TC is a bloody old moaner.

 

No, that's not TC, that's a spider, but we'll get to that later.

TC, the oldest blogger in our community (I think by twelve years), seems to spend half his time moaning about the frequency of my posting. I think that he forgets that, as a much younger man, I have quite a few tasks to fill my week (besides doing essential chores).

1. I teach violin one day per week and I am on call for relief teacher work on the other four days that schools are open. 
2. I practise and play the violin and it's possible that I could even get a gig one day.
3. I practise and play the double bass and I have a short (well, very short) solo gig coming up in just over a week.
4. I work on improving my Italian.

Parliamo dell'italiano.

After all these years (well over twenty) of working on my Italian, I am now going all out. My biggest problem seems to be listening. I'm also working from a grammar book that is pretty intense.

On these next few pages you might get an idea of the effort I am making.

As I said, listening and understanding spoken Italian is not a thing that I'm strong at?

Why?

I think there are a few reasons for this, and it certainly isn't my ability to hear.

• I panic and this takes my attention off simply listening like a child does.
• I'm too analytical. It's like playing music - you should be analytical when you're practising but NOT WHEN YOU'RE PERFORMING.
• I'm sure that my vocabulary could use more practice, though I do have a pretty big vocabulary - probably I just need more listening practice.

I've certainly begun working on that last point!

* * *

Okay, so why the spider?

While having a shower this morning I noticed, like I usually do, the spider who makes his home (he also works from home) up near the ceiling in the corner of our shower. He no doubt looks on the space as his home, and therefore his property, but what are his thoughts on the rest of the bathroom? Does he just think it's part of his environment or does he sometimes wonder how this space came into existence? Maybe he thinks that a god built it? How does he explain those big creatures who occasionally stand nearby and get wet? He'd have to have invented a back story to that.

Maybe spiders have written a bible? A spider bible. The Spible?

It would be logical for a spider to imagine 'god' as being like one of his own species.

Spenesis 1:1 In the beginning there was Spod. Spod said, "Let there be a cobweb." And there was a cobweb, but Spod needed something to hang His cobweb on. So Spod made trees and rectangular corners.

Spenesis 1:2 Spod was happy so, after a while, He rested on His web.

Spenesis 1:3 And then Spod really got to work making things. He made two spiders whom he called Spadam and Speve. He invented big creatures who could make things like bathrooms, and He instructed one to build the perfect bathroom. He named it The Bathroom of Speden and he put His two spider creations in it.

* * *

Okay, you all know what happens next, a fly comes along and tempts Speve with the forbidden daddy longlegs wing. The rest is history. Well, when I say 'history', only if you believe in the Spible.

Ciao tutti.