Christmas lights

Somehow I have always have felt happy when seeing Christmas lights, or a lot of little lights.
Maybe because I was born on Christmas day, it might be inherited within me. When the Christmas tree is welcomed to our living room I somehow experience a feeling of warmth and comfort. I don't specifically like Christmas songs, but Coldplay has made a good one last year..
"Christmas Lights".

 

 

Having said that, I actually have to say lights do not have to be connected with Christmas in order to evoke a special feeling. About a year ago me and a friend went to a Coldplay concert at the Malieveld (The Hague.) As soon as we arrived, wristbands were handed out. I thought it was something like a souvenir. After a few songs were played and it had gotten all dark above us, these wristbands simultaneously lighted up. It was just like a sky full of extremely bright and colorful stars, but then with you right in the middle of it. It is hard to explain this feeling, it really feels like you are part of something really big when you are right in the middle of this singing crowd with their hands in the air, and these wristbands lighting up. I stood fairly close to the stage, and when I looked behind me I saw nothing but lights and people.

 

It is too hard to explain how this felt, you should definitely have been there. Yet this video might explain it a little. When you don't like the music, just skip to 0:55. (This video wasn't shot at the Malieveld but it is basically the same kind of experience.)

 



As soon as I realized I had this special feeling going on with lights, I knew I had to purchase them and have the ability to enjoy them all year around. Luckily a friend of me gave me Christmas lights as a birthday gift (which is kind of funny considering I am a Christmas-baby). Since then my room has become the best place to just hide away. Isn't it wonderful?

Take a moment to plan your day!

Nothing is as stressful as forgetting my diary. I just don’t like the constant feeling of ‘didn’t I forget something?’. Since I am not organized as a person (there are always a bazillion things going on in my head and I have the feeling that I can’t keep up with everything that has to be done), I have to put everything on paper because otherwise I will not remember what to do. Or stress out completely because I am scared of everything that will happen if I do forget something. When I do, you don’t want to be near me by the way. My boyfriend just walks away as soon as I start to stress out because it is horrible and nothing helps except making lists in my head of consequences and solutions. As long as they are not found I will just ramble ahead and make everybody completely crazy.

As much as not being in control of what has to be done stresses me out, having everything done and knowing exactly what has to be done soon really calms me down. I would almost say the feeling of having everything done and structured works as a drug to me and keeps me going. Also I really believe that you work at least thrice as hard when you know what has to be done and in how much time you can complete it. When you can estimate how long it will take your goal becomes easier to achieve, because it becomes something doable and something you can look forward to. Although it may not always seem like all the work gets done, there is always that moment when it is done. Or you haven’t done it and it is not a problem anymore. Even the longest assignments or the worst days end, and as long as you can see that and look forward to it, everything becomes bearable.

My diary may not look so organized but everything is in there! For me it is structured, but to others it all is just a big mess. This is logical; everybody thinks in a different format, links certain things to each other and everybody has his own way of writing things down. I'd actually prefer two diaries, one where I put everything down as soon as somebody tells me something that has to be done, and another one where I can structure it on order or on importance, and write it down smaller and more neat. Maybe I'll ask an extra diary for my birthday, now that I have put it down it actually sounds fairly smart and handy.

 

 

When waking up and lying in bed, take a moment to play your day! It works really calming when you've got everything in control and know that you will be able to handle it. At least, for me ;)

Cycling and its two sides

Everything has two sides. This is an old cliché but it is true. Everyday I cycle 2x19 kilometers to get to school and to get back home, and I complain about it every single day. The truth is that I'm just jealous of the people that live close to school because they have 2 hours more each day and their hair is not a mess when they arrive at school. Plus they can wear nice coats that are too thin for me because they aren't warm enough (jackets that are warm enough never look nice, trust me).  Plus they can write the first hour in the winter, and I can't because my fingers froze off somewhere on the way.  Plus they can visit each other in the afternoon or evening and I can't because I am cut off from everything nice and exciting in this world. (Aaaaaaaalllll  by myself.......)

Yet there would be no use of posting this if it wasn't for the positive side of cycling.... it is my daily escape. I can wake up with all worries of the world, yet after 15 minutes of cycling I completely forget about anything that is going on. While cycling there are a thousand creative thought processes going on, as well as there are none. It is very relaxing and works as a therapy. Plus the natural phenomena you encounter on the way can be dazzling. I love photographing the beauty I see on the way. Last week it was really foggy. Which is horrible, because your hair and gets all wet and becomes icy afterwards (at least when it is as cold as it is these days at 7:15). That isn't so bad until you walk into school and your frozen hair starts to melt, and water is dripping all over your face. As if you weren't cold enough yet......
                                   BUT BUT BUT, the landscape is fabulous when it is foggy.

