Decades
I've always felt that the naughts were important to recognize somehow, not always with great fanfare, (let's face it I celebrate every birthday with great fanfare anyway) but with something. When I turned twenty I had a "kids" party with cake, ice cream, hot dogs, balloons, pin the tail on the donkey, that sort of thing. My parents hosted it and made me a giant cream puff cake covered with D&D mins. When I turned thirty Tanya threw me a surprise party and then we moved to the country. When I turned forty I started karate--and learning with a bunch of skinny teenage black belts was oh so much fun.
Now I'm fifty and I have my black belt but the planter's fasciitis that began plaguing me in my twenties has come back full roar so it had been some months since I had been able to go to karate. But in the midst of my glumness I realized that I didn't have to give up my dojo and my sensei completely because he's also a tai-chi master, so back I went. He figures a year of tai-chi rehab and I should be back in karate. And as he pointed out, I don't HAVE to go to the black belt class. True. I can do my Tuesday morning tai-chi and then when my feet are better I can start going to the Monday night karate class. This frees up Thursday night.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
So, while fifty is the year I began tai-chi, it is also the year I began.....
BAGPIPE LESSONS!!! HA! HA! HA! HA!
Yes, I did. There is a pipe and drum band in town that will teach anyone the bagpipes for FREE! I had my first lesson last night and guess what? I SUCK! Of course I do. Or rather I should say, I blow. It amounts to the same thing. I am of course terrible at it after less than a day.
They only had a child's chanter to lend me but I'm using it to start learning the notes on and will get a grownup one next week. Hmmm, the holes are pretty far apart on the kiddie one already, this is gonna be interesting. So:
Lesson one: relax your fingers or you'll get whooping cramps in them, DON'T look at you fingers, don't play with your fingertips, play with the pads, try not to pass out, and have fun, God Damn it, it's a fun game.
Task one: learn nine notes.
Challange one, two and three: don't scare the crap out of the cats, don't let the dogs get hold of the chanter (Teddy was already facinated by it-it's in my mouth, I guess he figures it should be in his.) and try not to irritate the Beloved TOO much. If possible.
(bwahahahaha..) cough. hm??
Now I'm fifty and I have my black belt but the planter's fasciitis that began plaguing me in my twenties has come back full roar so it had been some months since I had been able to go to karate. But in the midst of my glumness I realized that I didn't have to give up my dojo and my sensei completely because he's also a tai-chi master, so back I went. He figures a year of tai-chi rehab and I should be back in karate. And as he pointed out, I don't HAVE to go to the black belt class. True. I can do my Tuesday morning tai-chi and then when my feet are better I can start going to the Monday night karate class. This frees up Thursday night.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
So, while fifty is the year I began tai-chi, it is also the year I began.....
BAGPIPE LESSONS!!! HA! HA! HA! HA!
Yes, I did. There is a pipe and drum band in town that will teach anyone the bagpipes for FREE! I had my first lesson last night and guess what? I SUCK! Of course I do. Or rather I should say, I blow. It amounts to the same thing. I am of course terrible at it after less than a day.
They only had a child's chanter to lend me but I'm using it to start learning the notes on and will get a grownup one next week. Hmmm, the holes are pretty far apart on the kiddie one already, this is gonna be interesting. So:
Lesson one: relax your fingers or you'll get whooping cramps in them, DON'T look at you fingers, don't play with your fingertips, play with the pads, try not to pass out, and have fun, God Damn it, it's a fun game.
Task one: learn nine notes.
Challange one, two and three: don't scare the crap out of the cats, don't let the dogs get hold of the chanter (Teddy was already facinated by it-it's in my mouth, I guess he figures it should be in his.) and try not to irritate the Beloved TOO much. If possible.
(bwahahahaha..) cough. hm??