Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1434: Thank you, spiders.

Wondering as to how much nonsense I can write in twelve minutes. Hopefully this will be less than that time, but we’ll see.

Trying to get the words out, and thinking about the ceiling and how it continually needs replacing in some places. It’s not a good way to be about things, but sometimes materials get cycled through more than materials don’t. Sometimes that’s just what happens and you get on with it. You deal. You move through life at a rate of some rate that you move through life. Such is life.

But you move through life and you replace the ceiling, and sometimes the walls too. Sometimes nothing gets replaced and sometimes everything gets replaced every few months. Supposedly. Maybe it doesn’t.

Where was I?

So… replacement. Replacing things, and continuing with the replacing of things. Sometimes it’s the way that things go, and you get on with it. You make do with what you can and where you can, but sometimes you don’t want to, so you make do with the learning on how to maintain and repair, and life goes on, and maybe you get left behind with your stuff but you try anyway. Nothing else you can do, right? Well, you could give up, but we’re not going to go down that path right now.

I want some optimism and I don’t want to think about the great amount of work that needs doing before the end of the day, but I’ll get there. I always do, and I’ll always keep doing. Best way to be about it all, really. No other choice. Just need to keep going and why is there a spider web on my laptop?

This place is going to be overrun by spiders in the time I’ll not be here. Holidays soon. A short break, but a necessary one. But I’m going to come back and I’ll be dealing with spiders, and I can’t think of much of anything I’d rather be dealing with less. It’s a travesty, let me tell you. Horrible experience, but a necessary one, I guess.

Actually, is it necessary? Could it actually be unnecessary and I’m merely telling myself that it is something that I have to deal with? Yes, because it is something that I’ll have to deal with. But I don’t want to. But perhaps it is too difficult to deal with properly at this point in time. There are other things that need tackling and they need tackling sooner rather than later, so instead of trying to deal with spiders now I will deal with them later.

Realistically there aren’t much to deal with, probably, and it probably won’t turn into some big issue that will need excessive action toward after my return. However, there was web on my laptop and I don’t like that, and now I’m in a bad mood and all is bad and I don’t know where I can go from here. The day is ruined. Thank you, spiders.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:06:37

I wanted to go on at length about nothing in particular, and that didn’t work, but I didn’t think too hard about this and I’m really happy about that.

Written at work.

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Southward Coastal Sprawl

I’ve been meaning to share this photo for a while as a comparative to this one, but never got around to doing so… until now.

I don’t know what to say about this one. I think there’s something interesting about this being pockets of urbanisation until far off in the distance as it suggests a willingness to preserve the bushland, but I wonder how this would appear if there was no urbanisation at all.

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

Participating is pretty straightforward and something I recommend. If you do, then include the tag “monochrome-madness” in your post. If not participating, then at the least check out Leanne’s photography as well as what other people submit.

I hope you enjoy.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1433: Too Hot. Too Fussy.

It’s one of those mornings. Too hot. Too fussy. All those things.

Getting existential, though it’s near the end of the year so that is to be expected. What year wouldn’t be complete with a bunch of reflection, introspection, and beating down oneself? But of course, the future always looks bright, blah blah blah. You know how it goes already and I don’t need to say more than that.

But, you know, this year was a big year. Still is a big year. I’ve got my corner space and I’m hidden, but I’m visible to all, and I’m sitting here and I’m doing nothing right now but the day starts soon, so I better get into it. Better get into the doing of things. Better get ready to do the job. Be steady. Get on with it. You know.

I’m where I can switch off after work, and that’s great. It’s what I want. It’s far less toxic. Also great. But, I think I’d rather be making my money doing my writing and photography, though I’m pretty close to taking photography out of my life at this point. Took my test shots when I got the camera serviced. Other than once ore twice, have not missed or felt much of anything related to using it, and that’s always a sign. Or maybe it’s not.

Burned out on all the carrot dangling and the networking, all that stuff. Much rather not keep dealing with that crap, you know?

But I reflect, and I think about what a year it has been, but that’s for another bit of writing. Right now I just want to talk about thinking about stuff without actually talking about the stuff that I’m thinking about. Maybe that’s not conducive to good writing or something, or maybe it is but it depends on how you go about it, but right now I don’t care. I just want to write and I want to see worlds flow from my fingers.

