Moments of Silence and phones that don't ring...
 
This weekend started off with a game of Tennis.  Maksim, my Russian friend who I work with and lives in my apartment complex told me he was going to play Tennis Friday night- I was thinking... umm.... No.  But those Russian's are more persuasive than one might think.  I finally acquiesced, changed into my workout clothes, slipped on the old Nike's, and headed up to the very nice tennis court that we have in our complex. 
 
Raj and Margarita showed up- Raj is Indian- not to be confused with Native American, and Margarita is from Russia as well even though her name sounds Mexican.  So, we had our own little international tournament going- it was really a lot of fun.  Normally I go out on Friday nights, watch a movie, have some dinner, spend at least 20 bucks, normally more, and so it was kind of nice not going out, but just staying in and getting in a workout.  After the tennis we went back to Raj's place- he also lives in our complex and works here at TI and we had some mint chocolate chip ice cream- it is even better after a game of tennis, I don't think I have ever had ice cream that close after a game, but man it was good.
 
Saturday I rented Cold Mountain...
 
This cold movie filled my heart with sorrow.  It scraped out my insides the way my mom used to scrape the seeds out of a cantelope.  When it was over I felt hollow and raw.  The movie is about two people that barely know each other but are fiercely in love.  War tears them apart, but it also seems to bring them closer together.   Nicole Kidman writes to Jude Law and says, "If you are fighting, stop fighting, if you are marching, stop marching... come back to me, come back to me" It is this poignant phrase that moves the battle scarred Jude to desert and traipse miles cross country to get back to Nicole.
 
The acting is wonderful, the story is amazing, it's like eating a big bowl of your favorite cereal only to find out when your finished that what you just ate is going to kill you- in other words it has a killer of an ending.
 
This is a song from the movie- Allison Kraus won a grammy I believe for this...
 
You'll walk unscathed through musket fire,No ploughman's blade will cut thee down,No cutlass pull will mark thy face,And you will be my ain true love,And you will be my ain true loveAnd as you walk through death's dark vale,The cannon's thunder can't prevail,And those who hunt thee down will fail,And you will be my ain true love,And you will be my ain true love.Asleep inside the cannon's mouth,The captain cries, "Here comes the rout,"They'll seek to find me north and south,I've gone to find my ain true love.The field is cut and bleeds too red,The cannon balls fly round my head,The infirmary man may count me dead,When I've gone to find my ain true love,I've gone to find my ain true love.
 
I love Saturdays when I am at home alone, the phone not ringing, no responsibilities, no plans on the calendar.   That is the way most of the weekend was, I kept it low key, lots of reading, lots of silence- these are a few of my favorite things.