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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.
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I'm almost officially on Spring Break. Since I manage the new location (Polaris, which is only open Mon-Thu so far) and not the original location (Gahanna, which is also open Fridays and Saturdays for lessons), then I have a bit of choice in the matter. I'd like to declare Spring Break ON, but I haven't written my six evaluations yet. 
Enrollments:
That's another thing. I need to put some more online enrollment options on the website. Reception gave me options for Polaris but not Gahanna. We need to be on auto pilot next week, since we're closed.
Minecraft:
Yes.  I even spent some time reading online tutorials yesterday. Every time I think I'm an "expert" at this game, I discover new, more complicated things that I can do.
Weight:
No comment.
Poor Witch:
Here's a quick status update on the saga:
Book 1: In the edit stage. It's been through a comprehensive plot edit. Next comes voice/characterization. The final edit will be for grammar/usage/spelling/typos.
Book 2: NaNo 2012, and only partially written. I "won" that year but didn't finish the story. Also, the story that I did write needs a lot of tweaking to align it with Books 1 and 3.
Book 3: NaNo 2013, and I actually finished this one, so I have full draft, though a rough draft.
Book 4: In the concept stage and fodder for the "October Novel Prep Challenge" [13+] at some point. I *think* this will be the book that resolves the story arc, but the stupid story keeps growing.
I've decided it's time to work on Book 2. I'm not sure if I'll be writing or editing or both, but I'll need to start by reading - the draft as it stands so far and the outlines and other development notes.
Reading:
Finished Eragon. Checked out Eldest and started reading. Will probably read a lot next week, due to Spring Break.
Violin:
Been practicing, but stalled. I'm struggling with something, and it frustrates me, so I only practice for ten or fifteen minutes at a time. I have a lesson today.
Evaluations:
Approved all Gahanna reviews. Must write my own Polaris reviews.
Youth Praise Band:
Three songs in progress, so I'm good here, because we haven't completed the three songs. I won't need another new song for at least a week or two, if at all. |
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Enrollments:
- posted a handful of new classes on the web today
- responded to a math tutoring business who wants to hold a joint music & math exploration event for kids
- approved artwork for a print ad to run over the next three months
Minecraft
- none yesterday! ...today is another day, however
Weight
- finally stepped on the scale, after months and months of neglect: 182.3
- set a goal to drop below 180 by the end of the week 
Poor Witch
- one WDC review in progress
- arranged for a fourth-grade teacher friend to read it to her class and provide me with feedback
- still interested in trading novel reviews!
Gigs
- added several songs to my setlist, but no "Let It Go" yet, because I don't think it will translate well to acoustic guitar
- landed a few more gigs than normal by sheer luck (well, and prior networking and impressing of manager-types)
- completed an online profile for outdoor Columbus gigs (required this year by my regular farmer's market gig)
I'm removing this from the list because it sort of runs itself; people contact me to perform, and I accept and go play. I don't solicit gigs because I couldn't handle performing more often than I already do.
Reading
- still reading Eragon, and in fact, my library check-out period expired (?! Is it possible that 21 days already passed?!) I checked it out again, and Kindle remembered where I was in the book. I read for two hours last night.
- waiting for Storm Machine  to link me to the project she wants me to review
Violin
- none for the last three days because of extensive guitar gigs on Friday and Saturday. My fingers needed some healing time. Today would be the day to pick it up again, so I should do that before getting sucked into the Minecraft vortex.
Teaching
- new teacher Molly is fantastic and officially taking over my Tuesday lineup, except for one at-risk drum student
- new teacher Lane worries me. I gave him several choices for orientation, and he picked today (Tuesday) at 11am. Then last night, he emailed to ask if he could have additional choices because a rehearsal came up that he couldn't get out of (although, the way it was worded, the rehearsal was already scheduled, and he assumed he could get out of it, and supposedly at the last minute "found out" that he couldn't get out of it after all because of an upcoming performance.) Not the best way to start out on your first day. I emailed him immediately back with new options, including 9am today (40 minutes from now), and he has yet to reply, so he must not have checked his email again last night after sending the request to reschedule. It doesn't feel like a high priority.
