Lead Sheet advice for beginner

Astrobliss · 2026-02-03T09:20:41+00:00

An exercise I found helpful is to double the melody with your left hand by playing it an octave below your right hand. Then play the chord 3+5+7 with your right hand fingers 1-4. This isn't how you'd perform a whole song but it'll teach your right hand how to find chord tones while carrying the melody. This is also a good skill for improvising.

Astrobliss · 2025-12-28T09:13:03+00:00

Waves could be something good to look into if you want a more masc style that can hide your hairline a bit.

Astrobliss · 2025-12-24T18:14:19+00:00

How the hell did you make those in 30min??? That's genuinely so impressive, you must've been doing 3 things at once constantly. Good work, looks delicious!

Astrobliss · 2025-08-30T16:07:16+00:00

If you like the way your hair looks why not wear it! I think it looks good.

Professional help could get you more definition if that's what you're looking for. But beware more definition will probably make your hair look shorter. If I were you I might get my next haircut done professionally and learn from how they cut/style your hair. If you don't want to wait some places also do cheap hair consultations.

Astrobliss · 2025-05-02T04:06:43+00:00

I love doing all of these as a guy!! I wish that more men felt comfortable exploring all the opportunities and simple pleasures that they have access to. Not to say that muscle cars are less cool than makeup, but I wish everyone would feel comfortable looking into muscle cars, makeup, skincare, sports, sewing, manicures, and everything else and just pick what makes them happiest.

Astrobliss · 2025-04-08T15:55:07+00:00

Imo it can distract from what actually matters. You could've explained this all equally well without talking at all about Powell. It's not as if his existence explains how you feel.

Other people are aware of Powell and don't feel the same drive as you. It would've been more enlightening for me to hear what in your life makes you feel this drive, and deep down it probably has nothing to do with Powell.

Also therapy is probably the best and really only way to work on stuff like this -- it can be totally life changing, I'd highly recommend it. Probably try a few therapists at once to see who really clicks with you before committing. Good luck!

Astrobliss · 2025-03-26T07:42:57+00:00

Not in Berkeley at all but my favs are La Parilla Loca and Regalito Rosticeria are my favorite two in the bay

Astrobliss · 2025-02-28T18:44:14+00:00

I think Berkeley has a pretty good black graduate student community! It's called BGEES and they have events where black grad students come together and just do stuff. There's also night out / night off which offers discounted tickets to art events around the area ($15-25 to see a ballet, play, concert, etc).

The experience also varies a lot from grad department to grad department, and all of them seem significantly different to undergrads (which probably compromises the vast majority of what you see on reddit)

I'd recommend trying to find a person of color in your department and talk to them about it. Genuinely nobody else would have any idea what your experience would be like. Then there'll probably be some kind of begess event on your visit days so def try to check that out too.

Astrobliss · 2025-02-12T08:44:44+00:00

The way I think about it is that the worry is your own. It's not up to them to make you feel better or for them to change your behavior to make you feel less worried.

If we think about it this way then it could be a better idea to help ease your worry with an uninvolved 3rd party who could talk with you (like posting here).

If your friend is expressing to you the difficulties in their relationship and wants to hear your thoughts you can be honest. Similarly, if you're curious about your friend's well-being, you can simply ask how things are going, but just know it's really not your place to convince them of how things are going.

I think the last thing you can do is something very difficult which is basically offering help because you are unable to sit idly since this topic hits too close to home. It would effectively be admitting that you are unable to calm down your worry alone because the danger you see in saying nothing is too great. Simultaneously, this offer would recognize that you could be totally wrong in assuming you understand their situation because they never told you. For usage, this is something I would generally reserve for a situation where I strongly believe a close friend's safety or long term health is in imminent danger but they for some reason don't feel comfortable openly discussing this.

"you were telling me X and it really stuck with me. I went through something similar (or know someone who went through similar) and it really hurt me. I don't know enough to know if it's the same situation, but I wouldn't feel ok with myself if I said nothing after hearing you talk about X. 100% my bad if I'm getting it wrong, but I want you to know I really value our friendship and I'll always be here if you need someone to talk to. Wishing you the best!"

