Tuesday, January 17, 2006

New Starter Strategies

I don't know anyone who appreciates the sound of an alarm clock, especially when they're sleeping, but I might as well have jumper cables attached to my nipples because it shocks me every time.

My alarm for the past indefinite amount of time has been some poorly transmitted radio station that played oldies rock music, and sometimes, intrusive, gag-inducing music like Bryan Adams. Actually, the music this station plays is hard to categorize. Let's just call it "evil".

I have been having lots of nightmares lately. They involve stranglings, struggles, and perversions. They are so deranged -like those frustrating dreams where you're trying to speak but for some reason your mouth seems to be cemented shut, or those dreams where no matter where you go, you are always hunted by an assassin. You have the magical ability to see around the corner, or you just know that something bad is going to happen, but still you can't stop it.

On the one hand, I wake up being so greatful that I have finally escaped dreadful situations like having my hand on backwards, or ending up in just another building every time I escape the first, but on the other: I wake up angry for spending so much time worrying when none of it was real!

Then I thought of my alarm. Wouldn't it be nicer to wake up to the soft chirpings of crickets rather than Anthrax? Maybe the music is causing the nightmares.

Remember, what may seem like hours in a dream is really only a second or two. So I tried a little experiment and changed the station.

So this morning, I might have been sailing through the sky as a cherub, or swimming in a river of chocolate but I forgot my dreams. Right now, that's a good thing. One little change probably made my whole day, even though the weather was disgusting: freezing rain which was so bad that my one class was cancelled. However, I felt at peace with the raindrops bouncing off of my face in pellets and even got to my meeting today before the person who hosted the appointment. Ha! What I woke up to was "Halleluia" sung by K.D. Lang, such a pacifying tune. It put me in charge. That song has been tossed around like a cheap prostitute, but she does it so well. I remember when she sung it at the Juno awards. And I was not alarmed to be awake.

Ish laughs at me because I can never figure out which pocket I put my mobile in. Whenever it rings, there is an implaceable jingle that emanates from my body as I scramble to find it. It makes me dance. The volume is quiet enough that were I at a rock concert, I would risk not hearing it, but loud enough that I am desperate to make it stop as quick as possible. This reminds me of my alarm clock. Just now, it rang, and I had left it in my coat. I sprang off my seat instinctively, but had nothing on me to grab. I left it in my trenchcoat. I left it in my trenchcoat, under a pile of other coats, which were all mixed up worse than pineapples in a banana bin. I ran over to the chair it was slung on, and then, wouldn't you know, by the time I answered it, the call was short of reaching me. Oh yeah, I'm in a basement. No reception.

My youngest sister has been getting into some movie production. She did a presentation about Napolean and the French Revolution. She baked and brought cake (as in Marie Antoinette: "let them eat cake") and played a video that she created with her friends, a camera, and a Mac. Apparently, they made it into a DVD, and although they didn't do this, she said she could have made a menu. Her favorite highlight was that in the slide show, she subtly slipped in a picture of Braveheart, standing triumphantly. Her French teacher chuckled at this, observant old cat. If she had more time, she would have included the credits and some film bloopers.

One such extra scene might have been when her and her friends went to the library to secretly film the librarian. I suppose they wanted a reality tv type of vibe. They are apt to humour the librarian at school, who isn't so quick at figuring out when they're up to tricks. She is one of those people who takes their jobs so seriously that it is funny, and who it is tempting to rearrange the books on. For example, I'm not sure if this librarian has ever taken note of the fact that there are now more fishes in her tank than there were at the beginning of the school year.

Anyway, my sister acted as a decoy, going up and asking the librarian questions to stall while the cameraman hid himself behind some shelves to record the interaction: "So, [geekylibrarianlady], what kinds of things do you like best about books?" "Is there anything exciting that you like to do on your lunch breaks?" The librarian answers, awkwardly: "...well, I pack my own lunch. I take that time to eat my lunch, of course" "Oh, that's interesting..." "Why? Why are you asking me all these questions?" Just then the camera man makes too much noise and foils the plan.

I didn't want to spend too much money today, but we get to choose our own book about management technique for our class on the Management Environment. I found a book called Creativity Inc. by Jeff Mauzy and Richard Harriman about how business should be willing to take risks, and how managers can encourage and harness the innovative ideas of their employees. I then saw The R. Crumb Handbook (Robert Crumb) on at 50% off and I couldn't resist. He's that crazy cartoonist of 60's America, who built his reputation as a misfit. His material bordered on downright outrageous for its time.

Well, and now I have my second band practice with the new conglomerate of musicians. Our amplifiers could be considered a hazard to the power grid. It is an interesting pet project at this point. We have SO much equipment in that studio. The music is good too, but we're still sorting out logistical things, like how to manage volume. Our drummer was experimenting with a midi kit that had different noises for every rubber pad that he'd strike. It's like virtual drumming. (He has a real drum kit too). Some of the effects basically made him useless, because using them can't really be considered playing, and some of the soundbites like a voice saying "C'mon" in different registered, kind of broke the seriousness of the moment. I'm excited about going into that atmosphere though. The band members are a hoot. I like the incubatory nature of the hall, with its smallness, posters and little white lights everywhere. Hopefully this time we don't drain the juice completely or blow a fuse.

Though, it was nice that time when the lights all went out, and we kept playing, in the pitch black dark. That was bonding.

4 Comments:

Blogger Lorena said...

"And I was not alarmed to be awake." i like that line!

i have never had such nightmares. maybe 5 scary ones, that i can remember, i think. i hope the new music changes the way you wake up. i have never heard that song of k.d. lang.

poor librarian. still you do wonder how they spend their evenings, i mean the geeky ones like the one you described.

so you're in a band. that's great. i wish i was part of some team. for one year in gradeschool i was in the volleyball team and i remember the great feeling of being part of a team and when we would win, the smiles, hugs, bonding. i miss that.

anyhow, great to read your interesting stories :)

10:57 p.m.  
Blogger Beth said...

I'm sorry....my mind got stuck at the jumper cables on your nipples part.

8:03 a.m.  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

lmao at qoa...and i don't need an alarm clock when u get to be my age, your body wakes u up on time even when u don't want it to. :)

9:23 a.m.  
Blogger sirbarrett said...

This was a ramble on type of blog, but sometimes they're very soothing to do.

lorena -Poor librarian is right. When I was a youth, we never acted in this outlandish way. We were respectful of our elders and we obeyed the duey decimal system. KD Lang is a lesbian vegetarian Canadian who took that song from Jeff Buckley who had it given to him by Leonard Cohen -another guy from Montreal who is also a poet and musician. I used to play volleyball too. In fact, our team was the best team there ever was. I played middle. We had a short setter. When no one was expecting, I'd go up for the "quicks" spiking the ball down before it went too high above the net. This psyched people out, because they were used to high sets, waiting for the ball to go up and then come down before it was smashed onto their court. Yes, volleyball is a violent sport. Egos are easily destroyed.

QOA -Nipples to you.

mitzzee -why do you have two 'z's in your name? You like to be mysterious don't you. Yes, there are many mysterious things about you, you hatter. So you think you're an old lady eh? I think maybe you have a secret clock that no one knows about except you. ;)

madelyn -It was nice to feel as if we had coffee together, chatting too, and it saves so much time when you don't actually do it. Days like this are great when you wake up in the right key. Have fun in class!!

8:57 p.m.  

Post a Comment

<< Home

Who Links Here