Music on Valentine’s Day

This is an old picture of me, taken when I was 27 years old and living in New York City.  Alas, although I had a little talent, it wasn’t enough to make music my career. 

My sister, who is a realtor, told me that Honolulu Symphony musicians come from wealthy families.  That was the only way they could pursue their studies in the first place.  So, despite the fact that the symphony has declared bankruptcy and has ended its season prematurely, these musicians are definitely not starving.

Is this true of ALL professional classical musicians?  There’s no way for me to verify her statements.  However, the symphony musician I dated back in 1975 had managed to purchase a co-op apartment in Makiki as well as a 27 foot sailboat, moored in Keehi Lagoon.  Not bad for a “struggling” musician!  Last I heard, he was married and studying music in Europe, of all places. 

Next Sunday, Valentine’s Day, David and I will attend an opera, Die Walkure, which was composed by Richard Wagner.  This will be the first time we will view this opera, and we are looking forward to it.  We prefer to attend the Sunday matinee, because the dress is informal and we can wear aloha attire – David in an aloha shirt and I in a muumuu.  We always felt out of place on Friday’s gala night, when the attire is more formal and elegant.

We are postponing our special Valentine’s lunch at Assaggio’s until the following Sunday.  Neither of us wants to sit through a long opera, feeling bloated from a heavy meal.

Hmmm.  How will YOU celebrate Valentine’s Day?  Have YOU ever studied music?

Are you insured?

I got my lab results just a day after going in for a blood test.  Overall, I am in good health.  My cholesterol and triglycerides are below threshold, which is good news, and my HDL is really high so that’s good news, also.  Two things to do something about:  Glucose is 5 points above threshold, and LDL is 6 points above.  Conclusion:  Lose weight and go easy on the carbs and fats.

My internist doesn’t seem terribly concerned at this point.  But, he did tell me to “make some lifestyle changes.”   Okay, will do!

Today, my dentist sliced the gums surrounding my dental implant, resulting in copious bleeding.  The reason for lowering the gum line was to keep food from accumulating inside the gums.  I sure hope it works.  It was irritating to remove food by brushing, flossing, or digging it out with a fingernail.  Ugh!  I wouldn’t wish this dilemma on anyone.  I am to see my dentist in a week and again a month later for a check-up.

Do you realize that when you retire from your job, you will have no dental insurance?  Medicare, yes, and drug coverage, yes.  But, you will have to pay your dentist out of your own pocket!  Horrible thought.  Dentists are so expensive nowadays.  What will we do if David retires next year?  All the more reason to keep working, although his job is extremely stressful.  I won’t say anything more than that.

Excitement is contagious!

Where on earth (or, in hell) do you readers come from?  Last year, the blog stats showed daily readership in the 200-300 range.  This year, it’s in the 300-400 range, with 388 being the highest so far.  Total views amount to 217,030 right now.  Thanks, people, keep coming back to read the nonsense I dish up every day!

Yesterday, David and I watched the Super Bowl game and, yes, all of the commercials.  I swear to God Budweiser must have run at least 10 commercials.  OK, guys, we get it:  Bud is a great tasting beer!  NOT!  David won’t drink the stuff, because it is too watery.  Give him Beck’s or Heineken any day.

And, what was so wrong about the Tim Tebow commercial?  I found absolutely nothing reprehensible about it.  There was nothing about abortion, pro-life, or anti-choice.  The commercial was lovely, actually.

But, the game!  Oh, the game!  It was so exciting to watch my boy, Drew Brees with his gorgeous blue eyes, win the MVP.  The Saints simply must do a repeat next year!

BTW, I guess I should mention that I never was a football fan before I married David.  I hated sports when I was single.  But, all that changed due to osmosis.  Living with a sports freak changed my life, and now, I enjoy watching the games on TV as much as my husband does.  So, guys, there’s always hope for your “football widows.”  Excitement is contagious, believe me!

Scrabble: It was close!

