Reflected Building

Posted on June 29, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

Here’s a direct of the Red Centre Building reflected in the Robert Wester Building.
This was taken when a uni colleague and I had finished studying for the day and were making our way elsewhere.

I think that there’s a sort of quiet atmosphere to this photo. It doesn’t feel grandiose or striking and instead feels more quiet and low-key.

There’s enough detail to give a clear idea of what everything instead of being overwhelming with detail.

This is my submission into Leanne Cole‘s Monochrome Madness for this week.
I recommend that you check out what other people are submitting and perhaps consider submitting something yourself.
I also recommend checking out Leanne Cole’s other work.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 249: Exams are Over for Now

Posted on June 29, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

The relief of completing the final exam for this semester which just so happens to be the first full semester of this year was met with great enthusiasm.

Well, it was not so much enthusiasm as it was quiet resignation to the feeling of relief that somehow dodged the feeling of fatigue that didn’t take too long to reach.

Exams are now over for a few months and that means I get to be busy in other, more productive ways… I hope.

Some of us went to a pub for a quick feed and some drinks before we went to Centennial Parkland to relax for a while.

I spent most of it taking pictures of birds.

After we parted ways, Ewe (who was there after having his own adventure) and I walked most of the way home. It was a fairly lengthy walk and one that felt much longer than it had any right to, but was also highly satisfying at the same time.

Right now I am feeling rather tired, but I guess it’s a good kind of tired.

There really is a feeling that I don’t have to worry about doing much over the next few weeks, but there’s also a feeling of anticipation for all that I am aiming to do during my off time,. such as work heavily on music, do more bushwalking and sleeping.

There will definitely be sleeping, and much of it will be done with my eyes closed.

I also know that I will be getting back on my bike.

On Monday, when I was sitting the exam it felt much more like a formality than anything else.

I do have to admit that I did end up  getting a bit stressed about it, even though I’d already passed the course.

I think that most of the students felt the same way.

The semester had passed us by pretty fast. It was fairly intense in some places, but it felt much easier than the previous two semesters.

Maybe I prefer a challenge. Maybe I’m getting used to being detached from the “real” world as I slowly become more accepting of being a student who may or may not be a prodigy.

Well, of course I am a prodigy. I have to be in order to be a student, don’t I?

I know that, from here on out, the rest of the week will be a bit slow. There will be bushwalking before this is being read, assuming that I get up early enough to go bushwalking.

There will be plenty of photography opportunities and I will be able to relax and unwind as my feet take me along a path that I will follow into the vegetation that will surround my world and unwind my mind in a way that the city is completely unable to provide.

Other than that, I am planning on having a slow week. It will be busy, but not as busy as I intend to be next week.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 07:46:06

A quieter, more restrained post, this one is.
I thought that writing about the exam period being over would be more dramatic.

Oh well.

Written at work.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 248: The Cat Sat on the Mat

Posted on June 28, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

The day is where the rain has falling in time with the hat on the cat that sat on the mat one time, although the mat was actually a boiling death pit of lava and the cat that was on the mat that was not actually a mat very slowly and dramatically sunk to its death as lava is hot and the only, proper way to die in a boiling death pit of lava is to sink slowly and dramatically, as there is no other way to die when you die in a boiling lava pit of death.

The cat, knowing only too well what was going, accepted its fate with a quiet dignity, preferring to know that there was no escape from the situation and realising that there was no point in flailing about as that would only be undignified and and unbecoming of a cat of its stature.

As it sunk underneath the waves, it began to ruminate on its life and what had transpired throughout its years of witnessing the waking world.

It thought of times when it prevented a bank robbery through sheer grit and will of belief.

It thought of the moving of the mountains that it did of an extended period of time that required a great amount of effort and power, and powerful effort.

There were times when the cat had experienced loss, love, success, failure, and gained the knowledge required to stare a moose down.

It had driven cars, broken records set by the world and then redefined the nature of being with only a singular handsome wink.

It had done and seen it all, and now it had met its ultimate destiny.

Had it been an accident?

no. The cat knew that this was how it had to all end and so willingly entered the final state of being before the lava had engulfed its body and swallowed its vision.

The cat knew that this was how it all had to go. It had done far more than anyone could ever think that anything could ever do and it knew that if it did not make the sacrifice, then people would become far to reliant on it for assistance and advice. There was no way that that amount of knowledge should ever be contained within one body of being.

