Well, it's the first anniversary of my little 42. blog, and I think it's a good time to close shop here.
I've got a decent number of entries for the year, and this blog is testament to the tremendous life changes I've created and/or experienced in the last year, including:
--relocating from my lifelong home of Nebraska to one of the Top 5 largest cities in the US
--quitting a job I worked at for 19 years and thought I would probably work at until I retired or they laid me off (more on that in a sec)
--realizing that I need to take control of my career, rather than assume a corporation is going to do so
--leaving immediate family as well as friends (some of whom I've had since high school) for a city where I knew no one, and finding out I can still make new friends, even in my 40s
--confirming my lifelong assumption that I truly did marry my best friend, and that we'll celebrate 20 years of this event in September 2013
--transitioning (over the last six years, though it was all part of a process) from an 1,800+ square foot house with two-car garage that we owned, to a two- bedroom apartment we rented in the downtown of an urban area (a huge transition in and of itself), to a one-bedroom apartment we rented in a major urban area, and realizing it's all for the better and what I really wanted all along but was afraid to say so
--getting rid of my car and ceasing to be a regular driver, for the first time in 28 years. It's been almost ten months since I last drove a car and I couldn't be happier!
--learning that it's not too late for a do-over, and that old (or middle-aged) dogs still can learn new tricks
--finding my voice, in more ways than one
The closing of this blog comes at a good time. I started a new job this week, as you know, and it is terrific so far (and amazing to me, if for no other reason than to prove to myself that I could do it). Also, I learned just yesterday that my former employer (parent company) has sold the life insurance subsidiary I used to work for, to a third party from the UK. As a result, many of my friends have lost/will be losing their jobs, and I am sad for them, but also happy for myself that I chose to separate from the company on my own terms.
(Not that I blame anyone who didn't handle it the way I did. It was generally a decent place to work and they made it easy to stay there. This is something all of us have seen before, on some level, and we knew/know it was/is always a possibility. I hope the company honors the severance packages it has traditionally offered in situations like this. My 20th anniversary with the company would have been in May, had I still been there, and while I would have enjoyed the Movado watch I was going to get, I promise you that I enjoy my new life outside of the company even more.There IS life after the "Hands" company, and it's good. You'll see. Best of luck to you all.)
Boycat just pee'd on the bed, which is also appropriate (or at least expected) in light of his recent circumstances. Sigh. It's always something.
But before I go, a couple more brief comments.
Keeping 42. for a year has helped me work through many issues in a way that only writing things down can do. Several years ago, Mr. 42's mom gifted us with a copy of an amazing book called Write It Down, Make It Happen by Henriette Klauser. She had read it and talked about the "proof" of it she had experienced in her life. Mr. 42 and I both read it and began putting it to work.
The author ascribes the power of it to a more "spiritual" influence than I probably would, being an atheist (or agnostic, depending on which day you ask me), but I have always been a firm believer in the power of the written (or typed) word. Many times I have observed that I and others can speak our truth through the written word in a way that we can't articulate verbally, even to people we love and trust. Sometimes it means we speak this truth only to ourselves, but often it is only to ourselves that it needs to be spoken to. That is the lesson I took away from Write it Down. If you want to believe that putting your intentions on paper sends them out into the universe (or to God, or to the Gods and Goddesses) in such a way that they simply must happen, I'm okay with that. As I said above, depending on what day you ask me, that might be the explanation I would give, too. Other days, it seems that writing things down (or typing them, even) helps YOU as the writer to clarify what you really want. It makes you focus on something in a way that helps it transition from being a pleasant, occasional passing thought ("Wouldn't it be nice if ...") to something you have thought about, written about, clarified, confirmed and are now making plans for.
Writing it down doesn't mean it will happen right away, or in exactly the way you had planned. This is how Philadelphia happened for us. We had our sights set on Boston, and life threw us a few curveballs that meant that wasn't going to happen when we wanted. What we didn't know at that time was that things wouldn't happen in Boston at all, but having lived here in Philly for ten months now, I am positive we ended up in the place where we were meant to live. (XOXO to Boston friends. Let's get together soon!)
What took place throughout that process (and for a good six months before we even began telling people of our plans): thoughts about what we wanted in a new city and how we wanted to live when we got here. Articulated on paper. Written down, more than once, across several notebooks and in two laptops. Refined and revised and reaffirmed, constantly.
Here in Philadelphia, a full 25 months after our notes about moving and starting a new and different life in a big city first began, I am here to tell you: it works!
