So i've decided to give the drumming a break this fall. I was talking with a friend of mine in class and i think we're both going to wait till the new year to go back. She said "i don't need another serious thing in my life right now" and i feel the same way. For me at the moment it's hard enough getting out of bed and doing work each day. Before ( Read more... )

I still can't make a shortcrust pastry to save my life. Apple pie is my favorite dessert, one with a lot of good childhood memories... It has to be homemade and spiced the way my mom did it to trigger that warm happiness from inside. Fortunately i know how to prepare the filling just right, but every time i bake a whole pie i end up with too little ( Read more... )

I was looking at a picture someone took of me when i was in line for Cyndi Lauper the other day. The picture is awful - even though i recently colored my hair i haven't had a good cut in months and i look a mess. But something that struck me was my frame has started getting crazy shoulder muscles like some alien Brock Lesnar is hatching in my chest ( Read more... )

So part of the problem is this. I like too much stuff. I was just at drum class and i've pretty much hit the point where i need to put in an hour a day of drills or resign myself to being a drum circle hippie for life. It's the same stage i got to with guitar when i gave it up in favor of electronic music. Even now i can still pick up a guitar and ( Read more... )

One thing i have a big problem with is perfectionism. I get into an all-or-nothing mindset where if i can't do something well i would rather not do it at all. When i'm in certain moods that can lead to impatience or frustration with others whose standards aren't the same as mine. When i'm in other moods it can lead me down a hopeless spiral of self ( Read more... )

I like to play my keyboard but i never record any of it. Going to drumming classes this year has improved my "finger rhythm" a lot and it's actually pretty fun to bash out melodies now. There are all these little riffs in me that could turn into songs if i just recorded them and built on them. I used to get scared that if i didn't record my ( Read more... )

What a night! The last month or so our drum class has been putting together a piece to play at the end-of-year student gala thrown by the dance school. We only finalized it two weeks ago, so had to practice like crazy, emailing around various different scores and MP3s. Some of the guys were drop-ins and had almost no experience playing dumbek, ( Read more... )

Last night my dumbek teacher suggested our class perform at the dance studio's end-of-year gala. It makes me nervous because we all still suck, a lot, and we will be performing in front of peers - or at least people who know what a decent drum performance is supposed to sound like. Also it's this whole... scene i have stayed away from because T ( Read more... )

The other day i picked up some ya pears and kiwis and peaches because i was in a fruity mood. I went to pay rent same day and our landlord gave us enough pears to feed an army. I felt really bad last time she gave us plums because we never even got round to eating one before they died. When i get given food for free i tend to forget it's there ( Read more... )

Zoiks! I woke up nice and early this morning so i could get a lot done. I didn't have any muscle pain. I read the political blogs (Obama reax), went through a solid stretch routine, had breakfast, swept the floors... and then proceeded to do nothing all day. I was going to do the laundry, finish my work permit application, practice some dumbek ( Read more... )