And so it begins, again.

By now, school has begun again for most. In Basel, the Musik-Akademie is buzzing with new and returning students trying to get their timetables sorted out.

For me things seem to look much brighter than they did 12 months ago. There's a certain comfort level which wasn't present when I had just moved to the city and only knew a few people. A year later I can't seem to walk ten paces without running into a familiar face on campus, something I wasn't expecting even now.

It's strange how that feeling can change your attitude entirely. This week, despite my addiction to summer television rendering me immobile, I've still managed to send off tons of emails, began working on a program while researching another, composed a piece for bassoon, and, to top it off, have already clocked 7.5 hours of practice.

Does your social comfort level correlate with your productivity factor? Of course the nature of the business requires a large network of contacts, but even the feeling of isolation affected my drive the practice. How ironic that I need to feel that I have a healthy social life in order to want to lock myself in a room alone for hours.