The Lent Project

Many people were unaware of this, but I embarked on an additional Lenten discipline rather than simply giving up coffee for 40 days. I wanted to do more than just deprive myself of an every day pleasure that is supposed to help us understand Jesus’ fast through the desert during his ministry. I wanted to learn more about the meaning for this season. I wanted to know Him better.

Now, those who know me know that I am quite religious and spiritual. But I honestly know nothing about the Bible. You can try to quote any verse or reading and I cannot tell you what it refers to. I admittedly don’t even understand a lot of the traditions within the Catholic church and why the religion operates the way it does. However, the one thing I do pride myself on is the ability to listen to and comprehend spiritual concepts. I am able to find meaning behind religious teachings and apply it to my life. Doing this helps me maintain my value system and keeps my faith as strong as it does.

With that said, my Lent project, simply put, was to study each gospel reading from every Sunday during Lent and see how it relates to my everyday life. It was inspired by my cousin who is also our family priest. In addition to delivering sermons every week to his own parish, he continuously finds amazing ways to make these sermons easy for his young nieces and nephews to understand. By no means am I priest-like, but I wondered if I could somehow do something similar. I welcomed the challenged.

If you’ve read this far, I thank you for your interest. I didn’t want to publicly display this mission, as Christianity and Catholicism has faced much scrutiny lately and I didn’t want to add any unnecessary fuel to fire. This was done for me and only me, to grow and learn. However, I still wanted to provide the opportunity for anyone else in case they were interested, and I’d rather do it once than be a consistent flood to everyone’s news feeds. Below is a link to the posts I made on my private blog. For each Sunday’s gospel reading until Easter (and not including Easter), I have written an excerpt on what the Bible has taught me. Thank you for listening.

http://prayery.wordpress.com/category/lent-project/

Reloaded

It has been a year since my last recorded mix. If you have been following me since I started learning how to DJ, I think you might agree that I have come a long way. Not only with the quality of the recordings, but the style and vibe of the environment I try to convey. This mix is quite different from what I typically blend: it contains no hip-hop. Yes, this recording is 100% inspired by the emerging electronic music artists from the past year. My true love is still with hip-hop, but I felt that evolving and experiencing with the times will make me much more versatile and cater to a larger crowd. Maybe it will pay off someday. I hope you enjoy it!

d/l mp3: http://www.mediafire.com/?ewm8hfoa7dq56

Disclaimer: This link may change in the next few weeks. Once Ingrosso releases the vocal version of “Reload”, I intend to replace it!

Here is the tracklist:

1. Nadia Ali – Rapture (Avicii’s New Generation Mix)
2. Morgan Page- Fight For You (Beltek Remix)
3. Kaskade vs Qulinez – Stars Troll
4. Dada Life – Feed The Dada
5. Swedish House Mafia – Antidote
6. Bingo Players – Out of my Mind
7. Kaskade ft. Neon Trees – Lessons In Love
8. Zedd – Spectrum
9. Lana Del Rey – Summertime Sadness (Cedric Gervais Remix)
10. Nervo – You’re Gonna Love Again
11. Nicky Romero ft. Nervo – Like Home
12. Steve Angello – Lights
13. Alesso – Clash
14. Wolfgang Gartner – Red Line
15. Miike Snow – The Wave (Thomas Gold Remix)
16. Steve Angello – Yeah
17. W&W and Ummet Ozcan – The Code
18. Nari and Milani – Atom
19. John De Sohn – Long Time
20. Heat Maxwell – Uprising
21. Swedish House Mafia – Greyhound
22. Fedde Le Grand and Nicky Romero – Sparks (Turn Off Your Mind)
23. Hardwell – Apollo
24. Dirty South & Alesso – City of Dreams
25. Sebastian Ingrosso & Alesso Ft. Ryan Tedder – Calling
26. Morgan Page – In The Air (Hard Rock Sofa Remix)
27. Pendulum vs Red Hot Chili Peppers – The Island vs Other Side
28. Calvin Harris & Nicky Romero – Iron
29. Sebastian Ingrosso – Reload

Read Them, Don’t Weep.

It’s so interesting to go back and read my old posts from this blog. My thoughts are not far from what most people would say when reading their old material: Did I really just say that? Is that really how I felt? What was I thinking?

Actually, those are the questions one would ask when looking back at something like, say, Facebook posts, photos, or old text messages. When I started this particular blog (I have had many), I intended it to be some of my proudest writing samples. I wrote each and every post with a purpose and intent that I would be making some type of impact on those who read it, rather than just spilling out my thoughts and emotions like one would do in everyday social media. And for the most part, I feel that I have fulfilled some of that purpose. Although not as transparent, I have had positive feedback regarding the subjects of my posts, and that is what keeps me writing, even if it’s not as frequent as I would like.

