I Learned Something New Every Day for a Week
By: Jack Fenner
During this period of quarantine, it has been difficult to keep myself occupied, so I decided that this week, I would commit to learning something new everyday to hopefully make my week more exciting. Here's what I learned:
Day 1-Jump Start
On Monday, I was going to head to my friends house for a drive-by birthday parade, but as I was getting ready to leave, I put my keys in my car’s ignition only to realize that it’s battery had died after pretty much not being used at all for the last month. I had a little bit of time before I had to leave, so I knew this could be an opportunity to learn something new— how to jump-start my car! I had my dad come outside to teach me, and it was a whole lot easier than I expected. All I had to do was connect the jumper cables to the car battery of my car and my dads. The battery has a positive and negative terminal that you have to attach the cables correctly. Once I did that, all I had to do was start my car. In no time at all, I was good-to-go and able to wish my friend a happy birthday!
Day 2- Paddlefishing
My dad works for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, so by nature, he is a great fisherman. On Tuesday, we went to a secret spot to hopefully catch some paddlefish. Paddlefishing is completely different from something like bass fishing; when you bass fish, you will typically catch a fish by snagging them through the lip, but paddlefishing requires a bit more luck than that. When you reel, you are trying to snag a paddlefish in its tail as it swims by because, when paddlefish are hit with a hook, they go crazy and get themselves tangled in your line, which is exactly what my Dad said that you want to happen. When the fish gets more tangled, they get more tired, which makes the reeling process a whole lot easier for the fisherman. I ended the day with catching four paddlefish and some sore arms, but even though it was a little tiring, it was by far the most fun way to fish that I have ever experienced.
Day 3- Piano
Last year, after my Grandmother passed away, I inherited her piano and, as much as I hate to say it, the poor thing had been collecting dust since we got it. This week, I decided to change that. I wanted to learn how to play a piano piece through to the end. My plan was pretty simple: because I don’t know the notes of the piano, I would watch a youtube video that showed the keys for the song I decided on and memorize them. I wanted a piece that wouldn’t fry my brain, but I also didn’t want to make it as easy as something like “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” I decided on learning “Clair de Lune” by Claude Debussy. Most of the song doesn’t require too much hand independence, so I figured it would be doable but a challenge, which is exactly what I was looking for. At the end of the day, I had only gone about a minute into the piece. Even though I didn’t finish the piece I’m still working on it and I’m getting further into it every day. I know learning an entire piece in a day sounds a little ambitious (and it was), but I am hoping to learn it all before our quarantine ends and, maybe, even make learning the piano a regular thing for myself.
Day 4- Tying a Tie
I’ve always been more of a bowtie type of guy, but I understand that it’s probably not the best choice of tie for every situation. It was finally time to learn how to tie a windsor knot on a regular tie. For this skill, I can thank Charles from Howcast on Youtube. Turns out that tying a regular tie is even easier than a bowtie. After I tied it, I went to the mirror to get a picture of the whole tie.
As you can see by the look on my face. I was pretty surprised with how well it turned out for my first time doing it. At this point I think I'm ready for my first interview. Although... I may want to ditch the running shorts.
Day 5- Cooking
For the final day, I decided to expand my food making skills beyond the PB&J. When it came to dinner time, I decided to try grilling some chicken. I had to let the chicken sit in a soy sauce and brown sugar marinade for about 30 minutes before it was ready to put on the grill. It took about 6 minutes on each side for the chicken to cook all the way through, and then I was done. That (along with a quick salad) made for a great dinner.
This past week has been a great way to keep myself from being bored. It’s also been a great learning opportunity where I’ve picked up some things that I can use my whole life. If you're at home with nothing to do, then I highly recommend trying new things.
