Hello, Blog.

Considering I have a relatively uneventful life, the idea of starting a blog is somewhat ridiculous. However, here I am, doing just that. Prepare yourself for the boring. :)

The weather has been superb: hot and dry. In the evenings it is a little breezy so I can take the dog running without us both overheating. She can get very hyper if she can't run off her energy. She walks quietly most of the time, but now and then I let her bounce up and down and bark at birds, and she always gets to stop at her trees. Her trees are the ones that have at some point in the past year had a squirrel in them. She has to investigate them by peering into the branches intently every time we pass them, just in case the squirrel might be there again. There's even a telephone pole she has to check regularly.

I've decided to pick up playing the violin again. I'm not even a fan of the violin (unless it's Perlman, Zukerman, or possibly Heifetz playing) but I like music and as long as I'm pianoless I'm willing to fiddle around in the mean time. (Pun actually not intended.) I am by no means a good violinist. My mom says I have a good ear and read music well, so it's just a pity I can't actually make the violin make the sounds I'm thinking. The bow likes to hop up and down and make shrill noises that make my dog whine, along with various other sounds that aren't really possible to explain. I also don't curve my fingers right, and my wrist either bends in the wrong places or doesn't bend at all. Meanwhile I pretend to play pieces by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Grieg, although they aren't actually recognizable unless you have a good imagination.

I've just sent in a mail-in rebate for my new phone. It's a SYNC, which is basically the Samsung's version of the Motorola RAZR, except that it looks a 100 times better. I'm quite fond of it, although I haven't been able to use it to its full potential yet. It didn't come with a USB cord or the MicroSD card it can use, so all the pictures I've taken with it I can't upload to my computer. I also have to buy special Samsung headphones for the MP3 player. All of which can be bought fairly cheaply; I simply haven't gotten around to ordering it.

Um, so I guess that's all for now.

--Merc

P.S. Just look at this incredible 11 year old violinist!