Happy New Year

  First of all happy 2013 to everyone!  I hope everyone has a great and prosperous year.  My 2012 was pretty good in general although the second half of the year flew by insanely fast.  I feel like that happens with every year.  September-December, where did it go?  I was too busy to really notice it.  Too busy with work, getting in my own way, performances, and all that jazz.  Life goes by and we miss it.  I know that goes for me personally.  I need to have a little gratitude, which I do at the moment. I am a live, well, doing what I love to do, and on a good path if I allow it to unfold.  I learn more and more each day, even though some days are like, what happened to that day?  When time flies by it is important to remember that any day we are a live is a gift.  I will repeat that, if we are a live, it is a gift.  I was in a deli buying some water yesterday, and the man behind the desk said that to me.
   All of these shootings and hate crimes, which have been contagious lately for some reason, are prime examples of why each day is a gift.  We never know what might happen, and regretfully, that is even more the case than ever right now, and that is a bit of a shame.  The shooting took place in Connecticut, now things like that are happening more.  The question of why they happen in the first place is one I cannot really answer.  We need love versus hate in the world.  Only love really is worthwhile.  When I have any type of hate I feel terrible inside and out.  It is not a healthy emotion to have.  Problems are not really solved by hate.  Hate causes death and all sorts of other problems.  Plus when people walk around with hate, it comes out of their every pore, and it noticeable.  If I am walking down the street, and projecting hate, people look uncomfortable, and I do not even know them.
   So, I am hoping that there is more love and less hate in 2013.   That includes me sometimes, especially towards myself.  Hate is such a waste of time.  I am not talking about myself as an artist when I say that.  If I play Iago, I have to have hate for the character.  Real life is not the same thing, and I do not think people realize that when they go on shooting sprees or whatever it may be.  Life is too short for anger and hate.  Love goes a lot further, and accomplishes a lot more with more effective results.  If I express anger and hate towards someone, I am going to get it back, or shut the other person down, whereas, the opposite is also true.  I guess this is a bunch of random philosophy type jargon, but I want all the hate and anger to stop, including my own.  I always include myself when I write these kind of things, so as not to be a hypocrite.
   My resolutions for 2013 are to not live in fear, take some risks with my craft, be as kind to others as I can, and keep making positive changes.  Life is a life time journey, and all I can do is my best.  But, it is worth changing for the positive, or why bother.  Life is such a precious gift, which is more precious than ever at this point in time.  I just need to not try too hard to figure life out, or it will just go by like the wind, which it does already.  I am not really into the I'm going to go to the gym everyday.  I need to exercise, but I do not do the I'm going to lose 40 pounds by March 1st kind of talk.  It does not work for me.  I state goals in a more general sense, and I do not put the timeline pressure on myself.  So, happy 2013, and lets make the most of the time we have on earth.
 

The People That Walked in Darkness, from Handel's "Messiah" by nickbass78

The People That Walked in Darkness, from Handel's "Messiah" by nickbass78

New Post

It's been nearly a month since my last posting.  Busy, busy, busy equals exhausting, but it is good to be busy.  Those shootings sure were disturbing last Friday.  I went on facebook, my current addiction of choice, and people wrote about these shootings.  I google searched it in disbelief and alas it really happened.   So much for a normal day at school for a bunch of innocent adults and children, right?  Schools should be the safest and most nurturing places on the face of the earth.  Well, so much for that idea, and this has been occuring numerous times I might add.  What causes these shooters to open fire is something I am not qualified to answer.  The kid who was the gunman's mother shouldn't have had a gun in the house, that's for sure.  There are so many accidents and uintentional, and intentional problems with guns, need I say more?  Plus if someone is angry, escaping with a kick in the nuts beats a gun shot wound, right?  I don't mean to offend anyone with that remark, but I am putting home the issue at hand here.  Just, the plain fact is that the mother of the shooter owned a gun.  These things are complicated, but I have no idea why she owned a freaking gun.  I really don't know what the answer is.  Not owning a gun would help though.  There are many tragic events in the world each day, and this one hit me really hard, as it did many people.  Seeing the video of that sweet little girl playing the piano and singing is heart breaking.  We lost a potentially great musician and human being there.  She was just having fun and being a kid.  Many people with careers, marriages, and children of their own in the future were lost.  These children were part of our great hope for future generations.    One or many of these children could have made a huge difference in the world, and they have been stripped of that chance.  The main thing is they were innocent people partaking in normal school activities.  Imagine being a family member or friend of the victims and trying to accept the situation.  Isn't acceptance a bitch sometimes?  It sure is here.
   I'm pretty lucky, as are a lot of us to have our lives and health.  I have a choice of whether to enjoy life or not in this very moment in time.  Since events continually occur that prove how precious life is, enjoying life is a good idea.  Life can be flat out exhausting and what not, but hey I'll take it.  The blessings in my own life out weigh the problems by a million pounds.

