July 2007
Entomologists
30 07 07 21:41
Last night we had a couple old friends of Carl's 'check in' to our guest house. Many of you know I say 'check in' because Carl used to own a gay bed and breakfast called Tortuga Roja, which we closed down last June when Carl sold the property to a developer. Now we sometimes have former-guests-now-friends come and stay with us.
Doug and John are entomologists. They are in town for an entomology conference in Rio Rito. Last night they set up a contraption and a blacklight to catch bugs. Tonight, when Carl and I returned home from shopping for a new large screen LCD TV, which is probably a story in itself, they had scoped out a tarantula that was climbing the wall. I snapped a couple photos for y'all!
Doug and John are entomologists. They are in town for an entomology conference in Rio Rito. Last night they set up a contraption and a blacklight to catch bugs. Tonight, when Carl and I returned home from shopping for a new large screen LCD TV, which is probably a story in itself, they had scoped out a tarantula that was climbing the wall. I snapped a couple photos for y'all!
Post Music Camp Doldrums
23 07 07 08:37
I'm really down today. I miss Santa Fe, and being able to call up Steven or Jim or Deloria and hang out or have breakfast. I miss the Music Department and working with Steve as my boss. I will say this: I am so grateful that I had so many great years in Santa Fe at a job where I felt so appreciated, challenged, loved, and accomplished!
Time to focus on building community in Tucson.
Besides, I came in to the office yesterday and discovered that my new laptop has arrived. Nothing cures the doldrums better than playing with a new toy, eh?
Time to focus on building community in Tucson.
Besides, I came in to the office yesterday and discovered that my new laptop has arrived. Nothing cures the doldrums better than playing with a new toy, eh?
Opera
21 07 07 09:45
Last night we went to see La Bohème at the Santa Fe Opera.
The day started with breakfast with Steven and Marla, and Deloria and Thomas. I was psyched that Carl came in to town to join us too! We went to our old breakfast hang-out, the Pantry on Cerrillos Road. It was nice to have a last chance this trip to see the four of them. Feasting with them isn't just about the food. It's about raunchy humor too! LOL... OK not just raunchy but the point is I feel more comfortable with these folks than almost anyone on the planet. I miss my Santa Fe friends!
After chorus rehearsals, I helped around the music department a bit, then Carl picked me up and we went to see Kevin over coffee at Downtown Subscription. He was happier than I have seen him in a loooong time. Thank goodness his brain-zapper transplant is helping treat his depression! He let me touch the wires in his neck and the implant in his chest. Medical technology is a trip. Anyway, he looks good.
Kevin has also scored a new computer that a friend helped him build from parts to keep cost down. Too bad I can't be his lil' computer geek any more! Not only that, but his old car finally started causing him enough problems that he has gone and bought himself a spankin' new Accord. Wow! I'm so glad for him, he deserves the best.
After visiting Kevin, we went home to Joy and Steve's and chatted with Joy a bit. Then Steve came home too. We all took naps in preparation for the opera. After nappy time, we had a bit to eat and headed out. It was a simple dinner... Joy said we are the simplest guests she's ever had because I had a PB sandwich, a peach, and a beer. Carl had something similarly easy to prepare. LOL...
I drove one of the college vans again, as I had the other night when we went to see Ghost Opera at the Lensic. No problems getting there, dropping off, or parking.
The opera was fantastic. It's a simple story without a lot of action, made me think of relationships early in the HIV/AIDS epidemic, actually. I was especially impressed with the orchestra and the staging. The set had a building that folded up for street scenes and opened up for indoor scenes. The transitions were so slick the audience applauded. Our campers enjoyed it a lot, and talked about it a fair amount on the way back to the college. The other thing they were excited about was the Harry Potter book that was being released at midnight. After dropping them off at the college, a number of them were heading to Borders at midnight to get themselves a copy! LOL.
After chorus rehearsals, I helped around the music department a bit, then Carl picked me up and we went to see Kevin over coffee at Downtown Subscription. He was happier than I have seen him in a loooong time. Thank goodness his brain-zapper transplant is helping treat his depression! He let me touch the wires in his neck and the implant in his chest. Medical technology is a trip. Anyway, he looks good.
