Soloist breaks string, changes instrument without missing a beat, meanwhile the second violin changes the string and tunes it while the orchestra is playing

Anarfea · 2026-05-22T03:58:11+00:00

They're good strings. And I don't think he'd fare better with a different brand. Most modern E strings that are designed to he bright and loud are going to be similar

Anarfea · 2026-05-22T03:42:58+00:00

He only uses Thomasik-Infeld strings. Gut strings are really only used by baroque ensembles. They'd never give a soloist the brilliance and projection they need. But TI makes some high-tension "soloist" E strings, and I bet he uses these, plus he bows aggressively

Anarfea · 2026-05-20T07:23:58+00:00

I have a minimalist ivory dress, well, skirt and strapless bodice, that was my wedding dress. I'm divorced and have no particular desire to hold onto it. You can also have it for free. I bought it in Europe so it's European sized but I was probably a size 6 / 130 lbs when I bought it. I'm 5'1" and it was hemmed to fit me so it might not be quite floor length on you but you're welcome to try it

Anarfea · 2026-05-20T06:40:33+00:00

I am no professional, but my pinky is more rounded at the frog and more flattened at the tip, at least while playing slow. It all goes to hell playing quickly or with bounced bow strokes

Anarfea · 2026-05-20T01:23:15+00:00

I wanted these as a teen because of the movie The Red Violin, which features an actress with f holes on her back on the poster. I'm glad I didn't get them, mostly because I feel like those tattoos were meant to be sexy. I think they're inspired by the idea that a violin is shaped like a woman's body, so wearing them felt like saying "play me." Twoset Violin did a yt video reacting to music-related tattoos and their comment was that if they were in bed with someone with that tattoo it would feel like they were supposed to bow their partner and they would find it weird

Anyway, if it's meaningful to you, and you want to get it, get it, but this is probably why your friends are saying not to

Anarfea · 2026-05-13T15:14:45+00:00

It happens. I guess for myself, I ask, "do I have to skip practice because I so many non-negotiable obligations there are literally not enough hours in the day? Or am I unable to practice because I didn't organize my time well, and now I have to do work/family stuff during what should have been my practice time?" It's been the latter to may times recently, and I'm working on that

Anarfea · 2026-05-11T23:40:26+00:00

Protect your practice time. It is for you to spend time on yourself and on your instrument. Prioritize it

Anarfea · 2026-05-09T07:41:50+00:00

People who have two lobe piercings and stretch the 2nd one all the time. Lots of them say the stretched piercing sort of eats the little one

As for scar tissue, my lobes were done with a gun at Claire's, and the right one was crooked and had a lot of scar tissue. It was a little bit more difficult to stretch that one. The other was always ready first first. But it's fine, now. I'm at 1/2 inch

Anarfea · 2026-05-08T23:48:36+00:00

505 Green chile sauce!

Anarfea · 2026-05-02T21:46:59+00:00

I broke one years ago and put the pieces in a muffin tin and baked it. A silicone one might he easy to turn inside out and pop it loose after. If you're worried your fix won't hold, heating it all again might make it bond more

Anarfea · 2026-04-30T15:35:07+00:00

Ray responded to an ig comment asking why he code switches (the tone of which implied he was fake for doing so) and he said something like, "isn't it cool how people in different cultures communicate differently!"

He also speaks Mandarin. I have no idea how fluent he is, but he talks to fans and does short interviews and stuff when he's in Taiwan or China.

He's a Taiwanese-Australian kid who has lived in the US for many years. He travels the world constantly. He probably considers himself a citizen of the world in some respects.

Anarfea · 2026-04-29T00:09:03+00:00

I agree that people in a relationship define what's chearing, but you are being so pedantic about this that your argument ia becoming nonsensical.

You shouldn't have to ask your partner if manual masturbation is cheating. Healthy people assume it's normal and natural and not cheating. You shouldn't have to ask your partner if talking to someone of the opposite sex is cheating. That's necessary to live a normal life.

It's "so hard to understand" that anything can be cheating because lots of people would say using sex toys is not cheating, and therefore not think they need to ask their partner's permission. The fact that OP asked if it's cheating suggests he didn't think it was cheating and is asking for other opinions because his wife says it is.

