Soundpost down!

For all my enthusiasm, I didn’t have the best day yesterday. I helped tear down the shed for about 90 minutes, which I counted as my exercise, but before and after that I was feeling quite lazy and spent a bit too much time on Factorio. Last night I went to sleep earlier, after finishing Carry On Mr. Bowditch and starting Ender’s Game. I woke up at 4:30 though and read more. Anyway, here’s the rundown.

SCHOOLWORK
In the end, I only spent an hour and forty minutes. I got to a stopping place in both classes, and then mostly figured out what I would need to do for the next assignments, but I didn’t feel like starting them. At this rate, I expect that I’ll have no problem finishing EDUC 521 by Saturday, and EDUC 532 doesn’t seem like it will require much more effort either, so I’m not feeling a lot of pressure. Even so, my goal was for two hours a day total, so I’m still expecting that much of myself for today.

EXERCISE
As I said, I counted tearing down the shed as my exercise, though I also did a bit of weight-lifting. I planked last night for two minutes, and this morning for about 2:10. I’ll try dancing again today, experimenting with the floor protector mat.

VIOLIN
Hearken unto my tale of woe. I was excited about using the app that I found, and I pulled out my old violin. The bridge was down. “That was smart,” I thought, “but it’s a bit of a pain to set it back up, so I’ll just use my electric violin.” I pulled that out and then realized that I probably couldn’t use the app with it, because the app needed to be able to hear it. So I stowed it again and pulled out the wooden violin. I set up the bridge according to the marks on my violin, and started tuning it. I had just about gotten it in tune when BANG. The bridge collapsed. It scared me, but I started to set it back up again. Then I noticed something rolling around inside. After quite a bit of effort, I figured out that it was some kind of wooden peg, probably important for the structure of the violin. Now I’m thinking that the violin might be permanently damaged because I see no way to put the peg back wherever it is. Disheartened by this result, I gave up for the day.

After googling this, it’s apparently a common operation to replace this piece (the sound post) and might not even cost money. Considering that I bought the violin at a small shop nearby, I suspect that I’d have a good chance of not being charged if I took it there. However, I’m also pretty sure that the shop is closed down right now, so I’ll just loosen the strings and wait for a good time to get it looked at.

SPANISH
My search for grammar resources turned up nothing of apparent value to me. I think I’m going to have to make my own program, but I’m not exactly sure how to do that. Okay, before I resort to a lot of effort, I’ll check out my old language learning forums for any good Spanish resources specifically related to grammar. For oral proficiency, I need to listen, and I need to speak. The University of Texas at Austin has tons of videos specific to tasks. I’ll watch one or two videos and attempt to do the task myself based on the example. For listening, maybe I can find a Spanish podcast. When will I listen? I don’t know. Maybe if the podcast’s subject matter is interesting enough, I’ll make time and maybe do weights or rowing as I listen.

RUBIK’S CUBE
I’m still averaging 1:45 for a solve. Finishing F2L takes consistently around one minute. Forty-five seconds for the last layer is a ridiculously long amount of time—it really shouldn’t take more than ten seconds, and even with the beginner method I could do it in fifteen. At this point I’m terrible at recognizing which algorithm to apply, and occasionally I’ll mess up the algorithm too. Today I’m learning the last OLL algorithm though, and I’ll concentrate on my recognition from tomorrow.

MEMORIZATION
I successfully reviewed Psalms 9, 12, and 17. I gave 19 a shot, and it was rough.

BIBLE READING AND PRAYER
Since I woke up early and read Ender’s Game, I didn’t do this. I think I need a reminder when I wake up. I’d put something on my ceiling, but I kind of doubt that I would see it. Maybe putting it on my light switch or bedside table would work better.

Today’s special to-do list:

• Try dancing on the floor protector mat
  
• Set up electric violin to work on speakers
  
• Look at language learning forums for Spanish resources, especially related to grammar.
  
• Look for Spanish podcast.
  
• Set up new laptop which should be arriving today.