Meeting The Other Side of the Family

I've never known much about my dad's side of the family -- my nearest cousins were fare enough apart, both age and distance, that I didn't really know them growing up, and barking up the family tree -- excuse the terrible pun -- I'm completely clueless about anything beyond my grandfather on that side of the family.

I get the sense that on that side of the family relationships tended to be strained and awkward, or at least those whom I know... I don't know if it's normal or not, but anyway...we don't seem to be a overly social bunch in general.

Part of my last name is unique enough that I've always assumed that if I ever met anyone with the same last name the odds of it being a relative would make for a virtual certainty. And when I've Googled the name, in addition to the handful of cousins and relatives, I've come across others who share the same surname but who I've never heard anything about, and certainly not met.

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota is -- as I've noted before -- one of my clients -- and I've spent the better part of this week in Rochester for a project. Based on my schedule thus far (and the woeful tendencies of museums to be closed on Mondays) I haven't really hit any of my cultural favorites in the state yet -- I'm planning on seeing a few sights before my flight out tomorrow evening, but I digress.

While I had this trip on my mind I happened to Google my surname and I was reminded that someone who shares the name also works at the Clinic.

I don't do well with introductions, particularly complete strangers, but figuring I had nothing to loose I sent a very awkward "Hey, I don't know you, you don't know me, but we have the same last name so we might be related... and Oh, by the way I'll be in your city in a few weeks". A response and some correspondence later, I'm slowly learning about the "other side" of the family.

The gentleman who I "discovered" is my Dad's cousin (their fathers were brothers), though they've never met and grew up essentially on opposite sides of the country.

We met for very quick coffee when I got into Rochester on Monday afternoon, and compared notes...a very nice gentleman, and nowhere near as awkward as I thought it could be.

Last night he and his wife opened their home to me for dinner and conversation where I also met one of their children (I think, technically a 2nd cousin, but that gets kind of foggy for me). I also met his brother's son (also, I think, technically a 2nd cousin) originally from New York, who happens to be passing through Rochester this week as well. Dinner and desert was great, but the conversation -- learning about a side of the family that I wasn't really conscious about, and comparing some of the traits that seem to be present in my branch of the tree was a lot of fun.

Lincoln

Cleveland Orchestra: Handel's Royal Fireworks

J.S. Bach: Suite No. 1 in C major, BWV1066
Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks
Haydn: Symphony No. 104 ("London") in D major
Ton Koopman, conductor.

I've found that Baroque is a particularly acquired taste -- something that Apollo's Fire (The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra) has been slowly helping in that regard, but I have to confess particularly on the heels of the last couple concerts, that I wasn't overly excited about hearing the Cleveland Orchestra's foray into the sub genre.*

With me tonight I had my lady friend, hearing the Cleveland Orchestra in Severance Hall for the first time since a class trip while she studded at Case, and also for her first time on the box level. We were in Box 1, Seats E and F, and there are only a handful of seats that I would personally rank above these two.

My apprehension about The Cleveland Orchestra's Baroque Festival faded as the effervescent Mr. Ton Koopman took the stage and the podium with surprising enthusiasm and launched into Bach's Suite No.1 -- a suite of eleven movements with a variety of textures and emotions. I quickly lost track of which movement I was listening to. Thus my comments are general: I enjoyed the variety of textures, particularly the dance movements, though at times the harpsichord seemed a touch loud in relationship to the rest of the orchestra.

Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks was, by far, our favorite from the evening, though we were both confused about the sequencing of movements -- the piece concluded at what I had thought was the end of the 3rd movement and what my friend had thought was the end of the 4th movement... so the reactions I had associated with particular movements were likely not actually for those movements after all. I loved the energetic and celebratory feeling of the opening, and the energy of the conclusion, but even the middle -- which had the air of a dignified procession -- was fantastic to listen to.

Following intermission, Haydn's Symphony No. 104 ("London") didn't quite inspire the same feelings of wonder as the Fireworks, but nonetheless was still very well done; of particular note were the opening statements as awell as the theme in and enthusiasm of the fourth movement finale.

Lincoln
*- Though every time I hear the word "baroque", or the output of a harpsichord I think of Perrey and Kingsley's Baroque Hoedown, the theme for Disney's Main Street Electrical Parade. Though it is one of the early synth pieces, I'd love to hear the Cleveland Orchestra try it... it's hard not to smile listening to it

Cleveland Orchestra: Dee Dee Bridgewater: A Tribute to Ella Fitzgearld

The Cleveland Orchestra with Dee Dee Bridgewater (with Edsel Gomez, piano; Kenneth Davis, bass; Jaz Sawyer, drums; Howie Smith, sax). Sasha Makila, conductor.

