Reminder

09. January 2013 · Comments Off on Reminder · Categories: Contests

… I’m not getting many interested people for this. Remember … it’s a $100 gift card!

Yep, you’ve seen most of this before … I will continue to post a reminder each day, but do go to the original post to enter!

I’ve never done a contest or giveaway. Mostly because I am just too lazy. But hey … it’s 2013. I may as well try something new, right?

So Shabby Apple, a creative online store with really sweet women’s clothing along with other things, has offered this contest and I think it’s pretty darn cool. I love their clothes, and I thought maybe my musician friends would as well.

Here are just a few things that caught my eye that are black and handy for concert folk:
Cape Cod Skirt
Hollywood Boulevard Skirt

What do you have to do? You have to “like” Shabby Apple on Facebook and leave me a comment on the original contest page, telling me which item on the site would make your day (or week, year or month). (Please note that the comment button is right below the title of this post, not below!) You do have to have a USA shipping address.

On January 31 I will put all of the names into a box and the first oboe student who arrives that day for a lesson will get to choose the recipient of a $100 gift card. How cool is that?!

PS No, you don’t have to be a student, or even an oboist. You don’t even have to be a musician at all. You just have to be a living, breathing person, leave a comment at this blog, and you do also have to “like” Shabby Apple on Facebook!

FBQD

09. January 2013 · Comments Off on FBQD · Categories: FBQD

Is it bad that my humming kinda sounds like an oboe?

Tinnitus Is A Pain

09. January 2013 · 5 comments · Categories: Hearing, Ramble

I suffer from tinnitus. This is not uncommon for musicians, since we are exposed to loud noises (well, music) so frequently, and in our younger days who thought of wearing earplugs!? I also had a bad bout (who knew migraines could cause hearing issues?) that brought this on which I won’t bore anyone with yet again (I blogged about it a number of years ago and it’s not necessary to go on about it).

This morning, though, the ear is screaming louder than it’s ever been. My left ear is so loud that I couldn’t go back to sleep once I woke up at 5:30. I finally pulled out the iPhone and found an app for white noise. It helped, though the ear also pulses (like blood when you hear it pounding, rushing … if you know what I mean) so the white noise pulses which is annoying. I’ve since looked at a few options for the sound and the higher the frequency the happier my ear is. If it nearly matches the pitches I hear it nearly cancels it out. So I’m sitting at the big computer now, which is connected to the stereo, and I’m playing this sound that nearly makes me sane.

Oh c’mon … stop your laughing! What I meant was “as sane as I am capable of being.” You knew that, right?

Please, younger musicians (older too, of course!) wear your earplugs! You can’t get rid of hearing loss and tinnitus doesn’t magically disappear completely. Your ears will thank you for it. Or at least they’ll remain silent on the matter. I will never “hear” silence again, and that makes me very sad.

TQOD

09. January 2013 · Comments Off on TQOD · Categories: TQOD

Just ordered 12 pieces of oboe cane (to make reeds) at $4.05 a piece. #soexpensive ????