...And today's post is fuelled directly by something odd that happened in Psychology this morning. My Psychology teacher is, well, a little insane...but this morning I noticed that he was watching me work. There was nothing interesting about the way I was working, but he was watching me nonetheless. It creeped me out a little, but then I forgot about it when we all found out he'd stolen Hannah's (well, I think she's called Hannah, it's bad that I don't know that...) shoe and hidden it (as you do).
Then, I found myself watching my friend Eleanor as she arranged her college bag at lunchtime. Not exactly breaking news, but it got me wondering what's so fascinating about the simple things that we do?
Because it is fascinating really, isn't it? We watch soaps because there's something very basically realistic about them and what the people in them do. My grandma always sits on a bench in town while my mum runs errands and she always watches people. She says she likes to imagine what their lives are like and where they're headed next. I think I've inherited that from her.
I think there's something intriguing in strangers - the fact that they're right there in front of you but you know nothing about them. Note: I'm aware that this is similar to my post about talking to a German guy in Croatia. But then sometimes, there are strangers who you know everything about. For instance, 17 year old Ben Manning went missing in my hometown on the 22nd. Today, his friend had posters put up all around college and one of the personal tutors forwarded an email from her. Local and national news are barely covering the case.
I was reading the Facebook page set up by his family/friends and something struck me as important - the people arranging to pick up tons of posters and distribute them...they're all strangers. It's heartening to read comments left such as those on the page and realise that even in the face of something as horrible as that, there are complete strangers offering their time to help fix things.
In slightly cheerier news, I think I've found the Norwegian Josh Groban (who also likes wearing yellow skinny jeans...) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezz4Rcq2QLE
Besos ♥
Rachel
"And in the spring, the bluebells sing, and love and life are dancing." - Didrik Solli-Tangen, Next To You
Monday, 31 January 2011
Friday, 21 January 2011
Captured
For me, life is very much about capturing all the little details (usually in photographs) to remember them forever. I've just been looking through my 866 (including about 300 pics taken by others in the group) Croatia pictures. What I realised is that even though I so vividly remember eagerly taking a picture of a target on a rock because I knew I'd want to remember it, I now look back on my pictures and still wish I'd taken even more.
Because, I mean, how can I ever make someone else understand how much the moment I shared with a German student (I believe he was German or Austrian, leaning towards German) when waiting for most of the group to return from a cave trip. I didn't go because I wasn't the best at walking up hills...and it was a steep climb. Myself, Shannon, Natalie and "Parko" stayed in a shady area. We had about two hours just sitting and contemplating, and sleeping in Parko's case... He was coming back down the previously mentioned hill, and stopped next to where we had based ourselves (and most of the group's luggage while they went cave-seeing). For some reason, I'd shifted places for a while...I was perhaps a little cold and went to sit in the sun next to Natalie for a while. He asked where we were from and why we were on the mountain. I explained that we were in a group and from the UK. We established that we were staying at the same place (camp site in Starigrad). When he saw his group approaching, he told us all to enjoy our trip and said he hoped he'd see us all at the camp site. Whether he did, we'll never know.
And how can I accurately explain how it felt to step off the plane, having only just flown over Italy as it seemed to us all, and it feeling like a different universe. The airport was scary, the signs were in Croatia (obviously) and the security guards looked like army officials. I remember being in the female toilets with Jemma, Catherine and a few others when Catherine realised she'd left her passport on the plane. I'm not saying I think I should have taken a picture of the toilets, but maybe the airport arrivals scene that greeted us... And then the area we took over in the lobby while waiting to find out where the heck Louis' bag had gone and why me and Natalie were missing our camping mats.
Plodine, Starigrad camp shops, Restoran Degenija, departures at Split Airport, the mountain shop and the mountain café, I could go on for hours. The point is that there are some things that you can't capture in pictures. It might be bad timing or something else, but sometimes it's just not possible. I realised this earlier this evening when I'd taken this picture...
I took it on my phone, so I knew the quality wouldn't do what I was seeing justice. This is the view I had all the way home on the college bus. There were at least ten, maybe even twenty, aeroplane 'lines'/'tracks' in the sky. They all stood out against the blue (yes, it was blue...told you the quality was bad). I wanted to take it because I felt inspired somehow by it. I later went past the same place this picture was taken again, and the sky had changed. It was close to the end of a sunset, and the sky was multicoloured. I'm not exaggerating when I say that there was pink near the trees, then a mix of oranges, yellows, greens, blues and purples right up to where the sky darkens in the picture, which is where the sky was a midnight blue. The aeroplane 'lines'/'tracks' were all a deep heather colour. I was so annoyed that I didn't even have my phone with me to take a picture of it, but at least I have this one.