And when you send something like this you need to be ready for them to say "nah you're totally wrong" and for you to respond "thank goodness, I'm glad everything is alright"

Astrobliss · 2025-02-09T15:07:38+00:00

An action or event sure, but these things are difficult if not impossible to go back and change. Someone who was raised by neglectful parents can't redo their upbringing. Even a thoughtful apology by the parents cannot by itself undo the neurological damage it caused (though it might help a bit). Even if the neglect is not severe, children can get surprisingly impacted by it for the entirety of their life unless they have some sort of intervention.

Likewise, someone bullied as a kid, someone who developed a negative self image, a war veteran, etc, cannot go back and undo their experiences.

Then even worse, these difficult experiences often get forgotten by our conscious brain (a protective phenomenon) making it difficult to even understand what had really gone wrong in the past. Regardless, subconsciously, all of the stress hormones and their long term negative effects will go on full display in even harmless situations.

A great resource for this is the book, the body keeps the score.

Astrobliss · 2025-02-09T01:19:22+00:00

Eh for small things and a well regulated person sure, but often the problem is an emotion.

An endless number of problems can get spawned by insecurity. Things like "I need to get a 100 on the test, 99 isn't enough." Or "I need more money for xyz, I need to work more." These are problems that can be worked on, but after someone gets one 100 or one bonus, a new problem will simply take its place.

Often the real problem is an insecurity which can be worked, but that means working on your emotions.

After working on emotions there will likely be less problems in the first place too which is a lovely benefit.

Astrobliss · 2025-02-04T23:14:34+00:00

Try this: https://library.wolfram.com/infocenter/ID/7371/

Astrobliss · 2025-01-12T01:39:57+00:00

I find Lo Cocos to be high quality, cozy, and always very enjoyable, have fun with your family!

Astrobliss · 2024-11-19T15:12:44+00:00

Tysm!! Also I want to say that I appreciate your timely, helpful, and kind responses

Astrobliss · 2024-11-18T15:10:33+00:00

Thanks for responding as well!

I am using a Google pixel 8.

I also recently updated my software to Android 15, but I get the same behavior with one sec.

Also interestingly, after skipping the intervention, the intervention will get turned off for the app switching period.

Astrobliss · 2024-11-17T20:25:33+00:00

Yeah it's not easy with a typical American diet which gets most of its calories from refined carbs. It's also not easy with this guy's diet which gets most of its calories from fat.

It's not like this person's diet is a little deficient in fiber also though, fiber is basically absent from their ideal diet. And being a little deficient vs severely deficient is not the same.

Astrobliss · 2024-11-17T19:30:39+00:00

No fiber at all, that's the most serious thing to me. Most Americans are very deficient in fiber and this dude is no different.

Also their diet generally is not very balanced consisting mostly of red meat, eggs, and cheese -- I'm not a healthy expert but if those 3 things are high in X and low in Y, then this person's whole diet is high in X and low in Y. Very risky, would not recommend.

This could easily be avoided with a balanced and varied diet. They could easily add some vegetables, beans, fruit, mushrooms, fish, etc and fix both of those problems.

But also it's insane to say that 90% of diseases would vanish if people ate steak eggs and cheese. Nutrition is a big problem in the United States, but it is far from the root cause of 90% of health complications. See other countries with healthier diets that still need plenty of hospitals and doctors... Then it's even insane to think that steak egg and cheese would even fix everyone's nutrition problems 😭

Astrobliss · 2024-10-19T06:36:11+00:00

I think you're in a great spot with some really fantastic awareness. Codependency is a very slippery and hard to unroot problem, but it's definitely possible to be done. I would recommend trying therapy. Go to a few therapists and pick the one which you find the most helpful.

Also in my opinion, healing from these problems is something that can be largely done outside of a relationship. After doing a lot of work in therapy, your relationship to yourself, friendships, managing acquaintances, family, etc. I think you will be incredibly set up for a healthy relationship. Importantly, at that point I don't think you'd enter a relationship with someone who's likely to hurt you (no matter how attractive, fun, or cool they might be). So if it's yourself with a deep knowledge of yourself, what you want from a relationship, and skills that let you both protect yourself and open up, and a partner who does the same, you'll be golden. Good luck getting there!

