mostly earnest

Year: 2022

  • Malta: First Impressions

    Weather. The mediterranean climate is a welcome change for someone whose been cursing the cold since I arrived in Ireland. At 18°, people are bundled up in puffer jackets, scarfs and hats. Ireland has conditioned me well. I only needed two layers. Too cold for the Maltese, warm enough for flies.

    People. It’s probably unfair to compare to the Irish. This is not to say Maltese people aren’t friendly. I’ve had the opportunity of meeting some lovely and helpful locals while I was there. But the friendliness of Irish people are unparalleled. Nothing like I’ve ever experienced in all my travels.

    Architecture. Nothing but beige as far as the eye can see. Primarily because their buildings and pavements are constructed with limestone. In some of the older buildings, there are wooden window frames which screened the window space completely known as the Maltese balcony. They are usually painted in bright primary colours. Malta also has several fascinating fortresses and megalithic temples. We had the pleasure of attending a gig in one of these old forts. It was magical.

    Landscape. I can’t believe I’m saying this, I truly have come a long way but sadly there are no mountains or rivers in Malta. It’s completely forest free. The beige is eye-pleasing to look at but after a while, you do begin yearning for some greenery. Even so there are postcard-perfect coastal cliffs and plenty of clear blue waters but hiking for me is still preferable to swimming in the ocean any day.

    Transport. There are cars everywhere. Streets are narrow, a result of limited space on the island so there are no special lanes for buses or cyclists. Speaking of cyclists, I asked a local if cycling was a thing and they told me in the most matter of fact way that I will certainly die if I tried. Drivers in Malta are notorious for fast and reckless driving. Although the congestion is nowhere as bad as Kuala Lumpur, drivers it seems are twice as impatient. There were a lot of gesturing and sudden breaking in the cabs that I took. Speaking of cabs, they have a Grab/Uber equivalent called Bolt and they are always only 1-2mins away. It’s mostly walkable if you’re in a central location. If not, there are buses but I’ve been spoiled by the convenience of Bolt so I can’t confirm their reliability.

    Food. Probably not a priority for most but Malta has an array of Japanese restaurants. Back home, we get Japanese takeout at least twice a week. Since moving to Ireland, apart from Dublin, that routine has largely come to a halt. Malta does have a decent variety of food. The best things I ate were a seafood pasta from an Italian restaurant and a vegan hotdog from a random cafe in the capital. We also had a really impressive meal, specifically the Caribbean Tataki dish at a South American restaurant for Nine’s birthday.

    Language. When I first heard spoken Maltese, I was blown away at the complexity. If you’re not paying close attention, you’d think you’re hearing Italian but to the trained ear, it is more like Arabic with interspersions of English, French and Italian sounding words. It’s a beautiful language, possibly quite tricky to learn. But definitely not as impossible as Irish.

  • 10 Songs From 2022

    Every year I worry I won’t find new music enjoyable and that I will inevitably turn into one of those people stuck in the era of music from their formative years, recycling the same tunes, grumping about how they don’t make it like they used to. Every year I am glad to be wrong.

    These are my favourites from 2022. And because this is my list, expect a couple of Eurovision entries. Sorry not sorry.

    1. Stay Soft – Mitski
      Spotify says it was love at first listen. I’ve heard this song a total of 44 times. Gentle but dark yet highly sensual. Hands down the song of the year for me.
    2. Santé – Stromae
      Has it been 9 years already since Papaoutai? Well worth the wait. What a clever song celebrating the ones who have to work while others are partying. Everything this man touches is exciting and colourful. Beyond thrilled to witness his return.
    3. saudade, saudade – MARO
      Fuck this one hits me in the feels. Saudade is an untranslatable Portuguese term that refers to a sad state of intense longing for someone or something that is absent. I remember playing this song on repeat while in the train going south from Belfast to Dublin, already nostalgic for a journey that wasn’t quite over.
    4. Die Hard – Kendrick Lamar
      Moody, introspective K-Dot is my favourite K-Dot. Die Hard is equal parts emotional and infectious, a track I find myself returning to most from the album. But it is worth mentioning that the tenderness and awareness in his voice on Auntie Diaries was what had me bawling in traffic.
    5. Bam Bam – Camila Cabello, Ed Sheeran
      Never thought I would listen to anything with Ed Sheeran in it but both their voices here complement each other well with an addictive chorus to boot.
    6. Modern Job – Sprints
      Found this Dublin band by chance while looking for new punk music. Only 5 tracks on their EP and each one of them is solid. It’s angry, angsty, sarcastic and encapsulates all the emotions of the past couple of years. Front-woman, Karla’s disinterested delivery also lends itself well to the noisy, gritty guitar riffs.
    7. This Hell – Rina Sawayama
      WHAT. A. BOP. I’m getting Shania Twain, Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa vibes. The production is phenomenal. The self-acceptance message is joyous. The line “fuck what they did to Britney, to Lady Di’, and Whitney” gives me goosebumps. Seems like a departure from her previous stuff but I’m 100 percent here for it.
    8. Chaise Longue – Wet Leg
      Sense of humour of my generation. It’s fun! Quirky! Maybe too quirky to the point of annoyance for some. Don’t care. Great guitar riffs anyway.
    9. Free Yourself – Jessie Ware
      I’m a sucker for bright piano chords. It’s also dancey, has an uplifting message and a retro disco feel.
    10. Með hækkandi sól – Systur
      Iceland’s Eurovision entry. Quite forgettable the first time I heard it. Then by sheer coincidence, I heard it again at a pub in Derry a few months later and finally something clicked. The music evokes feelings of soft snow falling gently on the ground. I could sense the hopefulness in that Nordic melancholy sound – a reminder that seasons are cyclical and the sunnier days are impending.