Evaluations
- Finished reviewing all the evaluations written by three managers and sent feedback. Now I just have to write my own, which will be six evaluations: two teachers, a computer lab attendant, a reception lead, a finance manager, and the Gahanna site manager.
Accountability
- I truly believe that the "Monthly Writing Accountability Challenge" [13+] has inspired me to start monitoring these goals in my blog again, establishing and tracking my priorities. I've been very productive in the last day or two. But that may just be the ADD meds talking, which I stopped taking for about a month because I was taking sinus meds. Whatever the reason, I'll take it and hope it continues.
Youth Praise Band
- The kids are learning really quickly. They range from 2nd grade - 10th grade, and after just four rehearsals, we have one song completely down and two additional songs started, and they sound fantastic. We have nine total rehearsals, so I anticipate we'll be able to squeeze out one or maybe two more songs.
...and that's all she wrote for Tuesday. |
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Sometimes I wish I had a job with defined hours, so I could spend my leisure time doing fun things without guilt.
By now, most of my friends and readers know that I have a crippling Minecraft addiction. I play for hours and hours and hours. It takes that long to complete building projects, mine enough ores to build railroads, travel long distances to find missing resources, and explore a world that is, at least in the PC version, unending. The designers of this game are truly brilliant people. I wish I could figure out how to make practicing your instrument this addictive.
Most of the time, I have my life's priorities very well defined. But sometimes I wonder why I have the priorities I have. Am I trying to leave a mark on the world? I have my name in lights in two Columbus suburbs, I lead worship every week for the broken and imperfect, and more than thirty people have jobs and hundreds of kids are being shaped into hardworking, responsible, creative adults, thanks to the business I started, so: mission accomplished. Am I trying to carve out a living with my life's passions? I don't earn a lot of money doing what I do, and frankly, I don't use half of what I earn, so there. Am I just trying to have a little fun before I die? I do have a pretty awesome life, setting my own schedules, playing gigs, and doing whatever I want most of the time. But something in me remains unsatisfied.
I graduated from college with a woman who went on to earn her MD and PhD in biomedical engineering and now serves as a faculty member, assistant director, and assistant dean at Harvard University. We used to study together as undergrads, and I always thought she was ridiculously studious, up before dawn and to bed after dark year-round, in the study lounge pretty much constantly. But I have to admit, she obviously knew what she wanted, and she got it. I admire that.
I think many of us think we know what we want. Some of us are better at achieving those goals than others. For some, goals never make it past the "dream" stage. We "dream" of publication. We "dream" of a corner office. We "dream" of independent living, sufficient income, passionate romance, strong families, happy lives. We dream of these things, and in our minds, they never become reality, because we always want more, and we forget that we once had a lower goal. People don't step back and look at their lives thinking, "Check it out, I got the publication I always wanted!" or "I'm finally in the corner office!" Instead, they lament that the book isn't selling enough, that the office isn't on a high enough floor or in a big enough city. This is why we love fiction. We dream of closure, of satisfaction, of living the life of a protagonist who finally gets exactly what he wanted - nothing more and nothing less.
I'm a fairly driven person, but it's not because I want more material wealth. I think encouragement, acceptance, and maybe admiration are my motivators, but I'm honestly not sure, because sometimes I get annoyed with people's expectations of me, which implies that I'm tired of pleasing people.
I have an addictive personality. I get fixated on something, and I focus on it almost exclusively for months at a time. That's why I've built a successful business, written several complete novels and extensive outlines for several more, and composed dozens of original songs. That's why I've read scores and scores of literature ranging from classics to modern popular fiction. And that's why I have several full sets of enchanted diamond armor, thriving livestock and crop farms, and vast, elaborate structures that tower over a cubic digital world, all achieved in "survival" mode.
