New Guitar

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WWWWSo I just got my first acoustic-electric guitar! I had been wanting to get one for a few months ever since I have been playing music solo; I haven't had someone else's guitar to use at gigs so I've been limited to playing piano or trying to lug my case-less no-pickup guitar with me. Sure, you can use a mic and don't need a pick up-- but the no case thing was a major hindrance. I could have spent some money to buy a case, but why bother when you know you are going to get a new guitar sometime in the near future? Plus my guitar is a cheapie $89 starter. Sounds great for what it is, but it was time to move on...
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WWWWI'd been toying with getting a Taylor or a Martin-- I'm partial to Martins just because that's the first "real" guitar I played-- but after playing a few Taylors, I was firmly decided on a Martin. I had gone to Guitar Center a week or so ago and tried out various models. Out of their (affordable) options, I left with the DC-16GTE Premium in mind. A dreadnought model, it had a rather large body (see pic) and I didn't find it particularly attractive. But that's secondary to great sound, and that it had. I also liked the pickup, how you could go between its pickup and an internal mic with a gooseneck (you can see it in the pic inside the sound hole). The guys at the store were asking if I should get something a little smaller... because I'm rather... small.
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WWWWI went down to Buffalo Bros. Guitars today and checked out some Taylors and various Martins. I peeked at the other brands but didn't try them ($$$ from what I could see). They had a rather unimpressive selection of Martin guitars, and didn't have the model I mentioned above to even compare to others. The only dreadnoughts they had (large body is ugly, but has a great sound) were acoustic with no electronics, too expensive, didn't have the cutaway I wanted, or just didn't sound great. So I tried a "regular" guitar-- not a dreadnought or jumbo body. I doubted I would like it since, in my opinion, they usually have a flat, small, blah sound (in comparison)-- but this particular guitar did sound great. And so I took it to the amp room and played it for a good while plugged in and unplugged. And I really enjoyed it, liked the sound, and had a good feeling about it, and so I bought it! The Martin 000C-16GTE Aura. I dig it! It sounds awesome! I also got a totally COOL (but very girly) strap! (And don't worry, I didn't pay the list price in that link...! Nowhere close!) Here are some pics:
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