learning to trust

my peace is found when i learn to lay the things of my life in the hands of my Father.

not to try to take everything into my own hands.
not to figure it out.
to stop pushing Him out.

to let Him in and hand over the reign over my life that i already know (but try at times to deny) i do not have the power to control.

let my life be in the hands of the one who:
Loves me like no other.
Knows the system and knows the best route for me to travel through that system.
Has the both the power and intention to make that route a successful journey.

and off we go.

it's been a long time

but i'm back!

a lot has gone down in the last few months. too much for one post.

EP release + live shows

just got hard back to work on material for the EP for my DOBREGA project. the EP is to be released sometime in the future once i feel that my music is up to my own standards and thus finally take it in to be mixed and mastered.

just finished getting a number of needed additions to complete my live rig. now that everything is in place, time to program it all.

if you haven't heard my music, check http://dobrega.bandcamp.com and check www.twitter.com/dobrega for updates on upcoming shows and more.

jobs

who needs em?
me.
other people too.

i'm diving into new possibilities

head first.
like a pool full of jello.
eating it up.

epic structures anyone?

it's day two of this week. "but it's only monday!" you say. nay. sunday was but day one. ok yeah.

in association with my growing love for technology, computers, synthesizers, strange noises and craziness in general, i perused the internet to find some awesome pictures of the two cities in china i really want to visit soon. both feature some epic structures.

take a gander.

first: hong kong

and of course, shanghai

same tunnel in crazy blur mode. apparently it plays house music too. 

tallest building in shanghai. totally looks like blade runner

a week begins

i'm gonna try to post a lot more often if i can right now.
this week let's do a new post every day, even it's short.

today's post starts with karaoke.

i just got back from some karaoke with some friends. though i call myself a musician, i shy away from singing. a lot. especially cause i can never remember the words to songs.

but today i went crazy in the best of ways. i was crazy singing all over the place like a madman.
it was an awesome departure from the stifled, over-self-conscious self i've been for too many months.

i was free.
i love being free. i need it.

i want to be real. i want to be free. i can't live any longer holding the weight of my life on my shoulders.

i am a beloved son of God and my identity is solidified daily in His abounding love. i want to be overflowing with the joy that comes from that abounding love.

may i live freely and boldly in my identity as a beloved son.
may i release my desire for control of my life so that i can be directed by you, Father, into the dreams You have set in my heart.

wherever you're at, i encourage you to join me in this freedom.
a week begins.
let's run.

it all comes back to one thing

to those who run, be exhorted.

to those who mourn, be comforted. sing with laughter.

may we ask why? emmanuel.

hark, join in with the angels. join in with all living things as they sing.

simeon knew the joy by which they sing- that which outweighs all else.

now more than ever, let us rejoice because of that great love that has allowed us freedom and life.

how beautiful that love. emmanuel.

future is open and amazing

been crazy busy in the last month or so, going back on forth on life plans.

almost applied to JET program but i figured LA is the spot to be as far as music is concerned and i'd rather stay in LA and just visit japan.

thus i want to go to japan in august and try to book a tour in cities where i know i can stay for free at my friends' houses.

sounds crazy but i think it can happen.

graduating college is one of the weirdest things. i feel like i've been here forever, haven't really been much of a college student, but i tried to make the most of it and now it's time to be a working individual and not be held back by papers (one of which i'm supposed to be writing right now) and assignments and other stuff that's good to learn but that I don't feel the need/ desire to learn.

three things I will be focusing on studying once i'm done with UCLAness:

#1. japanese- i need to improve my skills drastically if i want to go back and not make a complete fool of myself

#2. recording: took an awesome recording class but was too busy to read my textbook and the legit handouts that my professors wrote.

