Ziggy's Friday Forethought 4: Blessings, NOT Burdens.

*photo courtesy of my Myspace page*


Two things I've discovered about myself in the past few months:

-I loathe complainers

-People without plans annoy me

These two things have always been something that bothered me, but as I'm kicking my life/career into 5th gear, my tolerance for nonsense is critically low. People who complain really work my nerves, and it's worse when people complain but do nothing to change what they're complaining about. I used to have a friends like this, but after many advice seeking conversations with me, they've discovered that Ziggy doesn't host pity parties. Ever. I'm not the kind of person to dwell on things that I can't change; I go into action and do whatever it takes to make sure there are no repeats.

Not having a general plan--you know, the "where do you see yourself in 5 years" theory--is something that only bothers me because I like to be around people who have goals and means of achieving them. I understand that sometimes there are lots of things that may form restraints, hindering you of reaching your goal...but if you don't have a goal, you have a serious problem. My two pet peeves coincide because when some people aren't happy about where they are in life, they complain rather than taking action. BOOOOOOOO. Whining about something doesn't change it for the better, it causes you to go further into the situation and analyze every aspect with "what ifs". I know for a fact that I have millions of things to complain about, but I don't want to block my blessings, so I thank God for the lesson and keep it moving, no matter how much it may hurt.

"Blessings, NOT Burdens". My personal mantra, if you will. If you are a person who is preoccupied with bitching and moaning about something that happened 4 months ago, you have no idea of the things that are passing you by. Opportunity knocks all the time, but every once in a while we lack the focus to answer. I used to be a complainer, someone who just dwelled on every little thing for entirely too long. I've since learned that I have so many things to be thankful for, and I know that more are on the way. Burdens are just a temporary obstacle to test our strength/faith/stability, and by complaining, you're letting the obstacle win. Regain your composure, dust yourself off and go back at it. Make friends with your same mindframe; being around people who will push you not only feels good, but it also brings better results than hanging with your Pity Party Crew.

Be blessed, and enjoy your weekend!

(dueces.)

Letting You In.

When I sat down to blog, the first thing I was thinking of typing was another rendition of that Facebook virus "25 Random Things About Me". But, no; I decided to be an onion and shed another layer for my readers*. Give you guys a deeper look into the encryptic mass that is my mind. It's a trip sometimes; having my inner most thoughts on a daily basis could cripple some people, but Someone thought it necessary to instill them in me. So, that mini epiphany aside, I'm going to talk about something I love more than anything. Ha! I said, something, so surprise...I won't be including another blogisode in the "I Love This Man: Scuba Steve" files with this post.

I'm talking about Audio Engineering.

It's my passion, literally. Engineering sound is something that I've loved for a long time; not as long as I've loved music but it's a pretty close second. And I don't just mean faders and pans, I'm talking signal flow--EQs, phantom power high/low cuts...all the in-betweens. Even went to school for it, and now it's something I'm slowly starting to make moves in. Today, I realized that I have my goals in order; I consider it an accomplishment because not only is each goal detailed, but I am doing the things to make my goals attainable. To put it plainly: I'm feeling pretty damn good about the way wheels are beginning to turn. There was a time where I was often pessimistic about a lot of things, but constant trips to rock bottom have finally served a purpose, and now I'm actually seeing a silver lining. Plus, I also started noticing that my negative thoughts had a habit of coming to fruition, so I learned quickly to not speak every thing into existance.

Long and short? I'd love to be the Chief Engineer/Mixer of a recording studio. Behind the scenes is definitely where it's at for me; the idea of being the person to make your music really sound like something makes me drunk with power. Honestly, I love the fact that it really is a science to sound, and a certain technique that should be mastered when it comes to the art of Mixing. I'm not talking about mixing like your favorite DJ, I mean automating the horns to crescendo when the chorus drops in; or tweaking a gate on kick drum to give it that sound like the pedal is made of feathers when it strikes the head. Or, better yet; what kinds of microphones require phantom power to fully function? What's the difference between a monitor fader and an input fader? I know. And it's because I love knowing that I figure the best way to make money is to be the best in what I love best.

My brother is a person who has somewhat the same desire as me, so we've put our brains together and created a production company. I won't be crazy and reveal every tiny detail, but I will say we have a team. We're basically a family of drummers, writers, dancers, actors, tag artists, emcees...we've got a team. Please note: this is not some lame attempt to "feel myself" in any matter. Arrogance is a quality I tend to have zero tolerance for, and hypocrisy is another that gets under my skin. I wish not to combine the two, but I am happy to have certain people in my life because I know they're here for a reason. Sliding back to the matter at hand, I would like to mention that the first track that you hear when stopping by my blog is actually a track that we've made. We go by the name of BlackMuzik, and if this post wasn't long enough already, I'd include a backstory on how we got the name. Next post, I promise. Anyways, we have a Myspace page up, and if you ask us, it's doing fairly well.

http://www.myspace.com/blackmuzikpro

That's just in case you didn't see the link in the above paragraph. We're always looking for new friends to share our music with, so if you've got a Myspace page somewhere in your social networking rolodex, add us to your list of cool friends.

All in all, I'm loving the direction I'm going in. It was a tricky start, but I'm glad to get the ball rolling in some shape or fashion. Maybe I'll have another post about this in the near future, but with even better news.

Thanks for reading; I know this was long, but you learned something else about me. How cool is that?!

(deuces.)

*Just wanted to say a quick Welcome to new readers. Having readers makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Thanks again, all of you are awesome...and your blogs rock!

missed calling?

No matter how hard I try, I can't escape the kids.

The few jobs that I've had, with the exception of one, centers around children/teenagers. Did I miss the memo?

Brief background: I've been performing since the age of 6, with a company called Children of Liberation. After that, we started getting grants through John Hopkins and the city, and later our name became Nu World Art Ensemble. I've been doing mentorship programs through Nu World since the age of 13. As of today, I've worked at an elementary/middle school, a high school, and have done more than 100 mentoring programs through Nu World. The only job I've had (ever) that didn't involve children was working at Comcast...which I hated with a passion.

So now, I'm working at a library, which is something I've always wanted to do. Call it the geek in me. I'm approached by this man, one of our regular customers, and he'd like me to work with him writing a grant for--you guessed it--a youth program. I'm blessed that dude felt like he could approach me about it, lets me know that I'll always have a connection with those younger than me, no matter how old I get.

Check it though; my passion is music.

Don't get me wrong, I love working with children; love the fact that people younger than me (and some older) see me as a role model. But it seems as if the harder I work and grind toward my career goal, the closer I get pushed into something involving kids! I recently got offered another position at the library, a job I just started; as Head of the Teen Advisory Board. Bam. There it is again.

Did I miss my calling? Or am I simply avoiding it? Just something I've been wondering about lately.

But I can't leave the music alone! At all! Just can't do it; it's in my blood. So, maybe I'm going to be that person to use my music and still connect with the youth.

Or...maybe I'm that person that's supposed to mold the minds of this already lost generation. Young people's minds are so impressionable today, well they've always been, really; and according to most people I get rave reviews in helping children find themselves with no limitations.

Is the rebel with a cause supposed to bring up other rebels? And if I am, can I at least do it "subliminally" through my music?