Filed under: Literature, music | Tags: books, clutter, coffee, emily dickinson, feelgood, jason mraz, Literature, music, potatoes, telesales, weather, weekend
Today is Monday, and the rest of the week is looming threateningly around the corner. So far it’s been a week of temperamental laptop issues, cold weather and telesales harrassment. Although I try to be positive in the face of Monday misery… I just want to go back to bed and set my alarm for Spring.
My bedroom is a sanctuary this evening, away from the post-weekend clutter that has taken over the sitting room. I’ve seen cigarette ash hiding under the couch, and the kitchen is buried under a pile of dirty teatowels and empty bottles.
This man is the only reason I’m smiling right now!
This is Jason Mraz singing ‘I’m Yours’. I’ve been singing this song like an idiot for the last few days. This is live in Hyde Park last year – I love the way he plays with the crowd.
Other things that are improving my mood today:
1. GOOD coffee.
2. Potato farls (maybe an Irish thing?)
3. And this Emily Dickinson poem:
The words the happy say Are paltry melody But those the silent feel Are beautiful –
I’m also excited about starting a new book this evening – I have a stack of around 22 books waiting to be read, and I’m definitely going to choose something cheerful.
Is there a song that makes you smile instantly?
Filed under: LOVE, Literature, Relationships, Single life, philosophy | Tags: alexander mccall smith, decorating, dr.seuss, femme, kids, law of three, Literature, milan kundera, mo willems, muffin, nephew, pirate, roald dahl, unbearable lightness of being, unlikely valentine
It was a busy weekend. A few hours of muffin baking and story telling with my niece and nephew this morning. Our current favourite read is this one:
‘Today I Will Fly’ by Mo Willems- a huge hit because of the beautifully simple storyline and hilarious illustrations. My nephew almost wept with laughter the first time we read it a few weeks ago – and insisted on hearing it again as soon as I got to the end! I LOVE it the way I love Dr.Seuss and Roald Dahl books – seriously funny stuff.
I have to include my favourite illustration:
I’m reading an Alexander McCall Smith book at the mo and loving that too – ‘The Right Attitude to Rain’.
Kids and fiction aside, it’s been a hectic few days. I’ve moved into the biggest bedroom in the house – the Pirate decided to stay after all but has moved upstairs to a more private room with an en suite. The Femme took my wee room and I took the Pirate’s old one. Phew. I’ve created some artwork for my walls using vinyl, and also turned my books into a feature by creating invisible shelves. I’ll get some pics up eventually – it’s still a work in progress.
I’m 25 years old, and this is the first time I’ve really made a HOME somewhere. The thought of settling down permanently scares the living daylights out of me, but this feeling of being established in a little community is wonderful and somehow exhilarating.
Speaking of exhilaration… I haven’t spoken to the Unlikely Valentine for quite some time. The character of Tomas in The Unbearable Lightness of Being abides by the Law of Three - when in a casual relationship he’ll see the same person only a) once every three weeks or b) three times in a row and never again. I can’t remember what the principle behind the law was, but I think I might try it for a while – it might prevent the passion of my next dalliance from being so quickly extinguished.
You might be able to tell from reading this that my thoughts are a little disjointed right now - I’m distracted by plans for tomorrow, ideas for decor and, as always, Big Questions. Does he think about me? Why do I spend so much time thinking about him when I can’t even imagine us being together?
(Did I mention that he laughs like John Travolta as Danny in Grease?)
Filed under: Literature, Single life, business | Tags: canaries, fuerteventura, holiday, jed rubenfeld, julian barnes, karaoke, laundry, Literature, psychoanalysis, winter sun
The Pirate and I landed in Dublin last night, still friends after our week in the sun together. The irony of the situation isn’t lost on me – the last holiday we took together as a couple was, over all, miserable, whereas our ‘just friends’ trip to the canaries was a resounding success.
Things that made me smile this week:
Grandma Patty, aged 70+, who murdered ‘What a Wonderful World’ at karaoke every night.
The Reptile Show, where I was blindfolded and handed a rather large python. I love reptiles, and my enjoyment of the experience was added to when the Pirate jumped out of his chair and left the building before I could introduce him to my new friend. Girl’s blouse.
A drive to the south of Fuerteventura, Pirate at the wheel, leaving me to admire the bizarre Martian landscape of the island.
‘The Interpretation of Murder’ by Jed Rubenfeld, a murder-mystery set in early 1900s New York with Freud and Jung at the centre of the action. Oedipal theory, dead bodies, and psychoanalysis galore.
‘Arthur and George’ by Julian Barnes, based on a real world miscarriage of justice in Victorian England. Arthur Conan Doyle becomes Sherlock Holmes in this beautifully written, meticulously researched novel. A British Knight with a penchant for disguises, a love affair hidden from a consumptive wife, the clever but remarkably ordinary George Edalji and the author’s droll sense of humour combine to create a book that demands attention.
I’ve designated today as a day off – to recover, unpack, and do laundry. Tomorrow I turn my energies back to the business and the real world. I’ve had a few thoughts this month that will undoubtedly make the New Year our most prosperous so far, but there’s a lot of work to be done between now and then.
I’m off to catch up on the blogs and happenings I’ve missed out on this week. What’s new with you?
Filed under: LOVE, Literature, Relationships, philosophy | Tags: attention, audience, devotion, existence, lightness of being, literary fiction, Literature, LOVE, milan kundera, philosophy, prague, psychology, relationship
A few years ago I read The Unbearable Lightness of Being. It blew me away. It’s a novel by Milan Kundera set in Prague in 1968, and although I’m sure the book is of huge political and cultural importance I was most impressed by Kundera’s philosophy. His observations throughout the book provide an inspiring insight into the human mind.
Years later, I fell in love, devoted three years of my life to a certain beautiful person, and skipped the country when our relationship disintegrated. Months later we caught up and spent a night talking about ourselves, our love and our loss. One of the comments I made that night was that I felt at the time as if I had an invisible audience everywhere I went. I’m always looking for the approval or admiration of this group of fantasy critics.
Often, when I look back on a situation in my life where I behaved in a manner most people would describe as promiscuous/loud/irresponsible I can honestly say that I was just looking for a good story. Life is more interesting when you say ‘yes’, and an interesting life leads to interesting stories. My critics, immaterial as they are, love a good story.
Last night I watched The Unbearable Lightness of Being for the first time. It’s a beautiful film, and really captures the characters as they were written. Today I did a little more reading, and came across a quote that resonates deeply with me:
“We all need somebody to look at us. We can be divided into four categories according to the kind of look we wish to live under. The first category longs for the look of an infinite number of anonymous eyes, in other words, for the look of the public…
The second category is made up of people who have a vital need to be looked at by many known eyes. They are the tireless hosts of cocktail parties and dinners…
Then there is the third category, the category of people who need to be constantly before the eyes of the person they love. Their situation is as dangerous as the situation of people in the first category. One day the eyes of their beloved will close, and the room will go dark..
And finally there is the fourth category, the rarest, the category of people who live in the imaginary eyes of those who are not present. They are the dreamers.”
So I’m a dreamer. It’s a theory I’m going to keep in mind over the next while, as I’m sure it has practical applications in gaining a deeper understanding of those around us.
Which are you?
