Missy Higgins, Akon, and a long road trip...

I need to go to the main office of my company three days ago to submit some important papers. I was actually ok with it, except that the main office is almost 200 kilometers away from my place! Well, this is one of those times I couldn't do anything to postpone it, and so, after waking up early that morning and doing all the necessary activities one has to do after waking up, I started with my long journey...

This is one of those rare moments when I curse myself for not buying a car... I just contented myself riding in the bus, and brace for the two or more hours bus ride that I will have. After settling in one of the seats near the front, I plugged my iRiver earphones and proceeded on listening to my favorite Missy Higgins songs... well, at least I have Missy Higgins to give me company during this trip. This is one of those times when I really appreciate my iRiver and the Missy Higgins songs that were saved there.

And so it went... I had the iRiver phones plugged in my ears and Missy Higgins constantly humming there while I waited for the bus to finally arrive at the destination. The bus ride took a little more than two hours, I arrived at the main office, look for the person I need to talk to, and then finally submitted the papers. It took me just a little more than 30 minutes to finish my task! And after that, I have nothing to do anymore...

I don't want to bear the agony of taking another two-hour bus ride that quickly, and so, I went to the mall first. I spent several hours roaming the shops, which allowed me to find a Tissot watch that I really wanted to buy. Anyways, I think I got my wits back at the last minute and I decided not to buy it that time... at least I will have enough time to think :)

Anyways, after window shopping at the mall, I proceeded to a favorite eating place - the one with very good grilled fish, and ate a good dish. After that I decided everything is finally settled, and I decided to go home.

During the trip home, the bus driver started playing Akon's music. I decided to just listen to Akon's "R" lyrics for a change, and it somehow made the trip back home a little less discomforting. I arrived late at the flat that night and with that, another day is over...

Canon in D Major

Several nights ago, while Alice was busy looking for some songs to be added to her Friendster site, she came across a nice classical piece which quickly got our fascination. The piece turned out to be Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D Major, and in the next few hours we had downloaded more than a few arrangements of it. The piece had since became Alice's default audio for her site. We had selected some beautiful arrangements and would like to share them with you. You may want to visit our family's site at http://lontokfamily.multiply.com for these pieces. (copyrights of the pieces are reserved by their respective owners.)

Johann Pachelbel's Fast Facts:

Johann Pachelbel was one of the great organist-composers of his day, a man who could count Bach's teacher among his pupils (He taught Johann Christopher Bach who gave his younger brother, Johann Sebastian Bach, lessons in music). His life was tinged with tragedy and hardship - his first wife died with her baby son in the plague of 1683, and he had to flee from the French invasion of Stuttgart in 1692 - but he settled in Nuremberg and his second marriage produced seven children, two of whom became musicians, one an instrument maker and one a painter. His church music is highly regarded and innovative in the way it links the pitches of the notes to meaning - steadfast faith denoted by repeated notes, for example. His lilting Canon in D is a throwaway little piece by comparison to his big sacred works, but its charming grace has made it a favorite filler of compilation CDs. The canon in D major was written in or around 1680. Pachelbel was born in Nuremberg in August 1653 and died there on March 6th, 1706.

Where you may have heard of Canon D:

- films such as Father of the Bride and Ordinary People
- some TV ads
- Coolio rap single in 1997, The Farm single All Together Now used in Euro 2004, Go West by the Pet Shop Boys
- in shopping malls
- in the funeral of Lady Diana Spencer

Sound Trip, Part 2

Yesterday, while preparing for our weekend ironing chore, Alice decided to organize her iTunes song list in her computer. There are songs that are repeated, primarily due to re-copying and re-updating of the list over time. Since she is currently 'crazy' over Pachelbel's Canon in D Major, she wanted to add a few of the good arrangements of the piece which she downloaded several days ago to her iPod, and thus before doing so, she needs to organize her iTunes list so that no songs can be repeated in her iPod. While at it, she decided to play our favorite songs done by local artists.. and so after quite a while, we had another sound trip there...

As I already intimated, sound tripping gives you varied emotions... when you're listening to your favorite songs, certain memories flood your thoughts, and you cannot help but just let them flow. Yesterday was the time to reminisce important events about me and my family... it was the time to remember precious events I shared with my kids... it was the time to rewind events of my life once more...

Sometime when you're listening to music and you're rewinding your life again through your thoughts, it cannot be helped that both good and bad memories will come. Good memories are always welcome... they serve to refresh both your body and your soul, and make you face life in a brighter perspective... bad memories... well, you cannot do away with them... good thing about them is, they give you important lessons in life... lessons that helped mold your character, if not made you a better person altogether...

Yesterday, aside from the ironing, I have done another important thing with the help of songs I listened to... that is, meditate about my life again... time and again, I need it.

Sound Trip

AS I WAITED for Alice to finish her work last night, I decided to plug the Ipod's earphones to while away time. The airconditioner in the room had broken down the night before and the man I asked to fix it didn't come and so, with the summer heat slowly creeping in this side of the world, sleep is not yet possible at the time anyway, and a little "sound trip" is in the making for me... I haven't been able to listen to the songs I downloaded in my two-year old Ipod shuffle lately, and so spending some time listening to those old songs is an opportunity at the moment. Listening to music is totally relaxing. More than that, it allowed me to hear Filipino songs all over again...

Songs - and for that matter, music - really allows an individual to drift, that is, reminisce good moments and think of even better ones. Aside from getting the much needed relaxation, the "sound trip" I had last night even allowed me to "rewind" a little of my life for the two hours or so I listened to my Ipod. It allowed me to remember funny times with the family, and especially the kids, the good old times with friends and former colleagues, the usual things - small things - that make our lives meanigful and fun. While listening to the old songs in my Ipod last night, it seems like I'm in the Philippines again.

Music really gives harmony to our lives. I should bring that Ipod with me more often.