The knowledge had to be spread about so that people would not become lazy about the things that needed to be done, or something.

Therefore, at the precipice, at the edge, it sat on the mat that was not the mat and actually a death pit of lava and in doing so, it did not die. Death failed to grip the cat, for it was swallowed whole by the viscous enemy to life and it sunk to the bottom, then tunneled its way out in order to go on a permanent vacation.

Underneath the bottom was a cucumber that it hopped on and surfed through the vastness of space to some planet.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 07:01:83

I started with the opening sentence and let it take me on a journey of absurdity.

What a journey!

What a twist!

Written at UNSW.

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Toward the City

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

Here’s another photo taken at Beverley Hills Station.

I think that there’s a good sense of depth, as well as a sense of symmetry with some of the image.

I like how the sky has different shades instead of being completely even.

I think that this photo gives an idea of how the suburbs can look.

I hope you enjoy.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 247: Study Time

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

Three people are sitting in a room.

Each one is staring at a laptop, trying to work out what it is that they must do for the day in order to make sure that the exam they sit tomorrow is one that they can see as passable.

On occasion, someone will break the monotonous silence and say something stupid, which will lead to all of the study being derailed. It takes a while for focus to be regained which might seem annoying, but it does serve a good purpose: It is making sure that we keep our minds sharp as we’re breaking up the tedium of the study which gives us a few precious moments to refresh our minds by focusing on something else that is not study-related… most of the time.

Soon there will be  others joining us and they too want to make sure that they can pass the exam.

Many of us have already passed the subject and we are thankful for that, because we thought it was going to be much tougher than it was.

Right now, the study is more focused “how good a grade we can get?” than it is “how much do we need to study before we can ensure that we pass?” for most of us.

It’s a nice day outside, but we are here in this room, knuckling down.

The pressure is not there, thankfully. I’m certainly feeling much more relaxed about this exam than I have about others in the past.

Well, there was one where I was expecting to fail.
It wasn’t an exam but a test and I was not expecting to pass it in any way, shape or form.

It was the best that I’ve done in any test-like assessment during my time at university, which I was pretty happy about at the time.

Actually, I think that there was one where I arrived about twenty minutes late and managed to finish in the time required which I managed to do really well on which I was also pretty happy about at the time. That was during the first semester of last year.

Anyway, right now it is the time of study. We are studying hard and there is no pressure for me, which is hopefully the same for the others. I do know that I will get a mark that will hopefully reflect the amount of study that I am doing at the moment. It will hopefully be a mark that I have earned, rather than a mark that I think I am entitled to, although if I do get a mark that I think I am entitled to, it is probably likely that I earned that mark.

It is much more quiet than usual in the library. Few people are around as the exam period is nearly over for this semester. Most people aren’t going to to come into the library today as they have no reason to be here.

Today we study for tomorrow.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 07:52:16

Here’s something that I wrote on Sunday that I’m happy with.
It’s not too good, but it is much more consistent in overall tone and quality compared to some of the other things that I’ve written.

Written at UNSW.

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Chimneys from Afar

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

Another shot of the Sydney Park Chimneys.

I was lucky with how this shot turned out as it was pretty dark when I was at this part of the park.

I like that, whilst you can tell that the chimneys are not too close, they still look fairly large within the frame of this photo.

I like that they stand out around everything and that there’s no clutter of buildings around them.

I hope you enjoy.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 246: On the Outside

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

On the outside I can see other buildings, but beyond those buildings I can see things that I wish I could touch.

I can see birds waiting. I can see some in a flock, making their way to another destination.

I can see people walking along a path to another destination. Some in pairs, some in groups, some alone.

I can see grass cut and sculpted perfectly to create aesthetic appeal for those would pay attention.

Among the grass I can see people relaxing in the sun, which sits among the clouds occasionally poking out from behind them to create a show of light that patterns itself via its own rhythmic dance with the clouds that it is with, holding fast in the sky for the day as it passes us all by.

I can hear the sounds of many having conversations, some celebratory as it nears the end of the day and some sort of success has been attained, and some being much more serious and downcast as there is more work than there are hours before the results will be needed.

I look beyond the glass and all I can see are things and places where I would like to be.

I can see stairs that lead to places where others are congregating for meetings, speeches, discussions, plans, jokes, debates and other sorts of behaviour.

