New Hobbies

In order to fill my down time after work I have picked up a few hobbies along the way. First off I've started reading more. Although it's always been a hobby of mine it was always put on the back burner until the summer months when I was bored enough to pick up book after book. Well thanks to joys of public transportation and midday breaks between classes, I have plenty of time to read. I just finished "Bringing Out the Dead" by Joe Connelly, which sucked. I am just starting "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire, which I have heard good things about.

In addition to the reading I have picked up the guitar. I've always wanted to learn how to play but never had the resources, ie. a guitar or a teacher, to do so. Well I inherited a guitar from a friend in a band. It's a crappy beginner's acoustic made in Korea but it does the trick and hell, it was FREE! My teacher is a very good friend of mine, Rex. He's Jennifer's boyfriend, which makes the long trips he makes out here to give me a lesson worth while for all parties involved. He's a good teacher and so far he's managed to teach me Greenday's "When I Come Around", "My Girl" by Nirvana, "Glycerine" by Bush and "Angry Chair" by Alice in Chains, (which I've never heard before but can play nonetheless). I really enjoy playing the C and G chords because they sound like real songs. I would really like to start writing my songs but I'm having a very chicken before the egg experience with it. I'm not sure if one writes lyrics first and then plays around with various chords that sound appropriate or if one plays some chords that sound good and then write lyrics to fit the rhythm and sound of the guitar.

Anyway he's promised to teach me how to play John Lennon's "Imagine" before he leaves in May and I've promised myself that I will buy a new, better guitar before I leave. The criteria for me buying my own guitar though is that I am able to strum a few chords, maybe play a few songs on any potential purchase while still in the store so that it appears as though I know what I'm doing. Hopefully one of my next few blogs will be about my sweet new guitar.

I have plans of leaving the old guitar in my apartment for my replacement so that they too might be inspired to learn something while they're here. I would leave the books too but they, unlike the guitar, were not free and I've spent too much money to just willingly leave them behind. I will probably ship them home, and by home I mean to your house Heath, since I don't in fact have a home.