Have fun while I'm away, and when I return there will definitely be a new profile picture and surely be much to talk about.

I'm a little miffed

I had a whole little* post worked up about Percy Grainger and what happens? Blogger eats it. If I knew it was hungry, I would have given it some of the grapes I had for breakfast this morning as that is a whole lot more nourishing than silly Grainger meditations.

*Really, it was little. Not long at all! (But very educational, which is my job.)

I don't know what makes me feel worse

The fact that the description makes me sound flighty, or the fact that I'm apparently so without direction and guiding principles that a change of answer for any question would slide me into an entirely different category...

I'm a Talent!

You're a risk-taker, and you follow your passions. You're determined to take on the world and succeed on your own terms. Whether in the arts, science, engineering, business, or politics, you fearlessly express your own vision of the world. You're not afraid of a fight, and you're not afraid to bet your future on your own abilities. If you find a job boring or stifling, you're already preparing your resume. You believe in doing what you love, and you're not willing to settle for an ordinary life.

Talent: 48%
Lifer: 44%
Mandarin: 44%

Take the Talent, Lifer, or Mandarin quiz.

(via The Yankee.)

Nuns in Snooooooooow

More great nun fun here. You know you have to visit...
(via: Mr. Irish and Dangerous who runs a very green ship.)

Men after my own heart

Finding a way to combine museum shows, lasers, snails and a theremin.

A hotel with its priorities in order

The builders clearly chose the location based on the proximity to the local curling club.

I've not seen Farscape, but they had me at "muppets"

You scored as Moya (Farscape). You are surrounded by muppets. But that is okay because they are your friends and have shown many times that they can be trusted. Now if only you could stop being bothered about wormholes. Moya (Farscape) 94% FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files) 88% Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) 81% Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) 75% Serenity (Firefly) 75% Enterprise D (Star Trek) 69% Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) 69% Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) 63% SG-1 (Stargate) 63% Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) 63% Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) 56% Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) 44% Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com

I'm not surprised that Cowboy Bebop came in so close to the bottom. It's not the fact that bebop tends to wear on my ears after a bit (which it does), it's more because I'm emphatically not built like an anime girl.

Curling update

Because I'm sure you all are just as excited as I am:

USA Men are in a 4-way tie for 4th. The top three teams are tied at 3-1, so it's going to be a fun next couple of days.

The women, on the other hand, are having a little bit of trouble in Italy. They're 1-3 and still have a few tough matches to try to climb their way out of last place.

There's still lots of time between now and the medal games (some, by happy coincidence, on my birthday). Curling: Watch! Really! You'll love it!

New blog!

It's not in the sidebar yet (but will be after I return from work) but: notes from the kelp. It's by Alex Shapiro, a Malibu based, picture-taking composer. She has samples of her work to accompany her photographs, great hair and a cute kitty to boot.

The best part of this "Cheney shoots companion story"?

We now all know the collective noun for quail. Collective noun naming games will now sweep the nation and I will finally have a reserve of knowledge that will make me popular. I predict the next collective noun to make headlines will be the term for a group of leftists.

Willie Nelson: On the Road Again

in a slightly different way this time...

The preface is: Don't get me wrong

... because I'm pretty sure I can get behind this if I think about it a bit more. Certainly it makes sense that if a minor is not intoxicated but has clearly had something to drink at some point that there should be something with which they could be charged. But "internal possession" just kind of strikes me in an odd way. Could a person with access to certain sensitive documents and forgets the contents of a file be charged with "internal destruction" of fancy super-secret things? How about if he doesn't forget the contents, but simply takes his knowledge home with him? That's removing sensitive information and it would most certainly be a crime if he didn't have authorization to do that, right? Underage drinking is stupid, especially if you're going to be walking home past a police officer and not smart/sober enough to balk when he asks you to "blow [him] a kiss," but really, coming up with a new category of possession seems a little nutty.

MONOTREMES OVIPAROUS, OVUM MEROBLASTIC

...and other telegram tales.

(via The Great Yankee)

Penguin update

We've seen penguins + Futurama
and penguins + wine

Now:
penguins + dance

Building opera audiences

Two views:

New York: (Install an art gallery; bring in new Finnish conductors for company debut)
Houston: (Target families by scheduling three child-friendly works)

Curling on TV: Monday

Because you just have to watch! (Original document here. It's a PDF and my computer thinks those are icky.)

Monday, February 13

• 3 a.m.-6 a.m. * USA men v. Norway (live) (USA)
  

• 8 a.m.-11 a.m. * USA women v. Norway (live) (USA)
  

• 5 p.m.-8 p.m. * USA men v. Finland (CNBC)

Sadly, I'll be teaching lessons during that final televised match of the day and thus unable to catch any. I'm letting you know early in the hopes someone can keep the lights on for me.

*Eastern (not Texas) time

This is a guilty cat

Sure, she doesn't look like she's guilty of anything. That's why she's dangerous. This precious little kitty was certainly not so stationary (or quiet!) this morning at 4:00. Her weekly tuna portion was just cut in two, I think.

Sadly, it's Australian, not Chilean...

Little Penguin wine.

I'm going to tell some Patti jokes now

she got viola. Hehe.
French Horn? I think they were really going for basset horn. ;-)

You scored as French Horn. French Horn, eh?
go practice. right now.

French Horn 100% Oboe 92% Clarinet 83% Tuba 75% Viola 67% Cello 58% trombone 58% Violin 50% Flute 50% Bassoon 50% String Bass 25% Trumpet 8% Percussion 8% If you were in an orchestra, what instrument would match your personality? created with QuizFarm.com

*sigh*

If anyone has a bit of time for a special intention, I would be most appreciative of your prayers.

