more stupidness on the road....

RTO: [bo gi] creek.

MK: i think it should be pronounced [baw gi].

RTO: why's that?

MK: because of the double consonants. (boggy)

RTO: well, you're wrong, that's not how it works.

MK:

RTO: i think i know why you're confused. how would you pronounce h-a-t-t-e-d

MK: [hat ted]

RTO: and h-a-t-e-d?

MK: [hay ted]

RTO: see, it's not the consonants that did that, it's the silent e.

MK: 'scuse me, but there are two consonants in hatted.

RTO:

MK: so how bout ego and eggo?

RTO: well, uh, see, b-o-g-y is only one syllable, that's why it would still be [bo gi]

MK: WHA????? it's still two syllables!

RTO: no, no, see, a vowel can't be a syllable.

MK: oh, so you're telling me ego is one syllable? it's not about spelling, it's about the beats in a word.

RTO: no, see, I learned, i had to split the syllables up. it's one syllable.

MK:

RTO:

MK: oh i give up!

live! from durant!

we made it here and managed to find a place to stay, despite the rodeo that's in town. anyhoo, got RTO dropped off at the armory this morning and headed to Tulsa. was a little late for Don's funeral, but was glad that i went. saw some old friends. had lunch at Goldie's (the original one on lewis) and found an evil store called cat stuff. stopped in one antique store in jenks and then drove back to mcalester to pick up RTO. had enough time to duck into another antique store. it was.... interesting. the lady told us not to miss the basement, let's just say that the basement was a work in progress, more storage than store. hopefully we'll head out for dinner soon, the rodeo starts at seven, maybe we'll miss the crowds.

on the road with RTO and MK

RTO: why is it now 135 miles to Muskogee?

MK:?

RTO: it was just 74.

MK:

RTO:

MK:uh, that's the first sign i've seen with muskogee on it.

RTO: mc alester was 74 miles, that's where i'm supposed to be.

MK: wha? mc alister? how far is THAT from Tulsa?

RTO: um, it's a bit farther.

MK: ooookay.

travel update

RTO just came in the door and said, "um, i kinda forgot to mention that i have to be in Muskogee tomorrow morning."

oh! i was planning on going with him to Durant because Sunday they're having a family readiness group meeting. soooo, think, think...."i guess i could go, i'll have to cancel some appointments, but then we'll be not far from Tulsa right? i can go to Don's funeral." i may or may not be able to get online.

note to mom: yes there are hotels in Durant and yes there is a univerity there south ok state (sosu) or is it south east? (and they have a yearly shakespear festival) eh, anyway, they(durant) have a nice website. they're the magnolia capital of OK!!!!

thank goodness that cat can's really fire guns....

else i know one puppy that would probably be very dead.

had nearly forgotten about this

mine, all mine!


i bid for it on shopgoodwill.com. i collect the lucky cats and this one is a bit unusual. there's currently one on ebay that's a little bit nicer (more detailed painting) and going for many times what i paid for this one, plus a bowl. if anyone is interested in the bowl, email me. hope they make it here okay.

heads up!

the men in bright orange vests are tearing up the alley today. so if i dissappear for a few days you'll know why.

please listen to me. :(

rto asked me if i'd gotten any comments on this post. i said no, and looking at the bandwidth use NOBODY has even clicked the link!!!! i guess this just proves that my only readers are mom and rto. okay, i'll quit whining now.

got some rose pics yesterday, in all the searching i did to fix the camera a came across the manual and found out there's a special mode for flowers. i just can't do things the easy way. 

so, instead of taking up sarahk's precious comment space....

