Underworld: Glam Bucket

One listen.

This song does tension well. Seems like it doesn’t at first, but as it progresses it becomes more obvious. Not sure I got that across, but I got a lot of words that cover the song well out, so I think I did well.

Underworld’s “Glam Bucket” is from Oblivion with Bells.

I hope you enjoy.

Percussion ringing and looping, ringing into itself. Harmonious, almost. Kind of. Other beeps and boops here and there, ringing out. A bassy sound comes in, forming melody, and a sort of warping soon forms and rises around the sounds.

More and more sound comes in, filling space, filling the gaps, but it feels spacious. This doesn’t feel crowded, and it might be due to how low-key the percussion is. Other forms appear here and there, bringing in their own take on the main melody, building on it, becoming subsumed.

There’s a gentle tension here, and it seems the idea is alternations of a theme. And it stays gentle until some more prominent sounds come into play. These pulsing sounds – among others – come in, keep an idea of the melody feeling more like a vague memory whilst keeping it there, throbbing, brightening, becoming more intense. They grip and one in particular keeps becoming more so itself before going back to almost nothing, then rising again once more.

This sound rises and rises whilst others disappear from view. It keeps building, and the space becomes less gentle and more intense once more. It keeps going, then suddenly disappears and the main frame is more obvious once more, with broken sounds following it, and what is left fades out and the song ends.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1522: Rough Sleep

Somehow fucked my wrist up during my sleep. The bad wist. This isn’t notable, and it’s especially not notable considering that I’m still typing without issue, but it hurts. It hurts horribly.

Rough sleep. Anxiety peaked whilst trying to sleep. It’s the way things go. Now I’m hearing an acoustic Coldplay cover, and can things be more on the nose? Of course. Of course they can. But it’s the way things go, I suppose.

Yesterday I saw my ex. Had to get some of my stuff she took by mistake back. Looking for my citizenship certificate (for those who haven’t been reading this blog for a little over ten years, it’s an annoying story). So I went to see her, she gave me my stuff, we went and got coffee.

She didn’t have to agree to get coffee, she didn’t have to agree to see me. I figured it’d be a nice gesture, and partially I wanted to see if there was anything there, still. Not going to get into the details about it, but there were no arguments, which was nice. That’s always desired. I’m also feeling better about not having her in my life than I was before.

Essentially I left it feeling good. I thought I’d feel anxious. I thought I’d feel stressed. Came out feeling fine and more reaffirmed about feeling good with her not in my life. That’s a nice thing, for me. But the anxiety spiked and I couldn’t sleep, and subsequently I’m really tired.

So I’m sitting here in Duoly Rob, and I’m thinking about yesterday and how I feel now, and maybe I’m not doing as well as I’d like to think I am. Maybe I’m doing well, but I’m still missing her, despite everything. Despite the problems between us, and despite my further realising how unhealthy that relationship was for me, maybe I’m feeling like my life isn’t as good without her in it, and if there is eventual comfort in another person’s arms, it’s not her arms. It’s not her I can tell about the small victories, and the annoyances, and all the things that I want to talk to someone about. And maybe that’s why I had trouble sleeping last night.

Right now that matters. I don’t want it to, but it does, and maybe that’s part of what makes things difficult, because a relationship that wasn’t good for me matters because the person still matters. This is all obvious stuff, but… what can I say? What can I do? Just keep going as there’s not much room for anything else at the end of the day. I can recognise that I’m doing better right now. I can recognise that I might be doing the best I’ve ever done, but it doesn’t feel as good as it should, and it sucks that part of that is due to not being able to tell my ex. But I’ll keep going. All things pass, and so do these emotions I hold.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 09:06:25

Slower than I’d hoped, faster than ten minutes. Far more serous than I’d like, but it’s what’s present.

Written at Dirty Red

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Guiding Traffic

Just traffic lights photographed in a way that I like. Not sure why I like doing this (probably the space), and I like the result.

I hope you enjoy.

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A View From the Path

The other week I decided to take a few photos of this particular road. It was in part prep for my hosting of the Lens-Artists photo challenge. This one didn’t get what I wanted, but I liked the result, so here you go.

I hope you enjoy.

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Cloud-Capped

This photo was taken earlier this year during a trip to the Blue Mountains with one of my siblings and her partner. It was nice to see some big clouds lying low, and it was overall just a pleasant time to be there, but it often is.

This is my submission into the three hundred-and-fifty-seventh Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. The theme for this one is “In the Woods“. This isn’t quite the woods, but it’s bush, so I feel it counts.

The host of the Lens-Artists challenges cycles weekly between the following people:

Tina

Patti

Ann-Christine aka Leya

John Steiner

Sofia Alves

Anne Sandler

Egídio

Ritva

Beth

This one is curated by Egídio. The next one will be hosted by Tina.

I recommend joining the community and participating in the challenges. They’re pretty straightforward, allow room for interpretation, and provide a good way to think about photography in general. If not, however, then at the very least you should check out what others submit to the challenges.

