Monday 29 April 2013

High Hopes

Well, tomorrow's my last proper day of school. Ever. And I reeeaally don't want to do the last piece of homework I ever have to do. Hahaha. God. I've learned literally nothing in regards to doing things last minute. Hahahahh. It's just.. It's funny. I'm really laughing right now. Ahhhh. It's an understatement to say I've learnt a lot these past two years. There's been a lot to absorb. Just with everything in the span of this IB time. Unfortunately, I don't think the most important things I learnt were school related at all. Things I still do need help with, school could never aid me in that. Maybe that's why it's so frustrating, having to go there everyday. Sure, learning various bits and pieces is great, but with what I really need help with, none is given. Maybe these magical lessons are kind of things that can't be taught. You just gotta know them already, or you're fucked.

I fit in the latter outcome.

Yeah, as much as school has taught me, I think the most important lessons I've been subjected to have all been orchestrated by myself. Then again, I guess without actually going to school, I wouldn't have gotten into the situations that made me learn these lessons.



People. I still don't understand other people. Does anyone? I don't really know. Seeing how other people interact, it seems they do.



One of the most important lessons I've learned is that it's bloody hard to fit yourself into something pre-existing, and then have it keep maintained. When something foreign enters the ecosystem of the body, anti-bodies come to destroy the pathogen. Maybe it's the same principle? Ahh, I don't know. What am I even saying?



I think that's why I'm most excited about everything ending. Clean starts. Starting things that couldn't have possible already existed because nobody knows anyone else. Level playing grounds, I guess you could say. Then again, who am I really fooling? I'm already surrounded by the shadows of former relations with people. It's like a punch in the face every time I think of how anything used to be with almost anybody. What's to stop me getting into this place again? Me, I guess. Only I can make the changes to myself. 
Ah, that leads me back to a question I've asked myself before. Can people even ever change? Or are we who we were 6 years ago, but with our recent experiences pasted on, making ourselves look like something different, when really, we've never changed. Change. I dunno. I'm just stating impossibles. It's impossible to know anything I've questioned. But this is just what creeps up in my mind every now and then. To be honest I really just think I want someone to tell me it's gonna be all alright. But that's a stupid request.


Okay then, after dinner, I'll finish my music homework. Then I'll go to bed.

Sunday 28 April 2013

Distant Lands 2

Thank you, Stone. This piece is leagues better than what it was, all thanks to the addition of one cello part. It sounds so much better! Much more whole I think. I think this might be my most favourite piece I've ever composed, to be perfectly honest. Even though the midi makes it sound so mechanical and automatic, it feels like I can still hear the emotions of what I was intending to get across seep out of the digital midi. I really want to perform this live now, even more than I did last night. I've named this file "Distant Lands 2", but it's still just Distant Lands with an added cello. Maybe I could find people who'd want to play it for graduation.. That'd be nice. I'll start with asking Stone.

Here it is, new and improved: Distant Lands 2

I'm still open to constructive criticism. I really want this piece to be as perfect as possible.

Saturday 27 April 2013

Distant Lands

Imagine you're on a boat, in what feels like the middle of the ocean. You're just drifting along. Not a care in the world. The sun is slowly setting to your right, hiding behind a tiny island in the distance. To your left there's some fog, following the approaching dusk slowly. A seagull has shat on your face as you were laying there, enjoying the view of the world. Yuck.

Distant Lands

Tuesday 23 April 2013

After School Special

This is a short something that I wrote today during a long and boring wait for the bus. All the locations used are real! But nothing else is...

Believe it or not, car door windows are surprisingly easy to break. Just get a medium-ish rock, hold your arm back a bit, and launch. Easy as that. I was walking down the road from school to the bus stop when I discovered this. I saw a rock just minding its own business, when the uncontrollable urge to pick it up took over. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do next, but then I noticed next to me on of those old decrepit cars that have been parked there for centuries. The kind of old where I couldn't tell if the car is supposed to be a musty white, or if bird shit has just completely covered it.

