Picture this:

I walk into a space with faint snipping, razor buzzing, taps running, exclusive of conversation. Cheezy music, ranging from country to elevator music also fill the room as i peer around at the faux hard wood floor, jade green lights and counters and bubble tea advertisements. Stylists, all with wildfire red, red-orange or blonde hair are quietly working or on their way outside with a cigarette hanging from their mouths. I smile.

"Now THIS is the fob salon that i've been waiting for!"

Welcome to Robb's FoB salon experience. It was quite a learning experience. Read on....

***
One of the employees approach me.

"a!!s~kdfj`alkj tp@es l@azen, la?" A girl demands, with a bit of edge.

"Sorry, I'm English." Wow, I don't think i've ever said something like that before. I should have said "sorry, i only speak english", but basically i said to her "Sorry, i'm a total white wash banana. Please spare the ridicule and speak the guai low's (white devil's) language for me, if you could please."

She takes me up and we converse. I tell her that I had an appt. with a guy named "Phillip" and i meet him. It was strange, b/c the older bleach blond stylist was on he way out for a smoke break, while the wildfire red female took me to the chair and started suiting me up and sitting me down on the salon chair.

hmmm...

I began to start conversation with her. You know how it is, at salons it's all about the converastion with the hair stylist. They're usually big talkers who enjoy talking with their customers. BUt this time, it was like pulling teeth.

"Hi there, how are you"

"aaa?"

"how are you?"

"oh. good."

"So, have you been here long?"

"Oh, about one year."

"cool."

Silence. She takes a clear bottle that looked like a ketchup container you would see at a hotdog stand and covers my head with a clear liquid. She begins to work it through my hair, and suddenly the liquid foams up. She was washing my hair while i sat in the chair!! I tried a few other times to spark up conversation, but they all ended in one-line dead answers. She then suggested to look at a few magazines.. that was my cue to shut the fuck up. I also looked around, and realized that noone was talking at all; they were reading a chinese magazine or just sitting there and looking at the stylist cutting.

It was a crazy lathering process. I was there awhile, and it also involved a mini neck and shoulder massage too! Crazy. The massage was quite rough though, which i wasn't expecting! :)

After we went to the taps where she washed off my hair, treating my head like it was a dog and when i sat back down Phillip was there... So now i get it, we have the assistant hair grunts that just wash the hair. Cool. I meet with Phillip, tell him what I want, and he begins to cut. Again, it was like pulling teeth to have conversation, and it seemed like it was distracting him a bit, so i shut up. Ah well. It was actually nice though, b/c sometimes when you're at a salon and you and your stylist have a silence, it can get a bit uncomfortable. Not here. It was a comfortable silence, which is something that is hard to come by and something that I really really appreciate when it genuinely happens.

Anyway, he did a great job. He did basically what i asked, and used some cool techniques (even the Nike Arrajo razor on the hair technique) and really took my head seriously. He was totally in the zone. When he was texturizing and thinning my hair, after each razor cut he looked like he was a kung fu sensai -quietly kicking- (i.e. not the loud stereotypical "AHHH YA!!") for a demonstration for karate class.. '"..aa ya.. a yah".

One thing that I really liked was that after he finished, the wash wench came back and re-washed my hair. It has always been a bit annoying after a haircut becuase you konw that all the little bitty pieces lodged in your hair, especially b/c the back of my hair is super short, that are left after your hair is styled. So after another wash, i came back to Phillip and he styled it. Great! I don't need to rewash my hair when I get home. When it was all done, he got my coat and helped me put it in, as if i was royalty :). What a crazy time!

Oops, did i do it again? A Question...There was a really nice girl beside me who was getting her hair coloured a deep gothic red. It looked really good, and i commented on it. Now, to you girls (and observant guys), I must ask: If a guy walks by at a salon and says, "Hey, that looks really wicked! i love the colour," and smiles, would you think that he likes you? I know that sometimes i just forget what i'm doing, and realize what mind games i've just committed later. I said that comment right after I got my hair washed the 2nd time, walking back to get my hair styled. After my comment, i caught her staring at me (i could tell from the reflection of the mirror in my perpherial vision), and when i looked over to her i -think- i saw her do a mini smile and quickly went back to her chinese magazine. That's when i thought, "oh man.. does he like me?"..

