Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large. 

Ouch my fingers

The main obstacle to learning the piano, at my ripe age of 33, is my wretched fingers. Decades of cracking my knuckles and lifting weights (and typing on computer keyboards all day too, probably) have turned these fingers into quite misshapen sticks. I’m fairly sure I have early signs of arthritis, too: certain grips or holds becomes painful rather quickly. Grasping the handle of a frying pan with my right hand, for example.

This is to say it’s not a great foundation to begin with when playing the piano requires tremendous dexterity and precise touch. I’m okay with not being able to hit certain patterns or movements with the proper fingering technique. What I am not okay with is arthritic pain from simply playing the keys. Perhaps I really should stop cracking my knuckles, cold turkey style. It’s truly my equivalent of a smoker trying to quit.

Thankfully, the pain right now is limited to my left hand. When the index finger gets too involved (read: have many notes to play), the arthritic searing is rather immediate. Stretching exercises seem to help, but it feels to me the hitting power of my left index finger just doesn’t have the same punch as the right. The blind hope is that the more and more I practice and play, the better the situation will become. Sort of like muscle soreness and weight lifting.

In some ways, I lament not starting this craft much sooner. Preferably when I was still a kid, when the fingers were yet virgin from the side effects of knuckle-cracking. Then again, you practically need to go to school back then to learn. There were no online apps and tablet computers you can plug into a piano to autodidact my way through. In-person lessons just wasn’t something my family could afford. Never mind the fact that I didn’t have the same conviction and drive as I do now as a full-fledge adult.

Onwards.

Just passing by.

My back hurts

For much of this week, my lower back has been hurting. Not enough to be debilitating, but definitely painful to be of constant irritation. And I am not sure what caused it. Perhaps it’s just old age? I’m only in my early thirties, but you never know when the aches and pains that comes with age strike. I already have what seems to be early signs of arthritis in my hands. It’s only going to get worst.

Come to think of it, I think it might have to do with driving. Since taking stewardship of my brother’s Mazda Miata, I’ve done twice the miles as I typically do, all within the two days of a weekend. Since I don’t have a commute, it’s on Saturdays and Sundays when I take my car out to drive and get the oily stuff warmed up. It’s never good for a car to sit for a prolonged period. Now that I have two cars to take care of, the mileage has increased commensurately.

Sitting in a car for that amount of time cannot be good for the lower back, no matter how excellent and adjustable the lumbar support is. In the M2 Competition, it’s rather okay, but the seats in the MX-5 are not the best. It’s a tiny convertible sports car, after all.

Hopefully then, my lower back pain is just something to get used to. It is muscles being sore from being used like that for the first time. Honestly, I am far too young to be seeing a back doctor or going to physical therapy for such things. Also, I should probably get out of the car every hour on so on these drives. Do some stretches, take a sip of water, and then get back to the fun.

Moon rise.

I probably should have rested

For the longest time when I got hurt or sick I'd still power through that stuff and did what needed to be done - like exercising. I took it as a badge of honor to do a workout whilst say carrying a cold. Pain is just weakness leaving the body, right?

Actually it isn't: pain is the body telling you to give it a rest until it stops hurting. Ignoring it isn't awesome or cool, rather it is completely stupid, and usually exacerbates the problem. I found that out this past weekend.

Last Friday I developed the beginnings of a cold which blossomed fully on Saturday. I was in no energy to do much of anything but the chores and errands I'd planned for the weekend was constantly in mind. I detested that I got sick because it was putting me behind my self-defined schedule. 

So on Sunday, feeling marginally better, no more lounging around: I washed the car, went grocery shopping, vacuumed the house, did some studying, and played GT Sport (see picture below). Due to the cold I was feeling hotter than normal so I sweated a ton through it all. 

Sunday night rolled around and I wasn't feeling any worse, so I thought I was home free as usual. How wrong was I because I woke up this morning feeling not as good as the third day of a simple cold should be. I totally should have rested on Sunday like I did Saturday, but hubris and responsibilities (more former than the latter) told me I had to get a move on.  

I don't plan to be sick often but next time I will for sure take it as easiest as possible. Normalcy like errands and activities will truly have to wait until I get back to 100%. This aging 30 year old body demands it.  

A personal-best Nordschleife lap driving the Ferrari 458 Italia (sports medium tyre) in GT Sport. 

A personal-best Nordschleife lap driving the Ferrari 458 Italia (sports medium tyre) in GT Sport.