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| I'll give you a hint: It wasn't my legs. |
Thursday, 2 January 2014
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
Image a Day - 001 - Lytro Selfies
Hokay, so.... here we go.
Lytro Selfie - Blur+ Filter
Lytro Selfie - Crayon Filter
Lytro Selfie - Line Art Filter
Lytro Selfie - Blur+ Filter
Lytro Selfie - Crayon Filter
Lytro Selfie - Line Art Filter
Sunday, 8 December 2013
Magnetic Man Dudes - 011 - Magnetic Boogaloo
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| Magnetic Boogaloo |
I can feel the creaking of the internet... remembering that this still existed...
Just trying to re-ignite it for next year's attempt at Picture-a-Day... among other things.
Saturday, 10 August 2013
Skateparks
Typing
this from my new tablet and the keyboard that I bought. Sony Xperia Z
(and a Sony Bluetooth keyboard). It's ok... a little frustrating to
organise in terms of Bluetooth Connection and Internet connection via
my phone... but otherwise seems good. This keyboard is very nice to
type with... even if it is only small. It seems to occasionally
double-tap the letters I am typing, particularly if I am going fast,
but it feels good at the fingers. I have yet to really play with the
tablet, but the visuals seem gorgeous. It also has the potential for
me to hook up a PS3 controller and play Playstation 1 games once I
download the correct app... although, looking in to it, I am actually starting to suspect that this is not true.... I am trying to hold off on this until I
finish (or at least pass) the NaNoWriMo project. It's a temptation
that is gnawing at me, for there are many great titles that I'd like
to get a hold of again... but I should be strong enough in willpower
to hold off for the time being.
One
big thing that I have found with this whole process is that it can
chew up a lot of download data to organise everything. I have linked
the tablet with my Google account and, as such, it has downloaded my
regular apps that I use on my phone. In doing so, and keeping in mind
that I only really use the Cracked.com and Facebook apps, as well as
the default Google stuff (such as Gmail and Maps), I bit off about a
quarter of my mobile phone's download limit. Granted, my limit wasn't
huge (1GB), but it just goes to show how much the world of tech
relies on the ability to acquire things online after a purchase.
Also,
I'm not really a big fan of this Office Suite Pro that comes
automatically with the tablet. Had to download a spellchecker...
either that, or it claimed that I did before I really checked it
out. Either way, poor form.
Back
to the irregularly scheduled program.
At
the risk of seeming like a seedy man, I have watched a few
skateparks, until recently without intent on actually using the
facilities. I like to watch people in action, like a crowd or from
afar. There are many things that you can see and learn whilst
observing how people act. The people acting may not even know what
they are doing collectively themselves.
For
example, the motion in a skatepark seems to act in waves. As can be
expected, this is more visible when there are a few more people using
the setting. For my eyes, and without actually timing it, I think the
waves are roughly 7 minutes long, but vary according to what type of
equipment is being used and how many people are using it at the same
time.
The
scooters, particularly the 12s and under group, seem to use the same
area of the park for a little longer than the other users. The more
people in their group, the longer it gets used for. BMX Riders,
however, seem to have a time span more variable depending on the
inverse of how many people there are, that is to say that the more
people in their individual group, the less time the group spends
doing things and the longer they spend sitting down. They also tend
to use the Half Pipe/Bowl areas more than most though, in some
respects, this is to be expected in part due to their age and also due to the nature of how BMX speeds allow for a high launch out of a vert section. When there
are only a few users on a particular piece of equipment, the BMX
Riders will spend a lot longer hanging around on that piece of
equipment... though, I'm not really sure if this is out of respect
for the other users or just because they seem to spend longer on the
sidelines when there are more people around or in their group.
In
terms of population, it is interesting to me to note how the
demographics and types of equipment users change from place to place.
I
expected a lot of skateboarders, simply because where I am from
(Newcastle, New South Wales) has a lot of skateboarders. If I
remember correctly, the overwhelming majority of skate park users in
my home areas were skateboarders, usually around the mid-teens. Here,
there is a strong BMX presence. In fact, if it weren't for the
scooter kids under the age of 12, the majority of weekend users here
are BMXers, followed closely with young-mid teen Scooter riders. This
should not have really surprised me, as Kalgoorlie has a strong BMX
Track contingent and so BMX bikes in the town are fairly commonly
seen, with and without the wheel pegs used for skate park tricks.
Another
thing to note is the apparent cooperation and comparative peace
between the different types of users. Back home, Skaters were King,
with BMX riders accepted, Bladers laughed at and told they were
gay... albeit tolerated (side note: I still don't understand how
Bladers are laughed at as being pansies, when every other type of
equipment allows you to throw the equipment away if you screw up.
Bladers don't have that option, and so have to fall over if they
screw up. Not seeing the weakness there...). Scooters were almost
violently opposed pretty much every skate park I've seen because the earlier versions left a lot of scrape marks everywhere.
Until
Kalgoorlie.
I'm
not sure why there is a difference here. Maybe it is because of the
ubiquitous nature of scooter kids here, being that apart from
footpaths, there is nowhere really entertaining for the kids to ride,
and so you have to build a tolerance for them. I don't know. All I
know is that Scooters are very common and an accepted part of
skatepark life here, in all areas including the bowl and halfpipes
(areas where before they were least tolerated back in NSW due to the
tendency of the scooters to bottom out in some areas and cause
scraping marks). I've not really seen any outward animosity at all
toward them... with the sole exception of the older/bigger BMXers,
who sometimes use up half the old section of the park to build up to
a single trick or two coming out of the old halfpipe. I can see their
frustration at times, because a younger child will not be looking
more than 3 metres ahead to see someone coming and so move in to
their landing space but, really.... the BMXers (almost) only have
themselves to blame. They tend to hoard in packs of people, and if
they know that one of their own is setting themselves up for a longer
trick set that they should sort of populate an area to guarantee use
of it. It's one thing to get a little frustrated when you are in the
middle of a run and suddenly a whole bunch of people come rushing
across you (or you are mid trick and they decide that now is the time
to move close to you), but people seem to tolerate that as
Kids-Will-Be-Kids. And that's fine. But to get angry at them to use
space that is seemingly otherwise unoccupied is a little extreme
(especially when they seem to crowd areas, albeit largely unused and
otherwise unuseful areas). Perhaps it is an unwritten rule... or the
group is too lazy to sort that out (I vote the second one: Teenage
boys won't do anything unless they absolutely have to).
Speaking
of unwritten rules, there appear to be a few of them in use. Some
appear to be immutable, whilst others are more sort of vague
collective agreements.
The
main one is that, with the exception of people you know, never use
the halfpipe/bowl if someone else is using it. That one gets you
yelled out, even from people who aren't socially related to either
party involved. Interestingly, this rule is less restrictively
applied to most other areas of the skatepark. Maybe it's the more
open/free nature of the rest of the skatepark area or just the
uniqueness or special nature of the bowl/halfpipe that marks it for
such attention... but it is quite interesting to watch when two
people, from different groups, will use the same area (such as a ramp
or box) basically together in opposing directions, nearly causing
accidents (or even side by side) with no issues, but the moment
someone drops in to the halfpipe 3 metres away from them, there are
angry shouts and threats.
Teenagers,
hey?
Skateboarders
are somewhat rare here. It is uncommon to see more than 4 genuine
skaters at the park at once (there are a few of the younger kids who
use the small thin board things that I am not counting here, as well
as the occasional congregation that show up later in the afternoons).
Amusingly, they are as one would stereotypically expect from
skateboarders: They are usually the guys peddling the cigarettes and
weed.
Actually,
that's a little unfair: there are a quite a few of the BMXers who do
it too.
Whatever.
They should already know by now.
As
someone who does something different to what everyone else does, it
is good to see that people coming up and giving you big-ups for doing
something special, like a particular type of air grab or even a whole
set of tricks. I've had a few times where some of the older scooter
and BMXers have come up and said something along the lines of "I
saw what you just did, and that was pretty cool" or "I once
tried rollerblades and couldn't stand up so I gave up. It must be
challenging to do something like that. Nice." Feels good to get
something like that from the older users of the park, and not just
the young ones who are impressed if you do anything that remotely
looks different. But it's not even just me. There are more than a few
times when I have seen people from different groups mingle
temporarily because somebody is trying to work out how another person
did a particular type of stunt or they might want a tip, or they have
seen something pretty cool. Grab a little advice, or show a bit of
admiration, then move on. It's not something that I'm really used to
seeing from kids over the age of 12.
And
I think that's the key thing here: it might just be that I'm all
grown up now and can see it a lot more or better, or maybe it is just
the location change... The kids at the skate park seem to actually
have some sense of caring about what is going on around them and are
somewhat mature enough to subtly (and sometimes outwardly) show
respect for those around them. There are a few who I know by sight
that don't seem to do that. There's one kid, about 15 I suppose, who
doubles up on BMX and Scooters, talks trash to those who he thinks is
below him and practically demands everything he wants when he is
doing his thing... He then got shown up BIG TIME by an 11 year old on
a scooter and seems to have calmed down a little (or at least he has
been when I was there last). People like that seem to be few and far
between... and it is a good thing. No one needs that sort of crap.
(1899
words over 100 minutes, spread over 3 sessions. Final edit added a few.)
Wednesday, 24 July 2013
Mid Week Microscopy - 010 - Catalogue/Newsletter
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| ~50x Magnification A glossy catalogue/newsletter from the Kalgoorlie-Boulder City Council |
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| ~200x Magnification A glossy catalogue/newsletter from the Kalgoorlie-Boulder City Council |
Wednesday, 17 July 2013
Universal Division Theory
Inspired by:
- Subnormality, a good webcomic that is usually light on comic but heavy on words, philosophy, ideas and discussion. Specifically, this one.
- A shitty morning at work.
- My complete lack of poetry writing skills.
- Subnormality, a good webcomic that is usually light on comic but heavy on words, philosophy, ideas and discussion. Specifically, this one.
- A shitty morning at work.
- My complete lack of poetry writing skills.
Universal Division
Theory
Doctor and nurse look
down at the patient,
face covered in muck,
grime and blood.
His thrash violent,
words slurred
but clearly curses
flowing in a flood.
