Showing posts with label happy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label happy. Show all posts

Saturday 28 September 2013

Feeling Great in the Countryside


Let me just tell you, I can’t believe I’m here, last week of September, cycling at high speed down country roads with random insects hitting me in the face, sun still shining. It’s like nature is being extra kind and giving just a few more weeks of summer before it gets dark at 4pm. The leaves are starting to coat the ground and it’s been foggy, but we have had some fantastic days lately. 

Being at home in the country is fantastic, and coming to Ireland for these few weeks (maybe months, if I ever get a driving test date finalised) has, so far, been an excellent decision. I’ve been spending a lot of time on the roads because I want to get fitter to try and do a triathlon in a few months. I’ve been out walking and jogging every day.

When I was younger I hated the countryside. I thought it was so boring to be surrounded by fields and trees, I just wanted to live in a town or city and actually be able to walk to friends’ houses. I wanted to socialise and be around people, not cows. I itched to be saturated in the feelings of urban things; paper coffee cups and take-out sandwiches, department stores and cobbled streets and city buses. Then I started spending time in cities, living in apartments and taking those city buses, and let me tell you, their quality varies hugely depending on their final destination. I’d walk around the most crowded parts of cities and let the feeling of being surrounded by people wash over me. I felt at home.

In the past year, though, something changed, and now I don’t want to be in cities anymore. Fumes, traffic, crowded streets, endless shops, endless streams of people, none of these things excite me. I want to get away from people, faceless, nameless numbers. I want to work on my existing relationships and be surrounded by positivity, not sit pressed against a stranger on the Tube. I want green fields and dusk on country roads and fresh air. Maybe it’s a natural progression of growing up (finally), maybe it’s the fact that the guy I spend most of my time with is highly cynical of all things commercial. Maybe I’m just realising what’s really important in life, and it isn’t what you get in a Penneys’ bag for €3.

Yesterday I was cycling around the block, and it was a gorgeous day, and I just felt so, alive, you know? One of those rare moments when you know you feel so good that you know it’s special, and won’t come again for a time. Everything was perfect. It was about 15 degrees, no wind, I was cycling downhill, 5.30pm and the sun was just setting off towards the western corner of the sky. I saw a group of pheasants rushing down a field lane, flocks of birds hovering above a freshly ploughed field, cut grass smell, country manure smell, cabbages and potatoes and rows of green fields. I saw horses, cows, neighbourhood dogs in varying sizes and temperaments, mostly verging on cranky and territorial.

It was fantastic, and I’m so lucky to be here, living at all. There’s been a bit of bad news in the last couple of weeks, and maybe I’m just sentimental because of it, but I really feel so glad to be here. In a world that is so random and, at times, just so senselessly cruel, that I am here, with so many good things, well I just feel very lucky indeed.

I have no nice pictures today, just plenty of good wishes. Slán go fóill!

Sunday 14 April 2013

Falling Back in Love

I just wanted to share how chuffed I am to be back playing music with other human beings again. I grew up going to a Comhltas session every Friday night. As I became a teenager, when my friends started going 'out' on Friday nights, I instead kept going to the gaescoil (Irish school) where the nearest session was on. I would compete, with groups and solo, did some concerts, and of course got roped into an infiinte number of church and school related events.

Over the 4 years I was studying in Dublin I lost the time to play that much. I went to a few trad society meetings, but didn't really click with the group that frequented. There was never enough time to enjoy myself, going to a session might mean missing out on an evening's work, or staying out late might mean missing an early morning lecture. It was hard to fit playing with other people into the equation.

Over the last year I've been playing more than ever on my own. I've found my passion re-ignited, but I've also been sad that I've lost a lot of my repertoire. I can play the tunes off paper, but they're barely in my head anymore. Irish music is made to be played socially. It's essentially dance music, to my mind, and reels and slip jigs are your best bet to get the serotonin racing around. Save the airs and hornpipes for your sitting room.

I'm looking forward to the Friday night, and Sunday afternoon sessions if I can fit them in. I'm determined to enhance my repertoire, hone my technique, and get used to playing in groups again. I'm so happy to be playing music again.

I
Image from the http://comhaltas.ie/ website.
I don't play a keyed flute, I prefer the simpler version, for personal reasons.

Sunday 10 February 2013

Sunday

It's been so nice having the weekend off to recuperate and relax. Today there was a lot of good breakfast eating, cycling, Arrested Development watching, tea drinking, and finally a cycle into Copenhagen. My initial plan was to go to an Irish music sessiún, as I really want to get back into regular flute playing. It was also my first cycle into Copenhagen centre from home. It's the easiest town to navigate, owing to the fact that it's absolutely tiny.

Unfortunately  the pub we wanted to go to literally doesn't exist anymore, so we headed for The Dubliner, one of the many Irish pubs Copenhagen has to offer. A coffee was 31kr (FILTER coffee) and a Guinness was more than 60kr, I amn't exactly sure much. We watched Ireland get absolutely destroyed by England in the rugby, and then we cycled home in the snow.

There's an ice rink near where we live, and there was a band playing house music, and a large crown dancing and having a great time. Denmark is so weird at times.

Goals for next week: Get a CPR number and thus administratively exist in this country,  get a library card, get a sim card, open a bank account, learn more about carpentry, sign up for a ballet class.



This right here is my baby

The Ice Rink. The band and people dancing are gathered to the left

Completely irrelevant but I did a cool swirl thing with my hair I liked

Tuesday 15 January 2013

Monday Monday Monday

Today has been absolutely wonderful. I've been sitting in Christmas pajamas since I got up at 12pm, been doing general life admin stuff like selling my old phones that don't work anymore, emailing people that I've been putting off for ages, and playing my flute. I have to go to work at 6pm, but we can't have everything in life, can we.

In fact, here's a little sample of my favourite tune of last year, an O'Carolan piece called Carolan's Draught. Hope you enjoy.

https://soundcloud.com/myfavouritechords/ocarolans-draught


Amy