With students fleeing piano lessons this year, I am way down in both numbers and hours. It means a lot less travelling abroad next year, with possibly no major trip on the horizon after Vienna. I can live with that for now, since it affords me more opportunities for observing, reading, writing, listening, practicing, gaming, and every other pursuit that interests me. Teaching music for 37 years has never been boring or a disappointment, but I'm certain I will survive with many fewer students. In fact I have no urge to even advertise open positions. It is what it is. If there is less money for travel, so be it.
We have been playing a visually astounding PC Windows game called Obduction, from the people who brought you Myst. It started out quite great, with decent puzzles and mind-blowing graphics. Now the graphics are decent and the puzzles are mind-blowing. We have no hope of finishing the game, even with a very sketchy walk through. We are stuck in a hell, nicknamed "the gauntlet," which appears just before "the maze." The puzzles have been beyond Mensa level, which is evident from the comment boards, where virtually everyone has resorted to the walk through, often, like us, without luck. Game designers apparently have not learned valuable lessons even today. Needless to say we will not be purchasing their newest game. On my older upstairs computer I am playing a very old game called The Last Express, which came out around the same time as Myst. It runs perfectly on the old computer, and is quite fun, as you embark on the Orient Express in Paris, and become involved in a murder and mystery on board as the train travels past different stations.
Music home listening continues on three fronts. We have finished with the first 40 Symphonies of Haydn, as well as up to and including the Op. 53 of Brahms and Britten. Brahms Op. 54 coming up later tonight!
Astronomy has been a disaster due to incredibly hazy and/or cloudy weather. October is usually the best time to observe, and this month there was not a single good night to do so when the moon was out of the way. In 2016 from July through October I was able to get out and observe 29 times. In the same period of 2017 (a very bad year) I went out 16 times. This year my grand total is 10! I fear that I see a trend here, and it's not a pretty one. So it is even more important that I am able to get out on almost any clear night, thanks to two less evenings of teaching. The moon is waxing now, so of course it is wonderfully clear tonight.....
My Avon/Equinox reading project is still going great guns. My right eye cataract is worsening, so it will need fixing. I will try to arrange for the surgery right after our Vienna trip. I currently have an appointment with my optometrist on Oct. 31st. He will then refer me to a specialist, hopefully Dr. Emara, who did my left eye a few years ago. Anyway, I am still reading like a demon. I finished three books on the NM trip, including the enormous biography of Brahms. I just recently discovered that the same author penned a Beethoven biography that was recently published. Sounds like a must-read! In the past two weeks I have finished and reviewed 8 books! I am currently reading an early one by Robert Silverberg, having just finished a really fascinating one by Hal Clement. Clement is a hard-science writer; he chooses an interesting situation on an interesting planet and then goes about demonstrating how things work there. He wrote a short series (two novels and three stories) about the planet Mesklin and its caterpillar-like inhabitants, and it proved to be one of the most fascinating discoveries so far in my reading project. I have read the first novel (Mission of Gravity) and two short stories. The novel was absolutely mind-blowing! I have discovered so many fabulous authors in this reading project (see my Avon/Equinox page for a full blown discussion)!
My only current writing project is trying to finish the NM Trip #38 journal. It's nearly done. the problem is that I physically write this, and I find that I cannot write for more than 30 minutes at a time. It should be finished soon, and I will begin work on the web version. In other writing projects, I have a good start on my 2nd Valeria the Vegetarian Vampire story, and hope to finish it before winter is out. With two short books in hand and ideas for at least two more, that will be the time to approach publishers. Once published, Hollywood should snap up the film rights, and we will live the high life in California! We will still visit Canada occasionally.
My only current writing project is trying to finish the NM Trip #38 journal. It's nearly done. the problem is that I physically write this, and I find that I cannot write for more than 30 minutes at a time. It should be finished soon, and I will begin work on the web version. In other writing projects, I have a good start on my 2nd Valeria the Vegetarian Vampire story, and hope to finish it before winter is out. With two short books in hand and ideas for at least two more, that will be the time to approach publishers. Once published, Hollywood should snap up the film rights, and we will live the high life in California! We will still visit Canada occasionally.
No comments:
Post a Comment