Category Setting off

Tuesday, March 10

Mar 11.2020 / / / Setting off.

Kauai, day 10

Still getting work done this day, but more and more distracted by headlines both financial- and public-health-related.  Emails and news pieces coming in every few hours from companies outlining their approaches to cleaning (Avis, Budget, Delta…) and expecting a note about rescheduling without penalties to come in any day now.  Undoubtedly our currently planned three week trip to Ireland (abbreviated from 3 months) will soon be rendered impossible.

The past few days also noting that things back home are also clearly effected by this pandemic.  I don’t believe there are cases in eastern NC just yet, but ECU is clearly on the brink of following the lead of many other schools in eliminating face-to-face events...

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Monday, March 9

Mar 09.2020 / / / Setting off.

Kauai/Princeville, day 9

4am. It’s hard to not sink into deep fear this morning with the world news. 

Didn’t sleep much last night, as I was listening to news through the night; between the Covid-19 spread, a ship with some 20+ cases on board landing in Oakland today (where we fly in two weeks), Europe’s cases spreading quickly, and the world’s financial markets crashing drastically on oil price manipulations by OPEC in reaction to Russia’s not propping up prices.

Yesterday we pulled the trigger on a change to our original European travel plans.  We’re to arrive in Dublin April 15th, connecting the next day with Christine/Stephen, then touring Ireland with them April 18th-23rd, Pattie and I to continue until May 4th...

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Sunday, March 8

Mar 08.2020 / / / Setting off.

Kauai/Princeville, day 8

Daylight Savings Time!  Last observed in Hawaii in 1945, so no effect here.  Except that we’re now 6 hrs behind folks on the east coast, rather than 5.

Yet another rainy/lazy day, and that’s just fine with us.  I’ve begun working on the setting(s) of Jim Brasfield’s Celan, to be a part of a larger set which will include Palladium, the poem of his I set a few years ago now.  Celan is quite brief, and enormously evocative for/to me.  I am planning to include several different settings of this poem within the set—1st, 3rd, 5th/last, with Palladium and Renaissance 2nd and 4th.   My initial concept is to use Celan to set the scene for the larger poem to follow, as it seems to do a fabulous job of articulating the nature of expectation.  So Celan’s sever...

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Saturday, March 7

Mar 08.2020 / / / Setting off.

Kauai/Princeville, day 7

The rainy day pattern of weather here has been very conducive to writing, and Let Them Not Say is now sent off for review by the conductor.  Undoubtedly, as is always the case, there will be corrections and adjustments to make—perhaps even some re-writing if I’ve overplayed the ensemble’s ability—but this initial complete draft is something I feel quite good about.

The work’s poet, Jane Hirshfield, was scheduled to appear at a talk in Honolulu during our week there, and we were excited to go and introduce ourselves, perhaps find a moment to get acquainted.  I went online to purchase tickets for her talk and, alas, due to travel concerns surrounding covid-19 the event’s been cancelled...

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Thursday, March 5

Mar 07.2020 / / / Setting off.

Kauai/Waimea, day 5

We took a zodiac raft along the coast, from the south moving west all the way around to the Na Pali coast.  Pretty astoundingly dramatic landscapes here, so much so that movies from South Pacific to Jurassic Park and many other films have used various spots along the coast for their scenery.

“Cathedrals”

The ride, with 27 passengers and two crew, was somewhere between a roller coaster and a bucking bronco for about 3 hours. 

Looking north to the Na Pali Cast State Park

Stops to enjoy the coastal views, and lots more stops to enjoy some very close whales, led to a truly breathtaking (in many ways) trip.

Whale ho!
A nice jump, and a tail wave
And a whale that loves jumping

Really a beautiful, if physical, day on the water...

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Friday, March 6

Mar 07.2020 / / / Setting off.

Kauai/Princeville, day 6

A quieter day back in Princeville, again off-and-on rain all day.  Pattie took in a few self-care appointments, and I got in good writing all day.

Re the writing, it feels a bit like Zeno’s dichotomy paradox…am at 96% done, then 98%, then 99%, then 99.5%, 99.75%, etc.  There’s always another bit of tweaking to do, and I just can’t leave it, let it sit for a week while getting to the next project. But I’m telling myself that tomorrow’s the final day for tweaking at this stage.

With covid-19 all over the news now, we’re really wondering about how to handle our time in Europe, April 15-July 14…

In the afternoon we headed back over to Hanalei, just 3 miles west of us here in Princeville...

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Tues-Wed, March 3-4

Mar 07.2020 / / / Setting off.

Kauai/Koloa, day 3-4

Two wonderful diving days; Tuesday morning and Wednesday afternoon.  We went with “Fathom Five” divers in Koloa, and really loved every moment with them.  The folks involved at every stage—in the shop checking us in, the driver shuttling us over to the harbor, and especially Bahar (our dive guide) and Jordan (our Captain, were just amazing.  By far the most friendly and engaging folks we’ve encountered in this context, it felt as though we made friends here.

The first nice element, on our way to Koloa, was the views on the road, such as this…

canopies everywhere on this drive along the eastern coast (we’re heading south)

The dives Tuesday were a bit low on visibility, and on Wednesday I seem to have goofed with the GoPro (left it on, battery dead ...

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Monday, March 2

Mar 03.2020 / / / Setting off.

Kauai/Princeville day 2

Another productive writing day; this final stage is always so gratifying, as every tweak seems to make for significant improvements in one way or another.  After today’s writing, only feeling that the ending section could use a bit of tightening up as it feels a tad longer than necessary.  Just another listen through will put it in proper perspective.

As I’m now thinking/hearing a lot re the setting of Jim Brasfield’s Celan, I hope to shift to that for a bit and come back to Let Them Not Say after a brief absence and re-setting of perspective. 

In the later afternoon we headed down to a town just south of Lihu’e where we’ll stay for a few days for diving further south (Koloa) on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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Sunday, March 1

Mar 02.2020 / / / Setting off.

Kauai, day 1

Rain today, off and on all day, made for a lazy start to our stay here.  Lots of good writing time, I’m glad to say, which brought this choral piece even closer to a conclusion.  Now at a point of beginning-to-end completeness, just tweaking.  95% done, adjusting and readjusting some tempi, cutting a few things to tighten up pacing, and working on the biggest picture and the rhythmic/dramatic motion of the whole.

Midafternoon—didn’t get motivated to leave the writing desk until nearly 3pm—we took advantage of a lull in the weather to take a drive to a few recommended spots nearby.  We drove to Queen’s Bath, along the way discovering just how upscale this area is.  Resorts, enormous homes (though very cookie-cutter), golf courses, etc., make for a lovely drive...

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February 29

Mar 01.2020 / / / Setting off.

Molokai to Kauai

Our first tastes of rain arrived overnight and continued into the morning.  Very windy, driving rain, but in 20-30 minute stretches.  The storm and quickly moving clouds made for nice viewing as we got our packing organized.  We had a few hours between checking out at 11 and departing for the airport shortly after 1, so we put everything in the car and sat in the covered area by the pool.  When the weather cleared, we sat in the sun for a few moments; then went under cover as necessary.

We’ve enjoyed every stop along this journey, but this is the first time we really didn’t want to leave a place...

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