Yet Untitled 043 - Holiday Dispatch

Thoughts from within the parameters of a Margarita glass

Greetings Yet Untitlers,

This here writer has been on holiday for the past week - and what a low impact, life-in-flip-flops kind of week it has been.

Today’s instalment will keep to the theme, carrying with it mostly my good wishes to you for 2023. But along with these - I’ll share a few discoveries made by my relatively uncluttered mind during these past days.

I had forgotten how much pleasure these is in listening to an entire music album, start to finish

In a world of streaming and mood playlists, something I really used to enjoy once got left behind - hearing a record through and through. Part of this is because of technological determinism - the act of sticking in a cd was conducive to the follow through of hearing a batch of songs chosen and ordered with intention. One could argue that a playlist does the same, but there’s something about the finite nature of an album that sets down a more definite meaning. For me, playing through an album was to allow an atmosphere to set in. For me, this has never been a one way street - playing a particular album means having every memory having played it before participate in the present moment - associative memories of situations and their soundtracks; happy, sad, intense, special, mundane.

I had a few flights and some long road transfers over the past week. Albums heard and atmospheres enjoyed thoroughly were:

Dip in - they’ll paint an accurate picture of the zone I was in. And it’s still lingering!

Not wearing shoes outdoors

I recently got myself a great pair of minimalist sandals, made by a guy who was referenced in Born to Run, the quintessential book about barefoot running. I love these sandals so much! They seem to make a case for dispensing of shoes forever.

Kicking off the shoes and existing in flip flops or sandals for some days is, for me, a tactile signal that I’m on holiday.  I took some long walks in my sandals over the past few days and feel grateful that I got the chance. Even though the recent lockdown months were spent barefoot or in flip flops working from home, I think that really being out and about feeling air on your feet was something to be grateful for.

A less-camera holiday

I hate to say it. Especially here. But I enjoyed the break from the desire to create more images. It felt like it was a break from being myself - a nice experience, I’ll tell you that.

It’s interesting because I find taking photographs to be a meditative and positive experience. But it’s an experience that draws me in, quite fully. The best photographs come when you’re all in, and you you can feel the work you’ve done in your bones by the end of the day. In that way, I not picking up the camera (too much) was restful. A rest from rigour. We all deserve it. It allowed me to enjoyed seeing the world within the parameters of my margarita glass and not beyond for a bit!

I carried the lovely mirrorless camera, but enjoyed not picking it up more than a couple of times. Here’s the best one from it:

Have you ever experienced a holiday from yourself? Tell me about it:

The world is full of Bread!

Ever since I read and imbibed up Djokovic’s book about his transformation following a gluten free diet, I discovered one thing - the world is replete with mountains of glutenous bread!

His book may not be for everyone, but for me it’s felt like diet enlightenment. But the choices I’ve needed to make to imbibe his guidance turned me into a hunter-gatherer foraging amid an over-saturation of wheat! Bread bread is everywhere we look: in pizza, pasta, naan and pretzels!

But being off the stuff has been a revelation. I never realised how good nuts, fruits and vegetables tasted, because I was always eating along with large accompaniments of bread! And there are so many other wonderful carbohydrates around that till now always played second fiddle.

Do I miss bread? Bread and I have had a wonderful relationship for 40 years, and I’ve eaten it to my heart’s content. Now, onto a new life as a forager, but one who’s feeling physically renewed, more energetic and more clear headed than ever!

Being a dad has turned me into a Swiss Army Knife among men

I’ve have to be resourceful. I’ve have to be an innovator innovator. When the fam does not want to carry their own flip flops on the beach, I find a way😁.

Dad-hood has given me a few lessons in rolling with things. During the holiday, I found myself remembering my days of solo travel from eons ago. I remember a part of me looking out from my bubble of solitude at what else was out there, acknowledging that the solitude wasn’t perfect. But then again, what is? I’ve bee thinking a lot about what I wrote in my last edition: There’s a crack in everything but not everything is broken. I found great liberation in this thought and enjoyed my holiday even more.

Mild annoyance at who I used to be / at parts of myself I do not see

Readers of YU may notice that I’m pretty hard on my past selves. I don’t want to be, but it’s a thing, and it’s finding expression here. Usually it leads to revelations. Indulge me, please.

Remember my little teasers at the end of YU 039?

Some of my holiday was spent reviewing 1300 photos, slides and negatives and 1100 minutes of DV tapes that I send for digital scanning. The DV film footage was mostly from my university days at Cambridge. I had rebelled against having a still camera at the time for reasons I don’t remember. Whatever it was, I had carried a mini DV camera with me for the better part of 3 years. Essentially, I haven’t seen most of this material for nearly 20 years. Over the vacation I scrubbed through it quickly.

One of the things that made me cringe was the sound of my own laugh (I sound like a sheep being electrocuted)! I also saw that I was quite aggressive and intrusive with my camera, and these were pre-smartphone days. People simply weren’t used to it, but there I was, sticking my camera in peoples’ faces and asking them awkward questions. While watching I found myself saying “please don’t” to my younger self a lot.

What came through from this viewing experience was a very definite feeling of gratitude for a few people - my friends, you know who you are - who tolerated me in those days! I spent some time marvelling at them during my holiday, wondering: what did they see that allowed them to look beyond that sheep massacre laugh and that annoying paparazzo tendency and remain my friends. I would have given up long before they did.

The ones who got past the laugh

Thanks once again for being here. Your presence has made 2022 stand out among the rest of my years. A pouring of great gratitude to you all! Stay safe, stay happy and wish you all an even better 2023!

Lots of love

V