Thanks to everyone who has followed this blog and taken time to comment or even just "like" on FB. I plan to take a short blogging break before beginning anew somewhere else (probably in Tumblr and in a completely different frame of mind). Cheers!--Ms. 42
Showing posts with label awesomeness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label awesomeness. Show all posts
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Karaoke is Okey-Dokey
Actually, I think it's more than okey-dokey, but I realize it's not everyone's bag. :-) I had no idea it was going to become my bag, but sure enough, Ms. 42's got a brand new bag and yes, it is karaoke.
My first karaoke experience was in 1999 at a corporate retreat. A large part of the discussion that week centered on putting yourself out there, taking risks, etc., so the last night of the event involved a dance/karaoke party. I had never done karaoke before but sang with a group of girls for my first song (and I can't remember what song we sang). After a couple more beers, I sang a duet of "Killing Me Softly"--the Roberta Flack version.
I really didn't think about it for the next 13 years. Occasionally we would happen upon a bar or restaurant that was having a karaoke night, but I never sang and we usually didn't stay long.
Karaoke was apparently looking for me, though.
I found out someone close to me was a big karaoke fan. I have never heard her sing, but she is certainly a very enthusiastic karaoke participant, which usually counts for more than vocal ability. Check out this video where she goes a little overboard on "Greased Lightning" and accidentally punches out her friend.
I soon learned I had some more closeted karaoke-lovin' friends back in Nebraska, and we finished up the night of our going-away party at a karaoke bar, where I sang another duet, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin.'" My friend who sang with me said she couldn't hear me at all, and she probably couldn't (I didn't know how to properly sing into the microphone), but probably no one else could hear us either. That particular bar was a good place to cut my karaoke teeth again, because it had no stage and was a very crowded, very noisy and very indifferent bar full of heavy drinkers, most of whom could not see/hear the singers and weren't paying attention anyway.
Fast forward to a Sunday in October 2012. We hadn't been in town long, and after a movie, we were looking for a late dinner and beers at a pub close to home. We didn't realize it was karaoke night at the pub, but we had so much fun watching the singers that we stayed and cheered and clapped for everybody. I met a new friend that night who encouraged me to sing.
That following week, I did.
First song: "LA Woman" by the Doors. And it wasn't bad. I wasn't a great singer, but I was an okay singer. And ... the whole thing was surprisingly non-scary! You don't have time to be scared when you're so worried about keeping up with the lyrics, staying on tempo and trying to sing on key as much as possible!
I was hooked.
Soon I was singing two songs a night. We started staying a little longer and I would sometimes squeeze in a third before we called it a night. We made some friends at our regular neighborhood Sunday karaoke venue who were quite serious about their karaoke (though some of them were not necessarily good singers) and who went to 3 or 4 different bars a week just to sing. We tried some other places on different nights, and eventually found a bar/karaoke DJ/crowd that felt the most comfortable. It has a small stage, which does make a difference. I feel much more like I am "performing" if there is a stage, and I think people pay a bit more attention, too.
We have met some more new friends through karaoke, too, with whom we share a few other interests besides karaoke, which is a cool thing.
I hadn't really done any singing since a brief stint in 8th grade choir, but thanks to karaoke nights I am improving as a singer. My breath control is getting better--I can sing quite loud and sustain a note for a long time. I started out singing songs originally performed by men and was most comfortable in the lower end of my range for awhile, but I am singing more "girl" songs now and exploring songs that require higher notes and/or a little more vocal ability.
I do not always sing on key. Fortunately, that's not a requirement for karaoke. :-)
My first karaoke experience was in 1999 at a corporate retreat. A large part of the discussion that week centered on putting yourself out there, taking risks, etc., so the last night of the event involved a dance/karaoke party. I had never done karaoke before but sang with a group of girls for my first song (and I can't remember what song we sang). After a couple more beers, I sang a duet of "Killing Me Softly"--the Roberta Flack version.
I really didn't think about it for the next 13 years. Occasionally we would happen upon a bar or restaurant that was having a karaoke night, but I never sang and we usually didn't stay long.
Karaoke was apparently looking for me, though.
I found out someone close to me was a big karaoke fan. I have never heard her sing, but she is certainly a very enthusiastic karaoke participant, which usually counts for more than vocal ability. Check out this video where she goes a little overboard on "Greased Lightning" and accidentally punches out her friend.
I soon learned I had some more closeted karaoke-lovin' friends back in Nebraska, and we finished up the night of our going-away party at a karaoke bar, where I sang another duet, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin.'" My friend who sang with me said she couldn't hear me at all, and she probably couldn't (I didn't know how to properly sing into the microphone), but probably no one else could hear us either. That particular bar was a good place to cut my karaoke teeth again, because it had no stage and was a very crowded, very noisy and very indifferent bar full of heavy drinkers, most of whom could not see/hear the singers and weren't paying attention anyway.
