The tragic misadventures of an American English teacher returned from abroad
I can’t remember what game it was exactly, but whilst watching a Bulls game on TV, I realized one of the dancers looked really familiar, like one of the dancers I knew from the Redline Express at Illinois State.
So I looked up the Luvabulls, and it turns out it is a girl I knew from my marching days.
Good on you, Carissa!
For some reason, I find this really cool.
For whatever reason, that is the phrase I seem to be repeating to Tiger. I should really change it up to “Watchoo!” and then build on it to become “Whatchu doin’?” like so many other budgies I’ve heard say, but “Hey Tiger, Tiger” seems to be sticking for me.
Anyway, for those of you who have not seen Tiger, and if you care to, meet Tiger:
Tiger is still a bit discombobulated. He won’t voluntarily step up on my finger to take him out of the cage, but he will eat from my left hand when it is presented to him. I can pet Tiger with either hand as well. Today when I took Tiger out of the cage to roam around on the floor, he voluntarily came to my right index finger.
Tiger is still very quiet as well. I tried to get him to respond to Sven, but perhaps Sven’s language is too complex for him. He responded to a few baby budgie videos, and strangely enough, Tiger likes Glee’s cover of “Don’t Stop Believin’” and “Rehab”.
This morning when Tiger was scratching his head, he lost his balance, and fell off his perch. I tried not to laugh, but it was pretty funny. I asked Toni if that made me a bad owner; she said it doesn’t.
From the coloring, I actually think he’s a dominant pied dilute, not a cinnamon.
So yeah, that’s Tiger, Tiger.
Sometimes being single on Valentine’s Day is boring. But it’s so much more fun when you spend it with friends.
Whilst the Welcome to the World Baby Morgan party was winding down on Saturday night, those of us who were still around mentioned we should all hang out on Valentine’s Day while the couple-y type people did their couple-y type things. This party included Brad, Mike, VoW, and myself — coincidentally, this was also something of a reunion of the Europe Road Trip people. We made plans to have dinner at Sushi Station at 5 o’clock in effort to beat the Valentine’s Day dinner couples.
After acquiring Tiger and trying to bond with her for a spell (I shall probably use pronouns interchangeably until I suss out what sex Tiger is), I hopped in the car to go to sushi. It’s been just about a year and a half since I’d been to Sushi Station and my memory of how long it takes to get there were a little fuzzled — for the record, it doesn’t take 20 minutes. I was a little early.
No matter since everyone else arrived pretty much within minutes of each other. Once we were all sitting down, I realized and commented on the fact that those of us in attendance were also the ones who went to Europe. This launched a “sometimes its easier to be single” conversation and all the things we unattached are able to do/afford because we only have to think of ourselves.
I’ve said it before and this will probably remain a fact for quite some time: eating sushi frequently reminds me of how much I miss Japan. If anything, for the price of sushi! I’d forgotten how expensive kaiten-zushi can be when not paying all-you-can-eat! I only had about five plates of nirigir, a bowl of miso soup, and green tea. On the amusing side, all of this cost me $21.00 before tip.
Since VoW is the one who gave Tiger his name, it only made sense that she come back to the house and see him. This of course prompted invitations to both Mike and Brad.
Tiger sure warmed up to Mike; when Tiger saw him, she promptly pooped.
It had been something like ten years since Brad was last in my house, and in those years plenty had changed. He and Mike talked about the remodeled kitchen while I stressed about whether or not Tiger had eaten. (He hadn’t.)
Since my brother has a PS3 and Brad caught sight of the Star Trek Blu-Ray DVD, we decided to put it in. At the time it was suggested, it was thought that we would only watch a little bit of the film. What foolish, foolish thought! Being the geeks we are we just had to finish out watching! (Not that it was a difficult thing to do — ’tis a great film!)
I fully expected people to part company thereafter; but no, because I said something about pie, it was decided that we would go forth in search of it. We had our hearts set on Baker’s Square but all the ones we knew of had closed in recent years. After some iPhoning, we managed to find one in Palatine that was still open. It has definitely been years since I’d last been to a Baker’s Square!
You would have thought our evening ended after pie but again, I was mistaken! We ended up going back to Mike’s house for a bit to just chillax. In fact, our evening did not end until midnight! ‘Twas a most unexpected, but incredibly delightful way to spend Valentine’s Day.
