Halloween Photos

Follow this link to see Halloween at the Fay household (it will bring you to my photo album on facebook. You should be able to see it even if you're not on facebook, yourself.)

Quincy Symphony article

I had a front-page Entertainment section article on the Quincy Symphony Orchestra in yesterday's Patriot Ledger.

So proud

Abby is developing into a very good little violinist. She can play all of the Suzuki Twinkle variations, plus the A major scale and arpeggio, and a few other pieces.

She likes to practice, too. I told her the other morning that she could have some free time when she was done practicing, and she said, "Playing violin is my free time."

It makes me happy to see her enjoying it so much, and making such progress. It makes me even happier to see her so engaged. She is on when she's playing, taking direction and making corrections virtually instantaneously. I have never seen her so connected to an activity (that wasn't perseverative) or to another person -- me -- as when she's concentrating on making music.

She has "Music Share Day" in a couple of weeks, in her general music class at school. I hope she'll want to play for her peers, who know she studies violin.

I am resolved not to be a stage mother about this. If she doesn't want to play, that's OK. But I hope she will.

Vindicated!

It was a technical problem! The problem wasn't me! It was the website!

Tech help got back to me yesterday, telling me that there was a problem with the website that had been fixed, and that I should be able to upload photos without a problem. Skeptical, I didn't want to try it until I felt able to handle another round of image problem hijinks.

This morning, fortified by coffee and with a calmer demeanor, I tried it. And it worked!

On to the next assignment. Hooray.

Blowing off steam

Gaaaaaaaahhhhh! Bang bang bang.

That was my primal scream of frustration, followed by a little light head-banging, brought on by my continuing and storied inability to manipulate visual information in any form.

I can't draw.
Or paint.
Can't estimate sizes or distances.

And now, I cannot even download and subsequently upload a stock photo to go with my ezine article. Help can't help me. Tech support can't help me. I'm helpless.

The editor asked me to find an image. Imagine my surprise; I thought I had set the article to publish with an image. No dice.

He asked me to find an image yesterday, and I've found several. I've been trying off and on all day long to get one to publish with my article. I finally just sent him an email, telling him that I'm not ignoring his request, just that I'm having huge technical difficulties.

I did not tell him that I believe there's a vast conspiracy to keep me from ever achieving anything in the visual realm.

Words, good. Pictures, bad. Who or what can help me?

First webzine article

My very first article written exclusively for the web (not including this blog, of course!) was published today. It's an introduction to Suzuki piano, and it's essentially the information I communicate to prospective students and their families when they contact me about piano lessons. Read it here.

A shocking lack of discipline

Everyone is at school or work, the house is quiet, and I'm supposed to be writing an article that's due tomorrow. I'm just not motivated to do it.

This is quite possibly the only chance I'll have today to write in peace and quiet. I'm not interested.

Restlessness, thy name is facebook.