What's new, first edition

Although I am delighted to get back in touch with old friends that I haven't talked with for a while, sometimes I am baffled at the question, "so, what's new in your life?" Often these friends will contact me with news that they are getting married, graduated from law school, pregnant with their third child, took a trip on SpaceShipOne, etc. I feel like I don't have a lot of news to share from my end of things. But of course, that is not true! There is plenty of news to share! Why wait for a Christmas letter? Here's just a modest sampling:

1. I learned that if I plug my vacuum cleaner into the socket in the bathroom, I can reach all of my rugs--including my bedroom, studio room and the kitchen rug--without unplugging and moving.

2. Nowadays, some black birds have taken residence near my bedroom window and start chirping at about 5 AM. Especially in the half-dreamy state of waking, sometimes they seem to sound like staplers.

3. I listened to student recitals for 6 hours last Sunday. Contrary to how that may sound, it was actually fun to hear them play. My student C.S. accomplished playing the Bach minuet without forgetting the repeats. One student in our program even managed to play that spot in Corelli's La Folia with the high C's in tune (mostly)!

4. Nudge does not like the black cat that wanders around my yard. A couple of times he took off in a fierce rage after it from indoors, slamming into the screen door. Most of the time I'd assume Nudge was Danish for his phlegmatic nature, but I've never seen so much passion from that cat before. I don't know if he actually realized that there was a screen door between him and the persona non grata, but I'm sure Nudge will tell you that it was planned that way exactly. He sounds a lot like a dog rather than a cat when he growls. I told him that but he didn't seem to be very offended.

5. I think I can play through this entire Brahms piano quartet without getting too tired, which is great considering the performance is next Wednesday. Including our upcoming rehearsal scheduled for Sunday, God willing, we will have had a total of two rehearsals with all four of the same performers.

6. Speaking of performances, my friend and colleague Theresa is having her final doctoral recital Saturday. She's playing the same Stravinski Divertimento that I played for one of my masters' recitals. Great piece.

7. I decided that burritos made entirely of refried beans and veggie beef are too heavy for lunch, and sap my energy so I have to sit on the sofa and write blogs when I should be practicing.

8. I am 13 minutes older than I was when I started writing this blog entry.

Stay tuned for more exciting adventures from Steph Land to come!!