Christmas at home.....

Christmas with my rather dysfunctional extended family consists of laughter, loud music (and people), and smattering of love. The offspring contributed an item for the Christmas program and i think it went quite well, even though there was no choreography or music to back her singing, but it was the way she stood there gamely and sang her heart out with a smile. =) It may be that being a parent has changed my view, but i think a little child singing beats any adult any day (duet competition or not (in fact it was rather goose pimple inducing due to the numerous off-pitch slides and overused vibrato singing (gosh i sound like Simon Cowell))).

More examples of the Machiavellianist behavior from some of the little brats:
- getting caught jumping on the (rather expensive) leather recliners and sofas, and climbing over the table
- pouting and venting when put in the time-out corner
- "forgetting" and leaving the time-out corner
- more pouting and slamming of walls with a toy when put back in the time-out corner
- setting up a new obstacle course with other furniture
- sulking and whining loudly when things don't go the way wanted
- lying through the teeth when confronted about jumping on the furniture
- yelling, shrieking, shouting at the dinner table "because i feel like it"
- running everywhere at full speed
What do the parents do/say about this? Bugger all, because they are totally blind and oblivious to these random acts of malicious mischieviousness.

I only hope that our offspring does not learn from such ....behavior......was looking for an adjective as 'naughty' is too mild, while 'evil' is too extreme.

Seasons' greetings!

My Reminder

It was drizzling when i got to her school, and the offspring insisted on using an umbrella, which i initially resisted because after i needed more hands to do so (especially to lock the car door), but of course i gave in (how can one resist that pleading tone from one's offspring). A bit of a balancing act was needed to do so, but we managed. Seeing her so enthusiastic about school really started my day off well, and i walked with such a happy step that i forgot i left my umbrella hanging by the entrance to the school.

Tried to call the school about it but to no avail (left a message but no call back) and i had written the umbrella off. As we were heading for a family outing that day, I picked her up myself and as i approached the main door, lo and behold my umbrella was still hanging there. =)

I then promptly forgot about it (again) because i was so happy to see her (we did our little dance/hug of joy), and i heard a little voice exclaim while she was in my arms walking to the car: "Papa, your umbrella!"

Really observant of her considering it was hanging in a corner. That made my week......well that and spending the rest of the day with the wifely person and the offspring. *grinz*

Playing for mass

I play for mass at church and the parish where i am, one of the priests takes an active interest in music as he is truly multi talented, being able to play all kinds of instruments from basic guitars, to more exotic banjos and mandolins, as well as flutes, trumpets and percussions. 

However, a disagreement today has led to my being excused from playing for mass (i.e. i got fired lol). Not really a nice feeling, but i feel i should pen down happened in an effort to make sense of it (and for record's sake). 

We were told to combine one of the mass proper songs with a hymn, but they were in different keys, so we amended the key of the mass proper to match. Now the priest decided to play his ukelele with us today, and it may not have been communicated to him about the key change. So he comes charging up after mass demanding that we stop making a mess of it as the two songs could not match. No amount of explaining could deal with the situation and even playing it on the piano for him to show it matched, didn't help (probably because he still didn't realise we changed the key to match). 

A while later, he came up to me and asked me to clarify again, and we didn't really want to argue at that point, so we said we would play whatever he wants us to play. Then he brought up the subject of practice, as he felt we were doing great injustice to the scores with bad endings and intros, but i replied that we are playing to score, so since he wrote the scores, he could amend as he saw fit. Instead, he started going on about me not turning up for practice.

Now there is a simple reason i don't turn up for practice, aside from the fact that it is at a really bad time on Friday for me due to family commitments, it's that the other band is there at practice and they have their own keyboardist (and only 1 piano). The few practices that i attended seem to start rather late, and didn't leave me anything to do aside from listen, so i stopped trying to kill myself attending these practices by rushing around.

I was then presented with the ultimatum. Turn up for practice or don't play for mass, and since i could not commit to practice, i was therefore excused from playing. 

