So, I had this brilliant idea for my sister's Christmas present.

Like me, she loves Glee. And she loves to watch the Glee "songs" over and over again. I've already cut her two CDs of the singles, but while she was here, she still watched every single one of the songs in the Glee episodes themselves, and she watches them online all the time.

So I was going to make her a DVD of the Glee videos. Unfortunately, I've determined, after several days and lots of hours spent on the project, that I can't figure out how to do it. I'm soooo disappointed!

I couldn't buy the high-quality episodes from iTunes because of the DRM protection. It's possible to strip it, but from what I could find out, you can't do without paying about $40 for software, which doesn't seem worth it for one project. (There are "free trials," but basically they don't provide enough functionality in the trial to actually do anything.)

I have medium-quality episodes that I burned to DVD from my Tivo. Those include .VOB files. I tried to convert those to .AVI, then clip them using free clipping software, but I keep getting errors when I try to clip. (Headers don't match, or incompatible formats when I try to join.) Even then, they'd be relatively low-quality, and only be good for watching on her computer (if it even worked -- I'm not sure of the compatibility of DVDs burned on a PC vs. a Mac.)'

I admit I don't have a lot of experience with this type of thing.  I've ripped AVI files from a DVD of my recital and created clips from it, so I knew how to do that, but that was pretty much my only experience prior to tackling this project.  Still, I thought I'd be able to figure it out.  I'm so frustrated and upset. I was so proud of myself for thinking of this project, and it's so disappointing that I can't get it to work.

I saw this in the forums, written by user dillthedevil.  I am copying it here because I think it beautifully articulates how I feel about talking on the phone.

In face-to-face communication, you can take into account body language, eye contact, vocal nuances, etc. in order to get a full understanding of what each party is saying. In text-based communication, the visual aspects are stripped away, so you have to be more thoughtful about how you frame your responses verbally in order to get across what you actually want to say, without fear of misunderstanding - and the more languid pace of, say, emails and texts allow you the breathing room to consider what you're writing. Phone communication, however, has all the immediacy of face-to-face communication with none of the additional visual, body language and tonal context. It's so easy to be misinterpreted and misunderstood over the phone - a jokey comment that would have garnered a laugh as a result of the right facial expression or expressive gesticulation face-to-face could come across as sarcastic, cruel or mean-spirited removed from that visual context.

In addition, there are, for me, a couple additional issues.  First, I have a very slight hearing loss, and as a result, I have difficulty understanding a lot of people when they call, especially in this age of cell phones.  Also, those silences that aren't uncomfortable in real life, accompanied as they are by looks, gestures, etc., are vastly more awkward on the phone, which frequently leads me to babble in a vain effort to fill them.

I can, and do, communicate on the phone with those I like, who live at a distance and prefer the phone.  But generally, I avoid it whenever possible.  I honestly don't think it's that odd.  After all, some people have difficulty adjusting to communication over IM, or text.  Some people do a lot better online than in real.  Everyone communicates differently.  It just happens that I am very comfortable in text, or in real life, but not on the phone.

This weekend was my vocal recital.  It went well.  Of course, there were some minor hiccups (as is typical, I had a momentary brain fart on a couple words that I had never actually had a problem with in practice!), and my allergies made my voice a bit foggy at times.  However, my high notes (B-flat on Puccini, B-flat and C on Webber) were clear and open, my low notes (on a duet from the show Bells are Ringing) weren't too phlegmy, and generally I think I acquitted myself very well.

I was especially pleased with the Puccini.  It's a very difficult piece;  it's deceptively simple but takes a great deal of work to sing well.  I don't think anyone's going to compare me to Caballe anytime soon, but my breath control was good, my high notes were okay, and I think I handled it well musically.  We did record the recital, so eventually I'll post clips in case anyone's interested.

My family flew in on Friday night for my recital.  Dale was here when I arrived home from work, and he was a complete rock while I freaked out about all I had to get done.  (There was a lot of "Dale, could you run upstairs for this" and "Dale, could you run and get this".  What a sweet, supportive guy he is!)  I made homemade cole slaw and chili and had sandwich fixings for everyone when they arrived.  I didn't get nearly enough sleep Friday night, due to nerves and too many people in the house, but Saturday morning wasn't too rushed.  I made an Amish breakfast casserole for brunch (with fresh fruit and muffins), then got ready.  I even managed to put on mascara without poking myself in the eye... much.

My dad is a sweet, old-fashioned kind of man, and he gave me a good-luck rose before I started, then a gorgeous bouquet afterwards.  I should really take photos of them!  In the meantime, here's a grainy shot of me and Dale post-recital:

Then after the recital, we all went out for a yummy, fun dinner.  My dad and brother left early this morning, but my sister and I spent part of the afternoon checking out the Frabel glass exhibit at Phipps Conservatory.  It's beautiful and whimsical, although I think we both prefer Chihuly's work.  After I took her to the airport, Dale and I were able to hang out for a few hours ("couple time") before he had to head back to school.

