Author: Frank

Music…

Knowing Me, Knowing You

Arrival

ABBA

and Words

No more carefree laughter
Silence ever after

Walking through an empty house
Tears in my eyes
Here is where the story ends
This is goodbye

Knowing me, knowing you (ah-ha)
There is nothing we can do
Knowing me, knowing you (ah-ha)
We just have to face it this time (this time, this time)
We′re through (this time, this time we’re really through)

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

My family left Puerto Rico in 1978; we moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  We spent the two summers after that move in Toronto, Canada, and Hong Kong, respectively.  As my sisters and I learned a new language, we did much of this through music.  As my mom shopped in Chinese mini-grocery stores, my older sister got the occasional record of popular music.  Each vinyl disc contained a collection of songs from a particular year, like 1977.

Though in some ways, the joke was on us.  These were definitely popular songs from that year.  However, the songs were not performed by the original artists; instead, they were covered by Chinese artists and repackaged.  A typical record like this would contain covers by artists such as the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt.  In fact, for many years I didn’t know that the first version of Hotel California wasn’t the original.

Continue reading “The sweet voices of my childhood” →

Music…

Stairway to Heaven

Led Zeppelin IV

Led Zeppelin

and Words

There′s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold
And she′s buying a stairway to Heaven

When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for

Ooh, ooh, and she’s buying a stairway to Heaven

There’s a sign on the wall, but she wants to be sure
′Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings

In a tree by the brook, there′s a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

I arrived in Florida from Puerto Rico in the summer of 1978.  When I first arrived, I spoke mostly Cantonese and Spanish.  I studied English in Catholic school, but I failed that class.  Upon arriving in Florida, I started learning English for real.  In fact, I learned English through listening to music.  I spent many hours listening to the radio on stations such as Y-100.  It was in that way that I discovered bands like Led Zeppelin.

The prototypical Led Zeppelin song that dominated the airwaves is “Stairway to Heaven”.  Naturally, the radio played many of their other songs, but “Stairway to Heaven” was by far their most distinctive.  Yes, I found the song interesting, but many songs were interesting.  The 80s filled my ears full of many distinctive sounds and experiences.  You know how the adage goes, “You’re unique, just like everyone else.”

Continue reading “Epitome of debates in my school library” →

Music…

Wait for Sleep

Images and Words

Dream Theater

and Words

Standing by the window
Eyes upon the moon
Hoping that the memory
Will leave her spirit soon
She shuts the doors and lights

And lays her body on the bed
Where images and words are running deep
She has too much pride to pull
The sheets above her head
So quietly she lays and waits for sleep

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

Nearly two decades ago, I called Peg at home on a weekend day.  We exchanged polite greetings, but I immediately asked her to put her husband on the phone as well.  Once they were both on the phone together, I asked them a question.  No, I asked them that question.  I told them that I had honorable intentions toward their daughter and that I was going to propose.  I wanted their blessing.

Years ago, I watched a scene from the movie Fiddler on the Roof with Paul Michael Glaser.  I noted a very clever conversation where he informs a father about his intent to marry his daughter.  However, he does not ask for permission to marry his daughter; instead, he asks for his blessing.  I learned a lesson from that scene and asked for their blessing, not their permission.

Continue reading “Quietly she waits for sleep” →

Music…

Symphony (feat. Zara Larsson)

What Is Love? (Deluxe)

Clean Bandit

and Words

I’ve been hearin’ symphonies
Before, all I heard was silence
A rhapsody for you and me
And every melody is timeless
Life was stringin’ me along
Then you came and you cut me loose
Was solo, singin’ on my own
Now I can’t find the key without you

And now your song is on repeat
And I’m dancin’ on to your heartbeat
And when you’re gone, I feel incomplete
So if you want the truth

Lyric excerpts from Genius.com.

I started at my current company in 2020; I continued to work remotely for the better part of 2021.  We proceeded with caution due to the pandemic and gradually reopened the world.  This included our policy to work from home.  However, we grew faster than we could logistically maintain.  We suddenly had more employees than we had desks.  This meant that even if I wanted to come into work in person, I couldn’t (without reserving a hotel desk).  I had far better monitors at home, so I preferred to work remotely.  Therefore, this didn’t impact me.

Eventually, my manager went out of her way to arrange a permanent desk for me with similar equipment.  However, that permanent desk came with strings attached.  Since desks were a limited resource, we were expected to come into the office two to three days per week.  Honestly, I had very few complaints about working from the office.  My wife commutes to Seattle four days per week and meets me in the afternoons near the office, so it worked out well.

Continue reading “A subtle loss from a mere change of scenery” →

Music…

Running Up That Hill

Hounds of Love

Kate Bush

and Words

It doesn′t hurt me (yeah-yeah, yo)
Do you wanna feel how it feels? (Yeah-yeah, yo)
Do you wanna know, know that it doesn’t hurt me?
Do you wanna hear about the deal that I′m making? (Yeah-yeah, yo)

You
It’s you and me

And if I only could
I’d make a deal with God
And I′d get him to swap our places
Be running up that road
Be running up that hill
Be running up that building
See, if I only could, oh

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

An enclosed courtyard sat on one side of our high school, opposite the main entrance.  They strategically placed it near the cafeteria and the snack bar.  Concrete tables covered the courtyard in my high school, circa 1980s.  Upon breaking for lunch, students congregated on these tables.  These tables became islands in an archipelago.  Each table hosted its own collection of people and thus its own culture, or cliques.

I met friends at one such table.  Most arrive early to maximize our time, minutes after the bell rings.  We examine pieces of paper with notes and numbers meticulously scribed.  We also had colored polyhedra with numbers scribed on each face.  We chat quickly to assess where we left off and embark on our adventure.

