Liturgy on a plate... or a spoon even...

I'm trying to be patient. Those of you who know me know that this can be a very long process.
It happened again. Someone else said "Sorry, I don't understand Latin."
I'd better start from the beginning. No, I did not randomly go up to this person and start spouting Latin at them. They were standing in the vestibule of St. J the Anonymous looking bored. I had a good idea and offered to loan them my missal. That's when This Guy says "Sorry, I don't understand Latin."
I'm pretty sure the surprise on my face didn't show but for a half second there I struggled to comprehend. Did This Guy (and his family) really think that I and everyone else there was some kind of scholastic gnome who spoke Latin fluently enough to just read it out of a book during the Mass? Did he _really_ credit us all with that much dedication and hard studying? For a moment I was torn between the apparent praise directed at my intelligence and confusion regarding This Guy.
"No, it's not all in Latin," I explained quickly. "See, this part's in English and the part next to it is in Latin. This is the reading, this is the Gospel, and then you turn to the green marker and that's where the sermon's marked down, then you just keep going."
Maybe that explanation wasn't very clear, but I thought it sufficed and would give This Guy and his family something better to do than stand there looking bored. So This Guy and his family apparently peruse it until just after the sermon when This Guy hands it back to me with a 'Thanks' and retreats to his part of the vestibule (before anyone asks why I was in the vestibule I would like to present State's Exhibits A- a pocket full of tissues, and B- a pocket full of cough drops, not to be used until after Mass).
So I sat/stood/knelt and as I did so I tried to concentrate on the liturgy, but a lot of my mind was preoccupied. Had I been unclear when I handed them the missal? Had I not said "You turn to the green marker and just keep going?" Had they thought I only meant to lend it for the parts that would eventually be spoken in English anyway? I was confused and honestly a little disappointed. I'm speaking only for myself of course, but when someone hands me a book at an unfamiliar liturgy, I assume that I'm meant to follow along the best I can. I (stupidly perhaps) take some pride in for the most part being able to not make a fool out of myself. And the Trid is a pretty easy liturgy as liturgies go, for the purposes of following along, once you have a missal. If you want truly confusing liturgy, go to a Melkite church, it takes some serious getting used to!
So I guess the point of this whole post is that I'm just disappointed that even when someone is handed the metaphorical plateful of liturgy and a fork, they still can't seem to manage...
Maybe I'm overreacting. I know I'm a grinning pessimist...




This is probably the umpteenth time someone has apparently outright assumed that I speak another language fluently, but this is the first time that said assumed language was Latin!:) I feel like I look clever!

New character- Rialta

Departure

So, I'm leaving today. Let the ranting/arguing about directions/driving begin. But not on my blog. Suffice it to say that I hate the way my brother drives. He isn't terribly enthused about how I drive. Neither of us can drive the whole distance. And we're taking an entire day off in the middle, to spend in Ohio. Joyous.
I just want to get to school ASAP and in one piece. I'd also like to get to a good liturgy on Wednesday. We'll see how that goes....
Safe travels to all my fellow students!

Das Boot- a superficial review.

Yeah... I'm really selling my review here by the title. It's one of those movies that you almost have to watch in multiple sittings and my brain is telling me that I haven't really finished cogitating where it's concerned, but oh well. If I don't write this now, I'm not sure when I will, so here goes:

It's a wonderful/awful movie. It's hard to explain. It's like watching someone you don't particularly like go out for a walk on what looks like a moderate, sunny day. Only you have this vague presentiment that they're going to get hit by a car or something. But because you don't particularly care for them, you're... not exactly concerned. More like curious to see whether or not your dire prediction comes true. And then bad things start to happen to them. Not the car hitting them yet, but other bad things- a dog chases them, their wallet gets stolen, it starts to rain and they lose their railcard. And then you start finding out that you really do care a bit about them- even if they've got some dumb/bad habits or even serious character flaws. Because you start thinking that they aren't so very different from you. And now you don't want them to get hit by that car after all, and you get more and more sure that they are going to get hit by that car... and you'd really rather they didn't. Yet, it's sort of like historical imperative, they're going to... Argh. This is a really bad analogy. Please forgive it.
Anyway, the movie is great. I'd say it's a must see, but I recommend seeing it all in one go. It's one of those weird movies where watching it is almost though not quite like penance. Weird imagery, right?
It's really weird to be rooting for the Germans. Especially if you've actually lived in England and heard stories about the war from people who survived it. You know you really should be cheering for whoever ends up sinking them, NOT for the wolves who are attacking supply convoys. But that little bit of text at the beginning is kind of haunting- out of the 40,000 German naval personnel who served on U-boats, only 10,000 saw the end of the war. That means that approximately 3 out of 4 people died. I started thinking about that in terms of the size of my class and it was rather sobering.
It kept you on the edge of your seat to the end. And the director was right for a change- it was not a movie about Nazis, or Germans, it was a movie about people.


