It’s A Process

Posted on March 26, 2019 by SusanG

It’s all a process. Getting back on track, recovering from an injury, learning something new, it’s all a process. None of that happens quickly, none of it happens overnight. It all takes time. It takes time to assimilate, it takes time to strengthen, it takes time to adjust. Sometimes, it takes more time than we want. But it takes as long as it takes.

For me, as you have likely noticed, getting back on track has been a longer process than I would like. I’ve done a bit of sputtering along. And I’m still working on the why of that. I suspect some of it has been a combination of needing a little recovery time from a year that was for me, quite intense. And frustratingly, some of it has probably been as a result of the injury I mentioned that I have been dealing with. Even low level pain can be draining and it can cause a variety of issues, including depression. Though I don’t believe I have been suffering depression, I do think that some of my enthusiasm, drive, and energy have been dampened by it.

I cleaned off the art table and it’s ready for a new project, as soon as I figure out what that’s going to be.

On a positive note for that, I have finally figured out what was the likely cause of the injury and what has caused it to linger. Mostly stubbornness. I turned my foot/ankle not in the direction most people do. It seems to have pulled my arch badly. And now for the stubborn part. I didn’t register the problem and instead I have just been compensating for several months. This has caused pain and weakness in the leg and hip attached to the injured foot. The reason that is positive is that I now know what to do for it all. And I am regaining some strength and flexibilty in that hip and leg. And yes, it is a process. A slow one in my opinion. Still. A process.

Learning new stuff is a process as well. Whether it’s something for work, a new language, a new art technique, a new technique on your musical instrument. You name it. Learning something new takes time. It takes time to take in that new bit of information and figure out where it fits in with what you already know. Sometimes, the process of learning the new bit will be so exciting and open your mind to so many possibilities that you almost can’t take in anything more for a bit of time. Or you find your brain feels like it’s going to explode. In all that, there will be one piece, that starts to fit it all together, like that one piece in the jigsaw puzzle, that once you find it things start progressing at a rapid pace.

Kevin made Nick and I an offer that we were not going to pass up. In some ways we are at about the same level of skill but in different areas. We both have gaps in our knowledge or technique. And we do something that is one of Kevin’s pet peeves musically. We often end up playing the same bar chords and the same rhythm when we play together. So he offered to spend a couple of hours with us to fix it. And we took him up on it. Oh holy cow. What he had to share was not earth shattering. It wasn’t some huge secret, or big thing that no one knows about. Except, for me it was a little of a revelation. It helped me understand where I was getting stuck and having trouble doing some of what I see others do that sounds so good.

I finally got the reverb pedal I wanted which meant it was time to get the pedal board setup going. There’s even room to expand

So remember, I play rhythm. Or that’s what I call it. In a lot of ways I play strummer. It’s got me this far. I’m not disparaging what I do. I’m acknowleding the difference I am starting to hear and understand. What Kevin helped with was pointing out how I can change that and make the sound more interesting. He helped explain the C-A-G-E-D concept in a way that Nick, a math guy, and me a pattern person, could understand so we can each learn to incorporate it into our playing. He shared several exercises to help with being able to get more comfortable and familiar with the fretboard. I admit. My brain was so full when we were done that I thought it might explode if I tried to stuff one more thing into it.

I am so grateful and appreciative of the time he took to help us, and I can picture the difference it will make for me as a guitar player. I so wanted to be able to demonstrate to him how much I appreciate it all by being able to incorporate it into my playing at the next blues jam. I’m realistic. The next jam was just a week away. I’d hoped be demonstrating awesome new technique then but even with practicing everyday, it would take time to get to where I could use it as easily as I can my pentatonic scale or my basic bar chord pattern. It’s a process.

