The waiting is the hardest part....

[BenE]

Does anyone else sit around the workplace and dream about getting off in the afternoon so you can go home and play your mandolin? Maybe you have something you worked on the night before and after a good nights sleep your ready to tackle it again.....Come oooooonnnnnnnnn 4:30!

[KevinM]

Yep. But the heck with that - I should just buy another mandolin to keep in my office.

[John Flynn]

I hear you and I am right there too. I do band practices, jams, gigs and a mando lesson on the weekend, but I don't really have time to "process" anything new I learn until Monday night. I live and work in different cities, so I catch a plane every Monday morning and return every Friday afternoon. I keep a travel mando in my desk at work and take it to the hotel in the evening. The people I work with are all travelers, so they all want to go out in the evening. I beg off. I can't wait to get back to the hotel, get out my crummy travel mando and work on the new stuff I picked up over the weekend.

[Tom C]

All the time .

[Michael H Geimer]

8 hours?!? I can't wait that long. I carry the Mid-mo around like it's a briefcase.

Sadly, not today. I've brought running gear instead so I can pound pavement after work.

tick tock tick tock

- Benig

"Hey Teacher! I think this clock is slow!"
- Diamond David Lee Roth

[stanley]

Quote:
"Does anyone else sit around the workplace and dream about getting off in the afternoon so you can go home and play your mandolin? Maybe you have something you worked on the night before and after a good nights sleep your ready to tackle it again.....Come oooooonnnnnnnnn 4:30!"

I guess we can say 'your' mandolin interchangably.......Ha! Come-oooonnnn 4:30!!!

Bill (tick tock tick tock...)

[Bluegrasstjej]

Now when I have my motivation back I'm there too. But I can't take any breaks to play the mandolin at work. I'm a nurse (at least soon-to-be, still a student) and even if the patients would like it, I can't do it.
I actually have two mandolins, but one is broken.

[mpeknox]

one of my buddies at work is a ba*%jo picker and we usually pick during lunch and breaks.

[Rich Michaud]

I usually play 1-2 hours early in the morning and at least an hour at night most nights as part of my daily routine. Although I still work hard as a Boston lawyer (this will probably result in a multitude of wisecracks), I look forward every day to learning something new musically. Playing mandolin is a joy to me and keeps me going. Yes I can sue you, but I'd rather jam with you...

[Scotti Adams]

...work..whats that...?http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif...hey I dont get home till midnight...talk about a bummer...

[JD Cowles]

i've got a mando hanging by my desk at work. when i do pick it up my boss seems to always walk by at that second. oh well, take me as i am. hey ben, if you have a beater bring it into work and pick it on breaks and at lunch if you can. it really helps with the separation anxiety and watching the clock.

jd

[steadypluckinaway]

I started working 6:00 to 2:30 so I can get off early. Sure does make the day go by. Had to start getting up at 3:30am to get some extra picking time in. Nice when you can make your own hours.:;):

[mandoJeremy]

I work in a music store so I actually get bored with mandolin occasionally...gasps! The boredom doesn't last long though since I work with a great jazz pianist/keyboardist and we will sit and work up new jazz tunes together.

[Joe Mendel]

I drag one to work everyday, so I can play at break & lunch and any other time I can squeeze in. I work in a big factory in a room with about 5 other people. So it's easy to get extra playing time in w/o getting found out & still do my work, too!

[beachbum]

I keep my old mando at work and practice during lunch. The down side of that is I no longer exercise at lunch. My office is on the University campus and we have access to the gym, hike/bike trail, etc. Oh, well, at least what I'm doing is good for the soul even if the body is falling apart!
Susan

[mandoJeremy]

That's why I see those mando players that have their own built in tone guards! #Just place the mando 2 inches from the chin and rest it on your beer-belly! #I bet they once exercised too! #No offense meant, just a comment on why you should occasionally exercise instead of playing mando! #I would rather play mando myself but I am a "skinny" guy so what do I know?

[Michael H Geimer]

" No offense meant, just a comment on why you should occasionally exercise instead of playing mando! I would rather play mando myself but I am a "skinny" guy so what do I know? "

LOL! Last night I looked at Bay-to-Breaker website to see if maybe I could make Sub-Seeded status this year ... then I remebered that I started playing mandolin, and now I hardly run at all! Luckily for me, I too take after Stringbean.

[Rich]

YEP, I sure feel that pain. I suffer all day at work with only this website for my mando-outlet. I rush home to practice everyday. I still get in a workout at the gym though. I also wake up early some mornings so I can get in a half hour of picking before work.