Now I am vegging out and relaxing for the first time in weeks.  I love doing recitals -- they give me a goal to work towards, and it's good to keep my hand in with performing -- but they are a lot of work, and very stressful.  Now I'm just drained and exhausted.  Tomorrow I will do some of that laundry I need to catch up on, or clean up the bedding my brother used, or finally make harvest stew with the beef stew meat and root vegetables in my fridge right now.  But right now, I'm relaxing in my pajamas on the couch and catching up on last week's TV.  Bliss!

I just posted this in the forums (yes, I'm so ashamed *hangs head*), and thought I'd share here, as well.  These are some of my favorite IMs of all time.  Names have been changed to protect the moronic:

My favorite opening line:

Him: wow you're so white

(Personally, I'm grateful he knew to use "you're")

WrestleLover: i went mud wrestling lol
WL: at a party
Me: Wow.  Your parties are different than my parties!
WL: have you ever mud wrestled lol
Me: We do sedate things like drink a lot.   Maybe swim.  Eat lots of unhealthy food.
WL: would you try pudding wrestling
Me: I think that there are better things to do with pudding than wrestle in it

Please note that the following is from a first conversation.  And this came immediately after "hi.  how are you" introductions.

ObviousFetish: i like legs in hose
Me: Hmm... Well, I don't wear them all that often, since I don't have to dress up for work.
ObviousFetish: wear them when we meet
ObviousFetish: so i can feel
Me: Hmm... wow, you're forward.
ObviousFetish: ya
ObviousFetish: i like shorts and hose
ObviousFetish: wear that
ObviousFetish: i like legs in silky shiny tan hose
Me: I like jeans. :D
ObviousFetish: nooo
ObviousFetish: hose
ObviousFetish: gotta have shiny hose
ObviousFetish: like the Hooters girls
ObviousFetish: ok ?

Racially Curious: hi.  do you date black guys?
Me: I date people I have things in common with, regardless of race.
RC: im white...i just think white women look really good with darker guys
RC: i accidentally saw one of my exs with a black guy and ive been interested since
Me: I see.  So, are you just taking a poll?
RC: somewhat...moreso try to find open minded women that might be ok with me watching that

Not My Type: in my car i asked you  to open your top and leave your chest exposed as we talk 5-36 minutes  would you?
Not My Type: from 5-35 minutes

(Gotta love how he clarified that he meant 35 minutes rather than 36. That made a critical difference. As if I would expose myself to him for 35 minutes, but that extra minute put it past my comfort zone!)

Inquisitive: do you like too uses all three holes
Inquisitive: i bet your a great 69
Inquisitive: do the hair match on both ends

OverShares: or yo can watch me be bad lol
Me: Are you being bad at anything in particular?
OverShares: just watching porn and well...lol
OverShares: a redhead and a hung black guy lol
Me: And you're online, too?  Wow, you can multi-task.
OverShares: god this woman is hot lol
OverShares: anmd you don;t wanna see what it did to me lol
Me: Oh, SO don't wanna see.

Loser: am really sad sweetie am alone sweetie
Loser: am looking for the right lady that i will be with her till the rest of my life sweetie
Loser: that why i wanna know u well sweetie
Loser: am loooking for the honesty and care love and god fearing  sweetie
Loser: u can still give a birth right?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Friday evening, some of the most important people in my life will arrive at my house.

(brief break while Tanya bounces around happily)

As I wrote previously, I'm giving a vocal recital with some friends this weekend, and I'm lucky to have the kind of supportive family that will fly into town just to see me perform.  (This will be my fourth recital in six years.  My sister has come in for all of them, while my dad has seen all but one, and he missed that one only because he'd just had major surgery.  This will be the first time my brother's come into town, though!)  My boyfriend Dale will also be coming; this will be the first time that he will be meeting my family.

I'm confident I'll do a fairly good job Saturday.  Of course, I'll be nervous, and of course there will be minor blips, but I do feel good about it.  I'm a bit more nervous about having the house all cleaned up and ready for my family, but I know I'm a bit too fussy about such things.  I also have this weird need to feed the people I love, which means I'm doing a bit more meal-planning than I should considering I'm, you know, giving a recital this weekend.

And then, after the recital is over... well, I'll have an evening to enjoy with the people I love best.  I'm looking forward the most to that part.

This amused me:

Apparently I order from Amazon for a reason:

Moooooom!  Why are you bothering meeeee!

