OK, first thing's first: a disclaimer. My music theory is a bit weak, because before joining a local choir (about 20 years ago), I had no musical training or experience of any kind. (I learned "on the job", as it were). I also have no access to a piano or keyboard. OTOH, my mum studied music in university, was a music teacher, and can sing and play at least 3 instruments (piano, accordion, guitar). And my uncle played the violin from a young age, and was a professional concert violinist for decades. I was listening to classical music from the time I was very young, and had that support. Since I don't have a piano/keyboard, I tried testing my voice with this video, which is probably quite accurate. I found that: 1. The lowest I can go (rumbling, not projected - so useful for choir but not much else) is C1; 2. The lowest note I can project is E1 (yikes - I knew I could do it, I just didn't know how low it was); 3. My head voice goes up to D4; 4. My falsetto range goes up to C5. After C5, my head starts hurting and my voice starts cracking. So, I guess my range is E1 to D4 (plus or minus another octave). Cool! I thought I had more than 3-octaves-and-a-bit, but I'll take it. I could try and create a video with me singing along with that piano thing. It might take a while, though.
Got tattoo # 7 yesterday while on a mini-road trip with a best friend. She got a bumblebee, and I got a mini Pyrex dish. It's my first small tattoo, and the first one that doesn't hold literary meaning. We just finished dinner and walked past a shop and popped in to see if they did walk-ins. Turns out one of the artists had a no show, so me and my friend got lucky. It's absolutely silly, but it was one of the first times I've ever done something spontaneous like that, and it's really adorable.
Two big reports, totaling 5k words, are down. Not bad for a week's worth of work. Now I've got two dev projects. My plan is to give myself a whole week for each one. I'm much faster at programming than I am at report writing. After that, it's another big report and I'm pretty much all finished. I can't wait... Work continues... tomorrow. After I get some sleep
A seven-letter word, actually 8 incorporating one by my wife, down the top left side of the board, resulting in a triple-triple plus 50, for 131 points to come from behind for a Scrabble victory. My wife objected to my victory dance, though, and that made me a bit less happy.
So ... I recently had a concert to perform in, and one of the pieces I had to memorise was the classic Neapolitan song, "Funiculi, Funicula". (I think it was the second time I performed that one). It's a fun song, so this morning -- for no reason at all -- I decided to write my own words ... which made me happy. VERSE: The kids are asking me what I am baking, So I say "Wait; it is first-rate." My hubby says, "What is it you are making?" It's on the plate; it won't be late. I'm frying mushrooms, fricasseeing garlic, it's very good - it's understood. It's even loved by all the folks of Harlech, and Robin Hood - him from Sherwood ... CHORUS: Chicken, chicken, in the grill for lunch! Chicken, chicken, masticate and munch! It's chicken here and chicken there and chicken bloody everywhere! Yummy yummy yum, it's chicken wings and roasted spuds! So it's silly and not especially deep, but who cares ... =P
I'm happy that the Stanley Cup Playoffs have begun. 5 Canadian teams made it this time, not bad! Hoping Winnipeg and/or Toronto can make a deep run this year. Playoff hockey eats up so much of my evening time, but I just love it so much.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say I'm the only member who watches all 7 rounds of the NFL draft this week.
You are a true sicko. I'll usually just watch the first two rounds of the NHL draft. After that there aren't any interesting trades, and like 95% of the later picks will never play in the NHL.
Totally different sport. 53 man rosters vs 23. Injuries make it more like 70 players a year, so like probably 2000 guys will suit up in a given year. Not everyone plays but damn near everyone. And with the one game a week thing, there's this isolated focus thing where you can kind of follow everything that happens everywhere. I watch 7 games simultaneously on Sundays. Definitely need help.
Oh my god, I didn't realize that things had gotten that bad. It used to be that pride and patriotism were strong enough to keep our football teams filled, but we've had to resort to a draft again? Some of those young men want to be doctors, or carpenters, or just grow up and raise families, but instead they're going to be forced to perform acts of violence in front of thousands of bloodthirsty spectators and for what? Huh? Wait, what? The NFL draft doesn't work that way? umm, sorry... I'll show myself out.
Being a life long Packer fan, and the draft being held in Green Bay, will make me a candidate to watch more of the draft than I usually would. Go Pack Go!
My favorite colors are blue and orange, and whenever someone finds that out who's sports oriented, I get asked if I'm either a Bears or a Mets fan. I don't watch football, and my father raised me to be a Yankees fan. I don't follow anything sports related anymore, though. So I now say "Are the Bears the one with the basketballs?" and that gets me a stunned silence long enough for me to cackle as I dash away.
It's probably where I grew up. The Boston sports scene is fanatical. Almost if you're not into it, your tribal card gets revoked. Like today is Patriots Day/Marathon Day. The world doesn't stop, but it spins a little slower and everybody--literally everybody-- whether they're into it or not, realizes things are happening and recognizes the significance. Very strange.
Had a successful day shopping. Needed something in particular and it was the last one on the shelf. Life's been rough so I've been rejoicing in the little things.
Sometimes, it's the little victories that make life worth living. Part of my job is managing the monthly direct-debits for clients who want them. A few months ago, a client signed up for this ... but from the get-go, she was loud, rude, and selfish. Not only that, she could just about wrap her head around the concept of email, but email attachments were a mystery to her. Every time the direct-debits drew near, she would swap increasingly petulant emails with me. She couldn't understand this, that, and the other. I patiently explained, and she seemed to be mollified. This morning, though, she called me to say that she didn't want direct-debits any more ... because she simply couldn't understand why, every month, the invoice numbers and amounts we charged were different. (The invoice amounts simply depend on how much aid and care we gave her son). But never mind that. I gladly took her off my list, because at least it meant that now she would be someone else's problem. Little Victory FTW!
Okay, more good news. I got back my marks for the PHP/SQL API I developed and it was 40/50. It could have been higher, but I made a bunch of silly mistakes that I didn't notice. I'm not super happy with the mark to tell you the truth. I usually go for higher. There were some statistics posted and apparently, the top ten students achieved 46+, with only two of the 200 of us achieving 48. If I hadn't made all those silly mistakes, I could have been in the top 10. But then, I remembered that I couldn't attend university this year at all. So much has happened that I just couldn't really go because I had too much to deal with back at home. I still do, but thankfully, things have been a little better in the last month or so. So, yeah, considering the circumstances, I think I did well enough. I mean, I essentially taught myself from my bedroom while the others attended lectures, workshops, and had a more "normal" student life. It's actually quite scary. There is still coursework to hand in and there is still the possibility that I'll fail. That's what you'd expect out of a student who has attended for three weeks max! But I got through the first semester. I got through this assignment. I can get through the rest of it. For what it's worth, I seem to be a good independent learner. Once this is all over, I'll be so relieved. The university won't bother me for another five months. I'm so looking forward to this... such a hard year will be behind me. And I can hope for something better next year !
Congratulations, ps102. A mark of 80% on any assignment or test is very respectable, but especially when you couldn't attend university -- and especially especially when you've had such a hard year. Well done and kudos to you!
