The more eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that I put my list on the sidebar of this blog a few weeks ago. I felt a little weird about it, because some of those items are a bit personal, but I figure you can’t expect to get what you want in life if you won’t even admit what that is. So there it is. And hey, if you think you can help, let me know. Anyway, right
now I’m working on items 16, 55, and 74.
Number
55 isn’t easy, but it’s simple. It doesn’t
require much more of me than dedication and tolerance to pain. Like most of life. There’s only one way to accomplish it, and
that is to go straight into it. At least
once every other day, I try to do as many push-ups as I can, and I try to do
more than I did last time. My progress?
The number I can do with my knees on the ground has been going up relatively
quickly, so I think any day now I’ll be able to do more than ½ of a “real”
push-up. Any day now. And from there, 10 can’t be so far off.
Item
74 has been trickier than I thought it would be. But only because I let it be. I can bake, but I want to learn to cook.
Specifically, I want to be able to cook at least 10 dishes well. I’ve already
got enchiladas, and I more or less know my way around a lasagna, but with 8
dishes to go, I need some items in my repertoire that aren’t casseroles. That said, I’ve concluded that I’m not much
for complicated recipes and exotic ingredients.
I went through a phase where I wanted to make really impressive food,
and it generally led to culinary disasters.
I thought I must be hopeless, so I decided to take advantage of the
close proximity to my mother, grandmother and sister by getting recipes from
them and then following them to the letter.
Well, guess what I’ve learned? It’s not about the recipes, exactly: they
all make exceedingly delicious meals by, for the most part, keeping it simple. They don’t need 30 types of seasoning when
one or two will do just fine. They don’t
have to hunt for ingredients at special supermarkets. I’m going to follow their lead, and see what
happens. Sometimes you’ve got to get out
of your own way and stop complicating everything with grandiose plans. That’s true of food, and it’s true of just
about everything else.
Finally, my favorite: number 16. I started playing the piano when I was 6 or 7
years old, when my parents bought me a Casio keyboard, which I’m pretty sure
they could barely afford, and enrolled me in lessons at my school. I spent long, agonizing, enchanted evenings poking
at the keys in an effort to make “Kumbaya” come out. And eventually, I did. It felt like a miracle. By the time I was about 12, I was agonizing
over Bach and Beethoven. But I decided
that playing piano wasn’t as cool as hanging out with my friends. So I quit.
I didn’t regret it right away, but for about 10 years now, I’ve wanted
to find my way back. The problem is that
whenever I start again, I get discouraged. I’m rusty now, my fingers aren’t as nimble as
they used to be, and even reading music requires a lot more thought than I feel
like it ought to. And when I stumble
over a simple song, I lose heart.
At the time I quit, I had just begun learning Beethoven’s Fur Elise. Now I want to finish. Of course, what I really want is to start. Start playing again, playing everything under the sun, not just that song. But first I want to make it back to where I left off: Fur Elise. I could’ve learned it relatively quickly fifteen years ago. But now I’m going to have to work my way up to it. I can play the first two sections. I still haven’t managed to make my fingers move quickly enough for the third. But when I sit down at my mom’s piano, I feel my world shrinking down to the notes, to my fingers, to the way the music feels, and I remember this piece of myself, a piece I let go when I first started to care what it meant to be “cool.” A piece I’ve approached dozens of times since then, but walked away from each time because I wasn’t sure if I had what it took to do it anymore. I’ve been playing every day here. And it’s such a small thing, but it makes me deep-down happy. One more little thing that makes me happy to add to my life, to the other little things. One more puzzle piece in place. When I get back to Poland, I’m going to find a practice space and keep working on it.
At the time I quit, I had just begun learning Beethoven’s Fur Elise. Now I want to finish. Of course, what I really want is to start. Start playing again, playing everything under the sun, not just that song. But first I want to make it back to where I left off: Fur Elise. I could’ve learned it relatively quickly fifteen years ago. But now I’m going to have to work my way up to it. I can play the first two sections. I still haven’t managed to make my fingers move quickly enough for the third. But when I sit down at my mom’s piano, I feel my world shrinking down to the notes, to my fingers, to the way the music feels, and I remember this piece of myself, a piece I let go when I first started to care what it meant to be “cool.” A piece I’ve approached dozens of times since then, but walked away from each time because I wasn’t sure if I had what it took to do it anymore. I’ve been playing every day here. And it’s such a small thing, but it makes me deep-down happy. One more little thing that makes me happy to add to my life, to the other little things. One more puzzle piece in place. When I get back to Poland, I’m going to find a practice space and keep working on it.
Don't forget to call me when you do Nr.72 :) and when did you learn to drive a manual transmission? AIJA
ReplyDeleteif you need culinary guidance let me know. we can talk about this in person on saturday.
ReplyDeleteXO!
I have a recipe for pirozhki if you want. Not the same as what you are probably referring to, but it's a simple thing to cook!
ReplyDeleteI also know how to make a sidecar. I think fancy cocktails are not that hard if you have the right things for them. I mean, bartenders make them. How hard could it be?
Aija, you're at the top of my list of people to call when I get back! Maybe we can find some time to meet up before school starts again? Oh, and Michał taught me to drive manual. Around Easter, I think.
ReplyDeleteLissy, so good to see you this weekend! Hope all is well and you had a safe trip back to DC!
Margo, I would love your recipes. Also, I would love to know how things are in Indiana. I'll email you or try to call soon, hopefully. Do you still have the same number?