For the first time in over 10 years, David and I played Scrabble tonight.  It was fun as well as mentally stimulating.  My advice:  Do not drink alcohol before or while playing this game, because it slows you down mentally.  Here’s David, who truly seemed like he was on track to be the winner.  David’s famous last words:  “You were in honors English, Glenda, but it isn’t paying off.”

 

Here I am, pondering my next move.

 

Well, what do ya know?  I WON 188-186!!!  How?  Well, David had to deduct 21 points from his score, because his remaining letters (bottom row) were high in points, e.g., Q equaled 10 points, H 4, and K 5, whereas my remaining letters (top row) totaled just 4 points. 

 

And here’s the finished board, which rotates on wheels for easy viewing by each player and has ridges so the tiles won’t move.  “It was a very exciting game,” David told me.  “It was close.  The only reason you won was because I had more tiles remaining.”

I plan to host a Scrabble party in March.  It will be small, just 8 people.  There will be cash prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers.  Should be fun and exciting!

P.S.  I found a couple of mistakes on the board, and I attribute them to David.  I should have checked his work. Can you see the errors?  They are pretty glaring.

Tweaking a marriage

One of the good things about our marriage is that when David or I notice something wrong with it, we try to rectify the problem.  Despite the fact we have been married for almost 30 years, our marriage still needs an occasional tweak.

Take last week Saturday, for example.  I had dinner ready at 6:40 p.m.  After waiting awhile, I ate my portion, because I was hungry.  Where was David?  He was at the gym and didn’t step into the house until 8:25 p.m.  What a way for me to spend Saturday night.  I was furious as well as depressed.  After yelling at him for a good 30 minutes, I calmed down. 

He agreed that on Saturdays, he would leave work earlier, go to the gym earlier, and be home for dinner by 7 p.m. 

Another thing we straightened out was his schedule on three week nights (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday).  Previously, David would eat his dinner at 7 p.m., take a nap from 8:00 to 10:30, drive to the gym, and return home around 1:10 a.m.  He would then go to bed at 1:45.  When he woke up at 6 a.m., he would complain about feeling tired.  That evening, he would follow the same schedule.

I told him that had to stop.  He agreed to leave for the gym at 8:30 p.m. instead of 10:30, and return home by 11:30, going to bed by midnight. 

Result?  He admitted that a solid block of 6 hours sleep invigorated him more than when he broke up his sleep pattern.

Sometimes, it helps to yell.  When I am upset, David listens.  I just get so tired of being taken for granted.

Too much information!

Here’s a photo of Rockpile surf, taken by Ted Trimmer, yesterday.  Cold picture!  I wouldn’t want to be in the water right now, as it’s freezing and I have a sweater on and all the windows are closed.  At 7:20 a.m., the indoor temperature is 71 degrees.  I’m sure it’s colder outside.

 

And here’s a photo of a body pillow that Lisa bought for $11 at the NEX.  Huh?  What’s a body pillow for, I asked.  She told me that she will hug it while asleep on her side.  Funny, she also bought one for her boyfriend!  Hmmm…  What will they think of next?  Waste of money, I say.

I know a married couple who practically hug each other when they are sleeping, because they just have a double bed.  Both are close to 6 feet tall.  Why don’t they buy a king size bed?  They won’t because theirs is an “heirloom” bed that the wife inherited from her grandmother.

David and I, on the other hand, prefer to sleep without touching each other.  He sleeps flat on his back on his side of the bed, while I sleep flat on my back on my side.  All possible because we have a king size bed.

So, now, you know more about us than you wanted to know.  TMI.

Toyota and a mystery solved

David has not yet received a formal letter from Toyota, stating that he is to bring his 2010 Camry in for repair.  However, he intends to have the accelerator pedal and floor mat fixed or replaced when he takes his car in for servicing in March.  Since he anticipates a crowd of customers doing the same thing, he will make his appointment a month in advance.  Hopefully, the parts will be available in March.

Now, there is talk about the brakes failing in Prius hybrids.  Does anyone know if the Prius is made solely in Japan?  There was some discussion about manufacturing them in North America to keep up with demand, but I don’t know if that ever came to fruition.  If the Prius is made only in Japan, then the rap for poor workmanship cannot be attributed to American manufacturers.  The fault has to lie with the designers at Toyota in Japan. 