  • Post-Episode Notes #2

    The second episode is live and with a significant improvement in sound quality. I didn’t want to commit until I was sure we were serious about the project. But after listening to the draft cut of the pilot episode and noticing how much sound quality affects the listening experience, I had to get a proper mic.

    As a rule, I don’t buy any tech or gear without first doing extensive research. And I find YouTube to be quite helpful in providing a precursory understanding of gear I have no prior experience with.

    Of the many channels I scoured through, I found this guy who delivers comprehensive and in-depth mic reviews, recommendations, and tests for a wide variety of mics specifically to improve youtube and podcast audio or video quality.

    With his help, I decided on the Audio-Technica ATR2100x-USB. The retail price is a little higher than what my budget would allow but I managed to find a secondhand one from Amazon.

    Right out the box, the mic looks expensive. The metallic grilled mesh and the sleek handle looked like what someone who knows what they are doing might use. I appreciate the desktop stand it comes with while I wait to upgrade to a better, more professional rig. It’s easy to use, no special configuration or installation needed, just plug and play. It also comes with both USB and XLR output in the off chance I go pro one day who knows.

    Now the downside of this mic – and I knew what I was going to have to give up in exchange for better sound quality and accessories – is that there is no way to control the volume of the monitor coming from the mic. It is something I can live without although I do generally prefer being able to hear what I sound like through the mic. The current setup is way too loud and unchangeable.

    I also found that using noise-cancelling headphones while recording isn’t helpful because then I would have trouble hearing myself speak and that distracts my train of thought. The only way around it right now is to use the wired Apple earphones so I can both hear myself and my collaborator as clearly as possible.

    The other slightly annoying thing is where the mute button is located. It really is just an on/off switch slide on the handle of the mic. Having this is convenient for conference calls except the noise from sliding the button almost definitely gets picked up while recording. It wouldn’t matter for general use but any minor interference is surely noticeable in post.

    These misgivings are nonetheless negligible when compared with the price for the quality. All in all, I am largely satisfied with my first mic purchase.

  • 10 Things #1

    November 2022:

    1. Bad Sisters. Irish. Claes Bang. Comedy of errors. Fantastic title sequence, both song and visuals. Barring some minor plot holes, this was an incredibly fun watch.
    2. Senbazuru Izakaya, Dublin. Quick, delicious, sizeable portions. We were in and out under 45 minutes.
    3. Bathroom at Kilronan House, Dublin. Like walking into a bamboo steamer no matter the time of day. Even the floors were warm.
    4. Hopfully’s Insideout Pale Ale. First tried at Tully’s Bar, Waterford on the recommendation of the bartender. Citrusy and refreshing. I like the illustration on the packaging.
    5. Double bill of Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges and The Banshees of Inisherin. Colin Farrell continues to be at the top of his game.
    6. No Alibis, Belfast. My favourite bookshop in Ireland. Great accessibility and impressive range of books for a small establishment. The staff recommendations section is interesting and clearly curated by people who actually read.
    7. Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. An intersection of many of my interests – friendship, gaming, building things with friends, trauma and resilience. Enjoyable read till the end.
    8. Feet Don’t Fail Me Now by Joy Crookes. Half Bangladeshi half Irish, 100 percent class. Nine sent me this track and it was on repeat for a week.
    9. Space Invaders machine at Token, Dublin. The only retro game I’m not completely hopeless at.
    10. Corn Ribs. Pain in the ass to chop but so damn delicious. Olive oil, paprika, mild spices, salt. Chuck in the oven, ready to eat in 20 mins. My new favourite thing to make for dinner.

  • Signature Dish

    I learned how to make the Spanish Tortilla during the lockdown in 2020 and I continued to make them on a regular basis. I’ve cooked it so much, it has become my signature dish.

