The Flossy Flossy
Keeping it “on the real” the best I can.Archive for December, 2008
Riktig God Jul og Godt Nytt År
Okay, in the midst of all this dillydallying around I’ve been negligent on blogging about the holidays.
Firstly, let me just say that I have never spent so much money on Christmas shopping before! And I didn’t even buy that much stuff! But it was very worth it. To experience a traditional Christmas, nevermind a traditional Norwegian Christmas, with these people who I’m beginning to love very much–that’s a privilege I’m not sure I’ll be able to experience again. I’m very grateful for this opportunity.
It was koselig, but pretty formal, actually: spent most of julaften dressed in fine clothes, went to church and sang some songs (some of which I actually know, for a change), came back, drank a small assortment of alcohols and ate ribbe. (It reminds me of Peking Duck, 想起来就馋!) And I got some very nice things, including a silver axe necklace from Mamma and Pappa. Og første juledagen var vi invitert hos Jan-Åge og Mette til mer god mat.
Oh crap, that reminds me: food is so good. Ribbe, turkey, pinekjøtt, covered barn girls (don’t get perverted, it’s a whipped cream dessert), it’s like a week of Thanksgiving meals. I kveld hadde vi fiskesuppe og hvitvin med brød som Pappa har lagt selv. Det var deilig. I honestly think the hardest thing about returning to the US now would be having to go back to Mom’s cooking again. I’ve been culinarily spoiled rotten these four and a half months.
Så imorra skal jeg til Drammen å feire nyttårsaften hos Yanzi. Jeg gleder meg veldig, fordi når jeg snakker med henne, føles det som om jeg snakker med en god gammel venn. Vi har bare kjent hverandre i litt mindre enn fem måneder, men det føles som om vi har vært gode venner i mange år. 我感觉跟她说话特别痛快，真的好像跟家里人说话一样；不用小心挑字儿，也不用怕把话说出来。虽然湾区的华人不少，我从来都没有跟人那么轻松的用中文勾通过。知道为什么吗？我现在明白了：因为我们两个说相似的口音。谁能想到口音会那么重要哪？但我发现，虽然我们都说国语，我们有不同的文化。我们用不同的俚语，开不同的玩笑，甚至骂人的字儿都不一样。中国是个大国家，人超亿；竟然能碰到一个这样的同志，那算挺了不起的啦！
On veut plus que de l’amour
This has fast become one of my favorite songs. It’s called “On veut plus que de l’amour” and is sung by Natasha St-Pier as the closing track on her latest self-titled opus.
It’s the epitome of melancholy, yet unexpectedly comforting. I think I’ll let the lyrics speak for the rest.
On veut plus que de l’amour
on veut toucher au bonheur
On oublie que chaque jour qui passe est le meilleur
Mais le bonheur est si petit
qu’au bout du compte, il passe entre nos mains
qu’au bout du compte, il passe entre nos vies
And for the non-francophone inclined:
We all want more of love
We all want to touch happiness
We all forget that each day that passes is the best
But happiness is so short
That after all has been said and done, it slips between our fingers
That after all has been said and done, it passes between our lives
Chicks on Pianos are King
Klokka er 5:41, og jeg får ikke sov. I’m regressing back to my American ways. But as long as I’m awake, I figure I might as well do something productive besides hunt for piano tutorials on Youtube.
Speaking of which, I have to say: lære å spille piano er dritt vanskelig! I’ve been dreaming of jamming out a good tune ever since I saw Tori play “Concertina,” but I can’t seem to get beyond a few riffs without exhausting myself. It’s definitely harder than it looks: to be playing a bass line with one hand, and simultaneously playing a totally different melody on the other hand, and singing on top of that–it’s tough.
And then, you’d have to practice the same line over and over and over, and before you know it, 曾经那么爱听的一首歌既然被你弹够了. I don’t know how Joakim can spend hours on the piano. Jeg har ikke sånn tålmodighet som ham.
Still, it would do well to be able to play one complete song. I’m determined to learn Lucie Silvas’ “Remember Me,” even though there isn’t a tutorial for it. (There never seems to be any for the songs I really like. It’s like I’m being punished for having good taste in music or something–not implying that other people’s tastes are crap or anything.) Well, it’s time to test out my ears.
I Swear!
I am so inconsistent in blogging nowadays. It just takes too much effort to make a good blog. It’s the AP English student in me, I know it. There’s an incessant need in that guy to make every new entry sound like a Gerosolimo definition essay. I remember in junior high, I’d spend hours perfecting and meticulously tweaking each paragraph. I was the Bernini of blogging, I! But they all ended up sounding like castoffs from some Sarah McLachlan catalogue anyway. And not to mention that blogging always landed me into some sort of trouble. But I’m sure I deserved that.
And now, I’ve spent so much time focusing on how to intelligently bitch about blogging I have no idea what I was supposed to bitch about in the first place. I swear…
