look over there! oh, wait, what's that… ooh, hello!

I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling "I've not done enough" with my life so far.  What happened to all those dream?

But they were more than dreams.  They were realities. So what happened?  And when? And how?

When does an ambition morph into a hobby?  That's a bit sad, isn't it?

How are we supposed to decide what to focus on in *this* lifetime?

It seems this whole train of thought is one of those all-important areas in life that no one prepares you for!  And that's ok.  I'm just saying.

So over Christmas 2013 I started seriously thinking about the things i didn't want to slip away, the things i wasn't going to let fade, melt and slip between the cracks of 21st Century 'life'.

For me, this means making time - and yes, a conscious effort - to explore/get back into the following:

Music making 

Shaking things up with different software. using a different DAW, being faster & looser - less precious, *posting* stuff.

(Oh, and by the way, do please message me if you can recommend a good book on Orchestration/frequencies?)

Arduino

Circuitry tinkering, making bots, etc. (We're going on holiday in March.  My first thought after my other half told me it was booked was "who's going to feed the cat?". My second thought was "well, I know I could. By text. So why not?)

Photography

Trying new things - equipment, styles, an exhibition? why not? Why *didn't* I do it two years ago?

Creative writing

Writing 'that novel'. I'm halfway through hammering out the first 50,000 word draft.  And no, i have no idea what it is about. Yet.  As I told someone last week "it hasn't told me yet". (And yes, i cringed too.)

A coffee blog/notebook

What was that amazing coffee I was drinking late last summer that tasted of burnt marzipan and had an aftertaste of peppery confusion? Where did i buy it from? Where was it farmed? I wonder how that farmer's family are…

So that's enough to be getting on with for the next 315~ days, right? Hmm.  I was talking to a dear friend about this recently and he's going through a similar process, I think. But admirably, he's far less 'dictatorial' with himself than I am. But we both agree that it doesn't matter what, how, when, as long as you keep trying - by which I think we both  meant *doing*.

Not in a 'room full of monkeys at typewriters' way, but….well, maybe one monkey.

Anyway.

I'll be posting random updates here.

Probably sporadically.

Hopefully frequently.

Almost certainly not regularly.

Be happy and well, whoever & wherever you may be.

Love from The London.

testing...testing...the old man is snoring...

Most Saturday mornings, if I'm lucky and if diaries allow, I kick-start my weekends with Saturday morning coffee with my dear friend Mr B.

These usually start with sleepy mumbled twittery, until we meet, with practically silent acknowledgement, atop one of London's most beloved bookstores, where coffee and laughter swiftly ensue.

This morning was a bit different.

In a good way. A very good way.

You see, Mr B is a very interesting man. He says interesting things. He works on interesting things. He is also a very patient man, which is a wonderful quality to have, if you happen to be talking to me....about interesting things.

In recent months, we've frequently stopped and said what an interesting podcast our chats might make. We did it again today.

And as if by magic (or rather, the magical facilitation of the iPhone), we soon started recording. (Or rather, as Mr B spoke on, I sneakily downloaded and jump started the marvellous iTalk iPhone app. Luckily he just chuckled when he noticed the big green light on my iPhone.)

The sound quality is wonderful. The ambience of background music, cluttering crockery, etc, just add to a wonderful conversation, casually captured. In my opinion.

Considering we let it roll on as we nattered and strolled for 42mins through the book store, the 100 odd mb barely dented the usually sensitive iPhone battery.

I've emailed a compressed copy to Mr B and we're going to try an edit each, but are still excited that what we got was pretty good.

Next time, going forward, we'll try more constraints. Probably recording at home, with freeflowing coffee, pre-ordered notes, more forgiving surroundings and probably an SM58. If i get my way.

Topicwise, I'm guessing we'll stick to what we know; social media, governmental social media, books, music, etc...

All of which will continue to make us laugh loudly and sporadically, I'm sure.

I'll let you know how we get on.

Have a great weekend.

-- Post From My iPhone