Wednesday 12 November 2008

Plodding along

Time continues to pass, as is its wont. I continue to make minimal progress in most areas of my life.

Here is the list of many of the things that need doing by me at the moment:
  • Start going to bed on time (really important - I'm too tired to think at the moment)
  • Get more exercise
  • Eat better food
  • Process some forms
  • Shred some paper
  • Work out how to ignore de-construction noise outside my office (I mostly shred paper)
  • Wash my mug
  • File massive amounts of paper
  • Change my bedlinen (HWSNBN has complained, but has refrained from stripping the bed himself. This annoys me, especially as I do re-make the bed when it has been stripped. In fact, stripping the bed is the single fastest way to make me re-make the bed. He is being too lazy to allocate work to me.)
  • Deal with the massive pile of washing
  • Invite a friend round to learn how to make soap
  • Write to my friends
  • Sort out my trip to see Louise
  • Sort out holiday for the rest of the trip week
  • Speak to big important person about access to an organ I want to play
  • Speak to less important person about access to the insides of a big important organ I want to poke around
  • Book the car in for a service
  • Buy come joinery tools - they need to arrive before Tuesday
  • See the doctor about not being able to breathe properly (Tuesday)
  • Learn how to play the following on the piano (for rehearsal) and organ (for accompanying 500 people, apparently): O Come O Come Emmanuel; Once in Royal David's City; While Shepherds Watched; O Little Town of Bethlehem; O Come all ye Faithful
  • Speak to Dave the Organist about that music he promised to give to me last year
  • Put some stuff on a website
  • Read lots of books about organs
  • Read a book about joinery (start before Tuesday)
  • Read some fiction books (low on the list - the library has surrendered its organ books to me, so I have a few to keep me going)
  • Be nice to HWSNBN, in such a way that he feels appreciated (maybe I should try not suggesting that he is lazy on the Internet)
  • Put photos from my camera on a different website
  • Put some clean clothes away
  • Start planning/assembling a birthday present for my aunt (ideally before Friday)
  • Get in touch with the vicar and pick some hymns for Sunday, then learn how to play them
  • Tell people with whom I go climbing that I am not going this evening, due to being too tired and lazy
That seems to cover most of it. It actually doesn't look so bad written out (except for the bit about accompanying 500 people on the organ - not much margin for error there). Alas, as soon as I try to get motivated to do most of it (i.e. most individual bits - I propose to tackle them in sequence, not all at the same time), it suddenly seems a lot more effort.

This lunch time I managed to squeeze in 15 minutes of organ practice. I established that O Come all ye Faithful is coming along nicely, and that an utter numpty wrote in the footings for O Come O Come Emmanuel. That would be me, I suppose, as I am not aware that anyone else is in the habit of writing in my carol books. I have attempted to remedy the problem,* and am a little happier with the situation now. If only I could play the thing... Fortunately, much of this piece is manuals only; I shall have a bash at that tonight.

*I only write on music in pencil, which makes it a lot easier to remedy mistakes.

6 comments:

Elizabeth McClung said...

So you find that list written out to be Okay? I would find it terrifying, but at least you have a sort of prioritizing, like what needs to be done before Tuesday (is today Tuesday?).

I also found the part where you go climbing for fun to be unexpected hilarity - because as the going on about the stripping the bed is an example you tend to try to convince us that you are sloth incarnate (which I do not believe at all), but of course have and do more than two normal mortals (which might have something to do with that sleep thing, and the reading of books on organs). And thus for FUN you go climbing, because you are so incredibly slothlike that between learning new hymns, and getting a trip ready to play on OTHER organs and doing all the housework, you REALLY aren't getting enough exercise. Eh? Also I like how "Process some forms" and "Shred some paperwork" come right after each other - I hope one does not immediately lead to the other due to noise outside - that would lower the efficiency somewhat. Good luck on your list, my is much smaller but we share one about seeing a doctor to help us breath so I will pretend mine is half as efficient as yours.

Optistatic said...

The list is fine - it's nice to have it written out rather than in my head. Tuesday is six days away at the moment, so I do have a bit of time to play with.

You know, writing it out doesn't actually make it happen. I have to actually do the stuff, which is both where the whole thing falls down, and why there is so much stuff on the list in the first place. It's all very well saying that the washing needs doing, but it is still upstairs in its little basket, waiting for me. I don't want to convince you that I am sloth incarnate, but pretending otherwise would be dishonest. Sometimes I tone it down to make myself sound better.

