Spring is right around the corner. And that means, so is spring cleaning. I like and want my house organized and clean. But because of a few minor deficiencies in my ability to properly use large appliances, my forays into spring cleaning often turn out more complicated than necessary.
Take last year's attempt at spring cleaning. I decided that I needed to wash the pillows. I chose this course of action one afternoon while washing our pillowcases and realizing that the naked, yellowed and stained pillows were creating an eyesore against the khaki green duvet. For my final load of laundry that day, I threw the pillows into the washer.
About ten minutes later, I heard a loud thumping coming from the laundry room. It's not that unusual to hear a bump or two in the washer, maybe from a heavy winter coat or a pair of Keds thrown in with a load of whites. But this particular bumping reminded me of those scenes in B-movies when everything is silent and all that is heard is the distant, rumbling footstep of an ominous creature approaching with painstaking deliberation, each thump causing a ripple in the lake or a shake in the trees. That's what my washer sounded like that afternoon.
I cautiously opened the door to the laundry room and felt the linoleum vibrate underneath my feet. The washer had walked away from the wall and trembled every time the pillows hit the bottom of the machine.
Curious as to how pillows could be so heavy to cause a washing machine to walk to the opposite side of the room, I tentatively opened the washer door and found that the pillows had metamorphosed into water-filled sandbags. I tried to wring them out but that proved futile, and I just didn't have enough upper body strength to hold up the pillows-turned-sandbags for the amount of time it required. So I threw them into the dryer with another load of clothes instead.
After an hour, the load was still thumping around at the beginning of the "More Dry" cycle. Worried about my excessive use of the earth's resources and my ever-increasing carbon footprint since my fateful decision that morning to launder the pillows, I opened the dryer and found the pillows stuck to the top, showering everything with water.
The pillows had burst like oversized water balloons, and all of the other clothes in the load were saturated. I grabbed the four pillows and ran into the master bathroom, a trail of water trickling behind me. I threw the pillows into the bathtub where they stayed for the next 24 hours.
It took a while for the rest of the load to dry, but eventually our clothes were wearable again.
Meanwhile, I made the bed sans pillows.
"You made the bed without the pillows?" my husband asked that afternoon. "What's the purpose of that?"
"I need some sort of consistency in my life, something in balance, something not as messy as those crazy pillows drying out in the bathtub."
Dan laughed at my philosophizing.
“I never worry about washing pillows because you just put pillowcases over them,” he said.
"Too bad you weren't here to tell me that a few hours ago," I muttered.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Wonder Dan Turns Me Into a Sci-Fi Nerd
Just in case you missed my last entry, in honor of the Month of Looove, I am dedicating February's postings to my fabulous husband Wonder Dan. Today's title is slightly misleading. Wonder Dan did not exactly turn me into a sci-fi nerd. He merely rekindled my enjoyment of the genre. My father had actually planted the seed several years earlier.
My mother didn't like science fiction. She didn't even like the Star Wars franchise, a bit blasphemous during the era in which I was born. By the time I was able to walk, I was my dad's "date" to anything science fiction (kid-friendly science fiction, of course) - Star Trek, Star Wars, Starman, Stargate, Tron. We would watch Earth 2 and Deep Space Nine while my mother cooked dinner and washed dishes. My younger brother, Steve, who became an enthusiastic X-Files and Twilight Zone fan, was eventually included in the fun. Steve was in elementary school when he was initiated into the Sci-Fi Nerd-dom. My father took the two of us to Jurassic Park. Unfortunately, Steve kept insisting that he had to go to the bathroom every time a Velociraptor appeared on the screen, and my dad missed about 85% of the movie.
In college, I occasionally watched Mystery Science Theater 3000 and kept up on The X-Files when I visited my family during holiday breaks. But for the most part, my "close encounters of the sci-fi kind" were limited in my early twenties.
Then I met my husband Dan. Where I have inspired in him a broader appreciation for all things musical (specifically, all things musical theater), he has re-inspired in me a love for all things science fiction. I have a sneaking suspicion that he somehow sensed my latent sci-fi passion, and this is one of the reasons he married me.
