ÆSPHEREA

I managed to finish three song lyrics this week, and more ideas continue pouring in pretty fast. It seems I’m picking up inspiration from a bunch of different stuff to mix in with Ari’s life history as well as school life. I think it could work out. Ari and I spent some time writing lyrics about different stuff such as:

• Ordinary people with the same names as famous people.
• Situation when unexpected imagery brings reminders of the past.
• When Ari is trying to convince a significant other not be afraid of her but to accept the way she is.

Ari also had some interest in rapping at some point– I think rapping is one of those odd-ball genres with controversy and strong criticism. It was a rather strange discussion but I think that if Ari were to rap in one of the band’s tracks, the song would probably have a Beastie Boys-like feel to it. Personally, I like old-school rap better than most newer rap but there are some of today’s rappers that I do enjoy listening to like Lil’ Wayne — speaking of which, one of my co-workers looks like him if he shaved his face. It’s kind of scary … it’s even scarier when he starts dancing like Soulja Boy.

I also got a new iPod today … actually, I went through a lot of different in trying to exchange a “slightly” used 8G iPod nano with an iPod touch. Though with all the talks regarding video support, it looks like the problem exists with all the new iPod models, not just the nano. I originally had the nano but when video support did not work well with a standard video cable often used in camcorders, I was thinking– it’s a nano, it’s going to be crippled compared to its Classic cousin. So I spend quite an adventure with many different people at Radioshack to get it traded in for either a Classic or a Touch. After a rather bizarre set of actions involving some metal polish and a terry cloth, I ended up with a Touch because the Classics were backordered to who knows how far back. Now my MP3/Music Video collection is not very huge– heck! A four gigabyte Nano would have been sufficient. But when I got home, I just realized that I had the same video issues I had with my Nano. Basically, the standard AV cable doesn’t work. With a bit of research, I learned that the problem is on Apple’s part … they made their users use the proprietary connector for the video. That means I would have to get a $50 cable to hook up any of the newest generation iPod models to a TV. Oh well …

But I’m happy with my iPod Touch … it feels like a PSP but without the buttons. It also means there will be no sequel to “The Crazy and Messed Up Legend of the Weirdo That Exchanged His Scratched Up iPod … and Did!” and I’m kind of glad too … bringing a tub of polish, a Maas tube, and a terry cloth to Radioshack and shining the metal back of that oversized Chiclet in front of the manager sure did feel a bit strange, but at least it convinced him that I was dedicated enough to exchange the Nano.

So what did we learn? Maas really does work on Apple’s iPods! Heck, the Maas website even has some similarities to Apple’s website so there’s some kind of spooky advantage there! So got a scratched up iPod that you bought within the last few days that you want to return? Maas will fix it! It did for me!

First of all, I managed to get the OSX partition to boot consistently so I’m not worried about it anymore. I had to fiddle around with some BIOS settings to get it kicking right.

Anyway, we managed to do some recording this week. Most of the time, it was just trying to find the right kind of voice that could go with the song. It was a bit frustrating for Ari as she’s not used to singing in a Poppish way (her normal voice is somewhat aggressive and grunge-like). However, I we managed to settle with a hybrid voice style. It’s more Poppish but has her touch to go with it.

Meanwhile, we started writing some more songs. One involves heading out to school on a typical day while trying to put some ease on Ari’s teacher. Another involves Ari’s troublesome high school life and the way she was brought up. Sounds like an interesting story to explore and translate into song lyrics. I can’t wait to hear what this would sound like in a song.

It looks like my Mac OSX partition is acting funny again … this time, it just doesn’t like to boot and I haven’t quite figured out what I did to break it. With that said, I wasn’t able to get any vocals recorded, nor any music composed. So for now, I’ll just stick to writing lyrics until I can figure out how to get that partition working again.

However, I want to wait until the end of this week. If I still keep my new job, which I started last week, then I’ll probably head out and order either a Mac Mini or a MacBook from NewEgg; and then I’ll convert one of the internal drives I have into an external firewire drive, which will be used for audio-related stuff. Although, I’d like to see how GarageBand will perform on it once I get it, before I decide to fork over more money on an external enclosure.

Well … actually, “coincidence” is the next song we’re working on. After a few trades of emails between Ms. Doolittle and I in regards to the lyrics, Ari and her friends have started on a few ideas for the music. I have heard a sample and it sounds almost like a Pop/Folk/Rock type of thing with a rather playful rhythm. It was a bit different compared to the rhythm that was playing in my head but I guess it could possibly work out.

Basically, what the song is about is that Ari once saw a person and realized how much this person resembled someone that she used to know, and wants to at least greet this person. At the end of the day, however, she tries to wonder who this person might be and if there is a relation to the person that she sees in her photo album. One of the things we didn’t mention in the lyrics is the gender of the person in question … we decided we wanted to keep this open to interpretation and maybe some kind of relation to someone that had a similar feeling. Though if there were a music video of this song, Ari would probably choose a female only because she has seen someone in Coastal that looks almost like one of her teachers in grade school– she kind of finds it rather scary in some ways.

I tried writing a slower-tempo song … it sure does sound different compared to middle and faster beat songs that I’m used to writing, but I like this song to be full of emotion and power. Something that could possibly have an orchestral backing instead of our usual rock setup.

The song is written like a story. Basically, Ari Kagura finally gets back home from work, and notices a message on her voice mail. It’s like some kind vocal restraining order. No papers or anything– just a phone call. She then she tries to sympathize with the person she’s trying to make mends with, while at the same time, she’s trying to figure out what she did that made uneasiness for that person. Then she starts realizing the faults somewhere. However, I haven’t quite figured out how it will end. On the other hand, I’d like to use today’s date as the title of the song to remind me of the phone call from the security department. I suppose to the average listener, that person would wonder if there’s a hidden truth behind the date.

My mom answered the phone and it was the security department from Coastal. I don’t ever recall applying for a position in the security department at Coastal so maybe I did something stupid that I shouldn’t have done.  But during the course of the call, my mom overheard me. Now she has like the hearing of a bloodhound– she can hear conversations from a mile away. With that said, she was worried but to cull the worrisome, I told her not to worry because from what I know, worrisome is contagious– if one person worries, so does everyone else.

But to make a long story short, I pretty much can’t talk to Dr. Nakamae anymore for the rest of the semester … I guess that day when I knocked on her door, she took my greeting in an odd way that startled her and it ended up with a talk to security. Hmm …  I should apologize but I’m not sure exactly how to go around doing that. I suppose I could write an apology song and then share it to her on my first day of class next semester … but I don’t know. I don’t know if it’ll change the way she sees me now but at least it’s something I could do to cull the worrisome essence that may have brewed up during the last week or so. To make things simple, I honestly don’t want to offend her, or make her feel uneasy, or anything like that. Like the old question that often comes up after an argument, “Can we be friends again?”

But speaking of music, and to more brighter notes, I emailed one of my song lyrics to Ms. Doolittle. I haven’t heard back yet, nor did I call her to confirm if she received it but if she did, then I’m looking forward to her feedback on the lyrics. It’s more of a brighter song about how Ari Kagura seen someone’s face and reminded her about someone that she used to know. I think it’ll be the next song we’ll perform for our album … now I just need to imagine how this song will pan out. I’ll get in touch with Ari soon on how she would like this song to be composed and maybe it can be played on the Ken & Roger Show in the next couple of weeks.

I feel 75% enlightened and 25% confused.

Well, here’s the story:

I woke up this morning expecting to leave the house right around 8:15 AM to get to campus at around 8:35-ish. However, my brother did not get ready for school until 8:30 so we ended up leaving the house at 8:35 and arriving at around 8:55. I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t be able to talk to Dr. Nakamae in the morning so I had to rethink my morning enlightenment of character inspiration.

I managed to bump into Mr. Beverage while on my way to Ms. Doolittle’s office– I haven’t spoke to this guy in like seven years! And after all these years, he still has his quirky yet memorable personality. I showed him some song lyrics that I wrote last night– he gave me some advice in how to make it better. Basically, it’s all about creating a vivid image with less words– like poetry but sometimes you repeat a bunch of stuff for the sake of writing a chorus. We also got into more details like different rhythms and beats, and how the bridge worked in my song. It makes some kind of sense I suppose.

