Mouse / Klara And The Sun

Speedrun post because I am sleep deprived and want to nap before I go to dinner.

The week passed by in a blur. Found a mouse in my tiny Airbnb. Mice problems are bad in the first place but imagine sharing 150 sq ft with a mouse. Had to give my roomie some space so I ended up leaving.

  • Somewhat of a debacle where they requested photo evidence of the mouse for me to get a refund

  • First time I saw the mouse I freaked and didn’t even think to take a photo

  • The following day I went back armed with my iPhone camera but the mouse was nowhere to be found…

Luckily William sheltered me until I could get back onto my feet. I am currently writing from the desk of my room at Pod Hotel! Free upgrade to a queen bed!

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Besides the mouse problem and hanging out at William’s place, it was a pretty standard week.

  • Met up with some work friends

  • Played volleyball

  • Got back into producing

  • Went to a house party with William. Bunch of Columbia literature PhDs. Interesting/smart people. Had played volleyball for 4 hours before so I was extra exhausted this night.

  • Finally tried EAK ramen. Great broth. Noodle to broth ratio was way off though (not enough broth). Was it good enough to make me go “EAK!”?

    • No. But I will go again if I’m back in the area.

  • Tried therapy (through Lyra) for the first time. The session mostly involved me venting recent issues to the therapist. By the end of the session she told me I didn’t seem to have any dire mental issues and suggested I go see a mental health coach instead.

    • It was pretty nice having someone to freely vent to. I’m the type of person who doesn’t talk extensively about most problems unless people explicitly ask me.

    • Might look into mental health coach but not really a priority right now.

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Klara and the Sun

Also got back into reading. It’s been months since I last finished a book.

This time around I read Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro.

The story focuses on Klara, an Artificial Friend, who is tasked with helping her designated child grow/integrate well into society. Themes of observation, society, what it means to be human.

Would recommend. Not as intense/impactful as Never Let Me Go but an interesting read anyways.

Klara observes the world as an outsider and makes judgements on how the world is structured.

As I grow older my perception of the world grows more absolute/rigid. I rarely question myself.

But what if I’m wrong!

I read somewhere that it takes time for your brain to collect the data from your senses and form them into a coherent story/image/thought. There’s a built in delay.

No one has a perfect understanding of what the world is. We’re not even seeing the world in real time!

It’s a survival mechanism to lean into the perceptions/understanding you’ve built up over time. But there’s also value in seeing things in a new light.

The tightrope act between trusting your judgement and avoiding your blind spots.

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Sun came out after a week of clouds. I felt like Klara for a moment.

Music Update

Skipped vocal lessons this week because Michelle’s out of town.

Went to my second songwriting class. We talked again about song structures.

  • Verse/Chorus/Verse/Chorus — most of modern pop songs

  • AABA —an older structure that’s somewhat gone out of style

    • Somewhere Over the Rainbow

    • Yesterday

    • Don’t Know Why (Norah Jones)

Afterwards we listened to/critiqued the presenters of the week. I’m going next week. Wish me luck.