The Bodjie Blog

Nothing, I just like the sound of simply saying that.

"This is SUCH a complete waste of everyone's time!"

And believe me when I say that I rarely, if not ever, get to say that often at all!

On HOW often I get to hear that from almost everyone? Perhaps, quite often than I could ever expect.

Now, does that leave me to become a part of many whose mind is often open? Not necessarily, though utmost politeness do come strangely natural for me even since childhood.

However, does politeness then equals someone who becomes easily-agreeable with people, places, and things? Perhaps.

I can tell you this, though, that being almost pathologically-agreeable can be very exhausting.

IS there such a thing at all as being pathologically-agreeable, or am I just forming-up odd words together akin to two jigsaw puzzle pieces from two entirely-different and utterly-disproportionate puzzles?

What in both HEAVEN and HELL's name am I absolutely saying?!?

What complete nonsense IS this $#!t?

. . .

This all reminds me of the time I first came-across someone who have used the phrase 'Piece of $#!t' over something, some 25 years ago.

Back then prior to it, for around a couple of years I've become really good at finishing an arcade game of Sega Rally Championship 1.

If any, you could say that such mastery may have even saved my life a decade later, but that's another story.

Anyways, some years after the fact I had this great-awesome opportunity to travel and study in the United States just right before the turn of the 21st century.

On my second day in its soil I was able to play inside a small arcade game where it housed a single-seating Sega Rally Championship 1.

Though somewhat battered and with the steering wheel quite loose, I was about to hop into it when a young teenage girl sat on it impulsively.

After putting-in a couple of quarters I watched casually as she started to navigate through the game, grabbing the steering-wheel left-to-right, left-to-right, as wildly and as almost unpredictable as she possibly could; almost without giving any thought at all on the challenging complexities of the game.

Now then, growing-up in Manila, the only time I ever get to hear the words 'Piece of $#!t!' is through English-speaking TV shows and Hollywood movies.

Nothing beats reality biting you in the balls when you come-across the real thing in action!

Throughout the stage and amidst the music, the navigation speech, and earthly fender-bending noise, all I could hear is a womanly-shrieking, intensely-looped barking of 'PIECE OF $#!T', over and over and over at 15-second intervals.

It's almost apparent now to tell you she didn't finish the game with success.

As she got up to leave, I was just simply dumbstruck.

Up until then for as far as I can easily remember, I have always enjoyed playing Sega Rally Championship 1, way way back in Manila prior to going abroad.

I could still probably say even to this day that since then, the visual and sonic experience of having been a strange lone spectator of that time may have just ruined it for me.

Months later after that spectacle, it may have even ruined it for me even more when I first saw Sega Rally Championship TWO inside an even bigger arcade!

Needless to say I got wiped-out easily from that one.

And that's a different story.

*sigh*

It's just so nice to tell oddly-random things like these while waiting for the time to tick down before going on a function.

. . .

G.T.

Since last posting I have given my favourite polarity-switched digital-piano pedal to a friend who'd need one on his own piano and, by then, have gone through one particular self-discovery.

Turns out that my very last impromptu busking may have been a self-imposed blunder all along.

The reason was that, somehow, no amount of gigging experience may have dawned on me some small truths about old and new technology, even under the guise of just a singular digital-piano pedal.

Throughout my gigging days, amongst a handful of stage keyboards, I've always come to use a digital-piano pedal with a polarity switch; only to find out years later, when I was no longer playing in public, that I realized that digital-piano pedals, from the get-go, was manufactured WITHOUT one, on account that the need for a switch may not have been warranted at all until, I suspect, years later.

For instance, since all I have ever purchased were ones that had a switch, I have long-held assumed that there has always been one, and those which came before don't have the feature. And I've even always thought that it's because such pedals were only made for a specific brand without the need for a switch in mind.

That's completely not the case at all when I just purchased one recently that's of a different brand and make from my current digital piano, and it's without a switch.

I bought it because I was curious!

Then, with proper use, it works perfectly.

Worse, because of its well-constructed foot base, it's stable and almost completely immovable; it may actually be the ONLY type of pedal I'll ever use.

Turns out that, at the time of the busking where I have blamed the pedal as defected, I have misused its function from the get-go, meaning I may have just committed this age-old sin of plugging the old switchless pedal while the digital instrument was on, thus automatically toggling the feature of placing the keys on sustain all the time until the pedal's stepped-on; a complete inverse of its very original purpose.

And the only way to solve this issue is to plug the pedal while the instrument was off, instead!

