Lunch Report, Tuesday March 23rd, 2010

[jazzrat]

Happy Tuesday indeed Y'all!

Lunch for today...It's early but I'm thinking I'll hit Subway just down the street. Shame we don't have a real deli around here so
It's Subway, Blimpie or Quiznos...pretty bleak. There is one bistro that offers an Italian sausage sandwich with peppers and onions that's a killer but
I'm usually on the run at lunch so the chain places win out.

Today I get my stitches out. I've been wearing a splint since my carpal tunnel surgery the 10th.
Man I've missed playing. I have a practice Thursday night...with the docs approval I'll be back at it.

Not to bore you with medical stuff but it's relevant to today's question. Till I was 50 I was perfectly healthy then arthritis and immune system stuff cropped up.
The carpal tunnel is actually a complication of that stuff. Enough.....
All that has brought me to some philosophical perspectives hence today's question(s).....

Why do you play? Relaxation....expression....approval fix.....
and two, have you ever contemplated not being able to play and what that would mean.... or had an extended period where you could not play....
How did that affect you.
Sorry to wax philosophical but I've had too much time to think the last couple weeks.

G & L content.....I'm still crazy to get a Bluesboy at some point...passed on a spalt when they came out and still giving myself the boot
on that one. Curious what G & L treasures you ‘all might have missed/passed up/let go.

[shawn500]

Glad to hear Jazzrat! Hope your up to speed quickly.

I did have a period of almost 10 years where I didn't play much because it hurt my wrist. As I said in one of my lunch reports last week, I hurt both of my wrists falling down stairs. It was painful for a long time to play. After about 15 minutes of playing my wrists ached and burned, and it just wasn't fun anymore to play. I found some exercises to strenthen my wrist, and started wearing wrist splints when they acted up. This has helped immensely. I still get flare ups, expecially when I've been playing a lot.

A few years back, I almost cut a finger off of my left hand. I have a nice scar on my ring finger. If something happened and I couldn't play, I would be really depressed, but I would eventually adapt. Depending on if I still had use of my hands, I would take up another instrument that maybe required less finger dexterity, if I lost a hand though, I don't know, I'd probably write music on the computer. I would still do some sort of music though.


I play mainly for love of the instrument. I LOVE the sound of a guitar. It's also really relaxing, and these days I can use all the relaxing I can get.

G&L that "got away".
That's easy. Saw what I now know to be a G200 back in the 80's. I thought it was the funkiest guitar I had seen. It was one of the ones with the front mounted controls, not the more elegant looking rear mounts. Didn't even play it. I remember it was quite affordable, but I couldn't get past the looks. Stupid teenage me!!

[John_L]

Subway is not so bad at least it has some low cal options. That said I was disappointed when Bagel Mania was taken over by them.

I don't really know why I play mostly these days for relaxation although I do like to challenge myself as well. Plus playing music is good for the brian. Oh I guess there is an element of approval fix as well. I like the physical process as well I play finger style so that adds to it.

I have had periods when I haven't played as much and I can't really explain why. I don't like not being able to play at all but sometimes I get caught up with other things and don't play as much. I always try and play for at least 15 minuets a day.

[MrRoundel]

I liked the way willross' response layout worked so I lazily borrowed it. Thanks Will. I hope you don't mind.

Why do you play? Relaxation....expression....approval fix.....

Playing the guitar was instrumental in the end to my marriage, and crucial to getting through the ending process. Instrumental in that I liked it so much more than work that I wasn't working enough. She was making more money than me, and I was having more fun. Recipe for marital disaster.
If it wasn't for having the guitar, and guitar-related activiities (G&LDP, etc.), I may have ended up like others I KNEW who were in the process of the "Big D". So the guitar was certainly therapeutic and will, with any luck will truly be with me as long as I shall live.

have you ever contemplated not being able to play and what that would mean....

Yes, I have been thinking of that quite recently. In fact, yesterday I had two surgeries for assorted skin cancers, one on each upper shoulder. In and of itself, being that these were caught early, I wouldn't worry to much. However, I ran into a guy last year who was playing Frisbee golf at a local park. He had one arm. I think I had mentioned that I'd just been to the dermatologist. He said that he'd lost the arm from skin cancer. I asked, "Melanoma?". He said, "No, basal cell". That's the most benign of the group. I seriously asked myself, "If it came down to life or death or an arm, how would I go?" I still can't answer it, and hopefully I'll never have to. However, if I couldn't play, I'd have to become the One-armed Karaoke King or something. I'd hate to lose guitar playing, that's for sure.

Curious what G & L treasures you ‘all might have missed/passed up/let go.

I bid what was a pretty high price on a great G&L hybrid employee guitar. It was the transparent blue Comanche longhorn body with a sickle Skyhawk neck. It was sweet. More recently I didn't bid on an actual mahogany Skyhawk that went out for a song, so to speak. Oh, and the greenburst Bluesboy that I've used as my avatar now and then.

[Ken Baker]

Today I get my stitches out. I've been wearing a splint since my carpal tunnel surgery the 10th.
Man I've missed playing. I have a practice Thursday night...with the docs approval I'll be back at it.

Had mine done a few years ago. 'Twas easy.

No splint here; just bandaged up. May as well have been splinted because I sure as Hell couldn't move the wrist.


Cut on the dotted line. Image linked rather than displayed for the squeamish. I'll have no hurling on my account. No blood & gore.
http://www.bassesbyleo.com/images/rpaw/rpaw5.jpg

Not to bore you with medical stuff but it's relevant to today's question. Till I was 50 I was perfectly healthy then arthritis and immune system stuff cropped up.
The carpal tunnel is actually a complication of that stuff. Enough.....

I have a joint/bone in my left thumb going south due to arthritis. Actually, it's pretty much done. The trapezium-1st metacarpal joint is toast. Gonna have to get that fixed one of these days, but my fear is that the fix will effectively stop me from playing bass. Gotta get some more opinions.

Thankfully it not psoriatic arthritis, which would be fairly widespread. Psoriatic arthritis and its root cause, psoriasis (a chronic immune problem), can't be cured, but both respond well to biologic treatment. Enbrel works well for me.

Why do you play? Relaxation....expression....approval fix.....
and two, have you ever contemplated not being able to play and what that would mean.... or had an extended period where you could not play....
How did that affect you.
Sorry to wax philosophical but I've had too much time to think the last couple weeks.

1. I play for enjoyment. A couple gigs with a local arts school completes it for me.

2. Yes, I have. See above. It makes me wonder how much pain I'll put up with before I finally give up.

Curious what G & L treasures you ‘all might have missed/passed up/let go.

Pragmatic character that I usually am, I'm actually good at this point. I have the L-2500 that takes over the world, the SB-2 that removes socks, and an El Toro that impresses the Hell outa me.

Hang in there with your paw. Once the stitches are removed and there's no real danger of the wound opening, playing might just be good therapy. I think I'd avoid acoustics for a while and stick with thin-bodied electrics, and fingerstyle might be helpful in helping to regain mobility. Be patient if your CTS was causing sensation problems with your fingers. It should get back to normal in a few weeks. You might also look into a different sort of computer mouse.

Ken...

[bassman]

I never had any problems with my hands until I was 48.
I used to play bass with what is called extended fingering. That is one finger per fret even in the lowest portion of the bass neck. This technique covers alot of musical ground but it is hard on the left hand tendons as you get older.

Well when I was 48 years old was when I started playing in bands again and after a couple of weeks of regular band practice, I found that I had pain in my left hand whenever I played.
I had to give my left hand a rest and change my playing style to accomodate a more relaxed, "four fingers over three frets" stance.
Gradually, my pain decreased and I have tried to spend some time warming up before every gig and practice to give my hands some more flexibility.

If I ever cannot play- I don't know what i'll do. I try to take care of myself so that this isn't likely to happen.

[Muleya]

I've had some mild repetitive motion issues in my forearms and wrists, and mousing and typing on a computer all day didn't help any! I never stopped my playing altogether, but I did reduce the amount I played for a while.

I mostly play for enjoyment/relaxation. But I think there's an approval fix element as well, even though I rarely play for anyone but myself! But also, I've just got to be "doing" something. My wife can just sit on the sofa and watch TV or surf the net on her laptop, but I can only do that for so long.

Like Shawn, I'd hate to lose guitar, but I think I'd find a way to cope if I did...but would also still try to be involved in music somehow. I played piano a little before guitar and can still get around on a keyboard a bit, so that might be an option.

My sister has had real issues and it really affected all the things she loved to do...piano, sewing, gardening...and she's survived, so I guess I could, too!

Haven't really "missed" one in terms of a guitar I wished I'd bought, but I did just see a really nice used Commanche on a store's website that's a couple hours drive from here, selling for a decent price. That has piqued my interest, though it's not quite a guitar I think I'd regret if I don't buy it.

[repoman]

Why do you play? Relaxation....expression....approval fix.....
and two, have you ever contemplated not being able to play and what that would mean.... or had an extended period where you could not play.... How did that affect you.

At this point in my life I'm playing strictly for my own approval and expression.

I have had a couple of long periods where I just didn't play due to time constraints. The longest
was about a year and half. Thankfully, never really had to think about being physically unable to
play. If that was the case I suppose I'd try to find something else like picking notes 1 at a time on
a piano. Although that's pretty much how I play piano now! Or I could finally finish that kazoo
concerto I've been working on.


Jeff

[Ches]

Till I was 50 I was perfectly healthy .............

Why do you play? ..... have you ever contemplated not being able to play and what that would mean.... or had an extended period where you could not play....

G & L content.....Curious what G & L treasures you ‘all might have missed/passed up/let go.

I was pretty healthy till I hit 48, or so. Can't remember the year exactly but I quit smoking then went hyper-thyroid, which caused a bucket load of problems. I'm dealing with it, but I'm not happy about it.

I play for fun.....period. Our motto in the band is, once this stops being fun, we're done. I've thought about not being able to play, but I didn't dwell on it. I suppose if I had some medical reason I couldn't play I'd find something else to do!

As for G&L treasures, I haven't passed on too many G&L's over the last 7 or 8 years. I don't even want to contemplate how many rolled through my door. I'm just glad I'm past that now.

[yowhatsshakin]

Hey jazzrat,

Hope you get well soon. I can relate a story where playing guitar actually helped. In my college days, I was the goalie of an indoor soccer team. One night, I dislocated my pinky in the left hand. After the splint and bandaged came off, my physiotherapist told me I wouldn't be able to move/bend my pinky much. But playing guitar and fretting with my left hand was the best therapy you could wish for. So my complete range has returned although a bit stiff still when I bend it completely.

Why do you play? Relaxation....expression....approval fix.....
and two, have you ever contemplated not being able to play and what that would mean.... or had an extended period where you could not play....
How did that affect you.

I just play for fun/relaxation. Being able to express myself is a bonus and only happens on a good day. Not being able to play would make me miserable, but not as bad as losing my hearing for instance.

G & L content.....I'm still crazy to get a Bluesboy at some point...passed on a spalt when they came out and still giving myself the boot
on that one. Curious what G & L treasures you ‘all might have missed/passed up/let go.

I lost out/passed up on eBay offerings on several occasions but have always been fairly lucky to find an alternative, many times for a better price/quality. Example: one of the Vintage White Trinities was on sale recently and I missed out. But now I own Bob Page's Clear Red one. In retrospect, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. The only one that currently comes to mind as 'irretrievably' lost is a GbL Limited Edition on eBay late last year. I wanted to demonstrate to my wife that I have my G.A.S. under control, but I regret it that that needed to be demonstrated which such a model on the line. Such is life...