A Cadence

It's a little hard to believe that after six years of university, everything is over. No more tutes, no more study, no more exams. Despite having had two absolutely brilliant nights out, with some of my most favourite and fantabulous friends, it still hasn't quite sunk in. And much more so than jubilation or relief, I feel a certain excitement, almost a quickening within, that the rest of my life is about to begin.

I definitely could not have done it without you, my friends. Thank you.

But in the meantime, I am waiting for my plane to Hong Kong to depart, waiting to graduate, and waiting to enjoy what is likely to be the last mostly carefree holiday period for the foreseeable future.

***

Today is St Cecilia's Day, the patron saint of music; so I shall finish with an aria from Handel's Ode for St Cecilia's Day:

But oh! what art can teach,

What human voice can reach

The sacred organ's praise?

Notes inspiring holy love,

Notes that wing their heavenly ways

To mend the choirs above.

Two Sides of the Same Coin

In you, I see

My insurmountable deficiencies,
My unremitting emptiness,
All that I shall never have, and
All that I shall never be.

Yet,

I cannot stop missing,
Longing,
Or caring, as I always have.

I attempt from love's sickness to fly.

Al...most...

OSCEs are finally over!

Despite a couple of hiccoughs (and tell me, has anyone had a completely glitch-free set of stations?), I think I've made it through to the other end, largely in one piece. Interesting moment toward the end of the ABG station was when the examiner wryly described the RMH as "Parkville Bush Nursing Hospital" and said "that's not a good place either" about my going to the Austin next year.

Now I wonder where she works... (no prizes for guessing)

All right. Two down, one to go. Per ardua ad astra.

You don't say...

"On the whole, the acceptability of taboo words is only loosely tied to the acceptability of what they refer to, but in the case of taboo terms for effluvia the correlation is fairly good. Shit is less acceptable than piss, which in turn is less acceptable than fart, which is less acceptable than snot, which is less acceptable than spit (which is not taboo at all). That's the same order as the acceptability of eliminating these substances from the body in public."

En Mass

Currently one of my favourite choral masses is the Berlinermesse by the modern Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. It is an intoxicating mix of the:

Haunting mysteriousness of Byrd 4;
Ethereal atonality of Messiaen; and the
Lyricism of Rheinberger in Eb.

Bravo Arvo!

E Pluribus Unum

By all accounts, Barack Obama will become the United States' 44th President, come inauguration day next year.

It has been a remarkable and grueling 21 months for both the candidates: a charismatic yet little-known senator from Illinois, and a cash-strapped decorated war hero from Arizona. Apart from the extraordinary feat of being the first African-American to hold the highest office in the land, President-Elect Obama in himself captures not only the essence of the wide and disparate country, but vitally, where the country should be going. His mixed parentage highlights the possibilities for racial tolerance, harmony, and equality, while his time spent living abroad reflects America's wide-reaching influence around the world. But most of all, he embodies the American dream; that hard work and passion can, and will, bring one success. There are no limits.

This is not to say that we deny John McCain's role in this election. In so many ways it is his compelling and honorable candidacy that has resurrected Americans' faith and passion in their political process. Although having long been an towering figure in national politics, Senator McCain was not afraid to disagree with his party, or even with his president, for what he believes to be best for his country. His tenacity, dynamism, and sincerity is near without parallel, never mind in a man of 72 years. To the last he is a patriot first, something never so evident than in his concession speech, in which he asks all his supporters to get behind their new commander-in-chief, no matter the political or idealogical differences. It is uniting behind shared dreams and values that a plural nation can stand as one.

Record voter registrations and turnouts. First female Republican vice-presidential candidate. Unbridled national debates, on issues. Leadership qualities above age, gender or race. This is a day of which all Americans should be proud; a day of firsts and lasts;

Above all, it is a day of victory for opportunity, freedom, and democracy, everywhere.

New Beginnings

*drum roll*

Happy 18th Loren! For yesterday

Now that you can, feel free to go nuts and... vote.

More fun, though, was going out last night. Starting inauspiciously, we ventured upstairs into the Melbourne Supper Club, which made us feel more like we were celebrating a retirement (great glass of red though!). Next up was a failed attempt to locate our next venue: strike no. 2. Finally we settled at Manchuria for a fancy 'tail or two (thanks especially to the expert imbiber for his recommendations), and then finally at Seamstress, which was also enjoyable, despite the diminutive San Choi Bao portions.

Mmm, yes, good...

Gaspard de la nuit

Expectations of having an average evening yesterday were shattered by the sound of the 'inside' doorbell at 7.15pm. Assuming it to be my parents having returned home from Sydney, I dashed to the door only to find a 6 foot 3, middle-aged man standing outside. Thinking that it was a neighbour in need, I opened the door without suspicion, only to be told that he was 'Paul', a 'gutter-cleaner', and having seen that our gutters were clogged was so overwhelmed by a sense of urgency that he overleaped the fence to ring the doorbell. Still not suspicious, I inquired about his business card, car/van and the nature of his work, none of which he answered satisfactorily.

He finally left, but then proceeded to ring another doorbell several houses down, then disappeared around the corner.

I eventually called the police, who sent around a patrol shortly to hunt him down, but no luck. It turns out that there has been a spate of burglaries in the area, and that I should have called 000 much sooner, said the frustrated senior constable. So if you live in my area, lock your doors, and beware.

As for you, 'Paul', cave canem! Grrr.