Isolation
Stone buildings echo nothing
Everyone has their own world
Boundaried by white plastic plugs
Stoppering sounds within
Defeaning silence without
Death is the lightest weight
Hardly noticed
Except when walking
Without headphones
Aross lonely openness
It bouys us
Gives us the option
To risk it all
For king and country
Because to hell with it
Life's short anyway
Poem:
My dad mentioned that someone he knows was in China recently and noticed that everyone there was "plugged in." They all had headphones, tablets, smartphones, etc, and I thought it fit in well with my last poem about how I distract myself using my phone. It's the same way on college campuses. People can't even make it from one class to another without turning on their music. Not that I'm an exception, of course. It's just odd how things change. I have walked through campus in the summer without distraction, and it's a really nice place. The campus is spacious, and a good combination of nature and function. But I'm pretty sure nobody notices it anymore as they go by bobbing their heads to the beat.
Observation:
Apparently disc golf is hazardous to my health. Last year I slipped on some stairs and ripped off the tip of my toe, which hurt a lot. Yesterday something even sillier happened. I have a bit of trouble with tendinitis in my right shoulder, so I have been playing left handed for the most part to avoid injury and just as a fun diversion. And it turns out I'm sometimes not terrible, but I haven't taken disc golf seriously in years, and don't really plan on playing the multiple rounds a day I used to. Anyway, I have been having a terrible time throwing forehands with my left hand since I've been trying to do it for ultimate, and it doesn't translate very well to disc golf. It's just a different angle you have to release the disc at, and I can't seem to get it down after learning the other way. But on this particular occasion I decided to give it everything I had and see what happened. Well, what happened was that I tried so hard that I fell off the tee. My shoes were muddy from the previus holes (and not blessed with good traction to begin with), and I flung myself into the motion with such vigor that my left foot slipped completely out from under me and I quite suddenly found myself sliding off the pad and into the mud in front. So I was covered in dirt, and my shin took the brunt of my fall, resulting in scrapes and bruising. And the funny thing? My disc flew further and straighter than it ever has. It went so well it flew past the hole and was lost to a water hazard. Just my luck. As my dad and I were walking down the fairway, I remarked that despite it going better than it ever has before, I probably wouldn't be repeating my methods anytime soon.
Exercise:
Use the first line of a nursery rhyme (take your pick) to start a story.
"Hey, Diddle Diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon."
Diddle Diddle looked up and grinned, while the cat just kept licking itself.
"It's been a while since that happened. That cow has been feeling a bit less springy since summer rolled around. It must be the heat got to her. But it's a cool night, so that could explain it. How much did she clear it by?"
The fiddle didn't say anything. It had no idea why it was included in the conversation to begin with.
Clarence looked up and tried to judge. "Oh, I'd say a couple of stars. See those two bright ones? I reckon she passed right between them."
Diddle Diddle cocked an eyebrow. "Not too shabby."
When the cow was in prime form, it wasn't uncommon for her to go a bit higher, but the worst was when she thought she was up for it and plowed right into the lunar surface. Oh sure, the craters looked cool and all (a bit like a face, really), but it wrecked havoc on the cowshoes. Clarence had started keeping a couple of extra sets around, especially in summer, but they just weren't as lucky as the horse variety.
Me:
I rode hills in the morning on Monday, then motorpaced in the afternoon. I didn't feel as bad as I anticipated, but was in for a rude awakening the next day when I tried to do, well, just about anything. My legs didn't hurt; they just refused to move. So I slogged out on my ride in the morning and lumbered around the handball court at night. But today I felt good again, and the group ride was fun. We didn't go very far because there are a few races coming right up that we want to do well at (as our team is putting them on). But it's fun to go out, have a good time, and feel a bit of the burn. And I won a couple of sprints, which is a nice confidence boost. I don't have much else to say about me currently. My shin is a bit tender, but I feel stupid complaining about it because I FELL OVER ALL BY MYSELF ON A COMPLETELY LEVEL SURFACE DOING SOMETHING I'VE DONE HUNDREDS OF TIMES. So that's a bit silly.
I really enjoyed the exercise I selected for today. I felt creative/funny, and when I'm in that mood I generally like what comes out of my brain. Of course, it would be cool if it were funny to other people too (the bit about spring leaving in summer, naming my character Diddle Diddle to have a shot at the rhyme making any sort of sense, and cowshoes, to name a few things I'm sure are a bit of a stretch), but hey, if I'm the only one laughing, I'll still consider it a success. And with that, I'll say good night. Thanks for reading, as always.
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