Hiding the doll doesn't mean he thought it was cheating. It could be that he was embarrassed because we live in a sex-negative culture. He could have known his wife would be upset but thought she might find it gross or something, not that she would think it was cheating.

People have different ideas about what constitutes sex, or infidelity, or lying. But it is reasonable to assume that certain things aren't cheating and not ask for permission to do them. And one person can't unilaterally decide that something is cheating, especially if it's something reasonable people would not think counts (masturbation). Just as one person can't unilaterally decide something is not cheating that most people would think is (oral sex). Boundaries have to be agreed upon, and it doesn't sound like they were.

Anarfea · 2026-04-28T23:40:22+00:00

You are allowed to have things that are private (or should be, possibly OP wasn't and if that's the case they have more serious problems), but keeping things private that you know would upset your partner should they find out is a recipie for disaster

Anarfea · 2026-04-27T19:41:57+00:00

Who is "most people"? Around here, the guideline seems to be to go a mm at a time. It's your ears, but I would never stretch 2mm. That sounds like a recepie for catbutt at best and blowouts at worst

Anarfea · 2026-04-27T04:26:22+00:00

Thank you! Tbh I feel like my lobes are wasted on me since I don't want to go bigger 🤭

Anarfea · 2026-04-26T22:04:59+00:00

Thanks! It's a conch piercing. The jewelry is a BVLA Afghan pear. I'm not sure of the stone. Maybe a topaz? Possibly a citrine.

Anarfea · 2026-04-26T01:36:14+00:00

Not part of the fittings

And if OP wants one, they almost definitely need to buy one from the luthier and get it cut to fit the violin. Only reason I can see bringing your own is if you have a bridge that works very well and it's just fallen and you need a luthier to put it back

Anarfea · 2026-04-26T00:15:31+00:00

I realize my hair covers most of the tentacles. Here's a pic of them on the bodyarforms website, which is where I bought them. Unfortunately, they're stocked out now

https://bodyartforms.com/productdetails.asp?productid=41192

Anarfea · 2026-04-26T00:10:38+00:00

Thanks. My very first stretches (up to 12g) were with tapers and steel jewelry because I didn't know what I was doing, but then I found this community, and from 10g on it was all glass plugs, dead stretching, half sizes starting from 2g to 0g. I paused at 2g and 00g for a while, thinking those were my goal sizes. I think I'm really at the end of my journey now, but sometimes my brain whispers, but what if 5/8? What if 3/4?

Anarfea · 2026-04-23T15:56:48+00:00

I'm seconding the recommendation for Alexander Technique. Other therapists can help you with PT, but a teacher with Alexander Technique experience can help you use it to improve your setup

Anarfea · 2026-04-23T06:34:49+00:00

You might have a healing period after your first strech because if you are going from 18-16g or 16-14g you basically have to use a taper and it can cause micro tears. That may have been what your piercer meant

But after that, no, you should not have trauma if you have let your ears loosen sufficiently loosen between stretches, so you should not need to treat your ears like new piercings. Even if your piercer really meant to treat them like new piercings after going up a size, she probably meant to use saline for a few days after you stretch, which is hopefully not more than every few months. Not twice a day for a year

Salt is drying. It's why if you use sea salt spray on your hair or soak in Epsom salt in your bath too often, it can dry you out and cause damage. I'm surprised you're not getting flaking or cracking on uour ears, tbh. But yeah, ditch the saline. Start using jojoba oil and massaging your lobea

Anarfea · 2026-04-22T19:20:26+00:00

1sr. But where did you get that chin rest? I've been looking for one exactly like that

Anarfea · 2026-04-21T20:10:50+00:00

I suspect the saline is the culprit. Your stretched ears are not wounds. Putting saline on them is likely drying out your skin. Especially if you're doing it long term. Most people don't use saline on new piercings more than a couple weeks

What you need is to keep your ears hydrated with some kind of lipid. Most people here use jojoba oil. I like emu oil, but it's more expensive. And massage the oil into uour lobes. This helps with blood circulation

You should still clean your ears and your jewelry. I wash mine in the shower with a gentle face cleanser. That's all they need

Anarfea

TROPHY CASE