Off rhythm
When I practice music with the praise band from church, one thing that is essential is to keep everyone in rhythm with each other. If any one instrument or vocalist inadvertently speeds up the tempo, I'll need to emphasize strums and toe-tapping out the beat to get everyone back on track, because there's not much that's more distracting during musical worship than a disconnected band. There's great enjoyment when everyone's flowing and hitting every note in a synchronized fashion, but just a few weeks off can throw people's skills out of whack and require some time to tune back up again.
There's a similar flow in the game of basketball (I've most often heard the sport compared to jazz, with its improvisational nature). When you're feeling it, every angle becomes clear, you can see things happen in your mind before they happen on the court, you know what your teammate is going to do and react to that, and the ball feels like butter coming off your fingers.
Having not played in several weeks due to the work schedule, I was distinctly off rhythm on Sunday when I finally had the chance to run, jump, and sweat with the guys out on the hardcourt again. Numerous turnovers, plays where I left my feet without a clear idea of what I was going to do, muffing simple passes and missing open jump shots... it was quite aggravating to have a hand in many of my team's losses. Plus, on one particular play, I was so juked by a pump fake that I flew out of bounds and landed on my side, resulting in patches of skin missing from my elbow and back. I didn't even realize the back skin was missing until I stretched out in bed going to sleep and rubbed raw flesh against my shirt. Plus, I accidentally left blood from my elbow on George's new microfiber sofa... good thing it wiped off. Phew!
It's been a process trying to get back in the swing of things, balancing work, church, studying, recreation, etc. now that 80% of my waking hours aren't spent at the office. Still feel a bit off.
On to some ramblings...
Agonizing loss by the Bears to USC last Saturday. For all but 1 minute, Aaron Rodgers looked like the reincarnation of Montana or Elway, rocketing pinpoint passes to receivers and using his legs to pick up a few crucial first downs. Time to take down UCLA this Saturday and begin our march to the Rose Bowl.
Good to see Jerry this past Sunday. A bunch of us went out to dinner, and he reminded us of what we were missing - during conversation, Maria mentioned that she had just watched the "Mean Girls" DVD and for some reason felt that I might find it interesting. Jerry then piped up, "Is it because Bob hangs out with mean girls?" The shocked/indignant look on the faces of the ladies at the table was identical and pricelessly hilarious. Zing!
Lyric of the week: "River God" by Nichole Nordeman
Rolling river God / Little stones are smooth only once the water passes through / So I am a stone, rough and grainy still / Trying to reconcile this river's chill / But when I close my eyes and feel You rushing by / I know that time brings change and change takes time / And when the sunset comes, my prayer will be this one / That You might pick me up and notice that I am just a little smoother in Your hand
I'm so ridiculously lazy. This flaw keeps crippling me.
When I practice music with the praise band from church, one thing that is essential is to keep everyone in rhythm with each other. If any one instrument or vocalist inadvertently speeds up the tempo, I'll need to emphasize strums and toe-tapping out the beat to get everyone back on track, because there's not much that's more distracting during musical worship than a disconnected band. There's great enjoyment when everyone's flowing and hitting every note in a synchronized fashion, but just a few weeks off can throw people's skills out of whack and require some time to tune back up again.
There's a similar flow in the game of basketball (I've most often heard the sport compared to jazz, with its improvisational nature). When you're feeling it, every angle becomes clear, you can see things happen in your mind before they happen on the court, you know what your teammate is going to do and react to that, and the ball feels like butter coming off your fingers.
Having not played in several weeks due to the work schedule, I was distinctly off rhythm on Sunday when I finally had the chance to run, jump, and sweat with the guys out on the hardcourt again. Numerous turnovers, plays where I left my feet without a clear idea of what I was going to do, muffing simple passes and missing open jump shots... it was quite aggravating to have a hand in many of my team's losses. Plus, on one particular play, I was so juked by a pump fake that I flew out of bounds and landed on my side, resulting in patches of skin missing from my elbow and back. I didn't even realize the back skin was missing until I stretched out in bed going to sleep and rubbed raw flesh against my shirt. Plus, I accidentally left blood from my elbow on George's new microfiber sofa... good thing it wiped off. Phew!
It's been a process trying to get back in the swing of things, balancing work, church, studying, recreation, etc. now that 80% of my waking hours aren't spent at the office. Still feel a bit off.
On to some ramblings...
Agonizing loss by the Bears to USC last Saturday. For all but 1 minute, Aaron Rodgers looked like the reincarnation of Montana or Elway, rocketing pinpoint passes to receivers and using his legs to pick up a few crucial first downs. Time to take down UCLA this Saturday and begin our march to the Rose Bowl.
Good to see Jerry this past Sunday. A bunch of us went out to dinner, and he reminded us of what we were missing - during conversation, Maria mentioned that she had just watched the "Mean Girls" DVD and for some reason felt that I might find it interesting. Jerry then piped up, "Is it because Bob hangs out with mean girls?" The shocked/indignant look on the faces of the ladies at the table was identical and pricelessly hilarious. Zing!
Lyric of the week: "River God" by Nichole Nordeman
Rolling river God / Little stones are smooth only once the water passes through / So I am a stone, rough and grainy still / Trying to reconcile this river's chill / But when I close my eyes and feel You rushing by / I know that time brings change and change takes time / And when the sunset comes, my prayer will be this one / That You might pick me up and notice that I am just a little smoother in Your hand
I'm so ridiculously lazy. This flaw keeps crippling me.
posted by Bob at
6:13 PM
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