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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.
December 28, 2011 at 6:28am December 28, 2011 at 6:28am
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My extended family arrived late last night from Maryland to visit and help us with our remodel. We have big plans for today, and they don't involve writing goals. I'm so excited! Can't wait to upload pictures.
Peace. |
December 24, 2011 at 6:35am December 24, 2011 at 6:35am
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I'm only in Chapter 2. The book is called "A Voice in the Wind" by Francine Rivers, and a friend "loaned" it to me via Kindle (you can do that now.) She insisted I would love this author, and that this is the first of many books she intends to loan me.
The book has potential, but it feels like the rough draft. What author and editor would allow a published work to announce that "the men were furious and they shouted in fury"? I almost didn't find the potential, because Chapter 1 was so cumbersome. It starts with (one of) the (many) fall(s) of Jerusalem, in which Roman legions take the city from... um... various competing factions including Jews, Christians, zealots, and... uh... some other groups. In the first few pages, we met all these groups and their leaders, and for the life of me, I couldn't keep them straight. When they Jews set fire to their own temple to burn the Romans they'd just lured inside, I couldn't figure out who was inside, who was out, who set it on fire or whose temple it was. It was only later, when we finally met one protagonist, that I understood what had happened. I figured it out right after the part where the protagonist was taken captive by a Roman, into whose head we jumped just as he raised his sword to kill the protagonist, which is lucky - otherwise, I would have never known why he chose to take her captive instead of killing her.
Of course, our protagonist didn't know why he chose to do this. But we knew. Because we jumped into his head.
I intend to keep plugging away; now that I've met both protagonists, one a Christian from Jerusalem, and one a Germanic chieftain leading a rebellion against the Romans, I suspect they are destined to meet, and I'm intrigued. I just think this book needed a once-over by a good editor.  |
December 22, 2011 at 12:13pm December 22, 2011 at 12:13pm
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I remember when I made this blog public. I was keeping it as a private journal to track my goals, thinking nobody would be interested in reading such a thing. Well, they were - I had a lot of readers when I first went public. Now, I have much fewer. In my observation, that changed right around the time I stopped scrolling.
Moral of story: The more visible your online presence, the more people want to read you.
So visibility is key. But at the same time, I'm afraid to inundate Facebook and Twitter with junk. I want a witty, entertaining public presence, and I'm just not always in a witty mood. To build a celebrity brand online these days takes a lot of work and planning. Or maybe natural talent, of which I have a little, but not enough to crank out daily witticisms that keep readers coming back. This is why I teach and sing.
Renovation
Work scheduled next week. By "scheduled" I mean that me and a group of helpers are finishing the room and making it look nice. That's all the farther I've planned.
Reach 275 students at MTMS by 12/31/11.
A few walk-ins this week. But 275 is pretty much not gonna happen.
Writing:
 Blog at MT.com by the end of the month: Yes.
One character profile per day: No.
One fiction contest entry per day: No.
One original song per week: No.
Count points:
No, are you kidding? How many points are in Christmas cookies and candy and no-bake bars?
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December 19, 2011 at 8:52am December 19, 2011 at 8:52am
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I'm getting worried. This is a replacement laptop (black and bulky), sent because my first laptop (hot pink and tiny!) had a bad video card that kept eating motherboards and hard drives. The warranty on my original (pink) laptop, which transferred to the replacement (black) laptop, expired August of 2011. So it figures that my (black) replacement, which was a refurbished computer when they shipped it, would die right now. And in the last couple weeks, it has several times randomly rebooted itself and announced that no operating system was found. *starts thinking about backing up hard drive contents*
My next laptop will be tiny again. And not from Dell.
Renovation
We renovate the back next week. Currently an unpainted, concrete-floored storage area, the room will be converted to half computer lab and half office. We aren't erecting any walls - we haven't submitted drawings or pulled permits. We're just finishing the walls that are there, painting, laying a floor, and arranging the furniture for now. It's a trial run for the computer lab.
