Home

ashacat

Recent Entries

ashacat

maggie outside, maggie, iris

View

Navigation

March 9th, 2008

what to do music-wise

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris
This looks like it will be a lot of fun...wonder if I can get a night off from the baby?!

The Hartt School presents Dramaticus Percussionist

Saturday, April 28 2007 7:30 PM
Venue: University of Hartford / Lincoln Theater

Description:
The Hartt School presents Dramaticus Percussionist on Saturday, April 28, at 7:30 p.m. in Lincoln Theater on the University of Hartford campus in West Hartford. The Hartt Percussion Ensemble presents an evening of percussion music with a theatrical twist. The program will include Michael Udowís gamelan-inspired Music for Cross Cultures No. 1, Rupert Kettleís Dining Room Music, Ed Londonís Roll, David Macbrideís C-Note for solo bass drum, Split for percussion trio, and Quiet (featuring the Hartt School marching drum line); and Larry Spivackís Cowboys (complete with horse hooves, good guys, and bad guys). Admission is free. Please call the University Box Office at (860)768-4228 or (800)274-8587 or visit us at www.hartford.edu/hartt for more information.


There's also a Nancy Griffith and the Blue Moon Orchestra performance at Lincoln Theater on March 22nd. Woot!!

A new mom can dream...

February 7th, 2008

Election video

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris
Something really cool that WASN'T created by Barak Obama's election committee, but was inspired by a speech he made:

http://www.youtube.com/v/jjXyqcx-mYY&rel=1

I have to admit that I voted for Hillary Clinton in the primary, largely because I would like our next president to have had political experience at the global level -- and her 8 years in the White House can't be ignored.

But I like Barak Obama too -- I'll like him better after he's had more time in DC because you really have to know how to play the game inside the Beltway if you want to get your legislation through. It's just that simple; a "newcomer" may be appealing, but they don't often do well swimming with the sharks on K Street.

December 31st, 2007

Happy New Year

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris

2007 has felt like one of the longest years ever. Last night I realized that I have been sicker this year than possibly any other, what with the stomach bug from CapeCodistan and pregnancy. Basically the Year of the Yarking. Sigh. Which meant that I didn't get nearly as much done as I would have hoped. Both of our fathers were in and out of hospitals and there was a lot of traveling. So I have good reason to hope that 2008:

1. requires fewer doctor/hospital visits

2. brings lower fuel prices (for home, car & air travel purposes!)

3. is the year I finish the dissertation

4. finds us with a healthy baby boy, and healthy family and friends

5. is a more peaceful year locally as well as globally

December 10th, 2007

brrrr

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris
It's raw out. One of my grad school buddies from Florida once asked me at the beginning of his first semester: "What do the weathermen mean when they say it's going to be raw out?!" It didn't take long for him to appreciate the term.

Raw = cold and damp with air movement for added enjoyment. A cold that will seep into your bones unless you wear a lot of woolens plus some sort of windbreaker material. A cold that crawls up your nasal passages and invades your sinuses. A cold that suggests you're being punished for Bad Behavior of Some Sort.

That's raw.

And that's what it is like outside today.

Since my tutoring appointment fell through I have spent some time looking through my email in-boxes. One led me to a Sonny Rollins YouTube video which was okay. BUT then I found this:

http://www.youtube.com/v/NlVQJwBq44Y&rel=1


Enjoy!

November 26th, 2007

try-mester 3

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris
This is the end of Month 7 of what has been a very tiring pregnancy.  Not to mention the constant nausea (thank the gods for the anti-nausea pills!).  On the whole I shouldn't complain because there could have been so many complications and fetal problems.  But today I feel especially bleary and I had to cancel my gym date. Bleh.

The Lamaze instructor joked a few weeks ago that the trimesters are known among the OB staff as  "weary,  cheery, and dreary."  Now I know why.  I am amazed at all the women who can work  8+ hours a day during pregnancy; just the part-time teaching I do has begun to be a strain.  I am going to see if I can get out of my teaching assignment for next spring; it's a comparatively easy assignment as a writing assistant and grader for a writing course in which someone else lectures.  It's supposed to be a 10-hour a week assignment. But a 10-hour assignment usually means 15+ and if I have to collect papers to grade that means a two-hour round-trip each time.  Driving up to campus during the fall semester is actually quite lovely because the weather is usually good and when the leaves turn it's just spectacular.  But spring semester
is a totally different scene because usually it is snowy, icy, or just plain FREEEEEEZING and it takes longer. So I have made an appeal to be assignment-free and I'll register as a continuing student for the spring.

