We’re going to switch from our ISP (Computer Solutions) to AT&T’s broadband service. It’s reportedly faster than DSL (1.5Mbps download and 256kbps upload, I think) and ends up being somewhat cheaper. I don’t know how long it’ll take to install, though. I’m probably going to put together an old Linux box (a 486 most likely) to serve as a router. It’ll be nice to have high-speed access for the last few months before I leave.

You know, it feels rather good to think that I’ll be leaving the world behind for two years. I won’t have to worry about my laptop dying on me, I won’t have to worry about school, I won’t have to worry about any of those kinds of things. I’ll just have to focus on serving the Lord and His children. It will be hard, of course — very hard — but it still feels wonderful to “sell all that I have and follow Him” (so to speak, that is — I probably won’t be selling very much, unless I feel I ought to). A mission is definitely what the Lord wants me to be doing for these two years.

I don’t think I’ll try to get a job this summer. Instead I’ll spend my time helping my family. We’re trying to get a handful of products off the ground (music note flashcards, a sheet music organizer cabinet, and a poetry copybook) and it’s more important for me to help out with those.

I want to learn to play the violin. I don’t leave till the end of August, and surely I can make a fair amount of progress by then. Even if I don’t, it’ll be good to discipline myself. And I’ve always loved the violin. It’s my favorite instrument. I wonder how far I can get in three and a half months… (Yes, I do realize that learning an instrument takes a serious investment in time. Heck, I wake up at 4:30 — I can shower, pray, read my scriptures for half an hour, practice violin for an hour (luckily I sleep in the basement, so I shouldn’t wake anyone up), then study Thai for an hour.) Speaking of Thai, I still haven’t started a formal study yet. I need to start soon, though. Anyway, I’m quite taken with this idea of learning the violin. I’ll have to teach myself, since all my money is being funneled into my mission and I can’t afford to spend any more. That shouldn’t be a problem, though. It’ll be a good case study of how successful one can be in teaching oneself an instrument (versus taking lessons, that is). When I get back from my mission I want to join one of the orchestras. Music has been superceded by school for the past few years, sadly, and I miss it. I haven’t done regular piano practice in two or three years.

Hmm, I haven’t done much work on the site for a while, other than this journal. ’Tis a pity. It’s hard to decide what deserves my time when there are so many things begging for my attention.