The choices you make when you’re half asleep in the early morning hours are not your best. That is a lesson I learned today.
Miriam and the Gainesville Roller Rebels were scheduled to train/scrimmage with a derby team this morning in Jacksonville. Miriam asked me to come along, and I was looking forward to it. But last night the clocks got set forward for Daylight Saving Time–which I otherwise love–and at seven o’clock this morning (which, remember, felt like six o’clock) I was asked to awaken for the drive to Jacksonville. In my half-conscious state I said I couldn’t go. Two hours later, when I woke up for good, I was very remorseful about my decision. So I have been home all day lamenting that I missed out on fun.
While it isn’t true that you only regret the things you didn’t do, it is certainly sometimes the case.
Filed under: Musings, Sports on March 9th, 2008 | No Comments »
In a post from last fall, I commented on the Metropolitan Opera‘s new production of Lucia di Lammermoor, staring Natalie Dessay. The pictures published in the New York Times showed it to be a wonderful looking affair, with costumes updated to the 19th Century. Well, the opera is at last being broadcast live this afternoon, and I am able to hear it, and the authentic glass armonica being used–at Ms. Dessay’s request–in the last act is eerie. What a weird instrument.
On a sad note, during my Pre-Opera Program today I paid tribute to tenor Giuseppe di Stefano who died earlier this week at age 86. Back in 2004 he had been attacked by robbers at his home in Kenya, leaving him paralyzed. I played selections from his recordings of Rigoletto and Puritani, and a complete Pagliacci, which was wonderful in the old-style you never hear any more. As I wrote when Pavarotti died, Di Stefano’s passing would be another in a sad but steady procession of opera royalty.
Filed under: Music, Work on March 8th, 2008 | No Comments »
I cross the Reitz Union Lawn nearly every day, en route to class or work. It is practically the very hub of my campus wheel. This is a pleasant time of year on the lawn, since the Shumard Oaks are getting their new leaves of bright green, the azaleas are blooming in magenta or white, and best of all, a small orange tree is covered in blossoms that smell heavenly.
My favorite smell remains almond, but orange blossoms are a not too distant second. Even if I forget about the tree, it is impossible to miss, since the breeze sends it’s fragrance across the lawn. Yesterday I was so taken by it, that I decided to brave the bees and steal a bud for myself, and I put it in my shirt pocket. For the rest of the afternoon at work I could smell the flower in my pocket. It was a delight.
I must not be the only one who loves the Reitz Lawn: there are always students laying about on sunny days, and it is common for organizations to set up tables and displays along the sidewalks there. Earlier this week as I was crossing from Weimer Hall I saw a flock of large white birds hopping across the grass. They were scared off by a bicyclist and flew to a nearby pine tree. They attracted a great deal of attention as they moved, and as I pulled out my camera to snap some photographs I was asked by a passer-by if they were frequent visitors. I see mockingbirds and cardinals everyday, and red-tailed hawks are not uncommon, as are robins during winter. But I hadn’t seen these birds before, and there were dozens and dozens of them.
As I was taking a picture a girl called to me and asked what kind of camera I was using. She came over and took a closer look, seeing I use a D70. She said she had a D80 that had just been stolen, and was distraught. I’d be, too. I take pictures ever single day, and occasionally professionally. If I lost my camera it would be a great hardship. And, really, hardships are the worst kind of ships.
Filed under: Animals, Musings, Photography, School on March 6th, 2008 | No Comments »
I wrote last week about my recent exam in English Romanticism, and conveyed the sense of dismay I felt as all my classmates finished their tests and departed while I wracked my brain for answers. Well, the results are in, and I am pleased to say that I didn’t do as badly as I might have thought under the circumstances. Granted, the test was quite difficult, and I confused a couple things, and forgot a poem by Wordsworth called “Resolution and Independence”. But for all my anxiety I still got a low, low B. I am just pleased that I wasn’t among the many, many Fs and Ds in the class. Oh, and a girl sitting right by me during the test, who wrote so swiftly and left so quickly I thought surely she must have known the material better than I…she got a D.
All in all, I am neither proud nor ashamed of my grade. I’ve got to write an essay for Thursday’s class, and that’s an opportunity to move up a bit. If I could only think of a topic….
Filed under: School on March 4th, 2008 | 1 Comment »