December Challenge, Day 3: Sound

If I have to pick a sound for this year, it has to be the sound of my new guitar. A Christmas present that I got in January.






You can hear it in this video:

FUIMOS ANGELES - NADIE

December Challenge, Day 10: What are some things that 2016 can do whithout

- I could do without all the political inestability we have these days...
- For that matter, I could do without personal inestability... Mostly economic...
- Arguing I like... fighting I can always do without!
- 5 kg (10lbs) I can stand to lose and would not miss...
- Going to so many funerals... Would not miss that!
- News about ISIS, DAESH or however you want to call it...
- Real Madrid playing badly...
- News about mass shootings in general...
- Bad attitude... Mine or anyone's...

December Challenge, Day 9: A few of my favorite things

Ok, so these are a few of my favorite things...



Classic Movies



TV Series...



Comic books, Super hero Movies, TV Series, etc...

Compulsively buying books in the hope I will get to eventually read them...

Coffee...

Beer...

Eating out...

Playing music with friends...

Concerts...

Running...



Hiking...



Doing sports in general...

Traveling to fun places...

Hanging out with friends and family...

Spending quality time with my girl...

December Challenge, Day 8: What Matters

Today I found out that an old co-worker and friend died. Not sure when he died, but to me it's as if he died today. I had not seen him in a few years, but with people who you don't see, it's as with Schrödinger's cat. You assume they're ok unless otherwise told...

This got me thinking about a very disturbing statistic that I've noticed this year. 2015 is the year that I've been to most funerals in my life. Until this year, the most funerals I'd attended in any given year had been 1-2 at the most... This year I attended 5 funerals, and I did not attend an additional 2 which I really would have liked to attend, because I could not physically attend, as they were held far away from my city, with no time to travel.

None of these were of people specially close to me, but all of them were of people very close to people very dear to me. In all cases I had a very dear friend or family member loose someone close and dear to them. A father, a mother, a brother, an uncle, a son, a best friend... People who I love lost someone they loved dearly and in some cases it changed their lives forever...

I was in the process of thinking about my "December challenge" topic of the day: "What matters" and it became so obvious and clear... Being alive, being healthy. This is what really matters. I would even go further... what really matters is having those close to you, those who matter to you be alive and healthy.

We take this for granted, we believe this is "normal". We don't even think about it, and worry about nonsense, get worked up with trivial things and stress out about minute troubles... until someone we love is faced with a disease, or has an accident. And then we realise all of that crap is really insignificant and we wish we had payed more attention to the person we now miss... We wish we could have them for just one more day, one more conversation... Wish we could call them or email them... just to see how they're doing...

It's too late to call or write to my friend... But I have many friends who I can call and find out about
... And this is what matters...

Alfredo, a good guy... a good friend!

December Challenge, Day 2: One Word

If I have to sum up the year in one word, it would have to be "Comeback". Both in the sense of "rebirth" as well as turning around a situation... 

First of all, in my professional life, this year brings a new beginning in many aspects. A new business venture, one that also brings me to collaborate again with an old friend and former co-worker; a first signed contract for another one of my business ventures; and a collaboration with a band which has meant my comeback to the music business in a new capacity, as a personal manager, which has also meant my coming back to a part of the business which I had long forgotten.

On the other hand, I've also made a comeback in a more personal aspect of my life: My music. Music is a big part of me. One which I had forsaken for many years, and which I started to get back in 2013. This year I not only released my second record (as I mentioned in the first post), but I also started playing again with friends, on a regular basis, as I started playing in a cover band. 

December Challenge, Day 1: What was the best part?

Many things have happened in 2015. I ran my 7th Marathon, I started a new venture, I began playing in a cover band with friends, I started working as a musical manager...  I had some pretty awesome trips and hiking experiences... All in all a very eventful and full year, but I guess my biggest highlight would be the release of my second record. 

Many years ago I released an album where I was a composer, singer and musician. I also participated in arrangements and production, but due to my youth and lack of experience, I always felt my effort fell short of mark... Even though the record was hugely successful (in Chile, at least), I always felt bad that I never got to do a second one where I could apply all that I had learnt in the first one. This year, after 18 years, I got to compose, record and produce (co-produce) a new album. Not only that, but we even released it with two videos in which I also had a part, and a "world tour" which saw us perform and do promotion in Chile and -for the first time ever for my band- Spain! 

Finishing, releasing and supporting this album with my band mates was the best part for me...

A deep breath of fresh air!

One of the things I enjoy the most about swimming is how my lungs seem to grow after I've been training for an hour... I suppose the fact that you must hold your breath and take the air in between strokes, makes you appreciate more the fact that you can take in deeper and slower breaths once you're outside if the water...
Tonight I came out of the pool, only to find that while I was in the water, the Earth itself was being bathed by a refreshing spring shower...
Now the cool, clean air feels wonderfully refreshing, with almost a velvety quality that reminds me of a cool beer... A beer for the soul!