my soul soother

Music heals. It uplifts, inspires, calms you down, picks you up. I've been blessed to have been surrounded by music all my life. From when I was two years old I already knew how to put records on a record player! "Very gently," Bapak would say..."and don't touch the vinyl so the record won't scratch," he'd add.

Growing up, my parents would sing in the car...duets from various musicals, having a great time as we drove along Kali Malang in the old days when you could hardly see another vehicle on the road. And then on the toll road leading to our home years later, Bapak and Ibu would always sing with great passion.

When I was working on my graduate degree, I'd time myself to finish writing my assignments according to how many CDs it would take. I'd usually start panicking when it got to two CDs before my time was up, and inevitably I'd run over time. Until today. I have yet to meet a deadline!

But the music keeps me company and keeps me going. Sometimes I plug into my iPod when I'm stuck in traffic in Jakarta, and suddenly everything slows down and becomes bearable (for a while, at least). Life becomes MTV. And what looks like hectic madness, is suddenly soothed by the trumpet of Chris Botti...the soft child-like voice of Corinne Bailey Rae... or, what I'm listening to now, a new CD by Mutya Buena.

Formerly with the Sugababes, Mutya is half Irish half Filipino and has a very easy-to-listen to voice. She's the one singing to me as I write this already overdue report!

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