Sticking headphones up your nose and other stuff...

[LittleClapham]

So I am bored. I am also procrastinating which is annoying because I am this close *strains fingers* to finishing my auto biography. Okay it needs more work even when it is done to get rid of the spelling/grammatical errors and to give it better chapter names, but hopefully it will be finished soon and possibly on a Waterstones shelf near you... that is if they don't go into administration...

Anyway I was recalling something the other day on the coach going to Cambridge. Me and a good friend had to go on this AWFUL trip to Yorkshire to 'boost our self-esteem' which involved being thrown off a cliff (abseiling), climbing a wall and *gagging* team building exercises One night, I got my tape player (yes boys and girls, no MP3s in those days!) and for no apparent reason decided to stick the headphones up my nose. When I opened my mouth the friend could hear the music so for about 5 minutes I stood there opening and shutting my mouth with the music coming out! Yeah I was a weird kid!

Talking of music, I remembered something last night. From about the age of 10 until the age of Citalopram, I used to hear entire orchestrations in my head. Not ones that had already been done but new ones. Sadly, as beautiful as they are, that's all you will be able to hear about them because I never did find out a way of getting them from my head to paper. I can't write music, heck I can only just read the stuff! Due to stubby fingers and the fact that I can't play every instrument in an orchestra at the same time, I can't perform the music either. It was always so frustrating, but thankfully the Citalopram seems to have numbed my ability to hear music and I no longer worry about it.

My tics have calmed down A LOT the last few weeks which surprised me because they usually get worse around Christmas/new year. I have noticed a link between feeling angry and ticcing more though and since I have been on the fluoxetene (higher dose) I have been less angry and therefore ticcing less. I don't know if there is a definite link, I suppose I will find out eventually though because they might just be waning for a while. The only tic that has REALLY been getting to me is the one which makes my whole body jerk me when I am in bed... oh wait I already mentioned that...

tourettes-action.healthunlo...

There you go.

I haven't made any new years resolutions really because I don't ever stick to them. I decided before new year that I was going to be more careful with my diet because the dietician told me to cut out milk. Now I will be making a 'few weeks resolution' not to drink Coke, Pepsi or Dr Pepper because I had to go to the emergency dentist a couple of days ago because my tooth is in AGONY. Apparently my Coke habit (don't read that the wrong way please!) has not helped with my tooth and neither has my obsessive need to brush the little beggar, so I have lost all the enamel on it. The dentist did an x-ray as well and discovered a small hole in the side which explains why I found a bit of tooth in my mouth a while back but no one could see where it came from! Unfortunately, despite my generally waning tics, they have all decided to centre on my poor tooth, clacking my jaw and pushing at it with my tongue, plus I have the urge to punch it. Thankfully that has remained an urge so far and hopefully I will not actually punch it. If I do and knock it out, then the 'pets look like their owners' thing might come true and me and my toothless rabbit will have something in common!

Anyway that's enough procrastinating for now. I will be watching the first Narnia film later because I missed it the first 8 times they showed it over Christmas (exaggerating there) plus I might pop some CDs on and try not to sing because it irritates the tooth. Now I am going to go before my urge to type various dirty curse words happens because I have narrowly avoided it so far!

Peace out y'all (why do I keep saying that?)

[catherinem]

I hear music in my head, that's how I compose, well I may hear a texture, melody or both and then I try to get it down on paper. When I did my HND I struggled with this somewhat as I don't play piano (very well at all) so it was hard work, I relied on my friends who could play to make sure that the harmonies I'd put on the page were matching what I was hearing in my head and my pianist friend was playing. However....when I started my degree music tech had moved on a bit and by the magic of "Sibelius" I didn't need to stalk my pianist friends, although V. expensive, at least £200 last time I looked, I'm sure a friendly computer geek may be able to find it for free (you know what I mean nudge..nudge) If you have a USB conection on your PC, a keyboard and a decent soundcard you're away! If you write songs prehaps start with a piano and vocals arrangement. It is a massive bit of software and takes quite a bit of getting used to, I have used it with Yr 11 kids working towards their GCSE music.

"Reason" is quite a good one also, you don't really need to know any theory, but some music tech experience is helpful.

There is a link between ticcing and being angry, my tics also go through the roof when upset, the HRT goes right out of the window.

[LittleClapham in reply to catherinem]

Hopefully I will be moving this year which means I will have more money to buy kit. I already have a computer with a USB and half a keyboard (it isn't very big ), I am not sure about the sound card. What I am certain of though is that if I put any more software on this PC it is going to stop working! Therefore computer is high on my list of 'things to save up for' alongside a large rabbit run, every Now tape/CD in existance and possibly even a new keyboard.

[catherinem in reply to LittleClapham]

It doesn't really matter how mny the octaves the keyboard has s you can tranpose. My puter is over 10 years old and need replacing too. This has got me thinking again about the plans I had before about the music tech workshops in Cov.