I have to admit from the outset that jazz -- like heavy metal -- is one of the few genres of music that I feel virtually no draw to, partially because I've found that it (unlike heavy metal) is particularly well suited to lulling me to sleep without engaging me. (As an aside, I've found on red-eye flights back from visiting my parents in California, if I take a sleeping pill, a glass of red wine, and queue up some jazz on my iPod, I'll be out in 15 minutes and stay soundly asleep, waking up just in time to see the night lights of Chicago pass below my seat in the sky, yielding to the darkness of the Great Lakes, Detroit, and finally Cleveland).

Technically, the concert left nothing to be desired -- Ms. Bridgewater's Quartet's sound seemed to be a natural fit for The Cleveland Orchestra under Mr. Makila's baton. Ms. Bridgewater seemed to be a bit unprepared for the concert -- forgetting Mr. Makala's name, scatting to cover lyrics (and on a few occasions seeming to reference notes). As Ms. Bridgewater started her first song (Cole Porter's Let's Do It) I couldn't help but to imagine a dark, smoke-filled lounge. Though Ms. Bridgewater has a wonderful voice, I felt that that pieces or portions of the pieces that were instrumental had more character, were more lively, and generally more fun to listen to.

You can probably guess by this point that my two favorite pieces from the evening's program were the two without any vocal component whatsoever. As with the last -- and first -- concert that I heard Sasha Makila conduct (at CIM) the entirety of the strings sounded absolutely wonderful. The Act I overture, Gershwin's Strike up the Band had a particularly wonderful color. The Act II overture, Gershwin's Overture to Girl Crazy was compelling, as were the solos from the members of Ms. Bridgewater's quartet during Cotton Tail.

With the exception of the two Gershwin pieces, regretfully, I have no strong desire to hear any of the pieces again.

Outside of the hall it's worth noting that The Severance Restaurant was open for post-concert drinks and deserts--something I wish were an option more often. Despite an excellent sales pitch from an orchestra staffer, after an 8 hour staff meeting at work, a violin lesson, and a jazz concert I couldn't see myself staying awake... I hope this will be offered after future concerts.

The full program, as announced from the stage, and as I scribbled it down in the blank spaces of the program:
Act One: Strike up the Band (Gershwin); Let's Do It (Cole Porter); Lush Life; When You Speak Love (Curt Vile); How High (Quartet only); My Heart Belongs to Daddy; Stairway to the Stars.
Act Two: Overture to Girl Crazy (Gershwin); My Favorite Things; Prelude to a Kiss (Ellington); (illegible); Cotton Tail; Shadow of Your Smile; My Ship
Encore: Come Sunday

I'm taking my lady friend to tomorrow evening's Orchestra concert...

Lincoln

Cleveland Orchestra: Masur Conducts Beethoven and Brahms

Mendelssohn: Overture: The Hebrides (or Fingal's Cave), Op. 26
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19 (David Fray, piano)
Brahms: Symphony No. 4 n E minor, Op. 98
Kurt Masur, conductor

Between The Cleveland Orchestra's touring schedule, and my work schedule my classical music consumption has been way down over the past few years. As good as CIM students are, there's no real substitute for The Cleveland Orchestra. Therefore, boarding my flight home from Kansas City early this afternoon, I was really looking forward to this concert.

From the beginning of the concert the music seemed distant -- I don't know if it didn't want to forge an emotional connection with me or vice-versa, but it started out distant and seemed to get even more so.

Of the three pieces on the program Mendelssohn's Overture to The Hebrides was the one I most enjoyed, with a delightful texture...but the distance kept me from really engaging with the work, and particularly the low strings.

I had hoped that would improve with Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2 but no. The first few strokes Mr. Masur took at the piano were accompanied by a most unmusical thumping (which sounded like the hammer striking something other than the string), but even after that subsided the piano portion of the piece still sounded weird to my ear...and it nearly put me to sleep. Not nearly lulled me, but rather put me.

During intermission it occurred to me that the hall was either exceptionally and uncomfortably warm -- or I'm getting sick/at the end of my stress rope -- and by the end of the first movement of Brahms' Symphony No. 4 I had beads of sweat on my forehead. Like movements preceding it, the first movement seemed distant and too delicately handled. The second and third movements cut down on that distance and were quite enjoyable because for the first time on the evening's program I got a sense of depth. The fourth movement escaped me -- by that point I was so uncomfortable and so sweat-soaked I just wanted the program to end...and was contemplating if I could escape the box without disturbing the couple behind me.

