Thanks Robert, you'd love it.

Haaaaa, Terry; I don't dare put tape on this fingerboard, I'm renting it!  And I wish the picture would've included my left hand, because you could see just how far it is between notes; I have to move my hand to get to the correct locations, it's pretty tough, until it gets locked in.

Barry, it was actually a pretty natural transition; the bow feels natural in my hand, the fingerboard next to my neck felt natural, the angle of the left hand and arm felt natural, it's just the distance along the board that's challenging.  And you're ABSOLUTELY right about the comparison of sound to the violin.  On my second session, which lasted about 45 minutes, I went immediately to my violin, and it just sounded so shrill and shreeky in comparison,,, no mellowness like the viola.  AND, it took me a couple of minutes to call up in my head and hand where the correct fingering was, but it wasn't that bad. 

Thank you Ken, that really is kind of you; it is a real challenge to find the right spots and if you could recognize (and I understand the difference between recognize and like, lol) 95% of what I did, after 5 hrs, then I am very happy with that!  The bridge is definitely cut differently.  The C side is a great height but the arch between the D and A is only slight, so I find myself double stopping them both, just a matter of getting used to it I guess.  I got it from an incredible shop in Orange County, so I'm confident they knew what they were doing.

Yeah Rosined, because of the distance between fingerings and the thickness of the strings and the slower responsiveness of the strings, just as Robert (above) has mentioned, it's not a quick-flick kind of instrument, you kinda have to man-handle the thing; now my impression of that may be because I'm so new to it and/or because it's not a really expensive cello; they're selling this model for $1500, so it sounds okay (maybe a little "buzzy" instead of vibratory) and it handles okay; I'm going to stop in a couple other shops to try out different one to see what the difference in sound and feel might be.

I'll tell you something embarrassing, each time I pick it up (which has been 5 times now), at the end of each session, I hold the body of the cello against my chest and bow the strings individually and in combination, to feel the vibration inside my chest.  I'll do that for 5 minutes, and it's like freakin meditation; it is so relaxing and you can "feel" the notes, not just hear them, as in the violin.  I'm NOT converting, but I am in love, lmao.

Terry!  No, I am PMSL!  I knew I was going to get a ration of shit for exposing my more sensitive side, HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!  But I think you're a little jealous of her aren't you, lmao.

HEY, should I lay the mats down for when you get here; we could turn this into The First Annual Socal Fiddlerman bbq/fiddle jam/spar fest, lmao!  Okay, maybe the mats would be too much, but it would be easy to break out the pads!