Man.. if things were different, life would be so much easier! boom! i could have probably asked her out right then and there. She was a really sweet and hot asian girl (now with wicked hair), i must say too! heh :)

Final Thoughts from Jerry Springer... What a great experience. What they lacked in social skills they gained in additional services. Who gets an in-chair wash, neck&shoulder massage, 2 washes, deeply focused and quite talented stylist (with multiple texturizing, shaping and razoring techniques) for $21? So what if the social skills arelacking -- clearly he understood the cut i wanted, and followed my directions, and that's the most imporant thing to communicate.

And from my experience, that's the culture anyway. The downtown working chinese culture is much more harsh and abrupt, and often it can be misinterpreted as really rude and bitchy. I think it's b/c us people from the white world are used to and expect being treated like kings and queens at any store, whether it be buying clothes at the bay or buying bagels. I also realized that i was the conversationalist of the bunch. I've always thought of myself being a bit more quiet... but in the asian culture, i was the talkative one. I don't mean that Asian's don't talk much (since we know how talkative little asian girls can be w/each other). I'm talking about how the Asian culture is with strangers and in public.

It was quite a good time, i must say. I would post a picture of my fresh cut, but alas, i don't have a digital camera :(. When i do, i'll try and post it.

Take care,

RE

"eat drink and be merry"

Well, What Not To Wear did it again. What an amazing show! They made over this guy Eric, who was known as "Eric as Nazareth" or Jesus... Yeah, you can imagine his look. What really killed me is that he was the same body type as me. It was great, b/c i now have so many new ideas and possibilities! Who knew sticks had so many possibilities!? :)

What also killed me was Nick Arrojo (senior hair stylist). He turned Eric from Jesus to Fabrizio Fillippo (Ethan from QAF)! He utilized this colour technique that used the end of a comb to lightly add texture and colour to his hair. He gave him a look that really brought out his face and made him look very urban and fashionable. Check out the before slideshow and transition to the after slidehow, although the after pics don't do it justice. You'll have to watch the episode, or take my word for it.

Some tips from the experts (and me) for us small framed people:

1. Go for a fitted, slimmer look - no more oversized clothes, since it will make you look even smaller
2. Layering to bulk up our small frame.
3. Pants or slacks with a traditional print, but a more modern cut
4. Jeans with a higher cut find the butt you thought you never had, and contour on the sides to prevent your legs from looking like twigs
5. Sleek boots - no more contruction/hiking boots
6. Choose shirts that are cut inwards at the sides, and flare out the collar

Take care,

RE

"eat drink and be merry"

I'm still in the middle of the whole prospecting for new jobs, finding some that kind of fit, applying and getting the odd interview call back. I would think that i would be getting better at interviewing, after having a few more under my belt, but it seems that it's not always the case!

Today i spoke with someone from a small (yet established.. about 10 yrs old) web service company that provides easy-to-use websites for businesses with little knowledge of HTML (i.e. ppl like me!). They make websites for businesses, then allow them to update them as they wish. Anyway, they're growing now and want a FT sales guy in there to find some new customers as well as maintain an on-going relationship with their current roster of clients. So I got up bright and early this morning (around 9:15 a.m., which is early for me these days) and called him up for a brief telephone interview. It was more of a quick screening process to weed out those who are perhaps not fit for the job right off.. some examples are if you are looking for PT and not FT, are looking for only marketing and not sales, or hate any cold calling. Anyway, after those few screening questions, he only had 1 more question to ask. Something along the lines of, "what 3 elements do you think are key in selling a hi-tech product, given that it's more of a service and not like you're selling socks".

I thought, "easy. sweet..." So I started with Ongoing Support, since you need to maintain an ongoing relationship to build for the long term, not just a sale. then i spoke about providing tangible benefits, since you can't SEE the service.... i.e. handouts, presentations, how-to demonstrations... then for the 3rd...

.....

BLANK! My gosh. May be it was b/c it was early in the morning, or whatever, but i went TOTALLY blank. I couldn't believe myself. Arugh. So after what felt like hours of grueling silence and me trying to stall, he quite nicely said "ok, let me give you a little hint. Understanding your customers".