I want to se characters fall and fall, and maybe rise, and I want to see stories move along at a steady, unbroken pace. I want to see things end where they start and start where they end, and I want transformation to be more subtle, if there is indeed any transformation at all. I want to see the smell of the Australian coast rise up along cliff faces, and touch the nostrils of those walking along as they say goodbye to it without realising, and return to that moistened salty stone smell, and are reminded of home.

But of course what is actually returning is something different, and something reflective, though perhaps not in the moment. But everything changes over time, and when we’re caught in it, we may not realise, especially if we ourselves remain resistant to it and fight it at every juncture.

Don’t get me wrong; some change is definitely worth fighting, such as the rise of conservatism. It’s positive change that we shouldn’t resist.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 08:30:50

This kind of went somewhere. Kind of.

Written at work.

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Yasunori Nishiki: The Coastlands

One listen.

Started this yesterday, had to stop, was going to restart, didn’t, and now I’ve done it, so it’s more like one-and-a-bit listens, but you know.

This one I’m uncertain on. I think the writing is okay, but I’m not sure if I captured the song well enough. I feel as though I could’ve gone on a very different oath and done a great job, but this sits in an uncertain space for me.

Yasunori Nishiki’s (西木 康智) “The Coastlands” (“コーストランド地方”) is from Octopath Traveler‘s soundtrack, Octopath Traveler Original Soundtrack.

I hope you enjoy.

A bit of a lowering step in the strings and they soon find a breathing pace that works for them. Light and fun in them as woodwind drifts along with them. It’s all fancy and merry and playful, and the sounds move along in a sense of energised calm.

A little pause of sorts that references a little earlier, then the sounds continue on before they shift and the strings rise up. Percussive shimmers mark moments as the sounds continue on with their light journey, and all floats and glides until a few steps that lead to the start.

A breeze in the sounds hints at what’s close and what’s far, and the sounds spread with folds and layering as though breezy silk, and they mark the shape and contours of the land. The strings rise once more, sweeping and dramatic, and once more they float and glide into those few steps. Soon the sounds fade away and the song ends.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1432: Catching up on a backlog

Soon I will be caught up on one thing that has taken me about a year to catch up on, though it may have been longer, now that I think about it. But anyway, soon I will be caught up on one thing, and then once I’m done with that I’ll be catching up on roughly three-and-a-half years of comments. Replying to them all, except for some form one person that I’m not going to go through the process of approving.

Comments are a great way of engaging with an audience, and fair. I get that. But I’ve got to be honest: there was a period here where there was this one person who was just commenting on absolutely everything in a way that made me really uncomfortable, and then I let things get away from me. But now I need to prepare to catch up on all of those words that people have written, and I’ll get there, but it will take some time. But I’ve some time off soon, so that will help.

I should spend the time relaxing, but I probably won’t. After the first couple of days I’ll get restless and then it will be back on. Will be back to powering through everything, and hopefully I will actually get some stuff done. Hopefully. It always depends.

Really, what is coming up will be an interesting exercise in business and work, and working on reducing business, and planning and all those things. Next year is going to be an interesting year, and this year has been also. It has been a time and it keeps on being a time, and I don’t foresee that stopping any time soon. What I hope, however, is that the life part of life calms down a bit, and things get a little more boring, and I can get on with the getting on, but I need to get this place up to date before that can happen.

Now sure, perhaps I should’ve just stayed on top of everything as it was happening. That would be a fair thing to suggest. However, see above about discomfort. You don’t know when that stuff is gonna stop, and it took a while to stop… or at least, that’s how I remember it.

So… yeah. I don’t really know if there’s meant to be anything in what I’m saying here. I just kind of wanted to give an update on two things without mentioning one of them for no real reason. Beyond that… yeah. Got nothing. Meant to be working on a review that gets longer and longer, and I need to cut it down but I’ll be doing that after I’m done here, and hopefully I’m done here within an hour. But everything takes time and time is continuing to be taken, but it’s all okay. It could be worse, but I’ll get there. Always do, except for when I don’t, but we’ll see this time.

And now I’ve nothing else to say.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:30:29

Not great. One of those struggle writes, but I got there in the end.
I think this would’ve been better just as a general post.

Written at home.

 

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Nobuo Uematsu: The Mines of Narshe

One listen.

This is a song I’m quite familiar with, and my comfort in that familiarity may have hampered the writing a bit as instead of switching off, I wrote what I already thought, mainly.

There are some parts of sentences that are a bit less things I’ve thought about, but overall… it does give a strong idea of the song and how it’s used, but this could’ve been more.

