August 20, 2008

Finally!

Tim: So after more than twenty years of wanting to do something, I finally have the opportunity to do it: get a music degree! (why didn't I do this as an undergrad all those years ago?). To move up in the Music Librarian profession one must needs have two masters degrees. I can take a giant leap over a bachelors degreee in music because I already have a masters degree in library science, but that means I'm faced with masters level courses in REALLY DIFFICULT things like music theory and analysis. It's like jumping over a lake and running right into a really high brick wall. Thankfully I have Joanna, Queen of Music Theory, who will help me get up to speed before I have to take my first theory course next year.

I'll just be taking one class a semester so I'm in it for the long haul. I've noticed that some of my classmates are in my age bracket, not all 20 year olds, which is nice. I'm probably older than some of my professors!

First day of class was GREAT!

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July 15, 2008

Tim's Behemoth Bachelor Burritos

Tim: So all of you In Search of Lost Time readers out there know by now that Joanna is an excellent cook. One needs only to go to the "Categories" list on our blog and to click on "cooking stuff" to view a veritable smorgasbord of virtual vittles. Well the time has now come to reveal my own cooking skills. Joanna suggested that I share one of my "recipes" from my bachelor days. I thank her for using the word "recipe" so loosely and for allowing the high standards we have for our blog to sink so low.

Nevertheless, I give you Tim's Behemoth Bachelor Burritos.

Ingredients:

• Two flat round tortillas


• Refried black beans (homemade is terrific)


• Onions and bell peppers


• Olives (sure, you can use the ubiquitous green olives, but a nice mix of gourmet olives or kalamata olives really raises the bar here)


• Corn (preferably: canned mexicorn with jalapenos and stuff)


• Salsa (again, the kind of salsa you use really makes or breaks these tortillas. Experiment! Green, red, smoky, fruity, whatever floats your boat)


• Cheese

Spread the black beans even on the tortilla. Chop up onions, peppers and olives and pile them on with copious amounts of corn. Spread on lots of salsa and cheese. Place another tortilla on top and microwave for 2 1/2 minutes. (Okay, so it's not really a burrito. But it's yummy!) The top tortilla gets kind of crispy. Joanna has tried doing this on a griddle, but the microwave is better (the tortilla burns by the time all the ingredients are warm, unless you want to do some kind of combo cooking method, but that takes away from the bachelor simplicity of the whole thing).

Now...to get the complete bachelor experience while eating the behemoth bachelor burrito, it is helpful to simultaneously be engaged in one or more of these activities:

1) Watch a WWII movie, or perhaps a football game (preferably the Steelers)
2) Drink a beer (a "proper" beer of course, not Budweiser)
3) Wear no more apparel than shorts, possibly socks also.
4) Listen to loud music (Wagner or progressive rock). Did I mention the music was supposed to be loud?
5) Argue theology vehemently with your favorite Sicilian (but more than likely, you'll be eating his bachelor spaghetti sauce during this activity)

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July 5, 2008

Hey-nonny-nonny!

For our anniversary we dumped the kids on their grandparents (woohoo!) and went to the Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern to see Much Ado About Nothing. To build the anticipation, we watched the Kenneth Branaugh movie of the play a few days beforehand. We both agreed that the best part is the montage sequence where Benedick is splashing in the fountain and Beatrice is swinging.

At the Tavern we got the corner seats in the balcony directly across from where we sat when we saw Romeo and Juliet, We dined on shepherd's pie, cornish pasty, a Shakespeare Stout and a Samuel Smith Taddy Porter.

The play was excellent, and many times the whole place was erupting in laughter over the way the actors delivered certain lines and added wry facial expressions. It was the last night of this play's run, so there was an atmosphere of "let's milk all the hilarity we can out of this play." After it was over, they played "Chapel of Love" by the Dixie Cups, a perfect way to send the crowd on their way out of the theatre. A great night!

I may chance have some odd quirks and remnants of wit broken on me, because I have railed so long against marriage: but doth not the appetite alter? ...When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married.

Joanna: The irony of watching a play about a militant bachelor mending his ways with my husband on our anniversary was not lost on me (or Tim). More than once, an elbow in his side pointed out the similarities between Benedick and him.

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July 3, 2008

Happy Fourth!

