14 October 2002 - 11:14

This is not, by any means, the first diary I've ever had.

The first diary I ever had was a little pink book that I wrote in sporadically with blue ink (which had a very distinctive scent) from 31 Dec 1989 - August 1990

My next substantive diary was two spiral bound notebooks that I wrote in nigh daily with pencil, 1 July 1994 - February, 1995. Naturally I was the paragon of wit and charm that I remain today.

So without further ado, an entry from exactly 8 years ago today (age 12):

Dear Diary Fri, Oct 14, 1994

Mercy and I are entering our first Agility match tomorrow!! It's held by support dogs at Purina Farms, and it lasts all day. You have to sign in at 9 (we have to leave at 8!), and you spend until 12:15 mostly sitting there, except for 2 10-minute practice sessions. At 12:15 the "competition" begins. It's no big deal, just a fun event, the prizes are rosettes awarded 1st through 10th place, but I'm still excited!! I hope Mercy has fun. {star}

The rabbit cages still haven 't come, but we got a 50lb bag of Purina rabbit chow and a garbage can to put it in.

{clipped 1.5 pages of wondering what happened to my idols, Lori & Corey Cole (authors of the Quest for Glory series) after they were fired from Sierra On-Line}

I want to learn to play the lute. The piano's fun, and I'm gonna keep learning it, but a piano is so... victorian. Now a lute--minstrels in the middle ages would wander the countryside, singing and playing their lutes. It's romatic, and portable.

Portable? Yes, portable. See, you can't take a piano with you out in the woods, play it away from other people, amongst birds and squirrels and butterflies. I know, I know, I'm a silly romantic.

The only problem is, where do we find a lute? I guess we should try a music store. Then, of course, there's price. Mustical instruments are not cheap. Then there's music--who's gonna write music for a lute?

Lastly, how am I going to learn to play with no teacher?

Mercy and I had a great time at the competition (detailed in the following entry) and won third place. The rabbit cages arrived and were built, although with some strife and yelling. Three bunnies were brought home, though one died right a way, and two more were picked up a good while later. They were cute and fluffy, but after some years they all went on to the great bunny hutch in the sky. I got to attend a public on-line chat with Lori & Corey, and they did eventually get to pen the last QfG installment. I never acquired or received any instruction in the lute.

And now you know.