I think I mentioned that G dumped me in it last month by letting it be known that I could play keys. I did music performance (Electronic Organ) for a year 12 subject, but I’ve only played sporadically for the last twenty years and nothing since we moved to Brighton and sold the piano. Add into this the fact that I primarily played by reading music when playing keys at church is all done off chord charts and it’s been a pretty steep learning curve. The band at our church also decides the songs at the practice, and of course I don’t know any of the songs so I’m trying to remember chords and hit the chords at the right time while running through the songs for Sunday. We might get half-way through the song and they decide to change the key, which then requires a whole new set of chords. My friend, who I’m trying to give some weeks off, by subbing in now and then, also told me that a few weeks ago they changed the key on the Sunday—yes, on the day!
Anyway I went to one practice to see what they do (see above) and then two weeks later I went to my second practice and we decided that I would play along for one easy song on the Sunday. Our electric guitar would cover most of it, and I would only need to hit the chords. My friend knows me well. I do not like to put myself out the front in public unless I’m absolutely sure of what I’m doing, which would probably see me playing on Sunday in about five years time. So I turn up on Sunday and our guitar player is sick. That means that it’s the drums, the singers and me. The singers need an introduction to get the key which I haven’t prepared. My friend and I find the song on Spotify and try to pick out the melody of the first line with the pre-service background music running as well. I let the singers and our drummer know that I will be playing the first line melody and then hitting the first chord and continuing with chords from there—that’s all I had. Of course I’m all in a fluff, it doesn’t go smoothly, but it goes and the congregation sings and everyone is of course lovely and encouraging after the service. So a fail, but also a success, in that I’ve conquered the need for perfection in this arena in a spectacular manner.
Since I came back from the stress fracture in my foot I’ve been running really slowly. It’s been hard work. Hormone fluctuations are also interfering—some days I feel absolutely awful. I hoped that the Gold Coast Marathon would fall at a good time in the month, but it was not to be. The week leading up was not great, with a migraine on the Thursday. I had hoped to squeeze in a sub 2-hour HM which is still well off my PB and decided to give it a crack by running with the 2-hour pacer, but as soon as I started running I kind of knew that it wasn’t the day. I kept the pace for the first five kilometers, hoping maybe I’d start to feel better, but nope. I finished in 2:07:57 which is worse than the year I caught COVID 10 days before the race. So my second fail in less that a week. I guess I’ll just keep plodding along. G, on the other hand did a cracking job, not quite a PB, but he’s training for Sydney Marathon so went in with no taper. Our daughter also came up for the run, but took her 10K race fairly easy because she had been sick with COVID for most of the week.
We drove up here so I packed a bit more than I usually do, but still tried to keep it under control. I packed my four favourite T-shirts and since we’ve arrived I’ve found tiny holes in the front of three of them. I’d already repaired multiple holes in one of the T-shirts. Maybe I need to invest in more elastic waist pants to reduce the friction on my T-shirts? I’m not counting this as my fail, but I probably will have a look in the shops for some replacements.
In other news, Noosa has turned on some spectacular weather for us and, squeezed between our work that still needs to happen while we are here, we’ve been making the most of it. S was here until Saturday and our son dropped in for two nights on his way home from Townsville. There’s been almost daily sunset watching. Thursday afternoon, S and I went to the beach for about an hour. The water was a bit chilly, but nice. Friday we went out to lunch at Bang Bang and Sunday I did one of my favourite Noosa runs: The Noosa National Park Loop. The weather was perfect, sunny and not too hot, with a light breeze—who cares how fast I was running.
What’s been good, or bad, in your life lately? When was the last time you felt like you were in the deep end? Do you get little holes in the front of your T-shirts?
Comments
8 responses to “Recent Fails”
I am sorry about your fails. Just reading the music story made me anxious… mainly because I would be so far out of my wheelhouse. I can’t read notes. I used to have piano lessons I first grade but the teacher dumped me because I was too shy. I restarted in 7th grade but I could not read the music. I only played by year and often enough I didn’t ick up enough to practice throughout the week. It never occurred to me that you could read and play the music. I only learned that after I quit.
Anyways, you seem to be so much better at it when you are able to go in on Sunday and somehow manage to play and people sing.
As for my recent fails… well, today. I biked to my eye docs appointment. The husband asked in the morning if they will drop my eyes and widen the pupils and I said no. well, they did. Obviously I wasn’t able to bike back. It also rained cats and dogs. I hang out in the library until it stopped. I had planned to use the time to work but I could not see anythings. So I sat and listened to podcasts. When it stopped raining and I started my way home my eyesight was pretty good. So I decided when in the woods I could slowly bike a little. Only to realize that my bike had a flat tire… So back home I walked for 7km.
Oh dear, that’s a shame about the bike riding; that’s a long way to walk a bike back home.
Oof. The piano situation would be stressful. I need sheet music. I cannot improvise! I played the piano for the first time in ages last weekend. We have a trial lesson with a piano teacher a friend recommended on Thursday. The teacher asked that Paul play a song and that he could make it up. So I showed him a few things and helped him come up with a song which is literally 7 notes. But he knows nothing so I figure she won’t care? The friend that recommended her is a super talented singer so I trust her recommendation but I did panic a bit when the teacher asked him to come prepared to play a song! I taught piano when I was in grades 10-12 in my tiny house so I do have the ability to teach him but I would prefer someone else teach him!
I would never have wanted to teach my own kids something like the piano—too much scope for frustration on both sides. I hope Paul’s lesson goes well. All my kids learnt piano for at least a couple of years. Both girls continued for a while, my son switched to guitar and then drums. He probably likes music the best out of the three, but my second daughter enjoyed and was quite good at both piano and violin.
WAIT WAIT WAIT. You don’t think your 2:07 time isn’t good? That seems amazing to me, Melissa! (but you know I get it, I totally get it, as you know the whole hormone thing and aging thing and everything else, I get it, but also – that’s pretty amazing time! I get the disappointment though. I do! But objectively running a half marathon is amazing, and running a half marathon in 2:07, while not the result you wanted, is still amazing). (this ends Nicole’s cheerleader speech)
I also play piano via sheet music and I would be SO stressed to play in a band, chords only. I honestly would not know what to do. Kudos to you for doing it! It would be out of my comfort zone as well.
The tiny holes in the shirt thing drives me bonkers. It happens to me all the time too!
Thanks, Nicole, you are the best cheerleader, and yes, objectively, I know that even running a half-marathon is good. If it was not for those tiny holes, I would be wearing my favourite T-shirt for another five years.
Good: Provence, all of it!
Bad: going into a zone that said “interdit” / “prohibited” and having a guy yell at us in French – lots of desolées and pardóns later we were on our way.
Piano- I have zero skills but my daughter is doing so well. We have to insist that she practices every day and sometimes she doesn’t want to, but it’s mandatory. I don’t want her to lose her skills.
Driving overseas can be stressful, especially for us, as Europe is on the wrong side of the road. We had some confusion in France because they have different giveaway rules, luckily we were the ones who were supposed to be given way and not the other way around. Music is so good for kids, I insisted all of mine learn piano to start with.