Across town, the Bus
Driver sighs, bored
as people get in and
out. Dishevelled revellers stumble,
thankful to be home in
one piece. Coins and notes trade
as the night drags,
the driver's sanity starts to crumble.
Half a world away, the
ringleader defiantly smiles,
his boys stand ready on
the beach sand
eagerly waiting the charge from the other group,
eagerly waiting the charge from the other group,
protecting their castle
from the other's hands.
A different leader
brushes off the dust covering the maps,
thinking hard on a new plan of attack
thinking hard on a new plan of attack
to combat the enemy
threat hiding over the ridge.
His orders to be followed precisely, exact.
His orders to be followed precisely, exact.
The lecturer stands at
the front of the class
explaining in clear
terms the subject material.
Students write, sit,
stare, twirl pens,
uncertain if they want
this for real.
High above, the
astronaut floats in perpetual free fall,
all the while peering
at the planet rotating below.
Above the atmosphere,
the world is clear. He sees all
and yet sees nothing
when looking out of the window.
They are individual
stories but they all share
a single unified idea,
a Theory of Division.
Without knowledge of each other, they
simultaneously think:
“There is Us, and then there is Them.”
“There is Us, and then there is Them.”
Sunday, 14 July 2013
Friday, 12 July 2013
Rollerblading
I've recently picked up the blades again and started carving up the local skate park.
...
That sounds a little serial-killerish.
Let me back up a bit.
Back in Newcastle, I loved rollerblading.
It took me a long to pick them up. It started when my middle brother bought (was gifted? memory is hazy...) a pair of rollerblades back in the mid-late 90s. This was at the time when rollerskating and blading was probably at its peak in the basic recreational population. These blades were a simple affair from a company called Aerial. Black body with red inside trim and solid plastic (?PVC) wheels. Standard 4x1 setup. Noisy buggers, and definitely not good on slick/slightly damp surfaces, but otherwise pretty serviceable. Took him a little while to get used to them, but within a few hours, he was starting to roll around our driveway and garage with confidence. My youngest brother eventually got a pair too (basically, the same style, just a size or two smaller).
I, on the other hand, didn't want anything to do with them. They were loud, seemed hard to control especially when trying to slow down and generally looked like an accident waiting to happen, especially with the grate to the drain where the garage turned in to the driveway being roughly one millimetres wider than the wheels. I would stick to my bike, thank you very much.
Every now and then, we would head out to Speers Point pedestrian track and do the lap from Speers Point park to Eleebana and back a few times.
For some unfathomable reason, Dad got Mum a pair of rollerblades for her birthday. I don't know why. He runs out of ideas quickly. A pair of black Aerials but, instead of the PVC wheels, these had smoother see-through Polyurethane wheels. Much quieter and possibly a bit better at turning, though significantly worse in damp/slippery conditions. So, in an amusing few months, she learned to blade... albeit gently.
After a while, in the times that she wasn't using them (read: most of the times), I picked them up and gradually learnt to skate. After the initial awkwardness of learning that your feet are not meant to be able to stay still while you move, it actually felt kind of smooth. It must also be noted that, at this time, the extensions to our garage had been finished and we had a few mattresses at the far end of the garage. It must also be noted that our driveway, from the street end, runs down to our garage for maybe 7 metres at a 35-45 degree angle. As you can expect, when the cars were out, we basically spent a full summer rolling up the hill and then down again as fast as we could and fly into the mattresses in many different ways. Good times.
That Christmas, I think I was maybe 12 at the time, Mum decided to get Dad back by buying him a pair of blades. He had to know that was coming. These were a set of grey Bladerunners. Really quite smooth to ride on and quite possibly the best blades I've had the pleasure of using. For good measure, I also received a pair of blades. Black Aerials. Felt quite chunky/bulky and, to be honest, I didn't really like them that much as they felt too tall (I think that they were 80+mm wheels instead of the standard 76 or 78mm of the time), heavy and a little more slippery. Also had a very unusual clip system that, to this day, I still can't figure out. But they did the job for a time.
Eventually, Mum and Dad called a truce to their amusing attempts to blade (oh, they tried and actually became competent at it... while at the same time hating it) and agreed to never do that again. So I sort of inherited Dads Blades (by inherited, I mean claimed them as my own and vehemently defended this claim when others tried to use them when I wanted to blade). The middle brother stepped up into a new set (?my old set) and the younger brother had grown in to the middle brother's. One of our neighbours also got some blades and we devised a new game: Blade Ball.
The rules were reasonably straight forward: In the middle of the rollerblade-friendly (i.e. not grass) area of our backyard, there was the basketball ring that hung off the verandah. In order to have the ball in your "side" of the court, you had to either get to a Safe Zone. One Safe Zone was near our neighbours fence, the other near the strawberry garden/clothesline. Once in your "half" you and your team mate had to try and shoot a hoop, though you had to be reasonably near the hoop to do so (because we were young and weak.. and it is pretty hard to shoot a ball when you're on rollerblades). 2 points if you were in the near zone (roughly a 4 metre section around the hoop), 3 points if you were on the older purpley coloured pavers. Games usually went to 20 before we stopped for drinks and maybe swapped teams, though I think one particular game went something like 43 to 35 or something. Body checking was allowed, to a limited extent, and you could steal the ball from your opponent's hands. You had to bounce the ball while moving and, similar to basketball, if you stopped bouncing the ball you have to pass it off. Collecting rebounds off the walls was allowed, but didn't count as passing the ball off if you had stopped bouncing it. Quite a few years were spent playing this game.
One Christmas, we all got plastic ice hockey sticks, so we developed a version of Blade Hockey. I can't remember exactly how this worked, as it wasn't as popular as Blade Ball, but I think that you were able to score in either goal (same places as the Safe Zones in Blade Ball). If a team scored, the other team had to start from that goal and could not score in that goal until they had passed halfway (roughly the same place as the basketball hoop). One point per goal, play to 10 or 20.
After a few years, my brothers gradually lost interest in blading and picked up Scooters. I, however, kept blading. We would go to Speers Point walkway a couple of times a month (nearly every weekend in the summer), and then the beginning of the Fernleigh Track opened. Unlike the Speers Point walkway, which was all open around the lake (which is still quite good), this track was through bushland on an old abandoned railway. Trees constantly formed a canopy overhead. There is also a long tunnel that's maybe two hundred metres long. From one direction, where we usually started, this is slightly uphill. Obviously, this means that coming back is a blast, as I gunned it as fast as I could through there and there was also usually a tailwind coming through.
As the track got longer over the course of a few years, this became my favourite place in the world. I basically stopped going on my blades to Speers Point (though still occasionally went cycling... and if I wanted a change in scenery) and spent more and more time on the Fernleigh track. This continued on throughout uni. I bought a new pair of blades at around 20 (after wearing the wheels on the BladeRunners to about half of their original thickness and near points, despite semi-regularly rotating the wheels around to limit that effect). These new ones were light grey Nike (yeah, I didn't know they did blades either) and were quite comfortable (I think that the BladeRunners were just a touch small for my feet), smooth, stylish and very responsive. Just as good as the Bladerunners, in my opinion, for a recreational set.
By the end of Uni, I was going to the Fernleigh track several times a week (an open timetable helped me out immensely here). At one stage, I started looking in to racing blades, ones with larger 90+mm wheels and 5 wheels per blade... but at the time, money was an issue and, if I genuinely wanted to race, I would have to go to Sydney constantly. No Thanks.
Every time I would go, I would do at least two laps (Adamstown to Whitebridge and back, as that was the limit of the track at the time... roughly 5.5kms in one direction).
I left Newcastle to go to Kalgoorlie after I finished uni. I didn't take the blades because I had no idea what to expect... and weight/space limitations on my bag were also a factor. Upon getting here, I bought a bike and cycled around everywhere looking for decent pathways. As it turns out, most of the pathways here are of a type that would make them fairly Blade Unfriendly (particularly if you were using Polyurethane instead of the PVC type... too gravelly, would chop up the wheels in no time), though amusingly there are quite a few of the regular roads that would be quite suitable for them, so I stopped that train of thought and got used to the fact that my non-Team-Sport-Outdoor-Past-Time would be limited to Cycling (still not a bad choice, but not my ideal). And, as it turned out, a lot of my weekends would be taken up by hockey and, eventually, work, so I would not even really do that too much after the first year I was here.
I missed rollerblading. One of the first times I went back, I found out that they had fully extended the Fernleigh track. When I had left, it was from Adamstown to Whitebridge (about 5.5kms). When I got back, it was all the way to Belmont... 15kms. Well... obviously, given that I hadn't bladed in about a year (?) at this point in time, I wasn't going to give that a go... this time. Cycling, however, was all up for grabs. As it turned out, the extended portion of the path is quite hilly. I would have to rethink my strategy for this for next time...
The next time I came across, about six months later if I recall correctly, I had been on a training program at the gym and was possibly in the best shape I had been since giving up FreeRunning/Parkour four or five years earlier (probably better in the upper half of my body). I was still the fastest runner at the Hockey Stadium and easily the fittest on my team. So I gave it a go on my old Nikes.
And BOY DID THAT HURT.
I think my best before heading to Kal was doing a Speed Run with 3 laps of the ~11km circuit over the course of maybe an hour and a half and I once did four or five laps over the course of an afternoon.
Here, without having bladed for 18 months/two years, it took me over two and a half hours to do the 30kms. I got grey vision semi-constantly and at one time nearly gave up. The muscle groups I had not used in years... they were giving up. For the next three days, everything ached.
So, for a while, I gave up the thought of blading entirely.
Until the end of last year.
I started getting the itch again.
I thought about it for quite a long time before deciding that I would get some and give it a go again shortly after my holiday to New Zealand (possibly partially inspired by the sheer amount of skate parks they have there... seriously, every town with a population greater than 100 has at least a half pipe and a street section over there). Realistically, I thought, I could use the roads at the north end of Kal, as well as the footpath around the outside of Kalkurla park. It definitely would not be any Fernleigh Track.... but it would be something.
After deciding that I would get something around my birthday (April), I thought about what sort. Obviously, there was the option to get the recreational skates that I used to use. Fun, reliable, common and fairly cheap. I also tried looking for Mountain Skates: Roller Skates (i.e. 2x2 per skate) that had large (150+mm) plastic/rubber wheels mounted to the side of the shoe component. Had the advantage of being designed for rugged terrain, but also the advantage of being able to slip in whatever regular shoe you wanted to there. I could, theoretically, skate to work. Awesome. However, these types of skate are elusive and the ones I was looking for were for a company that appears to have gone bust.
