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January 22 What Have I Gotten Myself Into?In the later part of last year, I was contacted by some people at a company across the street from mine that want to make a going away gift for their retiring CEO. They had decided to do a scrapbook for him which would include pictures of as many employees as they could get, along with some notes and memorabilia from his years with the company. One of the employees had gotten my name as a scrapbooker and contacted me to find out if I was interested in taking on the job of putting this scrapbook together.
It sounded like fun to me, getting paid for something I like to do, so I figured why not? I met with them a few times to determine what type of layout, colour scheme, etc. they wanted. It seemed like a pretty simple project, so I decided to go for it. So basically, I was just waiting for them to provide the pictures.
I met with them today. They provided me all the pictures and notes from employees. Great.
The problem is, they want the album done by mid-February. Under normal circumstances, this would be no problem. However, this coincides exactly with the time of my move. Sigh. I didn't feel like I could say no. So, I guess it's a good thing I didn't end up packing the scrapbooking stuff last night. Sometimes, laziness pays off!
It's going to be a busy month.
Gah! December 06 HighJust got back from playing volleyball. I love playing volleyball. During and after, I feel really good. Of course, the downside is that I won't be able to sleep for a while, but, I have stuff to do, so maybe that's no so bad.
I've been trying to figure out why other forms of exercise (specifically, going to the gym) don't give me the same pleasure. I don't know why it took me so long to figure it out, but tonight it came to me. To play volleyball well, I have to engage my mind and my body. Sports require you to think. Walking on a treadmill (or even outside), a spinning class, aerobics, weights -- these all just engage my body. My mind is free to wander off. It keeps me inside my own head, which is where I am most of the time anyway. The hobbies that I enjoy - guitar, scrapbooking, writing, volleyball - all seem to engage my mind. Believe it or not, this is quite a revelation for me, because having identified the problem, I can at least look for a solution. I don't think it's practical for me to play a sport more often than once, maybe twice a week, especially in the winter, so I need to find a way to have a more mundane gym exercise engage my mind. What can I do to turn walking into something that makes me focus?
Any advice appreciated. You too Nancy!  November 04 My Fingers are not Bleeding YetBut they sure feel like they are about too. I hope I am building up calluses quickly, because right now, my fingertips feel as though I touched them all to a hot stove.
However, I can almost play a whole song. Badly, but still. 3 chords with a reasonably fast switch time between chords. I can more or less keep up with the CD. I think my guitar might need new strings though. The strings feel stretchy or something (not sure what word to use to describe it) when I play. I do not know how to string a guitar. Will have to get a friend to help out on this one.
For me the hardest part of playing the guitar (or at least learning) is to remember to lock onto the harmony and keep the timing consistent. I hear melodies, so I'm really tempted to play in time with the singer. Which might be why I found piano slightly more intuitive -- you were almost always playing a melody with one hand.
Anyway, I am motivated. I plan to practice every night, even if only for a few minutes. Harden up those fingers.
Next week, apparently we will have an introduction to finger picking. I can't even imagine that I'll be able to do that. October 20 Nobody Told Me I'd Have to Cut My Nails!!!Had my first guitar lesson last night. I am not sure about this instrument at all.
First off, it was next to impossible for me to get the chord fingering right because I have long nails. I had to put my fingers on the strings sideways to hit them, and then of course, I was getting extra strings and stuff like that. I'm not so sure about cutting my nails. Long nails, oddly enough, seem like part of me. Part of what defines my look. But, I'll give it a shot for the duration of the course. Secondly, the guitar as an instrument seems quite non-intuitive to me. The strings are in some weird random order. There are 2 E's. No B, C or F. I don't get it. The keyboard (not that I can really play that) is orderly. It just seems more intuitive. I'm told guitar is easier to play than piano, but I just don't know.
And OMG, could my fingers hurt any worse? I'm pretty sure I'm pressing on the strings too hard, all tensed up and stuff. But still. And, I'm using a nylon string classical guitar. So that apparently hurts the fingers less. Good thing, cause I'm pretty sure my fingers would be bleeding otherwise.
So, later on, I will cut my nails, practice those 4 chords (I like Em, it's easy) and see whether I can become a guitar player. I'll keep you posted.
Oh yeah, and I have to add, that Shane Simpson is not too bad to look at either. |
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