On my future career as a psychic
About two weeks ago I was supposed to meet up with a friend of mine, whom I hadn't seen in a while (read: three times since I moved to Oslo).
On account of that appointment being long overdue, we settled on first having a coffee and then to go see a movie - the latter largely because our plans happily coincided with the Leiden International Film Festival.
The day came, and at around elevenish I realised that we hadn't actually agreed on a place to meet yet. Not three seconds after that, my friend telephoned.
Naturally, I assumed we shared a telepathic bond, and was about to suggest we offer our services to a psychic hotline somewhere.
She, however, had other plans, and asked whether I was particularly busy on Friday morning.
Since my Friday mornings tend to involve myself practising in my pajamas with an extra cup of coffee (a ritual you can imagine I am very fond of) I rather carefully asked her what she had in mind.
As it turned out, the Musical Intermezzo for the Leiden University's Honours Student graduation ceremony had just dropped out. Coincidentally, my friend's department was partially responsible for that. The department in question was now looking for a replacement, and it essentially being a day in advance, had resolved to find a professional rather than a student (as is traditional).
Essentially, what happened is this: she said "guess who I'm having coffee with in three hours" to her coworkers, and I played Grieg for a full church two days after that.
I did have the misfortune of playing right after a rather excellent speaker, which always gives for a slightly distracted audience. However, the acoustics of the church in combination with the lovely melody soon settled that - because really, who can resisit Grieg's Gade for long!
If on the photograph above my hands seem to have a slightly blueish tinge, it's because I wasn't quite sure at the time if I'd already turned into an icicle. A lesson, folks: always bring an extra sweater to a concert in a Dutch church in November. Regardless of how warm you think it's going to be in the morning.
As for the film we went to see on Wednesday - it was "Me and Earl and the Dying girl", and certainly worth the time. I would recommend it to any and all who have an evening to spare!
The psychic thing, in the end, didn't work out. Largely because I realized that, if I were a true seer of the future, I would've known to bring a bloody sweater with me.
