**...and carefully it sprouts...**

Above are the numbers imprinted on the jerseys of a few good looking, at least from where I was sitting, football players at yesterday's match in Dortmund Stadium. After my amazing experience in Anfield Stadium (Liverpool vs. Everton!!) earlier this year, how could I turn down an offer to watch the home team, Borrusia Dortmund (BVB), go against VfB Stuttgard in their 80,000 capa stadium. It was a really good game, and I was probably the only one sitting in the tribune amongst the thousands of BVB fans silently in my heart rooting for the away-team. ^^;; It was possibly my will that lead to the disappointing 1-1 end to the match for my companions.

I am leaving Germany in exactly 2 days and I cannot wait!! I'll be back here again in October for a tour managing job and though it seems too soon, I could use all the extra $$$.

The day before yesterday, we gathered at one of the neighbor's living quarters to watch a documentary on Mahler's 3rd Symphony. Call me ignorant but I have never heard of this composer before. I know my Bethoven, Strauss, Bach and Mozart, but nope, never heard of a Gustav Mahler from Austria. His symphony lasted for at least 90 minutes and was divided into 6 long and painful to endure movements.

1. "Pan Awakes, Summer Marches In"
2. "What the Flowers on the Meadow Tell Me"
3. "What the Animals in the Forest Tell Me"
4. "What Man Tells Me"
5. "What the Angels Tell Me"
6. "What Love Tells Me"

Usually, I would be all over this documentary as it delved into the perceptions of life in the eyes of this man who created something really beautiful, but this guy, he is far too deep for my standards. His interpretations of life just seemed too complex, too much to take in that I could not help quietly laughing in my head throughout the documentary. Someone with more poise would have been able to appreciate it, even shed a tear perhaps at his symphony but I was simply not in the mood that night. Not after going through weeks of harsh and never-ending labor. I just could not see "life" as Mahler saw it. Mahler's interpretations were very morbid in the earlier movements, focusing a lot on death and despair, but then that is just to work his symphony to its climax of joy and eternal happiness. How corny is that???!! I suppose if I had watched it at a better time, I would have been able to understand it more, without smirking at every 10 minute interval.

What I did like though was the transcripts from Nietzsche's "Midnight Song" that were used in Mahler's 3rd movement. Now that is one guy I'd like to look up for future reading. He at least judged life and all truth to it more objectively. I prefer his thinking.

Ever thought about how it may be like living in a haunted house? Now, you can ask me about it because I think, I am sleeping in one! Ok, so the pension may not be haunted but it sure looks and smells like it. The moment we pulled up onto the driveway I got a rather queasy feeling in my gut, a skip of a heartbeat later we were consumed by total darkness. That was actually because my boss turned off the engine to get out of the car. No sign of life around us but I see standing before my being a huge gloomy brick house, looming over me with its dark vacant windows staring out. You can go here to see what this pension looks like. Would you really use THAT photo on your main page??!!! I suppose the eerie spooky vibe it exudes appeal to people traveling in this region.

I quickly reached into my bag to pull out my trusty torchlight to help Boss navigate his way to the front door of the pension in search of the keys to our rooms. In just 10 seconds I was attacked by giant bugs all craving the brightness and warmth of my light!! I couldn't freak out, not even utter a tiny yelp, because I was too afraid of shattering the silence. I quickly dragged my suitcase out of the trunk and half dragged half carried it to the front door where we were now confronted by a new challenge.

Behind the front door, stood the biggest dog I have ever seen in real life (he is probably on the hotel website), he is definitely bigger than me, and he wanted so badly to be let out of the house. We knew he was waiting for us to open the front door to barge out and run into the woods. Finally got in after some clever maneuvering. It was already 3am then, so we had to be really quiet while we lifted our suitcases upstairs. My boss got the special Tower Room (which came with 2 gigantic, very alive, moths taking refuge in the ceiling light shaped like a bowl, and as they fluttered about restlessly in the bowl, or perhaps excitedly because the light was switched on, thick century-old dust poured out onto Boss' bed.) and I got a large corner room with the tiniest bathroom, but at least no insects were in sight. You can check out my room here. It's the picture on the top right corner of the page. Every room is different in size, with different furnishings and interior, pretty cool, but you just know everything is probably at least over 50 years old!!