Fast forward to a Sunday in October 2012. We hadn't been in town long, and after a movie, we were looking for a late dinner and beers at a pub close to home. We didn't realize it was karaoke night at the pub, but we had so much fun watching the singers that we stayed and cheered and clapped for everybody. I met a new friend that night who encouraged me to sing.
That following week, I did.
First song: "LA Woman" by the Doors. And it wasn't bad. I wasn't a great singer, but I was an okay singer. And ... the whole thing was surprisingly non-scary! You don't have time to be scared when you're so worried about keeping up with the lyrics, staying on tempo and trying to sing on key as much as possible!
I was hooked.
Soon I was singing two songs a night. We started staying a little longer and I would sometimes squeeze in a third before we called it a night. We made some friends at our regular neighborhood Sunday karaoke venue who were quite serious about their karaoke (though some of them were not necessarily good singers) and who went to 3 or 4 different bars a week just to sing. We tried some other places on different nights, and eventually found a bar/karaoke DJ/crowd that felt the most comfortable. It has a small stage, which does make a difference. I feel much more like I am "performing" if there is a stage, and I think people pay a bit more attention, too.
We have met some more new friends through karaoke, too, with whom we share a few other interests besides karaoke, which is a cool thing.
I hadn't really done any singing since a brief stint in 8th grade choir, but thanks to karaoke nights I am improving as a singer. My breath control is getting better--I can sing quite loud and sustain a note for a long time. I started out singing songs originally performed by men and was most comfortable in the lower end of my range for awhile, but I am singing more "girl" songs now and exploring songs that require higher notes and/or a little more vocal ability.
 |
| I was doing "Sweet Transvestite" from Rocky Horror Show when this photo was taken. [Boom, chick-a-boom, chick-a-boom!] (I know some of you will know what that means.) |
I do not always sing on key. Fortunately, that's not a requirement for karaoke. :-)
Like they have said on "American Idol," (which I haven't watched since the season with Ruben and Clay, for the record), song selection is super important. I know almost instantly when I have chosen the wrong song and it's usually a dismal failure. But ... so what? It's just karaoke. I'll also sing with anybody, and anybody is welcome to sing with me. (Last week I even tried to make a couple guys sing with me and held the mic too close to the speakers, resulting in awful squeals of feedback. Oops! I'm a dork!) I didn't know the gentleman in the picture below--he was never at the bar before that night and I haven't seen him since. He was a very good singer, and after singing several Beatles songs that night he asked me to duet with him on "I Got You Babe" by Sonny and Cher. It was super fun!
Some other totally cool things have happened at karaoke nights, too:
I should acknowledge, too, that part of what made my karaoke mania possible is the fact that I have been looking for full-time work since our move. I don't have to be up early for a job at this time. I have decided to make the most of my temporary part-time employment and go to karaoke on "school nights" if I feel like it. I know the time will come when I am working full-time again and probably will have to restrict my karaoke activity to the weekends, which will be okay, too. In the meantime, I'm gonna have fun while there is fun to be had!
Props to Mr. 42, who will probably never sing at any of the karaoke nights ever but is my faithful companion. (He likes to drink beer, watch and listen to other people singing and strike up barstool conversations with anyone who is sitting next to him. These things make karaoke night a win-win for us.)
(Photos courtesy of Dr. Thunder Karaoke.)
Some other totally cool things have happened at karaoke nights, too:
- A notable movie star--Tyler Mane from X-Men, the new Rob Zombie Halloween films, among others--came into one of the venues. He was premiering a film here and he and his entourage held their after-party in the upstairs room. I saw him come in but we had already left for the night when he came back downstairs and took pictures with a bunch of the singers. He is extremely tall, by the way.
- Two young guys sat next to us last week and acted a bit shy about singing, and then one of them went up there and freakin' nailed his song. Obviously a pro, which is not an uncommon thing here at karaoke nights, and he confessed: the two are performing in one of the Broadway shows that's playing here for the next few weeks. They were nice guys and we had a good time with them that night. I looked them up later and found out one of them has actually been in a production that was on Broadway and was also in a movie some of you may have seen called Across the Universe.
I should acknowledge, too, that part of what made my karaoke mania possible is the fact that I have been looking for full-time work since our move. I don't have to be up early for a job at this time. I have decided to make the most of my temporary part-time employment and go to karaoke on "school nights" if I feel like it. I know the time will come when I am working full-time again and probably will have to restrict my karaoke activity to the weekends, which will be okay, too. In the meantime, I'm gonna have fun while there is fun to be had!
Props to Mr. 42, who will probably never sing at any of the karaoke nights ever but is my faithful companion. (He likes to drink beer, watch and listen to other people singing and strike up barstool conversations with anyone who is sitting next to him. These things make karaoke night a win-win for us.)
(Photos courtesy of Dr. Thunder Karaoke.)