Saturday, December 1, 2007
PhotoHunt: Red
I've done the last few PhotoHunt challenges paired with an opposite. Since today's is red I looked up what the opposite of red was, and came across several sources that told me it was either green, blue or the combination of both, cyan. Somewhere I can across a reference that white is considered to be an opposite to red at chinese weddings. Anyway, none of that inspired to go out and take a picture for the opposite pairing so it's not going to happen today.
RED
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wannabe chef requires new space:
Right now I am cooking. I have a green curry on the go and my laptop in the kitchen with me, pumping out my favourite grooves while I keep half an eye on dinner-to-be. There's a beer within reach at all times and I should be in my element.
However, I hate my kitchen. With a passion. In a few weeks it will not be mine any more and somebody else's headache of no space and terrible seventies-print tiling (not to mention the curtains). Somebody else can deal with the fact that it isn't much bigger than a toilet cubicle. Hopefully that somebody else will also live with two other people and know that if you want this kitchen to be clean, you're going to have to wash up three times daily. I can't wait to get another. The problem here is that I will be utterly kitchenless for I have no idea how long. I'll be camping, travelling and staying in other people's houses until I decide to settle down somewhere again.
In the meantime, I can dream.
What does my ideal kitchen contain?
Stainless steel. Plenty of it. Appliances, splashbacks, the rangehood. You name it. That stuff is sexier than an freshly vacuumed onion display. If I could move the prep area from the veggie shop into my new kitchen and kit it out, I would.
Knives. Not just pokey little housewifey knives. I want the big fuckoff knives that feel like you're holding something real and effective to chop with. On a magnetic strip, with a steel hanging next to them because using a freshly sharpened knife is even more exciting than the sight of stainless steel. Or the removal of onion skins.
An island. I want to look up and have a view when I'm in the kitchen, possibly have some friends around that I can chat to while I'm making dinner rather than alienate them in the loungeroom while I disappear and do my stuff. I also think that you appreciate a meal so much more when you're involved in it in some way, whether it is helping, or just watching. That's so much better than just having a plate slapped in front of you.
A kitchen garden. This isn't necessarily in the kitchen, but I'd like to be able to see it from the kitchen, and have easy access to it. In the house before this one, I had a grape vine and a fig tree right outside the window. I watched the fruit mature through seeing it daily as I made my morning coffee, talking to the figs - hell, buddy you're getting bigger. Keep it up - and marvelling in the greenness of it all. My garden will have fresh herbs, garlic and a bunch of vegetables. The corn I grow won't even make it in the door, and neither will half the beans or snow peas - so maybe the outdoor garden can be classed as a kitchen in itself...
I think that's about it. The rest is just icing.
So what do you need for an ideal kitchen?
However, I hate my kitchen. With a passion. In a few weeks it will not be mine any more and somebody else's headache of no space and terrible seventies-print tiling (not to mention the curtains). Somebody else can deal with the fact that it isn't much bigger than a toilet cubicle. Hopefully that somebody else will also live with two other people and know that if you want this kitchen to be clean, you're going to have to wash up three times daily. I can't wait to get another. The problem here is that I will be utterly kitchenless for I have no idea how long. I'll be camping, travelling and staying in other people's houses until I decide to settle down somewhere again.
In the meantime, I can dream.
What does my ideal kitchen contain?
Stainless steel. Plenty of it. Appliances, splashbacks, the rangehood. You name it. That stuff is sexier than an freshly vacuumed onion display. If I could move the prep area from the veggie shop into my new kitchen and kit it out, I would.
Knives. Not just pokey little housewifey knives. I want the big fuckoff knives that feel like you're holding something real and effective to chop with. On a magnetic strip, with a steel hanging next to them because using a freshly sharpened knife is even more exciting than the sight of stainless steel. Or the removal of onion skins.
An island. I want to look up and have a view when I'm in the kitchen, possibly have some friends around that I can chat to while I'm making dinner rather than alienate them in the loungeroom while I disappear and do my stuff. I also think that you appreciate a meal so much more when you're involved in it in some way, whether it is helping, or just watching. That's so much better than just having a plate slapped in front of you.
A kitchen garden. This isn't necessarily in the kitchen, but I'd like to be able to see it from the kitchen, and have easy access to it. In the house before this one, I had a grape vine and a fig tree right outside the window. I watched the fruit mature through seeing it daily as I made my morning coffee, talking to the figs - hell, buddy you're getting bigger. Keep it up - and marvelling in the greenness of it all. My garden will have fresh herbs, garlic and a bunch of vegetables. The corn I grow won't even make it in the door, and neither will half the beans or snow peas - so maybe the outdoor garden can be classed as a kitchen in itself...
I think that's about it. The rest is just icing.
So what do you need for an ideal kitchen?
Thursday, November 29, 2007
McDirtiness
Take one look at the sign and you just know it's going to be all wrong inside.
One: It's red.
Two: It has no nuts. It isn't a bull, it's a steer.
Come humour me. Let's take a tour.
This was once the Club Hotel. It used to be populated by dirty, grumpy old men who spent all day betting on the horses and stared at you when you walked in the door, as if this was their loungeroom and you were invading it. Every table would have scrunched up TAB tickets on it and an ashtray with one butt in it. I remember the lady who ran it then. No wonder these guys felt like they were at home - she was a crotchety old coot just like them. I used to sell her crumbed cutlets once a week when I worked at the butchery. In three years of seeing her regularly I did not once see her smile.
It moved up in the world, breifly, when another publican took over. There was enough space in the back room to squeeze a band in between the pool tables and have about fifteen people on the dancefloor. I played there a few times. Nothing spectacular - in fact the only thing I really recall about it was that the carpark was the home of a family of Potholes From Hell that loomed up in the headlights like bottomless pits.
And then it was closed. No more. It was bought out by somebody who, like every other bastard these days, decided it was a brilliant idea to buy an old pub, rip the guts out and make it into something that is trying to be trendy. Instead of a counter lunch for seven bucks, you get cuisine from a top chef and pay twenty-three dollars for a couple of stalks on a plate.
Gut it they did. The entire pub, bar the front wall, got knocked down. The front wall had to stay because it was heritage listed. Not the entire thing. That cracks me up no end. Only the front wall was heritage listed. The rest of it, after rebuilding, is a travesty of trying to be sauve and modern that ends up in flat concrete walls creating a sound box that is deafening if you get more than five people talking at once.
On entry, you're funneled straight into the line-up at the bar. I've fought my way through it many times. The drink of choice here tends to be Smirnoff Double Black (premixed double shot vodka) or Pulse (energy drink laced with vodka). That says it all. These things go down like lollywater and it gets very messy very quickly. Especially when you dump a busload of barely legal twits from one of the uni colleges into the fray.
There's a jukebox. No DJ. Just a jukebox that goes on autoplay and a dancefloor the size of a shoebox. Everybody crams onto it and attempts to fight for their space. Mostly, I groove on the edge of it, or just give up and groove outside in the smoker's pen. Why do I go here? Sadly, there's only three places in town with late licences. One is usually dead, the other is a little too redneck for my safe comfort levels. So it's this one.
But let's move on with the tour to the final destination.
The toilets.
If you're a bloke you have the profound pleasure of pissing on a red bull (ahem, steer). In a brilliant design concept, they've replaced the normal stainless steel trough with a painted bull (steer) on the wall faced over with perspex. (Yes, I have been in there myself). What happens when it's wet? The water turns it into a mirror.
Now, if you're female... Well. You might be one of those idiots that decides to leave an empty Pulse can in the toilet bowl. Oh gee. That's a good place to put it. You might be one of those drunken young twits being held up by her friend while you vomit because those half dozen Pulse cans you've had in the last hour because some guy who wants to lay you is shoving them down your throat, those drinks have sent you past active and hyperactive and into hypervomitrous. You might be like me and just be hoping to get in and out of there as quickly as you can, trying to keep your pants out of whatever liquid happens to splashed about the place while you're at it.
Or, you might be there because some local lesbian slut is intending to fuck you.
McDirtiness.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Dress Shop Hell
I drive past a formal wear shop every day. They change the dresses in their display weekly, so I'm always checking out what's on display. Not for me, mostly. But because I'd like to imagine somebody else in those dresses. I broke the "not for me" ruling a few days ago.
Gayman and I, armed with a camera and a lie, walked into the most unfamiliar territory I have ever been in. There was fluff. There were sequins and shiny things. There were pointy pointy shoes and my mind was screaming to run for shelter. But I had a project.
Hi, I've got a formal dinner dancey thing to go to in January. So what we thought that I'd try on a few different things, and take some photos so we can go home and show the options to my partner.
So do you want a cocktail dress or a gown?
I dunno?
She looks at me in my jeans and t-shirt with bare feet, looks up and down and says:
Well a cocktail dress would probably reach your toes anyway.
It ends up that Gayman runs a few dresses in to me, taking a few sneaky little shots in the changeroom*.
Try this.
And this.
Until I decided that no, I was not cut out for this at all.
*Apologies for the poor quality, but I was not parading in public for a decent shot.
Oh, and the dark blue thing? It's the skirt part of something with a waistcoaty bit. It just reaches up to my neck anyway.
Gayman and I, armed with a camera and a lie, walked into the most unfamiliar territory I have ever been in. There was fluff. There were sequins and shiny things. There were pointy pointy shoes and my mind was screaming to run for shelter. But I had a project.
Hi, I've got a formal dinner dancey thing to go to in January. So what we thought that I'd try on a few different things, and take some photos so we can go home and show the options to my partner.
