So I fell unceremoniously back to earth...
Ten days on and I'm still feeling somewhat detached from reality. I watch a TV banking commercial and think - I don't work for that household name any more. I can please myself today; what shall I do, where shall I go? Well I'm varying my routine and doing what takes my fancy. Domestic chores are fine by me, I like cleaning, washing, polishing and tidying. No one organises my day, not even me.
Blue skies and a thin watery sun entice me into taking the bike out. Although dry it is only deceptively fine and the bitter cold soaks into my bones. A ten mile round trip to the DIY Superstore was sufficient today. Swirling leaves caught my eye this afternoon so I unexpectedly spent two hours with a noisy toy blowing them into a giant drift and filling sack after sack after sack. I ate no lunch because I wasn't hungry.
Where have all the bloggers gone? I trimmed my blogroll a couple of months ago but I need to do it again. Don't be offended if I drop a link - so many have ceased posting and commenting and moved on that I need to have a clearout. I'm not very good at doing peripheral so I am sticking to hardcore from now.
You'd have to be deaf and blind to miss Arctic Monkeys, the hype machine is in overdrive. The debut album is smart and very self-assured and their lyrics will stand up to close scrutiny. British influences abound but the result is individual. Hard rock meets Indie, intelligent, articulate and acerbic and I'm going to sidestep any thoughts of comparisons.
The other new CD on my hi-fi is the debut from The Kooks. This is instantly accessible and inevitably will be seen as the album The Libertines should have made. Gritty tales of urban life over scorching melodies and slabs of guitar. My kind of twenty-year-olds, enough said.
Good heavens look at the time! I need to crack on with planning a lazy itinerary for tomorrow.
14 comments:
Sounds like a wonderful time to me. The bike ride must of been very chilly yet I probably would of liked it. Enjoy "your" time ... you deserve it.
I see you,
JJ
i think there's been a major blog exhaustion going on, but mostly because most who went to blog did so for the novelty of it. at least we've a tight circle and it always is nice to come home to the familiar.
hopre you're doing well, pv.
a slow down in bloggers certainly but the old crew remain. team blogging seems to be taking off in a big way and that is fine and dandy by me.
doing the garden eh? a chore turns into a pleasure due to unfortunate circumstances. funny that.
haven't got the Arctic Monkey's new album. spent my dosh on an album that i bought at a gig. kinda regret it now.
looking forward to your review of it as and when.
ditto trans final comment.
Perfect
I know Ive been amongst the missing, It was comforting to come back and see that you were still here though. We must catch up and I owe you an email...today maybe.
God slowed me down a bit today, im home with a sick child. Maybe I can get some homework done.
I miss you my friend and Im glad you left that job. Jealous that you got to ride :)
Love April
JJ - my eyeballs froze over but wow it was great!
Transience - exhaustion favours the tired. I'm tired too but tenacious. Nice to see a familiar visitor and yes I'm doing fine.
CJ - yes our tight circle is great. The music collaboration is a nice side project and I'm enjoying it more than gardening!
DG - APRIL you're back! I knew you were out there somewhere not gone. We must indeed catch up I'm checking my inbox daily. Is your bike fixed yet? I do hope so, what a fantastic tonic it is to leap aboard and scorch off into the countryside leaving your woes trailing in your wake...
Bouls - quaint name isn't it. Musically still a variation on modern guitar rock but quite refreshingly new and different. I hope they are worth all the hysteria as gig tickets are changing hands for daft money on ebay. Three cheers for my free time!
have you ever seen a butterfly?
only margerineally
dAAve - good man you spotted the joke.
I still have gunk in my lungs that I'm coughing up. Makes posting difficult coz I hafta use that speech-to-type program. So I'm just pirating info from others.
I had a small Harley in the mid 70s that I still miss tho NOT in cold weather.
Retirement affords time to learn.
Morgan - hope you're better soon. As you know, I use Dragon Natrally Speaking too. I have just upgraded to Version 8 and find accuracy levels are higher than ever.
I think that reality is what you are finally feeling. You have taken back ownership of yourself.
Well I'm varying my routine and doing what takes my fancy. Now, that's reality!
Where have all the bloggers gone? They're caught up away from home...the false reality, I realm I want no more of.
Arctic Monkeys. Don't want to become deaf and blind after all these years so I'm going to check them out.
I enjoyed your post. I look forward to a life where I too can do what takes my fancy. I have soooo very much to do and the world is eating it up. I want to enjoy it before they destroy it.
Take care friend.
Neetee - thanks for visiting, and I hear what you say about reality. Once I adjust to this new found freedom I think I will understand reality. As to the blogger exodus - that's probably just human nature struggling with tenacity. One thing I do know, this smart little circle is very real and valuable - nothing virtual here!
Arctic Monkeys didn't reveal themselves fully to me at first listen, it is more complicated than that and worth persevering.
I had this unexpected opportunity to step off the work train a clear decade early and I'm still on the empty platform wondering which exit to take. I'm certainly not waiting for another train!
Oh gosh, I know the feeling well. When I first got laid off from my job last May, for a few weeks I was just spinning and lost ~ but happy as a lark, no less. Now in my self-employment I love to go to the grocery during the day when it's quiet and like you, no one organizes my schedule for me anymore.
You will find your balance again and a routine that suits you.
Jen - I'm balancing my routine, less work more play! It is a fantastic feeling to be in complete charge of one's destiny. For now I'm letting myself enjoy the relaxation for the first time in 29 years. Hey you're a pro now!e
Sirreene - I'm awake until the wee small hours meticulously planning every tomorrow. Up with the lark to make sure enough coffee is drunk before 9am. Bike riding is an essential ingredient of a busy day too.
Heck I'm busy doing nothing!!
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