It does flips and throws you over
Board your ship that's going nowhere
If you stop, you'll end up somewhere
I can finally talk about what's been keeping me from blogging/guitaring/pianoing/Japanesing/programming. I've been applying for new jobs and have taken one in Arlington, VA. Obviously, this has interrupted my other goals for this year, but once I move (across the flippin' country), hopefully I'll have some time to sit down and work on my hobbies.
In the meantime, I've been squeezing them in when I can, and I realized that I have a really great camera that can record really well, so maybe I'll get a YouTube account and start making an ass out of myself on there. At least then, I can post what I'm doing, instead of just text about it. Could be cool. We'll see.
In other news, my bestest friend ever, Joaquin, has started an interesting new site for sharing his various works in progress. Cleverly named 2/3rds, after the completeness of the work he'll be showing there, his site will be home to all manner of creative things. He and I just started kicking around the idea of some collaborations, so I may send some music, art, or writing his way, which I will then pimp here.
I'm excited about his site because I've been wanting to see other people's creative work, from which I might draw inspiration. We'll see how it goes. For now, I better get back to packing.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Now I see you fell asleep again...
You've been riding this train since 2AM
Like the circle of fifths you drew in school
The loop line takes round and through
I wish I could fall asleep. I haven't been sleeping well lately. Going to bed super late, waking up super early, waking up again sort of early, and finally, waking up late and going to work.
I've been super busy lately. I've still been finding time to get my stuff done though. I've made some major progress on Japanese. I spent my weekend working on it. Also, I've made the first round of attempts at finding someone with whom to study. Having someone who's also learning Japanese, or preferably a Japanese speaker who's learning English, would do a great deal to motivate and help me.
We'll see.
The rest of my time has been spent programming and investigating programming. I'm compiling a list of things I need to learn and resources from which I may learn them. There are many gaps in my knowledge that need filling. In the meantime, I'm trying to piece my various experiments into actual games. I've got to start writing if I'm going to get them done this year....
And all this time, my guitar sits in the corner crying (or gently weeping as the song goes). Don't get me started on the piano. About all I've done is screw around with it for a couple days.
So, time for a round up...
MONTH ONE: COMPLETE
Japanese - 3/4 of the way through Level 1 of 3
This is pretty great when you look at how much time is left, but terrible when you consider most of that progress was done last year. :/
Guitar - Learned a bunch of easy songs (none of the ones from my books though)
I made a ton of progress on the guitar. I need to focus on my goals (one song a month from my chords books) though, in order to better measure my progress. Still, I think I'm doing fine on this one.
Programming - lots of exploration, but only some code snippets to show for it
Again, I'm looking at my written goals and realizing I need to be making my way through the programming books I've got, and I need to be busting out some games (one a month again...). I think this weekend will be spent trying to make the fastest, simplest game I've ever made in my life. Start to finish. At least then I'll have a base from which to work.
Piano - zilch
Alright, obviously, this took a backseat this month. Next month though, it'll be time to hit the books. I need to just incorporate it into my routine. I'll get there....
Beyond that, I still need to check out Improv classes and get in better shape (two goals I haven't included because they don't really have trackable progress that I can share here). I've got the "getting into shape" part down though. I've been playing dodgeball and dancing my way through Dance Central.
My Grade: Not Bad
Not great, but not bad. Time to redouble my efforts and get going this next month.
How's everyone out there in internet land doing? Has your first month of the year been productive?
Like the circle of fifths you drew in school
The loop line takes round and through
I wish I could fall asleep. I haven't been sleeping well lately. Going to bed super late, waking up super early, waking up again sort of early, and finally, waking up late and going to work.
I've been super busy lately. I've still been finding time to get my stuff done though. I've made some major progress on Japanese. I spent my weekend working on it. Also, I've made the first round of attempts at finding someone with whom to study. Having someone who's also learning Japanese, or preferably a Japanese speaker who's learning English, would do a great deal to motivate and help me.
We'll see.
The rest of my time has been spent programming and investigating programming. I'm compiling a list of things I need to learn and resources from which I may learn them. There are many gaps in my knowledge that need filling. In the meantime, I'm trying to piece my various experiments into actual games. I've got to start writing if I'm going to get them done this year....
And all this time, my guitar sits in the corner crying (or gently weeping as the song goes). Don't get me started on the piano. About all I've done is screw around with it for a couple days.
So, time for a round up...
MONTH ONE: COMPLETE
Japanese - 3/4 of the way through Level 1 of 3
This is pretty great when you look at how much time is left, but terrible when you consider most of that progress was done last year. :/
Guitar - Learned a bunch of easy songs (none of the ones from my books though)
I made a ton of progress on the guitar. I need to focus on my goals (one song a month from my chords books) though, in order to better measure my progress. Still, I think I'm doing fine on this one.
Programming - lots of exploration, but only some code snippets to show for it
Again, I'm looking at my written goals and realizing I need to be making my way through the programming books I've got, and I need to be busting out some games (one a month again...). I think this weekend will be spent trying to make the fastest, simplest game I've ever made in my life. Start to finish. At least then I'll have a base from which to work.
Piano - zilch
Alright, obviously, this took a backseat this month. Next month though, it'll be time to hit the books. I need to just incorporate it into my routine. I'll get there....
Beyond that, I still need to check out Improv classes and get in better shape (two goals I haven't included because they don't really have trackable progress that I can share here). I've got the "getting into shape" part down though. I've been playing dodgeball and dancing my way through Dance Central.
My Grade: Not Bad
Not great, but not bad. Time to redouble my efforts and get going this next month.
How's everyone out there in internet land doing? Has your first month of the year been productive?
Friday, January 21, 2011
It all keeps adding up, I think I'm cracking up...