In a way, it is a relief as i was struggling each week to gather a band to play (our drummer quit after one of this berating sessions), and i needed the time to prepare for a house moving, but it still cuts to the core to be treated this way by someone of the cloth. I am trying to give him the benefit of the doubt or attribute this to his old age, but am embarrassed to say i cannot find any reason for this injustice i feel, and I've tried to give my best to the church, but to hear him say "you can go play at other churches, i excuse you from playing here" was a bit of a shock to the system to say the least.  

I do hope the music ministry continues to flourish, and hope they find a good committed musician, at least one that is better than me, as i have tried my best and it is apparently not good enough. 

The circus is coming to town

So Christmas is coming, but instead of glad tidings and good cheer (or a random jolly guy in a red suit and beard) we have a media circus coming to town with a PAP MP (and speaker of parliament) resigning from his post.  As seen from the various events throughout the year, the media has now encompassed various electronic forms like email, websites, forums and smses, aside from the traditional printed paper/TV/radio. Both sides do take cues and clues from each other and by putting both sides together with an objective eye, one can gain an appreciation for most sides of the story. There will always be bits missing, although this appears to be less and less with this multi-media onslaught.

I have to applaud the men-in-white for moving rather decisively and nipping this issue in the bud, although I would be jumping the gun abit since the saga is far from over. The issue of a by-election is now on the cards, and going by precedence, it should be a no-brainer, although we have been surprised before. Reading through the various official announcements and letters, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the PM. I actually like him and think he is doing the best job given the situation and circumstance, but the issues he's had to deal with throughout the year merely highlight that the job is getting harder and harder.

PSLE blues

There has been recent debate about the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) http://www.google.com/url?q=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_School_Leaving_Examination&sa=U&ei=G_StULvJLMSmrAfY5IGIDw&ved=0CCUQFjAC&usg=AFQjCNE5qNL08oT1EIQrRnBzRD0C96m8Eg
which was further highlighted by various bits of news like no longer publishing the top students, their marks, their schools, and what brand of chicken essence that take. Discussions also abounded about the stress on both parent and offspring that these exams produce. It can seem quite daunting as your future is largely dependent on the few letters like A, B, C and the must sought after A* that appear on your results slip. I started thinking about our daughter and the stresses ahead of her while she enjoys her carefree days. =(

Incidentally, today was the day the PSLE results were released. Hope everyone is happy!

new words

Some of the more notable (i.e. longer) additions to the offspring's vocabulary recently:
"Mummy do you remember we went .... ?"
"Watermelon!"
"I like Mission!" (it's a brand of pita bread)
"wear safety belt!"

She really brings a big change of weather in our lives, both sunshine and rain. Thankfully the latter does not happen often! =) She has transistioned into senior toddler class well, although she'll miss her old teachers methinks. Funny thing is, between the teachers, us and offspring, she'll be the one to adjust the quickest!

technological tidbit from our toddler

So i was in the car with our offspring, heading into town to pick up ww after work, and i thought of something to discuss with my mum about. I hooked up my bluetooth headset and called her, only to be interrupted by our toddler a couple of sentences in:
"Who you talking to??"
"erm....i'm talking to nai-nai."...i had forgotten that she couldn't see me wearing the tiny bluetooth headset and was thus wondering what i was doing talking to myself (reminds me of the toilet incident). LOL Her reply was a bright and chirpy "okay!".
"Do you want to talk to nai-nai?" i asked her. "Yes!" so i passed her the phone and she chatted with her grandparents (cue laughter from my dad) for a while before concluding the conversation with "I wanna go home now. Bye bye!"

jeanie's passing

Jeanie passed away after a short bout of illness in May, and it has been some time but the grief and pain of losing her still lingers. It feels more than just a Jeanie-shaped hole inside, as there is also the urge to just give in to the helpless feeling and sit around moping aimlessly. I am also torn between reading about dogs (and cats), which usually make me feel better; and being reminded about her and her antics, which really gets me down. I thought about getting another dog, but don't really feel up to it.

