Daily Update
Sep. 20th, 2008 10:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scottahill* Back in 1993 or 94, when I was a freshman in college, I started writing a setting of Edgar Allen Poe's The Bells for six-part choir. I wrote two or three of the four sections, but I began to fret that the piece didn't have thematic unity, that I was writing it in too serial a fashion, one line at a time. This opinion was probably due to the influence of the music department, because as time went on I decided that worrying about thematic unity was bogus, so long as it sounded good. So I pecked at it over the years, until finally, Friday morning, I had a completed draft, 15 years in the making. :) I won't say it's complete: I've put no dynamics and few accents in (I always left those for last, in my composition classes, even though I wasn't supposed to) and it might need tweaking. Still, having something complete which I can show around is awesome. I've set up a website with a PDF file of the score and an MP3 of Finale playing the music. I would love it if the musically-inclined folks here (i.e. almost all of you) would give it a listen. I would be ecstatic if anyone knew of a choir which might be willing to sing it. As is the case with most of my pieces, it's not simple: the third section "Hear the loud alarum bells" is fast and frantic, and I have the unfortunate habit of thinking that a low E is a perfectly reasonable note for basses.
I'm going to put more of my (older) music up on that website as I clean up the scores etc. I'm releasing it under a Creative Commons noncommercial share-alike license, which I think gives me all the protection I need: I don't care about making money off of small groups, but if for some reason one of my pieces makes it "big" I can get a piece of the action. (I'm not holding my breath, of course.) I'm also asking people to send recordings if they perform the piece, because I've never heard most of my work performed before, outside of Finale (which does not do it justice, to put it mildly).
*Car: So we had two times last week when the car wouldn't start after sitting around for a while. The first time, we got a jump from our landlord/neighbor (who has been so very helpful and nice, it's embarrassing) and it was fine the rest of the day. The second time, his battery wasn't strong enough to jump the car, and Jen called AAA while I had to walk to the University for an evening homework session. (I ended up being late, which was OK, and I walked two miles in half an hour which is pretty good-- although the fronts of my ankles were sore for a few days after due to my power walking.) AAA was going to jump the battery, but they took one look at it, with corrosion around the positive terminal, and said we needed a new one. They then called a truck which was going to bring us a new battery, but that truck didn't make it out that night, and then it couldn't come the next morning because they didn't have our battery in stock. We decided we didn't want to wait another day, so while I was teaching, Jen took Miriam and walked down to the Autozone, bought a battery, and wheeled it back in Miriam's stroller while carrying Miriam. I successfully installed the battery (as I mentioned earlier), it worked, and we thought all was fine.
Then the next day (Wednesday I think) came, and the car wouldn't start again. ARGH! We found a local mechanic (not quite as close as I thought from the map, but only 20 minutes' walk), jumped the battery (which worked this time), and I drove the car over to the shop while Jen was at work and Miriam was with Dani her babysitter. They said they'd probably diagnose the problem in an hour, so I waited around in a truck stop nearby, but they didn't call and I had to hoof it home to let Dani go to work. They finally called and said that the alternator was bad, and the battery looked bad as well-- either the battery was a dud (we had bought it the day before, remember) or the alternator had ruined it. They mentioned that the alternator looked pretty new, and somehow we (I think it was Jen) remembered that the alternator had been replaced back in April near our old house. We called them, and it was indeed under warranty, but we'd have to take the car over there to have it replaced (this is across town, about 30-60 minutes on the highway). Since the mechanic said that the battery was ALSO bad, I didn't know whether I should have the battery replaced first at AutoZone (under warranty) and then get the alternator, or vice versa. However, both mechanics suggested I get the battery replaced first because I might not make it across town otherwise.
So I put Miriam in the umbrella stroller and we walk over to the mechanic, which takes maybe twice as long as without her. They start the car, I pay them $80 for diagnostic work (oh, and some new battery cables too, but mostly labor), and we drive to AutoZone. I go in and tell the clerk about the battery, and then he asks "Is the alternator bad?" Feeling that this might invalidate my warranty and throwing morality to the wind, I say "I don't know." He comes out with his little meter, and the meter tells him that the battery is in fact fine, although the alternator is indeed subpar. So I decide to take his word over the mechanic's, keep the battery, and drive across town (in now-rush hour traffic). We make it without a hitch, the guy replaces the alternator in 30 minutes while Miriam and I have dinner in our old diner haunt, and everything is fine...
...until this evening, when I'm driving along the highway and the little battery light starts flickering on and off, although only when I'm going at highway speeds. To be continued?
We are going to get a new car ANY DAY NOW, preferably before the end of the year so we can take advantage of a Texas environmentally friendly deal where they give us $3000 for our car if we swap it for a newer model. Our car isn't worth $3000; it's a 1994 Ford Taurus and we got it for $1500 or so. So...ANY DAY NOW. :)
* Two weeks ago (or so), Miriam started taking a couple steps before falling down. NOW, Miriam can go all the way across the room while walking, even turn around, and she seems to prefer it to crawling (even though crawling is faster). Yay Miriam! She still walks as if she's on a tightrope; every once in a while she'll attempt a little "fast walk", which inevitably ends in her falling on her butt. (We were at the playground the other day and she decided that she could step down one of the steps without holding on...BANG! went her head. She's getting cocky. :) Fortunately she didn't actually fall so much as fall over, if you get my meaning: just banged her head.
Anyway, I'm very proud of my little yearling.
