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09/29/2007
Morning thoughts
This not sleeping thing is getting to be a little irksome. Not at the time, quite frankly I love the night almost as much as I love the sea. Its very calming to see the estate minus hooded strangers smoking.... well, doesn't really matter what. Its still urban here, but I know its only a 15 minute run until I reach the millpond. I'd like to see if the swans are still there.
They vanished when their nest and eggs were washed away quite a few years ago by floods. I think I cried then. I had spent many evenings cycling over there to watch them build there nest together. The female was particularly amusing. Congratulating her mate with everthing he bought her, letting him place the stick - oh! so carefully. Then the moment he had gone for more building material she would move it. She must have known what she was doing for it was a very fine nest. But it was still sweet to watch her kindness and perhapse gratitude for her actions.
Not seen them for a long time, maybe one or both died in the flood. There is always the old folk tale thast where one of a pair goes, the other shortly follows - even death. Ironically, the song that has just come on is "The Children of Lir". if you don't know that, I shall write it up another time. I promised I would get some sleep tonight and my drink is almost finished.
The rain has stopped again and everything smells that little bit fresher.
I havn't been this calm in a long time.
Maybe it will lead to better sleep.
xXx
The piano keys are black and white, but they sound like a million colours in your mind
Katie Melua
03:41 Posted in Thoughts | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this
09/26/2007
Armed and dangerous
I am armed with a cafe-tier of very good coffee... music... a purple pen, that will be returned tomorrow (asap) and apologies!... toast.... personal statement.... good books.... films....
One senses this isn't the best combination!
xXx
Btw.... jumping around for the weekend.
xXx
22:42 Posted in Complete Random Junk! | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email this
09/25/2007
And we're climbing; don't know where, just up - that's all that matters really
Been climbing. :D (about 2 hours on the wall! as I was meant to be helping lead but some west house guy and myself just ended-up setting each other tricks for both sessions. This wasn't really a problem as they weren't going up as so we didn't have to watch as much for safety.) In all honesty the name isn't that accurate as we were taversing and playing addon! If any climbers want a laugh, I was going around under set of rules... then "Oh $$$$" as I forced myself into traversing 2 meters horizontal to the ground. Appparently it was quite amusing to watch! :( :P But my arms are a little stiff now (well not stiff... leaden?). Tu comprends!
Got an AP fr my music work :S wasn't expecting that as I didn't finish it. Have to make a time line of Jazz from 1860 - present day. I really want to compile a small website-like-thing and interlink all the music of the 20th centuary. If I start with Jazz and then move from there.... does anyone know any good programs (for mac) that I can use to compile a number of different pages. I can managee html if necessary (anything more complicated I'd like some nice pallettes and font options so I know what I am doing!!)
UCAS.... all done except statement. Can I have people's opinions on how necessary the specific (optional) statement for Cambridge is?
Almost certainally have prep to do, but I am currently listening to Bowie whilst thinking about doing my washing and writing more PS
Oh and looking forward to the weekend which looks to be very good :D :D :D (Ok, will calm down now)
xXx
15:42 Posted in Complete Random Junk! | Permalink | Comments (4) | Email this
09/21/2007
ATHEIST IN THE WOODS
An atheist was walking through the woods. "What majestic trees!" "What powerful rivers!" "What beautiful animals!" He said to himself.
As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look and saw a 7-foot grizzly charging towards him. He ran as fast as he could up the path, but looking over his shoulder he saw that the bear was closing in on him. Frantically speeding up he tripped & fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw that the bear was right on top of him.
At that instant the Atheist cried out, "Oh God!"
Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky.
"You deny my existence for all these years, teach others I don't exist and even credit creation to cosmic accident. "Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?"
The atheist looked directly into the light, "It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask You to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps you could make the BEAR a Christian?"
"Very Well,"
The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. And the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed his head & spoke: ''Lord bless this food, which I am about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our Lord, Amen."
xXx
21:05 Posted in Funny | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
09/20/2007
Sleep
Oh childish sleep
How you taunt, with leaden weights, these eyes;
Your fair promises, false as Jacob and his sheepskin -
Deceptive - of rest to this
My weary soul
Oh fickle sleep
With Delilah's constancy you flit,
Oh! so graceful, between you lovers with
Caresses and wining smiles - will you not
Remedy my loneliness
This cold night?
Oh cruel sleep,
Denying your company, salatious visitations to all but
the most needy, leaving a scent - calling cared
Dropped carelessly on a
Cold pillow
Oh honest coffee!
A students delight, oft warm and kindly
Companion through the night -
Soft kisses, quench the sting of dear sleeps flight.
xXx
13:00 Posted in Life , Poetry , Thoughts | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
09/19/2007
Best laid plans of mice and men...
Had meant to do so much tonight... but I actually feel like curling up and not doing much. This being a rareity I shall now go to bed instead and listen to some glorious music :D and start my new book (ignoring the others on the list naturally).
Waiting for something, I don't know what... but its a long way off yet, so I can afford to get some sleep methinks.
Night
xXx
21:52 Posted in Complete Random Junk! | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
News and literature
After a protracted period of silence I feel strongly persuaded to present you with a plethora of progessions in my otherwise pedestrain life. :P (I realised after the second p that I could have some fun with this sentance and I will once again use the time-old excuse... its MY blog!)
Anyway... to those of you who do not already know, I am doing music at Uni!! :D And over the moon. Seriously, my cheecks are complaining because I am grinning to much. Not only do I now have time to do the things I wish to do (like practise, or read, or draw or listen), but no! This is encouraged in me. Active development of skills outside the classroom is encouraged and praised. No longer do I have to feel guilty for practising for more than the allotted 45 minutes. I am free! And it is wonderful.
