"Time is on my side..."

If there's one thing I loathe, it's when people say "I have no time". I hate myself when I say it too!

There's always enough time. It's a shame we don't utilise it properly. I'm no genius either. When I was a kid, I used to be so punctual with everything. If I said I would be home at 9.15pm, the doorbell would ring at exactly 9.15pm. I never used a watch when I was a kid. My mental clock was brilliant enough. Punctuality meant so much to me... it still does. It's a shame my mental clock and whatever else it is that's keeping me from being punctual won't get their act together.

I've been to work on time only a handful of times over the last year. Nobody minds because I always stay back late. I'm late for class. I'm late for pretty much every bloody thing. I've never missed an assignment deadline or been late for an exam though, but I'm late with my preparation and always leave things for the last minute.

I guess that's the problem. When I wake up in the morning for work, I have plenty of time to get to work on time... but I always get my mind fixated on the absolute last possible second that I need to leave home to make it to work at 9am sharp. I seem to forget that there are other variables... CityRail being the biggest one. No matter how much I try, I can't get myself to leave earlier than the latest possible time... or in project management terms, latest start time! Sometimes I convince myself so much that I have a lot of time to spare in the morning, that I end up using more of it than I can afford and end up leaving late. No, CityRail is not always at fault.

Maybe it's because of my time as a kid when I always reached wherever I needed to be exactly on time that's affecting me now. No matter how often I'm late, I never believe that I can't make it on time the next day.

Maybe I need to look at the earliest start time. Perhaps that would solve my little problem. I've been thinking about this for quite a few years now and even though I've come up with temporary solutions, I've never been able to put my finger on the cause of the problem... until now :) Who would have thought this post would help me relate "earliest start time" and "latest start time" to my punctuality issue.

Lateralus

"Black then white are all i see in my infancy. Red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me. Lets me see there is so much more and beckons me to look through to these infinite possibilities. As below, so above and beyond, I imagine drawn outside the lines of reason. Push the envelope. Watch it bend. Over thinking, over analysing separates the body from the mind. Withering my intuition leaving opportunities behind. Feed my will to feel this moment urging me to cross the line. Reaching out to embrace the random. Reaching out to embrace whatever may come."

"I embrace my desire to feel the rhythm, to feel connected enough to step aside and weep like a widow to feel inspired to fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral to swing on the spiral to swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be a human. With my feet upon the ground I move myself between the sounds and open wide to suck it in. I feel it move across my skin. I'm reaching up and reaching out. I'm reaching for the random or whatever will bewilder me. Whatever will bewilder me. And following our will and wind we may just go where no one's been. We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been. Spiral out. Keep going."

Introducing Maynard James Keenan, the most intelligent musician this world has ever known. He's the vocalist of Tool, a mesmerising band. If the lyrics above (taken from the song "Lateralus") don't capture your mind, a nuclear war won't phase you.

"Over thinking, over analysing" - how often do we do that. How often do I do that! Although I must admit, I don't do that as often as I used to... this song has had such an impact on my life. I first came across it about 5 years ago and it absolutely stunned me. It would need an entire day to go through the substance in it. Even the way Maynard sings it is surreal. I haven't included the lyrics of the entire song in this post... but the first few lines of this song are sung using the sequence of the Fibonacci series.

I think I'm going to listen to this song 10-20 times tonight and wake up in the morning relishing the promise that the morning brings.

Music - Motorheadache

The 5th of October... it will remain an epic memory for eternity!
Motörhead is their name... rock 'n roll is their game. Motörhead is a 3-piece band, which has been around for over 30 years. They're in their 60s now, but if you saw them perform on stage, you'd think they were in their early 40s. So there I was at the Enmore on the night of the 5th, overjoyed with the fact that I had a ticket to experience one of my favourite bands of all time in concert... they're GODS to metal and rock fans. When I got there, the ushers let me into the front section! Apparently I had a really good ticket and didn't know that I did (as the ticket only had General Admission written on it). I guess that's what $130 can get you. 2 bands played before the GODS and they were pretty good. Motörhead were incredible. Words cannot describe the performance... and to think I was in the first couple of rows for the entire gig. That's the stuff dreams are made of, wouldn't you agree? :)

Music has played a vital role all my life. Over the last 15 years or so, there haven't been many things I would value more than music. When I spoke to a few friends after the Motörhead concert, I remember saying something along the lines of "I've experienced enough happiness in my life now to take me through eternity." It's no surprise that Amnesty International uses music as a therapeutic aid. No matter how you feel, there's a song to fit the mood... to make you feel better or worse, depending on your preference.

Since I've come to this country, I've been privileged enough to experience my favourite bands in concert... Pearl Jam, Tool, Slayer and now Motorhead. There have been others too like the Kings of Leon and Mastodon. I've also been to a couple of other small gigs... But the first four were right up there on my list of things to do before I die. There are just three bands left... Metallica, Iron Maiden and Opeth. I already have my Iron Maiden ticket for February 2008 :D

Music has such an influence on everything I do... every assignment I work on... and what I do at work. I have my music going all day at work and when I'm working on my assignments and quite often when I'm studying as well. When I can't find motivation, I find it in music. I can't even imagine what this world would be like without it... what would the tv shows and movies be without themes and soundtracks? How boring! It really disappoints me when I meet people who don't care too much about music... who don't have a favourite genre or band or anything of the sort. How boring.

My Life - Destiny (Part 2)

It's been such a crazy week. It started with the online test for Project Management Competencies (Operational) and then we had the workshop. It was quite hectic to say the least.

Not much to add this week... can't believe I have the strength to do this right now! But an interesting thought crossed my mind moments ago following on from what I touched last week... destiny.

The day I stopped worrying about my life as much as I used to in the past was the day when I stopped trying to figure out what the future had in store for me. What's the point? It would just make me feel terrible today. So, I just do what I have to do to survive and stop trying to make sense of everything. God hasn't made us smart enough to find the answer to our existence.

"The only thing to be scared of is tomorrow. I don't live for tomorrow. Never saw the fun in it."-Denny Crane (Boston Legal)