Words of Wisdom

Another year has passed. I am another year older. I’m not sure I’m in favor of getting older. People expect you to do things like “settle down” and “act your age”. Which age? The age I think I am or the age on my driver’s license? I made a pact with myself years ago that I would never grow up, not completely. Mostly because the adults I saw around me were really dull. Now a few years later, I have had the privilege of hanging around with some very cool adults. This has convinced me that it’s okay to age whatever age I feel as long as I can get away with it. But this doesn’t mean I can’t learn a few things. Here are some of the things I learned this year.

It took me most of the month to celebrate my birthday. First, a night at the symphony. It was a rehearsal, actually. Two pieces by Rachmanioff: Symphony No. 2. and a choral piece called “The Bells”. The Bells is a musical setting of a poem by Edgar Allan Poe, translated into Russian by Konstantin Balmont. Rachmanioff wrote the music to fit the Russian words. It simply will not fit any other language, so the piece is always performed in Russian. I got to hear how a symphony is dissected and unraveled and put back together again. The conductor, Semyon Bychkov (also Russian) tweaked this and adjusted that until he had the sound he wanted. I was actually impressed that I understood most of the instructions he was giving the musicians. This must mean my musical education is beginning to pay off.

This hankie was a present. If you look closely, you can see the little guy is doing a Morris dance!

WORST CAMPING TRIP EVER

Continuing with the Sturm und Drang, my next event was a screening of “2012”. 2012, in case you haven’t heard, is when the world is supposed to end. There are many doomsday scenarios to choose from: asteroid impact, eruption of a super volcano, one of our closest galactic neighbors ejecting gamma rays in our direction, a black hole sucking the earth into oblivion, the Republicans re-taking control of Congress. The scenario of choice in this film: mutated neutrinos ejected by the sun begin to heat up the earth’s core, as if someone put our planet into a giant microwave. Catastrophe! So, will the plucky human race survive to rule the world for another millennium? Has our time on earth come to an end? Is it time for us to hand off the planet to whatever species is next in line? (Insects? Scientologists?) Well, I won’t ruin it for you, but here’s a hint: John Cusack’s son is named Noah. I understand the concept of narrow escapes.  Our little party was nearly thrown out of the theatre because of the behavior of one of my companions.  What I learned from this film: I MUST learn to swim before December 21, 2012.  (And choose your movie companions carefully.)

Next, off to the Stanford for a screening of The Prisoner of Zenda and The Mark of Zorro. Swordplay! Bucklesquashing! Men in tights! (Or tight pants, as the case may be.) What I learned: Basil Rathbone needed a better agent.

And way more than I needed to know about how he and Tyrone Power, um, stacked up.  I will leave it at that.

The most awesome present: this bracelet made from antique Victorian-era buttons.  I bought the necklace from the same vendor to match. 

This special bonus present came from a beautiful, generous, amazing never-comes-in-and-leaves-me-to-do-all-her-work-co-worker. After watching me parade around wearing the bracelet all week, she brought it to me. She had it in her collection and it didn’t fit her anymore. Score!



Then, I took off to the mountains to visit my friends Earin and Dick, where a coconut cake awaited. More gifties: fleece cloths to wipe the rosin off my violin. Musicians need these things.

There are new kittens at Chez Earin. Opal (left) and Olive. They are very friendly and Opal in particular can be very demanding when it comes to head-scratching.  They are both very photogenic. And they know it.

This is what happens when kitten meets camera strap.

When you drive with Earin and Dick, you see a lot of this:

Omar must always be part of the action. We checked out an awesome cemetery. (That’s an entry for my other blog.) On the way home, we got the kind of sunset you only see in the mountains. Too bad the car was moving. These are “art shots”. What I learned from this trip: always keep the bedroom door closed when there are kittens in the house.

Whew! I think I am done learning for this year. I have a clean slate all ready for next year. I am ready. The most important thing I learned for my birthday: I have cool friends!!!  Thanks to all for a great birthday!  (And for the record, I am 7.)