Sounds Of The City

I did little going out over the weekend, just hung around at home. I left the window open for fresh air for about four days straight. During this time, due to continuing irregular sleep patterns, I'm sure I experienced the soundtrack of downtown Norfolk at all hours, twice over.

City Hall Avenue sees a lot of traffic - it's on a bus route or two, there's a parking garage on the other side of the street and it leads from one interstate exit to Granby Street and back onto the I-64 near the mall. I'm incredibly sensitive to constant noise at night, like hums, but intermittent traffic just has a whooshing effect once you're on your way to quality R.E.M. time. The buses growl a little, and the 7.30am garbage trucks on a Monday morning can only be interpretted as free form jazz breaks (for which I've never cared either).

The piledriving sounds from the terraforming experiment on Granby are a rare occurrence these days - a significant step down from six days out of seven in early summer! I thought I was jinxed for a moment there... don't ask how many times I've moved in somewhere new only for major construction to start nearby shortly after. (About four.)

The office block outside my window always has something going on, whether it's security guards patrolling, workers coming and going or drunk couples arguing in the early hours - one of my all-time pet peeves! Who needs the weakness of the human condition broadcast in the street for all to hear? Not me. Have some class, peasants! There's a generator of some kind on top of the office building, but it makes a sighing sound every few minutes which is soothing too. I'm really surprised how quiet this place is. I love it.

I'm bored as hell, of course, but there is an end in sight. I might be headed home soon so I'll start to apply for jobs in the U.K. too now. I don't want to go and leech at the family home again. I'm tired of all the moving and instability, but better times are ahead so I go with the flow. I've not given up here yet, though.



Here's a small moral dilemma for you all: how do I handle leaving my lease? They have a double deposit from me, which I'll no doubt lose if I tell them I'm breaking my 12-month contract. Or will they understand the extenuating circumstances? I'm not confident of that. At the other end of the scale, I could not even pay rent next month (I didn't pay yet this month and the late fees amount to just $12) and just leave mid-month. It's less honest, but they'll still have my large deposit and I'll be $500 richer. I'm torn between the right thing, and the right thing for me. Input, please!

Relief packages from Amazon.com are, well... a relief. I just had Neil Gaiman's 1602 recommended to me, which was a nice bit of synchronicity because I'd already ordered it. It arrived early in the mail today. Yip! I feel a teensy-weensy bit guilty about impulse-buying Appleseed and The Good, The Bad & The Ugly at the horribly over-priced F.Y.E. on Saturday but they were both discounted, I promise.

As far as I know, 1602 is an interpretation of the Marvel Universe as if it was set in the year 1602, so: geeky, British and 400 years retro. The art goes to black on the edge of every page, which makes the book all dark and sleeky on the outside. Squeal! With it came Doctor Who: The Robots Of Death - so geeky, so British and with a budget that can only be described as retro. My tastes really are very wide and varied! Plus I'm A Stranger Here Myself, Bill Bryson's notes on returning to America after spending 20 years in Britain.

And this is how I keep myself entertained while waiting for a lucky break. I'm having a very relaxing summer, if you can't tell! But this cave man is up for some bar time at the earliest opportunity. Yeah, even the Wonder Bar.