The Expat Diaries; Volume III: Indonesia

So I’ve been in Indonesia for two whole months.  My shipment still hasn’t arrived (Saudi service sucks), so I’m not 100% where I need to be in terms of my headspace.  But I’m doing all right.  I like my job and I live five minutes away from it in a nice house.  I’ve never worked near my job, so to be able to hop in the car and be at work in under five is every damn thing.

Update

Well I’ve relocated back to the Far East; Indonesia to be specific.  Life has been crazy these past few weeks.  Moving as an expat can be ridiculously stressful.  You don’t feel at home until your shipment arrives (if you have one).  I’ve accepted it as part of my existence as an expatriate that I will always have a shipment every time I move.  It’s really hard to call one’s residence a home when it’s devoid of personality.  Fortunately, my shipment should arrive in about four weeks.

The city where I live has no stop signs or traffic lights in the suburban areas.  Therefore, traffic is utterly ridiculous.  There are these random guys who will go out and direct traffic with the expectation that you’ll grease their palms when they allow you out into the street.  A trip that should theoretically take 10 minutes takes up to 45 most days.

Update

Dilettantes,

I am so sorry that it has been almost three months since I last posted anything.  This year has been hectic and I've been so swamped with work and other related things that I've been unable to do hardly anything that I enjoy.

I have some news, of course.  First of all, I've accepted a job in Indonesia and will be moving there this summer.  I am so excited to be moving on from KSA, as I've had enough of this place.  Bali will be the first place I visit as soon as I get a break, trust.  It is my sincere hope that with all of the experience I've gained in Shanghai and Riyadh that I can put down some roots in Indonesia.  I hate moving.

Secondly, I've resumed work on Tainted.  It's been four years (I found this unbelievable, but computer dates don't lie) and I've finally figured out what the novel needed.  Funny how that works, but my Muse is never, ever wrong.  Having said all that, I plan to publish Tainted sometime this fall.  It's got a kick-ass new cover, courtesy of the talented and gifted JVNX.

The only real drawback I face is the fact that it takes a me year to get settled in a new job in a new country.  Of course, this takes time away from my writing, which is one of the reasons I want to get Tainted published before I settle into my new life.  This will most likely push back work on Nightingales episodes 2 & 3.  Oh well, what can you do?

I will make a concerted effort not to let this much time go by before I write another post.  There's so much that's been going on in all directions that it's been hard to focus.  However, now that I know where I'm going, things will calm down a bit.  I hope, anyway.

Talk to you soon.  ~A

Prince's Legacy, #1

#1: Parade

My favorite album by His Purple Majesty.   Parade is the soundtrack to Prince’s second film, Under the Cherry Moon.  The movie was nowhere near as good as Purple Rain, but it didn’t have to be.  I love Parade because it has a European feel to it, as UTCM was set in France.  From start to finish, the album is a classic fusion of pop, jazz and soul with some definitive French undertones.  It is different from any of his previous albums, and along with the theme change, Prince himself changed.  He went from his trademark curls and ruffles to a sleek slickback and feminine-tailored suits.  Yet he remained beautiful and ethereal.

Prince's Legacy: #2

#2:  Purple Rain

This is Prince’s 6^th studio album, and it is iconic; the definitive Prince album.  It was his second with The Revolution, and it, of course, is the soundtrack to the movie of the same name.

Like, do I even need to say more?  Everyone knows Purple Rain.

I will, because the album deserves the full treatment.  It sold over 22 million copies and is one of the best-selling soundtracks ever, in addition to being one of the greatest albums of all time.  It won two Grammys and an Oscar, and four of the songs became Top 10 hits.  Purple Rain owned #1 on the Billboard charts for 24 consecutive weeks, and was added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry for its cultural significance.

Now that is an impressive list of accomplishments.

#3: Prince's Legacy

#3: Sign O’ the Times

This gem of a double album came out in 1987 and it was the first Prince album I actually owned myself and believe me, I played it until the needle broke.  I used to stare at the album cover (inside and out) for hours.  Prince had this whole peach and black thing going on (as mentioned in “U Got the Look”) and the inside cover contains a picture of him sitting in front of what I swear looks like my mother’s living room window sporting a peach outfit, glasses and fierce hair.  He was fucking beautiful and stimulated quite a few dreams and fantasies.   I am not ashamed to admit this.  Hell, y’all know me by now.  Men inspire me.

Update

Hey Dilettantes!

I'm back at work and my workload has doubled.  I'm doing the work of three men (cue massive eye roll) and I rarely have time to do anything not related to my job.  This annoys me because I have my Prince tribute to finish, and it's best to finish within the year he died.  I should have been finished it, but some unexpected fuckitude came up and well...

...Anyway, I will work harder at protecting my writing time, because there's so much to tell.  Black Girl Nerds is having an explosive year, and I'm so proud of our founder Jamie Broadnax for making BGN what it is and for what it will become.  MCP is also having a productive year.  Plans and decisions are being made, and I'm anticipating 2017 to be a very good year.

Talk to you soon!!

Prince's Legacy #4

#4: Musicology

Musicology dropped in 2004.  It’s an R&B-heavy album and was Prince’s most successful album since Diamonds & Pearls.  My bestie and I went to the concert and scored front-row seats.  We were maybe twenty feet from His Royal Badness and it was epic!!!  My bestie is an even bigger fan than I am; she saw him in concert five times.  One of the things she told me was that Prince’s concerts ALWAYS started on time, and that magical Monday night was no different.  The show was from 7:30 – 11:30 and opened with Morris Day & The Time.  We were screaming like lunatics and on our feet the entire time.

Prince's Legacy #5

#5: 1999

1999 dropped in 1982.  It’s synth-heavy; you get the impression that Prince was experimenting with a lot of different keyboards and drum machines.  As a child, I was a fan of keyboard-laden music and so one-nine-nine-nine was right up my alley.  It was the first of his albums to crack the top 10 (peaking at 9 when it was released and 7 after he died).  It’s the album that made people stand up and take notice of the Purple One.  The cover is unbelievable; I haven’t seen an album cover that comes close to the artistry that is 1999’s face.  1999 also marks the introduction of The Revolution.

Prince's Legacy: #6

#6: The Gold Experience

In 1995, The Gold Experience dropped.  The album is a blend of

funk and rock and was arranged as a set of “experiences.” Each song began with a female computer-voice intro informing listeners which experience they were accessing. Prince was still going by the love symbol at that time due to his dispute with Warner Brothers.  TGE snuck up on me because 1995 was a stressful year and a great many things occupied my mind, music being one of the least.  But it is a solid album and I learned to appreciate it later on.  Favorite cuts include “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,” “Shhh!,” “I Hate U,” “We March,” “Endorphinmachine,” and “Shy.”