Biography
|
Previous Entry 28.12.06. E-mail to all. Following Entry |
The Journal Index The Home Page |
This is going to be a long email. A very long e-mail. It needs to cover this much ground: My birthday, My First Choreographic Work, My summer Vacation (in four parts), Pamela and I, and Christmas.
My Birthday, 2006. (Read much more about it in the
Entire Entries.)
The day before my birthday was lovely, and sunny, and I had a nice dinner with a couple friends in the Garden, and then went swimming with them in the river. On my birthday, I started with Oiling the floor of our flat, which we'd finished sanding that week. We at last had all wood floors throughout the flat. (Except for the Kitchen and Bathroom.) Then there was Ballet training and Rehearsal, then I came home and took a nap at my neighbour's place; I couldn't walk across my freshly oiled Hallway. I was woken up from my nap by my mobile phone ringing, which turned out to be my girlfriend, Pamela. She was asking where I was, and what I was doing. I told her that I'd been napping, and then she asked me to open the door. I didn't have a clue what was going on, still being half asleep. As a surprise for my birthday, she'd come to visit, and had brought my best friend from Detmold with her. So we had a nice meal, -though difficult: jumping over the hallway, and not touching the floor. Then they came to watch the performance I had that evening.
The day after my birthday is a holiday, but not in this region of Germany, only in the region that Pamela and my friend come from. So they could spend the whole day with me. (And I too had most of the day free, after some morning rehearsals.) We went driving around in the afternoon, and saw the castle of Bleckede -not exciting, and the River town of Lauenburg -which was pretty, and lovely to look and, and also the Great, Huge, Italian Imports store, where we got the best Pasta, Cheeses, Wines and some other things. It was a great day, and a fine close to my Birthday... days.
My First Choreographic Work. (Read much more about it in the
Entire entry.)
At the end of each season, my theater has about ten performances of mixed works; most of them being choreographed by the dancers them selves. I've always thought about choreographing, but never felt I had the right inspiration for it; I could make up lots of steps... but they meant nothing. That meant that I never felt ready to begin making a piece. In the last couple of years though, I felt that I had something... I wanted to express; That I had ideas, and notions, and feelings that I wanted to choreograph about. So when the opportunity in this theater came, I was happy to meet it.
My piece was about 17 minutes long, based on a poem I didn't finished, which in turn was based on Pamela and I, and her mother. It was a piece about the interrelation of three people. And it was set to J.S. Bach's first suite for Cello. (And a number of people have said, and others still say, "Bach! How could anyone dance to that? It's such mathematical, boring music!" Hm. Perhaps. But it's what best expressed what I wanted to say. It's music that I found inspiring. So that's the music I used.)
I can't tell you much about how it was received by the public: I didn't notice more nor less applause for it compared with the other pieces of that evening. The newspapers barely mentioned it: and it was something like this: "Matthew Sly choreographed this one piece. And Kerstin choreographed one called so-and-so. And there was a short piece by Yarica, and these pieces, and those pieces were also in it. The evening was ok." -No opinion what so ever.
My Summer Vacation(s). (Read much more about them, starting first
in Dresden.)
This could be long, or it could be short. My vacation is certainly full of many memories, and is something I COULD write about for multiple hours. I will try to keep it shorter though. I had six or seven weeks free from work. Out of all those weeks, Pamela would only have the last two free from Her work, So we planned on going together to France for those two weeks. But what would I do with the rest of my free time? Canada was too far away, and expensive. I anyhow didn't want to be so long without Pamela.
My first week then was spent in Dresden. One of my best friends from Estonia has been living there for some years, and is working in a theater there. In our three years in Germany, we've met ONCE, for part of an afternoon, and discussed things at the train station before we went our separate ways. I at last had time to go and visit her, and to see this city too. I did ballet class with her, and talked and talked and talked with her, and with her friends there in Dresden. I saw some parts of the city, and I watched their open-air summer Performance. It was truly great to meet her again, and be able to talk about everything with her. -First hand; Not just over the phone.
