Sunday Update (on monday)

I meant to post last night while still in the moment, but, I should make a note, crawling into bed ready for bed and taking out the old laptop only works if you’re not that tired.



Sunday was a lost day in the first half and yet still very full. I did manage to make myself a decent breakfast – homemade blueberry pancakes (local blueberries from a friend who bought 400 lbs of the small wild kind and shared a huge amount with me), and finished up the Niman Ranch Apple Smoked bacon - mmmm. And I did the dishes – well half of them. The counters are cleared but the dishwasher is at that awkward ¾ full where you hate to run it but you’re starting to need some of the stuff in it. I then proceeded to nap until running out the door to go down to Hingham to pick up a table from craigslist. It was a beautiful crisp, sunny, cold day – perfect for a Sunday drive down to the South shore. And so comfortable with the new car and the GPS leading the way. I’m still getting the hang of the directions it gives and could have sworn it told me to turn left several times when it was indicating turning right on the screen. I think it might be messing with me but haven’t actually caught it in the act yet. I’m watching.



After picking up the table I plugged in the dealership’s address to go get my fob programmed. I’m still using the old fashioned way of driving and locking my car – with a key. I think I have a system where I don’t have to use the key at all – the proximity kind. Well, I wind my way through Boston to Comm Ave and as I’m trying to find the place I think I should call ahead and let them know I’m coming. That’s when I notice on the back of the card that I had written down the hours and the place closed at 4 pm on Sunday and it was 5 after 4 and I couldn’t find the place. So I scratched it. It can keep. So called my friend D as he wanted to go check out guitars together. I made it to Guitar Center first and was trying out a few of the lower end nylon string kind (classical). Uninterrupted by staff in a small room off the main part. Of course, I had no clue what I was doing, but it was fun pretending.



D shows up with S and his 18 month old son which was a pleasant surprise. S and I went to college together way back when and haven’t seen each other for awhile. It was fun hanging out and trying out the different guitars. The ¾ guitar I was supposed to pick up from my friend to borrow was there, and sounded awful. It actually sounded so awful I contemplated buying a used guitar then and there. Turns out the one I picked out couldn’t be purchased for another two weeks. I guess the things can be “hot” so they need to hold them for 30 days so the police can do a proper check. Who knew. Worked out perfectly though.



While at the store I get a text from my girlfriend that I was going to go out with later that night and she wanted to reschedule. A little bummed, but also a bit worn out from the busy week, so didn’t mind. D and I ended up heading over to S’s and we all took his three older kids out for some nighttime sledding in Brookline. So we finally all get bundled up, van is packed with a slew of sleds, and I get squeezed in between two car seats and three very talkative kids. It was awesome. We drive through this residential neighborhood, up a hill and bam, there it is – this slope for sledding with an amazing backdrop of the Boston skyline from Fenway to the Hancock to downtown. It was a great setting for nighttime sledding. And we had the hill all to ourselves. Luckily we brought flashlights which the three kids held onto. Brilliant as you could always keep track of where they were anywhere on the hill. Needless to say, I wasn’t really dressed properly and my once roomy, now much tighter, jeans did not offer up much protection. After we stopped for hot coca and my underwear was so wet. But I have to say, there is something about being out in the winter enjoying the winter sports and hearing the unfiltered laughter of little kids enjoying themselves, screaming as they go down the hill backwards.



And by the time we got back my friends who I was picking up the guitar from were back in town. So we head over to JP and the guitar I’m borrowing sounds nothing like the crappy one in the store. I’m stoked. I had tried a Yamaha or something and this is a baby Martin. The guys had a good time sharing stories and stuff about guitars and hit it off. On my way back end up swinging by D’s place and he fixes the guitar up (well almost – need an allen wrench for one thing). All in all it was another surprising evening – wonderful and different then what I expected. It was a great way to close out the crazy week, with the comfort of familiarity of old friends and new experiences. And I found out that I can drive from Beacon Hill to my place in about 10 minutes if it’s really late at night (i.e. midnight).



And I get home and check email and there are a slew of emails from the boys. So no need to hop onto match quite yet – let’s see how this batch works out. This week will be busy with the round of second dates. I’m excited but more nervous as it gets into communicating better. Having been recently on the receiving end of poor communication I realized I can handle this better and be up front about the direction I think things are going. I’ve of course I’ve conveniently left out, that not all the emails were from the new guys. I’m still getting mixed messages from previous guys I had written off. So who knows? I sure don't. This whole thing is crazy but I’ve learned it’s healthier not to put all your eggs in one basket at this point in the game. We’ll see how it all unfolds. See, I’m learning. Still confused, but trying.



So now, I’m listening to the CD that came with the lesson book and all I want to do is cut out early from work and go home and get started. Of course, I’m now listening to the advanced stuff which looks complicated. It’s all finger picking – no chords and strumming. But I think it should work for me as it’s very similar to piano. I guess this week will be the test to see how much the years of piano actually come into play when picking up another instrument.