Reach 275 students at MTMS by 12/31/11.
Recitals were a blast. The University stage was perfect, and we still managed to maintain a light-hearted, fun atmosphere. And I'm sooooo glad it's over. On the enrollment front, we're still hovering around 230.
Writing:
Blog at MT.com by the end of the month: Yes.
One character profile per day: No.
One fiction contest entry per day: No.
One original song per week: No.
SCOPE CREEP HERE. I've been trying to transfer all my WDC data to Kindle, just to get it all in once place. I'm starting to think it's a bad idea, because Kindle is not that easy to navigate. It's great for its intended purpose - reading books. But snippets and things? It just takes too many clicks. Which puts me back at Square 1 in organizing my in-progress writing. And I have a laptop that may day any moment.
Count points:
No.
Today, I have a worship planning meeting at church, work, and possibly to sub for two acting classes. Besides that, I may play video games or fart around on Facebook and Pinterest all day. Even at work. |
December 18, 2011 at 7:31am December 18, 2011 at 7:31am
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I knew this would be a long weekend because of recitals and proximity to Christmas. Yesterday, I had to bounce from praise band practice to work to recitals to Walmart as it was. But then I forgot that my praise band drummer is out, and I have a tween sub who doesn't know the songs well. Also, since the regular drummer is out, we couldn't go over songs for Christmas Eve, which is *next Saturday* (!!!) So I didn't get done what I needed to get done at yesterday's practice, and it stressed me out. Then I got to work, and Karen, the receptionist, had to leave in a hurry because her father was in the hospital for a possible stroke (!!!), and I was counting on her for a number of reasons. And it stressed me out more. And because I had a fever for three straight days earlier this week (!!!), I failed to properly communicate my desire to take the recital programs and get them printed somewhere instead of printing in-house, which takes forever. So Karen printed all day Friday and Saturday, but there still weren't enough. We were fine for yesterday, but there are more recitals today. So late last night after Walmart, I ended up making an emergency trip to get more printed at a print store.
So.... after all that... I forgot to write at 750Words.com.
Not only did I blow a three-month streak, but I'll also be on the "Wall of Shame" because I committed to writing every day during the month of December. I'm numb. I think I'll sit on it before I do something rash. I've cycled through every response from delete my account to just start over with the writing streaks. Now, I'm sitting somewhere in between, because lately, many of my entries have sounded like, "I can't believe I'm wasting my time with this, but here we go..." because I have too many other things going on. It would be better to just write when I have the time and clarity to do it properly instead of forcing myself when I'm not in the zone. But I've never been one of those people who does things in moderation. If I start over with the streaks, I'll do it every damn day regardless of the crap I'm cranking out. I'm afraid I'll end up in the same place again - bitching about it instead of using the tool wisely.
Yes, it's just a tool. If I were smart, I would use it to write fiction, or to develop characters, or even to write publishable nonfiction like blog posts or performance evaluations. In fact, I've used it for all these things, just not consistently. Because all these things take some amount of forethought and organization, which means work outside of the twenty or so minutes it takes to crank out 750 words. I have to plan what I'm going to write if I intend to use the tool that way.
So I don't know if I'll use it again, but I'm too busy to be pissed about missing yesterday. I have my first of two worship services to lead in about two hours. The first service will have a tween guest drummer, and the second service will have a skit that I barely skimmed over once and have to personally lead. Then I'll go straight to recitals again. By tonight, when I'm home and relaxed and thankful that it's all over, I'll probably be pissed about missing yesterday's entry.
