Hello everyone, I've enjoyed being a member of this site for a few months now and never introduced myself.  I'm 49 yrs. old and a Catholic Priest.  I've wanted to learn to play the violin for a long time.  About 12 years ago when I was in seminary I passed by a music store on the way home from school and saw a violin in the window.  I was amazed at how inexpensive it was; about $75 for the outfit. At the end of the semester a couple of months later I decided to buy it as a reward to myself for passing.  I was able to practice up on the top floor of our seminary in the infirmary at night.  It was far enough away from the rooms that no one would be hurt.  I thought I was making some progress, but due to lack of time and money could not afford to take lessons.  After finishing seminary I returned to the U.S. and planned to find a teacher.  Long story short, something happened to my violin on the flight and the neck warped (probably why it was so inexpensive).  So, I put it away for what soon became a number of years.  Later I was telling a friend about this and he had a violin that was missing pegs, tailpiece, bridge and strings, but had a straight neck.  He gave it to me and I was able to put the "good" pieces off of mine on to his and make a workable violin.  I had trouble finding a teacher until I hired a new Organist/Music Ministry Coordinator at my parish who had a friend that taught violin.  That was about 4 months ago.  I've been amazed at the difference a teacher makes.  I discovered most of my progress before was mainly in bad habits.  The other amazing thing is how relaxing it is to practice.  For me it's so complicated that it pushes everything else out of my mind, kind of like booting your computer.  Anyway, hello everyone and thank you for the help and motivation this site has provided.