I don’t think there’s much to add to this.

I’m going to skip through the obligatory ”sorry I haven’t been posting much” thing and get on with it. Also, sorry I haven’t been posting much.

Anyway, for the past four months I’ve been working a job that I hated. Partly because of policies, management, and horrible scheduling, but mostly because the job itself sucked. The only motivator that management used was money. And I was focused on money to help pay off my debts. But it drained me of all my creative energy and left me, well, drained.

So at one point after waking up every day and asking myself why I was still working there, I went in to work and couldn’t do it any more. I went home sick after lunch (it wasn’t bullshit - I legitimately felt sick). At that point I made up my mind to quit and move on. Then I realized that wasn’t the responsible thing to do and went back in the next day, but went home sick again. The next day I quit. I was at the point where I’d rather be broke than go to that place for a paycheck.

It wasn’t the smartest or safest decision, but I felt like it was the right decision to make. Now, two weeks later, I’ve secured my first steady graphic design gig, full time, at a small yet multinational company called Cefco. I’ll be getting paid well and I’ll be doing work that I find interesting, challenging, and fun (hopefully). I’m excited to finally get my foot in the door of the design world and for the opportunity to build up my chops and learn some new things. And many thanks to my good buddy Gabe Valdivia for putting in the good word for me.

Change can be scary but it’s also necessary for growth. My parents never taught me this lesson - they taught me to play it safe and not to take unnecessary risks. While a certain degree of stability is important, no one has ever grown from being comfortable. And I intend to move forward.

Anyway, moral of the story: If you aren’t happy with your job, find a new one. No, scratch that. The moral is bigger than that. If you aren’t happy with any aspect of your life, if you feel like something is bringing you down or holding you back, then rid yourself of it and move on to something that works. In the end, you have to do what is right for you.

I think 2012 is going to be a great year. :)

Video Game Tribute: 
Trisection, Final Fantasy Tactics (PSX/PSP)

I recently got the PSP port of Final Fantasy Tactics, and it’s still one of my favorite games of all time. The battle system is great, and I love the amount of freedom you get as far as customizing your characters. Also, the plot, characters and themes are extremely well thought out. And of course, the music is excellent - very moody and suspenseful. It always fits the tone of what’s happening in the game. 

Arranging this tribute was a bit challenging, as the original score was orchestrated. Still, I think it translated nicely into the style I write in. It was fun composing drum set parts from scratch and incorporating the shifts in time signatures. 

Video Game Tribute: 
Flying Battery Zone, Sonic and Knuckles (Genesis)

I’m definitely overdue for a new one of these and I’ve had this song in mind for a while now. This arrangement is somewhat of a mix between Flying Battery Zone Act 1 and Act 2. I always thought it was cool how they changed up the arrangement of each zone’s song from one act to the next.

Also, I was planning on throwing in the boss theme at the end, but my computer has been giving me problems lately so I gave up on it for now. More to come!

This….this is just great. :D