Downriver, Detroit, Michigan.
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The Arabic class has a new teacher and is held in a new school. It looks like we'll be reading more Arabic script and covering more grammar, though still in a casual way. I expect I'll be able to generate simple sentences in the past tense and maybe the present (past tense is simpler in Arabic). This teacher is also Lebanese.
S [9:36 PM]
The place I get my hair cut is at a little strip-mall set close to a main road. There are a couple of telephone/electrical poles between the single row of parking spots and the street. As I was backing up I managed to bump into one of them. It put a bit of yellow paint on the bumper and partially popped out on the left side. I could possibly just snap it back but I don't know of there are any clips that hold it in place on the inside. I have an oil change coming up at the dealership, I'll let them deal with it. It's another reason I may end up buying the car.
S [5:45 PM]
I qualified for work today in 20 degree weather in the snow. Luckily, no wind. Couldn't they have found an indoor place to rent? We were partially sheltered, we stood on concrete and had heaters above our heads. Despite the disadvantages, I scored 19 pts better than the last time.
I watched the State of the Union address last night, while simultaneously keeping up with blog commentary. This year's left field proposal was to eliminate steroid use in sports. Umm...this needs the President's attention? Last year's odd proposal was to fund research into hydrogen-powered autos. Good idea, but it didn't fit the rest of the speech (Iraq bad, attack soon) nor did anyone believe it was close to George's heart.
S [6:35 PM]
With barely a pause, I set the interior doorhandle's lock as I leave to go on errands. I take two steps before realizing my keys are still on my desk. Dad is at a meeting. Mom just left to get a little exercise by walking around a store. It's sunny and pleasant, but the temperature is 20 degrees.
I could tolerate waiting for Mom to get back, but knock at the neighbor's house hoping they have a key (we've long had theirs). Their daughter is there and welcomes me in. She calls her dad to see if they have a key. No (quite possibly it's disappeared over the years). So it turns into a little visit. She offers something to drink. I decline the cranberry juice when I spy a fleck of mold floating on it. It's been stored on the counter. We are grossed out by this. I take ice water. She has to get ready for an afternoon class. She leaves and I'm alone flipping through C-SPAN and Michigan's version thereof. I spot my representative and others from Downriver. Her brother pops in ten minutes later. He's a very nice boy who looks a bit like Prince William. He offered me some of the McDonald's he had. I accept some fries. We talk about my job, my brother's work in the computer field, and see a bit of the History Channel's program on barbarians (funny that part two runs at the same time as Bush's State of the Union address).
I check to see if there's a car in the drive of my house. After an hour and twenty minutes, there is.
I'm able to start my errands: picking up drycleaning, signing up for Arabic again, buying a present for Erik's birthday, and checking out a controlled-climate storage spot that Erik and I might rent.
S [9:28 PM]
Good fortune, then, that I went with Matt to practice at the range last night: I'm scheduled to qualify for work on Wednesday. I think I'll score better than last time but not as high as at training. Let's say at least 300/360.
The roads are clear again, thanks to the sun and salt, though the temp reached only 18 degrees.
S [9:47 PM]
One thing about snowstorms is that it's often easier to clear off a car that hasn't moved since the storm began than one which was driven and has less accumulated on it. The snow that fell today was powdery and brushed off my mom's car easily. My dad had been out running around in his Sable during the afternoon. The heated interior made the snow made the snow melt, then refreeze as a layer of ice as the interior's temperature equalized with the outside. That required a scraper.
At work maybe 5" fell; at home 4"+; in part of the northern exurb an entire foot. Traffic was sluggish but the conditions manageable if you weren't crazed.
S [11:41 PM]
This morning when I passed Meijers I thought "What cheap gas. It's a dollar forty." Tonight when I come back to get some it's $1.67. How does gas go up 27 cents in a day? Are they anticipating tomorrow's snow storm? Or did they get resupplied today?
Nicholas met me at Jacoby's where we had beers and dinner. We walked a few blocks west to Cobo Hall where the North American International Auto Show is underway. It was in the twenties, so not a bad walk. Not like a few years ago when we freezed our nads off because it was in the teens and a wind was blowing off the river. Usually the liquor fortifies us but I was not prepared on that count tonight.
He got discount tickets for $9 from some association at GM. I'm not that into cars, but it's still fun to go. With all that good lighting everyone is more beautiful. ;) I like looking at how they design the displays. Many of them incorporated water, either in sheets falling from the ceiling (Jeep's is the fanciest because it can spell words and make designs), or cascading down textured glass, or in arcing jets. Some had nice floral arrangements: calla lily in tall, clear, curving vases; arrangements with the stems wrapped by a large leaf (banana?) to hide the ends; spare arrangements of twigs at VW.
We walked through in about two hours. Going on a weekday is the best idea: weekends it's shoulder to shoulder.
Before parting, we finished off with a drink at Sweetwater Tavern. He was hungry again--some metabolism he's got--and ordered a Reuben. I had caramel topped apple pie, a la mode.