Look at this! (Shot right there, with my phone, risking my hands to freeze off because I had to take off my gloves.)

When it comes to photography my favorite, yet when it comes to cycling most hated place of the whole route is the bridge. I have taken dozens of pictures there because the sun shines beautifully through the trees when it rises or goes down, yet before you are on top of the bridge you have to face moments, where you want to get off your bike and walk because the slope is just too steep and you are very tired. And 90% of the time there is no sunrise when you finally get up there. Disappointing...

Yet when it is, it makes your day. A few pictures, mostly taken in spring/ winter because then you have the biggest change to encounter a sunrise at the moment you cycle on the bridge;

Although the Dutch landscape may not be the most spectacular, it can be beautiful :)
I think I can conclude for myself that I need to stop complaining to the extent I do right now;
I have to admit I wouldn't want to miss these moments when I just can't help but step off my bike and take a picture!

 

 
 



 Lots of love from me and my bike! My precious has already survived ~8000 kilometers and is still standing!

Ludovico Einaudi

Not being able to listen to classical music is not a sin. Especially the classical music from centuries ago is not always easy to listen to, just like reading a very difficult book that is hard to get into, classical music can be inconceivable or very impenetrable. Personally I can only listen to very ‘light’ classical music, things from the ‘classical’ period (end 18^th century/ beginning of the 19^th century). That is actually called the cliché and boring period of art,
 you will not find unexpected tones in the music. Just because I’m not a lover of Bach and Mozart, doesn’t mean I don’t like the whole concept of classical music, where violins and piano’s dominate. Recently I have been hooked on ‘Ludovico Einaudi’, this delightful composer has been easing my life. His music, which is mainly piano music guided by an orchestra, can be classified as classical music. Yet it is easy to listen to, because he has made his compositions into the known popular music format: intro, verse, refrain, verse etc.

When listening to his albums, I feel like just closing my eyes and drift off. His dreamy melodies give a feeling of freedom, they are very relaxing. As well his music finds its way right into your heart, as someone said in a youtube comment the other day: each note comes straight from his heart and soul, transmitted through his magical fingers to the piano.

 In a Time Lapse is my favourite album. Some of the songs have a darker theme than others, but overall the whole album has the same ambiance that connects the songs. My favourite song is titled ‘Divenire’ from the album that is also called Divenire.

 It is hard to put the sound of music into words, therefore I strongly advise you to just listen to this song and drift away. I promise you will be convinced to take a closer look at his albums!

 

Josje

 

 

PS: Enthusiastic yet? This is almost 2 hours of Einaudi!

 



 

This Is All

The best way to escape from daily life is, in spite of all the inventions of all kinds of state-of-the-art products, reading a book. A  thick compelling tale preferably, one that you wish never ended.

This Is All  by Aidan Chambers is such a book. I chose a picture with the Dutch translation, simply because it is such a beautiful cover. This Is All is said to be the most complete character study in all of young-adult literature. (said by Michael Cart from Booklist).

This Is All is the diary of Cordelia Kenn, a teenage girl who falls in love and struggles with friendships and her parents. She actually is the perfect example of a typical teenage girl.
She writes her diary in the form of a ‘pillow book’, this is inspired by the pillow book of
Sei Sonagon (she is from Japan, and she has died a long, long time ago). That pillow book was a record of Sei Sonagons life, by means of personal thoughts, lists and poetry.

Cordelia’s pillowbook is just like that. By means of lists, thought processes that are jotted down and poetry she explains what has happened in her life, and how she has processed this.
It is indescribable how beautiful this book is. Within the 800 pages you really get to know Cordelia, and it starts to feel as if she's your best friend. I was devastated when the book ended, it felt like I had lost a friend. The poetry is just astonishing. Within the book are a lot of poems from the Japanese ‘Izumi Shikibu’ (she is from the same time period as Sei Sonagon J ).
Just to show you how wonderful this book is I took a fragment out that I thought was awe-inspiring.

“The demons of the Devil don't use your weak weaknesses against you, they use your strong ones. If you're rational and logical, they argue their case rationally and logically. If you're loyal and faithful, they turn those against you. If you're passionate and emotional, they make you passionate and emotional about your worse fears. Your weak weaknesses are no use to them.... They find the strongest weaknesses you didn't know were yours and use those against you.”

Furthermore Izumi Shikibu is definitely a poet you should check out. You will take notice of this yourself as you are reading This Is All (which you just HAVE got to do), yet I decided to post one of her poems as well:

"Although the wind"

 

"Although the wind
blows terribly here
the moonlight also leaks
between the roof planks
of this ruined house."

 I hope you will agree with me upon the fact that this book is outstanding.
Go ahead and read it! READ IT!

 

Josje