After visiting Kevin, we went home to Joy and Steve's and chatted with Joy a bit. Then Steve came home too. We all took naps in preparation for the opera. After nappy time, we had a bit to eat and headed out. It was a simple dinner... Joy said we are the simplest guests she's ever had because I had a PB sandwich, a peach, and a beer. Carl had something similarly easy to prepare. LOL...
I drove one of the college vans again, as I had the other night when we went to see Ghost Opera at the Lensic. No problems getting there, dropping off, or parking.
The opera was fantastic. It's a simple story without a lot of action, made me think of relationships early in the HIV/AIDS epidemic, actually. I was especially impressed with the orchestra and the staging. The set had a building that folded up for street scenes and opened up for indoor scenes. The transitions were so slick the audience applauded. Our campers enjoyed it a lot, and talked about it a fair amount on the way back to the college. The other thing they were excited about was the Harry Potter book that was being released at midnight. After dropping them off at the college, a number of them were heading to Borders at midnight to get themselves a copy! LOL.
Falling Behind on Blogging!
20 07 07 06:45
Here are a bunch of things I wanted to mention in earlier blogs but didn't:
When I left, pdBean coffee was still in the CSF library. Dan, the coffee man, was one of the most important social organizers on campus. Staff, students and faculty from units all over campus would hang at pdBean, sharing ideas, reading magazines (it's the library, after all), and even arrange formal meetings around the coffee cart. On the first day of Music Camp, Steve asked me to arrange with Dan to make breakfast burritos and a carafe of coffee for us every morning. I discovered through Steve that Dan has moved his operation to a small shop on Cerrillos Road. It's beautiful! Still close to campus, and furnished with plenty of plush chairs, tables, and WiFi, it is a great hang out spot. Dan is doing well, too! The business has picked up, and he is happy with the move. Hurrah! The breakfast burritos have been a hit among our campers too.
Meanwhile, Robert Bond, fellow computer guru and now campus webmeistro, has bought the coffee cart in the library and his wife runs it. OMG. She makes the best iced coffee I have ever had. They actually prepare coffee ice cubes for it. I'm addicted! I don't think I'll find anyplace in Tucson that makes iced coffee with such attention to detail, but I'm sure as hell going to look for just such a place when I return...
Yesterday morning I was really worried about Carl's respiration tribulations! He just can't get enough oxygen at this altitude because of his asthma. He woke during the night and just could not breathe. When we were making plans for the day yesterday, I said 'just don't go to Taos!' thinking the altitude is higher and worrying about his breath.
Later, Carl called me from Taos! LOL. He enjoyed the drive and the area a whole lot. When I got off the phone with Carl, I looked at Steve Paxton and said 'he just called me from Taos!' Steve laughed and said he could tell from the look in Carl's eye when I said not to go to Taos that he would be doing exactly that.
Come to find out Taos isn't really higher in altitude than Santa Fe. The whole time I lived here I was delusional about Taos' altitude.
Steve and Joy are building a new home! It's off of Old Pecos Trail and has views to die for! Steve asked if I wanted to check it out with him yesterday, so off we went in his pickup to see how the construction is coming along.
We passed Bobcat Bite on the way, so I snapped a photo of it out the window for Bernard who had mentioned it to me earlier this week.
So far, the construction site is just a foundation that needs a bit of work before they can begin actual building. Looks great, though. I snapped a few panoramic photos that I will stitch together for him when I get back to work (we have software for such projects in the labs that OSCR maintains).
Last night Carl and I were invited to tag along with Deloria and Thomas, and Marla and Steven for a talk Marla organized at the Institute of American Indian Arts museum. Marla now has her PhD and has been hired to organize such events at the museum. Steven Miller, being married to Marla, gets recruited to run sound. Thomas Atencio still works security at the museum. Deloria Atencio, being married to Thomas, gets recruited to set up and break down chairs. I, being close friend to all of the above, and Carl, being married to me, get recruited to hang out, lend a hand, and look fab.
