I learned late Friday afternoon that I was going to have to work on Saturday, so my plans for a calm mellow weekend were scuttled.
Not to be denied relaxation, the Mrs. and I took a trip to Watercourse Way for a nice hot tub soak after my shift Saturday evening. A very nice way to wind down after a long week!
Sunday morning I slept in late (almost ’til 7am!) and we had a slow morning, generally taking things easy. Our daughter came by around noon for a visit. She and the Mrs. had appointments later that night for massages, and we just hung about, had a nice lunch (BBQ Brisket for the win!) and a quiet, pleasant afternoon.
Later Sunday afternoon I had a couple hours booked at one of the local rehearsal studios and went down to get some time behind the ol’ drum kit.
It’s always a crapshoot going to these places, as you never know what kit you’ll be playing, but nonetheless it was great to sit down and play again. I hadn’t played “real” drums since the first week of December ’21, so it was long overdue. I’ve got all kinds of electronic drums that I can play at at home (drummer + apartment = trouble) but they simply aren’t the same. So I try to get out a few times a month to play the real deal.
I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to play for any kind of duration, as my breathing is still crappy post-Plague. Drumming (if you’re doing it right, IMHO) is very demanding physically. You’ve got all four limbs working in coordination, often at 100+ beats per minute, it’s not all that different from a heavy cardio workout. But I was able to run two 50-minute back-to-back “sets” without gasping for air or passing out, so I suppose I am in fact getting better still.
I had a great time, played a little classic rock, a little 80’s new wave, some old hip-hop and a few newish tunes. Nothing earth-shattering, but it was refreshing to get out and blow the cobwebs off, so to speak. And I finally got to test drive my latest acquisition, a vintage Paiste Sound Formula 18″ crash cymbal. It’s a thing of beauty and I’m thrilled to add it to the quiver. I’ve got a serious cymbal addiction and always seem to find new pieces that I just have to have. (the few visible in the pic above are barely a drop in the bucket that is my “precious metals” collection.) I’ve got my eye on a couple others, but I seriously love this latest crash!
After drumming, things got really exciting…filling the gas tank and grocery shopping, getting ready for the new week. I threw together a flower arrangement waiting for the Mrs. to get home, and then it was time for some Zzzz’s.
While I, in my default setting, wanted to be irritated at my weekend being shortened down to a single day, I resigned myself to making the best of it, and in the end it was a pretty nice weekend, all things considered. Sometimes your attitude CAN make all the difference! Who knew?!?
Thanks for reading!
The Boring Old Man 