What about Aggressive Blades? I had never really been a Skate Park sort of person, only ever having been to a skate park maybe three times before... and all while I was still in High School (so... roughly 10 years ago) but it would be guaranteed smooth solid ground. I had actually once did a project (Year 10 Computer Science), where I designed a website about aggressive blading, including tricks, tips, terminology and pictures (got good marks for it too, because at the time I had self taught myself some HTML and Animated GIFs. Good Times). I had once wanted to do aggressive skating, but was hamstrung in multiple ways. I didn't have money or time to look for proper aggressive blades. Also, I was/am weedy, and was easily intimidated by things like groups of taller stronger people. I have a lot of inertia when it comes to fear, fear-of-failure and doing something I have never done before. To cap this off, and this will be looked at in a future post, bladers were, at the time, basically thought of as the lowest rung of the heirarchy at a skate park (this was at the time before scooters became commonplace and bladers basically invisible).
Times change, and no one here rollerbladed (possible exception: I once saw a guy in his early 20s on blades rolling around near the courthouse here... that may have possibly been the trigger point inspiration initially). It would be something different. It would be something that I had wanted to do. It might even drive me out of the rut that I had generated for myself around that time.
The more I thought about it, the more it appealed. This thought was cemented when I received a newsletter from the council that, among other things, said that the skate park was getting an upgrade to more than double its size. I'm not hugely superstitious, I don't think, but there are times where I convince myself that the universe is trying to speak to me... and so I took this as a sign.
So I went to the internets to do some research. I remember my friend John, back in high school, waxing lyrical about his middle brother's Roces (they're a skate company). So I looked them up and... didn't really like what I saw. These were odd looking, block shaped shoes with tiny wheels. I wanted large wheels because they hold their speed better. However, as I searched deeper, this appeared to be a common thread among all of the current types of Aggressive Skate. I figured that the smaller wheels were useful because you probably DO want a speed limitation when trying half-pipe/downhill manouevres. Well... that was not impressive... But there were quite a few interesting differences to the recreational and aggressive blades that I remember. Significantly, design in aggressive blades appears to have gone from having four small wheels with a gap between the second and third for rail slides, to two small wheels on the first and fourth positions and two smaller "anti-roll" or "anti-rocker" nylon wheels, and a gap between those too. Apparently is significantly better at grinding and half-pipe coping tricks. Also, aggressive blades now have very prominent outer soles which are apparently useful for slides and grinds.
I settled on an Australian Online Outlet store called "Skater HQ". They are based in Manly *shudders* and sold a fairly wide variety of blades. Eventually, I chose the Razor "Cult Street" blades, as the reviews seemed to say that they were fairly beginner/intermediate friendly and they looked reasonable.
Several weeks went past and, the day after the park shut down to start the upgrades, my new wheels arrived. I unashamedly giggled like a school girl when I opened the box. They looked fantastic and, despite their bulky appearance, were lighter than they looked. It was hard to get in to them, however. It appears as if I have blades that are about half a size too small for my feet. I was tempted to send them back... but decided to give them a trial run near Kalkurla park the next weekend. Maybe they just need to be worn in and stretched out a little like regular shoes.
The weekend rolled around and my testing of them was quite interesting. When I go home and try on the old blades, they feel smooth. All four wheels on the floor make turning and pushing off/speeding up easy... the exact opposite of these blades. The wheels themselves are slightly rounded on the surface, compared to the virtually flat wheels of the aggressives. The aggressives felt a little... odd. Rolling around was not as smooth and you could feel every little bump in the footpath (though this is not necessarily a bad thing: doubles as a foot massage... if you have correctly sized and fitted blades). On top of that, because of the much smaller size of the wheels on the aggressives, the way I used to skate (with a lot of lateral pushing, means that the wheel frame occasionally dragged on the ground as I pushed. Hmm... a change in skating style may be needed... but, at least the blades felt good when moving around. Hard to get on and off... but smooth.
Definitely rusty though: I could barely do the smooth 180 degree toe-turn that I used to be able to do in my sleep. Also, skating backwards was virtually impossible.
A few weeks went past and I tried out the blades again. Still hard to do anything with... but I managed to remember/build up confidence to jump. Not well... but it was a start. Eventually, the skate park reopened. I looked at it one night on my way home from the shops. The park had been extended more than originally anticipated, and the basic footprint of the park was now about triple the original size. Brilliant, I thought, More room for more people. A few times before the original park was closed, there was always a huge number of people waiting in line to take their turn for their runs. Because of this, there were also huge crowds of various skaters and riders that hung around. I imagine that for the smaller kids and individuals, this made for an incredibly uncomfortable situation. With the larger grounds, it would be more spread out, more space for people to do runs, less crowding of groups, more people-friendly. After viewing the area itself, I was feeling pretty good about my choice. It was fully concrete, with more than a few areas that had metal coping/edges, making slides and grinds an easy (almost too easy) prospect... not that I had ever done any before. There were a few good areas where you could transfer from one section to another. The new giant bowl section looked simultaneously amazing and... well... frightening. In some sections, it was double the size of every other half/quarter pipe section in the park, the turns quite tight and it was quite narrow. Not my cup-of-tea yet, but maybe one day. The rest of the area had a pristine feel to it, with smooth entries/exits to virtually all of the ramps/pipe sections.
This could be fun.
The weekend rolled around, and I drove in to the parking area. I pulled on the blades that I hadn't touched for about two months at this point. It was about 10am and the area was largely unoccupied. Strange, I thought, but not a bad thing for a newbie. I watched for a few minutes as the scooter kids rolled around, as well as the BMX riders (it seems that skateboarders don't really start to surface until about 11am or later). This was also to steady myself and relearn what it was like to have wheels on my feet at the top of a ramp.
And so I rolled.
It was a little shaky, and coming up the ramp twenty metres down the path was quite unusual because I had underestimated the speed I would need to get up it... but it was a start. After about 20 minutes of simply rolling around, learning to ride up and down steep ramps again, I decided that I would try something different. Actually Jumping.
My first attempt went basically as well as you could imagine: Flailing like mad and giving myself a heart attack as I raised no more than twenty centimetres off ground. As the day wore on, I started getting better at it and managed to do a few little things with it as well, like a skate grab and 180 spins.It was interesting to note that the BMX riders actually stopped to look at me, and I could hear them say things like "Huh, he's got rollerblades? Never seen that here before." Confirmed the "no one in Kal has used them" theory nicely. Indeed, as the day wore on, I got questioned by various people, from young scooter kids to the older BMX and Skaters, as to how long I had been blading (to which I gave the short answer "I haven't been to a skate park in about 10 years"). Invariably, though, there were more questions like "Can you do anything with them?", "Can you 360/backflip/grind?" and the always amusing "Have you ever Faceplanted?".
"Baby Steps," I would tell them. "This is only my first day in a skate park. Gotta start somewhere and get the basics right." Which is true with something that can make you end up in hospital if you screw up.
More details in an upcoming post on skate park etiquette.
By the end of the day, I had developed sore shins from not being used to the blades rubbing against them, nor the forces imparted by jumping from ramp to ramp, and also a jarred finger from a misplaced hand when attempting to grab a blade mid-air... but it was totally worth it.
A pleasant day, and hopefully the start of something Fun.
It is always amusing when a new batch of younger kids rocked up to the park and saw me. They'd come up and ask the questions above and, assuming that I hadn't been temporarily knackered from a previous run, I'd pull a 180 and/or grab off the nearest ramp. You could hear them cheer and maybe later on they would come up to me and say that they thought I was cool.
That's right.
10 year olds think I'm cool.
Life Dream Achieved.
That said, in some interesting way, it was also pretty good to see that a few of the older people were showing some interest too. I spent a few minutes chatting to a guy who was there with his two kids. He said he used to rollerblade back in Sydney. In those days, he said, you would get 5 Wheel blades and remove the middle wheel to create a grind plate. Then you'd go to car parks and "try not to ax yourself grinding on the metal beams." We then discussed a bit about how the designs of blades had changed over time.
Just yesterday, I had a few interesting incidents.
I went to check out the park to see the conditions (we had some rain the night before, and I wanted to see how damp the ground was). On my way out, somebody recognised me as "The Rollerblader" and asked if I was going to be coming back.
After I got back, during a lull in other skaters/riders doing anything, I started working on attempting to do a transfer from one ramp to another over a largish obstacle. It involved doing a large circuit around about half of the old section of the park. Figuring out what I was doing, the group of riders/skaters actually stopped what they were doing to clear the area, and shouted for others to do the same. That was pretty nice. After a few attempts where I made it on to, but not directly over, the obstacle, I did have one shot directly over the top. Would have been better if I didn't come a major cropper on landing. Rolled laterally once but managed to keep the momentum going and got back to my feet quickly. Upon skating back to the area where they were loafing about, I got a comment:
"You got up quickly after stacking it."
"Yeah, just gotta keep going with the roll."
"Respect."
Despite that fall basically shaking my confidence for the rest of the day, felt pretty good after that interaction.
Later on had a ~16 year old come up and say that he thought what I was doing was pretty good because "it's gotta be hard on two wheels." Also pretty good.
Current plans are to work on actual rollerblade/life dreams:
- Learn to skate halfpipes
- Learn to ride backwards down ramps (and eventually halfpipes), which will make it easier to do various trick jumps over ramps
- Learn to grind
- Handplant on the top of a halfpipe
- Learn to 540
- Keep having Fun.
~4300 words in ~200 minutes over about a day
(by the way... I'm going to start keeping track of any articles I post, in terms of words written and time taken. This should help me see how on track I am for the NaNoWriMo project. At this stage, it's looking pretty good.)
...
That sounds a little serial-killerish.
Let me back up a bit.
Back in Newcastle, I loved rollerblading.