I guess the fact is i really miss her. She was the most amazing animal i've ever met and nothing can replace her. Aside from being with me the longest, she was the most intelligent companion pet (the list of nominees include a maltese, a german shepard, a scottish terrier and a rottweiler cross (fish disqualified due to inability to quantify their intelligence)) and was the best company I could ever have in a difficult period: living alone away from home in a foreign land, coping with going back to school, relationship breakups, and more. Of some comfort is the fact that our daughter met Jeanie and remembers her, pointing and naming her in pictures we display.

One dream of ours (more mine than hers) was to retire to a farm and breed border collies or host a boarding kennel, but the funny thing about that is the image in my mind is that Jeanie was always there with me, by my side. I reach down unconciously when i think of her and the absence of a furry black head or a wet nose nuzzling my hand occupies that space the dream once stood.

More tidbits from our toddler

Our little one is getting rather active and her cognitive leaps have been rather interesting to observe.

My mum offered her some fruits and she had some and then declared that she was full, even patting her tummy to show us. =) Then my baby cousin came along and my mum offered her some fruits as well, but our daughter interjected, telling my mum rather solemnly that "C (my cousin) doesn't want any fruits". Rather interesting this, that she'd say that instead of "no, my fruits, cannot give her!" lol

While getting into the car to go home, she said "i'm sleepy" and promptly fell asleep within a few minutes of driving. What a gal!

Soccer Styles

Managed to play soccer again. =) It seems so hard these days with busy schedules, fitness levels, and other excuses, and that's just for me, gotta multiply that by many more for other people in order to have a good game. Pretty cool that we've managed to get some sort of regularity going with our weekly games, and it's nice to see familiar faces (and playing styles) at the pitch.

Maybe because of this, I may be more willing to shell out for new boots, because the new Adidas Lethal Zones look so tempting, while my current (rather new pair, worn less than 20 times) is chafing my ankle a bit. I am playing fine and scoring well with them though, hence my reluctance to go out and change a winning formula (aside from the steep price of the LZ!).

I have found that adapting my playing style to the small game as well as my physical state (getting older!) takes some getting used to. Most of what i do on the pitch these days involve making space for myself in order to pass or shoot. This can be simply running into space and receiving the ball, at this point of time i usually stop running. This is the nature of the small game, it is really hard to run with the ball, and is far easier to run off the ball. By doing so, you are more balanced when you pass or shoot. There are people who are really skilled and can do so, but not me. LOL

If i'm static and/or marked out by a defender, then making space becomes trickier. The basic premise is to push the ball away from the defender. If push short, then i have to turn, run on to it and shoot. If push long, then it becomes a pass (provided someone receives it!). The skill involve usually is first timing the ball, as that first contact is all-important and sets up your next move. Erring on the side of caution leads to the ball really close to me, and i'd be static and either: i fall over the ball as it is stuck under me, or i'd have to trick my way out (unlikely), or i'd have to pass back (happens 80% of the time). Going strong on that first touch would usually lead the ball astray and i'd have to chase it down (and usually lose it unless defender is out of position and out of shape lol).

Interestingly enough, my goals yesterday were a good mix of cross-and-tap-in, placement shots, power shots, volleys, rebounds, and one-on-one dinks (i felt like Torres!). Being able to shoot with both feet is definitely an advantage. I even had a header but that was saved. LOL

Tidbits from the toddler

As she is picking up more phrases and increasing her vocabulary, we see more tidbits from our toddler daughter in our daily interactions.

We were having a meal and we thought she was done with dinner, so her Mama finished off her rice (Japanese rice! Yum!), and when she found out, she said "You ate my rice?!? I'm sad." and made a face. LOL

She has picked up the habit of saying "Yah" instead of "Yes", and she does so, I'd try to correct her and she'd dip her head and say (with a note of exasperation) "Yeeeeeees".

Phrases and phases

So apparently our offspring is having the "terrible twos" phase and it is hard to describe the mixture of feelings one goes through while watching her. It ranges from happiness (how she makes us laugh) to frustration (when she doesn't get her way and throws a tantrum) to amazement (when she acts all grown up). =)

She had a playdate with my mum's friend's (younger) granddaughter recently and phrases she said included:
"Come Mei-mei, hold my hand."
"Don't touch my backside!"
"I like duck rice"
"Flying!" *arms outstretched and running around* (they were at the airport)

She is the light of our lives and really brightens our day, so much so that going back to work after a long weekend really gives us withdrawal symptoms. =)

A peek into our family life

We had quite a busy weekend, which started early on Friday, thanks to National Day celebrations held by my company. Since it was a free and easy day, I picked up the offspring from her playgroup (and gave my in-laws a break!) and brought her to my office. Interesting thing was that due to her age (and that most of the events were held in open areas), she didn't need a pass to get in. LOL She also contributed an artwork for my office cubicle wall, entitled (i think) "A study on circles" highlighter on A4 paper. We picked up wibblewamble from her office and headed off for dinner at the new place in MBFC (food was disappointing, service was terrible and price was steep).

Our Saturdays are typically spent running around doing errands or attending events, but for some strange reason, we ended up at MBS and had DB for lunch while the offspring took her nap. We decided to go visit the Arts Science Museum with the Harry Potter exhibition and for some strange reason, our muggle daughter got very excited about Harry Potter, especially his car (which was dangled from the ceiling).  The exhibition itself was pretty fun although she was spooked by some of the darker bits. Dinner was interesting (and pricey) at this new Jap teppanyaki place where we had our own teppanyaki chef. I now know what proper teppanyaki should taste like (i.e. not drenched in oil and butter).

Sunday we had breakfast at one of our fav brekkie places (although it was a little pricey)) and then enjoyed the live country western music at our church canteen, which is always fun, especially with our daughter dancing to the music, waving excitedly to me, and talking to her grandparents (sometimes all three at the same time). Nice for us to have some time together as my parents took her for the afternoon and we visited the Tanjong Pagar railway station as they were having an event there.

We ended off Sunday with dinner at the extended family, then while heading home with our daughter repeatedly asking one of the hardest questions we've heard to date: "what time is Harry Potter's car?". My silly answer? I'll tell you what time it is, it's sleepy time. (Yes i know none of that makes sense lol). She promptly fell asleep before we got home. What a gal.

working in a cubicle farm

My workplace is pretty packed with people, so except for the big bosses, the bulk of us work in a cubicle farm. This is pretty much the norm in most workplaces here. Some mordicum of privacy is afforded by the chin-high cubicle walls, although sound is still reflected around, so much so that i can tell whether my cubicle neighbour is typing or surfing the net (or playing diablo 3.....nah just kidding).

Trying to work and survive in such an environment is challenging, especially after sharing an office with one other person for long time in a previous position. Phonecalls, whether personal or business, are monitored subtlely (or not), and invariably there is a sense of loss of privacy. I usually walk out of the office to take my personal calls on my cell, but invariably that leads to questioning looks from my boss when seen doing so.

Then there is the noise factor, of people chit-chatting around you about stuff that may not be work related. The fact that they chat away in mandarin doesn't really bug me, but it is the volume and intensity of their discussions that is disturbing at times, especially when they talk about personal/health/hygiene (sometimes all 3 at the same time) matters. Perhaps due to differences in age, background, language, gender, workscope, i have become somewhat of a hermit in the office, most of the time dealing with my matters from the comfort and safety of my rather noisy cubicle. It doesn't help that whenever i try to interact, i either get cold blank looks, angry pouts or cheesy fake smiles (god, i hate the latter with a vengence).

So what do i do? I keep plugging away at my work, ignoring all jibes, snide remarks and obtuse references to keep trying. Funny thing is, i read that indirect bullying or harressment in the office is not restricted to the bosses or from man to woman, or even from person to group, and it is especially true when i can tick off all three.

Despite all of this, I still end each day with a smile as i look forward to spending time with my babies. =) The power of love is really amazing and is my shield against the cynicism of others. A distant runner up in the competition to save my sanity is the power of hope, that something better will come along soon.

modern monopoly

Inspired by this post, I thought i'd pen some thoughts about a modern version of monopoly for Singapore.

