A lot of time has passed since I last posted. Life sort of got in the way and I let it get in the way for a long time.
What changed? Why post something now?
Well, it has a little bit to do with seeingtheGazettEplayinLAyesterday. Yeap. You read that correctly. For the first time since the inception of the band, they performed in North America! Anyone who has caught a glimpse of any of my posts knows that I like them. A lot. I will be breaking up my update post into two sections. This first post will dictate my discovery of the band and what I've been doing for the past three years since my last post. The second post will be a continued update, but hopefully more GazettE orientated (live report!!).
I have been following the band since 2005, with the release of "Cassis". That was my first real brush with Jrock. I've listened to a song or two from Gackt prior to my discovery of the GazettE (thanks sis), but it wasn't until I heard "Cassis" that I really ventured on my own and did more research into the genre. I actually still remember the moment when my friend showed me the music video on her Zune (yes, Zunes did exist at one point). We were in our local library, crouched down on the carpet near the Young Adult section, trying to keep quiet as she was pointing out the different members. Her favorite was Aoi; she really dug his lip piercings. I immediately fell in love with the song and when I got home, plugged in the keywords "the" and "GazettE" in Google to see what I could find.
What I discovered?
After listening to Cassis again on YouTube, (thank you YouTube creators)
I discovered more of their songs by clicking on any video with their
name in the title. Listening to their music led to watching snippets of
tours uploaded by sneaky fans, which led to watching interviews,
subtitled or not. I think it really says something when you not only
want to listen to a band's music, but also want to find out more about
the members of said band. I loved their music and I loved their personalities just as much.
What next?
It wasn't until I entered college that I started to buy their music. One, I had some money saved up from a part-time tutoring job. Two, I could get things shipped to my dorm instead of at home, where my purchases were sure to raise more than one eyebrow. I only wish that I started buying albums earlier. I missed out on the beautiful NIL Limited Edition album which still breaks my heart after all this time. Anyway, I collected the posters that came with the first press edition of the singles / albums I purchased. I finally had something to decorate my dorm room with for the next year. And decorate I did. My entire side of the wall was covered with posters and other knickknacks that I had collected and it wasn't solely Jrock related material.
I remember always being thirsty for news about the band, whether it was a new song they were releasing or a new tour they were announcing. My roommates and many other people who saw my room may not have been all that into Jrock / visual kei, but they were certainly impressed with my dedication and support for the band. My last year of college, I moved into an apartment with friends. Though I didn't have the option of poking holes into corked walls anymore, I still collected posters and decorated when and where I could. (namely my desk). I was always thrilled to learn I had a package waiting for me when I got back to my apartment and would begin taking pictures in preparation for my unboxing posts.
What happened after?
I moved back home after I graduated. Had a small job tutoring a girl in English from China for a month or two. Afterwards, to fill my time when I was not job hunting or reading trashy romance novels at ridiculous hours, I started doing more of these unboxing posts. I started them in college and really liked doing these kinds of posts. About 8 months after graduation, one of my high school friends asked if I was interested in applying for a position at the company she was working for. I said, "why the hell not", and applied. She had actually asked me once or twice before, but I was still in school at the time and the job was located pretty far from college. I got hired pretty quickly and started working! I was happy to have a job, but working got in the way of this blog. I took a lot of my work home and would work until 2 in the morning, only to wake up and start work all over again at 9:00 AM. This wasn't something that the company told me to do; it was purely of my own volition. You may be asking, why do that? Are you crazy? Part of the reason I brought work home was because I was the newest staff member. Another reason was because I knew I got the job due to my friend recommending me. I definitely felt pressure to justify the hire not only for myself, but also for her reputation. These two reasons compounded the feeling that I had to prove my worth to everyone and turned it into...something else. Believe me when I say I don't hate my job at all. I love the work environment and am actually very lucky to be working with the people that I am because we are like a family. We have each other's backs and are willing to help each other out. In less than a year, I worked my way up to a full-time position and everything was fine and dandy.
Little did I know, my piece of paradise became lost. One by one, some of my co-workers left. Some by choice, some...not. There was restructuring and new members were brought on. There was a period of rough transition, but we all figured it out once the dust settled. Mostly. Then there was another short period of calm that shifted into another storm. My friend, who had recommended me, was leaving the company and moving on to a new job and to further her education. I was offered her position and I took it with both hands since I was ready for something new, but wasn't yet ready to leave the workplace I had come to know and love. Currently, I've been in the new position for about a month. And what a month it has been. The new position offered a pay raise. Along with the pay raise came a lot more responsibility. I was glad to hear that all my co-workers had nothing but faith and belief that I would excel at the new position. Funnily enough, I had a moment of deja vu -- I felt like I had to do more to prove that I deserved the position and to really EARN my co-workers' trust. Kind of harkens back to when I first got hired.
I now have more eyes looking at my performance. With more time and experience, I'm sure I can do a competent job. I hope. I also realized that I have a CRAP-TON of work to do. I think there's at least 1.5 years worth of paperwork that was never taken care of. Of course audits are happening this year (lucky me), so I don't really have the option to tackle the PILE at my leisure. The PILE is not something that I can take home with me to do. I foresee sneaking in the office during the weekends to get caught up.
And then?
...And then I'll finally be breaking up this update post into 2 posts for sake of brevity. Who
am I kidding. I wouldn't know brevity if it smacked me in the face,
backwards and forwards. Anywho, the second post to come! And no, it's not going to take 3 years. It will have more of the current on-goings and what not. Hopefully maybe even a live report concert review.
I will say this though. Entitatis, you have been greatly missed. Welcome back.
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