It took me a long to pick them up. It started when my middle brother bought (was gifted? memory is hazy...) a pair of rollerblades back in the mid-late 90s. This was at the time when rollerskating and blading was probably at its peak in the basic recreational population. These blades were a simple affair from a company called Aerial. Black body with red inside trim and solid plastic (?PVC) wheels. Standard 4x1 setup. Noisy buggers, and definitely not good on slick/slightly damp surfaces, but otherwise pretty serviceable. Took him a little while to get used to them, but within a few hours, he was starting to roll around our driveway and garage with confidence. My youngest brother eventually got a pair too (basically, the same style, just a size or two smaller).
I, on the other hand, didn't want anything to do with them. They were loud, seemed hard to control especially when trying to slow down and generally looked like an accident waiting to happen, especially with the grate to the drain where the garage turned in to the driveway being roughly one millimetres wider than the wheels. I would stick to my bike, thank you very much.
Every now and then, we would head out to Speers Point pedestrian track and do the lap from Speers Point park to Eleebana and back a few times.
For some unfathomable reason, Dad got Mum a pair of rollerblades for her birthday. I don't know why. He runs out of ideas quickly. A pair of black Aerials but, instead of the PVC wheels, these had smoother see-through Polyurethane wheels. Much quieter and possibly a bit better at turning, though significantly worse in damp/slippery conditions. So, in an amusing few months, she learned to blade... albeit gently.
After a while, in the times that she wasn't using them (read: most of the times), I picked them up and gradually learnt to skate. After the initial awkwardness of learning that your feet are not meant to be able to stay still while you move, it actually felt kind of smooth. It must also be noted that, at this time, the extensions to our garage had been finished and we had a few mattresses at the far end of the garage. It must also be noted that our driveway, from the street end, runs down to our garage for maybe 7 metres at a 35-45 degree angle. As you can expect, when the cars were out, we basically spent a full summer rolling up the hill and then down again as fast as we could and fly into the mattresses in many different ways. Good times.
That Christmas, I think I was maybe 12 at the time, Mum decided to get Dad back by buying him a pair of blades. He had to know that was coming. These were a set of grey Bladerunners. Really quite smooth to ride on and quite possibly the best blades I've had the pleasure of using. For good measure, I also received a pair of blades. Black Aerials. Felt quite chunky/bulky and, to be honest, I didn't really like them that much as they felt too tall (I think that they were 80+mm wheels instead of the standard 76 or 78mm of the time), heavy and a little more slippery. Also had a very unusual clip system that, to this day, I still can't figure out. But they did the job for a time.
Eventually, Mum and Dad called a truce to their amusing attempts to blade (oh, they tried and actually became competent at it... while at the same time hating it) and agreed to never do that again. So I sort of inherited Dads Blades (by inherited, I mean claimed them as my own and vehemently defended this claim when others tried to use them when I wanted to blade). The middle brother stepped up into a new set (?my old set) and the younger brother had grown in to the middle brother's. One of our neighbours also got some blades and we devised a new game: Blade Ball.
The rules were reasonably straight forward: In the middle of the rollerblade-friendly (i.e. not grass) area of our backyard, there was the basketball ring that hung off the verandah. In order to have the ball in your "side" of the court, you had to either get to a Safe Zone. One Safe Zone was near our neighbours fence, the other near the strawberry garden/clothesline. Once in your "half" you and your team mate had to try and shoot a hoop, though you had to be reasonably near the hoop to do so (because we were young and weak.. and it is pretty hard to shoot a ball when you're on rollerblades). 2 points if you were in the near zone (roughly a 4 metre section around the hoop), 3 points if you were on the older purpley coloured pavers. Games usually went to 20 before we stopped for drinks and maybe swapped teams, though I think one particular game went something like 43 to 35 or something. Body checking was allowed, to a limited extent, and you could steal the ball from your opponent's hands. You had to bounce the ball while moving and, similar to basketball, if you stopped bouncing the ball you have to pass it off. Collecting rebounds off the walls was allowed, but didn't count as passing the ball off if you had stopped bouncing it. Quite a few years were spent playing this game.
One Christmas, we all got plastic ice hockey sticks, so we developed a version of Blade Hockey. I can't remember exactly how this worked, as it wasn't as popular as Blade Ball, but I think that you were able to score in either goal (same places as the Safe Zones in Blade Ball). If a team scored, the other team had to start from that goal and could not score in that goal until they had passed halfway (roughly the same place as the basketball hoop). One point per goal, play to 10 or 20.
After a few years, my brothers gradually lost interest in blading and picked up Scooters. I, however, kept blading. We would go to Speers Point walkway a couple of times a month (nearly every weekend in the summer), and then the beginning of the Fernleigh Track opened. Unlike the Speers Point walkway, which was all open around the lake (which is still quite good), this track was through bushland on an old abandoned railway. Trees constantly formed a canopy overhead. There is also a long tunnel that's maybe two hundred metres long. From one direction, where we usually started, this is slightly uphill. Obviously, this means that coming back is a blast, as I gunned it as fast as I could through there and there was also usually a tailwind coming through.
As the track got longer over the course of a few years, this became my favourite place in the world. I basically stopped going on my blades to Speers Point (though still occasionally went cycling... and if I wanted a change in scenery) and spent more and more time on the Fernleigh track. This continued on throughout uni. I bought a new pair of blades at around 20 (after wearing the wheels on the BladeRunners to about half of their original thickness and near points, despite semi-regularly rotating the wheels around to limit that effect). These new ones were light grey Nike (yeah, I didn't know they did blades either) and were quite comfortable (I think that the BladeRunners were just a touch small for my feet), smooth, stylish and very responsive. Just as good as the Bladerunners, in my opinion, for a recreational set.
By the end of Uni, I was going to the Fernleigh track several times a week (an open timetable helped me out immensely here). At one stage, I started looking in to racing blades, ones with larger 90+mm wheels and 5 wheels per blade... but at the time, money was an issue and, if I genuinely wanted to race, I would have to go to Sydney constantly. No Thanks.
Every time I would go, I would do at least two laps (Adamstown to Whitebridge and back, as that was the limit of the track at the time... roughly 5.5kms in one direction).
I left Newcastle to go to Kalgoorlie after I finished uni. I didn't take the blades because I had no idea what to expect... and weight/space limitations on my bag were also a factor. Upon getting here, I bought a bike and cycled around everywhere looking for decent pathways. As it turns out, most of the pathways here are of a type that would make them fairly Blade Unfriendly (particularly if you were using Polyurethane instead of the PVC type... too gravelly, would chop up the wheels in no time), though amusingly there are quite a few of the regular roads that would be quite suitable for them, so I stopped that train of thought and got used to the fact that my non-Team-Sport-Outdoor-Past-Time would be limited to Cycling (still not a bad choice, but not my ideal). And, as it turned out, a lot of my weekends would be taken up by hockey and, eventually, work, so I would not even really do that too much after the first year I was here.
I missed rollerblading. One of the first times I went back, I found out that they had fully extended the Fernleigh track. When I had left, it was from Adamstown to Whitebridge (about 5.5kms). When I got back, it was all the way to Belmont... 15kms. Well... obviously, given that I hadn't bladed in about a year (?) at this point in time, I wasn't going to give that a go... this time. Cycling, however, was all up for grabs. As it turned out, the extended portion of the path is quite hilly. I would have to rethink my strategy for this for next time...
The next time I came across, about six months later if I recall correctly, I had been on a training program at the gym and was possibly in the best shape I had been since giving up FreeRunning/Parkour four or five years earlier (probably better in the upper half of my body). I was still the fastest runner at the Hockey Stadium and easily the fittest on my team. So I gave it a go on my old Nikes.
And BOY DID THAT HURT.
I think my best before heading to Kal was doing a Speed Run with 3 laps of the ~11km circuit over the course of maybe an hour and a half and I once did four or five laps over the course of an afternoon.
Here, without having bladed for 18 months/two years, it took me over two and a half hours to do the 30kms. I got grey vision semi-constantly and at one time nearly gave up. The muscle groups I had not used in years... they were giving up. For the next three days, everything ached.
So, for a while, I gave up the thought of blading entirely.
Until the end of last year.
I started getting the itch again.
I thought about it for quite a long time before deciding that I would get some and give it a go again shortly after my holiday to New Zealand (possibly partially inspired by the sheer amount of skate parks they have there... seriously, every town with a population greater than 100 has at least a half pipe and a street section over there). Realistically, I thought, I could use the roads at the north end of Kal, as well as the footpath around the outside of Kalkurla park. It definitely would not be any Fernleigh Track.... but it would be something.
After deciding that I would get something around my birthday (April), I thought about what sort. Obviously, there was the option to get the recreational skates that I used to use. Fun, reliable, common and fairly cheap. I also tried looking for Mountain Skates: Roller Skates (i.e. 2x2 per skate) that had large (150+mm) plastic/rubber wheels mounted to the side of the shoe component. Had the advantage of being designed for rugged terrain, but also the advantage of being able to slip in whatever regular shoe you wanted to there. I could, theoretically, skate to work. Awesome. However, these types of skate are elusive and the ones I was looking for were for a company that appears to have gone bust.
What about Aggressive Blades? I had never really been a Skate Park sort of person, only ever having been to a skate park maybe three times before... and all while I was still in High School (so... roughly 10 years ago) but it would be guaranteed smooth solid ground. I had actually once did a project (Year 10 Computer Science), where I designed a website about aggressive blading, including tricks, tips, terminology and pictures (got good marks for it too, because at the time I had self taught myself some HTML and Animated GIFs. Good Times). I had once wanted to do aggressive skating, but was hamstrung in multiple ways. I didn't have money or time to look for proper aggressive blades. Also, I was/am weedy, and was easily intimidated by things like groups of taller stronger people. I have a lot of inertia when it comes to fear, fear-of-failure and doing something I have never done before. To cap this off, and this will be looked at in a future post, bladers were, at the time, basically thought of as the lowest rung of the heirarchy at a skate park (this was at the time before scooters became commonplace and bladers basically invisible).
Times change, and no one here rollerbladed (possible exception: I once saw a guy in his early 20s on blades rolling around near the courthouse here... that may have possibly been the trigger point inspiration initially). It would be something different. It would be something that I had wanted to do. It might even drive me out of the rut that I had generated for myself around that time.
The more I thought about it, the more it appealed. This thought was cemented when I received a newsletter from the council that, among other things, said that the skate park was getting an upgrade to more than double its size. I'm not hugely superstitious, I don't think, but there are times where I convince myself that the universe is trying to speak to me... and so I took this as a sign.
