You are reading the blog of a person who doesn't read blogs. Or have a cell phone. Or use MySpace. I've only seen like five YouTube videos in my whole life. I'm kind of ambivalent about technology in general. Sometimes I feel like I could be perfectly happy spending my time reading my 19th century literature and playing the piano and generally living "the simple life." (And I don't mean like Paris Hilton) But then I look at my TiVo menu or my iPod or feel the need to look something up on the Internet Movie Database and I think, maybe this 21st century is not so bad after all.
Ironically, one thing I always preferred doing the old fashioned way is writing. While I have gotten used to emailing, I still like to do my creative writing with pencil and paper. I don't really know why this is, I just feel more artistic. Also, I think I find a blank notebook page inviting and a blank computer screen intimidating. This is one I'm really trying to get over.
One thing that helps is seeing what other people are up to -- I'm enjoying reading a blog now by one of my favorite singers, Jonathan Rundman. (check it out) I got to hang out with him for a while after he performed at our church recently. I've admired Jonathan's work for a while and it's always great to find a kindred spirit! I had the best time, and he gave me the necessary shove in the right direction to enter the digital age and start blogging myself.
"All our feelings and thoughts
Expressed in one and oughts
In endless spiraling chains
You can't decode or explain
Cause you are so analog. . . "
~ Random Number Generation from Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Friday, November 30, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
Inner "Critic"
When I looked at the blank screen before beginning my last entry, I really thought that all I had to say was - "I finally started to play the piano again. It went pretty well." Turns out, once I started talking, I couldn't stop. This is a problem I often have in real life and I'm doing my best to transfer it to this blog. I really want to write like I would talk to a friend, since I know I have a few reading this! What I have working against me is my pesky perfectionism (more on this later, I'm sure).
Does anyone else remember the animated series from a few years back called "The Critic"? It starred Jon Lovitz as a very picky movie critic. Well, I'm beginning to feel like Jay Sherman is living in my head shouting, from time to time, "it stinks!" With this written form, I find myself wanting to fix everything and turn it into an english assignment instead of a conversation, which is really what I want it to be. So, I guess this is fair warning to anyone who might plan on sticking around - I may let myself run off at the mouth (or keyboard or whatever) a bit in future. In fact, I hope I do.
A little good news for those who are following along - I have been practicing piano a lot. In fact, I think I missed it more than I realized. Also, I've already re-learned just the right hand part of that "Rent" vamp. It's a start and makes me feel like I've accomplished something, which is really half the battle sometimes. I hate feeling stagnant. So . . . yay progress!
Does anyone else remember the animated series from a few years back called "The Critic"? It starred Jon Lovitz as a very picky movie critic. Well, I'm beginning to feel like Jay Sherman is living in my head shouting, from time to time, "it stinks!" With this written form, I find myself wanting to fix everything and turn it into an english assignment instead of a conversation, which is really what I want it to be. So, I guess this is fair warning to anyone who might plan on sticking around - I may let myself run off at the mouth (or keyboard or whatever) a bit in future. In fact, I hope I do.
A little good news for those who are following along - I have been practicing piano a lot. In fact, I think I missed it more than I realized. Also, I've already re-learned just the right hand part of that "Rent" vamp. It's a start and makes me feel like I've accomplished something, which is really half the battle sometimes. I hate feeling stagnant. So . . . yay progress!
Monday, November 19, 2007
Back on the horse
I played the piano today, which I haven't done in almost three years. Since I've been feeling better physically lately, it's been getting harder and harder to come up with reasons not to get back to practicing. I was afraid I'd be more or less back to square one, but actually it wasn't that bad. My hands have gotten weak, with the possible exception of my left thumb which I believe must be super strong by now thanks to its unending service to TiVo. So, I'll have to put my nose to the grindstone a bit and do those good old fashioned Hanon exercises. The other part I need to work on most is reading the music. I'm afraid my old enemy the bass clef has come back to haunt me. Every time I think I've learned it, it gets erased from my Etch-A-Sketch of a brain by some health problem that keeps me away from music for a while.
