I mean, I'm content with my talents, I should say. Cooking? Practical. Writing? Creative. That's all I need in my life, if I'm going to be honest. But I guess I've always kind of wanted to knit or crochet or something. Just sort of a passing fancy, you know? I think it stands out to me because unlike many things, it is something I could do, and I simply haven't yet. I'm a very... mathematical person. I always say I am not an artist, but really, I can draw patterns quite well. Intriguing networks of lines and spirals and Celtic knots and all sorts of things are quite simple for me. I can make fonts, I can make sprites, even. I just can't draw anything, you know, physical.
Similarly, with musical instrumentation, I don't have the right skills for it. I can't play a song unless I've memorized it beforehand, though it should be noted that I can play songs *far* beyond my skill level because I've memorized it. I can't read music and play at the same time, and I can't really get tempo in my head unless I know how fast the song has to go. But I am very good at memorization. I only need to hear a song once to learn the lyrics, the beat, the timing. And if I watch someone play a song, and perhaps write out the notes in a 'CDEEEFF' kind of way, I can play it. I can't play certain instruments, mind. Never got the hang of percussion, I don't have the fingers for string, and I've got bad enough asthma that most wind instruments are out. I used to play clarinet, before it got bad.
So knitting stands out because it is a mathematical process. There's creativity, yes, in choosing yarn and whatnot. But following patterns, counting in your head, repetition, I'm very good with that. I even own knitting needles and yarn and all that. I just haven't be bothered to learn as of yet, which kind of makes it worse, really. Because I know I could if I took out the time to do it, but I'm just... not motivated to, I suppose. I consider starting up, but then I want to read a book, or write a book, or it's an hour until my husband comes home and I need to make him dinner, or something.
Anyway, NaNo Update: I started over on Day 5 because I didn't like the story I was writing, and am currently around 7,000 words. I've done for this for like five years, so just beating isn't a great concern of mine, I just want to finish the story so I can clear the palate. It's been a while since I've written, and finishing something up in a month or two will help me move past this, get the juices flowing. That said, I probably will finish by November 30th, anyway, because writing 2,000 words a day really hasn't been hard since my first NaNo.
Also, my husband and I bought tickets for Universal Studios for our honeymoon in Florida, and I think you all know what means. (It means Harry Potter World!.)
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Friday's unreliable friend
So I have this friend... she's really nice and all but lately she's become really unreliable! She has these "valid" excuses like "oh, my internet's not working," but still- when they say "I'll see you Friday," you expect to see the person Friday, right?
I'm sorry, I know it's understandable, but it's really starting to annoy me!
And she just turns up randomly too, without warning! Like this one time, we were supposed to meet on a Friday, but she was late and didn't show up until Saturday. So then we were going to meet again the Friday after that and she just shows up at my place Monday night! What is that?
I'm sure she'll get over it though... :)
I'm sorry, I know it's understandable, but it's really starting to annoy me!
And she just turns up randomly too, without warning! Like this one time, we were supposed to meet on a Friday, but she was late and didn't show up until Saturday. So then we were going to meet again the Friday after that and she just shows up at my place Monday night! What is that?
I'm sure she'll get over it though... :)
Monday can't play the piano
Hello, girls, it's Monday!
Alexandra: Your friend is such a brilliant reminder of how we are all intelligent in different ways! Also, I want you to know, I have completed your challenge! I won't be talking about it here, obviously, but I have cooked things, and my boyfriend and I ate them, and neither of us got sick! So, success! :)
Carlyn: Procrastinate? You? Never. I refuse to believe it. Also, thank you for the ice. I got it to my . . . friend . . . and you'll be pleased to know that the penguins have been taken care of. Now to figure out what to do about the carpet . . .
Christina: Fingers crossed for your internet. We miss you!
Nano update, for anyone interested. It is Day 7. Target word count for the end of Day 7 is 11,666 words. My current word count is 14, 092. I am not currently beating my brother (not that everything's a competition between us . . .) For about six shining hours this morning, I was. Then he got up and wrote another 500 words. And I've spent the morning doing errands. Sigh . . .
