September is for writing and listening to Jarvis Cocker

LISTENING

The other day, I had a dream I was about to attend a Jarvis Cocker concert. I want to think that this "weird dream" was an effect of my enthusiasm over his upcoming album- an album full of 60s french pop covers. But it wasn't just his version of Christophe's Aline that got me into this Jarvis mode. This month, I spent most of my mornings listening to several tracks from his 2006 album called Jarvis. The songs Heavy Weather, Baby's Coming Back to Me, and the classic Running the World topped my monthly favorites. 

WRITING

As I mentioned in my previous post, I recently bought fountain pen inks, which led to purchasing several more under the excuse of "I'm buying this as a birthday gift."    

The name Monboddo's Hat sounds like it came from Harry Potter. Also, this colour combination reminds me of Ube-Tsokolate ice cream. 

Although purchasing inks hurt my wallet, it did inspire me to write more. I'm glad to report that  I finished a notebook in less than a  month, which is unusual for me. Usually, it would take me 6 months to a year to complete a notebook. But because I decided to trade my time on social media for something more valuable,  I wrote longer reflections than usual. I'm not sure if I could repeat the same next month, but who knows, maybe I could complete a notebook in 2 weeks. 

The morning sun looking really great

READING

To compensate for the lack of time I spent reading, I dedicated at least 30 minutes of my evenings reading a book. This month, I grabbed Waiting for Weekend as it's been on my bookshelf since 2019. This book tells the history of people's relationship with the weekend, which I never thought about. There's a chapter in which the author reminisced about his weekends spent with his family and friends. Another chapter talked about the origins of the names of days of the week.  Waiting for the Weekend is such an informative book I wished I've read sooner. 

This cover reminds me of Ferris Bueller's Day Off scene where Ferris and his friends spent an afternoon at the Chicago Institute of Art. 

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat (1884-1886) 

It's been a long time, now i'm blogging back here.

Wait! I'm not going to quote the whole of The Beatles' song for this post. That's a nice thing to do but there's far more interesting things to talk about.  

First, I forgot to share the usual list I share every month due to some things outside this space that I need to work on. Those things are as interesting and stimulating as writing blogposts, and I want to devote my time focusing on those real-life happenings.  

Second, just because I don't constantly update this space doesn't mean I stopped writing at all. It's actually the complete opposite because purchasing fountain pen inks re-ignited my childhood habit of writing. Currently, I'm trying my best to improve my cursive handwriting- a practice I stopped doing since I was 14.

2 inks I bought a few months ago: Diamine Oxford Blue and Rohrer and Klinger Alt Goldgrun

Third,  which is again in relation to writing, I got a new notebook dedicated to my daily ramblings. As much as  I want to make the whole journaling thing easier by going digital, my typing speed is pretty slow. My typing speed can't keep up with the thoughts going on inside my head, so I really have to invest on a notebook just to keep my thoughts a little less cluttered. 

Fourth, a book assigned for a class I am currently attending reminded me of the song called Visions of Johanna. Several years ago, while I was on a vacation, I was so enthralled by the song that I can't wait to go home just so I can play the song non-stop. In a way, my vacation situation was kind of similar to the narrator's situation- he's with someone but still thinking about what he doesn't have. The lost or the one that is to come, we're not really sure which of the two. 

There's more to Visions of Johanna than a mere association to a place somewhere far from the city, though.  When I first heard the song, like most people who consider this song as their gateway to further musical or literary education, I felt the immense desire to write. I did not expect that a song could be this clear despite its hazy atmosphere, and I felt that the only way to make what I felt known is to create something as a response to the song. Thus, for a few months after discovering Visions of Johanna, I spent my days immersing myself to activities I enjoy. In a way, it was an exercise of reaching for my own Johannas despite the presence of things that constantly remind me of my limitations. The experience taught me about handling my limitations and the need to understand how our vulnerabilities reveal so much about our own nature. Such a great song!