at the mountains and back again

I just returned from the mountains, the beautiful Southern Alps on a day trip.

The mountains move me all the time.

The snowy slopes of the mountains were pristine with fresh snow. I went for a walk (a trudge actually) while everyone else was sledding and toboganning (anti-social that I am). I love the thought of trudging through fresh snow. No one had disturbed them. I left massive footprints and marks.

And also I tried out the theory of rolling ice gathering strength as they fall, that gives rise to the idea that a small ice ball rolling down a slope can cause an avalanch. Which is ridiculous.

I mean I didn't know it until I tried it today. It looked pathetic to say the least, the way the snow ball tumbled and faded away down the slope.

Educational yes.

Anyway I love the mountain and I shall miss the Southern Alps of New Zealand when I move up to the North Island (which is where Auckland is). I shall also miss the rolling plains of the Canterbury and the cattle and sheep that litter the countryside.

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It's just perfect now to sit at the computer and explore music on the Internet. I love tumblr for doing that. Music, design and everything else in between.

Whats up!?

As pointless as it sounds, this blog post is titled Whats Up?

Because, well, nothing is in my mind now. I am listening to Hillsong Live The Beautiful Exchange. There are little things in life that make so much difference to you now and then, little things that happen to you, or little good things that you acquire in life that turn out making quite a bit of difference for you, and for the better.

The Beautiful Exchange is one such thing. The moment I saw the cover design I knew I wanted a copy for myself. Some of the songs in it have become my prayers and declaration for the past few weeks.

Here is a lyrics of one of the best songs I know of, of late. Written by Brooke Fraser (except for the chorus, which is an old-ish song):

May my prayer like incense rise before you
The lifting of my hands a sacrifice
Oh Lord Jesus turn your eyes upon me
For I know there is mercy in your side

Your statutes are my heritage forever
My heart is set on keeping your decrees
Please still my anxious urge toward rebellion
Let love keep my (I can't make out what the words are..)

Oh God you are my God
And I will ever praise you

To all creation I see a limit
Its your commands
So your word is my joy and meditation
From the rising to the setting of the sun

All your ways are loving and faithful
The road is narrow, but your burden light
Because you gladly lean to help the humble
(Can't catch the words there)

(instrumental here, that sounds pure out of heaven haha)

I will seek you in the morning
And I will learn to walk in your ways
And step by step you lead me
And I will follow you all of my days..

It's a pretty direct song writing there. No pretension. No pretty words just for the sake of pretty effects or poetry. Thats what I like about Brooke Fraser's words. And of course, because she is from New Zealand! I also love the songs that Jad Gilles sing, because he is from New Zealand too haha. I think that worship leaders from New Zealand are extra anointed. *wink wink*

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So, tomorrow I will be going to sleigh somewhere up the mountain. I don't know how fun it will be. But I am very sure it will be.

******

I love Le Cafe at the Arts Centre. Its just a great place to hang out at. I don't know how the coffee is. I am not that bothered about the quality of coffee as much as the vibe and atmosphere of the place is.

Le Cafe and C1.

I have been there a few times lately (I was at both these places today actually) and they will be places that I miss when I move to Auckland. I hope Auckland has cool places like Le Cafe and C1. For me, places like these define Christchurch. Cool and confident.

Reconciling Fleeting Interests and Work

When you have interests that are as fleeting as style that keeps changing with new technology, new music, new ideas and new films, you find it really hard to reconcile them and decide for real what it is that you really like doing or what it is that you are really interested in.

I have always thought about it. I haven't been too troubled about it. Interests are interests. They are not obligations. Only when you try and reconcile interests to make it become work then, there are issues that I tend to find it worth worrying about.

And in my field of work, where a job is so closely connected to what I am interested in, it can be so easy to start thinking of work as hobby. And there lies the danger. When we are too expectant from what work we do, and start to demand that it becomes as fun and engaging as our interests have been, that's when artists who are professionals would start to get disillusioned.

Uptil now I cannot say I have ever been in that situation except in classroom situation where I have to force myself to 'interest' in the work that I have to complete in a specific way. Sometimes it has not been too great. But most times I have scraped through and done pretty well.

