discard the birthday card

the present i got myself for my birthday this year, the only present i have ever got myself actually, is the house keys. the keys were scheduled for weeks ago but due to some technicalities, i was only privileged with holding it for the first time yesterday. technicalities. i kind of like that word. even for the dumbest reason on the face of the dying planet, the word could save you, and your face as you get to walk away sounding substantially intelligent whilst successfully ruining someone else's plans or whatever.

the 29th birthday is just like the 28th and the year before that. and the year before that was something i'm not used to having it plastered on the walls of my mind.

wishes? i can't really say i do have any. but long story short, the keys made my day. the keys are the reason. and the keys are the beginning of something that has everything to do with being 29.

as hope is always a good thing, i do hope in the months to come that these keys will open up doors. not just the house doors but doors to endless opportunities and happiness and all the good things in the whole wide world.

break on through to the other side - jim morrison, the doors.

Lido Beach, JB & Seattle, WA

this day in 1994, Kurt Cobain shot himself. when found three days later, he was wearing a pair of blue Converse One Star. that point aside, he was my hero and still is. and later in 2002, this very day the same world just couldn't be bothered with the death of Layne Staley, another hero of mine. hailed also from Seattle and fronted one of the biggest bands ever, , Alice In Chains (AIC), he had this unique style of singing and a distinctive voice alongside Eddie Vedder and Chris Cornell. Layne Staley will always be remembered as one of the spokespersons of our generation.

i first heard "nutshell" from AIC via a true-blue fan and i was totally hooked. maybe teenage angst and rebellious nature were the dominant parts of everyone's lives during that time. like Kurt Cobain used to say when asked about depression and gloomy state of mind, "All of us thought we were going to die in a nuclear war or something".

we were pretty much occupied (or chose to be) with the sound of Seattle in the early 90's and the alternative music towards the end of that celebrated era.

i think Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots once admitted having no superhero of choice. Instead he said, rock stars are our superheroes.

we will listen to the music, trying to dwell in the imaginary world where we believe we could fit in perfectly whilst finding solace in solitude. very true indeed. well, at least for me. it is raining again here in JB and i'm spending my afternoon paying tribute to both.