S [11:56 PM]
I meant to go to the gym after my dental appointment, but I ended up at a Borders Outlet, a Borders, Wilson's Leather, Mervyn's, and the only Middle Eastern restaurant with a drive-thru.
I was looking for black or brown leather belts made in the US. I would also have accepted Argentina, a first-world country down on its luck. But none from China. They don't need to make everything we buy. I found a brown one. Now I need brown shoes. It's hopeless to be particular about where they're made.
I'll be going to the Auto Show with Nicholas tomorrow.
The sloppy joe lunch went well, but not as many showed as could have. The pews were fuller than usual. Maybe Father should have mentioned take-outs were available. We took in $165.75, IIRC. A lot less than the ~$350 from the cookie sale.
I had my brother shoot a few minutes of video on Grandma's birthday, as I was the one carrying the lighted cake to the table. The "Happy Birthday" was more tuneful than I've heard in ages; we're not a musical family.
Saturday I went to an evening showing--an uncommon time since I loathe paying the maximal ticket price--of The Last Samurai. It's a cut above many movies but not Oscar material. I have cinematic quibbles (the "schwing" on the sword when it was drawn in the final battle matched implausibly with reality; the depiction of his Zen moments seemed a little clumsy, and in one case, confusing; they slowed ever so slightly the footage of the boy catching the practice sword in the rain) as well as doubts about the plot (How many American soldiers questioned the necessity of killing off the "savage Indians?").
It made me think about how we conceptualize other cultures. Japanese culture is respected in the US. People admire their decorative style, gardens, orderliness, and industriousness. But does appreciation of some things lead us to ignore problems? Maybe the wack a Zen master gives a student isn't to spark enlightenment or correct bad zazen, but is sadism. Or maybe the smiling peasant is terrorized by the daimyo who is supposed to be protecting him. I'm sure this topic's been covered in multiple grad school theses I could find if I wanted.
I may go ahead and look for a book covering Japan's transition to the modern era. Someone must have written a good one by now.
S [10:30 PM]
I'm trying to prune my bookmark file. In the blog/LJ "Evaluation Bin" there's seventy-six. Time to prove themselves or get out.
S [7:03 PM]
I went to a pistol competition today for the first time. Taylor Pistol Club holds their PPC Match over four days in January. Matt invited me, as it's something he's done with his family for a long time. It cost $35 which includes hot dogs and snacks for lunch and a dinner Sunday night where they give out awards and many door prizes.
I wasn't able to use the jacketed, hollow point ammo that work gave me for practice. Luckily, Matt has some .40 that he'd previously got as a door prize.
I didn't do well. I had six magazines where ten would have made it much smoother. I had to frantically reload them during the brief period of target change. Then I didn't get all the shots off; I was at least six short. Also, I'd never fired from sitting and prone positions: on those I hit low. I was a little embarrassed that someone else would score my target. After, Matt's dad and brother had me compare the amount of trigger pressure needed for their guns--much less than my H&K (i.e. easier). Still, I'm glad I've had at least this practice before I have to qualify for work again.
Trent, Alex, and Mikey were there. One girl working the registration held baby Alex for an hour and a half, which was a real help (Nicole, his mom, works a double today). He either slept or looked around wide-eyed. I though the noise of the range would hurt the boys' ears, but most their time was spent in the registration room upstairs. Even downstairs it was probably muffled enough.
It was a little odd for me to be with NRA members doing their thing, a group I've very much disliked in the past. But they were so. . .normal. I heard no political talk. Some illustrated hunting stories, yes. Being non-confrontational, it's not a place I want to step out of my liberal closet.
Matt, his brother, his dad, and the kids continued on to the Detroit Auto Show when they were through. I could have gone, too, but did not want to brave the opening day crowds. I'll probably go later with Nicholas.
Tomorrow is Grandma's birthday (84!) which we're celebrating in the afternoon. It's hard to buy her gifts other than little knick-knacks or flowers. She usually gets a lot of gift cards to bookstores and movie theaters.
But before that I have to help with the Guild's sloppy joe lunch. I'm pretty sure other people have worked out the details, because I haven't been around. I imagine they've figured out that even though I'm back from training, I can't be counted on like in the past; work being one reason.
S [5:28 PM]
BOOKS READ 2003
annotated, not summarized
All The Names. Jose Samarago. Translator Margaret Jull Costa. Harcourt: New York,
1999 (trans). 1-6-03 A timid civil servant, like Akaky Akakiavitch, becomes obsessed to learn more about a woman whose birth certificate he came across at random.
Inventing the Middle Ages. Norman F. Cantor. William Morrow and Co.: New York,
1991. 441p
Typee. Herman Melville. In the Modern Library collected edition.
In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu’s Congo.
Michela Wrong. Harper Collins: New York, 2001. 327p. 1-27-03 Very readable.
Leaving a Trace: On Keeping a Journal: The Art of Transforming a Life into Stories.