Hopefully next time will be better.

Lincoln

As I Prepare To Leave Kansas City (I find my work in the newspaper)

The sun is setting on my last day in suburban Kansas City, Kansas. The clear blue sky -- something that's been absent from most of this trip -- is hanging on and seemingly afraid to let the night take over.

The project that brought me out here, like the weather, started out rather bleak--Based on scheduling my client hadn't completely finished what they needed to finish when I arrived, which means both that things move a little slower because I wind up doing some troubleshooting ideally would be done before I got there, and there's also a bit of scheduling juggling involved, as in "I really need this done now, that done next, and whaddyamean that part isn't going to arrive until Wednesday? Ok, can we move this hear, that there, and use some spit and electrical tape in the meantime?"

On the other hand, though, by the end of the day yesterday things were looking really good, and the vast majority of work that I had planned on spending 7 full business days on was done by the end of a late day Thursday. I returned to the project site this morning to tie off the few last loose ends and to run my client through what they needed to know before a grand opening event on Tuesday. Then I had the rest of the day to myself.

Yesterday, the Kansas City Star had a photographer and reporter doing a lot of shooting and the gallery is on their website already.

In this shot you can see me and some of the on the fly engineering and troubleshooting that was going on, the two gentlemen I spent most of my week with. My laptop even makes a cameo, sitting on the lectern in the near background.*

In this shot you can see my work -- the touch screen on the left is my programming, though it's not the most exciting mode that they could have put it in, but they did it with out asking me for help, which means that my work was a success.

Anyway... I made my way back to KCMO and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Between my left foot being a bit...irritated, I guess would be the best word...and having just been through the museums I didn't linger as long as I might have planned or hoped. At Nelson-Atkins, I revisited the photography and contemporary galleries and spent a bit of time lingering in the American galleries.

Parting from the museum itself, despite a pretty continuous drizzle I basically walked the perimeter of the museum including finding some interesting pieces in the Kansas City sculpture park that I had missed on the previous occasions.

My primary purpose for visiting the Kemper on the other hand was to see if the robot that caught my eye in the museum store could persuade me to buy him. He, for better or worse, had disappeared, to be replaced with some largely uninspiring pottery... as the Kemper doesn't have the largest display galleries and I had just visited, my visit was kept short. On the other hand, though while walking up to the front I saw... could it be? Yes! It is. Tom Otterness's Crying Giant (edition 2/3) sitting to the left of the museum's main entrance.

I love Mr. Otterness's critters -- which I've seen adorning The Gates at the Cleveland Public Library, greeting visitors at the Hilton Times Square and passing visitors by on New York's Subway -- there's something delightful about their simplicity, they're just plain cute, and the social commentary adds another dimension -- but until the Crying Giant they've all been relatively small critters. The Crying Giant is huge, but no less cute. As a single figure, without a given context, the social commentary is less clear but still possibilities run through my mind.

The drizzle continued throughout but I walked to a place I had walked by on my last visit for lunch -- Winstead's Drive-In. The place looks like it's been in that location and largely untouched since the 40s which was kind of cool. I have to say, I wasn't that impressed by the food. The fries were OK, the burger was about as thick as two quarters stacked on top of each other and generally wasn't anything to write home about. Probably not a place I'll plan on stopping at on my next visit.

Returning to my car at Nelson-Atkins I wanted to visit the museum gift shop to see if anything pulled my eye, but before I got there I found the installation-in-progress of Roxy Paine's Sumacks and Dendroids -- using a computer programmed to quasi-randomly extrude plastic resin in various patterns with varying amounts of time, motion, etc. I'm fascinated by it because Industrial Automation has always interested me and this strikes me as an interesting application. And when the machine is in action it draws quite a diverse crowd from museum staffers ("Are we supposed to dust it or...?" "Well, actually they recommend Armor-All") to children ("Cool! What is that thing?") to seniors ("How can you call that art! A machine is making it, not a human!" -- where I had to quite forcefully bite my tongue to avoid retorting that a human made both the machine and the program by which the art is being created.

Breaking my gaze on the molten plastic that had stopped pouring out of the machine and was no in the "cooling" cycle, I browsed the museum store before finding a book for my flight home and a gift for my very good friend. At checkout I was asked if I was a member... I said I was visiting from out of town and asked if my Cleveland Museum of Art membership card would work. It did. The gentleman assisting me mentioned that he had tried to visit the Cleveland Museum of Art but "most of it was closed" at the time and we discussed the renovation/expansion and the similarities in architecture.