So do you want a cocktail dress or a gown?
I dunno?
She looks at me in my jeans and t-shirt with bare feet, looks up and down and says:
Well a cocktail dress would probably reach your toes anyway.
It ends up that Gayman runs a few dresses in to me, taking a few sneaky little shots in the changeroom*.
Try this.
And this.
Until I decided that no, I was not cut out for this at all.
*Apologies for the poor quality, but I was not parading in public for a decent shot.
Oh, and the dark blue thing? It's the skirt part of something with a waistcoaty bit. It just reaches up to my neck anyway.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Challenge and Intrigue
"Take a picture of something you find intrigueing and write about why."
I put a challenge on the table, and then I was stuffed. I can't make a challenge without doing it myself - that would be a little unfair.
I found myself asking people I knew for help. Define intrigueing? What would you find intriguing? I googled it, possibly in a vain hope that the age of too much freely available useless information might be able to assist me. Instead I went onto a run of useless linking and wasted an hour of possible photo hunting time. The day was wasting.
There's plenty of things I find interesting or visually appealing enough to capture as a photograph. I find patterns in industry appealing. I find patterns in nature appealing. Look through my backlog of shots and you'll find a shitload of trees. In particular dead trees. And telegraph poles. I've just lately started to realise that unless you're a botanist, trees are cool for a few shots and then you're over it. I need a record of my people, as well as my places. This is what I find intrigueing lately. Faces, detail, personality.
A funny thing happens when you point a camera at a person. They try to hide. Or pose, if they're extroverted. Or be a dickhead, if they are somebody like me who is too lazy to hide. I've lost count of how many shots there are with me giving the finger. I've started trying to find the people, but not always the smiling for the camera people. I want the bored person, the pensive person, the captivated person and the contented person. The flash of a genuine smile. The reality.
These are my friends, people I can drag along on random trips to nowhere because I have a car and they don't. Come on. We're going somewhere. Where? Dunno. People who are happy to hop on into the car and waste an afternoon with no set destination. Who will find something amusing no matter what. These are my people. Real people.
The Monday Melee
And here we have yet another Monday Melee. Where the hell did last week go?
1. The Misanthtropic: Name something you absolutely hate.
There's a few people in this town who I have just snapped with. When I snap it means that's it. Come near me and it is wordless anger. I will speak if spoken to, but I won't say a word otherwise. There's a few reasons for this, the first and foremost being that I have far better things to waste my time on that take precedence over me talking to them. It also betrays my anger. More than likely I won't unleash the torrent of abuse I'd love to direct at these people - I will be nice and therefore betray my actual feelings. I hate the anger.
2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
Just plain bogus is the iTunes random selection. Some days it is brilliant, intuitive. I can throw on the music while I'm cooking and have just the right music, song after song. Here's the bogus bit: some days it is utter crap, and gravitates to the same utter crap. No, I am not in the mood for Steve Reich. Skip. Dammit, there's another. Skip. Ligeti. Skip. John Adams. Not while I'm chopping vegetables. Bogus.
3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
I want to see more art. I'm sick of the stupid Rhinocerous at the art gallery and the mouldy doughnut bridge gives me the shits. Bring it on. I can't wait to move - I've got my eyes open.
4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit for something and name it if you can.
The Hugnry Espressohead and Gayman for accompanying me on a photography mission that dragged them past snakes, spiders and through muddy paddocks in search of oddities and new perspectives. It was a hell of a trek but they seemed happy to come along.
5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I am anal retentive when it comes to packing boxes. Why is this good? My life will be packed away, categorised and neat and stored within the smallest amount of space possible, ready to be accessed when I next need to access it.
6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
To be gagged and blindfolded, tied to the bedhead by my wrists....
1. The Misanthtropic: Name something you absolutely hate.
There's a few people in this town who I have just snapped with. When I snap it means that's it. Come near me and it is wordless anger. I will speak if spoken to, but I won't say a word otherwise. There's a few reasons for this, the first and foremost being that I have far better things to waste my time on that take precedence over me talking to them. It also betrays my anger. More than likely I won't unleash the torrent of abuse I'd love to direct at these people - I will be nice and therefore betray my actual feelings. I hate the anger.
2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
Just plain bogus is the iTunes random selection. Some days it is brilliant, intuitive. I can throw on the music while I'm cooking and have just the right music, song after song. Here's the bogus bit: some days it is utter crap, and gravitates to the same utter crap. No, I am not in the mood for Steve Reich. Skip. Dammit, there's another. Skip. Ligeti. Skip. John Adams. Not while I'm chopping vegetables. Bogus.
3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
I want to see more art. I'm sick of the stupid Rhinocerous at the art gallery and the mouldy doughnut bridge gives me the shits. Bring it on. I can't wait to move - I've got my eyes open.
4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit for something and name it if you can.
The Hugnry Espressohead and Gayman for accompanying me on a photography mission that dragged them past snakes, spiders and through muddy paddocks in search of oddities and new perspectives. It was a hell of a trek but they seemed happy to come along.
5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I am anal retentive when it comes to packing boxes. Why is this good? My life will be packed away, categorised and neat and stored within the smallest amount of space possible, ready to be accessed when I next need to access it.
6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
To be gagged and blindfolded, tied to the bedhead by my wrists....
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Photohunt: Hot
It's my third PhotoHunt and I'm already starting to fall behind. I was supposed to do this yesterday, however stuff got in the way and suddenly it was Saturday night - time for drinking with friends.
Hot
This is sugar cane fire. Soon to be outlawed, they've been a feature of the area I grew up in all my life. During the harvest, the farmers burn off the plots of cane the night before harvest in order to get rid of all the rubbishy bits and just leave the cane stalks. They go up in huge flaming, crackling, roaring raw beauty.
NOT Hot
This is from my home, December 21st last year. Four days before Christmas. The problem here is that this is Australia. It is supposed to be summer and stinking hot. This picture is the aftermath of a hailstorm that stripped every tree and decimated the entire east side of my home town. The ice covered the ground for days, and the cold in my house was worse than winter due to the fact that I had no roof in one section.
This is sugar cane fire. Soon to be outlawed, they've been a feature of the area I grew up in all my life. During the harvest, the farmers burn off the plots of cane the night before harvest in order to get rid of all the rubbishy bits and just leave the cane stalks. They go up in huge flaming, crackling, roaring raw beauty.
This is from my home, December 21st last year. Four days before Christmas. The problem here is that this is Australia. It is supposed to be summer and stinking hot. This picture is the aftermath of a hailstorm that stripped every tree and decimated the entire east side of my home town. The ice covered the ground for days, and the cold in my house was worse than winter due to the fact that I had no roof in one section.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Give thanks?
"Only a few breeding companies now supply most turkeys reared worldwide - British United Turkeys, Nicholas and Hybrid Turkeys. Reproduction in today’s turkey industry is by artificial insemination (AI). The modern turkey, like the broiler chicken, has been genetically selected to put on weight twice as fast as its counterpart in the wild. Now, male turkeys are too broad-breasted to mate naturally. In the wild, the turkey can fly up to speeds of 50mph, yet the modern male farmed variety cannot fly. Breeding turkeys can weigh as much as an 8-9 year old child."
So, male turkeys can't do the deed any more. The demand for big meat-laden turkeys has caused the ability to reproduce to be bred out of the bird by humans. Their chests are so big that they cannot mount the female. So how do they do it?
2-3 times a week the male turkey, the tom, is milked for his semen. This is done by a human worker who basically masturbates the bird and then sucks the cum into a syringe with a vacuum pump. After that the hens have to be inseminated at the rate of one hen every 12 seconds - making for fast, rough handling. This happens once a week for more than a year. Here's a description from a worker:
"Once you have grabbed her with one hand, you flop her down chest first on the edge of the pit with the tail end sticking up. You put your free hand over the vent and tail and pull the rump feathers upward. At the same time, you pull the hand holding the feet downward, thus 'breaking' the hen so that her rear is straight up and her vent open. The inseminator sticks his thumb right under the vent and pushes, which opens it further until the oviduct is exposed. Into this, he inserts a straw of semen connected to the end of a tube from an air compressor and pulls a trigger, releasing a shot of compressed air that blows the semen solution from the straw and into the hen's oviduct. Then you let go of the hen and she flops away."
We humans are fucked up. Our demand for the product allows us to forget the process and its impact.
The only thanks I will say is No, thanks.
So, male turkeys can't do the deed any more. The demand for big meat-laden turkeys has caused the ability to reproduce to be bred out of the bird by humans. Their chests are so big that they cannot mount the female. So how do they do it?
2-3 times a week the male turkey, the tom, is milked for his semen. This is done by a human worker who basically masturbates the bird and then sucks the cum into a syringe with a vacuum pump. After that the hens have to be inseminated at the rate of one hen every 12 seconds - making for fast, rough handling. This happens once a week for more than a year. Here's a description from a worker:
"Once you have grabbed her with one hand, you flop her down chest first on the edge of the pit with the tail end sticking up. You put your free hand over the vent and tail and pull the rump feathers upward. At the same time, you pull the hand holding the feet downward, thus 'breaking' the hen so that her rear is straight up and her vent open. The inseminator sticks his thumb right under the vent and pushes, which opens it further until the oviduct is exposed. Into this, he inserts a straw of semen connected to the end of a tube from an air compressor and pulls a trigger, releasing a shot of compressed air that blows the semen solution from the straw and into the hen's oviduct. Then you let go of the hen and she flops away."
We humans are fucked up. Our demand for the product allows us to forget the process and its impact.