I got started working on it. I found one song that I knew was going to get huge benefit from the change. I also found that there are some songs that I have down pretty good for singing and playing, that with the new technique it is just different enough that I pretty much have to relearn how to play and sing the song, completely. I think that will be a good thing. I had already recognized that I had become proficient in basic versions of a lot of the songs I sing and play and that I really need, and want, to improve on that. The songs sound ok with a four or five or six piece band but, I think they could sound even better. So. Relearning everything, or nearly everything, with some new skills and a little different sound will be fun, interesting, and in some cases, quite a challenge. It will take time and may take several months to fully assimilate all the knowledge that was shared in just a couple hours. I’m really looking forward to it. I’m excited to see the difference it will make.

I finally finished that last wall in the dining room. I’m so happy with the color change that I don’t care if I hurt for a week. It was worth it!

I am pleased to say that both Nick and I were dilligent in our practice and were both able to begin to utilize our new information and skills at that next jam. I got to do that song that I new was going to benefit greatly from the information and it sounded really good. Really good. I still need to practice it. I can make that even better I think. And as a big bonus, one of the songs I do a lot got a big boost from some small changes that included parts of what Kevin shared. It sounded really good.

So that’s where things are at this point. I want to make sure and say “Thank you!” to Kevin for his time and knowledge sharing. Afterwards, my brain was so stuffed full of information that it couldn’t take in much more so while it was assimilating I spent some time as a bird perch and editing video from the previous blues jam.

Up next, well, my posts are a bit out of synch with the Blues Jams. I’m hoping to get that straightened out between the next two jams. I have a few new songs I want to learn and I think now, with all this new information, they might be even easier to pick up. I’ve finally finished painting my dining room and wow what a difference. I’ll probably start another project soon. The living room needs new paint too. I’ve also got a few other things that I will be concentrating on. I have the test for work that I need to study for and so far that has not been as successful as I would like so I’ve got something else I’m going to try for that. I also have my next black belt test for Taekwondo. That’s in June. That means I start the extra prep class schedule this next week. And I need to make my flight arrangements for that trip to Australia that I intend to make around September or so. Yep. It’s that time. Need to book the flight and start getting everything else sorted.

We’ve had another jam. And I’ve had a chance to watch the video and found some new lessons. I’ll share soon. Besides that, there’s lots of stuff coming up. For now I’ve got some fairly random pictures to share. Enjoy.

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Derailed

Posted on March 14, 2019 by SusanG

I had my post for last week all written and ready to go. I decided to let it sit over night because I thought it might be a little long and if I reviewed it the next day, I might have some edits to make to it to hopefully make it better. As you might have noticed, it didn’t get posted last week.

Coco

The next morning, as I was getting ready for the day, I woke the birds up, as usual. Except not. I may have mentioned that one of my birds is a pretty little hybrid with a lot of health issues. The latest, diagnosed in August and the one likely to be the cause of her demise, was arthritis. In the type of birds I have, it’s a fatal disease as I understand it. I understand part of why it’s fatal and I’m not totally clear on the rest of it. Since I don’t want to take the time to look it up and then explain it here, I’ll just move on.

Coco, trying to sleep.

I went to get Coco up and she was uncharacteristically sitting on the floor of her cage. For her, first thing in the morning, this is unusual. And that was not to be the only unusual behavior. From not taking snack as she usually does, to not balancing well, to just wanting to snuggle. All not normal for her. I spent much longer that morning than I routinely do, just holding her. I couldn’t seem to get her to let me put her down. Though I was able to finally get her comfortable enough that I could go to the day job, this defined what the rest of my week would look like when home. Lots of extra love and care and cuddle for the little bird. By Friday, I knew she wouldn’t last the weekend.

Coco, I’m going to just cuddle up here and sleep some more.

As I was holding her on Friday, and trying to get some things done, I was hit with the understanding of how much time and effort I had been putting in, not just that week, since August, into making her comfortable and giving her the best care I could. It was a revelation because I have been struggling to figure out where my motivation, or enthusiasm, and get it done-ness had gone. I wasn’t depressed that I knew of. I hadn’t lost interest in all the stuff I’d been working on. I hadn’t found new shiny squirrels to chase and distract me from things. I just couldn’t figure it out. Until I sat there, with her sleeping in a box next to me, while I tried to get some paperwork done.