We are half-way through our bathroom renovation, waiting for the countertop. The crown-molding is in and so are the cabinet handles and the flooring.  I'm going to try to get the contractors in to finish the cabinets, the beadboard, install the toilet, and the shower doors so we can start to unload the room which is supposed to be the nursery, but currently looks like a tornado hit it:)  [info]netcurmudgeon is getting pretty tired of the chaos.  I am getting tired of climbing up and down the stairs 1-3 times a night to go to the bathroom!  On the other hand we're lucky that we have a full (well, okay, the shower stall is a bit bigger than a telephone booth) bath to fall back on. 

I found a crib online that has received numerous awards for being safe and very easy to change.  Little did I realize that cribs were hard to change, but with the new safety regulations the sheets and mattresses have to be very tight-fitting. The crib is called the Quick Change Crib and it is less expensive than I imagined because they sell online only (http://www.innovativecribdesigns.com/quick-change-crib.htm).  I also bought a foam mattress because they are lighter and I really loved the foam mattress I slept on when I was a kid.  The best part of this shopping experience is that I found the crib within 5 minutes of searching online.  I LOVE Google.  The mattress arrived this morning; the crib is due in early January.  My luck took a downward spiral when looking for a changing table.  I spent 3 hours online and didn't see anything particularly good.  Of course changing the baby on a pad on the floor might be the answer.  No worries about baby taking a dive off the table! At 3 AM...during a snowstorm....

Have I mentioned how easy it is to raise cats?

  


October 28th, 2007

ask and ye shall receive...

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris

Netcurmudgeon did the quiz with me in mind...pretty similar results!



 

Asperger's quiz

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris
[info]netcurmudgeon had me take this quiz...after assuring me he is neurotypical: Asperger's quiz

My results ... I tended towards the middle ground on a lot of these questions. As someone who has experience constructing surveys and who has taken a LOT of surveys I found this survey difficult to take for a few reasons. First, the use of just the number separated from the answer code (no, not at all) can be confusing. Also, if the survey is going to use alternating colors for questions then the colors should be more different. Finally, I didn't like the default (?) button being checked for each question from the start because I found it difficult to track where I was in the survey. Some good things: there were several pairs of questions which asked the same thing but in a different way as a check of reliability, the range of questions was quite wide, and I like the click-button format.

I think it would be interesting to see someone's profile when they did the quiz for themself and then when a very good friend did it for them.

Anyways, here is my profile based on my own assessment of myself.

October 15th, 2007

Blog Action Day

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris

Netcurmudgeon tells me it is Blog Action day...and this blog deserves some action:)

So the topic is the Environment and what I was going to talk specifically about recycling but I want to talk about STUFF. Every day I see all sorts of stuff lying on the side of the road - stuff that people are throwing out, trying to sell, advertising as FREE (usually because no one bought it at their tag sale) and then the trash. Compared with places around the world I have visited, I think I live in a really beautiful area. But there is always some trash on the side of the road, wherever I drive rural, suburban or urban. And that, along with a number of other factors, leads me to suspect that WE HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are many reasons to reduce our consumption, and several ways to do it, or at least be a smarter consumer.
So here are some ideas.

1. See if you can get what you are looking for as a used item
- there are a lot of folks who have the darndest stuff in their attics/basements/sheds/garages/storage units. And often they are happy to offload it or loan it. I am now the grateful recipient of a crib and baby changing table, a bunch of newborn baby clothes, and clothes I can borrow through my pregnancy from friends and family. Another excellent source for stuff is FreeCycle. There are local chapters and they do GOOD THINGS. Tag sales, consignment shops, estate sales are all good sources too. Used does not mean crappy. Really. Sometimes people buy or are given stuff that they never ever use. Instead of it landing in a landfill it could go to a happy recipient. 

Also - refurbished computers can be awesome buys - my laptop is a refurbished Dell and it has been to India and back twice and still runs like a charm...and it isn't particularly new either. Pratt & Whitney has a store on their East Hartford site where they will sell used CPUs, laptops, monitors for decent prices. Most of the time it is well worth it.

2. Consider buying only what you need. 
Do you really need 5 pairs of the same shoe in different colors? Or 3 pairs of sweatpants? Go shopping and there are a lot of trinkets for sale. Will they really make your life better? Can you patch your pants instead of getting a brand new pair?

3. Buy local
There's this idea of reducing one's carbon footprint...the amount of energy you consume doing whatever you do. That includes the distance that you travel to buy stuff and the distance stuff has to travel to get to you. Yeah, online shopping totally rocks - buy as much as you can from each place, particularly if your stuff is coming via air. Better yet, shop in your local area. Buy from farmer's markets and locally-owned shops down the road. And figure out the most efficient route for your errands (my mother-in-law takes as few left turns as possible when she does her errands). 

