Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful
December 13^th, 2003
11:22 P. M.

It's pretty bad out there in Lexington, Kentucky right now. It's about 28 degrees Fahrenheit (about -2 C) and it's sleeting on top of about a quarter of an inch (a little over half a centimeter) of snow.
This kind of weather makes for great postcards, but terrible driving.

And I was out in it a few hours ago ... in a car which has a bad heater core. In case you're wondering what a bad heater core does, well, it can make the interior of your car smell like hot anti-freeze (warm propylene glycol, num num!) and can cause your defroster to do the exact opposite of what it's supposed to do.

Hence, why I was looking at getting another car. I know that it would be easier, maybe even cheaper, in the short run to get that fixed, but I'm thinking more about the long term here. It costs me anywhere from 80 to 100 dollars a month to put gas in this car, and I'm looking for a lot more efficiency.
So, for my own benefit now ... I know it's not very entertaining to read someone thinking at his keyboard ... I'm going to recap what I need out of a car;

A good heater core

better fuel efficiency

quieter exhaust system.

Those are the most important points to me. I want my windshield to be clear at all times, I want to be able to run between my home and my sister's (some 620 miles away) on a single tank of gas, and I want it so quiet that I can not only hear myself think, I could also hear my passengers think. (I wonder if any of that is unrealistic?)

*** ** *** ** *** **

What prompted the thoughts about the car is that I was, as I stated earlier, out in this weather earlier. I was out shopping for a specific item tonight.

I know I posted about my father putting together a new band, but I can't quite recall if I've posted about my job in it. He's invited me to run sound for them. Now, I don't know if he's run this idea past the other guys or not. But, one thing is for sure ... all the guys have been encouraging me to play an instrument (or two) with them. I'm hoping it's only at rehearsals ... I haven't played an instrument for a crowd since I played viola for the last time in sixth grade (way back in '86 ... the year I met TRS).

I, therefore, have some miniscule experience with a four stringed instrument ... so picking up bass guitar might not be so hard ...
If there weren't 17 years of forgetfulness and a totally different set of strings!

I do remember the scales ... fairly simple really. Half steps and whole steps, that sort of thing. If you know the pattern, you can play an eight note scale starting at any note. 3 whole steps then a half step then 3 more whole steps and a half step to get to the octave. All a matter of practice.

All the while I was playing viola, I was also in chorus. When I gave up the viola, I did not give up chorus. It's hard to pay for an instrument that is built into the human body.

So, while I was in chorus, I was still learning music theory ... and I was being taught scales on a piano. I can find middle C on a keyboard ... I know the pattern for a major scale ... I remember quite a bit of music theory since I stayed in chorus so long ... all I need to do is

Practice

Practice

Practice!
And, I intend to do just that.

How does this tie in to the old car v. new car argument? The complaining about the driving conditions?
I'll tell you.
I went out tonight and bought myself a Yamaha PSR-170. I fully intend to learn everything I should have learned about music 15 or 20 years ago. I wonder how it's going to turn out...