Good morning, Readers!
This weekend saw many returns to myself.
For starters, I finally got working internet. A month after moving in (for real - my internet stared working Jun 2nd), I returned to being able to reach out to the digital world when I'm not at work. A good thing, too, as I'm still doing the job of two people at work while they search to replace the coworker whose mess I am currently trying to clean up. I'm making progress. I'm no longer so out of my depth that I constantly want to cry, so there's that.
I am thrilled to have internet again. Now I can do writing work, art work, blogging work, and gaming work, all of which requires an internet connection. This post, for example, is not being written on my lunch break at work. I can now free up that hour for other things. There is much that needs to be done, and now I have an extra hour in which to do it.
But I was talking about returning.
Not just returning to binge-watching YouTube videos.
For the first time in over a month, I jumped into live-streaming Friday evening. I picked up right where I left off, playing Horizon Zero Dawn. It was so much fun, and it was awesome to have everyone drop by and watch me flail around like a tit, as I had forgotten nearly everything. It was so much fun. Honestly, I was grinning like an idiot all evening following the stream. I did a little happy dance. It really was awesome. And the best part it, the internet held up, mostly. I was quite worried that I'd be slammed with constant crashing, dropped frames and so on. The internet cut only once, and the stream itself was really quite smooth.
Also, it was nice to not be interrupted, or feel like I had to censor myself, and not be my true dopey self. I could be loud and annoying, and the only one I'd be annoying (besides the audience) is Galahad. Though, to be honest, he was doing a good job of annoying me. It was no nice.
Saturday, I reactivated my Skillshare account and took the first couple of lessons in finger-style guitar. It's the first time I've picked up the instrument in over a year. It felt really good to be back play again, though I've lost most everything. My fingertips today are very sore. I need to get those callouses back. I am approaching the learning in a two-pronged approach. It's finger-style (or folk) guitar I'm most interested in learning, so I will be continuing with the Skillshare course, as well as the Learn & Master book I started going through in the beginning to teach myself. The book is *really* good for exercises and theory (as well as learning to read music... which I could do already, but the finger placement on a guitar is not the same as on the flute or saxophone).
It was so lovely to play again. I haven't practiced yet today, as of the writing this, but I shall as soon as I'm done this post. After a year away, I've lost so much ground, but I can make it back. With luck, patience and practice, I'll hopefully be playing all of my favourite folk songs within the year.
I also started one of the many art projects I have planned. It's just a small thing, and I managed exactly one half of what I wanted to achieve on Saturday, but it's better than nothing. And it felt good to put brush to paper. Before I pick up my guitar tonight, I'll be adding the second half of the thing I started Saturday.
Sunday was also a return; a return to my Coffee & Creativity live streams. That just where I get up of a Sunday morning, make some coffee and sit down to stream me creating art of some kind. I'm currently working on digital art, but I'm looking to getting a decent video camera so I can set up for also doing analogue paintings and such. I have so many painting ideas now, and it's killing me!
It was so lovely to sit and draw and chat with folks who were also creating, all without the usual (what felt very deliberate) noise from the room immediately beside. It was lovely and quiet. I put on my music, I chatted and created, and drank coffee... cold because I forgot it existed for a while there.
I find I am still struggling to get my act together and actually sit down to do the thing. That's why the Coffee & Creativity stream is such a help. With it, I'll have started at least one art project for the month. I'll have gotten something done. In the months that I've done it, I've always come away with a finished piece.
Because I missed May, due to the move, my mental health recovery (ongoing, but doing so much better; it's like night and day), and no internet, I missed out on creating an art piece for the month. So, I'm kinda cheating this one. The prompt for this month was 'Diametric.' The piece I'm creating, which I still feel might be far too ambitious for my abilities, is a single piece, but it can also be split up, creating three distinct pieces. In this way, I'm able to negate the missing art piece that would have been May's and even add one to my count. I'm gaming the system, folks.
I meant to spend my Sunday doing so much more, but I drew for hours and hours after the stream ended. I neglected to do the mopping because of the time I spent drawing (though I did get my other chores done). I forgot about eating breakfast. Oops. It was so nice to just sit and paint. And, it means that I'm well ahead of where I ought to be with this piece, so I can work on other projects in the time I have allotted for it in the evenings. Which is good, because I have so many ideas.
Right, now it's off to practice my guitar.
