I was in the park and something that looked like a mosquito landed on my leg. I swatted it away and thought to myself, "Is that a fucking mosquito? No, they're not out and about yet, are they?" The thing flew back at me, but I swatted it away again. It landed on the bench. I looked at it and I thought it sorta looked like a mosquito.
A few minutes later, my elbow started to itch. I had a mosquito bite.
Here's a nice win of mine. I had been having some trouble against the English Attack variation of the Sicilian Defense, but I was victorious in this game. I have the black pieces.
Martina and I were in a woman's apartment because the woman was giving away her washing machine and Martina wanted it. I was in the hallway of the apartment and Martina was in the kitchen, undoing the machine's tubing. The woman had been chatting with us but then went somewhere else. Suddenly, I heard the voice of a young girl. The woman had opened a door in the apartment and was talking to a young girl. There was a child in the house, this woman's child, I surmised. I didn't turn around, but I began looking around the hallway for a picture. To my right, on a shelf, was a framed picture of a young girl. Once I heard that child's voice, I knew there'd be a picture not far off, and I was right.
I was in a car, stopped in the road and waiting for the driver to make a left. We had to wait a while because it was rush hour. Sitting in the windowsill of a house facing the road was a cat. The cat was grooming itself.
Here's a game I'm very proud of. I like it because in the end I sacrificed three pawns for an attack—and won. I have the black pieces.
Martina had just parked the car on a side street in the city.
"You can wait here while I run to the bank," she said. "If you want, you can look around...there's an antique store here."
I had noticed the antique store. There were old books in cardboard boxes out front.
"Yeah, OK," I said. "Sounds good."
We both got out of the car, and Martina crossed the street and headed for the bank. The antique shop was basically right by the car, so I just moseyed on up to it.
There were about 10 boxes, all filled with books, at the entrance to the shop. A cardboard sign propped up against one of the bins said "1 EURO." I was happy when I saw the old books, happy because it showed that stores were reopening and the act of browsing was again possible.
The books themselves didn't really interest me. They were virtually all in German. I did have one interesting thought, though, standing there. I thought, "Every book here was someone's dream. It's sort of a shame people's dreams wind up getting sold for a euro." Still, I concluded, that's not a reason not to pursue one's dream.
After I lost interest in the books, I decided that the other side of the street looked inviting. I was cold and it was sunny. I crossed the street and immediately felt a little better. The sun was warm and I felt revived. I had my sunglasses in my pocket and I took them out and put them on. I just stood there. In the reflection of the car window, I saw myself. I looked a little funny. I guess I looked like a guy who liked sports, there in my shorts and Nike pullover. But the whole outfit looked kinda weird with the sunglasses. Still, it was nice to be in the sun.
Eventually, I decided to go back into the car. It was even warmer in the car. When Martina got back from the bank, we made our way to the next place on our list.
Good italics, good ellipsis:
This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed home.
This little piggy had roast beef,
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy...
Sometimes my mom says things that stay with me. One of those things was a comment she once made about a line from a song. The song was "So Far Away" by Carole King, and the comment she made had to do with the following line:
So far away
Doesn't anybody stay in one place anymore
It would be so fine to see your face at my door
Doesn't help to know you're just time away.
Right there, that "time away" part. I remember when it came on, my mom said that she really liked that line. When I challenged her on it, saying, "But what does that really mean, 'It doesn't help to know you're just time away'?" she said, "I don't know, but I like it."
And that's the comment that has stayed with me: "I don't know, but I like it."
I feel like that's a very apt line when it comes to talking about music and the joy we get from it. Sometimes, we have no idea why we like something in a song, a funky hook or a strange turn of phrase. We just like it—it does something with us, period.
Such is my feeling when it comes to a song I recently discovered on Spotify: "You Only Live Twice."
At first, I was irritated by the title: "What do they mean, 'You only live twice'? That makes no sense." But then, after listening to the lyrics and the melody—and still, mind you, not fully understanding what exactly is meant, I just began to accept the song, I began to take it in.
Why? Well, I don't really know why...but that's the point. =)