I hope you enjoy.

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Cables of the Sky

I took this photo on Sunday last week whilst I walked across ANZAC Bridge. Taken plenty of photos of these cables and probably taken ones really similar to this one, but I don’t care. There was something in this that interested me in terms of pattern and lines, and it was enough to want to take a photo.

This is my submission into Leanne Cole‘s “Monochrome Madness” for this week. This one is hosted by Margaret of From Pyrenees to Penines, and she has chosen “Colour Monochrome” as the theme.

This challenge is open to all, and I recommend joining in. If want to, check out more information about it here, and include the tag “monochrome-madness” when you share your photo. If you’d prefer not to join in, then at the least check out Leanne’s photography, and what other people submit.

I hope you enjoy.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1521: Waiting for a Meeting to Begin

Sitting here, waiting for a meeting to begin. Don’t think it’s going to start. I think there’s a chance that the people who organised this are unable to attend, or forgot that it’s happening. Makes me feel important, at least. I’m getting to have meetings to discuss plans and those kinds of things. That’s pretty cool.

So it’s a quiet room. The sound that can be heard is that of my laptop working, and the keys upon which I press my fingers against. This is neat. This is cool. This is boring, but it’s a productive kind of boring, at least.

Sitting here, waiting for things to happen. Don’t think they’re happening. Don’t think things are going to come forward. Don’t want to be spending my time sitting here, and I fear I won’t be notified of the lack of things happening. That do be the way it goes, sometimes.

I could reach out, try to find out what is going on. That’s probably the best course of action. It has been nearly ten minutes. However, I don’t think I will just yet. I think it’s better to wait until fifteen minutes have passed. Give some time, just in case. Bedsides which, there’s still work to be done. There’s still work I need to get out of the way, and I could do that. But I’m also not starting because, if the meeting commences then I can just stop this. If I start work I can stop work as well, but it’s about getting back into the swing. I have less of an issue dropping this and moving on than I do interrupting work and trying to get back into the swing of things after. It’s a balancing act, or something.

Lots of something, really.

So sitting here, typing away. Typing away in silence. A room that is empty. A room that isn’t doing anything. A set of offices that are empty. No one is around. This is interesting, to say the least. Or it isn’t. It just is. A quiet space where people aren’t around, though maybe there are others here and there, looking for where they can come and go. Looking for the space that can be filled, and looking for the space that should be avoided.

Feels like some wasted space here, though it’s a space in flux. Things change and time sees many bodies in one continues line, stretching through an eternity. All massed together, all always separate. Each bit of the past frozen in time, each bit of past a simple snapshot held in frames.

Where to go from here, I don’t know. But it’s nearly fifteen minutes and I’m still typing this, and I think I’ll stop shortly. No one has shown up, so maybe I’ll go looking around, see what is going on. I don’t know. Feels like my time is being wasted now.

Should probably reach out. Should probably. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll find a space to fill.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 07:00:23

This very much was the stuff of waiting.
Meeting eventually happened though, which was good.

Written at work.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1520: Stuff and Things of Life

Things are things are things. Sometimes you have things with your things, and sometimes your things are away from other things. Today is good but today will be filled with things that I don’t want to think about… or will it? Yet to be known. Yet to be discovered. Might not be realised until the period upon which one enters reflection.

Not entering a reflection, mind you, but entering reflection, that which is the state in which one ruminates upon that which has passed and their own actions or lack thereof, and wonder what it means and what doesn’t mean something, and all of those things.

So it’s gonna be a day and there will be things. I’m surrounded by things right now and that’s not bad, or at least the things that I am current surrounded by aren’t bad, and that’s good… right now. But I’m surrounded by things and there are things beyond things, and everywhere and anywhere there are the things that I want and the things I don’t want, I figured I’m actually trying to look for stuff.

So what do I do from here?

I guess I should enter reflection and reflect upon my reflecting, then lead myself to wherever the still surface of a lazy flow lies so I can reflect upon my reflecting whilst seeing my reflecting reflecting itself back at me whilst I reflect upon the everything that is nothing that involves the stuff and things of life with which I share a connection with, optional and inextricable. And such is the way that things flow.

Perhaps all this reflection and rumination and culmination into the things and stuff and things of stuff and stuff of things is where I’m not going wrong and where I’m going wrong at the same time and also at the tight time. I don’t know; I can’t say for sure right now. There are a lot of things on my mind, as they say. As I say. As I am saying now, and in throwing together all of everything against nothing and finding something at the end of the reflection, did I not already find a bunch of things I put aside as things that aren’t stuff and not things also, or rather, did I choose not to grab them and follow where they lead?

Probably.