The talk, Branding the Native Artist: What does it cost to be famous?, was great, although poor Steven struggled with noise in the wireless mics the entire time.
One guy came up to Carl and said "get your hairy arm off my chair: are you Jewish?" Carl said "no." "Israeli?" "No." "Well what are you then?" Carl responded "Armenian." The guy laughed and said "Even worse. Northern Turkey!" Carl and I just looked at each other baffled. So I said to the guy, knowing full well everyone there was American Indian, "Are you Jewish?" "No." "Israeli?" "No, I'm Apache." Darnit... he didn't let me play the whole game. LOL. Then he said "here look at my work," and gave Carl a manilla folder with photos of artwork in it. Some of it was pretty cool.
At the event there was a woman with huge, blonde, hairsprayed hair. Very Texas. We were sitting two rows behind her. I was mesmerized. I pointed her out to Steven and we had a chuckle. Then I pulled out my iPhone and photographed it. Her hair was the lightest colored large object around and caught the spotlight behind us so well that her hair literally glows in the photo. I showed it to Steven and told him we better stop laughing about her big hair because she's obviously an angel of some sort. We could not stop laughing.
After the talk, Deloria, Thomas, Marla, Steven, Carl and I went out for drinks and socializing at Santa Fe Bar & Grill's downtown restaurant and bar. We had a great time and were able to catch up. Marla mentioned she knows the big-hair woman and that her email is 'bigbucks.' LOL. What a riot!
Thomas wins an award for the best ring tone. He had the entire table in fits. It's hard to describe though. You'd probably have to have Navajo friends to understand it anyway.
Coffee
When I left, pdBean coffee was still in the CSF library. Dan, the coffee man, was one of the most important social organizers on campus. Staff, students and faculty from units all over campus would hang at pdBean, sharing ideas, reading magazines (it's the library, after all), and even arrange formal meetings around the coffee cart. On the first day of Music Camp, Steve asked me to arrange with Dan to make breakfast burritos and a carafe of coffee for us every morning. I discovered through Steve that Dan has moved his operation to a small shop on Cerrillos Road. It's beautiful! Still close to campus, and furnished with plenty of plush chairs, tables, and WiFi, it is a great hang out spot. Dan is doing well, too! The business has picked up, and he is happy with the move. Hurrah! The breakfast burritos have been a hit among our campers too.
Meanwhile, Robert Bond, fellow computer guru and now campus webmeistro, has bought the coffee cart in the library and his wife runs it. OMG. She makes the best iced coffee I have ever had. They actually prepare coffee ice cubes for it. I'm addicted! I don't think I'll find anyplace in Tucson that makes iced coffee with such attention to detail, but I'm sure as hell going to look for just such a place when I return...
Carl and Taos
Yesterday morning I was really worried about Carl's respiration tribulations! He just can't get enough oxygen at this altitude because of his asthma. He woke during the night and just could not breathe. When we were making plans for the day yesterday, I said 'just don't go to Taos!' thinking the altitude is higher and worrying about his breath.
Later, Carl called me from Taos! LOL. He enjoyed the drive and the area a whole lot. When I got off the phone with Carl, I looked at Steve Paxton and said 'he just called me from Taos!' Steve laughed and said he could tell from the look in Carl's eye when I said not to go to Taos that he would be doing exactly that.
Come to find out Taos isn't really higher in altitude than Santa Fe. The whole time I lived here I was delusional about Taos' altitude.
Steve's Construction Site
We passed Bobcat Bite on the way, so I snapped a photo of it out the window for Bernard who had mentioned it to me earlier this week.
So far, the construction site is just a foundation that needs a bit of work before they can begin actual building. Looks great, though. I snapped a few panoramic photos that I will stitch together for him when I get back to work (we have software for such projects in the labs that OSCR maintains).
