Friday, July 16, 2010

Runs in the family

Missy, Chad and Henry returned earlier this week
from a 2-week road trip to Montana.

It reminded me how long it has been 
since I've posted any nephew photos --
and here he is, pushing his second birthday

(And, via that old cliché about children,
it reminded me just how much they grow 
when you're not looking.)

I was glad to see that Henry,
as he becomes what my mom would call
"a REAL little boy!",
is learning to take after his aunt in all the important ways.

Loves drinking cold beverages with a straw....

....and can empty a bag of cookies in no time.

Proves a whiz at drinking games ....

....and of course, musical instruments.
(Even rubber-band / cereal-box guitars.)

Yoga ..... any time, any place ...

.... and for sleeping, the same.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Short Story of the Long Life of the Almost-Date

Man (M) views Woman's (W) profile.
W views back, interested.
M views W's profile several times.
M sends W a greeting.
W responds to M's greeting, favorably.

(Crickets.
Time passes.
W moves on.
W assumes M has moved on.)

M views W's profile several more times.
W views back, curious.
Random night in June, M sends W an IM, says
"I often see you online when I'm online ...
...I feel an unrequited camaraderie with you.

M and W chat for an hour, pleasantly.
(M reveals, among other things, that he reads W's blog.)
W likes the tone of the chat, likes the commonalities.
(Age, location, running, music-loving, quirky, well-read.)
At the end of the hour, M and W mutually decide to meet.
He is leaving for a week's vacation, however. 
She is then leaving for two.
They will do so after, of course.

(Three weeks pass.)

W returns from vacation, writes M to set date.

(Five days pass.)

M writes W, briefly, says
"Sorry, I don't think I want to meet after all," and
"Good luck."

W is disappointed, but not too much so.
(They had never met; there was nothing to mourn.)
W accepts the right of M to change his mind or
Perhaps have found someone else.
(W, herself, has another interest.)

W at first thinks,
"That was kind of M to write at all."
But then she thinks about 
The dozen times M viewed her profile.
That M reads her blog.
That M wrote her first,
Talked to her for an hour,
After which he wanted to meet her.
Until he didn't.

(The vacation kiss-of-dating-death strikes again.)

W doesn't know what would have changed that.
Which doesn't matter, really.
W already figured M's loss of interest

Because he hadn't responded.

But something about M waiting 5 days
Just to say "no thanks,"
Stung W more than expected.
(Why the wait?
Why, then, the sting?)


Leaving W to think, yet again,
After expending effort and emotion

On an M
To zero effect, yet again,


Firstly,
"What the F***?"


Secondly,
For future efforts and emotions,
At what point in the long life of an almost date

Should she wish it had been
Better never than late?


And finally,
What is it with this fallacy
That women are considered the more confusing sex?

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Live Blog: 5:34 action on the OKC

Tomorrow I'm going to write the stellar post I intended to write today.

While pursuing said intention to the OKC website a few moments ago,  in order to reference clips off an old IM chat, who else says hi .... but your normal, everyday pursuer of 37-year-old women in Boston .... the 21-year-old college student from Cerritos, California ... using all his charm and more.
Cerritos Boy: hello, do you like big d***
And, as always, I try to provide a public service not only for Cerritos Boy, but for all the women he might go forth and meet. 
Karin:  No.
CB:  why not?
K:  Because that is a stupid-a** pick-up line.
This boy suggests, via his profile, that he considers himself "intellectual."  Blood is evidently flowing elsewhere, at present, impairing brain function.
CB: if i showed you my d*** it won't be.  10 inches of power
Pause (mine).  Blunter tactics obviously called for.
K:  Unreal.
CB:  what do you mean?
K:  I just suggested that was a stupid pick-up line.  You showing it to me would not make a difference.
CB:  yeah it would, i bet you will like it

K:  Hm. You are in denial as to my disinterest.
Now the pause was his.
CB:  oh ok sorry
K:  Just a bit more subtlety might get you a bit more luck.
CB:  its hard to control this thing
K:  I'd recommend trying.
CB:  i will
I'm almost tempted to check back with him in a few days to see if he did.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

RIP Cottonwood Cafe

I know there are many not-so-pleasant things going on in the world.  (Another BP "solution."  Stupid terrorists killing football fans in Uganda.  Boston's day 250 of heat and humidity followed by torrential downpours.  Hugh Hefner taking Playboy private.  Friends with seriously ill parents.  Add your own.)

Yet I find myself most aggrieved this morning to find out that my Cheers, my chips and 4 salsas repository, my brunch haven, my site of more Choir Boys romance confessions than any other Boston spot -- the Cottonwood Cafe at 222 Berkeley Street -- is, plainly, gone.

Gutted, actually.  Tables and chairs shipped out. Ditto for the potted cactus sculpture. Carpet pulled up.  Bar panelling torn down to the 2x4s.  Sign on the door saying, "The Cottonwood Cafe is closed." 