And I would go climbing for fun, except that I really do not do enough exercise (honestly - most I've done recently is walk up some stairs); last time I think I injured myself because I am more skilled than I am fit and I over-extended myself rather painfully. My abdominal muscles were profoundly unhappy.

I think that you have drawn very positive conclusions from my list, but aspiring is not the same as achieving! I shall gladly take the good luck you are offering to me. And I hope that you are more efficient at doing list things than I am, because some of those things have been on the list for a long time (photos on the web, see the doctor and service the car).

Good luck with the breathing thing. I truly believe that by breathing effectively we can prolong our lives ;-)

Lisa Moon said...

My! That indeed is quite the list! It's especially terrifying to look at as I am now, from the commenting area where you can click "View Original Post" which takes the bulleting OFF and it all runs together in one run-on sentence! Yikes!

Yes, looking at it might seem intimidating (barring the lack of bullets); I tend to write lists myself, but usually jot down the most pressing items, otherwise I might well become overwhelmed.

In fact, right now I'm avoiding the next thing on my (currently) mental list, which involves calling 'round to differnt moving companies/truck rentals companies to determine the cost for my all-too-soon move... umm, I best be getting on that.

Oh, and I like hearing about your holiday music! Although I don't personally celebrate Christmas, per se, I do so enjoy the music. It's the one thing that gives me a happy, childhood, warm-fuzzy kind of feeling...

Optistatic said...

Well, nine of the things on the list are not pressing (it was eight, but one of them expired). Fortunately, although they are pressing, they are mostly the sort of thing I just need to keep trying to do - it's not just one big thing, its tiny things repeated ad infinitum. And yes, the list looks horrifying without the bullet points.

Calling different companies about moving your stuff sounds like a horrible job to get started with, and possibly not an easy one to complete (although these things often have their own momentum). Good luck with that.

I love most of the Christmas music, especially when played by a brass band/a suitable ensemble/a really big, wonderful organ. Alas, I shall have to seek that out especially if I want it this year. I was thinking maybe Liverpool Anglican Cathedral...

Drake said...

Yea gads... I can't play in front of people, let alone acompany 500 ... yikes.

I can't read sheet music...well, I can read it, just not read and play, or play from what I have read...if that makes sense mehe.

Give me a song and I will play it after one or two listens. Ok, so it won't be perfectly reproduced as I don't have the finer training in terms of chords and such but that's a technical skill... and a problem I have always had... People don't want to teach you pure practical piano technique without sheet music/theory. Apparently, strangely enough, playing without sheet music is not as simple as it is to me? Hmmm...weird, I always thought anyone could do that ;D.

It sometimes irretates me as it is a simple thing that is lacking from my ability yet it seems like a major thing to teach...without knowing theory...

At any rate, I hope you have some luck with the list tho.

Sometimes part of a relationship is accepting the other's short comings...but ... but ... but ... A lot of the times, it is compromising and trying to at least improve a little on one's short comings. Is this a huge issue for you that causes arguments or could you possibly explain to him in a nice way...?

I am sure, if he were to feel that he is doing something so you don't have to, he will already feel more appreciated ... ? ;D

Optistatic said...

We don't yet know whether or not I can accompany 500 people. With a band. And play in time. Certainly, the guy who tried last year couldn't...

I must say, when I try to teach anyone any music I do take a theoretical approach, but then those I have taught thus far have only been averagely musical, and I have been trying to build up a base for their playing/singing. My baby sister may well hate me for this, but her playing has improved a bit. Perhaps you ought to look into learning theory. As you are musical, it should not be too challenging; it's all very intuitive once you get the hang of it. Not that I am trying to impose my ideas on you (I hope); it just helps me a lot to actually see how stuff hangs together, as well as being able to hear it...

I think that the Western view of how music should be is very narrow, though. I do not know enough about other musical styles to be able to comment with authority, but there are some things which are required in Western music which are not even considered in other musical styles. Perhaps I will say more about that when I actually know something about it!

HWSNBN seems to have forgotten that he wants the bed linen changing. Perhaps I shall get round to it this evening. Which is what I said yesterday. It's not really an argument that we are having, it just annoys me when people point out what's wrong but are not prepared to do it themselves.

Oh, and he prepared dinner, so that was helpful. I can't seem to get the motivation to cook at the moment, so his washing, chopping, turning on of oven and getting out of dishes helped immensely. I am also glad that he is finally learning a few cooking skills - it's very disempowering, not being able to cook.