4. Recycle. It isn't hard. And sometimes your recyclables are made into cool stuff like park benches, road surfaces (in AZ they recycle tires into an amazingly resilient road surface), handbags, hot pads. 

5. Throw garbage into garbage bins...not out the window of your car. I can't tell you how much trash lines my road. It's gross. And I live across from a park for goodness sake!

6. The holidays are coming. Instead of buying dust-catchers or stuff that you imagine someone might perhaps maybe like...make a donation in their name for a cause of your choice - or even better - theirs. It's such a great feeling and there are so many worthy causes.  Also, with donations in mind, if you have a lot of STUFF that you aren't using or are tired of (yes, it does happen) then donate it. There are all sorts of clothing drives for winter coats, Big Brothers/Big Sisters is always looking for clothes, and of course there's the Salvation Army. If you would like to see if you can get some money for it, then perhaps a consignment shop.  

Finally, there are a lot of Green products out on the market - I just learned about recyclable carpets - a new product. I Also, for the first time, a month ago I learned about -- and used -- organic nail polish. It lasts longer than the usual stuff! And it comes in nice colors too! 

'Kay...happy Blog Action Day everyone:)




August 7th, 2007

I hate Chase Manhattan Bank...

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris
...but after 3 days of them calling I have convinced someone there to put us on their no-call list. What is WITH these people?? I had to run over the guy to get him to listen to me and I don't like being mean to telemarketers. But 3 days in a row and 2 times today = UNHAPPY CAT.

Mrrr.

May 23rd, 2007

yummy car

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris
Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLv77vwD2ts

May 21st, 2007

My cat

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris
...inspired this cover/rant I wrote today.


To be sung to the tune of Suzanne Vega's "Luka":

My name is Maggie
I pooped on the second floor
I got really mad at you
Yes, I know I've done it before

If you get home too late at night
Or move the furniture around at home
I'll get real annoyed
I'll get real annoyed
I'll get real annoyed

I think it's because I'm anxious
I try not to scratch the couch
Maybe it's because I'm crazy
My sister's such a slouch

I'll only do it to make you cry
After that just don't ask me why
Just don't change things any more
Just don't change things any more
Just don't change things any more

Yes, I think I'm okay
The litter box was icky again
Well, if you ask that's what I'll say
And it's your job to clean it anyway
I guess I'd like a kitty treat
Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained

Just accept me as I am
Just accept me as I am
Just accept me as I am

March 5th, 2007

hot

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris
Summer is here in Bangalore and the temps are in the mid to high 80s during the afternoon when skies are clear. Women wear light colors: pink, yellow, white, pale green. The local girls are still wearing jeans, but I cannot stand to wear anything but cotton salwar kameez suits: a tunic over loose draw-string pants usually worn with a long dupatta, or scarf. I ditch the dupatta whenever possible. Street dogs loll in patches of afternoon shade. All odors are sharper. Although we've had some cloudy days, the rains which the region sorely needs have not yet arrived. Trees and plants have dusty leaves and everything looks bleached under the mid-day sun. At sunset the sun is a dark orange disk seen through a haze of dust, exhaust fumes, and smoke from fires burning trash.

It's hot.

February 27th, 2007

food

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris
Today I wanted strawberry yoghurt for lunch. So I put together the following ingredients available in my cousin's kitchen:

half a cup of loose home-made curd
a spoon of strawberry preserves
a spoon of ground peanuts
some cooked white rice to provide some body to the whole thing

It probably sounds awful...but it served the purpose.

exercise cat

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris
Here's a fun way to work out:

OK GO's Here It Goes Again:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv5zWaTEVkI

February 17th, 2007

I hate shopping

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris
I decided i needed to do some clothes shopping because it is getting rather hot here. So today I visited FabIndia - a stand-alone shop with only a couple of other branches and the Forum - a HUUUUGE mall. FabIndia was a bust because I was between sizes in everything. And I kept suspecting that some drapery company had a shipment go missing.... 

But the store is in a lovely big bungalow with a courtyard where we sat on blocks of granite and drank ginger lemonade. 

The Forum was not enjoyable at all. Every store blasted music. I thought that the music in the stores in the US was loud, but this was deafening. And the "ethnic" fabrics were all neon colors. Deafened and blinded!  I went into almost every store out of general curiosity.  The Lee store had clothes in a rack that you could handle and the sizes available on shelves. Another store had wares which were a fusion of Egyptian and Indian clothes. They reminded me of tropical fish: bright & flashy. They were cut in weird shapes and had sequins, beads, fake gems. I guess it was designer clothing. Or something. 

