Sinfonia da Vita, Op. 1
OK guys, this is it. We're finally - and really - leaving! Our flight's on the morning of Friday, 9 September 2005. We're expected to be back 24 October 2005, or earlier, if we can finish the task quickly. Well, stay longer and get more money... that's the common sense thing to do, but whether we can tolerate staying there for 6-7 weeks (I mean, no one's ever stayed for this long in Brunei before, with the exception of the perm staff at the base camp there) is a different matter. Even those people on the jungle course come back home after three weeks. We're staying twice the duration!
There are pros and cons of going there. The pro is that most of us are quite prepared for the trip, having been bitched about it time and again. Then, whether we can really stomach it psychologically WHILE being there is a different matter. Another pro is that when we go there, time will pass when we return. Not that time passes like an arrow there, but when you look ahead and think of your arrival in Singapore, you'll tell yourself, oh, it's towards the end of October already! Eight more months to ORD! (Okay, still long...) Finally, the last good thing about going there is to avoid getting shit from higher HQ, because we're the only company with the largest manpower.
The cons are: not seeing your loved ones, not eating your favourite food, not doing your favourite things at your own expense. All those things that you now realize you take for granted! Another grouse: no Internet! Come on, email is free! – that is, on our side, because anyway SAF pays for the Internet connection. SAF is so rich and they can waste money on high-end explosives that they don’t have to bat an eyelid about paying for Broadband connection. But then, everybody will be fighting for the computer, and at the end of the day, some of us won’t get to use it, and I’m pretty sure fights will break out.
Speaking about fights . . . seeing the same people everyday and doing the same shit . . . no doubt we’ll become bad-tempered and throw tantrums. I admit it, so please forgive me if I really turn into a bastard. And for those who turn into a bastard and slam me here and there, I forgive you too. Ultimately our only target is to return home.
Ultimately our long-term achievement is to fuck off from the army and go back to our civilian lives. That won’t apply, if anybody wants to sign up with the armed forces.
So you people, please take care of yourselves in Singapore. We know you’re worrying for us in Brunei, but we won’t want to have to worry about you guys back in Singapore while we’re in the miserable jungle!
Do miss us, hope to see everyone again soon. And thanks for your concerns!
Cheers. J
Something is really wrong here...
I use Cool Edit Pro 2.0 to record my compositions/arrangements as mp3s, or wav. files. Usually, in the past, I am able to maintain full audio fidelity - it sounds full and round even as an mp3 - but today, after recording and saving as an mp3, my music sounds very sappy, like what songs on radios in the old days would sound like. On Cool Edit it sounds good, but when opened again on Windows Media Player it sounds crap. THEN when I open the file AGAIN on Cool Edit the crapness remains.
Can somebody help? Just drop a tag in the flobble chatterbox. Thanks!
My song OPENING THE DOOR OF YOUR HEART seems to have quite a good response... two months of constant rewriting... and I spend more time working on the lyrics than the music... the music was simply *poof*! done in an hour or so. Here are some of the earlier versions:
Sketch:
Love is boundless
It crosses mountains
No obstacle
Lets it falter
CHORUS
Open the door of your heart
Open it wide and open it far
No strings attached
No conditions met
Open the door of your heart
VERSION 2:
CHORUS I
Opening the door of your heart
Let love make a start
Embrace all those around you
Let them know how you feel
When you unlock the door
With the key that love gave you
Imagine a house
Where you can come in to
There is no condition
Just take off your shoe
You'll find lots of loving people
People who welcome you
Regardless what you have
Regardless what you do
To CHORUS I
There're no strings attached
Nothing you must sign
No fine print, no hidden catch
Come feeling fine
There're so many beautiful feelings
They're so hard to resist
Let the love flow around
Let the love persist
To CHORUS I
(Change key)
I cannot forget about myself
I am as important the ones I help
There's nothing wrong pardoning me
There's a warmth for me to feel
To brighten my room
Save me from the doom
CHORUS II
Opening the door of my heart
Let love make a start
Embrace my own self too
My feelings are clear to see
When I unlock the door
With the key that love gave me
BRIDGE
Love is for you and me
Love can set us free
We can all make a fresh start
If we open our hearts
To CHORUS I, then CHORUS II (CHORUS II should be modulated higher than CHORUS I)
FINAL VERSION:
SOLO 3:
Opening the door of your heart
Let love make a start
Embrace all those around you
Let them know how you feel
When you unlock the door
With the key that love gives you
SOLO 1:
Imagine a house where you can come in to
There is no condition that you must fulfil
You’ll find lots of loving people
People who welcome you
No matter what you have
No matter what you do
Opening the door of your heart
Let love make a start
Embrace all those around you
Let them know how you feel
When you unlock the door
With the key that love gives you
SOLO 2:
There’re no strings attached and no boundaries
No fine print no hidden catch, come feeling free
There are so many beautiful feelings
They’re so hard to resist
Let the love flow around
Let the love persist
Opening the door of your heart
Let love make a start
Embrace all those around you
Let them know how you feel
When you unlock the door
With the key that love gives you
SOLO 3:
I cannot forget about myself
I am as important as the ones I help
There’s nothing wrong in forgiving myself
There’s a warmth for me to feel
To brighten my room
Lead me from the gloom
Opening the door of my heart
Let love make a start, embrace my own-self too
My feelings are clear to see
When I unlock the door
With the key that love gives me
TOGETHER:
Love is for you and me
Love can set us free
We can all make a fresh start
If we open our hearts
Opening the door of your heart
Let love make a start
Embrace all those around you
Let them know how you feel
When you unlock the door
With the key that love gives you
*Bracketed parts to be sung by SOLO 1
Opening the door (Opening the door)
Of my heart (Of my heart)
Let love make a start, embrace my own-self too (Woah…)
My feelings are clear to see (Clear to see)
TOGETHER:
When I unlock the door
With the key that love gives me
(Retard)
When we unlock the door
With the key that love gives us.
Some parts still don't sound smooth, e.g. "My feelings are clear to see." It's the only verse in the chorus theme which begins on the upbeat - "feelings" emphasises on the first syllable, so it ought to be on the beat. Everytime I sing this part I always come in late and mess up the entire line.
Oh what the hell, I don't want to work on the lyrics for this any longer! :P