I walked to the music store the other day to buy a capo. I looked around a bit to see what else they were selling, and the markup was ridiculous. A triangle cost $30, miracas were $20, and small plastic shells filled with beads ran $10. The cost of material and labor can't possibly approach what they charge...plus, most of these 'instruments' have awful timbre or aren't complex enough where anything other than tonality matters. There's so much scamming going on with peddling musical paraphernalia that the industry sidesteps by claiming that anything quality is expensive to create (though...they really aren't). I grumbled a bit about supporting corporate greed before settling on some picks and an economical $2 capo. But this wasn't what I meant to talk about.
I'll always remember what happened on my way home from the store. I took a shortcut through a valley between two streets, and heard a moaning noise. Then I noticed two people making out behind a tree. I couldn't see them on my way into the valley, but suddenly I was walking towards them for a decidedly awkward encounter. The guy had his eyes open, staring right at me while tonguing the girl for a slightly suggestive scene. I flashed him a thumbs up. He gave me a sign to hang loose. It made a pretty good story. I have another story about kissing, but I don't think flyby would find it entertaining.
I have a family friendly anecdote about fencing, though. We were dueling today, swapping from partner to partner, and I got into it. Swords are fun to play with, and anybody who tells you otherwise doesn't understand the concept of 'fun', or perhaps only appreciates the idea intellectually without any deeper understanding. You should take pity on them, but assertively repel their impositions on your own enjoyment. Ok? Ok.
We were dueling in fencing, and I was enjoying myself. I get kind of into it; swords are still fun. So I get into it, and as a leftie basically anything I try will connect. Really, most of these swordfights were five-second exchanges where I'd push their sword out of the way and stab through to the stomach. Most people are confused by mirrors.
Actually, more context is necessary than this. Light taps from the foil usually hurt, and I really whip that blade. During accuracy drills, I poked a hole through the foam padding on the gym wall. That's pretty thick protection...a solid few inches. Usually when I hit a person, they need to take a few seconds to get over the sting. With rotating partners, everybody expects that the same thing will happen to them.
Anyways, I'd gone through a few opponents and came up against a girl known for her pronounced sensitivity. Everything you do with her is the most significant thing to ever happen in her life, and she gets upset very easily. She'd been watching me take people out and make them crumple in pain for a long while. We were supposed to fence each other, and she freaked out when we started. She backed away panicked, jerky foot then to foot then to pavement. I didn't even advance, and she told me I scared her. I decided that I would be nice to her as a gesture of good will; clearly she was uncomfortable with fighting me, and a jab to the stomach would ruin her day. The teacher wasn't looking, so I told her we could just pretend that we went at it and I made contact. Then, as she was walking towards the center, she smashed my hand with the hilt of the rapier. Seriously, what the hell? Next time, I'm aiming for her kidney.
