Sitting at the breakfast bar this morning, Park and I were discussing music theory over coffee. Let me rephrase that ... he was instructing me on music theory, and then testing my understanding. I love the magic of A 432!
He was specifically sharing some programming strategies for our spArxx Tonal Palettes™ and the new, enhanced, Mapping he has created for use on a new MIDI hardware device ... and the eyebrow-raising mathematical formulas he has identified for these new patterns that he documented in the Legends.
I thought of a quantum mechanics article I read a few days prior regarding the Schrodinger experiment equation and other quantum mechanics concepts ... and the guy who wrote the article, John Horgan, taking inspiration from a viral video his girlfriend sent him of a teenage girl ranting about how math has nothing to do with reality. That is what Park and I do for each other as well ... spArk inspiration.
All this thinking about mappings and legends got me to thinking not only about the amazing song by REM from 1985 (Maps and Legends), but also of the marvel and etymology of words and their meanings. (I will leave the word Hypotenuse for another blog ... stay tuned)
As we were discussing how many notes really comprise an Octave (hint: the answer is not always 8) my twelve-year-old brain kicked in and laughed out loud ... "just like October is the 10th month and not the 8th"! (this is because while the original Roman calendar was originally based on an ancient Greek lunar calendar where October was in fact the 8th month ... many years later, the months of January and February were inserted, bumping October to the 10th month of the year.)
Then I exclaimed: "Wow ... hard to believe it has been 10 months since the WHO announcing COVID as a global pandemic and (most) everyone was scrambling on Friday, March 13th doing their pandemic, lock-down grocery shopping. No wonder so many people we know are having babies"! You do the math (hint: the answer it is not a quantum mechanics formula)
Right now, Park and I are in our COVID Pod. We've been extremely cautious and diligent in our actions to not contract the virus. We literally and figuratively are two PEAs in a Pod:
Park E. Anderson & Mrs. Park E. Anderson.
When we got married in 2015, I had the bakery who designed our Groot-themed tree wedding cake also make a second smaller cake for the rehearsal dinner. The cake featured two, adorable peas in a pod.
The stress of the lock-down the last 10 months has been grueling on many people and I am not taking away from the realness of that stress in any way. I fully comprehend that most people want to get back to 'living life again'. They miss concerts, movies, dinners out, friends and being comfortable traveling.
Many feel the stress of their children not being able to live 'normal' lives with months of on-line schooling and limited socialization. This last .8333333... of a year has created life-altering experiences to say the least.
Park and I feel very fortunate that we truly enjoy each other's company and that we just love the 'work' - excuse me, labors of love - for A 432 Life, that so much of our time and energy has been invested into. (sorry, I had to do this and end at least one sentence in a proposition and give Park a little twitch) Sans virus or not, we've already been sheltering in place the last couple of years to be able to strategically set our lives' mission and plans into action. We already self-quarantined before self-quarantining was the norm.
I have a sign in our kitchen that says "My goal is to create a life I don't need to take a vacation from". Despite the sentence ending in a proposition (which we now know clearly drives Park crazy) it really does sum up - a positive - take of mine and Park's current circumstance of sheltering in place with solid actions to stay safe and also use that time wisely as well.
I think of the grace that Nelson Mandela maintained in prison for 27 years. I'm not saying I want to sign up for that length of a detention, but I do respect anyone being able to maintain such forward thinking strategies in a current, seemingly sticky, situation:
"It always seems impossible until it's done"
- Nelson Mandela
Vacation can be defined as: "an extended period of leisure and recreation, especially one spent away from home or in traveling". Our last 'vacation' by this definition was therefore to Napa Valley in September 2015. All of our other trips have been out of state to go 'back home" to either IL or MD to visit family and friends.
We've also had a handful of 3-4 day weekends in the SouthWest (driving distances from home) but those do not fit the "extended period" definition. There is a lot to be said of feeling comfortable in your own skin right where you are at - right now - and not crawling in your own skin to get to someplace else.
The word Pod - as a transitive verb - means 'to remove': "our friends would pick and pod the peas". These Peas (Park and I) will be removed from this Pod, eventually , when it is safe enough to travel to see family and friends again.
The word Podding - as an intransitive verb - means 'to produce'. "They're doing adorable, old fashioned things like podding real, live home-grown peas" (Times, Sunday Times - 2010). We may not be producing human babies like so many others we know, but we have always called A 432 Life, Inc. 'our baby', so Park and I are definitely producing ... we are Podding.
For Park and I, the biggest negative take-away from from the pandemic has been our inability to spend true quality time - in person - with family and friends. I certainly hope it does not take 27 years before we hug family and friends again ... the thought of that does create some angst and fear for me, I will not lie.
Both Park and I have experienced the loss of loved ones since this pandemic began. The services were virtual. We are thankful for the current technology that allowed us to do so. We remain as positive and hopeful for the future as possible ...
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
- Nelson Mandela
Until next time ...
Mrs. PEA
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