So I threw the rock into the passenger side window. Surprise surprise, the car alarm didn't go off. Who'd have thunk it. I found a few more rocks lying around and did the same to the rest of the windows. Front, back, passenger, and then the driver's side. I wondered what kind of faceless, nameless entity used to drive this literal piece of shit. I didn't wonder too much though, mind you, because I quickly returned to walking down the street to the bus stop. I really just wanted to go home. School was like a concentration camp that day. It was one of those nice afternoons where no one was around because they have already gone home or are too busy buying smelly fish a little further down the road.

It was about 5 minutes later when I noticed another car. This time it was pretty fancy. I don't know anything about cars or brands, but it looked like an expensive one. There was a rock quite close to it. The next thing I knew, an alarm was going off, glass was on the floor, and someone was shouting in my general direction. The person who was shouting came closer until they had grabbed me by the collar just like that old man after I talked too loud after the A-Team movie. He was the kind of man who you could tell he'd eaten too much when he was a kid. He also had this sick sore under his left eye that was the most vibrant yellow I had ever seen in my life. There was another rock in my hand. It didn't take long before I was being held up by a bloody, pus spurting mess. It was disgusting. He finally let me go once the shock got to him that his eyeball was hanging on his left cheek. I wasn't sure what to really do, or even what happened, so I did what any innocent person would do. I ran away.

Sunday 21 April 2013

¿Por Que?

Judging from what a lot of the people around me are feeling, empathy dictates I should really be feeling nervous, or worried, or something like that about whatever's to come. I know for a fact I'm not as prepared as maannyy of my friends. But, I dunno, I'm pretty okay with that. The world's not going to suddenly be at large if I do bad on these tests. Life's gonna go on for everybody else. I mean, if we're immortal, where's the rush? I took a long hard think today and it's come to my attention that finally, after literally 2 years of feeling like I'm coasting, like I'm there but not, I feel a sense of resoluteness. I'm fine with anything that happens. We are just the universe's tennis balls after all. Tennis balls that together add uo to nothing but a handful of dust. This isn't hopelessness I'm feeling though, don't get me wrong. On the contrary, things have never felt more certain. There comes a point after being paralysed by fear so much that you get used to it. Resistant or whatever. When I don't say anything in class now, it's not cause I'm scared to open my mouth, it's just that I don't want to. And that's okay, I think. You're allowed to not want to do things. If you don't want to talk, then you should be allowed to not talk and instead just listen. If you don't want to walk and progress, then go ahead and sit down in the middle of the sidewalk. If you don't want to care, then go ahead and stop caring. Can things really be that easy? Maybe they can. Now that I'm so close to the end. 10 days in fact. That's when all the fun begins. Of course I'll prepare the way I prepare (not that that seems to be very effective judging from the past...), but it just feels like everything is going to be alright. Pass or fail. Win or lose. Live or die. The universe carries on. We're all just taking it for a spin.

Thursday 18 April 2013

Epiphany

I haven't really been able to properly articulate my words and thoughts on this for a really long time. Couldn't really put my finger on where I am and what's the problem. It's been bothering me for quite some time. But! After last night's weird as fuck dream, I actually understand everything now. Well.. I don't understand why I'm here now (although maybe I kind of do), But I know where I am. It totally explains this sick feeling I get every so often, and why I still lose my fucking breath. Ugh. I hate that.

I'm in purgatory.

Monday 15 April 2013

Conduit

Music is the perfect conduit for my thoughts, I reckon. So I'm gonna put my phone on random and write 5 paragraphs, probably really random in theme and disconnected from each other, based on 5 random songs that come on. Hoo boy. Hopefully this will work.

There There. These drums make me feel like tapping my feet. I've never been in a desert, but I think I would like to go to one one day. Just go drive in one really deep, and then hop out of my car, and then blow the car. Then I'll have to fend for myself in the desert. The blistering cold at night. The shivering heat in the day. Hmm. I'd probably die. Then some vulture will probably pick away at my flesh. Nom nom nom. Delicioso! Eh.. Maybe going to a desert wouldn't be that great. Well, being purposefully stranded in one anyway. I wonder if anyone has ever actually done that? That'd be pretty interesting. Interesting in a "wow, someone that stupid actually exists" kind of way. You could scream and there'd be no one around to hear you though. That'd be cool. And you can see mirages too, out growing insanity from dehydration and whatnot.

