Last Minute 2016 Pursuits

How I plan to pay for Christmas.

After many years, I’ve noticed my reading and viewing habits follow a predictable trajectory. In the winter I crave literary fiction and cerebral crime thrillers. In the spring, I gravitate towards literary fiction and light-hearted female dramas. In the fall I’m reading literary fiction and creative non-fiction and by fall, I’m immersed in literary fiction and self-help books. What does it all mean? It means I’m now practicing guitar.

Not quite a self-help book, the Yousician (Yo instead of M…get it?) app has been guiding me through five days of 30-minute sessions on the guitar. I know the C, G, D, E minor, E major, and A major cords. The profound numbness in my left index finger tells me that I’m either on my way to professional callouses or permanent nerve damage. Either way, I like to focus on the positive.

Think of all the things I can accomplish with finger tip paralysis: not one thing comes to mind but I image there are many. And I can’t play a song, I don’t actually own a guitar, and in about 5 minutes I’m going to forget everything I learned and perhaps take up the harpsichord, but if nothing else, for December 2016 I can say I was a contender.