If you're hip, this list might be of some use...

Four people who have never been in my kitchen (the second)

What do these four people have in common?

• Marian Anderson
• Bob Dylan
• Ezra Pound
• Donald Rumsfeld

Answer (unless it's left in the comment box) after I get back from lessons tomorrow evening... 8:30-ish.

Previous entry in the series here.

UPDATE 2/7: The answer? They all were subjects of Richard Avedon portraits. (Names now link to the picture)

Come on

You know you've always wanted to try to be Piet Mondrian.

Gounod what I'm talkin' about?

Obviously these parents were not able to answer in the affirmative.

It's half time

And I still haven't seen any shots of the handsomest guy in Detroit right now. I guess my little tip didn't make it to the right cameraman on time. *sigh*

The Art of Television Marathons

Each year for the past several, the local PBS affiliate runs a marathon of fun opposite the Super Bowl coverage. For several years it was 10 hours of Robot Wars (a show which, like Iron Chef, I never seem to tire on). Appropriately for the first station to bring Monty Python to the United States*, there was a British Comedy marathon for a year or two. Anyway, this year they're doing a really ridiculous Rosemary and Thyme mystery marathon. The whole point of a marathon is to be able to have something on in the background that you can check in and out of with absolutely no thought necessary. You should not have to watch carefully in order to be able to follow. Also, as much as I love** Felicity Kendal, she's no Angela Lansbury.

Anyway, there are lots of acceptable television shows that are marathon material: Project: Runway, Futurama, The Woodwright's Shop***... but none of them are mysteries.

I'm still trying to figure out what I will be doing if The Game sucks (as, well, it has for the past few years) instead of drinking wine and watching robots smash into each other...

*The station president at the time? The father of those Wilson brothers. Just think about that next time you're staying up late watching that Britcom bloc on your affiliate. (I'll be sleeping, thank you very much. Unless Good Neighbors is on. The rest I really would rather leave than take.)
**lots
***Which I love almost as much as I love Night Court. Seriously.

Stranger than fiction

Hollywood is so incestuous that stars who crash their cars recognize helpful German eye-witnesses. (as seen on Looking Closer Journal)

You don't want to know how long I sat here trying to figure out a way to work in an Aguirre pun before just giving up. Really. You just don't want to know.

Choose Your Own Adventure: February 2 edition

You wake up late. Realizing that there are only 24 hours in the day and you can only take one path, what do you choose to do?

Light a couple of candles.
Place some bets.
Follow Andie MacDowell's gums around.

Right on target

You'll see what I mean when you get there.

What a world

As I mentioned earlier, here's my list of the 10 things that, I'm pretty excited that I've been able to do (in no particular order):

• Played some wind band warhorses under a guest-conducting Frederick Fennell (who complimented my solos in front of everyone and said after rehearsal that he hadn't heard such a "sweet eefer [Eb clarinet] sound in a very long time.") Made. My. Year.
• Sat in the second row to hear Lech Walesa speak.
• Sat about 4 feet away from a late-arriving Van Cliburn while watching a performance of Verdi's Requiem. I had been given tickets insanely wonderful tickets to a performance that a friend was unable to attend. About five or six minutes into the performance, the door to the opera box on my right opened and in walks what seemed to be the tallest man in the world. After the performance, when asked by him what I thought about the concert, the only words I could muster was "Verdi's cool." The only time since that I've felt that unintelligent was the first time I was stunned into silence by The Yankee.
  
• Seen the Ramses II exhibit in Dallas. (1989-ish... Brains... gold.... 4th grade)
• Seen this show at the Kimbell.
• Played with the One O'Clock.
• Confession in the Cathedral of Milan (and all of the St. Ambrose awesomeness that implies).
  
• Heard Michel Arrignon play an all-French recital.
• Seen the Phantom Regiment play their 1996 show.
• Listened to Christian Lindberg warm up, misplace his music, then curse loudly to noone in particular. (The concert afterwards was pretty great, too).

So, yeah, Terry's are still way more interesting but he's, like twice my age (give or take). By the time I'm 50, I'm hoping the whole list is revised with new things that I've lucked into witnessing.

Look!

The Internet says The Yankee are compatible. This, of course, makes me very happy since I apparently just want to get along with everyone...

You Are a Peacemaker Soul

You strive to please others and compromise anyway you can. War or conflict bothers you, and you would do anything to keep the peace. You are a good mediator and a true negotiator. Sometimes you do too much, trying so hard to make people happy. While you keep the peace, you tend to be secretly judgmental. You lose respect for people who don't like to both give and take. On the flip side, you've got a graet sense of humor and wit. You're always dimplomatic and able to give good advice. Souls you are most compatible with: Warrior Soul, Hunter Soul and Visionary Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Sheesh! I may as well just take out an ad saying "Hi, my name is Sarah and I struggle with the sin of scandal."

Lord, have mercy on my soul, and Mom's soul, and Dad's soul, and Maggie's soul and let every soul in Christendom...

You had to be there

Ooooooh. A list from Terry bragging about how cool he is.
I have my own Van Cliburn story (not terribly notable since I'm a Fort Worth girl). I'll relate that story* and my own "had to be there list" after I get back from lessons and the like this afternoon.

*"story" may be stretching it... "brief encounter" is much more descriptive. I will say it did rank above my dream from last night which featured an extended toenail clipping sequence. I'm that boring, people. *sigh*