At present I am feeling so technologically challenged that I am tempted to buy another iMac, so I can get the help package. It would be an expensive way of getting technical help, but adult education classes seem to ignore the Macworld and just teach Windows. Hiss Boo! But I have found some friends who have Macs and they are COMPETENT, and willing to help, so soon they will be busy helping.
One of these friends I met while serving on a jury last year. We have kept in touch and are good friends, even managing to meet in Venice late last year. We were amazed to find we had a lot of things in common. We both learn Italian, and sing in choirs, are mad on opera, both have iMacs, and we were both librarians. Would you believe that in one jury of 12 people, selected at random, using numbers rather than names, there were four people who were learning Italian and who sang in choirs? Now my friend and I go to the same Italian class on a Friday. It is miles, sorry kilometres, out of my way but the teacher is wonderful, and so I catch two buses to get there. We are hoping that the class will continue next year, but it seems we will have to make our own arrangements with the teacher, as last week we were too few and next year's class got cancelled. We all think we are very interesting people, and we certainly never run out of things to talk about. We take it in turns to write an argomento on a topic of our choice. While it can be difficult to think of a topic, it is very good for us all to have to do it. I can rest for a few weeks as I did mine last week, on capital punishment - the Bali bombers having been executed.
I am just home tonight from choir. We are singing The Messiah on Friday night, so have had two rehearsals this week. It is a glorious thing to sing, but very long, and standing for such a long time gives us all very sore feet. I am hobbling around, or will be once I get off the computer. The performance is sold out, and our soloists are really good. The bass aria The Trumpet Shall Sound is still playing itself to me. I was standing about a metre away from the trumpeter, which was total bliss. What a fabulous instrument it is. Dr Persiflage won't be going as he is Not Musical. Although actually a couple of months ago he demanded rather plaintively a CD player of his own so he could play music to get him to sleep. So now he has one, and in a way he is now being force fed classical music.
Actually, having a good sing is very good for the psyche. Tomorrow I am going to a concert by Hesperion XXI, a wonderful Spanish group which specialises in (mostly) baroque music. Their music goes straight to the heart.
It has been a very busy week, which I like. Next week I am meeting a friend who has just returned from a month in New York, during the election campaign. Like most people I know she is absolutely thrilled by Obama's victory - and relieved that at least for now Sarah Palin won't be in federal office - and she has lots of scathing things to say about the American electoral system and the low turnout due to the voluntary voting system and the fact that all the arrangements being made by the states. But she had a fabulous time in New York and did hundreds of things. I wish I had been there!
