Noise

Feb. 24th, 2021 08:12 am
smokingboot: (head off)
[personal profile] smokingboot
That was pretty bad.

My relationship with sound is fraught. When I work, I lock myself away in a blank space, nothing to distract me. And yes, I have tunnel vision, focus, though I can get locked in on details but that's OK, it brings me results.

The night before last I was participating in an online class and tom cat started screaming at the top of his voice; nothing wrong with him, he just wanted attention.

But it was like someone smashing glass over and over again right beside me and he just wouldn't stop.

I tried to carry on working, but it was impossible, nothing I could do but leave the class and take him upstairs to R who was wearing headphones so he didn't hear a thing. The sound felt like an axe to my head, and I wish it went away when the sound stops but it doesn't. I came back to the class and performed so badly I have to go over the materials again. Found myself facing loads of messages and calls on my phone I couldn't answer, couldn't bear to look at. Weirdly tearful.

Yesterday found me still very wobbly; decision made, no time on screen, pointless anyway. Time for physical work. Clearing things away I found an unpacked wine box, and in unpacking dropped a seriously heavy bottle on my foot. Spent the rest of the day as Lady Limpalot, practised with the others for this presentation for the councillors. The little I am doing for this group is becoming too much for me and I am ashamed of that. There isn't time for it all and my own work is suffering. I don't want to stop if it can do some good, the people are absolutely lovely and remarkable too, all contributing with far more dedication than I am but...

But the messages are many and happen every day. This is just people being friendly to each other, maybe all I need to do is sort out the sound of my phone pinging repeatedly for notifications.

Volume of noise isn't my problem really. It was when I was a child, wandering from room to room looking for peace and quiet. Dad and Bro could have a TV on plus a radio, then go to another room with the same combination. Even Mum didn't mind; coming from a Spanish extended family where the usual is loads of people sitting round a table all talking at the same time, she saw noise as life, and my place was to adapt to that, because it wouldn't adapt to me. I managed it too, and the result has been an ability to enjoy gigs or just move away from them with ease if things get uncomfortable. It still jars with me if one person is talking against an interrupting noise, but for me the two real killers are pitch and repetition.

Anyway I couldn't work today being still weirdly tearful, my head wracked and aching. Whatever horrible note the cat managed to hit so repeatedly left its mark, I'm still a wreck two days later. I need to ask R to keep his headphones off during that class.
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