Hi From Neptune

Lists, Music and Birthdays

Hey. :)

Since this is the first update of winter (New Zealand winter, that is: enjoy the sunshine if you have it in your gorgeous northern hemisphere summer), I've decided to stream-line the process. Think of it as a beaver deciding not to lug the whole tree through the snow after him, but instead just focussing on the small stuff. (And if there's a ridiculous contradiction in there, such as the fact that beavers never lug whole trees or they don't ever see snow - though I figured they would, being North American - put it down to the fact that it's almost midnight here in heater-land and Ginny hasn't gotten a lot of sleep lately. I'm not usually dense. :P)

Anyway. *smack self on head - am stream-lining, not going off on tangents*

Most uplifting moment of the last three days: sitting snuggled on the couch at night listening to Paul Potts' Nessun Dorma turned almost up to maximum volume, looking out over the lights of the Otago Harbour and dreaming. The man has an amazing voice, deep, strong and so powerful it makes you want to get right up and start singing beside him; or it would if not for the fact that you (or at least I) sound terrible and would ruin the ears of the audience.

Most generosity: a tie between Sarah for her banana & choc chip muffins (she ran out of chocolate half-way through and decided to sacrifice her Moro bar for my birthday present, awh :), Jessie's painstakingly baked and decorated birthday cake, Aunty Pam's "I'm sure your life will be full of adventure" (but not in a reassuring way - this was unprompted), Mum in all guises and forms, and Dad for calling and listening to my nonsensical giggling/misunderstandings for almost 20 minutes. Lovely family! ^^

Best 'yay for big noses' moment: Adrien Brody in The Pianist, talking to the polish woman outside the cafe. He's just so elegant, so human.

Most distressing: also The Pianist. The Stormtroopers enter a house in the Jewish district of Warsaw and kill its occupants. I would say 'enough said', but there can't ever be, can there?

'The pet won't leave me alone': our six-month-old Briard pup, Hobo, has his nose at perfect hip height - and he just does not stop poking you! *growls at memory*

Good school moment: finding my direction in Painting. ^^ It's reassuring to discover just how you work, what your path is and what you can do with your skills. Our teacher is also wonderfully supportive.

Bad school moment: "Get me out of here!!!"
Hmmmmm... *thinks* Biology, when our substiture teacher gave us nothing to do but sit for half an hour - or Design, when Mr Almond talks and talks and talks and tries to help but talks and talk and talks - or Scholarship History, when my lack of sleep rendered every one of Mr Enright's perfectly enunciated words as dull as the banging of a tin back door.

Favourite quote of the last week:
"In thought, in touch, in breath and being, we are one."

And, luckily discovered in a word folder:

Ten things you might not know about me.
(Never mind that if you're reading this, these are not 'might's but probably 'definitely don't's).

1. I write bad poetry.
2. I have four-year-old maths books in my locker at school, kept for the memories.
3. I still think about being called a witch by my classmates in year five.
4. I am wonderfully, amazingly naive.
5. I still don't want to give up on learning to ride, even though it's an expensive hobby that we really can't afford.
6. I have a deep fear of failure.
7. I'm a little bit resentful of the popular girls at school, even though I've been denying it for years. (And know how silly it is - really, I do.)
8. I'm a nerd!
9. I have an odd attraction to Americans.
10. I still like colouring in colouring books.

Ten things I worry about:

1. The world!
2. Ignoring the world
3. Not experiencing life
4. Not supporting others
5. Ignorance
6. Discrimination
7. Doing my best
8. Not letting other people down
9. If I will ever be able to take that next step
10. Letting someone I love feel lonely

Ten things I feel and why:

1. Sad: because I know that there's more of me I want to be
2. Alive: in the beauty of others
3. Frustrated: with myself!
4. Hopeless: because there is so much out of my hands
5. Silly: because I get stressed
6. Special: in general
7. Odd: also in general. :)
8. Focused: when I'm learning something
9. Free: listening to others express themself to me
10. Livid: with people!!!!



And the lyrics to Caruso, because they are beautiful. :)

Here, where the sea shines
and the wind howls,
on the old terrace
beside the gulf of Sorrento,
a man embraces a girl
after the tears,
then clears his throat
and contines the song:

I love you very much
very, very much, you know;
it is a chain by now
that heats the blood inside the veins,
you know...

He saw the lights out on the sea,
thought of the nights there in America,
but they were only the fishermen's lamps
and the white wash astern.
He felt the pain in the music
and stood up from the p iano,
but when he saw the moon
emergin from a cloud,
death also seemed sweeter to him.
He looked the girl in the eyes,
those eyes as green as the sea.
Then suddenly a tear fell
and he believed he was drowning.

I love you very much,
very, very much, you know;
it is a chain by now
that heats the blood inside the veins,
you know...

The power of opera,
where every drama is a hoax;
with a little make-up and with mime
you can become someone else.
But two eyes that look at you,
so close and real,
make you forget the words,
confuse your thoughts,
so everything becomes small,
also the nights there in America.
You turn and see your life
through the white wash astern.
But, yes, it is life that ends
and he did not think much about it,
on the contrary, he already felt happy
and continued his song:

I love you very much,
very, very much, you know;
it is a chain by now
that heats the blood inside the veins,
you know...

posted by Anonymous @ 10:51 AM