Not Unwarranted

Yesterday I blew two fuses in the car, the one which powers the auxiliary 12v outlet and the one which powers tha main 12v outlet, radio and dashboard clock. The owner's manual shows where the fuse box is conveniently located just under the dash, but in reality there is no fuse box there, just the plug for the computer diagnostics. I could not find anything online to help me locate the fuse box, so this morning on my way to work I took it in to Toyota of Sunnyvale, and they said they would  fix it in less than half an hour free, under warranty. The paperwork guy said he had no idea where the fuse box is located.

Just as I was emailing work to say I would be late, they were done. I still don't know where the fuse box is. Maybe by the time the warranty runs out they will have it documented correctly somewhere. Meanwhile, it strikes me as bizarre that I have to bring the car in to change what is probably its most commonly blown fuse. 

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I need to make instant pudding tonight. I have two half gallons of milk in the fridge just for that purpose (I don't generally drink milk). The last time I bought milk for something, it was curdled and turning green before I remembered why I bought it. Smelled bad, too.

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I think it's time to bring Pumpkin in for a check up. Maybe along with the dental cleaning. He's been barfing almost daily, despite the food being hi quality anti-hairball stuff.

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Things That Make For Happy

One thing about LJ which tickles me is how so many of the things which turn me off or are of no interest to me show up frequently as "things that make me happy" on other people's journals. So, a poll:

[Poll #1216760]

Treequarium

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Originally uploaded by how3ird.

This was taken somewhere in the Siskayous on the way from San Jose to Seattle, but on the return trip we went through a vast stand of evergreens which went as far as the eye could see, and looking out the window at them it was like being in a diorama - the 3D effect was amazing, because the trees were all rising straight up, way above the height of the train, even though some were planted dozens of feet below, some had their bases at train level and some were up the hill. I didn't get a picture because the nearest ones would have blurred everything out, and it was fairly dark in their shadows, and the windows of the train were filthy and there was a lot of glare from the overhead lights. For a while there it felt like looking through the glass into an aquarium of forest.

Snapshots

Sue is up in the attic, grabbing the already-packed bag she had stashed up there. She takes out the "goobye dear, I'm leaving" note and sings it to us. Then her husband pops in hours earlier than expected. She uses a box of photos as her excuse for being up there, and the rest is TheatreWorks' production of Snapshots, book by David Stern and music/lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. You know Steven - he wrote the music for Wicked, Pippin, Godspell, Rags, The Baker's Wife, Children of Eden, Working, Captain Louie, The Magic Show and Personals. And guess what? Songs from all of those shows, including some which were cut from them, comprise most of the music for this one.

When I saw that in the program I was sure we had a flop on our hands. I mean, Schwartz is no Irving Berlin - his tunes aren't so stunning that you can build a musical from his rejects. Except you can, sort of. Especially if many of them are mashups. Lion Tamer from The Magic Show mashed into I'm Not That Girl from Wicked. Fathers and Sons from Working mashed together with The Hardest Part of Love from Children of Eden. Some of the tunes are wedged in there, not quite fitting, but most of them work.

The show is all about middle-aged  Sue [Beth DeVries] and her husband Dan [Ray Wills] and the Sue and Dan in the photos. Those are the young adult Susan [Molly Bell] and Daniel [Michael Marcotte], and the high schoolers Susie [Courtney Stokes]  and Danny [Brian Crum]. As Sue and Dan sing about the photos, the other two versions of them are right there, in a tightly scripted tag team match. As the show progresses there is more and more interaction between the three Sues and Dans, and we see the rift between them wiggling a bit.

The show was directed by TheatreWorks founder Robert Kelley, and features a lot of his trademark quick change artistry and snap.

No spoilers, but Danny was a busy young man, and Molly plays a non-Sue girlfriend while Courtney does about five minutes of serial one night stands which is hilarious. Courtney's Susie steals the show - she is far and away the most talented person on that stage, which is amusing to me because she is also the only non-Equity cast member, and a local product who is well known over in the Milpitas area for her leading roles in youth productions with Star Struck Theatre, where her mother, I believe, directs musicals as well. This is her fifth major TW show, and she's living in SoCal going for a degree in (you guessed it) Musical Theater.

Snapshots works, for the most part, and there are a couple of two-hankie moments toward the end. While hindsight says the story line is utterly predictable right to the finale, while you're watching it the little details and jogs, skips and sneezes along the way make it interesting.

Costumes were okay, but nothing to brag about. Lighting was simple and non-invasive. The strobe effect with camera snap audio was used too randomly to make it useful - I wonder if there were more in the script and they were cut, or if the playwright just waffled. Set design by Joe Ragey was his usual superb job. The four-piece band way down in the pit was adequate, not up to what I expect from TW. I found myself missing Lita.

Worth seeing. It runs Tues-Sun through July 13 at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Ticket info is here.