Hello. I’m not much of a blogger, I plan on using this platform mostly to showcase some of my creative works to whoever might be interested.
I enjoy writing, and specifically I have quite a big appreciation and interest in poetry. As someone who works in tech, I also have a strong appreciation for elegant, efficient, and beautifully formatted code. I consider that kind of an art form all its own. I think there’s a strong overlap in my mind, too, regarding beautiful poetry and beautiful code. Sometimes it just flows out of me, and other times I really have to struggle to get it perfect, cross all the T’s, dot all the I’s make good comments and yes, do the dreaded thing of getting it peer-reviewed! Further on the programming crossover, computer languages are fairly rigorous. Of course, the script kiddies (I won’t deny I am one) prefer to play around in more forgiving languages like javascript and html, but there’s better meaning and structure, and a clearer ‘proof’ for lack of a better term, in more rigid languages like typescript or C. And while I don’t necessarily don’t like to program in those languages, its these benefits that compel me to become very strict and deliberate with my poetry. I might be a glutton for punishment, but I think I’m more in the mindset of, higher pressure produces a purer diamond. So when I take on complex forms, as I’ve done a few times, namely with my paradelle and madrigal, or distinctly-structured forms as the sonnet and ode, I feel that is where I accomplish the most, and gain the most, even though in some cases (cough cough, paradelle) it definitely doesn’t turn out perfect! If I can get a little more introspective, perhaps the fact that these take time and careful, sometimes excruciating deliberation serves as a kind of therapy for me, having/getting to spend quality time in some sort of parallel angst to a real, emotional or complex topic I’m trying to convey in the most pleasing, efficient, and acceptable way.
I also enjoy playing ukulele, but also dabble in other instruments, such as keyboard. I’ve been playing since middle school, and am self-taught so that’s probably fairly evident in my play style and eclectic choice of music and covers. One thing I should get better at is playing the music to accompany the singing better, rather than arrange the music itself to lead with the melody, and then singing the melody on top of it. But as not the best singer in the world (but also not the worst), I often prefer to just play and not have to sing. Having the melody baked into the arrangement helps give it a voice of its own and doesn’t require ‘adequate vocal chords’ to be complete and beautiful.
Having taught myself, and being inspired by southern gospel and bluegrass roots as a kid, I’ve kind of honed my own weird style of pickadilly. I don’t do that on just any song though. If I want to develop a good picking pattern I have to really sit down with it for hours and get it right and then develop that muscle memory. So my musical aptitude might be best described as something like ‘slow and steady’.
I don’t draw much anymore. I think I’ll keep some art on here, but really I’d say I had my creativity renaissance in middle school, where I started drawing, playing, singing, writing with success. So if you go very far back in the posts you’ll come to a lot of things I created in Junior High, which I’m still quite proud of and even humbled by. If I could go back, with the insight I have now, I’d be cranking out new works all the time. It seems like back then it was so effortless and whimsical.
Anyway, that’s about enough out of me for one day. Onward and upward!