After about a week in Dresden, I was picked up by my best friend, (the one who came for my birthday,) and we went to Poland. (Dresden is comparatively close to the Polish Border.) We spent a week with a friend from Detmold, who has his roots in Poland, and his parents own a house there. Half the time we spent in this one small town, and the other half, we went to look at towns near by, and then were two days in Krakow. (One of the BIG Polish cities. Big, Old, Impressive, and so on.) We all piled into the room of someone we knew studying there, four of us in sleeping bags, on one double bed, and spent our days walking around the city, taking pictures, and seeing the sights. (And having the heavens open up, and dump 6000 liters of water on us. But the Castle was absolutely magical after that. Everything was so bright, clean, and clear. -And all the other tourists had fled, so we had the castle to ourselves.)
After Poland, I spent time with Pamela and her family. I was a week staying with Pamela near Cologne, which was quite, restful, and evening walks through the summer fields. Then we were getting ready for her Grandmother's 90th Birthday. A HUGE party was made, with two big tents about 40 guests, and enough food for 80 people. In the garden there were lights set up, tables and chairs, and we also built a wooden dance floor. We had a sound system, a beamer to do a slide-show of the Granny's past, and the party went on late into the night. (And was then continued with breakfast, coffee, and lunch the next day, for those guests that had stayed over the night.)
At last, the time came that Pamela had her bit of summer vacation. We went together with both her parents to France. Where in France... wasn't exactly clear, but it was decided that we would start with the Loire. (A river, wine Region, and valley, with lots of castles.) We then headed for the Atlantic, which we got to at not the nicest place. So we headed south, and looked in at La Rochelle. -This city happened to be in the middle of a huge Harbour and City Festival, so it was very lively, and nice to walk through and look at. -And then, at 11 pm, we started looking for a place to stay the night. Not a Chance! We drove 45 minutes away from the coast, and found some hotels there. They too were booked solid. We kept going, to the next town, which was further inland. "Booked out." "Full." and at last... one where the man said, "No, we're full." -"But... I'll phone the other hotels in this chain, to see where there's one which ISN'T full." -And that's where we went, -arriving at 3:30 am. And more than a little glad to have some place to sleep. We weren't the only ones either: At nearly every hotel we'd been to, we saw other cars pulling in, and someone going up to the hotel door, and turning back, and then driving away.
Where was this place we slept? Cognac. And being sick of looking for places to stay, it was decided that we'd find a place there to stay for half a week, that we could make day trips from to the surrounding regions. We got a perfect little bed and breakfast, half an hour outside the city. It was the house of a distiller. We were staying in the middle of Cognac Region. He gave us samples of his wares, (THAT was quite the evening, let me tell you!) -for free. That stunned me; I couldn't imagine such hospitality. -but it worked out for him: when we left, we'd bought four bottles of his cognac, four of his "Pinot de Charent," and about four of his wine as well. We liked the place so much, we stayed there a whole week.
Meanwhile, we spent our days looking all around the Cognac region, and also twice went to Bordeaux. Once visiting friends of the family, and once just looking around, (at the Sand dune, the Ocean, and at Médoc.) On our way back to Germany, we had visits in Limoges, Sancerre, and Paris. What a vacation. What good wine, sun, and memorable experiences. What an end to my summer.
Montreal. (Read much more about it in the
Entire Entry.)
Then, after my summer was over, and I'd been back at work for a few weeks, there was a strange phone call from Montreal, which I just missed answering. From looking at the number, I found out that it had been from my old Ballet school. Rather Curious, (about how they got my Germany Telephone number, for one thing,) I sent them an e-mail, asking what's up. They told me about the gala performance they'd be having celebrating their 40th anniversary. -Would I like to come and dance in the show?
Well, that would be fun, I explained. But I'm rather far away.
Pity, they replied. But if I changed my mind, the rehearsals would be on these days, and the performance then, and the school would pay all of my travel costs.
No. Really? No. But... but... Really? ALL of the costs? And they realize that I'm in Lüneburg, GERMANY, and not Lunneborg, Canada?