It was an even better start to the Year of the Tiger.
1. Budgie
As many of you know, I have been obsessed with getting a new budgie. I’d talked myself into waiting many times already (I’d wanted one since first being back).
I finally caved.
Tiger looks to be a cinnamon mutation dominant pied. For the record, I’m not too certain about the cinnamon part. His coloring looks a bit more brown than the usual black so that is what gives me that notion. I am also not completely certain of Tiger’s sex as Tiger is still an adolescent budgie; the cere (nose) won’t change to the proper coloring until Tiger is mature. I have the feeling it’s a girl, but I’m somewhat hoping for a boy since most of the male budgies I’ve owned have all had easygoing temperament.
Here’s hoping that Tiger will be a good budgie. So far, he is really quiet. It has been over ten years since I have trained a store-bought budgie. I am concerned about his lack of chirping but I’ve read that this is pretty common in new budgies. I also feel bad for the little guy; he went from having a huge flock of friends to just chillin’ out with me.
Once Tiger figures out I’m a decent human, I’m hoping to be able to clicker train him to do tricks like Duke Budgie.
Okay. So, the last few times I’ve had to put gas in the car, I’ve had some issues. The way I remember it, you selected the grade, begin fueling, and pay afterward either at the pump or at the cashier inside. I’m pretty sure that’s how it was supposed to happen the last time I was home in early September 2008…right?
The first time I put gas in the car since coming back from England I had some malfunction with paying where I ended up having to go to the cashier despite trying to pay with a card. I thought nothing of it at the time; maybe I hit the wrong key or something. To be honest, I can’t remember if there was a time between then and now, but tonight/just after midnight (early Thursday) I seemed to have some kind of malfunction again!
I pulled into the Mobil station at the corner of Golf and Higgins. I did the whole select grade thing, but the screen never told me to “Begin Fueling”. I waited patiently, thinking there was simply some kind of delay. When it got to be minutes, I thought perhaps there was something wrong with the pump. Okay, no big deal, just go to a different one.
Getting back in the car, I drove around the corner to a different pump, one on the opposite side of where I had originally parked. Once again, I selected the grade and waited. Nothing happened. The gas station attendant came out and asked me if I intended to pay at the cashier. I told him no, I had a card. He then instructed me to insert the card first.
What? Has that always been a thing? When the hell did that become a thing?
There was also some mishap with the credit card I selected where it prompted me to key in a five-digit code. It was my dad’s card so not only did I not know the code, but I also don’t remember ever having been prompted to key in anything when using a credit card. I got mildly flustered and just ended up using my debit card anyway.
I was again perplexed when the pump stopped at $30. I wondered if it had actually filled up. Not wanting to be anymore embarrassed than I already was, I decided to forget about it and just leave. (It just so happened that to fill up was a flat $30.)
The experience made me wonder how the hell I could have forgotten how to pump gas. Have I really forgotten? If so, could someone perhaps give me a tutorial on how to fuel up my car without embarrassing myself?
For some reason, Toni was inspired to cook Chinese food for one and all; and so it came to pass that on Wednesday the 6th of January 2010, those of us who were able to gather met at the Settlement for home-made Chinese food. 
Amongst the dishes were: fried wonton, chicken and leek bao, sesame chicken with steamed rice, and chicken fried rice. It was quite the fare! (The wonton was not quite as massive as it had been when Darya made them back in 2006 — you know, ‘cuz we had enough to last us a month — but we did have wonton on a Wednesday, and I liked it as a title.) I would like to say I made a great contribution, but really, all I did was bring the party rice cooker. You know, since every Asian household has multiple rice cookers and one of them is always the “party” rice cooker. In sooth, I had not seen that one busted out since the late 90’s, back when my family actually hosted parties and the like. I had joked with Toni that my presence there whilst she cooked would bring positive Chinese energy to the cooking; it was all very Feng Shui.
How sad is it that I don’t actually know how to cook Chinese food? Thanks for the great food and the fun, Toni! Xie xie! 
As mentioned previously, I gave Glee a go. A lot of people have said to me that I would like it, and the premise seemed right up my alley. Unfortunately for me, I had missed the premiere and didn’t know how long it would take for me to catch up, if at all.