I didn't want to attract unwanted bugs, as with the lights on, they were slamming hard onto the glass doors that lined my room, the sound was not very pleasant, so I quickly unpacked and switched off all the lights, only to be left in the dark. My room is overlooking a lake that expanded to the edge of the forest. It was not a very heartwarming view, not at that hour. The sky was already lightening and despite my imagination running wild, seeing shadowy figures shifting around me, the bed was very very comfortable and so quickly I was asleep and then awake again, with the alarm blaring into my ears at 7:30am!!

And thus it begins, my journey into 2 whole weeks of mud, metal, mosquitoes and shit loads of beer-stench sweaty people. "Hurrah!!!!!" yells 65,000 of the attendees of the fest I am working for the next, I am sure, demanding days to come.

Already on my list of things to do once I hit festival ground tomorrow evening is to make sure that 1000 freshly bought towels are prewashed, and not once, but THREE TIMES!! Because, no, no, no, we can't have rockstars coming into our production 'container' screaming at us about white fluff all over their savvy new velvet coat or all stuck in their pretty hair. I understand that, because I hate it too when venues would leave real nice almost sparkly white towels in your dressing room, and make a big fuss over having gone the extra mile to get you really //clean// towels, and then neglect to mention they've not bothered to wash them first. And you walk out of the bathroom after a long day at work with white fluff all over your face, hair, lashes, sometimes in your mouth and nostrils. Not exactly alluring. *sigh*

But anyway, right now I don't care what the musicians want or are required to have, but I care about the fact that I have to make sure 1000 towels are pre-washed, not once but THREE TIMES(!!!!) before the whole fest starts. If I don't find a place that actually have industrial sized washers I am doomed. A regular washing machine would hold 8 of those extra large bath towels at most, so that means 8towels x 3cycles would cost me approx. 6EUROs, multiply that by (125loads x 3), which brings me to 375cycles = (750EUR) all in all. Sounds like nothing huh? What if the launderette only had 5 machines, with each cycle taking up to at least 30minutes? I would have to spend 2250 minutes with towels???!!!! Are you serious?? Are they serious??? I'd rather be dealing with sorting out lamb heads than watch towels being tossed in a washing machine for 2250 minutes.

I only mentioned how much it would cost because I found out that the head honcho decided not to buy pre-washed towels because he thought he was saving us some moolah, little did he know laundry ain't free. That is his luxury of being the boss, making wrong decisions and having people like me clean after him (on his expense of course).

I have just about over a week to get this sorted and on top of that manage all the 100 billion other things but that hopefully is another entry. Until then, you know where I'll be. X_x

So much for writing everyday. ;)

I am in the office these days working on an upcoming Metal Fest in Germany and here in my section is another girl who is working on some other tours. You see, I get my emails in German from a few of our agents and while I rely mostly on a translation software, sometimes it can get a little too complicated for me to comprehend. This girl in my section, she is naturally German, and helps me when I get stuck in such occasions. What I do is copy and paste the alien-to-me-phrases into Skype and send it her way, after I tell her verbally, that I would do so. The funny thing is that, although she is sitting literally not 4 feet away from me, she never opens her mouth to voice the translation but would instead type her response and Skype it back to me. I would then in return say to her "Aaah, so that's what they meant, thanks!!" And she would nod lightly, not really looking at me, but surely (I think) acknowledging me.

It's a little awkward because we're almost sitting next to each other and I can see and hear her typing back to me. Why would she not speak? She is quite the character, really, she speaks in this really small voice I imagine people over the age of 50 would be unable to hear, and it's really difficult to strike up a conversation with her unless you were discussing heavy metal bands, they are her passion. I hear she is one of those metal fans that go right into the mosh pit at concerts. Experiencing the bane of computer technology so close to home is a little scary. It's true that you're less insecure when hiding behind the computer in communicating and socializing. But in my case here, this girl is nowhere close from physically hiding behind her computer as I can see her from all angles of my seat!! XD And yet she would rather speak to me in text.