i'll reminisce about my own wedding here. i can't imagine having so many people who would like to "help" today, mainly music. here's how the song picking went for my wedding. didn't want any of the standard things, i'm a musician! i'm supposed to be creative! yeah, that's it! i joked with mom that i didn't want to make her feel bad by having someone else playing the organ. so we had only piano (and trombone? that comes later) anyhoo, i remember mom and my grandmother at some point in time talking about what they had for music, so i decided to use those and then picked something for my own. so here's the breakdown. had a tenor friend that sang (his wife was one of my bridesmaids so that helped) right, back to the lineup

always by irving berlin

more by ???? a nice subdued version, not bobby darin (is that right?i'm too lazy right now)

starting here, starting now-also have no clue who wrote it and it was not done r&b style.

for marching in we used the 2nd movement from beethoven's pathetique piano sonata

and for leaving we had simple gifts as arranged by mark... mark.... gah! i've been blanking out on names all day!!!!! some piano arranger i like!!! anyway, that's where the trombone came in, the piece opens with a solo line, and i thought it would sound really cool on trumpet, and i don't know exactly what happened with that, but we got a trombone. HAYS!!!!! mark hay(e)s??

so that's it, that was the RTO and MK wedding music selection.

strange monday

RTO didn't go to work today, he had a couple of appointments (one with the allergist and one to make sure he hadn't done anything serious when he fell off his bike last week) and didn't think it'd be worth going in. so, i actually stayed awake all day. did some laundry, cleaned the kitty boxes, rearranged the kitchen cabinets. okay maybe not the kitchen bit, i mean, i had just put the hanging wire shelf things on the door when RTO came in so he supervised my work on the pantry while he tackled the spices and other things near the fridge. yay! oh, also paid some bills today, not so happy. anyway, it was kinda yucky out today, rained occasionally and generally just look depressing. at least we didn't get any hail.

for this week's catblogging.... more farm kitties!!! there are a couple of orange ones there, although my mother in law tells me they tend to be the first to dissappear/be eaten by wild animals.


oh yeah, carnival of the cats is up at the oubliette this week.

more camera news

had one response yesterday, said they would have to see the camera to make an estimate. called the place in OKC earlier today after the email i sent finally bounced back. they also said it would be nice to see the camera. i explained that i was in dallas (i wish there was somewhere in town i could take it) and then they suggested i just send it to Nikon directly, cause that's probably what they would do with it. soooooo, maybe monday i'll box it up and ship it, along with some other things that have been riding around in my care for three months for other people.

did some thinking last night about the camera, as far as how it might work. i hadn't been able to turn the mode dial, then thought, well, maybe the outside part doesn't move. sure enough, i got a toothpick and can use it to move the inside part of the dial around. and it also works nicely for using the zoom switches. but it wouldn't be fun to have to do that forever.

hopefully won't embarrass myself too much

this is from a three years ago, it's live, i think a little on the treble side (listen to the piano, it sounds much richer than that in person, yeah! that's it!) i sang three arias in this concert and listening to the three i think this one sounds the best, so long as you ignore the last couple runs, and there are shaky spots, but i'd only been reworking my voice for, uhhhh, 7 months? anyhoo, don't worry if you can't understand it, it's german, and even then my diction could be really terrible. ;D

i'm so bummed

about my camera. the roses are blooming, big time, and i can't record it. :P

camera update

i've sent email to five places. out of those, three are approved Nikon repair people, and of those three are even more special because they're trained for my particular type of camera. none of those are in town. i've only heard from one (in town ,not nikon approved) and they said, it'd be cheaper just to replace the camera. *sigh*

and in the news this morning....

verizon crews cut phone line in coppell.

kill the puppy

the alarm went off this morning, RTO was getting up to let the puppy out. then i hear "no, roxie, no" wha? i'm thinking, great, she found some chocolate to eat. nope, the camera. it will be out of commission for a while. i'll try to find a repair place today.

how could i stay mad at this happy face?

why am i not surprised?

the tasty bit:

Almost half of the gas-related calls the Carrollton Fire Department responded to last month appears to be attributed to the Verizon Fiber to the Premises project deployed in Carrollton, according to fire officials.About 19 crews have been working around the city to install fiber to enhance network capabilities. It will provide voice, data and video at faster speeds than the current copper-cable systems. Last month, 18 gas lines were hit in Carrollton due to the Verizon project. Four calls received last month were related to gas odors of those lines hit.