But what really fascinates me about looking back on the last four years of writing is not so much the feelings of “I can’t believe I said that” or “that couldn’t have been me.” It is, in fact, me–my purest and most genuine thoughts…at the time. It is remarkable to remember how confident I was about a given topic during the time the post was conceived. It is even more interesting to see how my thoughts on those topics have changed over the years, to see that present-day Matt would have put up a great debate with the Matt of the past. Yet, through all of those differences, they all still somehow align with who I am as a person, and witnessing that is a very humbling experience. I have truly grown up, at a rate more rapid than I could ever imagine.

The only way for me to keep up with it…is to keep on writing.

Father’s Day

Today is Father’s Day, a day set aside once a year to honor the man who, with your mother of course, brought you into this world. It is a day that is supplemented with the commercial promotion of handy tools and electronics for sale, special brunch prices at restaurants, and local parks filled with canopies and mesquite-flavored smoke in the air. It was a day that I wish I had been able to spend with my father this year, but because I have now entered the work force, one which often requires weekends, I was unable to make that trip up north and join my fellow siblings for a relaxing day in the Napa Valley enjoying great food, wine, and company.

But I did not feel too much remorse, for I had a great share of memories with my father years before that I am more than thankful for. But even with these memories, the last place I wanted to be was at work. Though my day was only a short, six-hour shift, it still contained a fair share of those “special” customers who apparently had nothing else to do on Father’s Day than to pick up medication, and who also knew the right things to say to set it off some negative emotion. Nevertheless, the day soon ended and my patience-tested self eagerly left the building and tried to enjoy the remainder of my Sunday.

I sped home on the freeway to make it on time for the five-thirty mass at my local church, but still found myself about twenty minutes late. I had crept in the back door, and stood for most of the priest’s homily as my eyes scanned the back pews for an open seat. I was soon offered one from a young man, maybe even a teenager, who was sitting with a slightly hunched elderly gentleman who appeared to be his grandfather or uncle of some sort. I thought nothing of the two at first, but could not help but notice the subtle gestures that went on next to me. The young man would occasionally have his arm around the elderly man, hold open the Missal for him with his fingers following the prayers being read, and held his hand standing up during the “Our Father”  while the elderly man sat. At the end of mass, a prayer was said for all of the fathers in attendance and ushers passed out small gifts for them. The young man, for fear of the ushers skipping over the elderly man who did not stand to be identified, anxiously raised his hand to accept the gift for him, even if it was just a small prayer booklet and a pen. Though it is absolutely none of my business, I could not help but wonder: Who are these two? Where are the young man’s parents? Were there any other family members? And if there were, why were they not here together at mass on a day like Father’s Day?

After asking all of these questions, I realized that through this experience, the answers didn’t matter. What I witnessed with this pair was nothing but pure, profound humanity. On the one day that is set aside for treating your father extra-special, this young man probably does so most, if not all days of his life whether he chooses to or not. The compassion that I was privileged to witness tonight was simple enough to alleviate any minor frustrations from everyday life. If I should ever be so lucky, one day I will be living close enough to my parents to show both of them this kind of compassion on a more regular basis, holiday or not. But until that day comes, I shall be reminded of experiences like this to keep life positive. Not just for me, but for others who may be not be as fortunate or who are enduring temporary hardships. Though walking this elderly man arm-in-arm down the aisle to receive Holy Communion may not be a hardship, it never hurts to use these awe-inspiring visuals to bring peace into others’ lives.

My first order of this statement? Upon exiting the church, I stopped to shake both of their hands and said with truth and sincerity, “Thank you for the seat. Happy Father’s Day.”

Life’s Changes

I still remember the post I wrote in the fall of 2010 describing what I thought life was going to be like at this point in time. I had been closing in on my pharmacy student career and set my employment plans in stone. I had qualitatively justified all of my decisions and received innumerable loads of support from family and loved ones. I was looking forward to all of that change, which ensued just a short month following my graduation ceremony last May.

So here I am a year out of school, and that depiction of life was quite different than what I had envisioned. What I anticipated did not, in fact, pan out as favorable as I would have liked. West LA seemed like a great place to live at first, and it had endless amounts of opportunities as far as leisure activities. But what good is that when there is no one there to spend it with? Yes, I sound very “LA” when I say that it was “too far” from all of my friends, girlfriend, and family, only if that distance was less than 20 miles! But with all of that hellish traffic that happens all but four or five hours of the day, it WAS too far. Everyone found it too inconvenient to visit, and I found myself always returning back to the San Gabriel Valley, the place I inhabited the last four years. It had become a place that I called home, where I had established a strong network of close friends and became a comfortable regular at various establishments.

