Today I bought a Buddha box. It's a small, cheap, poorly constructed piece of plastic made in China. It's the size of a first-generation iPod, but the weight of a contemporary iPod. It's encased in some deep aqua plastic. There are so many elements of this device that make it an anacrohism of an economic system that feels so cheap and wrong: it's poorly constructed, it's practically disposable and runs on batteries. Yet, the function of the device almost completely negates the physical form of it as capitalist trash.
It has a small, cheap speaker, a volume knob, and a button. The button only does one thing: it switches the device between someteen different ambient noises. They are all loops of varying lengths, and none of them provide any sort of melody or theme. Somewhere I saw this marketed to buddhists who would like assistance meditating.
I've got a room full of equipment: A Korg ER-1, an Alesis Micron, a 4-track, a computer with dozens of downloaded programs, two guitars, and a mandolin. I've been an amateur musician all my life. The other day I found myself sitting in front of the Alesis, just looping one sound over and over. I can get lost in a noise, that's for sure.
Last christmas I bought Jamie a really simple and stupid stylophone, and a bliptronic.. which is a fun and catchy physical sequencer. These days, they gather dust in her apartment more than anything else.
I also fancy myself a writer, yet I haven't written any prose in months. I sit here and ramble on the day to day of my life.
In other news, I'm sick as a dog. I woke up today and it felt like I had a spider in my throat. Throughotu the day, the telltale weakness and dizzyness faded in and out of my brain. I spent the whole day feeling like I was trying to play catchup. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
You know what's ridiculous? I write for a living. I spend 8 hours a day writing user manuals. How much time do I actually spend writing in a given day? How many words do I actually write? Is what I'm doing now even cathartic? Of course it is.
I miss Jamie right now. She's comforting.
I feel like my life is so much slower. I'm much more humble and patient. I see the context of things and old arguments seem petty. Everything is put in perspective every day. New York is a big big city. It's a big big world though and I can't wait for the next two weeks, when I get to see some of it.
Also, I haven't touched any booze since Sunday. I haven't touched a beer since Saturday.
It has a small, cheap speaker, a volume knob, and a button. The button only does one thing: it switches the device between someteen different ambient noises. They are all loops of varying lengths, and none of them provide any sort of melody or theme. Somewhere I saw this marketed to buddhists who would like assistance meditating.
I've got a room full of equipment: A Korg ER-1, an Alesis Micron, a 4-track, a computer with dozens of downloaded programs, two guitars, and a mandolin. I've been an amateur musician all my life. The other day I found myself sitting in front of the Alesis, just looping one sound over and over. I can get lost in a noise, that's for sure.
Last christmas I bought Jamie a really simple and stupid stylophone, and a bliptronic.. which is a fun and catchy physical sequencer. These days, they gather dust in her apartment more than anything else.
I also fancy myself a writer, yet I haven't written any prose in months. I sit here and ramble on the day to day of my life.
In other news, I'm sick as a dog. I woke up today and it felt like I had a spider in my throat. Throughotu the day, the telltale weakness and dizzyness faded in and out of my brain. I spent the whole day feeling like I was trying to play catchup. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
You know what's ridiculous? I write for a living. I spend 8 hours a day writing user manuals. How much time do I actually spend writing in a given day? How many words do I actually write? Is what I'm doing now even cathartic? Of course it is.
I miss Jamie right now. She's comforting.
I feel like my life is so much slower. I'm much more humble and patient. I see the context of things and old arguments seem petty. Everything is put in perspective every day. New York is a big big city. It's a big big world though and I can't wait for the next two weeks, when I get to see some of it.
Also, I haven't touched any booze since Sunday. I haven't touched a beer since Saturday.