i thought i'd read this in the DMN, but couldn't find it. i did find an article at wfaa.com:

Work crews continue to hit gas lines
Fiberoptic rollout keeps cutting Carrollton utilities, tying up fire crews and equipment
08:34 PM CDT on
Saturday, April 16, 2005

By STEVE STOLER / WFAA-TV
A rash of construction accidents involving ruptured gas lines is worrying some North Texas firefighters.Last month, crews hired by Verizon to bury fiberoptic cable for new high-speed internet service hit natural gas lines 18 times in Carrollton.
Also Online

Steve
Stoler reports
Work crews hired by Verizon have already laid 125 miles of cable with 900 more to go. However, burying the fiberoptic lines without hitting utilities is a delicate and complicated task, because the locations on maps aren't always clear.

"We tried all day yesterday to read the gas, but we couldn't read it," one crew member said. "It's right here and goes both ways (but) she can't find it." When crews hit gas lines 18 times, that meant 18 different times Carrollton firefighters had to respond.

Fire administrators said that's taking a toll on manpower and equipment. "It ties up our emergency units on the scene," said Carrollton assistant chief Gary Nesbitt. "They have to stand by the gas leak until it can be repaired."

Some neighbors are worried about safety. "It makes you scared," said resident Matt Nielsen. Resident Mike Doonan and others said getting better internet technology in the future is worth minor inconveniences now - but sometimes the danger might supplant the desire for that technology. "You've got to break eggs to make omelettes; you're going to scratch some things - pipes are going to get nicked, they're going to get cracked - but as long as they fix it," Doonan said. "If I saw flames coming out, it would be a different story."

Verizon spokesman Bill Kula said the number of gas line hits is down to three this month. (hmmmm, two weeks in, three calls, there's still time catch up. mk) He said the company is working with the city and the gas company, Atmos Energy, to reduce the number of accidents. "The long-term gain will help outweigh some of these temporary inconveniences that have taken place," said Kula. "We don't want to disrupt the city's services and have fire trucks sitting idle while they're just waiting for a gas line to be repaired."

Atmos Energy spokesman Ray Granado told News 8 that 13 of the 18 hit lines last month resulted from contractor error. The other five involved problems pinpointing the location of lines.

"We've hired extra people," Granado said. "We have 30 extra line locators that we've put on board."

Verizon is laying fiber optic cable across North Texas, from Keller in the west to Wylie in the east. Company officials said one of the problems with Carrollton is that the gas lines are buried at different depths. Still, firefighters said 18 hits in one month is too many.

though, i'm still wondering how verizon can be happy about contractors cutting their lines and not fixing them. have i mentioned i also like the big mudhole in the front yard? thanks guys.

i didn't get pictures

but, we have our first confirmed kill o' the spring. maggie caught a lizard. RTO says they're gekos, who knows. also i'm not sure he was eaten. (may have a nice surprise tonight) i know Carlos got to eat his tail at least. but i got tired of watching them stare at it, pick it up, spit it out, stare at it some more. thinking about that maybe he isn't dead.... hmmmmm.

ten years ago today....

i was sleeping through american history. my roommate came in around lunch time and asked if i'd seen anything about the bomb downtown. (wha? her english was not so good) but, no, she was right, that's all that was on the tv, for days. some of my friends on campus (uco, edmond, ok) said they had heard it that morning, sounded like thunder. i didn't know anyone that was there thankfully. i was working at the a&w at the mall at that time also. it was fairly empty for a few days. the manager brought in a tv so we could stay updated. it's hard to believe it's been that long. RTO takes it much more personally, but i'll let him speak for himself.

will RTO ever post again?

seems like most of his time is spent arguing with people in news groups. i've suggested he post the interesting bits to his blog, oh well, i tried.

cat fight 

rose close-up 

rosebush 

against my better judgment

we're watching the FNC show about the OKC bombing. they're going through the evidence that was found. receipts...