Firstly, instead of railway stations, there is a chance card that decrees one property of yours be taken over for public transport with compensation by the bank (based on market value)(there may be some fixed public transport stations). That may sound like a bad thing, but it also means that all neighbouring properties and houses appreciate in value by 0.X number of times (determined by double dice throw, so maximum amount of appreciation capped at 1.2 times the market value).

There will be no more free parking space (hellooooo, this is Singapore leh), instead by purchasing the property, you have the option of building a multistory carpark (number of stories = number of houses, with increasing rents).

Instead of luxury tax, there is income tax everytime you pass go. This is calculated based on your perceived income per round, matched with the appropriate income tax bracket. Also, purchase of any house/hotel is subject to stamp duty payable to the bank.

After winning the beauty contest (used to get $20 remember?) in chance/community chest, you have to say "Boomz" each time you want to collect rent.

If you are ever caught speeding in your car (throwing doubles three times in a row), after you get out of jail, you are banned from driving for 3 rounds, afterwhich have to retake your (expensive) driving test.....and you probably will not pass the first time (you must throw double six to pass).

Life and TV

Maybe because of our busy schedules, we hardly watch any TV these days. For movies that we like, we buy the DVD. For TV series that we like, we buy the DVD (box set). For music that we really like, we buy the DVD (concert). You get the picture.

Had a spare moment over the weekend to just vegetate, so i switched on the telly and caught a new sit-com called Last Man Standing starring everybody's favourite toolman, Al Borland....i mean Tim the Toolman Taylor! (okay, Tim Allen). Not to be confused with BBC's dramarealitycontest program of the same name. =)

The format follows the Home Improvement formula, where Tim is this average joe trying to get by and how he deals with everyday issues (by misinterpreting advice given to him for one). What struck me was one scene where he was having dinner with his wife and another couple, and was told to be nice (and lie), because the lady was dating a new guy. This guy claimed to be navy SEAL and just came back from Iraq, etc. And the moment he sprouted stuff, i started wincing because of the factual inaccuracies, which Tim picked up but had a hard time not saying anything. When he told his wife in private, she said "Why do you have to know such things?" "What things?" "The range of an M1A1 Abrams tank!", just reminded me of the wifely person and me (and could imagine her saying that to me). Both of us are repositories of strange and wacky information, which is why i always said that we'd make a formidable team in any bar quiz. LOL.

Also played for mass and it was great to share the love and passion for music with a fellow musician. My regular bassist was away, but i think his stand-in really enjoyed playing with us (and it showed in the basslines played!). I just said "imagine playing like this, tight and funky, week in week out. you really look forward to sundays, and even take to recording what you play because you inspire each other so much, you don't even remember what you yourself played, how you played it, or why you played it. All you know is, it felt real good. Funny thing is, people listening to you will feel it too."

Strange thoughts for the weekend past. That and our offspring fighting a viral fever kinda occupied our time most of the day.

soccer now, soccer then...

I still play soccer these days, although no longer on a full pitch with 20+ other players.  Due to fitness (lack thereof) and space (also lack thereof), we've taken to playing on smaller 4/5-a-side pitches on astroturf. So we can still wear our studs and feel manly about it (heh heh). I have also noticed at a recent game that I can no longer rely on my speed to get past a defender. This is also due to the small pitch, but i think i'm really slowing down, which is a pity, because it was quite fun to do this in the past: face the defender with the ball, run and lean one direction, wait for reaction, then go the other way. =) The only way to counter was for the guy to hold his ground and not commit (no reaction), then i'd run out of space and have to stop or pass.

Stopping with the ball is ok, stopping with the ball with your back to the defender is hard, but somehow, instincts always kick in here and if i do stop, i always end up shielding the ball like this and most of the time, i pass it back. =) Playing with your back towards goal is one of those crucial skills that players need to develop (IMO), and I noticed myself using several methods to get past the defender in this situation: receiving the ball with back towards goal.
1) run forward (or pretend to with a few steps) and if the defender is to your side waiting for you to stop the ball so that he can take it off you, let the ball run between your legs, turn and go. The ball needs to have sufficient pace for you to do this (but not too fast!) and if done correctly, should leave the d in your wake, especially if he was leaning into the tackle already.
2) trap the ball by cushioning it with your instep, then letting it follow your foot backwards as your swivel. This is a move often done perfectly by Fabregas (video here).

