Dear 20-something me,
You have just auditioned for PWC and you got accepted! Exciting! You are about to embark on an adventure that will change your life in more ways than musically. You will meet amazing people, learn to love music you never knew would even qualify as music in your mind, and you will find yourself in the process. Over the next 19 years, you will love and lose people who will become part of you forever. You will discover that you are stronger than you ever knew you could be. You'll take on leadership roles and excel at them--even enjoy them! There will be good times, bad times, and everything in between. Just take it all in, enjoy it, and make sure you take time to savor each moment you have in this chorus. Savor your relationships with people and learn kindness. You will find a voice you never knew you had--both literally and figuratively.
When you look back at this year 1997, when you joined PWC, you will see a completely different person. You will be proud of who you've become and grateful for the people who helped you get there. Tears will come at times when you least expect them. Let them flow. It's all ok. Allow yourself to feel even when you want to be numb. Allow yourself to grow from these experiences and allow yourself to change. Change is scary, but it will bring you to wonderful places.
Speaking of wonderful places, you will travel the world with PWC. You'll go to Vancouver, San Antonio, Newfoundland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy, Austria, and Argentina. There will be a tiny solo that will change you and draw you to the southern hemisphere sky of stars. It will be your favorite solo of all time.
PWC is the best choice you ever made. You don't know that now, but you'll find out.
Love,
46-year old you
Saturday, June 18, 2016
Friday, June 17, 2016
Words fail me on so many levels
Words fail me for just about everything these days. It's a wonder I can even write this blog without having to look up every other word in a dictionary or consult a thesaurus so I don't use mundane vocabulary and bore to death whoever reads this. (namely me, because I doubt there are any other readers on this blog).
Orlando.....words fails me.
Trump.....words fail me beyond measure.
Irresponsible, entitled, selfish people.....words don't really fail me, but they'd probably get me in trouble or even arrested if I used them. So suffice it to say, if you can't meet a deadline, can't manage to follow through with a simple task, I hate you. Yes, I used the word HATE. You annoy me, you make my blood boil, and you pretty much give me hives. I hope your stuff falls off.
Words fail me for the rest of this so I'll sign off here. I have things to do, deadlines to meet, and allergies to get rid of.
Thanks for reading and until next time, look for the purple in life.
Orlando.....words fails me.
Trump.....words fail me beyond measure.
Irresponsible, entitled, selfish people.....words don't really fail me, but they'd probably get me in trouble or even arrested if I used them. So suffice it to say, if you can't meet a deadline, can't manage to follow through with a simple task, I hate you. Yes, I used the word HATE. You annoy me, you make my blood boil, and you pretty much give me hives. I hope your stuff falls off.
Words fail me for the rest of this so I'll sign off here. I have things to do, deadlines to meet, and allergies to get rid of.
Thanks for reading and until next time, look for the purple in life.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
In the breakdown lane
And I don't know if that's a bad thing. I need a break from this crazy life. I need time to breathe and take in the sights, smells, sounds, and textures. And oh yeah...tastes...preferably of umbrella drinks on a beach. But I digress. I don't know how I got here in the fast lane that keeps getting faster. I need to learn the fine art of saying "no". I need to learn the art of taking a vacation and not feeling guilty or worrying that I'll miss something while I'm gone. It will all be here when I get back. It always is.
Goal: plan a vacation to New Orleans and go no matter what.
Ok, going to Seattle instead but hey, I'm being financially responsible. Sort of. :)
Goal: plan a vacation to New Orleans and go no matter what.
Ok, going to Seattle instead but hey, I'm being financially responsible. Sort of. :)
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Questions Nobody Asks (but sometimes they do!)
1. Do you go by a nickname? Yes, many. AV, Amethyst, Ms. Purple, and more.
2. When driving, do you listen to CD’s, tapes, the radio or nothing? NPR or other talk radio. Sometimes a CD (yes, my car is old school but it's paid off!)
3. Are you a window person or an aisle person? If traveling alone, aisle. If with someone I know, window.
4. How do you relieve stress? Exercise, having a drink, cleaning.
5. What’s your favorite childhood TV show? Very young: Sesame St, Elementary school: Brady Bunch
6.When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Babysitter, teacher, hairdresser.
7.What was the best prank you ever pulled off? Never have.
8.If you could have dinner with any three people, whom would you choose? Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and Ira Glass. Also Anderson Cooper. Ok, that's four, but I don't follow directions well.
9.If you could get back any article of clothing you once wore, what would it be? My recital dress.
10.If you could hire any actor to portray you in a movie, who would you chose? Meryl Streep, Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren, or anyone with a quick wit and a sense of humor.
11.If you could play any instrument, which would you play? Piano (better than I do), Violin (interestingly, I've had lessons in both and still suck!)