With the festival starting in 2 weeks I have been working day and night non-stop. We have just about 105 bands this year so it's not exactly a walk in the breeze. I still make time for at least one episode of Flight Of The Conchords before I sleep every day, just to keep my life as musical as possible. I had planned to sleep-in tomorrow but it looks like I will need to make a trip out to IKEA early in the morning as some Scientology gathering is happening in town, and traffic will be horrendous all afternoon. Damn, I just looked into my bag and it looks like something just took a dump in there. I really need to reorganize all my things.

... ... ... ...









Tomorrow marks Day One.

I must write.

We are 7000 feet above sea level and it is hurting my poor ears. I can't wait to get down to lower ground. The pressure up here is making us all feel so tired, but it could actually be the fact that we have been on the road for a few weeks now and nearing the end of the tour.

I can't believe December is just 2 days away.
Damn.

Writing from Taipei now and I am waiting for the crew to start ushering people on board. I still can't believe that I went to LA with a 3/4 empty suitcase and ended up with 50lbs worth of luggage and a box full of treats and goodies. The people at home had better be happy when they see me and their gifts!!

The past month was a great one full of drama, adventure, sweets, kitties, and lots of laughs (in good and bad times). Thanks so much to all who were kind enough to play host/mummy/cook/tour guide while I was out there. I am pretty sure it will be almost too soon before we meet again!

Time to fly again...

Anime Expo was interesting.
Enjoyed all the drama while it lasted. I haven't been to a con for work in ages so it was actually a puff of fresh air, minus all the gagging and choking on my end thanks to the cough/throat irritation that would not go away.

I met up with so many people I have not seen in ages, some happy reunions and some pretty un(/mis)fortunate run-ins. Ended up with triple the amount of work I went in with, but I am contented to be busy again. Plus, I am now basking in the luxury of the "N.shi Sweet Home"----Kitties on the house!! Need one ask for more??! ^_^

As for things to come. Trying to go down to Vegas for Cirque du Soleil (LOVE!), and also planning on making a trip to San Diego with N.shi for Comicon, strictly no-business!!! After all that, will return to LA to meet up with people I owe treats and more. So much to do but there is finally balance in work and play for me, at least for this month.

Looks like I might be back stateside before year's end.

Why do I always have bad luck with flights????

I am now stuck at the gate because my flight is overbooked.
Tell me, is it fair to kick someone who booked the flight waaaay in advance off the list??
Some other flight was delayed and now everyone who missed their connecting flight is pushed onto our flight, and I am the one who ended up with no seat!!!
Where is the logic in that?

Last night I had a bout with food poisoning, but managed to get that out of the way by emptying the contents of my stomach.
In 3 days I have to fly to California for work.

Dammit. Just give me back my seat!!!!

Just when I thought that life was getting a bit too linear in the office, I get thrown another death-metal band. This time it’s a Norwegian band. Things were going pretty normal until they sent in an order for 130 sheep heads to ornament their stage. Please allow me to emphasize, reeeeal sheep heads. So you ask yourself, where would I be able to get 130 sheep heads transported to the festival site and kept under cool temperature until the band has stage access to set up??

First thing first, you need to get the sheep heads.
Look up the internet and the yellow pages. Sure enough there is no such thing as a fresh dead animal head supplier. The next best thing, call up a butcher. Unfortunately, 130 sheep is 120 sheep too many for a butcher to handle in a day. But then this friendly guy gave us a contact to a food processing company who deals with mass sheep meat production! Hurrah, we got our sheep heads!!

Almost.

After the heaps of curious and suspicious probing from the manager of the company, we managed to persuade him to comply with our request. I would be suspicious if one day someone calls my meat shop asking for 130 sheep heads! Who wouldn’t??! We had to explain that, no, it is not for a satanic ritual. No, we are not members of some underground political cult. No, we are not planning to eat the heads, raw or cooked. After all that he agreed to sell the heads to us at 1.50EURs each. Pretty cheap, and I imagine a good deal. Not that I would know how much a sheep head would cost in the open market ;-)

Finally, one last question. “So, do you want the tongue intact or removed??”
Does it even matter???!!! Seriously!

