it has been a pretty quiet week, although there was excellent schadenfreude yesterday from Ron Desantis dropping out

    • 36 here too, two kids. I have been overwhelmed with fear the past few years that something like this will happen. I can only imagine that if I received the news you did, it would cripple me. Immediate shutdown.

      I wish I had more to offer than my sympathy. I wish we could do better with cancer than we can…

  • It’s been pretty nice so far. Last weekend I finished a project I’ve been working on since April last year so I’ve finally been able to relax over the weekend for maybe the first time in ~3 months. In related news: I also finally got to start Spider-Man 2 and that has been a lot of fun too.

      •  Overzeetop   ( @Overzeetop@beehaw.org ) 
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        10 months ago

        Barbershop. I know, weird, right? It gets weirder. This is a weekend event - a “brigade”. The best way to describe it is like a pick-up basketball tournament. 100 guys show up, they get randomly (by position forward/center/guard or bass/bari/lead/tenor) into 25 “teams”. Instead of basketball plays and general sport, we all learn - note perfect - twelve fairly complex songs. Each team gets assigned one of the songs and, after an hour of rehearsal, compete against one another (we have voice judges, like the Olympics have gymnastics judges). It’s all for shits and grins, but mostly for the brotherhood* of shared song. We split up and do programs for local school music departments, and all get together to form a 100 man chorus for a benefit concert the second nite. Unlike most choral events, we all know the same songs, so you find three others and go. All day and all night for two days. Lunches or dinners at local restaurants often turn flash-mob performance.

        Again, it’s weird from the outside. From the inside it’s like 99 friends best friends or family members, but without the family discord.

        *There has almost always been women in barbershop, but we were officially separated into our own societies/organizations until recently. Falling numbers will do that - it’s an old art form and the men who were around when it is popular are passing on. Anyway, several of these weekends are now gender inclusive and, from what I understand, awesomer as a result. I’ll get to go to my first in two months. We’re also adding semi-modern repertoire. Sugar (maroon 5) and Feel it Still (Portugal The Man) are on the song list, for example. Last weekend they threw in a Garth Brooks and Joe Diffy songs. Not 2023/24, but not 1923/24 either.

        •  apis   ( @apis@beehaw.org ) 
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          10 months ago

          Wow. That sounds like a blast. Have heard some Barbershop & knew it is a US college tradition, but had no idea about the brigades.

          As a curious aside, saw a thing on television just this evening about a Portuguese musical tradition which exists in their universities. The style & tunes are very different to Barbershop, and they make use of string instruments as well (though everybody has to sing) but they too have familiar repertoire and appear at various events on campus, as well as competing with other university troupes.

          EDIT: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuna_(music)

          • I’ve heard of that in Portugal! Barbershop is actually an art form that was appropriated from African slaves who brought an oral tradition with them to America and morphed from the spirituals they sang; it was developed more though the Vaudeville practice and modern barbershop (the organization and preservation of the art form) started as a lark in the 40s. The less I sing it, the more I enjoy it when I do - it’s very distinctive, so a little goes a long way.

  • About to board a plane so I can arrive at a boat for the first cruise I’ve ever been on. It’s called groove cruise and it’s 24/7 DJs and music/dancing. Hard to separate anxiety from excitement. It’ll be fun but I probably won’t sleep much!

  • busy, busy weekend. took coco (foster dog) to the community garden volunteer day on saturday morning. my partner had his birthday bash at a local music venue where his band and his friends’ bands played. came back to our house for a garage after party. drove to the adjacent city to hang with folks sunday morning, then came home and watched the extended edition of the lord of the rings: the two towers. i fell asleep during the last hour or so, but i just watched it last weekend, so i’m okay with that. (my partner missed watching it, which is why i rewatched.)

    going alcohol-free until valentine’s day, which should be a good little reset.

  •  Elise   ( @xilliah@beehaw.org ) 
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    910 months ago

    Unfortunately I’m considering to put an end to a new friendship. It’s like every time I’m around her I trigger her and it becomes a drama. I’ve already tried to adjust again and again but I have to face that I’m just a hedgehog to her and we’re not compatible.

    The thing is I love using sarcasm and making slight jabs at people, it’s like second nature to me. Honestly it’s really not that extreme and I’ve asked all my friends and they say they enioy it. But to her these are real personal attacks and enough cause to ruin our time together.

    It sucks cuz we had some really good laughs together. But also I’m done with stepping on mines, even when I am careful.

  • Pretty good start to my week, started talking to a girl on bumble on Saturday that is way outta my league that matched with me first, we’re gonna meet up on Sunday and walk my dog and chat.

    She is so fucking adorable though it’s unbeliveable, she’s asexual however which may be an issue if we go into any actual relationship as sex is reasonably important to me (I think) but it depends on exactly what type of asexual person she is and her personal feelings/desires on it, I’m wondering when the best time to ask her that would be…

  • It’s been a busy week so far. Trying to tidy my flat before an inspection next week as well as get some reporting done before a deadline tomorrow (it won’t be done in time but their expectations aren’t particularly reasonable so doing what I can). Got to do a Hackathon today based around a potential new system which was exciting! It’s so much better than what we have at the moment.

    Going to Amsterdam on Friday for the weekend, really looking forward to it

  • Hopeful, I did well at piano lessons, I am meeting my new neurologist tomorrow (scared, but I will make it), I think I am sleeping better. Things might be looking up after tomorrow I might get some answers or some relief soon! So my week is hopeful!

      • Ah, the age-old tale of insurance trying to skimp on covering medications. My doctor once tried to give me Modafinil (a very gentle stimulant) for mild narcolepsy. Insurance said no, and that they wanted her to try two lesser acting medications first (there aren’t any). So, she prescribed Adderall, and they insta-accepted it. Flawless logic!

        As for a pep-talk: I have no wisdom, but I believe in you.

        • My brain is not functioning well right now and that is the pep-talk I need, being reminded this isn’t personal and just the really crap way insurance works here in the USA.

          I am disappointed but the hope was for relief not for lifesaving actions, so I will deal, I have had this problem for a while it is not like I can’t survive it.

  •  apis   ( @apis@beehaw.org ) 
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    610 months ago

    Finally feel like am on the mend from a respiratory infection + injury to torso.

    Which is great but now very behind on a lot of basic stuff in my life & feel it’ll be a while before my stamina is back up, so the trick will be tackling things without getting either worn out or despondent.

    Some heavy mental stuff to process too, which reemerged prior to getting sick, but feeling somewhat hopeful, in that I suspect the period of dormancy was a total block for a couple of decades.

  • No joke, I actually felt I became more productive this week. I was able to do my language studies daily now (used to STRUGGLE so much in the past few years) and I’m starting to implement a savings plan I’ve been planning for a while.

    The only shitty thing was that my body clock didn’t fully reset. I work graveyard and I barely get 4hrs of sleep per day this week. I’ll be drowning in coffee later to survive. Wish me luck.