once, josh bought me a piano for my birthday. he did an amazing job surprising me with it. the morning it arrived, i had even randomly left the room when it was delivered, and so upon walking back to the living room i suddenly saw a piano where previously there had been nothing.

i was kind of lonely in portland, so having my own piano in my own apartment felt like having an old friend move in with me. i was still new to portland, and freshly transported from urban life, so having a piano in my apartment was an unbelievable treat. i went to work and practiced diligently, and found a sheet music store where i indulged in things like a Chopin book, some lesser known Debussy, and later - Erik Satie. i wasn't very familiar with Satie, but as i recall someone at my workplace had a few songs on our shared server, so i was determined to learn them.

there were two apartments above me, and unbeknownst to me they enjoyed listening to my piano playing. this was good to know, because i didn't particularly hit it off with the woman directly above me when i'd first moved in (she thought my Broadcast album was too loud - at 8pm - and stomped on her floor my very first night).

what were these songs - the gymnopedies? i learned 1 and 2 very well. they weren't very technically difficult, i was trying mainly to work on expression and essence, really reading the instructive words on the sheet music. trying to make the melody sing. many friends were Satie fans, and i likened him to be an old-school dream pop fiend. (And Debussy, early shoe gazing).

if i had a piano today, would i have the same drive to emote and play with heart?