But speaking of the fact that my brother and I aren't competitive at all, this week's topic!
So, I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I took piano lessons for about 11 years of my life, from first grade through high school, with a couple hiatus years in there when I was between teachers. Overall, I had two phenomenal teachers and one pretty mediocre one, but I got a good grounding in how to read music and chords, piano technique, and music theory. And I can play, strictly speaking. After eleven years, I can sit down with a piece of music and get through it, more or less. But I cannot really just play the piano, and I certainly can't accompany anyone. I stop and start and second guess myself and am far too much of a perfectionist. It takes about five months of constant, daily practice and pretty intensive work for me to get a piece to the point where I will play it in front of someone, and that was back when I was taking weekly lessons.
So, I'm not piano player. I realized this pretty early on. And I realized it because both of my brothers are. This is the point where Matthew will sputter and deny it and say that he actually can't play very well at all, he just knows how to fake it. This is also the point where I punch him. Because faking it or not, he's still miles better than I am, and he always has been.
I was okay with that, growing up. I mean, he was older and music was always more his thing than mine, so I could live with him occupying that niche, as long as he didn't come over and start sightreading the piece I'd been working on for five months and play it better than I could.
But then I started to notice that my little brother was also a better piano player than I was. And that wasn't okay, because he was three years younger, and had three years fewer experience, and was still better than I was (You should all be impressed with my maturity at this point, because I very rarely admit that my little brother is better than me at anything). The point when I realized that was the point when I came to the conclusion that I was never going to be a piano player. I envy people who have the ability, though, and I'd love to be able to just sit down and play and have beautiful, flowing music come out. But, sadly, that is not among my talents.
I would also love to be able to sign. From a young age, ASL has been fascinating to me. I love to watch interpreters -- I think there's something very beautiful and poetic about sign language. I'd love to actually learn calligraphy forms, instead of the self-taught stuff I can do, and I'd like to be able to juggle.
And that's my ability envy. Now, if you'll excuse me, Matthew's 1000 words ahead of me, and I must close the gap.
Monday out.
Alexandra: Your friend is such a brilliant reminder of how we are all intelligent in different ways! Also, I want you to know, I have completed your challenge! I won't be talking about it here, obviously, but I have cooked things, and my boyfriend and I ate them, and neither of us got sick! So, success! :)
Carlyn: Procrastinate? You? Never. I refuse to believe it. Also, thank you for the ice. I got it to my . . . friend . . . and you'll be pleased to know that the penguins have been taken care of. Now to figure out what to do about the carpet . . .
Christina: Fingers crossed for your internet. We miss you!
Nano update, for anyone interested. It is Day 7. Target word count for the end of Day 7 is 11,666 words. My current word count is 14, 092. I am not currently beating my brother (not that everything's a competition between us . . .) For about six shining hours this morning, I was. Then he got up and wrote another 500 words. And I've spent the morning doing errands. Sigh . . .
But speaking of the fact that my brother and I aren't competitive at all, this week's topic!
So, I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I took piano lessons for about 11 years of my life, from first grade through high school, with a couple hiatus years in there when I was between teachers. Overall, I had two phenomenal teachers and one pretty mediocre one, but I got a good grounding in how to read music and chords, piano technique, and music theory. And I can play, strictly speaking. After eleven years, I can sit down with a piece of music and get through it, more or less. But I cannot really just play the piano, and I certainly can't accompany anyone. I stop and start and second guess myself and am far too much of a perfectionist. It takes about five months of constant, daily practice and pretty intensive work for me to get a piece to the point where I will play it in front of someone, and that was back when I was taking weekly lessons.
So, I'm not piano player. I realized this pretty early on. And I realized it because both of my brothers are. This is the point where Matthew will sputter and deny it and say that he actually can't play very well at all, he just knows how to fake it. This is also the point where I punch him. Because faking it or not, he's still miles better than I am, and he always has been.
I was okay with that, growing up. I mean, he was older and music was always more his thing than mine, so I could live with him occupying that niche, as long as he didn't come over and start sightreading the piece I'd been working on for five months and play it better than I could.
