No work today!

YES!!!

Oops, I meant...

NO!!!

It's a chilly morning in the Nui, but it's sunny and there is no rain.

AND I'm at home.

I have done 280 hours of music practice so far this year. 193 1/2 hours of that is violin practice. The rest is a mixture of double bass and guitar practice. Not too bad. I'll be pushing on towards 290 hours today.

Poor old Peter has had a rough time lately. I hope he's feeling a bit better today. It sounds like he has finally been given the correct drugs. I had advised him of these drugs, I learnt all about them at medical school. Anyway, I think he's finally on the right path. Let's hope he's feeling better soon.

Well, time for me to go and get organised.

If you're going to work today, sorry about that.

Ciao tutti.

A very surprising event!

 Some things happen that you just do not expect!

I woke around 6.30am this morning. Really no big surprise there. I took a while to get my thoughts together. I made my usual quick visit to the bathroom for a pee. That all went according to plan. Fortunately I didn't take my phone with me, so there was really no chance of a phone mishap, like often happens to Peter. 

I lay in bed for a while and then I got up. I guess I should have spotted that something was different. I guess I was still in the process of waking up and didn't spot anything to worry about. I revisited the toilet, cleaned my teeth and had a quick shower. I forgot to mention that I also had a shave with my electric razor.

I then took my meds and put some cream on my arms and legs. I went downstairs.* I turned on the heater and prepared to write a blog post. What should I write about? McDonald Trump? Ed Sheeran and his problems? The Catholic church? The Warriors getting beaten? Yesterday's jazz jam? I thought for a little while.

Then I noticed our front door.

I quickly went and checked the back door! Both doors were locked. On thinking about it, this was probably because we always lock both of these doors a little while before we go to bed. We're not usually expecting anyone to break in, it's just a safety precaution. Having them locked probably makes us sleep feeling more secure.

Okay, so far this was really a pretty normal Monday morning, but then everything changed! 

I realised that I had nothing to write about. How was I going to hold my readers' interest? I really needed some sort of catastrophe to report, but I had nothing! 

This is when 'normal' can really hurt.

I guess I'll just have to get on with my day.

Hey, I'm really sorry about that.

Bye.

* There really are only two stairs. Still, it involves going down stairs.

Domenica.

 Would you believe it? I'm going to mass this morning!

No, I'm not.

I'm just trying to warm up a bit, by the heater. I'll probably go to the Aro Jazz Jam this afternoon. I'll give my ears a bit of a workout. I don't use written music at these jams, though nearly everyone else does. I like to use my ears, to listen and play like a singer. 

I'll spend some time this morning playing the four scale shapes for major, dorian, natural minor and dominant 7th scales around the violin. That's sixteen shapes, each scale starting on fingers 1, 4, 3 & 2, in that order. I'll play the scales with completely long bows. I'll play different amounts of notes with my long bows. 

Of this AI says, "Think about what you're doing and don't listen to me."

Peter will be up by now. I hope his phone is dry. Robert will be dressing up for mass and maybe a quick confession. "Bless me Father for I have sinned..."

I'm enjoying the heater.

To quote Spike Milligan, when he saw and heard small things on his floor reciting numbers, "It's the little things that count."

Okay, I'm off to play some scales with long bows.

Bye.

Huge, exciting news!

 This is going to make your day!

Okay, I know he looks a bit serious in his raccoon hat,

but I know that this news is going to make Peter, also known as The Curmudgeon, also known as 3P Boy, very happy!

Very, very happy!

Wait for it!!!!!!

Ah, nothing really.

Not my cup of tea.

 

This is not mine.

I went to a practice for a 'band' last night. Again, not my cuppa tea. One of today's jobs will be messaging the guy in charge to say I don't want to be involved. What was wrong? I really don't know where to start. It just didn't work for me.

Well, I have to get back into my practice mode today. Funnily, I feel a bit put off playing after last night. I'd better get over that fast!!!

Hey, the rain has stopped! It pissed down last night. Fortunately I decided to leave my double bass at home. A good decision.

Oh well, I'd better go.

Ciao tutti.

Giovedì

 You won't find anything new around the blogs this morning, so I thought I'd better write something.

My plan, after I've finished this post, is to change my guitar strings. I have a practice with three other guys tonight in a band called Art Ghetto. I'll be the double bass player, but they also want me to play some violin and a bit of guitar. I've noticed that my guitar seems to have lost a bit of its tone lately and then I realised that it has been a few years since I have changed its strings. I thought about seeing if Rob had some used strings he could give me, but then I found a brand new set in my guitar case that has been sitting there for a few years. I'll put them on this morning.

Talking about Rob, he needs to get his violin bow rehaired. If he gets in touch with Alistair's Music, Alistair can give him the number of an NZSO player who is replacing bow hair as a sideline. He's evidently very good at it.

Well, that's my little effort for Giovedì. Time to get those strings changed.

Probabilmente Peter si lamenterà del fatto che il mio blog è troppo breve o poco interessante. Cazzi suoi, Peter.

Ciao tutti.

The Loan Arranger.

 Need a loan?

You could try this guy.

No.

This guy probably won't be able to help either.

He's often referred to in Thorndon
as The Lone Raccoon.

 

Though, probably best to search Thorndon for the real guy.

Here is all about The Loan Arranger...

He was never employed by banks or loan sharks.
He always offered low interest rates and precise speech devoid of slang and colloquialisms.
Whenever he was forced to use lawyers, he never took customers to court, but instead tried to make their repayments as easy as possible.
He was never put in a hopeless situation; e.g., he was never seen as a bit of a crook.
He rarely referred to himself as the Loan Arranger. If someone's suspicions were aroused, the Loan Arranger would present his credentials to confirm his identity. Usually someone would ask, "Who was that generous man?" as the Loan Arranger was going about his business. His decision to adopt the moniker of Loan Arranger was inspired by Brent; following the ambush at Westpac Bank, the Loan Arranger was able to win people over with his sincerity—in other words, he was the "loan" ranger. Brent noted this.
Though the Loan Arranger offered his aid to individuals or small groups facing powerful adversaries, the ultimate objective of his story always implied that their benefit was only a byproduct of the development of Thorndon.
The Loan Arranger enjoyed Cleanskin wine, and always kept a few bottles at home, he kept his wine glasses very clean.
Customers were never shown in enviable positions of wealth or power, and they were never successful or glamorous. They were just regular people. Some were even Catholics.

By the way, Italian is quite different from Filipino.

L'italiano è piuttosto diverso dal filippino.

Ciao tutti.