Ciao!
For starters, I finally got working internet. A month after moving in (for real - my internet stared working Jun 2nd), I returned to being able to reach out to the digital world when I'm not at work. A good thing, too, as I'm still doing the job of two people at work while they search to replace the coworker whose mess I am currently trying to clean up. I'm making progress. I'm no longer so out of my depth that I constantly want to cry, so there's that.
I am thrilled to have internet again. Now I can do writing work, art work, blogging work, and gaming work, all of which requires an internet connection. This post, for example, is not being written on my lunch break at work. I can now free up that hour for other things. There is much that needs to be done, and now I have an extra hour in which to do it.
But I was talking about returning.
Not just returning to binge-watching YouTube videos.
For the first time in over a month, I jumped into live-streaming Friday evening. I picked up right where I left off, playing Horizon Zero Dawn. It was so much fun, and it was awesome to have everyone drop by and watch me flail around like a tit, as I had forgotten nearly everything. It was so much fun. Honestly, I was grinning like an idiot all evening following the stream. I did a little happy dance. It really was awesome. And the best part it, the internet held up, mostly. I was quite worried that I'd be slammed with constant crashing, dropped frames and so on. The internet cut only once, and the stream itself was really quite smooth.
Also, it was nice to not be interrupted, or feel like I had to censor myself, and not be my true dopey self. I could be loud and annoying, and the only one I'd be annoying (besides the audience) is Galahad. Though, to be honest, he was doing a good job of annoying me. It was no nice.
Saturday, I reactivated my Skillshare account and took the first couple of lessons in finger-style guitar. It's the first time I've picked up the instrument in over a year. It felt really good to be back play again, though I've lost most everything. My fingertips today are very sore. I need to get those callouses back. I am approaching the learning in a two-pronged approach. It's finger-style (or folk) guitar I'm most interested in learning, so I will be continuing with the Skillshare course, as well as the Learn & Master book I started going through in the beginning to teach myself. The book is *really* good for exercises and theory (as well as learning to read music... which I could do already, but the finger placement on a guitar is not the same as on the flute or saxophone).
It was so lovely to play again. I haven't practiced yet today, as of the writing this, but I shall as soon as I'm done this post. After a year away, I've lost so much ground, but I can make it back. With luck, patience and practice, I'll hopefully be playing all of my favourite folk songs within the year.
I also started one of the many art projects I have planned. It's just a small thing, and I managed exactly one half of what I wanted to achieve on Saturday, but it's better than nothing. And it felt good to put brush to paper. Before I pick up my guitar tonight, I'll be adding the second half of the thing I started Saturday.
Sunday was also a return; a return to my Coffee & Creativity live streams. That just where I get up of a Sunday morning, make some coffee and sit down to stream me creating art of some kind. I'm currently working on digital art, but I'm looking to getting a decent video camera so I can set up for also doing analogue paintings and such. I have so many painting ideas now, and it's killing me!
It was so lovely to sit and draw and chat with folks who were also creating, all without the usual (what felt very deliberate) noise from the room immediately beside. It was lovely and quiet. I put on my music, I chatted and created, and drank coffee... cold because I forgot it existed for a while there.
I find I am still struggling to get my act together and actually sit down to do the thing. That's why the Coffee & Creativity stream is such a help. With it, I'll have started at least one art project for the month. I'll have gotten something done. In the months that I've done it, I've always come away with a finished piece.
Because I missed May, due to the move, my mental health recovery (ongoing, but doing so much better; it's like night and day), and no internet, I missed out on creating an art piece for the month. So, I'm kinda cheating this one. The prompt for this month was 'Diametric.' The piece I'm creating, which I still feel might be far too ambitious for my abilities, is a single piece, but it can also be split up, creating three distinct pieces. In this way, I'm able to negate the missing art piece that would have been May's and even add one to my count. I'm gaming the system, folks.
I meant to spend my Sunday doing so much more, but I drew for hours and hours after the stream ended. I neglected to do the mopping because of the time I spent drawing (though I did get my other chores done). I forgot about eating breakfast. Oops. It was so nice to just sit and paint. And, it means that I'm well ahead of where I ought to be with this piece, so I can work on other projects in the time I have allotted for it in the evenings. Which is good, because I have so many ideas.
Right, now it's off to practice my guitar.
Ciao!
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