still never a dull moment in this neighborhood

I was hoping my first post of the year was going to be something about my resolutions or the healthy lifestyle changes I want to make, or all the books I plan to read. Something like that.

Not tonight.

I am sitting in the living room right now in front of the space-heater with a glass of Dry Riesling, anxious and freaked out. Ryan is up the street playing a gig with The Jugsliders and should be home in another hour and a half.

Half an hour ago, there was an RPD officer on our front porch asking me questions about the shooting that just took place across the street. I was totally oblivious until I saw the reflection of flashing lights on the wall in the corner of the living room. I had cleaned up the dishes, poured myself a last glass of wine, grabbed my knitting, and settled down in the rocking chair. I flipped on the TV for some background noise, but I wasn't really watching anything. I was in the middle of a row on the pair of slippers I'm knitting when I heard something that I thought was a car door slamming. It was enough to startle the cats, so I got up and had a look through the windows. I didn't see anything so I figured my assumption was correct and I sat back down.

Then I noticed the flashing lights through the crack in the living room drapes. When I looked outside, I saw that the street just after our driveway was blocked off with yellow tape. There were half a dozen or more cop cars, a fire truck, an ambulance and a TV camera with reporters set up at the end of my next-door neighbor's driveway. A gurney was wheeled out from the rear apartment of the house across the street and loaded into an ambulance. The ambulance didn't take off right away, so I guessed it wasn't life-threatening. Either that or it was a death, which is a very unsettling thought.

As the officers dispersed, one came up the front walk, little note-pad and pen in hand. I met him at the front door and asked what happened.

"Your neighbor's been shot."

He asked if I'd heard anything and I told him how about 10 or 15 minutes prior I had heard a loud bang or a pop, or maybe a car door. I said how I'd gotten up and looked outside, but not right away, and didn't see anything. He asked if I saw a car drive away, to which I responded in the negative. The officer took my name, phone number, and date of birth. After verifying our address, he said the victim is probably going to be all right, and thanked me for my help.

As I was locking up the front door, I saw an officer carrying a very small child out to the street. the officer took off his jacket and wrapped it around the child. When I saw that, I lost it. I went back inside and called Ryan, hoping he was on a set break. He didn't answer right away, but called me back within minutes because he suspected the reason for my call. He had seen the cop cars driving down the street.

And......here is the developing story as posted by RNews.

I love the Southwedge but this is getting ridiculous. Shootings, stabbings, fires. When will it end?

reading about Africa

I've read a lot of books so far this year. Most of them have been fiction that explores the lifestyles of other cultures in places like India, China, and Africa.

Over the summer I read The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, which told the story of an American missionary family trying to survive and "spread the Gospel" in the Congo. It was fascinating. A few days ago, I finished Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Taking place in Nigeria, it is often compared to the great Greek Tragedies. Now I'm right in the middle of A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali by Gil Courtemanche (translated from French). If you've seen the movie Hotel Rwanda, you'll be familiar with the subject material of this fiction-based-on-fact novel: the 100-day genocide in Rwanda in which approximately 800,000 people were viciously murdered in 1994.

This morning on the way to work I caught a story on NPR about the conviction of a Rwanda army colonel and two others for their roles in the genocide. Here's the CNN story. I always think it's interesting when past and present link up like this for a split second on the morning news.

And? Today is the anniversary of the day the 13th Constitutional Amendment abolishing slavery went into effect back in 1865.

The irony gives me the chills.

the edge of panic

Warning: complaints ahead.

Friday night is the boss's annual holiday party. Ryan and I will arrive fashionably late, head straight for the bar, and spend a couple of hours socializing with the people I already spend more time with than anyone else.

Saturday morning will come way too fast, when I will have to run out to church to meet the piano tuner at 9:00 a.m. for an emergency piano-tweaking before choir rehearsal at 10:00 a.m. By 11:00 I will be yelling myself hoarse because no one listens to me when I say things the first time. What page are we on again? What measure are we on? Oh, I didn't know you were starting there. Are the men supposed to sing here, too?

Saturday afternoon we will not be having a brass ensemble rehearsal because everyone decided at the last minute that they can't make it.

So, I will go home to deal with my parents who want to come over so my father can perform "odd jobs" around the house for me, such as hanging wreaths and any other appropriate decorations. However, what this really means is that my mom and dad will come over, later than they said they would, and hang one wreath only. Then my mother will ask me if I want my father to do anything else. I will politely decline. My mother will then try to take me aside and "encourage" me to come up with something else for my father to do so he will feel needed.

Meanwhile, my father will begin poking around in the fridge for beer or other alcohol. When I finally think of something my father could do, he will have already consumed one beer and will have started sucking down a second. He will also complain about how he is now ready to go home and it is "all about control" with my mother.

It will be more of the same in the next week and a half until Christmas and then afterward. While we are eagerly awaiting the arrivals of my sister and brother and my brother's SO on Christmas Eve, neither Ryan nor I is excited about spending the majority of Christmas Day with my parents.