MY GOSH. the most simplistic yet most important element to ANY marketing/sales or any business. By understading your customers you can better tailor the product to their needs and blah blah blah.. oh man. Geeze. I could have chosen a lot of others as well, but i should have at least thought about that one. Sad sad sad. Boy, i'm losing it these days. He did say that he knows how it can be hard being put on the spot (this is where they're nice, yet you've totally been put in the "meh pile"). Oh well. The job isn't the greatest anyway, but still, it would be nice to at least make it to the interview. We'll see...

Ah well. To release some stress, i practiced some bandstuff, and started to nail down more of another song. I only have a verse and a chorus done, so we'll see how it goes in the next few days. Tonight we're planning on recording some more tracks, and hopefully that will go well!

Take care,

RE

"eat drink and be merry"

It's been almost a week since I saw Radiohead, and unfortunately I haven't gotten around to writing about it until now. It's too bad I couldn't write about it sooner, when the emotions were running a lot higher. I got a comments section working. Leave me a message and tell me what you think of my entries from now on, and of course reviews. Do you agree? disagree? Am i totally on the ball, or some whitewash psueo-intelluctual wannabe who can't write a review if his life depended on it, let alone find pants that actually fit? tell me!

Meh. Here goes:

Radiohead Live in Toronto @ Skydome: Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2003
(photo from Cloudcuckooland.net)

It came up from right underneath my nose actually, to the point where my friend called me up to tell me what time we should meet on Wednesday and I had no idea what he was talking about! Sad sad sad..

Setting. Skydome. Ouch. I know, what a disappointing venue, but honestly, if I had to choose btw this venue and not seeing them b/c they would have sold out at the Kool Haus, i guess i would say the Kool Haus and try and scalp tix! :). The acoustics where horrible, with single directional sound, as if you were listening to the CD from a super loud car across the street. Curtains cut off the rest of the skydome (even above us, since if they left that open all the way the sound would have been even worse!), and the seats ranged from 100 - 300 level (i think). That was probably the worst part about the concert. Once Radiohead came on stage, with a little help from Miss Mary and fellow Radiohead fans, the show began to take life.

The Show. It took me a little while to get into the music b/c of the venue we had to see them in, but once everything set in the show was really great. The band jumped right into the music as if you turned on Hail to the Thief (the gloaming/there there/2+2=5 and more) CD. Despite the brutal acoustics of the venue, RH still filled the area and what at first sounded like an annoying car stereo turned into this cave of music pulling you into the RH experience. Incredible.

You can't expect anything better, with such precision in what some people could mistakenly think is white noise. This became really apparent to me when during a Thom vocal rant when his voice variated and became just the slightest bit out of tune. Immediately i could tell something was off, and it was like "holy, crap, you think it's so easy since everything can seem like it's just crazy rhythms, atonal guitar experimental and vocal diarrhea, so therefore ANYTHING could work.." Wrong! Once Thom was the slightest off, it all seemed off, and thus showed the master of music they are creating...

...Or it could have been the weed. who knows, but I'm still saying that's how i felt, man.

The entire show went by what felt like a matter of minutes. I was standing all the way through the concert (except for the first few songs, when i was busy trying to get into it) and usually my lower back and legs can give me an indication of time. But this time, I felt like they were just getting going before they suddenly said their thanks and left the stage. I almost felt cheated, but then realized that they had been playing for about 1.45 hours already! "but but, there's more tracks on the albums still to play! but but..." ...Insane.

A crowd pleaser was during the encore when Thom performed You and Whose Army? from Amnesiac on his piano. I had to go home and check out what the name of the song was, b/c honestly when I listen to them I just listen to the entire album, and forget many of the names. Anyway, it's track 4 on Amnesiac :). Once you hear it, you'll know the song. It was great because he spoke to a mini webcam-like camera while performing the entire song. His true showmanship colours shine through, making funny faces, taunting the camera and toying with audience while performing it.

