Canvases...

Exhaustive week! I'm trying to prepare myself for an expo by next month, and I'm trying to get things ready before and also, trying to learn more about what to do and what I can do, and most importantly, pricing. As some experts (or so I think) are saying on some websites as I surfed about the topic, they advise not to sell myself short (i.e. selling cheap). I believe this is true since I did already suffer for taking these images in the first place (from here and from Ireland, singular shots and panoramas). Yet to come, framing them in proper frames.

I. Canvases Around:

I made the prints in two batches (i.e. two days) and even though I wanted to print more panoramas and I had some ambitions about making a very large print (2m x 2m; ~ 6ft x 6ft) yet for the time being and for such an experience like this, I think it is too early to do so (specially on canvas papers).

The shots, and just for fun, were shot with flash using my new flash gels to balance the color of the tungsten lighting in the rooms. The sizes of the major panoramas here were fixed with dimensions around 50cm X 50cm (maybe around 1.5ft x 1.5ft). One of them in fact had few centimeters in height more than its width but I can't remember which! The rest of images were printed around the ISO size of A2 (in fact smaller since there is a margin and a crop).
Now, I've picked my images to the framing shop and chose some different frames, and it did cost a fortune. I think selling those for a range of 100KD to 300KD would be fair (~$360 to $1080) and it won't be something I'm exaggerating with. What brings my budget down even more, is the fact that I've paid the bills of electricity and water for the house (without telling anyone), as I'm supposed to be the man of the house at the moment. The consequences of that are around one third of my salary is gone. Another third have gone with preparations for the expo, and some of the last third of my salary is gone on daily expenditures. I'm waiting for the end of this month, and I don't know how I will manage till then. We have a celebration coming along for the national day of Kuwait on the 25th and 26th of February which will fall on Saturday and Sunday, and I'm not sure an extra day would be given here (for Saturday, since it is part of the weekend). I need more sleep here.

II. Back to Ayvarith:

Now, because of the busy week I had here, and because I'm getting myself busier with my new books, I didn't get the time to work more on Geltani script and language, but I managed to snap some time to record the 5th chapter of Alexander's story. You can read the Ayvarith version and listen to it in here, or you can read the English version of the story here.
Now it is the time to record chapter 6, which is something impossible to be done in one day like I did with the previous chapters already. Thus, chapter 6 will be done on several days, if not weeks, or months! I just know my lazy nature already and how much I give myself some excuses just to delay things. I have to banish these habits, but I don't know how...

For the time being, I'm so sick of driving my car and the damn peace of gear which was supposed to be ordered since the end of the December, is not here yet and no one called me to pick the car to the garage. I hate cars and their problems more than I hate Satan himself. I'm starting just to hate the idea of going out of home because I know the suffering in advance. This said, maybe it is time now to rely a bit more on my credit card and stop paying things in cash or by direct deduction (by ATM card). I have enough, but I hate to believe, that this month I'm not saving a single penny...

Stress

Trying to compensate and to manage between the various stresses I had about work, so I'm concentrating more upon poetry and writing, and trying to find a career within that field. Many people advised before to find a place in that domain since they read my poetry before.
In the time being I just finished writing my newest poem, Take Me. It is weird how one, or me at least, writes a poem. you don't feel anything... only words flow through your fingers. You smells things are not there, and see things you never did see before. A world of imagination and dreams (not necessarily happy ones) and then, tata, you are finished.
On the other side, I'm thinking also of stepping into the designing world, specially in the field of educational posters. I made some posters already for work, I believe I can handle that... all what I need is materials and ads.

Still writing on the story of Alexander and might as well soon finish, or let's say, get into the last scenery or last patch of the story. In the same time, I'm working on with my previous recordings to add some effects and change the pitch of my voice. Although I previously decided to do everything in Flash format but, seems I'm not gona use it completely... and I'm gona add the contents of the chapters one by one.

I think it is the time to prepare for my vacation in October now. I should start filling my visa application!

Slow Time...

