singing softly -- THE HAZARDS OF LOVE

[extemporally]

Today I wore my rainbow scarf to work. Technically it is not MY scarf, but my friend's scarf. I saw it once and liked it so much she let me bring it home and there it has stayed always. She says she does not mind. I like it, because it's a rainbow scarf, but also because -- wow, how did I become that girl who borrows friends' clothes and everything? I have friends who are willing to lend me their clothes and steal them even! I have been a lonely girl off and on, ever since high school and beyond. Some days things like these do not cease to please.

I was on the way out of the station when I passed by the ice-cream stand which a couple of guys were setting up. (Sometimes I wish I was an ice-cream scooper. I've tried it before! I'm good at it, you guys.) One of the ice creams were blue in that cotton-candy pastel way, and I stopped because I just had to ask.

"Excuse me," I said, "What flavour is that ice cream?"

The guy said caramel, and I couldn't believe it (BLUE CARAMEL!!) and I just smiled confusedly and walked away because talking to strangers confuses me sometimes. I thought maybe he followed the direction of my point wrongly, but I don't know if I want him to be wrong because man, BLUE CARAMEL. It makes sense in a weird kind of way inside of my head.

Today before work I also gave my Haiti donation to the Red Cross.

And today has also been a good day (on my flist at least) for various recounts of idiot countrymen! Man, I don't know, every time I read about things like that I feel weirdly relieved like, okay, I'm not alone, but also slightly disappointed, because growing up on the Internet -- my corner of the Internet, where if crazies exist they are at least routinely given the smackdown -- has led me to believe (obviously erroneously) that the Overseas is this bastion of good sense and liberalism where craziness does not in any large measure prevail, that I could get out and I could run, in whichever direction, and I'd end up in a better place almost automatically. Knowing that nothing works out quite the way you expect it to, kind of, is a bit of a disappointment.

Times like these I just browse through Barnyard Chorus again and reassure myself that there are a couple of good ones left, here.

Sometimes I get this irresistable compulsion to listen to albums the whole way through, then either I stop halfway because some unreasonable circumstance has obliged me to pull out my earphones and by the time I get back, goddamn, I'm not in the mood for it any more! or I start concentrating on something else and I miss all my favourite parts, and all I can remember is a sort of queer musical smudge, only the less subtler lyrics and tunes hanging around in my head. This is usually when I listen to the album three times in a row, and today was that kind of a day for The Hazards of Love. Over and over again, THE HA-ZARDS OF LOVE!

& lastly:

Reply to this post, and I'll tell you one reason why I like you. Then re-post this and spread the love. ♥

Comments

[egelantier.livejournal.com]

but how did this blue caramel taste, though? i'm going to be so plagued by it now.

meme? ♥

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

I will taste it, one of these days!

You!

I love the way you're so brave and unafraid of things, the way you introduce poems and songs and stories to me, the way you want people to love things because you love them with all of your heart. ♥

[egelantier.livejournal.com]

♥

[sinuous-curve.livejournal.com]

o/

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

\o/!!

I like the way you think about things in this very understated way, and the way that translates itself into your writing, which is always gorgeous and makes me imagine myself a little bit more into that universe you've created, hardly without prompting. <3

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

♥

PS. I steal clothes so much. From my brother, my sister and my father, especially. I wear my dad's sweaters and my brother's t-shirts and my sister's--whatever she left at home when she left for college. And I wear my great grandmother's boots (which, come to think of it, I need to take them to be fixed before the next cold spell hits and I shall be without functional boots to wear).

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

I like that mental image of you, bundled up with the clothes of various people you know and love. ♥

I love you because you are a Bastion of something considerably better than good sense: of idealism and anger where it's needed, of justice and equality, of being proud and unapologetic. Some days I need that very, very much. I love you because you love poetry and writing and take them seriously in a way that feels very acute sometimes, and because you are a lovely person filled with big things. <3

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

<3333333333333333333333333333333333333333

I'm sorry I'm all sniffly now. *pats at eyes*

[nova33.livejournal.com]

I went to this place that had a ridiculous amount of flavours of ice cream; literally hundreds. The options were overwhelming, and there were all sorts of really strange combinations of flavours.

