tavie.com

I know I've been going a long time between blogs lately (for me.) It's not that things aren't going on, it's just that I'm living my life instead of sitting on the computer thinking about it. It's a good thing. Be happy.

Labels: explanation for whom exactly

Why are you in Tavie's head? 9:18 PM | shower me with attention

Autumn, baby.

Labels: yay for the northeastern united states

Why are you in Tavie's head? 9:14 PM | shower me with attention

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Playing the harpsichord
Originally uploaded by Tavie

We celebrated my dad's 70th birthday by spending the day in Philadelphia. I'm not really sure why. It wasn't our first time in Philadelphia. We've all seen the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall and all that. Maybe my parents just wanted an excuse to walk around singing songs from 1776 all day (and you never have to ask me twice when it comes to that.)

I went off my Eating Plan at the Reading Street Market. Damn the Amish and their delicious, delicious pretzels. I continued to eat too many calories at the requisite Dinner At the Old Colonial Tavern, where they allowed my old dad to sit down at the harpsichord and show off. It actually turned out pretty well, and I snapped a picture of him playing.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 9:53 PM | shower me with attention

Friday, September 21, 2007

erin sent me a link to a cool blog that does reviews of various animated depictions of NYC. So I'm reading along, enjoying it, and come across this.

An anime series that takes place on Roosevelt Island? WTF?!

Labels: wow

Why are you in Tavie's head? 6:16 PM | shower me with attention

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Wht's th dl wth wrtng wth n vwls? S ths nw trnd smhw mssd?

Cn smn expln ths t m?

Labels: wtf

Why are you in Tavie's head? 8:36 PM | shower me with attention

Monday, September 17, 2007

Happy 70th birthday, Dad! Geez!

Labels: geezer lightnin

Why are you in Tavie's head? 9:48 AM | shower me with attention

Saturday, September 15, 2007

I love Guinan.

(I mean, as a friend.)

(I mean, as a fictional tv bartender.)

Labels: guess what I'm watching, nostalgia

Why are you in Tavie's head? 8:18 PM | shower me with attention

Friday, September 14, 2007

DSCN2770.JPG
Originally uploaded by Tavie

Here's our new baby. It's very difficult to get clear pictures of her, because she's a constantly-moving little monster, and if you get too close she goes straight for your neck and starts giving you a hickey.

Labels: mrooo

Why are you in Tavie's head? 8:46 PM | shower me with attention

Our little Drusilla is aptly named; she's a neck-sucker. If she can't get at your neck, she'll settle for your armpit, and if not that, any exposed bit of skin will do.

She is a darling. When she finally gets tired of the kneading and sucking, she settles down in my lap and looks so sweet and sleepy. I had to wrap myself in blankets to the neck to get to sleep last night, but it's worth it to have the snuggly, wiggly kitten.

I got pictures, will post when I can.

Labels: kitteh

Why are you in Tavie's head? 12:09 PM | shower me with attention

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

I am a dumbass. Every time I think I'm doing well, I go and do some dumbass thing.

(No worried emails, this too will pass. I just need to record the fact of my dumbassness for posterity.)

Labels: in other news: i am a dumbass

Why are you in Tavie's head? 7:20 PM | shower me with attention

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

As a perfect end to a perfectly crummy sort of day, the animal shelter screwed up and didn't take Drusilla to be fixed, so we don't get to take her home until Thursday.

And I was excited all day, too.

Labels: bleh

Why are you in Tavie's head? 8:02 PM | shower me with attention

See here, and below.

Labels: we remember

Why are you in Tavie's head? 3:57 PM | shower me with attention

Monday, September 10, 2007

Oh my god. Someone on a message board I read "enhanced" the beach photo I posted below. Godrira!

Labels: the funny

Why are you in Tavie's head? 8:39 PM | shower me with attention

There was a contest at work to name our company's new technology platform. The winner would receive an iPhone and one free year of service.

I submitted an idea secretly (I outright lied when my friends asked if I'd entered!) because I thought my idea was so stupid.

They announced the winner today. The winning entry was exactly the same as my entry, with the addition of two little letters, a Latin declensional ending. (Basically, the same name, but the winner made it sound a little more "Latin"-y.)

No iPhone for me. I was a runner-up, so I got $40 worth of movie tickets, which ain't too damn shabby.

But... but... an iPhone. Sigh.

Labels: also-ran, loser, the garfunkel

Why are you in Tavie's head? 7:37 PM | shower me with attention

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Tits Inc again
Originally uploaded by Tavie

Another Race for the Cure is over. I never got my act together and registered, but since Gina was volunteering during the race, I walked in her place. (View more photos from the day here.) You can contribute to our team's fundraising efforts until October 31, so if you can, please go to our team page and donate. (If you donate directly to Gina's page, I would appreciate that too, since I walked in her stead.)

