Wednesday, July 20, 2005

HOT! HOT! HOT!

Oh my god it is so hot!

Plus, the pollution levels are very high in North Carolina and it is hard to breathe!

Last night on TV they were running well-produced ads reminding people what they can do to reduce pollution (like carpooling and combining errands - the usual stuff). They were also running commercials telling us to stay inside when the "heat index" is dangerously high.

The heat index has been dangerously high for the past 3 days. What that means is, even though the temperature "only" reads in the low-to-mid-90's, it actually feels like 105 - 110 degrees...IN THE SHADE!

Last night I had to take 2 breaks in my mile-long walk home. The first break lasted about 2 hours 'cuz I decided to read a book in the library until it cooled off a little. By 7pm, the temperature was down to 88 degrees, so I walked further. After a few blocks, I reached the Chinese restaurant. I was gasping for breath and drenched in perspiration. So,I took another break and ordered dinner to go. By the time I made it up the big hill, around the block and across the street (to give my puppy friends a treat)I was once again slick with sweat.

Dangerously high heat and outlandish humidity is NO FUN. However, dinner was delicious.

Monday, July 18, 2005

Harry Potter Midnite Madness

I've read Clark Humphrey's Miscmedia.com online posts since 1996. He has a keen eye for trends and pop culture. I find his writing style concise yet poetic and he has influenced my own writing. Not being a night owl, myself, I read Clark Humphrey's explorations into the midnight Harry Potter madness in Seattle with relish. Here is what he had to say:

"THE WITCHING HOUR:
I should've come to Harry Potter Midnite Madness last night with a mom and kid, so I could take digipix of the scene whilst pretending to take digipix only of my own party.
The Potter events, at both Borders and B&N, were just what I'd expected and more. Both stores did their best to keep the way-past-their-bedtime girls n' boys awake and entertained.

B&N had a children's choral group, storytellers, and costumed employees cavorting with wands. They even gave away plastic Potter eyeglass frames. They also had an elaborate purchasing system, reminiscent of Southwest Airlines' boarding routine. You reserved your place in "line" by pre-registering and getting a wristband. At midnight, as the colorfully-printed cardboard cases of books were wheeled out to behind the counter on hand trucks, a clerk called all-points bulletins on the PA for numbers 1-50, etc.

The Borders fete was simpler. No wristbands or numbers; simply a line. The line included at least two teens who sat on the floor and stared into laptop computers. There was a crafts table where kids could make and decorate their own conic construction-paper wizard hats. There was a Potter trivia quiz, and Harry and Hermione lookalike contests, all with Potter-merchandise prizes. And, thankfully for the way-past-their-own-bedtime parents, there were vats of coffee (which, alas, ran out around 11:35).

A clerk on the PA system counted down each of the last five minutes until midnight. As the hand trucks wheeled in the cases of books from a back storeroom, the clerk counted down the seconds, while other employees unpacked the books and stacked them to be plopped into customers' anxious hands. Finally, at the stroke of midnight, the customers at the front of the line were prompted to stand up and single-file their way toward the sales counter, where all transactions were handled promptly and efficiently.

Along the walk back to B&N, the streets were still boistrous and joyous. When I'd first spied on B&N at 10:30, ACT and the Paramount had let out their audiences, who'd spilled onto Pine. This, my friends, is what big-city life is all about--happy upeat total strangers in crowds, milling about and sharing each other's auras. After midnight, the scene was still busy, with diners/drinkers from Von's and the Cheesecake Factory, lingering Cineplex Oedipus theatergoers, and Potter purchasers ranging from post-collegiate fantasy geeks to tots barely big enough to hold the weighty tome (which, at 650-some pages, is actually shorter than the previous sequel volume).

Overheard quotes: Outside B&N, a fantasy-dude in a beard and Utilikilt said he was "just happy to see all these kids waiting in line for A BOOK." I tried to convince him that reading had not become an unpopular activity in general, as evinced by the size and prominence of big-box chains such as B&N. I don't think I succeeded. Oh well--some people like to fantasize about themselves as the only magicians in a world of "muggles;" other people like to fantasize about themselves as the only literates in a world of hicks. As the Potter books prove, myth is a powerful thing.

On the escalator down from B&N's small street-level storefront in Pacific Place, toward the basement-level bulk of the store, I was in front of two high-school dudes as anxious as anybody else to grab the novel. But once they caught their first glimpse of the wristbanded preteen hordes already down there, anticipation turned to frustration: "I just wanted the fucking book! I don't give a fuck about fuckin' little kids in costumes!" I didn't stick around to see if the teens stuck around, but I'm sure they have their copies now.

It's a quiet Saturday morning as I write this. Throughout the English-speaking world, happy parents are waking to stillness and serenity. No shrieking, no sibling-fighting, no running indoors, no video-game explosions. In millions of households, peace reigns today.

For some grownups, that alone qualifies as magic."

Thursday, July 14, 2005

Oh Those Wacky Kids

As I entered the student center this morning, I encountered a group of 4 boys, walking in a circle, over and over. Another group of 6 or 7 guys joined them. When asked what they were doing, one of the boys answered,

"We're just walking around."

Damn! That's a lot of work for a silly pun.

I am a Cranky Old Lady

Aah youth.

For the next two weeks, my University is being invaded by one-thousand seven-hundred and thirty kids, aged 10 through 18. The school of music is holding its annual Summer Music Camp and swarms of them are congregating in the student center between classes. This makes the life of a staff member very difficult. Just getting a cup of coffee now becomes an ordeal.

"Oh My Gawd, like what's a carmel match-oh-tow?" says one gangly-limbed girl to her equally confused friend.
"I dunno. Maybe its from Mexico?"

Trudy, the ever-patient barista calmly describes the drink to the girls, standing 4 people ahead of me in line. The girls pool their money and after another minute or two of "I'll drink whatever you want", "No, it's OK, I'll get what you want. Do you like chocolate..." They decide on an iced mocha.

Then the NEXT child in line places his order, dumps all his change out and SLOWLY counts out $2.09 for an iced drink. He has a lot of nickles in his pocket.

I AM NOW LATE FOR WORK.

Finally my turn comes and I get my drink. I ask Trudy how she handles all of these kids and she replies,

"They don't know it, but I'm givin' 'em all decaf. The last thing these kids need is more caffene!"

Trudy is a Cranky Old Lady, too. A sneaky Cranky Old Lady.

Heh heh heh.