Also,consider this me replying.

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

I think I'd be slightly overwhelmed if I actually visited a place like that, but for now just let me imagine it, and in my imagination it is AWESOME.

You! I like you because you are calm and quiet and understated which I admire and seek to emulate very much on some days, and which provide a neat counterpoint to me (and which I admire again) on my other, messier days, and also because you are earnest in the best way possible: I don't think I've ever seen you say anything malicious or downright mean. You are a rockstar in terms of that. <333

[nova33.livejournal.com]

Yeah, because you're such a mean person yourself. No, thank you - I'm glad that I come across as being so understated and earnest, because I think most people in RL would laugh if you described me as such. ♥

[forochel.livejournal.com]

EH I WANT SOME OF THAT BLUE CARAMEL ICE CREAM MAN. YOU SHOULD BUY IT AND TRY IT. BLUE ICE CREAM.

omg friend you are/were so idealistic hahaha

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

Encouraged by my flist, I think I shall TAKE THE PLUNGE!!

Still am, I think (I was going to say 'I'm afraid', but today I'm not afraid!! Why should I be afraid?)

Here is what I like about you: that you are loud and exuberant and very welcoming, that we didn't talk at all until this/early last year, but once we started talking we didn't stop, and that it doesn't feel weird, just nice. :)

[oddishly.livejournal.com]

Please write stories for the rest of forever. This is a LOVELY post :)

Knowing that nothing works out quite the way you expect it to, kind of, is a bit of a disappointment.

Mmm. But then sometimes you walk into a raincloud and as well as getting dripped on, you see a rainbow beam into existence, and what you expected isn't nearly as good as what you got, so. ♥

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

YOU are a lovely person, so I guess we are even. Well, sort-of. And you are right, about the thingy -- oh, all right, I guess I could call it a raincloud, I just wanted the excuse the work the word 'thingy' into this sentence!

You made me think of that poem you always quote, you know:

But here I am wading out with
cupped hands, chasing flashes of sun-
light, trying to capture bubbles, look-
ing for a rainbow I can write down.

I think Mik has already said things about the way you're impossibly cheery and optimistic and always believe in things until things (against all expectation) turn out to be BAD, the way you're always looking out for rainbows to write down, so here's the original part: I like the way you think! And the way you write things, that always seem so clear, the way you manage to reach into my mind and tweak the mess I sometimes feel about some things and say them, and sort things out just that little bit better. ♥

[oddishly.livejournal.com]

Oh, you <3 I like the way you are so, so genuine, and that even when you don't think you are saying exactly what you want to say, the way you want to say it, you always try. And, like. You don't hold back, it's all there, the truth as ugly or unexpected or cold and hard as it gets. It's really kind of inspirational, and I am trying really quite hard to be a better person, recently, and you are someone I am aspiring to. So! Thank you for that :)

[brilligspoons.livejournal.com]

Blue caramel? That's kind of amazing, and I would totally try that flavor.

*bats eyelashes* Why do you <3 me, dear one?

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

I will have to let you try it by proxy-tasting, and reporting the results to the Internet!

Because of your coquetry, obviously. *straight face*

OKAY, UM, serious now! -- I love you because you have this irritability that makes me laugh some days (never at you, dude, but at the ridiculous circumstances you face) and makes me feel very, very scared for the people you're facing down in your head. I love you because we can have discussions on things we disagree about and still emerge unscathed, that we can do the whole sane and rational dialogue thing, you know, it makes me respect you immensely. <3

(deleted and reposted b/c Freudian slip fail! EYELASHES? Where did that come from? ... oh, your original comment.)

