Why Would I Write

Category: Thoughts

  • An Ear Full of Wax

    Last Friday, I woke up in the morning with my right ear muted. I had no idea what caused it – I only know that there was something wrong with it. Sound was really soft in that ear. I initially thought that it would go away after a few hours, but nothing changed. In the afternoon, I visited a doctor who had a look inside my ear and told me that it was blocked with wax. Strange. Especially since my left ear was clear, and I had been cleaning both the same way ever since I was young (using cotton buds).

    He recommended that I visit the pharmacy to pick up some drugs to soften the ear wax in the ear so that it can be washed out. I listened to his advice, so on Friday night, the whole of Saturday and Sunday, I kept using the ear wax softener. Unfortunately, it didn’t help. There were occasions when yawning would bring temporary relief to my right ear, but a few seconds later, it was back to being muted.

    I was getting really annoyed by it, so when Monday came around and it wasn’t any better than it was on Friday, I decided to pay an ENT doctor a visit. He plopped me down onto a chair after I explained the situation, and he turned on a monitor in front of me. First he stuck this microscope into my left ear to see if it was fine – it was. Perfectly clean. No traces of wax stuck inside my ear hole. At this point, I was thinking to myself – what if there was nothing in my right ear hole and it was just damaged? Would I have to spend the rest of my life being deaf in one ear?

    Boy, was I relieved when he plugged the camera into my right ear to show me what he suspected it would be. And boy, was it disgusting. I’m not sure if you’ve seen the inside of your own ears before – for me, it was an eye-opening experience. I wouldn’t recommend you google it but I won’t stop you if you want to.

    The doctor told me that my right ear hole was clogged, so he used a tiny vacuum to suck the wax out of my ear. It didn’t hurt, but man the sound was loud, and the feeling of the vacuum pulling the wax off the walls of the ear hole felt very uncomfortable.

    After the whole ordeal was over (I think it took less than five minutes – shorter than the amount of time I had to wait to register at the front desk), it wasn’t clear that my hearing was back to normal. I had been so used to the muted right ear for the past three days that I think my brain just ignored whatever sound that was picked up by my right ear.

    What a way to end the year (with another visit to the hospital). Heh. Since that day, I’ve decided to change my ear cleaning methods – no more cotton buds for me. Using your towel to wipe the outside of your ears after showering is good enough, apparently. So that’s what I’ll be doing from now on. Hopefully I’ll never have to experience a blocked ear again.

  • WordPress 5.0, Year Recap, Gig #116

    WordPress 5.0, Year Recap, Gig #116

    Since WordPress recently upgraded to version 5.0 I thought I’d give the new editor a shot and I’m pretty impressed. It’s one of the best looking WYSIWYG editors I’ve used in a while. Previously, I had been typing out my blog posts using the text only editor and they replaced it with this one by default. While I’m not too ambitious when it comes to the layout of my blog posts (let’s be honest, it’s just text, the rare photograph, and more text) so I don’t think I’ll be doing anything fancy now but who knows – maybe I’ll be a bit more creative in the future.

    We’re 11 days into December – the best month of the year (just because), and we’re getting close to the end of the year. Not that it matters. Let’s see how I did this year in terms of achieving my goals.

    From my post I wrote in January:

    What I intend to do this year:
    – finish my first game
    – record songs that incorporate keyboards in some way
    – play more sports
    – learn to play a Dance Gavin Dance song

    The End of a Season

    I didn’t finish my first game. However, I did take steps towards it: I’ve planned out my first game on paper. Now all I need to do is execute it. So, fail.

    I didn’t record any songs that incorporate keyboards but I did record songs that used virtual drums and electric guitar – something that I didn’t do before. I guess I still failed, since the whole point of recording something with a keyboard meant that I had to learn a new instrument.

    Play more sports – I did pick up cycling after getting a bicycle about a month ago (I guess I could write a post about it) but it’s not really considered a sport. I did try playing more CS:GO, does esport count? Nah, I failed in that aspect.

    I didn’t manage to learn a Dance Gavin Dance song but I did write a DGD-inspired song and I learned the intro riff to Cocky by Tilian. I guess I failed that too.

    Woot, a 100% on failure. Can’t say I didn’t try.

    What did I do that’s worth talking about this year then?

    I started a new job in a new industry, doing new things. That’s pretty rad I think. I’m also glad that I’m fitting in and able to deliver my work. Sure, it’s something that every working adult is expected to do but I’m happy that I found a job that fits me like a glove.

