“Don’t wander about!”

I’m writing this at around 6 am, but I’ve actually been up since 3 am. I’ve been sleeping in very brief shifts since coming off my antidepressants, but those shifts are incredibly deep indeed. I’ll wake up after an hour feeling like I’ve been out for days. Falling asleep quickly and naturally once I find my eyes getting heavy is a rather odd experience, especially after thirteen years on insomnia-inducing brain medicine. I’m also incredibly weary once I get up, so have to be very careful not to tumble to the floor.

New ways of working, and all that!

I’ve spent these early hours watching the 1971 film Walkabout, which I haven’t seen in about twenty years or so, I reckon. It’s a film I first saw when I was quite young, and it’s stuck with me all these years. It’s more of a state of mind than a movie, I’d say. I think I’ll officially add it to my drama top ten. It feels as though it’s fused itself to my bones. Like it’s a part of me. Isn’t that strange?! It’s also a great post-apocalypse movie, even though it isn’t. The scene where Agutter and co. search and loot an abandoned house in the desert feels very Fallout 3.

It’s a very sensual movie too, with the unspoken lust between Jenny and David Gulpilil being palpable. Even though it’s not explicit, it makes The Blue Lagoon feel like an office health & safety instructional tape. Agutter’s character is perhaps the biggest cock-tease until Mimi Rogers’ in Someone to Watch Over Me but, hey, if you’re going to hang yourself from a tree over a woman, it may as well be Jenny Agutter.

Erm… spoiler alert.

Here’s a couple of shots I found particularly interesting:

Speaking of Ridley Scott, I do wonder whether this film inspired his visual style (he would have still only been making commercial shorts around 1971). Whilst the editor still focuses on the main series of events, there’s a distracted quality to the visual narrative, almost like the film has a terribly short attention span. It’s always cutting away to minor, incidental events happening all around the central ones. That’s classic Ridley, in my book.

I hope my energy levels don’t fade by the time the furnished accommodation people come to exchange my stuff. Perhaps I’ll squeeze in a nap before the afternoon (when they’re due to arrive). The electrician is due this morning to disconnect the cooker, but hopefully that won’t take too long. Whilst you could certainly say it usually is anyway, my flat has never felt so cluttered. I’ll leave it until the very last minute to take personal items off the furniture due for removal, as I do tend to use every inch of available surface space as storage around here. There’s usually a bag of toilet rolls on the sofa.

Classy, huh?!

Well, thanks to Walkabout, I’ve completely lost my appetite. There are some very candid wildlife shots (insects and rotting carcasses etc.) sprinkled throughout which, if you’re squeamish like me, will deter you from opening the fridge door for awhile. I may order a takeaway later, especially since the new cooker won’t be connected until tomorrow. And I have no microwave.

Excuses, excuses, right?

Hmmm, well, I best go have a walkabout [get it?!] and see what else needs to be prepared for later. I might even make a list. I’ve already hidden any and all masturbatory paraphernalia that was lying about. I don’t get many visitors. Priorities, and all that!

Do stay in touch, darlings.

Toodles!