March 2005 Archives

Yeah yeah...I know it's been more than 3 days but apparently, no one cares...hahah...anyway:

When I said I was recently overwhelmed in my last entry, other than the several upcoming gigs, changes/pickup in my life, another significant moment is when I received this package (mouse-over for comments):

(P.s You can skip all the boring technical details labelled 'Tech' :P)

(Tech: This package took a record time of 3 days to arrive from Japan. EMS shipping is excellent.)

Upon ripping off the protective layers, there lies...

Lo and behold!!!

That's right, folks...I've finally gotten myself a Lefty Fender Jaguar :) Though it's not a vintage one, this is the next best thing. It's gorgeous and sexy, isn't it? These pictures don't do justice to her I swear.

(Tech: The only lefty Jaguars available these days come from Japan in the most basic configuration...no neck bindings, no block inlays, and no 'JAGUAR' decal.)

Immediately, I brought her to see an old friend, my Fender Strat *lol*

But it was not long before I got adventurous and...

...took her apart. Yeah, I had to get my hands dirty a little (actually, it's squeaky clean) and do a hands-on setting up on my guitar in order to make sure it plays fine and customised to my liking.

(Tech: Of course, I did lots of research prior to buying this baby and read up on all the things/adjustments I need to make. This is not the guitar for everyone. Either you love it or hate it. There's lots of work required before it can perform decently, mainly on the buzzing issue...bridge, saddles, tremolo, etc. Since I took out the neck, I drilled a hole in two .05mm Jim Dunlop picks and inserted them into the neck pocket as shims to tilt the neck angle. Changed to 11 gauge strings, re-adjusted the action, intonation, bridge height, taped my loose tremolo arm and I'm good to go!)

Next, I brought her to meet the rest of my 'mistresses' ;)

She fits right in there with the rest of my babies :) In case you haven't met them, let me introduce them to you...from left to right...Gibson Flying V (Faded cherry red), Fender Stratocaster (US standard, Olympic white), Fender Jaguar (Japan, 3-tone-sunburst) and Ibanez Artist (Japan).

Yup, I actually went to install the guitar hangers on the walls of my room :P Now I have a permanent 'guitar corner-cum-gallery' *lol*

Another view:

Now you know what I'd dream of when I sleep in the nights :P

As you can see, it isn't exactly safe to sleep directly below the guitars. But fortunately I sleep on the bottom deck and the upper deck acts as cushion (for the guitars) should any be unfortunate enough to fall/drop *choy choy! touch wood!*

Tech: A little about the Japanese Fender Jaguars...their pickups do feedback quite easily; it's a common issue. I'll be replacing them with US reissue ones which are dipped in wax and supposedly have better response and fuller sound. Will see how it'll sound.

Okay...now that I've got the whole chunk of dry topic out of my chest (which incidentally, IS the 'secret' I've been talking about in my previous entry), let's move on to something else.

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I have an important announcement to make:

Yes, it's our first LGF solo 'concert'...So do come down and have an intimate time with us while we entertain you with our repertoire of originals and mind-boggling cover songs.

The fate of LGF's future depends on this and if you don't wanna see our faces again, come down personally and let us know!(okay, okay, I know this reverse psychology thingy won't work *lol*)

We have a few more gigs coming up and we're really excited about it. Do check out our website for the dates and details ;)

Little Froggie says 'Thank yous!'

Miss me? :P

It's been more than a month since the last update. Surprisingly, it doesn't feel that long at all. In fact, the absence of entries actually meant that much more has been going on with my life...so much that it's getting a little overwhelming.

Of course, culprits like laziness, work, mood swings and 'selective filtration', etc all play a part in keeping me away from typing out my thoughts, but there are always reasons for me to do so.

I could write about my 'painful'/touching 'bus stories'...or how a new colleague got confused with my gender...or a little about how small Singapore is, that I knocked into a corporate trainer who was also one of the reservists I handled back in the army...

...or maybe you wanna hear about how things never came when you were in constant-yearning mode, and suddenly came flooding your doors when you closed them?

And I could go on about the bits and pieces of how my band's gigs went, that particular hit-and-run session...or the gratifying one with tourists checking us out...

...or perhaps my rediscovery of the joy of waking up early for a movie session on Saturday mornings?

I guess I shall start off with something fresher...like that little thought that flashed past my mind earlier.

As I was reading a particular person's blog entry this morning, I realised how glad I am to steer clear of things, to put an end to all the potential dilemma, crossroads, and trouble I could get myself into. I could see the vicious cycle inflicting upon me if I'd treaded on. I could picture how others would fall into the same vortex sooner or later. Along with the discovery came messages as well...ones I could appreciate, and ones I couldn't fathom.

Precious lessons are often cruel too.

There are also things I'd like to pour out my thoughts on...but a couple of them aren't meant for public eyes...perhaps, not even close friends.

On a brighter side, I have decided to reveal one deep dark 'secret' after thinking about it for a long while. It will be revealed 3 days from now...so, watch this space :) It can be interpreted as an end to something while others will see it as a beginning...go figure ;)

In the meantime, here's the lyrics to a song from Catatonia that I fell in love with years ago, and the aptly-named title suits the mood now...enjoy:

"Strange Glue"
Catatonia

Never comes too quickly for me