1. Lose weight, minimum 2 stone, preferably 3.
2. Read the Bible from beginning to end, not skipping the tricky bits.
3. Recover mind and body.
4. Write some songs, good ones n’ all.
5. Write.
6. Find an author I didn’t know anything about before, but will really enjoy.
7. Rediscover some dreams.
Everyone knows I’ve been investing a little in my guitar rig recently. This is only really part of my determination to get back into being musically creative, recognising that I’ve written very little in the last couple of years. So, I’ve finally got around to getting a little piece of musical software (only the lite version) and a small midi keyboard.
Now, I can’t pretend that I’m much good at it yet. What I’m trying to produce is little scene-setting loops. Just a brief idea or so, a few bars. Something I can come back to later. There’s so much more to the software, and I’ll never understand it all.
Here they are. Let me know what you think.
Obviously, all (c) matthewrestored 2008, just in case they are good and somebody wants to steal them.
I’m in love. It’s official. Her name is Evie, and she is very pretty. She is grounded in good things and makes the most incredible sound when she’s happy. Not quite laughing, not quite crying, but deep, sustained gorgeousness.
Here she is:
For so long, I have been betrothed to my beloved Fender Telecaster, but now I have betrayed her. Evie is my baby now.
Oh, and I’ve finally organised some friends to surround her with love and trust:
I’ve still got a bit to work on, like putting them all on a board so I don’t have to put it all together whenever I need to use them, but I’m quite satisfied with where I’ve got to at the moment. I’m not in love with these lumps of plastic, that would just be weird.
So many things to say, so little time. I’ve been working quite hard lately, hence lack of anything approaching blog activity, nor socialising or anything like that. The deal is now done and I have vowed to return to normality for a while. In the meantime, here are some random, some not so random, things that have been occupying me.
The financial system
Not in meltdown, just a little jumpy. The [insert expletives here] who messed with my employers’ share price last week – and put the jobs, dreams and pension plans of 1000s at risk – are, in a spirit of Christian forgiveness, erm, forgiven. But don’t do it again, you naughty boys/girls.
Things are curious in my line of business at the moment. I didn’t have to go through the early-90s recession that my Dad did, but this is all a bit different. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the UK economy, its just slowing down a little bit.
I went to Spain
Played golf. Went to Gibraltar. Saw Africa. Drank wine. Drank beer. Ate the most amazing lamb dish. Took lots of photos.
Realised I will never be good at golf.
The Mixu revolution
So, Hibs are suddenly good again. This is a very pleasant turnout of events.
To be fair, we haven’t played particularly sensationally in the last 2 and bit months. We are just looking a lot more solid than we were under the now-much-maligned John Collins. Some key players – Hogg, Jones, Maka, Fletcher – have found a bit of form and confidence, and we don’t look like we’re going to lose unluckily time and again. Top 6 is a certainty and 3rd place is more than a pipedream, but a real possibility.
Keeping this team together, of course, is easier said than done. However, one is allowed a little bit of optimism in the words of imminent Scotland debutant Steven Fletcher so you never know.
Toys
I bought a new guitar. It’s very pretty.
And worthy of a post all of its own in the coming days.
Stupidity
Further to my previous posting, I have made up for not doing the charity run thing in May by volunteering for the Cairngorm Mountain Bike Challenge. This is a corporate-led thing, with the need to cycle up to 100km in one day. Its in September, so theoretically I have the time to train and get fit/lose weight.
The really stupid thing is that I managed to talk myself into this while in the pub last week. In front of my Head of Dept. Who’d just bought me three G&Ts, which I’d drunk on an empty stomach.
Yes, I am stupid.
Hodilays
I’m going to fly on one of these:
I’ve finally booked my flights to Australia for November. Leaving London on the morning of the 1st, arriving in Melbourne on the evening of the 2nd. Back from Brisbane late on the 27th, landing in London in the afternoon of the 28th. Inbetween, a lot of Australia to see.
Having booked on Singapore Airlines, the thought suddenly occurred to me earlier that I might end up on the new A380 double-decker super jumbo plane thing. A quick potter around their website confirmed that yes, I’ll be on this. That’s quite exciting.
Generally, I’m quite excited anyway, but that’s the creme-de-la-creme.
In a restored world
Things I’ve been pondering God-Jesus-Church-wise:
Am I engaged with Church/community?
What is this emerging church stuff about?
When I worship, am I just playing music I enjoy?
How do I get a deeper relationship with God when almost everything I’ve tried – bible notes, prayer guides, all the “cool” books – has left me feeling unsatisfied?
So, it’s now 2008. An appropriate moment, I’m sure you’ll agree, to reflect on 2007.
From the first few hours boogying at Ardeonaig to the last minutes at, erm, Ardeonaig again, it flew past. Did someone speed up time when I wasn’t watching?
A year of great success (and not a little stress) at work but also when I realised I am now on the downhill slope towards oldfartdom. For example, I no longer have any idea what is in the “popular” music charts. OK, maybe I’ve heard that Umbrella song, but that’s about it. I know what I like and I like what I know, or some such other boring cliche.
In no particular order, highlights of the year included:
However, there were some things I really wished hadn’t happened:
Given that last of these is still rampant, I don’t have time to think about what 2008 may hold. That will follow.
Maybe its luck, maybe its karma, maybe its grace (cos there’s grace for everything), but I finally won a nice new pedal on eBay. And I only had to pay £29 plus postage for it. Its one of those Big Muff ones, featured in my last post. I’m quite excited actually.
AND I also won a Marshall Guv’nor distortion pedal for about the same. Not quite as excited about this one, but at least it’ll give me another option. Wooo and, indeed, hooo.
This is a new word, meaning eBay frustration.
I haven’t used it much before, then I shut down my account when I discovered it had been hacked. However, now that I’m looking to rebuild my guitar rig, I naturally thought it would be easier to pick up a few pedals second hand for less than they would cost in the those fine guitar emporiums. One of the pedals I really really want is this:
It’s a Fulltone Full-Drive 2, one of the best overdrive pedals money can buy. Particularly valued by those over on Bwack’s forum, under whose spell I have fallen. Alternatively, or in addition, I’d quite like:
Stop sniggering at the back.
So, I’ve been trying to get one on eBay, but I’m getting increasingly frustrated by the simple fact that most people seem to wait until the very last minute. You think you’re going to get something for a very reasonably price then suddenly, woooossshshhh, it goes miles up. With literally minutes to go, I was winning the Fulltone with a bid of £73. It went for £99. Poo.
I’m currently undertaking a review of my guitar rig, with a view to making it all a bit more user friendly and adding a bigger degree of in-performance flexibility. However, I am distracted by the potential purchase of a new guitar. Quite simply, I want that one.