There's always something nice about seeing aeroplane tracks (I'll go with that word shall I?) in the sky. I like pondering where the plane was headed, whether it was jetting off to foreign lands or whether it was homebound. I like to wonder about the adventures the passengers had ahead of them. Very much like my German friend from the mountain, I'll never know, and I'm not sure I'll ever want to.
Besos ♥
Rachel
PS: Sorry for the long absence! I've had severe writers' block :(
Because, I mean, how can I ever make someone else understand how much the moment I shared with a German student (I believe he was German or Austrian, leaning towards German) when waiting for most of the group to return from a cave trip. I didn't go because I wasn't the best at walking up hills...and it was a steep climb. Myself, Shannon, Natalie and "Parko" stayed in a shady area. We had about two hours just sitting and contemplating, and sleeping in Parko's case... He was coming back down the previously mentioned hill, and stopped next to where we had based ourselves (and most of the group's luggage while they went cave-seeing). For some reason, I'd shifted places for a while...I was perhaps a little cold and went to sit in the sun next to Natalie for a while. He asked where we were from and why we were on the mountain. I explained that we were in a group and from the UK. We established that we were staying at the same place (camp site in Starigrad). When he saw his group approaching, he told us all to enjoy our trip and said he hoped he'd see us all at the camp site. Whether he did, we'll never know.
And how can I accurately explain how it felt to step off the plane, having only just flown over Italy as it seemed to us all, and it feeling like a different universe. The airport was scary, the signs were in Croatia (obviously) and the security guards looked like army officials. I remember being in the female toilets with Jemma, Catherine and a few others when Catherine realised she'd left her passport on the plane. I'm not saying I think I should have taken a picture of the toilets, but maybe the airport arrivals scene that greeted us... And then the area we took over in the lobby while waiting to find out where the heck Louis' bag had gone and why me and Natalie were missing our camping mats.
Plodine, Starigrad camp shops, Restoran Degenija, departures at Split Airport, the mountain shop and the mountain café, I could go on for hours. The point is that there are some things that you can't capture in pictures. It might be bad timing or something else, but sometimes it's just not possible. I realised this earlier this evening when I'd taken this picture...
I took it on my phone, so I knew the quality wouldn't do what I was seeing justice. This is the view I had all the way home on the college bus. There were at least ten, maybe even twenty, aeroplane 'lines'/'tracks' in the sky. They all stood out against the blue (yes, it was blue...told you the quality was bad). I wanted to take it because I felt inspired somehow by it. I later went past the same place this picture was taken again, and the sky had changed. It was close to the end of a sunset, and the sky was multicoloured. I'm not exaggerating when I say that there was pink near the trees, then a mix of oranges, yellows, greens, blues and purples right up to where the sky darkens in the picture, which is where the sky was a midnight blue. The aeroplane 'lines'/'tracks' were all a deep heather colour. I was so annoyed that I didn't even have my phone with me to take a picture of it, but at least I have this one.There's always something nice about seeing aeroplane tracks (I'll go with that word shall I?) in the sky. I like pondering where the plane was headed, whether it was jetting off to foreign lands or whether it was homebound. I like to wonder about the adventures the passengers had ahead of them. Very much like my German friend from the mountain, I'll never know, and I'm not sure I'll ever want to.
Besos ♥
Rachel
PS: Sorry for the long absence! I've had severe writers' block :(
Wednesday, 29 December 2010
The Quiet One
He wants to communicate. He wants to be the sort of person who makes a simple statement that sums up all feelings with cutting precision. He wants to be that conversationalist who never has to repeat a trivial point because nobody understands it due to its correct grammar and sophisticated lexis. He wants to never have to explain himself twice, three times, four times, just to keep the conversation going.
And she longs to sit at her little wooden desk and let the poetry and lyrics swirling inside her head naturally transform from being jumbled, adolescent thoughts to neat, petite verses upon the pages of her leather-bound notebook. It was a birthday present from a friend, and someday she will use it to prove that she is who she has always longed to be - that person who is just understood, no questions asked; that person who can articulate every emotion without hesitance.