[duuuude]

I get to the office around 6:30am just so I can pick for an hour or so before the "work" starts, but then I'm the boss so I can do that. Which also means I get off earlier so have even more time to play in the afternoon & evening.

As for exercising, once the weather warms up I plan to start taking my mando on daily walks, should work out as long as I don't try chewing bubblegum at the same time.
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif

[Tom C]

I usually get into work (on site at client's)in NYC by 7:30 at the latest as I like to drive in and beat rush hour.I eat at my desk and hope I can get out by 3:30 but, that rarely happens. The problem is once I get home and I pick up my mando, the rest of the night is shot as I will not put it down.

[John Flynn]

why you should occasionally exercise instead of playing mando
Are you kidding? The rest of me may be out of shape, but my left forearm is getting "ripped" from playing the mando! Eventually, I will get an anchor tatooed on it for that "Popeye look!"

[Michael H Geimer]

Johnny,
I just played The Sailor's Hornpipe in your honor. (Mid-mo's on the desk today)

[bjc]

C'mon now...exercise vs. the Mando? Let's think people...can you say "Multi-tasking?"...bring it to the gym...in between sets of weights, play some scales...more weights, a tune or two (you do need to take some time between sets)...then get on the tread mill with it and challenge yourself with some fast picking and running...just watch your step...people already will think you're a freak without you slipping and breaking your butt and your mando
Great topic idea...

[jumpyroo]

I doodle mandos all over my work at school, mostly in my English class... :P And whenever I hear music, I think mando chords in my head that would fit. Cant wait to play when I get home. I even try to get up early to practice before school. I can't quite bring myself to actually get out of bed at 5, though. :P I can't bring it to school. People keep calling it a mini gutar, and ask if I'd give them one, and why would anyone buy one, and other oh-so-intelligent things. I won't even let any non-musicians at school TOUCH my mando. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[beachbum]

That's why I see those mando players that have their own built in tone guards! #Just place the mando 2 inches from the chin and rest it on your beer-belly! #I bet they once exercised too! #No offense meant, just a comment on why you should occasionally exercise instead of playing mando! #I would rather play mando myself but I am a "skinny" guy so what do I know?
Hah! Being female, my anatomy doesn't quite work that way! When the days get longer I usually walk in the early morning before work to get the day kicked off. Come on spring! BTW, do you think that glass of scotch while I'm pickin' before bedtime does any damage?!
Susan

[Staramouche]

I believe that having my mandolin at work is just good Feng Shui, promoting a harmonious environment and causing sales to be upbeat....of course you have to keep it in tune and let the songs flow like water. It's all about the intent!

And don't underestimate the calorie burning benefits of toe tapping:D

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Joe

[beachbum]

I believe that having my mandolin at work is just good Feng Shui, promoting a harmonious environment and causing sales to be upbeat....of course you have to keep it in tune and let the songs flow like water. #It's all about the intent!

And don't underestimate the calorie burning benefits of toe tapping:D

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Joe
I like your way of thinking!

[fatt-dad]

for sale, cheap mandolins to bring to work.

f-d

[Dennis Gordon]

The nice thing about the mandolin, as these posts illustrate, is how welcome it is most anywhere. As a guitarist, I'm reticent to pick too much at work, for fear of being that "guitar guy" who overplays and shows off whatever he can get away with. A lot of guitar playing is more about tricks and flash than melody and enjoyment; then there's the other side of that coin... lame-o folk-rock, soft-rock, jazz-rock, kumbaya campfire stuff... nice enough in its place, but who really wants to hear that other than the guitarist himself?

The banjo? Well I'm more partial to the frailers myself. I prefer the Stephen Wade sound to steel fingerpicks. Maybe for a minute or two, but after that...

Ah, but the mando is so sweet, small and feminine. It sings without calling too much attention to itself. It puts a smile on everyone's faces, even if they think it's a ukelele. It's intimate and romantic.

I have an hour ride every Friday out to my steady Friday night gig. I've had the gig for 7 years. Every Friday I drive out with my mando in my lap playing whatever comes to mind, whenever a tune needs to be played (this requires good front end alignment). This turns an hour's commute into a little reverie that primes me for the gig. Try *that* with a guitar or banjo and you'd run off the road within half a mile.

I make my music income mainly as a pianist these days, and I still play some guitar when I have the chance, but when I'm traveling, it's the mando that always comes along. It's the little buddy of instruments. Mandolins make smiles...