A rare moment of family time. Coco and Papaya. They think my most important job is to be their perch.

I had intended to stop at a new gym to check it out, go to the hardware store for some paint supplies to finish the wall in the dining room and to maybe even paint that wall, all after I got home from the day job on Friday. None of it got done because my first thought was to check on her and take care of her. And this had been going on essentially since August or September.

Now I know where all that time, physical energy, emotional energy, and such went. I didn’t lose motivation or interest. It was all being channeled into the care of this little bird. Not everyone has the view of their non-human companions that my family does. They are part of the family. And so they get the same level of care, if possible as anyone else. I rather embarrassedly admitted to a co-worker that I’m a softy. And this burly, bearded, no nonsense man said the kindest thing to me in response. When I said I’m a softy he said ‘if you’re not you shouldn’t have pets.’ And he proceeded to show me a picture of his cat that had decided she needed to curl up on his chest for a cuddle.

Papaya. I’m going to play with your hair now that it’s longer.

The story for the bird ends as you imagine. She passed early Saturday morning. I don’t regret the time I spent caring for her. I would do the same again. As I have done before. That’s who I am. Hopefully, I will recognize sooner the choice I am making and be a little kinder to myself as so many of the things I intend to do don’t happen. Or don’t happen in the time I expect. Or progress made seems to slip a little or I find myself without the

energy to engage in things I want to do. It takes a lot of energy to care of another being. It takes a lot of time. It changes your life. It’s easy enough to slip into. It’s coming out the other side that can be disorienting.

Coco was part of my family for about 20 years. Her presence was just as significant as another human being and so her absence is as significant. Not having her around is taking some adjustment. Suddenly having my routine altered is a bit of a shock. I still have a bird to take care of but he’s an independent and fussy creature who may out live us all if we don’t tell him he’s older than dirt for his breed. Even though he needs a little extra care and attention as he adjusts to his new reality with part of his flock missing, he is minimally tolerant of his bedtime being delayed or lots of extra cuddle time. That means that I too get to adjust to a new reality of a changed routine and time and energy that can be redirected into other things.

Papaya. Ready for his close up and looking dapper.

I am hopeful. I do intend to post what I wrote last week, though it will need a bit of editing now. We also had a Blues Jam that had some electrifying moments that should be worth sharing. And as usual, there’s video. So there’s good stuff to come and the possibility of it happening in a more timely fashion.

You know, my experience was with a small bird and for just a few months. And without realizing it, it turned my world upside down. I can only imagine what it must be like to care for another human being with many more and more complicated needs. Whether it be for a few months or several years. It takes more than we realize. So if you know someone in that care giver role, if they are caring for a person or an ailing pet, be kind, be patient, and be a friend.

I’m sharing some pictures of the birds. I hope you enjoy them.

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Not Doing

Posted on February 18, 2019 by SusanG

Sometimes you have to not do something you really want to. I’m not talking about holding back the smart mouthed response you wanted to give your boss. I’m talking actually something you really enjoy doing but you find yourself in a position of it not being in your best interest.

I found myself in this position this week. I love going to Taekwondo. In the 5 plus years I have been doing it, I have never woke up on a day I was planning on going to Taekwondo and had the thought that I didn’t want to go. I may have thought that I would like to do something else, and yet, it had nothing to do with not wanting to go to Taekwondo. And I almost always, if not always, end up at Taekwondo. So, for there to be a day that I decide not to go, of my own volition, something has to be up. As it turns out, I seem to have injured myself. And the injury is being rather rude.

This bundle of feathers thinks my sole purpose in life is to be her perch.

I’ve no idea how I did it. I have several theories. What I do know is that it was irritated significantly in Yoga this week. Ok. Yes. I can injure myself in Yoga. I can throw my back out just by breathing so why would this not be possible. Anyway. I got into a pose that I have done many times before and nearly couldn’t transition to the next pose or then stand up from there. Lots of pain. Not pose pain. Just body pain.