They both crave the ability to look their teachers in the eye when they converse, to just be the confident one for a change. They yearn to be rid of the chains of their age that tie them down, dampening any opinions formed and barring their freedom of speech. They lust after somebody to come along who can say the things that they can never bring themselves to say anywhere but inside their own heads, somebody who is literally everything they appear to be.
He aches to be a storyteller, taking you on a journey of emotion and drawing you to a fairly nonsensical yet oddly uplifting ending. She wishes she could lay all her thoughts out for the world to see - no embarrassment, no apologies. He probably does too, his eyes speak the words he can never say, they speak of oppression and persecution.
And, really, these are their thoughts, bare, sitting on this page with fragility and vulnerability, silently seeking the affirmation they need. And I am the words they can never quite bring to mind. I represent people all over this world, people who are afraid to say what they mean. I have been here for millennia. I am humble, simple and stative. I know I have been served well, but inside I am begging for a change - begging to see these people I have come to know so well be different, be daring. I long for a new, exciting vocabulary, one that speaks of issues and bucks the stereotypes that have held us all back for so long. I desire an optimistic outlook to be forced upon me with which I can apply the vocabulary I feel I have earnt over time. But, I know them all too well. I will be spoken from the mouths of him and her, from the mouths of everybody all over this diminutive planet. I know the world will continue changing for centuries to come, but alas, I know I will remain the same.
And she longs to sit at her little wooden desk and let the poetry and lyrics swirling inside her head naturally transform from being jumbled, adolescent thoughts to neat, petite verses upon the pages of her leather-bound notebook. It was a birthday present from a friend, and someday she will use it to prove that she is who she has always longed to be - that person who is just understood, no questions asked; that person who can articulate every emotion without hesitance.
They both crave the ability to look their teachers in the eye when they converse, to just be the confident one for a change. They yearn to be rid of the chains of their age that tie them down, dampening any opinions formed and barring their freedom of speech. They lust after somebody to come along who can say the things that they can never bring themselves to say anywhere but inside their own heads, somebody who is literally everything they appear to be.
He aches to be a storyteller, taking you on a journey of emotion and drawing you to a fairly nonsensical yet oddly uplifting ending. She wishes she could lay all her thoughts out for the world to see - no embarrassment, no apologies. He probably does too, his eyes speak the words he can never say, they speak of oppression and persecution.
And, really, these are their thoughts, bare, sitting on this page with fragility and vulnerability, silently seeking the affirmation they need. And I am the words they can never quite bring to mind. I represent people all over this world, people who are afraid to say what they mean. I have been here for millennia. I am humble, simple and stative. I know I have been served well, but inside I am begging for a change - begging to see these people I have come to know so well be different, be daring. I long for a new, exciting vocabulary, one that speaks of issues and bucks the stereotypes that have held us all back for so long. I desire an optimistic outlook to be forced upon me with which I can apply the vocabulary I feel I have earnt over time. But, I know them all too well. I will be spoken from the mouths of him and her, from the mouths of everybody all over this diminutive planet. I know the world will continue changing for centuries to come, but alas, I know I will remain the same.
Friday, 24 December 2010
Christmas!
Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, Fröhliche Weihnachten, Kala Christouyenna, Feliz Natal and Sretan Bozic! Just a quick post to say Merry Christmas and I hope that everybody who reads this has a lovely day full of 'festive cheer' etc.
Besos ♥
Rachel
Besos ♥
Rachel
Thursday, 23 December 2010
Under a Streetlight
If you're reading this, you've probably already noticed. If not, I'm pleased to announce that The Details in the Fabric is now Under a Streetlight.
With a new year looming, I felt like the blog should in some way match the changes I'm going to make, so here we are. I'll probably re-design again around spring time to give the blog a lighter feel. Right now, I think the colour scheme matches the wintery feel to everything in my life right now. I'm currently making the headers to swap over for each season while I still have a free trial of Photoshop. Spring will be a nice green, summer perhaps pink-ish, autumn oranges and auburns and winter black-ish.
I chose song lyrics as the blog title, just as with The Details in the Fabric. You can listen to Joshua Radin - Streetlight here. When I first heard the song, I fell in love with it. I like the idea of there always being somewhere to turn when it's too dark to see (the streetlight) - I find it somewhat metaphorical of 'that one friend that you can always turn to for advice when everything is just too much'. The lyrics tend to hint towards this metaphor too, and the song holds a lot of positive resonance for me.
