Five-Hundred Word Challenge 55: Cleaning my Place

Well, it’s currently Saturday, the day that is usually considered the start of the weekend for many people around the large planet we refer to as the world.

I don’t really have anything else to say today.

It’s been a fairly relaxed one, except it hasn’t for the most part as there was a lot of cleaning done over a few hours because stuff like that generally happens when you’ve got to get it all done because you’ve left it for far, far too long and you suddenly see the mold forming into some sort of entity that is going to talk to you in your sleep and crawl all over everything, changing your walls into some sort of mould city.

Yes, I am bored.

It’s a good type of bored though.

There are some days where I prefer to not do a thing, despite the possibility of having quite a lot to do.

I’ve done all I had to do earlier and now I am relaxing as I can relax now.

Soon I shall find myself busy again.

It might not be tonight or tomorrow, but it will be soon.

Okay, I’ll admit that I thought I might have something to write about right now, but I really don’t.

I could write about walking around the bay near my place in excruciatingly painful detail, but it wouldn’t be painful.

I think that maybe I’ll go back to relaxing as then I can say “I am relaxing”.

Well, I still am relaxing whilst I am typing this, so I would have to add another layer of relaxing.

It would be a bit like having a blanket and then adding an extra one, with only your head poking out because that way you are warmer and comfier.

Well, it’s not.

Anyway…

Cleaning was quite good.

It certainly was needed.

When I came back from Japan, I did let the mess get a bit excessive in my room, so I cleaned a bit.

Then I became lazy again which lead to the bloom taking hold again.

I’m generally spending more time cleaning than I think I’ll need to as there always seems to be more rubbish in my room than I realise, but once I’m done, I get to be satisfied with the fact that my room is in much better condition than it had been before I started.

It feels better to be in as well.

That is a major plus for me, as whilst I don’t like spending too much time in my room (whilst it’s not exactly tiny, it could be bigger), there are other places in the house I’d rather be.

Usually I feel a bit better once cleaning as well.

Maybe endorphins are increased as it’s a physical activity.

I think that is the most likely case.

Well, I do believe that now I am near the end of this, I can safely say that my place is clean, which is good.

It’s not that exciting though.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 10:06:86

This was actually faster than I expected as I was grasping for ideas and thinking a bit too much about it.

A very average read, but I’m happy with it.

This was written in bed.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 54: Attempting to Complete This in Under Eight Minutes

Not being entirely happy with how long it took me to write the last piece, I decided to try and write this one in under eight minutes (as though I can predict that it will be under that time as I write it), and hopefully make it a little more coherent to boot.

The problem that I have now face myself is that I’m trying to think about writing something under a certain speed whilst not thinking about it at the same time to try and let the thoughts flow a lot faster than I usually would, whilst listening to music that probably demands a little too much of my attention, therefore making it a little more difficult to write about what I want to write about, despite not knowing what I want to write about at all, creating some sort of problem of mass confusion that will inevitably lead to me writing a bit slower than I would expect to if I am to get this under eight minutes, le3ading to many, problems that are completely irrelevant to this writing, such as getting home and trying to open the door, only to find that I have to turn the keys a little further than usual, but not realising immediately, which would then cause me to take a little longer to get inside, which then would cause me to have a shower a little later than usual, which would mean I might not be able to get started on things I want to work on when I get home; at least not as early, thus inevitably leading to going to bed later which could prevent me from going for a swim tomorrow before going to work as I’d need to get up at 4:45 A.M. in the morning to cycle to a beach to get something more than fifteen minutes of swim time, therefore leading to not cycling, which means I would rely entirely on public transport to get to and from work, instead of just to work from the beach because I would need to get more than a few hours of sleep instead of getting up early to go for a swim; something I really want to do more of, even in winter, as I really love swimming and being in the ocean quite a lot, and I love cycling as well so if I can do both before work and hopefully cycle home from work I find myself enjoying more of my day and having more time to do stuff as I get home earlier instead of spending much of my time on public transport waiting to go from one location to another.

Hopefully I won’t run into that problem and instead have an easy run with writing this as that would be far more satisfactory and it would free me up a fair bit more.

Well, I guess it is time to start writing then.

Okay. Here goes.

So there was – what? Five-hundred words already?

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 9:15:78

Not under the eight minute mark, but it’s at least a bit more coherent than other ones I’ve written recently.
My apologies for the poor use of words in the brackets.

This was written at my desk at work on Wednesday.

I did not get to swim.

 

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Ibis

Here are some photos of an Australian white ibis.

These were taken a few days after returning to Sydney from Japan via Melbourne.

The ibis is considered by many to be a fairly unremarkable bird.
I’m not sure as to how I feel about them, but seeing this one made me want to take pictures of it.

