#don'tstop

For a very long time Oasis was one of my favourite bands. I was in the 9th grade when I finally got to see them live in Singapore. For reference, it was the April of 2009, they had sold out the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Tt was a pretty defining moment in my life because just a few months later, in August, the band would officially announce their break up. Being at that show felt like fate, because I felt like I had become a part of history, of their history. I was apart of something bigger than me. And whilst to many of you it might seem insignificant or kinda just a meh thing to be so excited to be apart of, but to me, it meant something.

Oasis hold a special place in my heart to this day - so when I woke up and caught wind they had released something, I was excited. I didn’t know much more than that there was a song, old, new, live, acoustic, I didn’t know what to expect but all I can say now is that I wasn’t disappointed. I’ve personally always been drawn to their earlier work (Definitely Maybe will always be the top of my list) so when I heard Don’t Stop, it felt reminiscent of the old them. It reminded me of other classics like  Half The World Away, a little bit of Champagne Supernova and hints of Sad Song - songs from forever ago that always made me feel less alone in this world.

With all that’s going on right now, Don’t Stop is a small something that reminded me to never let go of hope. It’s easy to get lost in the chaos that is life - the depression one might feel when things are not going according to plan, the feeling of loneliness when everyone seems worlds away, the general melancholy of remembering what was but is not longer. The line that stands out to me the most is in the first verse - don’t stop dreaming, which seems a bit obvious but at a moment like this feels immensely important.

Although the song isn’t really Oasis - in the sense that it’s mainly Noel singing over an acoustic guitar, it is very much Oasis. Just not the loud, brash lads we also know, but when they show their quieter side. Like any great band, there needs to be a balance of both and it’s songs like this one that unite us all during the hard times and gives us a little hope. As the song continues, in the chorus Noel sings “Don't stop being happy, Don’t stop your clapping, Don’t stop your laughing…It’s alright” and he’s right.

If things aren’t alright now, it doesn’t mean it won’t ever be. We grow, things change, we learn, things don’t go according to plan, we mess up but at the end of the day we must remember it’ll be alright.

Queste sono solo tabelle in cui sono registrati dati. I dati hanno un grande pregio. Non mentono. Nel 2013 ero  troppo povero per andare a fare bisboccia  coi miei colleghi universitari. per dirla tutta, io ho avuto il mio primo computer dopo il primo semestre all’università. Passavo le notti su Facebook. Volevo fare qualche soldo, così da poter avere dei soldi, poter portare fuori a cena la mia ragazza “ in quei posti dove spendi 50 euro in due”. Si per noia anche il kebabbaro era da farsi una volta una tantum, perché non potevamo permettercelo. nel giro di qualche mese mi lasciai con lei, ebbi problemi a pagare le bollette. Niente più soldi per luce, né riscaldamento, né cibo. Era pieno inverno. Avevo ancora il mio computer, nel tempo che non dedicavo a sopravvivere mi cercavo lavoretti su Facebook. E ce n’erano tanti che offrivano, e tanti che ne cercavano. E spesso le due categorie non si incontravano ( il tasso di disoccupazione del posto dove stavo era intorno al 13%). iniziai a lavorare come copywriter, studiavo e nel tempo libero trovavo lavoro a persone di quei gruppi.

In quel periodo vivevo per strada tra barboni e freddo. Un freddo come quello non si scorda. In casa a avevo dell’ olio vecchio di sette anni. mi consultai su con Facebook: potevo farci del sapone con il bicarbonato di non ricordo cosa, oppure  usarlo per scaldarmi. Usai 2,30  per comprare quante più arance tarocco riusci a trovare: 2 kili, uno regalato dal contadino perché gli facevo pena. Le apriie mangiai avidamente: erano due giorni che non mangiavo. corsi in bagnoa cagare come mai prima d’ora: merda pressata da giorni, dieta a base di pasta scotta: una bomba nucleare. tornai al tavolo dove erano poggiate le arance, versai l’olio dentro le bucce e accesi il picciolo restante: tre arance, scaldavano abbastanza. me le misi vicino, Studiai fino alle tre e poi andai a letto. E Buonanotte. Vissi nell’appartamento così per quasi un mese. Sempre in cucina, senza lavarmi per il freddo: col cazzo che sarei tornato a casa. Quel mese ho anche dato scienza politica: 26, e il giorno stesso sono andato per la prima volta in vita mia dallo psicologo, ma questa è un’altra storia.

 Due anni dopo trovai gli appunti di quel periodo e decisi di  testare quelle teorie per vedere se fossero valide o meno. Usai 100 persone come tester per questo tipo di attività: 100 consulenze sul lavoro gratis. trovai lavoro a 60 di loro, anche a chi non trovai lavoro si disse soddisfatto del servizio.

i had to // this gives me life btw

Goodbye NaNoWriMo

November has come to an end, and that means another NaNoWriMo has ended, too. 2022 NaNoWriMo is in the books. And whether you "won" or not, you did it. You wrote for a month as much as you could and that is a win in my books. I hope you felt great getting those words for your story out of your imagination and down on paper or saved on your laptop. It always feels great to get your ideas out, doesn't it? I love when I can get those thoughts out of my head and on paper. That way, my mind is calmer. Of course then other thoughts, ideas, and characters scream for my attention.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com It never ends!

Photo by Godisable Jacob on Pexels.com But no matter how much you wrote for NaNoWriMo, take a break this month from writing. Put aside that story for a bit and give your mind time to recuperate after being used every single day for a month. Unless you are used to it. Then I say, charge ahead and keep on writing. But don't give up! Keep writing that story, poem, whatever it was you were working on for NaNoWriMo. Your stories are important and they need to get out there. If you "won", YYYYEEEESSSS!!! You are amazing and you did it! Now it's time to edit it. If you didn't hit 50,000 words, you still are amazing and you still rock since you wrote something. I know life can get in the way and make it hard to keep going. But again DON'T GIVE UP! Keep writing and you will hit your goal by finishing it on your own time. That is all that matters. Writing in a month can be hard. And whether you won or not, get ready for next year and hit that ground running. Keep doing NaNoWriMo because it is so helpful in the long run. Or if you can't do it in Novemeber, there is always Camp NaNo in July. Or even do it in a month that isn't too crazy. I've told that to others before because they said that both Novemeber and July are so crazy for them. I said then start in whatever month you can on whatever day you can, and go from there. But just write! Set that goal to at least hit 50,000 in 30 days at least once to say you did it. It is such an amazing feeling when you hit that goal in 30 days.

Photo by Ayşenur Sağlam on Pexels.com As for me, Azriel High, my Young Adult Paranormal book, is complete. I finished my book even with a few days I had to stay in bed due to really awful food poisoning. My last word count was 59,980, and I had 220 pages. I feel great about this book, though I know I need to edit it a lot. This is my third time writing this book. The first one I lost. The second one never got finished and again was lost. This one better not run away or get lost. I will cry if it does. But it is finished and now I can work on editing it and work on my other children's books for my publisher and for my boss with Reading Gate. And of course, work on my blogs. I feel like a weight has been lifted after I finished my book. This is my third finished book and I can't wait to spruce it up, make a lot of changes I know it needs, and send it to my publisher to see if she would like to publish it in the future. Never stop writing. Never stop making art. Just never stop living your dreams!