The Happy Thread IV

[BeardofPants]

Champagne makes me really queasy for some reason (so I found out on xmas...). Anyways, congrats!

[Gwaimir Windgem]

What the heck, Shee!?! If champagne makes you queasy, you should have found out LONG ago!

I have a friend who, apparently, gets sick to the stomach if he ever eats rice. I simply don't understand that. Rice isn't anything! It's basically prime matter, a shapeless blob that you put things on to make it real. How can someone just get sick from rice?

[BeardofPants]

I've never really done champagne in copious quantities really. Call me a heathen, but I'm much happier with a good red or white. And I've had some of the best that France has to offer - I'm just not a fan. So xmas was the first time really that I'd ever had a chance to quaff more than my usual ration.

[Midge]

I'm home! I've spent the last week at LEAST two states away from my home, sometimes three...

My dad finished staining a bookcase I had left.. it was a project I started in NOVEMBER... It's in my bedroom now, waiting to be filled, filled with books!

I'm so happy... I'm beginning to get my life straightened out... Not in the material sense... no, as a matter of fact, I've got what seems to be about two or three years (I'm going to try to shorten it) of debt in front of me, and college to finish, a very difficult semester ahead of me, an already slipping GPA, and a scholarship to maintain...

But as far as priorities go... all that is simply material. I'm finding things out about myself, and I'm figuring out where best my heart is happy. Not that it is the best of judges, but if it is truly content in the Lord, where I know it should be, then I am truly a blessed woman!

I would like to recant all of the things I said about my boyfriend. No one thinks I can think for myself, but that break-up had more to do with MY problems than his. He responded nobly to the drama and the crisis, while I sat there and acted as immaturely as I could by telling terrible things about him to anyone I knew who would listen. I want all Mooters to know that I apologize for that. We are dating again (*waits for groans to subside*) but with a very different intention. All we can do is hope that our relationship glorifies the Lord.

Just so everyone knows, I don't mean to be off topic... this stuff truly makes me happy.. not theologized. I hope I don't get banned to only the Theology thread!

[Ingwe]

I'm happy that I still don't have work for another couple of days and can be with Amy and the kids the whole day! I just wish that the weather would get warmer so we could all actually do something other than sitting listening to music for a grand portion of the day. xD

[Tessar]

Midge, didn't you say your friends were encouraging you to break things off with him?

I'm sorry to be so negative, but considering your extreme physical reaction to breaking things off with him, considering the advice of your friends, and considering how you felt before you broke up with him (remembering the car situation) please just be very careful about this.

I would strongly suggest you try being -friends- with him before you get back into seriously dating. I think it may be a mistake for you to have broken off with him for the reasons you did, then suddenly turned back around and started immediately dating him again.

But that's just me, and I hope however things work out you are happy .

[Midge]

There are a lot of extraneous factors which I'm now taking into account. I use the term "dating" very loosely, mostly for want of a better word. And I appreciate your concern. I do know what it is like to watch a friend go running back to a situation they were recently freed from. I know that I'm not back with him because it's comfortable; things have changed far too much for that to even be a possibility. I feel more prepared this time; like my eyes are open. I've got God watching out for me.

[BeardofPants]

Originally Posted by Midge

There are a lot of extraneous factors which I'm now taking into account. I use the term "dating" very loosely, mostly for want of a better word. And I appreciate your concern. I do know what it is like to watch a friend go running back to a situation they were recently freed from. I know that I'm not back with him because it's comfortable; things have changed far too much for that to even be a possibility. I feel more prepared this time; like my eyes are open. I've got God watching out for me.

I know this is coming from an atheist, but someone's gotta say it: saying that God is watching out for you is an awfully passive thing to say, and it's the passivity that got you into trouble last time, if I'm not mistaken. How about you also keep an eye out for yourself, okay?

[Tessar]

The Catholic agrees with the atheist .

Like I said, I really, truly hope that you're happy. But again do be careful... I know some people hate the saying, "God helps those who help themselves," but I think it's a valid quote if only because love takes work... and you have to work smart, not just work hard .

Remember that your relationship will glorify God if you are in a happy, balanced relationship.

But that's the last that I'll bug you about it. I don't know the full circumstances, and I'm sure you will do what needs to be done. You're obviously a bright gil, so... Good luck.


I'm happy because I'll get to keep my section leader job at least a little longer. I assumed this was my second-to-last weekend, since the director had said something about only keeping me for Christmas, so I went up to him afterwards and thanked him for giving me the chance and for letting me sing the Saint-Saens. He said that he was very happy to have me, and that I would be staying on at least a bit longer... so hopefully I can hang on to this job for a while! I've learned so much, and grown 'professionally'. I saw one girl, who's an amazing singer, get her solo taken away from her because she wasn't ready at a rehearsal... certainly a wakeup from how solos work at my university.