#3. yusef lateef's repository of scales and melodic patterns- ridiculous source of musical goodness that i haven't even scratched the surface of.

i also just want to work on all-around musicianship and really learn to play keyboards and guitar (the things everyone else can play amazingly well but i can't really play to save my life).

being done with school means spending time studying the things that are directly beneficial to what i'm doing (though i value the things i've learned here). i plan to get a decent day job with health benefits and then just push my music as much as possible (my project DOBREGA as well as a new project entitled A Heart Adopted, plus perhaps a noise band if i can find a sousaphone) and try to get in and collaborate with like-minded musicians here in LA and work as a bassist. as open ended as the future is, it's awesome. i've spent too much time freaking out about this upcoming period of my life but i'm pretty stoked on it. there's so much headroom. it's the same with japan. i get really bummed sometimes on how dark and hopeless of a place japan seems to be at times but that just means it has so much potential for awesomeness.

all goes to say, thanks to everyone who has supported me in my various endeavors. pray for me to trust God fully with my future so that it will be awesomeness.

ps download a track off of my upcoming EP at dobrega.bandcamp.com

sleeping is good and i should do it more

i mean really, i don't know why it never occurs to me that "hey i could be sleeping more if i went to bed earlier." clearly, when you have a set time that you need to get up to get stuff done on a particular day- let's say this monday, where i have work at 8 am (instead of what was 7 am before- thanks michelle) - there's only one variable in the equation to "how much sleep can i get." that variable= the time you go to bed. cause i've tried pushing the "time you wake up variable" before (please note that the times i was late for work, this was an involuntarily bodily function not my willful intent) and it pretty much screws up your life. so, here's to sleeping before midnight... in the near future.

i am now a classical bassist?

today i joined/ rehearsed with the UCLA Symphony Orchestra. we'll see if i have what it takes to be a legit classical musician. if not, it's ok. i never wanted to look like this guy anyway.

ps- check the gnarly carving on that scroll! is that Zeus?

i miss this place

Jesus loves Japan, as do I.

launchpad time?

i think it was my beloved friend sarah (who's now in benin!) who taught me this awesome hi-5 + pound combination handshake ( i guess you're not really shaking hands but hey, "handshake" is an umbrella name for the group of greeting/ congratulatory forms of hand contact?) where one person's hand is a rocket launching up to infinity and the other is the exhaust of the rocket ship blasting all over the place.

this piece of equipment makes the same thing happen in your computer.

not really, but really. it does.

let's get fully operational!

i'm really aching to do live shows right now. been working hard on making a lot of music- spending hours and hours coming up with new material and reworking my old stuff. a lot of my older music i don't really connect with- it was good but never really ME. so, i'm changing up things to sound the way i want it to sound. anyways, i have enough material to put together a lengthy live set so hopefully with some construction this weekend (on my riggidy rig!) and some bouncing/ organizing of media files i should be fully operational (death star style) real soon!

been a long time

since i've posted anything up but i'm gonna try to revamp this thing.

some recent photos

live in freedom

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."

Galatians 5:1

Why be a slave when you can be free?

Jesus I've wasted so much of my life already trying to do things my own way, trying to fulfill my own selfish desires but all of it has amounted to nothing. Your LOVE Oh God far surpasses. Thank you for being worthy, for being more than worthy of my life.

I live in freedom because of you.

Thank you for freeing me.

You are too good to me Jesus.

I love you. I am so grateful for your love- the truest.

YOU INSPIRE ME. YOU GIVE ME LIFE. YOU GIVE ME FREEDOM TO LIVE.

i don't deserve this but you freely offer it nonetheless. this overturns the logic of man.

thank you for delighting in me.

i want others to know this LOVE.

you are LOVE.

I pray that i will live this LOVE.

yes, you are LOVE.

you are Freedom.

ALL PRAISE BE TO THE CREATOR

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Ephesians 1:3

legit clothing company

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use method of choice, but definitely check em out.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/410bc

http://www.youtube.com/user/fourtenbc

http://www.twitter.com/410bc

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beware of ninjas in reno.

was in reno, nv last weekend. pretty tight ninja society rocks the local park downtown on sat afternoons. don't mess with em.

ps- make sure to click on the photo and thus be able to see this awesome flip up close! these are real reno ninjas- don't try this at home kids.