MK: is it just me? or, why would they keep receipts for that stuff? (fertilizer)

RTO: well, you gotta keep 'em for documentation on your taxes.

MK: oh yeah! duh!

carnival of the cats

is up at watermark.

RTO's yelling at the TV

i'm thinking all news channels will be blocked the next few days.

another saturday scene

MK: hmm hmmmhmmmmm..... have you been humming the nutcracker suite again today?

RTO: yeah

MK: THANKS!!! >:-( hmmm hmmm hmmmmmmm, hmmmm oh wait, it's morphing into the blue danube. did you like that last weekend? wasn't that nice?

RTO: yeah, but i say if your gonna play the 2001 soundtrack, just play it all at once.

MK: oh, yeah, they did play "also sprach zarathustra" the night before didn't they?

RTO: yep.

the first step is acknowledging you have a problem

i was telling RTO about this.

RTO: (points at me) you've been huffing popcorn again!?

MK:

RTO: don't deny it, your nose is all orange!!!!

that and he knew how to say "pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis" though he says it's actually about coal dust, not volcanic ash.

sooooooo, not a cat. 

also not a cat...


yes, i called in the big guy for a final ambush a couple weeks ago. he fulfilled his duties well.

not a cat 

saturday morning....

RTO: did you make coffee?

MK: um, no, but there's coffee from yesterday you can heat up.

RTO: oh, i thought i smelled coffee.

MK: must have been "ghost of coffee"

RTO:

just ignore this mom...

we watched Oliver! the other night. can i just say that they must have been hurting for good movies the year this won the oscar? i liked the music from this show, until i saw it. the whole thing was just kinda flat/deadpan. i kept waiting for oliver to bust out during a song, but he just used the same boring tone the whole time. nancy was better, however, after hearing "as long as he needs me" in context, i don't like it so much anymore.

this also missed the "depressing 60's/70's musical" category. nobody we cared about died. (well, okay, nancy, maybe, i think i saw her twitch after being beat up) evil guy died(pfeh) to qualify, oliver would have to end up destitute, or dead. oh well.

crazy cat lady

occasionally i tell RTO i really don't want to end up being one of those ladies that has five million cats and that's all she talks about, cats, cats, cats. he's not doing his job very well. or maybe i should get out of the house more.

beware attack cat!

Carlos is just on a tear today. he's gone after roxie a couple times tonight. not sure where he is at the moment, probably on the bed sleeping it off.

looking at the picture below...

i guess the ottoman is big enough to share. we've had several fights today over the couch. maggie sleeps up here, then carlos decides he wants to be there, can't let maggie have the prime spot, she runs off, he lounges for a few minutes and leaves, then she comes back. she sleeping and snoring again now.

it's funny to watch them start a fight it's almost always one of them going "okay, i'm going to clean you now" then the other says "no! I'M going to clean you!", "sit still" "make me!" sometimes at this point one of them gives up and they just go to sleep, but other times they start going full-sumo on each other. maggie was growling earlier while carlos was trying to smother her, she finally ran off and he followed. jerk.

i could not resist the power of the dark side

m&m's are making dark chocolate, well, m&m's for the upcoming star wars movie. i bought some um, wednesday night and finished them off last night. sooo tasty. will try to resist buying more for a while.

more kitty love 

Carlos goes flippy kitty on the new rug.


so, RTO brought back some rugs from the 'stan. we finally got around to cleaning them and put them in the house yesterday. anyway, Carlos was all over this one. (once he was sure that it was not going to eat him. i swear, he's so skittish) not sure what he likes about it, maybe because it has silk in it?

oh yeah,

was gonna mention the retarded d/fw parking. they advertise how you can use your tolltag to pay for parking, but they don't tell you (until it's too late) that it's only for their premium lot. we drove around it a couple times and couldn't find a space, so then we went out to the cheaper lot. they gave us a slip of paper explaining that their system didn't allow for this and in the future we might be charged the highest rate regardless of what lot we park in.

