I am reapplying myself to the guitar lessons. I'm going to try a reverse Lent by taking something on rather than giving something up.

I have the iPod plugged into a Scholz Rockman soloist. The Soloist has built-in chorus, slap echo, and 2 levels of distortion. As headphone amps go, it's pretty close to ideal. I went over Caroline No and Mow Mow for about 45 minutes.

So in preparation for guitar lesson number 2, I've chosen some songs I want to learn. Tonight I attempted to get the chord structure down for 2 of them. It's slow going after so many years of not playing, but I'm tackling John Zorn's Mow Mow and the Beach Boys' Caroline No.

So I've decided to start taking guitar lessons in the new year to improve my playing and to get out of a rut. I thougt it would be good to describe
1. my skill level
2. some holes in my abilities
3. some short- and long-term goals.

Skill level
I know the basic major and minor chords in the first position
I know how to make both major and minor bar chords, ie, the g-major and the c-major style.
I can play a 7th chord in 3 positions
I can play the pentatonic blues scale in 3 or 4 positions
I can play the major scale in 3 or 4 positions

Some holes
I can't identify a key signature. If I could, that would dictate playing position
I don't know the modes of a scale at all
I don't know the notes up and down the fretboard
I can't choose scales or modes based on a chord progression -- this is what keeps me stuck in the pentatonic ghetto

Some goals
Become more familiar with the entire fretboard
Get a little deeper into chord theory
Work out of a larger/different set of chord changes
Get some knowledge of scales and modes to play against those chords

I built my own hell

I'm getting less and less confident of my ability to properly identify irony, for which I blame Alanis Morrisette.

Anyway, I saw a bit in CityPaper that someone was offering bicycle yoga down my way. So I got on my bike to check it out. And crashed hard on the way over. I was on 12th Street and trying to avoid the trolly tracks. I think I actually caught my front tire on the track and then went over. Banged up my elbow and hip, strained my shoulder, tore the sleeve of my lightweight shell. If Master_Nefer wanted to hear my mad skills with the F-bomb, this would have been the opportunity par excellence.

So I bagged yoga and went home to nurse my wounds.

OTOH, the studio offers a year's worth of yoga (unlimited number of classes) for $365. So I may be going back.

I want to upgrade to Tiagra 9-speed from Sora 8-Speed, and I have a double crank with 48t and 39t chainrings

Shimano's web site (http://bike.shimano.com/publish/content/global_cycle/en/us/index/products/road/tiagra/product.-code-RD-4500-SS.-type-rd_road.html) gives he following specs, and I'm not sure how to interpret all of them.

Maximum Sprocket 27T
Minimum Sprocket 11T

This part I understand: this shows the lowest and highest gear the derailleur will handle.

Maximum Front Difference 16T

I take it this is the big chainring minus the small chainring.

Total Capacity 31T

What does this number represent, and does it affect my choice of cassette?

So people who know me know that my food comes from Trader Joe's just like my clothes come from Gap Outlet.

I was in TJs this afternoon, having ridden over on my bike. For once, I took my helmet off and put it in my cart. I grabbed some coffee and put it in the cart, then stepped away to wait for the free samples to get served up. When I turned around, some idiot had made off with my cart.

I got hot, the staff got on the PA and asked if someone had a helmet that they didn't come in with, and could they bring it up to the front desk. The cart (and helmet) finally showed up abandoned nowhere near the front desk, presumably because the lame-o was too embarrassed to admit they were too lazy to grab their own cart before entering and too stupid to think I wouldn't miss my personal property for a while.

Only my desire to keep shopping there forced me to restrain the usual blue language I use when things go wrong.

So I got an e-mail saying that my account is being processed. I'm very happy to have a way to exhaust our suppy of fossil fuels without actually owning a car. Speaking of fossil fuels, could we get oil out of John McCain the way they get it out of shale?

Trader Joe's has it. I put some in with some sauteed carrots and green peppers, and I made wraps for tomorrow's lunch. It looks and tastse pretty spicy, but it's nothing like the stuff I had in Spain.

