Thursday, December 10, 2009

Me & Kurt .....

My new, recent, method for painlessly enduring the #9 bus commute has been to delve into our city's esteemed free daily, the Metro.

(I know, I know. If you're a Bostonite, do not mock. Please. Simply easier reading to hold with one hand when you're standing in the aisle gripping onto a seat back, your backpack and your coffee with the other.)

This new habit comes from a renewal of my love for Sudoku. The Metro features 2 daily, and I do the "easy" level while still waking up in the morning and the "hard" on the way home. Focusing on the puzzles allows me to suppress any aggravation from fellow passengers, stoplights, squawking brakes and jerk-stops.

That aside -- after 2 weeks of such Sudoku-ing, it was only today that I noticed another daily Metro feature, just above the puzzle boxes: Word of the Day. Partially because the word is so foreign, so cool, so normally unused by most ...
maunder (MON-duhr), intransitive verb: 1. To talk incoherently; to speak in a rambling manner. 2. To wander aimlessly or confusedly.

Quote: "Now I find myself maundering about parts of plays hardly anybody knows or cares about anymore, such as the graveyard scene in 'Our Town.'" -- Kurt Vonnegut, "Timequake"
Do I even need to explain why this applies to me?

As of today, all posts on this blog labeled as "Rambling" will now be tagged with this more appropriate intransitive verb.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

@Karin. "To maunder" is a wonderful intransitive verb, Karin. May I suggest a future possible re-titling of your blog: "Maunder and Lightening". Fits the average tone of your posts to a T.

Timothy Underwood said...

Hey Karin! As a new resident of South Florida I miss The Metro and its Sodoku. I do not miss any cross town trips on the bus. Hope you are well!!!