love in bright landscapes

Sometimes, fellow bloggers, soul mate bloggers or friends who happen to be co-bloggers can really make up for all the pen pals you never had when you were supposed to, as a kid. When I was at high school, I was urged to get as many pen pals from abroad as possible in order to make my English and French better. As you may understand from my poor vocabulary and lack of idioms I never did that. But that did not happen because I was bored to get stamps and seal envelops. I had some pen pals from all over the world but they bored me after the first letter or so. I think I was to blame. I was thirteen or so, the pen pals were a bit older but all of them were writing about things one was "expected" to write about. But I didn’t want to learn about their customs and ethics. I wanted to learn about their lives. Now, if I had wanted some travel information I would have picked up a tourist guide or something. Plus, they all seemed pretty immature to me and, you know, as a kid, you want to have a taste of the grown up life, so information about math and tulip gardens and bicycle wheels were not exactly my cup of tea. And I didn’t even drink tea at the time! :-) So I never sent back those letters. And so went off my so-called pals...

Back to 2005. I am no longer a kid [try to tell that without bursting into laughter please]. I am a well respected gentleman [ok, you are allowed to laugh a little here]. I have friends abroad but they’re not from mail correspondence. And, among other things, I have a blog. And it’s through that blog I came upon Dave & Jessica. They’re both from Brisbane, Australia. They’re both seventeen years old. Actually, Jess has just turned 17. Today is her birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESS!!! And this post is for them…

I have never met them, obviously. Most probably, I never will. I know a couple of things about their lives, though… And if something is to blame for that… blame our blogs. I was introduced to http://nomoremisternicejess.blogspot.com/ by Hardcore Arena who recommended it as the best and most addictive blog around. I found that to be kind of absurd as we all know the best and most addictive blog around is http://www.headoverhell.blogspot.com/… :-)
Nah, he was right. It was. And still is. Just pay a visit and you will understand why. It doesn’t have pictures. No earthquake-wise disclosure either. No links to obscure sites. No words of profound wisdom. No quotes from songs or books or movies or anything. It’s just Jess’ thoughts actually. And, no question about it, she’s a gifted personality, as it took me 31 years to be able to think the way she does. And, whisper it, she seems to be doing it [the thinking part] rather better…
And all her friends log in and write comments. And she has lots of friends who love her. And her family ties are strong. And although she is really really clever, she hasn’t even decided if she wants to go to college or not. But don’t mind my interpretations. You should go after the real thing. You may also read her opinions on abortion, career focusing, “popularity” issues at school, animal rights, sleeping in pool fences, coffee tables, freezers, stairs and comfortable floors as well as numerous other very interesting topics. And, apart from getting bored easily [well, I guess that goes along with intelligence] she seems to be one of the nicest persons I [don’t] know. She always has a good word for her friends, she’s always trying to avoid compliments, she’s happy when others are happy and still cannot understand why some people are not kind to other people…

And then, at the end of February she wrote
5 months today dave:) thankyou so much for everything. seriously, you have no idea how much you mean to me. i love you
Just that. Her shortest post. But what more should she have said? Yeah, it’s funny if you think about it. Five months. Five months don’t seem a long time, right? No one gives a toss about five-month anniversaries. Well, she did. She’s 17. She’s in love. And the lucky fellow is called Dave. But who is this Dave bloke anyway?

Those familiar with the minimal comments on my posts would already know Dave. Dave is obviously a guy who can appreciate a good blog as he’s a regular in mine. :-)
Seriously now, Dave is a student from Brisbane. Only he’s many other things as well.
From what I can understand, Dave is not your ordinary 17 year old boy. Sure, he likes loud music [whereas Jess is into Delta Goodrem and more mainstream stuff] and punk rock and Muse and Queens Of The Stone Age. He has a piercing which he is not allowed to wear at school. He’s also learning tae kwo do which says a lot about his personality [anyone who was ever into martial arts would know what I am talking about]. I haven’t understood yet if he plays an instrument but it’s certain that his friends have a band. You can read more about he and his mates in http://daveblogsitup.blogspot.com/.

Dave and Jess go to the same school, I assume. She noticed him because he’s kind of misfit. Outsider by choice. Out on his own. To quote him “he wonders a lot”. And when you do that at high school, you’re not exactly the king of the prom or the leader of the basketball team. But he stole Jess’ attention. And they’re together. A lovely couple, as you can see from the picture above.

I am afraid I cannot give you hot details about the first date, kiss etc. I know nothing about that. You see, thing is, they never write silly things about their relation ship on their blogs. They write lots of stuff but not THAT personal. And that makes the whole lot even better. Respect!!!

So, all you can do, if u really share my enthusiasm for these guys is to imagine things. Here’s what I imagine: Opposites attract. Jess is kind to everyone, has lots of friends, tight family ties, excellent grades at school and lots of guys after her. But she can’t bother – typical things bore her. She doesn’t want to do something just because she’s supposed to. Dave is the skinny kid in the schoolyard. He’s always ready to give a hard kicking to anyone silly enough to challenge him. He goes out with his friends, all dressed up like the guys in Blink 182 or Sum 41 or some other band with a number next to a three or five letter word. They drink beer, talk about music and girls, get drunk. But Dave wonders a lot. So he doesn’t exactly fit in. Sure, he can have fun as the next guy but he’s restless. He wants more. And then he met Jess. And she looked into her eyes. And sparks flied high. And Jess’ girlfriends didn’t quite get it. They ‘d rather Jess had her hooks in another guy. But Jess is not into popular quarterbacks. She prefers the guys at the back – the extra-ordinary ones. And Dave’s the one for her. And they’ve been going out for six months now. And they talk about the future. And their exams. And their teachers. And their friends. And I am sure Jess considers Dave’s friends to be hers as well. Not the same with Dave, though. He’s not very social. And he knows Jess’ friends can’t quite dig him. And he’s kind of hostile towards them. And Jess sees that. She’s wondering what she could do to alter things round. But when he’s hugging her, nothing else matters. For a moment there… it’s only them against the world. And that’s a magic moment you wish it’d last for ages.

The school will end. University applications will begin. Job offers will occur. New people will come into their lives. And, yes, as every thirty-something would bet with plenty of cynicism, odds are against them staying together. Their teen relation ship will be a faded memory in a couple for years. They will have moved on. Maybe even literally. So, no more plain old Brisbane for them. No more blogs. Queens Of The Stone Age will have split. Delta Goodrem will be remembered as a one hit wonder. Dave’s friends will no longer beat the drum kit like maniacs. Jess’ friends will have been married with children. And they won’t get to see each other, not even talk on the phone or exchange e-mails.

Oh, fuck that!!! It doesn’t necessarily work this way. We work things out. They don’t work out themselves [I’m pretty sure that, in English, what I just wrote means that some "things" go the gym but anyway…]. So, Dave, Jess, if u r reading this, never mind my cynicism. Do your thing. Smile. Hold each other. Talk about things. Do things together. Face the world together. Live this life together. Follow the sun wherever it leads. And if u ever fall short of your desires, remember life holds for you one guarantee: you’ll always have… “woot!” [ok that’s A Diana Ross sample lyric but it’s nice whatsoever].
The world needs couples like Jess & Dave. We need them because they remind us that true love never fails. And true love makes you happy when it’s five months and counting since that very first kiss. And true love makes the world go round. And it can bring tears into a hard, big, old man's eyes. And it makes you feel seventeen again. And it makes life shine. And it makes us smile. And Mel Gibson got to marry his childhood sweetheart. And… guess what – he’s Aussie as well!!!

Thank you. Both