FMF III: University, Bureaucracy and Nigthwish.
I realized that I hadn’t dropped a *serious* line here in a long time, so here we go. I have one hour before I leave work and I want to do something productive. :P
Let’s start by talking about University and Bureaucracy. I’m sure there was a time when UNMdP worked like a well-oiled machine and things were easy for students. I’m sure that happened at one time. Long ago. Not now.
As you probably know already, since I got this job in 2003, I had to drop my studies. It was a very simple decision: I could either leave my old job, which barely gave me enough money to put up with my Uni expenses and carry on studying, or accepting this one, quit for a year, and then come back. At first it was simple; I came to the conclusion that taking a sabbatical year wasn’t so bad, and I really wanted to focus on my job.
It worked fine during 2003. Last year, I really wanted to go back to Uni, even if that meant having to run from the institute to Uni and back here everyday. Nothing I haven’t done before. Thing is, when I went to check the timetables and see if I could take at least one or two classes that period, all the classes took place in my working hours, either in the morning or the afternoon. I was very disappointed, because I had already talked to my boss and he had agreed on having me coming a bit later some days if I had classes (he also had a hard time organizing classes and his job when he was studying). I was disappointed, but once things got hectic around here, I got the feeling that it was a good thing that I wasn’t rushing, both to get my Uni stuff and my job done.
This year, I was determined to take at least one class. I wasn’t asking for much! I was considering taking Math, trusting the they would have the same timetables that in past years. Tough luck. They decided to change them this year.
I still had one way out: I could sit for a final exam (the level of English each career requires) and I would win some time. Guess what happened? Well, considering I haven’t taken classes in over two years, now I had to address a letter to the dean asking her to consider my situation and give me a special permit to sit for this exam. That’s good. Now guess how long it would take for the dean to read the letter and consider giving me that permit?
One month. One very long month to decide whether her answer will be yes or no. In the meantime, I lose the chance of sitting for May’s examination board and I have to wait until JULY to do it. I wouldn’t mind waiting another month in normal situations, but I need to hand in a Uni certificate so I can stay in my health system. If I have to wait one month just to see if my letter is either accepted or rejected, and then another month for an examination board, what will be of me if anything happens health-wise? I guess they don’t care about it.
Not two years ago, a person in my same situation would fill some sort of application, someone would sign it POOF! You could sit for an exam. Now they have changed the whole system. Not only that, but if you check timetables and how careers are organized, they are aimed at people who either has a very flexible work schedule, or that don’t work at all. Too bad I don’t fit in any of the aforementioned options. :/ I hope I’ll find a solution.
Anyway, moving on to some more nice aspects of my life :) I have to say that I’m the proud owner of ‘Once’, Nightwish’s last CD (It was actually released last year, but who’s counting?).
One word: WOW. Wow, wow, wow!
I’ve been a fan of Nightwish (or at least I’ve been aware of the band’s existence) for the last three years or so, around the time they released ‘Wishmaster’, if I’m not mistaken. Back then, I wasn’t that interested in the band as to buy a CD, but I still liked it. CDs back in those days were pretty cheap in this country; an imported CD cost just as a national one. Then, with the economic… How to put it nicely… Crisis? Of December 2001, every single article that came from other countries became at least three times more expensive than before, thanks to the dollar-peso currency.
Now here is where my sense of opportunity kicked in, so to speak. LOL I happened to become a ‘real’ fan (the kinds that wants to buy CDs and all possible material) just when prices were over the moon, and Nightwish’s CDs didn’t have national editions anymore. Back then, any European edition cost around $45, when a national cost around $25. I didn’t have the money to buy such an expensive CD.
Now, things have seemingly become easier for the local music industry to make national editions, and Nightwish’s CDs can be found at relatively reasonable prices, around $30. That’s more than a normal CD, but you know that a Nightwish CD won’t disappoint you. So, this month I started investigating, checking out prices and CDs available. Nightwish isn’t massively known here in Argentina, although the band has many fans, but here in MdP I knew there would probably be only two stores that would sell their CDs: AGB and Wagner Records.
Both stores had ‘Once’ (the CD I was looking for). In AGB, it cost $35, and the CD came with a bonus track. At Wagner, it cost $30, it had the same songs, and was the very first edition released of ‘Once’ by their label in Germany (according to the guy there… He could have just been trying to sell it to me LOL). It was pretty much the same money, it was the same CD, this one was German and was the last one he had… I let myself go and I bought it. :P
Let me say it again:
WOW!
