Holiday Wrap, Choo-ee Choo-ee, Yo, Check It
2006-12-28, 16:25

What started out as being a potentially cataclysmic weekend turned out instead to be pretty darn great. Even though the weather made it hard to get into the 'holiday spirit' as it were - not that I'm complaining about the mild weather - I got there well enough.

Things were not looking well when I got a call on Friday from H, baby screaming in the background, telling me that water had started coming up in the basement. After a bit of finagling - and working down the dread of a potentially fucked-over weekend due to a maybe flood - I moved a half of a day's vacation that would have been on Wednesday and left work early. Seriously, it'd been two years since we'd had the line rooted out and there'd been not even a hint of trouble. There were even cobwebs forming in the main drainage hole in the basement. And now this happens right before Christmas. Figures. I got home and stomped about the basement, yelling and screaming at the floor while no one else was home, thankfully. It was cathartic, and by the time anyone got back I'd gotten it pretty much out of my system. After having some initial trouble getting a hold of a rooting service, I get a hold of the one that was recommended me by a coworker. And because there was nothing else for me to do, I went grocery shopping. We were having family over on Saturday and needed a few things.

While I was gone, the rooter had come and gone, and charged us half of what the guys we used previously charged, so happy time there. When all was said and done, nothing had gotten damaged, so I started seeing it as a bullet dodged rather than a tragedy.

So on to calamity number two - the vacuum breaking. I was (luckily) doing the last of the sweeping around the to-be-used-for-the-gathering parts of the house, when I smell something burning, then CLUNK, the vacuum brush stops spinning, and a sizable chunk of plastic spits out onto the hardwood floor, splintering and sending bits all over. Seems a piece of thick decoration ribbon had gotten caught between the brush cylinder and its support, and the friction melted the support. Technically the thing's still usable; I just have to use the hose for now. Did I mention that it's less than a year old? I guess I know where some of our Christmas money is going. Hopefully I can find a part and fix it for cheap.

I also know where the rest of our gift money is going-- into a new computer. We got enough that it should cover the cost of a decent new desktop for the house. I'll get a good video card later, unless I can find a good package deal. Details to come.

The Boy got a new bike this year, though I fear it's still a little too tall for him. It'll take some getting used to, especially since it's his first geared bike. He's a smart chap though, so he'll get the hang of it. I was just glad the weather was tolerable enough on Christmas Day for him to take it around the block.

H already got her birthday/xmas gift - an erhu, which is basically a Chinese two-stringed violin. She absolutely loves it, which makes me very happy. Buying an instrument for someone is dicey, especially when they play constantly. But she's already been able to spend a few hours with it here and there and is managing to get some tone out of it. It's proving to be something of a challenge, though, because we're having a heck of a time finding any books for the erhu that aren't in Mandarin. Luckily, there seems so be a wealth of information online, in various forms, enough that H has been able to get the thing set up properly and get some hints at positioning and bowing, emphasis on hints. Hopefully we'll find a good source for technique and care-and-maintenance soon. Until then, she's happy to hack away at it.

And soon to be in the mail from Musician's Friend is something she bought with her birthday money, a mandolin, this with a technique and chord book along with it, as well as a gig-style case, all for a crazy low eighty dollars. Can't wait to try it out myself.

I'm sure there's more to say about the weekend, but I'm out of time for now. More tomorrow.

-- End Transmission --