Night after night, who treats you right?

Of course you all remembered this song by David Gates so you will probably guess what is coming next.
Before moving to France I made a list of things that I wanted to be, do and have within a certain timeframe. One of the items on the list was to learn to play the guitar and have or be in a band.
Last year I bought a blu-ray copy of Jeff Beck performing live at Ronnie Scotts. I had of course heard his name over the years, but I didn't know any of his music. Amazon reviews gave the DVD 5 stars, some hinting that he blew Eric Clapton out of the water (I disagree). It is a very good DVD and most interesting too. I also bought Rainbow live in Munich 1977, Queen rock Montreal and live Aid and Roger Hodgson's take the long way home live in Montreal.
Subconsciouly I was exploring guitar playing.
Having just returned from Ottawa's Bluesfest I had been subjected to many different types of guitar and styles of guitar music. Buddy Guy, Peter Frampton, Steve Miller, the Flaming Lips etc etc
Everyone has to start  somewhere, so after some research I am now the owner of an electric Squier black and white fender style strat, practice amp, headphones, 2 picks, clip on tuner, bag, useless starter CD, an allen key, a spring and an enormous cardboard box.
I have bought the "learning guitar for dummies" DVD, Guitar all-in -one for dummies 8 books in one.
I have ordered a 2 year guitar course on cdrom, and I am investigating online course too, possibly www.jamplay.com  as a future avenue to follow. There is a guitar teacher who lives a few miles away, so that is also a possibility.
For now though, the fingers on my left hand are too sore to "play" for more than 5 minutes or so at a time. It looks easy. People play without looking at their fingers don't they? I am still struggling with my first 3 chords..........
So there you are. You are one of the first to know about my latest venture and perhaps that knowlege will keep me practicing. Meanwhile I am available for parties who require "Frere Jaques" or "Row,row,row your boat", both requiring only the E chord, Baby it's the guitar man!
Even better news is that there are all kinds of guitar gadgets on the market....