Five-Hundred Word Challenge 187: A Flower and a Fish

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

Once upon a time there was a flower that was growing on the gown of a cabbage made from royal cheese.

It decided that it was going to go on a journey of sorts, so it said to a fish that it once knew by the grape vine “take me to wherever dreams go to live between the space where they die”.

Not willing to cause some sort of fuss, the fish happily obliged and off they went through the sky under the ground between the soil in order to find their way to freedom against the tyranny of the mouse emperor.

It looked like all was going to be dark until the fish realised that it had its taxes on it, so using the power of the flower and magic fire breath, the taxes were used as a makeshift torch, shooting illuminated bananas all over the place until everyone had enough potassium to glow with the indignation required to banish the darkness from the path ahead.

Eventually the unthinkable duo came to a wall that even they, with their almighty combination of powers could not surmount. It was then that they realised that they would have to tunnel under and hope for the best, lest they be cast into a spiral of despair that would consume the hearts of men and torture the souls of women.

So they began their perilous decision deciding in order to find the solution that was required. They tried knocking, smacking, walking, talking fishing, growing, eating, gnawing, blowing up, construction, running, peace, VIOLENCE, and everything else they could possibly consider until the sun that they were working by could no longer support them with everything they required from the sun, despite the fact that they were deep underground.

Then, when all hope seemed lost, they found their solution: opening the door in the wall.
Relieved, they continued on.

It was full of merriment and wonder, visuals and other stuff that couldn’t be described here without twisting ones tongue into impossible positions. They continued on without stopping and reckless abandon was had.

Eventually they reached a manatee of great wisdom. In its mouth was a sewer pipe and it looked as ornery as it did raging. There was no choice. A confrontation would have to occur in order to reach the solution required to go to this mythical dream place.

Turning red, the background stepped into the foreground as the flower began to muscle up its dialogue to prepare for lengthy, antiquated debate that had not been heard for many a generation.

The fish went into a meditative state and began breathing backward in order to heighten its fab gill reaction.

The manatee noticed this and, in sensing the trouble that would arise, flew off into the sunset, knowing that one day there would be places it would be required to help save from the great injustices of the moon, for it would dare profane the lives of those seeking out a more peaceful existence.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 09:05:35

I wrote this.

That’s all I have to say on the subject.

Written at work.

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More Light Lines

Posted on March 14, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

Whilst walking along I took this photo mostly by waving the camera about and seeing what would happen.

It’s not a great photo by any means, but I do like that the patterns are fairly erratic.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 186: Another Day of the Week

Posted on March 14, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

What day is it? Tuesday?

Do you all know what that means?

It means that today is Tuesday, another day of the week where things happen and reality is real once more, just like every other day!

I don’t know where I’m going with this, but I imagine it’s going to be something instead of a random collection of words, so that’s always a plus.

Anyway, today is Tuesday, it’s overcast outside, I am sitting here communicating through the means of writing and eventually I will have to start doing uni work in order to make sure that I keep up with said uni work, lest I become overwhelmed due to being as lazy as I possibly could instead of actually getting things done as I want to do the best I can and so on.

Just heard thunder. Dear diary…

So anyway, I’ve got things to do and writing to get out of the way but it’s one of those slow days where I’m sitting here trying to work out what I’m going to do whilst writing about the fact that I’m trying to do such a thing, despite the fact that I’ve done this probably far too many times at this point, but continue to return to as it’s something that’s easy enough to write about.

At the same time, that shouldn’t be any excuse.

So, now that I’ve got that out of the way… I should get onto whatever it… is… that I shall next… write… about.

In truth, there’s a number of things that I want to write about, but I keep putting them off. I think this may have to do with having trouble with finding the words to articulate what I want to say, or not wanting to deal with the possibility of making a bunch of people angry, although I doubt that I’d ever be big enough to make anything close to a bunch of people angry. Maybe mildly annoyed, but not angry.

What I should really do is pull my finger out and get started on digging into all the writing that I want to do so it;s out of the way, allowing me to work on other stuff sooner as the longer I prolong working on things, the longer I don’t work on them and move onto something else. I’m my own worst enemy and I’m continually allowing it to happen.

With that being said, I’m going to fill the remainder of this post with whatever I feel like because I have run short and need to fill the space with something that will leave me looking credible without saying anything at all, just like when a politician that’s not worth respecting is given a question and is trying to provide a response that doesn’t answer the question whilst sounding like they know what they’re talking about.

I’m somewhat surprised that there are people who still think that what comes out of most politicians’ mouths answers the questions that they’re asked.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 08:13:77

Faster than the last one.
Most likely because I wasn’t thinking as much as I wrote.

Written at home.

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Rain Reflection

Posted on March 12, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

I think I took this photo last week. I think.

When I noticed that I had captured the reflection of the buildings on the footpath in one of the shots I took before this one, I decided to try and get more of the reflection if I could.

I really like the result seen in this photo.

The reflection kind of looks like it’s something influenced by impressionism.

There’s also some reflection off the windows of one of the buildings, adding a bit more to see, despite there already being a fair bit.

I think that the reflection on the ground came through with a good amount of clarity.