That’s where Chris and Mark come in; they’d had it saved on their DVR for quite some time. Whilst I was waiting for Rich to get back from his family dinner last week, I decided to get my Glee on. The first episode delighted me enough to declare it watch-worthy. Although, I admit, there were a few moment that threw me off.
And then I lost it. I struggle with the show in many of the same ways I struggled with Ugly Betty at first; it seems to me that the show doesn’t know if it’s meant to be a comedy or a drama, and it doesn’t quite pull of dramady well enough for me, nor does it seem very comedic with dramatic moments. It’s something in-between. I also find the characters incredibly two-dimensional and mostly stupid, at least, most of the character that I have seen. Don’t get me wrong, I love the music! But I find the show lacking so far; admittedly, I’m only about three episodes in; however, I can’t imagine it’s a good sign when I’m already fast-fowarding through the majority of what I have seen.
I wonder vaguely if I don’t like it as much because everyone else I know has hyped it up to me. This notion is not outside the realm of possibility. I absolutely adore that many of the cast members are Broadway babies. The incredibly cute Matthew Morrison has done such shows as The Light at the Piazza opposite the amazing Kelli O’Hara, as well as playing the role of Sir Harry opposite Zooey Deschenel’s Lady Larkin in ABC’s production of Once Upon a Mattress (I knew he looked familiar!). Also, Lea Michele, who was in the Original Broadway cast of Spring Awakening — I find her absolutely amazing. The show has featured people like Kristen Chenowith and Victor Garber, two names I know mostly from Broadway, and of course, Jane Lynch.
So why am I not a gleek? I think I’ll give it a few more episodes before I completely give up; especially since one of the episodes features “Defying Gravity” with Michele singing, and I’m amused that she kind of resembles the ever-amazing Idina Menzel.
If my dammed “Now Reading” was functioning correctly, you would see that I am now reading Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger, best known for her debut novel The Time Traveler’s Wife. I have not read her first book, but for reasons beyond my ken, her second book’s blurb piqued mine interest. (I think it had to do with it taking place in the Chicago-land area and London.) Also, for whatever reason, I struggle to say the title of the book, hence the title of this post.
I had VoW magic it from the library for me since Schaumburg Public Library had it not at the time. Yes, I’m sure I can suss out how to do this process myself, but I think it’s far more interesting to have my librarian friend magic it for me. Then, like the crazy, crazy person I am, I don’t have to deal with new people. That and the last time I put a hold on something from the library, a teenager called me to let me know that “some CD was in” — it was Anne-Sophie Mutter “Carmen-Fantasies”, which may or may not have been too difficult to say for the lad. (Yes, I realize that sounds pretentious and jack ass-y.)
Anyway, so I’m reading this book, and I’m not quite sure how I feel about it. It is a thousand times better than that damn book I bought whilst in England, and I’m only just reaching the 150-page mark. It is a book a little outside my reading-zone, though. There are no swords or magic, although it is still not considered “average fiction” as there is something of a ghost story to it. It doesn’t anger me the same way Dan Brown does, and I’m interested in it enough to want to go to Caribou and spend an afternoon reading it.
I was saying to Al that part of what makes this book appealing for me is that it takes place in the Chicago-land area and London. For some reason, I feel connected to the story more when Lake Forest, Lake Michigan, and the Water Tower are mentioned. I can absolutely envision what the twins’ house looks like in winter because it’s probably not unlike what’s outside my front door right now. And much like Bryson’s Notes from a Small Island, I’m delighted in the things and places I recognize when London is described: the football scores on the radio that sound like code, Tesco Express, Sainsbury, Hampstead, transferring from the Northern Line to the District Line at Embankment, etc. Reading so much about the parts of London I missed, like Highgate Cemetery, makes me want to return. I’m intrigued that Niffenegger is an American author and yet she manages to use English terminology and spelling in such a way that made me think she was actually British. (I’m sure there are lots of authors who can do this, but again, I point out I don’t usually read fiction where there are no swords or magic.)
I also feel strangely “grown up” reading this book. I have no worldly idea why I feel this way, but there it is. I imagine I’ll be able to finish the book soon, then it will be back to Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series, where I have yet to encounter swords but there is certainly a lot of interesting magic abound.
Not unlike “A Heart Full of Love”.
In my head, I was going to back-blog like I have been doing, but as with so many other posts, I’ve given up on that notion and I am not just posting. And the reason for my lack of blogging? I’ve been social.