PS: I did at least add some cool "Buy Now" options to the MTMS website this week, if I didn't get much else done other than stare at the Christmas tree in a feverish stupor.  |
December 10, 2011 at 4:14pm December 10, 2011 at 4:14pm December 9, 2011 at 8:30am December 9, 2011 at 8:30am
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I had a nightmare last night. I waited until the last minute to buy Christmas gifts, thinking I would go out on Christmas day and do it then. It never occurred to me that all the stores would be closed. So my only option was to give everybody Chinese food for Christmas. *runs to Amazon.com*
Moving and Renovation
I got quotes on computers for all the rooms, which I plan to implement as part of the renovation. However, to justify the purchase, I need to create the electronic systems that we plan to use in the rooms: lobby sign-in, lab sign-in, teacher sign-in, and maybe schedule. Hurry up, Google Docs. I'm waiting for your database app.
OMG! Just after I wrote that, I opened Google Docs to get the data for the goal below (229 students) and saw "Google Fusion Tables (beta)" in the "Create" list - I am spending my whole day playing with that today. Sorry, writing goals. You lose.
Reach 275 students at MTMS by 12/31/11.
Current student load is 229. *kicks* Bump back over 230! We were in the 230 clear! Bleh.
Writing:
Blog at MT.com by the end of the month: Yes.
One character profile per day: No.
One fiction contest entry per day: No.
One original song per week:
Mon: Compose lyrics.
Tue: Polish lyrics.
Wed: Set to music. NOPE.
Thu: Polish and record. NOPE.
Fri: Launch. No activity. I didn't even start a song this week.
Sat: Snippets/brainstorm.
Sun: Snippets/brainstorm.
...but I did write the first of sixteen performance evaluations. Go me! It didn't even take that long. I cranked one out in my 750 words entry. So theoretically, I can write one per day and be done before we close for the last week of the year, starting 12/24.
Count points:
So far today:
(2) Coffee
(4) Bfast Lean Pocket
Dinner last night consisted of one Raising Cane's chicken finger and about a half dozen strawberry oreos (OMG... they taste like Neopolitan ice cream, when you run the scooper through the strawberry and chocolate together...) I imagine that wasn't the healthiest of dinners. But on the plus side, Keith and I walked again this morning, after a two-day hiatus.
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December 6, 2011 at 8:57pm December 6, 2011 at 8:57pm
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Sad. I haven't managed lyrics or contest entries so far this week. I've barely cranked out 750 words almost to the word every night right before falling asleep. I haven't published a blog post in three days. My dog is having a hell of a housebreaking setback, and I don't have the time or the inclination to go out in the cold weather with him and retrain him on the word "potty" and the requirement that it be done "outside." I haven't even started the performance evaluations I've had on my to-do list for three months.
But the closet is in, the back room in the studio is clean and the upcoming winter break renovation is scheduled and organized, so that's good. And just as I was feeling like a total slacker who can't accomplish the most reasonable of goals, I ran into a calendar from a few years ago that listed in the future planning section: "Retire" (from Abbott) by the end of 2011 and "Open a studio" in 2012. And then I felt better.
Quick weirdness: My ex contacted me today about guitar lessons for his daughter. That would be awkward. Besides, I think it was an excuse to hold a conversation (albeit via text.)
I would talk more about that, but right now, I'm tired and have 750 words to write before bed. If I'm smart, I'll write them about my employees and get these evaluations started. Or I'll write lyrics or a contest entry. But I won't be smart. I'll probably just spend 752 words bitching about how I'm too tired to do this, and how it feels like homework.
Peace. (Listen to what I say, not what I do.) |
December 4, 2011 at 8:29am December 4, 2011 at 8:29am December 4, 2011 at 6:55am December 4, 2011 at 6:55am December 3, 2011 at 10:17am December 3, 2011 at 10:17am
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Moving and Renovation
Got the back more organized, and now you can walk through.  It's a weight off my shoulders. Soon I'll be able to sit at the desk and work back there again. Processing payroll on Wednesday took ALL DAY because I had to do it out in the open where people could see me and talk to me.
Reach 275 students at MTMS by 12/31/11.
 236.5
Writing:
Blog at MT.com by the end of the month: Yes.
One character profile and background story per day: Yesterday, but not yet today.
