I've been caught up with alot of things lately. A huge part of it is work, guitar stuff took up another huge chunk, not forgetting a few gigs and all.
Taken at DXO after the recent gig. Mel's colleagues, Elaine and the two Kais came to support us :) I looked especially cheeky in that pic *lol*
A more accurate portrayal of my mood these days...a bit of melancholy, a pint of uncertainty...Indifference is killing me.
Recently, I got promoted at work and naturally I'm happy about it (wasn't expecting it even though I've been here for around 3+ years). My big boss was really kind to actually send an email to all the staff for the announcement and to congratulate me. Now all was well until a close colleague revealed to me that some people are not happy about my promotion. Namely 2 other colleagues who've been working in the same office. One of them just joined us for slightly over a year and she was displeased that she didn't get a promotion and all. Now I don't even wanna start with the comparisons between us but let's just say that not everyone is pleased with her work ethics. Hardly a veteran in this workspace, she already started to boss around (when she's not even a supervisor or anything), scolding students and staff unnecessarily, creating bad relationships with internal and external people. I'm not gonna rant on and on about her since I'm sure people can see with their own eyes what kind of person she is.
The other colleague on the other hand, has worked here for more than 10 years. But word goes around that she has never been promoted before. Just goes to show what type of performance/attitude she's been having. After hearing about my promotion, she even had the cheek to tell the big boss that it's because of him that ruined her day when he casually asked her how she was feeling when he saw her. *Shakes head*. Luckily our big boss is a very kind person and didn't take it to heart...if it was our previous no-nonsense boss, she'd get into trouble.
It's funny why some people can't see their own flaws or shortcomings and only knows how to complain and not work their way towards their goals and all. To begin with, I'm not even nasty to them at all and instead, always treated them with courtesy and politeness. Maybe their mindsets are clouded with office politics and treat me like a threat. I don't know. It doesn't bother me at all cos it's their lives they're leading. As long as I'm doing what I believe in and not being malicious to others, I'm happy about it.
On another note, I'm really glad on how good signs and motivation are showing up in my work life. Recently I attended an external training course and the trainer was so surprised by my enthusiasm and participation that he told me he'd write me a recommendation letter to my company :)
Okay, now that I'm done with the boring work stuff, I shall reveal what the other huge chunk of my time went to (okay...maybe it's just as boring as the work part *lol* But still...)
(Close friends who've already knew about it, you can skip this part *lol*)
A month or two ago, I had the idea of modifying my guitar and had lots of cool ideas and all. Being a newbie in modding, I was really excited and discussed with some veterans in the guitar shops on my ideas, only to be told that they were too radical/impossible to carry out. Of course, it dampened my hopes to hear that. Unfaltered, I began to read up articles and materials on the internet and learn more about the related topics on wiring and electronics. Having a strong hunch that what I came up with could work, I piece together all the relevant information and drew my very first schematic (wiring layout)!
Which eventually translates into this...
It got me kickstarted on working further with my ideas and I consulted friends and forums on the feasibility of the project...and ended up with good feedbacks. So, armed with my blueprints and a psyched-up mood, I went ahead and worked on it with the help of my dad (who'd probably make a good guitar technician with his skills and mechanic/electronics know-how! :P)
Operation room *lol* Working on not one, but two guitars!
The sunburst guitar which my cool/radical ideas are implemented on.
The white one which went through simplier modication with just swapping of parts (pickups only)
And lo and behold....
It's alive!!!
And in case you can't tell the differences:
(Technical info below: Not for the faint hearted!)
Mods done:
-Routed another cavity (done by a guitar tech)
-Hot rails (bridge) pickup added + spare CIJ jag pickup cover installed
-Rewired and 3-way toggle switch added
-Changed to black pickguard (custom-made by another fella)
-3-way toggle selects Hot rails/all pickups/AV pickups (with individual on/off switches). Bottom tone/vol controls AV pickups and top roller vol controls Hot rails.
Frankenstein and his bride:
Now this is certainly a very pleasant surprise and a huge achievement for me as I started out with zero knowledge on it and beat the odds when everyone said it couldn't be done. It's not just about guitars we're talking about here. It's like this entire experience will open up the doors to many things in my life. It's mainly about determination and the courage to try things out.
