Grizzly Bear and Feist: Service Bell
from the compilation, Dark Was the Night
dot dot
I’ve somehow ended up in this strange little town. No one speaks a word of English and I’m stuck here for at least another hour. I’ve always considered Leichardt to be ‘little Italy’ (or so they say) but being in the real ‘little Italy’ makes Leichardt look like Perth.
It is my fifth day in Switzerland; the time has passed much too quickly, and all I’ve learnt so far is that public toilets aren’t free and that spending $80 on lunch is relatively cheap.
People watching is a fairly ubiquitous pastime- typically engaged whilst sitting in a cafe (leaning back into your chair, one leg crossed over the other), occassionally sipping on your cafe au lait/ semillion of your choice, and with an air of suave nonchalance, watching every person who passes by intently with an oh-so subtle up-down, once-over. Everyone quietly judges each other- the young and free-spirited perhaps manage to escape this seemingly innocuous social pomp.
I write this with a coffee in my hand (it doesn’t make me go nuts here and is oddly pacifying) watching the locale- little old ladies in tailored suits and silk scarves tied around their necks (which would be quite Parisian and chic were it not for the gold hardware fastened at every spacial [aesthetic] opportunity) and faggy guys named ‘Silvio’ (‘You like wine?’ he asks me quite conspicuously as I’m left wondering whether wine is some kind of sexual innuendo)
secret of the sea
“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,”
I said, as I cast my eyes to the monolithic rock arising from the blue of the Caldera.
The tide hearkened my whisper,
before I could even apprehend what was spoken..
Destruction is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
Rain on the streets of kowloon:
Eating mangosteen and peering at market stalls in Mong Kok. Dirt pervades the streets, all grime steeped in water. The city breathes, perspires to the rhythm of syncopated rain. Coos of nighttime ennui.
Breakfast on a plane; fast forward an hour, in another country having dinner.
Wearing the same clothes for over 32 hours, brain perspiring.
Exhausted, can’t sleep. But having a warm bed to lie in is solace enough.
thoughts
1. I get kicks out of dismantling myself
2. More so than other people
3. I also get kicks out of feeling shitty
4. This can be brought on when I do any of the following instead of allowing (much needed) sleep:
a) Reading
b) Writing
c) (Over) eating
d) Drinking copious amounts of gin
e) Any combination of the above
5. I’ll probably die from sleep deprivation before I go crazy