One fiction contest entry per day: Yes, I entered "The Writer's Cramp" [13+] with a story about the character I created yesterday. It worked really well, so that's my new daily goal:
1. Use a contest prompt to write a background story about yesterday's character and enter the contest with the story.
2. Create a new character for tomorrow's contest entry.
Meanwhile, I got this nerdy idea to create a characters database, so I could later query the database when I need a stock character who fits a certain profile. Like, I could sort or filter on age, gender, etc. I prolly won't do it, though, because that sort of technical organization shit is the kind of stuff I do to procrastinate instead of actually writing.
One original song per week:
Mon: Compose lyrics.
Tue: Polish lyrics.
Wed: Set to music.
Thu: Polish and record.
Fri: Launch. No activity.
Sat: Snippets/brainstorm. Today, I plan to organize more snippets and pick a topic for Monday's lyrics.
Sun: Snippets/brainstorm.
Count points:
No.  |
December 2, 2011 at 10:42am December 2, 2011 at 10:42am
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My mother: "Congratulations on being homeless."
Moving and Renovation
Move crap out of the studio: No progress. Payroll was due yesterday, and the mess drove me crazy. No place to sit and work.
Renovation: Gah. To be fair, I erected some shelves and organized the closet. But that's just where customers can see. The back is a wreck.
Reach 275 students at MTMS by 12/31/11.
Good day! We enrolled like five new students yesterday. We lost a couple, too, so we're still in the 230's.
Writing:
Blog at MT.com by the end of the month: Yes. I keep trying to link it at Facebook, but I forgot to set the meta data when I first hit "Publish," and now Facebook won't pull up the new data (specifically, the photo and description.)
I revised the rest of my writing goals:
One character profile and background story per day: Not yet.
One fiction contest entry per day: No, but entered a poetry contest. ?
One original song per week:
Mon: Compose lyrics.
Tue: Polish lyrics.
Wed: Set to music.
Thu: Polish and record. Well, no, since I started in the middle of a cycle. I started re-reading and organizing works I've previously begun.
Fri: Launch.
Sat: Snippets/brainstorm.
Sun: Snippets/brainstorm.
Count points:
No. |
December 1, 2011 at 5:10am December 1, 2011 at 5:10am
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I closed on my house yesterday. Bittersweet: I no longer have a mortgage, but I also no longer have a house. On the other other hand, a ton of stuff just fell off my to-do list, so I can focus on new goals.
Moving and Renovation
Move crap out of the garage: Obviously this goal can go, since I gave the garage door opener to the new owner.
Move crap out of the studio: Just need an orange tote for the Halloween gear. Also need Keith and the trailer to move out the stage and other large items.
Renovation: The back office / future computer lab is a MESS. But I finished organizing the closet in the classroom, which is an area exposed to customers. The back can wait until Keith can bring the trailer over.
Reach 275 students at MTMS by 12/31/11.
It's withdrawal week (a.k.a, my tuition is due, and I decided I'm not going to continue and therefore not going to pay for December even though we require two weeks' notice to withdraw), and we're at 232.5. Not shabby. I'm vying for 250, which is my next pay raise, and then 275, when the receptionist goes to full time hours. 275 by the end of this month might be unreasonable. The most we've ever climbed in a single month was 47 students, and that wasn't in a holiday month (we're closed the entire last week of December.)
Writing:
Blog at MT.com by the end of the month: Pending.
30 minutes of daily freestyle writing: I hereby eliminate this goal in favor of the following.
New writing goals:
30 minutes of songwriting per day: Pending.
One fiction contest entry per day: Pending, and possibly the most ridiculous goal I've ever set for myself.
Count points:
No, and I'm starting to feel ill from overeating and fast weight gain. I've got a group talking about a competition in January, with an entry fee, where the winner takes the pot (or the top three winners split the pot.) Details pending.
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Even better if she can whistle to the tune of Mozart or something. 
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)
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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)
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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)
