This used to be my favourite spot to get away from it all.
Sometimes I would get an early morning coffee and then make the trek up to the top to do a bit of writing. Completely alone. So peaceful.
The Autumn sunshine was warmer up there than it was on the ground.
x Kitten of Doom
It’s been awhile since I’ve bored you all with a real estate post, so heyyyyyyyyyy, here’s one!
I would seriously do anything for this warehouse conversion.
ANYTHING.
THIS HOUSE HAS IT’S OWN WEBSITE!!!
I am in love.
❤ Smitten-Kitten of Doom
Abandoned places are interesting to explore. Factories with ancient equipment, silos with amazing views, hotels with decore of decades long past… the list goes on. Many have beautiful graf pieces.
Then there are the not-so-nice things to find, such as syringes, pigeon crap, dead animals, etcetera.
And then there are the things that are just plain sad. Clothing or personal items belonging to people who once lived there. Photographs and childrens’ artwork still on the walls. Messages scrawled on a wall by students and teachers as their school is shut down. Some places just exude an air of sadness. It is as though the people who once brought life to those places have been forgotten.
Last weekend I went on a little roadtrip and found such a place. A factory that went into liquidation several years ago, this place had been partially demolished but still had workers’ equipment, personal files, and even photographs of a fishing trip they went on still stuck on a (semi-demolished) wall. Some of the files dated back to the 40s and 50s, with some of the workers’ birthdates listed as being in the late 1800s. The files had been neatly typed on a typewriter and were still in their filing cabinets. How does a company just leave this stuff and walk away when they close?
I found the photographs of the fishing trip on the walls to be the saddest thing.
Nothing in the office has been left untouched. There were even floppy disks.
Photo by Murdoch80 (click for link)
Lonely hardhat
Abandoned safety gear
Photos from an employees' fishing trip, still on a semi-demolished wall. Photo by Murdoch80 (click for link).
x Kitten of Doom
“Have you ever felt like you were awake but unable to move? You might have even felt afraid but could not call for help? This condition is called sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis may leave you feeling frightened, especially if you also see or hear things that aren’t really there. Sleep paralysis may happen only once, or you may have it frequently — even several times a night.
Sleep paralysis is a feeling of being conscious but unable to move. It occurs when a person passes between stages of wakefulness and sleep. During these transitions, you may be unable to move or speak for a few seconds up to a few minutes. Some people may also feel pressure or a sense of choking. Sleep paralysis may accompany other sleep disorders such as narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is an overpowering need to sleep caused by a problem with the brain’s ability to regulate sleep.
Sleep paralysis usually occurs at one of two times. If it occurs while you are falling asleep, it’s called hypnagogic or predormital sleep paralysis. As you fall asleep, your body slowly relaxes. Usually you become less aware, so you do not notice the change. However, if you remain or become aware while falling asleep, you may notice that you cannot move or speak. If it happens as you are waking up, it’s called hypnopompic or postdormital sleep paralysis. During sleep, your body alternates between REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep. One cycle of REM and NREM sleep lasts about 90 minutes. NREM sleep occurs first and takes up to 75% of your overall sleep time. During NREM sleep, your body relaxes and restores itself. At the end of NREM, your sleep shifts to REM. Your eyes move quickly and dreams occur, but the rest of your body remains very relaxed. Your muscles are “turned off” during REM sleep. If you become aware before the REM cycle has finished, you may notice that you cannot move or speak.
Over the centuries, symptoms of sleep paralysis have been described in many ways and often attributed to an “evil” presence: unseen night demons in ancient times, the old hag in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and alien abductors. Almost every culture throughout history has had stories of shadowy evil creatures that terrify helpless humans at night. People have long sought explanations for this mysterious sleep-time paralysis and the accompanying feelings of terror.
Sleep researchers conclude that, in most cases, sleep paralysis is simply a sign that your body is not moving smoothly through the stages of sleep. Rarely is sleep paralysis linked to deep underlying psychiatric problems.”
(From Virtual Sleep Diagnostics.)
This happens to me quite frequently.
