Andy's Mind

So, I was on a picnic yesterday. I didn’t take my car, but instead went to a place in the city where everybody met and got a lift from there. I ended up on a backseat of a luxurious Toyota station wagon with two guys I didn’t know. They didn’t know each other either. One of them was a famous photographer, the other was not.

The talk was slow. After a few exchanges I knew they prefer their own company and just listened silently to their chatter. As we were going smoothly through green suburbia one of them finished discussing how communist rule spoiled the society (in the context of seat-belts), and noticed the beauty of the landscape. After a while of complimenting back and forth how nice the surroundings were The Non-Photographer remarked, that he hates all the billboards and signs along the road, that distract him greatly when he drives. On top of that, he said, they also spoil such a great countryside.

– Oh, yes, that kills sensitivity for true beauty in the society – commented The Famous Photographer expertly,
– It has to be regulated! – said The Non-Photographer angrily,
– Absolutely, corrupting the countryside like this should be prohibited – agreed The Famous Photographer.

And we drove on. I just sat there with a sad half-smile, wondering whether I already lost my sensitivity for true beauty. Did you?

I was in a thought provoking series of changing situations today. First, a quiet picnic, where I hardly knew anyone so I mostly wandered about taking pictures. Then I was in a car, getting back to the city, sitting quietly in the back as passenger in front of me, another struggler coming to terms with shattered remains of his life, babbled about this with the driver, a seasoned, overly confident photographer. Then I was in a shopping mall full of people, looking for an ATM.

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Today I had the opportunity to hear Jakusho Kwong Roshi speak. Amongst other things he mentioned briefly digital age we are now and observed, that we as humans are being reduced to objects. I agree, we become objects that can be quantified by numbers – I wrote about this already in the context of hiring. But, why we even think it is possible to describe a human being with a set of numerical, processable parameters? Where did we get this idea in the first place?

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All alarms I’ve ever used fall into two categories – they ones that are new and the ones that do not wake me up. It is so because I very quickly develop the ability to either ignore their sound or switch them off without waking up. Thus all the new ones inevitably get degraded into the second category.

This morning proves beyond any doubt that the one in the cellphone that I use currently has fallen into the second category. It was set to ring at 8:30 but I woke up at 9:45 with the cellphone in hand. I have only a vague memory of something ringing, but clearly it was not enough to wake me up. I was able to sleep more than an hour, pressing the snooze button (it means any button on the phone) unconsciously many times.

This has a strong correlation with the cold weather we have now. The colder the weather the less I’m willing to wake up, thus the more resistant I’m to alarms. Now, I just wonder whether the Clocky could be a solution…. hm… Naaa…. I think being woken up by a human, preferably a blonde female is the only way that actually works for me in the long run.