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Edible
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This week has been interesting.!
Classes were canceled as Vietnam works to cull and contain recent Corona virus outbreaks.
I was torn. Stay inside and do my best to preserve my genetic part of humanity or live my life.
LIFE WAS LIVED!
I went to an AMAZING artisan doughnut shop in Hanoi and guess who didn’t take pictures.
…
I plan to go again next week because the doughnuts were SO, GOOD. In the meantime, I’m going to post a throwback!
I’m unsure if I mentioned this before, but Vietnam isn’t exactly big on sweets. Now, there ARE sweets available, but it’s not like back home, in terms of variety and overabundance.
That being said, when it comes to finding a variety of cheap snacks, I have tried to chew on a few local candies. This box has Japanese and Vietnamese on it, but it was made in Vietnam!
It was basically a bunch of small, coconut, laffy taffy candies.
Ain’t it cute?
There are two types of paper wrapping: a primary wrapper, which has the name of the candy, and an edible wrapping, which is made of tapioca.
I was thrown by the green color for all of two seconds.
If you look in the corner, you should see a small army of these candies. There had to be about 30 or 40 in the box and…
…I ate about 25 or so of them, because they were addictive.
I KNOW.
I ended up getting a stomachache, but
SO WHAT?
YOLO.
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Arrangements
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PAST
The past two weeks have been me working to finalize the OST for Ciel Fledge and GIGABUSTER. I went back through and did some mastering tweaks on Ciel Fledge because peaks and evenness were odd. I also did something similar for GIGABUSTER.
I’m nearing the finish line for each!
Aside from that, I have been vigorously (or at least I believe so) job hunting. It has been… eye-opening.
I hadn’t started job hunting to the extent until recently.
I often hear freelancers ask, “How do you find jobs?”, and people will say that there are jobs out there for everyone, you just have to search (and network). I’m starting to believe the true question is, “How do you find jobs that pay?”
PRESENT
GIGABUSTER’s soundtrack is about 90% done. I need to finish up two tracks (ending area themes), and then I will officially be finished with both the extended and original soundtrack! I plan to post a K.S. update previewing one of the tracks that will be present on the extended OST. I’m really hoping fans like what they hear.
FUTURE
An amazing developer friend of mine created a game for a gamejam. I am scoring music for it as a kind of release from the work I have been doing currently (with J2S, GIGABUSTER). It’s easy going, relaxing, and will help me flex some rusty or unused compositional muscles.
Also, one of the studios I have worked with is already getting ready for their next title. I’m SUPER excited for the kind of music I will be creating for them, but also intimidated. I’ve been using my warm-up streams to gain confidence for this style. It’s a new genre of game that will also have me dabbling in music programming. Wish me luck!
RUMINATIONS
I have been thinking of the next phase of my career once these two projects are finished.
I follow a composer named Steven Melin whose career has surprised me in many ways.
He went from someone who, to me, was relatively unknown, and in what seems like a few years, put himself in a position to write full-time.
Granted, I understand there are a plethora of factors that come in to play that I am not sure of that may have expedited his career shift, but all I know is, he started on this journey after me, and achieved the goal I want before me.
One comment he made in a tweet or video of his, was “How can you make $5 today?”.
It was one of the things that made me decide to start my warm-up. $5 a day? Easy. Start trying to find ways to monetize myself via streaming that feels authentic.
Slow but steady, right?
I could go more in depth on how to make it more successful and accessible, but for now, I am focusing on consistency.
Another thing is branching out in terms of who and what I compose for.
Since I will have extended free time in between projects, I am going to practice preparing for an upcoming project while also trying to create a track a week to be submitted to music libraries.
One goal of mine this year is to get an ad/tv/movie placement and earn residual income in some capacity.
I have currently hit a wall in terms of my optimistic outlook on my music progression. I’m starting to wonder if this is for me.
I don’t plan to quit, but I am thinking about if I was meant to succeed in this.
It’s rather contrary since I don’t like the idea of fate and things being predestined. Having no control over my path is an infuriating idea.
I think it primarily stems from seeing other people more talented or successful. I know there is no time limit or expectation. Success can hit at anytime, but it’s difficult not to sustain disbelief in that at times.
I’ll be okay, though! I believe this profession is a marathon and I won’t give up that easily!