Mondays. I love Mondays.It was another gem. Nathan and I walked downtown on a longer route so that I could look out for help wanted signs. By the time we were descending the hill towards Scotia Square the wind had picked up and gotten a bit chilly. Nathan said, “I hate the wind and hills.” I, though some marvelous karmic gift, thought he said, “I hate rent and bills.” Thus, I clued into the fact that it was indeed December 1st, and time for our rent to be paid. I am ever so thankful for misheard sentences. If not for them we would surely have been late with rent. Even with the great luck we still ended up on quite a bank-hopping trek to accomplish our task.
Eventually we made it to Random Play and met up with April and Wanda. Wanda, April and I gave Nathan advice on his tie selection (he had to leave in a short while to have a family photo taken), finally settling on one that matched both his pants and his goatee.
Next was a hike back to Scotia Square, where Nathan departed and my disciples and I shopped for presents for Wanda’s mother and had a bit to eat. April, my dear creative disciple gave me a lovely holiday card, that you can see above. It says the following:
Apollo–
As each snowflake is an individual, so are my friends. I think you’re probably the most individul of all! I’m so glad that we’ve gotten closer these past couple of years. You’re a great friend, I don’t know what I’d do without you.
Here’s to another grand year.
Happy Holidays, April
We had a wacky time after that, visiting another record store, The Black Market and Park Lane (the culmination of the strange). Our final stop was at Tim Horton’s, where I took out my digital camera and snapped the photos you can see below. Out of 78 photos taken these are all that actually were stored on the low-end camera I have. It was an enjoyable time for all three of us.
We three walked to the bus stop, where we waited for Wanda’s bus. It was a nice wait, and April and I discovered the most wonderful thing about Wanda. She has amazing hair. It’s soft and ever so pleasant to touch. We spent a good deal of time just playing with her hair and discovering the pillow-like back part she has. I am quite envious of her locks, I assure you.
After hugs goodbye, April and I made an effort to catch her bus, but were unsuccessful. We ended up walking back here, warming up from the cold wind’s chill and then dragging Nathan with us down to April’s bus stop, where she had perfect timing.
One of my fellow Psychos, Mandy from Puerto Ricosent me an e-mail Sunday morning that I found very interesting, if only for the wonderful coincidence it contained. She informed me that her great grandmother was actually from Upper Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia, where I spent the first 18 years of my life. It is absolutely a very small world. Isn’t it amazing that people from such far apart places could have such a connection? I most likely have known some people who are related to her for years.
Mandy also sent me a very nice song that she recorded called “Something”. It’s quite well performed and definitely has something special about it. You should definitely check out her website, Mandy Music . net. I’m sure she will have some great music available to the public someday, if the one song she sent to me is any indication.
8 comments on “Digital Napsack 005a”
Thank you for the sweet compliment, Apollo.
My boyfriend, Alex Borges, wrote “Something” about a break-up with a girlfriend many years ago, but it has a timeless quality to the lyrics. That version was actually recorded in quite a hurry (over one weekend) because we were rushing to submit it to the Jim Beam Unplugged competition, in which I placed second in the regional competition and Alex Borges placed first, moving on to the finals in San Juan. (My goodness, was that really 2 years ago?)
I’ve always thought I could have done a much better job with “Something”. I have a lot of emotional issues linked to my voice that I’m trying to overcome. I’ve come a long way, but as Tolkien said, “The road goes ever on and on…” Anyway, I’m glad that you liked it. 🙂
-Mandy
I do like the lyrics of “Something”, but your voice definitely brings out something unique in them. I don’t think the short time spent on it, or any “imperfections” you may have had in there harmed it. The qualities your voice has in it definitely add to the emotional impact. If it was too clinical it wouldn’t have the same impact.
I can certainly relate to having emotional issues with one’s voice. For a long time I hated mine. Though I’ll never be able to sing as well you can, I think I’ve finally accepted my voice.
Ah, you’re also a Tolkien fan? You are quite a surprising person. I’ve been reading his books for about a decade now and for a long time he was my favourite author (now I believe he has been displaced by Charles de Lint).
I bought The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy a few years ago. I read The Hobbit right away and then started on the trilogy, but I had made the mistake of buying the 3-in-1 edition and couldn’t lift the silly thing long enough to read it. I tried a few more times and finally managed about 2 months ago by reading the entire trilogy laying on my stomach. I had a mission to understand every word of Elvish, but I didn’t quite manage it. It was more difficult than translating House of Leaves! I picked up a few phrases and had a lot of fun, anyway. (Though, admittedly, my favorite author is Stephen King. I hope that doesn’t make me generic; I’ve been reading his novels since I was 12.)
Still, here is an Elvish phrase for you that I think is fitting: “Elen síla lúmenn’ omentielvo”. (If you need to look it up, Frodo said it toward the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring.) Anyway, I think it fits you and I.
“A star shines upon the hour of our meeting,” is certainly fitting. I was surprised that I was able to find it online quickly (my books are hidden away in boxes, so I couldn’t look it up from there).
I was lucky enough to inherit a boxed set of Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings from my parents (both has read it while they were in university) that were well-read and that added a sense of oldness to them in my 11-year old mind when I first read them.
I’ve always been facinated by Tolkien’s mastery of language. He was a master of languages in our own world in addition to the ones he invented and I think that really shows. I was actually so interested in his books that I read a couple biographies about him. My own abilities to learn languages other than English isn’t so impressive, so I’ve never been able to absorb much of the Elvish he created, though I did enjoy it very much.
My personal favourite book by Tolkien is definitely The Silmarillion. It gives a lot of mythological and history to Middle Earth and includes his best writing, I believe. I find the stories to have more depth and they seem to have been written with even greater care.
I’ve honestly never read any Stephen King. My only exposure to him has been through film and the occasional invterview I’ve seen him do.
You poor boy! Stephen King’s movies usually bite (I can’t think of a more elegant word, sorry). There are exceptions (such as The Green Mile) but for the most part his novels are much better. I love the Dark Tower series.
Hmmmmm, I still need to buy The Silmarillion…
As for languages, they are only easy to learn when you’re a child. The older you are, the harder it gets. Once you’ve mastered a second language, it’s easier to learn other languages, but I can’t say I really speak anything but English and Spanish, though I do understand latin-based languages more easily because I speak Spanish. It’s like a chain… Anyway, if you want to learn another language, it will be easier for you now than 5 years from now. It’s a scientifically proven fact.
Congratulations on your quick Elvish translation.;)
Yeah, the movies have been what has kept me from reading Mr. King’s books for so long. Perhaps once I finish my current batch of books I’ll pick up something by him.
I learned French throughout school, but I’m sadly very rusty at speaking and writing it now. I’m always tempted to move to Quebec (the French-speaking province of Canada) so that I can regain some proficiency.
I would definitely like to learn other languages, but I can never choose any specific one. I’d like to know Arabic and Asian languages, especially, mostly because their cultures have long facinated me.
I’m glad at least some of the pictures came out. That’s super happy. Although I’m sad to see the one of April kissing me didn’t. That would have been an adorable picture. I can’t wait to see the ones she took of the hats.
But seriously, how evil do I look in the first picture??? What the hell is up with that?
Yeah, it’s a shame a lot of the photos didn’t turn out. 🙁
You look evil, but a good sort of evil!