IAIA
Last night Carl and I were invited to tag along with Deloria and Thomas, and Marla and Steven for a talk Marla organized at the Institute of American Indian Arts museum. Marla now has her PhD and has been hired to organize such events at the museum. Steven Miller, being married to Marla, gets recruited to run sound. Thomas Atencio still works security at the museum. Deloria Atencio, being married to Thomas, gets recruited to set up and break down chairs. I, being close friend to all of the above, and Carl, being married to me, get recruited to hang out, lend a hand, and look fab.
The talk, Branding the Native Artist: What does it cost to be famous?, was great, although poor Steven struggled with noise in the wireless mics the entire time.
One guy came up to Carl and said "get your hairy arm off my chair: are you Jewish?" Carl said "no." "Israeli?" "No." "Well what are you then?" Carl responded "Armenian." The guy laughed and said "Even worse. Northern Turkey!" Carl and I just looked at each other baffled. So I said to the guy, knowing full well everyone there was American Indian, "Are you Jewish?" "No." "Israeli?" "No, I'm Apache." Darnit... he didn't let me play the whole game. LOL. Then he said "here look at my work," and gave Carl a manilla folder with photos of artwork in it. Some of it was pretty cool.
After the talk, Deloria, Thomas, Marla, Steven, Carl and I went out for drinks and socializing at Santa Fe Bar & Grill's downtown restaurant and bar. We had a great time and were able to catch up. Marla mentioned she knows the big-hair woman and that her email is 'bigbucks.' LOL. What a riot!
Thomas wins an award for the best ring tone. He had the entire table in fits. It's hard to describe though. You'd probably have to have Navajo friends to understand it anyway.
Spirit and Music and Technology
19 07 07 10:21
Have you ever taken a music theory class? Ever taken a bad one that makes music theory into a set of hard, cold, repetitive, mathematical rules? Ugh. ...and yet music, although far too often described in such a stale theoretical manner, always transcends such descriptions and touches spirit. Wow. Music is mystery. I know for sure this is part of it's attraction for me. In place of mystery in God, I focus on mystery in music and mystery in relationship.
Makes me think, too, that technology can be similar. We generally approach it as cold, rigid, repetitive... I often find myself training people who want to pull out a pen and write down every step for completion of a task. Ugh. Maybe we need to find ways to teach and approach and IMBUE technology with spirit. It must be something we can accomplish! It's probably imperative as we approach an age of machine intelligence, too. Our survival could depend on it.
Peace,
Music Camp Photo Album
18 07 07 15:49
I have created a Music Camp photo album, send the link to anyone who might be interested!
Deep Listening
18 07 07 12:58
Last night we took the music campers to a concert at the Lensic, as you can see below. It was amazing! The Ghost Opera incorporated all kinds of non-traditional instruments and sounds of stone, water, metal, strings, etc... Being a 'Ghost Opera' it had dream-like qualities and mystical qualities. It seemed an excellent follow up to my Deep Listening workshop.
After the opera, Lindsey, Steve, Carl and I went to 2nd Street Brewery to, as Steve said, 'tip a beaker' and talk. One of the things that came up was my Deep Listening workshop and how perfect it was as a precursor to the concert. Lindsey also said she did not think my workshop went poorly at all, that for me to capture the attention of that age group for a full 45 minutes was amazing, and that their silliness was a sign that on some level they were engaged. Steve agreed. I think they are right. I need to learn to accept situations as they are!
I also fall back to my thoughts as a Planned Parenthood educator: if my one workshop is one of a dozen such messages that eventually encourage some of them to see music in a different way, then I have accomplished something important. People don't have to come to my understandings right away or in the way I would like them to. Everyone learns in their own manner at their own pace.
So, I think I did good!
After the opera, Lindsey, Steve, Carl and I went to 2nd Street Brewery to, as Steve said, 'tip a beaker' and talk. One of the things that came up was my Deep Listening workshop and how perfect it was as a precursor to the concert. Lindsey also said she did not think my workshop went poorly at all, that for me to capture the attention of that age group for a full 45 minutes was amazing, and that their silliness was a sign that on some level they were engaged. Steve agreed. I think they are right. I need to learn to accept situations as they are!
