Not much progress and other thoughts

Over the past three weeks or so I've been a little busy and haven't hooked the guitar to my PS. The main reason is that I've been training to be a Customer Services Adviser for an energy company, and have spent the last week "live" taking customers queries and resolving them.

There is a huge difference between running through how to use SAP to get information and to resolve queries in training and when you are live on the phones. Thankfully there are lots of very experienced floor walkers that are available to help us when we hit things we're not sure about doing.

I have had a brief investigation into how to use my new mixing desk, and an still working out the best way to record what is coming out of the system. When I get it sussed, be warned that there might be a flurry of tracks posted to my SoundCloud account.

Another reason for me to add music, is that I have signed up for Coursera online courses in Songwriting and Music Production. These are two separate courses that are expected to take up around 8 hours each through a week. I think that will strain me to the limit fitting around my work and Scouting activities, and I suspect that I'll be spending most of my weekends trying to play catch up!

My girlfriend has also signed up for the Songwriting course, and it seems possible that we're going to have a go at collaborating on songs -for those you'll have to keep an eye out for the Heron Hymn SoundCloud pages.

I'm planning on getting the PS booted up at some point this weekend, and I'm expecting that my playing will have atrophied. I have been practicing a couple of the tunes I have more or less learned (mainly House of the Rising Song [a very simplified version] and Home On The Range, although some Christmas and nursery tunes have also been picked out).

Getting my fingers flexible enough to play chords properly is a challenge for me at the moment.

Of all the bizarre questions I've had recently, one was from a girl I was tutoring Maths and English last year and it was could I teach her to play the keyboards. I did point out that I don't know how to play them, but she seemed determined that she wanted to have a go.

I guess I'll need to dig out my keyboard and power supply and start with the basics myself too. I'm not sure where I'm going to fit in all of this into my week.

Just remember: if you don't try you'll never succeed!

Not the planned weekend

Disappointment

I was wanting to attend the Imagine Cup North East hack event this weekend, but due to a minor technical problem with my oven (ie it has stopped heating things up) I thought I'd better fix it.
That did leave me free to attend the cub meeting last night, and the leader meeting straight after (which only lasted half an hour - not a common event as most of the leaders can talk for England - me especially!)
Mission only partially successful, I have isolated the faulty part: the heating element has gone open circuit. I've also discovered two ways of getting at the element to replace it.
The first way involves stripping the oven almost into individual components, and the other is which panels that need to be removed to do the job.
I'm hoping that I will be able to remember which order it has to be done in when I get the replacement part and fit it.
For a change I only have two spare screws after re-assembling the oven.

Progress

I have had a technically successful session with Guitar Smith and have passed another section. More details than you really want to catch are in my other blog.
What other news? I'm three weeks into my five week training to be a customer support adviser, and will be on the phones for at least one call on the last day.
I have recorded a version of the guitar part for House Of The Rising Sun and uploaded to SoundCloud.

Coursework

Absolutely no progress with the database course today. I'm going to have to stand behind myself and crack the whip, as I have over an hours worth of lectures to watch and the associated exercises to complete to continue my progress.

There is a mid-course exam coming up soon, and I'm not looking forward to that at the moment. I think that it will be the ruination of my 100% success rate of doing the practical work.