The only thanks I will say is No, thanks.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
I will be okay.
Last night I ate Gayman's dinner.
I ate chocolate, too.
Gayman cooked me more dinner.
I munched my way through the last of a bag of corn chips.
I was still hungry.
Not good. Notgoodnotgoodnotgood.
Today I feel sick to the stomach.
My breath catches in my chest before I get it.
Stop. Breathe out, try again.
I look at my hands as I am working and they are pale and shaking.
Dammit.
Not good.
The image that occurs in stress situations lately - the knife in the side of my throat - is becoming more clear, more defined. What was once hazy flashes is gaining solidarity.
At least it is better than the one in the chest you used to have, Vic.
I say goodbye to some of my most favourite students today. I should be excited about moving on... but I am so scared about facing this today that I want to curl up in a mound of bedding and cry myself back to sleep. I want to be held, more than anything.
I ate chocolate, too.
Gayman cooked me more dinner.
I munched my way through the last of a bag of corn chips.
I was still hungry.
Not good. Notgoodnotgoodnotgood.
Today I feel sick to the stomach.
My breath catches in my chest before I get it.
Stop. Breathe out, try again.
I look at my hands as I am working and they are pale and shaking.
Dammit.
Not good.
The image that occurs in stress situations lately - the knife in the side of my throat - is becoming more clear, more defined. What was once hazy flashes is gaining solidarity.
At least it is better than the one in the chest you used to have, Vic.
I say goodbye to some of my most favourite students today. I should be excited about moving on... but I am so scared about facing this today that I want to curl up in a mound of bedding and cry myself back to sleep. I want to be held, more than anything.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Exhaustion: It's only Tuesday
Signs that Vic is nearly asleep:
Head on an angle, only to the right. My head never droops to the left when I’m exhausted.
Eyes half closed, but more on the right also.
When I attempt to smile, the right side is more responsive than the rest.
When I stand up, I appear to be more drunk than I was on Saturday night.
Three hours to go in a fourteen hour day. That means six more students and possibly three caffiene hits. If anybody can make sense out of me after that it will be a miracle.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Standing on the edge
Yesterday I stood on the edge of a rock at the beach and looked down past my toes to the waves below me. I looked down, past the still painted toenails that are a sadly fading physical reminder to me of the new world I seem to have landed in, that I have embraced and never want to let go. I looked down past those toes into the waves that swirled and crashed below.
Over the past few weeks I have known happiness, anger, sadness, excitement and uncertainty all contributing to - and also being a product of - my decision to leave the town I have spent the last eleven years in. This is the town I came to boarding school for and never left. Fear has been the most prominent emotion in the mixture inside my mind. I'm scared that once I leave the saftey net of Armidale that I will not be able to make it. I am my own worst enemy when it comes to self-confidence. Don't bother cutting me down, I already did that on my own, thankyou.
Then I spend my entire weekend in bliss. I meet new people who I like, I see new friends who are family and I see love that will only grow. I look down at those waves beneath my toes and I think bring it on! Bring on this world. I want to feel alive again. Go ahead! Crash against the rocks, splash me and wake me up even more to this place.
Bring on the world. I got the girl. She's there, watching me as I challenge the waves, and as I turn to her I'm smiling. I've got my eyes open, I've got nothing to lose and everything to see.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
PhotoHunt: I love __________
This week's PhotoHunt gets personal with something I love and determine to be necessary part of me, as well as my AntiPhotoHunt twist - the opposite.
I LOVE _______
I love water, and lots of it.
I DO NOT LOVE ________
This one need not make sense to anybody but me. Boxes and arses should never mix.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Quote of the Day
Gayman, offering to wheel a menstrual cramping whingeing Vic around the supermarket in a shopping trolley while we grabbed a few things:
Honey, if it buckles and makes a funny noise, hop out because you're a fat cunt.
Honey, if it buckles and makes a funny noise, hop out because you're a fat cunt.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Fuck your dress code
A woman came into the fruit shop I work in this morning. She's a regular customer, but I've always viewed her as a bit of a social weirdo. She has difficulty speaking, and always appears taken aback when I ask her how she is.
Today I was wearing something different to the unnoficial uniform of black collared polo shirt. This woman, normally quiet, decided to point out that she liked my blouse. I thanked her, but it started me thinking - why? This is probably an innocent comment from a socially awkward lady, but I have known others in the past who consciously try to nurture me into dressing in a more feminine way. They tell me things like hey you look good like that and you should dress that way more often. I go out in something vaguely feminine and suddenly it's a trait in me that has to be nurtured, like there's a glimmer of hope for my poor poor misguided soul.
Why? Why should I dress that way more often? I don't like to. It is very rare that I will dress in a feminine way and like it. Sometimes I will, for something special - as much as somebody might keep that tuxedo in the back of the cupboard and pull it out every now and then, for something special. I put on jeans and a collared shirt and to me, I look like Vic. I'm comfortable. I am not a being who has strayed of the path and needs to be retrieved. Expressing masculinity is not a bad thing. It is not an error in my ways. It is simply the best way for me to feel comfortable as Vic. It seems that because I possess the bits that define me as female I'm expected to behave within some socially defined set of parameters for that gender.
I am not a rescue case from the "dark side" of masculinity.
I have fought so fucking hard to accept myself and allow myself to express who I am externally. I've fought through all those layers of social expectation that have been woven into my life since birth.
I don't to fight any longer, I just want to be me.
Today I was wearing something different to the unnoficial uniform of black collared polo shirt. This woman, normally quiet, decided to point out that she liked my blouse. I thanked her, but it started me thinking - why? This is probably an innocent comment from a socially awkward lady, but I have known others in the past who consciously try to nurture me into dressing in a more feminine way. They tell me things like hey you look good like that and you should dress that way more often. I go out in something vaguely feminine and suddenly it's a trait in me that has to be nurtured, like there's a glimmer of hope for my poor poor misguided soul.
Why? Why should I dress that way more often? I don't like to. It is very rare that I will dress in a feminine way and like it. Sometimes I will, for something special - as much as somebody might keep that tuxedo in the back of the cupboard and pull it out every now and then, for something special. I put on jeans and a collared shirt and to me, I look like Vic. I'm comfortable. I am not a being who has strayed of the path and needs to be retrieved. Expressing masculinity is not a bad thing. It is not an error in my ways. It is simply the best way for me to feel comfortable as Vic. It seems that because I possess the bits that define me as female I'm expected to behave within some socially defined set of parameters for that gender.
I am not a rescue case from the "dark side" of masculinity.
I have fought so fucking hard to accept myself and allow myself to express who I am externally. I've fought through all those layers of social expectation that have been woven into my life since birth.
I don't to fight any longer, I just want to be me.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Raised eyebrow moments.
I take fruit to work when I teach at the private boys' boarding school. I'm there three days a week, so usually I've got some sort of goodness from my morning vege shop job stashed away in the staffroom fridge. Whatever I see that is appetising while stocking the shelves of a morning, I'll grab to munch on later in the day. Not only that, but I'll offer it around to the other staff. I feel rude to be eating around the other staff and not offering any - just like I feel it is rude to just waltz in and make a coffee without offering any around.
So I waltz into the staffroom in this afternoon, and another female music teacher is sitting in there already. She's well older than me and looks a bit prudish, but looks can be decieving, right? (bear in mind that I look like a teenage boy a lot of the time). I decide I'll break the silence by reaching into the fridge, grabbing my fresh produce of the day and offering her some.
My fresh produce to day... Dates.
Wanna date? is not a good icebreaker.
Retreat!!!
So I waltz into the staffroom in this afternoon, and another female music teacher is sitting in there already. She's well older than me and looks a bit prudish, but looks can be decieving, right? (bear in mind that I look like a teenage boy a lot of the time). I decide I'll break the silence by reaching into the fridge, grabbing my fresh produce of the day and offering her some.
My fresh produce to day... Dates.
Wanna date? is not a good icebreaker.
Retreat!!!
Monday, November 12, 2007
The Monday Melee
Ho hum.
Today the return of the weekly Monday Melee signifies that I am one week closer to blowing out of this arsehole town. Celebration is in order!
1. The Misanthropic: Name something you absolutely hate.
Christmas Carols. The brass band I'm with plays them as part of the Christmas cheer fundraising efforts. Just before Christmas I think it is a fantastic thing - the band actually does a "pub crawl" where we trek around to all the different local pubs and play carols on a Friday night. But that's just before Christmas. The band had to play carols at a fete on the weekend just gone. Yuck. That slots in with all the falseties and commercialism that goes with Christmas and annoys the absolute hell out of me.
2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
Why is it that kids are afraid to admit that they don't understand a concept to me during a lesson? In a`one on one situation they feel the need to fake it and answser me yes when I ask do you get it? and consequently have to fake it week after week until I find the source of the problem? What the hell is happening in the school system that these kids feel they can't speak up and ask for help as it happens?
3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
The speakers in my car are absolute crap. Since I have a tendency to groove out and sing at the top of my lungs while driving, I need a backing track at such a volume as to support (aka drown out) my vocal style. As soon as I push for a little volume, I get distortion.
4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit and name it if you can.
Honourary housemate IcePick for lifting my solid little form into the air every time he sees me. He seems so happy to see me that it just cause me to grin stupidly back at him.
5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I love to prepare a good meal and present it well, even if it is just for me. When I can be arsed to do it!
6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
The package of online shopping goodness I ordered to just hurry up and arrive, so that I can stop stressing that the little ADHD shit from next door is stealing the mail again.