I also fall back to my thoughts as a Planned Parenthood educator: if my one workshop is one of a dozen such messages that eventually encourage some of them to see music in a different way, then I have accomplished something important. People don't have to come to my understandings right away or in the way I would like them to. Everyone learns in their own manner at their own pace.
So, I think I did good!
Night Out at the Lensic
17 07 07 18:00
Music Camp
17 07 07 10:57
All through Chorus I felt extremely emotional, it is so great to be back at the Contemporary Music Program and see so much continuity between my hard work for years here, and the evolution that has begun to happen since my departure. I can see how much my colleagues appreciate the work I put into this program, and I'm excited by the creative ways it is continuing to grow. I love it here so much!
I feel like my workshop was a failure in some ways, though. At 11:15am I started a second 'Deep Listening' workshop, this time what I tried to do with the group was a performance of Zena's circle, a great piece for demonstrating fractal time. Some of you who are not musicians might be confused by this so let me sum it up in a few sentences... Most of the time when we perform music the math behind it's theory is the simpler mathematics of ratios and rational numbers: harmonies are comprised of frequencies that are related to each other by perfect ratios; we subdivide beats by twos, threes, fours, sixes, sevens... all fairly simple mathematical expressions. Even thematically we generally use simple ratios: a song might be divided into two or three sections with repetition of one or more section, for example...
What we're not used to doing is listening and incorporating fractal math into our performance, although we do on some level all the time. The variations of sounds we procure from a violin bow drawn across a string, imperfections in our timing may add some complexity to our music. This complexity we actually value a whole lot because if we remove it, music sounds sterile, unbending, cold...
Zena's Circle highlights musical complexity by creating a fractal rhythm. A circle of people sends a pulse through their hands and react to it as quickly as possible and simultaneously sounding. When people really concentrate on the performance, the response time of each person and the natural delays as sound moves around the circle becomes more chaotic even as it adopts a noticeable rhythm. The sound passed through the circle becomes fractal due to different response times of each individual, which may be based on the length of our arms and the time it takes for the impulse to react to reach our brain and then pass out our mouth, for example.
Well, in the end we could not perform it because some people wouldn't participate and were actually mocking the process. I didn't handle it very well either: what I tried was to forge ahead with belief that as we repeated the exercise it would eventually become less funny and the disruptive people might become interested. It never happened. There was not enough time to defuse their lack of interest in this manner. Sigh. It really is a beautiful piece when performed with concentration. Listening and performing it can also lead one to all kinds of musical discovery, if only because we rarely step back from music and try to understand the ways complexity adds character even as we perform music that is mathematically simple.
I just had a thought, though, which is to perform the piece with a dozen people serious about performing it on Saturday's concert. Maybe if the younger members of our group see us performing it with attention they will be naturally invited to pay attention and find something intriguing about it...
Highs and lows often go hand in hand. Despite my workshop setback, I love this place and am glad to be participating in this first annual music camp...
Summer Music Camp
16 07 07 21:40
On Friday right after work Carl and I left for Santa Fe so that I can help teach at the first College of Santa Fe Summer Music Camp. Carl and I went as far as Lourdsburg, NM the first night. Next morning we woke, had breakfast at a cool old diner with a waiter who had carefully arranged a rainbow of click pens in his back pocket (hmmm...) and hit the road again.
We ended up at Gila Cliff Dwellings. It was a beautiful day and hike, just 1 mile round trip with a lot of steps and ladders. Carl limped his way through, having just had knee surgery three weeks ago! I was worried but he knew his limits. We returned to the car and he iced his knee, and in the end he thinks the exercise was really good for his knee. Whew. The views at Gila were spectacular.
We stopped for an unexceptional lunch at a motel cafe at the intersection of Rts. 15 and 35, unexceptional save the hummingbird feeder outside the window which must have been attracting half a dozen birds! Then we took 35 to 152, backtracking to Silver City for the night. We stayed at a pretty bad motel, the Drifter, and had a terrible meal of Chinese fast food because we went out to find food too late to go to a better restaurant. Actually, we left the room in plenty of time but spent our time walking through downtown Silver City absorbing the local vibe until we realized it was 10 minutes to 9pm, and even the fast food restaurants close at 9 in a town of 10k like Silver City... Oh well!
