“Knobs and wires, parameters easily changed to create unique soundscapes once lost often impossible to replicate.”
Have you ever started writing the most amazing article, where every word feels just right in the assemblage? Your inner voice clear and detailed as you feel the rhythm of your thoughts translate to the computer screen. The genius of your work you’re certain will gain you a Best Selling Author title.
And then something happens, the data gremlin creeps into you’re computer and pulls the plug.
ddddrrrrreeeeewwwwuuuu you hear as your laptop goes into cardiac arrest and that godforsaken spinning beachball twirls around the page while your words are eaten like a starving Pacman. “WTF” you scream as you panic and hit every button and utter the only word that you can articulate “no, no, no” as you stare in horror at the screen like Max Renn in Videodrome.
“Save early and save often” my computer instructors would say. “Yeah yeah yeah, everything will be fine” I’d retort. Well, not this damn time. My brilliance diminished into the oblivion of my short term memory bank and a bunch of 1’s and 0’s amounting to zero-sum.
The Perfect Meal
Okay so maybe you’re not into modular synthesis or you’re one of those safety officer types that look both ways, doesn’t J-walk and covers their mouths with surgical masks when they have the sniffles. But I’ll guarantee your willingness to be calculated and rule-abiding tendencies can’t explain what happens when meals go wrong.
Okay, you marinated the ethically grown grass feed beef in certified organic Worcestershire sauce according to the latest Beef Afficiados Magazine’s top recipe. You observed the temperatures of your Mom’s Wolf stove with Dad’s digitally accurate to the nano-degree meat thermometer. The triple-ply All-Clad braising bathtub roasting pan slides into the oven and 45 minutes later. The meat just doesn’t taste right as the meat is tough and hard to chew. You eliminated all the variables and yet it still wasn’t quite right. Variables and life’s inconsistencies.
Shit Happens Bro
Okay, so what’s the point Mikey? As I’m certain I’ve lost everyone up to this point I with 100 percent certainty can say whatever the fuck I want.
Preprogrammed life sucks. Don’t do it. Forgo going to work for a great Corporation with great benefits and golden parachutes. Avoid buying into the false narrative of homeownership and 401k’s. Take some risks and have some adventures. Be spontaneous and whatever you do don’t be damn boring.
Join the startup and watch a business being built. If they succeed you’ll learn so much. If they fail, you’ll learn that too.
Don’t buy any furniture except used or Ikea. Anything else is a waste of cash.
Mindful Developments
I’m a work in progress however I’m currently selling off crap I own that I have hidden behind. Excuses for not being more creative and spontaneous. I’m not even close to achieving my goals but I will say it’s a refreshing feeling to move on and get rid of crap. I force myself to read web articles I’d otherwise save for another day. Or use the tools and equipment I previously wasn’t. And if I feel they are dull and uninspiring, I send them packing.
The culling of the herd of shit I’m hoping will bring me closer to the things I love and free me to be more adventurous as I embrace learning, experimenting and experiencing.
New connections and opportunities create a more complete and enlightened me. I’m modifying my lifestyle to allow for less guarantee and certainty that I’m thinking will create a more fulfilling life.
I’m feeling I can always go back to the safe path and follow in the footsteps of others, many of whom I see are sad, lonely and anxious. While not having an actual plan yields uncertainty on how I’ll move forward I feel it’ll necessitate the need to keep pushing on.
Daily I reflect back on my day. What did I photograph, write and experience? Could I sit down and tell an amazing story about my adventures? If not maybe it was another wasteful day, hiding behind my safety net.
A modular synthesizer with its knobs and wires lacks pre-programmed sounds. Putting a cable into a different signal path can yield new and unique sounds never witnessed. And if you don’t relish them at that moment, you’d better because if you turn one knob wrong and try to go back, you may get that sound but it may never be exacting. And actually you shouldn’t want that anyway. As new sounds and experiences are what makes us complete.