Today the return of the weekly Monday Melee signifies that I am one week closer to blowing out of this arsehole town. Celebration is in order!
1. The Misanthropic: Name something you absolutely hate.
Christmas Carols. The brass band I'm with plays them as part of the Christmas cheer fundraising efforts. Just before Christmas I think it is a fantastic thing - the band actually does a "pub crawl" where we trek around to all the different local pubs and play carols on a Friday night. But that's just before Christmas. The band had to play carols at a fete on the weekend just gone. Yuck. That slots in with all the falseties and commercialism that goes with Christmas and annoys the absolute hell out of me.
2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
Why is it that kids are afraid to admit that they don't understand a concept to me during a lesson? In a`one on one situation they feel the need to fake it and answser me yes when I ask do you get it? and consequently have to fake it week after week until I find the source of the problem? What the hell is happening in the school system that these kids feel they can't speak up and ask for help as it happens?
3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
The speakers in my car are absolute crap. Since I have a tendency to groove out and sing at the top of my lungs while driving, I need a backing track at such a volume as to support (aka drown out) my vocal style. As soon as I push for a little volume, I get distortion.
4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit and name it if you can.
Honourary housemate IcePick for lifting my solid little form into the air every time he sees me. He seems so happy to see me that it just cause me to grin stupidly back at him.
5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I love to prepare a good meal and present it well, even if it is just for me. When I can be arsed to do it!
6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
The package of online shopping goodness I ordered to just hurry up and arrive, so that I can stop stressing that the little ADHD shit from next door is stealing the mail again.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Top of the list:
Scout has set a challenge: List some phrases that bring your blog up as the number one on a Google search.
Tough question.
Here's what I came up with:
floordrobe mountain
pink floyd week
the world should just fuck off
a crocodile ate my baby
you are the groover (Thanks Dive)
What Is Happening In My Roof?
And there endeth the experiment.
Tough question.
Here's what I came up with:
floordrobe mountain
pink floyd week
the world should just fuck off
a crocodile ate my baby
you are the groover (Thanks Dive)
What Is Happening In My Roof?
And there endeth the experiment.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
PhotoHunt: Flexible
I'm new to the PhotoHunt thing. It's kind of like Kate's ABC Wednesday challenge that she does brilliantly every week - but in this one there's a new word rather than a letter each week, and you have to photograph that word.
Of course, I like to be different, so my personal challenge is to post not only the PhotoHunt picture, but an Anti-PhotoHunt picture as well.
FLEXIBLE
This is a bag of fruit snakes, stretched out and tied together. Actually there were two bags before I started the project, but a few got lost in the way...
NOT FLEXIBLE*
*Note: This is a brilliant example of "K is for Karma" for all the tall people who find it necessary to make jokes regarding my height. May your heads snap off also.
Of course, I like to be different, so my personal challenge is to post not only the PhotoHunt picture, but an Anti-PhotoHunt picture as well.
This is a bag of fruit snakes, stretched out and tied together. Actually there were two bags before I started the project, but a few got lost in the way...
*Note: This is a brilliant example of "K is for Karma" for all the tall people who find it necessary to make jokes regarding my height. May your heads snap off also.
The Special Ones
So I teach guitar. Mainly to kids. I'm teaching an exhausting amount of kids at the moment simply because there's no other teachers with vacancies in town and I can't say no. I can't bear the idea of sticking them on a waiting list for next year. But finally, I am saying no, by moving away at the end of this year. It's a tough decision, and loyalty to these students is the main reason I find it hard. Somewhere in there I've realised that I have to put my own well-being ahead of their learning progress, and I'm ready to go.
I was planning to write this post with a digression in this paragraph that I'm not actually loyal to all my students. That there are some that I really couldn't care less about. I sat here and listed them mentally, and sure I've got my favourites, but I must be in a far more positive mood today because I've found merits in them all. Even the ones who don't put effort in, I believe I just haven't cracked them yet. There's a way to influence each student positively, even if they don't keep at the instrument, and some kids... well, I just haven't found the way for them yet. It takes longer for me to figure them out, but it doesn't mean that I won't.
My favourites will be the ones I really miss. Mostly these kids are enthusiastic and dedicated. They express their personalties and feel comfortable enough around me to joke and laugh, but still get the work done. Before I leave them all I plan to write a description of each one for myself, so that I can look back and remember how much they've come to mean to me.
Today's post is inspired by a girl I taught yesterday. She is tiny. She's somewhere around the eight years old mark, but tiny for her age also. She sits there with her little red quarter size guitar and blows me away every week. She loves it so much that she comes back having done twice the amount of set work every week, but not in a half-arsed I want to get to the good stuff so I'll rush through this way. She does it all perfectly, with dedication.
Since she's so tiny, she can't touch the floor when she sits on the chair. I've experimented with a smaller chair for her, but basically she's in between chair heights and the higher one is better for her. The little smartie sits there and swings her legs for the entire lesson. What amazes me constantly is that she can swing her legs at a totally different tempo to whatever she is playing and it does not affect her at all. Seriously, she should take up the drums also. Polyrhythms would come naturally to her.
She asked me yesterday for a new "really good" peice to learn for her school talent show:
"I go in it every year - [this is only her third year at school]
- most people go in it for the lollies, but I don't like lollies. I give them away to my friends. I just go in it for the fun."
Oh hell, kiddo. You're one of those special ones that I really, really don't like losing.
I was planning to write this post with a digression in this paragraph that I'm not actually loyal to all my students. That there are some that I really couldn't care less about. I sat here and listed them mentally, and sure I've got my favourites, but I must be in a far more positive mood today because I've found merits in them all. Even the ones who don't put effort in, I believe I just haven't cracked them yet. There's a way to influence each student positively, even if they don't keep at the instrument, and some kids... well, I just haven't found the way for them yet. It takes longer for me to figure them out, but it doesn't mean that I won't.
My favourites will be the ones I really miss. Mostly these kids are enthusiastic and dedicated. They express their personalties and feel comfortable enough around me to joke and laugh, but still get the work done. Before I leave them all I plan to write a description of each one for myself, so that I can look back and remember how much they've come to mean to me.
Today's post is inspired by a girl I taught yesterday. She is tiny. She's somewhere around the eight years old mark, but tiny for her age also. She sits there with her little red quarter size guitar and blows me away every week. She loves it so much that she comes back having done twice the amount of set work every week, but not in a half-arsed I want to get to the good stuff so I'll rush through this way. She does it all perfectly, with dedication.
Since she's so tiny, she can't touch the floor when she sits on the chair. I've experimented with a smaller chair for her, but basically she's in between chair heights and the higher one is better for her. The little smartie sits there and swings her legs for the entire lesson. What amazes me constantly is that she can swing her legs at a totally different tempo to whatever she is playing and it does not affect her at all. Seriously, she should take up the drums also. Polyrhythms would come naturally to her.
She asked me yesterday for a new "really good" peice to learn for her school talent show:
"I go in it every year - [this is only her third year at school]
- most people go in it for the lollies, but I don't like lollies. I give them away to my friends. I just go in it for the fun."
Oh hell, kiddo. You're one of those special ones that I really, really don't like losing.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
On sleep deprivation
I've been living in an alternate time zone when it comes to sleeping lately. My days have extended themselves into epic length, crossing at least three different phases of reality in their running.
Gayman lives in an alternate time zone. His sleeping patterns, I believe, have some relation to the phases of the moon. He's often still awake when I get up for work in the morning, but then his phase will eventually sync with reality as we know it and he will take a "normal" bedtime. Then he will go through a phase of being awake earlier and earlier than I am.
So the alternate time zone thing seems to be rubbing off on me. I have a major problem with that, though. I have to get up for work every morning. So I gets reset at 6am daily and I never really complete the phase. My nights are getting later and later, and the wear and tear does not cause me to sleep soundly, just exhaustively.
I've been experimenting with measure to counteract the effects of this phenomena and so far I can report the following approaches that do not work.
#1 - Trying a new pillow will leave you with sore shoulders and a screaming neck. Not only for the rest of the following day. This has the potential to last a few days, causing even more stress at work and a somewhat unhealthy addiction to the chalky goodness of those chewable muscle relaxant tablets....
#2 - Getting plastered enough to pass out into an immoveable state causes the next day to be a total wipeout. Gone. Along with the contents of the stomach. Gone. Along with the contents of the half glass that was sitting on the floor before I drunkenly knocked it over. Gone. Along with the packet of cigarettes I should have rationed myself on, but damn near chain-smoked instead.
#3 - Jerking off before sleep might ensure that you are smiling when you nod off, but by no means does it ensure that you will be smiling when you wake up and realise you have to work.
#4 - Taking your laptop to bed and bathing yourself in it's soothing white light will not cure the insomnial side of the alternate time zone affliction. Undoubtedly you will get caught up in some project editing photographs or have three different philosophical conversations with people on various chat programs, or just stare at your blog blankly and think of absolutely nothing to write.
So. Any other suggestions to beat the pattern?
Gayman lives in an alternate time zone. His sleeping patterns, I believe, have some relation to the phases of the moon. He's often still awake when I get up for work in the morning, but then his phase will eventually sync with reality as we know it and he will take a "normal" bedtime. Then he will go through a phase of being awake earlier and earlier than I am.
So the alternate time zone thing seems to be rubbing off on me. I have a major problem with that, though. I have to get up for work every morning. So I gets reset at 6am daily and I never really complete the phase. My nights are getting later and later, and the wear and tear does not cause me to sleep soundly, just exhaustively.
