Postpone

No posts in 3 weeks... Oh dear. Am I dead? I don't feel so. Maybe I'm just unconscious or something? Nah. It must be the same ol' same ol' - busy when motivated and lazy when there's time. I'm here now, though... :)

How's life treating me? Well, the first exam week is gone now and we've already gotten our exams back some days ago. For me, it was the strangest chain of events ever. I couldn't really tell if any of the individual exams went particularly well or bad beforehand - I mean, I did have some sort of an impression of each, but seeing how badly I was wrong with all of them in the end, I'll rather not share whatever it was that I had in mind. The lowest score I got was from history, which in the same time is also the lowest score I've ever gotten from any exam - 6½, describing a slightly below average score in our 4-10 grade system. Sweet, eh? I wasn't expecting a 10 out of it by no means, but I surely wasn't expecting something so low. The level of my disappointment wasn't overly big, nevertheless, because history has never been at the top of my list in the subjects that fascinate me nor in the subjects that I succeed in the best. Anyways, next up was Maths, which was more than a positive surprise - the one & only subject I had REALLY been struggling with yielded me a 9+, which was also the best score of our entire 1B class, apparently. At this point all the slightest disappointment went away concerning history, and I have to admit that I am going to re-consider my definite no-no towards writing Maths in my baccalaureate. I might do well in it anyway... The remaining two exams were from Swedish and English, with yet another positive and negative surprise included. From Swedish I got a 10-, even though it seemed to me like the teacher had messed up the checking or something due to my many mistakes. Not complaining, however, because I did work hard for that exam in particular. From English I got my second 9+, which in contrary to the Swedish exam was a pretty low grade in my opinion while compared to the amount of mistakes I committed. It serves as a good enough base for my future courses though, and that's the important thing.

The second sixth of year one has begun now and I got to tell you, it's quite a relief after all the stress with the first one. We're now on our second course of history as well as starting our first high school course in society studies. Psychology is really a treat for me, and I'm enjoying it a lot. Other subjects include Finnish, health studies, biology, German and French. The latter four I only got 3 hours a week, while Finnish frustrates me five times a week. Our new teacher in Finnish is not one of my favorites I have to say, and I'd really just like to write during the lessons and not necessarily talk about/study some of the stuff we do. I'm trying my best to remain positive about it, of course, regardless of things not going the way I was thinking. Like I said, all in all this is a much more relaxed sixth than the previous.

Then to some less school-orientated topics. :P My debut album - yes I dare to call it that - is progressing strong and maybe even a bit quicker than I had anticipated. During this week only I've practically started and finished a brand new song called Baptism of Fire, which is however traditionally-structured and a rather short song in my books. Various other new and old ideas have also been developed during this time, as always. A fresh list of working titles and their lengths is up on the AS forums now if you want to take a closer look, which despite the lack of Baptism of Fire is as up-to-date as it gets. Concerning Shyoul, we're preparing to record our first song which is now fully written and composed. I plan to lay my drum and bass tracks on it during my next vacation, which is 9 days long and will take place in 2 weeks.

To keep it short, that's pretty much all I have. I've kept playing some hockey manager games for pastime as well as kept watching Ketonen & Myllyrinne and Chuck every now and then, but being productive music- and school-wise is still my thing, as you all know. Many bands have been floating in and out of my ears, but most notably I've been influenced by a Finnish rapcore group called Jacks of All Trades, with Project 86 and Demon Hunter fulfilling the mix on their part. I also gave Darwin's Waiting Room a chance just after my last post, but didn't find them particularly appealing apart from 2 standout songs on their album Orphan.

Before I let you go, I'm showing you the lyrics for Baptism of Fire. Enjoy (and reflect on):

FLUSH MY HEART AWAY!

Crawling on the floor of a station restroom

(Fall is it? Own me, push me and loathe me

Crooning, “I am me”, keeping the truth leashed

Staying untamed so tomorrow can drive me slow)

Lakes they’re turning into mountain vales

(Ruthlessly standing by what I trample

Aiming my vengeance at everyone else

when all the banishment should be laid like mud on me)

[Chorus]:

Hunting demons down the lane of death

Narcissism is programmed into my brain

Wherever I call for a sincere smile to support

Melatonin attacks, flames charge right beneath my back

Carry judgment I must to be a part of the mass

(The truth, still fizzling under my lungs

filling, this nature covers it up with

Threads do connect but are nowhere to be found at all)

Relying on myself and me only

(For I can’t take advice, I could as well be blind

Seeing moonlight where sunrise is offering blood

donation, my soul lives in daily frustration)

AARH

[Chorus]

Elements of you and I on the tapestry

of the caves and the modern reins

Insides cry “go away, raise attention you eyesore

or die away”

Lemons, voices, eyes

gifts behind that line

of shifting into an euphoric bond

of esprit and ghosts

I snap, the hoodies are gone off the faces

surround me like haze and fight for their places

In pieces, throwing the torch on the flame, suffocation

it’s freezing, let me in

[Chorus2]:

Hunting demons down the lane of death

Narcissism is programmed into my brain

Wherever I call for a sentimental support

Melatonin attacks, the machine boots beneath my back

(The machine boots beneath my back)

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Peace and love. ;)