SPOILERS BELOW!!
******************





I mean it!









You have been warned!





You still want to read on?





Okay










As you may have guessed, this is not a happy movie. Everyone we care about except for one person dies. It seems horribly unfair, yet oddly enough you sort of know it's going to happen. I guess it's a typical tragedy. Hm. I think at a later date in time I may go around seeing how exactly that sets up from a literary point of view. I mean, some people you know are going to die because of the movie conventions- never show anyone pictures of your family or tell them about your girlfriend, etc. But the manner of their death. Well, everything ends where it starts... Very symmetrical. I would really love to make a music video to this, although I don't know what music I would use... I succumbed to buying not only the Prague orchestra's rendition of the main them, but also U-97's techno/elektronica mix. Perhaps the Last War of the Wolves? Now all I need to do is buy it, rip it and get to work... But I'm OT. The music is good if a bit 80s in places. The accuracy as far as I can tell is very good. There are a few very unnecessary points from my (prudish) POV- the whole bar scene in the beginning and the rear nudity throughout are quite unnecessary. I long to make myself a properly edited copy of the whole movie. Or perhaps find the original release version, so I can compare it to this director's cut one.
Familiar faces include the first officer (who I swear has played a Nazi in every movie that requires a vaguely handsome, arrogant young Nazi officer), Martin May as Ullman (see how my brain remembers some things really well and not others? I mean, how random is that? He's a fairly minor character), and of course the war correspondent is familiar to us though I forget his name too. Likewise the Captain who played Leto Atradies (sp?) in the old version of Dune.
Technical notes- All I can think of is that the subtitles needed help. There were too many times where there was just random shouting in German. A simple translation of "What's happening?", "We're all going to die!", and/or "Quick- pass the wire." would have satisfied me. It's just irritating to have nothing to read as there are various things being said.
Well, that is all I have for now. If I think of more, after my brain chews on it for a bit, I shall amend this post.

My New Job (kinda) and Its Dangers

Well, with a grand total of four days left to work at MFWIW (Motorized Factory Where I Work), the Grand High Supervisor Dude (emphasis on the 'Dude' part here, he has loong hair which he usually wears in a braid) decided I ought to broaden my horizons. So, fearful that I had done _something_ bad, I followed him to my new job, in the dipping section.
Pros
-It's so much cooler! You can actually feel the AC
-It's not too hard, once you know how to hang the parts
- No more tiny flakes of hardened primer getting into my eyes!

Cons
-For one part, I can't reach all the way around and fasten it on the hanger, so I have to straddle the conveyer thingy. If I don't get out of the way in time, I could end up with serious bruises/a crushed leg. It's very motivating.
-Even when the part you're fastening is relatively easy to fasten, you have to sand in a very awkward way that makes even a simple task difficult. This is because there is a knee cord that runs the length of the conveyor for the purpose of stopping it if you get your leg stuck in it- see above con. Regrettably, it's really easy to hit it by accident, and if you do, the whole line stops and everyone glares at you.
-Snapping on parts is tricky sometimes and you can gouge your fingers. I've done that a lot...
-Since the parts don't really want to go on the way they're supposed to, it helps if you have good upper body strength. I don't...

And now for the stats
Number (#) of times I have hit myself in the safety glasses with a part- 7
# of times a coworker has hit me with a part- 1
# of times I have hit myself with a part in a region other than the safety glasses-8
# of times I have narrowly avoided dropping a part- 20
# of times my safety glasses have almost fallen off because I was trying hang a part properly- 4
# of scars/scratches I have that makes it look like I'm attempting self-destruction-9
# of coworkers who don't speak English as their first language- 3
# of dollars stolen by the crummy vending machine- 1
# of times I have jammed/stopped the line in my new section- 0!!:D

And that, for now, is all. Especially because I'm working OT tomorrow instead of going to the Czech festival.

