I feel sticky ’cause I ate cheese. The oils come out in my pores, I guess. Happily I have this new Burt’s Bees cleanser that feels tingly and smells lemony. It’s much gentler than the Lush tea tree oil soap I’ve been using. I also have the Kiss My Face line of olive oil bar soaps for general shower use. Just position some rosemary and oregano on me and I’ll be ready for the oven!
That Mahler 4 refuses to depart from my brain. Even something so great suffers from umpteen recyclings inside a human skull. I wonder if that’s one of the ways you know you’re obliged/destined to be a musician. Maybe it also depends on how it is reproduced in there. One of my teachers used to idealistically talk about how crucial the ear, both external and imagination-based, is in creating a final product on the instrument. I say idealistically because it is so far removed from the mundane practical advice one is usually given from teachers and coaches. For me, bringing philosophy and abstract notions into discussions of cello playing was quite fruitful. I suppose it is akin to my own way of conceiving music-making.

The laptop edge is leaning on my abdomen in an annoying yet gratifying way. Perhaps I should return it to its resting place and get the heck out of bed.

originally published on 2/9/08