The main concern now is of how we are going to dispose the heads off after the concert. We were told that the heads have to be burnt right after the show or we risk contaminating the area with harmful bacteria or even worse cause an outbreak of some nasty disease thanks to bad handling.
Our next task is to get a freezer on site to keep the 130 heads chilled until show-time and then arrange for transportation to get them to an incinerator right after the show. Our problem now is that this band starts to play at 2:00AM. How the hell are we suppose to get someone to burn our (sheep) heads at 4 o’clock in the morning????

That will be another chapter of my life.
Who would imagine, that I would be dealing with raw meat while working on a concert production, in this fashion?? Who would think I would be purchasing sheep heads for a summer festival?? I surely didn’t.

Boy, oh boy.

The match between France and Netherlands sure helped me stay awake over dinner. After the second goal by Van Der Sar I knew it would take a miracle for France to turn the game around. Then, when all seemed lost, Henry scored one for the French, only to be beaten down again in a mere minute by Robben, who forced the ball into the roof of the net!! That was one super goal, I thought, but not as SUPER as the fourth goal for Netherlands. I thought the French goalie was simply slacking off tonight, but no one could have stopped that final goal by the Orange team. One more match to go for France. Germany lost pretty bad the other day too...it would be funny if both Germany and France do not make it to the finals. Hmmm.

Ok, time for bed because tomorrow I am going cactus hunting.

I will be going to LA next month for Anime Expo as there will be some Japanese guests I have to tend to and the company that is sending me there is trying to arrange for my flight over. I originally wanted to go with MAS which I think has the most comfortable seats and the best in-flight entertainment system, but now they tell me they want to book it through JTB (Japan Travel Bureau). I just hope they go for the more established airlines than opt for a cheaper choice.

I have been on too many flights in my lifetime that I no longer experience the anxiety pre-takeoff but I've also had the luxury of traveling on well-known-to-be-very-safe airlines that I'd rather fly with one I am used to. Now that I still don't know which airline I am entrusting my life to, I decided to check around for an airline accident rating of some sort and stumbled upon this site.

PlaneCrashInfo.com It is actually a pretty interesting site with photos of crashes dating back to the first airplane fatality in 1908! It also has a list of famous deaths caused by plane crashes for the whole of the past century. One page that I found of utmost interest is the one with MP3s of cockpit warning sounds you can download. Of course you would have to be sitting really close to the cockpit and possess super-hearing to be able to make use of the extra knowledge gained after downloading those MP3s.

On the crash statistics page it says that the probability of a passenger being killed on a single flight is approximately 8 million to 1. It also claims, "If a passenger boarded a flight at random, once a day, everyday, it would statistically be over 21,000 years before he or she would be killed." Cool, and actually very nice to know.

After reading about the "Unusual Accidents" they have listed on that site, I am happy that airports now have strict rules and long thorough security checks. The amount of people who would blow a plane up just to collect insurance $$$ back then!!! And I am pretty sure that many would still do it if it was that easy to smuggle a makeshift dynamite on board. If a sane man could ram a 2-tonne truck into pedestrians on the road ala Grand Theft Auto and then proceed to stab them to death without feeling any remorse, I am sure it's possible for one of the same kind to blow a plane up just as easily.

They even have a page filled with last words from the cockpit and MP3s of air traffic control tapes. But that is not something I'd like to delve into. Whoever this webmaster is, he really did his research for his site. It's crazy.

I was born on June 23.
For most of my life I jumped and yelped in joy silently every time something related to me is linked to the number 23. I used to call it my lucky number!
As time continues to flow, the more I feel that the number 23 brings me more bad luck than good.

I just came back from Sweden Rock Festival yesterday and of course my room number at the hotel was 231. The transport shuttle assigned to my group for the ride to the airport was Shuttle No.23. On my train ride to Dortmund, I was seated next to a window, which was really nice, in seat number 23A.
Sometimes the numbers don't show up in the order of 2-3. Especially with my hotel rooms, but if one should look through my papers one would see that almost 75% of the rooms I have been in were rooms that were either X23, 23X, X23X, etc or included both the digits '2' and '3' reversed or in no particular order.

Every time these numbers appear in more than one occasion in a single day, I brace myself for trouble. I was supposed to hand over some gear to a colleague of mine for another show next month but because the airport did not have a luggage shop I had to lug 2 extremely heavy transformers back and I already had so many other things to carry. On top of that, my flight was delayed because the A/C would not start on board, so we were stuck on the plane for over an hour in the sweltering heat before take-off! And then we finally flew, but due to severe thunderstorm in Frankfurt we were asked to remain in airspace and head to the holding area over the airport because it was too dangerous to land. Thanks to all that I missed my train back to the office. When I finally got to my (almost) final destination, I had to hail a cab and just as expected the guy spoke no English, and we got lost >.< By the time I got back to the office, it was raining buckets, and 16 hours have passed from when I left the hotel early that morning. All that was just me traveling from Sweden to Germany which under normal circumstances would take no more than 3 easy hours.

But in the end I know it is all mere coincidence. That I probably just tend to be more conscious of the situation I am in when the number 23 is involved. Like when for no real reason I decide to check the tracker on my video or music player and it reads 23:23, or when I simply glance at my watch and it tells me it's 02:30AM. It is cool but at the same time, I get this little jolt in the back of my head every time I come across 2 and 3, not entirely believing in superstition, but quietly hoping everything just falls into place.

It is getting warmer yet again here in Dortmund and that somehow means that you have to take out your grill and have BBQ picnics outside every . single . day!!
I love the free food, and am not complaining about the lovely drinks either, but I can only take so much grilled cheese before the stomach starts screaming.
We traveled over 200 kilometers for grilled cheese (only because I don't eat meat) yesterday, came back home just for another BBQ with the kids. And now they tell me we are invited to yet another family grill-out tomorrow evening!!!

Yesterday was the UEFA Champions Cup Final and it was one hell of a match between MUFC and Chelsea. I'm only suddenly into football again because my boss is a huge fan and I am forced to attend all the footie gatherings as long as I am working for him. We predicted that it would be a 1-1 and then extra time, but no one saw the penalty shoot out coming. It was pretty intense and boy do I feel for poor lil'Terry. Watching the game I have to admit that MUFC had all the skills but Chelsea undoubtedly has some of the fastest players on their team. I've never seen men stride across the field as fast as some of them blues. Looking forward to the new season now that I've familiarized with the new leaguers.

Oh, and this song rocks!!! I love the video so much, because Mark Hollis is just too cute in it.
Talk Talk - Such A Shame

So a few weeks before I left for Paris, someone told me Madonna's tour manager wanted to get in touch with me, but never did. In Paris, while we were arranging for VIP limos for our guests over the phone, the guy in charge was actually escorting Madonna from the airport to her hotel. She was having a secret concert in Paris that same day!! Funny.

I am back from Paris and the company I am currently working for just offered me a full time job, but it requires me to stay here in Germany, in the water castle to be exact. The living-in-the-castle bit is kind of intriguing but I am not so sure about wanting to live in a country where I can't speak the language. Not understanding what the people around you are talking about is just too much for me to handle. Of course they told me they would put me through a 3-month crash course, etc, but I am still not so sure this is a country I want to be in right now. Everything is just too calm and nice, and not me. Being here makes me feel old, well, older than I should be at least ;-p

I was at a family get-together last night, only it wasn't my family's. How could it have been as I am in a land so far away from home. Last night was the night Bayern Munich took Borussia Dortmund down. I am talking about a soccer match. The match itself was actually very exciting as Bayern was leading 1-0 until the very end of the 2nd half when Dortmund scored an unexpected goal. Unfortunately for all the family members gathered, Bayern put an end to the match with their 2nd goal later in extra time. Last night brought me back to days when I was a soccer freak myself. Oliver Khan proved once again to be a super goalkeeper with his excellent saves. Just amazing.

I am now in my room in the attic thinking of how to use up the remaining Sunday time I have. I was at the office most of the day working on the upcoming Paris show. It has not exactly been fun, but the work load is starting to pile up and I am beginning to enjoy the momentum of things. I got another translation job, this time on paper, and I am still not sure if I like it or not. But a job equals money, at least that part I am happy about. The other day B.J contacted me telling me Madonna's tour manager was looking for an interpreter and wanted to talk but he never called. I probably jinxed the chance even more by writing about it, but it all sounds too good to be true to begin with. I might as well gloat about it than wait for nothing to happen. Hi-hih ;-P

OK, time to google how much time a plane takes to traverse a kilometer of ground.