What's the fastest someone's heart can go? I've got a pretty naturally fast heart rate at rest. Why am I talking about hearts? I dunno. This song that's on is about chasing after a prostitute who you've fallen in love with. Hahah. Ahh. The funny thing is I have more than one song about that theme. I wonder if any of them are true. Wow, it sounds like I do a lot of wondering. I guess I do though. THAT EXPLAINS EVERYTHING. Woops, after blindly trying to press the backspace button, I've accidentally made my browser fullscreen... How did I do that... How do I get out...? Heeeelllpppp. I don't like how there's no borders anymore. It's scary. It's so, freeing. I feel like I can do anything now!

YEEAAH! I love this song. I found it all by myself. And barely anybody knows it. Which is a shame, because I think White Light Riot is a great band. Well.. To be honest I've only ever heard one song from them. Out of Sight. That's what's playing now. But daaammmn, if it ain't not good. I think that means it is good... If I got my double negatives correct. Haha I'm not really supposed to be talking about the songs, but oh well. Fuck it! It's my thing! I do what I want! Hu ha! Exclamation mark! Hhhh, What's the deal with tourists and their obsession with taking their shirt off just because their on holidays. I don't care who you are; fat, skinny, tall, thin, whatever. If you don't live your normal life shirtless, why do you feel this irresistible urge just to go walking around on the street half naked. Half the time it doesn't even seem like they're even doing anything. They're just standing around on the sides of the street. Meh. People can do what they want. I guess I don't really care per se. I just don't understand it.

Ah. The Approaching Curve. This might actually be my favourite Rise Against song. I don't know, maybe. It's different from what they normally do. It's basically a spoken story with hardcore music in the background. I really like that kind of thing though; the whole spoken word thing over background music. Today I just heard one by the Gorillaz called Fire Coming Out of a Monkey's Head. And it actually developed into this seamlessly merged 3 song epic at the end of their album Demon Days. I really wish I bothered getting into the Gorillaz before, like, 2 days ago. Because I'm really enjoying them now. Does this count as cheating? I mean I'm not exactly talking about the song that's playing, so I guess it's okay. I'm actually quite surprised at how much I'm able to write with the time constraints of just one song. Thought these paragraphs would be muuuuuch smaller.

I Was Made for Sunny Days by the Weepies is on now. This is a pretty nice song. I like the boy-girl harmony in the chorus. Well, the overall song in general is quite cheery, which is nice after a song like the one that just played before that was about a wife crashing a car that her and her husband was in on purpose... Guess this wouldn't really be on my phone if I wasn't introduced to them. So thanks to the person who introduced them to me. This is the final paragraph now. Hmmm. School was alright today. Nothing bad happened. But Biology. HO-LEE SHIT. I felt like dying. I've never felt so bored in my life. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration. But for some reason, I just felt like being anywhere but that lesson.

Oh would you look at that, 5 songs are over. My fingers are pretty tired now from typing so much so fast. So... I think I'll just go listen to music no-- I mean study. Of course. Hahaahahahahahahah. Yes, yes. Study.

Sunday 14 April 2013

Spoon

Sigh, there's breadcrumbs in my bed. I knew i shouldn't have eaten my breakfast on it. But oh well. You get what you give! You give a little love and then you get a little love of your own! Or so they say anyway. I'm sure that's not always true.
Tomorrow is the first day of school! That's a good thing, because it means only 2 more weeks of dealing with the boring pile of diarrhea doggy dump (yes, Im quoting AVGN) that is the repetitive and lackluster life of highschool. Finally. I'm not even that worried about exams. I just wanna get out of there faster than you wanna blow your nose after snorting cracked pepper right off a salsbury steak.

And also, another thing, gosh darn it. How hard is it to find a blimming pen drive in a house where your dad is practically a technophile!? VERY apparently. I couldn't even find one. I swear. So now if I wanna share some music i gotta pass over a bloody massive hard drive. Hahah, first world problems, eh? Well Whatever. A problem's a problem and I'm gonna complain about it as much as i see fit. Which just so happens to be this much, because I'm done with this rant now.