Still writing the story and recording the previous parts. I reached part 4 but yet did not start with it. Weird feeling I got... as if the time was slowing down and I have no sense of anything at all. All what I wanted to do is drink tea and just watch some videos, beside playing around with my images.

an image taken from Failaka, before and after edition

Beside playing around, I finally extracted some words out of my mind and started to write a new poem. I called it "Chamomile." I was writing these words with a chamomile tea mug in my left hand and listening to the exotic music of Shahzoda, of Uzbekistan.
Recording the voice for my story is now relatively easier than before, but I have to edit after recording of course to erase some mistakes. Yet, some vowels that I might not have spelled correctly are left untouched.
I wonder if this change of senses for time was mainly caused by my state of rage yesterday... the Chamomile certainly has its own effects.

I need to find some time to accomplish of the other projects that I have in my mind... like creating the script of Beten Yamta nomads. The set of letters is almost ready, but needs writing with a calligraphic pen, and scanning images. On the other hand as well, I need to work on vectorizing my image of "Charnagút" which I sketched and scanned, but now needs some coloring. So much that can keep me busy, but would I have the power and mind to do so?

My story writing has slowed down for some time now because of the circumstances at work... this is the only time I can write in, otherwise, at home, other things occupy my mind... but until now I reached the limit of 1776 lines... this will absolutely make me exceed the 2000 limit, I suppose.

A visit to Failaka

2 days ago I had been to Failaka island, finally. Although I didn't visit much of it in fact but I had the chance at least. The island is deserted. We heard of some places there but we didn't see anything, actually we need more time next time to visit everything we can there. I started my photography there with making out a panoramic view. Panoramic photos are usually taken with wide lens, but in most cases we can take several photos and then stick them up together to make one complete wide photo. The panoramic image I made had a real size of 6.5 meters in width (that is around 18ft maybe).











I really don't know what are these buildings behind but they seem governmental from the looks. The building at the far left behind the bush is drilled with bullet holes. I had the chance as well to test my HDR capabilities (with a software help).















We went insid this building and of course it was nothing but ruins. The good thing is, you can hear sounds of some birds that sounded like, exotic if I should say. They had this place for nesting.
I took some other photos but I didn't prepare them yet to be published on the net. Some clearing for the images must be done because the weather was dusty and not clear as you can see it in the photos.
During the trip to the island I had to cope with seasickness, and thank God I didn't have anything for breakfast but still my stomach played tricks and I felt sluggish and couldn't move out of my car. As for coming back from there, I had lil bit dizziness but I was mostly struck down by the headache.

Because of this trip and being busy with the photos I had, I didn't have the time to record (again) something from the text, nor write something down in the story of Alexander. But today, Saturday, I already starting to write the story. But I think I will leave that for tomorrow or some other time... I think I have to concentrate more on recording since I have lot of problems with the sound quality and playback.

Yesterday it was my niece's birthday! Happy Birthday to Noor!

Clogged With Thoughts...

Although, usually, I don't write anything within the story of Alexander in weekends, but today I made some lines in the 6th part. Not much compared to other days maybe, but I had some time to write some, yet not much inspiration for the miserable situation that I usually live every weekend.
Despite all that I grapped a paper and started to sketch some outlines. I began to classify the languages of the tribes and kingdoms mentioned in the map of the Daynur world.
The prime outline is divided into 5 categories of languages: Ayvaric, Galaic, Bulughiac, Zimuraic and Barbaric. I'm still looking in the map for the time being as this sketch might change later on. I guess I will have to do it and organize it properly by some other programs here and there.
I will try to publish this categorization somehow later on, maybe via Omniglot if Mr Ager accepted that. Beside this classification, I made a small chart as well to organize my work with putting a systematic change to the dialects in each main group of languages.
In the meantime as well, I'm putting the first corner stones for the upcoming conscript. I didn't specify yet for which tribe it would be, but the language shall be Ayvaric and derived from the Ayvarith, with a change in the vowel system and some consonants.
I think I will start recording the previous translations of the past parts of Alexander's story and put them as mp3s (or PCM Wav files) to make them ready for some action. I wonder if I have the power to work with Flash again!
We'll see!