I've been experimenting with measure to counteract the effects of this phenomena and so far I can report the following approaches that do not work.
#1 - Trying a new pillow will leave you with sore shoulders and a screaming neck. Not only for the rest of the following day. This has the potential to last a few days, causing even more stress at work and a somewhat unhealthy addiction to the chalky goodness of those chewable muscle relaxant tablets....
#2 - Getting plastered enough to pass out into an immoveable state causes the next day to be a total wipeout. Gone. Along with the contents of the stomach. Gone. Along with the contents of the half glass that was sitting on the floor before I drunkenly knocked it over. Gone. Along with the packet of cigarettes I should have rationed myself on, but damn near chain-smoked instead.
#3 - Jerking off before sleep might ensure that you are smiling when you nod off, but by no means does it ensure that you will be smiling when you wake up and realise you have to work.
#4 - Taking your laptop to bed and bathing yourself in it's soothing white light will not cure the insomnial side of the alternate time zone affliction. Undoubtedly you will get caught up in some project editing photographs or have three different philosophical conversations with people on various chat programs, or just stare at your blog blankly and think of absolutely nothing to write.
So. Any other suggestions to beat the pattern?
Monday, November 5, 2007
The Monday Melee
It's sunny and warm. The school I work at today has closed their music department for activities. I have the day off, so stuff it. I'm going to knock this Monday Melee out of the way and go take pictures of something pretty.
1. The Misanthropic: Name something you absolutely hate.
Washing. Every time I turn around the floordrobe has turned into a mountain requiring safety equipment to scale.
2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
Ant-Rid. It does not rid the ants. They've invaded the kitchen... and the loungeroom. Lone stragglers can be found winding their way across the carpet. I'm sure they're just lost. But I want them ridded. Gone. And the stuff in the bottle that says it rids... It isn't doing the job.
3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
Life would be so much easier if I was a bloke.
4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit and name it if you can.
The band I rehearsed with on Sunday for asking me to play with them. I walked into an unfamiliar situation at rehearsal and played well anyway. The gig this coming Saturday will be fun.
5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I can recognise the symptoms of a panic attack and call for help if need be.
6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
A man-style ring that fits properly.
1. The Misanthropic: Name something you absolutely hate.
Washing. Every time I turn around the floordrobe has turned into a mountain requiring safety equipment to scale.
2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
Ant-Rid. It does not rid the ants. They've invaded the kitchen... and the loungeroom. Lone stragglers can be found winding their way across the carpet. I'm sure they're just lost. But I want them ridded. Gone. And the stuff in the bottle that says it rids... It isn't doing the job.
3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
Life would be so much easier if I was a bloke.
4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit and name it if you can.
The band I rehearsed with on Sunday for asking me to play with them. I walked into an unfamiliar situation at rehearsal and played well anyway. The gig this coming Saturday will be fun.
5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I can recognise the symptoms of a panic attack and call for help if need be.
6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
A man-style ring that fits properly.
Something positive for once
My good friend Quel sings with local band Cellardoor. Even though they are the people I had my latest Bass Diva explosion over, I went along to support their EP launch last Friday night. I took a camera so that I could take photos for Quel and spent the entire set experimenting with what I could get from on chairs, down on the floor, even coughing my way through cloudy shots in the fog from the smoke machine. I had an absolute ball with it. Here's my favourites.
Before it all begins:
The lead guitarist:
Stompboxes and leads:
Other parts of the band:
A small but dedicated crowd:
Finishing up:
If you click on the above link to the band's MySpace page, all the black and whites on there at the moment are mine. Check em' out.
Before it all begins:
The lead guitarist:
Stompboxes and leads:
Other parts of the band:
A small but dedicated crowd:
Finishing up:
If you click on the above link to the band's MySpace page, all the black and whites on there at the moment are mine. Check em' out.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Suite: Return of the Angry Midget
Prelude
What do I do here? I guess I have to introduce the main characters, give a little history. Give the reader some idea of why things are.
Hmmm.
I met the Zedmeister last year. Went out with her for a while. In her I could see a gorgeous heart, a person who loved people and was down to earth. She was intelligent and not afraid to talk to anybody.
She also lived to excess and was an incredibly abusive drunk.
I woke up one morning after spending the night having this girl verbally tear me down (yet again), knowing that she would not remember it and I asked her to leave my house. Go home. That was it.
Over time she became a bit of a drinking buddy again. We could sit back, knock over a carton of beer between us and be all blokey and it was fine.
Then the Zedmeister met CruiseyDyke.
The story here gets a little hazy - I wasn't directly involved - but here's my take on it: The Zedmeister and CruiseyDyke got it on. CruiseyDyke was soon to be homeless as her girlfriend NoNeck the Scary decided that it was over, took everything and left town. Gayman and I were looking for another flatmate at the time, as we were moving and there was nothing cheap around for two. So we got Cruisey as a third.
They keep seeing each other for a while. The Zedmeister is a party animal of large proportions, and basically a slut. She cannot remain tied down for any period of time. We all know this but she seems to weave a spell that tells you she will be different. This is what happened to me. Zedmeister declared that she loved me. And stupid fucking idiot me believed it. This girl even knocked on CruiseyDyke's window one night - climbed through it - and came and slept with me.
Sure enough she was abusive again. She was loud, drinking with friends in the loungeroom. I had to work the following morning and they drank all night. I don't have too much of a problem with that, however the only voice I could hear all night was hers. So when I get up, pissed off that she has kept me awake all night rather than being considerate of the person she supposedly loves, this girl decides to tear me down over me being cranky. Slams my bedroom door in my face during the argument. Snap. No longer welcome in my presence. Not to be a guest in this house ever again.
It came to CruiseyDyke's birthday and we relaxed the No-Zedmeister ruling. Everybody else was invited to come to our house, and it would be unfair on Cruisey to deny the Zedmeister, who was still her friend.
Since then a whole bunch of sordidness has happened and the Zedmeister has crept back into Cruisey's life. I let this girl start coming around again because she and Cruisey had something going on. It turns out that not only are this pair sleeping with each other, they are each sleeping with any girl they can get their hands on. They are playing Stud Wars. My opinion of both plummets.
Well. Last weekend I go away. I have the most gorgeous brilliant time and come back completely exhausted... To find out that the remnants of some party has come back to our house and caused noise complaints to our real estate agency. That an ambulance had to be called because the girl that Cruisey intended to sleep with was vomiting uncontrollably. Our real estate serves us a final warning on eviction with regards to the noise and I know that most of that would have been the Zedmeister. She's loud and she doesn't give a shit.
Cruisey is now known as Rouge Flatmate, and I've barely spoken to her all week. When I unleash, it is bound to be cold and very angry.
Dance
Yes, this is the bit I intended to write about.
Rogue Flatmate brought the Zedmeister home at 6am this morning, after a night of partying. Tried to hide the fact by telling Zedmeister to go around the back. Nice try, guys. I've been sleeping like utter shit so I woke up the second you stepped on the gravel. By trying to hide it, the Rogue Flatmate shows me that she knows that she is doing the wrong thing.
I lie there thinking What the hell do I do? Rogue Flatmate lives here, too. Do I have a right to veto this person's presence? I thought about it for a while and came to a decision, knowing that Gayman also does not want Zedmeister to come to this house. That makes two against one.
I stuck my head out the back door and fixed a stare on this girl.
Go home.
So what do I get? Of course she's pissed. They've been up all night drinking and partying. Apparently I can't make her. I can't tell her to leave because she is in the company of the Rogue Flatmate (who incidentally does not say a word at all). We both throw drinks on each other, facing up. I am angry beyond belief and it pulses out of me in waves.
I go inside, waking Gayman up to check that he is solid on the Anti-Zedmeister ruling. Yes he is. I go back outside to let her know that tow against one she is voted off the property.
This girl proceeds to tear me down again. Some people just don't know when to quit. Here's some highlights.
You've turned into such an arse
You're just jealous because you can't have me (I laughed)
Go ahead fucking punch me I'll smash you
You're too scared to hit me because you know I'll beat the shit out of you (I think I snorted there)
You think you're so much better than us
Rogue Flatmate is inside during this exchange. I am standing there, every muscle tense and shaking. I would have killed this girl if I fought her. And she wanted that chance, but only if I threw the first punch. I am also mindful of the fact that it is early morning and we're probably going to get more noise complaints over this one. I say my piece. That she is not welcome because her behaviour on that day where she slammed my door in my face is not fitting for a guest in this house. That nobody treats me that way in my own space and gets away with it.
It falls on completely deaf ears of course. I tell her to leave. She throws it back that she's waiting for Rogue Flatmate. I tell her to wait outside of our property. She refuses. What can I do, really?
Coda
I have seven weeks left in this hell-hole.
By tomorrow afternoon there will be half a dozen different out of proportion stories floating around about me and this exchange. Nobody will know the truth or bother to ask me. Who cares? is my answer to that one. Zedmeister can have a feild day with it and everybody can go on missing the point, as they always do. It'll keep them happy until they find some other vicious gossip to speculate on. There is absolutely no point saying my piece to any of these people. It won't be heard, and it's a waste of time.
As for You think you're so much better than us?
Honey, I know it.
Final Note
I promise to return to inconsequential, non-depressive blogging shortly.
What do I do here? I guess I have to introduce the main characters, give a little history. Give the reader some idea of why things are.
Hmmm.
I met the Zedmeister last year. Went out with her for a while. In her I could see a gorgeous heart, a person who loved people and was down to earth. She was intelligent and not afraid to talk to anybody.