I had already listened to some songs, and I had some of them recorded live from the concert they did in BsAs in November last year, so I was determined to get, at least, this one. Nightwish is one of those bands that can transport you with their music, make you feel a certain way with some songs. I remember the first time I listened to ‘Dead Boy’s Poem’… I almost cried.
The first thing I noticed in this record is that Tarja’s voice sounded very different… More delicate in some songs, unlike the more opera-like songs of their first CDs. For example, in “I Wish I Had An Angel”, her voice sounds so soft and delicate in some parts, so beautiful… Then, in other songs like “Dark Chest Of Wonders”, she goes back to the more classical way of singing.
Then there are the duets between her and Marco. I was shocked when I heard him singing live, he has such a powerful voice and it’s such a great contrast to Tarja’s… You know, when two complete opposite things make something beautiful when they unite? Well, that’s what these two do. I have the live version of “Planet Hell”, but I want to listen to that song LIVE. I mean, with me standing as close to the stage as possible. Vero, I renew my promise: if Nightwish comes back to Argentina some time soon (or whenever, it doesn’t matter), we have to be there. Even if I have to go to BsAs alone and face my worst fears. LOL
And Tuomas lyrics… And his music… Saying that the guy has talent is the understatement of the year. For those who don’t know, he not only writes the lyrics, but also composes the music. And all the articles and reviews I’ve read say how the band keeps getting better and better with every record they release. I would like to know he handles all that; it must be too much pressure for one person. I heard that their DVD ‘End Of Innocence’ has him talking about many things, private stuff, that’s why it’s called ‘End Of Innocence’. I wonder if I could get that one sometime… *rubs chin thoughtfully* Vero, I was also told that the DVD’s are going to be released here… and not ‘en precio dólar’, but in pesos… *grins*
I have to see this band live. And I would love to meet them and thank them for such beautiful music, for so many great moments, for the inspiration… And for getting me into a whole new genre of music I knew of, but that wasn’t exactly my favourite. So to Tuomas, Tarja, Emppu, Marco and Jukka, thank you! *Hey! This is probably the closest I’ll ever be of thanking them in person! LOL*
Oh, and thank you Mr. And Mrs. Holopainen, for not using protection that night back in March 1976, like one of the girls at tuomas_daily said once. LOL
Let’s start by talking about University and Bureaucracy. I’m sure there was a time when UNMdP worked like a well-oiled machine and things were easy for students. I’m sure that happened at one time. Long ago. Not now.
As you probably know already, since I got this job in 2003, I had to drop my studies. It was a very simple decision: I could either leave my old job, which barely gave me enough money to put up with my Uni expenses and carry on studying, or accepting this one, quit for a year, and then come back. At first it was simple; I came to the conclusion that taking a sabbatical year wasn’t so bad, and I really wanted to focus on my job.
It worked fine during 2003. Last year, I really wanted to go back to Uni, even if that meant having to run from the institute to Uni and back here everyday. Nothing I haven’t done before. Thing is, when I went to check the timetables and see if I could take at least one or two classes that period, all the classes took place in my working hours, either in the morning or the afternoon. I was very disappointed, because I had already talked to my boss and he had agreed on having me coming a bit later some days if I had classes (he also had a hard time organizing classes and his job when he was studying). I was disappointed, but once things got hectic around here, I got the feeling that it was a good thing that I wasn’t rushing, both to get my Uni stuff and my job done.
This year, I was determined to take at least one class. I wasn’t asking for much! I was considering taking Math, trusting the they would have the same timetables that in past years. Tough luck. They decided to change them this year.
I still had one way out: I could sit for a final exam (the level of English each career requires) and I would win some time. Guess what happened? Well, considering I haven’t taken classes in over two years, now I had to address a letter to the dean asking her to consider my situation and give me a special permit to sit for this exam. That’s good. Now guess how long it would take for the dean to read the letter and consider giving me that permit?
One month. One very long month to decide whether her answer will be yes or no. In the meantime, I lose the chance of sitting for May’s examination board and I have to wait until JULY to do it. I wouldn’t mind waiting another month in normal situations, but I need to hand in a Uni certificate so I can stay in my health system. If I have to wait one month just to see if my letter is either accepted or rejected, and then another month for an examination board, what will be of me if anything happens health-wise? I guess they don’t care about it.
