Over the last month, all my writing effort has been going into the development of my thesis proposal, which in part explains the decline of blog posts here. In fact, I can already foresee that over the next year, I will pay a lot less attention to leaving online breadcrumbs. I will strive to post at least a monthly-update as I have continued to do, but I won’t try to do any more than that. It’s a combination of the thesis work, as well as the random ideas I tend to throw around actually catching and slowly growing. It’s the mind-boggling excitement that a parent experiences when their child stands on their two feet for a few seconds before falling on their butt, or when that child finds their first playmate. It’s hardly worth noting in the grand scheme of things, but they are milestones that keep you going along a pursuit that is mostly unglamorous, and if it weren’t for love, no sane human being would put themselves through it.

In addition to proposal writing, some old thread are getting picked up. After meeting Kiku Day at the Music Knowledge Conference, we co-submitted a proposal to the DIY Citizenship conference and got accepted! This is exciting, except for the fact that it’s not a paper we need to submit, but an exhibition space. The opportunity to be creative is always exciting, and I am looking forward to what we’ll come up with. Greg Adams and I have also been in more conversation about his Banjo project. He was about the one person who could read my music knowledge organization model paper and actually go through it with genuine interest and provide insightful feedback.

I also made some new contacts in my own city that are pursuing research-based enterprises relating to music. One of them is Sina Fallah, who brings a cognitive science perspective to address the lack of music education programs for students with reduced aural, visual and motor abilities due to different reasons. Another is an MIR researcher whom my brother introduced me to, who recognizes the complimentary nature of a community development and software development. His team has a weekly that might serve as a great place for me to not just bounce my ideas around, but apply them in their development projects.

While these certainly have been great highlights of the month, I am also taking the time to slow down a bit and step out of the constant motion for a bit. I discovered a great park nearby that’s perfect for a picnic or a lazy day in nature. Found a new cafe with a frozen yogurt that I am addicted to. Life is a marathon, and recently I was reminded that the price of trying to stick with the pack may actually cost you the race. So I’m dropping back a bit from the pack, pat myself on the back on the gap I have closed between my starting point and the finish line I envisioned, and adjust my perspective to recognize that this is just one of many milestones to keep me going.

Life is too full of wonderful things to let them slip by unnoticed, even if you are in the middle of a race.