Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Year! (2012)

Aloha!  And happy 2012!

Holy buckets!  I can't believe it's been almost half a year since I've posted on this blog.  If you've been reading this blog, you probably figured that I've moved on from ukuleles.  After all, not only have I not written any posts here in a long time, I've also not been active at all on the ukulele forums.  But, while it's true that my online ukulele presence (ha, I said presence...) have been minimal, I've been playing my ukuleles as much as ever.  So why have I not been updating this blog or visiting uke forums very much?  Basically there are a couple of reasons.  First reason is that I have 3 kids that are now 1.5, 4, and 6 years old.  Those of you out there with kids might be able to relate.  I have to say my kids are actually very well behaving for the most part, but because of my wife's work schedule, I have to take care of the kids by myself quite a bit, so it seems like I never feel the motivation to type these posts when I get some free time.  Also, as a byproduct of this, I don't seem to have time to record one of my ghetto videos to post here (although I do have one recorded a few months ago that I haven't had a chance to upload).

The second reason is that I've basically been UAS-free.  Since this has kind of been a blog about my UAS advantures, this means I don't have a lot of content I can post.  The last ukulele I bought was the Les Paul, but that was pretty much just for shiznits and giggles.  The last real ukulele I bought was the Mya-Moe.  While that ukulele was received in April, I ordered it in 2010, so I think that qualifies me to the no-new-real-uke purchase club for 2011 right???  Anyway, I really have been satisfied with the ukes I own now, and hopefully it stays that way.  I mean, why would anyone need 15 ukuleles???

So, what does the future hold for the ukulele ghetto?  I'm not sure.  I do want to keep it going, and while I don't have a heck of a lot to post about, I have been dragging my feet on a post about Eddie Vedder's ukulele album (pretty old news now), and besides the one ghetto video I have recorded, I could probably do another one or two now.  I guess we'll see if I can get around to it.

Now for some ukulele related new year resolutions:

1. I'd like to learn a few new songs to play.  I'm playing the ukulele pretty much everyday right now, but I mostly cycle through stuff that I've already learned.  The songs I play the most now are Kalei Gamiao's "Shore Break", "Bohemian Rhapsody", and WS64's version of "Hey Jude".  I'm not sure what new songs I'd like to learn, but hopefully I get motivated to learn some new ones real soon.

2. Continue to be UAS-free.  This has been pretty easy, as I've been happy playing the ukes I have and haven't looked at ukes online for a while now.  I do have a potential temptation in the form of a trip to Hawaii this year, but I do plan to bring the Glyph with me, so hopefully that takes care of my ukulele playing needs on the trip.  Still, when you are in ukulele paradise, it's hard not to think about getting another one.

3. Play more of my ukes.  Right now I rotate through my concerts pretty good.  The King LS-concert and Glyph gets the lion's share of playing time, but the Mya-Moe is also getting some decent playing time.  My tenors have not been played a heck of a lot though, and I plan to make it a point to play them more.

Anyway, I have no idea what I'll be posting on this blog down the road.  Hopefully I find some energy to devote to this blog and post more.  But whether or not I do, I hope you guys who stumble upon this blog continue to enjoy playing the ukulele.  Ukulele is in my blood now, whether you see me much online or not, I'll always be strumming.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

As a father of three, can you share any fun kid song arrangements for the uke that you know?

GX9901 said...

Har! Unfortunately, none of my kids have shown much interest in the ukulele so far, so I haven't had much experience with kids' songs. They did sing "Away in the Manger" at church during Christmas Eve while I played the ukulele, but that's about it.

Unknown said...

Aloha,

You blog about UAS and uke purchasing was my first reference point when I decided to buy a good uke and start playing after few years being an onlooker. I even tried to connect to William King for his fine custom uke, but didn't finalize the order because my relocation schedule this year. I hope that you'll post more uke content to this blog, maybe not UAS and new uke... just some random thought and the progress of learning new songs etc.

cheers!

Scoutmaster said...

I have followed your blog pretty much since you started. I don't seem to have the patience to practice but love the ukulele...I now have 4...one for everytime we go to Kauai. My wife will require I take one with us when we visit.
I hope to get the stick-to-it spirit and finally learn how to play.
Thanks and I continue to look at your blogs time to time!

GX9901 said...

foxfair-
Thanks for the message. I will definitely keep this blog going. Hopefully I'll have more random ukulele thoughts to post this year than last.

Scoutmaster-
I hardly ever practice playing the ukulele, but I do play it a lot. Most days I just pick one up (which is so easy to do with ukes) and start playing something I know. I think that helps develop some playing skills without you even knowing it.

Unknown said...

Keep posting george--I love this blog. BTW, how do you prevent your kids from accidentally breaking your ukes? I would be worried that they might sit on one or something like that

GX9901 said...

Unknown-
Thanks for the comment. I guess my kids have been pretty good about not messing with my stuff. Maybe they're just not interested in ukes or something. :p I do keep an eye on them (the kids and ukes) if I'm leaving the uke on a couch or something. So far so good.

moonar said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

Which uke should I bring on my next trip to Oahu???

What's the maximum you'd spend on a ukulele case for your best uke?

If you could steal one of my ukes, which one would it be???

How curly do you like your koa? (preferably on a uke)

What's the maximum number of ukes a perfectly sane person should have???

Poll: How often do you play the ukulele???

Poll: Which guitar company's approach to ukes do you prefer???

Poll: What's your favorite type of headstock???

Poll: The new basic Collings concert uke (UC-1) sells for about $1k, your reaction is: