Monday, August 30, 2010

oh, christian.

so love this man. counting down days before i see him again in november.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

but don't worry, i am not the bread and the knife. you will always be the bread and the knife.

they should triumph.

"it so happened that lucy, who found daily life rather chaotic, entered a more solid world when she opened the piano. she was then no longer either deferential or patronizing; no longer either a rebel or a slave. the kingdom of music is not the kingdom of this world; it will accept those whom breeding and intellect and culture have alike rejected....she was no dazzling executante; her runs were not at all like strings of pearls, and she struck no more right notes than was suitable for one of her age and situation. nor was she the passionate young lady, who performs so tragically on a summer's evening with the window open. passion was there, but it could not be easily labelled; ...she loved to play on the side of Victory. Victory of what and over what-that is more than the words of daily life can tell us. but that some sonatas are written tragic no one can gainsay; yet they can triumph or despair as the player decides, and Lucy had decided that they should triumph." -e.m. forster; room with a view

time is now...

i'm in glasgow!

my time has already been so lovely. i'm absolutely enamored with the city and can't believe i get to call this place home. i've been a bit frustrated in my search for a flat. however, that never lasts long when i look out the window and see the rolling countryside of scotland and get the most sincere hugs from dear, amazing, sweet, and kind ami. i'm staying in cumbernauld with ami and her parents. it's about 15 minutes out of glasgow. it's perfectly lovely with horses literally rolling around in massive green hills. i've never seen such happy horses! it was rainy and cold today so i stayed in to read and look up flats. i had a lovely afternoon tea with sandy (ami's dear dad) and he gave me a great rundown on scotland's government and we talked about cultural changes that both of our countries are experiencing and the differences in generations in each culture. i was so thankful that he took the time. after a bit more reading, margaret (ami's sweet mum) took me for a little walk along the river. we talked about all kinds of things from scottish social services to america and the UK's healthcare policies, but also stopped to look at slugs (which look SO different here). when we returned home, margaret poured me a gin and tonic and we watched the scottish military tattoo on bbc for a bit before sandy called us in for dinner. dinner was a vegetarian's dream. he prepared a perfect potato leek soup that i'm still dreaming about, ratatouille, wild mushroom risotto, potato frittes, and thyme baked yukon gold baby potatoes. and then of course we took some tea to top it off.

i. love. scotland.