The next morning we packed up and headed to Santa Fe via Rte 152 through the mountains to I25. 152 was absolutely beautiful! I snapped a panorama or two that I'll post when I can stitch them together...
On the way to Santa Fe we stopped in Albuquerque for lunch with José. What a sweet man! I wish we lived closer because I miss hanging out with him. We ate at Sophia's which was a treat.
We arrived in Santa Fe at about 2pm and hung out in the Contemporary Music Program with Steve Paxton (the director, my former boss and close friend) until Joy, his wife, returned home, then he sent us up to his house to meet her. It was great catching up with Joy. She said I should consider myself to be 'Gregory Paxton,' lol... She even slipped at one point and said 'when you left home...' as though I really was their adopted son who left the roost when I moved to Tucson from Santa Fe.
Today I woke early and Steve gave me a ride to the College. I saw a lot of friends. I'm not sure my Deep Listening workshop went so well, but some people seemed into it. I'll have one more chance tomorrow anyway. I am in the chorus, I think because Steve only had one other male voice in it and he needed more.
This evening I had dinner with Steve Berlyn, that's a longer story, though, and I'm getting tired. I think this is enough for now. More tomorrow, as well as some photos...
We stopped for an unexceptional lunch at a motel cafe at the intersection of Rts. 15 and 35, unexceptional save the hummingbird feeder outside the window which must have been attracting half a dozen birds! Then we took 35 to 152, backtracking to Silver City for the night. We stayed at a pretty bad motel, the Drifter, and had a terrible meal of Chinese fast food because we went out to find food too late to go to a better restaurant. Actually, we left the room in plenty of time but spent our time walking through downtown Silver City absorbing the local vibe until we realized it was 10 minutes to 9pm, and even the fast food restaurants close at 9 in a town of 10k like Silver City... Oh well!
The next morning we packed up and headed to Santa Fe via Rte 152 through the mountains to I25. 152 was absolutely beautiful! I snapped a panorama or two that I'll post when I can stitch them together...
We arrived in Santa Fe at about 2pm and hung out in the Contemporary Music Program with Steve Paxton (the director, my former boss and close friend) until Joy, his wife, returned home, then he sent us up to his house to meet her. It was great catching up with Joy. She said I should consider myself to be 'Gregory Paxton,' lol... She even slipped at one point and said 'when you left home...' as though I really was their adopted son who left the roost when I moved to Tucson from Santa Fe.
Today I woke early and Steve gave me a ride to the College. I saw a lot of friends. I'm not sure my Deep Listening workshop went so well, but some people seemed into it. I'll have one more chance tomorrow anyway. I am in the chorus, I think because Steve only had one other male voice in it and he needed more.
This evening I had dinner with Steve Berlyn, that's a longer story, though, and I'm getting tired. I think this is enough for now. More tomorrow, as well as some photos...
A day in the Office of Student Computing Resources
12 07 07 18:31
My new job is fun! Basically, I get paid to play. Granted, I'm paid to play doing things most people can't do as well as we do, but fun is fun, and I get paid to have fun!
I had the 'task' of playing with a new iPod nano / Belkin TuneTalk microphone combination and writing up simple procedures and instructions for people who check them out, to simplify their process of making a recording and converting it to a podcast-able mp3 file.
I helped an art student print out her large format canvas prints on our 44" wide printer.
I attended a staff meeting where I found out what a great bunch of talented people I work with, and the kinds of projects they are working on, where Gary (front row, white shirt, red hands) captured and assembled these photos:
...and finally I mounted limell's (photo center, black shirt, yellow hands) spiffy cool 30" Studio Display monitor on a mounting bracket so she can lower it to an ergonomically acceptable height (translated: she's short). We had to call in Bernard (back row, red shirt, orange hands) and Lisa (middle row, striped shirt, green hands) to help, as the monitor was so darn heavy and the mounting bracket screws were so hard to turn!
OSCR is fun!
