Learning a new instrument in different ways

paint brushes in jar
Made in Canva

Instruments don’t always mean something you play tunes with. I can play a real instrument like a recorder and a piano/synthesizer with one hand but that’s not what I had in mind. I mean the instruments/tools you use in your work or hobby. Even doctors and surgeons use instruments in their jobs but they are not for playing a song with. An instrument can also be a metaphor. For example, a parent knows how to handle their kids because they have an instrument/tool for it. They have a way to calm their kids and so on. The instruments I’m gonna write about is things mostly creative people use in their work.

From a writer point of view, a pencil and paper can be the instrument. Maybe not when blogging because then technical devices are being used. Or maybe someone does in some way but I don’t. When I write a story then I use pencil and paper because I can think better about the plot. Things that are hand-written is pretty rare these days. Even letters are written with some other instrument. The problem with writing by hand is the slowness and that your hand get tired. Sometimes I write on the laptop because it’s faster. I actually like writing on the keyboard. It’s easier to find mistakes because the computer is correcting automatically. And if there are words you don’t know how to spell, you can find them online. You can still do that when you write by hand but not that quickly.

handwritten

Photographers, web and graphic designers also have instruments. Camera, photo editing etc. Adobe programs are the most used. It really depends on what kind of instruments you need and what you want to work with. I know Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and Dreamweaver. Now I’m trying to learn After Effect where you can make animated stuff. It’s much harder to learn than I thought. It’s like video editing but more confusing. I still don’t really get it. I’ve tried to do tutorials but I haven’t got any decent results. But it’s still new to the whole thing so maybe I get it when I use it. People who are using it like pros and their work are great. I probably won’t use it to anything but it would be nice to at least know something about it. I’m not bravado enough to become a motion designer but it’s a skill there is no harm to have. I want to know how to play multiply instruments when it comes to design. I like to be as versatile as possible. It actually goes with the most things I do. I would get bored if I didn’t have a change from time to time.

Perspicacity is out of focus

Perspicacity is out of focus

There are a time and place for everything. It’s time to play and there is time to work. But I don’t do any of that. OK, maybe play but not work. I’m not gonna write about that thing that is out there right now. I don’t know how to use the word perspicacity in a sentence. But life is a learning curve and maybe someone with English as their first language can correct me at some point. This post has no perspective whatsoever. I don’t know why I even write anything. But I got a lot of time on my hands because my workplace is still closed. I wouldn’t be there now anyway because it’s only part-time. Grin emoji here. My Easter holiday would be starting today but now it’s at least one more month. Maybe even longer. My job contract will be very short but no can do.

I use blocks now on WordPress because it’s quite handy. I especially like how much easier it is to put links to open to a new tab. Before I had to click here and then there which was time-consuming. I won’t go into more detail because this is not a tutorial. I hope you understand what I mean. If you’re used blocks that is. Or you may not. I don’t know how other people handle things. I still use the Classic Editor though. When I don’t need anything fancy. The block editor is useful when you want to have, well blocks. I’m also getting the hang of how the blocks work. Maybe because we use that at work so I need to learn it. Speaking of getting the hang of it.

I also start to get hang of using Mac. I’ve used it before but not as much as I did with Windows. It’s a bummer that the Office programs are not on this Mac so I have to use it on my other laptop. It’s a shame you have to download it from the internet and pay for it yet again. It was easier when you got it on a CD. It’s not even called Office anymore. The first time I used Mac it was called Macintosh and it was when I was on 7th or 8th grade. It looked much different then. Next time I used a Mac was in 2011 when I was on the job learning in my local newspaper. Mac and PC look different in graphics. Like the time can be seen up on the screen on Mac when in PC it was down on the right. At first, I kept looking down on the time when it was actually up on the right. I got a Mac because I wanted a change and I’m not a big fan of Windows 10. I haven’t regretted the change one bit. Except for that damn Word that isn’t there so I can’t write my fiction on this laptop.

Are you still up? Continuing with the perspicacity or the lack of it. There are so many different things on this blog post so it’s not interesting to everyone. You could say this is free writing but that’s not the curve I’m looking for. If it was it would be even more out of focus than it is now. I don’t know about you but sometimes I get fiction ideas during my night sleep. Which is the reason why it takes longer for me to fall asleep. Some people have trouble sleeping because they worry but for me, it’s the stories in my head. I sleep but I’m still awake. Well, my brain is. When I finally fall into a deep sleep it’s early morning and then I sleep until noon or longer. The next night can be the same. It’s a price to pay when you’re a writer. You can’t choose the time when inspiration comes. Coming up with a story is one thing and the other are names and titles. Internet is a good place to find answers to this. I don’t want to use the same character names in my stories. I mostly use first names only but somethings last names too. Maybe titles are the most difficult things to come up with. I have this story but I don’t know what to call it and it’s frustrating. But it will come up when I start writing on it. Now the story is only in my head. Maybe I only write it for myself and if I continue or think it’s worth posting online I will do so. Like I mentioned earlier in this post. I’ve got a lot of time on my hands so I have time to think it over.

So this curve and perspicacity has not ended on this blog post so thank you for reading (or just looking at the photo above 😁)

Open up to you and I don’t even feel lonely

open wood box
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

There is a new prompt challenge out there called Discover Prompts and it started yesterday. Today the word is open. But I also take part in Ragtag Daily Prompt. So I open up to you and I don’t even feel lonely. There won’t be any big secrets or anything like that. The break from work is now until May 13 so I have a lot of time on my hands. I still get paid which is good. I was only 2 weeks at the job until this coronavirus thing happened. I rather stay home then go to a job where there is nothing to do. And staying healthy is the most important thing. Here we don’t need to stay home but I stay home anyway so there is no difference. I’m open to doing anything I want. I never go anywhere anyway. The store is the only place I go to. I don’t understand why people don’t want to stay home. Is there something there they don’t want to see or what? People have no imagination so they ‘complain’ they have nothing to do. I’ve got plenty to do. There is nothing wrong being bored anyway.

This is a good time to watch old TV shows on Youtube. At the moments I’m watching ‘Matlock‘ The only problem is that there isn’t the last episode of each season. That is a shame. It’s a murder mystery show with Andy Griffith as Ben Matlock. The show is usually about 45 minutes long and sometimes there are two parts. I love a good mystery murder shows. I hope I could find ‘Murder, She, Wrote’ but I guess that’s quite difficult. I don’t think I could write a murder mystery. You need a brain for that. A brain that can work with stuff like that. It’s easier for me to write about romance without many deep details. Writer’s who can write about murder and the dark side of human behaviour really are geniuses. I really admire writers like Agatha Christie and authors like that. If I wasn’t lazy I would read books like that but I rather watch a TV show about murders. When I was 7 years old I watched some murder show in secret from my parents and I saw nightmares after that for at least 3 nights. But it hasn’t stopped me from liking movies and TV shows about it. Too much violence is always too much. I don’t like Tarantino’s movies, for example. Except ‘Jackie Brown’ There isn’t much violence like in his other movies.

The time that is now it’s good to think about other things than just what is going on in the world. People should learn to relax and this is the time to do so. I opened up what I’m doing now and I don’t feel lonely. I’m alone but never lonely. I don’t know have time to feel that. There are many other things to do. You just have to use your imagination. Now it’s time to open that book or whatever you fancy.