Ever since Rich came home, it’s been a pretty fun week. On Monday, there was the annual Ordonii Christmas Party. It seemed far more crowded than I remember. I was amused when Mr Thiele showed up and I addressed him as such. He insisted I not call him that, but I think it goes back to how we had been introduced; he was my science teacher and sometimes band director, after all. It was odd to see him again after ten years and on a somewhat social level. The party reminded me a bit of the one GrAl hosted, only I was less adventurous in that I did not really talk to that many “new” people. Although, I did finally and formally meet Erika Bromley; a co-worker of Chris’s many people tell me I know but don’t actually until that evening. (I’d been out of the country every other time she’s been at gatherings.)
I was a little surprised at when we all called it a night; it wasn’t long after midnight. We’d always hung about until at least 2 a.m. in the past. What has become of us?
Tuesday night was pretty mellow; I returned to the Halfway House to fix some blog problems and ended up hanging out. Rich and I ventured to Petco and PetSmart as I am still strongly considering buying a budgie. I also annoyed Rich by watching some of Grey’s Anatomy, a show I don’t actually follow but can sit through without wanting to gouge mine own eyes out. Again, the evening was very reminiscent of two summers ago when Rich and I could be found just hanging out in Chris and Mark’s basement regardless of if the Ordonii were even home. Heck, even when they are home, we’re all just kinda doing our own thing.
Wednesday was very similar to Tuesday in the hanging out-ness. Those of us who were inclined to enjoy breakfast indulged in such; then there was hanging out at the Settlement. I won two rounds of Rummikub, yet another game that had not been played in a long while; and there was even another pet store run. (I have yet to fall in love with any of the budgies.) Rich had a dinner thing with his family so I drove him back to Chris and Mark’s and then chilled there whilst people did their dinner things (I was to drive him back to the Settlement for more fun and games later in the evening — not to be confused with “Late in the Evening”, which is a good tune). It was on this day that I gave Glee a go — but more on that in a different post.
Upon our return to Mike’s, there were ships to be sunk and empires to be destroyed; although, I am hardly any good at playing Warcraft III, I do have fun with it. It was a late night there, too, which is something that has not been done in a while.
Now, I’ve always been pretty indifferent to New Year’s Eve; perhaps it’s because I don’t drink or because I’m not one for heavy partying. But this New Year’s Eve was pretty fantastic. We were back at the Halfway House, since Chris and Mark were kind enough to host us this year, and we ordered Yu’s, much like we had the year we toasted in 2005. Several games were played because that’s just how we roll (sort of pun intended), and a decent amount of alcohol was consumed. Heck, even I had a bit; although, if I understood Toni correctly, I had enough alcohol to maybe equal a shot.
Breakfast the next morning was at a place called Egg Harbor, a positively delightful breakfast place that now rivals Richard Walker’s for mine affection. I was a little surprised that people wanted to break our fast on New Year’s Day; my memory of working at Denny’s likened NYD to working a Sunday morning — I imagined it to be hella crowded. I was pleasantly surprised to find Egg Harbor busy, but not packed. I fell in love with their cinnamon swirl French toast and I sincerely hope we will be able to partake in its fare again soon.
And once again, we found ourselves back at the Halfway House. We finally broke out the Rock Band; it surprised me to no end that we hadn’t done so on NYE so it seemed we were going to make up for in on NYD. At least, until the afternoon or so. It was also at this time that the changing of the lodging took place; Rich was now to stay with Brad at his new pad.
The fun didn’t end there as Saturday night found us once again hanging out at the Settlement; and Sunday night Toni made some pretty tasty tacos! I even kidnapped me Da from Oak Park so that he could enjoy delicious, delicious tacos. I know what you’re thinking, just one post ago I was saying how I don’t really dig Mexican food. Well, this is truly an exception because I kid you not, I’ve been thinking about those tacos ever since. (I blame Toni.)
And finally, we find ourselves on Monday: Trivia Night at Emmett’s Tavern. Both our teams did pretty well coming in at first and second, so it was a pretty fab night. The final change of lodging took place as Rich’s final place of stay is now the Settlement. From where, we will set off in a misadventure to a strange and wonderful land called “Arkansas”. I certainly look forward to it, although, we may finally and truly encounter some mountain men. If so, I get to live. I’ve already lobbied for the position and dammit, I’m gonna live!