She also lived to excess and was an incredibly abusive drunk.
I woke up one morning after spending the night having this girl verbally tear me down (yet again), knowing that she would not remember it and I asked her to leave my house. Go home. That was it.
Over time she became a bit of a drinking buddy again. We could sit back, knock over a carton of beer between us and be all blokey and it was fine.
Then the Zedmeister met CruiseyDyke.
The story here gets a little hazy - I wasn't directly involved - but here's my take on it: The Zedmeister and CruiseyDyke got it on. CruiseyDyke was soon to be homeless as her girlfriend NoNeck the Scary decided that it was over, took everything and left town. Gayman and I were looking for another flatmate at the time, as we were moving and there was nothing cheap around for two. So we got Cruisey as a third.
They keep seeing each other for a while. The Zedmeister is a party animal of large proportions, and basically a slut. She cannot remain tied down for any period of time. We all know this but she seems to weave a spell that tells you she will be different. This is what happened to me. Zedmeister declared that she loved me. And stupid fucking idiot me believed it. This girl even knocked on CruiseyDyke's window one night - climbed through it - and came and slept with me.
Sure enough she was abusive again. She was loud, drinking with friends in the loungeroom. I had to work the following morning and they drank all night. I don't have too much of a problem with that, however the only voice I could hear all night was hers. So when I get up, pissed off that she has kept me awake all night rather than being considerate of the person she supposedly loves, this girl decides to tear me down over me being cranky. Slams my bedroom door in my face during the argument. Snap. No longer welcome in my presence. Not to be a guest in this house ever again.
It came to CruiseyDyke's birthday and we relaxed the No-Zedmeister ruling. Everybody else was invited to come to our house, and it would be unfair on Cruisey to deny the Zedmeister, who was still her friend.
Since then a whole bunch of sordidness has happened and the Zedmeister has crept back into Cruisey's life. I let this girl start coming around again because she and Cruisey had something going on. It turns out that not only are this pair sleeping with each other, they are each sleeping with any girl they can get their hands on. They are playing Stud Wars. My opinion of both plummets.
Well. Last weekend I go away. I have the most gorgeous brilliant time and come back completely exhausted... To find out that the remnants of some party has come back to our house and caused noise complaints to our real estate agency. That an ambulance had to be called because the girl that Cruisey intended to sleep with was vomiting uncontrollably. Our real estate serves us a final warning on eviction with regards to the noise and I know that most of that would have been the Zedmeister. She's loud and she doesn't give a shit.
Cruisey is now known as Rouge Flatmate, and I've barely spoken to her all week. When I unleash, it is bound to be cold and very angry.
Dance
Yes, this is the bit I intended to write about.
Rogue Flatmate brought the Zedmeister home at 6am this morning, after a night of partying. Tried to hide the fact by telling Zedmeister to go around the back. Nice try, guys. I've been sleeping like utter shit so I woke up the second you stepped on the gravel. By trying to hide it, the Rogue Flatmate shows me that she knows that she is doing the wrong thing.
I lie there thinking What the hell do I do? Rogue Flatmate lives here, too. Do I have a right to veto this person's presence? I thought about it for a while and came to a decision, knowing that Gayman also does not want Zedmeister to come to this house. That makes two against one.
I stuck my head out the back door and fixed a stare on this girl.
Go home.
So what do I get? Of course she's pissed. They've been up all night drinking and partying. Apparently I can't make her. I can't tell her to leave because she is in the company of the Rogue Flatmate (who incidentally does not say a word at all). We both throw drinks on each other, facing up. I am angry beyond belief and it pulses out of me in waves.
I go inside, waking Gayman up to check that he is solid on the Anti-Zedmeister ruling. Yes he is. I go back outside to let her know that tow against one she is voted off the property.
This girl proceeds to tear me down again. Some people just don't know when to quit. Here's some highlights.
You've turned into such an arse
You're just jealous because you can't have me (I laughed)
Go ahead fucking punch me I'll smash you
You're too scared to hit me because you know I'll beat the shit out of you (I think I snorted there)
You think you're so much better than us
Rogue Flatmate is inside during this exchange. I am standing there, every muscle tense and shaking. I would have killed this girl if I fought her. And she wanted that chance, but only if I threw the first punch. I am also mindful of the fact that it is early morning and we're probably going to get more noise complaints over this one. I say my piece. That she is not welcome because her behaviour on that day where she slammed my door in my face is not fitting for a guest in this house. That nobody treats me that way in my own space and gets away with it.
It falls on completely deaf ears of course. I tell her to leave. She throws it back that she's waiting for Rogue Flatmate. I tell her to wait outside of our property. She refuses. What can I do, really?
Coda
I have seven weeks left in this hell-hole.
By tomorrow afternoon there will be half a dozen different out of proportion stories floating around about me and this exchange. Nobody will know the truth or bother to ask me. Who cares? is my answer to that one. Zedmeister can have a feild day with it and everybody can go on missing the point, as they always do. It'll keep them happy until they find some other vicious gossip to speculate on. There is absolutely no point saying my piece to any of these people. It won't be heard, and it's a waste of time.
As for You think you're so much better than us?
Honey, I know it.
Final Note
I promise to return to inconsequential, non-depressive blogging shortly.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Answering Kate's questions.
Why do you want to leave?
I haven't seen enough of the world.
I am not content to feel tied down in this town.
I am sick of having a circle of friends who seem to be preoccupied with who is fucking who and who gets to fuck who next.
There is rarely any live music in this town, the scene is dead in favour of the jukebox.
The bands I used to be in are split due to many reasons, however I won't get to work with the guiatrist again because he's fucking my ex.
My ex pops up in every teaching situation I seem to get myself into.
I don't like that the town is so small that my boss can be told what I've apparently been doing in my spare time, even when it isn't true.
I want to have done something other than live in the one town for my life - I know I moved here away from my parents' town, but I went to boarding school here so it's essentially the town I grew up in.
I love the mountains, but I am at heart a water child. Stick me on a river somewhere and I immediately relax.
I used to think that I did not want to move from here because I had great contacts in the music scene, especially for teaching - but you know what? I can build them up somewhere else too. It just takes time and a good outlook.
I want to be nearer to my girlfriend, so that seeing her is not a once-a month exhausting distance event, and so that she can feel that she can come to visit me any time also.
I am being chased by mistakes that I have made and it is far better for me to choose a clean slate elsewhere, given all the reasons I've stated so far.
With the possibility of being an Uncle Vic (I'd rather that than Auntie Tori or Aunt Victoria) I'd like to live closer to my sister in order to be involved in this child's life on a regular basis. It's somewhat exciting and pretty much my only chance because I won't have any of my own.
Do you want to leave town or your current living situation?
I definately want to leave my current living situation.
But finding a new home in the same place will not help with everything else...
So yeah, I want to leave town.
What is scaring you about going?
Fear of the unknown.
Choices.
Where do I go? What to do I do for work?
Will I make it?
How the hell will I go about making new friends?
I mean fucking hell - I'm a person who has trouble committing to a decision about what to eat for dinner.
What are the benefits of going?
I've wanted to get out for a long time, see new places, experience new things.
As a personal development exercise it will be a statement of I can and one more step toward quieting the inner voices that tell me I am a hopeless loser bound to ride on the coat-tails of others for the rest of my life. The ones that also say give up, this is as close to happy as you're ever going to get. Live with it.
I want to see things.
I want my eyes open.
I'll be okay.
I haven't seen enough of the world.
I am not content to feel tied down in this town.
I am sick of having a circle of friends who seem to be preoccupied with who is fucking who and who gets to fuck who next.
There is rarely any live music in this town, the scene is dead in favour of the jukebox.
The bands I used to be in are split due to many reasons, however I won't get to work with the guiatrist again because he's fucking my ex.
My ex pops up in every teaching situation I seem to get myself into.
I don't like that the town is so small that my boss can be told what I've apparently been doing in my spare time, even when it isn't true.
I want to have done something other than live in the one town for my life - I know I moved here away from my parents' town, but I went to boarding school here so it's essentially the town I grew up in.
I love the mountains, but I am at heart a water child. Stick me on a river somewhere and I immediately relax.
I used to think that I did not want to move from here because I had great contacts in the music scene, especially for teaching - but you know what? I can build them up somewhere else too. It just takes time and a good outlook.
I want to be nearer to my girlfriend, so that seeing her is not a once-a month exhausting distance event, and so that she can feel that she can come to visit me any time also.
I am being chased by mistakes that I have made and it is far better for me to choose a clean slate elsewhere, given all the reasons I've stated so far.
With the possibility of being an Uncle Vic (I'd rather that than Auntie Tori or Aunt Victoria) I'd like to live closer to my sister in order to be involved in this child's life on a regular basis. It's somewhat exciting and pretty much my only chance because I won't have any of my own.
Do you want to leave town or your current living situation?
I definately want to leave my current living situation.
But finding a new home in the same place will not help with everything else...
So yeah, I want to leave town.
What is scaring you about going?
Fear of the unknown.
Choices.
Where do I go? What to do I do for work?
Will I make it?
How the hell will I go about making new friends?
I mean fucking hell - I'm a person who has trouble committing to a decision about what to eat for dinner.
What are the benefits of going?
I've wanted to get out for a long time, see new places, experience new things.
As a personal development exercise it will be a statement of I can and one more step toward quieting the inner voices that tell me I am a hopeless loser bound to ride on the coat-tails of others for the rest of my life. The ones that also say give up, this is as close to happy as you're ever going to get. Live with it.
I want to see things.
I want my eyes open.
