I have been working on this post all week. I would get a version of it done and think I’ll wait a little while to post it so I can go back and re-read it for clarity. By the time I would get to re-read it things would have changed and a chunk of what I wrote needed to be re-written. That’s my world these past couple of weeks. So many things seem to be happening or starting to happen that it’s becoming a bit of a blur. As nice as it would be to think I’ll have a chance to catch my breath after next week, I know that’s not likely. In fact, with the ramp up for my trip it’s all likely to get worse. I’ll be needing that 15 hour flight just to catch a mental break.
Most of what is going on is what you’ve been reading about. I’m studying, working on “rut busting”, trying to play some music, and getting in some exercise. There are a couple of things that have come up that have pointed out a few more things I have neglected for several years. One of those prompted some scramble work on my part, and the generous help and input of one of my Taekwondo friends. I still need to solve the other item I’ve neglected. Fortunately, I have a plan, I just don’t know how much time I have before that becomes more imperative. At least I have a plan.
I have been studying quite diligently even with trying to get out and get some social in. At last weekend, I finished my study goal early enough to catch a late night movie on Saturday. Then Sunday I managed a score of 100% on my practice test. I considered that a major victory and a good reason to go to the Charlotte Blues Jam. I’ll get back to that in a moment. The day after the blues jam is always a little rough for me. I usually get much less sleep the night of the jam than I really prefer and so the next day at work tends to be tough. I decided, that after work, the day after a jam, was a perfect opportunity to take a stab at a practice test. My reasoning being that if I could get a passing score when I felt brain dead then it was probably a pretty good sign. And I did get a passing score.
Back to that Blues Jam. I was excited to have gotten the score I did so I was just as excited to be able to go to the jam even though I had not had much practice time. There was a jam a couple of weeks ago that I also made it to. In both cases, we had a fairly small contingent of musicians. The upside when that happens is that you get a lot of playing time. The downside is that it can make it difficult to order food and get to eat it while it’s hot. The first jam, I was up in the next to last band and when we got ready to change over, there really wasn’t anyone else around so we just added another guitar player to our line up and stayed up there for another set. That was kind of cool. Fortunately I have video because at this point so much has happened that it is a blur.
For this most recent jam, we again, had a small contingent of musicians. And oddly enough, we were kind of lacking in guitar players. That’s really odd because normally we have more than enough. Because of the limited player pool we all got lots of playing time in. I played in four sets and of those, three sets, I not only played, I sang. And this is where I figured out that the short 15-20 minute practices I’ve been getting in, really weren’t enough. I felt a bit out of shape. Still, it was fun. I enjoyed it, even when I started in the right key and promptly got all in the wrong key for two verses. I had fun on the set I didn’t sing. I’ve mentioned before that just seconding can be a nice treat once in a while. This was as well, though, for the most part I felt like I was just trying to hold on. We did songs, I’ve not played before. I’ve heard them though so that was helpful. And I didn’t crash and burn on them so I think it went well. Again, it’s a good thing I have video because it’s another thing that’s on the blurry side.
The really interesting, or frustrating, thing is that this week has been so busy that I still haven’t seen the video from this last jam. For that matter, I haven’t had time to unpack my guitar either. I should get the guitar unpacked a little later today. And the video I’ll probably pull up sometime tomorrow. Then I’ll have a better idea of how things really went.
Yes, I’ve been studying all week. Except for Wednesday. An opportunity came up to see Joan Jett and Heart for the price of a t-shirt. I put in the effort to respond about it and was rewarded with getting to go. It was a really good seat. The show was really good. The opening act was actually good, though I’m not fond of her vocals, the band played well and the music was good. Joan Jett was especially interesting for me to see. Being a rhythm guitar player who ends up leading the group it was cool to see that on a bigger stage. And yes, she takes a lead once in a while, she is still the rhythm guitar player and I think that’s cool. I’ve seen Heart a few times before. Once in the same venue. This time the sound was better. They played a good show and aside from the couple of songs I don’t like, it was enjoyable. It was however, a long day and a late night. I had my trainer appointment before that an then a mad dash to the show. Needless to say, I got too little sleep and the next day was a challenge. And yes, I used that as an opportunity to run through the practice test again while feeling brain dead. I even felt pretty comfortable with all my answers as I went though it, I only had two that I wasn’t quite sure about. I got another one of those scores of 100. And then went off to Taekwondo class.
I’ve got just a few more days before my test. It’s on Wednesday. I don’t have much scheduled this weekend, maybe a trip to the fountain area at the shopping center to watch some live music if anything. At least that one is close by. And I’m going to go visit a friend at her new office. My helpful Taekwondo friend recently started a new job and it’s in a really cool building in an area of the city that is getting a lot of renovation and revitalization. Aside from that and weekly ‘need to get done things’ at home, I will be spending my weekend continuing to study for my test. As I’ve said before, I really want to pass the first time.
I’ve still got trip things to pull together. I did pick up all my travel information and such from the travel agent on Monday. Now it’s time to get the bank, and phone taken care of, and make a packing attempt to make sure I can work with the luggage I’ve chosen. I know there is more they just don’t come to mind, fortunately, the travel agent gave me a checklist. And then there is the matter of jam video to edit and get posted. I have a feeling things will continue to look a bit blurry for a while. I’m going to need that 15 hour flight over the Pacific just to catch my breath before the next whirlwind picks me up and takes me all over Australia for three weeks.
I’ve include some pictures of this last jam, as well as a comparison shot of my practice score from last year’s test to the practice score for the test I’m taking this year. I really hope that it is an accurate indicator of how I’ll do on Wednesday. With that. I normally try to post on Tuesday or Wednesday, unless of course I’ve had a week like this past one. However, with the test on Wednesday I may wait until after to try to get a new post up so I can share with you the results. Until then I’m going to go study. Cheers.