I got through class and then headed home to get ready for and go to the Blues Jam.

If you are wondering how that was going to work out, well it did. In fact it was a great jam. Lots of fun and good energy. I’ll come back to it in a moment.

So I didn’t think too much of what happened until I got into Taekwondo class a couple nights later. I’m going along doing the drills fine until we come to either a round house kick or a sliding side kick, and I don’t remember which. I went to kick with my left foot and as I did the pain in the left hip flexor area was quite sharp. So I kicked lower. But I hurt quite a bit the next day. To be fair. I’ve been battling some pain on this side for a few months now. So while I’d like to say I hurt myself in Yoga, because of the irony, it might not be entirely true. Anyway, pain the next day, and the day after still, and ice in between and not a lot of relief. So the night of the next Taekwondo class comes and I want to go so bad. And I could only have done a round house kick if it were to save my life, and yet maybe not even then. So I stayed home. This was a difficult decision to come to. Not for feeling guilty of missing class. It was hard because I really wanted to go. When I finally realized I was not going to be able to give my best, or even fifty percent of my best, I gave in. I got a bag of ice, sat on the couch with that ice on my hip and watched the news.

I never like to not be able to give my best at whatever I’m doing. Be that Taekwondo, or playing and singing at the blues jam. And I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure how the jam was going to go for me since I knew I wasn’t at my best. As I result I was very pleased, and a little surprised at how things did turn out.

I’ve had a chance to watch the video. In fact, I’ve got it all edited, I just need to post it. I was kind of excited to see how the first set I did went because it felt like it went really well. So I watched it as soon as I got home that night. Ugh. That meant for a late night with an early morning to follow. But I was glad to see it. Now, after seeing it all, and noting my mistakes, and my successes, I feel pretty good.

As you can see, as far as the bird is concerned, my time off from Taekwondo and Yoga was well spent.

What I noticed most, was that, because I didn’t have the reserves to really push anything, I didn’t. I didn’t realize I was doing this. But I didn’t over sing as much as I sometimes do. My voice was still strong but a bit more relaxed. As were most of the numbers I did. I didn’t have any energy to be nervous about playing songs I’ve never played. Or playing songs I’ve only done once. I had the energy to get up there, give it the best I had, and have fun. And heavens, did I have fun. I got to play with some new people and I got to play with someone I haven’t played with in way too long a time. I got to learn to play new songs and I managed some pretty good lead parts. It was a really, really good time. And I am so glad I was able to make it. It might be worth noting that, even though I was hurting as I headed out, it never occurred to me to not go.

So where does the Taekwondo and Yoga situation stand? Well, for now, I will be cutting back on Yoga. I still have not learned how to pull back and not push myself in Yoga. I have learned it in Taekwondo. And since I am expecting to test for my next level of black belt in the spring, I would rather heal up and do that. If that means I step away from Yoga for a while, that’s what it means. We’ll see how it goes and I’ll take it one class at a time. And for this week, and possibly next week, I’ll be doing the same with Taekwondo. I’d like to be there. I really do love it. However, taking a few days or a couple of weeks off now is better than getting to the test and not being able to do what I need to and then not passing. It doesn’t mean it’s not a difficult thing to do and it doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck. It does. But that’s the thing about both Taekwondo and Yoga. Knowing your limits, knowing when to push those limits, and knowing when to accept those limits for that moment.

Now, you might have noticed. I have the jam video edited. I’ll be posting that this next week, if not sooner. Hopefully you will enjoy them. I’m still working on learning some new things. I don’t know if I will have anything ready for the next jam, as I think it’s just around the corner. I was working on one song that I think I need to work on a lot more before it’s really ready. I’m starting to get to the point that I don’t feel I can just pick up a song and learn to sing it and kind of play it. It’s time to push those limits and for now that means, new songs need more than a week or two of work to make them jam worthy.

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Fighting to Catch Up

Posted on February 10, 2019 by SusanG

If you’re wondering where the articles have been the last couple of weeks you’re not alone. So have I. I’ve been struggling to catch back up to a routine and schedule that had been working quite well. It’s not being an easy thing to do.