So I went to the internets to do some research. I remember my friend John, back in high school, waxing lyrical about his middle brother's Roces (they're a skate company). So I looked them up and... didn't really like what I saw. These were odd looking, block shaped shoes with tiny wheels. I wanted large wheels because they hold their speed better. However, as I searched deeper, this appeared to be a common thread among all of the current types of Aggressive Skate. I figured that the smaller wheels were useful because you probably DO want a speed limitation when trying half-pipe/downhill manouevres. Well... that was not impressive... But there were quite a few interesting differences to the recreational and aggressive blades that I remember. Significantly, design in aggressive blades appears to have gone from having four small wheels with a gap between the second and third for rail slides, to two small wheels on the first and fourth positions and two smaller "anti-roll" or "anti-rocker" nylon wheels, and a gap between those too. Apparently is significantly better at grinding and half-pipe coping tricks. Also, aggressive blades now have very prominent outer soles which are apparently useful for slides and grinds.
I settled on an Australian Online Outlet store called "Skater HQ". They are based in Manly *shudders* and sold a fairly wide variety of blades. Eventually, I chose the Razor "Cult Street" blades, as the reviews seemed to say that they were fairly beginner/intermediate friendly and they looked reasonable.
Several weeks went past and, the day after the park shut down to start the upgrades, my new wheels arrived. I unashamedly giggled like a school girl when I opened the box. They looked fantastic and, despite their bulky appearance, were lighter than they looked. It was hard to get in to them, however. It appears as if I have blades that are about half a size too small for my feet. I was tempted to send them back... but decided to give them a trial run near Kalkurla park the next weekend. Maybe they just need to be worn in and stretched out a little like regular shoes.
The weekend rolled around and my testing of them was quite interesting. When I go home and try on the old blades, they feel smooth. All four wheels on the floor make turning and pushing off/speeding up easy... the exact opposite of these blades. The wheels themselves are slightly rounded on the surface, compared to the virtually flat wheels of the aggressives. The aggressives felt a little... odd. Rolling around was not as smooth and you could feel every little bump in the footpath (though this is not necessarily a bad thing: doubles as a foot massage... if you have correctly sized and fitted blades). On top of that, because of the much smaller size of the wheels on the aggressives, the way I used to skate (with a lot of lateral pushing, means that the wheel frame occasionally dragged on the ground as I pushed. Hmm... a change in skating style may be needed... but, at least the blades felt good when moving around. Hard to get on and off... but smooth.
Definitely rusty though: I could barely do the smooth 180 degree toe-turn that I used to be able to do in my sleep. Also, skating backwards was virtually impossible.
A few weeks went past and I tried out the blades again. Still hard to do anything with... but I managed to remember/build up confidence to jump. Not well... but it was a start. Eventually, the skate park reopened. I looked at it one night on my way home from the shops. The park had been extended more than originally anticipated, and the basic footprint of the park was now about triple the original size. Brilliant, I thought, More room for more people. A few times before the original park was closed, there was always a huge number of people waiting in line to take their turn for their runs. Because of this, there were also huge crowds of various skaters and riders that hung around. I imagine that for the smaller kids and individuals, this made for an incredibly uncomfortable situation. With the larger grounds, it would be more spread out, more space for people to do runs, less crowding of groups, more people-friendly. After viewing the area itself, I was feeling pretty good about my choice. It was fully concrete, with more than a few areas that had metal coping/edges, making slides and grinds an easy (almost too easy) prospect... not that I had ever done any before. There were a few good areas where you could transfer from one section to another. The new giant bowl section looked simultaneously amazing and... well... frightening. In some sections, it was double the size of every other half/quarter pipe section in the park, the turns quite tight and it was quite narrow. Not my cup-of-tea yet, but maybe one day. The rest of the area had a pristine feel to it, with smooth entries/exits to virtually all of the ramps/pipe sections.
This could be fun.
The weekend rolled around, and I drove in to the parking area. I pulled on the blades that I hadn't touched for about two months at this point. It was about 10am and the area was largely unoccupied. Strange, I thought, but not a bad thing for a newbie. I watched for a few minutes as the scooter kids rolled around, as well as the BMX riders (it seems that skateboarders don't really start to surface until about 11am or later). This was also to steady myself and relearn what it was like to have wheels on my feet at the top of a ramp.
And so I rolled.
It was a little shaky, and coming up the ramp twenty metres down the path was quite unusual because I had underestimated the speed I would need to get up it... but it was a start. After about 20 minutes of simply rolling around, learning to ride up and down steep ramps again, I decided that I would try something different. Actually Jumping.
My first attempt went basically as well as you could imagine: Flailing like mad and giving myself a heart attack as I raised no more than twenty centimetres off ground. As the day wore on, I started getting better at it and managed to do a few little things with it as well, like a skate grab and 180 spins.It was interesting to note that the BMX riders actually stopped to look at me, and I could hear them say things like "Huh, he's got rollerblades? Never seen that here before." Confirmed the "no one in Kal has used them" theory nicely. Indeed, as the day wore on, I got questioned by various people, from young scooter kids to the older BMX and Skaters, as to how long I had been blading (to which I gave the short answer "I haven't been to a skate park in about 10 years"). Invariably, though, there were more questions like "Can you do anything with them?", "Can you 360/backflip/grind?" and the always amusing "Have you ever Faceplanted?".
"Baby Steps," I would tell them. "This is only my first day in a skate park. Gotta start somewhere and get the basics right." Which is true with something that can make you end up in hospital if you screw up.
More details in an upcoming post on skate park etiquette.
By the end of the day, I had developed sore shins from not being used to the blades rubbing against them, nor the forces imparted by jumping from ramp to ramp, and also a jarred finger from a misplaced hand when attempting to grab a blade mid-air... but it was totally worth it.
A pleasant day, and hopefully the start of something Fun.
It is always amusing when a new batch of younger kids rocked up to the park and saw me. They'd come up and ask the questions above and, assuming that I hadn't been temporarily knackered from a previous run, I'd pull a 180 and/or grab off the nearest ramp. You could hear them cheer and maybe later on they would come up to me and say that they thought I was cool.
That's right.
10 year olds think I'm cool.
Life Dream Achieved.
That said, in some interesting way, it was also pretty good to see that a few of the older people were showing some interest too. I spent a few minutes chatting to a guy who was there with his two kids. He said he used to rollerblade back in Sydney. In those days, he said, you would get 5 Wheel blades and remove the middle wheel to create a grind plate. Then you'd go to car parks and "try not to ax yourself grinding on the metal beams." We then discussed a bit about how the designs of blades had changed over time.
Just yesterday, I had a few interesting incidents.
I went to check out the park to see the conditions (we had some rain the night before, and I wanted to see how damp the ground was). On my way out, somebody recognised me as "The Rollerblader" and asked if I was going to be coming back.
After I got back, during a lull in other skaters/riders doing anything, I started working on attempting to do a transfer from one ramp to another over a largish obstacle. It involved doing a large circuit around about half of the old section of the park. Figuring out what I was doing, the group of riders/skaters actually stopped what they were doing to clear the area, and shouted for others to do the same. That was pretty nice. After a few attempts where I made it on to, but not directly over, the obstacle, I did have one shot directly over the top. Would have been better if I didn't come a major cropper on landing. Rolled laterally once but managed to keep the momentum going and got back to my feet quickly. Upon skating back to the area where they were loafing about, I got a comment:
"You got up quickly after stacking it."
"Yeah, just gotta keep going with the roll."
"Respect."
Despite that fall basically shaking my confidence for the rest of the day, felt pretty good after that interaction.
Later on had a ~16 year old come up and say that he thought what I was doing was pretty good because "it's gotta be hard on two wheels." Also pretty good.
Current plans are to work on actual rollerblade/life dreams:
- Learn to skate halfpipes
- Learn to ride backwards down ramps (and eventually halfpipes), which will make it easier to do various trick jumps over ramps
- Learn to grind
- Handplant on the top of a halfpipe
- Learn to 540
- Keep having Fun.
~4300 words in ~200 minutes over about a day
(by the way... I'm going to start keeping track of any articles I post, in terms of words written and time taken. This should help me see how on track I am for the NaNoWriMo project. At this stage, it's looking pretty good.)
Thursday, 11 July 2013
Mid Week Microscopy - 008 - The Bug
OK, this one elicited more than a few "EEEEEWWWWWW" type comments on the Facebooks.
So... Warning: This may make you go "EEEEEWWWWWW".
With that out of the way....
I found one night that I had squashed a bug when it had run under my foot or something.
So I took pictures of it.
This was run over the course of a few weeks on the Facebooks, but I am condensing it down to a single post here.
So... Warning: This may make you go "EEEEEWWWWWW".
With that out of the way....
I found one night that I had squashed a bug when it had run under my foot or something.
So I took pictures of it.
This was run over the course of a few weeks on the Facebooks, but I am condensing it down to a single post here.
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| This is the Bug in question. |
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| ~35x Magnification Bug's head. |
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| ~45x Magnification Bug's Antennae (complete with fluff from the floor) |
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| ~200x Magnifcation Bug's Antennae |
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| ~55x Magnification Bug's Leg, with extra floor fluff. |
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| ~225x Magnification Bug's Leg |
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| ~55x Magnification Bug's Carapace, Mid Section. |
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| ~200x Magnification Bug's Carapace, midsection. |
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| ~55x Magnification Bug's rear end, with partial open herniation |
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| ~210x Magnification Bug's Rear End, with partial open herniation |
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| ~35x Magnification Bug's head, supine. |
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| ~45x Magnification Bug's body, supine |
Saturday, 29 June 2013
Goldfields Writers Workshop - Poetry Workshop
A few weeks ago, the Goldfields Writers Group had a Workshop.
The afternoon was divided in to two parts: Poetry and Prose.
The activity given for the Poetry Workshop on the day was:
Head outside, find somewhere to sit. In 10 minutes, write whatever comes to you about the scene laid in front of you. Write anything and everything that comes to mind about the scene. Editing comes later.
The following was what I came up with...
And, as you can see, I am not really a poet :P
I can assure that the day was actually quite nice. The sun had been out for most of the day and it was pretty good out there.
It just was the first thing that came to me.
In other writing news...
