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About This Author
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La Bene Vita
I am a professional musician  , worship leader , small business owner , songwriter , aspiring author and freelance nonfiction writer with a chemical engineering degree .
But that's just my resume.
My profile of qualifications is only one of the ways in which I am unique. Here I chronicle my personal and professional goals and my efforts to achieve them. Occasionally I fail. Mostly, I take daily baby steps toward all my long-term goals. Much like the stories I pen, the songs I compose, and the businesses I run, I am always a work in progress.
October 31, 2009 at 6:19pm October 31, 2009 at 6:19pm
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Update "October Novel Prep Challenge" [13+] contestant log every day.
 Goal met. It was pretty easy, since I only had a couple of posts since the last time I updated, at 9pm Thursday night! LOL. Two more close-out emails to go! 
Launch one new Potbelly song per week.
Pending...
Post at WordPress at least once per month.
Pending! D'oh! I've been listing this as "Goal met" all week. Damn template. *kicks*
Launch one new Praise Band song per month.
Goal met.
Write one new original song per month.
Goal met: "Invalid Item"
Write one Textbroker article per week.
Goal met.
Write three Helium articles per week.
In progress, with one to go.
Resign from Abbott by 6/1/10.
In progress.
Achieve a weight of 145.0 by Thanksgiving.
In progress?
Weight: Yeah, it was like, 154.4. I ate breakfast and drank two cups of coffee first, but holy guacamole, Batman.
Meals:
8:00am Candy corns (2)
8:30am Coffee (1), French toast (3), butter (1), syrup (2)
9:30am Coffee (1)
2:00pm Skinny roast beef sandwich (7)
4:00pm Mini Snickers (2) and candy corns (1)
5:30pm Nuts (1)
6:00pm Amaretto sour (?)
Current real estate goal: Organize garage.
Pending.
On a related note, I hear that the first-time homebuyer tax credit is in deliberation for possible extension into 2010. Let me make my official vote FOR that idea. Keith and I are both trying to sell houses in the first-time homebuyer price range, and though I hope to sell mine by the end of November, I might not. Meanwhile, Keith's is not even on the market yet, and we probably won't list it until spring. |
October 30, 2009 at 9:29am October 30, 2009 at 9:29am
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I have the sweetest man, ever...
When it comes to Writing.Com, I'm always afraid I'll be judged by my RL friends and family. We all hear enough of the sarcastic comments about networking sites like MySpace and Facebook to know that there are still people who judge us for using them. When I discovered Writing.Com, I thought it was just a place to post writing and get feedback, but I quickly discovered the networking side. Writing.Com is not much different from MySpace and Facebook, and though it may be a tad more intellectual and useful, I fear judgment.
Meanwhile, Keith is not an Internet networker. He's bright, computer-savvy, and has an engineering degree, but the Internet is just not his style. His style is sunny-day-on-the-golf-course in the summer and beer-and-football-with-the-guys in the winter (which I confess warily, recognizing the potential for reverse judgment as I share this with my non-beer-and-football Internet-networking friends.)
Somehow, though, Keith has been different for me. As I explain in "It's So Easy" [18+], it's easy to talk to him. He knows about the Challenge I'm running through October, "October Novel Prep Challenge" [13+], because I mention it daily. He hears how I need to update my spreadsheet, send out my daily close-out email, or chase down my judges. I share many complimentary posts in the forum, like the one that says how ready the participant is for NaNoWriMo, or how great the participant thought a particular challenge was. Keith knows that the Challenge is important to me, and that I do it because it makes me feel good, knowing that I'm helping people. He likes that about me. He even got onto me for disqualifying people after three days of absence, because if they come back on that fourth day and post all four, are they not meeting the intent of the Challenge? He is the reason that I implemented Runner-Up Prize for those participants, which is going to be just as good as the regular prize.
I still have that lingering fear of judgment, and when he asked me what the prizes were, I hesitated. How do you explain Merit Badges to RL friends, or the inevitable parallel Gift Points topic? I was afraid to discuss GPs, because it involves money.
Naturally, GPs came up, and he asked what they're used for. I explained that one of the biggest things is upgrades, and I showed him the Shop, so he could see GPs versus dollars. I explained that you can just outright purchase an upgrade, and that I had just upgraded to Premium last month (paying $70 more than a regular Upgrade would have cost for the year.) I got the dreaded question: "Why?"
Gah! What do you say? I paid $70 extra for a costumicon? No, that's not why, nor is it really the extra space in my port. Frankly, although I'm pushing the Upgrade limit of 250, I could easily clean out my port. I rarely receive feedback anymore, and I no longer get as much out of WDC as I give, except maybe what I learn in the giving. So, why the Premium, then? There is an answer, and it's very simple, but y'all are never gonna believe it. You may not understand it. I was certain that Keith wouldn't. The answer is:
I needed the Website feature for "October Novel Prep Challenge" [13+]. I paid $70 so I could maintain my Prep Log.