But then I started to notice that my little brother was also a better piano player than I was. And that wasn't okay, because he was three years younger, and had three years fewer experience, and was still better than I was (You should all be impressed with my maturity at this point, because I very rarely admit that my little brother is better than me at anything). The point when I realized that was the point when I came to the conclusion that I was never going to be a piano player. I envy people who have the ability, though, and I'd love to be able to just sit down and play and have beautiful, flowing music come out. But, sadly, that is not among my talents.
I would also love to be able to sign. From a young age, ASL has been fascinating to me. I love to watch interpreters -- I think there's something very beautiful and poetic about sign language. I'd love to actually learn calligraphy forms, instead of the self-taught stuff I can do, and I'd like to be able to juggle.
And that's my ability envy. Now, if you'll excuse me, Matthew's 1000 words ahead of me, and I must close the gap.
Monday out.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Week 35: Ability Envy
From Carlyn:
What do other people do that you not do but that you would like to do?
Follow that? :)
What do other people do that you not do but that you would like to do?
Follow that? :)
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Friday's internet situation is not improved
Hello girls, I was hoping to be able to update you with good internet news, but alas my new connection in my room is not yet working so I'm still dealing with my limited internet! The internet is not working in my room so I am, yet again, writing this hurriedly at the library. I'm going to my internet provider's store after this to try to get everything working, so I hope to be able to post next week on time and in a leisurely fashion, but my hopes are not too high!
Anyway, as time is tight let's get onto the topics.
Pets: I've had cats my whole life, always two at a time. When I was little our cats were Crystal and Charity. Crystal was scared of nearly everything and would spend most of her time hiding in our library. Charity was the friendly one who unfortunately for her got the brunt of my attention as a child, which included a lot of pulling her tail and clipping bows in her hair. A little anecdote: one of the things Crystal would let me do was rest my head on her stomach and listen to her purr and my first sentence when I was little was "purr me" as I put my head on her. Awww, isn't that adorable? I don't have too many memories of Crystal and Charity besides those, they both got old and sick and we had to put them down by the time I was 6. I do remember that when Crystal was getting really sick she was too weak to move around the house and I would sit and pet her- the most I ever really got to pet her.
After Crystal and Charity we got Lexi and Bo- two black cats, brother and sister, who we adopted from the Humane Society. We still have Bo, but we unfortunately had to put Lexi down two years ago now. She got a form of cancer and got so weak that she could hardly move. Deciding that we had to take her to the vet to put her down was one of the hardest things I've had to do. I hope none of you have to make a decision like that. Lexi was a cuddly, adorable, fat cat that would purr all the time and rub up against you.
And Bo is my favorite guy, I've been told he acts like a dog. When you get home he greats you at the door, rubbing your legs and meowing loudly. I hope I get to go home for Christmas, not only to see my family and friends, but also to see him! I miss my Bo.
Okay, I was also planning on getting to the friend topic, but I'm about to get kicked out of the library- I will update with the next topic and soon as I'm able!
Anyway, as time is tight let's get onto the topics.
Pets: I've had cats my whole life, always two at a time. When I was little our cats were Crystal and Charity. Crystal was scared of nearly everything and would spend most of her time hiding in our library. Charity was the friendly one who unfortunately for her got the brunt of my attention as a child, which included a lot of pulling her tail and clipping bows in her hair. A little anecdote: one of the things Crystal would let me do was rest my head on her stomach and listen to her purr and my first sentence when I was little was "purr me" as I put my head on her. Awww, isn't that adorable? I don't have too many memories of Crystal and Charity besides those, they both got old and sick and we had to put them down by the time I was 6. I do remember that when Crystal was getting really sick she was too weak to move around the house and I would sit and pet her- the most I ever really got to pet her.