So all of this is to say that, at the end of the day, I’ve things and I’ve stuff and sometimes those are things of stuff and stuff of things and I need to reflect on everything that surrounds me, and also myself. I need to reflect on it all because I know that if I do reflect, I might just learn and if I learn I’ll be good. I’ll be grand. It’s the way of life, as they say. What else they say is up for debate, of course, but this is what they say and I am also saying it, so therefore it must be some other thing.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:40:58

I’m fairly certain that this had the potential to go somewhere that might seem deep. Created a mess instead, but it was a lot of fun.

Written at Dirty Red.

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Shadow Lines

Long day, about to sleep.
Here’s a photo I took on Sunday.
Lots of lines of shadow.

I hope you enjoy.

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One Thousand Word Challenge 221: Tired and Miserable

Fighting to stay awake. No cycle today. No riding of the bike. Perhaps tomorrow.

Last night, went to bed. Anxiety went right up. Not enough sleep. Here at work, doing the dance, fighting to stay awake and functioning. But it’s nice outside. It’s nice outside, I’m inside, and we’ve got that all out of the way now so now I can get to the other things, as one does. Excellent.

I feel as though sometimes the day doesn’t keep on going, but you do. Wait. No, I don’t think that at all. Or do I? I don’t know. Everything is indecisive, and everything is spread out across a thousand sprinkles shimmering under a discoloured sky. How it all goes, sometimes. I feel I’m fading and I feel that, perhaps, I just need a good sleep. It’s not what I got last night and I’m feeling it.

Maybe wondering if I’m intentionally setting myself up to not succeed in my goals was a bad idea. I don’t know, but it did hurt, and I find myself missing the comfort of another’s arms. I’m missing being able to just collapse, even though I haven’t felt I can for years, and it’s tiring. I’m tired of feeling like I have to be strong, even though it’s much easier now. but that’s the way things go.

I can see clouds drifting along outside. I can see clouds carried by currents, and I too wish I could just drift right now.

What am I saying? What am I doing? There’s so much day to go still and I don’t have the time to be tired. That’s what I’m telling myself, anyway.

There are times when you’re gonna feel down and there are times when you aren’t. For me, I’m feeling pretty down right now, but I know that I’d rather feel down about things right now in the situation I’m in than whilst in a relationship where I’m feeling lonely, which is what was happening. But it’s still hard right now.

But I’m beating myself up, I guess, or rather reinforcing the hurt that I’m feeling and that isn’t a good thing. I think I just need a break from everything. Maybe that’ll happen sooner rather than later. Don’t know, don’t want to know, don’t want to find out, really. Rather be surprised, but with an actual break and not unemployment.

I don’t want to be writing about this. I don’t want to write about being tired and miserable and desiring a break. I know it’ll pass. It always passes. I know there are things that I can write about that are better than this, but in writing this all I feel I’m doing is beating myself up more than I should, and intentionally sinking myself further into misery. But I feel I’ve kicked my own legs out from under me and, instead of getting up I’m digging further down.

To drift like the clouds, to be directed somewhere and just float on that way… that is a dream. But it’s not an attainable one, and instead I can spend my energy thinking about what it is that I really want.

What do I really want?

I want to write better. Right now I want to write better, and I want to be more inspired. I know I can, and I know that takes time but it’s something that I can attain. I want to write less about my pain and misery, too. I keep saying that, but it is true.

Sometimes you can only write about experience, and sometimes you’re writing about experience even if you’re writing about something else. Of course that’s going to be the case, because why wouldn’t it be? We try to write about what we don’t know and often we do that through the lens our own experiences and learning provides. Sometimes we are compelled, if we find something so overpowering that it covers everything else. What do we do in those instances? We keep on writing, but we try to do something with it.

So I should be trying to do something with it.

Ages and ages ago, the last time I was dumped I wrote a thing about someone getting a bagel with cream cheese. At the time I had a bit of an obsession with that particular combination, and whilst the bit of writing was, quite frankly, crap, I still did something wi0th it. I still tried to do something with the pain and misery I was feeling. I’m not really doing that now, and I think that that’s why I feel like my writing isn’t going much of anywhere. I know there are aspects I can take and weave into something but that’s not what I’m doing, and I don’t know why.

I suspect that, perhaps, it has to do with my dreaming and wondering about where I am going and all that stuff. I suspect that the reason why I’m not doing that sort of thing is that part of me has moved on and is having difficulty reincorporating that kind of thing. I don’t know. But that isn’t a reason to give up.

If I gave up on looking for a better job I wouldn’t be where I am now. It took a lot of time and effort, and it took a lot of work. I can get through this. I can handle having two people stop talking to me whilst I cut a third out of my life (which, to be honest, having those three gone has been great for my mental health); I can handle continuing to push on forward, looking for where the thread lies and following it to something else. It’s hard at times, though. It’s hard after having a low amount of sleep due to high anxiety, and it’s hard when I’m still uncertain about things.

But, at the same time, I have this time and so I should be making the most of it. And I can.

The time it took to write one thousand words: 16:42:53

It was a hard day, today. Ups and downs and it came through quite strongly in this bit of writing.

Written at work.

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