Weekly Photo Challenge: ‘Surprise’

On another first for today, I have entry for the Weekly Photo Challenge, where we’re asked to share an image that displays our own expression of the word ‘surprise’.

I’ve looked back through my catalogue of photos since starting this blog (as this might be my second straight weekend without a walk, taking a look outside) and I’ve found one from when I went for a walk across part of the Mendip Hills in October, only to find myself drifting towards the city of Wells in Somerset:

Yes, that was MY KitKat!!

Obviously, you wouldn’t expect to find or lose your KitKat in a puddle beneath a bench, while you’re sat down, trying to rest your aching limbs after walking for two hours south down the A37.

Perhaps the biggest surprise to all though, is that I went on to EAT this chocolate bar!! There were sheep in this particular field. I had to pray that they’d not urinated anywhere near this area, as the chocolate was simply too irresistible! It was still sealed in its wrapper and, although it did feel a little ‘moist’ in my mouth, I couldn’t really be sure.

It didn’t me from finishing the bar. What would you have done?

 

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‘The Warmth’ – Incubus

I’ve just been catching up with my personal subscription feed on YouTube when this video popped up today. It’s always been one of my favourite Incubus songs among many others. I first saw this particular recording as part of the band’s Morning View Sessions DVD. It was the first time the song really spoke to me; the way Brandon omits some of the lyrics towards the end – you don’t get that on the studio recording and they’ve since done even better (Alive at Red Rocks, 2004, with bass-player Ben Kenney providing the vocals at the same point).

I experienced a sensation of warmth the day I met ‘May‘. Since then, I’ve found myself feeling cold, far too often.

Please read on to see the lyrics.

Sand Point

Yeah, I’m struggling to come up with an original title for this one so, I’m just going to tell it as it is! 😉

This was something I did yesterday afternoon, as I finish work around lunchtime on a Friday. It’s not far from Brean Down (north along the coast), where I went about two months ago. As I mentioned with my most recent poem, I was also intending to do two walks today… I got up early enough, showered, put on clean clothes, made my lunch and got all my stuff together… Everything was planned, until I arrived to park at my first destination in Blagdon, only to find that the free car park was full! I drove around for a bit but, it’s such a confined village with so many narrow roads that I wasn’t sure of where else to rest my car. Perhaps I’ll see the lake on another day.

Sand Point from Sand Bay

Failing that, I decided to head on towards what would’ve been my second destination; thinking that I could do the day in reverse. Instead of returning down the road I knew, I decided to ‘improvise’ by following my own senses towards the village of Draycott, located north of the city of Wells, just outside of Cheddar. According to Google Street View (“Google Godsend“, as I prefer to call it! ;-)), there was a pub close to the start point where I could park. I drove straight through the village once, believing I must’ve missed it. On my return drive through (as the fuel warning light came on), I realised that the car park was sealed off beside what appeared to now be a house!

There was a school nearby with two cars resting but, I wasn’t sure if it would be right to park there or not… There is actually another pub further down past the-one-that-isn’t-anymore. If the rain holds off and I decide to try again tomorrow morning then, that is probably where I’ll park. No suggestions for car-parking were provided with this route.

Sand Bay to Weston-super-Mare

Now, let’s return to the sea of yesterday…

Poem: ‘Did You Know It?’

According to Bex, I need to keep writing and posting new poems and, as I did say that I’d written two more in the past week, I have another one to share with you this evening (it may be a different time of day for you, depending on where you are in the world). This would’ve been my original second choice to be read-out at college. Again, it lacks the emotion behind ‘Courage‘.

One point I think I forgot to mention last time was that, when asked about how we approach and create poems, I responded to say that my poems come from thought, where as short stories and born of experiences. Poems are more spontaneous, for me at least.

Before I start, I feel inclined to mention that I thought about sharing this on Facebook (under my real name) to see how people might respond. But, as it’s appearing here, I doubt I’ll do that, for the risk of drawing too much attention.

‘Did you Know It?’

If I told you I could write
Would you stay, without a fight?
To those who do not know
There is a world I’ve yet to show

Deep inside
All the time
In my mind
Yes, I can rhyme!

Assuming eyes
You’d like to know
Withhold your opinions
Perhaps I’ll show

To learn the truth
That’s all I have

 

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‘As Water Falls’ (Poem)

This is one of several poems I’ve written in the last few days as we were asked to write a poem to share with the writing class this evening. What I’m about to share with you know is the one I had intended to share with the class… But, the greater news is that I didn’t share this one. Instead, I shared the one I posted last night (‘Courage’) and it went down very well.

