Friday, July 23, 2004

making of Til I Reach Your House

Just finished putting up new lyrics for Garnet Crow's debut song "Kimi no Uchi..." on Garnet Sea.

So far, this has been the hardest song to put in lyrics for. At many points, my brain was near explosion point about what word to put in next! At the monotonic parts of the refrain, I had to break down each note and try to match the accented notes with stressed syllables. That took a while. But it was all worth it. I'm glad I could keep the "pizza" part. That makes the song. Finally, I've worked on a GC debut single! I will keep on trying and trying til I get bored with this project. That's the plan.


Sunday, July 18, 2004

Go Pistons!

Congrats to the Pistons for grabbing the Best Upset and Best Team ESPY awards, as well as to Larry Brown for Best Coach. They truly and fully deserve the recognition.

PS The Lakers must've been the most joked about subject tonight, hands down. What a way to end a season. For both teams. Can't wait for next season!

Friday, July 16, 2004

Taking out wisdom teeth

Had four of them pulled out a couple weeks ago. The first time I went to the dentist, the operation couldn't start right away. Why? They had to take an X-ray of my teeth first. From the way the X-ray machine moved, it felt like a surveillance camera that spanned across my face. All while wearing a leaden vest, holding onto handles and biting a tube. Like driving a submarine. No problems there.

The second time I went to the dentist's, there were people waiting. Little kids were running around, because this clinic worked on kids as well. If you stood against one of the doors, you could measure your height. Two little boys were wrestling for the spot. The shorter one said, "My dad is higher, higher!" while signalling with his hand. The taller kid responded, "My uncle is taller than this door." They then clambered onto the plastic playhouses. Over and over again, they jumped down from the top and yelled like little Tarzans.

Also, I could clearly hear cries of "No no, please don't hurt me!" from a kid inside. Dad and I exchanged glances. Then we tried to concentrate on our reading.

When it was time for me to go, I settled into the chair. Tense classical music was playing in the background. The dentist then put shots into my gums and tongue. One side anesthesized. My heart was beating really fast at this time. Turns out that was the only scary part.

After 20 minutes, the dentist returned and said, "Now I'm gonnna push against your teeth to test it out. Tell me if it hurts." When I said no, he gave another shove. Then he said, "It's done. Tooth's out." Just like that.

That was the top right tooth. For the bottom one, it took longer because he had to drill my tooth open before he could take it out. Not as bad as it sounds. He explained beforehand that other dentists cut open the area surrounding the tooth before pulling it out. This makes the dentist's job easier. But the patient will be sore for 3 weeks. This method--takes longer for him, but most of the pain will be gone after 3 days. So I'll take this method any day.

The other side was pretty much the same. Except the dentist started working away immediately after anesthesizing my gums. And it took a little longer to get the bottom tooth out. By the time we finished, classical instrumental versions of "Imagine" and "What a wonderful world" were playing in the background.

I still have the top two teeth with me. The ones that aren't hacked. I wrote on a paper towel thanking the dentist and nurse. The nurse replied, "You're very kind to say that." The dentist said, "Oh, thank the Lord." Very true.