Advice on self-teaching a wind instrument

[kitty]

Hi all. You may remember that I wanted to self-teach myself drums quite a while ago. This endeavor has never really gotten off the ground due to living in shitty housing with paper-thin walls and people who lived and fought during WWI living next to me. Therefore I have decided to shift my focus to another family of instruments that I wanted to learn, wind instruments.

So here are the factors that should be factored into your advice:

Noise: I can't make a lot of it, though I can play a violin without reservation and not get angry knocks on my door.

Money: I have very little of it, and thus, lessons are pretty much out of the question. Though I am not opposed to buying an instrument, if the price is low enough and the quality is at least ok.

Time: I have lots of it, but because of my low experience with music relative to the rest of you, I want something with an small learning curve.

Dedication: Probably the biggest factor against me. I love music, and I love playing stuff that I hear in video games. However, I self-diagnosed ADHD. I get easily distracted. As I type this I'm supposed to be asleep or doing homework. Obviously I am doing neither. If I can make learning a certain instrument fun (and this is usually translated into easy) then I will be more intrinsically motivated to learn it.

Why wind instrument?: I previously played the violin, I want something that is in the same octave range (flute etc.) because I can distinguish the notes easier. I also think it will be easier for me to learn but who knows (hopefully you do!) I thought about recorders as being an instrument everyone learns how to play and was thinking about starting with that and going on to clarinet or flute. They're also small (unlike my guitar) and I can practice anywhere (as opposed to my drums).

To address certain nay-sayers against self-teaching: Yes I know the "odds are against me." I have somewhat tried to teach myself guitar and it didn't turn out so well. But that doesn't mean I can't teach myself another instrument. Also, I really just don't give a shit how hard it might be against me, there is no hurt in trying.

So with all that considered, if you read it, then can you recommend a good starting wind instrument and any self-teaching books or materials I can get (cheaper the better!) to help me along? If you're in the Irvine, CA area, maybe you recommend a teacher if they don't charge an arm and a leg. I would also like to know good brand names, where to buy or rent, and the ups and downs to specific products.