Also, went back to weight training at home after a week off. Feels pretty good.

So I signed the lease today. I got another, better look at the new place. The bedroom is larger than I thought (larger than the living room, apparently). And the floors are hardwood except the kitchen, which is as roomy as I remembered.

Some things I noted in my neighborhood:

A branch of my bank very close by
A laundromat within 2 blocks

I went out onto 9th Street for a reconnoiter. One vendor was selling poblano chiles, so I can learn to make chiles rellenos. And of course I saw all other manner of lovely produce.

And I roamed around in Fante's for a spell. With a larger kitchen, I plan to do some cooking like I couldn't do in my current digs.

My new landlord just called back and it looks like I have an April 1st move-in.

I went to look at a new place this morning. There is enough room for me and all of my stuff, which isnt' true in my present location. I'll be a few blocks from the Italian Market in a 3rd story 1-bedroom.

I made a date with a former co-worker. If I could have gone back in time and made her more cultured, that might have worked.

I finally printed out the stuff for my sister's and nephew's t-shirts and cut the stencils yesterday. Today I took all my stuff out on the deck and did the stenciling.



When I first sprayed this one I couldn't tell if the bleach was working, but it kind of bloomed when I was doing the second one.

My good friend Stevie Ray turns 40 this month. In his honor, I etched a glass tumbler from Foster's. It might be a little hard to read, but it says "40" on one side and "Oh Shit!" on the other side.

I had Thursday off so that I would be available to travel to NJ to celebrate my mother's b-day. And I'd been meaning to buy some glass etching solution for a birthday project for a friend. But apparently it's illegal to sell glass etching supplies in Philadelphia. So I took my bike on Patco to Westmont and then rode up Route 38 to Moorestown to the Eastgate Consumatorium and A.C. Moore. And I got some nice craft supplies for my mom's birthday. Then I rode to Cinnaminsky from Moorestown.

The Pearl Izumi Wooly Mammoth longsleeve top with a light shell over it turns out to be quite the thing for a +/- 40 degree ride. Knee warmers are a must, and warm headgear and gloves are also on the list. I did about 10 miles, which is nothing huge, but after not riding for so long and then being sick, it felt really good. I rode with my Timbuk2 bag and went to Trader Joe's on the way home.

All in all, a very good late morning jaunt.

I managed to make myself walk to Whole Foods in search of a neti pot. For those of you unfamiliar with this device, it's an irrigation device for your nasal sinuses.

And on the way to Whole Foods I stopped at the Library on Logan Square to get a library card. Such a citizen I am! They lend CDs, so I'm listening to Chet Baker, Dave Holland, Ali Farka Toure, Rufus Harley, and Trilok Gurtu.

Anyway, the neti pot has changed my life! My nose feels much better!

So I made the trip to NY to see family, driving by car with my parents and my sister's MIL. I enjoyed my stay, and the relative comfort of sleeping in a cool (as opposed to warm) room. And the cats who stayed in my room and snuggled on the bed with me. But the shift from cool room to my tropical apartment seems to be the cause of a debilitating sinus infection. The folks at Kleenex will be making their bonuses off of my affliction.

First the jazz:

Eastern Seaboard and Schemes of Omission at the Rotunda last night.
ES are a trio of sax, double bass, and drums. ES were actually pretty good when the hit a groove, but there were stretches where they seemed to be miming the actions of a jazz band more than playing like a jazz band. I'm becoming convinced that the saxophone is the work of the devil, what with the honks and squeaks that come out in place of melodies. And I'm also discovering that I can listen a bad band as long as there's a good drummer.

S of O were vibes, harp (yes, like the angels play), double bass, and sax. The strategy implied in the name was that the arrangements left out portions of melody in each instrument's part to let the music breathe a bit more. The bit I stayed for was a long tone poem, very slow, stately even. It wasn't really doing it for me, so I left before their set was over.

The mangoes:

Trader Joe's has chili-spiced dried/candied mango slices. This is an even better use of chilis than TJ's chili-lime cashews. Highly recommended by yrs trly.