Hopefully things are falling into place a little... I feel like I have a really effective voice teacher, I'm getting a taste of low-level professional singing, I'm all set to start taking some dance lessons soon (so hopefully I can get cast in some productions around town), and next semester I have JAZZ CHOIR to look forward to.

But I think I may have to resort a few priorities... Well, not so much resort. I know what I want, I've just let myself feel guilty sometimes about putting what I'm after ahead of what other people expect me to do. So from now on I'm going to try not to do that. I have my own goals, and I have them for my own reasons... anyone who doesn't like that I can't conform to their view of what I should be can go stuff themselves with a moldy fruit cake .

[Midge]

Point taken. What I meant was that I am taking measures to ensure that I stay close to God. It's not a passive relationship at all, but the statement did indeed sound like it.

Sorry.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Just got my grades for the semester; 3 B's (1 +, 1 -, 1 neither), and two A's. Woohoo! Though the B- was definitely not deserved; I should have had at least an A- in the class, but apparently the tutor is just a harsh grader. Everyone, pretty much, got worse than they expected from him. Which is annoying, cause I was going to ask him for a recommendation to a literature program. Grr.....

On the other hand, I probably deserved a C- or so in the class I got a B in, so maybe I shouldn't complain... >.>

[Mari]

I got my Christmas present!!!
I'm so happy! It's a beautiful wind chime in the shape of a fairy
I wonder how my Secret Santa knew...

[Tessar]

I finally had a breakthrough! I was playing this Bach, two voice invention which has been giving me a horrible time since I picked it up on Sunday. There was one part, three measures in, where things just fell apart for me because the left hand had to double back over an octave, while the right hand had to move up one whole step... I don't know WHY that gave me trouble, since it's really not too difficult, but I just couldn't get it.

I still wasn't getting it this morning when I practiced, so I practiced again this evening and it's suddenly starting to come together... and it's actually making the rest of the piece a little easier too for some reason. It's like some coordination ability just unlocked itself a little.

Which just goes to prove that you don't have to be smart, you just have to want whatever you're going after bad enough and you'll probably eventually get it.

Still such a long way to go though :-/. I really want to get much, much better at piano. But for tonight, I'm satisfied that I've made some tangible progress.

[Tessar]

I JUST SAW CYNTHIA LAWRENCE UPCLOSE!!!!!!!! O.o I was THREE FEET AWAY FROM HER!!! I kid you not, it was like seeing a super hero .


For those of you who don't know, Cynthia Lawrence is a really famous soprano. She's considered "the" performer of the role Madam Butterfly, and she's sung in opera houses EVERYWHERE across the world. She was also a favorite soprano of Pavarotti and she sang with him many times. Her voice is about the size of a house... In an opera-house setting, she can sing so loud that she overpowers the people she's singing with.

I didn't actually meet her or anything, because she was talking to one of the voice teachers at my school, but OMG!!!! I totally saw her, and it was AMAZING.


AND I have a ticket to see her perform this Friday, AND she's singing O Mio Babbino Caro which is one of my most favorite arias EVAAAAAAR!!!! OMGGGGGGGGGG YOU GUYS!!!!!!! *passes out*

[Mari]

*waves a fan over Tessar* Are you coming to yet?
Lucky you.
I hope you'll have a great time! *hugs*

[Mari]

I got my invitation for the finals I got into by taking an IQ-test and handing in my CV.
Only 50 people out of 20.000 got in. On the one hand I am excited, but on the other hand it is pretty scary. Not sure if I'll be going yet.

[Mari]

I know I just posted here earlier today, but I just came back from skating on the lake!
I love ice skating. It was so beautiful! White everywhere you looked (except for in the direction of the town), not too many people, an orange sun partially hidden behind clouds on my right and a very bright moon to my left and a purple/greyish/orangey/blueish sky!
*dreamy sigh*
Next time I go, I'll take pictures, though I doubt it will be this beautiful again.

[Earniel]

I think quite a lot of skates have dug up in the attic again, these days. Whatcha reckon? Will there be a Elfstedentocht this year?

[Mari]

Probably not. The further up north you get, the warmer it gets. There was one fellow yesterday who rode it, but he ended up in a hole 5 or 6 times and he had to do whole ends on the bike.
There were several marathons planned for today, but generally the ice is bad due to snow on it and some were canceled because the ice had become too thin.
That said, where I live we will have about -7 again tonight.

Speaking of digging up skates: I wanted to use my mum's figure skates instead of my own marathon skates (noren van Zandstra, dus goede schaatsen), because I figured the ice would be bad and it's simply easier maneuvering with figure skates than with noren, but they were nowhere to be found. I DID find my mum's long lost, never used noren though.

[Amael]

Here, the weather's cold and the sky is dark. But I kinda like it. Odd I know. But I will like it a lot more when the clouds disappear and the sun shines again! If anything I have to be happy about right now, it's in looking forward to better things.

A toast, friends. To better times ahead.