Thud, thud, thud... Is this thing on?
Well, how about that local sports team? I hear they may or may not do well this year...
So, it seems I've been reasonably quiet in an online sense. My flat-out refusal to join Facebook has certainly contributed to that, but then it seems I haven't posted anything here for several months. Mind you, nobody else has either.
Back in November, a couple of things happened which sparked off a number changes in my life. The first of these was starting to lose some weight. As of last count - I haven't checked since we moved - I've lost about 28 kilos, which is great. I feel a lot better these days and I'm just generally healthier as a result.
The other thing that happened was that I actually started going to drum lessons. I went to a teacher who is absolutely fantastic, but he'll make you work for it. I'd already had the kit for about a year, but plusthreesigma insisted I get some lessons with this guy, and he was definitely the right person to learn with, especially if I was even remotely serious about it.
Unfortunately, the work load he was giving me was ramping up and I just wasn't putting in the practice time. Also, more importantly, I have developed another musical instrument interest that has now taken over my life - the guitar. For some reason, I got it into my head that because I was scared of learning the guitar - in case I was crap, in case it was a stupid mid-life crisis issue, etc - this was something that I just had to do, something to overcome. It was the best decision I've ever made. Thankfully, my beloved _ariadne_ has been impossibly understanding about this most recent foible of mine.
So, about three months ago, I bought my first electric guitar and started taking lessons straightaway. Needless to say, I love it and it's become a real obsession for me now. Unfortunately, while I was enamoured of the idea of continuing with drum lessons while I did guitar lessons, I had to face the fact that I just wasn't putting the time into the drums to make it worthwhile continuing. Fortunately, drum sensei was very understanding, particularly when I told him about how the guitar just seemed to click for me.
Here is my beloved Chinese-made Gretsch Electromatic Pro Jet with a Bigsby whammy bar, and two humbucker pickups. It's really nice, but I've resisted giving it a name at this stage. :-) It has a really nice mellow tone, which can be quite "twangy".
Unfortunately, when I got it, the pickup selector switch wasn't working properly, so a couple of weeks ago I put it in for repairs. I was told it would take a few days before I could get it back. This, of course, meant I had a dilemma. I wouldn't have a guitar to practise on while the other was in the shop. The solution was obvious, though - I had to buy another guitar.
And so I did.
And here it is - a beautiful Mexican-made Fender Stratocaster in a Midnight Wine finish. What a fantastic guitar. Don't get me wrong, I love my Gretsch, but the Strat sounds so different that it opens up whole new possibilities. It's awesome. The frets are larger, which makes getting around the bottom end a little harder, but it's so much easier to bend the strings that it really is built to play the blues. Also, with the multi-effects pedal that I got with the Gretsch - the Boss ME-25 - it's just amazing the sounds you can get out of this puppy. There's something almost bell-like about the sound. Quite extraordinary.
Unfortunately, this has meant that I"m now beginning to think about acquiring more guitars. Right now, I can think of at least four more styles of guitar to get - a Gibson Les Paul (or a cheaper Epiphone equivalent); a hollow-body guitar (probably another Chinese-made Gretsch, though Ibanez and Epiphone do quite a few models in this style, so I'd have to shop around); a bass guitar, preferably with a 30" neck, instead of a 34" neck (though I've seen a couple of Ibanez basses that are full length but manageable for my hand size), and a lap steel.
Then I'd need probably another multi-effects pedal and a proper pedal for doing loops, a mixer, etc. As you can see, it's a dangerous habit.
In more important news, however, we have become the foster carers for a new dog.
She's a very timid and quiet little bitser who seems to have been quite unloved. She hasn't moved out of the kitchen since I got home, poor thing. She is also without a name at this stage. Any suggestions would be welcome. :-)
Anyhoot, for anyone who's been remotely curious about what's been going on in my life, there you have it.
So, it seems I've been reasonably quiet in an online sense. My flat-out refusal to join Facebook has certainly contributed to that, but then it seems I haven't posted anything here for several months. Mind you, nobody else has either.
Back in November, a couple of things happened which sparked off a number changes in my life. The first of these was starting to lose some weight. As of last count - I haven't checked since we moved - I've lost about 28 kilos, which is great. I feel a lot better these days and I'm just generally healthier as a result.
The other thing that happened was that I actually started going to drum lessons. I went to a teacher who is absolutely fantastic, but he'll make you work for it. I'd already had the kit for about a year, but plusthreesigma insisted I get some lessons with this guy, and he was definitely the right person to learn with, especially if I was even remotely serious about it.
Unfortunately, the work load he was giving me was ramping up and I just wasn't putting in the practice time. Also, more importantly, I have developed another musical instrument interest that has now taken over my life - the guitar. For some reason, I got it into my head that because I was scared of learning the guitar - in case I was crap, in case it was a stupid mid-life crisis issue, etc - this was something that I just had to do, something to overcome. It was the best decision I've ever made. Thankfully, my beloved _ariadne_ has been impossibly understanding about this most recent foible of mine.
So, about three months ago, I bought my first electric guitar and started taking lessons straightaway. Needless to say, I love it and it's become a real obsession for me now. Unfortunately, while I was enamoured of the idea of continuing with drum lessons while I did guitar lessons, I had to face the fact that I just wasn't putting the time into the drums to make it worthwhile continuing. Fortunately, drum sensei was very understanding, particularly when I told him about how the guitar just seemed to click for me.
Here is my beloved Chinese-made Gretsch Electromatic Pro Jet with a Bigsby whammy bar, and two humbucker pickups. It's really nice, but I've resisted giving it a name at this stage. :-) It has a really nice mellow tone, which can be quite "twangy".
Unfortunately, when I got it, the pickup selector switch wasn't working properly, so a couple of weeks ago I put it in for repairs. I was told it would take a few days before I could get it back. This, of course, meant I had a dilemma. I wouldn't have a guitar to practise on while the other was in the shop. The solution was obvious, though - I had to buy another guitar.
And so I did.
And here it is - a beautiful Mexican-made Fender Stratocaster in a Midnight Wine finish. What a fantastic guitar. Don't get me wrong, I love my Gretsch, but the Strat sounds so different that it opens up whole new possibilities. It's awesome. The frets are larger, which makes getting around the bottom end a little harder, but it's so much easier to bend the strings that it really is built to play the blues. Also, with the multi-effects pedal that I got with the Gretsch - the Boss ME-25 - it's just amazing the sounds you can get out of this puppy. There's something almost bell-like about the sound. Quite extraordinary.
Unfortunately, this has meant that I"m now beginning to think about acquiring more guitars. Right now, I can think of at least four more styles of guitar to get - a Gibson Les Paul (or a cheaper Epiphone equivalent); a hollow-body guitar (probably another Chinese-made Gretsch, though Ibanez and Epiphone do quite a few models in this style, so I'd have to shop around); a bass guitar, preferably with a 30" neck, instead of a 34" neck (though I've seen a couple of Ibanez basses that are full length but manageable for my hand size), and a lap steel.
Then I'd need probably another multi-effects pedal and a proper pedal for doing loops, a mixer, etc. As you can see, it's a dangerous habit.
In more important news, however, we have become the foster carers for a new dog.
She's a very timid and quiet little bitser who seems to have been quite unloved. She hasn't moved out of the kitchen since I got home, poor thing. She is also without a name at this stage. Any suggestions would be welcome. :-)
Anyhoot, for anyone who's been remotely curious about what's been going on in my life, there you have it.