Yes.
Well... Ok then. I managed to get the week and a half free from work here in Germany, and flew to Montreal. It actually happened. I still thought they were half mad, but... I couldn't object to that!
It was a good time. I stayed with my Grandmother, who still lives in Montreal, and got to look around the city once more. It was very different; seeing it through my eyes, which have now matured. I left there, fresh out of school, when I was 19. I remember thinking about how European Montreal was as a city, (compared to the rest of north American cities.) -And now, going back there, I felt that it was so North American, (compared to all the cities I've been in for the last seven years.) Anyhow, the performance went well, and I got to meet a few old friends from the school, and to make some new ones. and then I was back to Germany. What an... unexpected experience.
Pamela. (Read much much much more about it in the
Entire Entry.)
Pamela Münch. My love. I met her about two and a half years ago, in the late spring of 2004. by the end of 2004, we were a couple. -and in January, we became a long distance couple, when she found work in Cologne, two and a half hours drive away. And then in September, we became an even longer distance couple, when I moved two hours away in a different direction, to Lüneburg. But regardless of distances, and seeing each other one or two days a week, we kept growing closer together.
When we went on vacation together, or when we found time to have a whole week in the same city, I felt that I was... at home. I felt that... this was how I wanted my life to feel. So I tried asking Pamela if she wanted to be married to me. -and she told me to propose. So I asked her if she would marry me. -And she told me to propose properly, with a ring and all. So I asked her to go looking at rings with me, -and she told me that it was something I would have to do for myself. Also, all the way through, she'd been telling me two things: That she loved me, and would like to live with me the rest of her life, and secondly: that we had TIME! There's no need yet to be marrying each other.
Hm.
But I was sure. -about her. And I was ready to take the next step. So I started planning the "Romantic Proposal." If it's something I have to do, then I can do it Right.
I took Months agonising over what kind of ring, and then took weeks writing a poem, and then took days, waiting for her to come, and then took hours, waiting to have a perfect opportunity, and then took minutes, to build up the courage to start.
-I'm proud to say that I had enough self control, that it took more than only Seconds, before I was shaking like a leaf, and in tears. I think I lasted a good minute or two before I got to that point.
So that was that. We're engaged. -It just took some time before she told her parents, and more time before she told the rest of her family. Somehow, her Family has decided that it will be "Official" on new years, when we're going to celebrate it. (I felt it was official, when she said "Yes.")
To answer some questions that might come from all: We don't have any idea When we will be married. I don't mind at all a long engagement. We both feel that it would be best to wait until we've had a chance to live together, to be sure that we can stand each other, every single day. I want to get a good picture of her ring, (on her pretty little hand,) but haven't gotten around to doing that yet. And I love her endlessly. (I look at her now, taking a nap. And can certify to all that she's an angel.)
Christmas.
With luck, there will not be too much to write about here. Pamela's family and I had been baking cookies in preparation. We met in Detmold, at the parent's house, and then all went together to Berlin, to the Generations old Family house. The whole family was there, as they always are; All seven of them, including Pamela, So we were 8, including myself. We had a day and a half of cooking, eating, cooking, eating, going to Mass, eating, opening gifts, cooking, eating, sleeping, cooking, eating, cooking, eating, telling the rest of the family that we're engaged, cooking, eating, and then Pamela drove us two back to Lüneburg, because I had to have a performance on the 25th. -Then another performance on the 26th. And today I had free and spent it all with Pamela.
SO... that has been rather long, wouldn't you say? I think I've covered most of the things that happened in my life... the last seven months. But this has been the short version. There's much more on my webpage, (if any of these things have been of particular interest to you.) I'll try to supply links at the bottom of this page.
I wish every one a happy new year, and a Joyful 3 kings day (the 6th of January, I think.) Season's greetings, all the best, and good wishes.
Sincerely, (however infrequently, still sincerely,)
Matthew Sly (With Pamela always in my mind, and just now, at my side too.)