In other cat news, Cho has settled in well.  She's getting along well with the other kitties:

She's growing up.  There's a lot of running around (which results in blurred photos), but I'll occasionally grab one of her at play:

And obviously, she's cute as a dickens at rest:

The only good thing about breaking my tailbone, then getting sick as a dog with this virus I've had, is that I get to spend lots of quality kitteh time! :)

I'm giving a vocal recital with a few friends on November 14th.  These recitals are great fun, because the three of us are such different artists.  Christy is a Broadway actress through and through, while Ken has a fantastic baritone, perfect for American folk songs.  Me, well, I do a little bit of everything.  This time, I'm tackling 19th century Italy (Bellini, Puccini), a bit o' Barber (Samuel, that is), and the cheeeeeeze of Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 2:30pm
Musik Innovations Recital Hall
9795 Perry Highway
Wexford, PA

I do recitals every couple years to give myself something to work towards in my voice lessons.  I've studied music for 35 years now, and learning music is relatively easy for me.  But polishing up music for a recital is a very different thing, and it's a great goal for me to work towards.  I especially love doing recitals with Christy and Ken because we are such different singers.

Edited to add: Here's some links to clips from previous recitals, if anyone's interested.

It's occurred to me that I never did write about our family lake vacation in August.

Maybe because this year's trip was a bit more challenging, I guess. The weather was cold and rainy most of the week, and chilly even when it wasn't rainy. Not all that surprising, considering the cool summer we'd had, but it made it a great deal less fun to go into the lake (I only went in once all week, and then only because I was keeping track of my youngest nephew). In addition, much of the family couldn't stick around all week, because of work or other commitments (tennis tournaments, appliance deliveries, etc.).

Still, the trip definitely had its highlights! I finally got to meet my brother's girlfriend, who is really lovely. I spent one day making this fabulous meal for 11 people, including said girlfriend and her parents -- lamb shanks braised in tomatoes, wine and rosemary, herbed baked chicken, tomato salad, green salad, mashed potatoes, and oven-roasted zucchini and sweet onions. Yum! On the third day of rain, my sister was inspired, and we headed off to a local indoor water park. For $100, you get a hotel suite for a day and five tickets to the waterpark -- a great deal, and we had a lot of fun. One night we played a fabulously fun game of Cranium, the highlight of which was watching my father try to act out "Mermaid." (His partner did not guess, but the rest of us were actually falling off the couch laughing.)

And, of course, the most important part -- lots of hugs from, and laughter with, my beloved nephews!

Here's my favorites of the photos I took this year:

Featuring: Me, my sister Holly, her three kids -- Nicklas (8), Thomas (now 6), and Augie (2) -- her husband Karl, my brother Marc, and my dad.

(The top left photo of me was taken by my nephew Thomas, hence the really unattractive angle :)

Last night, I tweeted somewhat in jest (and thus posted on Facebook) a status update about how I'd make a pretty good housewife, as long as I was willing to turn off my brain.  (I was alluding to the fact that I'd just spent an entire day cleaning the house and cooking a really amazing and complicated meal.)  My friend strongly objected to this status update, saying she was offended at the implication that those who choose to stay home as homemakers are stupid, and that, basically, I was being a snob.

While I think she overreacted, and was investing my short tweet with history and insecurities of her own that weren't really there ("turn off brain" doesn't mean stupid, for example -- in fact, more that the role squanders intelligence), she does have a point -- many of the working women within my friendship group (and, I'd imagine, within the culture of the upper-middle-class working woman in her 30s and early 40s) do look down a bit on women who choose to stay home, even if we don't mean to.

I was born in 1970 and raised on Free To Be You and Me and other feminist tenets.  As the generation who was first directly impacted by the feminist movement, there's always been a lot of pressure to take advantage of those opportunities.  While, in theory, the movement gave us the right to choose our own paths without hindrance or prejudice, it seemed, in practice, that those women who chose a more traditional path were somehow squandering opportunities, and were thus looked down on, if only subconsciously.

I became aware of this aspect of myself and my culture years ago, and try very hard not to give in to it, even though it sneaks out at times.  (Obviously, I didn't consider it at all when writing this particular status update.)  I try very hard to keep in mind that just because I cannot imagine choosing a path, it doesn't mean that those who do choose that path are necessarily wrong.  But I am human, and sometimes I fail.  The honest truth is that I cannot imagine choosing to stay home and be a full-time homemaker.  Part-time, absolutely (and I hope to when and if I ever do have those children I always wanted).  But full-time?  Not at all.  While those few homemaker friends I have insist that there are ways to still intellectually stimulate oneself in the role of homemaker, I cannot imagine that I could find enough stimulation when I'm used to really stretching myself learning about, and writing about, cutting-edge technology.

I don't mean to diminish the role of the homemaker.  Raising a child and keeping a house are important jobs, and really hard work -- more difficult in a lot of ways than the career path I've chosen.  But it's not a path I'd choose to take.  And, because I'm human, I sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that if I would never choose something, it's weird and wrong that other people do.

Just another in the myriad of ways I still have to grow as a person.