Friday afternoon ruminations

I may have used my thesaurus for this title.

I walked out of U Zpěváčků this morning at 2.30. I had just been involved in an intense conversation about people’s characters, and actually realised things I had never thought about before. An acquaintance was analysed as being egotistical but with very low self-esteem, which suddenly explained an awful lot, but I had never considered the possibility that such a combination existed. My interlocutor and I also discussed how some people can fundamentally never understand each other, and therefore what is necessary to a peaceful mutual non-understanding is only that they realise that.

Yesterday I heard someone describe his life as “surreal”. From my new dictionary: surreal ~ having a strange dreamlike irrational quality. A life must have surreal aspects to it, certainly, but can every element of someone’s existence really be like a dream?

As I walked home I ran into a major from the Czech army who used to be a student of mine. He was with an army mate, they were both drunk (fair enough, it was 2.30 a.m. and I had also just come from a bar), and they asked me to join them for more drink. That was rather surreal.

I continued on my way.

I looked up at a building I walk past most days and focused on something new, as one so often does in this city. There were two stone cherubs perching on the corners of the railing of a 3rd floor balcony. One had one of his hands on his chin, and the other had a hand on his brow. They were suddenly so clear and so removed from everything around them: that was also surreal.