It was a long day and I'm exhausted, but I feel great.

Labels: walking

Why are you in Tavie's head? 2:50 PM | shower me with attention

Saturday, September 08, 2007

A wave got me!
Originally uploaded by Tavie

We adopted a kitten today. Her name will be Drusilla. She's about ten months old, still small but not baby-tiny. She's a pretty little girl with bright gold eyes and a short, tortoiseshell coat. We met her at the animal shelter last Saturday and fell instantly in love, but had to wait a week to see if she would be claimed.

She comes home on Tuesday, and I sure hope Spike likes her, and she him. We'll see. She'll bunk with me for awhile until they get used to each other. (Which, if the little mister will recall, is exactly how it worked when he came home to meet Riley those years ago.)

Today was also a serendipitous trip to Sandy Hook and the beach. It was too cool and breezy to swim, but warm enough to dip our feet and dodge the waves and read on a blanket. So I finally made it to the beach after all.

Labels: gina cheryl drusilla kitten beach

Why are you in Tavie's head? 7:53 PM | shower me with attention

One last post about Madeleine: my friend Bill sent a link to this article, a personal reminiscence by a former neighbor of hers that's just lovely.

And that is the first, and probably last time, I'll link an article from The National Review here.

I must break the sad news to Progo, who is, of course, named after a character in A Wind in the Door. If I know the little dinosaur, he'll take the news stoically, and drown his sorrows in raw hamburger meat and bananas.

Labels: turtles bananas and conservative rags

Why are you in Tavie's head? 12:27 AM | shower me with attention

Friday, September 07, 2007

She meant so much to me. A Wrinkle in Time was the first book of hers I read, of course, but then I gobbled just everything I could get my hands on (except for a few of her theological nonfiction works.) And her faith, while apparent in her work, never clobbered you over the head; it just lent texture to it, richness. She had a beautiful soul, that's all. It shone through everything she wrote. She inspired me. Her writing style influenced the way I think and speak and write, I know it did. I read and reread her books so many times that my copies are all tattered, underlined rags held together by tape (except for the few precious signed hardcover copies.)

I wrote her a letter when I was about 13, and enclosed a portrait of her I'd drawn, and received a long, detailed response. I met her at a couple of book signings (and I'm not a "book signings" person at all) and the meetings thrilled me, just the fact of standing next to her delicate presence and looking into her warm eyes made me feel good. I remember especially when she got my book and read the sticky aloud, "Tavie", and my mom, standing next to me said, "I named her Octavia but she calls herself Tavie" and Madeleine looked up and smiled a gentle smile and said, "Well, that's all right too!" It was a simple exchange but it meant everything to me, you know?

I want to just go reread everything of hers I can find. I think A Ring of Endless Light may help. Here's a poem from it, written by the 15-year-old heroine of that novel:

The earth will never be the same again.
Rock, water, tree, iron share this grief
As distant stars participate in pain.
A candle snuffed, a falling star or leaf,
A dolphin death, O this particular loss
Is Heaven-mourned; for if no angel cried,
If this small one was tossed away as dross,
The very galaxies then would have lied.
How shall we sing our love's song now
In this strange land where all are born to die?
Each tree and leaf and star show how
The universe is part of this one cry,
That every life is noted and cherished,
And nothing loved is ever lost or perished.

-Madeleine L'Engle

Labels: madeleine l'engle

Why are you in Tavie's head? 11:24 PM | shower me with attention

Madeleine L'Engle has passed away.

I'll have more to say about this later. Gotta get back to work.

Labels: grief

Why are you in Tavie's head? 3:51 PM | shower me with attention

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Why are you in Tavie's head? 8:26 PM | shower me with attention

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

POWER IS RESTORED!

Labels: in other news: i am a dumbass

Why are you in Tavie's head? 8:44 PM | shower me with attention

Happy Rynn Day, one and all! My dear one celebrates another year on the planet today. I wish I could get her into my kitchen for a good snuggle. (We traditionally hug in kitchens. It's our thing. And she's a marvelous, world-class, gourmet hugger.)

Labels: rynnie

Why are you in Tavie's head? 9:12 AM | shower me with attention

Monday, September 03, 2007

We finally made it down to the pool today, for the second time this summer. (The pools is only open between Memorial and Labor Day.) It was very refreshing. My heterosexual life partner is downstairs now cooking burgers.

