I Feel the Earth Move

Fancy that I'd spend two summers living in California, but have to wait 'til I move to Oxford, yes, the one in England, to experience an earthquake. I did find myself in one earthquake in Cali, although I can't really say I experienced it, for I was driving back from work at the time and didn't feel a thing. Disappointment yeah? Yeah. But then, sitting in my room in Oxford the other night and the walls start shaking, causing me to leap up with a curse towards whatever foolish activity my flatmate's engaged in. Only, I'm pretty sure he's not jumping down and up on the ceiling... below me. Then, just as suddenly as it began, it was gone, leaving only vague curiosity in the form of, 'Did I... was that... an earthquake?' And the answer is quite simply a resounding, 'Heck yes it was!'

The sky came tumbling down.

Take It Easy on Yourself

I couldn’t answer for him. Not this time. Much as I wanted to. But then we always do. We always feel the need to project onto others. This is my view of the world, thus, it must be yours as well. Then utter shock and horror when it’s not. How? Why? It’s the only way. Or so I say anyway. Black and white. Those are your choices, and only one of them is right. And a pox on colours and complications. Close my eyes. Yes, yes I see. I see what you mean. How could I not? It’s all so clear when you phrase it like that. And to think that all these years I’ve been wrong. Ahhh... I was a fool. But there you are. We’re all fools.

Find me the man who isn’t a fool and I’ll buy him the moon and the stars and share with him the life on Mars.

What Lies Ahead

I'd forgotten about it. Or rather, I thought I'd already missed it. 'Til I randomly saw an online article as I was about to go to bed. So here I am, a couple hours later, sitting, in bed, wrapped up in a blanket, watching the moon disappear. A total eclipse of the... moon. And what a bizarre event. Well, not really, if you analyze it from a scientific point of view and have all the facts. I can't help but wonder though what it would have been like if you didn't know. If you hadn't been warned of it. Imagine the ancients looking up into the night sky and seeing, to their dismay, the moon shrinking. A full moon paring itself down to a crescent and then, horror of horros, disappearing completely. And we can only hope it returns. Even now I can only see a sliver. The last remnant of something beautiful. A sliver of light and a reddish tinge, flickering as the clouds drift past. And that's all we get. Who knows what happens next. Who can say? Just wait. And there. The sun has failed.

The moon is dead.

Help! I'm in a Nutshell!

I like pancakes, and I like leaving kitchens ransacked, with sugar all over the floor, smoke alarms blaring, and the potential still for the oven to explode. I like movies that make me laugh for no particular reason, or for every particular reason, and I like music that speaks to me without using a single word. I like passionate discussions in pubs on topics I know nothing about, and I like ending them by staring into the bottom of a pint glass and contemplating the mysteries of the universe. I like watching brilliant games of sports that I think are rubbish, and I like watching rubbish games of sports that I think are brilliant. I like running along the streets in the daytime, with a song playing on a loop in my mind, and I like walking down the middle of the street late at night with my eyes closed, arms spread wide, head thrown back, and singing the same song at the top of my lungs. In the end, I like me.

And I like you.

For a Minute I Lost Myself

I... am sitting in Cafe Nero, casually working on my laptop, with Thom Yorke sitting two tables over. And yes, I’m listening to Radiohead. So is this the moment to go introduce myself and say I’d like to begin a career in music? Interrupt his family’s discussion and ask for his autograph? Maybe get a stranger to take a picture of us together? Or better to play it calm? This is Oxford after all. It’s just the way it works here. But holy flip flop! This would only be topped if it were Sir Paul McCartney sitting down next to me. Although in that case, I think I’d really have to go say hullo. Maybe ask him to sing a couple lines of ‘Hey Jude.’ Now there’s a thought. Maybe if I asked really politely, Thom would sing ‘Karma Police’ to me...

I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.