    It’s comfort food, a staple in Spanish households. It’s a great recipe to have in my back pocket for when I need to entertain or impress. And I have Juan, my friend to thank for, for first making it for me and then showing me how to do it.

    It’s not a complicated recipe but it is time consuming. The ingredients are simple – eggs, potatoes, onions and a fuck ton of olive oil. One of the steps requires you to flip the tortilla from the pan onto a plate. This still makes me nervous but I almost never fail if I take a breath before and do it in one swift motion. No hesitation.

    I tried many different recipes from the internet when I first started making them but I found that this one from Omar Allibhoy, works best for me.

  • Making Art

    I saw a film recently that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about.

    It’s called Paterson and it’s about a bus driver who shares the same name as the town he lives in and who devotes most of his time to writing poetry.

    What struck me about this film is how much value is placed in the quiet pursuit of creativity and art. It is an ode to making art for art sake even if it never sees the light of day.

    For someone who shares a lot of what I make, I think about the motivations behind the impulse to create. On one level, it is the rush of exhilaration from using my voice and wanting to be seen. But on another, it is about finding connection and seeing ourselves in others. It is about pointing at things and inviting others to wonder with you.

    Perhaps my motivation is closer to that of Kurt Vonnegut’s when he said:

    Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.

    Writing, making photos, cutting hair, doing the things that I’m doing is not to show what I can do but to share what is here.

  • The Buses Of Inishowen

    I get on the bus, a McGonagle bus
I buy a return ticket
It is pink

I get on the bus, a McGonagle bus
I have the wrong ticket
It's not white

Two brothers
born of the same house
cross swords
with exact same font

In the cold
In the rain
I wait to play bus roulette

  • Happy 6 Years

    I’ve not been feeling myself since the move. It’s mostly because I am a creature of habit and without a base or somewhere I can call home, my routines are often disrupted. Every so often I will be whisked away on another search for housing and then forced to reacclimatise in new environments. The problem is that we can’t afford to stay for very long so by the time I adjust to our new setup, it’s time to go.

    But even in times like these, when I can’t find it in me to do very much, I am glad for birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries. Marking dates pull me back to the present. There’s a sense of forward momentum which carries with it a promise that in time everything will sort itself out.

    Today, we celebrate our 6th year together. While the process of being in Ireland hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing, I do not regret my decision for coming here. Anywhere that we might have a chance at building a life and spending it together without looking over our shoulders is where I want to be.

    Today, I am grateful for this chance. I do not take our freedoms lightly and although I am still finding myself, and trying to make it work for me (so I can make it work for us), I wouldn’t have it any other way.

    Love is worth the ordeal in broken systems.
    Love is worth the distress of crossing borders.
    Love is worth the work of reacclimatising over and over and over.

    Love is worth all of it because she is worth all of it.

  • Waterford

    Our search for housing has unexpectedly led us to Waterford.

    For a fishing village, they’re more known for their blaa (looks like dry bread roll) than for their fish. Come to think of it, they’re not known for their fish at all.

    Waterford city reminds me of Ipoh. The way they never really evolved in design and style past the 90s but then there are also the newer, trendier shops selling vintage clothing, hipster coffee, and trinkets made by local independent brands peppered around the city.

    We got the bus from Dublin and were dropped right at the doorstep of the hotel we were staying at. Making this journey has required the least amount of effort since moving to Ireland and becoming carless people.

    There’s a pub called Tully’s around the corner from our hotel that Nine identified as probably the one to go and where our people would most likely be. We got a table next to a painting made recently by a Ukrainian couple to show their appreciation for Waterford’s hospitality after escaping the war. We also spotted a St. Pauli FC sticker at the bar and felt reassured of our choice.

    Like most small towns in Ireland, there’s little to do. I explored the entire city centre in less than a day. There’s an unusual amount of phone shops in Waterford, selling poorly designed phone cases and made-in-china electronics. I bought what I thought was a genuine Apple magsafe battery pack which of course turned out to be anything but. The prices should’ve been a dead giveaway but because I hadn’t fully grasped the meaning of things in Euros, it didn’t instantly click.

    It’s fine, the batt pack still works.

    Our best find was probably the tuna sandwich I had at an Italian bakery called Berkana.

    Sandwich shops in Ireland are the equivalent of our mamak, there’s no shortage of them. But for a country that mostly subsists on sandwiches, Ireland sure does make some terribly mediocre ones. I’ve not had a single good experience that I was half-expecting to be served the same uninspiring bleached white bread in this place too. It was all I could do not to exclaim in rapture when I took my first bite. Fresh, tasty ingredients and olives in my sandwich. OLIVES.

    Sorry no pictures, I inhaled it in a flash.

  • Deserted

    Abandoned house on the way up to Scalp Mt.