But these fixations, even the ones that might be praised by the general public (i.e., all of them except the Minecraft addiction), are all unhealthy, because I focus on them at the expense of everything else. So I think what I really seek is balance. And I think I've spent my entire life striving for it and failing.
I admit that having a regular 40-hour job was good for balance. I was able to go home and leave my work behind, where I could focus on chores, family, and leisure without guilt. But even when I had those "regular" jobs, I filled my extra time with reading, writing, gigs and part-time jobs, like the church position I've held for thirteen years, and yes, a variety of video game addictions.
So I don't know why I'm whining, except to lament the hours I wasted on that stupid game yesterday. |
March 12, 2014 at 12:51pm March 12, 2014 at 12:51pm
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1. Enrollments: Being handled. Could be better. We haven't had promotional enrollments available online for a month.
2. Minecraft addiction: None today, except for Minecraft-inspired novel idea...
3. Weight: Uh... I finished off a bag of Chili Cheese Fritos and then ate a giant Oatmeal Cream Pie. Lunch?
4. Poor Witch: EDITED through the END! Hallelujah. Next revision will be edited for voice and characterization, but I am READY TO TRADE NOVEL REVIEWS.
5. Gigs: Hired to play for St. Patty's crowd this Saturday at Max & Erma's in the town where most of my church peeps live, in addition to my regular weekly Friday gig at the Mexican place. Luckily, my cold symptoms seems to be subsiding.
6. Reading: Reading Eragon and SEE #4.
7. Violin: 20 minutes today (so far) and definitely improving.
8. Teaching: Molly is working out great. Sent an offer to another instructor and waiting to hear back.
9. Performance Evaluations: About to read them now, since I'm obviously experiencing a productive streak.
10. Monthly Accountability Forum: See #4.
11. (NEW) Youth Praise Band: Nothing today, but putting this on the list because it's a high priority right now. We started rehearsals three weeks ago and have until 4/27 to prepare the worship service that the kids will lead. They sound great so far and are learning the two songs I've assigned, but I still have some arranging to do on both songs and 1-3 additional songs to pick and arrange.
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<whine>I tried to give up Minecraft for Lent. Then I proceeded to play it all afternoon Saturday and Sunday. Under normal circumstances, this would be acceptable behavior. It's the weekend, after all, and I'm very productive during the week and on weekend mornings. But I'm sick! Again! Head cold, congestion, meds and morning Nyquil hangovers. And I have to sub again tonight. </whine>
Back to The List:
1. Enrollments: We have a talented reception staff handling all that. "Handling" - they could use a little help.
2. Minecraft addiction: But it's educational and fun!
3. Weight: Scale at the doctor's office revealed not quite as bad as I thought, but still sort of bad. So I'm giving up overeating for Lent. Right after I finish this cookie.
4. Poor Witch: Still need to edit chapters 30-35, and then go through the whole thing again for characterization and voice and possibly to massage for my target market (once I pin it down). Then (or during that phase), I exchange peer reviews with WDC peeps. After that...? Like I have time for a book launch. Maybe submit to agents. It's going to have a lot of potential. But I have a bit of local clout in my (roughly defined) target market, so it might make more sense to go for a local indie launch.
5. Gigs: Added a few songs to the rep recently, but I would still like to modernize a little. Much as I hate to do it, I think my target market would appreciate an acoustic rendition of "Let It Go" *shudder*
6. Reading: Finished the Hunger Games and working on Eragon. Expect to exchange peer reviews soon.
7. Violin: Still practicing every day, 20-60 minutes.
8. Teaching: Hired one teacher to take over my Tuesday lineup. Interviewing another instructor later this morning, but he only teaches percussion. I need at least one more instructor.