On the technology front, I noticed in the past week or so that the magsafe power cord on my Macbook - you know, the Macbook that's less than a year old, that crashed inexplicably 6 months ago and lost all my data, the power cord is now melting and fraying up near the top. It got so it would only charge if I could find the right angle, and now, not at all. Since it's less than a year old, I called Apple to see if it was still under warranty. (I went through five power cords for my old iBook, and at $80 a pop, it's really just not worth it. And I am not mistreating these things.)

The Genius on the phone tried to tell me that the phone call alone would cost $50. My first instinct was to assume that was that and hang up, but I pressed on anyway, and, long story short, the call was free and they're sending me a new power cord in the mail. (They took my credit card info, though, because if I don't return the broken one within 10 biz days, they charge me the 80 smackers.)

I'm a fool, I know. But this is what I grew up with, this is what I'm used to, and I just can't stand PCs. I have to use them at work and they just baffle and irritate me, for the most part.

Anyhow, I have 98% power right now (I just pulled it away from a miraculous angle that was allowing a charge) and we'll see how much life I get out of it before it runs out. I have to conserve energy, and hopefully the power cord will arrive quickly. (This week? Please?)

Until then, I pray, and live an ascetic, joyless, low-fat, low-Mac existence.

Labels: steve jobs owes me

Why are you in Tavie's head? 4:33 PM | shower me with attention

Sunday, September 02, 2007

Happy birthday to my dear friend sarah, whom I've known roughly forever. I love her and I want her to come visit.

Labels: sarah

Why are you in Tavie's head? 9:46 AM | shower me with attention

Saturday, September 01, 2007

This was my favorite poem as a child.

THE TALE OF CUSTARD THE DRAGON
By Ogden Nash
Copyright Linell Nash Smith and Isabel Nash Eberstadt
Belinda lived in a little white house,
With a little black kitten and a little gray mouse,
And a little yellow dog and a little red wagon,
And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon.

Now the name of the little black kitten was Ink,
And the little gray mouse, she called her Blink,
And the little yellow dog was sharp as Mustard,
But the dragon was a coward, and she called him Custard.

Custard the dragon had big sharp teeth,
And spikes on top of him and scales underneath,
Mouth like a fireplace, chimney for a nose,
And realio, trulio, daggers on his toes.

Belinda was as brave as a barrel full of bears,
And Ink and Blink chased lions down the stairs,
Mustard was as brave as a tiger in a rage,
But Custard cried for a nice safe cage.

Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful,
Ink, Blink and Mustard, they rudely called him Percival,
They all sat laughing in the little red wagon
At the realio, trulio, cowardly dragon.

Belinda giggled till she shook the house,
And Blink said Week!, which is giggling for a mouse,
Ink and Mustard rudely asked his age,
When Custard cried for a nice safe cage.

Suddenly, suddenly they heard a nasty sound,
And Mustard growled, and they all looked around.
Meowch! cried Ink, and Ooh! cried Belinda,
For there was a pirate, climbing in the winda.

Pistol in his left hand, pistol in his right,
And he held in his teeth a cutlass bright,
His beard was black, one leg was wood;
It was clear that the pirate meant no good.

Belinda paled, and she cried, Help! Help!
But Mustard fled with a terrified yelp,
Ink trickled down to the bottom of the household,
And little mouse Blink strategically mouseholed.

But up jumped Custard, snorting like an engine,
Clashed his tail like irons in a dungeon,
With a clatter and a clank and a jangling squirm
He went at the pirate like a robin at a worm.

The pirate gaped at Belinda's dragon,
And gulped some grog from his pocket flagon,
He fired two bullets but they didn't hit,
And Custard gobbled him, every bit.

Belinda embraced him, Mustard licked him,
No one mourned for his pirate victim
Ink and Blink in glee did gyrate
Around the dragon that ate the pyrate.

Belinda still lives in her little white house,
With her little black kitten and her little gray mouse,
And her little yellow dog and her little red wagon,
And her realio, trulio, little pet dragon.

Belinda is as brave as a barrel full of bears,
And Ink and Blink chase lions down the stairs,
Mustard is as brave as a tiger in a rage,
But Custard keeps crying for a nice safe cage.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 10:35 PM | shower me with attention

Gina and I did a mitzvah today. I didn't want to, but Gina insisted. We spent 6 hours cleaning the bedroom of close relatives of mine. (I will not mention who, to respect their privacy. Har har.)

We didn't finish. 6 hours isn't enough and we ran out of garbage bags and were severely handicapped when the vacuum cleaner ceased to work. But the results were still very satisfying.

Labels: but now I need claritin

Why are you in Tavie's head? 10:16 PM | shower me with attention