Especially drums - you don't even have to get good, just treat it as stress relief!

The nice thing with the e-kits is you can make all the noise you want without really disturbing anyone else.

Not in but thanks for the generous giveaway Crew!



1.) I played the classical guitar from childhood until a couple years ago when I decided that one lifetime is at best long enough to master one skill and when you try to level up several skills to a high level, the level caps increase to a point where one has to be selective if ambition is more than casual about a particular skill. So I gave up playing the guitar for the time being so as to not divert too much energy from drawing. Also, I had to cut my fingernails anyway to avoid injuring my training partners.
Why I chose the guitar as a kid is somewhat random. After playing the (mandatory) flute for two years, I was interested in picking up the trumpet but when I saw a senior student demo the classical guitar I was immediately inspired and chose the guitar. Sometimes we don't know what we want until we see it, that's why it's valuable to try and check out many things.

Here's a piece I practiced for a long time, technically it is only of medium difficulty but musically this is one of those pieces that reveal so much about the individual player.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrrXFixQ-zA

2.) Tracking and logging birds in our garden and neighborhood with my older brother. All we needed was a bird identification book and a pair of binoculars.

3.) My good deeds are subtle, small and personal, no grand gestures of a material nature and one usually doesn't see them coming. Stealth mode activate :)

My deepest condolences to you, Crew. My prayers are with you and your family.

I don't play an instrument anymore and am not volunteering at this current time, so I'll talk about my family:
Through a very long and complicated process, I've lost basically all of my blood relatives save for my parents and one of my aunts. Many of them died, the rest were cut off in a petty feud. My parents have always kept me going and God only knows what I'll do when they're gone. My best memories are of holidays spent with my folks and the days I spent at my grandma's house over in Oakland.

I'll be in, but on the following condition:
If I win, you spend some money on yourself. Take it and spend time with someone you love. Give up an old grudge, spend time with a friend, visit your parents, I don't care, just do SOMETHING along those lines. I know from personal experience that anybody can die at any age, we forget this, and take people for granted. Life's too short not to tell those you care about that you love them.

Not in. My deepest condolences for you and your family.

As for the memorable time with some of my relatives I remember times when I was a little kid and my grandpa told me bedtime stories. He really didn't like to tell fairly tales so instead he told me what he had read in scifi novels... And it was really great - space travels, strange new worlds, etc. I remember mainly the Stanislaw Lem's "The Invincible" because he not only told me the book story but then created his own stories with the "Invincible" crew making some sort of his own space opera of it.

How to tell a kid about an engine whis is basically curbing the timespace to travel? Name it "the space eater" which is eating the space from one side and spit it out from the other :)

Then years after I read the book myself and it felt like a deja vu. I didn't remember most of the details from my grandpa stories but most of the events seemed somehow familiar to me. And although it's not the best of Lem's books (it's good but not as great as "The Cyberiad" or "His Master's Voice") it remains one of my favs because of memories related with it :)

Deepest condolences! I hope your aunt is in better place now, and that you and rest of your family copes well with your loss! I know how it is to lose someone dear so I hope you will cherish beautiful memories of her and that grief will pass with time and good deeds. I'm not in since I have so many games, and no time to play.

1. I don't play an instrument unless you count in singing. I have dabbled with a few instruments but nothing serious. I don't have one favourite peace of music or performance in mind because I like a a lot of genres, bands, performers and composers but if something inspires and cheers me it is so many people in public singing in unison like in this video:

<span class="bold">Blind Guardian - Bard's Song</span>

2. I had such beautiful time with my mother during past winter holidays. I have spend more than three weeks with her in Netherlands. We went on long walks, talked, cooked, and spent time together. I miss her a lot every day since I live in other part of Europe, and we usually visit each other just a few times a year. We communicate almost every day, but it is not the same as having your mum close.

3. I have been member of an Red Cross intervention team and I have helped refugees. I have also done a lot of things in no official capacity like helping people affected in floods, helping to prevent them and to reduce damage afterwards. I have donated blood many times, money, clothes, necessities, .... I occasionally help few people and families in need. I also have helped to organize/promote some charity events/drives.

When I was a child in my country there was a war, poverty, air raids. We could hear sounds of artillery barrage even though I have lived in an "safe" enclave semi surrounded by enemy forces. Lot of my family have lost everything, their villages and towns were razed to the ground, what was left was pillaged and burned, nature and vegetation removed rest. They have lost innocence of previous life and even most of memories of it like family photos. My uncle was killed by a land mine, his mother was tortured psychologically by enemy paramilitaries, but I have also mention one enemy officer who protected her. Another uncle was one of defenders of Vukovar, he was captured and and tortured in an concentration camp, luckily he was later exchanged in a prisoner exchange. One of my brothers was a child soldier and have seen his best friend brain scattered. I think he is only survivor from his platoon. My mother have slept with a hand grenade and a pistol. She had them in a case that someone tries to rape, torture, imprison or kill her because she was member of Croatian minority trapped in a city controlled by other side in Bosnia. I was with my grandparents in Croatia and not knowing what is happening with half of my family.

That is just a small piece of my childhood which was in spite of war for better part happy. We played in shelters, and after war passed in/at fields, forests, hills, parks and playgrounds. Instead of giving in to hatred and prejudice I have decided to fervently fight against them for a better humanity. I don't hate anyone even though I feel sad for many misguided souls who do misdeeds and cause harm to other (not only) human beings and nature. I know how it is to be barefoot, scared and poor so I'll help people and spread good will whenever I can. I have also inherited a lot of altruistic spirit from my mother which helps few friends and family members in rough situation, volunteers with children with disabilities, elderly, victims of strokes... and my late grandmother who raised or helped raise around ten children not her own. These two great women inspire me a lot and for the end here is another inspirational song and message:

<span class="bold">TRIUMPH - Fight the Good Fight</span>

I'm sorry for your loss, Crewdroog. Your aunt was obviously special to you and I can see why. I'm well aware that we all have to go eventually, but sometimes it's just sad to see some hard ways. Cancer is definitely one of them. At least I've got the feeling, that she was accompanied by loving people and that's more than a lot of us will get. Thinking back to people I've lost, the feeling of never having them back again, was always extremely hard to bear, but over time it faded and a feeling of always having them with me took its place. I cherish my memories as well as the footprint they made in my life. I'm sure it'll be easy for your aunt in the future to fill your loss with her spirit and the memories of her.
The giveaway is a nice idea - we haven't had one on such an occasion for quite some time, but I always liked those for remembering people. Count me in please, I'd be happy to join.

I've had plenty of memorable times with good folks and kin around me. However, there is one thing to excel them all and that's time with my child. You know it your whole life, that it'll be special, but when it's actually there and your love starts to grow, at least I wasn't able to describe the sheer force behind the feeling of what I would do for this baby. It might sound a bit melodramatic, but it's the simple truth and every time I see the What made you happy today thread in the forum, an answer comes to mind and it's always the same. The little one floods my life with memorable moments and I love it.

Oh craps, for whatever reason I thought this was ending Sunday, the 9th. Meh, so we are extending it to Sunday the 9th. Last call for alcohol! <--- that means enter, dammit!

:)

GA is over and I'm putting your names in a magic, man-eating hat.

Results to come shortly!

And thank you all so much for posting as much as you did, I was blown away by the amount of effort I saw from all of you. People may say this community has gone to hell, but when I see/read things like this, I know it really hasn't.

<3

The winner has been chosen by the random.org gods, and the winner is Soccorro. Congrats and I will be pm'ing you to find out how you want to spend your prize money!

Logged in to respond to another thread, didn't see this in time.

My condolences to you and your family.

Thank you for putting a smile on our faces, and hers. It takes a lot of inner strength to honour a loved one's memory in a celebratory way, especially so soon after; she's taught you more than well.

<3


And congrats to Soccorro.

Congrats to winner.
Cheers to Crewdroog.
RIP Crewdroog's dear concert oboist and very philanthropic aunt.

congrats Soccorro!

thank you again, crewdroog!

Congrats to Soccorro. Hope you choose something really nice. :)

Thanks again Crewdroog for the giveaway. :D

Congratulations Soccorro! ^^

It was great to be part of the giveaway :)

congratulations to winner :)