Yeah, yeah, I know it's the third.

But it's our fourth!

Four years ago today, we were at a big party.

For a brief moment, our communities collided, our past and present, friends and family, childhood, schools, churches, the North and the South.

It feels like this tangle of communities is a huge part of what marriage is about. My friends are his friends. His family is my family.

And then our communities literally collided in the festive mosh pit otherwise known as the Slovakian Bridal Dance.

This year, we've learned to know each other as parents. Though we had a couple of wiggly but self-contained sweet potatoes this time last year, this year we've had to wrestle with the realities and responsibilities of parenthood.

It's been hard at times, but it's also helped us to get to know each other at a deeper level, to work together as a team, and to realize more and more how dependent we are on God for getting through each and every day.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 12:56 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

June 15, 2008

Happy First Father's Day!

The kids are blessed to have two fun grandfathers,

One great-grandfather,

And a daddy who adores them!

A daddy...
-who wouldn't ever miss a play time with them
-who can't keep his hands off of them in the morning before he leaves for work (because he's missed them so much overnight), even if they're still sleeping
-who has changed at least as many dirty diapers as mommy
-who got up with them almost every night until they started sleeping through the night
-who makes them smile and laugh just by walking into the room or saying hi
-who prays for them each day

Happy First Father's Day, Tim!!!

Posted by Tim and Jo at 6:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 9, 2008

Rocky Road to Dublin: Reading Joyce's Ulysses

Tim: I've started reading James Joyce's Ulysses, that novel of twists and turns that has sucked many hapless readers into its confounding Charybdis-like whirlpool of intertextuality or driven them to remote islands to spend the rest of their lives munching on lotus leaves and wondering why they ever wanted to read such a long, dense novel. To prevent this, I've armed myself well. I read Homer's Odyssey two years ago, I have the Teaching Company 24 part lecture series on the novel by Dartmouth professor James Heffernan and the book Ulysses Annotated by Don Gifford plus I've found some websites that guide the wayfaring reader through the maze of Dublin place name references. I also found a great article that analyzes the snippets and references to Irish folks songs in the novel. (Even now I can hear my wife sniggering at my geekiness and my pretentiousness).

So off I go to the Martello Tower on Dublin Bay.

In other news, Elanor started doing this really funny thing. When we tap our finger repeatedly on her mouth, she sings and it makes the "wa-wa-wa-wa-wa" sound. She even does it herself except that she uses her entire arm instead of just her finger. It's hilarious to watch her! It looks she's having some sort of strange arm spasm, with sound effects.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 9:06 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

April 27, 2008

The Drum Chronicles

In honor of this recent development, we present a musicological look at Tim's history as a drummer. Drum roll, please.

Tim: It all started with KISS.

It was 1976 or 1977, the Steelers won their second Super Bowl, Star Wars came out, and KISS had just released �Destroyer.� What a time to be eight or nine years old!!! My friends and I had a brilliant idea � let�s put on a KISS show for the neighborhood kids. I was going to be Peter Criss.

I had drum sticks, I knew all the songs by heart, and I was planning on doing two solos-a drum solo and then lip-synch to �Beth.� I was so excited that I made the mistake of telling my mom about it. Her response crushed me: �You can�t wear make-up. You�re probably allergic to it.� So I was demoted to �Business Manager� as you can see in the photo caption. How humiliating!! My fledgling career as a rock drummer was in grave danger.

We next move on to high school. I played bass drum and quads in marching band and we won several awards at competitions! I was �Business Manager� no more!

Now we come to my college days at Indiana Univ. of Pa. where I rocked and rolled all night and studied every day. I was in a punk band called �Split Pea� (we were also called �Cabbage Carnage�). We played a few parties in people�s basements and one gig at the student union.

I haven�t played in many years now but I do have a son and daughter who both like to make a lot of noise. Rock on!!!!

Posted by Tim and Jo at 9:04 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

April 26, 2008

A red letter day

Or should I say a red-and-black letter day?

Hats off to Tim as he embarks on a new adventure!! He is officially accepted into the Master of Arts program in musicology at UGA.

Welcome to the wonderful and wacky world of musicologists!!

