2020
Fuck. Just, fuck, y’all.
To answer the immediate questions:
- I’ve been making it through alright, I hope you are too.
- I didn’t forget this newsletter, but it felt wrong to write it in the midst of everything happening.
- I haven’t cut my hair, and at this point the stubbornness has kicked in and I’m waiting until I’m vaccinated.
- I’m 1,000% ready to do the work to close this chapter and learn from our lessons.
2021: Sourdough, sauntering, and songs
I’m coming into this year with a sourdough starter that’s been alive since December 2019, a lot of walking, and a new hobby: making music.
I’m still trying to find the best whole-wheat bread recipe for me. I’ve gotten close on taste & texture, but not density: every batch is a whole. ass. löaf. That might be the curse of whole-wheat bread, but I haven’t given up yet.
Kira’s claimed the entire neighborhood as her extended farm; which means I’ve spent a lot of time on my feet, and that she loudly proclaims her solemn duty to protect every kid and curse every bike. It’s getting better, but it was awful for a while there.
I’ve been learning how to make music! I started in early July, and have been keeping up with it since. This makes it the longest hobby and art practice I’ve ever had, and it’s been an illuminating journey.
I wrote a status update back in August, but it’s woefully out of date. My current setup is:
- An Artiphon Instrument 1 (out of comission while it’s getting a few minor issues repaired).
- An old Casio CTK-541 to replace my Akai when practicing.
- Dorico 3, which seems to be the most efficient music notation software out there right now. While it’s far from perfect, it’s the only one that feel like it was made in the past decade.
- I’m still using my Akai MPK2 when composing.
- I upgraded from GarageBand to Logic Pro.
I’m juggling:
- Practicing playing using Melodics.
- Learning how to read and perform using sheet music.
- Composing new songs and putting them together.
I have a Bandcamp with one lonely demo, I made the music for Good Morning IndyHall, and I’ve got Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS), so this is me now.
How’s Kira?
Simultaneously loving and hating all of this. She’s loving all the walks, but misses daycamp, and going back will be…interesting.
There are way too many photos to sift through to share, but here is a minuscule selection that I’d saved in my favorites
What’s next?
Well, I want to hear from you first & foremost! How’re you?
I’ve hit a stride with my art, so I’m going to keep that up. I also hope to write more regularly, now that it feels appropriate to again. This one’s short, because we’re all coming out of our cage, I suppose.