I wonder how long can i do these before i have to rely on guile and skill, since these still require a bit of pace (especially 1). Soccer is great fun tho. =)

Quotable quotes

The grandparents bought a toy fishing set for the daughter and they were all happily playing with it (yes, all 3 of them) when i made the quip to the wifely person:

z: notice that the fishing set only comes with one fishing rod?
w: yes, i wonder why.....
z: because if you give a spare rod, you spoil the child!
w: sometimes i also wonder why i married you......

Singapore's economy

When i first heard the news on the radio this morning, i was a bit concerned because it was reported that the rate of inflation has been revised from 1.5-2% to 2.5-3% (with the increase in COE taking responsibility).

Then saw this article on Asiaone, which made me chuckle when i read the following:

Singapore manages monetary policy by letting the its dollar rise or fall in
a undisclosed band against a secret trade-weighted basket of currencies of its
main trading partners.

Because it had neglected add that said monetary policy was guarded managed by hidden grey ninjas in an anonymous building at an unidentified part of Singapore.

Rainy day randomness

Had to wake up early for a dental appointment at NUH before work today, but it was raining, so traffic was pretty snarled up with trees falling all over the place, car accidents happening at every expressway (one happened right to the side of me on the AYE while in another jam *facepalm*). When i was done, a funny thought occurred to me while driving out of the NUH carpark, flashbacks of driving my fiat out of the same car park with my wife and daughter seated behind, going home for the first time. =) It was a very happy thought. Which led to the next happy thought of remembering that my carpark charges were waived (despite parking overnight) because they were servicing the car park barrier when we were exiting.

We had a visit to the church by a Nuncio...... a what? .......it's ok, that was my reaction as well. He is a papal (as in the Pope, not paypal) emissary, a diplomatic representative of the Pope having ambassadorial status. As he didn't give a homily (palm sunday readings are long enough!), so didn't really have any impression of him, aside from the congregation queueing up to kiss his ring after mass. Being the first sunday of the month, there was also free food and free country music by the Countrymen, so I hope he was entertained sufficiently! =) There was some irony in that it was 1st April, so they could have dressed up anyone in a funny hat and staff, and Singaporeans would still line up to kiss his ring.

Which led to the wife asking after i told her about his visit
wp: "so how do people know what protocol is in such instances, i mean you don't want to be doing the wrong thing right?"
z:"i don't know, usually someone knows, otherwise would that make it a cardinal sin?"

LOL that got me a death-glare from the wifely person (which was funny because nobody else at the dinner table got that).

sometimes....

I can't believe what i say, but it makes me laugh out loud to think about it. A big ups to the wifely person (WP) for putting up with me nonsense. Thanks dear. *mwah*

[shopping for diapers in the supermarket]
wp: Do you see any "L"?
z: it must be Christmas....
wp: eh?
z: because there is Noel.
wp: . . .

[chatting online about driving in Italy]
j: do i need IDP to drive in Italy?
z: they won't check for IDP when you're renting a car. Only the cops will ask for it when they stop you, but dunno what happens if no IDP....maybe they make you eat pasta with no sauce or something.
j: no they make me eat the sauce without pasta
z: LOL, yah special Italian white sauce! *facepalm*

lunchtime loonies

Had lunch with my alleged twin recently, and conversation over the meal was a riot!

[on learning that a mutual friend has a girlfriend]
m: yeah, he met her while teaching her how to play tennis.
z: Wow. That's cool. Wait.......does that mean that the score now is love-all?
m: i have no return to that.
z: no backhanded remark?
m: just plenty of spin.

m: you wanna try the pizza here?
z: maybe not, even though i knead the dough.
m: i'm not even going to dignify that with a response.
z: why? because you're all artichoked up?

[referring to she-who-must-not-be-named who walked into the same restaurant]
m: Come come, we're all adults here. [pause]....well, most of us anyways..... [pause] at least bodily appearance-wise.

