Yesterday I received an email from Kacey, a high school student in the mid-western US who has sung some of my choral music. She wrote to say that she enjoys reading my blog, but asked if I couldn’t write something about my real life. To be honest, I’m not always sure whether I’m living in the real world, or whether my reality is actually the product of someone else’s surreal imagination (can you tell I’ve been watching Life on Mars?). In appreciation of her kind email, however, I’ll do my best to share a tiny slice of my ‘reality’ today.
My Bialetti failed me, today of all days, when I needed to visit a nearby hospital to have some routine lab work done at 7am. Rather than my morning ration of lovely, strong, cooked coffee, I wound up with something resembling murky dishwater. Nevertheless, I dutifully drained the cup before dashing out, only to discover upon arrival that most of the hospital car park is closed due to on-going construction. The sky was clear and the temperature slightly brisk, so I really didn’t mind walking a couple of blocks to the appropriate entrance; the wait inside wasn’t bad either, considering that by 6.50 there were at least two dozen people ahead of me. What I did not enjoy, was the astonishing level of chirpiness displayed by the tech, who seemed to relish the thought of draining my blood, and appeared genuinely disappointed that only two tubes were required.
On the way home I made a quick stop for muffins. Back at my desk, I answered some email, and then pulled up my blog dashboard. The spam trap listed 243 spam comments, the most I’ve ever seen at one time. Out of curiosity I scrolled through the 6 or 7 pages just in case a legitimate comment had been trapped in error. Needless to say, after pages of spam for car insurance, travel agencies, mobile ringtones, and solicitations for the sort of websites which should not be mentioned in polite company, I ended up deleting all 243 comments.
I nipped back out around 9.30 to run a couple of errands, and then returned home for the day. I now have just enough time to publish before I need to get cracking on some composition work. So there’s a glimpse into my ‘real’ world, Kacey, just for you.
In other news relevant to ‘my world’, the World Cup is over, and the final match was somewhat of a fiasco; Neil Gaiman wrote an endearing blog entry about nerves; and I’ve yet to find out whether or not the Daleks conquered 1930s Manhattan. In reading this over, I’ve suddenly realised that it’s the 30th of April. I refuse to look at the glass as being a third empty, however, and prefer to remind myself that two-thirds of the year is left in which to accomplish. On that note, I’d best get with it. Really.
