Buddy time

[vaneramos]

A path near Guelph Lake last week


Today Sylvie and I did what we only manage about twice a year: spent an afternoon together. She and Sarah have moved into a spacious one-bedroom apartment overlooking the Speed River. She left the bakery where she felt overworked for a similar position at With The Grain, an earthy bakery and café. Sarah has a job at Canadian Tire.

Lately I've missed piano. It's an excellent stress reliever. Sylvie bought her own upright earlier this year; today I had my first hack at it. I took some favourite Brahms, Chopin and Rachmaninoff, and pulled Schubert's Impromptus out of her collection. My shoulders were sore afterward, but it was a welcome pain.

Our main purpose was to brainstorm about my job search. Sylvie knows where to look. Now I have a list. It's overwhelming, but not so bad when I have a friend ready to help. A friend of the highest order: we have similar temperaments, and play from the same music sheet with respect to the big questions about life and art.

We also worked on a jigsaw puzzle.

I plan to invite Sylvie and Sarah for dinner next week. We need to do this more than twice a year.

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Behind the cut is another shot nearly identical to the one above. If possible, copy them both to disc and view in software that can toggle quickly back and forth between them. The slideshow function in Picasa works well. This creates a remarkable 3-D effect.

Comments

ahh S. Rachmaninoff

[ranjtheobscure.livejournal.com]

c# minor prelude... it rocks up and down the block!

Re: ahh S. Rachmaninoff

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Hehe, that was the one Rachmaninoff regretted writing, he got so tired of people requesting it!

My lifelong (well, since the age of 18!) favourite piano piece to play is Rachmaninoff's Prelude in D Major, Opus 23 No. 4.

[champdaddy.livejournal.com]

I don't comment here often, but I want to thank you for sharing your photos. Someone described them as "painterly" which is certainly true, but the thing they have most in common is a sense of serenity.

It makes me wonder if that's a reflection of your personal desire for the proverbial peace and quiet.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Ironically, I woke up thinking about you this morning, and about that topic we discussed. Thing is, I haven't felt very libidinous lately (I'm sensitive to the change of seasons that way), and it's been hard to put my head in that space.

I suppose I crave serenity above all else, and no doubt my photos reflect that search. Not that I dislike excitement, in fact I pursue it now and again, but invariably it wears me down and I need lots of solitude and quiet to recharge my batteries.

The past few years my search for peace has met some success. What I've learned could fill a whole series of posts, even a book. It helps having a steady boyfriend who enjoys quiet time, too. Consequently I'm happier. Unfortunately my situation isn't sustainable. I need to change some things. Above all, I need financial independence. But I'm determined to achieve that without sacrificing my tenuous hold on inner calm. Ideally I would like to be more engaged with people on a daily basis without it draining my energy. Partly it involves choosing who I spend time with, as this post illustrates. But choosing is not always possible.