Happy Holidays from my Clan to Yours!

Click it! Click it!

I can officially say that I got my card done ON TIME this year. Unless you live in a more eastern timezone than I do, in which case you're way too picky.

Have an excellent year!

The Belly & The Guitar

Didn't think it was possible? Well, it is!
Of course this means I have no excuse for not practicing now, doesn't it? Eek! I think I've forgotten everything!

Better get started.

Hmm...I'm now noticing that I am more and more shaped like that guitar.

Ow! Ow! Ow!

Now I know G, D, C, E-, and A- chords. I can't transition worth a damn, my fingers are buzzing and swollen and I can't type for very long with my left hand, but I'd say I'm progressing as well as can be expected! My plan is to practice like mad this weekend in the hopes that the kids in class WON'T be practicing and that I'll be "caught up" in time for Monday's class.

Ow! Ow! Ow!

Hatchet's first day of school

I was all wound up last night and couldn't sleep. My first day of school! Again! For the 3rd or 4th (or more, if we include anything prior to college) first-day-of-school time! I was nervous.

I don't know why. Man, it's a guitar class! Why was I nervous? I don't know, other than to speculate that it has something to do with going out of my comfort zone for the first time in...uh...two years.

I had to get a bus pass (Not covered by student fees - why?). I had to figure out the route. I had to figure out where the class was held and get there on time! Yes, the mind boggles that any of this would give me stress, but think about how simple your life becomes when you only ever go to the same set of places you've gone before?

Riding the bus was interesting. It's been so long since I've been on public transportation in Colorado that the experience was all new. The warning signs were even different.

No smoking. (OK) No eating or drinking. (OK) No loud radio playing, wear ear phones. (New to me) No gambling. (Whaaaat?)

No sign against spitting, as they used to have in NY, but no gambling? Since when did people start gambling on the buses?

And the advertisement posters on the wall/ceiling (what do you call that part of the bus?) ranged from poetry to warnings against suspicious looking activities to composting. Composting?! I kid you not! Although I did think their photograph was deceptive since the first image was all This is your yard. [Boring/weedy yard pic] This is your yard on compost. [Lush flower filled yard] The thing I noticed was the first image wasn't of a yard, it was of a potential vegetable bed! One small section of a bed, before planting season, even. Humph. But at least they're trying! I give them points for trying.

Anyway, back to our nervous heroine....

I found the classroom and the door was locked. Convinced that it was because I was early, I just hung around for awhile. Kind of bothered me that I was the only one that was early for the first day of class. After 15 minutes a kid showed up (Ooh! He's a sophmore! They're so cute!), also looking for the same class. We compared our amazing guitar skills (We both know which way to hold it - that's it!) and were relieved that it wasn't a classed separated by people with mad skillz and us.

Several more minutes passed. No one else showed up.

My new friend whipped out his cell phone and called the music secretary who informed him that the teacher would be there in half an hour. I thought we only had to wait 15 minutes before blowing a class off? the instructor was so lucky that kid was there! Well, maybe it was me that was the lucky one....Suddenly, as we closed on the half hour, other people started showing up. This is weird. I thought to myself. A feeling of uncertainty grew within me. The teacher showed up, took one look at me and said, "You're new!"

Um? New? Isn't today the first day of class?

Uh, no. As a matter of fact, despite the three emails from Cont. Ed. stating that class started this week, today was the fourth day of class. I and my new young friend have missed 4 sessions. Oh and the class time is now half an hour later than it was originally scheduled.

Oh.

Oh dear.

The teacher was very patient. The room was filled with cacophony as everyone tuned their guitars at the same time. Except me, because I didn't know how. Ugh. Then we jumped right into 3 chords (G, D, C. Val, are those the Holy Chords of Rock and Roll?) that everyone but me (and my pal) learned during the last 4 sessions. Ack! Never having picked up a guitar before (I tried the bass, very different!), I had no idea where to put my fingers. Discovered right away that I needed to cut my nails off completely (no big loss) and that it HURTS!

Yow!

I fervently look forward to callouses.

I came close to crying with frustration about 3 times. Oh, great! Pregnant, overly emotional, flustered and failing at guitar class all within the first hour? Dang!

Fortunately, it got better.

At the end of class, I took my swollen fingered self off to commiserate with Eric in the bottom of a cup of hot chocolate and promised to practice like mad between now and Wednesday, whenever my whimpering fingers will let me.

In between bouts of unconsciousness, of course.

So, my question for you is this: what songs should I learn to play?

Please don't say Stairway to Heaven.