12.If you could hear anyone in history give a speech, whom would you hear? Martin Luther King, Fred Rogers
13.If you could live in one city for the rest of your life, where would you live? Florence, Italy.
14.If you could make any fictional character come to life, which would it be? Castle
15. When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween? Witch, Ghost, Gypsy.
16. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? Closed
17.If you could be any cartoon character, who would you be? Homer Simpson
18. Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotels? No, they're yucky.
19. Have you stolen a street sign before? No.
20. Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out? In
21. Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of bees? Bear
22. Do you always smile for pictures? If forced to, yes.
23. Have you peed in the woods? Yes.
24. What size is your bed? Queen
25.What was the best concert you ever attended? Hard to say, but probably something at Tanglewood--Itzhak Perlman, Jessie Norman, Frederica von Stade, and Kinsey Sicks in SF were among the very best. Also Divo.
26. What is your song of the week? All of Me.
27. Do you still watch cartoons? No.
28. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper? When I sent my ESD a birthday card.
29. How many languages can you speak? One fluently, one poorly (used to be fluent but lost it), one horrendously.
30. Do you believe in ghosts? Yes.
31. What was your first concert? Corey Hart
32. Cheetos or Fritos? Cheetos.
33. Can you curl your tongue? Yes
34. Ever won a spelling bee? Never been in one.
35. Own a record player? Not anymore.
36. Who would you like to see in concert? Andrea Bocceli, Renee Flemming, Jimmy Buffett
37. Sugar cookies or snickerdoodles? Snickerdoodles
38. Can you swim well? Yes
39. Are you patient? Not always.
40. DJ or band at a wedding? Band.
41. Ever won a contest? Yes.
42. Do you have kids? No
43. Do you want kids? No
2. When driving, do you listen to CD’s, tapes, the radio or nothing? NPR or other talk radio. Sometimes a CD (yes, my car is old school but it's paid off!)
3. Are you a window person or an aisle person? If traveling alone, aisle. If with someone I know, window.
4. How do you relieve stress? Exercise, having a drink, cleaning.
5. What’s your favorite childhood TV show? Very young: Sesame St, Elementary school: Brady Bunch
6.When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Babysitter, teacher, hairdresser.
7.What was the best prank you ever pulled off? Never have.
8.If you could have dinner with any three people, whom would you choose? Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and Ira Glass. Also Anderson Cooper. Ok, that's four, but I don't follow directions well.
9.If you could get back any article of clothing you once wore, what would it be? My recital dress.
10.If you could hire any actor to portray you in a movie, who would you chose? Meryl Streep, Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren, or anyone with a quick wit and a sense of humor.
11.If you could play any instrument, which would you play? Piano (better than I do), Violin (interestingly, I've had lessons in both and still suck!)
12.If you could hear anyone in history give a speech, whom would you hear? Martin Luther King, Fred Rogers
13.If you could live in one city for the rest of your life, where would you live? Florence, Italy.
14.If you could make any fictional character come to life, which would it be? Castle
15. When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween? Witch, Ghost, Gypsy.
16. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? Closed
17.If you could be any cartoon character, who would you be? Homer Simpson
18. Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotels? No, they're yucky.
19. Have you stolen a street sign before? No.
20. Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out? In
21. Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of bees? Bear
22. Do you always smile for pictures? If forced to, yes.
23. Have you peed in the woods? Yes.
24. What size is your bed? Queen
25.What was the best concert you ever attended? Hard to say, but probably something at Tanglewood--Itzhak Perlman, Jessie Norman, Frederica von Stade, and Kinsey Sicks in SF were among the very best. Also Divo.
26. What is your song of the week? All of Me.
27. Do you still watch cartoons? No.
28. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper? When I sent my ESD a birthday card.
29. How many languages can you speak? One fluently, one poorly (used to be fluent but lost it), one horrendously.
30. Do you believe in ghosts? Yes.
31. What was your first concert? Corey Hart
32. Cheetos or Fritos? Cheetos.
33. Can you curl your tongue? Yes
34. Ever won a spelling bee? Never been in one.
35. Own a record player? Not anymore.
36. Who would you like to see in concert? Andrea Bocceli, Renee Flemming, Jimmy Buffett
37. Sugar cookies or snickerdoodles? Snickerdoodles
38. Can you swim well? Yes
39. Are you patient? Not always.
40. DJ or band at a wedding? Band.
41. Ever won a contest? Yes.
42. Do you have kids? No
43. Do you want kids? No
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Things I am tired of hearing
I'm tired of hearing the following things: ( in no particular order)
