Yep. FML.
I do have to say that there will be one upside to Trump’s election.
Anyone else here sick of Secretary Kerry constantly calling for advice? Every .god. .damn. .time. there is an emergency he seems to need advice.
OH, this reminds me of a time in Japan where there was a Japan attorney stealth bragging at a party with a bunch of us professional guys and some younger women. (Oh no, I’m not stealth bragging here. No, not at all.)
First, he “accidentally” dropped his suit so that Armani label could be seen but then explained that it wasn’t the black label.
He kept it up, trying to keep the conversation all about him and his success while the rest of us just wanted to have fun. I finally tired of it and decided to shut him up by “agreeing” with this stealth bragging.
He was in the middle of explaining how difficult is was to live on $180,000 in Tokyo and that he was underpaid. The women in their early 20s would be getting at most 20% of that and were eating up every one of his words.
This was back in my alcoholic days so I was drunk and wasn’t the nicest guy at the party. I just started to complete agree with him – suggesting that he switch law offices since my (imaginary) friends were easily making twice that. Agreeing that $180k was impossible to survive and asked my equally obnoxious friend what he would do under such if our salaries where that low. (They were actually lower, but he agreed that we would probably go back to the States.)
We kept speculating what types of things we would have to give up:
Probably have to stop flying first class on vacations, wouldn’t that bite? Sell one of our golf memberships, but which one? Maybe not eat the Chez Matsumoto (easily one of the most expensive restaurants in Tokyo, which is saying something) every Friday. That sort of nonsense.
The guy finally gave up and not surprisingly I wasn’t invited back to their parties.
My piano teacher is killing me.
When I started taking lessons for the very first time four months ago, I made a point of telling him that I had never played the piano. I wanted it to be clear that I was a complete beginner. But do you think he listened ? Oh no, after only five minutes, he decided that I was going to move up to grade 2 ! Just because I knew where all the notes were on the keyboard (who doesn’t, really ?) and could sight-read a completely unknown piece !
Wait, it gets worse.
Now, after only a dozen lessons, he has assigned me two real repertoire pieces: Satie’s First Gnossienne and Bach’s Prelude in C Major, BWV 846. That’s right, music that was played by legendary virtuosos like Aldo Ciccolini and Sviatoslav Richter. OK, I’ve memorized both already and I can play them from start to finish but I still have to look at the score from time to time to make sure that my fingering is correct. And he expects me to play them at the March concert ? I’ll have to work up to 20 minutes every evening until then to do it.
What next, Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata ? You know what, if he tries to pull that one on me, I’ll be adamant: not before Easter.