Neuronal Synapses

The Other Shore by Gao Xingjian is running at GAC this weekend (opening night was tonight) and I'm a magical follow spot operator, along with part-time puppeteer, cart-mover, screen-holder, and various other backstage tasks. So that has been consuming my life for the past week and will continue to do so until Sunday night. The play has some really interesting and fun parts, but overall it has no real plot and is just plain weird. The soundtrack and the lights and the set are pretty cool, along with the costume and pretty much everything else about it other than the writing. And this from the first Chinese person to win the Nobel Prize in Literature... I can only hope it wasn't for this play. It also probably has some deeper meaning that, not being Chinese or knowing much of anything about Chinese history, I'm just not picking up on. But I get to be a techie again and so I'm happy.

It's not quite the same as being a techie in high school though (even though I wore my CHS techie shirt today!). There, we all knew each other, we all built the set together and were intimitely connected with the play and the set and everything. Here, only the people who are somehow connected to the theatre in an official manner (Theatre Majors, people who have their work study in the scene shop, etc) are connected with each other. I'm just the friendly outsider who occasionally appears to volunteer backstage. That and I haven't been able to do it since spring of 2007. Sigh.

On the plus side, I seem to be doing a better job keeping up with homework and things (I know it's only the second week but for me being ahead in my homework is a big shocker).

I also discovered a new musician (well Sybylla did through someone else but still) that I (well we) are currently obsessed with. His name is Mika and listen to my favorite song here.

But now I have to stop procrastinating and do my Evolution homework (and leave this with the discovery I made while daydreaming in the catwalks).

*********************************************************************************

I've decided that all relationships are like neuronal synapses. In neuronal pathways and synapses, those that aren't often used will eventually disappear, while those used quite often will strengthen and form even more connections. I think all relationships are like this. Not just physical relationships, but familial and platonic ones as well. The more you use your relationship, whether its just going out, hanging out together, chatting or whatever you do, the closer you'll feel to that person, the stronger your bond with them will be. On the flip side, if you stop hanging out, stop chatting and doing things together, stop using your relationship it will slowly whither away and disappear. It makes sense, right? In fact it's so logical there's probably some official word for it out there. But I just officially realized it for myself. Maybe I knew all along and just admitted it.

Unlike neurons, the relationship has to be kept going from both cells. Or people. When one person puts all their efforts into maintaining the relationship, and the other does nothing, the relationship still suffers. The one who tries gets burned out, starts feeling like they're being taken advantage of, and they're right. The one who doesn't try gets to feel like a relationship is being continued without doing any effort at all, without realizing that they are ruining it and letting it drift away. Letting the two drift apart.

But maybe some relationships don't need to be maintained. Maybe some are better off disappearing. And many are simply torn apart, a violent event leaving one or both or all parties temporarily shattered.

But then new relationships are formed and the world turns on.