    I got back into gigging after a hiatus last year, and I’ve been consistently playing at least one show a month. It’s great to be back – I missed the stage.

    I started work on my first comic. It’s been a slow and gradual process, but Animal Bus is finally seeing the light of day. Over the past few months I’ve been drawing pages of the comic and while I’m nowhere close to launch (I intend to finish about 5 chapters before putting it online so I have a buffer for the next chapter), I’m happy with the progress I’m making.

    I did manage to write a few new songs this year, am close to finishing another one and have enough material to record a second EP.  Whether or not I’ll do it is left to be decided, but I’ll be playing them at my shows.

    I’ve managed to finish a few games from my Steam library – a huge feat considering the amount of time I spent playing Dota 2. I also attended the KL Major, which was great because Virtus Pro won. Hopefully I’ll be able to attend TI 2019 in China. That would be awesome.

    I tried and failed growing a beard, but at least now I don’t have to wonder anymore about the effects of Minoxidil on my face.

    What’s in store for 2019? I don’t even know myself. Probably the same goals, just that this time I’ll put more effort into carrying them out. We’ll see. In the meantime, do drop by the Poolside Open mic on Thursday for some chill beer and tunes.

    Poolside Open Mic #68 ft. Armand Tanzarian [Facebook Event Page]

    Time: 8 PM – 10:30 PM
    Date: 13th December 2018
    Venue: KL Journal Hotel [Google Maps]


    The Poolside Open Mic is our 3rd longest running open mic night which happens every Thursday evening right on TOP of The KL Journal! Each installation features one of our finest musicians, with this one featuring…

    ***ARMAND TANZARIAN***

    After a haitus as a failed international man of mystery, the busiest man on stage Armand Tanzarian returns with new and old songs. Using a guitar, a loop pedal and occasional woodwinds to build an epic wall of sound, Armand Tanzarian creates soundscapes and stories that wrap around the listener like a warm hug, and transport the listener to some place faraway.

    Follow him: https://www.instagram.com/armandtanzarianmusic/

    ***OPEN MIC***

    #* Rafiq & Izat
    #1 Wasif Hyder
    #2 Rachel Schlossman
    #3 RUFUS
    #4 2storeyheart
    #5 Fathee
    #6 Amr Mohsen

    To sign up for the open mic, email us@openmicmalaysia.org 😀

    ~

    Open Mic Malaysia is the brainchild of Shaneil Devaser, frontman of The Endleaves. Established in 2012 and currently operating in the Klang Valley, Kota Kinabalu and Johor Bahru, Open Mic Malaysia aims to create sustainable avenues for bedroom musicians, singer-songwriters and professional musicians to share their music and experiences with each other and the public, over evenings of wholesome indie goodness. In partnership with other like-minded musicians from across the country, Open Mic Malaysia aims to… Make Malaysia Great (for indie music) Again.

  • Senior Dog

    When you hear ‘seven years’, you think that’s ages away. It’s not so soon. I have plenty of time until then. But earlier this week, I realized that seven years can fly by so quickly.

    Earlier this week, my mom noticed that our dog was limping when she ran. One of her legs was raised and bent, like she was doing some sort of weird hop. Something I had never noticed her doing in the past, so it was news to me. Straightaway, I assumed that she was injured and brought her to the vet. The vet asked me – how old is she? while he examined the leg she didn’t run properly with.

    I told him, over seven years.
    He nodded, my answer confirming his suspicion.
    She was considered an old dog, and joint issues are a common thing for dogs her age. It was something that never occurred to me – that my dog would be old one day.

    The vet recommended I start giving her some glucosamine, which will hopefully alleviate the limping. Old people dog problems.

    The label on the bottle of pills I bought for her said – for senior dogs – aged seven and above. It’s as though they knew.

    I still remember the first day we brought her home. Snuggles was a feisty puppy, biting my finger before she got into the car. She was so tiny back then, I could easily carry her with one hand. She used to sleep in a laundry basket that we lined with a blanket.

    She was a very quiet puppy. Hardly anything would make her bark back then. Now that she’s older, she barks a lot more – which is something I found out after doing a Google search – some dogs do bark more when they’re older. They also have trouble controlling their bladders.

    All this just made me realize how old Snuggles is. While she still has many more years to live, I’m afraid it’ll all just pass by in the blink of an eye.

    I should stop googling so much. It’s making me more upset 🙁