March 7, 2006

Good China: One Day I'll make art from our pieces

I broke a plate on Friday night- the first such casualty of our marriage. It wasn’t a dinner plate or a bowl. I’d define it by what it was, but I don’t know the name for larger-than-sideplates plates. I didn’t throw it- it just sort of tumbled onto our ceramic tiles and then splintered into pieces that flew into the living room, down the stairs, and even inside the bedroom door. It was indeed a mighty crash. And I saved the pieces. One day when I am old and we have a wall, I’m going to make a mosaic out of everything we ever broke.

Now reading “The Accidental” by Ali Smith, which is written in a startlingly convincing precocious twelve year-old voice. This character likes to say “typical and ironically” and “substandard” but most of all she says “i.e”. As in, “I was going to the fridge i.e. I was hungry” or “He thinks he is so now i.e. he is completely embarrassing”. I thought it was an interesting figure of speech but then I told Stuart about it, and demonstrated it and now typically and ironically I can’t stop i.e. I am annoying. Mostly due to my substandard personality.