After Crystal and Charity we got Lexi and Bo- two black cats, brother and sister, who we adopted from the Humane Society. We still have Bo, but we unfortunately had to put Lexi down two years ago now. She got a form of cancer and got so weak that she could hardly move. Deciding that we had to take her to the vet to put her down was one of the hardest things I've had to do. I hope none of you have to make a decision like that. Lexi was a cuddly, adorable, fat cat that would purr all the time and rub up against you.
 |
| Lexi! (With my handmade prefect badge) |
 |
| He looks judgmental here, but he really is sweet. |
Okay, I was also planning on getting to the friend topic, but I'm about to get kicked out of the library- I will update with the next topic and soon as I'm able!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Wednesday's friend procrastinates
Cassie: You’ve definitely got the gist of it. I hope your… friend… gets the shipment of ice I just sent via The Internets. All those penguins are gonna need some chilliness. I sent it to your apartment—just because I didn’t know where your, ahem, friend… lives…
Alexandra: Good luck writing! I’ll expect brief posts from all my NaNoWriMo friends for the duration of the month : )
So… I have this friend… who, um, occasionally waits until the last minute to do things… It’s not me. I always spend plenty of time to make sure things are done wayyyyyyy early. So it’s not me we’re talking about here. Definitely not me.
This friend is, um, in her first year in a masters program in counseling and social psychology—let’s say. And she has a lot of projects here at the end of the semester, lots of papers and presentations and the like. And, true to form, I—SHE—waited until the last minute to do them. So she’s got, like, five papers to write for her four classes.
And I have to go help… her… with them…
We’re just a bundle of busy-ness these days, aren’t we?
Alexandra: Good luck writing! I’ll expect brief posts from all my NaNoWriMo friends for the duration of the month : )
So… I have this friend… who, um, occasionally waits until the last minute to do things… It’s not me. I always spend plenty of time to make sure things are done wayyyyyyy early. So it’s not me we’re talking about here. Definitely not me.
This friend is, um, in her first year in a masters program in counseling and social psychology—let’s say. And she has a lot of projects here at the end of the semester, lots of papers and presentations and the like. And, true to form, I—SHE—waited until the last minute to do them. So she’s got, like, five papers to write for her four classes.
And I have to go help… her… with them…
We’re just a bundle of busy-ness these days, aren’t we?
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Tuesday Has a Stereotypical Genius for a Friend
He's a fun guy. Quirky, intelligent - at least when it comes to the subjects he loves. He's good with electronics and arts and crafts, and he's built some great stuff. But when it comes to things that are less interesting to him, less of an expertise, he does occasionally remind me of the mad movie scientist who only has room in his brain for what he needs to work. He's texted me asking what cereal he should buy, in spite of the fact that we do not live together and rarely interacted with one another before dinner. What could I offer him besides my personal favourite cereals, which he may or may not like?
I've edited his essays, and for someone as intelligent as he is, they can be... well, NaNoWriMo started thirty minutes ago, and I am rushing to write this so I can get my Word document formatted for the morning, and this is far more comprehensible and grammatically correct than anything of his that I've worked with. He asks questions about very... simple topics. Usually English questions, since he knows literature is my area of expertise, but as I said, I've gotten questions ranging from the mundaneness of breakfast to questions about the non-existence of God (via text, I might add, so I had 160 characters to discuss the topic).
He is, at times, whimsically incompetent, and at other times, fascinatingly brilliant.
And that's all you're getting from me today, because I don't know if I want to write in Arial or Times New Roman and I need some sleep before I write out the first encounter of Olwen and company. Hope you all had a Happy Halloween! I spent it eating treats and watching Eight Legged Freaks (great film).
I've edited his essays, and for someone as intelligent as he is, they can be... well, NaNoWriMo started thirty minutes ago, and I am rushing to write this so I can get my Word document formatted for the morning, and this is far more comprehensible and grammatically correct than anything of his that I've worked with. He asks questions about very... simple topics. Usually English questions, since he knows literature is my area of expertise, but as I said, I've gotten questions ranging from the mundaneness of breakfast to questions about the non-existence of God (via text, I might add, so I had 160 characters to discuss the topic).
He is, at times, whimsically incompetent, and at other times, fascinatingly brilliant.
And that's all you're getting from me today, because I don't know if I want to write in Arial or Times New Roman and I need some sleep before I write out the first encounter of Olwen and company. Hope you all had a Happy Halloween! I spent it eating treats and watching Eight Legged Freaks (great film).
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