My Current Addiction: Toddlers and Tiaras

Why am I addicted to this reality show?!
The editing is hilarious!  TLC really knows how to edit a show!  Some of these little girls are really talented.  Some of them are really smart. Some of them are taught bad attitudes.  Some of the parents are crazy!  Some of them really do this to spend quality time with their child.  Some of these girls really love being on stage!  And you can tell which ones they are.
There's only been a couple episodes that have really annoyed me.  One was, the girls were fraternal twins, and the mother kept saying one was prettier than the other.  Really?!  The little girl the mom didn't favor, ended up winning director's choice!  She had a better attitude than a lot of the other girls.
One episode, the parents were obsessed with pirates.  Everything the little girl did for pageants was pirate themed.  That dad loved helping his little girl do pageants, and helped her write a song to sing on stage.  That was fun to see!
This show is entertaining to me.  I'll only get to watch the first three seasons, because that's what's available on Amazon Prime.
If only my mom would have put me in pageants as a child...

The Allergies have taken over!

My allergies will be the end of me some day!  I am currently suffering from Fall allergies. That means, my vocal chords will not phonate properly. Go me!  That's great, because my choir has a performance on Sunday.  I should be on vocal rest until that performance!  Instead, I'm at work. I have to talk to customers in person and answer the phone.   
My allergies have always been an issue from a very young age.  When I was little, they caused ear infections from the trapped drainage in my tubes.  Then, in college, they would cause major sinus infections that would take months to go away!  This is awful when your major is singing!
Part of it, I'll blame on my self. As soon as Fall hits, I'm supposed to be on a daily routine of Allegra, Sudefed, and Sudefed PE, all on a six hour rotation.  Well, I didn't realize the fall weather was going to hit almost over night!  Plus, now that Allegra is an over the counter drug, it costs more than when I could get it as a prescription.  This really hurts my budget!  I need to bite the bullet and buy it anyway.
So, today, I'm on a rotation of Contact, Wellness Tea, and a Throat Coat formula, (I couldn't find the real stuff last night!) plus, Ludens cough drops.  I'm also not talking unless it's necessary.  Tomorrow, I was supposed to have the day off for an event Saturday.  Now, I'm not going to work that event. I told my boss as soon as he decided I wasn't going, I'm still taking a personal day tomorrow. He was fine with that! (Good!)
So, tomorrow, I'm on strict vocal rest. We have a rehearsal tomorrow.  It's going to be a silent choreography hour! Saturday is going to be a day of vocal rest too! 

Why I detest Christmas Music.

Being a performer is the reason.
It starts in elementary school.  The Christmas music comes out on September 1st!  It continues all the way through December.  By the time I've been singing it and playing it for four months every year for 34 years of my life, I'm over it!
I was just explaining to my show choir that I try to pick non-traditional songs for our slow songs, because I hate doing the same ones year after year!  That's why I pick things like "Winter Song" by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson and other newer titles that haven't been around forever!
I think I could go a year or two with out singing or hearing a Christmas song, and I would be perfectly ok with it!

Happy Birthday!!!

I don't feel 34 years old at all!  How did I get this old? My life is on a completely different path than I thought it would be when I was eighteen!
I've been to college. I have a job.  I have a boyfriend.  I started a choir.  I have a food/pizza blog I enjoy writing. I have a new opportunity to direct Crooked Creek Baptist's Church Choir.  I had a kidney transplant and am still surviving. I live pretty much pay check to pay check like a lot of people do.  But I'm alive.
I have a feeling, 34 is going to be a big year for me!  I'm going to make it a great year!
Here I go! 

Was Jesus Married?