I don’t see or feel a figure in my room, but as I’m usually starting to dream by that stage, whatever I’m dreaming about (which is usually someone coming after me or trying to kill me) is still in my head, so it’s a bit freaky.
To come out of it I concentrate really hard on getting my toes to move, then my fingers, and this usually pulls the rest of my body out of it. I have to concentrate very hard on it though.
Sometimes it will happen again straight away when I start to fall back asleep. I think that usually happens if the previous dream resumes.
*****
I have had problems with sleep throughout my entire life.
I have had insomnia since I was about five. I have vivid memories of going to bed at 7ish and lying awake for hours on end, seeing my parents come to check on me every hour or so (they couldn’t see that my eyes were open due to my room being dark) and eventually hearing them go to bed well past midnight.
I was told once by a doctor that I would need to have sleep therapy, as my sleep disorder obviously wasn’t caused by any particular event, such as school stress or a relationship breakup for example. Sleeping pills wouldn’t work, as they only get you from light sleep to deep sleep and I couldn’t even get to the light sleep stage. Sleeping pills are only a short-term solution anyway.
After more than two decades with insomnia I still haven’t gotten any sleep therapy. I’m not sure why; whether it just seems like too big a task to deal with (and it would take awhile) or whether I am worried about financial cost. I think it is my avoidance-is-easiest attitude that is to blame for me not getting around to it (as it is with most things that I do not get around to).
I sleep a bit better than I used to when I was younger. Once I finally do get to sleep (after an hour or two of going to bed) I usually do sleep right through the night unless woken by noise. Four hours a night used to be a good night for me, with two or three being the usual. Now I probably get at least four or five. Usually.
I have not been sleeping well lately.
x K o D
I never thought we’d be together forever, but
Here we are
Eleven years on; not as close as we used to be, but
I just can’t seem to unclasp your cold fingers from around my bruised neck
And I don’t think I really want to
The world is bright and hot and scary
Oh look it’s summer now, and everything gets dark
And you are the only one still here with me
Found these stained glass windows in an abandoned Melbourne building – INTACT.
Looks like they tried to fit in as many psychedelic designs and colours as they could.
I’m a massive fan of the 80s, but the 70s, hey they were pretty good too.
Would have loved to have seen this place decked out with furniture!
x Kitten of Doom
I discovered this wonderful light painting music video for the song Rippled by Melbourne band All India Radio tonight.
Everything is done in camera, ie. it’s not photoshopped, and each frame is pieced together one by one. The video is directed by Darcy Prendergast from Oh Yeah Wow.
The abandoned Melbourne site that the video was shot in may be familiar to a few of you…
This isn’t the first time that Oh Yeah Wow have made a light painting vid for All India Radio. They created the video for the song Lucky, which went on to win best animated music video at the 2010 St Kilda Film Festival. No abandoned site this time, but check it out, it’s very lovely too.
I want me a light kitteh!
x Kitten of Doom
I mostly wear black, or olive green, or a combination of black/olive green/camo print/denim; BUT I really do love colour.
I think this is the reason why I love street art above all other forms of art (and I do love other forms, just don’t get me started on Impressionism, yawn) – it’s the bright colour. The sharp, well-defined lines also.
Here are some recent observations.
x Kitten of Doom
I can see the city from my window. Over the tops of the trees in our backyard. Just.
It is so close, but feels so far away.
But really it is me who is so far away.
Often I wish I was mixed up in the tangle of bodies moving throughout the city streets; on their way to somewhere, to someone waiting for them.
There were nights where I would wander alone around those streets for hours with neither aim nor destination.
Just wanting to exist within the safe glow of the lights.
After photographing and writing about the former Dore clinic a couple of weeks ago, I showed a friend the photos and she seemed interested in writing a story about it for The Australian.
After visiting the site to see the files in person, she contacted several families who were involved with the Dore program to get their opinions on their childrens’ medical records being left in an abandoned and unsecured building for so long.
She also contacted the health minister and police so that the files will be removed.
Anyway, the story ran today; check it out.
Good to know these families’ private information will no longer be lying around for anyone to stumble upon.
x Kitten of Doom
Kitten of Doom 