May 13, 2005 at 8:30 AM

Getting my bow rehaired downtown today took quite a bit of time, but on the upside (?) I was able to visit the Apple Store on Michigan and succumb to buying a 60 GB iPod photo (its affectionate name is "iSuck"). Hopefully I'll never need more space than that. Almost my entire hard drive is music, so I'll be glad to finally have it all in one small contraption, especially with traveling this summer. I've been finalizing plans to sublet an apartment this summer when I spend three weeks in Santa Barbara in late July and early August. I'll be taking viola lessons from Helen Callus, Professor at UCSB. The girl whose room I'm taking is also in the studio, and the apartment sounds great: reasonable rent, cable internet, a pool, grocery stores nearby, bus stops, and 15-20 minute walking distance to the music building. This will be my first experience living on my own in an apartment, so it should be good practice for next year. I won't be entirely alone though; I'll have three roommates, though I don't think they are musicians, so I'll see how they feel about my practicing and such.

Fairly busy day tomorrow with orchestra rehearsal and a sort of emergency trio coaching. Hopefully I'll still have time to focus and practice and rest up for Saturday. Speaking of which, bed sounds pretty good right now. Goodnight!