Aladdin's folly

We have watched Disney's Aladdin so many times, thanks to my daughter that playback of teh movie stutters sometimes. Worse still, the wifely person and I can now sing the songs from it on cue, and often have them stuck in our heads as earworms.

An interesting observation though, is that obviously none of the characters in the movie have an interest or background in legal work. They were presented with the dilemma of Ali wanting to marry Princess Jasmine but can't because Princess J can only marry a prince. She is also obligated under law to marry before her 18th or 19th birthday.

Now this is towards the end of the show now, and Ali only has 1 more wish from the lamp. As stated earlier, he can't wish for more wishes (amongst other provisos like not being able to kill, make someone fall in love, or raise anyone from the dead). Being the good person that he is, Ali wanted to wish Genie free.

What happened in the show was that he did set Genie free with his last wish, and the Sultan (Jasmine's father) promptly changed the law so that the Princess could marry whoever she wished. This is just silly, since he could have changed the law that requires her to marry before her birthday, then the happy couple will not be under any pressure to get together. LOL

This convinient changing of the law is actually quite inconvinient legally since it sets a dangerous precedent and hence, people in the legal profession are usually loath (unless it is flawed) to changes in the law. Instead, the simple workaround is for Ali to wish he was a Prince, marry Jasmine, hand the lamp to her (as a wedding present?) and get her to wish Genie free (after 2 free wishes, might as well not waste it afterall Birkin bags are hard to come by). Problem solved!

music and more...

Having played with quite a few musicians to date, I find that playing regularly in a band can give you insights into how your fellow band members think in real life. Bands that play good music tend to have people who think in synch with each other. Now this does not mean that they all think alike, as much like music, there is always room for discussion. It means there is healthy respect for each other to begin with and like a good conversation, you see past any petty differences to look at the overall shape, colour and content of things.

I think there is a distinct generation gap and of all the various types, i find Gen Z the most self-conceited me-first people, so playing in a band with them presents its challenges. An insight into this can be found by asking the question: "So whose responsibility is it to keep time in a band?"

Their answers tend to gravitate along the not-me line of answer and i'm pretty sure the usual answer would be "the drummer", which is flawed, because it is in fact everyone's responsibility (not my words but that of bassist extrodinaire Victor Wooten), and everyone brings a bit to the song in various ways, not just the tradition beats, bass, rhythm and melody. I had a chance to listen to one of the songs one of my bands once, the same band where we are pretty good friends (even travelling overseas together), and hearing us play, i can hear/feel us taking turns to share the limelight. The changes in melody (and sometimes rhythm) can be heard being played by various instruments throughout the song.

Another example is when a guitarist of this generation asked me: "Can you teach me to play the keyboards/piano? I can know the chords" and while i watched, he showed me what he knew. So by noticing that he only played chords in the root position, i suggested that he practice arpeggios. He asked how many chords and how many octaves? When i replied that all of the chords and about 3-4 octaves should be sufficient, he made a face and looked like he wasn't going to carry on with his quest to learn keyboards. He persisted that I could just "teach him what he needs to play, just the basics, pointers really" but i told him it is not possible. He should learn that just like knowing all the notes and chords on the guitar's fretboard (doubt he knows), this also applies to keyboards. Which is the main reason why i haven't learned guitar because as much as i enjoy music, i know i cannot devote the time required to learning the guitar properly and i respect all my fellow guitar friends too much to want to embarrass them with bad guitar playing. There is no instant solution or "pointers only" quick fix, learning a music instrument takes commitment, time and hard work.

No real purpose to this post, aside from ranting about the younger generation and their attitude towards music.

ps as an epilogue to my post, at mass i saw a score with the words "slightly slower than 4/4 rock" scribbled on by someone and I started chuckling immediately. While it may mean something to the person, the only thing it tells me is that the person is seriously confused, mixing up the style of the beat with the tempo. Afterall, there is such a thing as slow rock, and rock 'n roll, which are two different versions of rock with vastly different tempo. And how slightly slow are we talking about anyways? LOL