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Old Skill/New Skill 2012

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 7:52 pm
by balon!
What did you learn in 2011 and what do you want to learn in 2012?

I got really good at making cordage from scratch. Nettle, cedar bark and cotton wool mostly. Practiced weaving, trapmaking and i made a functional sling.

for 2012 I want to get my flintknapping on lockdown and possibly make a bow.

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 8:11 pm
by lucimay
omg yer so handy. you should go on survivor balon! :biggrin:

a lot of what i learned in 2011 was internal...stuff about myself
and i learned those things through interaction with others. a lot of
that stuff is sorta personal but i'll share one of the things i learned
recently.
i had, for many many years, had some incorrect information about
my maternal grandmother and my uncle (her son, my mother's brother.)
and partly because of that and because i guess i needed someone to
blame, i have been blaming my grandmother for the course which my
mother's life had taken and some of the bad things that had happened
to her.
i recently spoke with my mother about it and she disabused me of my
erroneous notions, corrected the wrong information i had, and spoke of
her mother to me, telling me how much she loved her mother and how
good her mother had been to her and why my mother was raised the way
she was and the motivations and intentions behind many of my grandmother's actions.
she impressed upon me very convincingly how much my grandmother
loved her...and me, and how much my grandmother had done for us
over the years.
it was easy for me to lay much of the blame of the bad things that had
occurred in my mother's life at my grandmother's feet. like i said, i think
i just needed someone to blame and took it out on Ma Searcy because she
wasn't around and i could. much easier than owning up to the fact that my
mother made her own choices.
in the process of having this conversation with my mother, i learned what a
truely wonderful person my mother is. she has never had a bad word to say
about ANYone who hurt her. she never trash talks anyone (altho i think she
is convinced my sister in law doesn't like her, which, i have tried to tell her is
not true!)
she is a generous, loving, forgiving woman and from what she has been through in her life, it's simply amazing to me that she is the person she is.
for that, i would give much credit to HER mother.

so, i learned about 2 of the most important women in my life this year and
it has helped me tremendously.


in 2012 i hope to continue to grow and learn, about myself, about what i may be capable of, and myriad other things.

also i'd like to learn how to do the argentine tango. :biggrin:


nice thread balon! :D

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 8:53 pm
by Savor Dam
lucimay wrote:i'd like to learn how to do the argentine tango. :biggrin:
I am SO seeing Luci with a rose in her teeth and a come-hither stare now!

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 5:07 am
by TerisasMirror
Nice Post!

Umm, I really don't think any post could hold all I have learned or all I hope to in the next year. I learn new things each & every day. If I did not, I think I would simply cease.

As far as skills, though...

I improved my mechanics skills this last year (which were aleady pretty darn good, if I do say so myself!). Improved my database skills, too. Still a long way to go on that, though.

I would love continue to improve those skills. I would also love to learn archery and scuba diving.
And the stuff balon posted reminds me that my tanning skills need practicing! Anyone wanna come to NE Fla & hunt some deer???? (Please!)

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 11:35 am
by Fist and Faith
Red Skill/Blue Skill


*rimshot*


Damn, balon, you need to read Malazan. I think you're a T'lan Imass.

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 5:07 pm
by Linna Heartbooger
In 2011: Not only do I _like_ to play, but also that I _need_ to play.

Thanks for coming up with some Mallory's games that inspire creativity and bonding, vraith, shaun, shadowbinding shoe, deer and others!
And thanks for playing, [null, DPJ, u, the aforementioned, and the] gang!

For 2012: Want to start learning Chinese in earnest...

For those who saw my "what do your dreams tell you to do?" post, I actually did start to get language tutoring from a friend.

The first time, I was SO scared when I was driving over there that I was shaking and feeling foolish.

It can be scary to admit that you are not competent at something.

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 6:49 pm
by Menolly
TerisasMirror wrote:Anyone wanna come to NE Fla & hunt some deer???? (Please!)
Not sure I actually want to learn to hunt; at least, not if it involves guns. I have always wanted to learn to use a crossbow though.