Safe Concert-going... Vehemently Enforced!! Because of the long list of many people who have been injured or even killed at RH concert, the band will now not tolerate any sort of violent behavour. Way back years ago they had a strict NO MOSHING policy, with signs everywhere. I remember hearing when one guy ignored it and still moshed at the Toronto show and Thom just stopped and started at him in complete disgust. It takes a lot to do that, and i commend total respect. As performers, knowing that your shows have resulted in many injuries, rape and sometimes death can only make you feel at least a little responsible for it all.. So tonight was no difference. Thom saw a guy pass out in the front of the pit and stopped the show. The band quickly paused (in sync, i must add) and Thom imperatively instructed everyone to get him out of there and get him first aid. They resumed in the third verse, and continued the show, after he was safe and away from harm. Isn't that great?

Back to the show. I guess the only critique I would say about the actual music, is selection of music. The show was heavily Hail to the Thief (naturally, it's a tour to promote it) so when they strung in a set of those songs together they fit perfectly. But once they threw in crowd favorites, such as My Iron Lung, Fake Plastic Trees and Bulletproof, they totally stuck out. It was like each time it was like we were at a friends house and some stupid drunk guy stops the album that we're all stoned to, saying "hhheeyy mann.. i wnana 'ere them old shit man... put on that song, you know, the "YA do it to yourself!!" song where they're all lying comatose at the end of the video man!"

Heh, don't get me wrong. I enjoyed hearing those hits from way back when (especially Bulletproof) but in terms of the flow of the concert, it definitely kind of pulled me out of my RH trance. But again, it was still really great to hear those tunes again, and even hearing a few layers they've added since they've progressed from the Bends/OK Computer. I'm generally not very picky when it comes to particular MUST HEAR RH songs to hear at a show, but it would have been nice to put in a few more tunes from Amnesiac, namely Pyramid Song... but hey, they still did the piano for You and Whose Army, so I'm not complaining!

In sum...Overall, it was a stellar show. There is no other electronic/experimental band that I can think could ever meet the masterful state that RH have evolved to, I can tell you that. I know that this Skydome venue was just the band-aid scheduling solution to the blackout, and i'm sure next time they will not have to be there. Ah well, hopefully you all can appreciate them and their contribution to contemporary music!!

Take care,

RE

"I'd really like to help you man...
Nervous messed up marionette,
Floating around on a prison ship" -Optimistic (Kid A)

It has been a nice Thanksgiving evening, full of lots of good eats and family and friends. I am still full since eating some 7 hours ago! heh. This weekend has been quite a bag of tricks, i must say. From a weed-a-thon to eat-a-thon to just plain old sleep-a-thon this weekend was definitely a good time.

I've been trying to work on my guitar, and more specifically the "sinking sands" song again. I'm having problems figuring out a good melody for the verse, as well as an overall vision of how the song is going to work. It's always hard to go back and analyzing lyrics that were written, since doing so quickly zaps you back to the same headspace as when you first felt/wrote it. And tweaking the lyrics is hard too, since i don't want to lose the essence of my feelings when i wrote it back then. Many of my lyrics stem from personal experience or observation, and it's one of the ways I use it to express myself. Even to this day, one of my older songs, "My Faith" still sometimes feel like i was just there, speaking to that person face to face when they told me about their life. Intense eh? But it has been a long time, and it's more like a regular memory now rather than some acid flashback with hot flashes. This process is more therapeutic than anything, so if no one besides my bandmate hears it, that's fine by me... (watch this song become one of the token SF songs! heh). I really like what's happening with it so far, so let's keep our fingers crossed!

The job hunt / interview process is already starting to drain me. I wish that it was more of a find ONE interview, and get that ONE job you want.. it's hard when you go and spend so much time prospecting, applying, and interviewing all these organizations and realize that a) it's totally not the place you want to go to or b) they don't think you're good enough... doh doh doh! It's a long battle. It's like your puzzle piece has to be cut and altered just to fit in their piece, and it's a matter of how much you're willing to alter it's shape.

That also sounds like relationships too! How many times do ppl try and mold themselves to fit the other piece of the puzzle? The "oh, it will fit, i just need to do this and this and that". Rather than trying other pieces, at times we dwell on that one other piece simply b/c we've been trying for so long already, and we don't see any other pieces anywhere near your size nearby. And my puzzle is one of those double-sided ones that looks exactly the same on both sides, so i'm in serious trouble!

Take care,

RE

"eat drink and be merry"

It has finally come. Recording. Crap.