On a more positive note, (no pun intended), I found that I can still read a melody line and play block cords. I even played the cords and sang an entire song straight through, which is way more than I really expected to be able to do on my first day back at the keyboard. It's a simple, but beautiful song -- "Your Memory" by Lost and Found. Does anyone detect a pattern here?
Anyway, one of my reasons for sharing this news with whoever may be reading this is the hope that it will make me keep playing. I've played a couple of instruments in my life (clarinet and bassoon plus piano) but I've never been faithful about practicing. So I state now, for the record, that I intend to spend some time working on the keyboard/piano at least two days a week. One thing I want to do is to re-learn the opening vamp to "Seasons of Love" from "Rent," which I used to be able to play. I'll let you know how it goes.
On a more positive note, (no pun intended), I found that I can still read a melody line and play block cords. I even played the cords and sang an entire song straight through, which is way more than I really expected to be able to do on my first day back at the keyboard. It's a simple, but beautiful song -- "Your Memory" by Lost and Found. Does anyone detect a pattern here?
Anyway, one of my reasons for sharing this news with whoever may be reading this is the hope that it will make me keep playing. I've played a couple of instruments in my life (clarinet and bassoon plus piano) but I've never been faithful about practicing. So I state now, for the record, that I intend to spend some time working on the keyboard/piano at least two days a week. One thing I want to do is to re-learn the opening vamp to "Seasons of Love" from "Rent," which I used to be able to play. I'll let you know how it goes.
Friday, November 16, 2007
What's in a name?
Just a little business I should have mentioned in my first post. For anyone who's wondering, I borrowed the phrase, "Laugh Like Sarah," from the lyrics of "New Creation," a song by my very favorite band, Lost and Found.
It's something that meant a lot to me not just because of the Genesis reference, but because I've been told I have a good laugh. I mention that only because I think it's a really great compliment as it's something I really have no control over and I love that it sort of aligns me with the biblical Sarah. I feel a much greater connection to the name Sarah through her laughter than through the actual definition of the name -- "princess." That was fun when I was younger, but I really don't feel "princessy" anymore. Now, my middle name, Elizabeth, means "promise of God" which I don't think I could ever get tired of!
Final thought -- in the Bible, both Sarah and Elizabeth have children when they are advanced in years. I always wondered if that holds some sort of sign for my future.
It's something that meant a lot to me not just because of the Genesis reference, but because I've been told I have a good laugh. I mention that only because I think it's a really great compliment as it's something I really have no control over and I love that it sort of aligns me with the biblical Sarah. I feel a much greater connection to the name Sarah through her laughter than through the actual definition of the name -- "princess." That was fun when I was younger, but I really don't feel "princessy" anymore. Now, my middle name, Elizabeth, means "promise of God" which I don't think I could ever get tired of!
Final thought -- in the Bible, both Sarah and Elizabeth have children when they are advanced in years. I always wondered if that holds some sort of sign for my future.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
One
Hi. Welcome to my very first blog post. To start, here's a little background -- My name is Sarah, I'm 24 years old, and I've been dealing with chronic health problems for about ten years now. But that is not what this blog is mostly going to be about. If you know me (or if you don't) and are interested in updates on my health, please visit my dad's page at sarahmarshallupdates.blogspot.com.
What I really want to do in "Laugh Like Sarah" is just let the world know what I'm thinking. I spend most of my days absorbing media in some form or another, so I'm sure if you keep reading you will find commentary on tv and movies. I've also been a pastor's daughter all my life so I'm sure issues of faith and religion will find their way in too. The challenge for me will be to conquer my inner critic and post frequent, honest, uncensored messages. I received some great encouragement to start this blog in the first place and I hope it will be worth your while to read it. Wish me luck . . .
"Now Sarah said, 'God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.'" ~Genesis 21:6
What I really want to do in "Laugh Like Sarah" is just let the world know what I'm thinking. I spend most of my days absorbing media in some form or another, so I'm sure if you keep reading you will find commentary on tv and movies. I've also been a pastor's daughter all my life so I'm sure issues of faith and religion will find their way in too. The challenge for me will be to conquer my inner critic and post frequent, honest, uncensored messages. I received some great encouragement to start this blog in the first place and I hope it will be worth your while to read it. Wish me luck . . .
"Now Sarah said, 'God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.'" ~Genesis 21:6
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