[loverave.livejournal.com]

♥

Also, I am jealous that you are good at scooping ice cream. I was sucky at it.

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

It's all about the wrist strength, bb! (Should I insert a leer here just for the heck of it? Yes, I believe I should. LEER)

I love you because of the gentle way you have of putting things, the way you tell stories and inhabit them thoroughly, the way your username puts me in mind of birds and love and wings.

[emilyenrose.livejournal.com]

*replies!*

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

I like the way you talk about Classics, the way you navigate things with with a sense of wit and verve and friendliness, the way you articulate things so well. I like that you have fun and are somewhat crazy. <333

[ashlein.livejournal.com]

ME :D?

OOHHHH GIMME THAT BLUE CARAMEL!!

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

YOU :D!

I like that you are crazily enthusiastic about things! and appreciate cake and sparkles! You are everything that I love about fangirls, that sense of joy and ebullience. I like that your entire comment was in CAPS. I love the way that, even though you have problems, you continue plugging away anyway. ♥

[softlyforgotten.livejournal.com]

Man, scooping ice cream would be the best job in the whole world. It's so satisfying when you get the curl of it just right! And you'd be making people happy all day, because ice cream! And there are flavours such as BLUE CARAMEL.

I do exactly the same thing with albums, oh man, and that album especially. I've also introduced it to my family, and they all like it a lot to various degrees, but especially my five year old brother, which means that occasionally he will come up to me and say "Mik, put on the True Love Song." Because of the first line of the second song.

& hello? ♥

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

I know, right? Also you get a workout for your right arm! ... uh.

Also, your brother ♥♥ I just listened to that song again!

Hello you! I love you because you're caring and intelligent and a wonderful writer, and your posts are always such a joy to read. I always feel safe when I'm talking to you. <3

[softlyforgotten.livejournal.com]

My right arm needs a workout, yeah man. Sign me up.

♥♥♥ That is a lovely thing to say, thank you v. much. <333

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

Ten pieces?? RAPPELLING? CLEARLY YOU ARE A SUPERHERO. (Hey, speaking of superheroes -- I just finished Kavalier & Clay! You are right, it is brilliant.)

I will have to try that ice cream and report back to the Internets.

(Also yay card! And so on :D)

Here is what I like about you: that you are one of the best writers I've seen, that you love talking about ideas, and seeing your posts and comments pop up every so often never fails to make me beam, you're a wonderful person to talk to. IT IS A LOT OF THINGS. <3

[modus-irrealis.livejournal.com]

When I used to make ice cream I took great glee in colouring it. My favourite was pink mint - we called it cognitive dissonance flavour.

(Your country has some of my favourite ice cream stalls. WHY DID I MOVE SO FAR AWAY.)

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

Dude, that is awesome. What about brown blueberry ice cream! Or green chocolate -- the possibilities are ENDLESS.

(I know, right. I love Island Creamery a lot! Did you ever go there? There is an ice cream parlor right across the street where I live. *__________*)

I like you because you are straightforward and snarky and also competent! That's hot. :D

[modus-irrealis.livejournal.com]

I googled a bit, but I don't think I have been to Island Creamery! :O (And Singapore Airlines no longer flies Singapore->Vancouver so I don't know when I'll next get to visit to try it out, curses.)

I was thinking of two in the basement of Takashimaya - the gelato place where I first discovered the awesome combination of green tea gelato and strawberry sorbet, and the Japanese one that did sea salt and caramel flavour. Mmmm.

Oh, thank you~! I like you because you are amusing and enthusiastic and generally cool!

[kyasuriin.livejournal.com]

... I clearly do not take much prodding. *looks down sheepishly*

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

YOU. I like you! I like that you're good-natured, the way you seem to pay especial attention to the little things in life, the way you love your job, the way you were brave in getting a better one, and the way you love being creative. And also that you called your cat Ziggy.

It is maybe more than one thing, but that's just how you are. <333