MYSTERY SOLVED:  No, it isn’t the birds chirping.  Nor is it a bed squeaking in the throes of lovemaking.  Nor is it a treadmill or other exercise equipment.  I finally located the source of the annoying, irritating squeaks:  The electric clothes dryer!  Yes!  I walked out of my house into the back yard and heard the neighbors’ dryer noisily rotating and squeaking.  So there!  Case closed!  LOL.

A foodie’s challenge

There is a very good write-up in today’s Star-Bulletin of Cheryl Tan and her book and blog, both of which are titled, “A Tiger in the Kitchen.”  (http://www.starbulletin.com/features/20100203_Tiger_chow.html)

A former fashion writer in New York, she was able to find an agent who got her 6-7 interested publishers.  Hyperion will publish her book in 2011.  Her blog contains material that won’t be included in her book.  Google “Tiger in the Kitchen” and have a look at her blog.  It’s outstanding.

Essentially, both book and blog are food memoirs.  While the blog chronicles her visits to restaurants abroad, her book will discuss family history as it relates to the matriarchs among her relatives and their special recipes.  For example, one matriarch wooed her prospective husband by feeding him her gourmet dishes.  Yes, the way to a man’s heart is indeed through his stomach!

When you read her blog, you will note that Tan is very chatty.  There are a lot of words that accompany each photo of the food she consumes.  I don’t think that’s necessarily a good thing, but, hey, her writing apparently appealed to those publishers who vied for her book.

All of which puts my book to shame.  Sigh!  Remember the title of my proposed book?  It’s called “Favorite Restaurants in Honolulu, Hawaii:  A Memoir.”  I thought it was almost finished, but now, I do believe it needs to be wordier to attract publishers.  Writing first, pictures second?  I mustn’t give up hope!

Fun with Scrabble

If you haven’t already, do pay Diane Ako’s blog, “Small Talk,” a visit (http://smalltalk.honadvblogs.com/).  It’s on the Honolulu Advertiser site, and it is simply wonderful.  Diane was a morning and evening news anchor over at KHNL, channel 8.  Now that she’s been laid off, she is trying to “reinvent” herself.  Good luck to her!

One of her recent posts had to do with a board game, called Scrabble.  She discussed how she got her Danish husband, Claus, to play his first Scrabble game.  It was slow-going as she explained the rules to him.  Then, out of the blue, he laid down his tiles next to SCAN and spelled SCANOFBUN.  Nope, Diane said, that’s not allowed.  What does it mean, anyway?  Turns out, it meant someone sits on a copying machine and prints a picture of his or her butt.  Er, not allowed!

That description of their first Scrabble game together was amusing.  It got me reminiscing about the times David and I used to play it when we were engaged for a year.  It kept us out of trouble, if you know what I mean.  After we got married, we played sporadically.  He complained I was too slow.  I told him HE was the slow one.  Hey, great minds think alike!

Nowadays, the Scrabble board sits on our bookshelf, untouched.  David prefers to watch television, and I am always busy at the computer.  But, I am considering possibly attacking that board again.  Maybe, we should have a Scrabble party for 8 people, with a board on each of 2 small tables.  Then after each game, we could mix the contestants.  There would be a prize for the top scorer.  What do you think?  Sound like fun?

It’s a bird, it’s a bed, it’s a…

Sunset at Ala Wai Harbor.  Photo by Ted Trimmer.

It’s been going on for an hour and 25 minutes and still going strong with no end in sight.  What could it be? 

At first, I thought it was the birds chirping.

Then, I thought it was a squeaky bed in the throes of lovemaking.  Well, I doubt lovers could make love for so long!

David and I now think it is an exercise machine, probably a treadmill.  Maybe, our neighbors are taking turns running on it, which could explain the length of time that has elapsed. 

Will it never end?  The squeaks are driving me batty! 

And it doesn’t happen only at night, either.  I hear it during the day, too.  We are hoping that our neighbors will soon get bored with the “treadmill” – if it is a treadmill – and will stop using it altogether.

One can only hope!