I hope you enjoy.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 185: To a Beach in the Bush

Posted on March 12, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

It had been a long time since they had been bush walking. It had been a longer time since they had gone for a swim at a beach that wasn’t somewhere in the City.

They could remember how the waves were, but not how they felt.

As always, they started early as they wanted to make sure they could get as much times as they could down at the beach that, whilst not in the middle of nowhere, was still fairly isolated when compared to anything they could reach simply by catching a bus and waiting on it for less than an hour.

Once the train got them to the train station they needed to being their trek from, they hopped off and began to make their way up a steep incline, slowly moving upward until they reached a road they needed to cross, then crossing it to stop for a few minutes before beginning the proper walk.

As always, the view was epic. A vast expanse of ocean in front of them with some of Wollongong visible to the south. Clouds were there, yet did not spoil was was visible.

Rest didn’t last long, for there was still much walking to be done before swimming could be had.

They began their walk and made their way through familiar bush land at a steady pace.
The path ahead did not wind much and whilst there were some parts that were steep it was as easy as it had ever been.

Eventually they had to turn off and go down a narrower, although just as easy path. Along the way more of the ocean could be seen as well as the vegetation on the hills around them.

The path made its way into more dense vegetation until they were in a dark area. Following it, they made their way further down the side of the hill with little specks of light mixing with the shadow. It wasn’t too dark to see and pleasant enough, but it was something they were trying to get through quickly as there were areas that they were looking forward to seeing.

After a long period among the dense vegetation, they had some brief sunlight before going back into shade. However, it wasn’t long before the vegetation gave way to more grass-like plants and the area completely opened up around them.

Taking in the sight as much as they could whilst keeping a tight pace, they could feel the sun on them. It was quite welcome at this point.

Eventually they reached where they wanted to be. The sand and the waves were as familiar as they were missed.

Getting ready as quickly as they could, they ran to the water and dived into the oncoming waves. It was rough and powerful, but unlike the beaches of the city, it was less erratic and significantly cleaner.

It was something that they had missed and something that they were glad to be experiencing once more.

It was wonderful.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 09:58:11

A good time, I think.

I’m not sure as to what I was going for with this one, but I think that it turned out better than most of the things that I write simply because it’s much more cohesive than anything I write.

Ideally I would spend the time writing about why this beach is my favourite by talking about the feel, atmosphere and smell, but it would probably not actually do the beach any justice as I strongly feel that it’s one that needs to be experienced.

Written at work.

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Hill and Clouds

Posted on March 11, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

In this shot is a view of an area that I love to spend a fair bit of time around.

It’s where my favourite beach happens to be located.

I don’t often “Wish” for things, but I do sometimes wish that I could spend more time in this place.

The ocean at the beach is powerful but not excessive and the water is really clean, especially when in comparison to city beaches.

Surrounding the beach is vegetation that is quite representative of how how the Australian bush can be a varying, beautiful thing to see.

It’s a great area to be around and I’m glad that not too many people go there as it doesn’t become crowded.

This is my submission into The Daily Post‘s photo challenge for this week.

I hope you enjoy.

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One Thousand Word Challenge 19: Some Sort of Adventure Quest

Posted on March 11, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

A glorious day of work sits before me and whilst I am at work working, at home there shall be work to work through on top of the work that is being worked through at the moment.

That is to say that I’m prattling on and I don’t know why, but I’m sure that there is a reason as to why I am doing it that I will eventually discover on some sort of sexy adventure quest that will lead to the discovery of the work stuff that I am talking about right now whilst I ride a dragon that can turn into a horse to make speedy, land-based getaways  whilst a camera swoops above to show the massiveness of the land compared to the speed of the horse and the menacing evil of the people following behind me to prevent my quest from coming to some sort of completion as they are the designated evil people that are evil just because there is not reason for them to exist other than being bad in this stock story about heroism, sadness, sacrifice, uprising, standing, bravery in the face of overwhelming desire to hide away from all that would do harm and the discovery of why I have mentioned work so many times with growing pointlessness each time it is mentioned.

Of course the chase would end in my favour, but not without some close clashes and peril aplenty along the way. It would seem close to capture I would be when the daring end would come and I would be free from the clawing grasps of menace and evil.

Well, for the time being. I could never truly escape their clutches forever, for eventually I would have to face them down in a battle unlike any other, in the rain whilst thunder occasionally is heard, illuminating us as we stand there at the location of which said battle will take place, just before we begin to clash whilst it is somehow illuminated even though before it wasn’t unless there was the sound of thunder (or lightning crackling through the sky as this is one of those things where it doesn’t seem to matter which is occurring as long as the drama of it is felt). then the fighting would begin and it would be as dramatic as it would be intense, as this would be the emotional climax of the adventure. Well, the emotional climax of this point of the adventure as it would be likely that there would be many more to come. Somehow I would have hidden motivations along the lines of revenge or something as the main evil person that I would have the most pain attached to would not be the ultimate evil person, but the one I have a personal vendetta with. However, I would have to cast aside the quest for revenge due to the murder of my pet yak as the only way I could win is to fight without rage, or something.

