Christmas Presents

It's a bit late to be talking about Christmas presents, but since I got a couple taiko related gifts, I'll do it anyhow. The first thing I got was a practice pad. I had asked for this specifically. Since we live in an apartment building, we cannot really play/practice the drums in our house. I thought that a practice pad would be a good solution. You can't necessarily practice Nagado or Odaiko techniques with it, but it works fine for Shime Taiko practicing. Right now, in two of the three Asano groups I play for, I am playing Shime Taiko anyhow, so it is good timing. Furthermore, in a previous post, I explained how having good Shime Taiko techniques can improve your overall playing techniques for all types of drums.

Upon receiving this gift, I was looking forward to getting in some daily practice. My son, also, was looking forward to it and spent a good part of Christmas day hitting it with taiko sticks. In the evening we got a call from our downstairs neighbors, though. Apparently, even though the sound is much quieter than playing a real drum, they can still hear it. So I am wondering how much I'll even be able to use it. I did get a tip from older brother, though, who has the same pad, only a slightly larger one. He says if I take it off the stand and place it on a cushion or pillow, the neighbors probably will not hear it.

My other gift was a new jogging suit and reflectors. You see, it is winter now, the darkest and coldest time of the year. When I go jogging, it is usually around 5 in the morning. It is still dark then, and although there isn't much traffic, there is some and I would rather not be injured or killed in a freak traffic accident. Up until now, my jogging clothes have been black or dark colored, and fairly light weight. Using them at this time of year makes me cold and hard for cars to see. So, I received a warmer jogging suit, in a bright color (white) and various reflectors.

As you can see from the picture, I should be pretty hard to miss in an outfit like this. So far, I have only been able to use it once, though. Now that I have all the safety gear and warm enough clothes, I just need to find the motivation to get out of bed at 5 am when it is still dark and cold.