Just Dozing

It wasn't that I slept badly last week, but, as is so often the case in the first week of work after a relaxing break, I can't honestly say I slept terribly well. So I was looking forward to a bit of a lie-in this morning, but also keenly aware that in recent times once I've woken for and completed Dawn Prayers it hasn't always been easy to go back to bed and re-enter the land of nod. And that turned out to be the case this early morn.

But after getting up, enjoying the cup that cheers (x2), showering and listening to some sweet sounds, it's been a day on which I've found it suspiciously easy to nod off. Case in point: I popped up to the newish sort of shopping centre called Geneo, opposite NUH, whilst Noi was concocting a heap of curry puffs at the homestead, and came close to dozing in public at the nifty little garden they maintain out at the back. Someone has thoughtfully placed reclining chairs by the little ponds there and I stretched out on one intending to read a page or two but almost conked out after a paragraph.

In case you think I'm writing this in a spirit of complaint, I need to tell you that is very far indeed from the truth. I consider a dozy day as being amongst life's deepest blessings. And I wouldn't mind a repeat tomorrow to be honest.

Perfectly Monstrous

Need to give credit where credit is undoubtedly due. I forget to mention yesterday in my brief account of my recovery from musical torpidity that Sir Paul and his stellar live band of recent years played a crucial part in the process. Listening to the double-header of Let Me Roll It and Jet as performed live on Later... With Jools Holland happily blew my head off in SAC in the early part of the week. And to think that Macca was nearly seventy years young at this point in his illustrious career.

It helps that the band is monstrously good, especially Abe Laboriel, the monster on drums. I mean, Blimey!

Reviving

Here's an odd thing. I'd been mildly out of tune with the wonderful world of music - all varieties of musics, that is - throughout December. Yes, I did some listening, but it was all a bit forced. I felt sort of outside everything I tried to open my ears to, even stuff I deeply love. It was all okay, often pretty fine, but no more than that. So all sort of tepidly disappointing. And the irony is that I had oceans of time to listen.

I vaguely suspected that all this might change when I became genuinely busy again. And guess what? My suspicions have been realised. Thankfully!

Just played VdGG's Trisector and am deeply glad I did.

(Actually The Missus told me to turn it down as it was very loud, and I dutifully did so, and it still sounded blisteringly brilliant.)

Of Real Value

Chanced upon a fascinating piece over at the reliably rewarding Open Culture related to a pithy Japanese saying of penetrating insight. Those Japanese certainly know a thing or three.

And all this a useful reminder of my limitations in terms of in-depth knowledge of other cultures. I mean, I thought I knew quite a bit about the aesthetics of this culture, but really it's quite a little. Keen on learning more, though, and there's no excuse not to given the excellence of this website and those like it. 

It's not all AI slop out there.

In Retrospect

Broke my New Year's resolution already by looking back to this date ten years ago. No plausible excuse for doing so really, but I'll attempt one anyway. Remembering the wide open spaces is a way of looking forward to encountering them again one day. A way of knowing there's always a world elsewhere, even if the walls seem to be closing in.

Broken News

There's a lot of breaking news today, said Noi just now, particularly in relation to a certain POTUS and his unfathomable behaviour. She was thinking primarily of the frightening sense of destabilization in the world as we know it. Couldn't help but agree.

But, rather immaturely, my focus at this point is on the news out of Old Trafford. Deeply embarrassing stuff. Is this any way to run a football club? I ask myself and the world in general. (The answer is No, by the way.)

Clearing The Mind

Enjoyed a walk at West Coast Park this morning. Excellent way to shake out the creases and clean up a grubbily dusty mind.

Bit of a contradiction here. When I'm walking alone I tend to do a lot of thinking and, on occasions, actual detailed planning. When I'm walking with someone else, usually Noi, my thoughts are enjoyably limited to my immediate needs (few) and surroundings (rich.) So this morning my immediate concerns were limited almost entirely to the flora & fauna on view.

Sadly I'm now back at the table planning for the week ahead and cluttering the grey matter once again. But a morning's freedom from this kind of thinking is something to be grateful for. And the prata & teh tarik that followed were none too shabby either. 

Not So Complicated

It's a complicated life they have, said The Missus in relation to the increasingly complex comings & goings & wheelings & dealings portrayed on The Morning Show. We watched a full two episodes today, thus getting good value from our subscription to Apple TV and breaking my records for watching stuff on the Goggle Box over recent years. It's all absurdly fascinating with plenty of what Noi terms glamour. (She came up with a pithy phrase early in today's viewing regarding this aspect of the world of the rich & powerful in American media, but I'm afraid I've forgotten the exact wording.)

Must say, I feel a powerful sense of relief that the world on our tv screen bears no resemblance whatsoever to our own happily limited life & lives. Something to celebrate as I set about the nasi goreng ikan bilis we're about to share. Eat slowly 'cause the food is hot, says Noi, as we ready ourselves to eat. That's quite enough excitement for me. No further glamour required. 

A Timely Reminder

The khutbah for today's Friday Prayers was in English and had quite an impact on me. It wasn't that the sermon dealt with anything particularly new or unusual. I'm well aware of the Islamic teaching on the need for steadfastness and perseverance in trying situations, which was today's theme. And, let's face it, the notion is hardly exclusive to Islam. So why the impact?

In the course of  the morning I'd needed to deal with three distinctly irritating situations and I'd done so pretty well, but not well enough to be able to genuinely rise above the irritations involved. I'd score myself at 60%, with distinct room for improvement, and could well be over-generous in my estimate. The simple but deep wisdom of the khutbah helped reassure me I'd done reasonably well but left me in no doubt that doing well on just one morning wasn't enough.

The Imam's emphasis on the everyday nature of the challenges being referenced also hit home. I'd been discombobulated by the trivial throughout the morning, proof of my own smallness. But now was offered a chance to grow. Slowly.

Not Looking Back

We all know her in her various guises: 

She's got everything she needs / She's an artist, she don't look back.

In the year ahead I am resolved to imitate that lack of concern for the past and make of myself something new. (Well, if not new, then at least trying not to be so old.)