Friday Five

1. What specific skill(s) are you planning on learning in 2003 to improve your education or general quality of life? (new language, how to garden, etc) - Playing guitar


2. How will you go about obtaining those skills? (school, on your own, free classes) - On my own, with the help of books and software. At least at first. Maybe lessons if I stick with it.


3. How do you feel about learning new things? (apprehensive, excited, empowered, etc) - I'm all about it, but with creative things (like guitar) I get easily frustrated when there is a lack of progress and often end up giving it up too easily.


4. If you could be any profession in the world, what would it be? - Something culinary or filmic.


5. What stops you from doing it? Or are you working toward it? - Conservative sensibility/fear of being poor.

Update on learning guitar

I'm still learning, very slowly, trying not to get defeated. I know a very few chords, maybe 8 or 9. I can remember them, but I can't transition from one to another very cleanly.

The G chord is going to kill me. My pinky can't do that one very well. It flops over sideways. In general, my fingers are too fat (I never thought that I had fat fingers, either) and too short. Sometimes when I have to reach clear across the fretboard, the little fold of skin under my forefinger hits the 1st string and deadens it. I put light strings on my guitar, but maybe I should have gotten extra-light. It's hard to press the strings in the first fret. Is this a set-up issue? Do they need to file my saddle down?

I WANT TO LEARN QUICKER!

Plans for the night

Movie tonight. Antwone Fischer and The 25th Hour. Review if I feel like it. I'll probably feel like it. :)