Informally, I'm attempting to update this at least once a week. Reminding myself that I need to post a blog reminds me that I need to be doing the things that I would be posting a blog about. It seems, however, that as soon as you set goals, the universe goes about conspiring to keep you from completing them. Thus, in my attempts to fight it, I am up now, at 4a.m., studying Japanese and writing a blog.
おはようございます！
わたしはblogをかいています。
I wish someone who can read Japanese was reading my blog so that they could correct me if I'm wrong.
Anyway, this week has been good for programming, not so good for everything else. I'm learning a lot about the languages in which I make games but not making games. I need to get on that if I'm going to get done what I hope to this year. That being said tomorrow (today) is a hack day at work, so making a game there counts, right?
Hopefully, this is just me being slow to start, and I'll ramp up shortly. I need to be studying Japanese every single day because every time I have a short break, I feel like I'm losing something. It makes me think I should do every thing (piano, guitar, Japanese, programming) once a day, but that's not really plausible. I would spend more time switching activities and setting them up than I would actually doing any learning.
I guess that's the hardest part. I've committed to doing these things, and I've set aside the time to do them. Now, I just need to get over the fact that I'm not going to progress at all of them everyday. I have a year to accomplish these goals. I just need to pace myself.
Oh, and stop procrasting (Jake and Amir say "Hello").
おはようございます！
わたしはblogをかいています。
I wish someone who can read Japanese was reading my blog so that they could correct me if I'm wrong.
Anyway, this week has been good for programming, not so good for everything else. I'm learning a lot about the languages in which I make games but not making games. I need to get on that if I'm going to get done what I hope to this year. That being said tomorrow (today) is a hack day at work, so making a game there counts, right?
Hopefully, this is just me being slow to start, and I'll ramp up shortly. I need to be studying Japanese every single day because every time I have a short break, I feel like I'm losing something. It makes me think I should do every thing (piano, guitar, Japanese, programming) once a day, but that's not really plausible. I would spend more time switching activities and setting them up than I would actually doing any learning.
I guess that's the hardest part. I've committed to doing these things, and I've set aside the time to do them. Now, I just need to get over the fact that I'm not going to progress at all of them everyday. I have a year to accomplish these goals. I just need to pace myself.
Oh, and stop procrasting (Jake and Amir say "Hello").
Saturday, January 8, 2011
I know I'm gonna be...
I'm gonna be the man who accomplishes all my goals...
Sorry, I've got the Proclaimers running through my head.
I learned it on the guitar because it's stupid easy, and it's fun attempting to imitate their voices (accents and all).
I've also been trying to learn about writing music and was reminded of one of my favorite videos by this site. That inspired me to learn the chords from Pachelbell's Canon in D Major, which is awesome because it reminds me of many great songs, and it's helping me with my transitions in and out of barre chords.
I have realized, however, that the guitar has an unfair advantage when it comes to hobbies I'm pursuing. It is by far the easiest to pick up and practice, requiring almost no preparation, and it's always in my sight because there are two sitting in my room. Also, music strikes a chord (PUN!) that all my other hobbies don't. If I'm not careful, I'll spend the entire year playing guitar and think at the end, "now, wasn't there something else I meant to do?"
That's why, as soon as I'm done typing this, I'm going to jump into some programming (after strumming a few notes of course...).
Sorry, I've got the Proclaimers running through my head.
I learned it on the guitar because it's stupid easy, and it's fun attempting to imitate their voices (accents and all).
I've also been trying to learn about writing music and was reminded of one of my favorite videos by this site. That inspired me to learn the chords from Pachelbell's Canon in D Major, which is awesome because it reminds me of many great songs, and it's helping me with my transitions in and out of barre chords.
I have realized, however, that the guitar has an unfair advantage when it comes to hobbies I'm pursuing. It is by far the easiest to pick up and practice, requiring almost no preparation, and it's always in my sight because there are two sitting in my room. Also, music strikes a chord (PUN!) that all my other hobbies don't. If I'm not careful, I'll spend the entire year playing guitar and think at the end, "now, wasn't there something else I meant to do?"
That's why, as soon as I'm done typing this, I'm going to jump into some programming (after strumming a few notes of course...).
Sunday, January 2, 2011
The Best Around
There's a classic song, stop me if you've heard it. It goes:
I want to be the very best,
like no one ever was....
To catch them is my real test,
to train them is my cause!
Pokemon!
It was a great song for a great show about a great game. And it never fails to inspire the kid in me to dream big, and that's what I'm doing now.
My dream is to do four things: play the guitar really well, play the piano really well, speak Japanese really well, and make great games.
And that brings me to this page. My hope is that maintaining this blog will keep me honest. It will also be an outlet for me to display my progress, so that I don't get annoyed with toiling away in obscurity (even though I know no one is likely to read this, at least I'll feel like someone could be).
I also plan on posting my various problems (and hopefully solutions), so that those on similar journeys will know that they're not alone.
So let's begin...
Come with me the time is right,
There's no better team.
Arm in arm, we'll win the fight,
It's always been our dream!
I want to be the very best,
like no one ever was....
To catch them is my real test,
to train them is my cause!
Pokemon!
It was a great song for a great show about a great game. And it never fails to inspire the kid in me to dream big, and that's what I'm doing now.
My dream is to do four things: play the guitar really well, play the piano really well, speak Japanese really well, and make great games.
And that brings me to this page. My hope is that maintaining this blog will keep me honest. It will also be an outlet for me to display my progress, so that I don't get annoyed with toiling away in obscurity (even though I know no one is likely to read this, at least I'll feel like someone could be).
I also plan on posting my various problems (and hopefully solutions), so that those on similar journeys will know that they're not alone.
So let's begin...
Come with me the time is right,
There's no better team.
Arm in arm, we'll win the fight,
It's always been our dream!
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