All in all it was a good visit, but after six nights in a hotel, I am looking forward to my own bed -- but a Cleveland Orchestra concert first. When I tried checking in for my flight I wound up having to call and spent a total of about 90 minutes on the phone. But everyone I talked to was quite helpful, so... fingers crossed.

Lincoln
*- Note: I don't work for the company named, the company I work for is a specialty subcontractor.

Hello, my friend (and 281,000 HHonors points will take you)

"Hey, good buddy" the moderately accented attendant proclaims as my feet pass through the gas station's door.

"Hello my friend, how are you this afternoon?" I ask in response.

No. This isn't the a corner gas station in my corner of Cleveland (and I must admit that there are frightfully few gas station/convenience stores of the format I became accustomed to growing up in Southern California in Cleveland), this is the gas station across the parking lot from my hotel in suburban Kansas City -- Olathe to be specific. The same place I was a little over a week ago.

Friends, relatives -- and apparently now random strangers -- know my affinity for Mountain Dew (fountain or bottle please, canned 'dew tastes funky to me) and one of the challenges of staying in hotels is that there's a 50/50 chance the hotel vending machine will stock Pepsi products. There's about a 2% possibility that the same hotel vending machine will accept one of the company credit cards. I don't mind being the guy thumping quarters into the glowing box next to the rattling ice maker, but I've pretty well depleted my change stash that way, and based on being way under my Meals & Entertainment Budget...

So when reasonably convenient, I like to source my caffeine from a place that accepts plastic. In Olathe, I can literally see the fountain of the neighboring gas station from my hotel room window. I was a frequent visitor last time, and the attendant remembered me then. This trip we've exchanged some small talk -- he lived in San Francisco for 14 years before moving to Kansas, and really likes the people here -- and adopted the mutual greeting recounted above.

That, though, is all I've really seen on this trip to Kansas; the project has been a bit bumpy because of a grand opening that's happening next week and a hardware installation that--when I arrived--wasn't near ready for the step that comes before me, let alone me. I think we've overcome those hurdles, and knock on the pressboard hotel desk, tomorrow will be a very quick day on site and I'll be able to do some more exploring in the afternoon.

My flight is scheduled for Saturday Morning (getting me back to Cleveland just in time for a Cleveland Orchestra concert), and while I'm tempted to try moving it up, based on my luck with Continental--and my overwhelming frustration with United--lately, I'm kind of afraid to touch the reservation.

While looking at the hotel reservations what is currently Trip #3 in sequence, I'm slightly disturbed to discover that I have 281,427 Hilton HHonors points sitting in my account-- not including this trip, of course -- with 25,252 of those points earned since January 1st. The pattern of the numbers catches my eyes 25 25 25... but I draw no other special significance from it. But I think it's time I take a vacation. I'm really overdue to use my passport.

I had a dream a few weeks ago in which I inexplicably wound up in a public square in Rome. Yeah. Not sure how I got there, or what I was doing there but I was in Rome. With nothing.

On one hand it didn't strike me as too odd, because my preferred method to travel is to just wind up somewhere and wander around until I trip over something interesting, or my ears or nose pull me in a particular direction.

On the other hand, it's very odd, because although Rome is somewhere on my "places I want to visit some day" list, it's never been high enough to actually get a number*, since I really feel like I should wet my toes with something English speaking first, since my French is pathetic (I don't get much better than "Excusez-moi, je ne parle pas francais, parlez-vous anglais?", though I can understand a fair amount if spoken slowly enough) and I don't even know where to begin with Italian or German.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Orchestra is doing a residency at Lincoln Center, it seems like a good enough (if slightly narcissistic) excuse to return to New York City this summer, if I can convince myself to hunt for and then part with the cash for concert tickets and airfare -- one thing's for sure -- I wouldn't have to worry about spending money on a hotel room.

I have -almost- enough FQTV Miles with Delta to do a round-the-world ticket, literally flying around the world in one direction, stopping along the way, in Business Class, but Delta and I have a very awkward relationship and I'm not in a huge hurry to give them my business. But if Continental/United continues slipping those clouds may part.

Any votes?

Lincoln
* - The top three, in no particular order are London (England), Sydney (Australia), and Auckland (New Zealand), but I'm also interested in Hong Kong, India, Italy, France, Japan, The Czech Republic, and many other random destinations... it's highly unlikely that I'll wind up in any of them for work, which is how I normally wind up in a new city, but I can keep my fingers crossed.

Continental and United: How to Lose A Customer's Money (That You Already Have)

I think I am officially abandoning my loyalty to Continental Airlines. Not because of anything they've done but because they're merging with United Airlines and United's complete indifference to customer service.

Let's back up a step.