Since when?

Not fair.  Not fair at all for my regular hangout to not tell me it is closing and close while I'm on vacation. To not allow for one more seafood paella.  One more argument between Balint and the waiter on how a medium-rare Ranch Burger should be properly prepared.  One more round of Sam Summer.  One more tequila and tears on a Wednesday night, late.

Karin & the Choir Boys at the Cottonwood
post 3-beer fiesta,
for Michael's going-to-grad-school shindig.  (June 2008)

There are undoubtedly 150 other restaurants in the Back Bay alone that do better guacamole and have a cooler vibe or have cheaper beers.  And undoubtedly the Choir Boys and I will figure out where one of them are. 

But I'm telling you now ... we don't have to like it

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Fabulous Patience (please find some)

I am so the been-there done-that girl on OKCupid these days. Even the most flattering of come-ons makes me roll my eyes.

(Please note:  I really don't like rolling my eyes.  It makes me sad.)

Even this one which, with no irony, came while I actually was in Europe for a vacation. Poor man .... I read it aloud, in full exasperated tone, for Balint to hear:
"i found your profile brilliant and smart and usually i'm not a discount compliments seller.  Anyway i live in italy so i'm definitely out of your range with the only exception once you'll be in europe for a vacation. But maybe one of the metaphisical reason the net exists is the possibility to connect with interesting persons even farther than your hausegarden.  Hope to read about you.  please forgive my english and i'll forgive your risotto."
Man, you are in ITALY.  I'll forgive your English if you would just move to Boston.

And I felt downright mean feeling so ill-disposed towards this man who wrote last night.  But I am so not a fan of the meek and conciliatory pick-up.
Subject:  oops   "I just wanted to say hello. I like your profile pic, and your info too. I'm new to this and need to finish my profile. My mind wanders and i start browsing."
Oops?

I hadn't yet had time to roll my eyes, or even decide if I was going to. Because about 1 this afternoon, this message, same man:
Subject: dinner?  "Care to meet up for dinner or coffee? I'm bored and want to pamper myself. Dont want to go out alone, or with friends. Would love to meet some one new. Any fave restaurants?"
I had just logged to OKC to look at this suitor's profile, when he then decided to respond the edict in my profile of "You should message me if ... You have yet to convince yourself that the coolest thing ever would be to tell me ad nauseum about your genitalia."

(Y'all know my history with this.)

His take:
Subject:  Not convinced yet  "I have not yet convinced myself of the utter coolness of disclosing the intimate details of my pestle to your mortise, to your ears or eyes."
Um....

Well, at least he lives in Somerville.

I just looked at his profile.  In one of his pictures, he is dressed up next to his nephew on Halloween.  The nephew is a 3-ish-year-old firefighter with sooty face and hose; my suitor is dressed as an enormous red, yellow & purple flame, pretending to be put out.  It's adorable.

So what with the pestle and mortise line?  If I write him back I would have to both forgive his English   and restrain myself from thinking poorly of him -- over there in Somerville, trying too hard to impress me -- based on his lack of patience.

Ugh.  I just feel sad.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Raininess

A guy I see occasionally is an avid cyclist ... a 15-miles-to-work, 75-miles-a-weekend kind of cyclist.  The last time we met I expressed both great love of my bike and equal regret at not having yet trekked the Minuteman Bikeway from Cambridge to Bedford.

He had no pity for my procrastination.  In fact, I think he told me I had no excuse.

Silly me, though, to pick an afternoon on which torrential thunderstorms were forecast .... and ultimately delivered.  Here was my prime seat, at the entrance to the Alewife T (and the head of the trail), to enjoy watching the 3.3 inches of rain that fell between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m.


(In any case, I spent my hour of downpour reading this most excellent profile of Roger Federer from a back issue of The New Yorker.  Preferable to taking the Red Line back to Southie and doing laundry.)

As the rain slowed,  I did get out for the 22 miles to the trail-end and back, wearing its puddles in style. Here's the proof.


A sunny day wouldn't have been nearly as fun.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Cease whining

Alright.
Bull by the horns.
Casually
Dropped 3
E-mails to 3
Favorite guys of previous
Good repute, asking each to (at least think about)
Having a drink this weekend,
If possible, with me.
Just didn't say I have no other plans, really,
(Keeping clean the facade of being cooler and
Less available than I really am.)
Maybe we could watch the Spain/
Netherlands final on Sunday, I asked the sports-minded one.
Or, I teased the second,
Perhaps this is the weekend to
Quaff that beer we talked about quaffing back in June.
Really, the third is
Someone I've quaffed dozens of beers with,
10 times out of 12 during last call on a weeknight,
Usually followed by further hijinks.
We'll see who bites.

(I'm skipping XY & Z, sorry, and just showing you the Charles River skyline that I'm going to head and run with right now before the sun drops.

