Friday, March 22, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Monday, February 4, 2013
Been a while...
The upside of the deployment so far is that it's been pretty boring. The downside is (at least to me) is that it's been pretty damn boring.
Today's excitement? Massive storm system rolling in as we left dinner.
It's been a while since I've been in the right place to see an Anvil Cloud like that.
Today's excitement? Massive storm system rolling in as we left dinner.
It's been a while since I've been in the right place to see an Anvil Cloud like that.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Stop reading treble clef for a decade...
I used to play violin up into high school, but was always solidly mediocre at it, so I gave up in the interest of other classes. 12 years later, and I broke down and ordered a cheap mandolin to try and learn to play while I'm here (much to the dismay of my tentmates, I'm sure.)
The silly thing actually looks fairly decent, but the g-string (giggle) leaves a little to be desired. It just doesn't seem to resonate quite like the rest. I'll probably mess with things a little, but I've got a feeling it's just the way the low notes are going to be on this thing.
Anywho, the couple hours I spend plucking around with it (after a good half-hour to tune it... double strings are fun...) were a great exercise in frustration. Not only are the calluses needed to play tiny thin strings long gone (12 years will do that,) but my brain seems to have forgotten which finger goes where on what string to make the note that the little dot on the paper is supposed to be. I described it to one of my tentmates as feeling like somebody took apart that really complex lego set I put together years ago, and I lost the instructions for. I know how it's supposed to go, and my brain remembers bits and pieces, but it can't quite put them all in the right order.
I'm hoping that by the time I go home, I'll at least be able to play more than "Drunken Sailor" (seriously... that took like 5 minutes to get down, and it's like cheating... until you go the right tempo anyway.) Regardless, it's something to pass the time, and at least I didn't drop much cash on the instrument in case something happens to it.
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| (Yes, flannel penguin sheets. I can't help how awesome I am.) |
The silly thing actually looks fairly decent, but the g-string (giggle) leaves a little to be desired. It just doesn't seem to resonate quite like the rest. I'll probably mess with things a little, but I've got a feeling it's just the way the low notes are going to be on this thing.
Anywho, the couple hours I spend plucking around with it (after a good half-hour to tune it... double strings are fun...) were a great exercise in frustration. Not only are the calluses needed to play tiny thin strings long gone (12 years will do that,) but my brain seems to have forgotten which finger goes where on what string to make the note that the little dot on the paper is supposed to be. I described it to one of my tentmates as feeling like somebody took apart that really complex lego set I put together years ago, and I lost the instructions for. I know how it's supposed to go, and my brain remembers bits and pieces, but it can't quite put them all in the right order.
I'm hoping that by the time I go home, I'll at least be able to play more than "Drunken Sailor" (seriously... that took like 5 minutes to get down, and it's like cheating... until you go the right tempo anyway.) Regardless, it's something to pass the time, and at least I didn't drop much cash on the instrument in case something happens to it.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Post Holiday Day
Amazingly had some down time for Christmas, spent it playing D&D and watching Serenity, and the bad guys were kind enough to refrain from lobbing rockets or anything at us, so no bunker time!
Back to the office now though.
(Speaking of Serenity, I got Firefly: A Celebration for MandaFern as a surprise gift. Apparently it's good, she's blaming me for likely not sleeping tonight and being very tired for work tomorrow. If you're a Browncoat, it may be well worth checking out.)
Back to the office now though.
(Speaking of Serenity, I got Firefly: A Celebration for MandaFern as a surprise gift. Apparently it's good, she's blaming me for likely not sleeping tonight and being very tired for work tomorrow. If you're a Browncoat, it may be well worth checking out.)
Monday, December 24, 2012
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Don't Worry!
Intrepid reader(s)! I'm still here, just haven't had much time to get much up on here. Give me a couple weeks though, and there'll be more photos and junk.
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