1st Garageband Meetup

We had our 1st GarageBand (GB) meetup last night at SUNTEC's McCafe.

At first, we didn't know who or if anyone would turn up, but in all, 6 of us did.

It was a fruitful session to me, seeing that I'm still very "blur" about the features & functionality of GB. Learnt some new stuff...hope I remember them by the time I return from my work trip! Haha...it felt like Ivan was giving 1 of his workshop lectures. But there were some exchanges of tips, which was good.

The only problem was that McCafe was very noisy so it was a bit hard to hear the tracks & samples clearly. Probably next time we can book a venue somewhere (library?) or go to a quieter cafe to have our meetup.

Will You Sing Again?

I had recently written a new song.
Since I won't be able to present at the upcoming Songcraft session on 18 July, so am posting it here first.

Here are the lyrics:

Is it solitude you seek?
Is it comfort to be?
Why the darkness
In the voiceless pit?

Is that silence I hear,
A grief stifled
Echoing the vacuum
Of a broken heart.

Chorus (x2):
Never the joy again
Never the song again
Only enclosed by dim grey,
Forever dumb and weighed.

Closing:
Will you sing again?

© 2000, 2008

Background:
I actually wrote the lyrics as a poem for a poetry workshop I did as an elective in my Uni days. So recently, while trying to get some inspiration, went to dig up the folio and this was a poem I could put a tune to.

It's about someone who has lost a loved one and is grieving over it. The “voiceless pit” is the heart. It is silent in emptiness, in a world of its own. The pain it feels can’t be expressed. Will the heart ever be alive and sing again?

If I recalled correctly, I actually wrote this like God was actually counselling this person and closes with asking the person's heart to sing again.

PS: With the recent events, I wish to dedicate this song to my friend who's heartbroken.

A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

My friend recently broke up with her boyfriend of about a year. They were even planning to get married!

The man is a total creep. I can only describe him with 1 word - "gigolo".

You see, he had been cheating her all this time. Can you believe it? He was actually living in with another girlfriend for 5 years whom he claimed was his sister. My friend didn't find out till last weekend, on the day she was supposedly to go for a trip with him, coz that girlfriend called her up. Fortunately, she found out before going on the trip...or else I don't know what would have happened. Heard that he also has various other girlfriends (e.g. in China?!) and guess what? They are all supposedly richer than him. So he sponges off them.

I think the worst part of it all, is that he uses his religion to hook gals. He even uses the different schedules of masses & the ability of attending different churches to plan his schedule. He professes he's a Catholic but he does this type of thing. You see, my friend gave him the benefit of the doubt because he's a Catholic (you know the "sister" claim - she had her suspicions earlier). How can someone who claims to be a devout believer of God do something like that? He has brought shame to the family of God and God himself.

The Kin and Jason Mraz

I've been really hooked on music by The Kin and Jason Mraz lately and I can't help it!

The Kin

I discovered this duo when they added me as a friend on myspace. I became a fan instantly. The duo is made up of a pair of brothers, Isaac & Thorry Koren from Australia, but now based in US. Initially, I found their songs familiar and realised that they had songs featured on Army Wives and also Moonlight. Currently, some of my faves are "Together", "See", "Great Divide" and "Nowhere to Now-here".

Unfortunately, I went to Gramophone yesterday and they didn't have their album...hopefully HMV will.

Jason Mraz

Actually, I didn't really take notice of his songs until I went to an open mic session some weeks back and a couple of people presented his songs. Then I discovered his songs were quite nice and there was a tinge of "African" beat in it, if you know what I mean. So recently, I've been digging his songs and really love them...I find that his songs actually makes one feel happy!

Found 1 album on emusic, so will download that soon once my next month's downloads are activated. Hmm...wondering if I should go buy his latest album or wait & see if emusic will have it later.

And what's more! He's coming to Singapore in August for Singfest! Hmm...should I go? But the tic is $150 leh. Quite pricey, especially when it's at Fort Canning.

Some other artistes that I'm a big fan of:

Sufjan Stevens

Fauxliage

James McAvoy

OMG! I think I'm going gaga over James McAvoy all over again.

The 1st time I saw him was in Frank Herbert's Children of Dune a couple of years back, which was a miniseries shown on Hallmark channel where he starred as Leto Atreides II, the heir to the throne, who "sacrificed" himself at the end. I think this was the role that made me have the deepest impression of him.

At that time, I must say I was "smitten", especially with his eyes of blue. Following that, I didn't really follow much, but I did catch him as Macbeth in the BBC's modern day version of Macbeth set in a kitchen. Then also, there's him in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe as Mr. Tumnus, Robbie Turner in Atonement and now Wesley Gibson in Wanted (which I just watched & enjoyed it tonight).

And guess what? He does fencing (me too!)! And is musically-inclined!

Aahhh.....

Alternative path?

This question recently popped into my mind (I think it did before, but guess I didn't really answer it): what would happen if I were to leave my current job. No, I'm not considering leaving lah, just a thought. I mean, what if 1 day God decides to take me away from it? Probably prompted by my recent promotion.

What can I do after this job? Somehow, I see no other alternative than to serve in full time ministry. No, it's not like ministry is like a "backup" plan, but I think if that really happens (i.e. leave my current career), it is God who is calling me to do so. In the first place, He put me in this current career! So when it's time, He will start closing the doors on me in this area just like when He opened all the doors for me to step into my current job.

The question is, will I recognise it. And secondly, will I obey. I hope that I won't be too wishy washy about it when the time comes.

IAML conference 2008

End next week, I'll be flying off to Naples, Italy for the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives & Documentation (IAML) Annual Conference.

So excited and nervous. Many firsts for me:
1) 1st time visiting Naples - and it is where 1 of my most wanted places to visit is...Pompeii!
2) 1st time going for an overseas conference sponsored by my company
3) 1st time I am travelling alone...well, a colleague is going too, but I only got to know her because she's going for the conference. So it's almost like "on my own". Previously, I had only travelled with family & friends (only twice!)
4) 1st time travelling in summer. Most trips I'd ever taken were in winter & in the past 2 vacations, spring.

Well, the conference lasts from 20-25 July, but have signed up for the post-conference tour which is 3 days, 2 nights. I guess you can consider it a short vacation...I've not had a holiday since last April!

Promotion

Yeah! Got promoted. Still a "librarian", but it's good that I can move on to the next reference level/grade, which means up my salary scale too. So yes! Got an increment too!

Haha...based on my calculations, think the 1st payout of the increment would be fully utilised with giving treats to family & friends.

Just want to thank God for it. I believe He's the one that's blessed me with this chance to even work here and for favour with bosses.

Hmm...maybe I should go & get my XBox now & Guitar Hero.

National Day Parade 2008

Happened to catch some shots while there were rehearsals.
These 2 shots were a little blue coz I forgot to turn off my incandescent white balance.

Loops:

Heart:

And finally, the flag!

Isetan Hokkaido Fair - Hinoki-ya, the travelling band

It's been a while since I last updated and realised that I had forgotten to put this up!

I took half-day off about 2-3 weeks back and it so happened that Isetan was having a Hokkaido fair and a Hokkaido band, Hinoki-ya, was invited to perform. I was just in time to catch their gig, by chance. Here are some pics from it.

It was interesting as the lead (the centre guy with the flowery shirt) had a wide array of instruments and some I've never seen before! Then, this was the first time I see taiko drums used as like the regular band drum set.