Summer-loving

Greetings, friends! As of yesterday, I am now done with my spring semester at school. Many who know me ask, "What will you do this summer, Danny?" Well, I have plans to travel a bit--this weekend I'm going to the mountains of North Carolina, and I intend to go to New York City and Toronto with a friend in mid-July, plus a hopeful trip to Florida to visit some old friends at some point before this autumn.

I also intend to resume either music or art lessons, as well as something physical--maybe sword-fighting or ninjutsu, or fencing or archery. A friend recently invited me to take circus acrobatics lessons with them, so that's certainly something to consider. As for guitar, piano, painting, and drawing: I can practice on my own, but lessons may not hurt, if I can afford them.

Believe it or not, I'm even beginning to consider singing once more. It might help my speaking voice, if anything.... I eventually want to be able to sing and play a few basic instruments (piano, guitar, violin) as well as some less "mainstream" ones (bagpipe, mandolin, taiko, erhu). I don't need to be perfect at all of them, but I do enjoy variety. The 'pipes might prove difficult, not only due to being a tough one to play, but due to potential complaints from family or neighbors--those things are loud!

As for painting, I recently painted a flower in a field with oil paints and acrylics (the moral is, don't mix the two if you want an easy task!), and an acrylic dragon head (pictured above), based on a  pair of identical bookends I own. Having bought several more canvases of varying sizes, I fully intend to paint more.

The other great thing? I have more time to read and write (and blog) now! I have several novels and screenplays plotted out or in the works, a bit of which I've actually written in some cases, and a heavy reading list. My own writing is mostly epic fantasy - my first love - but I've also got urban fantasy, science fiction (mainly inter-dimensional stuff and one dealing with neuroscience and cognitive psychology), supernatural horror, and even a few realistic pieces--both dramatic and comedic. Summer will be a good time to write more.

For those interested, my reading list includes the following:

• Elantris, Warbreaker, The Way of Kings, and Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
• The Name of the Wind, The Wise Man's Fear, and The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
• The Wish, Fairest, and A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine
• Inkspell, Inkdeath, and Reckless by Cornelia Funke
• How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker
• Cosmos by Carl Sagan
• Hyperspace and Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku
• Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
• Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• The Holy Bible (King James Version)
• The Qur'an (modern English translation)
• Druid Power by Amber Wolfe
• It and The Shining by Stephen King
• Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal
• The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
• ...and more!

I may or may not finish all of those, and it's subject to change, but I'm excited to have more time now!

Additionally, I'm going to see if I can access any horse farms, local or otherwise, within the next few months. I haven't ridden in a couple of years.

One can only hope that all this distracts me from the blazing Southern sun.