Therefore, bearing in mind this metaphor, I'd like to 'dedicate' this change of title and appearance to Fern and Eliza - two friends who I wouldn't be able to function properly without. Throughout everything they've stuck by me and are always around to offer me advice and help me out with anything I ask them to. I'd like to say they've both had their own problems...but Fern seems to be one of those lucky people who gets through life without having much go wrong. So, Eliza's had her fair share of problems too...but has always been there for me and everybody else no matter what. Fern is generally found with the common sense advice of ''forgetting about it'', which doesn't always work first time but always works in the long run.
So, there we have it. New title, new graphics, new appearance. Hopefully a new blogger (don't worry, I'm not going anywhere...) next year when I start to finally get over some 'stuff' and become a lot more positive...
Besos ♥
Rachel
With a new year looming, I felt like the blog should in some way match the changes I'm going to make, so here we are. I'll probably re-design again around spring time to give the blog a lighter feel. Right now, I think the colour scheme matches the wintery feel to everything in my life right now. I'm currently making the headers to swap over for each season while I still have a free trial of Photoshop. Spring will be a nice green, summer perhaps pink-ish, autumn oranges and auburns and winter black-ish.
I chose song lyrics as the blog title, just as with The Details in the Fabric. You can listen to Joshua Radin - Streetlight here. When I first heard the song, I fell in love with it. I like the idea of there always being somewhere to turn when it's too dark to see (the streetlight) - I find it somewhat metaphorical of 'that one friend that you can always turn to for advice when everything is just too much'. The lyrics tend to hint towards this metaphor too, and the song holds a lot of positive resonance for me.
Therefore, bearing in mind this metaphor, I'd like to 'dedicate' this change of title and appearance to Fern and Eliza - two friends who I wouldn't be able to function properly without. Throughout everything they've stuck by me and are always around to offer me advice and help me out with anything I ask them to. I'd like to say they've both had their own problems...but Fern seems to be one of those lucky people who gets through life without having much go wrong. So, Eliza's had her fair share of problems too...but has always been there for me and everybody else no matter what. Fern is generally found with the common sense advice of ''forgetting about it'', which doesn't always work first time but always works in the long run.
So, there we have it. New title, new graphics, new appearance. Hopefully a new blogger (don't worry, I'm not going anywhere...) next year when I start to finally get over some 'stuff' and become a lot more positive...
Besos ♥
Rachel
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
I'll sing it one last time for you...
UPDATE: Links to some of the Thursday performances have been added to the bottom
Last week brought the first PROPER choir performance we've done yet. Sure, we've done two performances at college open evenings, but they weren't proper performances - the audience weren't there just to see us. On Wednesday we performed our Christmas Concert at St Giles' Church in Pontefract. Rob (Choirmaster) was very obviously freaking out before the concert started ("Has anybody got mints? I need something to distract me..." showed us all that much).
It wasn't the best turn out ever, but it was rubbish weather and we had enough people turn up to make it worthwhile. We also performed for the Senior Citizens' Christmas Party on Thursday afternoon and did the same set as on Wednesday. The piano was quite out of tune, so we didn't give the best performances ever, but they all seemed to enjoy it.
Thursday was a fairly horrible day, so I was glad to have the performance in the afternoon to distract me. Rob and the choir managed to cheer me up quite considerably, and I've since realised how much being a part of the choir means to me. I also got to see Chloe (my 'form friend') perform her solo for the first time on Wednesday then again on Thursday...she's SO talented but didn't believe she did a good job with the first performance.
I actually missed having a rehearsal on Friday lunchtime (we finished college at lunchtime), it's always one of the highlights of the week. We did have an Amnesty meeting this week though, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Adam (President of group) bought me a 'present' (it was a Cadbury's selection box) for being the person who worked the most/best on the stall throughout the Greetings Card Campaign. We did a group brainstorm of ideas to celebrate the good things we've done since September and eventually took a group photo, sung Happy Birthday to Eliza (she wasn't too thrilled with that though...) then did a group 'woo' (Oliver's idea). We did get some actual Amnesty-related stuff done too, but it was mainly our own little Christmas party (we also had Christmas food - thanks Adam! - and Christmas songs playing).
