Good Early Evening!
I'm singin' in the rain...What a pretty neat afternoon I had today. I took care of my bills and Father's Day cards, then walked up to school to get some piano practice in. It was hot today, but it didn't feel as "oppressive" as the TV guys and gals were saying it was. However, the practice studios up at school are very well A/C'ed - almost chilly sometimes - and it felt great stepping into the lobby after the walk.
Just singin' in the rain...Today's practicing consisted of the C major scale, the first part of a Bach prelude and read-thru of a Haydn sonata and some really cool - and hard!!! - Rodgers & Hammerstein transcriptions by Stephen Hough. I think I spent about 45 minutes on the C scale alone!! My fingers and arms are really out of shape as far as playing on a real piano is concerned. But today's practice was very good, and I managed to get in just under 3 hours! And the time went by relatively fast too! Best of all, however, was the sense of joy I got - even from playing scales! - from just playing for myself. No conductor to follow. No patch advance pedal to worry about. No programming. No singer to follow. It was just me and the piano. It's been a long time! I just remember hearing Mitsuko Uchida saying in an interview that practicing is simply listening to yourself play. And it was nice hearing myself play again. But, boy, does that Bach guy get pretty linear and tricky!
What a glorious feeling...After practicing, I started the walk back home... and I noticed that the skies were no longer clear and blue like they were when I walked to school. Well, I saw a few patches of blue...
"I can make it back before the rain starts!" So, I made a small detour and picked up a bubble tea - well, actually, I got an almond slush today with boba (tapioca pearls).
I'm walking... I'm walking... So, I'm sipping away on my slush, and watching the clouds in the distance start to gather and turn grayer and darker. And the thunder and lightning had started too.
I'm walking faster... I'm walking a lot faster... Well, the wind picks up... And the rain begins... Well, it pours!! And, of course, I'm still about a good six blocks away from home. I take cover under a porch, but the wind is blowing so hard, it's blowing the rain under the roof of the porch. By this time, I have to take my glasses off in order to see anything - which is a strange concept - and my shirt is pretty much soaked, and my backpack is also getting wet too. Thankfully, I had a plastic bag in my backpack, and I used that to protect my cell phone and wallet. Once the major downpour ended - along with the quite major lightning - I just said to myself, "It's just water!" And then I started walking home. Sometimes leisurely, sometimes a little rushed. I even skipped too! I didn't do any major puddle splashing, but I was soaked by the time I got home. And I liked it!
I'm happy again!
