Heavy Music.

Me and T went to see Symphony X and Dream Theater yesterday. In case you don't know, both play (in my opinion) rather heavy progressive metal. First time for me in their gig (or any such, apart from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in Spokane).

Instead of actually focusing on the music, I spent my time observing the players and the audience.

- I had expected to stand out in a crowd of a) big "heavy guys" b) chicks in all-black clothes and gloomy make-up (and be about the only woman there anyway). In fact, there were definitely more women than I'd expected, and definitely less "dressing up". Some were even waring like smart suit jackets and stuff! Who would've thought?!

- Aren't people supposed to, like, start playing tango or something when they reach a certain age? These bands were funny, middle-aged dudes with their beer bellies, long hair and mean beards :) (Also noted: the Symphony X singer came on stage with remarkably shiny and smooth hair but after the first song it was all tangled.)

- Wonder what the Dream Theater drummer was trying to compensate for with the size of his drum set?!

- Also, it appears that the pianist secretly wanted to be the guitar-player. (He had this "guitar-style" keyboard that he hung around his neck)

- Also of interest was to observe the security confiscate a rather sizeable number of illegal cameras from the audience.

Restlessness

The most recent Trendi magazine had a feature on people who, rather than programming their lives ambitiously and according to what makes sense, allow themselves to drift from place to place and eventually end up better off.

At the moment I seem to be falling somewhere in-between. You know, having half-consciously built a certain type of CV and then having second thoughts about everything. And now wondering whether it would be better to abandon the original plans and just jump into something different...

Better not say anything else, as my opinion changes at least every other day...

This Age

I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: I’m probably living the best year(s) of my life so far. Never have I been this “serene” (how’s that for “seesteinen”?), so comfortable with (almost) everything. I guess it’s not so much being of certain age, but more so of being in a certain phase of life. You know, towards the end of your studies, optimistic about job prospects, stable relationships and all that.

Maybe that’s the thing, relationships. Me and T have been together close to 7 years. Who would have bet on us getting this far? No need to pretend – relationships started as teenagers don’t have that good odds. And who knows, maybe they’re still to play against us. But I think, I KNOW, we’ve done better than many others. And you know what? For the first time I’m not stressing. I’m not going through different scenarios, calculating the likeliness for a lifetime relationship. Because I know it isn’t about mathematics. From now on, it’s about the mutual WILL to make things work, shared hopes and values.

At “this age”, people around me are starting to get married. I’ve been waiting for that to happen, and recently the development has been fast! In just a few months, 3 couples have announced their engagement. But there’s one couple I’m particularly happy for. The first closer friend getting married is pretty exciting! And I’m happy this “teenage couple” has gotten to that place. At this point, I’m sure they too know that they’ll make it. Here’s to you, K and M!

Travel photos

I've posted some photos at my Facebook profile. Look me up! (If you have an urge to see all hundreds of them, let me know and I'll send the link to the entire photo album.)