Alfreido's Blog

So, my name is Ben, and apparently I run a blog that hasn’t seen an update since July 2009. My bad. Well, considering my Macbook Pro is in the service centre being fixed (a story for another time), I’m using the little netbook and it can’t do much except browse internet and write a blog. So, for lack of a better subject for now, I present to you a brief summary of what has been happening in the last 6 months:

• My first-ever produced album, Emcee Red – State to State EP was finished and released in late November 2009. To the right, you can see me holding the very second copy (Emcee Red got the first). We had a huge night at the Rosemount on the 27th November to promote the EP, and we managed to sell a few T-Shirts and copies of the EP. We still have plans for a WA tour to promote the EP some more some time early this year. You can check out a couple of tracks on our Triple J Unearthed page, and we would appreciate if you take the time to listen and review the tracks.
• I have become a shareholder of the company I work for, Bam Creative, along with many of my colleagues. We completed an employee buyout in late 2009 and it has made for a very interesting start of this year, and there’s definitely a sense of new direction and a fresh start within the company. It’s created a new-found sense of excitement throughout the staff, which will only make for a much more happy and productive staff.
• I don’t know if you already know, but apparently the arbitrary year count has clocked another year and it’s 2010 now. Just making sure you knew.
• I have started a musical side project for tracks with a more electronic, dance, trance or chillout sound – Cold Presence. My latest track, Marathon, is freely available to listen to (not use in your own productions unless you wish to contact me and organise a deal ). Listen to Cold Presence – Marathon now.

Alright, that’s all I have to share for now. I will definitely strive to have a more substantial post, and more frequent posting, soon.

Two words… massive night! One of the best in recent memory.

Well, the main news was that the company I work for, Bam Creative, won the award for Best Medium Site (6-30 employees), so we were all pretty ecstatic about that. When we were called out by the MC of the event (who was classic, not because he was funny, but because he realised a lot of his jokes fell flat, and maintained a great face – If he reads this, cos I hear he’s somewhat of a blog hunter, I thought you were funny, so you have at least one fan ), we cheered like no one cheered before. It was so great, we actually felt sorry for the next finalist since their cheer wasn’t as loud.

We had free beer and wine, which was great. Most of the Bam guys got pissy, and we all celebrated hard, even when the rest of the WA Web Community sat around us having idle chit-chat and looking weirdly at us. We also got a 3-course meal. The soup (mushroom and something else) was crap, but the fish was great. And desert was good as well (not like you can stuff that up).

I’ll have to post up some photos when I get the chance, in the mean time, know that it was a good night.

… and that this is the first happy post I’ve made in a while

Now for some good news for a change … I have a new job as a web developer. I am now under the employ of a company called Bam Creative. Be sure to check them out if you want your website done the proper way

Image: A dastardly copyright-infringing image of Bam Creative.

Gotta love the hoops you have to jump through when you work in government schemes. For those of you not in the know, I work as an office clerk in Perth at a respectable health company (website design is my hobby for the moment). I was signed up under CDEP, a government scheme to basically ‘work for the dole’. I didn’t care much about the money at the time, I just needed a cash flow to keep up with all my spending on various things (mostly booze ). Now it appears that I have to sign up to a Job Seeker Network. Basically, they want me to look for a job while I am currently in one. I tell you… if the Australian government had a brain, Australia’s economy might actually go up.

I’ve been driving heaps as of late. 29th September is the day of reckoning. My driving exam. I’ll be doing it in my car, looking forward to it but at the same time, worried because the test will more than likely take place in the city, where everything is so hectic. Well, I guess if I pass, I’ve passed under the worst conditions and should be proud…

Gamestah.com is down. Has been for nearly 2 days. We may be contracted to Ausgamers, but I’m sure there is something in there about Ausgamers having to provide a decent service.