 
 
   

Thankgiving

     I feel like it is has been ages since I have written a blog about anything.  I have been short on things to write about.  Anyway, here goes something I suppose.  I have been able to do some pretty good performances over the last month.  One of the highlights was singing in "Nevsky" with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Stephane Deneve.  He is a good conductor to watch out for, and I hope he is in Philly for other concerts.  Another highlight of last weekend was singing under British conductor and composer Phillip Stopford.  He is a very smart musician, who got over 200 people to sing pretty damn well together, and he did it with grace, dignity, and good humor.  There will be plenty of performing to come at Christmas time including a midnight mass, and Christmas morning mass.  Also, I am doing a recital at Solley Theatre in the Paul Robeson Center in Princeton on December 9th, a Philadelphia Singers Concert, and the Messiah with the Philadelphia Singers chorale.  I am performing the recital for performance practice, and also to give people pleasure with music.  Donations are appreciated, but it is really about the music.  I will not be singing the Grinch, so sorry.  I am also auditioning for the Met Chorus on December 11.  My goals are to sing well and not get lost in the building.  When in doubt, do those two things at auditions, and you cannot lose.  It is an experience, what else can I say?  It sure is a lot of stuff coming up.  Sleep has been sporadic because of commuting, anticipation, and my diva cat.  The diva likes to talk to me when I get home late at night, but hey, I will take it.  She saved me more than I saved her is how I look at it.  So, what am I thankful for?

  

     The list is quite long when I think about it logically.  Logic, what's that?  I have a roof over my head, a nice family and friends, a pet, food, music etc...  Gratitude and attitude rhyme for a reason.  It is important to have gratitude everyday, not just today.  Today is a day off, so there is more time to think about gratitude, and what I am grateful for.  There is really no excuse for not being grateful for me personally.  As I write about gratitude, I gain it.  Anyway, I wish everyone a happy rest of Thanksgiving.  Also, I vote not to go too crazy with the whole Black Friday thing.  I am being opinionated, and proud of it.  Remember, who and what you have in your lives, versus going insane with shopping.  I am all for thinking of other people, and for the phrase "it's the thought that count."  The thought most certainly does count, but so does safety.  

Perspective

The dark is flat out depressing when it is for a continued period of time.  I feel very lethargic and tired at the moment.  It could be slowing down on a crazy schedule combined with the dark.  Sandy you were a bitch and a half.  This lack of power thing is depressing, but also helps me keep in perspective that I could be less fortunate all the time, not just temporarily.   I am a very lucky person, as are a lot of us.  It is so easy to take the basic essentials such as electricity for granted.        Well, now it's night time and candles are lite.  It almost feels like a little meditation retreat.  Hopefully it will not be too long until things are restored.  That was one nasty storm.  One of the nastiest I have witnessed.  A lack of power is a mere inconvenience.  People lost their homes, have flooded neighborhoods, some people are dead, trapped, stuck in shelters etc..  The purpose of this posting is perspective, perspective,  perspective.  Perspective is really important in something like this.  I hope all my friends and the like are safe.  

Good sayings for not taking life too seriously

This my sound kind of silly, but don't take the small stuff too seriously. It's pretty tiring to do so, believe me. I'm better at handling the big stuff, versus the crap that is virtually meaningless. Simply put, life is too short. Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today. James Dean "Enjoy yourself - it's later than you think." Socrates And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. Abraham Lincoln Enjoy life! This is not a rehearsal. Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive. Elbert Hubbard "Every minute should be enjoyed and savored." Earl Nightingale "The whole life of man is but a point of time; let us enjoy it, therefore, while it lasts, and not spend it to no purpose." Plutarch "When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love." Marcus Aurelius My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I'm happy. I can't figure it out. What am I doing right? Charles Schulz To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else. Emily Dickinson Love the moment. Flowers grow out of dark moments. Therefore, each moment is vital. It affects the whole. Life is a succession of such moments and to live each, is to succeed. Corita Kent There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. Albert Einstein Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming – "WOW – What a Ride!" Unknown "I do not want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well." Diane Ackerman Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower. Hans Christian Andersen "The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live." Joan Borysenko I mean, there's little enough in this life, really, and you only find it worth living for the odd moments, and if you think you're going to have those odd moments again, then it makes life wonderful and have a meaning. Anthony Burgess "Live to the point of tears." Albert Camus "The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it." W. M. Lewis

Why Write This Blog?

I've been asking myself lately why I continue to write entries to this blog. Someone laughed at me once when I told him I have a blog.  I was interested in sharing it with him, and that's the response I got.  Well, I'll explain why I write this blog.     First of all, writing helps me to create.  Writing is an awesome form of expression which can invoke new and interesting thoughts.  Second, I might write about something that not only helps me, but helps other people as well.  If I am down in the dumps, or down and out, I can discuss what I do to get back on track.  Someone who is going through the same thing may think they are the only one.  I can help reassure them that they're not.  Next, I can share about my love of music.  Music saves lives.  I like to share about my favorite singers, recordings, and review performances I've been to.  If I share my love of music it might inspire them and change their life.  Music is beneficial to humanity.  I like to share wisdom I've read or been taught.  Sometimes, I hear something or read something that serves as an ah hah moment, and I like to share it with other people.  When tragedies strike, and people need comfort, I like to write about it to comfort myself and others.  If something I say in these blog postings makes someone laugh, have a new hobby, or whatever, I'm serving a purpose.  So, if I get asked why I have a blog, those are some of my reasons.   I'm not writing this to moan about someone finding it amusing that I have a blog. Well, I do like bitching sometimes, I won't lie to all of you. If someone laughs at something you're doing, I highly suggest not falling victim to it. Keep doing it if it's something you love. Only I can discourage myself, no one else can unless I give them permission. We only live once, and people are going to laugh at us sometimes. Who cares? If I care, that's my problem. If they laugh, that's their problem.