She had her 1-year doctor's appointment yesterday and passed with flying colors. She's actually 25% for height, a first for her to be below 50%: she apparently shot up and then has now tapered off a bit. Her weight is just fine so no problems. She had lots of shots and tests and stuff which made her very unhappy (it wasn't the poking so much as the being made to lie down bit, I think) but she's recovered. At her doctor's advice, Jen has been trying NOT to nurse her at night when she wakes up, and she says that it really does work: Miriam does stop crying after only a few minutes. Could this be the beginning of all-night sleeping for the women of the house? (It hasn't affected me: I sleep through anything. :)
I'm going to put more of my (older) music up on that website as I clean up the scores etc. I'm releasing it under a Creative Commons noncommercial share-alike license, which I think gives me all the protection I need: I don't care about making money off of small groups, but if for some reason one of my pieces makes it "big" I can get a piece of the action. (I'm not holding my breath, of course.) I'm also asking people to send recordings if they perform the piece, because I've never heard most of my work performed before, outside of Finale (which does not do it justice, to put it mildly).
*Car: So we had two times last week when the car wouldn't start after sitting around for a while. The first time, we got a jump from our landlord/neighbor (who has been so very helpful and nice, it's embarrassing) and it was fine the rest of the day. The second time, his battery wasn't strong enough to jump the car, and Jen called AAA while I had to walk to the University for an evening homework session. (I ended up being late, which was OK, and I walked two miles in half an hour which is pretty good-- although the fronts of my ankles were sore for a few days after due to my power walking.) AAA was going to jump the battery, but they took one look at it, with corrosion around the positive terminal, and said we needed a new one. They then called a truck which was going to bring us a new battery, but that truck didn't make it out that night, and then it couldn't come the next morning because they didn't have our battery in stock. We decided we didn't want to wait another day, so while I was teaching, Jen took Miriam and walked down to the Autozone, bought a battery, and wheeled it back in Miriam's stroller while carrying Miriam. I successfully installed the battery (as I mentioned earlier), it worked, and we thought all was fine.
Then the next day (Wednesday I think) came, and the car wouldn't start again. ARGH! We found a local mechanic (not quite as close as I thought from the map, but only 20 minutes' walk), jumped the battery (which worked this time), and I drove the car over to the shop while Jen was at work and Miriam was with Dani her babysitter. They said they'd probably diagnose the problem in an hour, so I waited around in a truck stop nearby, but they didn't call and I had to hoof it home to let Dani go to work. They finally called and said that the alternator was bad, and the battery looked bad as well-- either the battery was a dud (we had bought it the day before, remember) or the alternator had ruined it. They mentioned that the alternator looked pretty new, and somehow we (I think it was Jen) remembered that the alternator had been replaced back in April near our old house. We called them, and it was indeed under warranty, but we'd have to take the car over there to have it replaced (this is across town, about 30-60 minutes on the highway). Since the mechanic said that the battery was ALSO bad, I didn't know whether I should have the battery replaced first at AutoZone (under warranty) and then get the alternator, or vice versa. However, both mechanics suggested I get the battery replaced first because I might not make it across town otherwise.
So I put Miriam in the umbrella stroller and we walk over to the mechanic, which takes maybe twice as long as without her. They start the car, I pay them $80 for diagnostic work (oh, and some new battery cables too, but mostly labor), and we drive to AutoZone. I go in and tell the clerk about the battery, and then he asks "Is the alternator bad?" Feeling that this might invalidate my warranty and throwing morality to the wind, I say "I don't know." He comes out with his little meter, and the meter tells him that the battery is in fact fine, although the alternator is indeed subpar. So I decide to take his word over the mechanic's, keep the battery, and drive across town (in now-rush hour traffic). We make it without a hitch, the guy replaces the alternator in 30 minutes while Miriam and I have dinner in our old diner haunt, and everything is fine...
...until this evening, when I'm driving along the highway and the little battery light starts flickering on and off, although only when I'm going at highway speeds. To be continued?
We are going to get a new car ANY DAY NOW, preferably before the end of the year so we can take advantage of a Texas environmentally friendly deal where they give us $3000 for our car if we swap it for a newer model. Our car isn't worth $3000; it's a 1994 Ford Taurus and we got it for $1500 or so. So...ANY DAY NOW. :)
* Two weeks ago (or so), Miriam started taking a couple steps before falling down. NOW, Miriam can go all the way across the room while walking, even turn around, and she seems to prefer it to crawling (even though crawling is faster). Yay Miriam! She still walks as if she's on a tightrope; every once in a while she'll attempt a little "fast walk", which inevitably ends in her falling on her butt. (We were at the playground the other day and she decided that she could step down one of the steps without holding on...BANG! went her head. She's getting cocky. :) Fortunately she didn't actually fall so much as fall over, if you get my meaning: just banged her head.
Anyway, I'm very proud of my little yearling.
She had her 1-year doctor's appointment yesterday and passed with flying colors. She's actually 25% for height, a first for her to be below 50%: she apparently shot up and then has now tapered off a bit. Her weight is just fine so no problems. She had lots of shots and tests and stuff which made her very unhappy (it wasn't the poking so much as the being made to lie down bit, I think) but she's recovered. At her doctor's advice, Jen has been trying NOT to nurse her at night when she wakes up, and she says that it really does work: Miriam does stop crying after only a few minutes. Could this be the beginning of all-night sleeping for the women of the house? (It hasn't affected me: I sleep through anything. :)
