Boys, buoys and booze

I had a sudden dip in my usual hop-skip-and-jump positivity (don’t laugh) last night, which has continued on into today. I really struggled to get out of bed, not finally emerging until midday. I’m guessing it’s just a random low mood attack, but I’ll prepare myself for it to go on longer. How does one prepare oneself for such a thing, you ask? Hmmm, ordering in lots of chocolate and digging out my comfort movies may be a good start. My desire for alcohol has rocketed sky high, but I’m still planning on waiting until my birthday next month. It’s not helping that the pubs are partially back open today, although my regular is, like me, waiting until you can sit inside. So, yeah, I’m not sure what to do. I’ve just ordered a curry, so hopefully that’ll cheer me up a bit. I’ve found a great restaurant, who’s food actually tastes like it’s worth what you pay for it. My homemade stuff was becoming better than a lot of the curry houses around here, which isn’t a good sign.

Since a lot of the stuff I ordered from the supermarket the other day didn’t turn up, I’m thinking of putting another order in before the end of the week. I may or may not put booze on it. I think the easing of restrictions has sent people into a buying frenzy. I think I’ll be smelling barbeque aromas for the next week or so. Apparently fire pits are the new thing. I don’t know what the difference is between a barbeque and a fire pit, but I’m sure there’s a beardy hipster out there who can rant at me about it for an hour. Sigh.

I’ve started watching the “Apu Trilogy” of films by Satyajit Ray: So far, I’ve done Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1956), so I’ve just got The World of Apu (1959) left. I’m very impressed by the realism of the first two. To think that British and American cinema at the same time featured a sort of hyper-reality, where few locations were used and you felt like you were watching something set in another dimension. But Ray’s films, while not uncompromisingly gritty, do feel like they’re about people on this planet. I’m watching them without subtitles, but I’m managing to follow along. The only thing I didn’t pick up on, in Pather Panchali, was the argument about the stolen necklace. I got that the mother and daughter were arguing about SOMETHING, but it wasn’t until I read the plot summary afterwards that I matched the argument with Apu (well, “Opu” really) throwing the necklace into the water at the end. It’s a shame that there’s so much emphasis on the males in these films. To tiptoe around a spoiler, I get that Apu is the only consistent main character in the trilogy, fine, but the first two films are such feminine movies that it feels odd that so much attention has been put on Apu. The actress who plays the mother, Karuna Banerjee, had me crying by the end of Aparajito. Hopefully things have changed in the past seventy years, so that women get the credit they deserve. And that’s a sign of great filmmaking too – if you can have a visually impaired English speaker watching an Indian language film and STILL have them awash with emotion by the end, then you’ve done something right. I’ll watch The World of Apu another day, as I’m a bit too emotionally drained after the first two. I’m curious to see who plays the titular character this time, as there have been three actors portraying him so far in only two films. The teenage Apu in the second half of Aparajito looks like a dark-haired version of my gaming buddy, who distracted me. He’s shirtless a lot too, which is no bad thing. Anyway, I’m glad I’ve invested in the Blu-rays, and I finally know what all the fuss is about.

Speaking of my gaming buddy, he’s started texting me all of a sudden over the past two days, which I’ve carefully replied to. I’m not being rude or monosyllabic, but I’m also not getting too excited. I think I’ll still say I’m busy, should he want to game, but I sincerely doubt he will.

I started playing the video game Subnautica recently, which is a sort of “No Man’s Sky meets Minecraft” thing, but underwater. I was drawn to it due to the underwaterness (real word), as I’m sure I was a gender-non-specific-merperson in a previous life. Not that I believe in previous lives. But, yeah, I enjoy being underwater whenever I get the chance. In fact, my mum used to worry I was drowning when I was a kid, as I’d keep myself under for so long. I think that, had my eyesight been better, I would have probably gone into something involving the deep. Marine biology? The navy? Well, you know how I like sailors. Anyway, back to Subnautica! I’ve tried Survival mode, but that was too difficult (you have to find food and fresh water), so I’m now on, erm, Easy, I think. That’s where you don’t need to find food and water, but you can drown and be injured by alien sharks or whatever. I’ll resort to Creative, should I find Easy too much effort. I just wanna swim around underwater and frolic with the fishies!

Oh I did that “Buy 3 Extra Credits” thing on Audible, so I’ve got three new audiobooks to be getting on with. One is a series of lectures on Ancient Greece, while the other two are classics of Chinese literature: Monkey King and The Plum in the Golden Vase. I won’t be bored once my sight inevitably goes altogether, that’s for sure.

See how half-glass-full I’m trying to be?

Well, while I was writing the paragraph about the Apu Trilogy, my curry arrived, so I’ve got some fancy food in me now. In fact, I’m feeling a bit more upbeat already. I’m also in the midst of watching Life of Brian, after watching The Holy Grail earlier. There are few funks in life that Monty Python can’t drag you out of.

Anyway, I best go back to my banquet. I’ll try and save you some, but I’m not promising anything.

Do stay in touch, darlings.

Toodles!

P.S. And, yes, I did consider using “seamen” instead of “sailors” whilst talking about joining the navy. The former seemed a bit too obvious and crude though. Was “sailors” better? Only time will tell.