I have to admit that I was completely nervous doing this. While I love playing concert music, I'm not really much of a musician - first, I don't practice, and second, I don't have a natural aesthetic sense for anything (music, art, writing; and when I go clothes shopping, I always bring my best friend along so that she can dress me), so my music, if I practice, is technically correct but not emotional at all. So, in general, I choose to play music in settings where I can hide behind the good musicians. This is why I don't play oboe. Of course, in a band or orchestra, there is only one timpani player, so it stands out. To me, this felt like I was playing a solo, something I have never done and always avoided, and my heart pounded all the way through. Adrenaline for the win!
The other big thing I've been hitting with a stick today is an outline for a story that I might try to write for NaNoWriMo. It's the same one that I had planned to do last year but had lost interest in. A friend of mine asked me what my idea was, so I wrote out a summary, and by the time I had finished that, I realized that I actually did have a full and coherent story in mind and might actually be able to do it. So now I'm editing that summary into an outline, adding in all the ideas that I wrote in my notes last year that I forgot about while writing the summary from memory. So, maybe I will actually attempt NaNoWriMo. I'm not sure the story is long enough, but I might as well try. This will all hinge on having the outline ready by Nov. 1, because if it's not, I know I won't feel motivated to stick out the entire month.