9. Performance Evaluations: I have have have to do this. Every year, I blow this off until it "falls" off the list, but the three managers reporting to me finished theirs, so I need to review those AND write my own. I can do it if I just set aside a chunk of time and freaking do it. They don't take that long.
10. Negativity: Scratched from the list. I have my own things to take care of without letting myself get bogged down by other people's stupidity.
11. Monthly Accountability Forum: Keeping up with reading. Keeping up with promotion by default, because I'm just good at it. I'm not keeping up with editing like I should. I'm giving myself permission to "Let It Go" (see what I did there, hee hee?) until I get my health back on track. But that better only be a week or two, because every time I stop editing, it takes time to get the details of my story straight. I do a better job when it's all fresh in my head.
Peace.
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I'm the queen of procrastination. I can come up with insanely legitimate excuses not to work on something I dread. For example:
"I had to practice guitar and piano and voice and violin for four straight hours this afternoon."
Owie. My fingers hurt, and I still haven't written any performance evaluations. |
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I forgot one:
Somehow, I've become single-handedly responsible for the quality of the church website, even though I've always been a volunteer, and even though I told the pastors a year ago that I don't have time for it anymore, and I even went so far as to move the design to Wordpress and simplify it so that it can be more easily maintained by new volunteers who may or may not know web code.
Through a series of unfortunate events, starting with the terminal illness and eventual passing of an elderly church member who owned the web hosting service we used, and ending with an accidental transfer of the web domain without first backing up the website contents, the church website became suddenly broken a few weeks ago. And even though we have several new volunteers who have stepped forward to take over maintenance of the website, I am somehow responsible for getting the content back up and running.
I'm trying not to be resentful of the pressure being placed on me, and I'm trying even harder to find the time to get the site back into shape, squeezing that in among all my other responsibilities. The site is usable now, at least, with pages full of accurate content and a restored church calendar link, and the site is ready to take new content by the new volunteers, as well as the pastors and videographers who upload weekly sermons and videos of the worship services. Yet somehow, I am being called out on Facebook when people ask what happened to such-and-such a sermon they can no longer access.
I didn't break the website, and in fact, I provided explicit instructions about how to properly transfer the website, starting with backing it up. I'm not pointing fingers, because the website was broken by accident, but I'm not responsible, and I'm getting a little annoyed at being called out as if I personally broke it. I'm just the person trying to fix it, the only person who is apparently capable of fixing it, and coincidentally, the person who has less than zero time to do so. |
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It's been awhile, O Blog O' Mine, but I can't say that I've missed you. I've been cheating on you: I've turned microblogging into an art form, particularly on Facebook and Twitter. I get more personal satisfaction out of that because I get more response. But I suppose I'm due for an update here, since I haven't posted in three months.
1. MTMS has exploded. Not literally, of course.
--- Gahanna Campus is at 372 students for March, versus a plan goal of 366 by 3/31.
--- Polaris Campus is at 82 students for March, versus a plan goal of 80 by 3/31.
--- It's only 3/3. It can only go up for the month from here.
2. I'm addicted to Minecraft. Yes, it's a sick obsession.
3. I'm gaining weight. Fast. And it has to stop. Now.
4. Poor Witch is almost through rough editing and may be publication-ready this year.
5. I'm still gigging weekly and leading the praise band and youth praise band at church.
6. I'm reading. Voraciously. Need recommendations to feed my hunger.
7. I'm learning violin, and I'm practicing 20 minutes per day like a good little girl.
8. I've been teaching. That's good because it saves payroll. It's bad because I'm flippin' busy! I hired a new instructor today but need one more, so at least I'm moving in the right direction.
9. Must. Write. Performance. Evaluations.
10. Why must people be negative and insulting? Can we have a little positivity, please?
11. Check it out, if you dare (and don't mind the bugs): "Monthly Writing Accountability Challenge" [13+]
That is all. At least, that's all I could find, but I haven't gotten through the whole pile yet. |
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Even better if she can whistle to the tune of Mozart or something. 
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, 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)