When I'm traveling for work, as I am today--actually right now depending on what activities you include in the act of travel, I book full-fare tickets. These are not cheap tickets, but they are flexible -- fully refundable, fully changeable. It's not uncommon for a full-fare economy ticket to cost more than a first class ticket on the same flights. One of the other perks since the advent of bag fees is that the fare includes two free checked bags.

In theory, at least.

I'm headed back to Kansas City today. I couldn't find a nonstop flight on Continental today, so when searching for full-fare tickets Continental offered Continental-coded United-operated flights from Cleveland to Chicago (Ohare) and from Chicago to Kansas City. Fine. I booked it. I paid something like $1,400 for the privilege of not one but two barbie jets, but at least I don't have to worry about bag fees, right?

Wrong.

I went to check in with United and the kiosk warned me that "Additional Fees Will Apply". Pardon my Internet French, but WTF? Seriously, W...T...F? I call over the United employee and he immediately launched into the "the customer is always wrong" mode. When I asked for a supervisor, the priceless line "I'm all you get." Screw that. Seriously, screw that. I'm not going to pay more than a grand (be it my money or as in this case my company's money) to be insulted. I'm certainly not going to spend that plus another $60 to check the bags and be insulted.

I just don't roll that way.

So I tell him to refund the ticket. He spends a good ten minuted dawdling around before telling me that since it's a Continental issued ticket (a point I raised at the outset) I have to go talk to Continental to get the ticket refunded. So I roll down to Continental's counter. While the agents I spoke with contradicted Continental's baggage policy* they were both quite helpful and quite apologetic. When I asked what the add-collect (i.e. fare difference) to change the B-class ticket to Y-class they shocked me. $-10.

Yes, ten it's dollars less expensive for the ticket that (according to them) that doesn't have any bag fees.

I tell them to go ahead and reissue the ticket. Before they did that one of the agents offered to talk to the brute at United to make sure that that fix the problem on United's end. It would. They try to reissue the ticket but United's system won't let them. Continental has a non-stop but it's completely full and oversold. Continental can't get me to Kansas City without leaving my original flights as-is, and my having to pay the fees for the outbound.

And that's just not happening.

I had wondered if anything could drive me to the point of uttering the phrase "Cancel and refund the outbound segments" and I found it. The agents exhausting every possibility to fix the problem on their end and the United brute's unwillingness to manually waive the fees [even after being asked by the Continental agent who was assisting me] I saw no other option.

If I capitulated and paid the fees, United sees no downside to providing amazingly poor customer service combined with at-best shady business practices. I don't think the $500 in revenue I'm depriving them of will really be noticed, it's more symbolic than anything else -- but maybe someone somewhere will see that they had a $500 one-way passenger who suddenly disappeared. Maybe they'll ask. Maybe the complaint that I'm going to file with the DOT will get noticed. But at least it's off my chest.

It's not a ticket that I didn't book -- it was a ticket that was booked, issued, and I was prepared to use -- but if United doesn't want my business, I certainly don't feel obligated to give it to them.

So how am I getting to Kansas City?

I literally rolled my bags 100 feet down the concourse and asked Southwest, "Can you get me and my bags to Kansas City today?" "Yes." "Let's book it."

While I've always thought that Continental employees were efficient, friendly, and professional (three traits lacking from the surly United agent, and United employees in general), the two Southwest employees who assisted me in booking the ticket may have set a record for being friendly and helpful. Oh, and the "Business Select" fare? $312.40 with all taxes. Southwest's most expensive fare is nearly $200 less. And includes bags. And includes two free "adult" drinks.

I kept my originally booked Continental-coded Continental-operated flight from Kansas City back to Cleveland because Continental's (friendly, helpful, professional) agents assured me that there would not be any problems on the way back. But if there are, I won't hesitate to have that ticket canceled/refunded as well... and guess who I may switch to. Permanently.

I had hoped that Continental would bring their positive traits to United in the merger. But that's clearly not happening.

Since moving to Cleveland 2005, I've flown 135 flights on Continental and only 12 flights on other airlines. So much for loyalty.


Lincoln
(If any part of this post doesn't make sense, it may help to explain that Continental and United are in the process of merging, with United to be the surviving brand...so with each trip it becomes harder and harder to fly on "Continental" without having at least some part of the trip tainted by United.)


*-They said only Y-class fares qualify for the free bags, and I was booked in B-class. Continental's baggage policy (here) says "Any customer traveling on full-fare economy class tickets" is exempt from the baggage charges; If you select "Full fare" when booking a ticket on Continental.com B-class is offered as "Full Fare". So it either is or isn't but they can't have it both ways.