"A girl who likes sci-fi!" Dan probably thought after he took me to Star Trek Nemisis. "What a catch!"
Then he proposed.
Now that we are an old married couple, our weekends usually consist of watching V, Fringe, Eureka, and Warehouse 13 on the DVR. Every once in a while, my husband will exclaim, "He was on Star Trek Enterprise!" or "That's so-and-so from Voyager!" It is at those moments that I realize we watch way too much television.
Some of my sci-fi experiences have touched me deeply, maybe even changed my life although that sounds awfully melodramatic.
I cried through the entire final season of Lost. And I must not leave out my strange attachment to Battlestar Galactica (a.k.a. BSG - the most recent series, although I am certain we'll get around to watching the 70's version soon). We had been watching Caprica, the prequel to BSG, but sadly it was canceled this season which elicited tears from me once again.
I watched 2001: A Space Odyssey with Dan a few years ago. It was my first time - I was a Space Odyssey virgin - and now I find myself half expecting a soothing male voice to come out of my computer from time to time and introduce himself as HAL.
Of course, Dan's influence on my sci-fi obsession isn't limited to movies and television. Since we have been married, I have read the C.S. Lewis Space Triology and have re-read Madeleine L’Engle's Wrinkle in Time Quintet. Somewhere on my (very long) must-read-before-I-die list is Brave New World and The Handmaid’s Tale.
Recently in Seattle, Dan and I bought tickets to visit the Science Fiction Museum and Experience Music Project (EMP/SFM). Remember, I'm a music teacher, and I just love the EMP. But guess who had a hard time tearing herself away from the Sci-Fi Museum that afternoon?
"Becky, we'd probably better go," Dan said, "or we won't have enough time to eat dinner before the show tonight."
"But look! It's the little robot from Buck Rogers!"
This just in: EMP/SFM is currently featuring a Battlestar Galactica Exhibition. I might have to make another trip to Seattle soon. Now that's sci-fi nerd dedication for you.
My mother didn't like science fiction. She didn't even like the Star Wars franchise, a bit blasphemous during the era in which I was born. By the time I was able to walk, I was my dad's "date" to anything science fiction (kid-friendly science fiction, of course) - Star Trek, Star Wars, Starman, Stargate, Tron. We would watch Earth 2 and Deep Space Nine while my mother cooked dinner and washed dishes. My younger brother, Steve, who became an enthusiastic X-Files and Twilight Zone fan, was eventually included in the fun. Steve was in elementary school when he was initiated into the Sci-Fi Nerd-dom. My father took the two of us to Jurassic Park. Unfortunately, Steve kept insisting that he had to go to the bathroom every time a Velociraptor appeared on the screen, and my dad missed about 85% of the movie.
In college, I occasionally watched Mystery Science Theater 3000 and kept up on The X-Files when I visited my family during holiday breaks. But for the most part, my "close encounters of the sci-fi kind" were limited in my early twenties.
Then I met my husband Dan. Where I have inspired in him a broader appreciation for all things musical (specifically, all things musical theater), he has re-inspired in me a love for all things science fiction. I have a sneaking suspicion that he somehow sensed my latent sci-fi passion, and this is one of the reasons he married me.
"A girl who likes sci-fi!" Dan probably thought after he took me to Star Trek Nemisis. "What a catch!"
Then he proposed.
Now that we are an old married couple, our weekends usually consist of watching V, Fringe, Eureka, and Warehouse 13 on the DVR. Every once in a while, my husband will exclaim, "He was on Star Trek Enterprise!" or "That's so-and-so from Voyager!" It is at those moments that I realize we watch way too much television.
Some of my sci-fi experiences have touched me deeply, maybe even changed my life although that sounds awfully melodramatic.
I cried through the entire final season of Lost. And I must not leave out my strange attachment to Battlestar Galactica (a.k.a. BSG - the most recent series, although I am certain we'll get around to watching the 70's version soon). We had been watching Caprica, the prequel to BSG, but sadly it was canceled this season which elicited tears from me once again.
