slow sad songs in 'a'.

it's official:  i am in love.

my parents bought me a violin for christmas.  its something i had talked about for years, wanted for longer, and just never got the guts to try it, so they kind of forced me into trying something new.  except this time, unlike cooked carrots and sweet potatoes, i am glad they forced me to give it a shot.  i absolutely love it!

thinking it was going to be a lot like playing guitar, i jumped right into it.  i at least understand the basics of stringed instruments, but the bow is killing me.  its a lot different for me, not knowing exactly where to put my fingers, working with fewer strings and simpler chords, but i'm getting the hang of it.  i have to take a step back to songs with three or four chords, and leave my minors and diminished chords behind, get back to the simple songs, when g, c, and d were all you really needed.

it hasn't been easy, spending 30 minutes just getting the damn thing in tune some days, getting evicted from the living room because i was so bad, screeching and scratching away at it.  but tonight, a buddy of ours who plays mandolin came over and thomas jumped on guitar and i did my best to keep up.  and it wasn't horrible! four days of playing under my belt and i can fake my way through at a very novice level.  very, very novice level.

today's victory: slow sad songs in "a".

well, you gotta start somewhere.

driving.

i work for a rental car company, so cars are kind of my thing.  i love cars.  all kinds of cars.  i drive a different car every day and could probably tell you as much about the features of any car as well as a salesman could.
fortunately i also love driving.

the coolest perk about my job is the free car.  i'll never forget the day i got promoted and they said, "take any car you want for the day."  it was about labor day when i got the job, and the weather was perfect.  sunny, not too hot, you could feel fall approaching;  i couldn't think of a better day.  there was a brand new ford mustang, white, tan leather interior.  i said, "can i have that one?" to which my boss said, "absolutely."  i had an appointment an hour away that day.  i drove that car as fast as i could, music blasting, windows down.  it was perfection.

i've gotten to take amazing cars home:  a mercedes crusier, a hot camaro with the v8 engine, the adorable volvo c30 hatchback that was made for driving the backroads of west by-god virginia.  i've also had to drive some horrible cars:  the toyota yaris hatchback, the smartcar that makes you wonder what will happen if you get rear-ended, a salvaged corolla that was somehow still operable even with the entire driver's side smashed in, because they were the only cars left on the lot.  but i still love trying them all out.

recently my job has caused me to spend less time in the air and more time behind the wheel, and i am so thrilled about this.  i've had to go to places i didn't really care for, but at least the drive was nice.  i could go the rest of the year without making another trip to wheeling, three hours away, but at least this time i get to do it in a sweet car.  i'm hoping tomorrow is a great day weatherwise, i hope my boss doesn't mind my ipod, and i hope the cops have already hit their quota with the holiday traffic.  it could turn out to be a fantastic day for a drive.