I don't necessarily want to air all of my family's dirty laundry here on this blog, but I do want to do a bit of venting. Alcohol plays a large part in the problems my siblings and I have with our parents. Couple that with over-emotional guilt-tripping and other assorted manipulative tactics and you've got a potentially volatile mix of personalities that keep my brother, sister and me on edge, all the time. (Yes, I realize at the beginning of this post that I mentioned I would be heading straight for the bar at the party tomorrow. Since alcoholism appears to run in my family, I am extremely careful to watch my intake and not go over-board. I monitor my coping mechanisms and believe me I am very aware of where my own personal imbibing can lead.)

I haven't fully enjoyed a Christmas in a very long time. Probably not since I was a kid, when I was too young to understand what was actually happening.

More on this at a later time. Maybe.

End of rant.

belated thanks

I was catching up on some blogs today from WAY back and stumbled across the following. I think it is a nice way to put things in perspective, don't you?

I am thankful for…

the mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends...

the taxes I pay because it means I am employed...

the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat

a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home…

my shadow who watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine…

the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking…

all the complaining about our government because it means we have freedom of speech…

my large heating bill because it means I am warm…

the lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear…

the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means I am alive…

the piles of laundry and ironing because it means that my loved ones are nearby…

weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been productive…

Well said.

getting ready for Turkey Day

Our plans for the loooong weekend are coming together as I type this. So far, things are looking good! I'll be having some kind of tofu/veggie thing from Mamasans for lunch momentarily. Tomorrow, we'll be joining Ryan's and my parents for a feast up in Irondequoit, followed by an impromptu gathering in the evening at our house. Friday might entail some birding for lifers at Durand (we'll be looking for white-winged crossbills). I will NOT be shopping on Friday. Saturday I will be getting the hair that is dangerously nearing my waist-line CUT OFF. Finally. Sunday, Ryan and I will be enjoying The Nutcracker. As in, the ballet.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Frigid Cemetery

For today's Skywatch Friday post, I would like to share with you a photo that I took last Winter during a visit to Mt. Hope Cemetery. It's one of my favorites. I know it's an old photo and some of you may have seen it before because I'm sure I posted it soon after I took it. It effectively captures the mood I'm feeling today. It's very cold and windy outside, and the sun has yet to make an appearance. But, I'm optimistic that the weekend will be a little better.

less stress but not stress-less

Yep. It's getting to be that time of year again. The time when I typically want to bury myself under my down comforter and not come out until December 26th.

As a loyal and faithful (and paid) church musician, my time in the next few weeks will be spent furiously coordinating extra rehearsals, re-arranging music because volunteers have suddenly decided they are too busy to come to rehearsals, and general peace-keeping among those who think that I, as the Music Director, am not focusing my attention where they think it ought to be focused.

I calculated that I've already worked a total of 48 hours this week, as of today, between my church duties and my 8-to-5 paralegal gig. By Saturday I'll be well over 50. Which, to me, is a lot. However (and that is a big 'however'), for some reason, this year seems a lot less hectic than years past. Of course, I haven't hit the 4-rehearsals-a-week mode yet. That doesn't come until the week after Thanksgiving. But, still, I'm in a much more calm state of mind today. Perhaps it's because I have planned out my time better this year. Or, perhaps it's because of the Yoga stretches I've been trying to do each night and the Prem Joshua tunes I've been listening to at my desk all day long. It's hard to say.

I've been mostly relaxed about everything, but I do want to let loose a few gripes. Here are some of the things which have been really irritating me lately:

1. Tailgaters. Seriously, people. I can only drive as fast as the person in front of me. Back off.
2. People who talk to me like I'm stupid. And it's not really condescension. It's stupid people talking to me as if my IQ, like theirs, is below room temperature.
3. Junk mail. It is SUCH a waste.
4. Our cold house. It's freezing. Especially the toilet seat.
5. I somehow expect everyone to be patient and uber-flexible with me, when I, myself, need to work on these traits. I'm not good about being go-with-the-flow. I'll keep trying.

Now, here are the things that are making me smile lately:

1. The Welcoming Committee. That would be the kitties greeting me at the door with their excited 'meows' (read: 'feed me') when I come home from work. That would also be Ryan waiting with a hello kiss and the glass of wine he already has poured for me.
2. Crocheting. The blanket I've been working on for over a year is almost done. I'm also working on a shawl and a butt-warmer to put over the c-c-c-cold leather seat in my....
3. ...new car! Now that my old one finally has been put to rest, I no longer have to worry about making it to work safely every morning.
4. Having everything I need. A roof over my head, good food to eat, a healthy, loving relationship, two good jobs, health-care coverage, a supportive family, the freedom to do and say whatever I want, and many other blessings.

Pictures to come soon. Maybe.