Now that I have my G4 installed and ready to go, we're finding some of the same issues as on a PC. So much for using PC as our scape goat eh? heh. There's nothing else to blame, except that I am honestly having some problems with my mac, which needs attention. Of course, i've been raised on PC (from working DOS -> 3.1 -> '95 -> XP) so i'm not exactly sure how to check some of the background system files... I'm going to ask a few mac friends to see if they have any idea of what's wrong. Just my luck eh, that my mac has problems. At least it's just the beginning, and i don't have many things on here anyway.

We've started recording and we're working on one of our songs called "Perseverance". It's sounding pretty decent for a demo, so hopefully we can crank more of it out this week and have a good skeleton by thanksgiving. Speaking of songs, i've been working on Built on Sinking Sands (see below). I know I should be working on finalizing my parts for the existing songs, but I can't get this one out of my head. We have the basic chorus melody, plus a really cool pre-chorus that i sing. It's looking pretty good, except that the lyrics that i wrote last month are being tweaked and some parts completely changed. I wrote that as a stream-of-conscousness excercise, and now working on the song i realize that it needs to be changed.. and some of the lyrics just suck too ("Singing songs by day and livin' it by night / What more could a guy ask for?" -garbage! only Dashboard could pull a line like that off and make it sound good :) )

Speaking of dashboard, I feel guilty that the new song isn't exploding as I thought it would. Yes, people know about it, and yes it is very big compared to most bands out there, but in terms of mainstream my 14-year-old-sister world music, it didn't exactly spread to all their Kazaa folders. I'm kinda happy though, since it looks like it won't be like the John Mayer tragedy that happened to one of my hardcore JM friends. JM is so big in the pop world that he's now filling the ACC! Crazy man. We went to a smaller club just a little while back. My sister now listens to him, and FAST FORWARDS THE GUITAR JAMS. And she has the sheer audacity to that while i'm present! What is going on with this world? I thought at least JM can bring his incredible jazz and blues guitar background into the mainstream, and build a greater appreciation for it. Instead, it's goes something along "yea yea ok just play 'Your body is a wonderland' and take off your shirt cutie pie."

...Sounds like most gay guys out there eh? The parallelism between my 14-year-old sister and the gay mentality can be uncanny at times! (Abercrombie/American Eagle attire, Pasting abercromie models across desktops, MSN crazy, Colin Ferrel and Justin Timerlake...) Someone needs to write a Soc paper on that one, ladies and gentlemen. Don't forget to pay me royalties for the idea once your make your millions though.

On a side note, Arnold Schwarzenegger is now Governor-Elect of California! Californian's excercised their right to throw out the current governor Davis after about a year or 2 in office. heh. I know that they were pretty pissed off at him at the massive power outage and their deficit, so lets see of arnold can do anything. what kills me is that one of their slogans was "Another Recall" (refering to getting people to vote for a recall of the current governor.. but man, all i thought was his movie, "Total Recall"). Hey, if some actor guy named Ronald Regan can be President of the USA, then why not Arnold for governor?

God bless America!!

Take care,

RE

"...and all the "Best Deceptions" and the "Clever Cover Story" awards, go to you. You will be back someday, and this ackward kiss that tells of other people's lips will be of service to keeping you away" -DC

This week has been very busy, with interviews for the first 1/2 of the week. Of my job opportunities, and one which got my jiggles going was the BMG sales position. Although it only starts as a PT position, it allows me to get into the industry as well as develop my sales skills.

It has been a lot of work getting through the process (even though it's a PT position). There was a 1st round of online screening, then speaking with a recruitment officer, then speaking with the BMG rep, then speaking with the BG rep and the Market Development Manager.... = 4 rounds. ARUGH!

On Monday i was on round 3, and it seemed to go quite well. It was 1.5 hours long though, but when you ask me "what genres of music do you like?" then you ask for it! After the interview she scheduled me for round 4, which was today.

Today was different.

I don't think it went as well as i had hoped. I had a bad feeling even the night before going into it, and this expereince only confirmed it all. It was longer, about 1.45 hours, and we spoke about everything from my sales techniques, to creative situations to knowledge of music. There were some moments were it looked like i shocked the interviewer, and may be even offended her. Oops. I'm not sure though, but we'll see. It was a good learning experience in the end, and if i'm lucky enough to be taken for the position, i'll take it as a favour from above :).