This was on Jimmy Kimmel, written by his outsourced Indian writers:
What did Mary Magdeline text when she got excited?
OMFIL! (Oh My Father in Law!)
I started asking the question, was Jesus married at the very young age of twelve.  I was in a Sunday School Class, and we were discussing how marriage is a commandment of God.  That's when I started asking, if marriage was a commandment, wouldn't Jesus have too be married at some point to be "perfect?"  That's when my Sunday School teacher just stared at me and shrugged his shoulders.  He said, "I can't answer that question." 
There are allegations about the fragment of papyrus that has been found that states, "Jesus said to them, My wife."   That is what got me thinking about this again. 
Remember, these are my own personal thoughts on this.  I'm not writing scripture, nor do I claim to be. I did however read "The Da Vinci Code."  Now, I know this is a fictional story, but it did get me thinking, why wouldn't Jesus get married?
One time, at work, we got into a bit of a religious conversation.  That's always a bad thing to do at work for certain reasons I won't mention at the moment.  For some reason, we were originally talking about Martin Scorcese films. Somehow, we were talking about the film "The Last Temptation of Christ."  At the time, I knew very little about the plot, but the understanding I had was, when Jesus was dying on the cross, he was thinking about the life he could have had with Mary Magdeline. (I honestly have never watched the movie, and it's not exactly at the top of my watch list at the moment.)  I explained the plot to a coworker, and she flipped out!  She exclaimed, "JESUS WOULD HAVE NEVER GOTTEN MARRIED!  That would have made him a lustful man!  And Jesus was NOT LUSTFUL!" 
I answered, "Getting married is a sin?!?! I didn't know that!"
But does getting married have to make you a lustful person?  Or are you fulfilling God's plan?  Or is it just a business proposition?  Back in biblical times, marriage really had nothing to do with love anyway. It had more to do with continuing the blood line and also, what kind of status or class that person had.  It had more to do with, that person will give me their cows and their land, or whatever they had if I give him my daughter. Personally, that sounds awful to me, but it was what it was.
Only in the last a hundred or two hundred years did marriage really become about marrying someone because of love. 
The other thing I think about is poor Mary Magdeline!  If she and Jesus weren't married, or if she at least wasn't married to one of the apostles, she must of had the worse case of best friend syndrome EVER!  You know, that girl that hangs out with a guy because she's in love, but it never turns into anything romantic! She continued to follow him around for the rest of her life after they met.  I mean, he did say kind things to her, and made her feel loved. A lot of women fall for that!
There's a movie I really like by Kevin Smith named "Dogma." I have a thing for the crassness of Jay and Silent Bob. They make me laugh!  (Spoiler Alert!) Part of the plot of this movie was that, Jesus did get married to Mary Magdeline and the did have ancestors.  (And call me crazy, but I love Buddy Jesus!)  It seems that this theme has been around for years and years.
I'm not trying to be sacrilegious.  This is something that I've thought about since I was twelve years old!  I also have this thing called a since of humor.  I think God has one too.  God would be really boring if he didn't!   

To Get the Lyrics: Ben Folds' Story Telling

One of the many reasons I love Ben is his story telling capabilities in his lyrics. He usually has a story to tell about each song when you see him live.  Also, in his Retrospective album, he puts a story of how each song happened in the liner notes.  I have a few favorite songs of Ben's that the lyrics move me every time I hear them.
"Beautiful Songs of Love" a friend of mine mentioned in a previous post. Before, every time I heard the song, it reminded me of high school.  Now, when I read through it, it makes me think of adults who are different,  who choose to not be part of the crazy culture of the young professionals we are expected to be a part of.  You graduate from college. You get a job and wear a suit. You go to happy hour after work.
It doesn't exactly work that way, especially for artists.  We can pretend to be those people, but it's not who we are. So, where do artists meet people?  That's a whole different topic.
I never wanted to become on of the "Young, Uniform Minds, in Uniform Lines, And uniform ties."
I do love singing and creating "Beautiful Songs of Love."
"Steven's Last Night in Town" is one of my favorite stories to listen to Ben tell.  It went something like this: Steven was a "friend" that was visiting. He would use a fake accent and always tell women it was his last night in town.  He would still show up at the next party and tell the same story. He was obviously not leaving town!
This song is just fun to listen to, from the clarinet with swagger that begins it, to the fun drum solo in the middle, it's awesome!
Sometimes, the story telling of a song is how the listener interprets it.  Sometimes, it's the actual story that the lyricist intended.  Both of these songs are awesome examples from Ben of his story telling.  There are so many more!  

To Get the Lyrics: Cold Play "Yellow"

I have a thing for lyrics. Sometimes, I can be listening to a song, and fall in love with one line.  A friend was having a conversation on Facebook a couple months ago about the song, "Yellow" by Coldplay.  She said that the lyric, "For You I'd Bleed Myself Dry" was kind of morbid, and basically, even though she liked the song, she didn't really like that lyric.
I didn't like the song until I heard that lyric!
I explained to her what it meant to me:
I've had a kidney transplant, and someone died to give me that kidney.  It's a cadaver kidney.  People don't always have to die to give their kidneys, but this person chose to donate his/her organs if the opportunity arose, which saved my life. So, that person literally "Bled himself dry" in my mind.
The other way to look at it is, for a religious person, Jesus Christ gave his blood on the cross for our sins, or he "Bled himself dry."
Look at it how you want, but to me, the lyric means, the person loves someone so much, he will die for her.
We've actually had people asking for the sheet music for this song for Weddings.  One person came in and asked for the "Christian version."  I didn't know there was a "Christian Version."
Lyrics to songs can mean something different for every person.  This is what this lyric means to me. 