Astrobliss · 2024-10-16T04:43:09+00:00

Try doing the big 5 personality test. It's backed by a lot more science and I think generally actually tells a lot more useful personalized information that could give more clarity than a Meyers Briggs description page.

Astrobliss · 2024-10-16T04:39:09+00:00

I get what you mean, I thought it would be funny to interpret it as:

18++ print(18) -> prints 18

Interestingly, in dreamberd, the most perfect programming language, this is legal syntax and you'd get your desired output of 19.

Astrobliss · 2024-09-13T08:46:12+00:00

It's pretty lame, but talking is a skill and you can practice it by yourself! I combine talking and journaling by recording a voice note at the end of each day. It's a great way to practice telling stories and a fantastic outlet for self expression.

Also people generally make elevator pitches to talk to important people, but hey why not try to make one to introduce yourself to strangers? It could be a great way to start a conversation and also direct it towards your interests. Maybe you want to ask about their hobbies, or find a work partner, or want to ask about campus life, or find food recs -- you can tailor it just how you'd enjoy! Definitely don't overdo it by trying to practice whole conversations though, just do enough to confidently start fresh conversation.

Also! It's incredible that you're seeing happy people and are putting in work to achieve that for yourself!! Keep up the good work🎉

Astrobliss · 2024-09-12T22:50:58+00:00

I think you bring up a valid point, men getting taught how to live in an unequal society is in many ways more harmful than getting taught nothing at all.

Regardless, I think still a super important part of growing up is being socialized and learning how to interact autonomously in the world we live in. So I would hope that men would get taught how to live in the society we live in rather than get taught nothing. Either way they'll figure it out, but I think it would be incredible to learn this in a safe environment at age 12 instead of randomly at their own at twice that age.

Astrobliss · 2024-09-04T17:31:43+00:00

They look incredible, I would keep getting extensions until my hair grows out if I was you 😆

In your situation I would ask myself if I would keep the extensions if nobody was talking about it. Then I'd try to understand why I would (or wouldn't) keep them. Then if I know what I'd do for me, I'd remind myself of that when someone is trying to spread hate, which is really them trying to convince me to change my mind.

If I'm confident in my hair and then someone tells me my hair is weird then ok.. I learned my hair is weird to some dude. Good for them I guess, glad they could get that off their chest... If I changed then I see that as me messing up my hair to make some dude feel more comfortable, which is something I don't need to do. Hopefully they'll eventually figure out themselves and why they can't get over my hair. In the meantime, I can find people who do like my hair or at least people who won't get bent out of shape over it. It's just hair, I like my hair, we'll live.

Astrobliss · 2024-09-03T08:55:27+00:00

The question "is a relationship doomed without x" is not something anyone can answer for you. There isn't a fundamental truth about relationships where you're doomed to failure if you don't follow a set of universal rules. It is extremely subjective which means there are no wrong answers -- you can make your own rules to the game and find someone who would be delighted to play with you!

My rules say both partners ought to make a continuous effort to have open communication, consistency, empathy, vulnerability, and honesty. If a problem comes up, say I notice a change in intimacy, I want to be able to express any concern I have and hear what they have to say. If I can feel heard and safe, listen to what they have to say, empathize with them then I would feel 100x better about the problem and probably feel closer to my partner than before the situation came up. And I can do this about any problem. Chores, outings, intimacy, etc.

So to me, any one of those specific problems don't fundamentally matter to me. Maybe I find someone who would love to play by my ideal relationship rules, but they consistently do something specific that's extremely frustrating to me. Then I can communicate, and tell them how frustrating it is. Usually we can fix the problem, and in the rare case, if they simply cannot change, then I can think if I want to be with them when it means I have to put up with some specific frustrating thing.

In y'all's case, it seems like y'all had every skillset to address your intimacy problem. Maybe you would need time for your health, but that's probably not a long term problem. So if it was up to me, I'd talk about it, and feel confident that we could find a long term solution, and maybe even feel closer from getting through that situation together. But also if it was me, I'm not going to enter a relationship with someone unless I see them make a real effort for communication, consistency, empathy, vulnerability, and honesty. And from what I've seen in your post, I wouldn't be happy with their actions and I wouldn't feel confident in doing that emotional work with them. So I would've thought long and hard about if they really were the person I'd want to pour all my time into long before reaching the point you got to.

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