Zoom, zoom, zoom!

I've been running around with my wildly energetic mother the last few days. Before that, I was madly cleaning the apartment in preparation for her arrival! Thus my silence for the last, what, two weeks?! My poor neglected blog!
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Mum's not here for very long, so we're scrambling to get through her copious list of Things To Do, stopping to breathe (or eat) every now and then along the way.
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Next week, she and I will head out to New York City for the big family vacation! The four of us will be running happily around the Big Apple for a week. Broadway, here I come!

It's Scott's turn for new shoes

Scott has groovy new shoes from Shepler's.
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They're Caterpillars, no less.
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He's a very happy guy.
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Date night in Detroit

Scott and I went to a Detroit Red Wings game last night. Had a lovely dinner first in Southfield, oddly enough at a Ruby Tuesday, a chain I've never been to and which just happened to be convenient. I wasn't expecting much, but my lobster ravioli was scrumptious! And then we drove downtown in the pouring rain to Joe Louis Arena.
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The game didn't lack for drama, either: Franzen scored the winning goal against the Phoenix Coyotes in overtime!

Happiness in High Definition

No, I'm not talking about my new digital cable set-up (which is great - thanks, Andy!), but rather about the event I attended yesterday: the live premiere of "Madama Butterfly" at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, streaming live in HD to a movie screen at Showcase Cinemas!
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I had never attended one of these events until yesterday, although my mother goes to them often and has recommended them enthusiastically. All I can say is, I will not be missing any more of them. If I have to miss the live ones, I will go and see the replay performances. I can't believe I've been missing such an amazing experience all this time.
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The sense of excitement started right away. I went in... I sat down among the buzzing crowd... the screen showed the audience of the Met doing the same... I heard the orchestra warming up... and I couldn't quite believe I was really just sitting at the old Showcase Cinemas on Carpenter Road on a dreary, rainy Saturday afternoon!
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The performance itself, directed by Anthony Minghella, was extraordinarily beautiful to look upon while still remaining oddly stark. Ballet, puppetry, and vivid swaths of color combined with rich costuming to make the whole thing breathtaking. Then there was Puccini's music itself, and the extraordinary vocal talents of the performers - Patricia Racette especially, whose voice only got better and better as the performance continued. I can even report that I had two full waves of goosebumps up and down my arms during "Un bel dì"!
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Riveting. And I came out of there astonished that it was still just a wet day in Ypsilanti. I had been taken completely out of myself for three and a half hours.

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Pure happiness in HD. That's all I can say.

I couldn't do it

When I was taking the big step of ordering digital cable the other day, I told the Comcast representative I could install the cable box myself. I saved $20 doing it that way instead of having the service rep do it, and I was completely confident that I could manage it.
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Last night, I sat down and got down to business. To my surprise, the only "instructions" provided were - a diagram. It showed the back of a DVD player, the back of a cable box, and the back of a TV, with wires going into and out from them. None of my equipment (including, incredibly, the cable box) looked anything remotely like anything in the picture. I peered, scratched my head, tried one configuration, tried another. At one point I even got a screen full of programming code.
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I just couldn't believe it. Was I really going to fail this task completely? I set up my own Internet configuration, for God's sake. Was a mere cable box going to prove my undoing?
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Two hours later, disappointed and incredulous, I put the box on a shelf and surrendered. I found myself sourly recalling the following poem that Stephanie and I used to quote when we were kids:
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The Thing That Couldn't Be Done
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Somebody said that it couldn't be done --
But he, with a grin, replied,
He'd never be one to say it couldn't be done --
Leastways, not 'til he'd tried.
So he buckled right in, with a trace of a grin,
By golly, he went right to it!
He tackled The Thing That Couldn't Be Done!
...And he couldn't do it.
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Sigh.
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Update! I got home from work and learned that the DVD player no longer has sound. So not only did I fail at setting up the cable box... I killed my DVD player, too!
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But don't feel too sorry for me on that score. I just happen to have a new one arriving in the mail tomorrow. How perfect is that?
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It's an early birthday present from my fabulous parents. See, I am just stubborn enough about relinquishing old technology that I asked for a DVD/VCR combo, which frankly I'm surprised they even make any more. And, as it happens, that's arriving tomorrow. I have to say, I had no idea I would be wantonly destroying the old one on such a perfect schedule.
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And I have sent out a cry for help to Andy, who is going to help me set it all up tomorrow night. And then maybe we can all just sit down and watch some TV.
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Or a DVD.
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Or - a VHS tape!

Road-trip photos

Enjoying a guided tour of Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

Coffeeing up at the Popcorn Shop Factory.

Corned beef sandwich, matzoh ball soup, and chocolate phosphate at Corky and Lenny's.

Joel and the ladies! We're blurry but happy.

Joel and Andy trade quips. "DVD's Frank" looks on!