The cover of Orphan Keeper is about 2/3 done in the way of instrumentation, so it's got a ways to go. Nightfall, on the other hand, has a completed instrumentation, but I'm still stuck when it comes to writing lyrics for the chorus. I've got to come up with something..... I'm in desperate need of doing so. Also, I've taken to starting some other music projects so I can at least be comforted with the presence of many proverbial puzzles to complete, when I'm bored of my major projects.

Also, as some of you may have read from my music thread, I am remaking a piece which has already been submitted to NG, which has figured in @Omegeist's Worst Music playlist, and which I hold dear to me. That piece is Mio/Homura. I have grown resolute enough to look at my piece the way it was intended, and I'm not letting anyone's comments on "biting more than I could chew" bring me down. For once, I am at peace about it -- this is something for which I am grateful.

This piece will be of interest to anyone who has taken part in or watched the 2012 Audio Deathmatch, specifically @Back-From-Purgatory, @Waterflame, @jimaan, @samulis and @SkyeWint. It's a long way off considering the previous two projects also need doing, but I look forward to finishing it the way it was intended to be finished.

So what has happened between the last post and now?

Troisnyx is getting her first radio plays!

That endeavour of sending a demo CD to Preston FM / City Beat paid off, Deo gratias! I paid a visit to the radio station on Tuesday because I had attempted to e-mail one of their presenters, describing myself and my music in a bit more detail. That e-mail bounced three times, and I felt it was no longer worth actually e-mailing them said information. I went on Tuesday to deliver the contents of the e-mail by hand.

While waiting a good hour for one of the presenters (Ben Pintilie) to arrive, I met some others, and spoke with them. It was fun. And they even asked me to sing for them -- after being lost for a little while, I mustered some courage to sing the first verse of Land of the Free, which, incidentally, was the first track on my demo CD. They thoroughly enjoyed it, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them.

So, it looks like they're going to contact me in a week or two, and Beginnings, which is the name of that demo CD, will see its first radio plays during that time. There is also a likelihood of me being called into the radio station for and interview, but I'm not hedging my bets on anything. It's exciting, but it gets me all jittery too. We'll see what happens.

I know it ain't much, but getting one's first radio plays is quite a feat for a newbie, even if said radio station is a local community one. I'm just grateful.

So: those of you who live in Preston or the surrounding areas, do tune in to 103.2 FM over the coming weeks. You might just hear some music from yours truly on air...

While I'm going about mentioning little bits of news, I think I ought to mention this.

Some time ago I had written a post about how I could ride a bike, among other things. Well, the blue bike in that post is no longer with us, it's now been given to a friend. But I recently got a new bike... one which I think fits me a lot more.

Seán received it flat-packed on Tuesday when I was away at City Beat discussing with the presenters, and while I was talking about music and other things, he worked for hours assembling the bike so that he could have it ready for when I returned home. Thanks, Seán. <3

(Seriously, I look like a bloomin' pin-up!)

There, now we can see the bike in greater detail.

Those of you who are curious about specs, it's a Viking Buttermere, 18-speed hybrid. It's been kitted out much more since these photos were taken: there is now a rear-view mirror, and the saddle bag is filled with tools and a spare tube. It's also going to get a first-aid kit soonish, because knowing me, I would likely fall off and hurt myself before I get any significant mileage on it.

I love how it looks. And it's in my favourite colour, no less.

I've ridden on the road with this several times now, and I'm still getting the hang of these new-fangled gear shifters. The previous bike had a 1990s gear shifter which had to be pushed and pulled mid-ride with the thumb, and it hurt me a lot, and distracted me so much. These shifters are easy to use, but I don't know which gears suit the road and which don't. Every new bike (every new anything, for that matter) has its teething troubles.