I seem to have fallen behind or become distracted by things that I feel a need to get done. Or things that my apparently over-loaded brain suddenly finds attractive to do or try. These are never short side trips to my day. They can easily eat up 4 hours and then I’ve lost whatever momentum I started my day with.

As a result, I get other, new projects worked on and not my current, on going projects. Add to that the various beginning of the year appointments I need to make and some Dental fun and it’s a pretty stout recipe for frustration and scheduling devastation. Not to mention what it does to practice time, and research time, making art time, and on and on.

The before painting in the dining room

I did try to get an article out this last week. I got it started and even pretty much finished and then had second thoughts. I’ve been trying to make my posts more of quality than just putting up some sort of update each week. That tends to make things a bit more difficult than I realized. I prefer to keep some consistency in my postings and missing one really does disappoint me. I will continue to make my posts of quality, as best I can, though there may be a few more just update posts than there were last year. Not that I expect this year to any less interesting or exciting, quite the contrary. However, in all that there is likely to be gaps of time that involve a lot of things happening and yet very little to really share.

I’ll share some of what I think and hope is ahead for this year, that I already know of.

The dining room wall with lavender primer

I have at least one more, maybe two more tests that I will be taking this year for my day job. They will involve quite a bit of study time, and while I do what I can when I have some open time at work, at some point it will have to spill over into my at home time.

I will be testing for my 2nd Dan in Taekwondo. That’s my 2nd degree black belt. It’s expected to be in the mid to late spring and about 6 weeks before it I’ll be having an extra prep class to help prepare. I’m excited about this by the way.

Dining room wall after painting

I am currently planning a trip to Australia at in the Spring months for them Autumn months for me. I have friends there that I want to visit and I’ve never been there. I have no clue what to go see. I’m at such a loss. There is so much. And as a reminder, Australia is as big as the United States of America. It’s not some small little place that you can drive across in a mere day or two. So the challenge is to figure out what I want to see and if I can get that all done in just about two and half to three weeks. I’ll be doing a bit of research on this for a good few months. Oh, and the trip is a little contingent on the US government. Like if they can stay open long enough for me to get a visa. As excited as I am about this, it’s a little daunting as well.

I’ve also started eradicating the tan and browns on the walls in my dining room, living room and possibly bedroom. I think I’ll leave the kitchen to next year, though I could get really enthusiastic about that and do it sooner. Oh heavens, my back and shoulders may never forgive me.

The other dining room wall after painting

I’m certain there will be other things come up during the year. While I’m waiting for that to happen, and in between all of those things, I’ll be back to Blues Jamming twice a month starting today. Which means I’ll be trying to learn a few more songs and working on my skills on the guitar and vocally. I’ll also be working on that Snowman project I’ve shared a few pictures of. That’s a much bigger project than what you are seeing so far. More will be revealed as I get to it.

With all that, please hang with me. I am trying to get back on track. I’ll keep the posts as interesting as I can, even if they are just updates because nothing interesting seems to have happened.

Cool whiskey glass with guitar pick in it

I’m including some pictures of the painting in the dining room so you can see the color change that I’m working on in the public part of my home. The light tan color on the bottom of the before picture is also in the bedroom and the living room. It has to go. I have one wall to finish in the dining room. It has all the furniture against it so getting to it to paint is a big chore. You’ll notice the wall go lavender. I had to use a purple based primer to kill the yellow in that tan.

Also, as a little fun, one of my kicking (Taekwondo) friends was someplace and said she saw this whiskey glass and thought of me so she got it for me. I love it! Thanks Paula! It makes me smile.

That’s it. That’s me trying to catch up and get in the groove as best I can. I know I thought I was getting there a few weeks ago and I hope that I actually am now. Either way, whether I am or I am not, at least I keep trying and at some point things should settle down.

And did I mention, we’re having a Blues Jam today? We are. I’ve got to go get things ready.