I watched 2001: A Space Odyssey with Dan a few years ago. It was my first time - I was a Space Odyssey virgin - and now I find myself half expecting a soothing male voice to come out of my computer from time to time and introduce himself as HAL.
Of course, Dan's influence on my sci-fi obsession isn't limited to movies and television. Since we have been married, I have read the C.S. Lewis Space Triology and have re-read Madeleine L’Engle's Wrinkle in Time Quintet. Somewhere on my (very long) must-read-before-I-die list is Brave New World and The Handmaid’s Tale.
Recently in Seattle, Dan and I bought tickets to visit the Science Fiction Museum and Experience Music Project (EMP/SFM). Remember, I'm a music teacher, and I just love the EMP. But guess who had a hard time tearing herself away from the Sci-Fi Museum that afternoon?
"Becky, we'd probably better go," Dan said, "or we won't have enough time to eat dinner before the show tonight."
"But look! It's the little robot from Buck Rogers!"
This just in: EMP/SFM is currently featuring a Battlestar Galactica Exhibition. I might have to make another trip to Seattle soon. Now that's sci-fi nerd dedication for you.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Wonder Dan Falls in Love With Musical Theater
With Valentine's Day looming around the corner, I decided to dedicate the subject of my February blog postings to Wonder Dan, my fabulous husband. Much of my blog is spent "teasing" (a euphemism, he would say, for "making fun of") Dan and discussing the dynamics of our relationship. In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought it would be extra nice of me to focus on the many positive attributes of my husband. I've even chosen a nickname for him - Wonder Dan the Super Husband.
When Dan and I first started dating, he had no idea that he was also going to be forced into a relationship with musical theater. An Idaho native, raised in a rural town by an avid hunter and fisherman, Dan could not predict that he would be spending most of his married life watching theater productions. We go to an average of about twelve shows a year, and that doesn't include the must-see tours that come to nearby cities; Jesus Christ Superstar and Wicked in Seattle, Spring Awakening and The Lion King in Salt Lake are just a few examples.
Now would Wonder Dan have discovered this "passion" for musical theater without me? Probably not. But I think he secretly loooves it.
Of course, it doesn't hurt that often times I am the one performing in the musicals. He can spend all evening staring at me because - in reality - it's me that he loooves, so much so that he's been willing to develop an appreciation for a pass-time that he would never have otherwise considered.
Wonder Dan first saw me perform in a local production of Oliver! We had only been on a date or two by that time, but he came anyway and sat in the audience all by himself. After the show, he was waiting for me in the parking lot.
"Good job," he mumbled shyly, looking down at the asphalt. Then he waved goodbye and sauntered off to his car.
Since then, he has had to sit through many musicals and operas. If I am one of the performers, he always shows up with a bouquet of roses.
We go to all of the local community theater events together - Boise Little Theater, Boise Music Week, Music Theatre of Idaho, Opera Idaho, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Boise Contemporary Theater. We even go to the Live in HD Metropolitan Opera showings at our local movie theater.
Eventually, I convinced him to buy season tickets to Broadway in Boise a few years ago, and the only production he missed due to a work responsibility was 42nd Street. That's when I realized Wonder Dan was actually started to like this crazy theater stuff.
Last summer in New York, we bought tickets ahead of time to three Broadway shows without any protestations from Wonder Dan.
Our last night in NYC, it was Dan who suggested, “We’ve got one more night here. Maybe we should see another show.”
I think he has discovered that not all musicals are Rogers and Hammerstein.
Musicals like Spring Awakening, American Idiot, Chicago, Sweet Charity, and Promises Promises have elicited responses from him such as, “abstract,” “conceptual,” “postmodern,” and "Kristin Chenoweth sounds really good live.”
Most recently, we saw Sondheim's Company, after which Dan commented on the "cool lyrics."
"Well, duh. It's Sondheim," was my reply.