Not two years ago, a person in my same situation would fill some sort of application, someone would sign it POOF! You could sit for an exam. Now they have changed the whole system. Not only that, but if you check timetables and how careers are organized, they are aimed at people who either has a very flexible work schedule, or that don’t work at all. Too bad I don’t fit in any of the aforementioned options. :/ I hope I’ll find a solution.
Anyway, moving on to some more nice aspects of my life :) I have to say that I’m the proud owner of ‘Once’, Nightwish’s last CD (It was actually released last year, but who’s counting?).
One word: WOW. Wow, wow, wow!
I’ve been a fan of Nightwish (or at least I’ve been aware of the band’s existence) for the last three years or so, around the time they released ‘Wishmaster’, if I’m not mistaken. Back then, I wasn’t that interested in the band as to buy a CD, but I still liked it. CDs back in those days were pretty cheap in this country; an imported CD cost just as a national one. Then, with the economic… How to put it nicely… Crisis? Of December 2001, every single article that came from other countries became at least three times more expensive than before, thanks to the dollar-peso currency.
Now here is where my sense of opportunity kicked in, so to speak. LOL I happened to become a ‘real’ fan (the kinds that wants to buy CDs and all possible material) just when prices were over the moon, and Nightwish’s CDs didn’t have national editions anymore. Back then, any European edition cost around $45, when a national cost around $25. I didn’t have the money to buy such an expensive CD.
Now, things have seemingly become easier for the local music industry to make national editions, and Nightwish’s CDs can be found at relatively reasonable prices, around $30. That’s more than a normal CD, but you know that a Nightwish CD won’t disappoint you. So, this month I started investigating, checking out prices and CDs available. Nightwish isn’t massively known here in Argentina, although the band has many fans, but here in MdP I knew there would probably be only two stores that would sell their CDs: AGB and Wagner Records.
Both stores had ‘Once’ (the CD I was looking for). In AGB, it cost $35, and the CD came with a bonus track. At Wagner, it cost $30, it had the same songs, and was the very first edition released of ‘Once’ by their label in Germany (according to the guy there… He could have just been trying to sell it to me LOL). It was pretty much the same money, it was the same CD, this one was German and was the last one he had… I let myself go and I bought it. :P
Let me say it again:
WOW!
I had already listened to some songs, and I had some of them recorded live from the concert they did in BsAs in November last year, so I was determined to get, at least, this one. Nightwish is one of those bands that can transport you with their music, make you feel a certain way with some songs. I remember the first time I listened to ‘Dead Boy’s Poem’… I almost cried.
The first thing I noticed in this record is that Tarja’s voice sounded very different… More delicate in some songs, unlike the more opera-like songs of their first CDs. For example, in “I Wish I Had An Angel”, her voice sounds so soft and delicate in some parts, so beautiful… Then, in other songs like “Dark Chest Of Wonders”, she goes back to the more classical way of singing.
Then there are the duets between her and Marco. I was shocked when I heard him singing live, he has such a powerful voice and it’s such a great contrast to Tarja’s… You know, when two complete opposite things make something beautiful when they unite? Well, that’s what these two do. I have the live version of “Planet Hell”, but I want to listen to that song LIVE. I mean, with me standing as close to the stage as possible. Vero, I renew my promise: if Nightwish comes back to Argentina some time soon (or whenever, it doesn’t matter), we have to be there. Even if I have to go to BsAs alone and face my worst fears. LOL
And Tuomas lyrics… And his music… Saying that the guy has talent is the understatement of the year. For those who don’t know, he not only writes the lyrics, but also composes the music. And all the articles and reviews I’ve read say how the band keeps getting better and better with every record they release. I would like to know he handles all that; it must be too much pressure for one person. I heard that their DVD ‘End Of Innocence’ has him talking about many things, private stuff, that’s why it’s called ‘End Of Innocence’. I wonder if I could get that one sometime… *rubs chin thoughtfully* Vero, I was also told that the DVD’s are going to be released here… and not ‘en precio dólar’, but in pesos… *grins*
I have to see this band live. And I would love to meet them and thank them for such beautiful music, for so many great moments, for the inspiration… And for getting me into a whole new genre of music I knew of, but that wasn’t exactly my favourite. So to Tuomas, Tarja, Emppu, Marco and Jukka, thank you! *Hey! This is probably the closest I’ll ever be of thanking them in person! LOL*
Oh, and thank you Mr. And Mrs. Holopainen, for not using protection that night back in March 1976, like one of the girls at tuomas_daily said once. LOL