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Not Too Much Rust

Posted on January 22, 2019 by SusanG

The first jam of 2019 is in the books. It was really good to get back to playing. And as always I found some interesting lessons for myself.

I have already reviewed the video of the two sets I played and was pleased to find that I wasn’t quite as rusty as I was afraid I was. Not that there was no rust. It just wasn’t the plague or handicap I was afraid it would be.

Who lives back there?

In a situation where you take a little time off from something it can be easy to fall back in at a level you were many months, or perhaps years prior to the break. As an example, I could have reverted to playing like I did a year ago when I was just getting started. It would have been easy to not take chances and not play up to the level I can now. I could have chosen to do songs with easy rhythms and a lot of strum and not taken any leads. I am very please that I didn’t.

Truthfully, it really never occurred to me to actually do that.

Sure I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be up to snuff so to speak. I knew I hadn’t been practicing as much as I had the couple of months leading up to the break so I wasn’t sure how well things would go.

They went quite well all things considered. I know, what’s that mean? Well. It wasn’t perfect. I flubbed some lyrics. My voice cracked more that once and I kicked off a song much faster than I intended. All, minor things to be sure.

New Snowman in the works

I had been having a little trouble getting my vocal control back. This I was finding was due to not staying well hydrated and not practicing. I had also lost the habit of proper breathing. All of this I was aware of and had been working on. Still, I was a bit unsure as to my status. Now I know. I’ll be working on that.

It was interesting to me to find how much not practicing with the Wah pedal meant. I think I mentioned that I had borrowed my friend’s pedal to learn how to use it and to see if I would want one. I liked it a lot. It’s fun. It has a lot of possibilities and I decided to use it for Voodoo Woman. Then I gave the pedal back to my friend. With the intent to get my own. Which I had not done by the time of the jam. So, I didn’t practice with it that whole time. To me, and probably many others, it showed.

I’ve learned my lesson on that one and found a nice sounding, easy to use Wah pedal from Electro Harmonix that fit in my budget. Hey, after picking up the Telecaster and Stratocaster, a budget for music gear is needed. Anyway. It sounded great from the video and I even liked the pedal combination they put together later in the demo. It was nice. The Wah, with the Soul Food, also an EHx (Electro Harmonix) pedal, and another EHx pedal called Crayon that is another overdrive. So I looked at my budget and went to get the Wah pedal, hoping they would also have a Crayon in stock. Jackpot! They did.

Guitar effects pedals.

It seems a little redundant to have two overdrive pedals. However, I noticed that doing this gets a really thick sound that’s not too distorted and not too heavy. The Soul Food offers a great boost and some beef and then the Crayon on top fills that out with some tonal control and adds the crunch. It’s nice. And by having the two pedals I can easily change it up and use just one or the other. And add that Wah in, and… oh my.

A little more of that new Snowman

During the break the things that took the biggest hit, as far as staying in shape were my wah pedal skills and my vocal control. My general guitar playing seems, at least to me, to have gotten a bit better. Which is good. I did practice it more. I did a bit more noodling and experimenting and playing around. Which I thinks helps, and I didn’t do that before. Also, I had all that that Kevin and mentioned and shared to think about. Then I added the Master Class that I watched with Carlos Santana, and, I had that to think about. Those all did much to improve my playing. At least I, think. I’m looking forward to more of that. Learning to take all of that and internalize it so that I can transform it into something cool to listen to.

I know I’m late getting this post out. A whole week even. I am trying to get back to a regular routine. It’s proving a challenge. The good news is that even though I didn’t get the post written to go up last week, I did get the jam video edited so I should be able to get those posted soon. I managed to work on some more art before the jam came up and I’ll share some bits. I didn’t get any more art worked on last week either so it wasn’t just the post that suffered. I imagine there are a few of you whose routines are still a little off after the end of year holidays and what not. Not to worry. We’ll all settle back in soon and things will hum along in a regular fashion for a bit. At least until the mid-year breaks hit.

Enjoy the pictures. Look for video soon.

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