How often have I said this?

Those of you who really know me will not be at all surprised that while I hoped to update sooner than August, I am infact updating in August. I meant to update a lot sooner. I mean, it's not like anything particularly interesting/earthshattering has happened recently in my life. Then I'd have an excuse for not posting. But I don't. So, if I have any readers out there (which I doubt). I am very sorry for my absence. That being said...
I did say I'd talk about music, ages ago. And since it's 2.00AM CT (Guess what second shift does to your bodyclock? It resets it!), I shall keep my thoughts on music brief.
One- If you cannot sing to save your life, I'm sure God would understand if you went through Mass without singing along.
Two-If you _can_ sing, make sure your brain is plugged in before you attend Mass. If you hear only male voices and you are female, this is your cue to _NOT_ sing. Wait until you hear other girls singing. Please?
Three- On a non-liturgical note, the "Vitamin String Quartet" rocks my socks. Check them out. Their music makes me very happy!
Four- I have a CD that has scratches. Since I paid lots of money about four years ago to get it imported from Japan, this makes me very unhappy with a certain younger sib. I mean, it just _had_ to be _that_ CD, didn't it? Not my crummy random mix of songs, but that nice, cool (expensive) CD of mine that you dropped out of the car and onto a gravel road. Luckily my favourite track appears to be undamaged.
Five- I still remember almost all the lyrics to the entire album of Nightfall in Middle Earth.
Six- My alarmclock/CD player is at least temporarily dead!:( Woe is me!
Seven- There _will_ be music in Heaven. And no, it won't be all harps or all acapella.
Eight- (appropriately enough) I want to hear the Great Music of the Greatest Artist for all eternity. It will be beyond 'classical'.

The eventual update

I'm such a loser. I need to update more. And I say this every time I update. However, maybe this summer I'll actually make good. I doubt it, but it's possible. Erm. Noteworthy things to blog about....
1. Summer job
2. Cool music
3. Recent interesting movies
4. The realm of fanfic/original writing
5. Anime
This is of course not a promise that I will actually write about all of this, these are just some hints to myself, to remind me what I'm going to write about in the future. Well, since it's first on the list and occupying a lot of my time (even getting into my dreams- argh!) I may as well talk about my job. I acquired a summer job a lot quicker than I really dared hope, working at the Kawasaki plant about a half hour from my house. The pay beats the heck out of waiting tables and cashiering! That being said, I know I shouldn't complain (or if I should, I shouldn't do so loudly) but I really wish I knew what I was doing more. Sounds dumb, right? I'm working with machinery and hand-working some pieces, how hard can it get? Well, for starters there's the scary electric sander thingy. I don't like to use it, but it's necessary sometimes to make the reworks re-workable. So I try to do without as often as I can and when I can't, I get someone to double check my work, just to make sure I'm doing it right. Everything else is fairly straightforward though I still don't know where some things go once they're done, or why I'm doing what I'm doing, or when my breaks are, or...
Okay, never mind what I said about straightforward... A fifteen minute explanation of our department/section, what the machinery does and where things go given by my supervisor in a place where I can actually _hear_ him would make me a lot less anxious about getting things wrong. Arggh. Still, I've asked for help and I must seem incurably dense because they've explained things to me, only half the time it's not what I was asking about. Arrgh. When they said 'assembly jobs' I thought they meant a very limited set of tasks that I could get good/fast at and pass the summer in a very mundane but profitable way. Turns out, that's the sort of job my brother has- only he's on third shift and I'm on second. I put in a transfer request, but who knows when that will come through? And I'm not particularly looking forward to working the 11.55-7.00 shift. Oh well. I guess I will be a morning person of sorts if I ever get that transfer. I half hope I do and half hope I don't- I like the hours I currently have because that means I see my parents on the weekends.
On a totally unrelated note-
Tomorrow is the feast of Pentecost. We were going to have a cake. Now we're going to have seven different fruits, symbolising the fruits of the Holy Spirit. .... ... ...??!? I though the cake was a good idea.
That being said, I am now signing off for a few hours of sleep before Mass. Next post I will probably be writing about music. Probably...