Posted by Tim and Jo at 3:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 5, 2008

GRE

Tim: Yesterday I took the GRE (which, I believe, stands for Grief. Repulsion. Exasperation.) What an ordeal that was. I spent almost two months preparing for it - working through two books with sample questions, studying vocabulary flashcards, doing sample questions online, etc... The first section was analytical writing and I think I did really well on that. Next came the math and I guessed at many of the questions. The verbal section was next and it was difficult because my brain was fried from the math. Starting last year the GRE has included an extra section to test new types of questions. I was hoping it would be another verbal section. It wasn't. 45 more minutes of freaking math questions! There I was guessing at more answers. Well, it turns out that I scored a 610 on the verbal and a 600 on the math, both of which are decent scores. I though I did a lot worse. The Lord was merciful. I'm just glad it's over with!

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February 22, 2008

Daddy's beard is fuzzy...

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February 13, 2008

Happy bday from twins & daddy

So....I got my first birthday present from the twins. They picked it out. Really. Look how exhausted they are from shopping.

Their daddy has been busy. He planned out a whole week of birthday surprises. More importantly, he kept these surprises secret, which is quite unusual for him. He's usually too transparent for subterfuge.

On Saturday, my childhood best friend and my cousin Melissa made a surprise appearance. Jennifer brought me candy in quantities of 30 each (I had forgotten how fun pixie sticks were!), and Melissa brought me a purse full of fun Bath & Bodyworks stuff, as well as anti-aging cremes (haha). Elanor stole the purse.

On Monday, another pile of friends came to visit! Ruth made me a chocolate and apricot birthday cake--we share the same middle name and the same birthday.

Elanor found a new friend in Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn was part of the baby countdown last fall. Unfortunately, Elanor said something that Kaitlyn didn't like, and Kaitlyn burst into tears. However, it appears as though they patched it up in the end. I hope they have as much laughter over the years as I've had with her mother and all her wonderful aunts and uncles.

Apparently there are more surprises on the way, so I'll just have to wait...

Posted by Tim and Jo at 4:59 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

January 19, 2008

mystery present update

Well, Tim found his present, so now I can say what it is:

24 magical beers from all around the world!

Tim said he felt like Ponce de Leon when he opened it, as if he had found the fountain of eternal youth. He certainly needs that fountain after last week's big event, hehehe.

He also feels like Amelie: "Only the opener of Tutenkamen's tomb would know how she [or in this case, he!] felt.”

Anyway, thanks to the anonymous gift giver, and we would love to thank you if only you would reveal yourself...

Posted by Tim and Jo at 3:09 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

January 18, 2008

A mystery present...

So...someone sent Tim a birthday present through FedEx, but it didn't come with a note in it.

He hasn't seen it yet, so I'll have to be vague about the details. But it came in two packages, with multiple items in each package. Also, it came from someone who knows Tim quite well, as far as what he loves. I had to sign for the package because of the contents.

Anyone in the blogosphere know about this?

C'est mysterieuse!!

Posted by Tim and Jo at 7:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 10, 2008

Two score and zero years ago...

...a great man was brought forth upon this earth.

Yup. It's the big one!

Happy birthday, Tim!!!!!

Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:42 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

January 9, 2008

All Hail the Teaching Company!

Tim: Come all ye who wanted to take that class in college on philosophy or history or literature but never got a chance to.

Come all ye who want to take a college course without having to pass a test or write papers or spend money for books.

Come all ye who want to learn from Ivy League professors without having to pay thousands of dollars.

Come all ye who want to take a course while driving to work or jogging or doing the dishes.

I'm one of the easiest people on earth to shop for at Christmastime or for my birthday. My wife's brain is already hardwired to ask me this question: so which Teaching Company course do you want this time? After three years of marriage she has succumbed to my obsession and has joined the ranks as a TC fan. Right now we're working through three courses - Classics of Russian Literature, A History of European Art and Victorian Britain. I have almost 30 courses now, some of which I've been through three times.

The booty from this holiday season included: Elements of Jazz (from Joanna's parents), The Life and Writings of John Milton, James Joyce's Ulysses (from Joanna to me) and The English Novel (from me to Joanna). Don't be alarmed at the prices. They put every course on sale at least once a year so most of the courses are less than $150 and many are less than $80.

Get ready…get set…learn!

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June 8, 2007

Won't he make a great dad?

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