And do you know what Keith said? After the pointed line of questioning, that one, simple, true explanation generated: "Oh! That makes complete sense. You needed it for your contest." And it retrospect, I was more suspicious of his questioning than he probably deserved. I think he was just trying to understand, not judge. Even when I confessed that I paid money to run this Challenge for other people, he didn't judge me or suggest better ways we could spend $70. Instead, he fully supported me. Also, when I tried to explain about this networking site that I love, he asked lots of questions not out of malicious intent, but because he's interested in my interests and wants to understand why I enjoy spending so much time here.
Shh, don't tell: I'm gonna get him a golf GPS and a new set of clubs for Christmas.  |
October 30, 2009 at 7:51am October 30, 2009 at 7:51am October 29, 2009 at 12:48pm October 29, 2009 at 12:48pm October 29, 2009 at 7:37am October 29, 2009 at 7:37am October 28, 2009 at 7:25am October 28, 2009 at 7:25am October 27, 2009 at 10:07am October 27, 2009 at 10:07am October 26, 2009 at 8:24am October 26, 2009 at 8:24am October 25, 2009 at 9:06am October 25, 2009 at 9:06am October 24, 2009 at 9:13am October 24, 2009 at 9:13am October 23, 2009 at 10:02am October 23, 2009 at 10:02am
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*erases that pesky mistake in yesterday's post title* Yesterday was Thursday, not Wednesday.  Thursday was a long day working at Abbott from 8:30am - 11:00pm with a two-hour break to play at Potbelly. I think I'll take off half the night tonight. 
Update "October Novel Prep Challenge" [13+] contestant log every day.
Goal met.
Launch one new Potbelly song per week.
Goal met. I finally launched "Angels."
Post at WordPress at least once per month.
Goal met: http://michelletuesday.wordpress.com"
Launch one new Praise Band song per month.
Goal met.
Write one new original song per month.
Goal met: "Invalid Item"
Write one Textbroker article per week.
Goal met and then some. I managed to squeeze in a revision at a client's request and another new article yesterday before I got slammed at Abbott. Once it hit, the workload never let up.
Write three Helium articles per week.
Goal met.
Resign from Abbott by 6/1/10.
In progress.
Achieve a weight of 145.0 by Thanksgiving.
In progress.
Weight: 150.4
Meals:
7:30am 1.5 pieces leftover pizza (6)
8:00am Coffee (1)
10:00am Coffee (1)
Current real estate goal: Organize garage.
In progress... although I haven't touched it in two days. I'm burned out.
On the real estate front, my house had its second showing yesterday. Those of you who know about (or have even seen) my deck, patio, shed, fishy pond, and fancy landscaping, it got kudos in the feedback, so go me! The buyer just decided against the split-level floor plan.
So, maybe I'm in the wrong business. But we knew this already!  If music and writing don't work out for me, I'll look into the business of landscaping arts.  |
October 22, 2009 at 7:45am October 22, 2009 at 7:45am October 21, 2009 at 10:25am October 21, 2009 at 10:25am
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Update "October Novel Prep Challenge" [13+] contestant log every day.
Goal met.
Launch one new Potbelly song per week.
Pending... and it's more likely going to be "Angels" by Within Temptation than the Miley Cyrus song this week. Sorry, Chris!
Post at WordPress at least once per month.
Goal met: http://michelletuesday.wordpress.com with a new recording, a LeAnn Rimes medley of "I Need You" and "How Do I Live."
Launch one new Praise Band song per month.
Goal met.
Write one new original song per month.
Goal met: "Invalid Item"
Write one Textbroker article per week.
Pending.
Write three Helium articles per week.
Goal met, but I still have a backlog of two to catch up.
Resign from Abbott by 6/1/10.
In progress, and I'm looking forward to sleeping regularly.
Achieve a weight of 145.0 by Thanksgiving.
In progress.
Weight:
Meals:
7:00am Leftover bacon pepperjack turkeyburger (15?), two waffle fries (1), two onion rings (3)
7:30am Coffee (1)
9:00am Coffee (1)
10:30am Dark chocolate mini Reese's cup (1) and coffee (1)
I hate wasting leftovers.  So, instead, I "waisted" them. The Reese's cup was comfort food.
UPDATE: I obviously forgot to finish recording my food. No wonder I can't lose weight. I remember:
1:45pm Skinny roast beef (7)
5:00pm Dry salad (0), chips (8), cookie (3)
Did I eat more? No idea.