1. Carbs are bad for you.
2. Fake sugar (Equal, Splenda, etc) is bad for you.
3. Diet soda makes you fat.
4. Gluten is bad for you.
5. Fruit has too much sugar and carbs and will therefore make you fat. (FRUIT?)
6. Always buy organic fruits and veggies--even juice.
7. Anything about this election.
8. Anything about local politics
9. Opting out of testing
10. Freakouts about not being able to vote--voter fraud--unregistering people.
11. My neighbor practicing the piano.
12. Being fat.
13. Fake ass people.
14. Youtube
15. Drama
16. People calling me every day.
17. Being poor.
1. Carbs are bad for you.
2. Fake sugar (Equal, Splenda, etc) is bad for you.
3. Diet soda makes you fat.
4. Gluten is bad for you.
5. Fruit has too much sugar and carbs and will therefore make you fat. (FRUIT?)
6. Always buy organic fruits and veggies--even juice.
7. Anything about this election.
8. Anything about local politics
9. Opting out of testing
10. Freakouts about not being able to vote--voter fraud--unregistering people.
11. My neighbor practicing the piano.
12. Being fat.
13. Fake ass people.
14. Youtube
15. Drama
16. People calling me every day.
17. Being poor.
Saturday, April 9, 2016
The Silent treatment
Lately, I've been receiving the silent treatment from some people in my life. I've done some research about it and was surprised to find that it qualifies as emotional abuse! When I thought more deeply about it, I realized, indeed it does! I refuse to tolerate such abuse and I'm walking away from those who feel the need to give it to me. I'm worth more than this and I thought our friendships were too. If you care about someone, you talk things through and if in the end, things don't work out, you can at least part ways amicably. The Silent Treatment is, in my opinion, a cowardly way out. It's avoiding someone so you don't have to face the fact that perhaps there is a problem or you've hit a rough patch. Why not just say "we can't be friends anymore"?
I'm not a stranger to holding grudges. For years, I've held grudges and the only person it ever hurt was me. I was the one feeling bad, angry, resentful, upset. I was the one with rising anxiety and indigestion that wouldn't dissolve with the many TUMS I threw at it. I finally (after more years than I will admit), realized that only I can control how I react to people. While I cannot control what other people say, do, feel, I CAN control those things for myself. And I do NOT have to tolerate abuse.
On top of that, life is short. Years of grudges and not speaking because of some misunderstanding or fall-out, pales in comparison to when you find out the person has a fatal disease. Life is short. Be kind. Don't hold grudges. Nobody's perfect and yes, we all make mistakes. Sometimes friendships die but grudges are never helpful.
That is all I have to say on the subject for now. And no, I'm not perfect nor do I profess to be able to practice all the things I've preached here. Ahem.
I'm not a stranger to holding grudges. For years, I've held grudges and the only person it ever hurt was me. I was the one feeling bad, angry, resentful, upset. I was the one with rising anxiety and indigestion that wouldn't dissolve with the many TUMS I threw at it. I finally (after more years than I will admit), realized that only I can control how I react to people. While I cannot control what other people say, do, feel, I CAN control those things for myself. And I do NOT have to tolerate abuse.
On top of that, life is short. Years of grudges and not speaking because of some misunderstanding or fall-out, pales in comparison to when you find out the person has a fatal disease. Life is short. Be kind. Don't hold grudges. Nobody's perfect and yes, we all make mistakes. Sometimes friendships die but grudges are never helpful.
That is all I have to say on the subject for now. And no, I'm not perfect nor do I profess to be able to practice all the things I've preached here. Ahem.
Saturday, March 19, 2016
You're So Vain... (borrowed from Carole King)
For all of you people who think my life revolves around you and that ALL of my facebook posts are indeed about YOU, the people YOU know, YOUR associations, families, groups, etc, GET A LIFE. I have a life that is very large and it involves many aspects outside of from where you may know me. So, please, for the love of everything purple, do not assume that what I'm writing in a simple FB status has ANYTHING to do with you. It doesn't. In fact, 99% of the time it doesn't and the 1% of the time it does, I SAY IT. I am sick and tired of defending, disclaiming, excusing, and apologizing for what I say on MY FB page. If you don't like it, can't understand it, can't bring yourself to believe it's not about YOU, then unfollow, unfriend, and DISENTANGLE yourself from my life. GET THE EFF OUT. I did the very same thing and most of you never noticed. I don't read your posts, I don't comment, and I don't follow. I don't have time or energy to devote to that. I have 3 jobs, a lot of friends, and a million and one things to do. So, no, I don't care that you think my post *could* be interpreted this way or that. I don't care and you shouldn't either. If I stopped to think about how everyone's posts *could* apply to ME, I'd go crazy. I guess you've all done that already. Be my guest because I'm no stranger to crazy. I take meds for it. Yes, you read correctly. Now move on with the shattered pieces of your broken lives and go read someone else's FB page. Mine's closed.
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