The last few days I was finally able to buckled down for some serious practicing.  Yesterday after a solid 7 hours practice, I realized what I had missed the most this whole time, a little bit of alone time with my piano. Musicians have a intimate relationship with their instruments, it's a love hate situation where practicing wears you out, and also keep you in a constant frustration with the pieces that you are learning, but if you don't do it, nothing feels quite right, a similar problem with a true smoker, I suppose, or a caffeine addict. On the other hand, when you emerge from a long day of solitude with your instrument, you take on a whole different look on life. I think piano it's the furthest thing from instant gratification, because you have to get down to the bones of each pieces, savor it, eat with it, sleep with it, dream about it, and grow with it. It's like getting to know a friend, when you scratch off the surface, you begin to truly see what's buried underneath, and when you get there, it's a wonderful feeling.