Continue reading “Living in the shadows” →

Music…

Brain Damage

The Dark Side of the Moon

Pink Floyd

and Words

The lunatic is on the grass
The lunatic is on the grass
Remembering games and daisy chains and laughs
Got to keep the loonies on the path

The lunatic is in the hall
The lunatics are in my hall
The paper holds their folded faces to the floor
And every day the paper boy brings more

And if the dam breaks open many years too soon
If there is no room upon the hill
And if your head explodes with dark forebodings too
I′ll see you on the dark side of the moon

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

I remember a toy rocket I had as a child.  It was molded plastic with stark red and white parts.  This toy resembled a rocket from the space program.  If I were to speculate, it was a replica of Apollo 11.  The red and white parts represented each stage that separated as the rocket progressed towards the moon.  I distinctly remember playing with this rocket in the dining room of my dad’s restaurant.

Along with the toy, I also had a book that demonstrated the separation between the stages and the boosters.  I don’t remember if it came with the toy or not; it might’ve been a separate coloring book.  However, the space program fascinated me, as it did most boys my age (and in that era).  In the back of my mind, I yearned to be an astronaut.

Continue reading “I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon” →

Music…

Eye in the Sky

Eye in the Sky

The Alan Parsons Project

and Words

Don′t think sorry’s easily said

Don′t try, turnin’ tables instead
You’ve taken lots of chances before
But I ain′t gonna give anymore

Don′t ask me
That’s how it goes
′Cause part of me knows what you’re thinkin′

Don’t say words you′re gonna regret

Don’t let the fire rush to your head
I’ve heard the accusation before
And I ain′t gonna take any more

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

I discovered a considerable amount of music during high school.  In many ways, this time in my life was magical.  The radio became a way to listen to music for free.  For the low, one-time cost of a transistor radio, we got unlimited music, and new music at that.  My musical taste centers mostly around hard rock.  In many ways, my journey first started with Def Leppard.  My fascination easily extended to other hard rock bands.

Of course, there were exceptions.  An occasional soft-rock song piqued my interest.  As I entered high school, The Alan Parsons Project’s ‘Eye in the Sky’ dominated the airwaves.  Initially, it didn’t receive my attention, but eventually it won me over.  Many songs play soft-toned music.  The human voices sounded more like dialogue than lyrics.  However, it contained something intriguing.

Continue reading “Casting doubt and the ability to question” →

Music…

Cruel Summer

Bananarama

Bananarama

and Words

Hot summer streets and the pavements are burning
I sit around
Trying to smile but the air is so heavy and dry
Strange voices are sayin′ (what did they say?)
Things I can’t understand
It′s too close for comfort, this heat has got right out of hand

It’s a cruel, (cruel) cruel summer
Leavin’ me here on my own
It′s a cruel, (it′s a cruel) cruel summer
Now you’re gone

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

My sisters and I spent the summer of 1984 watching a movie several times.  They released The Karate Kid in the middle of that summer.  There was a movie theater that showed midnight movies about five miles from our house on Oakland Park Boulevard and 441.  While it was summer, getting out of the movie theater at close to 2 am was fairly common for us.  We were a collection of night owls.

I don’t remember precisely why we continued to pick that particular showing.  We held restaurant jobs where we often worked until 9 pm; that may have been one reason.  It might’ve been the discounted ticket prices at midnight, though I honestly don’t remember how much they were.  I nostalgically remember watching that movie several times in the theater.

Continue reading “A heartfelt story and the summer of 1984” →

Music…

Every Breath You Take

Synchronicity

The Police

and Words

Every breath you take
And every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I′ll be watching you

Every single day
And every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay
I’ll be watching you

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

As I grew up in the 1980s, I discovered music through the radio and MTV.  Most music overlapped between radio and video, like a large common area on a Venn diagram.  The Police’s ‘Every Breath You Take’ got significant radio play, but it was endlessly played on MTV.  The video was definitely released in the 80s, since it was shot at a 4:3 aspect ratio.  In fact, they had two subtly different versions of that video.  They filmed the video in black and white but released versions with subtle green and blue tints.  They called them the “blue version” and “green version”.

A few years ago, this song came over the speakers.  I remember the discussion around the song distinctly.  It occurred among teammates with music playing in the open, so I speculate it transpired during a morale event.  I spent way too much of my time in my teens listening to music and can recognize most songs within seconds.  Keep in mind, this song was exceptionally popular in the 1980s, and many recognized it immediately.

Continue reading “My Stalker” →

Music…

Friday

Friday

Rebecca Black

and Words

Oo-ooh-ooh, hoo yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Yeah-ah-ah
Yeah-ah-ah
Yeah-ah-ah
Yeah-ah-ah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Seven a.m., waking up in the morning
Gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs
Gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal
Seein′ everything, the time is goin’
Tickin′ on and on, everybody’s rushin’
Gotta get down to the bus stop
Gotta catch my bus, I see my friends (My friends)

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

On Fridays, I normally work from home; on this day, my routine is subtly different.  I indulge in a little more sleep since I don’t need to commute.  First, I select a Hawaiian shirt from my closet.  We established a fun tradition; we post selfies wearing Hawaiian shirts online each Friday.  I subsequently take a selfie with sunglasses, edit the photo to add a tropical background, and post it online.

Second, I try to publish blog posts on Fridays.  I aspire to have the blog post finished and ready to publish on Thursday evenings.  On some Fridays, I put the finishing touches that day and publish.  In rare instances, I don’t publish until Saturday.  I maintain the weekly pace of publishing blog posts.  That said, I alternate between two blogs; this is one of them.

Continue reading “Do you know what day it is?” →