91st Post - November Overview

There's an old poem by Neruda that I've always been captivated by, and one of the lines in it has stuck with me ever since the first time I read it. It says "love is so short, forgetting is so long." It's a line I've related to in my saddest moments, when I needed to know someone else had felt that exact same way. And when we're trying to move on the moments we always go back to aren't the mundane ones. They are the moments you saw sparks that weren't really there, felt stars aligning without having any proof, saw your future before it happened, and then saw it slip away without any warning. These are moments of newfound hope, extreme joy, intense passion, wishful thinking, and in some cases, the unthinkable letdown. And in my mind, every one of these memories looks the same to me. I see all of these moments in bright, burning red.

My experiences in love have taught me difficult lessons, especially my experiences with crazy love. The red relationships. The ones that went from zero to a hundred miles per hour and then hit a wall and exploded. And it was awful. And ridiculous. And desperate. And thrilling. And when the dust settled, it was something I’d never take back. Because there is something to be said for being young and needing someone so badly, you jump in head first without looking. And there's something to be learned from waiting all day for a train that's never coming. And there's something to be proud of about moving on and realizing that real love shines golden like starlight, and doesn't fade or spontaneously combust.

Maybe I’ll write about that kind of love if I ever find it. But to me love is treacherous, sad, beautiful, and tragic. But most of all, love is red.

Winter at the V&A:

It comes to something when a museum can lay claim to having been opened as Queen Victoria’s last public engagement. In 1899, the current premises of the V&A enjoyed that privilege. It has gone on to become one of the world’s – let alone London’s – most magnificent museums. It is a superb showcase for applied arts from around the globe, appreciably calmer than its tearaway cousins the Science Museum and Natural History Museum on the other side of Exhibition Road. All three museums would be must-visits in another city, but it is the sheer beauty of the V&A that keeps it closest to our heart.