Last night I had decided to sit down and start writing out a basic outline for the NaNoWriMo effort.
1800 words later, and I have a basic grip on what is going to happen in the storyline.
I don't have a finish yet. Characters don't have names (well... mostly). The McGuffin is still not wholly decided upon, and the big-bad and the final resolution is not likely to be determined until I actually write it.
If anyone wants to be a Plot Hole Searcher, Editor, Science & Tech Advisor or just wants to have a squizz at what the current storyline looks like, give me a buzz.
The afternoon was divided in to two parts: Poetry and Prose.
The activity given for the Poetry Workshop on the day was:
Head outside, find somewhere to sit. In 10 minutes, write whatever comes to you about the scene laid in front of you. Write anything and everything that comes to mind about the scene. Editing comes later.
The following was what I came up with...
The glare of the Sun
was limited by thicker clouds.
Ahead, the children.
Voices loud, clear, and yet unintelligible.
Drones mixed with vehicular activity.
They know nothing of the citizens of the year sitting beside me.
One of them probably had been there to see their first breaths.
They sat silently on the footpath, trodden over a few hundred times without knowing it.
The only protection afforded to them was the over hanging wire, not yet a roof produced by the climbing vines
Vines that would otherwise be called Strangling
Ahead, the children.
Voices loud, clear, and yet unintelligible.
Drones mixed with vehicular activity.
They know nothing of the citizens of the year sitting beside me.
One of them probably had been there to see their first breaths.
They sat silently on the footpath, trodden over a few hundred times without knowing it.
The only protection afforded to them was the over hanging wire, not yet a roof produced by the climbing vines
Vines that would otherwise be called Strangling
And, as you can see, I am not really a poet :P
I can assure that the day was actually quite nice. The sun had been out for most of the day and it was pretty good out there.
It just was the first thing that came to me.
The homework for the ... month... was to expand on that properly and edit it to a more suitable poetry style.
As such, here is the final result.
Sun streaks faded
Blinding glare imposed
by the gathering clouds
Ahead, the children
play
Voices
clear.
Unintelligible.
Loud.
High Pitched.
Whiny.
Drones
Unintelligible.
Loud.
High Pitched.
Whiny.
Drones
mixed with vehicular
activity.
They know nothing of the Citizens of the Year sitting beside me.
One of them probably had seen their first breaths.
Another may have helped them when they were unwell.
Others still have had profound effects on their life without them knowing.
The Citizens sit stoical
silent
in the stone path.
Stepped on,
walked over a few hundred times without knowing it.
Wire overhangs the Citizens.
No protection from the elements until the Vines strangle the string.
By then, time may have strangled them too.
They know nothing of the Citizens of the Year sitting beside me.
One of them probably had seen their first breaths.
Another may have helped them when they were unwell.
Others still have had profound effects on their life without them knowing.
The Citizens sit stoical
silent
in the stone path.
Stepped on,
walked over a few hundred times without knowing it.
Wire overhangs the Citizens.
No protection from the elements until the Vines strangle the string.
By then, time may have strangled them too.
Not a bad expansion on the previous work, I think.
Poetry was not, and is not, really my thing. I am too literal a person to be able to fabricate and weave a scene like a poet.
That said, I don't mind how this has turned out. Better than what I remember it to be.
Poetry was not, and is not, really my thing. I am too literal a person to be able to fabricate and weave a scene like a poet.
That said, I don't mind how this has turned out. Better than what I remember it to be.
In other writing news...
Last night I had decided to sit down and start writing out a basic outline for the NaNoWriMo effort.
1800 words later, and I have a basic grip on what is going to happen in the storyline.
I don't have a finish yet. Characters don't have names (well... mostly). The McGuffin is still not wholly decided upon, and the big-bad and the final resolution is not likely to be determined until I actually write it.
If anyone wants to be a Plot Hole Searcher, Editor, Science & Tech Advisor or just wants to have a squizz at what the current storyline looks like, give me a buzz.
Magnetic Man Dudes - 009 - Holy Grail
 |
| They had found the Holy Grail, and now were returning it to their Base Camp. |
Saturday, 22 June 2013
Magnetic Man Dudes - 008 - Red Goes Nuts
 |
| ...and when Red went nuts, you think that Blue and Yellow would have listened. However, it was not to be, to their detriment... |
Sunday, 9 June 2013
Goldfield Writers Group - Love or Theft in the Goldfields
Sneak Double Post!
From the previous meeting, the homework for the month was "Write about Love or Theft in the Goldfields (500 words maximum).
As such...
From the previous meeting, the homework for the month was "Write about Love or Theft in the Goldfields (500 words maximum).
As such...
I first noticed them
maybe a month or two ago. I had made a brief stop in the tea room.
The glass on the corridor looks out to a blocked-in courtyard. Two
pigeons sitting on the dirt, in the sunlight that projected between
the shadows of the building and the shade of the tree. I thought that
this was quite strange, at first. There were perfectly good branches
that sat in the sun and this area is a common, and perfect, place for
cats to stalk. These two birds, however, were unphased by such
trivialities. They were perfectly confident... A good thing to be
when you are in your own home. It amused me for a few moments, while
my cup cooled enough to drink. I moved on.
Over the course of a
few weeks, I noticed that they rarely sat in the tree. Almost always
on the ground. I also noticed that it was always only two of them.
Never a third, never just one, always the two. I wondered if they
were mates. I couldn't remember exactly, but I had always thought
that pigeons had very defining male/female features. My memory says
that the male pigeons are usually more colourful and slightly larger.
Looking at these two, I can't tell one apart from the other.
They occasionally wandered around, scratching and picking at the grass and grit. Every now and then, one would look over at the other and they would pause, sharing the time together in some form of silent communication.
They occasionally wandered around, scratching and picking at the grass and grit. Every now and then, one would look over at the other and they would pause, sharing the time together in some form of silent communication.
One overcast day, the
groundskeepers stripped the overgrown grasses and weeds from the
area. They tore through the ground, stealing up the rocks and flora.
I spotted the pigeons sitting in a gutter that overhangs the area.
They sat there patiently as the destruction of their grounds
continued beneath them, occasionally giving a sideways glance down
monitor the proceedings.
I did not see them for
another week.
I had thought them gone
permanently until I took the time to look properly. They were back at
it again, picking in the ground. They stopped every now and then,
looking at each other in quiet observation. They then look up at me.
I see their eyes, knowing nothing of what passes between the two.
They move on again, walking over the ground. Sitting together.
Goldfield Writers Group - Landscape
As part of the previous month's homework... The topic was "Write about a piece of the Goldfields Landscape (400 words max)".
As such, allow me to present to you "Rape Alley"
As such, allow me to present to you "Rape Alley"
I almost always walk
down a particular alleyway when going to and from work and town. Most
of the times, I think of a conversation I had with a friend when we
walked through it at the end of a night out. My memory of the
conversation has slightly altered what was said, but the gist is
always the same.
“Let's go this way.
Shortcut.” I had said.
“What, down Rape Alley?” she asked incredulously.
“...'Rape Alley'?” I confusedly replied.
“What, down Rape Alley?” she asked incredulously.
“...'Rape Alley'?” I confusedly replied.
“Yeah! Don't you
think it looks dodgy?”
“Well... yeah, but... 'Rape Alley'?”
She laughs as we start walking through the alleyway. It is wide, well lit and there is minimal graffiti.
“Well... yeah, but... 'Rape Alley'?”
She laughs as we start walking through the alleyway. It is wide, well lit and there is minimal graffiti.
“Doesn't
it look like anything could happen here at night?”
I paused before responding.
“Well.. kinda, but so does any other alley way.”
“Yeah, so 'Rape Alley'!” She shouts and laughs.
“But this might be better than any other alley way in Kal. I mean, this alley is actually well lit from Hungry Jacks,” I point out. “There's lots of people getting Drive Thru, so there are witnesses.”
“Yeah, or they could randomly jump out and attack you!”
I laughed. Someone in the Drive Thru line looked at us. We were rather loud. Alcohol may have been involved.
I paused before responding.
“Well.. kinda, but so does any other alley way.”
“Yeah, so 'Rape Alley'!” She shouts and laughs.
“But this might be better than any other alley way in Kal. I mean, this alley is actually well lit from Hungry Jacks,” I point out. “There's lots of people getting Drive Thru, so there are witnesses.”
“Yeah, or they could randomly jump out and attack you!”
I laughed. Someone in the Drive Thru line looked at us. We were rather loud. Alcohol may have been involved.
“Somehow,
I don't think that would happen.”
“What
about this alley,” she pointed up another alley that joined in a
T-Section. “People could come from there.”
“Huh? That's as well lit as here!”
“But it's weird down here at night!”
“I think you're just being paranoid,” I said. “Maybe it's because I am a man, but I don't really feel unsafe here.”
I'll never forget that, at that exact moment, our walk transitioned from the exceptionally well lit area to the dark-as-night portion. To this day, whenever I think of that phrase whilst walking down this particular alleyway, even in daylight, I turn my head just as I did that night... just to be sure.
“Do you think that anyone has actually been raped down here?” An honest question that I had not thought of until that moment.
“Well, this IS Kalgoorlie,” She replied. “Probably not, though.”
“Yeah. Drug deals, though...” I smirked. That got a laugh as we crunched over gravel, grit and glass through the gloom.
“Huh? That's as well lit as here!”
“But it's weird down here at night!”
“I think you're just being paranoid,” I said. “Maybe it's because I am a man, but I don't really feel unsafe here.”
I'll never forget that, at that exact moment, our walk transitioned from the exceptionally well lit area to the dark-as-night portion. To this day, whenever I think of that phrase whilst walking down this particular alleyway, even in daylight, I turn my head just as I did that night... just to be sure.
“Do you think that anyone has actually been raped down here?” An honest question that I had not thought of until that moment.
“Well, this IS Kalgoorlie,” She replied. “Probably not, though.”
“Yeah. Drug deals, though...” I smirked. That got a laugh as we crunched over gravel, grit and glass through the gloom.
Saturday, 25 May 2013
Magnetic Man Dudes - 007 - Giant Lizard
 |
| They also didn't believe Green when he said that there was a giant lizard... with dire consequences. |
Thursday, 23 May 2013
Goldfield Writers Group - Goldfields Personality (400 words)
Last month, the homework for the Writers Group was to produce 400 words on either a Goldfields personality or a location.
