![[rss feed]](/images/xml.gif)
<< Back to main blog page
Hmmm... it has been a while since I last updated this blog with something personal. The main reason for that is because I find myself short on free time nowadays. Work (as usual) tends to eat up a lot of my time, especially with all the work items related to the spin-out adding to the usual work backlog. Oh well.
But anyway, I currently find that I have a few minutes free while I have a bunch of automated scripts running (I am at work as I write this; surprise, surprise) so I figured that since it is currently the middle of Lent I should blog a bit about what I have been up to for Lent.
Firstly, since one of the most common "traditions" associated with Lent is giving something up. So for this lenten season, I have decided to do the following: (1) fast on all of the Fridays of Lent (and by "fast" I mean I am not eating any meals at all), (2) no video gaming for Lent, and (3) no buying of any anime or anime-related items.
When I was discussing what I was giving up with my girlfriend she posed the question to me of what I was doing to replace these. It was a very good point since, more than just giving something up, we should use the "free time" that would normally be taken up by those activities for things more productive. In my case, since giving up video gaming meant I would have a bit more free time late in the evening when I got home I decided upon the following: (1) get back into reading, and especially during the Lenten season read books which are helpful in strengthening my faith, and (2) put more effort into developing my musical skills.
As far as the reading goes, I am currently reading a book titled, "The Da Vinci Hoax: Exposing the Errors in The Da Vinci Code" which, as far as I can tell, is a very well-researched book debunking the claims made in the bestselling novel "The Da Vinci Code". As entertaining as the novel (yes, I have read it), I found its claims to be based upon fact not ringing true at all, especially in light of my (albeit limited) knowledge of the Catholic church. So far, I am about 1/4 of the way through this book.
As far as developing my musical skills goes, I have done a few things. The first thing is that I got myself a metronome to help me with developing my sense of time. Next, I have been trying to define a practice routine where I spend at least half an hour a day in focused practice. Then, I also decided to expand my musical horizons by trying to learn how to play electric bass guitar. I will blog more about learning the electric bass guitar in a different entry. Lastly, I also decided to brush up on my drumming rudiments (I probably will never get back to playing drums but it was the first instrument I learned how to play so I do not think I will ever completely let go of it) so I got a practice pad and a new set of drumsticks (Neil Peart autograph model sticks since I admire his playing so much) and try to practice drum rudiments when I can.
Anyway, back to work for me so I can hopefully head out of the office soon.
[permanent link to this blog entry]