My tutor commented that I ‘describe a lot with very few  words’, or something to that effect. I also heard a definite ‘I like it!‘ from one of the others in the class! 😎

It was great to hear everyone else’s work and how, again, everyone had created and shared something different. I was worried that people  might think of mine as being a bit dark or something but, no other comments were made and it wasn’t as if people began to inch further away from me with their seats! 😉

We’ve got two weeks before (along with the others) I’m expected to share the short story I haven’t even begun to write yet. We also have another homework assignment and I really need to sit down and put myself in a position to write freely and in good time. I have bad habits that lead me towards blogging and e-mailing others that distract me from my work. No disrespect to any of you and please do not feel as though you may have to change anything; I’m the one who needs to stop procrastinating and leaving things until the final evenings when I’m already tired from work.

I manage to pick up on a few points in the story we read through tonight, which is good, considering I have such difficulty concentrating and remembering what I have read, especially when someone else is reading aloud. I feel kind of guilty sometimes as others seem to pick up on some much more. I never grasp it first time. If there’s one disappointment though, it’s that I didn’t seize a potential opportunity to help someone who asked the group for a lift to her car. No-one else was going that way and, although it would’ve meant a minor diversion on my journey home, I would’ve been happy to help. I felt it would’ve been awkward though as we’ve not even said hello and, to be fair, she seemed to direct her question to the other end of the room.

Still, I shouldn’t dwell on things like this. Please continue reading to see the poem that I was going to share:

Water Bored

How I wish I’d taken my camera with me to my writing course earlier today. Not to photograph any of the beautiful people that I share this time with but, for some of the sites in and around Bristol, with all the flooding that’s causing havoc around the south-west of England! Driving in to the city, it was only ever ‘raining’ and nothing more. By the time I parked up and left my van though, I could see it was falling sideways and at some speed. There was a part of me that wanted to hide away in the parking lot for the next two hours but, having previously missed two sessions thanks to anxiety, I realised that I had come this far and, after a walk less than five-minutes in length, I was soaked right through my new jacket and jeans. Spending two hours sat indoors with soggy socks and wet shoes wasn’t that pleasant.

But, I had a story to read – or, at least, that was the idea…

In a couple of evenings, I’d managed less than two paragraphs of words – the second of which, was only completed after I arrived home this evening; minutes before leaving the printer and joining me on a journey in to the city! There’s no title and I don’t know if I’ll ever work on this again but, I thought I’d share it with you now, as my tutor had some pleasing words to say.

Day 13 – A Band or Artist that has Gotten you Through Some Tough Ass Days (Write a Letter)

Well, it probably comes as no surprise to the majority of people reading this which band I’ve chosen to write this letter to… 😉 I might even write a second letter though, as there is another (solo) artist who has helped and inspired me throughout the last nine-years since I first discovered his own music away from the band he is (was) commonly associated with.

Day 13 – A band or artist that has gotten me through some tough ass days

Four Places That I Want to Visit

I just read this post over on The Bipolar Place and I thought I’d follow up Day 5 of Honesty with my own list of four places around the world that I would one day like to visit.

1. Australia – I’ve already mentioned that my best friend from childhood lives there but, there are many other reasons to go. I would like to try snorkelling around the Great Barrier Reef.

2. Japan – I’ve always been fascinated by their culture and philosophy. I don’t study it much but, you read so many things that I’d love to go and see what it’s really like for myself, with a friend. Climbing Mount Fuji looks like another achievement to add.

3. China – My fascination with far-off Asian lands is partly due to a computer game known as Shenmue. It’s a huge country so, I’m not certain of where I’d go. Karl Pilkington has made me aware of what to look out for (toilets and edible insects!) but I would like to walk the Great Wall… Maybe I’d prefer to visit Hong Kong and Wan Chai, to see where all the inspiration for sites within Shenmue II came from.

4. Iceland – This one’s inspired by a DVD Incubus released in 2007, titled Look Alive. Along with live music, there were short video clips of the band enjoying the places they visited, including a dip in the Blue Lagoon; so surreal in its colour alone. I’d love to find out if it’s really that warm when the snow is falling overhead… I can’t quite get my head around that! 🙂

(All these thoughts and, depending on the weather, I still haven’t decided on where I’m going tomorrow! :-P)

I could list a fifth one but, how about you?

Can’t Right

I’ve been wanting to write some more poetry for the last few days and, although I’ve written several first ‘paragraphs’ (is it a paragraph or a verse?), I’m struggling to build on that. It doesn’t feel like a block, it’s more like confusion. I know that all these thoughts and words are in my head; they’re like coloured balls in a giant ball pit and I fighting my way through. Except, identifying their colour doesn’t help and I cannot clearly see what I’m looking for.

Is This Love?

So, I mentioned in my last post that I’m deeply in love with someone. Having not truly felt this way before, I’d like to talk about it here and get a few things out of my head and off of my chest. I do not know for certain that this is a feeling of love… How do you know?! But, I’ve felt physical attractions towards people of the opposite sex before and, this is certainly much more than that!