
That self-pat-on-the-back lasted mere hours, when I found myself agreeing to play in a concert in Clarion, Pennsylvania on Sunday. Instead of leasurily making plans for the weekend, I'm now frantically planning out when I'll go grocery shopping, when I should practice (since I just got the music last night), and what other chores I'll be able to accomplish tonight and tomorrow. I think I do this to myself because of the challenge of playing a concert of music I've never seen or heard before. An added bonus is that it's a paid gig, but that's not as important to me.
Another downside? I'm getting a ride to the concert with the woman who organizes the Warren Riverside Players, a chamber orchestra. She got me to commit earlier in the year to playing in their summer concert. I was considering backing out of that since we haven't started rehearsals, but I think she might hunt me down if I tried to now.
A sidenote: All this performing is pretty appropriate considering I will have been a Violinist for 20 years this August.