It's been too long.


And besides.  I'm a better runner than poet.)

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Back in the saddle...

I must have mentioned in my vacation journal that I don't speak Hungarian.  Or German. Or Slovak. Or Czech.

Then add that I spent majority time with my fine-boned, strong-armed organ virtuoso friend who can do 170 kmh on the Autobahn without flinching and speaks at least some of all the languages listed above and was willing to tell the waiter my order in any of them.  So, generally, I didn't have to.

Which means, I was doing very little attempted picking-up of other smoldering Eastern Europeans ....  in part because, frankly, there were few to be picked-up.  In return they must have looked at my smoldering friend, ordering on my behalf, and figured I was unavailable. Or just sensed my fear of speaking, in general, and mistook it for shrinking violet.

So that's that. (And so much for the bikini body .... now to be mourned under the layers of Milka chocolate around my waist.)

Now I'm home.  Digging out from under the mounds of Schwab applications, at the office until past 7 the last 2 nights.  Observing -- but not yet feeling the energy to clean up after -- the shed job my cats did in my absence.  Sweltering outside. Freezing inside.   Libido itself in the deep freeze.

(Why could these temperatures be not reversed?)

The day I flew to Budapest, I e-mailed the 2 men with whom connections had either ignited (Mr. Reach-the-Beach inquiry) or re-ignited (C-2) just prior to leaving.  (Because in the Bible of Single Life, of course, such things never happen except just prior to a prolonged absence with no guarantee of continuation upon return. I have other examples.)  To both I said, in essence:  let's not let this connection go .... and both replied, in essence:  no, let's not, let's get together on your return.

It's my third night back.  No getting together on the horizon.  Either I'm too tired to make the effort or they're too ..... hmmmm .... hopefully the same.  Hopefully not not-guaranteeing the continuation.

Perhaps by the fourth night, none of this life will feel like the slog of the last three.

Hopefully, indeed.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Vacation Journal VII: And then there was none....

Notes from a 14-hour travel day:

1) If you're standing in the duty-free shop at the Budapest airport deciding whether or not you need a 300g Milka bar for the trip but are wary because you think you might eat it all .... you do, and you will.  

2) Budapest is almost as cool from above as on the ground.



3) I don't recommend descending 36,000 feet of altitude with a freshly-acquired head cold.  Twice.  Now my ears can describe to you why babies scream and cry at same.

4) Charles DeGaulle Airport in Paris has friendly gate agents.  Which helps because everything else about it sucks.  Sucks with a capital S, actually.

5) It stands to reason that the only seat available on the 8-hour Paris/Boston is on the aisle one row from the only lavatory in coach class, which is right next to the flight attendant food-cart storage area.  Holy knee bumps and toilet lines, Batman.  Extra bonus points for the 6'5" man in the seat behind whose knees prevented seat reclining.

6) The best thing about American Airlines leaving my bag in Budapest until tomorrow is that I don't have to feel bad about not starting the laundry tonight.  Even if I also don't get to brush my teeth.

7) The best thing about coming home is my very own pillow on my very own mattress.

8) And the second best thing about coming home are, officially, these sweet faces.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Vacation Journal VI: True Vacation

This here vacation has been a vacation in the traditional sense, like I knew it would be .... from work -- cats -- diet -- Boston on the nation's birthday ....

I didn't anticipate a 5-day holiday from the internet.  But wireless connectivity is evidently not common in the cafes and hotels of Prague and the former East Germany.

Which turned out to not at all be a problem. This left plenty of time to visit cathedrals and coffee shops and pull stops for Balint's organ recitals and drink quarts of Schwarzbier (might I highly recommend the Köstritzer?) and realize that I need to learn to spreche Deutsche because it would be cool to be less of an American when in Europe, sometimes, not resorting to pointing to menus and shelves instead of giving pronunciation a go.

All good. Except it did leave this here blog in a bit of back-dated limbo.

Entschuldigung.

A brief photo journal of the trip north from Budapest ... to make amends.

Tuesday

Cobbers reunited .... meeting college choir friend Christoph for a coffee, 
for the first time in 15 years .... in Bratislava, Slovakia's main square.

Ah, Prague!

Ah, Prague! (again)
Sundown refreshment in the shadow of St. Vitus Cathedral.

Wednesday

Evening run through Merseburg, on the river Saale.

Thursday

A musician with the keys to both 
the Merseburg Cathedral organ 
on the same day 
... is having the happiest day of his life.

The organist's assistant, listening for balance, inside the Wenzelkirche.

Friday

In the Naumburg square ... after the Weckmann 
and the Bach and one of the world's most revered organs ... 
heading towards beer and the drama of Uruguay / Ghana.

Saturday

Pipes of Concert I - Merseburg.

Pipes of Concert II - Milznau.

Two Schwarzbiers after two concerts ... all in a day's work.