You know it�s Tuesday when yesterday was Monday, but otherwise it could be any day of the week.

The one student I was supposed to teach this afternoon called this morning sounding totally congested. She was hit with the malaise during the choir concert Sunday night, but not until after her big solo. Phew! We shall tack this lesson onto next term then. Luckily she didn�t have to sing a jury today.

I taught my two second-instrument students this morning, the one spending the whole time on trying to get her to open up her head voice. I am actually having some success here. We use the image of the walnut or pingpong ball on her tongue to make space within her mouth and a cavern or Sistine Chapel dome in the back to raise her soft palate, and sometimes she makes a good sound. Today we worked especially on singing in tune, centering the sound inside her head so she can actually hear what she is doing in relation to the piano. This girl is such a challenge; it is taking all my know-how and patience to make even baby steps with her.

The other is much easier, being bright and catching on very quickly to concepts. She�s not �encumbered� with problems the way the other one is, so it�s more a matter of building up with her instead of breaking down. I�m glad this one follows the other. I would hate to have to end my day with the first one.

Afterwards (after a few games of spider solitaire, that is) I got to talking to a couple of students in the lobby, one a flutist, the other a pianist, and we ended up going for lunch together to the Grill, where we spent several hours discussing everything from performance anxiety to inter-cultural love to bra shopping to whether or not I should insist on a solo in the coming choir concert. They think I should. It was lovely, actually. One girl is very interested in women in music, and women in general looking at their history of liberation and lack thereof through the ages, and I think she and harri3tspy would have much in common to discuss.

One of my DiaryIand friends has informed me that his place of employment has blocked all employee IP addresses from access to the internet (the exception being that he can still get his email as it�s on a company server) and he can no longer update or read diaries from work. He�s reduced to playing hearts and solitaire until such time as company policy changes. Poor guy. What a bummer. He�ll have to sneak off to the public library after work daily in order to get his DiaryIand fix.

Tonight is the last writing group of the year (sob!), so I will savour it. But first I�m off to brush my teeth. It wouldn�t do to go out with broccoli between them.

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