Yvette's Inner Geek Blog

Because I wish I could see my friend Bryan in the Lincoln Lodge Halloween comedy show tonight. Especially after watching his heartbreaking portrayal of Frankenstein in this video :

Go see it tonight at 9 if you’re in Chi-town! I’ll be at home in Utah, eating chili in pumpkin-shaped bread bowls with friends and passing out candy to little costumed beggars. I dug up some purple and orange strings of lights that I might hang on the tree next to our front door, and I’m putting out several glass candle holders with tea lights to illuminate the porch. We have a couple pumpkins out there already, but they aren’t carved yet and I doubt they will be tonight.

My friend’s 13-year-old daughter plans to hold a scythe while wearing all black, including a black faceless mask, and stand very still in our yard before scaring the bejesus out of as many people as possible.

It’s been relatively warm today, reaching almost 70 degrees, so I think hanging out on the porch will be a good possibility. If we get cold, I’ll have some mulled cider on the stove to warm us up… and adults can get extra warm with a splash of rum in their mug. Rummmmmmmm…

I’ve been sick with some nasty cold-but-not-a-cold virus, and it sucks monkey balls.

Still, I felt well enough tonight to attend the weekly Minstrels’ Guild meeting (because the SCA has sucked me back in). I didn’t go last week because of the aforementioned virus. Aside from some organizational discussion this evening, we switched gears from instrumental to vocals. I learned how to pronounce some Italian for the medieval madrigal “Fa Una Canzone” and squeaked out a few notes but was absolutely NOT a soprano this week. It’s been a long time since I’ve been a soprano… in fact, I was never really a soprano. I was a mezzo-soprano, which translates to “lazy half-assed soprano who can’t be bothered to practice singing above a high E.”

Next week we’ll be back to our instruments, and I should be able to breathe well enough in the next day or two to practice my sad, neglected soprano recorder beforehand. I’ve postponed my interest in learning the F-key fingerings for the alto recorder because 1) I don’t have an alto recorder and 2) I’m more interested in building puppets and learning how to be a good storyteller of folktales and fairy tales right now.

If you’re a musician, maybe you’re wondering why I don’t just get a tenor recorder to expand my instrumental variety since it’s in C just like the soprano? Well, my fingers are too short to play a tenor recorder. I’ve tried. I really love the way they sound… reminds me of playing baritone/euphonium in high school and I really enjoy the tones of low brass and deeper woodwinds. Just do some finger exercises, you say? So that my ligaments will stretch? Let me give you a picture of how short my genetically sausage-shaped fingers are: I cannot span an octave on a piano.

Incidentally, after I returned home this evening, I made my first-ever hot toddy with rum, hot water, fresh lemon slice with cloves stuck in, brown sugar, and a pinch of nutmeg. It made me feel better all over until I read the sentence on that Wikipedia entry I just linked to that says even though hot toddies are believed to help cure colds, they are not advisable because alcohol can cause dehydration. Whatever. I’m planning to sleep soundly tonight!

And then perhaps blog about something more substantial tomorrow, on the wondrous day of Halloween? “Most Likely” says the Magic 8 Ball.

Well, I didn’t get the job I thought I had a kickass interview for a couple weeks back. Not sure why, since I seemed to be a great fit for the position and vice versa… but I’m not taking it personally because I’ve been there, done that, and it did me a lot more harm than good. Life lesson learned the hard way.

I’m still applying for full-time positions while I work on my own writing and trying to acquire some more freelance work. I’ve also pursued some old and new hobbies in an effort to stay active (mentally and physically, the latter always being more of a challenge).

I started riding my new bike, which was a birthday present from my mom. (Thanks, Mom!) It’s a red Electra Townie, and I love it! Okay, I don’t ride it a lot yet, but I’m working on it. I hope to ride to the library this week and not resort to walking up the hill to my house on the way home.

On Wednesday, I’ll be attending my first monthly chapter meeting of the League of Utah Writers. I already volunteered for the open position of newsletter editor, so I hope I like it! At the very least, it will be good to meet and talk with other local writers. I haven’t had a local network of writing friends since college.

Then there’s the Society for Creative Anachronism. I joined a local chapter of this medieval re-enactment group while in college, and sort of fell in and out of it in the following years. I introduced some Utah friends to the local group here, and then got bogged down with work and the house issues while they totally flourished in it. And now I’ve jumped back in to their delight and, surprise surprise, I’m digging it more than ever. I didn’t think that was going to happen even just a couple weeks ago, but here I am. The Minstrels’ Guild is active again, with more people than when I left a year and a half ago, and our first instrumental rehearsal last week was awesome. I am planning to put all of my recent fairy tale and folklore reading/research to use by practicing my storytelling and creating puppet shows (basic at first, to make sure I’m capable) for the large number of kids in the group. I hope to pick up a bow and arrow in the very near future to see if I have any archery skills left. I’m going to finally learn how to do calligraphy and maybe a little bit of illumination. I’m going to make myself some new medieval garb before the next formal event in November.

So, yeah… I’m trying to make my life a little more interactive and interesting than it has been recently. And I think most people would agree that being totally stoked about joining a Medieval/Renaissance band is at least “interesting.”

This morning’s events summarize how my life has felt during the past few weeks.

My friend Julie and I were going to have lunch and hang out today while her little girls took their afternoon nap. Being on my own schedule has made it (even) harder for me to be on time, so I was running pretty horrifically late. Awash with guilt and self-loathing, I finally entered the garage and locked the door to the house behind me.

Then I noticed that I’d left the trunk of my car open all night. Stupid, stupid. At least I’d remembered to close the garage door. So I closed the trunk and tried to start my car, which resulted in a serious facepalm because DUH, there is a light in the trunk and it drained the battery overnight.

I sat there for a minute, contemplating my situation of Horrifically Late + Stupid Idiot = Embarrassing Situation.

Of course this is not a day that Ben is working from home. But wait, there is an old, nearly seatless minivan parked in our garage that we have on long-term loan from my mom to haul our Home Depot purchases. But where are the keys? I called Ben to inform him that I am the biggest idiot ever and ask where the keys are to the van, but his desk phone isn’t really working today. Then I found the keys. Then Julie and Ben took turns calling me and making my call waiting go all wonky. I hopped in the van, thinking FINALLY, I can get out of the house today.

And then the van failed to start because of a drained battery.

Yeah.

At least I didn’t lock my house keys in the car or van. I rescheduled lunch with Julie. Ben got a good laugh. Now I’m back at my computer, forcing myself to face the daunting personal and professional challenges that have been weighing on me more heavily of late. But that’s another blog post.

(Don’t worry, my life is not all gloom and doom. I still find humor in life, and sometimes joy, even on Dumbass Days.)