Category: Memory

Music…

One Night in Bangkok

Chess

Murray Head
and Words

Bangkok, Oriental City
But the city don’t know what the city is getting
The creme de la creme of the chess world
In a show with everything but Yul Brenner

Time flies, doesn’t seem a minute
Since the Tirolean spa had the chess boards in it
All changed, don’t you know that when you

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

As I wrap up high school, I find myself attending a state convention.  In this particular case, it’s a mass competition between many schools in Florida.  On this multi-day trip, we packed those days with many events.  I will compete in three events.  They hold this convention for Mu Alpha Theta annually.  However, this is the first time my high school has attended since I started.  Our teachers and sponsors slowly increased interest in these competitions from one to the next.

They certainly did.  It all started with one announcement over the intercom, “Anyone interested in participating in math contests, should attend this particular meeting for information.”  Truthfully, I made up my mind already, I simply needed information on the logistics.  I didn’t yet know how I would do, but it’s not just about winning.  Years later, I continue to participate.

Continue reading “The foreign and familiar art of competition” →

Music…

It’s Not Love

Under Lock and Key

Dokken
and Words

I told you I had to leave
I had my reasons
I said that it hurt to stay
The way that I’m feeling

(It’s not love) that left you standing
(It’s not love) that left you cold
(It’s not love) misunderstanding
Only a mistake, there’s nothing left to take

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

On my sophomore year at the University of Miami, I moved to an apartment on campus.  My college career started the year before, as I settled into Pearson Hall, one of the dorms on the edge of campus.  Over the course of the past year, I formed friendships with a number of classmates and neighbors.  As we finished our freshman year, we got an opportunity to sign up for an on-campus apartment.  Initially, one of us signed up for the apartment and penciled the remainder of our names.  The rest of us learned through word of mouth and subsequently rushed to the housing office to verify our names.

During my years of study, life became a series of obstacles to navigate.  My attention shifted from working for money to logistics about school (like where I’d be living) to learning my field and passing my classes.  Having addressed the ‘where I’d be living next year’ problem, I could focus on the other issues.  Though honestly, as the summer approached, my main focus was to work in order to save and sustain myself through college.

Continue reading “Afternoon Delight” →

Music…

It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

Document

R.E.M.
and Words

That’s great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes, an aeroplane
Lenny Bruce is not afraid
Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn
World serves its own needs, don’t misserve your own needs
Feed it off an aux, speak, grunt, no, strength
The ladder starts to clatter with fear fight, down, height
Wire in a fire, representing seven games
And a government for hire and a combat site

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

Having spent an extra year in college getting a second major, I arrived at Microsoft in July of 1991.  Washinton lies clear across the country of my home state of Florida.  I landed that first real job after graduating, and in most measurable ways, I became an adult.  I paid my own bills, had my own place, and contributed to society in a meaningful way.  My job involved learning, understanding, and doing a class of thing that few people do.  I took pride in it.

That said, Microsoft during the 1990’s was both an incredible place to learn and thrive and somewhat of a corporate dorm party.  Many places brag about flex time, which is little more than basically saying that you don’t have a time clock.  Microsoft took it to another level.  If you could accomplish all your work between midnight and 8am and never see another human, it was fine.  We were siloed, vertical stacks of technical information, and that was fine.  Most new employees got their own offices upon arrival or shortly after; this only exacerbated the problem.

Continue reading “Celebrating the end of the world” →

Music…

Stand My Ground

The Silent Force

Within Temptation
and Words

I can see
When you stay low, nothing happens
Does it feel right?
Late at night
Things I thought I’d put behind me
Haunt my mind
I just know there’s no escape now
Once it sets its eyes on you
But I won’t run, have to stare it in the eyes

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

On a typical Florida day, I wander to the courtyard in my high school.  Friends and I meet on a familiar table near the boy’s locker room.  Our group of misfit geeks gather on one table among a sea of cement that separate us from others; there are both young men and women among our group.  I met most of these friends in middle school, though some I met in this first year of high school.  We’re here to adventure and slay monsters.

We gather with paper, pencils, and thumbnail-sized (and mostly regular) polyhedrons.  The latter have numbers scribed on each side, and we use them as dice.  They come in varying shapes and have 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 20 faces.  We use different dice to determine success on different tasks.  For instance, if you only have a 1 in 20 chance to successfully accomplish a task, rolling a 20 on that d20 (shorthand for 20-sided dice) indicates success; anything else is failure.

Continue reading “Here there be dragons” →

Music…

¿A Dónde Va Nuestro Amor?

20 Éxitos Originales

Angélica María
and Words

No sé exactamente qué pasó
Que todo de repente ya cambió
En nuestro diariamente, lo bonito
Tristemente terminó

¿A dónde va nuestro amor?
Si cada día
Se va muriendo la flor
De tu alegría

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

Like anyone else these days, I’ll chill out to movies or series on Netflix.  One of the latest shows that I’ve enjoyed is The Lincoln Lawyer.  The series follows the movie, both based on the Mickey Haller novels by Michael Connelly.  While I enjoyed them both, the movie had a much darker tone to it.  The story revolves around the lawyer that runs his law practice out of his Lincoln Town Car, hence the title.

As you might imagine, the show runs a little more upbeat than the movie.  Haller practices his law fairly fast and loose, though he is generally pretty principled.  They interject enough plot twists to keep it interesting, and I certainly looked forward to its returning for a second season.  Out of respect for those who have yet to watch it, I’ll omit any spoilers, since it’s still a recent show.

Continue reading “A fifty-year flashback” →

Music…

Self Control

Self Control

Laura Branigan
and Words

Oh, the night is my world
City light painted girl
In the day nothing matters
It’s the night time that flatters

In the night, no control
Through the wall something’s breaking
Wearing white as you’re walkin’
Down the street of my soul

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

Logically we understand the day officially starts at 12am, it crosses over, and we increment the date.  However, culturally our day ends when we go to sleep, the day turns over while we can’t observe it.  Even semantically, when we use terms like ‘tonight’ or ‘last night’, we refer to the time until you sleep.

We use the term ‘midday’ to refer to 12pm.  The term ‘midnight’ is a bit of a misnomer; it’s not the midpoint of the night; it is the dividing line between day and night.  While midnight defines the transition from one day to the next, it has a certain continuity.  We are neither Cinderella nor Gremlins, the rules don’t abruptly change when the clock strikes 12am.  Or do they?

Meanwhile those hours between midnight and slumber are magical pockets of time what defy definition.  Is it day or is it night?  Or better yet, neither?

Continue reading “Living among the creatures of the night” →

Music…

One Way Ticket

4 Hits: Eruption

Eruption
and Words

Mmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
Oh, oh, oh, oho
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

One way ticket, one way ticket
One way ticket, one way ticket
One way ticket, one way ticket to the blues

Choo, choo, train a-trackin’ down the track
Gotta travel on, ain’t never comin’ back
Ooh, ooh, got a one way ticket to the blues

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

On a particularly hot night in the summer of 1979, my mom, sisters, and I arrive in Hong Kong.  My mom returns after being away for over a decade.  At the age of eleven, it’s my first time in Hong Kong.  We pile into a cab and make our way into the residence of my mom’s long-time friend, yet another friend who we’ll end up calling ‘aunt’.  We’re all collectively jetlagged, exhausted, and cranky.  Upon our arrival, the only thing I ask for before going to sleep is a glass of water.  They pour me a cup of hot water from a thermos; it still emits steam.  It wasn’t the refreshing beverage that I expected.  This should have been my first clue.

In 1979, the British still ran Hong Kong and would continue to do so until 1997.  In many respects, the British westernized Hong Kong compared to the rest of China.  As such, many places understood English.  However, at this stage in my life, my ability to speak English was comparable to Cantonese.  They composed many signs in English as well as Chinese, at least I may recognize words.

Continue reading “A stranger among family” →

Music…

Viva La Vida

Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends

Coldplay
and Words

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning, I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy’s eyes
Listened as the crowd would sing
“Now the old king is dead, long live the king”

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

This particular blog aspires to be a whimsical account of music from my past and the attached memories to that music.  Those memories have ranged from the deeply emotional to the downright silly.  It started as a bit of a proxy for an online journal, which I kept many years ago.  These words on the page have taken me on a journey to many distinct moments in my life.  In order for me to bring you, the reader, along, I embed a player on the top of the page.  This player allows you to play a clip of that song and follow along.

Over a year ago, this website hosted a player from Spotify.  It worked well and did everything that I needed it to do.  Still, I elected to change it.  As I stated in that post, I normally try to keep politics off this particular blog, but occasionally when we make an abrupt change, it warrants a response.  My response was to extricate Spotify from my site.  I couldn’t promote a service that will fully turns a blind eye to the likes of Joe Rogan.

Continue reading “Prostituting my principles” →

Music…

Dust in the Wind

Point of Know Return

Kansas
and Words

I close my eyes
Only for a moment and the moment’s gone
All my dreams
Pass before my eyes, a curiosity

Dust in the wind
All they are is dust in the wind
Same old song
Just a drop of water in an endless sea

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

Many years ago, I observed an e-mail conversation on a very large public distribution list.  I don’t quite remember the nature of the discussion.  I simply remember that it felt exceedingly noisy and pointless.  In a moment of protest, I expressed my opinion in an unconventional way.  I responded to everyone with a one-word response: “unsubscribe”.  Some archiving services will stop sending you any activity on that discussion upon seeing that response.  That wouldn’t work here, but it communicated that I wanted off this discussion.

Days later, I walked into my weekly status meeting with my new lead, Ted.  I had worked with him for a couple of years but only recently started to report to him.  He didn’t reprimand me for that stunt, nor did he even criticize me.  He simply asked me, “What did you want to achieve?”  He explained how my response might make me feel better, for perhaps a few minutes.  However, my rebellious one-word response was an ineffective way to affect change.  If I hoped to change this ridiculous policy, my rebellious reply would not help.

Continue reading “That ‘drop of water’ is a tear shed” →

Carpe Diem

Posted on by Frank
Music…

Killing Time

Thunder Seven

Triumph
and Words

Hanging out on the corner
He’s got no place to go.
She sits in an empty bedroom
Playing the radio.
Every day they’re regretting
All the things never tried;
Every day they’re dyin’
Just a little bit more inside.

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

I attended high school where I first discovered Triumph.  They played hard rock, but they felt different than other bands of the time.  Other bands had image or even some dirt.  They sounded cleaner.  I started with this album, Thunder Seven.  I imagine that I initially had it on cassette, though I only remember playing it on CD.  Subsequently, I attended two of their concerts, the tours for this album and The Sport of Kings.  The stage shows were phenomenal.

Since my teens, I listened to this band, mesmerized by the sound of their music.  These days predated the streaming applications and even digital music, in the form of MP3’s.  Playing music meant that you needed to carry the physical media, typically in the form of cassettes or CD, so I needed to be selective.  Triumph was a persistent part of that collection.  This continued through college and beyond.

Continue reading “Carpe Diem” →