I don’t know why.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 53: Very Little to do

I have very little to do at work at the moment.
So little, in fact, that you could say that there is nothing for me to do, other than sort through various items if I so choose.
The tedium of boredom is almost torturous.

At least, on the plus side, I get to relax, listen to music and maybe have some chair races that will inevitably lead to some sort of land speed record for chair racing.

Well, I can’t do the chair racing yet, but the other things are okay.

Still, I am getting bored.

I am stuck in a position where I need to do something soon, for if I do not, I will end up eating my own face and just so I can say that something of minor note at least occurred and kept me entertained until the pain of face eating began to kick in.

Maybe I should slip into a state of becoming my own self through metamorphosis, except instead of that, just facing the hard reality that the universe is far greater than I can ever know, as all I currently know is my life and it is only a small speck on the infinitely vast vastness of the greatness of all that is out there, beyond my reach, beyond my knowing, beyond my feeling…

Maybe I should try to not become myself and instead begin a mutiny of sorts… or not.

Maybe I should go outside and absorb some of the sun and then use it to energise myself so I can say I’m slightly more efficient when there is something for me to do that is work related, despite how utterly ridiculous that notion could be.

I do have things to do, but I’d much rather waffle on pointlessly so I remain bored and then hopefully enter a state of negative boredom so intensely that I can do nothing but be overly entertained by absolutely everything I come across.

OH LOOK! A BIT OF DISCARDED PAPER ABOUT TO BE RECYCLED! HOW UTTERLY, INSANELY AMAZING!

Yes, it is one of those days.

They are, sadly, numbered.

Still, they are appreciated.

Not as appreciated as walking through a dry, dry desert, only to come across a walrus lying on a rock, smoking through a pipe and then reciting poorly written abstract poetry to you whilst all you want is a little bit of water and a soft rock to rest your head on as you’ve only come across hard ones during your travel.

Speaking of which, you’ve no reason to be walking in the desert unprepared anyway, so go back to your residence and get some rest, for all you’re going to be dealing with is that silly walrus if you don’t.

Maybe eat an oversized mango when you get home and then rest on your soft rocks for a while.

I do think I will go out and absorb a little bit of sun.

Maybe not yet, but I will later today.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 9:52:12

Under ten minutes. Hooray!

Another written at my desk at work.
The boredom had clearly started to take hold by this point (it was written yesterday).

Also, the temporary permalink for this is / was 1995.

Stuff happened in 1995.

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Piercing Through Clouds

Here are some photos I took whilst riding my last ferry from 厳島 (Itsukushima) to Miyajimaguchi.

When I saw this, I had to make sure I took a picture of it, but I’m not too sure as to how much I appreciated the opportunity at the time as I was feeling quite worn out.

I think it’s fair to say that I was quite lucky.

I think the pattern is absolutely fantastic.

However, I also think it feels as though I tried to capture something extraordinary but didn’t do it justice.

Overall, I am satisfied though.

The last photo is what I used for my thirty-second entry into Leanne Cole‘s “Monochrome Madness“.

I hope you enjoy.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 52: Horseshoe Crabs and Dolphins

The wonders of sitting here and slowly going out of my mind is that, once again, I find myself going out of my mind.

That is to say that I’m not, but I imagine if I start thinking about thinking again a bit too much, then I’m going to be sucked into a pool of my own arrogant excess that will be so deep and meaningless that I will inevitably never return and all that will be left of me in reality is a pile of ashes next to a sign that has “Here lies ashes” next to it.

Maybe I should all take this as a message that I need to find something to do right now, for if I don’t, I will begin to type so fast that I will set fire to the keyboard I am typing on as it will not be able to handle just how fast I am typing, inevitably freaking out and wanting to excuse itself from existence to it can finally become the jazz fusion bagpipe player that It always wanted to be, but it can’t right now as I’m hammering away a little too much on it.

I think that I need a thread of coherency right now, but instead I’m going to ignore that need and keep typing away at this completely meaningless diatribe that I seem to be on.

HOW AMAZINGLY DROLL!

It’s possible that the ashes would end up reanimating into some kind of horseshoe crab that had come from some dimension beyond dimensions, trying to deliver a message of hope and peace but would instead be completely ignored as it was so cute, as horseshoe crabs are indeed cute crustaceans.

What would happen then?

It would head back to wherever it came from as it did not come to be treated with admiration for its cuteness, but then of course more horseshoe crabs would get love.

People would celebrate world horseshoe crab day as a testament to how adorable and cute they are.

There would be statues built in their honour as everyone would love them and their cute non-waddling and watch them as they moved around and did whatever horseshoe crabs do, like sorting out their taxes and drinking fresh orange juice whilst out on a stroll in the evening sun.

Then the horseshoe crabs would begin to invade and take over the lands as they are truly scheming little creatures that are far more devious than dolphins could ever hope to be.

