Big Hands You Know You're the One

I have big hands: a large square palm and long slender fingers. I wear a size 8 surgical glove. In leather gloves I'm a at least a size 9. I have been looking for a new pair of leather gloves, but I have yet to find a pair that fits.

I can reach a full octave (or more) on the piano between my thumb and pinky, but sadly, I can't play the piano.

Today we went bowling. Trying to find a bowling ball is always fun. My thumb has a tendency to get stuck. If I pick out a 14 pound ball I can usually fit my fingers in, but I bowl even worse with a heavy ball. Maybe I should learn to palm it like the guys in the lane next to us were doing.

I'm not sure what my point is here. I guess I'm just whining, but I wish these manotas were good for something.

The Universe is Screaming

The Universe is screaming at me, but I'm not sure what it is trying to say or what I'm supposed to do. I feel like the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Holocaust, Auschwitz, and anti-Semitism keep popping up. When I received a letter from the Anti Defamation League asking for money I thought that might be what this is all about. I sent them a check, but the Universe is still screaming. Maybe I am filtering, because when I think about it -- it isn't just anti-Semitism I'm hearing, it is discrimination in general -- hate.

I have certain scripted answers to hot-button questions. When people used to ask me what I was, I would make them come out and explicitly ask me. I would make them just as uncomfortable as they were making me. I don't get upset anymore. I have my scripted answer. Sometimes I still make them squirm. I just don't see why it matters what race or ethnicity I am, so I make them pay for my scripted answer. I think maybe what I need to do is compose a scripted answer to hatred. I need to have something ready to say not just when I hear someone say something anti-Semitic in front of me, but anything discriminatory. Maybe that is what the Universe is trying to tell me. I need to grow a pair and speak up.

Babysitting Bailey

After ten years Bailey is finally warming up to my dad (or using my dad to warm up). My parents spent a couple days in DC while we were in NYC and took care of Bailey while we were gone. I can't believe how well Bailey and my dad are getting along. He's been combing her and she just loves it. She curled up into his lap the other day, but we missed the photo op. Today she laid with my dad on the couch during nap time. I'm sure him feeding her beef jerky helped strengthen their bond. I wonder if she's going to miss my parents when they leave.

Colbert Report, November 19, 2009

Last week we were able to see a live taping of The Colbert Report. We arrived before 5:30, which we thought was on time, but people had started lining up at about 3pm. We were pretty much the end of the line. Three people in the standby line were also allowed in. I didn't know who the guest was until we were standing in line. It was my boyfriend, Elvis Costello. I can't think of anyone else I would have rather seen! Two great guys in the same room at the same time!

Because we were the last of the line we didn't get seats but instead stood the whole time. We had a good view of Stephen, but couldn't see his first guest because of the angle. There are TV screens everywhere and it was kind of interesting to see how so many people were watching them instead of the real Stephen right in front of them. They actually take breaks at the commercial breaks to tweak things. Stephen had to do a couple of retakes and one of the breaks was pretty long, so the taping lasted longer than it normally does.

Elvis Costello came out, and he had no voice so he played the guitar while Stephen sang. After that I think Stephen played the guitar and sang (Elvis tried to sing along). That part (and others that we saw) aren't in the actual episode. We both really enjoyed seeing the show live. It was interesting to also watch the final product. Everyone who works for the show was really great and looked like they were having a great time. Oh, and we got to see Stephen out of character. He held a brief Q&A session before the show began. It was a great experience.

Numbers and Timestamps

2:30: Alarm went off, the wind howled and I rolled over

2: Number of pairs of socks, pants, and sweaters I put on

2:41: Tied my shoes

3:08: Arrived at Best Buy

41: Temperature according to my car

242: My approximate number in line

4:20: Received a voucher for a laptop

8: Gig of RAM the laptop has

2: Number of pages I managed to read while standing in line. At first I was so far behind the store there were no lights to read by.

5:00: Doors opened

A Pair: I need to grow one. I didn't say anything to the pair of guys that cut in line right in front of me as we were walking toward the door.

2: Number of lines I stood in

1: Number of things I bought

3: Number of people I saw selling their vouchers

5:38: Got back into my car

500: Gig of memory the laptop has

5:57: Climbed back in bed

7:00: Had breakfast with Dad and Ross

7:10: Went to bed with Mom

9:47: Woke up

3: Number of other stores I might brave today

Skype Moments

We occasionally skype with Robert, Ethan, and Tiffany. They called last night and we were able to hook up via skype. My parents are here, so they also got to say hi. Ethan was super excited because he just got back from his birthday trip to Disney World. He drew some things and showed us via the webcam. Ethan is a very good artist.

At one point Ethan started saying "tickle, tickle, tickle." We all cocked our heads and Robert said "Ethan, you can't tickle them with the mouse pointer." We all cracked up as if we really had been tickled. It was a classic skype moment.

Big Birthday Trip

We headed to NYC to celebrate Ross's birthday. In a way I'm sort of sad that we didn't have a dessert party, but we had plenty of desserts in the city.

Our treats included: orange ricotta lobster tail, berry tart, birthday cake from Magnolia bakery, pineapple sorbet, mascarpone sorbet, apple caramel tart with cinnamon gelato, chocolate napoleon with vanilla ice cream, strawberries with zabaglione, and lobster tail pastries with cream. I wanted to bring home a dozen of those lobster tails, but I resisted. I will have plenty more desserts to eat tomorrow.