I am not a tropical fish.

Cats EAT fish

February 14th, 2007

weather

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris
It's in the mid 80s, clear and breezy here in Bangalore. I've got the ceiling fan going because this bedroom gets hot in the afternoon and I like using this desk so I won't move downstairs. And at home: ice pellets. 
The world is big.

January 9th, 2007

winter cold

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris

I have succombed to a winter cold that is making its way through the urban population, fueled by dust and very dry air. I stayed home sick for a couple of days and basically have been like a caged tiger because I don't have time to be sick. And I have no patience with this body. Can I have another on loan please? Just for 10 days? A male one would be interesting...no?

And I have to go shopping. Not for fun things. Things like:
lotion (for the dry skin from the dry air)
shampoo
conditioner (for the dry hair due to the dry air)
cough drops (did I mention dry air?)
toilet paper - which none of my relatives use (perhaps because the air is so dry)
mosquito repellent (why can't the mosquitoes shrivel up and die from the dry, dry air?)


December 23rd, 2006

sending pictures home

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris
So I am sitting in the cybercafe again, this time I WILL finish sending all of my pics to [info]netcurmudgeon.  There have been a lot of, uh, distractions and I have let this task go for far too long. The thing is that it takes so freaking long to send them, even as 10MB zip file chunks that I really haven't wanted to sit down and do it. But I am now. Mostly out of guilt. The universal motivator. 

The music is "I'm gonna run to you" Is this Bryan Adams? Is this India??!! 
There were Christmas carols earlier - Silver Bells by Bing. It's a bit jarring to hear Silver Bells and look outside to rather hot weather for a CT Yankee. No sign of snowflakes or sleighs. But the weirdest was hearing: "This is the voice of Enigma..." 

Today was a landmark day. I left my cousin's house on foot, walked about 7 minutes to a main road and caught an auto-rickshaw to the theater. Sure the guy double-charged me. I don't care. It cost less than a buck. And I got there. And then...I did THREE interviews!!! Yeah!

Tonight I go to some function where I will meet more young IT folk. More informants. That's really all I want for Christmas.



 

December 11th, 2006

Connectivity

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris
There's a color photo on the front page of today's The Times of India showing a couple of IT professionals using their laptops while riding a bullock cart. Their kids are holding up a sign that says "We need a road REALLY BAD." The sad truth is that while broadband is ubiquitous in Bangalore good roads are rare. The Bangalore roads were not built to sustain the present population and while the city has grown, the infrastructure has not kept pace. The roads in JP Nagar are awful. They are mostly dirt roads that have no drainage so the monsoon rains create deep pits which remain after the rains and threaten to swallow whole cars. The best automated form of transport is the scooter because the tires are wide and it is easier to avoid the chasms in the roads. Adding to the effect are extremely high speed bumps on the paved roads that do exist. This, plus the traffic make the citizens really unwilling to cross the city unless they really have to because all they think about are the traffic junctures which they have to face. As my Aunt Saraswati likes to say: "What to do?"

December 7th, 2006

The Urban Anthropologist in Bengalooru

Add to Memories Tell a Friend
maggie outside, maggie, iris
I'm sitting in a cybercafe in JP Nagar - a growing section of southern Bangalore. Inside wedge-shaped cubicles with fast pcs and flat-screen monitors hum under ultra-bright flourescent lights. The floor shines, the lavatory has soap (no tp, of course), and the staff are dressed in bright blue and red polo shirts. Outside horns blare from cars, busses, huge trucks, scooters, and auto rickshaws.  Bicyclists stay to the sides of the road and pedestrians do NOT have the right of way. Cows do, however.  Inside the cybercafe the air conditioners filter and cool the air; outside dust and exhaust fumes meld with pollen. Police officers at busy intersections wear masks. Pubs, restaurants, malls, and discount stores abound; perhaps the next trend will be oxygen bars. Don't get me wrong - Bangalore's a neat city - but you have to have not only selective hearing, but selective sight, smell, and sometimes taste.  A cheese pizza comes with onions and green peppers. The waitstaff do not understand my confusion. I eat the pizza. Drivers use their horns as a 6th gear. They are just announcing their presence. I've been here at the cybercafe for an hour while the staff try to run my credit card. They are happy to have me sit typing while they try again, and again, and again. No, I can't use the ATM and no I can't write a check.  It hasn't gone through yet. Perhaps it will tomorrow or the next time I come. The key to this city seems to be flexibility - and I'm fairly agile - so I guess I will stick with samosas and forget about the pizza.
Powered by LiveJournal.com