What's even worse with this discovery is that, unless it's absolutely broken, the feature's never an issue at all!

To this end, it completely negates this particular digital-piano pedal of ever having to have a polarity switch from the very beginning; the manner on HOW to apply the electrical input IS the switch itself.

Which made adding the switch a form of luxury.

Needless to say, I got spoiled for years having known and worked with such technology.

You know what this reminds me of? Driving a car with either manual or automatic transmission!

On one hand, it's as if I've been driving automatic without ever having learned manual.

On the other hand, similar to growing-up, it's what I was accustomed to know that did it; for basically it's just simply being ignorant. 

And, of course obviously, ignorance is such a bliss!

The more your know, yeah?

. . .

--GT

At short notice, I chanced upon going on a 45-minute highway drive out of town towards Gimli, Manitoba after being picked-up by Ron, along with a new acquaintance in tow; Carl brought with him his guitar with the hopes of being able to busk alongside the boardwalk off Gimli beach.

By some luck Ron came-across a busker with his own set of gears. Almost immediately he requested that the three of us do a couple of songs while he's resting. Though he plays guitar, the busker was more than welcoming to lend us his stowed-away keyboard; he sets us up instantly for our tiny set.

We played three short songs. On the third one I immediately stopped and gave way just for Carl for him to sing and play this out; this upon quickly hearing the first opening bars of 'Blackbird'.

All throughout the short set it would've been smooth-sailing for me, if it weren't for the reverse sustain pedal setup, and that ALWAYS mess me up, without fail; it kinda bummed me out completely.

It didn't even help at all that the pedal doesn't have a polarity switch; it's one of those reeeeeeally-old sustain pedal manufactured eons ago that may either not have been working properly nowadays, or it's just plain incompatible; whatever the reason or case may be I shouldn't have been bothered at all by it, but being a sustain-pedal nut all my piano-playing life, it bothered the SHIT out of me by miles to be able to use it in complete ridiculous opposite of how it's supposed to function.

It would've been the first time in a very, very long time for me to have busked, and I almost don't mind the surprise at all. It was just soooooooo frustrating for me to have done so in that way. Nevertheless, my playing at the time's been mediocre at best, and self-draining at worst; all because of a small gadget's ill of use.

I'll be hiding in music retirement yet again.  It's for the best.

--GT

I was invited to watch someone else's gig last night, an old friend and former bandmate whose time in the bistro spotlight now's very much well-deserved.

She was supposed to be our very first female vocalist a decade ago when our band was just about to form, until another old friend took over and became our tenured singer 'til the very end. Responsibilities and priorities, you know, those two qualities.

Took me awhile to realize now the value of choosing the right thing for those qualities to be of much benefit for you. Especially nowadays.

Age didn't seem to have helped on my side, either. Nearing my late-forties I looked back at the time I was hauling my keyboard bag on one shoulder over bus transfers while every else lug their stuff in their cars, and I was very much hopeful of so much stuff back in my thirties, just when I still had both strength and time to pick myself up in gigs without needing any much help from anyone; because, you know, that's the kind of guy I was and I still am!

It's not without some ample fortune thrown on the side, you know, I'm right now in desperate need of some cash for my own folks and I've just thrown-away fifty-dollars for local community bistro-food that I've half-enjoyed myself last night; less than half of that fortune's spent on just two cans of beer and I wasn't even satisfyingly drunk. I would've gone to another bar instead soonafter and chugged two pints of beer for less than twenty and that would've made my day even better, but no.

Instead I picked up my stuff, paid my tab, and walked away. I would've stayed longer to congratulate my old friend for her stunning two-set performance and even mingled with a couple more other familiar faces and a former bandmate amongst the sold-out crowd, but that would probably only depress me for the most part.

I can tell you this, though; her now-ever present exposure amongst the local Filipino-Canadian Winnipeg music-scene's very much needed and quite ever present, now more than ever. Her much-needed, much-deserved break's just about right on par with perhaps hundreds-of-so other Filipino musicians here, both young and old, that are just as hungry for recognition and attention amongst the general public. I sure do hope they would also find, just as equally, the money they would so direly need to continue further, because THAT's the one ugly thing I have mostly never gotten from my sordid music venture.

It's so nice to have a day-job to fall back on; your bills and its accumulating amount does not help your household predicament either. Now more than ever your soul would probably forgo the need for capital, but sadly your body does.

My old folks and even friends told me years ago to 'Spend, spend, spend; you're not gonna be able to take all your money to your grave, you know?'

