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Maia, for whom seven mattresses would not be enough to disguise the lone pea beneath, continues to find it difficult to rest comfortably on the human lap.
MAIA: “You know, your legs could be at a better angle for sleeping on.”A few minutes later:
ME: “Don't even talk to me about awkward angles! You’re standing under my elbows, and I’m trying to play the piano.”
MAIA: “Oh, like that Final Fantasy song you’re playing is so important.”
ME: “I like this Final Fantasy song. And I’m good at it, when you’re not making me play with my elbows inverted.”
ME: “Ow, Maia. Don’t dig your claws into me.”
MAIA: “You’re not playing the Moonlight Sonata up to Beethoven’s standards.”
ME: “I’m not even playing it up to my own standards! You’re distracting me. Hey! Why did you just bite my arm?”
MAIA: “It was in my head space.”
ME: “Darn it, cat, I once played this piece with a spider on my wrist, and now I can’t get through it with you on my lap. What does that say about you?”
MAIA: “It says you’re paying more attention to working that ridiculous pedal than you are to the comfort of the cat on your lap. What does that say about you?”
ME, stopping in the middle of the Sonata: “Dig your claws into me one more time, and you’re on the floor.”
MAIA: “I swear you were born in a doghouse.”
ME: “That’s only an insult to a cat.”
MAIA: “That’s because you’re uncivilized. Now go on mangling Beethoven, see if I care.”
ME: “Don’t pretend you can do it better.”
MAIA: “I haven’t any use for Beethoven. I make my own music. Chromatic. Dissonant. You’re probably not up to recognizing the genius.”
It sounds a little like Messaien, actually.
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Writers' link of the week: Elana Johnson on things she wishes she'd known before getting published.
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Music of the week: Rebekka Karijord's beautiful piano ballad "Wear it Like a Crown." H/T Terri Windling.
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Random amusement of the week: Hilariously inappropriate test answers from children. Advisory: a number of them are very inappropriate. :)
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Happy weekend!
What a wonderful photo series of Maia on keyboard! I laughed out loud when I got to the big stretch picture. :o) And the Jenna-Maia dialogues really need to be published in book form, preferably in an expanded edition with lots of pictures of Maia (contrasted with photos of the reaction on your face when she engages in various shenanigans). Hey, I'd pay money to buy that!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks, Jenna, for sharing the link to your HP & Fairy Tales piece. You point out a number of the fairy tale elements, and it's provoking me to think about what's essential to a fairy tale. I find the enchanted ceiling in the Great Hall and the floating candles on holidays to be fairy-tale-like as well, and the loveliness of GoF's Yule Ball is up there with fairy tale elements. Hermione is a bit like Cinderella there, with Harry and Ron not recognizing her at first.
HAHAHA. There's a thought! Maia vs. Jenna as a coffee table book! :D
DeleteOoh, I love the thought of Hermione as Cinderella there--I'd never put that together before. And yeah, so many of those little elements seem fairy-taleish. I believe there were even live fairies in there somewhere.
"That's because you're uncivilized."
ReplyDeleteHow very like a cat!