As a result, I terminated my lease after only nine months. I moved into a nice three-bedroom condo that I rent with two of my great friends. I am able to see my girlfriend more often and don’t think twice when I hear of a random friend gathering at a local café on my day off. The only minor inconvenience is my commute to work, which was the primary reason for the move to begin with. However, as a floater, my schedule is so inconsistent that I found myself driving all over the place every week regardless. Therefore, I felt the pros and cons of life were appropriately weighed out and my decisions were justified.

And with these decisions, I am slowly beginning to understand how life works and how things may carry themselves out in the future. Every change in my life thus far seemed to lie within boundaries, whether it be school or money. But now that those factors are no longer significant constraints, I have a lot more freedom with what I want to do with my life and where I want to be.  The only factors that remain are my job and my significant other. Both are very steady at this moment, but if one were to change right now? My job…

The Bandwagon.

Fan loyalty is a pretty interesting phenomenon. For many, rooting for a favorite sports team is a great interest or hobby to spend leisure time. For others, it builds friendships through the camaraderie one experiences with others following on the same side. And for some, it provides something to believe in.

And for the most part, being a sports fan makes one competitive. And with competition comes harassment, heartbreak, and unfortunately in some cases, violence. Though one can write novels on the instances where being overly passionate with a claimed team can get ugly with those on the opposing, no one ever talks about the drama that may exist between those on the same side. The “intra-”, rather than “inter-”. The “true fans” versus the “bandwagon.”

With the emergence of notable organizations and clubs in American sports who, until recently, have been pretty awful, fans who have claimed loyalty start calling out those who have hopped on the new talents’ bandwagon. Familiar phrases range from “where were you when they sucked?” to “name 5 players on the team 2 years ago.” And though there are definitely these types of fans that exist, I have proposed a theory as to why they exist. And even more importantly, why one knows they exist.

1. Everyone needs to start somewhere – Let’s face it. If you are self-proclaimed loyal fan, think back to when you started rooting for your first team. Why did you follow them? It was probably because they were good (or starting to get good), right? Very few people will say that they started their cult-like following for a team with a losing record. So for those that did not grow up rooting for whoever their Dad rooted for, or those from areas without a hometown team, you are more likely going to “hop on” to whoever is playing well at the time rather than a team that is, well, not.

2. Facebook wasn’t out 10 years ago.  Just because you notice someone is a fan now, doesn’t mean they weren’t before. With social networking at an all-time high, people share their life much differently than they did back then. That includes changing profile pictures, status updates, and tweeting nonstop about nothing other than likes of your favorite organization. With all this exposure, the love for your team is now shown in ways that could not have even been imagined years ago. Add that with the new coincidental success your team has achieved (that probably exacerbated the posting frequency to begin with) and you have the perfect formula for what others could conclude as a bandwagon fan.

3. Supporters versus Followers. Many of the said bandwagoners out there may have only started following their teams now, but that does not mean they didn’t support them on a more general level before. I can admit to this, as there were times when I just didn’t care about sports. But if anyone had to ask me what team I would choose, you better believe it was all of my Bay Area/Northern California franchises, regardless of how successful they were or were not. And in relation to point number one, it’s tough to follow a “losing team”, especially when you live in an area where they aren’t as exposed.

But at the end of the day, a fan is still a fan, regardless of their origin. Instead of spiting each other, fans should come together and continue to show love and support for their subject of mutual admiration. Cheer hard when they win, cry softly when they lose. But whether we’re riding solo with bragging rights, or hopping on with everyone else, let’s just admit one thing: These fools make way too much money to care about who was their fan first.

Crew Love

I can’t believe it’s been over a year since I recorded my last DJ mixtape. This is due partly in fact that I had received new equipment as a birthday gift in 2010 that I had to take time to learn, as well as factor in all the new changes that took place in my life as far as school and work goes. But the biggest of changes? It has to be the change in music. Since the last recording I did, electronic dance music has taken the world by storm and I too, found myself embracing every last bit of it. Though I can’t say it’s new to me, as I have always been a fan of trance back in the days of Mars & Mystre, Darude, and ATB. But I am glad that it has finally found a way to go mainstream in ways I would never imagine. Seeing current house artists collaborate with some of hip-hop’s biggest names has made me incredibly happy, as it provided new inspiration that I could get to experiment with for these mixes.

With all that said, I give you, the “Crew Love” mixtape: three hours of some of the biggest house and hip-hop tracks from 2011, as well as my usual ode to my first love, old school hip-hop. The title pays homage to a song off Drake’s Take Care album, in addition to all of my friends who I will be sharing this weekend in Vegas with. This mix is also the first under my new moniker, Starstruck, as DJ Matty Matt is no more. Why? Well, that will be a story told another time.

Download:
Part 1: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?y37h17qexjrfw3k
Part 2: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?vzyprs4v6sog2tt
Part 3: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ihn4zkhe3pddkmq
*links have been updated 1/18/12