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Me, apparently. Last night I went to a Thing at the University Meeting House, where carols were sung and readings given, poetry recited etc. There was some organ music and some pieces by the University Chamber Choir, which was pretty good, for the most part. The only thing notable about the Chamber Choir (other than the quality of their voices) is that they are heavily female-dominated (one sparse row of men in a rather tightly-packed six-row choirbox), and that consequently some of the more complex songs in which male and female voices are supposed to interweave sound a little odd. I've not seen many fields in which women overpower men so effortlessly - with equal numbers, I think the guys would have been hard pressed to keep up with the power output, but as it was, there was no real contest :)
The service itself was ... well, nice. The Meeting House is a pleasant building to begin with, with airy architecture and stained-glass windows, and to see it entirely candle-lit and filled with people is a change for the better yet. Interesting readings from various poets and thinkers, G.K.Chesterton and Christopher Smart not least among them.
I can still see the attraction in organised religion, which probably isn't that much of a surprise after being brought up Anglican. The sense of community engendered by singing together, sitting together in a darkened place, listening to authoritative speech from the minister and readers, the bass power and soprano trill of the organ... it can be quite compelling. Not least the mild anoxia induced by singing mildly complex songs at the volume levels required. I can see the attraction, but it still doesn't actually grab me, at all.
It probably didn't help the immersion effect that while I was watching the choir singing (they were directly behind me, making it necessary for me to turn partway around to see them), I thought I caught a glimpse of my old friend Melanie singing amongst them a couple of times. I know it wasn't her, because she's no longer alive. This sort of mental short-circuit is relatively common in cases of loss like this, but I wasn't expecting it because I hadn't seen her for years, and never knew her terribly well. That said, it was the first time I'd been to the Meeting House in any kind of religious context since the first year of my undergraduate degree, and she very much belonged in that context in my mind. Maybe not totally surprising, but ... unsettling. I guess I'm not as over her death as I thought.
Just got back from the Fencing Club Christmas meal (after getting dragged to Creation afterward). The whole evening was actually surprisingly good fun, given how events transpired. The meal was good more in spite of the restaurant than because of them, as it really was just a comedy of errors from start to finish, with misplaced meals, broken glasses and incredibly long waits. The restaurant (Tootsies, in the South Lanes) is normally really good, but it seems that big parties aren't their strong suit. It probably didn't help that the Sussex Netball club was having their Christmas party at the same time downstairs, and there were some interesting moments as we were invaded by Mary Christmas, reindeer, elfs and presents, but still...
As regards the title of this post, I fail for the first time before all the guests have even arrived. Is it so hard to offer a simple compliment, upon recognising that people have made a significant effort to edit their appearance for the occasion? Not really, and it might even be considered impolite not to, and yet I can't seem to make it happen. Anyway, Naomi and some of the other club members apparently decided that I wasn't already rewarded well enough by seeing the club blossom under my efforts as armourer, so they got me a box of Cadbury's Heroes. Thanks, guys, I really appreciate it. (Failure the second: no "thank-you" or little speech or anything, just carry on as normal...) I don't take praise well, in any situation, and I can't help thinking a line from Devil's Advocate: "...that's my job, that's what I do!". Seriously, I took the job because I enjoy it, don't worry about working me too hard :)
So, after the restaurant debacle (they got no tip, despite adding it onto the bill automatically: 12% on a £200+ meal is a bit much for any situation and they just didn't deserve it), the group decided to move on to Creation, a local low-price nightclub with all that implies. Sam, Naomi and I weren't really too eager, but what the hell, it's a Sports Fed night so why not. The place is ... interesting. The sound system is pretty good, but not really focussed anywhere so you get an impression of what the track is but not any tonal depth or power. The DJ was utterly incomprehensible, queues at the bar were incredible and their musical choice was, while probably perfect for the target audience, dull to unpleasant most of the time. In addition, some truly NASTY outfits on display, PVC nurses costumes (not well-fitted) and skirts short enough to be belts (and a thong quotient of four, and that's without even trying (just happened to be on line-of-sight)). Dear me, what are people wearing these days. Do I sound like an oldster yet?
Despite the above criticism, we found a little corner out of the noise and bustle and actually had a decent time, with random discussion above the music and some nice quiet introspective moments. Failure the third occurred at this point: Sophie got a little drunk and decided to spray us with champagne. Only Sam and I were in the booth at the time - I was fast with the coat but not fast enough, and Sam's hair got coated in sticky alcoholic unpleasantness. *sigh*. If I can catch a thrown bottle in front of someone's face at a rock concert, why can't I intercept a spray of fluid when I have five seconds of warning?
And failure the fourth, I was supposed to go over some maths with Mike this evening, to cement my knowledge of complex number theory in time for tomorrow's lecture. Naturally, I didn't have time for this... Oh, and my trousers need replacing, they're wearing a little thin in places and I may not have been entirely decent tonight :(
On balance, it was a highly enjoyable evening, but now it's over I appear to be waxing all angsty. Them's the breaks: sometimes I'm up and sometimes I'm down (sometimes both in a very short space of time). No-one's forcing you to read :)