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101 & IBL4

Haha... I feel like my post title is some type of code...

But 101 posts already... wow...
When I see 101, I always think of the 101 Dalmatians from Disney!  *nostalgic moment*  I miss being a kid and watching a Disney movie regularly.  Not the princess ones, but ones like, Lion King, Toy Story, etc.  I'm glad our trusty VCR is still functional.  Then again - there's always YouTube!

And talk about nostalgia.  Yesterday when I played 1 hour of piano, it was glorious!  I could tell I had retained my muscle memory for parts I had practiced s.l.o.w.l.y., and had to investigate areas I had skipped over.  Unfortunately, I couldn't play as fast and loud as I did a few months ago.  Well, loud maybe, but not as rapidly.  It was almost as if my phalanges lacked some kind of lubricant and agility for blazing across the keys with massive octaves.  But it was great that I remembered the musicality and could enjoy at a slower pace.

The one strange thing I noticed was the first 30 minutes, my arms and fingers were totally relaxed and I could fluidly (albeit slowly) connect the notes and phrasing.  I didn't sound like a metronome (a major and aggravating aspect of my playing).  I was communicating through the keys and the strings.  The notes rang and sang like they were alive and active. I forgot everything going on around me. I daresay, it was almost beautiful!
But as soon as I fully got into my practice mode, it sounded all mechanical and forced.  I only tried to get the notes right and forgot to express myself through the scores.  I forgot to connect with the instrument and harmonize my body with it.  My muscles contracted and remained tightened as did the processing in my brain.
Aaaccchhh...
I want my liquid music abilities back!!!  For a few precious moments, I think I truly enjoyed and immersed myself in music like I had never done before in all of my 13 years of piano playing.  I think I found what motivates professionals to painstakingly practice hour after hour, day after day as a career the manufacturing performances this music.

I think I got a name for my Entrepreneur's blog: Enquiries.  (Ha! Chrome red-underlined it for me.) I like FreeDict's definition which is: the search for knowledge.  I will keep all my records for this type of searching on that blog.

Ok... I enjoy alliteration too much for my own good.  Here goes my new name: Elecentrenquiries... or Electrical Entrepreneurial Enquiries.  I don't even know how to pronounce that newly coined word.   Depending on how confident I feel about my writing, I may or may not make it public.

YAY!! I finished all the assignments for Week 0 (how weird a numbering system)!!!  I've looked into Week 1's material, and boy, is it going to be intense.  I can tell Acton put HOURS upon DAYS upon WEEKS of effort and preparation into this curriculum and I think it's going to pay off.  And their reflection questions always make me think.  But once I start answering, it's not so bad!

I love that I'm loving writing more and more.  It's hard to imagine what a dread and drudge it was for me as a child to write.  My mind was so empty and clueless!  I feel a lot of pity for my young self.  I also want to punch myself for being so dumb and lazy to not know writing takes practice, just like speed math takes practice.  No one becomes a great anything without practice.  And don't even bring up Mozart, 'cuz he most certainly practiced!!

And the weekend has begun!
~CJ

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