I had the 'task' of playing with a new iPod nano / Belkin TuneTalk microphone combination and writing up simple procedures and instructions for people who check them out, to simplify their process of making a recording and converting it to a podcast-able mp3 file.
I helped an art student print out her large format canvas prints on our 44" wide printer.
I attended a staff meeting where I found out what a great bunch of talented people I work with, and the kinds of projects they are working on, where Gary (front row, white shirt, red hands) captured and assembled these photos:
...and finally I mounted limell's (photo center, black shirt, yellow hands) spiffy cool 30" Studio Display monitor on a mounting bracket so she can lower it to an ergonomically acceptable height (translated: she's short). We had to call in Bernard (back row, red shirt, orange hands) and Lisa (middle row, striped shirt, green hands) to help, as the monitor was so darn heavy and the mounting bracket screws were so hard to turn!
OSCR is fun!
Condo in Mashpee, MA
09 07 07 08:26
Carl and I are having a hard time deciding whether to purchase this condo in Mashpee, MA. When we were both in Massachusetts in late May, we looked for a small place on Cape Cod near Carl's brothers' families, who both have homes in Mashpee, and relatively close to my family, who are scattered around Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. We succeeded in finding this particular condo, which needs a lot of repair, and made a fair offer, which the owner turned down.
Then, last week, we discovered the owner has re-listed the property for an amount much closer to what we were originally offering. Well, we re-submitted an offer and it took. Then, on Saturday, we received the inspection report. Ugh. Termite damage in the support structure. Heating system needs replacement. Floors need to be re-done. Porch structure needs to come up to code if we have to repair termite damage in main support structure. The list goes on!
Well, it still may be a great deal. A lesser condo in the same development recently sold for $25K more than our offer. It will probably cost us about $25K - $35K to fix the place up, but then again it will be worth a smidgeon more than what we pay for it, including these repairs, after we fix it up. However, we will suddenly have $300.00 more in bills per month for the homeowners' association fees.
On the other hand, if we save the money we can use the interest from it in other ways.
Carl wants a place to settle on the Cape. I'm not so keen on the hassle and expense. I'm going to defer to Carl's druthers, as it is his money anyway, but what a struggle to make a final decision on whether or not to buy this place! It's one of these things that is causing a little tension in our relationship. I hope whatever we decide is worth the frustration! I suppose these minor disruptions are good practice in communication skill-building for when we have a real crisis...
Then, last week, we discovered the owner has re-listed the property for an amount much closer to what we were originally offering. Well, we re-submitted an offer and it took. Then, on Saturday, we received the inspection report. Ugh. Termite damage in the support structure. Heating system needs replacement. Floors need to be re-done. Porch structure needs to come up to code if we have to repair termite damage in main support structure. The list goes on!
Well, it still may be a great deal. A lesser condo in the same development recently sold for $25K more than our offer. It will probably cost us about $25K - $35K to fix the place up, but then again it will be worth a smidgeon more than what we pay for it, including these repairs, after we fix it up. However, we will suddenly have $300.00 more in bills per month for the homeowners' association fees.
On the other hand, if we save the money we can use the interest from it in other ways.
Carl wants a place to settle on the Cape. I'm not so keen on the hassle and expense. I'm going to defer to Carl's druthers, as it is his money anyway, but what a struggle to make a final decision on whether or not to buy this place! It's one of these things that is causing a little tension in our relationship. I hope whatever we decide is worth the frustration! I suppose these minor disruptions are good practice in communication skill-building for when we have a real crisis...
Ususual Gamelan Rehearsal
08 07 07 10:19
We rehearse in a small room crammed full of all of us, so it becomes really hot before too long! There we all were, crammed in like sardines, clanging away at our instruments, while the patient film crew wedged themselves in at all kinds of odd angles to videotape us at work. It was like a game of Twister!
The food was great and we rehearsed better than we have in a long time. Holly and Matt will receive a copy of whatever they end up airing, which is likely to be five minutes or less airtime, but what fun! We're all TV stars now!
Above are two photos of the group, and a small photo of a member of the film crew from VOA...