Nobuo Uematsu’s (植松 伸夫) “The Mines of Narshe” (“炭坑都市ナルシェ”) is from Final Fantasy VI: Original Sound Version (also known as Final Fantasy VI Original Soundtrack), the soundtrack for Final Fantasy VI.

I hope you enjoy.

Strings and strings stir, lowly rising, revealing a fragility. Bass and percussion come in as the strings waft, and the sounds move through that fragility, but they also move through tension. They move through a deep heaviness, and a cold.

Keys flicker in but keep their space, and soon something akin to woodwind comes in, rises up, calls out, seems to cry out, before lowering and fading away.

The sounds loop and the air is thick, and that piano dances on a wire once more. The woodwind cries out once more, and pressure pushes on in this downbeat space, and it continues all on, uncertain if it will reach a breaking point, and the sounds fade as the song ends.

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Holding Upright

I cannot remember the name of the band this person is in.
I think this is a pretty good photo. Would be better if the guitar’s head was in the frame entirely, but I think at least the shape of the person and their guitar is interesting. Seems almost like a sculpture.

I hope you enjoy.

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Cube Cubed

The artwork is actually called Shadows of Perception and is from artist Faith Semiz.
This was seen at this year’s Sculpture by the Sea.

I hope you enjoy.

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Building Clouds

This is a test photo I took after getting my camera back from servicing. I think it turned out pretty well. Nice bit of reflection, everything is pretty crisp, and no dust from what I can see.

So this is also a reflection photo, though that goes without saying, and aesthetically it fits that mould, but I think that with stuff like this it’s good to think about the contrast between the urban reflecting the natural.

This is my submission into Leanne Cole‘s Monochrome Madness for this week. For this one Brian of bushboys world has chosen a theme, and the theme is “Clouds”.

Participating is pretty straightforward and something I recommend. If you do, then include the tag “monochrome-madness” in your post. If not participating, then at the least check out Leanne’s photography as well as what other people submit.

I hope you enjoy.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1431: Ewe and the Mysterious Man

Morning. It’s morning. Need to think of something to churn out . Need to think of what Ewe would want to read.

Actually, I don’t, but maybe I will. That’s a good idea. Okay, let’s see.

Alright, so there was this one time where there was this person… let’s call them Ewe… and Ewe wanted to do a backflip. However, in order to do such a bold and audacious move, he was required to go on a long and lengthy journey that was equal parts long and lengthy. And this is something that he didn’t feel much up to the task of doing.

You see, the thing with Ewe is that he was, on some days, a mighty ox, and on others, a mewing kitten. On this particular day he was just cutting down trees with his bare hands in order to go internal in order to find the cure for what ails ya. But even with all those trees felled, a grand emptiness spread through him like a grand emptiness in an open space. There was a lack of fulfillment, and thus he knew not what it was that could be done about the whole thing.

Barring finding the unmighty shoat, or the lackadaisical bonito, there was little that would point in a direction that would allow Ewe to fulfill his sudden desire of filling this grand emptiness. He knew that the backflip desire was a ruse and not something that would make him feel satisfaction, other than through the process of using his sheer force of will to rotate in the air, and that can be satisfying for a moment or two. But it was an idea that had to be abandoned. He would revisit it at another juncture.

So the first thing Ewe did was go about replanting all the trees that he felled, and in doing so he saw a mysterious man standing by a door, wearing a peculiar hat. The trees grew back to their original state, and then some, but Ewe did not care, for this man was mysterious, and he was standing next to a door.

Ewe looked at the man, and when the man was looking back Ewe nodded twice, shook his head once, nodded three more times, grimaced for a brief moment, then breathed heavily enough, yet as silent as the Blue Mountains valleys are ancient, then nodded once more. The mysterious man nodded in response, then opened the door.

At this point in time Ewe knew what he had to do if he wanted to further did into the inside of himself. He knew that the answers, and perhaps the fulfillment lay beyond. However, instead of walking through he turned around. He rejected the possibility, because he knew that it shouldn’t be that easy.

In that rejection, the mysterious man and the door began to explode into a thousand shards, and a fine, fibrous paste.

It was over. Ewe had passed the test, but perhaps it was the first of many.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 08:02:63

I don’t know why I wrote this, but I can confirm that part of this references something Ewe said once, and I’ve referenced it in other bits of writing before, but it’s also here, so… yeah.

Written at work.

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