And I would love some venison, should there be any extra. Where in NE Florida are you planning on going? Very far from Gator Town (Gainesville)?

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:32 pm
by Vraith
Menolly wrote:
TerisasMirror wrote:Anyone wanna come to NE Fla & hunt some deer???? (Please!)
Not sure I actually want to learn to hunt; at least, not if it involves guns. I have always wanted to learn to use a crossbow though.

And I would love some venison, should there be any extra. Where in NE Florida are you planning on going? Very far from Gator Town (Gainesville)?
Crossbows I never found much fun...there's just something about real bows more aesthetically enjoyable and complete.
But more specifically, crossbow hunting laws are weird in various states...some don't allow them at all, or only if you're handicapped, some only during gun season not bow season...last I knew Florida has only a 1 or 2 week period around thanksgiving when crossbows are legal.

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:49 pm
by Cleburne
I learnt in 2011 I can run 3 Marathons in 6 weeks period and not pass out :biggrin:
In 2012 I want to learn to play either a acoustic guitar or a piano havent made up my mind which approaching the big 40 so it must be mid life crisis lol ;)

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 10:25 pm
by aliantha
Now there's a coincidence -- I just ordered myself a new guitar. It's an acoustic travel-size guitar. I sorta kinda know how to strum a few chords, but I'm waaaay out of practice. The fretboard on the last guitar I had was too wide for my hands. Hoping this one will be easier to play.

Besides, it's cute. It's got a little Celtic knotwork around the sound hole, and the things on the neck that are usually dots are moon phases on this guitar. :biggrin:

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 12:19 am
by Linna Heartbooger
Celtic knotwork you say? *goes and looks* pretty design.

Amusing... I actually have a friend from college who lives in FL now who is super into competitive bow hunting. I think she mostly shoots at inanimate targets, but is really good at it.

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 4:03 am
by aliantha
Thanks, Linna! The Luna guitars in general have gotten some pretty amazing reviews on Amazon. I'm looking forward to trying this one out. Should be here Saturday.

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 5:02 am
by lucimay
ok so everyone's learning archery and rope making and knotwork and chinese and guitar and shit like that and i'm still working on my interpersonal relationships. yeesh. :P

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 6:51 am
by Avatar
I didn't learn anything last year, and don't plan on learning anything this one. :D

--A

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 11:46 am
by Linna Heartbooger
lucimay wrote:ok so everyone's learning archery and rope making and knotwork and chinese and guitar and shit like that and i'm still working on my interpersonal relationships. yeesh. :P
No, everyone is SAYING they are thinking of doing these things. ;)
Except the knotwork, I think.
That was something someone else painted or stained on ali's guitar.

and, luci!!! That was the coolest post ever!!!
We're ALL still working on that skill, too, in case you haven't noticed.
If everyone else here seems really socially-adept to you... well, if that's the case, maybe you do have an especially difficult problem. :?
Bwahaha! ;)


I was actually thinking of making my skill "I learned how to talk to my dad; like how to send him an e-mail and get back a response of more than one line."

(I have HLT to thank for that... he has a sense of humor that is similar to my dad's; I realized this when he graced some thread in the Close with a hilarious video from "The Life of Bryan." :biggrin:)

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 11:51 am
by Linna Heartbooger
TerisasMirror wrote:I improved my mechanics skills this last year (which were aleady pretty darn good, if I do say so myself!). Improved my database skills, too. Still a long way to go on that, though.
What database? In what context are you using it?

And whaddya mean by "mechanics skills"? That sounds cool! Fixing a car?
av wrote:I didn't learn anything last year, and don't plan on learning anything this one. :-D
I hate throwing out accusations, but this man right here ^^^ has got to be the biggest liar ever.
I hope everyone jumps all over you for this ridiculous claim.
(wow, that sounds like a response fit for the Tank, I think?)

