I have continued to focus on my guitar playing as of late. I'm still not very good but it's something I am really enjoying. I go to lessons once a week and try to practice for a least 30 minutes each day. I can see slow and steady progress which is very satisfying. Sitting down to play is a great way to unwind at the end of the day.

Some people are born with musical talent. I'm not one of those people. I'm going to have to work really hard at this to get to the level I want. I think it is really good to have long term pursuits like this in life. I think everyone should have a passion outside of work that they can really commit themselves to. For too many years it was only work for me but I think having this balance is part of what makes you a more interesting well rounded person.

Learning guitar reminds me a lot of learning photography. You first start wanting to take picture but it can spider in so many directions with many learning paths; digital, film, developing film, scanning, digital post processing, lighting, studying photographers, galleries, taking portraits, taking landscapes and so much more.

Today's Configuration: Leica M Monochrom with a Summicron 28mm f/2.0

With guitar you start off simply wanting to play but find yourself learning theory, studying different genres of music, learning about gear, studying different guitarists, listening to new or different music, how to care for your gear, signal flow, digitalization, recording and so much more.

The other morning I got up, cleaned and polished my guitars and changed the strings. It was surprisingly relaxing and fulfilling. I'm really enjoying this new found hobby.

I'm continuing to use Justin Guitar to learn songs. The amount of context he puts online is amazing. I purchased his books to go along with his videos as it makes it a lot easier to follow along. I recently found Sean Daniel who teaches a lot of theory and technique. Both are highly recommended. Reverb is also a great site for buying or selling gear.

If anyone can recommend any good YouTube channels to watch, websites to read, or guitarists to listen to I'm looking for recommendations.

The Doreamon have invaded Roppongi Hills again this summer...

I think there is more than 150 of them. You should come check them out if you are in the area.

My life has mostly been home and work lately but I did get a chance to get out to Ebisu for dinner. I ended up going to the same place I went with my friend John a few months back.

I typically drive to the office but once in a while I take the train. I go so early it is usually really peaceful to walk the empty streets...

It's easy to get surprised by a passing train!

Meet Mingook. One of my colleagues at work. Posting this photo reminds me I need to take more photos of people. I have gotten away from that for a while.

We had a team outing at work and went to the Cup Noodle Museum. It was a lot more fun than I expected. The start up of Cup Noodle is an interesting story.

I had the past week off from work and did nothing but stay around the house. I think I only went out a few times to pick up groceries. It was a nice change of pace for me...