But now that I will be a full time designer who will keep creating things after things after things week after week, I also see a looming doubt about how I will cope being new and fresh. It is not a doubtful thought but more of being practical thought. Pressure will be hard.

But I will never know until I have jumped into the water. Whether it is freezing or not, I will have to learn to adapt to the water only by getting in. And for sure, it cannot be freezing point so much so that I will freeze to death. There is always room to learn and grow and adapt. Thank God for adaptibility.

Official announcement

So its official. I am part of the creative team at Parachute Music. Crazy.

I start on 6 September 2010.

..

The incompetence of Facebook Chat.
Terrible.

About Auckland and Parachute

Auckland is a really good city. It isn't as cool as Christchurch is, but I like it because its hilly. I get picked from the airport by Rob in his Audi. Very flash haha.

Parachute Music is very cool though. Chris de Jong, the Creative Director is the coolest woman you have met. I went for lunch with her and Danny the senior designer and then talked about what Parachute does and what the job entails and what it means. It is very very intense. It is a 8-5 five days a week job. Full on.

But what is amazing about Parachute is that they have invited almost all the top Christian musicians over to the festival. Relientk, Underoath, Switchfoot, Hillsong, Thousand Foot Krutch, Third Day, Delirious, Leeland, DcTalk, Newsboys, Rebecca St. James........ crazy!!!!! And now the attending number is about 20,000 people at the festival, probably the biggest music festival in the southern hemisphere. Imagine working in a place like this?

They go to Hamilton and redesign this whole atmostphere, and even the 'Village' where food and hang out zones are located, apart from the six stages where artists (local as well as the international ones) perform to big, small and medium crowds.
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And the funniest thing happened when my host here at Auckland took me around to meet other Naga people here, and one of the Naga ladies was married to an Mumbai guy and I told him why I came up here from Christchurch, and he said: "Why do you limit yourself to Parachute?? You are a graphic artist??"

I stopped for a while. What the heck is he asking? Does he know what Parachute does? So I told him: I would think its the best job that I can possibly get in NZ. (And I truly think so)
And he gave it a thought and said: Ah, they do the biggest Christian music festival in the Southern Hemisphere I think..

So he does know what they do. And he just ate what he himself said! Talk about a downer.
Anyway, I head back for CHristchurch on Monday and I still think Christchurch is by far wayy cooler. I can't wait to hear back from Parachute and hear the outcome of the interview and know for real whether I should expect to remain to Christchurch or think of moving..
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THE TENSION IS KILLING ME!!!

Updates as on 15 july 2010

I haven't written a blog post for the longest time. Its not because I have lost the love for writing or haven't got time to write anything new here. I have a very valid reason. And that being:
Something is wrong with my Internet at home. For some reason I cannot log into Blogger at all. Same case with Twitter. So even though I normally have a lot of thoughts I want to write about I normally let them fade away before I can get to log in here and write them down. Sad, isn't it?

Well I am back. Atleast for this one post.

Things have been happening. (As they always do, anyway)

Tomorrow I fly to Auckland to do the much talked about Parachute Music interview for a graphic designer/creative role. How exciting isn't it? Well this has got to be fun.

What else? Well, Getsmart has been happening hosted by MAJESTIC. Last night was the debut night for Majestic Youth band and it was amazing. The bass literally shook the building. And they were my fingers playing it. Well, it was a completely new sound that people had ever heard. For most of the congregation, it took a bit of ages to get into worship. But I think we broke some mindsets last night. Nice.

Things have been happening to me inside my head too. Clearer goals have emerged out of the mist. Clearer visions and dreams. Which are always good. Patterns (or atleast some sort of order) are starting to show up in things that are happening in my life, and also things that have happened in the past, no matter how insignificant they seemed back then.

This is only the beginning. If you are reading this post, and if by any chance you have been following my writing for the past few years in this blog, then you will also have seen some sort of pattern and purpose emerging very vaguely.

Prayers for the design post at Parachute please, while you're at it. I want it.

As much as I HATE the though of leaving Majestic. I love Majestic. It is probably one of the best things that happened to me. Oh well. Lets see. Lets see.

Secret Revealed About Paul the Octopus

Oh come on. Don't be silly.
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its just bollocks!!!