My Love, Ben Folds

My love for Ben Folds started when I was the wee age of 19.  I had heard the song "Brick," but honestly, it did nothing for me. The song that made me fall in love was, the Ben Folds Five's "Battle of Who Could Care Less!"  The harmonies were amazing!  I ran out and bought the album, and from there, all is history.
As I sit here at my desk in the anticipation of the new Ben Folds Five CD, that is going to be delivered at any second by the UPS person, I reminisce on all of the years I've had with Ben and the love of his music. I've lost count how many concerts I've been to.  It's probably around 15-20, which is low in some people's eyes.
The first time I met Ben, I announced to every one at work that day, I wasn't leaving the concert venue until I met him!

Ben and I at Purdue, May 2, 2005

Well, I did. I stood for an hour in the rain... blah, blah, blah, but it happened!  All of my co-workers at the time, started calling him my husband!  

Every year, I try to see him at least once live.  It usually happens in the fall, so, I've started associating Fall with seeing Ben at some point. (Which is funny, because all of the pics I've posted on here are from Spring concerts!)

This year is different!  I've never seen him with the actual Ben Folds Five.  This is going to be so awesome!  I'm waiting for that CD to come today, so, I can start memorizing all of their new songs!  

There's something about Ben and BFF that moves me from deep in my soul.  I love every song, every harmony, every lyric! 

Indianapolis, Murat March 21st, 2009

Purdue March 1, 2008

E. and I with Sam, Ben's Drummer

October 3rd will be here soon!  I've spent way too much money on tickets, but I have them.  See ya then, Ben! 

Arachnids...

I hate pretty much any type of Arachnid! They all freak me out!  I had this random thought last night:  I should go to Youtube and look at videos of Spiders to see if I can get more used to them or the Desensitization Psycology. Well, it just made it worse!
The worse part is contemplating where the little boogers can hide in a bathroom! The things that show up on Youtube scare me!  Huge spiders sitting on toilets, hanging out in showers, walking on the walls... all of it makes my heart race! 
I know that most spiders a non-aggressive, unless you enter their territory.  The problem is, I have no idea what a spider has decided is it's territory!
I hate all other arachnids too!  My biggest fear camping is a tick bite. Even looking at scorpions makes me shudder.  I have a niece that was stung buy a scorpion, and even though I would love to come visit her, I don't think I could.  She got stung while sleeping in her own bed in her house. The fact that she survived, makes me feel a little better about it.  But every once in a while, she still posts pictures on Facebook of scorpions they've found around their house.
I have problems walking through pet stores, because they may sell Tarantulas! What if one got loose, and it jumps on me?!?!
I think, when I was little, my brother, whom is much older than me, threatened to throw spiders on me!  I have the right to be afraid of them!

The Super Secret FAST Way

You know, when you have a Super Secret FAST Way to get somewhere.  Well, I have a few!  What really gets to me is when, I'm taking my Super Secret FAST Way to get somewhere, and all the sudden there's a person in front of me going slow!
The other day, I was on Boy Scout Road. I use this road to get to a few places in Lawrence.  The person in front of me was barely going TWENTY miles per hour!  The speed limit is 35!  Really?!  Let's move person! Even the cyclists and joggers are moving faster than you! I have an appointment to get to!
Then, I have to say the old Mennonite Proverb, "Patience is a virtue. Herman the worm has is, so, why don't you?"