Now with my yak avenged, I’d have no more personal attachment to the quest, although there probably still would be as the main evil person behind everything was the one who unleashed the one who killed my yak, and also it would mean that their evil rain of evil tyranny would be over. Of course, as we all know, life doesn’t just end end just because you completed something. It keeps on going.

Well, it doesn’t keep going for the yak or the evil person that I had a reason to go and fight, inevitably drawing me into the greater conflict that needed some sort of resolution one way or the other.

So then I’d head off on my horse which would then have to go back to being a dragon as we’d fly over the ocean to where the evil that was so evil that other evils bowed down to its evilness as it is the ultimate and forever, as it would likely be on an island somewhere where it could orchestrate all of its plans.

The island would be close to another continent as that would be convenient in some way, shape or form.

It would be heavily fortified which would mean I would have to land on the cliffs below and slowly make my way up to get in unnoticed and, despite some close calls, I’d make it without a scratch and then get into the fortress, or castle if it is indeed a castle and slowly make my way to the top as darkness drew closer and the plan that was to be completed would soon  almost be complete, which would then guarantee global domination. After all, the forces of good had been losing a battle that was somehow impossible and somehow it was my destiny to face down against this person of great evil, therefore rendering most actions I take meaningless as it would all seem planned out from the start. However, even though this would be the case, it would be likely that I wouldn’t care at all because, despite what the stars or some arbitrary prophecy foretell, I’d still be there to take the evil out with the trash for the garbage collectors to take on a Monday because, prophecy or not, my yak died and surely other people have suffered under this ironclad force.

I’d also need to find out why I used the word “work” so many times in my opening sentence, but that was no longer the main goal. The world deserved better, even if I’d seen many acts of greed and selfishness along the way, for I had also seen many great acts of kindness and plenty of people just trying to eke out a living and their hope was more than worth fighting for.

So then the final battle would happen and I’d win, therefore bringing down the entire evil empire somehow. Then and only then I’d discover why “work was used so much”.

Then, more adventuring ahead.

The time it took to write one thousand words: 15:40:57

Initially I was going for five-hundred words. When I got there, I decided to push on a bit further and somehow came up with something I’m happy with for how silly it turned out.

Written at work.

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A Path of Rocks

Posted on March 10, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

Probably not the best title considering the path curves away from the centre of the photo, but I thought it was appropriate.

In this shot you get a better idea of the size of the cliff in this area.

I think there’s a good amount of depth in this photo.

I think it’s a bit too bright in some spots, but otherwise the amount of light is fine.

I think the view is quite beautiful.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

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Yet Another Customer Service Rant

Posted on March 10, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

Seeing as I recently wrote about bad customers, I thought it only fair that I also write about a poor customer service experience that I was a part of today.

I was in a store buying stuff that initially I wasn’t going to buy, but had use for (as one does sometimes in a store if they’re not purchasing other things, such as things that they were going to buy but had no use for whatsoever).

I went to find the checkout counter and saw that someone was being served at one, so I stood in front of another at the same moment that someone (I’m going to guess it was one of the employees) was walking away.

Whilst standing there waiting for someone to come to the counter so I could be served, the one that was serving someone was doing a really great job of providing service.

Now, I don’t care what you do if it’s quiet, so long as you’re serving customers if that’s what you’re meant to do at that given time. Seemingly flirting back-and-forth (or just having a lengthy conversation about some pointless crap) whilst there are people there waiting is a bad way to go about your job.

I don’t care if you think you’re above doing your job. Serve the customer, then serve the other one. Don’t keep a conversation going that holds other people up because you think that’s the best way to go about things.

After a few minutes of waiting, someone approached the counter where I was waiting and took care of some stuff around it, mostly ignoring that I was there. Eventually either they or another member of the staff finally took notice of me and asked if I had been served. I said I was waiting, they said something, then the person who was too busy in their conversation finally got things moving, then served me and, sounding quite disingenuous, apologised a few times to me whilst they were serving me.

I do not think that this is a good way to go about things.

Sometimes I get to see some bad customer service happening around me whilst I’m at work, which is always fun to witness.

I think that if you think you don’t need to do what you’re paid to do, then you should probably quit. I think that if your attitude is that you’re not there to serve the customers, then go find something else because all you’re doing is pissing people off.

Bad customer service is just as prevalent as bad customers and it really grinds my gears a lot more than I am willing to admit. You can’t expect to do a crappy job and have people want to return to your store. If you really think that that’s how it works, then you need to realise that people will find something better sooner or later.

If you are one of the people who think giving bad service is okay, then please stop.

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Heading to Central

Posted on March 9, 2017 by Stupidity Hole

A train heads to Central; just another stop on its journey through the city before heading out to suburbia once more.

This is kind of a complimentary shot for the recent shot of tracks that I put up here, as this was taken just before.

I think that the way that the light strengthens the details of the objects in the shot works really well here.

I like how the clouds look in this photo.

This is my submission into Leanne Cole‘s Monochrome Madness this week.

If you like monochrome photography then you should check out Monochrome Madness and consider participating.

I also recommend checking out Leanne Cole’s other work.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

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