I know I said I'll go to bed at 10 30, but, heh. This is just one of those things. I can never go to bed as early as I want to, no matter what. It's either too early, or too late. But really, I'm used to it anyway, so it's not that big a deal. I suppose I'll try and just close my eyes now anyway. Maybe I'll practice some meditation. It's all about focussing on your breath. Apparently. I never really know if I'm doing it right. Hopefully the people in the monastery or whatever that I'll be living in will teach me a good way to meditate. But that's a story for another time.

Peace out!

Oh god, I can't believe I just said "peace out". What a twat.

Saturday 13 April 2013

Knife

So today instead of doing what I should, I did what I shouldn't. But I did do what I could, so I did. Hence, this: Blue Cheese

Let me explain myself a bit first... It's an improvisation. That's it. Okay. Explanation done. Haaahahah.

The main riff that this has stemmed from is from Noah and the Whale's 'Blue Skies'. It's a really nice song. What I've done might actually be pretty boring. I dunno. It was really just an experiment/practice with the open C tuning on guitar. It goes on for just over 9 minutes, so I don't really expect anyone to listen to it all the way through. But. It's here anyway! Cause, why not.

Thursday 11 April 2013

Fork

So I've been in my room for quite some time now. Just listening to music, composing, that sort of thing. It's really only been 4 hours. But anyway, I went outside for some good old fashion human interaction, and lo and behold, everybody has already gone to sleep. And it's only 10 59PM! Sigh, what is this. I'm not even tired right now, but I probably will be feeling it in an hour or so. You know what's a nice song? "Our Window", by Noah and the Whale. God, that's some good stuff right there. Just, the whole thing. Yes. That's all I can say about it; yes. I recommend checking it out if you're in a reflective mood. Then again, I'm not really in a reflective mood, and I'm still enjoying this.

I'm not really sure where else I'm going with this. Nope. Not a clue. Let's see.. I beat the "best game of 2013 so far" today. It was pretty alright hahah. Fun stuff. Fun and games, got plenty of that this holiday. I've squeezed in some studying too though. I think tomorrow I'll study more. Try and finish up my music IA too. Sigh, everyone's finished all of their IA's but us music students. Woopee. It's not so bad though. At least it's enjoyable.

The title to my new song I'm writing (started yesterday) is gonna be called "No More Sleepless Nights For Me", or something like that. I'm going to try and emulate Noah and the Whale's style, try and figure out how they get their sound that I love so much. Hopefully it'll turn out like something good. Never really wrote something like this before, so it's going to be interesting to say the least.

blahblahblah, talktalktalk, pragraphparagraphparagraph. Done.

Tuesday 9 April 2013

Half Way Done

Hey, you know what? I am happy. These past few days have been great. Real swell. I've been able to keep my mind relatively off things it tends to wander towards if left unattended, and I think that's helped my overall outlook on things. I'm able to think a bit more positive and shit like that, hah.

The world music festival was awesome. Been a while since it happened, but still, it's worth mentioning.  My favourite band was called Akasha, this Malaysian band that basically fused Indian and blues styles. Wicked. It was such a nice time too, just hanging out with friends. No judging, no stress, no pressure, no worries, no nothing. Just a good time. So, thanks. It was different to how I envisioned it would be like four months ago, but that's okay. Gotta be more malleable. It was still great.

Speaking of music and great, I've been introduced to a lot of great music lately. Bands that I really wouldn't have found if it weren't for being introduced to them. My ears have never been more mellow. Oh oh, and I finally was able to fix my earphones, so now I don't have to wear my headphones around with me if I want to listen to music and not be coincidentally judged because of it. Yay! On a better plus note, because those earphones are fixed, I can now hear everything crystal clear. It's awesome. Eargasm central, here I come! Aww yeaaah.

These past two days I've started my most "serious" studying this whole holiday. That's not very impressive, seeing as I've practically done nothing before Monday. But hey! It's okay! It's all about gradual increments in workload, right? Heh. I'll be clocking in solid 6 hours in no time. But for now, an hour or two with a kayak break in-between is enough for me.

I went out drinking for the first time last night too. I was thinking of writing a blog post then, when I got back home. But instead I decided to collapse on my bed, hahah. That was an awesome day actually. Glad it happened.

And on that positive note, I think I should end this. Wowie! Could it be!? A positive post? Yeah, shuddup. That's right! Twoohwoohweehwaa.