The Patchouli Incident of 2002

In 2002, I came down with the worse case of Influenza I have ever had!  Up to that point, most of my illnesses were kidney, bladder, and/or Urinary Tract related.  I was miserable!
I went to my voice lesson with Dr. B.  I wouldn't have gone, but my friend Joey was coming to work on a duet with me.  We started singing, and waves of nausea started flooding over me!  She looked at me and said, "You're green!  What's wrong?!"
I looked at her and said, "I'm sick! I need to go home!" 
She stated something about, yes, go home.  She didn't want to get sick, or something like that.  This was the week the choir was going on a tour.  I walked into Dr. Z's office, which he had a student in there, but I didn't even care.  I looked at him and said, "I'm sick. I'm going home. I'm not coming to choir rehearsal today!"
He looked at me and said, "Umm, ok."  I walked out and went home.
Around this same time, the Broadway musical "Rent," one of my favorite shows of all time, was in town.  I had already bought a ticket to go. My friend R. and I had already decided we were going to Applebee's for dinner. We went to Applebee's.  All I ordered was tortilla chips with ranch and a Sprite.  I could barely stomach them, but I still ate.  After dinner, we headed over to Tilson Auditorium. 
We get in our seats, and it turned out, a bunch of our friends and fellow music students were sitting around us.  We all had the cheap seats!  The guy in front of us, M. had brought a date.  I recognized her, but didn't know her very well.
Here's the thing, it was like she had dumped a whole bottle of patchouli oil on herself. We sat down, and were waiting for the show to start.  All the sudden, the patchouli smell got to me!  I ran to the restroom!  It wasn't fast enough!  Those red and white tortilla chips where coming up now!  And of course, there's a line in the ladies restroom!  Finally, someone leaves, and as I open the door, the vomit hits the wall of the stall. It was disgusting!  As I'm puking, I can hear the opening notes of the show starting.  That would be the SECOND time I've missed the opening of that show!
I cleaned myself up and the wall of the stall, and headed back into the theater. From that day on, the smell of Patchouli makes my stomach churn!  I had a co-worker that used to wear it.  As soon as I walked in the door for work, it didn't matter if she was in the room or not, I could smell it!  I told her the vomiting story more than once, to try to get it through to her, but she still wore that scent every once in a while.
What brought on this memory is, a customer came in wearing a perfume that smelled like it.  Now, this is an older customer.  She's not someone I would have thought would wear that smell, but she did.
And now, I have to go think about something else, as to not make myself sick.

My Greatest Anxiety

I had a dream this morning.  It went like this. 
I showed up for a wedding, and when I got there, I found out I was supposed to be singing a song for this wedding. Well, the accompanist shows up, and here I am sight reading the music, and freaking out!  At the same time, I'm supposed to be meeting with the seamstress for the alterations on my dress.
This created some anxiety ridden sleep for me!

I had a dream a month or two ago. 
I was at Showchoir Camps of America and performing in the teacher show.  I knew the music they were singing, but I didn't know the choreography.  I was standing with all the people dancing, yet, I was not moving! 
It was pretty awful!

I have dreams like these every once in a while.  I know my greatest stage freight inducing fear is, not knowing something on stage, and panicking. 
I'll have to contemplate this and remedy it somehow!

Pop Divas: An Obsession from a Young Age

I've been obsessed with Pop Divas ever since a I was a little girl.  I wanted to be one.  I would buy their cassette tapes and learn every note, swoop, and run they would sing!  I wanted to be one!  Now, I'm a classically trained singer.
One of my biggest heart breaks was being told by my college voice professor, I was never going to be one.  Also, she pointed out, she was NEVER going to train me in that style.  See, one of my fellow college students had ratted me out to her, telling her I wanted to be a pop diva.  (And whoever that was, jeese, thanks!)  So, I remember we had a whole voice lesson where, I was lectured that it wasn't going to happen!
Now, that I'm older, I see, I probably should have found the money for an actual vocal coach.  One that would have actually, trained me how to sing and belt properly. But I didn't.
So, I've been training myself.

9/11/01: Where was I?

I, of all people, woke up early.  I had nowhere to be.  I turned on the Television.  I soon realized, something terrible was happening.  There was smoke billowing out of one building, and the news anchors were describing that a plane had hit the building.  I sat there watching the events unfold.  At some point, my roommate Justin came in and said, he was going to class.  I told him what had happened, and he just looked at me like I was overreacting, said, "OK," and left.  About that time, the second plane hit the second tower, and every second of it was shown on television!  I sat there as long as I could, watching things unfold.  This is when, the news anchors started announcing, the United States is under attack! Reports started coming in of other planes that were having issues. Then, all flights were grounded.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the music department had blocked at time for convocations and recitals at 11:00am. I walked into the recital hall that day just a little before 11am. It was really quiet. No one was talking. Finally, Dr. Todd Sullivan came out and stated something.  I don't really remember what he was trying to say, because I was in my own head at the time.  I'm sure all of my fellow students were, also.  His statement was something about staying calm.  We were all going to be just fine.  It all seems so trite now. I have no clue what the recital was that day.  I know I sat through it.  It may have even been a vocal recital, now that I think about it.
Afterward, the men of Phi Mu Alpha were having one of their cookout fundraisers out in the back of the Center for Performing and Fine Arts, the CPFA.  We all went out back to eat, and finally started talking to each other.  Some people were scared. Some people were angry. Most of us were just confused.  Why?  Why would someone do this?  Why would they attack buildings in New York City?  Why the Pentagon?  Why kill so many innocent people?  The questions just go on and on.
I'll be honest. Seeing all of these people saying, "NEVER FORGET!" really annoys me.  This is why. How could I ever forget?  All of us that were alive on that day, and over the age of 5, will always remember.  We will never forget the friends, the family, the coworkers, the firefighters, the EMT's, all of those people that died.
Then, there was the war that came from it.  All of the men and women that have died to fight for our freedom.  The freedoms to be religious or not. The freedoms to love who we want to love.  The freedoms to vote how we want to vote.
How would I ever forget?
The problem is not forgetting.  It's teaching the next generation about that day.  As soon as the generations that were alive die out, then, the forgetting begins. Teach the children about freedom. Teach the children love.
It shouldn't be, "NEVER FORGET!!!"
It should be, "Teach the children!"  
 

