I want a ukulele!

For the past few months I've been having this terrible ukulele fever.
I've been playing the violin for nine years, and it's getting pretty boring now. The worst part is that I don't enjoy calm classic music. The only music I like that comes from orchestras are film scores and march music.

I really want to play pop songs I like with my very own instrument. I've always wanted to play the guitar, but my roommate told me that it hurts your fingers a lot. I tried pressing the strings on one and it really did hurt, so I was hesitant with the guitar. That's when the ukulele popped into my mind.

About two years ago I was in Heyri Art Valley, and I came across this ukulele learning center. I went in with my mom and we actually checked out a few models, but she told me I would have to give up. I did give it up back then, just wondering when I would be able to get one.

But I can't stand it anymore. I'm a very active and playful person, and violins are anything but that. Seriously. I can't stand drawing bows instead of plucking strings. I enjoy plucking strings much better, I'm doing that with my violin every freaking day. I hate this so much. I need something to pluck!

Ah... perfect.

A few days ago I went to the local bookstore. (Yes, it is local, but it's super big. It's as big as any WalMart.) In the music section a few cute ukuleles were displayed, and I immediately asked my mother if I could have one. When she said no I was crying on the inside.

I really feel the need for a ukulele. So what I'm trying to do is make a plan to get it without my parents finding out. I have a few advantages and disadvantages about this plan. The advantage is that I live in a dorm, so if I buy it and play it a thousand times in my room my parents are never going to know about it. The disadvantage is that when I go home on weekends, I don't have any chance to go to a store without being accompanied. (I hate my hagwon schedules!!)

Solution? Amazon, of course.

So I looked up some ukuleles for starters on Amazon, and I found a really cute and affordable one. It's a soprano ukulele, the most popular one, and it's from Lanikai. I heard this brand was reliable, and the customer reviews are fantastic. 4.8 out of 5 stars. It's $85.92, and a bag and a tuner comes with it. What a bargain! It's in my cart right now.

I found some nice books for starters too. The one on the left had good reviews for content, and the one on the right has a CD with it, thought it might be useful.

Amazon tells me that if I order all these plus an elementary song book, it will cost me $168.60. I'm willing to and capable of paying for it, but I don't have a credit card. So I'll have to ask an adult to order it for me and pay him or her back. There are a few teachers I could ask. My violin teacher is actually very supportive of me buying a ukulele. (She knows I won't quit the violin even if I buy one.) But I can see her only once a week, so it might be a little inconvenient. I also have my dorm parent, she's really a 50/50 chance... And there's my Literature teacher, who's American and probably already has an Amazon account.

So please wish me good luck! If I succeed in getting this beautiful instrument, I'll write another post reporting the good news.