We'll see though. Only time will tell.

Back to the grind... i wonder if any of the other labels are hiring? if so, please tell me. Inquiring minds want to know!

Take care,

RE

"i hope you're as happy as you're pretending" DC

We miss you Wayne!

Well, i just saw an old episode of "What not to wear", with the old set and of course the old crew--- WAYNE! And though I do think that Clinton is a super cuite and does give great advice, I still miss the saucy and ever-so-confident-bridging-on-arrogant-well-at-times-very-arrogant-but-we-love-it-since-his-advice-DOES-make-sense Wayne. Deep down, his fashion sense was incredible, and coinsided with Stacy's approach to finding the right fit and style for your body type. they're not there to tell you to lose weight or get bigger boobs, but about "look what we can find underneath those horrible clothes".

Anyway, this episode was another gem, where they make over an Opera singer. She was an urban pessimistic city artist, with the shitty clothes (meaning "i don't need those fake fancy clothes to make myself look good" fashion statement) to match.

The episode reminded me the amazing set they used to have, not the warehouse with temporary dry walls separating each room. The camera work was much more professional and not this horrible "real TV" look, which i'm assuming they wanted for the new season. You're supposed to make the fashion gurus LOOK like gurus, not ugly messes.. that's the point of TV :) But luckily Nick Arrojo and Carmindy are still there since the first season, so there's hope.

Anyway, a highlight from this old episode is definitely when Wayne found the Opera singer a new coat, replacing her old fattening grey thing she was wearing. he threw it off, and told her to put on the new coat. She loved it (of course) but after said "but what about my grey coat?"... "what coat???" replies Wayne. He proceeds to use the coat as a mop with his feet and starts repeating "clean up on aisle 5, clean up on aisle 5!"

Priceless. This kid was on the floor in hyserics.

Well, I do miss ya Wayne, and of course all the other things. (i'm sick of Clinton waving the Visa card everywhere.. remember when it was a cheque and they paid CASH? ah well... perhaps they lost a key sponsor and had to cut costs and find other faceless sponsors like VISA that demand more branding on the show).

It's a good thing Wayne left when he did. But not Stacy has to make up for the loss of sauciness in the show... good luck m'lady.

Take care,

RE

"eat drink and be merry"

10.05.03 - 3:38 a.m.

So this sucks. My safari just suddenly poofed on me and i have to redo it. Hopefully explorer is better.
I just got back from James' house. it was a night to get completely taken and watch some baked comedies (no pun intended)..

We first saw "not another teen movie", which really really sucked. It had a few haha kinda of moments, but nothing to tell the grandkids later kinda quality.

Luckily, for the 2nd movie i had more stuff and we were ready to roll: Half-Baked.

The beginning of half baked was wicked b/c the main guy, Dave charo (or something) totally has a connection with the stoners only. It's so cool b/c only Dave is the true stoners and the other 3 guys are just actors. they are just for the mainstream public to laugh at the fit in. There were some KEY parts in this flik that just shows that it was only made when in the high mindset.

The fact that the girlfriend's name was Mary Jane and she was an anti-MJ person, was mindblowing. It was so much deeper t han a regular person would think if they don't konw the stoner language. Dave's inner struggle "I have to give it up to get you" is so intense because, how can you give something up for that same thing? giving up me to get me? MINDBLOWING.

And he resourcefulness was uncanny, and whatever i thought he totally knew man, b/c that was the connection. Like when he was only down to 25 cents, he took about $3.50 from the vendor.. but man, the opportunity just came into my head, EXACLTLY when dave was too.. and he seized the moment! where many would have failed. Incredible.

Unfortunately, at the end of the movie something happened man. May be dave got shafted and couldn' finish the movie, b/c it suddenly ended so fast. I lost my connection and it was at the point where james asks me "dude, was that the climax?" (refering to when they got their friend out of Jail).

But overall it's still a must see to just experience that weednection. I still give it a geekly thumbs up, but nothing to crap your pants and remember to tell your grandkids over.

Take Care,

RE

"eat drink and be merry"