I think it's fair to say that choir and Amnesty are pretty much the only reasons I've stayed at college this long. I somehow managed to get through my week of torturous things in my lessons, didn't think it was possible but I did. I was probably very distracted through Thursday and Friday, but still, I got through it. I'll be back at some point between now and Saturday to wish you all a Merry Christmas, but for now good luck with all of the shopping etc ;)
Besos ♥
Rachel
Links:
Sussex Carol
Silent Night
There are links to two other songs on my page or down the right-hand suggestions box thingy :) Enjoy! (And please remember we're not even a year old and didn't have much rehearsal time due to the snow :P)
PS: I've added a 'Video Bar' at the bottom of the posts so you can link to all the choir videos I've put up easily :)
PPS: I've also added one for my non-choir videos :)
If you click on the video whilst watching it, it'll take you to the YouTube page for it, you can then click my username to find more videos.
Last week brought the first PROPER choir performance we've done yet. Sure, we've done two performances at college open evenings, but they weren't proper performances - the audience weren't there just to see us. On Wednesday we performed our Christmas Concert at St Giles' Church in Pontefract. Rob (Choirmaster) was very obviously freaking out before the concert started ("Has anybody got mints? I need something to distract me..." showed us all that much).
It wasn't the best turn out ever, but it was rubbish weather and we had enough people turn up to make it worthwhile. We also performed for the Senior Citizens' Christmas Party on Thursday afternoon and did the same set as on Wednesday. The piano was quite out of tune, so we didn't give the best performances ever, but they all seemed to enjoy it.
Thursday was a fairly horrible day, so I was glad to have the performance in the afternoon to distract me. Rob and the choir managed to cheer me up quite considerably, and I've since realised how much being a part of the choir means to me. I also got to see Chloe (my 'form friend') perform her solo for the first time on Wednesday then again on Thursday...she's SO talented but didn't believe she did a good job with the first performance.
I actually missed having a rehearsal on Friday lunchtime (we finished college at lunchtime), it's always one of the highlights of the week. We did have an Amnesty meeting this week though, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Adam (President of group) bought me a 'present' (it was a Cadbury's selection box) for being the person who worked the most/best on the stall throughout the Greetings Card Campaign. We did a group brainstorm of ideas to celebrate the good things we've done since September and eventually took a group photo, sung Happy Birthday to Eliza (she wasn't too thrilled with that though...) then did a group 'woo' (Oliver's idea). We did get some actual Amnesty-related stuff done too, but it was mainly our own little Christmas party (we also had Christmas food - thanks Adam! - and Christmas songs playing).
I think it's fair to say that choir and Amnesty are pretty much the only reasons I've stayed at college this long. I somehow managed to get through my week of torturous things in my lessons, didn't think it was possible but I did. I was probably very distracted through Thursday and Friday, but still, I got through it. I'll be back at some point between now and Saturday to wish you all a Merry Christmas, but for now good luck with all of the shopping etc ;)
Besos ♥
Rachel
Links:
Sussex Carol
Silent Night
There are links to two other songs on my page or down the right-hand suggestions box thingy :) Enjoy! (And please remember we're not even a year old and didn't have much rehearsal time due to the snow :P)
PS: I've added a 'Video Bar' at the bottom of the posts so you can link to all the choir videos I've put up easily :)
PPS: I've also added one for my non-choir videos :)
If you click on the video whilst watching it, it'll take you to the YouTube page for it, you can then click my username to find more videos.
Sunday, 12 December 2010
Understanding
Sometimes, there are people who you understand - and who understand you - on a level that can't be explained. Eliza is one of those people, and I am so thankful for that.
Her answer to a message about what I can buy her for her birthday on Wednesday:
"And if you still don't find anything, donate some money to charity and write in a card for me who you sent it to."
She is the only person that would understand why I'm writing this because of what she sent to me. She also keeps writing about me on her blog so I figured I better start playing catch up before I get too behind ;)
Besos ♥
Rachel
Her answer to a message about what I can buy her for her birthday on Wednesday:
"And if you still don't find anything, donate some money to charity and write in a card for me who you sent it to."
She is the only person that would understand why I'm writing this because of what she sent to me. She also keeps writing about me on her blog so I figured I better start playing catch up before I get too behind ;)
Besos ♥
Rachel
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