Looking back I realized now that people who say such things just want MY money!

Well THEY'RE not gonna get a SINGLE cent from me, ever!

--GT

So for the first time in a long time, I get to play impromptu live piano again on a small stage at a bistro, unknowingly over a birthday bash.

Didn't even know until I went in, thinking I was just there to simply hang-out and see new friends and other musicians play. Never thought I'd get pulled-in for an almost full-set; I was exhausted right away!

I may still have it, but I don't think I'll ever gonna have the FULL of 'it' again, not in my current shape.

I'm now ten pounds heavier and five-years tuneless with impromptu music-making, the likes of which would match a mini-karaoke machine, when it comes to coughing-up classic Filipino tunes and Western Top 40 hits. (Think 'Casey Kasem' Top 40 hits, coupled with Filipino music from the 70's to 90's)

Was able to only come-up with around ten songs last night off-the-bat, and it may have gotten worse when things picked-up late-night with half-arsed piano performances for last-minute stage-singers.

What's worse was I got shoulder-jabs from this one singer who may have thought I still have had 100 songs in memory, after five years of not having played anywhere in public at all, and was egging-me on remembering those. (Which I do enjoy, to this day, don't get me wrong; I'd mostly rather listen to 'em than play 'em on the keys) That's how really bad in shape I was. I asked if he wants something else that I'd most likely know and he said, 'Surprise me, man!' So I tried one song off the top of my head and it may have shown his age because his face has gotten red right away. I was just laughing my arse off from inside.

Still, I kinda made it to the end, or at least until mine when I stepped-down from it entirely, all that without a single cheat-sheet from the phone or from anywhere for an hour; it's old-school Johnny Mnemonic hat-tricks for me, baby, and I was as tired as a set of Formula One qualifying rubber.

As soon as I got home, I feel fantastic! 

Uggggh, the things you do to punish yourself. 

For free! 

--GT

I don't think I've ever prepared supper THAT quick before in months; that's how hungry I was, I guess.

And the best part is, it's Friday evening!

They say 'you are what you eat'? I'll tell you some ingredients I used: chopped thin bacon strips, small chopped breakfast sausages, lots of chopped onion, lots of chopped garlic, a dash of canola oil, and stalks of chopped bok-choy; and then, man, how I Chiu-Chowed the hell out of the frying pan! Sesame seed and black-bean sauce for a flavourful measure. No need for salt and pepper, baby, that whole pan's gonna get LIT, both inside and out!

THEN, I cracked and whisked three eggs with a dash of milk in a small bowl, salted it a bit, and BLAM! how I threw that in the pan evenly in a circular motion, enough to make a scrambled-egg creeping IN and AROUND the fiery dish.

Oh, did I also mentioned I steamed three-cups of rice on the side in a rice-cooker as well, (no salt or butter added, because, man, who does that? Plain rice is already as good as it gets; get creative only when you're about to fry 'em the day later!) And on top of the cooker, a steamer-basketful of more Bok Choy?

All this'd be good for one day more or so, because I don't eat that much in one sitting. I get full easily. Been so, for years. I dunno why.

Maybe it's because of genetics. --GT

Well, what would you want me to say, have a go at this thing as often as either early morning, or at the end of the day? To strengthen the mind, shall we say; or more often to remind me that Doogie Howser M.D. always ends an episode with this, back in 'dem days? Would this perhaps catch the attention of people more than my comics? I doubt if this would ever make any difference, so much as to make my wheels-in-the-bus go round-and-round senselessly in English. Would you read this shit in Filipino? I won't even think so unless you know the language, so it's very much a given for anyone for me to have the common courtesy of making a bilingual Filipino-English comic-strip on the internets from Canada because I don't know French. Or perhaps it would say something blatantly of me even if I do, for choosing Filipino as my primary comic-strip language, right before English. 

I think, therefore I write, just like you and me, so there. Besides, it's seemingly much, much safer than saying it.

I'd wonder now if Charles Schulz had anything like this at all throughout his career, especially during his earlier years; the closest I could think of would be him replying to letters. On how he published his thoughts apart from his comic-strips simultaneously at the time, I have no idea. So for anyone who reads Bodjie Komiks via the interwebs through this official website, congratulations then for discovering this part of the show. It would perhaps let you know that at the very least, the cartoonist Gilbert has an online soul, let alone atrocious grammar for anyone to correct, which I welcome with open arms.

On the other hand it's a great-awesome excuse for him to use his often-dusty keyboard seriously, apart from mostly using it for Facebook.  --GT