I managed to land a job earlier than expected. I will be leaving for Germany in April to do some office work, to put it bluntly. I will be working at a booking agency to set up gigs for a few bands this year. I will then have a show in Paris with a Japanese band early May but that will be it on the tour front until early June where I will have another band at a festival. I wonder how office work will suit me ;P In July, if everything is set I should have a 2-month on the road job in America.

Home is hot right now and I have been spending my days watching a lot of movies and the best so far is this British film "Run Fatboy Run," about a man who trains for a marathon to prove that he is capable of changing and being disciplined in life. It was also great to see David Williams appearing as a cameo of his character from "Little Britain." All and all it was a great funny and touching movie.

I need to go read today's paper now.

I am so hooked on Laruku's "Daybreak's Bell"!! It probably has to do with the fact that I am watching Gundam00 now too ;P

I was never a fan of Gundam. The last I watched was Gundam W which aired, what, 12 years ago?? Hahah. Wow. Anyway, what is so great about Gundam00 is the concept of making the good guys play the bad guys. I have always wanted to watch a movie or a show that focuses on the mind of the perpetrators instead of the heroic and noble savior, and here is a cartoon that tries to play with that concept. The main plot, is to eliminate war with war. See how evil that is. Of course the story later leads on to something more valiant and honorable, but so far so good. So far so good.

As much as many think that Wii is a console for sissy gamers, I beg to differ. I am enjoying Biohazard: Umbrella Chronicles and Mario Galaxy like crazy. The sensation the remote and sensor gives you when you see the cursor move all over the screen at your whim is just overwhelmingly satisfying. It makes you feel so powerful. Seriously, this is the next step to home virtual-gaming systems! I think I have been playing too much Puzzle Quest too that I dream of it every night. It is bad enough that I spend 45% of my day and night playing it, now my sleep is all about flipping colored gems to match!!

Watched Cloverfield today and it was a pain, literally. The camera work is Blair Witch multiplied by a trillion on the motion sickness meter (>.<@@@ My head was hurting so much I had to shut my eyes through most of the show and let my ears do the watching. The story wasn't so bad and every avid LOST fan would probably appreciate it for the easter eggs (hidden hints and vague-sure-to-miss scenes). If you enjoy artistic, wobbly, and blurry cinematography, this is the flick for you!

As some may already know, I may be jobless (on the touring front of things) for almost half a year because one of the companies I work for screwed me up. Just as things were looking low, I got a few offers. Nothing too great but it should keep me properly fed for the next month at least. Need to search for something else to do before busy seasons hits in June. For now, I shall just go back to the boring 50-page long interview I need to translate.

Every year I, we, complain about how time seem to just disappear into thin air, and before you know it, it is that time at the end of the year again. As it has been proven time and time again that one year is merely equivalent to 'a very short period in life that zips by,' I think it is only fair to say that anyone should be able to stay firm to their new resolves.

Saying that, here are a few of the things I hope to make myself do this year,

- practice Yoga (let it be with the help of the Wii Fit!)
- save larger amounts of cash in piggy bank
- stop all intake of milk based products (except for soy milk??)
- study German
- log my daily life for future reference
- GIVE MORE TO RECEIVE MORE!!!

That should do it.

The past few days have been too much, and it's not entirely work related! Nothing gets as busy as Japan at the end of the year, seriously! Everyone is either looking forward to the coming of the new year or rushing to do everything before the year comes to an end. The clash of both circumstances brings about to the ridiculous amount of year-end parties (bounenkai) that one is obliged to attend!!

Just today, I had to attend three different bounenkais of companies I work for, and that is after a long day of many meetings, veggie curry and some shopping. Tomorrow, I have a belated birthday party cum bounenkai to attend in the evening, followed by a(n all) night out with some co-workers(?) to reflect on things 2007. The day after, I need to head out to Asakusa and I am getting M-chan (why do I know so many M-persons?) to come with me for the yummy soba and after that, more shopping!! The last time I met M-chan was in Melrose half a year ago and it just feels weird to be meeting her here in Japan, despite the fact that she is Japanese!

Many things are not agreeing with my plans for 2008 right now, but I am keeping positive for a favorable outcome. Will know in two days.