I'll be okay.
Friday, November 2, 2007
I have to snap out of this
I stare at the wall.
I stare at the space between me and the wall.
I'm scared.
I have to get organised, but I can't seem to get motivated.
Because I'm scared, and shocked.
So I just stare.
I stare at the space between me and the wall.
I'm scared.
I have to get organised, but I can't seem to get motivated.
Because I'm scared, and shocked.
So I just stare.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Deciding to move
Today, I decided that the world should just fuck off.
I've been woken up the last three mornings before the alarm by a spate of thunderstorm activity - as if I'm getting enough sleep anyway! Nature is not cooperating here.
The rogue flatmate is pissing me off more rather than less, causing me to believe that there is a divide in the household that I do not want to bother stitching up, and that it will not heal by itself.
The bosses pulled out thier usual you're a little late this morning so we're not going to actually say anything about it directly, but we'll give you all the shit jobs today stunt.
I'm tired, unhealthy and a little heartsick.
And that's where I got to thinking.
Fuck you, world.
More than that, though.
Fuck you world, I don't care any more. I can move and move on and be better for it.
I can leave town!
I took my lunch break to look online for flats in another town and went back to work thinking just try it fuckwits, I'll walk if you piss me off.
I think something clicked with that. I must have relaxed for the first time in ages with the knowledge that I could just walk out and not care. And what did that achieve? I had the best afternoon. I hung shit on the bosses as much as I wanted, and they just played along. It was great.
So maybe I should tell the world to fuck off more often. I seem to have a good day when I do.
I've been woken up the last three mornings before the alarm by a spate of thunderstorm activity - as if I'm getting enough sleep anyway! Nature is not cooperating here.
The rogue flatmate is pissing me off more rather than less, causing me to believe that there is a divide in the household that I do not want to bother stitching up, and that it will not heal by itself.
The bosses pulled out thier usual you're a little late this morning so we're not going to actually say anything about it directly, but we'll give you all the shit jobs today stunt.
I'm tired, unhealthy and a little heartsick.
And that's where I got to thinking.
Fuck you, world.
More than that, though.
Fuck you world, I don't care any more. I can move and move on and be better for it.
I can leave town!
I took my lunch break to look online for flats in another town and went back to work thinking just try it fuckwits, I'll walk if you piss me off.
I think something clicked with that. I must have relaxed for the first time in ages with the knowledge that I could just walk out and not care. And what did that achieve? I had the best afternoon. I hung shit on the bosses as much as I wanted, and they just played along. It was great.
So maybe I should tell the world to fuck off more often. I seem to have a good day when I do.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Meet the family: Joey
”Here is where you start: Play one note on one string and pour in every ounce of your heart and soul. Then repeat.”
Meet Joey (and of course the gorgeous woman pictured with Joey is Kate). Joey is the classical guitar I came across in a pawnbroker shop in Tamworth – a town known for being the Country Music Capital. For this reason I picked my Joey up as a complete bargain. It seems to be hard to appreciate a classical guitar in a town that is centred around the world’s longest line dancing record attempt every year. The woman in the shop was hell bent on telling me that the little blue steel string piece of mass-produced crap sitting next to this one was much better.
Joey is a dynamo for me. It has a gorgeous comfortable neck that just makes me want to play. I can feel the back purr against my chest as I strike the deeper notes. It is easily the guitar in my collection that I have most identified with, and been immediately comfortable with. It’s brought out a deeper emotional connection in my classical playing.
I came across the above quote in a book I’ve been dipping into lately - Zen Guitar. I’m not a fan of the way it’s been written, which causes me to keep putting it down, but some of the thinking is great. It strikes me that the body of this quote is a major reason that Joey and I have clicked so well. I named this guitar to somebody that I am not afraid to pour my soul into, and it reflects in the instrument and my attitude toward playing it. Through this, my playing has more of an emotional focus than a technical one. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a control obsessive who would rather do two hours of technique practise than actually learn a new piece, but now I’m listening more to how I express myself musically, and giving my soul that form of expression.
A nonmusician is thrilled to be doing music and is quite happy to sit there and plunk one note all day. And is very alert to the effect of that. Nonmusicians really listen sometimes, because that’s the only thing they have available to them.
- Brian Eno
I took Joey with me to meet Kate this weekend. It was an amazing experience. I spend most of my days introducing students to guitar with the expectation that they learn something straight away. That’s what I’m paid to do – give you a guitar, sit you down, help you play. Have you come out of a half hour lesson with material that keeps you interested and has built your knowledge. And that expectation is reflected by the students as well. They want to play, they want to be a musician now. With Kate, there was no expectation. I let her experience the Joey in her own way and I was fascinated. She listened, she experienced the sounds that she produced in a totally different manner to anybody I’d ever watched before. She related to it by listening to the sounds and making an emotional connection with them.
The shame is that I cannot teach this way – there needs to be a little more forward motion. However the experience has made me revisit the wonder of striking just one note and hearing it for the first time. The Hey! I made that sound happen! feeling of accomplishment these kids I teach must have. I can appreciate it more, and allow them the time to appreciate their achievement too.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Quote of the Day
YOU EVIL LITTLE PIXIE!!!
Yes. That's me.
My crime? I believe it had something to do with the orgasm I brought her to on Sunday...
Yes. That's me.
My crime? I believe it had something to do with the orgasm I brought her to on Sunday...
The Monday Melee
So my week was suck a prick that I stopped blogging in favour of sleeping last week.
And then I had a fantastic weekend away where I stopped blogging in favour of shagging.
Go figure.
So today I'll try to get back on top of it all with the Monday Melee.
1. The Misanthropic: Name something you absolutely hate.
Being threatened to be evicted from my current home, which doubles as my teaching studio because there were complaints about rowdy occupant behaviour the weekend just gone. The pisser? I was not even here.
2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
Energy drinks. I ingested five of the little suckers over a four-hour drive - after having three cups of coffee before leaving on the trip. Admittedly I arrived home at 5am this morning, but I still landed flat on my face in bed for an hour's deep sleep before work. I should have been bouncing off the walls all day with that much under my belt.
3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
There are two girls appearing to be playing Stud Wars within the lesbian acquaintances I have. It's fucking (literally) ridiculous. The only thing that is proved in that behaviour is the total lack of manners and regard for the feelings of others.
4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit and name it if you can.
Tuesday student Bassdude, for reducing me to a laughing, teary mess with his
Okay, I'll get it right this time... Hmmm. Gonna be a man. Suck it up.
5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I have painted toenails. For the first time. And I haven't removed the nail polish yet.
6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
A felafel kebab with hommous and tabouleh, and all the extras.
And then I had a fantastic weekend away where I stopped blogging in favour of shagging.
Go figure.
So today I'll try to get back on top of it all with the Monday Melee.
1. The Misanthropic: Name something you absolutely hate.
Being threatened to be evicted from my current home, which doubles as my teaching studio because there were complaints about rowdy occupant behaviour the weekend just gone. The pisser? I was not even here.
2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
Energy drinks. I ingested five of the little suckers over a four-hour drive - after having three cups of coffee before leaving on the trip. Admittedly I arrived home at 5am this morning, but I still landed flat on my face in bed for an hour's deep sleep before work. I should have been bouncing off the walls all day with that much under my belt.
3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
There are two girls appearing to be playing Stud Wars within the lesbian acquaintances I have. It's fucking (literally) ridiculous. The only thing that is proved in that behaviour is the total lack of manners and regard for the feelings of others.
4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit and name it if you can.
Tuesday student Bassdude, for reducing me to a laughing, teary mess with his
Okay, I'll get it right this time... Hmmm. Gonna be a man. Suck it up.
5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I have painted toenails. For the first time. And I haven't removed the nail polish yet.
6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
A felafel kebab with hommous and tabouleh, and all the extras.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
The Monday Melee
I almost forgot to do the Monday Melee today.
1. The Misanthropic: Name something you absolutely hate.
Imported vegetables. If it's not in season, don't eat it. It won't be much good after being flown halfway around the world, plus you're not supporting local produce.
2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
Shred-head guitarists. Need I say more?
3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
Holding a PMS party for one just isn't satisfying. I need to share my cheeses with a sympathetic audience.
4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit and name it if you can.
Zomb, the drunk guy I met at the Saturday gig. This guy came up to me and asked me to clarfiy something, because he'd made a bet. He bet that I was a bloke. Cool. Sorry, dude. You lost, but you made my night.
5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I've been practising a classical piece about confronting demons lately and it's coming together musically. It's finally taken on a personal aspect for me and that reflects in it's performance.
6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
A town with more people, more opportunities musically, and no ex-girlfriends from hell to taint it.
1. The Misanthropic: Name something you absolutely hate.
Imported vegetables. If it's not in season, don't eat it. It won't be much good after being flown halfway around the world, plus you're not supporting local produce.
2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
Shred-head guitarists. Need I say more?
3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
Holding a PMS party for one just isn't satisfying. I need to share my cheeses with a sympathetic audience.
4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit and name it if you can.
Zomb, the drunk guy I met at the Saturday gig. This guy came up to me and asked me to clarfiy something, because he'd made a bet. He bet that I was a bloke. Cool. Sorry, dude. You lost, but you made my night.
5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I've been practising a classical piece about confronting demons lately and it's coming together musically. It's finally taken on a personal aspect for me and that reflects in it's performance.
6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
A town with more people, more opportunities musically, and no ex-girlfriends from hell to taint it.
Finding Mary
It's becoming a trend. Last weekend I went drinking with Jesus.
This weekend...
Well.
