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April 4, 2004 at 3:34 AM

I visited the doctor a couple of days ago, and he recommended that I get my blood drawn. The nurse who did it was incredibly skilled at her job and I hardly felt the prick. Before I knew it, she was bandaging up my arm and whisking the scarlet tube of blood away. "Boy, you're good!" I beamed at her...which, of course, was the cue for the pain to kick in. Ouch, ouch, ouch!!! Needless to say I got quite a few questioning looks as I stumbled out of the clinic clutching my arm and groaning maniacally.

So, unfortunately, I have not been playing violin or cello or piano as much as I'd like to lately.

(Interesting side-note... My mother asked the nurse what medical students practice on when they're first learning how to draw blood. Apparently they don't start on apples or oranges or kiwis like you'd think, but rather...drumroll, please...on their fellow classmates! This was fascinating - and admittedly a little repulsive, too. "We just mottled each other up," the nurse said cheerfully, "but thankfully I had good veins. The others weren't so lucky." Something to think about next time you get your blood drawn!)

I apologize for the lack of musicality in my blog entries so far. I hope I haven't been boring you. Hopefully I will be a little more violinistic once the pain in my arm subsides and I am able to play again.

In closing, here's one of my favorite musical quotes, said by Karlheinz Stockhausen when he was instructing a friend how to interpret one of his compositions. "Think nothing. Wait until it is absolutely still within you. When you have attained this, begin to play."

Such a beautiful philosophy! I wish more performers would follow it.