Now, RTO and i had been stranded in this same lot before (remote north) because the tolltag didn't work.(actually it was a slightly different program... passkey, which worked with the tolltag, but was a separate account thing for paying everything but tolls) anyhoo, that time we'd tried calling the "help" number on the gate, but nobody answered, eventually, RTO got out and lifted the gate so we could leave. Sunday night someone answered the phone there, RTO got bent out of shape because they didn't seem to have their stuff together. didn't answer the phone in a professional manner, asked for all kinds of info it would have been helpful to know they needed before we called them (tag number, gate number, name) I was just happy they opened the gate for us in a timely fashion.

still, it would have been nice to know that the tag wouldn't work in the lot before we got there.

feel like i should write SOMETHING

but i got nothing. can't believe tomorrow is friday. that means i've got a lesson that i haven't practiced for. yay! got shot today. could be interesting the next few trips. the good nurse is leaving, which leaves nurse stabby. and the new nurse was there today trying to learn the process. anyhoo, they got my shot wrong, fixed it, but still, that's real confidence inspiring. i probably should have spoken up sooner. "hey! where's my kitty shot?" but they figured it out. the new nurse calls everyone "kiddo" i felt a little better after i figured this out.

a friend sent us a link to a South Park character builder, so here's me and RTO. 

roses started blooming on one bush, the others are just showing buds. 

sorry about all the pictures

or not. um, been sleeping a lot since we got back.

RTO at Tavern on the green. 

from outside our hotel. (a very blurry times square) 

RTO made me take this, cause he thought the name was clever. 

the library 

lions at the library 

what didn't come home?

uh, Real Simple Oct 2003 and Utne Reader march/april 2004, which may i say was quite entertaining. lots of articles about getting people out to vote and defeat W. hee hee. this is why i've let my subsciption run out. they just got kinda nutty after the 2000 election. all OH WE'RE GOING TO HELL, OUR POOR COUNTRY, BOO-HOO. anyway, almost finished the other Real Simple, just a few more articles to go. list of night stand reading to follow later.

home again, home again jiggety jig

made it in last night around 12. cats were STARVING (yeah, right, rto says he gave them an extra day of food, but of course they don't know how to pace themselves) puppy was fine, happy to see us. it was nice to sleep in my own bed again. yay!

trinity church 

they have some signs and exhibits around describing the rebuilding plans. 

wtc site 

RTO at battery park 

nyse 

the important bits...

from the dallas morning news:

...After intermission he took all manner of dynamic and rhythmic chances in the bawdy-tawdry cantata, mustering drastic liberties in matters of tempo, and erring, if at all, on the side of speed. It was exciting in its shamelessly showy way, and passages of relative delicacy did grace the maestro's progress to the ultimate climax.

The orchestra re-created every twitch, sigh and quiver – well, nearly every twitch, sigh and quiver – faithfully. The vast Dallas Symphony Chorus sang sweetly and feverishly, as needed, and the Children's Chorus of Greater Dallas exuded proper innocence....

and from the NY times:

"The [Orff] was also a smart choice in that it showcased one of the orchestra's strongest assets: the Dallas Symphony Chorus, which sang with a full-bodied, well-blended and lustrous sound, supplemented by the Children's Chorus of Greater Dallas."

sang a concert this afternoon, probably will not be reveiwed, it was family thing so the audience was fairly noisy, but it was fun. RTO liked it. it had a theme of music from around the world.

ny update

got here late afternoon yesterday, didn't do anything in particular last night, walked around times square. had dinner at an afghan kabob place, it was good, and RTO said it was pretty authentic. strangely enough we saw some other chorus people dining there. anyhoo, this afternoon we went downtown, saw wall street, battery park and the WTC site, oh and stopped at grand central station on the way back. i'm just resting up now before the concert tonight. yay!

early catblogging, i love the pink color of their noses, it's so perfect.