where am i
I break down the things I notice into different parts, much like classifying a signal on a spectrum analyzer. It’s not a perfect system. Some days, a frequency is in a different place than it was the day before. But it’s the closest thing I can analyze.
*LOW *MID *HIGH ██████████████ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ██████████████ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ██████████████ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ────────────── ────────────── ────────────── 20Hz 250Hz 250Hz 2kHz 2kHz 8kHz+3 bands
It’s usually the first thing I notice in a room—and the last thing I’ll admit out loud, because saying “the room buzzed at me” usually puts an end to conversations.
Silence doesn’t make itself known. It simply alters the atmosphere of a space. Rather than hearing it, you lose your sense of security in the silence.
If you stop and listen long enough, you can hear the parts that everyone can hear—channeling conversations behind a wall. The traffic two blocks away. Most of what’s readable on this site is found here, because this is the only group I can describe without people thinking I mean it literally.
Mid is crowded. Also, this is the only group that has agreed with another person's review of the same place.
Close to silence, but not silence. The sound the room makes right after someone leaves—a kind of afterimage, if, of course, afterimages had a volume. The hardest thing to write down, the easiest thing to lose if I wait even a minute.
No matter where I am, I’ve started keeping a notebook specifically for this group. By the time I reach for my phone, they’re usually already gone.