Current real estate goal: Organize garage.
Eh. I was too frustrated after spending two hours trying to record one stupid song that I just didn't feel like tackling an organization project with the thirty minutes I had left. Hence the comfort food. |
October 20, 2009 at 9:23am October 20, 2009 at 9:23am October 19, 2009 at 7:52am October 19, 2009 at 7:52am
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Update "October Novel Prep Challenge" [13+] contestant log every day.
Pending. I'll do this after all the Contest Round entries are in at noon.
Launch one new Potbelly song per week.
Pending. Next up: "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus.
Post at WordPress at least once per week.
FAIL. Maybe I should make this a monthly goal for now, since that's about how often I've been actually doing it!
Launch one new Praise Band song per month.
Goal met.
Write one new original song per month.
Goal met: "Invalid Item"
Write one Textbroker article per week.
Pending. I still have a 1,200-word article to write, so that should cover it.
Write three Helium articles per week.
Pending. I have a backlog of two, so I need to write five this week.
Resign from Abbott by 6/1/10.
In progress. I'm working day shift today to free myself up for a three-hour gig this evening.
Achieve a weight of 145.0 by Thanksgiving.
In progress.
Weight: I dunno, but I bet it's bad.
Meals:
7:00am Fiber PopTarts (6) and coffee (1)
9:30am Chai (1)
12:15pm Two jalepeno poppers (3), cottage cheese (2), and dry salad with sunflower seeds and parmesan cheese (1)
Current real estate goal: Organize garages.
Pending. I at least picked up the DVRs and modem to return them to AT&T, but that was a drama in itself. I was locked out of my house! It's a good thing I don't live there anymore. I gave my last two keys to the real estate agent, which would have been fine, because I still had the garage door clicker. Well, somebody locked the door leading from the garage into the house. |
October 18, 2009 at 10:04am October 18, 2009 at 10:04am
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Update "October Novel Prep Challenge" [13+] contestant log every day.
Goal met.
Launch one new Potbelly song per week.
Goal met. Next up: Miley Cyrus by request.
Post at WordPress at least once per week.
Pending. I could have done this last night, but I didn't feel like getting the guitar out.
Launch one new Praise Band song per month.
Goal met.
Write one new original song per month.
Goal met: "Invalid Item"
Write one Textbroker article per week.
Goal met: I wrote #3 for the week yesterday, and I signed up for #4... a monster 1,200-word article.
Write three Helium articles per week.
Goal met. I have written five, and have two left to catch up from my backlog.
Resign from Abbott by 6/1/10.
In progress.
Achieve a weight of 145.0 by Thanksgiving.
In progress.
Weight: 
Meals:
9:00am Two eggs (4), English muffin (1) with butter (1), coffee (1)
10:00am Coffee (1)
10:45am Licorice allsorts (3)
12:30pm Rice krispies treat (2)
2:00pm Granola bar (4)
6:00pm Mexican! Chips, guac, cheese dip, salsa, enchiladas, rice, two "jumbo" margaritas ( )
9:00pm "Yellow cake" mixed drink and three mini dark chocolate Reese's cups
Current real estate goal: Organize garages.
Pending, along with returning my DVRs and modem. |
October 17, 2009 at 9:45am October 17, 2009 at 9:45am October 16, 2009 at 10:39am October 16, 2009 at 10:39am October 15, 2009 at 11:07am October 15, 2009 at 11:07am October 14, 2009 at 9:53am October 14, 2009 at 9:53am
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Comment 
, also known as Michelle Tuesday, is a musician, educator and writer hailing from Columbus, Ohio.![Merit Badge in Music
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To a dear friend whose talent for writing music is sensational. May you have a fabulous New Year, (((Brandi)))!!! *^*Kiss*^*
Big hugs,
Sherri *^*Heart*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Music-1050.gif)
![Merit Badge in Organization
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I don't know how you do it, but I assume there's magic involved *^*Bigsmile*^* I have really enjoyed this month of planning and preparation for NaNoWriMo and I love how organized it all is. Thank you for hosting a great challenge and for your dedication to helping so many of us prepare with confidence and trepidation for National Novel Writing Month (known to sane folks as 'November' *^*Laugh*^*) at your [Link To Item #1474311]](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Organization-1150.gif)
![Merit Badge in Leadership
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For your hard work, commitment, talent and innovation in running the October NaNoWriMo Preparation each year, which helps many of us get our scattered thoughts together for November's novel-writing. And also because this badge has ducks on it.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Leadership.gif)
Not a good way to detect progress (or lack thereof.)
celebration
I'm not used to this extra sleep thing.
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