That’s why dolphins don’t like them.

Anything with less mobility than a robotic vacuum cleaner, yet still able to be far, far more evil, is anathema to them.

Of course, there have been wars between these two mighty species.
The dolphins always seem to come out on top, but the crabs are always the superior victors, due to their evil and cunning and their ability to distract with far greater ease than one would expect from them.

Such is the way of things.

The time it took to write five-hundred words:  10:19:46

It might have taken less time than the previous one, but I think the quality was lower than usual.

This one and the last two were written within a period of a few hours on the same day at work as I had a stronger desire than usual to write.

However, by this point, I think I was grasping at straws more than anything as I (kind of) had an idea but it derailed pretty early on, so I was forcibly making things up around the “HOW AMAZINGLY DROLL” bit.

Maybe I was a little too bored at work as well.

This was written at my desk at work.

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Dinosaur

Here is a picture of a dinosaur.
It’s not every day you see one of these!

Anyway…

I saw this whilst I was riding along the しまなみ海道 (Shimanami Kaidō) Bikeway.

It was a few minutes after reaching 因島市(Innoshima).

I think it may be a part of 因島アメニティプール (Innoshima Amenities Pool [might not be the correct translation]), but I’m not sure.

It certainly wasn’t what I was expecting to see.

It has aged a bit but I think it looks pretty cool.

This first photo is my thirty-first submission into Leanne Cole‘s “Monochrome Madness“.

I hope you enjoy.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 51: Trying to Talk to People in Elevators

The weird thing about elevators is that they allow for meeting people with far greater ease than we realise, but because they’re so transitory in this manner, it’s rare that you’ll say anything to them, missing a great opportunity to discover someone new who may share your interests, therefore leading to a great friendship, or something else.

For example:

You are getting in the elevator to use the underground parking bathroom as the cubicles on your floor are taken.

You hop in the elevator and then at the next floor, someone else gets in and they stumble slightly and apologise.

You’re not bothered by it and decide to say something witty and humorous about it, but nothing comes as you begin to feel some sort of fear grab and slowly squeeze you as you think the person is cute and quite professional in appearance and the only thing you could say is probably far too crass for human consumption, therefore ruining your chances of ever having some sort of meaningful contact with said person ever again.

You feel the fear crushing your body because you don’t want to ruin whatever chance you have with talking to this person in the elevator and although you are stoic and stone in appearance, inside you’re wondering what you can possibly say to slay the monstrously awkward silence that you can feel so you can finally get on with life in the elevator.

Eventually you decide to throw caution to the wind and say something, regardless of how awkward it could possibly be, as it would certainly be better than trying to say something you’ve thought way too much about and instead of saying it, coming out with “ffffpfpfpffftffpfffpthph”, or “earowuighblat”, as then you’ve said nothing but gibberish and would, on the inside, speak all the obscenities and curses you know due to firmly planting your foot in your mouth because you thought far too much about saying something simple and straightforward.

Instead of impressing someone with your wonderful banter, you’ve come across as someone who sweats far more than anyone should; effectively creating your own salty sea that no one would want to swim in.

“No”, you say to yourself, as you will not be like that.

You want to talk to this person and make them laugh and smile about something small and silly as you could potentially make their day and if not, at least you made them a little bit happier for that moment.

You know you can do this because you’re done with caring about the consequences and you know that, regardless of what you say, it will be received well and then you’ll start engaging in the subtle art of conversation simply because you decided to blunt force your way through the thick fog of awkwardness.

Then the elevator stops at upper parking and you say hello to your co-worker who was waiting for it to arrive, leaving behind the person who was in the elevator with you.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 12:58:30

This one was a bit slower as I began thinking too much about what I was writing.
That you will share an elevator with a lot of people, often the same ones, yet rarely say a word beyond small talk occurred to me recently.

I don’t know why it hadn’t sooner.

This was written at my desk at work.

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Mooring Ring

This is a picture I took when I stopped at the Oyster Farm during my cycle to reach 江波山公園 (Ebayama Park) before sunset.

Whilst I haven’t seen many, I definitely haven’t seen a mooring ring so heavily encrusted with barnacles.

I wonder how long it took to have so many attached to it.

I think the pattern that the barnacles have formed is wonderful.

To me, they make the ring appear as though it has bark on it.

This is the thirtieth photo I’ve used for Leanne Cole‘s “Monochrome Madness“.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

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Cloud above 河口湖 (Lake Kawaguchi)

Here are some dramatic photos of a cloud.

I do like how dramatic they are as well as how strong the contrast between light and dark are.

I also like how the light seems to be about to push everything away and make the sky clear.

The last one was the twenty-ninth photo I submitted for Leanne Cole‘s “Monochrome Madness“.

It was a themed week, with the theme being “Clouds”.

I hope you enjoy.

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