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 1:09 pm
by aliantha
lucimay wrote:ok so everyone's learning archery and rope making and knotwork and chinese and guitar and shit like that and i'm still working on my interpersonal relationships. yeesh. :P
Well, see, my progress in the field of interpersonal relationships is usually of the whacked-upside-the-head-with-a-2-x-4 variety. Which is hardly goal-worthy. ;) Anyhow, you already know how to play guitar. :P

You shoulda seen Magickmaker's expression when I told her I'd ordered the guitar. It was this great deadpan "What on earth has my mother done *now*???" look. :lol:

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 3:33 pm
by lucimay
Linna Heartlistener wrote:
lucimay wrote:ok so everyone's learning archery and rope making and knotwork and chinese and guitar and shit like that and i'm still working on my interpersonal relationships. yeesh. :P
No, everyone is SAYING they are thinking of doing these things. ;)
Except the knotwork, I think.
That was something someone else painted or stained on ali's guitar.

and, luci!!! That was the coolest post ever!!!
We're ALL still working on that skill, too, in case you haven't noticed.
If everyone else here seems really socially-adept to you... well, if that's the case, maybe you do have an especially difficult problem. :?
Bwahaha! ;)


I was actually thinking of making my skill "I learned how to talk to my dad; like how to send him an e-mail and get back a response of more than one line."

(I have HLT to thank for that... he has a sense of humor that is similar to my dad's; I realized this when he graced some thread in the Close with a hilarious video from "The Life of Bryan." :biggrin:)
oh that's cool. you learned how to talk to your dad! dude took me forEVER to learn that one. and just when i felt i was doing good at it the old fart croaked! HAH! you think that stopped me? not a bit of it. i still talk his ear off. LOL!!! :lol:


ali...what do you mean you "ordered" a guitar? how on earth do you buy a guitar without playing it first? or at least hearing someone else play it.
'splain pweese. from whom and where did you order this guitar?

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 4:39 pm
by deer of the dawn
I'm with you, Luci. Actually, I'm sick of working on my relationships. I'm working on the only person I can change: myself. Relationships are just going to have to take a number. :P

And, yeah ali, I only once ordered a guitar online and I was reasonably happy with it, but for a couple reasons ended up trading it in a couple years later. Much better to go to the guitar shop and play a bunch of them till one of them speaks to you through your hands and ears (eyes last).

My guitar playing makes me cool in the eyes of my teenage daughter's friends. 35 years of playing and it's all worth it. :D

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 6:25 pm
by aliantha
Ali's personal history with guitars:

Guitar #0: My mother's old Hawaiian guitar. Not a ukelele -- an actual guitar. When I finally pestered her enough that she pulled it out of the bag, we discovered that the bridge had cracked, so I never did get to play it. :(

Guitar #1: Mom got it for me out of the S&H Green Stamps catalog. Or maybe it was Plaid Stamps. She was collecting both at the time. :lol: Acoustic, steel strings. I was in 8th or 9th grade when I got it. It saw me through high school, college, and some years thereafter. I think eventually the neck warped and I got rid of it.

Guitar #2: This one was a Takamine acoustic. I played several (in my price range) at a local music shop before settling on this one. Ended up not liking it all that well because (as I said upthread) the fretboard was too wide. The body of the guitar was also bigger than the cheap, crappy Green Stamp guitar I used to have. So in sum, I just wasn't comfortable playing it. I think eventually I gave it to the jerk who lived in my basement.

Guitar #3: The one at the link above, which I ordered from Amazon -- so it's that exact guitar, right there at the link, luci. :P I'm reserving final judgment 'til I get it, but the Amazon reviewers all seem to be pleasantly surprised by how good it sounds. And one of the guys I work with, who has played in a local band, told me this morning that he's heard good things about Luna guitars. So we shall see how it goes. If worse comes to worst, I'll stick it in the corner next to my collection of recorders/pennywhistles/simple system flutes. :lol: