Midnight, a motorcyclist is arriving home late, broom broom-ing on the ground floor.
01:12, the man and the woman next door are arguing about who's responsible for buying the milk. Grandpa went to piss.
03:34, do I hear birds chirping?
04:33, why does the printer have to make such a cacophonous noise when it prints?
04:37, jeez, it makes such a horrible noise even when it scans stuff too.
04:49, grandpa's going to pee again, the heavy breathing, the trickling of his urine into the bowl, the sigh of relief, I hear it all and it's giving me a headache.
04:59, yup, it's those dumb birds, the same old birds singing at the break of dawn every single morning. I wish I had a shotgun.
06:35, great, grandpa's up, watching the morning news, I loathe the theme music of the news, the Morse code beeping, the beeping, the high-pitched, repeated beeping, ugh...
07:14, the bathroom door closing, the sound of my clothes dropping on to the floor.
07:15, water going through pipes, water splashing on to me, dropping on to the shower floor, gurgling down the drain, so much noise...
07:38, Front door closing, front gate clicking, the sound of my footsteps, the elevator doors, sssshhhh...
07:45, Oh, my God, the commotion inside an early rush-hour train is frickin' unbelievable. People chit-chatting, the uproar of the train moving along the tracks through a tunnel.
07:48, baby screaming and crying, mother trying to overpower her in volume.
08:01, students all waiting to catch the bus, talking amongst themselves like they didn't just see each other yesterday. I think I'll take a cab.
08:03, horns are beeping, buses farting whenever they stop, people running, screaming "wait!" at bus drivers who can't hear them, the occasional high-heels pass by, cab arrives.
08:06, taxi driver asking which route I want to take. I tell him the route. Then I tell him to leave me alone so I can close my eyes and rest.
08:08, the meter beeped, price of ride has risen.
08:10, beeped again,
08:11, and again,
.
.
.
.
.
.
08:27, arrived at school, the coins in my wallet are making sounds, I press them down against the soft fabric of my wallet to eradicate the sound. The taxi driver, however, is happy to jingle-jangle his coins here and there, ugh.
08:28, I hate entering school. Apart from all the loud thud thuds of the juniors running, and the female staff's high high-heels galloping through the corridors, there's all the "Hey, good morning!", "How was your parents' anniversary dinner last night?", "Did you do your Mandarin essay?". Grumble...
08:30, the worst noise in the world: the school bell ringing.
It's the morning, for Pete's sake, it's when I am trying to gather myself to live for the rest of the day, and if I can't do that, I basically become crabby for the rest of the day. Why can't my mornings just be QUIET?
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
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9 comments:
I never thought of it that way. :)) I think this is funny. I like it. :)) But for me the noise is sort of a comfort rather than all hushed down. Take it easy. :) Enjoy your morning. :)
My bedroom is next to a busy intersection. The first night we were here, I didn't sleep at all.
Almost 25 years later, if a car doesn't pass by every 5 minutes or so, I wonder what's wrong.
Michael, I am fortunate to live in a rural area. In the summer the birds start chirping at dawn and when the windows are open there is no chance of sleeping unless you get up and shut the windows. Chirp, chirp.
I must confess I am not a morning person and people who know that tend to leave me alone for awhile.
I live downtown... there's noise everywhere and all the time. I probably cried of joy last Christmas when my friends got me earplugs.
Best. Gift. Ever.
This is one thing I miss about living in the city -- the noise. Now I live in utter peace and quiet. So creepy.
I agree with Marcy, Having been living in NYC (Is that correct grammer at all?) for 10 years, there is always noise, then I went to live in a boarding school, which is in the middle of nowhere. I noticed how quiet it is and I sometimes miss the loudness of NYC, I live close to a highway to there is the occasional sound of motorcycles, etc. and the uncommon sound of car's attempting to go from 60 mph to 0 in 5 seconds (there is also a busy intersection there too) with the occasional car crash.
Wow... Don't you have an alarm clock to disturb you in the morning too? That's just the no. 1 thing I hate the most.
If I were you I'd wish I were deaf. x D
Michael, I absolutely loved this blog. I definitely felt your pain every step of the way.
...especially if you're hung over.
I wonder if there is a space you can find where you may create your own morning ritual of quiet, even if it's for five or ten minutes to gather yourself so that you can happily live for the rest of the day. Have you tried meditation? It really works, and you can do it anywhere. One of the things I hated most for the longest time was getting ready in the morning...I got angry doing my hair, shaving my legs, putting on makeup, you name it. Then someone asked me why I do it. I said I wanted to look nice. Their reply: Then why don't you make it a ritual that is for you and make it into a self-care exercise. Indulge yourself with the best shampoos, body lotions, makeup, and treat yourself as you make yourself look great. Now it's a ritual and I love it, and it doesn't take as long anymore. I digress, but it is to make the point that I wonder if there is a way to make your mornings a self-care ritual, even for a few moments. What do you want to hear in the morning? What sounds do you enjoy? BTW - great post! Very creative. Imagery and usage is fantastic.
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