And remember that avid hunter and fisherman who raised Wonder Dan? Dan’s father, an outdoors enthusiast and a retired Fish and Game Officer, has even been known to drive all the way up from Rigby to watch me perform. I seriously doubt that I would have ever seen him in an audience of Beauty and the Beast, Into the Woods, Jekyll and Hyde, or The King and I had it not been for my influence on Wonder Dan's family. Pride in loved one's achievements must run in Wonder Dan's genes.
In a recent Fresh Air interview, Ed Helms (who plays Andy on The Office) told Terry Gross, "I think anyone who says they don't like Broadway musicals is lying or trying to be too cool for school or something because they're just unstoppably good songs."
As much as Wonder Dan tries to be "too cool for school," in his heart, I think he truly respects this great art form. And getting to see his wife strut around on stage occasionally (sometimes a little suggestively) is probably a definite plus.
When Dan and I first started dating, he had no idea that he was also going to be forced into a relationship with musical theater. An Idaho native, raised in a rural town by an avid hunter and fisherman, Dan could not predict that he would be spending most of his married life watching theater productions. We go to an average of about twelve shows a year, and that doesn't include the must-see tours that come to nearby cities; Jesus Christ Superstar and Wicked in Seattle, Spring Awakening and The Lion King in Salt Lake are just a few examples.
Now would Wonder Dan have discovered this "passion" for musical theater without me? Probably not. But I think he secretly loooves it.
Of course, it doesn't hurt that often times I am the one performing in the musicals. He can spend all evening staring at me because - in reality - it's me that he loooves, so much so that he's been willing to develop an appreciation for a pass-time that he would never have otherwise considered.
Wonder Dan first saw me perform in a local production of Oliver! We had only been on a date or two by that time, but he came anyway and sat in the audience all by himself. After the show, he was waiting for me in the parking lot.
"Good job," he mumbled shyly, looking down at the asphalt. Then he waved goodbye and sauntered off to his car.
Since then, he has had to sit through many musicals and operas. If I am one of the performers, he always shows up with a bouquet of roses.
We go to all of the local community theater events together - Boise Little Theater, Boise Music Week, Music Theatre of Idaho, Opera Idaho, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Boise Contemporary Theater. We even go to the Live in HD Metropolitan Opera showings at our local movie theater.
Eventually, I convinced him to buy season tickets to Broadway in Boise a few years ago, and the only production he missed due to a work responsibility was 42nd Street. That's when I realized Wonder Dan was actually started to like this crazy theater stuff.
Last summer in New York, we bought tickets ahead of time to three Broadway shows without any protestations from Wonder Dan.
Our last night in NYC, it was Dan who suggested, “We’ve got one more night here. Maybe we should see another show.”
I think he has discovered that not all musicals are Rogers and Hammerstein.
Musicals like Spring Awakening, American Idiot, Chicago, Sweet Charity, and Promises Promises have elicited responses from him such as, “abstract,” “conceptual,” “postmodern,” and "Kristin Chenoweth sounds really good live.”
Most recently, we saw Sondheim's Company, after which Dan commented on the "cool lyrics."
"Well, duh. It's Sondheim," was my reply.
And remember that avid hunter and fisherman who raised Wonder Dan? Dan’s father, an outdoors enthusiast and a retired Fish and Game Officer, has even been known to drive all the way up from Rigby to watch me perform. I seriously doubt that I would have ever seen him in an audience of Beauty and the Beast, Into the Woods, Jekyll and Hyde, or The King and I had it not been for my influence on Wonder Dan's family. Pride in loved one's achievements must run in Wonder Dan's genes.
In a recent Fresh Air interview, Ed Helms (who plays Andy on The Office) told Terry Gross, "I think anyone who says they don't like Broadway musicals is lying or trying to be too cool for school or something because they're just unstoppably good songs."
As much as Wonder Dan tries to be "too cool for school," in his heart, I think he truly respects this great art form. And getting to see his wife strut around on stage occasionally (sometimes a little suggestively) is probably a definite plus.
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