... so I have to admit a FAIL just on principle, even before we get to the details, which are also, if I remember correctly, pretty much fail-shaped. Memo to Kate, or it would be more efficient to send it to myself: doing a month of anything is hard, isn't it?
So the 22nd was... er... last Wednesday. So, Thursday, Kim came round and we nebbished. Friday, James and I went drinking, and boy was that fun, drinking in a relatively uninhibited way for most of the evening. Although apparently I'm out of practice as I sweated out the night in the second bedroom and didn't get up till past midday. Saturday, we went round to James' and toddled out to see the South African entry in the Celebration Of Light, a big annual fireworks-synchronized-to-music display/competition they hold in English Bay. It was raining heavily - Bear! we did ask nicely! (Bear has since apologized, grudgingly) - so we got somewhat drenched, but it was worth it for the middle section, where, with "Who Wants To Live Forever" playing loud, they saturated the sky with endless golden streams, making it look like Heaven was crying. It was overwhelmingly beautiful and I was in floods. Music-synchronized fireworks displays so often suck, and not just when the sync goes wrong - I don't really believe there's a whole lot of latitude in the grammar of fireworks, and mostly it just comes across as "Yes, something went bang broadly at the same time as the downbeat... so what?" But this was wonderfully effective. And once that was over, we went back inside and watched "Get Smart".
Sunday: Sarah back to "Rent" rehearsals... I spent most of the day sitting in the corridor outside the Arts Clubs rehearsal hall, trying not to listen to the sitzprobe (the first singthrough with the full band, but no acting) and then the first half of a full run. I'd brought my laptop, so I plugged in the earphones and watched "Eraserhead" and then "Transporter 2".
Now it must be said, after all these years and with so much implicit buildup, "Eraserhead" seemed ugly and horrible but not exactly unparseable - it's a man's fears about fathering a child, made explicit. I expect it shocked the crap out of people in the 70s (or in their 70s), and perhaps if I'd seen it at university when probably everyone else my age saw it, I'd have given more of a toss about it. But now, approaching 40, and rather aiming to have children myself... well, it was just a movie, and one I don't intend to dwell on a great deal.
"Transporter 2", on the other hand, was completely silly fun. With the exception of, well, some people being shot in the head and a chick being impaled on a load of spikes (but tastefully), this is actually the kind of harmless action movie which I have a lot of time for. The stunts are impressive, the fights are (largely) nonlethal, Jason Statham's character is the new Man With No Name in terms of cool (but don't take me too literally: his name's Frank) and his friend, an older French cop, is a little comic gem. I enjoyed "Transporter" much more than I was expecting to, and this sequel was well worth the 80 minutes it ran to. And I have the third one to watch when I get a chance.
(I have no idea how the sitzprobe and rehearsal sounded, by the way - that's what earphones are for. However, people who had won a competition to see the rehearsal effused about it no end, which is nice, especially if it means more ticket sales and concomitantly more kerching for Sarah ;-)
And she survived it, which is good. She also survived today's four-hour runthrough, although in somewhat less than perfect health. But, she's now healed enough that we can go back into the hot tub, which is holding things at bay. This plus uber-painkillers and I think she's gonna make it...
I was suddenly considering whether I deserve to buy a Xenon (sorry - an X-Box 360 as most people know it) and Sarah approved of the decision, so I may well come back one night with one. But, I know from plenty of past experience that I have a tendency to Buy Shiny New Stuff and then Rarely Or Never Use It, so I'm going to test myself by playing through my pile of Wii games first, and possibly borrowing a couple from the Radical library, and seeing if I still enjoy console games in general. If I do, then I'll get one at the start of Sarah's "Rent" run, and that should keep me busy for August at least.
Mmmm, a bit matter-of-fact tonight... a sure sign that I don't have anything to say and know how behind I was. P'raps tomorrow will be more inspiring. It wasn't really a very good day in most respects: my blood pressure was challenged by various computer crashes and work-related incidents. Really the only good news is that Sarah is smiling more with every passing day. That makes me so happy.
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1 comment:
I agree that 31 days of anything are brutally hard. All you can do is try to keep moving forward.
Speaking of 360s, you still need to come over and play Rock Band with us. Come this week while Sarah's Renting and I don't have to get up early. :)
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