Hope everyone had a good Memorial Day yesterday. We actually got up off the couch, got dressed and went out into the world to enjoy the nice weather, visit and, of course, shop. I think everyone in the US shops on Memorial Day.

We only went to one store: The Guitar Center. We didn’t buy anything. Lin wanted to look at guitars (of course) and amps. I wanted to fondle keyboards. Neither of us found anything to fall in love with, which is probably a good thing. They didn’t have the exact keyboard I decided I wanted, an M-Audio stage piano, but they did have a few M-Audios, so I had the chance to see the difference in the key actions, and presumably the key action for other models from the same company are going to be the same. I can now say that the semi-weighted M-Audio keys will do, but I think I would like to hold out for the more expensive stage piano with fully weighted keys. They felt so much like real piano keys, I almost wept with joy. Of course, there’s about a $400 price difference between the one I had picked out the the “pro” version. I may be waiting a long time if I really want that one. I could settled for the semi-weighted keys, they really are pretty good too, but the pro version comes with some other nice features too. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I realize I really, really want the pro version. Really.

Lin is still not understanding why I am demanding a full 88 keys. He doesn’t play piano, and so he just doesn’t know. I like classical music. Most classical music used the whole keyboard. Also, if you have an electronic piano that allows for split keyboard work (having strings on half and piano on half for example), wouldn’t it be nice to have two 44 keys to work with and not, say, 30 or less? I think he really wanted to get me a keyboard yesterday (the prices were great). He sat in the driver’s seat of the truck and kept asking me if I was sure there hadn’t been one I wanted. I assured him if there had been, I would have been whining while we were still in the store. I know what I want in a keyboard, and I won’t settle on the issues I see as important. I can be very patient about stuff like this. Look how long I had to wait to get a new computer! I could have gotten a new computer many times over the last ten years, but I knew what I wanted, and I was willing to wait. Now I am thrilled with what I got. It’s going to be the same with a keyboard, and I want to be as thrilled with it as I am with my computer. Though I won’t be waiting ten years this time.

The rest of the day was spent with Lin playing The Da Vinci code (damn some of those puzzles are hard) and me doing housework (holiday or not, it was still Monday). It was a nice day, and it was great that Lin got to spend three whole days goofing off. It did him a world of good. Me too.

Today I slept in. I always need a holiday after a holiday. At least I wasn’t getting sleep because we were having fun hanging out together and not because I was stressed out about something. Since I got up, I have been trying to track down the source of a smell in the house. Yes, there is a mystery smell in the house. It isn’t mold. I know that smell even when I can’t track it down. No, this doesn’t actually smell bad. It smells like spice … like some sort of spice I know I have used in cooking but can’t put my finger on. It sort of smells like curry or maybe even something like chili powder, but still not quite exactly those scents. I also can’t seem to find where it originates. It’s very odd. Who knows, maybe it’s in my head. I haven’t asked Lin if he smells it too, so who knows, it might all be in my head. That would be even odder. I mean, I know I am smelling something, not strongly, but definitely something that is actually creating scent in the house. I’m pretty sure I haven’t gone quite that insane yet.

I’m going to get back to tracking down that smell, and it’s Tuesday, so I have to make the grocery list (going to be a big trip this time) and clean the bathroom. The day is getting away from me, but it sure was nice sleeping in this morning.