I can see doors that lead to food courts where the food is not what one would describe as being worth the amount you pay, but where the company is a welcome addition.

I can see pathways that lead to transport that will carry me home so long as I let it be that which I ride in.

I see walls that seem to want to block the area of the day and yet are unable to, as despite their construction there is too much space for them to attempt to occupy.

There is no feeling of suffocation out there, where I can only see and am unable to reach.

I can reach out toward the outside, but all my touch manages to do is reach the glass wall that currently separates me from that which I desire.

I am inside, here only able to look out or keep on working away.

I can only see the natural light, the birds, the people and the paths that will lead elsewhere.

I am not stuck, and yet I am unable to leave and leave is what I so desperately desire, for I am someone who needs to move or at least am someone that feels as though they are one that needs to keep on moving and cannot stand still for long periods of time.

As inside as I am in this structure that is currently my habitat, outside is something that is as close as it is unreachable.

It will remain an unobtainable goal until the one that I have set before myself is as complete as it is required to be complete.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 09:35:31

I think that this may be a bit too dramatic.
When I started writing I thought it might be interesting.
Then I tried to make it poetic.

It could be much better.

Written at UNSW library.

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Pond View

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

This shot was taken when I was last in Centennial Parklands.

It’s interesting that you can see where the light most affecting some of the things in this photo the most, but at the same time it’s mostly concentrated around the sun, leaving the sky as it usually is a fair bit.

I didn’t expect the processing to leave the small bird island so dark, but I think it works to an extent. I would have preferred more detail to come through, but this still looks somewhat relaxed and peaceful.

Sometimes I get really lucky with the sun and the sky.

I hope you enjoy.

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Missing Bus, Waiting People

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

What am I angry about today?

I don’t think that I’m angry about anything much at the moment.

Wait. There is something that I am angry about.

On Thursday night, whilst on my way home I had to wait for a bus.

This isn’t the thing that I am angry about.

When I got to the bus stop, there was about thirty people waiting for a bus that was late. There could have been more. I’m not sure. It was a really rough estimate.

Suffice it to say, there was a lot of people waiting for a bus that appeared to be late.

I was waiting for a bus that was coming in a few minutes.

A lot of people waiting for a bus is not necessarily something that is unusual. During peak how, this happens quite a lot. Usually there will be multiple buses over a brief period of time to make sure that people can get home as soon as possible. It does get annoying, but it is not in any way unusual.

What is unusual is a whole lot of people waiting for a bus that hasn’t shown up at 8:40 in the evening.

My bus came. It was seven minutes late.

It couldn’t take everyone. There were people there who may have been waiting for a while that then had to wait longer as the bus that they were waiting for never arrived. I heard someone talk about this with someone else.

I was lucky in that I was able to get on the bus, but I think it may have been better if I had waited. I’m not entirely sure.

I’m very much in support of the bus services of Sydney remaining in public hands rather than being given to a private contractor, regardless of the state government of New South Wales exerting a lot of control over how much autonomy the contractors would have.

However, I do think that, despite protests, if bus services are going to randomly disappear (something that was happening well before the announcement to have more bus services privatised), then, despite my issues with the state government looking to dump the problems that the bus services onto someone else rather than work toward resolving them, the current bus network employees are asking for trouble.

There are many things that can affect whether a bus runs or not. Buses not showing up at random times of the days still should not be something that can be considered as something that you can count on happening.

I think it’s a bit of a bad way to treat the customer base.

I wouldn’t say that being a bus driver is the cushiest job in the world. There’s probably a lot of stuff that they have to deal with that makes the job more stressful than it needs to be, and for that I respect them. With that being said, I do think that there is an obligation as a transit employee to make sure that a bus shows up instead of disappearing into thin air for no discernible reason.

Again, I support the idea of keeping the bus routes in public hands, but there needs to be more scrutiny.

I’m pretty sure that I’ve already made this clear, but buses not showing up being a regularity is not acceptable.

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Birth of a Concrete Log

Posted on June 24, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

Here we see the miracle of birth in all of its glory.

Behold, the mighty concrete log.

I was trying to highlight the massiveness of this building when I took this photo, which I’m not quite sure if I did, but I did end up with (what I think is) an interesting looking photo due to the angle of the shot and how that affects how the building is perceived.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

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