As I did not do that in the allotted time, I'll do both as projects.
Starting today with the Goldfields Personality.
EDDIE
"...I mean: How could he make a call like that?" I asked incredulously.
"Yeah... Bad call. Still, at least it wasn't Eddie."
"Eddie? Huh? What difference would that have made?"
"Well," my friend began. "For starters, he hands out cards like candy. In my game, he gave a yellow to a guy for swearing. Strictly speaking, it is against the rules and is a cardable offence... but it's not like it's really that bad. Certainly not a yellow."
I thought on this for a moment.
"Can you really begrudge someone for playing the letter of the law?"
"Yeah." My friend rolled his eyes. "It's not like we are playing for sheep stations or anything, and it doesn't affect gameplay. I fail to see how it is that bad."
I nodded.
"I agree. What else?"
"He is very strict when it comes to everything, really. Give a half bad stick check, and he sends you off with a Green. Tells you that you should know better at this level. Things that most umpires give a short corner for in the circle seem to go to a Penalty Stroke more often. He seems to have a thing with trying to mix things up, ruffle some feathers, particularly with the experienced and skilled players."
"Actually, those are the exact words he uses when it comes to administration of the Hockey Centre." I replied. "Give an opinion to the committee that might not be what they want to hear... but it must be said that it could actually be closer to correct than what the committee ends up doing."
"Hmm. He's an institution here. You always see him down here in his black pants and green YM jumper or shirt. Respect him for the dedication and years he has been here, but try to ignore everything else." He mused.
"Fun fact: he seems to know everyone here, including all of the juniors."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I've seen him rattle off the names of all of the Under 13s from another club. Most of them, I don't think I've seen before... and I've been here for years reffing that level."
My friend gave a whistle.
"True?" I nodded. "Respect. Takes a lot of time and effort to do that."
"Yeah," I said. "As you said, an institution."
As I did not do that in the allotted time, I'll do both as projects.
Starting today with the Goldfields Personality.
EDDIE
"...I mean: How could he make a call like that?" I asked incredulously.
"Yeah... Bad call. Still, at least it wasn't Eddie."
"Eddie? Huh? What difference would that have made?"
"Well," my friend began. "For starters, he hands out cards like candy. In my game, he gave a yellow to a guy for swearing. Strictly speaking, it is against the rules and is a cardable offence... but it's not like it's really that bad. Certainly not a yellow."
I thought on this for a moment.
"Can you really begrudge someone for playing the letter of the law?"
"Yeah." My friend rolled his eyes. "It's not like we are playing for sheep stations or anything, and it doesn't affect gameplay. I fail to see how it is that bad."
I nodded.
"I agree. What else?"
"He is very strict when it comes to everything, really. Give a half bad stick check, and he sends you off with a Green. Tells you that you should know better at this level. Things that most umpires give a short corner for in the circle seem to go to a Penalty Stroke more often. He seems to have a thing with trying to mix things up, ruffle some feathers, particularly with the experienced and skilled players."
"Actually, those are the exact words he uses when it comes to administration of the Hockey Centre." I replied. "Give an opinion to the committee that might not be what they want to hear... but it must be said that it could actually be closer to correct than what the committee ends up doing."
"Hmm. He's an institution here. You always see him down here in his black pants and green YM jumper or shirt. Respect him for the dedication and years he has been here, but try to ignore everything else." He mused.
"Fun fact: he seems to know everyone here, including all of the juniors."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I've seen him rattle off the names of all of the Under 13s from another club. Most of them, I don't think I've seen before... and I've been here for years reffing that level."
My friend gave a whistle.
"True?" I nodded. "Respect. Takes a lot of time and effort to do that."
"Yeah," I said. "As you said, an institution."
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Mid Week Microscopy - 007 - Dead Leaf
 |
| ~55x Magnification Dead Eucalypt Leaf |
 | |||
| ~200x Magnification Dead Eucalypt Leaf |
So... I have started back with the Goldfield Writers Group again.
Here's hoping that they can kick start me back in to a writing groove.
I'll try to have a piece up this week (for last month's homework...).
The Person on the Other Side of the Curtain
I wanted to do a change up from my regular "idea-action" sort of writing, so I started this one.
This was also mostly "completed" before I went to New Zealand, and was in fact, the story that went to my Editor with a few discussions looking back over it and thinking of changes that may make more sense or enhance the story. We even got as far as considering a full re-work of the story (that I may end up doing if I can re-motivate myself again) before the trip and then real life took hold.
After I came back and lost interest in writing, this one sort of fell by the way side. About a week ago, I picked it up again and hacked out a few things, added a small change here or there.
I lost impetus and, though this is one of the stories I wanted to write, I feel like I haven't done it justice.
A few small passages, and the ending in particular, feel quite weak. It doesn't really show what I want it to... but I have lost interest in writing this one and it sort of feels incomplete.
Partially inspired by the short story The Spider by Hans Heinz Ewers, as well as the English units we did in Year 11 and 12.
You probably won't believe me... but just try.
You do have to find inspiration from the real world for anything that is meant to look even remotely life like, but I can assure you that this is not related to real life events.
Stop staring at me like that.
Saturday, 8
This afternoon, something a little odd occurred.
Odd probably isn't the correct word, but I am not sure what other
word could cover it. Weird? Serendipitous doesn't really cover it
either, and that would imply something a little unusual and abnormal
about me. I've no real reason to actually explain why it made me
smile or even think good about it, but it did.
I went to my table and noticed that my curtain was
ajar. This in itself is a little odd, because I normally keep it
quite shut. That's especially important if the weather we are
expecting to come soon materialises: The curtains will keep the heat
and extra light out. Keeps the electricity bills cheaper. Also keeps
people from looking in. I guess the curtains must have come open
while I was cleaning and tidying earlier.
Anyway, I figured that I was a little bored and
that I would peer out of the window to see what was happening. I
looked out across to the apartments next door, because that is
basically all I can see from my window. The units looking back at me
are all pretty similar, and I should know: I used to live over there.
All tiny apartments, one room plus a separate bathroom/laundry
complex. I moved over here when I could afford to because... well...
space. Also, it's cheap enough, in a pretty good neighbourhood and is
close enough to most things that matter to me so I would have been
mad to not go for it when I could.
The apartments stare back at me with their grey
brick exterior and off-white backed curtains shut tightly. All except
the one basically directly across from me. This unit had a curtain
that was kind of opened, enough that I could see a reasonable amount
inside. I'm not sure why, but I actually had a sort of prolonged look
over the place. Maybe some sense of nostalgia. The floor was the same
dark brown carpet that I remembered in my unit. There was a small
desk on one side of the room, with an office chair and what was
probably a computer or laptop sitting on top of it (I couldn't see it
all). I think I could also make out half of the bed close to the
window and the wardrobe against the wall too. The layout was a bit
different to my old apartment but, then again, everyone has their own
room layout.
And then a person walked past. A man to be
specific.
He was wearing long black or deep navy track pants
and a lighter blue t-shirt on. I guess he was of average height and
build, light brown hair.
I actually stopped for probably a minute or two to
see what he was doing. He looked like he had just grabbed a bottle of
drink (alcoholic beverage?) and sat down. I presume the TV was on.
Occasionally, he looked like he was laughing and every so often he
would take a sip out of the bottle. Eventually, I moved away and
continued on with my life.
Like I said earlier, I am not really sure why it
was particularly intriguing to me, but... it just... was.
Maybe it's the idea of finding someone you have
never really seen before but in a place you used to know. It could
have been that it was just something that happened that broke the
monotony of my day without really involving me doing anything truly
unique. Perhaps the sheer voyeurism of looking in to see what other
people do (isn't that what made Reality TV so popular?) or maybe even
just the fact that there are other people going about their lives
without any real care in the world?
Who knows? It was significant enough that I have
dedicated a page writing about it here.
***
Wednesday, 12
It happened again. This time, it was during
dinner. Chicken Kiev, peas, carrots and corn. Delicious. The TV was
on, the news providing some form of simultaneous information
dissemination and background noise. I swallowed something the wrong
way. Once I had calmed down, I poured myself a glass of water and sat
back down. I noticed my curtains opened again. I must have knocked
them apart in my choking/coughing fit. I had a quick look around and
I noticed that once again his curtains were fairly open. For a
moment, there was nothing. I was about to close my own curtains when
he reappeared. He sat down at the base of the bed, a plate of food in
hand and remote control at his side. He was wearing the same coloured
pants as the other day, possibly even the same pants, but a different
shirt. This one was green.
Every now and then, he would change the channel. For the most part, though, he would sit there and take a bite or two.
Every now and then, he would change the channel. For the most part, though, he would sit there and take a bite or two.
A loud ad break in the news broke me out of my
trance. I closed the curtain and went back to eating. Funny thing
though: My dinner had gone from hot to lukewarm. Must have been
looking for a little while. Re-heated it, and it was ok. Would have
been better hot. Most things don't microwave well.
***
Friday, 14
Finished work, came home and ate. Got showered and
changed and heard the car beeping in the alley. That's the way we
usually seem to communicate that we are here (i.e. at someone's
place) and ready if that person is running late. It's amusing: we
used to text each other all of the time that we were outside and
waiting back in the days of pre-paid. Now that we are all on regular
plans and it doesn't cost us anything to text, we don't do it.
Strange how the world works, really.
Anyway, I got out on to the verandah just to check
that it was my friends. I didn't think that I was running late at
all. I looked down and saw that it wasn't actually the crew, it was a
taxi.
I looked around to see if anyone was coming and saw his curtains slightly ajar. It was hard to make out, because the window wasn't opened that far, but I could definitely make out four different people, presumably, himself and friends (one male, two female). I couldn't tell at the time, but they seemed to look as if they were ready to go out too.
A longer beep from the taxi, and he opened his curtains. His shirt was a vibrant silky purple button up, not overpowering but definitely a classy shade. He was wearing long black pants, smooth and in stark contrast to the trackies he had been wearing the last few times I had seen him. A stylish set of shiny black shoes enveloped his feet and completed the look. He shouted down towards the taxi, a rather masculine voice telling the taxi driver that they were on their way.
