The Used at Carling Academy
Islington [Thursday,
August 30, 2007 @ 4:20 pm]
After not being to a gig in more than a month, the last was Glassjaw on
7.7.7., I was able to see The Used last Tuesday.
The venue was in a part of London that I have never been to. It was
held at the Carling Academy down in Angel, Islington.
This is the third venue I have been to and is almost similar to Mean
Fiddler in Soho but definitely better designed. The venue hosts only
600 people with two bars on the left and right side. It is a
more intimate venue when compared to the massive Carling Academy in
Brixton. You could easily see the stage from anywhere inside. The stage
was well illuminated unlike Mean Fiddler. This intimate-ness makes me
really excited with the next gig I have lined up for September which is
for Coheed and Cambria.
Back to the event, the doors opened at around 7:30 in the evening.
The support band was up at exactly 8. They were Mute
Math, a band I have never heard of before until their name
appeared on the Last.fm site for the event. Mute Math was quite an
entertaining band which used instruments not commonly seen in a band
such as a keytar, Rhodes
piano and this gizmo that looks the gun part of a proton
pack. Found out it was called an ElectroKraft AxeSynth Sci-Fi Theremin Guitar.
Their set was around 7 songs long and was really awesome. The energy
was quite different plus their antics and craziness was loved by the
crowd who despite wanted to see The Used right away, enjoyed the set
and cheered them after.
Then it was time for The Used which came up on stage around 9:30 after
a long break in between bands. They played a pretty balanced set of
songs from all of their released albums plus one unreleased song, Pain.
It was pretty intense though I haven't listened to their old stuff in
ages and only recently realized there was a new album. I will be seeing
them again in November for Rockstar Taste of Chaos back in Brixton with
Aiden, Escape The Fate, etc.
As for merch, I wanted to buy a hoodie but it was a little expensive at
35 quid. Shirts didn't really catch my attention. With being unemployed
and all, I am on quite a strict budget though I will make sure I buy
something during the Coheed and Cambria gig next month.
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Failure: This Is My Gift. It Is My
Curse.
[Friday,
August 10, 2007 @ 10:23 pm]
I think I am finally sleepy enough to actually go to bed. The problem
is if I sleep this early (10 in the evening), I am most
likely
waking up around 3 in the morning and would not be able to go back to
bed anymore which has been the problem for more than a week now.
I haven't slept since 8 in the evening of Thursday not because I had to
do something but simply because I could not get to sleep even though
all the bodily signs indicated I should sleep.
I even had an A+ Certification Exam which I thankfully passed. Well, I
should have passed it because if I didn't I would have seriously
thought about killing myself.
Things simply haven't been too peachy here in the UK. Actually,
everything is pretty much awesome aside from work and relationships.
The problem with work is that I still have none and with no prospects
at all. The one interview I had since I started looking for work was an
utter failure.
As for relationships, well, I think it would be better if we didn't go
there. Seriously, what was I thinking that things would be any
different here when we are dealing with the same old me.
These , among others, are the monsters under my bed keeping me up all
night. I just think too much about what I left behind. Sure, the
relationships I had in the Philippines were quite awful but at least I
had an awesome job which did start to get tiring and old but could have
been remedied if I wanted too. Here, I have neither job nor
relationship.
I read about thinking about something else and more relaxing to
encourage sleep but sadly, I have no happy place.
The interview really hit me hard. I am certainly more than qualified
for the role. It was Technical Support in a business environment which
wouldn't even challenge what I already know in IT.
So why did I fail the interview then?
Well, I keep on re-enacting it in my mind and it plays out the same. I
just didn't answer the questions correctly. I answered them on what I
really wanted and not what the job needed. As a result, I came out too
hardware focused and they needed someone more general. It is real dumb
and silly when you think about it. It would have been an easy job
except for the long walk.
I even had a dream the other day that the people from the interview
called me back and apologized then gave me a second chance similar to
what happened to the failed interview at eTelecare then a magic
phonecall from them a month later telling me to come in for a final
interview. This is after telling me I was not good enough for them.
Failure always seems to haunt me. Like I always say, "It is not failure
that is hard to bear, it is the feeling of being a failure." Wise words
I picked up from our HS valedictorian's selected quote.
I really need to find a job soon. I don't want this to be another
miserable failure. I don't want to go back to the Philippines as one.
Not yet anyway. I always said I'd decide to stay here or go back in 3
years time, but not in these circumstances. Not like this.
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ISP Switch And Router
Problems [Thursday,
August 2, 2007 @ 1:37 pm]
We switched broadband providers from BT Online to Virgin Media for a
number of reason. The one year contract with BT was over and Virgin
seemed to have a better offer. Supposedly, their speeds reach 20MB but
so far the fastest we have reached via Speakeasy's Speedtest was
slightly more than 6MB which is not real bad since we are paying for
almost the same as a slower connection.
Another reason was so it could be registered under my name so I could
finally have proof of address here which is required quite important
here.
Anyway, unlike BT Online which used ADSL, Virgin Media was via Cable
just had a modem and not a 2 in one modem and router.
After doing a little research online, I decided to pick up a Belkin
Wireless router, purchased it on Monday and installed it in a quick and
easy process with no apparent problems.
It worked quite well until yesterday where the connection just dropped
and when the connection was repaired, it would give an invalid IP
address. I would have to go through the whole motion of resetting the
modem and the TCP/IP stack which did solve the problem. Unfortunately,
the problem happened three more times during the day.
My brother called Virgin customer support who made him do the same
things we have done already. Ultimately, he suggested using the modem
without the router to see if the problem was with them. We did this and
it seemed to stay online for a very long time.
Hooked up the router again and after a couple of hours, the problem is
back.
After reseting the modem and TCP/IP settings, I went on to upgrade the
router's firmware, then manually reset the router, and set it up all
over again.
So far, the connection has been up since 3 in the morning and it seems
to be working quite well. I certainly hope the firmware upgrade did the
trick and the problem would never happen again.
In other news, the tickets for the December gig of Funeral For A Friend
just arrived in the mail. Also, my brother just ordered a Playstation 3
which would arrive next week just in time to play some launch titles
before Lair and Heavenly Sword come out.
In wilder news, Straylight Run is supporting Motion City Soundtrack at
the Astoria on October 5. Initially it was supposed to be Okay Go and
at that point I was still thinking about going and I jumped over the
hedge when I heard Straylight Run was supporting instead.
