hobby – Diary of a Norwegian in Japan

Last time I wrote it was spring, with its cherry blossoms and fair weather.

I was so excited about this but for some reason can’t get into it as I did with the first one, is it that different?

Now it is autumn, beloved autumn (let’s skip summer).

A lot has happened since spring, and some has stayed the same. I got a new job, which accounts for most of the changes in my daily life and wellbeing. Working from home should mean that I have a lot more time as there is no commute, but for some reason it was easier to get in reading on a commute than at home. I am still working on the work/private life balance.

I got my dream table, a table I had in a note in my evernote app years ago titled «future house ideas». I am living in the same apartment but the arrival of the table has brightened it more than I had imagined.

Darjeeling seems to approve of the table as well

My plant keeps growing and I had to repot her a little while ago:

We have been hiking lately so I have seen some beautiful views;

I did some doodling from May on my new phone, mostly of Darjeeling, and opened up a little Redbubble shop! I found doodling on my commute was very relaxing, but I often missed my stop.

It is almost time to break out the autumn fashion, and as usual I couldn’t help myself getting some new pieces this year either;

It’s still just a little too early, a little too hot, to start wearing it though.

I am still writing letters, and being as obsessed with stationery as always. Been buying autumn stationery and stamps like there is no tomorrow;

I would like to blog more, but not sure how to proceed, what to blog about, how often etc. Maybe the blog will be updated more this fall, or maybe not, I cannot say for certain. I have so many hobbies but so little time.

How is everyone doing so far this year, as we pass into autumnal bliss?

I never had an ear for music. My grandfather, and now Teddy, tell me I am tone deaf. They may be right, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying listening to music, singing (bad) karaoke with my (very) close friends, and since December; learning piano.

I never learned any instruments as a kid. We did the recorder at school, but luckily only for a short time. I tried my hands at guitar but after spending 30 minutes trying to tune it and then failing at getting my fingers into the seemingly impossible positions described in the ‘guitar for beginners’ book, I put the guitar back in the closet where I found it.

Last year I saw a sign advertising trial lessons for piano at a local bookstore. For weeks I went past, reading it again and again, wondering, thinking. I could maybe? But my courage would always fail me. Until one day in November; I had made up my mind. I marched to the bookstore while making up all the possible scenarios on how the conversation would go in my head. I entered the store and went straight to-

the magazines. I am so bad at talking to and reaching out to strangers that I had to recharge after using all my energy on just getting to and into the bookstore. I circled around a bit, looking but not really looking at the different covers before I squared my shoulders and went to the register where an older man was working.

After stammering out in nervous Japanese about the sign and wanting to try, he tells me to hold on and goes to find the piano teacher that was holding a piano lesson in the back room of the bookstore. Great, I have to redo all I just did to another person. The teacher was lovely though, and we set a date for the trial lesson.

The trial lesson went great, and I’ve been going every Sunday for about 6 months. While I do not have any aspirations to be a great pianist, and while I might still be tone deaf, it’s a great pastime which I very much enjoy.

Tag Archives: hobby

Long time no see

Tone deaf but practicing the piano