I’m just going to do a quick check-in on how my revised goal list is coming along. So far, so okay.
Let’s go over my revised goals for 2024:
Play guitar with enough mastery to play complete songs by ear.
Ride my bike at least one mile.
Do 100 push-ups.
Do 10 pull-ups.
Learn how to draw well. From life and my imagination.
Walk 5 million steps.
Let’s start from the beginning:
1. Play guitar with enough mastery to play complete songs by ear.
I’ve done a bit of practicing, but not consistently. I bought the thinnest guitar strings I could find:
I bought them hoping that having less finger pain would make me practice longer. So far all having thinner strings has done is make me have a harder time staying in tune. Because of the much looser tension it has turned my rudimentary, but relatively solid picking and strumming into flailing madly about with a plectrum. I have not given up on these super fine guitar strings just yet. I think that I will get used to them soon enough. And they really are easier on the fingers. I have a couple of sets of thin guitar strings to put back on my guitar if I can never get the hang of the new extra-thin ones.
For my guitar playing/practicing I also bought an amazing practice amp—just in case you were worried that I wasn’t spending money on my erstwhile hobbies. I do enjoy practicing (goofing around) with my new amp. It’s called a Spark, and it’s made by a company called Positive Grid.
The Spark is what is known as a modeling amp. Or a digital emulating amp. Out of the box I can make several dozen different guitar sounds, and using the app that comes with it, I can play up to 50,000 different amp and effects pedals combinations. If you can think of a guitar sound that you want to emulate, chances are that it’s in the catalog of sounds that come with the Spark. Or users can upload digital guitar rigs that sound almost exactly like famous guitarists. Want to sound like Eddie Van Halen, Poison Ivy, or Mark Knopfler? There is a greater than zero chance that some nerd has figured out a combo that will make you sound like one of your guitar heroes. Mind you, it won’t make you play like them, but it sure is fun to play like shit while having Jimi Hendrix’s sound. And this amp is loud! It’s 40 watts, which for a desktop amplifier is frankly overkill. It’s way louder than I will ever need it to be; in fact I really only play with my headphones on. This is because my marriage is built on the firm bedrock of not torturing one’s partner with a bunch of dissonant guitar noises. On a scale of zero to ten, the guitar is coming along at a solid one.
Score: 1
Onto the second goal:
2. Ride my bike at least one mile.
Right now Chicago looks like ice planet Hoth. I’m not riding anything that isn’t a tauntaun.
I don’t see myself accomplishing this particular goal until at least spring. On a scale of zero to ten, the bicycle is a zero.
Score: 0
Onto goal number three:
3. Do 100 pushups.
Since New Year’s Day I have been telling myself that I will start working toward this goal tomorrow. Here I am on the fifteenth day of the month, and I’m still saying, “I’ll start on that tomorrow.” In the words of The Bard, “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. . .”
On a scale of zero to ten, push-ups are a zero. But, I’m totally going to start tomorrow. Totally.
Score: 0
Onto goal number four:
4. Do 10 pull-ups.
See push-ups.
Score: 0
Now for goal number five:
5. Learn how to draw well. From life and imagination.
This one I have been concentrating on. I am fifteen days into the January 2024 STRADA 31-Day Challenge. I must complete and post on Facebook a drawing or painting from life every day. I have not missed a day. I think my drawing is improving slightly as I do this challenge. I am enjoying doing a piece of art every day regardless. Here is the watercolor that I drew and painted this morning for the challenge:
This is the first time I’ve painted with watercolors in decades, so I feel fine with the results—even if I painted out of the lines a bit. Progress not perfection is my artistic mantra this month. I give myself a six for this challenge. Plenty of room for improvement, but acknowledging the work that I have put in so far.
Score: 6
Onto goal number six:
6. Walk 5 million steps.
According to my Fitbit knockoff, I am averaging 3,242 steps a day or 1.15 miles a day. This is about 10,000 steps a day or about 3.5 miles a day off my pace to reach 5 million steps this year. I am on track to walk 1,186,572 steps or 419.14 miles this year. 5 million steps is about 1766.16 miles, so I would do about 23.7% of my goal. Keep in mind that this amount of walking is just how much I walk in a normal day without any extra walking for pleasure or fitness. I have become absolutely addicted to taking Lyft anywhere and everywhere. This has to be curtailed drastically. Financially I just cannot keep up with it any longer. Cutting 90% of my Lyft rides will add to my daily step counts for sure and help my wallet as well.
I plan to add more steps in my day, but I also don’t want to walk when it’s minus seven degrees Fahrenheit with a windchill of negative sixteen. Even decked out in my new Columbia Omni-Heat™ Infinity coat it’s just too damned cold to leave the house right now for any reason, much less for a volksmarch through the city. When the weather gets back to chilly and cold, but not like standing in a walk-in freezer, I will add steps to my day. That said, I think 5 million steps might be a bit of a stretch. I want to give myself a challenging, but not punishing target, so we’ll revisit this goal soon. Until then, I give this walking goal a two out of ten.
Score: 2
So my average score right now is a 1.5 out of 10. So far, so meh.
I’m not letting it get me down, I just need a little fire lit under myself. We shall talk more about the challenges in the near future, but I would like to show y’all a clip from an old Western movie called Will Penny where Charlton Heston as the titular character says to Joan Hackett the following phrase: “Reckon it’s just a case of too soon old, too late smart.”
I usually have the television on while I work. My office area is in the living room of the group home, so it’s just right there and the members of the house like something to be on the tv. Lately I’ve had a channel called Grit that plays only Westerns. Not sure why. I don’t usually pay much attention to what is going on, but my ears definitely pricked up when I heard that line, since it’s so close to the title of this blog. I just thought I would share that with y’all.
Here’s a link to the clip: Too soon old, too late smart clip
Until next time, y’all stay warm. I know I plan to.
Thank you, as always, for reading.
Drop me a line: jeremydnichols@tooearlyoldtoolatesmart.com
Follow me on Twitter: @jeremydnichols
Follow me on Instagram: @germynickels
Follow me on TikTok: germynickels
Follow me on Bluesky Social: @jeremydnichols.bsky.social
My PayPal: PayPal for Jeremy Nichols
Discord server: Too Late Smart Newsletter Server
Jeremy’s Guitar Fiasco: Jeremy's Guitar Fiasco
Email for Jeremy’s Guitar Fiasco: jeremy@jeremysguitarfiasco.com
Twitter for Jeremy’s Guitar Fiasco: @guitarfiasco
Facebook group for Jeremy’s Guitar Fiasco: @jeremysguitarfiasco
YouTube Channel: Jeremy's Guitar Fiasco