After having an intelligent conversation with Mr. Beverage, I checked on Ms. Doolittle’s office hours, then headed back to Dr. Nakamae’s office with the same intention of seeking advice on song lyrics … unfortunately, she was busy with things. I guess that’s the reason why her office door was closed. That, and she also looked frustrated too– I would probably feel the same, as well, if I was out of the office for a few days and need to catch up with the rest of the world. Now, that didn’t seem as confusing as I thought it would be before I started writing this entry. After formulating a possible reason or so, it makes a little bit of sense.

However, I decided to stop by the Bookstore to talk to Rosanna, the manager. We had a short chit-chat regarding student life and opinions about classes. I mentioned a bit about how in some classes, I would stare at a clock; while other times, I kind of wish the class was a bit longer. The former meaning that I was bored and wished the instructor knew a more captivating way in teaching the subject matter. The latter meaning that I enjoyed the class a lot and wished I had the class every single day instead of every other day. In a logical sense, I’m more likely to pay attention and get an “A” in the class if I’m active and motivated to do the class assignments and perform any presentations. She also mentioned to include the Bookstore in my book, that I mentioned to her in the conversation– that would be Project: GakuSen. Don’t worry! I have some interesting ideas for a couple scenes that could possibly happen in the Bookstore.

Lastly, I finally bumped into Ms. Doolittle as she was on her way to her office. She mentioned that she’ll be busy but she allowed me to send her any emails with song lyrics for her to read. She also gave me a business card, which basically looks like any other business card from a Coastal employee. I’ll be forwarding my lyrics to her soon and hopefully, she’ll have something to say about it within the next couple of days.

Tomorrow, I hope my day will be less out-of-whack and more in harmony. I’ll be able to continue to enlighten and inspire myself from these short adventures on campus. It really helps when I gather up ideas for “Project: GakuSen” as it takes place in a community college, just like Coastal.

But for now, I need to get these voice-overs out the door– I’ve been putting them off for way too long now.

I found a picture of my Japanese language teacher from about four years ago. Her name is Rumiko Yamamoto.

She was like one of my favourite teachers when I was attending classes at ECU, next to my Design and Ceramics teachers. She was a fun person and made learning Japanese fun, despite having a really crappy textbook. I don’t know where she is now, but from what I know, she was in America for just a couple years just to teach Japanese, then her Visa expired and had to return back to Japan. Has she returned back to America? Who knows!

However, I did use her as a basis for one of the characters in “Project: GakuSen”, a book that I intend to write starting this winter. Her personality can be quite similar to Yukari-sensei in Azumanga Daioh, but with a few odd quirks to make her different. A few posts ago, I mentioned of a character named Nakamura-sensei … well, this particular teacher, on the other hand, has some friction when it comes to personality traits between themselves. I picture their odd encounters to be somewhat hilarious … like the situations between Nyamo-sensei and Yukari-sensei in Azumanga.

Looks like there are some parts still available for Quest of Judgment.

We got some auditions but some of them sounded like they were heavily modified that I wasn’t sure what to make of it– some pitch-benders can be quite noticeable. On the other hand, one person that auditioned, Goofparade, has quite a dynamic voice and I would recommend him for any TMO project.

I guess that means I’ll have to go look for people … I might have some ideas running around for potential parts.

Yup! I found my notepad today. It was in Food Lion all along. Apparently, it was kept in some drawer in the Express Checkout lane instead of the usual place for Lost-and-Found objects. I guess they never bothered to send me an email if they found it … but the point is that I managed to get it back, so that’s a very good thing.

Meanwhile, I need to remind myself to make contact with the English Department Head and the Continuing Education Department regarding my application forms on Monday or Tuesday next week. They actually haven’t received my forms yet, but I would imagine they would get them by then. Persistence seems to be the key in this little town known as Jacksonville, North Carolina, although being a graduate from Coastal might give me some kind of edge. Who knows!