Today’s Holding Pattern

Thanks to everyone who tested the audio file I loaded yesterday. Looks like the results are mixed, suggesting this won’t work for a class. And special thanks to Sam for the lead to the Audacity freeware. I’ll try that out.

Busy weekend but rather fun. After the Friday shindig, which I hope will be productive (still haven’t had time to call the people I met there—been in class or in front of the computer most of the day)—it was an active day in choir: the usual Sunday morning songfest, and then in the evening we revisited Fauré’s Requiem, a lengthy and interesting piece.

We’d sung it with the choir of St. Barnabas on the Desert for the anniversary of 9/11. Since it went over well, their choir came to our digs to reprise at an Evensong commemorating All Souls (and Veteran’s) Day. Well, the whole passel of singers professional and amateur just packed the choir loft. Sure was glad we’d already done it, since over the past month I missed three rehearsals because I was too sick to sing. But it all came back to me, thank goodness.

For reasons unknown to moi, we sang traditional spirituals during the morning service. They seem strange, after all the Latin, Renaissance, and 18th- and 19th-century music we usually sing. But some are quite lovely. The chamber choir, which consists solely of professional and near-professional singers, did a rendition of “There Is a Balm in Gilead” that was absolutely gorgeous. I just love to listen to these people sing…can’t think of anything more uplifting.

Would that any of them could do this, though:

Gosh.

Well, moving on. Worked from 7 till 11 this ayem; then out the door to meet the little McBoingers. After that, dropped by the Costco on the way home to buy a couple of chickens, a cost-effective way to feed me and Her Majesty Cassie, the Goddess of the Galaxy and Queen of the Universe.

While there, I discovered Costco is peddling unadulterated turkey for just 89 cents a pound.

w00t! That underprices and overqualities a certain Safeway supermarket of our acquaintance by several orders of magnitude. This weekend I dropped by there and was told prices would not come down off nearly $2 a pound for icky “flavor”-infused frozen birds. Price for the unadulterated “organic” carcasses was beyond my ability to register.

Costco’s cheapo turkeys are not organic, but according to their labels, neither are they soaked in saline solution or pumped full of fake “Butterball” fluids. So I grabbed a 20-pounder, which I intend to roast tomorrow (they’re not frozen!). This meat will feed me and the Queen of the Universe through the holidays, I think. Well: the Queen’s servant will get a meal off it. The rest of the meat will be removed, cut up or shredded, and frozen in packets to be available at Her Majesty’s behest.

This is good. Tonight Her Majesty and I will have some nice chicken (there’ll be enough that we could invite the human belonging to His Lordship, the Prince of the Universe, for dinner). And by tomorrow afternoon we’ll have a mountain of meat and a giant pile of bones with which to make glorious chicken/turkey stock. Yum!

We’re going to the the Prince’s human’s friends’ house for the annual Thanksgiving get-together. This will be fun…I do enjoy M’jihito’s friends and their various children, parents, and in-laws!

One of my favorite clients, a recent Ph.D. in psychology, just sent another of her endlessly entertaining case studies for edits. Ohhhh what a refreshing change from freshman comp papers! Now come, O lovely young woman, and get yourself a job that pays what you richly deserve, and then I can start charging you what I richly deserve.

🙂

Before sitting down to cope with the moment’s deluge of e-mail, baffled students’ petitions, contracts, and legal arcana, I go into the kitchen to pour a fine bourbon and water to accompany a bowl of cashews.

A large white head appears on the kitchen counter, accompanied by a pair of massive white paws.

Hm. Uncivilized Prince of the Universe.

Human: Grasps PofU by the gigantic paws and swivels His Majesty away from the countertop. Gazes deep into the imponderable princely brown eyes.

Human: Off.

Prince: Gazes back, apparently either entranced or oblivious.

Human, placing gigantic paws on the floor: Off!

Prince: Assumes “sit” position, gazing up at human in awe and adoration.

Human, surprised: Yes! Good dog!

Whaaa? Is it possible that we got that? Or are we looking at yet another attempt by the PofU to train the human to his will?

Human and Royalty retire to office, Human bearing booze and cashew nuts. Queen acquires ripe chew stick, appropriately softened and made disgusting by several hours of chomping. Prince takes up position on Royal Mattress, gazing soulfully at Queen.

Prince: WHOOOOOAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

Human: Holy Gawd!!!!

Human studies Prince and notes him gazing soulfully at Queen. Human gets up, walks into other room, and hands over brand-new chew-stick to Prince, who returns to office bearing it as a prize.

Queen glares at Prince. Human resumes seat in front of computer. Prince resumes position on throne, chowing down on new chewstick.

Queen: GrrrrrrrrrRARF! RARF!

Queen charges Prince. No damage is done, because Queen is dwarfed by Prince and incapable of inflicting real harm. Probably. We hope.

Prince: Warf! Warf! Warf! Warf! Warf! Warf! Warf! Warf! Warf! Warf! Warf! Warf! Warf! Warf! Warf! Warf! Warf! Warf! Warf! Warf! Warf! War…

Human: eNUFF ALREADY.

Human gets up and walks into kitchen, followed by Queen and Prince. Once there, Human persuades Prince to “Sit” and “Stay” long enough to retrieve cooked chickens from oven. Prince does not try to climb onto the 350-degree oven door. Miracles do happen.

Human and Royalty return to office. Queen takes up a position over the new chew-stick. Prince has misplaced the small, infinitely preferable ripened chewstick in the fray. He snags the large new one.

A “terrible fight” ensues, with Queen feinting fake bites and Prince WARFing joyously and vigorously. This goes on for 10 or 15 minutes. Finally Prince flops on the floor in a stupor, dropping chewstick under the human’s chair. Queen flops on the other side of the chair, emits an ostentatious growl, and goes to sleep.

And so, to work.