19 April 2007

hypersensitive

My iPod was stolen a few weeks ago, so on my walks to rehearsal I've had to rely on what I can extract from the scene around me for entertainment for the 20 minutes. On my way past the hospital, I noted that the resounding *ping* from the left railing was not the same as the right one on a staircase. I played remember-the-lightpost-tone game that my brother used to do in college, and listened to the geese that lay like decoys on the lawns, gossiping there on the far side of Tjörnin.

There are also so many nestled secrets of crocus and snowdrop now to see- Iceland's own Easter Egg hunt. The light at seven in the evening was just right to spot them- blue sprinkled delicately across black lava sand, the palest of purple nestled on the sheltered side of some tree roots, the mist of green on the soggy lawns. There's still snow lacing Esja opposite but there will be for months still.

The smell of spring is there too- rich, sea-filled, and unexpectedly wild in the middle of town. Last night though, there was another odor- charred wet wood, a lot of it. I thought I must be confusing the scent, that it was some as-yet unknown seaborne flavor, but it persisted the whole stretch of the southern side of Tjörnin until the buildings started up near the university.

Turns out it was a fire, a large one, that destroyed a section of the most downtown part of Reykjavík. The club Pravda is totally gone, and there was severe damage to several adjacent buildings. The fire was probably just barely out when I walked by, although a later inspection still revealed a haze of smoke and char. I don't know what will happen to the section of town, but I'm sure it will not be the same at all.

4 comments:

cK said...

What a strange episode! Perhaps in the wake of the iPod theft your senses really are heightened. Odd. Usually one loses one sense to intensify the others. You've lost an item--albeit a rather important one!

My computer crashed for a couple days. In that time, I think I missed most my iTunes. I don't have a stereo. I have only the computer.

Thank god nothing burst into flames! (Though now I want to listen to Elvis Costello's "Sleep of the Just"--a song I don't own and which I don't believe one can download yet.)
-cK

tsduff said...

Hello E:
Have missed coming around here - been banned from blogging at work so now I must squeeze out some other part of my life in order to fit it in. I miss my own blog too - haven't missed this many days of posting since its very inception.

Reading your last post on the pools makes me long again for that special "difference" which Iceland holds for us foreigners... the smells, the sounds, the views... sorry to hear the club burned down. Hope it wasn't a favorite of yours.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunate event. However, destruction can bear new life.

Nice site, too. Makes me want to drive around the perimeter, like I have dreamed to do.

ECS said...

ck: I think I do spend a lot of time sniffing things here regardless of tune-status. It usually smells so fantastic here that it's rather rewarding.

I'd have a panic attack if I lost my 'putertunes. It's essential! I hope you've been fixed by now.

terry: thanks for stopping by in your smidgen of time! The club wasn't much of a favorite but the building was somewhat historic. I think I'd only been there once, and the inside really gave no indication that it was so old, with its crappy black nighclub paintjob inside.

old mule: thanks! you should come on over sometime. It's sure to be quite a trip, wherever you go. Just be ready for interesting weather.