Alexandra Johnson. Little Brown and Co.: Boston, 2001. 240p. 2-3-03
King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa. Adam
Hochschild. Houghton Mifflin Co.: New York, 1998. 306p. 2-4-03
The Arabic Alphabet: How to Read and Write It. Nicholas Awde & Putros Samano. Lyle Stuart book, Carol Publishing Group, 1996. 95p.
Memoirs. David Rockefeller. Random House: New York, 2002. 499 p. 3-5-03
A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books. Nicholas A. Basbanes. Henry Holt and Co.: New York, 1995. 533 p. 3-5-03
Friends & Apostles: The Correspondence of Rupert Brooke and James Strachey 1905-1914. Edited by Keith Hale. Yale University Press: New Haven, 1998. 287p. 3-21-03
The Crime of Olga Arbeyelina. Andrei Makine. 4-10-03
Jennifer Government. Max Barry. Doubleday: New York, 2003. 320p. 4-12-03
Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood. Oliver Sacks. Knopf: New York, 2001. 320p. 4-23-03
At Swim, Two Boys. Jamie O’Neill. Scribner: New York, 2002. Ó2001 by author.
572p. 5-5-03
When Smoke Ran Like Water: Tales of Environmental Deception and the Battle Against Pollution. Devra Davis. Basic Books: New York, 2002. 282p 5-29-03
Jarhead: A Marine’s Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles. Anthony Swofford. Scribner/Simon & Schuster: New York 2003. 257p. 5-31-03 Very good.
The Frozen-Water Trade: A True Story. Gavin Weightman. Hyperion: New York, 2003. 247p. 6-8-03
A Degree of Mastery: A Journey through Books Arts Apprenticeship. Annie Tremmel Wilcox. Minnesota Voices Project No. 88. New Rivers Press : Minneapolis, 1999. 6-12-03
Samurai William: The Englishman Who Opened Japan. Giles Milton. Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux: New York 2002. 324p. Refers to “Jesuit Monks.” The English Factory in Japan 1613-23 (pub. British Library) has Adam’s letters and logbooks. Diary kept by the head of the English factory in Japan—Diary of Richard Cocks, 1615-22 (3 vols. Historiographical Inst. Tokyo, 1978-81. Few copies printed). Articles on Cocks in Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan 3rd series, 20, 1985 and 3rd series, 17, 1982. 6-18-03
Chicago Death Trap: The Iroquois Theatre Fire of 1903. Nat Brandt. Southern Illinois University Press: Carbondale and Edwardsville 2003. 147p. 602 people died. 6-19-03
Macaire le Copte. Francois Weyergans. Gallimard, Collections Folio : France, 1981. 173p. Vocabulary and style suitable for high school students of French. 7-14-03
Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. Karen Rhea Nemet-Nejat. Geenwood Press: Westport, CT, 1998. 307 p. Could use an editor to fix some repetition and unclear sentences. Otherwise a decent overview of the area. 7-18-03
American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh & The Oklahoma City Bombing. Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck. Regan Books, HarperCollins: New York, 2001. 388p. 11-30-03
S [11:23 PM]
I made a budget for the year. It's the first time since '01 I've bothered; now I have a good job so it's worth it again.
S [11:23 PM]
We didn't end up with that much snow, maybe 3". But it bring a curtain of frigid air: the next day's high was 15 degrees.
I didn't get to see Claudia while she was here. I have to send a card for her recent birthday.
Just checked my bank balance and see an extra $460 deposited to cover expenses during training. I was wondering about that. I thought maybe they tossed my request because I didn't file it within 5 days of my return like I was supposed to. You never know rigid they may be with rules.
S [9:50 PM]
I opened a bottle of Fazi Battaglia Sangiovese yesterday and thought it was much too dry and had the flavor of having been open for days. Today I sample it--having vacuum corked it--and it seems acceptable. I don't get it: wine is never better the second day. Maybe my body needed the alcohol more today.
I bought it at Meijer's--which, in a later post to explain, beats the hell out of Wallmart--where no less than four of tags hawking particular wines, with ratings from Wine Magazine, were for the vintage previous to the one actually on the shelf. One description had persuaded me to get a bottle, then I checked the label. I don't think they were being deceptive, just sloppy. So watch out for that, OK?
Whoo hoo tipsy toasting...er, posting.
*******
We're having a snowstorm now.
S [11:46 PM]
Saw LOTR: Return of the King. It was good, as everyone has been saying. I wasn't quite as emotionally wrapped into it as the last one but that has to do with matters outside the film. I like how it portrayed strong friendships: Sam and Frodo, Merry and Pippin. The went to such lengths for each other. Annie Lennox provided a pretty song to close the film.
S [5:28 PM]
New Year's Eve in Windsor. A good evening at Berlin Lounge. Some girl saw me bobbing in my chair and asked me to dance. We were the only ones most of the time. She invited me to sit with her friends and acquaintances she made that night. I think I'd seen her husband before in passing. Nicholas actually left before me.
S [4:01 AM]
Downriver, Detroit, Michigan.
[ Archives ]
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Pas/Cal
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Alma Mater (Secunda)