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This is why I listen to metal

Metal has always been the light in the darkness for me I recently started a Spotify playlist, and I named it “This is why I listen to metal”. For the longest time, I’ve always found solace in listening to some of the loudest, complex, aggressive music, that humanity has ever produced. See, at a young age, I was exposed to a lot of people doing illegal drugs. During my pre-teen years, I discovered that I had an affinity for rock music. It wasn’t until I was in high school where I was exposed to the more harsher forms of music, under the guise of rock. The 90’s just started, grunge was all the rage, and catchy choruses was the lifeline I needed back then. I remember back then, I could not understand Slayer, nor appreciate the intensity at which they were playing. It wasn’t until a couple of decades later that I realised how chaotic my life was back then. But that’s another story for another time. I wasn’t a metalhead back then, not yet. I don’t think I ever expected to be one. The heavie
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That one time I helped a NEET get a job in Japan

  The Grounds at St. Paul's Cathedral This is one of my favourite stories to tell about when I was a Work Coach at the local Jobcentre here in West London. It's interesting for me in several ways, and it's significantly one of the main reasons why I believe in being kind to others can result in the most positive change you can help influence in someone's life. This happened sometime around 2011-2012, around the time that the world was starting to rebound from the recession just a few years prior. I was working in a Jobcentre as a Work Coach. A Work Coach is someone who meets the unemployed and helps them secure opportunities that will eventually help them get back to full time employment. My "cohort" at the time was focused on 18-24 year olds who were unemployed for at least 13 weeks, or 3 months. Young adults, basically. I have met many interesting personalities, and it wasn't always pleasant.  There was a young lady who was kicked out of her parent'
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Restarting this blog

  Autumn Monotone I took this photo back in November 2020. Me and the wife were doing one of our walks in the park. That day I decided to bring with me my camera. It's been a while since I used it. I was wondering what to write as my "first blog post" (again). But just like any journey, it all starts with a single step. This is my step. I have a lot to say, and I don't think I have enough time to lay it all out, but I digress. I tried capturing the mood of the day, the state of the weather, the season in full. Mostly, I tried to express what I was feeling that day. I think I was able to do so. To close off this blog post, here's a song that somewhat complements the photo. "Someone I (Don't) Know" Rapture
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My Thoughts on Equality

Photo by  Madi Robson  on  Unsplash As far as I can remember, the word "equality" wasn't used as much as it is now. My teachers, the grown-ups, anyone in my family never mentioned the word or what it means in some other form. Maybe I was just young, and I cared more about other things. "Fairness" on the other hand, it's something that was drilled into my psyche way back to my very first memories: "Alan, you HAVE to share". Being fair is part and parcel the way of leading a good life. The reality is so much different. I sometimes feel like I was lied to. Another factor to consider I suppose, is the location of where I was living. I currently live in London, UK. I've spent a good portion of my teenage and young adult years living in the Philippines. The more I think about it now, it's quite alarming that equality isn't anywhere near as important as it is here in the UK. This is pretty ironic considering the poverty levels in a t
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Things I Like: Smartphones

Photo by  Nakita Cheung  on  Unsplash Smartphones are awesome. I was reading this article earlier on The Verge about how an iPhone has essentially replaced so many of the writer's other gadgets. I totally agree. I'd go even one further and say that my smartphone has essentially replaced my wallet. Living in London, my smartphone is my digital assistant. It's essential and central to a lot of the things that I do daily. My current phone is a Samsung Galaxy S7 edge. The phone itself deserves a whole post on its own, and I'll most likely post it on my other blog . So what do I do with my smartphone? On a normal working day: Alarm - Several alarms actually. And I can customise how I "snooze" my way out of bed. Newspaper - I skim through the Breaking News just to be sure that the world didn't end while I was sleeping, or that someone discovered a cure for cancer, or we decided to stop using money and follow Star Trek's lead and focus on being
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Why do I write?

I have thoughts. Lots of thoughts. I like talking to people, but not all the time. I like seeing, hearing, and listening to people talk about their passions. Communicating with others is important to me. I guess after all, I am a social creature. Writing is a way to immortalise my thoughts in some form. I think too fast. I think about too many things at the same time. I find it hard to focus. Writing helps me focus. Right now I'm focusing on just writing what I think about this particular subject, writing, is about. I like reading other people's thoughts. More so if the person is talking about things that interest me. There are a lot of things that interest me. I like listening to music that isn't radio-friendly. I like taking photographs of sceneries. I like technology and gadgets. I don't like conflict. And there's too many of that in the world right now. I do like discussion though. I like having a friendly debate. I like having my opinion changed with
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Google your name. Do you like what you see?

It was only until a few years ago when you could still say to people "I can't be found online" and wear it as a badge of honour. Today however it's much different. Whether we like it or not, some piece of information about our personal self will be available online. What kind of information will greatly influence how people see us. The Business Conference Test Picture this: You're at a massive conference. Hundreds of people, probably several thousands, and they're all at attendance at this conference. You're there, browsing the wares, services, and meeting with many new people. How do you introduce yourself? You say your first and last name. That's the expected and professional way. You don't tell the other person that your name is "Smithies1975". There are several wrong things about this, one of which is putting your year of birth in your username, which is another topic for another time. But the main takeaway is that you do
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