And as for my degree... I can't wait.
Along with this I have given up Further maths. This is a less joy-bringing development, I do enjoy maths and will be sorry so see it go (despite the extreme hang-hold it had on my time). However, I do not enjoy - and neither am I good at - so that is less of a loss. And as I need the time, am not certain of an A, and do not enjoy the course I woulkd have to take it seemed like the logical conclusion. I will pick maths up again when I have time and inclination (If this means never I will be dissapointed, but so be it).
Music itself is going well. I still need to order reeds from Howarths, so that will happen tomorrow. Started playing piano again - a glorious piece of Schumann! Which I will do in a concert sometime. Might pester one of the teachers to give me playing advice, but it seems fairly self-explanitory. Organ is organ. Some brilliant hymns, and even better volentaries. The head decided to announce my scholarship in assembly, I don't know how I feel about that. :S oh... and how do I tell the difference between Sibeleus and Wagner? ("Sounds like toffee pudding" applies to both!)
Went to the English Society last night. Which I have a strange feeling I enjoyed more than the English Students there. The talk was basically on "what is literature" and the perspective was that literature is a piece of writing that intrinsically serves no purpose and that now (with the rise in consumerisation) we no longer have literature as all written word is a comodity. Here I must disagree with a several issues:
- Publised books have always been a comodity; nowadays that comodity is accecisble to all instead of just the wealthy.
- If literature serves no purpose then there can be no literature written in the past as all historical literature gives us significant insight into that culture and how social states functioned during that period. Literature also allows us to develop our understanding of people and how people see things - it is in essence one persons view on a scenario be it imaginary or the combination of a series of events theyhave experienced.
- All writing has a purpose as it is written (perhapse not conciously so). People write what they feel, how they think, what polotics they support and abhor, the qualities they admire or distain - all these factors come across through good literature as the author (in part) tries to communicate and promote their own beliefs. Few people positively advertise that which they dislike.
- True, part of the beauty of literature is that is is based in fantasy and does not point to specific instances in time and tangible objects or events (and in this sense it is nothingness and "useless") but this does not mean it serves no purpose. If we limit purpose to the epirical then we limit all sense of culture/unity/emotion/faith/belief and also all sense of identity and history. We can not bring out our sense of beloninging (to a family or a group) as an object to see when it is discussed (Guliver's Travels - the philosophers) and neither can we identify a specific purpose for literatue that is ubiquitous. This does not mean one does not exist.
- The moment we try to define literature, to categorise it, to class it and treat it as something which can be contained and measured then we loose sight of so much, you cannot qualify the emotive and the beautiful. Why is something beautiful? Because it fulfills the golden ratio? Or because we take pleasure in it? Because the colours do not comflict? Or because it reminds us of a time we were happy?
Sorry, that was an incredibly badly constructed set of arguments/thoughts. My head is still reeling slightly as it was a very in depth talk. You will not be surprised to hear that I said nothing during the questions time!
Anyway, I should go do something productive (shocking isn't it!)... probably organ! But there is another character pending in office blog... so I think I shall post another episode of that, hopefully a little more amusing than the last.
xXx
14:23 Posted in Complete Random Junk! , Life , Literature , Music , News , Thoughts | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
09/15/2007
Trapped
I have been caught in my own web, which was very silly.
If you pretend to enough people that you are happy, and convince them that you know what you are doing and doing what you want to do then OF COURSE they are going to be concerned when they find out this isnt the case. And of course they are going to fret that you aren't doing the right thing. And of course it is entirely you're own fault that you didn't tell the truth to start with... except you couldn't becuase you were spending too much time trying to convince yourself anyways!
So yeah... let me enjoy this screw-up for a while
xXx
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09/10/2007
Apology
Well, the title says it all really. To those to whome it applies (you'll know), I'm sorry. Sometimes a choice just doesn't seem to be there, and looking back doesn't help anyone.
xXx
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09/03/2007
Last night at home...
... And just to be traditional, I am lying in bed, in the dark, typing this:
Musings for 2007 / 2008
This year is going to be good. I don't know how we came to that conclusion, but we have decided, it will be good. Yes, there will be rough patches, and patches that we really would rather didn't exist, but that does not effect the whole. :D We will be 18 (always useful), oldest in school (less lippy year 9s, although apparently the new year 9 is pants!), we will have everything to look forward to... and enough good friends to reminisce with.
One person is returning to school who I thought had left. I don't know how I feel about this, aprehensive, but we will see how things go. As long as they can contain themselves it will be fine, and I've still got my friends around so all is well. even so... :S
I moved everything in today and my new room is abosultely lovely. The view is lovely and it is once again quite large - I don't know how I managed that (incidentally it is also the same colout as my room at home). This year I have followed the "pack everything and then take the rest back home" theory, so atm the room is A TIP!!! But that will soon change. All the options have been signed for, and I have had my first cup of tea over piano practise, this year I am just going to leave a mug in the music school. :D - Oh and the new Granta house is amazing, still being finished, but so lovely, if you are around, you must come and have a look :D chic is the new word!
Oh and Rae and I have started our dance group, but it didn't work that well as we didn't have a floor! (Salsa on carpet does *not* work!) Good fun though. So much to do this year:
- Piano
- Dancing
- Oboe,
- Singing
- Organ
- Harlton
- Conducting
- cooking? - LOVELY NEW KITCHED
- travel
- parties
- shows/plays
- sailing
oh and maybe A Levels.... :S not sure. :P
Anyway, I have a lot in my head, but I dont think I can write it that well currently (need facial expression and gesture), so I shall go now.
Cya all
xXx
22:28 Posted in Thoughts | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this