Wait For It...

Yeah, I've been really swamped.

Keep An Eye Out For...

... a band called Private Harmony. Released by the local Warner Music office.

Some might say that they're the Indonesian version of the various incarnations of Ben Folds Five/Ben Folds, but there's a difference between imitating and emulating. Listening to them, you get to hear what the music would sound like if Ben Folds had an Indonesian background. The songs are definitely Indonesian (as they are all in Bahasa Indonesia), but the piano-playing is most definitely Ben Folds, along with the backing vocals trademark of the band emulated.
But even more than that, you can feel the songs, and not just hear them as a mere translations of Ben Folds musical tendencies.
The entire album speaks tribute to Ben Folds, unavoidable and obvious, but stands on its own as well. Actually, the choice to emulate Ben Folds music already says something about them... let's see where they go on the next album, if it does come out. Unfortunately, this kind of music does not have a wide audience in Indonesia...

On a lighter note, I wonder what they would be like when actually singing Ben Folds covers!

That Person Is Gone, Finally (So Far)

For the past few months, I have been acquainted, to a certain person which I'd rather not be named, not even a description of attributions like gender, background, or anything else other than any information related to what I want to tell.

To cut a long story short, this person works in a sales/marketing capacity for a local SMS platform provider, who has been pushing for a project involving one of the more notable artists under my record label. At first, when the artist needed publicity and an interesting program to work with, I was welcome to the ideas said person presented, and often helped said person with the concepts and ideas needed to push the project through.
Down the line, the artist certainly didn't need the publicity anymore, and thus the program has been losing value to me day by day; all the while, this person still pushed, and sometimes just plainly befriended me, to the point that I'd be uncomfortable if I declined the program. Eventually, I had to sit down with the artist and balance the benefits and costs of the program, and we agreed that the program has imbalanced benefits towards the provider, and thus we declined.

At one point, this person was contacting me every day, inviting for lunch or dinner, or dropping by the office for a friendly visit, under the ruse of real friendship; once I struck down the program, said person has practically disappeared.

I might be a bit mean or stiff, but what I have never appreciated was the fact that people want to use me. This person was overall a nice person, yet I am not sorry said person is gone. Hope you learn your lesson.

Major Changes

That's it, it's done, and no turning back. The benefits and the risks, although not identified entirely, are accepted. I am taking the jump...

So, for dear readers of this blog, some of you might know that I have been working in a music company since the start of this blog (and almost always single, but that's another matter...)... now the time has come for an unprecedented change. I will be moving to another company in at least 2 months' time, into the burgeoning telecoms industry. My main focal point of the work will remain music, but I will be learning new stuff, new technology, new corporate cultures in a new environment. It's exciting for me to the point I am nervous and still questioning my decision (as I always do). But if experience speaks true, my initial gut feeling will be the one that I follow, even with high indecision. It's done; I've submitted my resignation letter and negotiated my exit terms, and apparently my move is being talked about by more people than I thought.

Also, there is a special person who has been exclusively taking up a lot of my time :), one of the reasons why I haven't been writing as often as I did lately (other than the fact that work has been hell, and managing my schedules has been a balancing act).

I have come to the point that new choices may not be for the better, but as always, for me, new experiences are always beneficial. Growing and learning is my number one goal, and I hope this takes me onward...

Take A Deep Breath, And...

Here we go.
Get ready for the jump of a lifetime.
I don't know what I'm going to face, but that's common I guess when you go into new territory.

Wish me luck.

Navigating Rockets

On most spacecraft, whether it be real or fictitious, usually the ones with more practical or current (not imaginative) propulsion systems, like thermo-combustion rockets and the like, have small rockets around the spacecraft's body. These are for controlling the craft's movements, like pitch and yaw, doing slight turns, and so on, other than the usually uni-directional larger engine. Whereas airplanes can use fins and aerofoils to control movement, the dead of space has no air, thus any minute movements required by the spacecraft is done my these rockets. I'd call them navigating rockets.
How they work, basically, is releasing short bursts of energy to push the spacecraft into the desired position or direction.

And here's something totally unrelated.

The job so far has been great, with a great potential to grow. Business is good, although I need to do more backflips and somersaults to make next year's plan... I have someone I can depend on also now. And now... there is a job offer on the table. The offer is not mind-boggling, but it is significant enough. And Krayola's album is set to release by August; as we will be signing the contract shortly.

The last time this much potential change happened to me was when I started this blog.... a new day at a new job, fresh from shutting down my old office, and painfully fresh of the memory of break-up.

So, does change come in short bursts of energy, you think? Is life, when always pushed by a uni-directional thrust engine, guided by navigating rockets activated when needed?

The Best Birthday Present EVER!

No, not the pizza from Mom, brought early in the morning by my Mom and Dad; although it means a lot and tastes good too!
Not the blueberry cheesecake from Alfa, although it is a testament of our long-standing friendship...
Not even the birthday wishes from friends, although they mean a lot also...

hm... and not even the CD case you gave me! Although I love it! It's just that the color doesn't go well with my other stuff.

just you.