Monday Musings

For Christmas my mom got me a Flip video. They're compact, easy-to-use, and fit right in my purse. They can take up to two hours of video, and I can plug it into any computer's USB drive and transfer or play the video. I've been using it for my "Nana Stories": I prop up the camera, hit record, ask a couple questions and then let Nana do her thing.

I had over thirty minutes of video from our first session; it came out to over two-thousand words when I transcribed it that evening. Yesterday, I propped up the camera, ready for session number two--I wanted to ask about some of her experiences on base once she got to Wyoming. She spoke for nearly twenty minutes, and I was so excited by the material she gave me! I retrieved the Flip Video to stop recording when I realize that... I didn't record any of it. I must have hit the button twice when i started, or made a mistake when trying to zoom, or-- or-- or--

"It didn't get it," I said.

"Well I'm not going through that again," she replied.

I didn't push the matter. I had listened to her, and had already known the rough outlines. I jotted down a couple notes. But later that day she got out a photo album from that time period and I got permission to record as she thumbed through the pages, telling me about some of the pictures' context. Among other things, I learned she had been Miss Alameda. Anyway, here she is in her uniform at the barracks. The picture's kind of blurry, since it's just a cropped still frame from the video I took.

Anyway, a great weekend. I was off work Saturday, and my boyfriend changed my car's oil. (Valvoline will miss my business!) We saw a matinée of "The King's Speech" which was very well-done. But after all the accolades it's gotten, I think I was expecting more. Still, nice. Come Oscar-time, I'll be rooting for "The Social Network," though. Out of the ten films nominated for best picture, I've actually seen eight of them. Only "Winter's Bone" and "The Fighter" are left.

And... Go Packers!