Today I went to church, as I usually do on Sundays, but I was running late this morning so by the time I got to the cathedral, I had to stand outside. Standing outside is no small sacrifice - there are no fans outside, and no shade. About halfway through the homily, which is generally between 20-30 minutes into the mass, I started getting dizzy and light-headed and nearly passed out.
Clearly, whoever decided that palm trees equal paradise didn't spend very much time standing outside in the heat. I took a shower as soon as I got home just so I could feel somewhat decent again.
Last night, I had the great pleasure to attend a live Cantonese opera, The Scholar and the Maid. It didn't even cost very much. Anyway, it was absolutely fantastic. I loved the music, the costumes, the dancing - even the singing, which can be a little overwhelming at times. The company that did it provided Chinese (Mandarin) and English subtitles, and some of the translations were hilarious because they used the very proper Latin-derived word instead of the words normal people would use. My favorite line was, "I love your petite lips and your charismatic glance." The story was about as stupid as any other opera/musical comedic love story, but it was brilliantly done, and a great pleasure to watch.
Showing posts with label opera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label opera. Show all posts
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Thursday, July 05, 2007
And... it was hot today
Today began with finishing the second Lord of the Rings movie and ended with the third movie. And thus is the trilogy at an end after three days. I liked how Peter Jackson passed off Eowyn to Faramir, though - I don't remember that being in the book.
I mailed my one and only purchase off today to my UK buyer. She's apparently wearing them to a tearoom party for a design thingy. Sounds fascinating! Anyway, I really, really hope they fit. Gloves can be tricky. The unfortunate part about mailing anything here is that I didn't see a single mailbox. So, we had to track down a post office - which is easier said than done.
The post office is really weird, as it is in nearly every other country. Okay, so maybe the US Postal system is the weird one. Anyway, in Austria, the Post was a bank, it developed film, you could buy piles of stuff there, all in addition to being a post office. Here, the post does all this, and offers loans. There were ads for Singapore Post realty loans. Rather odd, if you ask me. But then, airmail costs were about half what it costs in the US, and regular stamps are cheaper too. Perhaps if the USPS got into the real estate business, they wouldn't have to keep raising the cost of the mail every year. I couldn't believe it when it cost 41 cents to mail a letter! Since when is it 41 cents? Last I checked, it was 39 cents, which still seems like highway robbery to me.
Tomorrow is Friday, and I have no plans. I have no idea what I'm going to do, but I'm certainly not going to sit rusticating in this eensy weensy apartment like I did last Friday night (well, we watched the Corpse Bride, which is a good movie). I'm very much looking forward to Saturday night, though - I've been wanting to watch a real Chinese opera since I saw it on film during my World Music course. That and Japanese Kabuki, but I'm in Singapore right now, so I'll take what I can get. Oddly enough, I got to see a qin being played live (a Chinese stringed instrument similar to a hammered dulcimer) in Great Falls, Montana, of all places.
But, the overarching theme of every day is the heat. As soon as I step outside, it assails me. When we forget to turn back on the AC, it slowly heats the apartment. Sweat is a fact of life. And I really, really hate having to put on sunscreen so often. I will be SO happy to get back to the land of rain and rainclouds. But for now, I will enjoy my little adventure.
I mailed my one and only purchase off today to my UK buyer. She's apparently wearing them to a tearoom party for a design thingy. Sounds fascinating! Anyway, I really, really hope they fit. Gloves can be tricky. The unfortunate part about mailing anything here is that I didn't see a single mailbox. So, we had to track down a post office - which is easier said than done.
The post office is really weird, as it is in nearly every other country. Okay, so maybe the US Postal system is the weird one. Anyway, in Austria, the Post was a bank, it developed film, you could buy piles of stuff there, all in addition to being a post office. Here, the post does all this, and offers loans. There were ads for Singapore Post realty loans. Rather odd, if you ask me. But then, airmail costs were about half what it costs in the US, and regular stamps are cheaper too. Perhaps if the USPS got into the real estate business, they wouldn't have to keep raising the cost of the mail every year. I couldn't believe it when it cost 41 cents to mail a letter! Since when is it 41 cents? Last I checked, it was 39 cents, which still seems like highway robbery to me.
Tomorrow is Friday, and I have no plans. I have no idea what I'm going to do, but I'm certainly not going to sit rusticating in this eensy weensy apartment like I did last Friday night (well, we watched the Corpse Bride, which is a good movie). I'm very much looking forward to Saturday night, though - I've been wanting to watch a real Chinese opera since I saw it on film during my World Music course. That and Japanese Kabuki, but I'm in Singapore right now, so I'll take what I can get. Oddly enough, I got to see a qin being played live (a Chinese stringed instrument similar to a hammered dulcimer) in Great Falls, Montana, of all places.
But, the overarching theme of every day is the heat. As soon as I step outside, it assails me. When we forget to turn back on the AC, it slowly heats the apartment. Sweat is a fact of life. And I really, really hate having to put on sunscreen so often. I will be SO happy to get back to the land of rain and rainclouds. But for now, I will enjoy my little adventure.
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