A New Opportunity, and it involves music!

I'm going to be the new choir director at Crooked Creek Baptist Church!  I'm really excited to take on this position!  The people at this church are amazingly kind and generous.  They do so many things to try to help out their community. They have breakfasts and lunches where they make sure that people in the community have enough to eat. They let community groups meet in their building, which is where my choir meets on Thursday nights!
I visited their music library, and it's actually in pretty good shape!  I can't wait to meet the people and get started!
If you'd like to sing in a choir on Sunday mornings in the Indy area, contact me!  I know a great place to do that!

Conversation About Google Wallet

Coworker: I read an article in Time magazine about how, sooner or later, no one is going to carry a wallet.  It's all going to be on their smart phone! Well, what about all of those people that don't have smart phones!?!

Me:  That generation (the ones that don't want smart phones) is going to die out sooner or later!  I mean, no offense!

Coworker:  But they're so expensive!  I refuse to pay for that!

Me:  You can get a smart phone package at Walmart for $30!

Coworker (Completely changing the direction of this conversation!):  Well, then, people on well fare are going to be buying Smart Phones on my dime!  I don't want that to happen!

WTF?!?!?
So, you are more worried about people on well fare buying smart phones, and trust me, they already do, than, figuring out that you should get one yourself!?
One of those moments in life when I stand there with a gaping jaw.

*My niece E. and I will tell you, WTF? stands for Where's the Food!?

Nails... Maybe I'm a Little Vain

I have this weird obsession with my nails. They are brittle and flimsy.  This comes from years of biting, which I don't do anymore, and playing the violin, which I don't do any more, either. 
I want them to GROW!  I manicure them, file them, paint them, try new treatments and lotions that claim to "Strengthen!"  and it never happens! 
I love the way a good clean french manicure looks, but my nails never really grow long enough that a french manicure looks OK on them.  I'll get them all to a good length, and the start bending over the edge of my finger and breaking.  It gets really frustrating!
I used to get acrylics all the time in high school and college.  My orchestra director loved that!  The woman that did them in high school worked at the Natural Way Nail Shop.  It was a business she and another woman ran out of a home.  They had random pets every where, like a huge glass cage with an iguana! She would do the most beautiful hand painted designs, even with french tips. 
The last time I had them done was for a wedding in August of 2009.  That woman did a horrible job!  The last time I drove by that shop it was closed.  I still have one nail that won't grow in correctly after that experience.
Right now, I can barely spend the money to get hair cuts, let alone have my nails done. 
It's soothing to do them myself, but I always mess up the paint somehow. They never look perfect.

My Political Statement I posted on Facebook

I had another friend on Facebook say this.  If you are going to post political posts to the point of annoying, I'm going to unsubscribe to your posts until after the election! Unless, you rather I start posting my view on your page every day! I'm only going to say this once:  I love President Obama.  He may not be perfect, but he is our President.  I hate seeing a person being treated by such HATRED!  If you are really a true Christian, you would talk about love, and praying for the President, not TEARING HIM DOWN. The new Health Care Plan is not called Obamacare!  It's real name is The Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act!  If you're going to insult it, LEARN THE REAL NAME! (And once you lived without insurance for three years after a real health care issue, you can complain to me about health care!) I think people should get to CHOOSE if they want a marry a man or woman.  I think gay marriage should be legal.  I believe in separation in of CHURCH AND STATE, especially in MARRIAGE!   I have a lot of other opinions!  But guess what, I DON'T SHARE THEM ON FACEBOOK!  I don't share them at WORK!  I don't ARGUE with people about them!  I just VOTE!  Feel free to unfriend me, or unsubscribe from me over this, but that's my OPINION!  You don't have to listen to it/ Read it!  (And who knows, this may or not be the last time I post my opinion!)

Splashers...

Dear Women,
When you wash your hands in the restroom, please, flick your hands dry over the trash can and not over the sink, especially if there's a person next to you!  You have more than likely just splashed water all over the person next to you!
Sincerely,
The Annoyed Splashed Person Next To You