The other people in the room downed their drinks and the curtains closed. The lights blinked out from underneath the curtains and they were gone.
I moved back inside and checked the time, realised that I had another half hour or so to kill, so I put some music on to pass the time.
I looked around to see if anyone was coming and saw his curtains slightly ajar. It was hard to make out, because the window wasn't opened that far, but I could definitely make out four different people, presumably, himself and friends (one male, two female). I couldn't tell at the time, but they seemed to look as if they were ready to go out too.
A longer beep from the taxi, and he opened his curtains. His shirt was a vibrant silky purple button up, not overpowering but definitely a classy shade. He was wearing long black pants, smooth and in stark contrast to the trackies he had been wearing the last few times I had seen him. A stylish set of shiny black shoes enveloped his feet and completed the look. He shouted down towards the taxi, a rather masculine voice telling the taxi driver that they were on their way.
The other people in the room downed their drinks and the curtains closed. The lights blinked out from underneath the curtains and they were gone.
I moved back inside and checked the time, realised that I had another half hour or so to kill, so I put some music on to pass the time.
Saturday, 15
The night out was good. Nothing special, just a
nice night out. Minor hangover.
The mid-afternoon is my clean up time. I bumped
the curtain, and it opened. I had a sneaking look through the window
and saw that his curtain was open too. He was sitting down at the end
of the bed again. He was wearing the same pants as he normally does,
but this time no shirt. He had a reasonably toned chest and abdomen,
with some definition on his pecs and subtle definition of his abs. I
guess he worked out to some extent or was otherwise involved in some
form of physical labour. He had limited amount of body hair, enough
to know it was there but not enough as to call him a rug. Which I
guess kind of suited him. This time, a mug was in his hand. Probably
coffee.
I stared for about a minute before he twisted his head to the other side of the room. He got up and, I guess, he went to the door. I couldn't see that deep in to the room, but there was definitely some shadows dancing on the floor. There was more than one person in there now. I was sure of that. A few seconds later, I could see two pairs of feet. The sandles and feet they held of the newcomer looked kinda girly.
I stared for about a minute before he twisted his head to the other side of the room. He got up and, I guess, he went to the door. I couldn't see that deep in to the room, but there was definitely some shadows dancing on the floor. There was more than one person in there now. I was sure of that. A few seconds later, I could see two pairs of feet. The sandles and feet they held of the newcomer looked kinda girly.
A minute later, and they were both sitting down at
the end of the bed. She was of fair complexion and somewhat petite.
She had light mousey brown hair that looked like it flowed not much
past her shoulders. She was wearing light coloured jeans and a light
red coloured tank top. The more I think about it, the more I think I
recognise her from last night. Both had cups of whatever it was,
coffee. They chat away for a while, every now and then one or both
laughed. It was pretty obvious that they were an item. The way she
smiled, you could have seen it a mile away. There was an interesting
moment where she gave a sheepish grin and turned her head to her
left. It was not long after that he sidled up next to her and lay his
arm around her shoulders. She lay her head on his shoulder and placed
her hand on his lap. He, in turn held hers.
For a time, they sat there. She stroked his hand. He softly kissed her temple. She smiled deeper, rolled in towards him. They embraced and started kissing.
I was mesmerised. This was kind of beautiful. They rose to their feet and started caressing tenderly. She was slightly shorter than he was, and her head and neck were slightly uptilted. He gently moved his hands up from her waist, up her back, past her neck and through her hair. She responded with a small kiss, possibly a nibble, on his neck. He inhaled deeply, clearly taken in, laughed and said something. She smiled back, looking deeply in to his eyes as his hands went to the bottom of her shirt. He dragged it up and -
- oh -
I should not be watching this.
Sheepishly, I shut the curtains and went back to doing anything else in the world.
For a time, they sat there. She stroked his hand. He softly kissed her temple. She smiled deeper, rolled in towards him. They embraced and started kissing.
I was mesmerised. This was kind of beautiful. They rose to their feet and started caressing tenderly. She was slightly shorter than he was, and her head and neck were slightly uptilted. He gently moved his hands up from her waist, up her back, past her neck and through her hair. She responded with a small kiss, possibly a nibble, on his neck. He inhaled deeply, clearly taken in, laughed and said something. She smiled back, looking deeply in to his eyes as his hands went to the bottom of her shirt. He dragged it up and -
- oh -
I should not be watching this.
Sheepishly, I shut the curtains and went back to doing anything else in the world.
***
Tuesday, 18
It was a hard day. I had been dumped upon greatly
by my managers. The heat from the commute home had drained me of most
of my remaining energy. I put something in the microwave. I was
feeling too crappy to actually cook anything. The TV blared and did
nothing to help alleviate the situation. I opened the curtain.
The last of the sun was coming down and some of
the lights in the shadowed portions of the alley way were starting to
flicker on. I saw that his curtain was open. She was there again.
They were standing up, holding each other again. His shirt was still
on, but hers was just coming off. The light blue singlet was dumped
unceremoniously on the floor. His soon followed and they continued. I
closed my curtain again out of a combination of minor embarrassment
and major frustration with everything.
The food was now microwaved, so I sat down to eat
it. The TV wasn't really working as a distraction again, the news
being as awfully depressing as it normally is. The news reader's
voice, instead of lulling me in to calm compliance, just irked me, so
I switched it off.
A few moments of quiet solitude, a deep breath and
a mouthful of microwaved food later, I thought I heard a squeek. I
looked around the room. It's not unknown around these parts for mice
to co-inhabit frequently. Another squeek... or was that a shout? I
moved to the window and opened it a little to see if I could figure
out what it was. Nothing. Probably a trick of the breeze.
As I was closing it, I heard it again. It was still a soft sound. Where was that coming from? There it was again. And again. I looked around. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. All curtains were closed. Then I saw movement in one of them. His. The movement was gentle and flowing and...
Oh.
Right.
Shirts being taken off.
Shouts.
Obvious.
As I was closing it, I heard it again. It was still a soft sound. Where was that coming from? There it was again. And again. I looked around. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. All curtains were closed. Then I saw movement in one of them. His. The movement was gentle and flowing and...
Oh.
Right.
Shirts being taken off.
Shouts.
Obvious.
I went to shut the door curtain. But then I
stopped. Stopped and stared. And I watched the other curtain continue
its short movements.
The rhythmic motion... it was... mesmerising.
The soft sound held me captive.
I was transfixed.
One motion after the other.
Eventually the sounds stopped, as did the curtains. I sat there for a while watching for movement, but there was none.
The rhythmic motion... it was... mesmerising.
The soft sound held me captive.
I was transfixed.
One motion after the other.
Eventually the sounds stopped, as did the curtains. I sat there for a while watching for movement, but there was none.
I eventually went back to my food, but it was
cold.
Wednesday, 19
I got home from work, put my stuff away and
started cooking. Once everything was in the oven/on the stove top, I
sat down. Another long day, but a bit better than yesterday. The heat
wave had well and truly hit now. I went to switch the TV on, but
thought better off it. I peered through the curtains. His was not
open.
I stayed there for a short while, until I could smell that my food was cooked.
The TV was not entertaining me so, after I ate and had a shower, I had a brief glance through the window again. His curtain was still drawn, though I could see light coming through the bottom. I think he was the only one there, as there was no real movement of the shadow.
I stayed there for a short while, until I could smell that my food was cooked.
The TV was not entertaining me so, after I ate and had a shower, I had a brief glance through the window again. His curtain was still drawn, though I could see light coming through the bottom. I think he was the only one there, as there was no real movement of the shadow.
Eventually, I went to bed.
Thursday, 20
Came home, dropped my stuff and looked through the
curtain.
His was not open.
His was not open.
Cooked something.
Looked through the curtain. It was still not open.
Ate.
Looked through the curtain.
His curtain was open and the glass door slightly
ajar. He was sitting there, sweating and largely naked with only
underwear on. He also had a plate of food on his lap and a bottle of
drink by his side. Why?
I sat down and I watched.
He ate slowly, but drunk quickly. It must be really hot there. He finished the bottle and got up.
I looked up and saw that all but one of the air conditioning units on the roof were working. The one that was not working appeared to be covered in black soot. I guess it was his and it had burnt out.
I sat down and I watched.
He ate slowly, but drunk quickly. It must be really hot there. He finished the bottle and got up.
I looked up and saw that all but one of the air conditioning units on the roof were working. The one that was not working appeared to be covered in black soot. I guess it was his and it had burnt out.
He came back with a large glass of water. We sat
for some time.
He got up and went to the curtains. He looked
around. His eyes wandered the place, and they went towards my window.
I thought I noticed them slowing down.
I froze. Would he see me? Should I move? Close my
own curtains?
A moment passed.
I'm not sure if he had actually seen me, he gave
no indication that he did.
At any rate, he closed his curtains.
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
I showered, peeked out, saw his curtain was still
closed, and went to bed.
Friday, 21
I managed to get off earlier than normal today.
I got home and checked the curtain. His was open,
as was the door. He had shorts on and was sitting down, glass of
water in hand.
I watched for a little while when I noticed
movement in my upper peripheral vision. The repairers for the broken
air conditioner. They were looking down at me.
They waved. I waved back and slunk back in to my
room, closing the curtain.
An hour passed and I checked again. His curtain
was now closed.
Got changed and ready to go out.
Heard the beeping of a taxi, a shout. His shout. I
briefly pulled open the curtains to see his closing.
I ran down the stairs, but he was gone by the time
I got there.
Saturday, 22
I checked in the morning to see if there was
anything happening.
The curtain was not open.
The curtain was not open.
I went about cleaning my place, checking after I
vacuumed.
Still not open.
Still not open.
The day went on and I still occasionally
checked.
Not open once
Not open once
Night time.
No Change.
No Change.
Sunday, 23
Nothing.
Monday, 24
Still nothing.
Tuesday, 25
Still nothing.
Wednesday, 26
Still nothing.
Thursday, 27
I suspect that he must have noticed me and is
keeping the curtains closed. We'll see this weekend.
Friday, 28
This could be it. The final chance.
I checked when I got home. Still no open curtain.
It's ok, it's the afternoon. He might not be home yet.
I went on with my usual routine. Cooked something.
TV on. Ate.
I checked again.
Light on, shadows moving, but no curtain opened.
I sighed.
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