Well I have had my guitar for a week and now my left fingertips feel funny. I expect this is normal. Some observations:

First of all, thank you, everyone, for your dubious and contradictory advice in my last diary. I did take all your points on board and came to the conclusion that I was really not able to choose an instrument from an informed point of view.

So I did what my non-technical girlie friends do when they choose a laptop: go on looks, and price.

And here is my geetar:

• MFC technique link
• Stereo Ask Husi
• WFC idea, maybe
• Guitars, including...
• Another Ask Husi

I get this clicking sound when I put my fingers on the strings. Like I am grounding the guitar. What is this? How can I get rid of it?

driving me insane!

tiebreak: I'm going off the rails on a ......

Carnaval: four days dedicated to celebrate partying itself; the most self-referential holiday ever. I'm not a carnaval person by any measure. Like many, I usually take the opportunity to make trips, or just rest, as a "four day vacation" in the middle of February.

One year, though, (2000 or 2001, can't remember precisely) I decided to spend those four days recording music like crazy, to make up for the time I haven't been able to dedicate to that hobby -- to get that feeling of "I have all this stuff written that would be nice to have recorded if only I had the time" behind me. Since that feeling is kicking back, I decided to try to do the same this year. It did not work, but two music-related events made for a positive outcome.

• Making amends with the guitar
• The long missing chorus