Weekend housemate Icepick and I were driving along after the downright annoying affair of the Saturday gig, getting ready to hit the town when we almost drove into the Virgin Mary. There she was, standing serenely in the middle of the road, watching over the double lines. We stopped and went over to her.
Icepick tried to move her, unsuccessfully at first. He tried picking her up: Holy shit, Vic. She's so heavy!!
With a glimmer of madness in my eyes I looked at him. I want her.
So he lifted her and dumped her in the boot of my car.
A horn beeped at us. Headlights came on. Somebody was guarding Mary. So we floored it out of there with this car chasing us. All over our section of town. We wove through the streets at speed, getting glimpses of the headlights at every corner. Finally we cruised into our driveway, headlights off, and watched as our pursuers flew past.
I wanted her for a garden feature. But we're in a block of flats - there might be a little trouble. So we decided to play dressups with her inside, in the meantime...
This weekend...
Well.
Weekend housemate Icepick and I were driving along after the downright annoying affair of the Saturday gig, getting ready to hit the town when we almost drove into the Virgin Mary. There she was, standing serenely in the middle of the road, watching over the double lines. We stopped and went over to her.
Icepick tried to move her, unsuccessfully at first. He tried picking her up: Holy shit, Vic. She's so heavy!!With a glimmer of madness in my eyes I looked at him. I want her.
So he lifted her and dumped her in the boot of my car.
A horn beeped at us. Headlights came on. Somebody was guarding Mary. So we floored it out of there with this car chasing us. All over our section of town. We wove through the streets at speed, getting glimpses of the headlights at every corner. Finally we cruised into our driveway, headlights off, and watched as our pursuers flew past.
I wanted her for a garden feature. But we're in a block of flats - there might be a little trouble. So we decided to play dressups with her inside, in the meantime...
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Bass Diva
I did a fill-in gig last night, where I was a replacement bass player for a band that plays heavy, original music. This genre seems to attract egotistical, self-centred musicians (using that term extremely loosely). Why did I do the gig? I only know of two gigging bass players in town who use five-string basses, and I'm one of them. The other is the regular player for this band, who couldn't make the gig. The singer is a friend of mine, so she asked me to help and I said yes. It's certainly not my genre of choice, but I can appreciate the music and have no problem with being able to play it.
Egotism in musicians is one thing I cannot stand. Arrogance about your chosen genre and your playing just cut you off from the rest of the musical world. That's why these guys form such a clique - they've got nobody else left who wants to talk to them.
I got the CD on Monday night. I asked for charts - why should I go about working something out from a recording when these guys know it already? They wrote it. Okay. So Thursday night is when I get handed a few pages of tablature of the riffs. No rhythms, no form, just a bunch of numbers. To me a chart is a sketch of the chord structure and a form showing the order of sections of the song. So basically the tablatures were handy for what the riffs actually were, but I was still at square one with everything else.
There was a full rehearsal with the band set for Saturday afternoon, with the gig Saturday night. In true last minute form I worked out the songs Saturday morning. I turn up to the rehearsal completely prepared.
I sit there and watch them fart-ass about setting up. [Tick, tick, tick.]
Both guitarists make eye contact with each other, but the only band member to look at me is the singer. Cues, anybody? I asked for them at the start, with specifics of where I'd need them. But no. [Tick, tick.]
The singer stops the band: "Is Vic playing the right bit in this verse?"
The guitarist: "Nuh"
Thanks for letting the singer point that out, asshole. You should have communicated with me there. [and the Bass Diva time bomb is set to explode]
"Oh yeah we do another song. It's really simple. Just follow along."
..."Oh yeah there's a bass solo in it."
So, Bass Diva is right on exploding point. What do you want the solo over? Verse or Chorus as you've got them so far?
"Whatever, man. Just make it up."
I left my explosion until after the rehearsal and the singer copped the full brunt of it. I'll keep it simple here - "arrogant fuckwits" "guitarheads" and "better things to do with my time even though they might not" was the guts of the explosion.
So I did the gig. Did my job, played well. Had fair few comments about how good it was from people in the audience. And did not recieve one thankyou from the band. Not one member. I don't think they even said goodbye when they left.
Was it worth it? I earned a total of fourty fucking dollars for all of the shit. But I know one thing now:
There is no place for arrogant cunts in my life.
Egotism in musicians is one thing I cannot stand. Arrogance about your chosen genre and your playing just cut you off from the rest of the musical world. That's why these guys form such a clique - they've got nobody else left who wants to talk to them.
I got the CD on Monday night. I asked for charts - why should I go about working something out from a recording when these guys know it already? They wrote it. Okay. So Thursday night is when I get handed a few pages of tablature of the riffs. No rhythms, no form, just a bunch of numbers. To me a chart is a sketch of the chord structure and a form showing the order of sections of the song. So basically the tablatures were handy for what the riffs actually were, but I was still at square one with everything else.
There was a full rehearsal with the band set for Saturday afternoon, with the gig Saturday night. In true last minute form I worked out the songs Saturday morning. I turn up to the rehearsal completely prepared.
I sit there and watch them fart-ass about setting up. [Tick, tick, tick.]
Both guitarists make eye contact with each other, but the only band member to look at me is the singer. Cues, anybody? I asked for them at the start, with specifics of where I'd need them. But no. [Tick, tick.]
The singer stops the band: "Is Vic playing the right bit in this verse?"
The guitarist: "Nuh"
Thanks for letting the singer point that out, asshole. You should have communicated with me there. [and the Bass Diva time bomb is set to explode]
"Oh yeah we do another song. It's really simple. Just follow along."
..."Oh yeah there's a bass solo in it."
So, Bass Diva is right on exploding point. What do you want the solo over? Verse or Chorus as you've got them so far?
"Whatever, man. Just make it up."
I left my explosion until after the rehearsal and the singer copped the full brunt of it. I'll keep it simple here - "arrogant fuckwits" "guitarheads" and "better things to do with my time even though they might not" was the guts of the explosion.
So I did the gig. Did my job, played well. Had fair few comments about how good it was from people in the audience. And did not recieve one thankyou from the band. Not one member. I don't think they even said goodbye when they left.
Was it worth it? I earned a total of fourty fucking dollars for all of the shit. But I know one thing now:
There is no place for arrogant cunts in my life.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
and she pisses me off
I've got lots of favourite photographs that I've taken. I tend to take a lot of nature shots, but there's only so many interesting trees you can look at in one sitting. I'm starting to value shots of people more and more.
Anyway, I have one shot that I'm particularly proud of. It was taken on a morning walking along the Thames at Twickenham. It was misty, and wondereous. Also icy as all hell. That didn't detract from the beauty of the day, though. It seemed to add it.
The problem is that there is a person in that shot. One day it will be a memory that I can cope with. But now... I want to rip her head off most days. Let's call this character Ms. Catalyst. I still love the photo, but it makes me angry all over again. I don't look at it often. I don't display it. I still recognise it as my own favourite photograph.
So I was surfing Facebook. Checking out to see if there was anybody I should be catching up with on there, and I come across Ms. Catalyst in somebody's list of friends. Catlike, curious, I checked out the profile. And then the photo album. And there is my photo. Actually there's a couple. But she's uploaded a photograph that I took?
So who's property is it? Mine because I took the photo? Or hers because she's in it?
Anyway, I have one shot that I'm particularly proud of. It was taken on a morning walking along the Thames at Twickenham. It was misty, and wondereous. Also icy as all hell. That didn't detract from the beauty of the day, though. It seemed to add it.
The problem is that there is a person in that shot. One day it will be a memory that I can cope with. But now... I want to rip her head off most days. Let's call this character Ms. Catalyst. I still love the photo, but it makes me angry all over again. I don't look at it often. I don't display it. I still recognise it as my own favourite photograph.
So I was surfing Facebook. Checking out to see if there was anybody I should be catching up with on there, and I come across Ms. Catalyst in somebody's list of friends. Catlike, curious, I checked out the profile. And then the photo album. And there is my photo. Actually there's a couple. But she's uploaded a photograph that I took?
So who's property is it? Mine because I took the photo? Or hers because she's in it?
Friday, October 19, 2007
How do you percieve me?
I'm not happy with my profile. How the hell do I describe myself? To me I'm just Vic. Finding words for that seems a little too hard. But it gets me thinking... How do other people percieve me?
The challenge, for those who may be interested - write a profile for me. You most likely haven't met me - hell, you might even be here for the first time. But I'm interested to know the impression I make.
Drop me an email, or leave it in the comments.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Homing socks
I wear white socks. Most of the time. White school socks. A major reason for this is that if you buy a heap at once you don't have to fold them after washing. I just shove them all in a drawer and when it comes to wearing them (which I refuse to do on weekends except when absolutely necessary) I pluck out two of hopefully the same vintage and elasticity. Even that is not of much importance if the colour matches. That's easy with white.
Periodically I go through them and evict the worst cases of wear and tear. The ones where your big toe has patiently tunneled it's way free - only to come up against the confines of the shoe. The ones where the heel is non-existent and the sock can quite happily exist in two states by half turning itself inside out through that hole. I buy new socks. I go through the old ones. And I throw them out. The thing is... they keep coming back. Like homing pigeons I seem to regather these remains of former socks. They even seem to force out the existing fully qualified socks from the safety of the drawer and take their place instead.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Quote of the Day
Gayman, telling us a story of a night out on the town:
"Some bitch wanted my tiara and I told her to fuck off or I'll slap her."
"Some bitch wanted my tiara and I told her to fuck off or I'll slap her."
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