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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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My parents flew in last night. Mom is going to go over the biz plan with me and work on some budgeting ideas. I'm also going to talk about some house options, because my house is starting to get on my nerves. They're helping me clean up the landscaping and take care of some minor repairs, which makes me feel better.
I spent a bunch of time on the business plan yesterday, and WOW... I got really caught up. I also added "Buy Now" buttons to the websites for students to sign up for our samplers and summer camps, and HOLY COW, somebody used the buttons less then 24 hours later. She signed her twin boys up for a sampler. She was one of the easiest enrollments I ever processed and totally worth the exorbitant Paypal fees, which are twice as much as our normal merchant services account (to accept credit cards). The buttons stay up for awhile on a trial basis. Let's see how it goes.
Reach 300 students at MTMS by 12/31/11.
 We cleared 170, then had a few withdrawals, so we were back down to 167. Then last night was the final class in a four-week guitar sampler, and four children signed up for lessons. Another child withdrew, and one more signed up. Net result: 171. For today. Tomorrow, who knows which direction the yo-yo will travel? I already know of two withdrawals we plan to process if we don't receive payment by the end of business today.
Sometimes in the last two months, it's felt stagnant. But the numbers prove it's really not. We're still more than doubling our original planned volumes, and even beating the revised projections I drafted around November when I realized that my plan was ultra conservative. And we're actually starting to get summer camp enrollments, w00t!!! I'm psyched because those are going to be a blast.
Reading: One book per week.
Ooh! Ooh! I did pick up Eldest last night and read a few more chapters. It's interesting again.
Writing:
(1)  Blog at MT.com by the end of Wednesday: D'oh, I forgot. That's what I get for not blogging for three days.
(2) 30 minutes of daily freestyle writing: Nope.
Count points:
Morning weigh-in: 165.6 Wednesday, 167.2 Thursday, 169.2 Friday.
Yesterday's points: a bunch. I was doing okay until we went out for Mexican. It's evident in the data. Today will not be much better, since we're going to Bob Evans for brunch and a Japanese steakhouse for dinner.  |
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Yesterday's Weight Watcher points were somewhere around 35, but I can't be sure, because the restaurant where I ate lunch does not publish the nutritional facts about its menu options. I won't be eating there again until they get with the times and publish the information that their credit-card-wielding public wants. My weight this morning: 166.4.
The boy is tired of his job. Also, my parents are visiting next weekend, and he is stressed about the cleanliness of the house. Meanwhile, an ex-boyfriend of mine from high school (we're talking 1993) is in town next Monday on business and wants to meet to catch up (note: he's married with three children, and we were part of a huge group of friends at a military high school in Germany who now live all over the world, so the conversation will be much "What ever happened to..." and "Did you hear about...") yet somehow, the boy, who I thought was solidly secure in our relationship, is weirded out by my meeting the ex for an hour or two. All this after I had a brilliant idea last week about a potential tenant for my house - you know the house I mean - the one that's been on the market for nearly two years? The one whose price I've dropped six times and a total of thirty thousand dollars (the price of a very, very nice car)? That house. Could have a tenant. With rent. Enough rent to pay the mortgage, tax, and insurance, lifting the burden from our bank account. But that whole leasing thing might be risky, so we would be better off dropping the price again and paying someone else thousands of dollars out of our pocket to take the house off of our hands. And this morning, I tried to set up a corrective counseling scenario for the stepkid, who didn't clean up after herself yesterday. The boy cleaned it up for her while I slept, and then when I confronted said stepkid later this morning, she insisted that she had not left the mess in question and that she specifically remembered cleaning it up. When I complained to the boy about the interference and the ten-year-old's belligerence, he (the cleanliness nazi) asked why I was making such a fuss over that one little mess and reminded me that she is ten, I am not (WTF does that mean? Act your age?) I understand that he just wanted to make coffee, and that the mess was in his way, but he should have made her move it. I told him last night that I'd left it deliberately to make her move it this morning. He gets upset about my relationship with his daughter, and he constantly reminds me that I'm the adult, but he doesn't support me when I act as caregiver. It's not like I even want the damn job. I'm home in the mornings because my business is an afternoon and evening business, so I'm free to get the child on the bus. Fine, but support me, don't accuse me of freaking immaturity.
He's grumpy, so I'm grumpy. I try to live by the mantra of never saying (or writing) what you would not want someone to hear (or see.) Chris (the MTMS office manager) and I talk all the time about "she-who-shall-not-be-named" or "that-other-place," referring to our previous employer and now current business competitor. But I frankly don't give a shit if my words ever get back to that woman, because she's the one paranoid about me, not the other way around. I know who she is, what she does, what her capabilities are, and I'm not worried that she could harm my business. I don't care what she hears.
But the boy? He would probably have his feelings hurt to read this rant. Or maybe he would just be angry. I don't honestly know. But for crying out loud, through me a rope, here.
C'mon, June... |
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Reach 300 students at MTMS by 12/31/11.
Ask me again in June. Ooh! Ooh! But I've been doing some research on billboards. I know you're dying of curiosity. My initial quote was $700/month with free installation for a six-month commitment. Yeah, so, I have my marketing guy (LOVE him!!) doing some research to see if that's competitive. He doesn't think it is. They never are on the first go-around.
I know what you're thinking, and you're right. Advertising is crazy stupid expensive. You should see what a quarter-page ad in those freebie newspapers they toss in your driveway and those pennysaver circulars in your mailbox cost.
Reading: One book per week.
Seriously, I read for like five straight hours yesterday. It's all I did all day, besides put the dishes away and wash two loads of laundry. It was almost too much reading, because I felt like I'd wasted the day, except that the book is so damn good. I've mentioned pacing, but you know what else I like about Meyer's style? She is clearly a good planner.  You know how I feel about planning. SPOILER ALERT: Even though it's no longer possible, I'm still Team Jacob. At this point, I'd rather be Nessie than Bella.
Writing:
(1) Blog at MT.com by the end of Wednesday: Goal met.
(2) 30 minutes of daily freestyle writing: Yeppers. I spent some time capturing inspiration, and I'm starting to get better at it again. Alas, meanwhile, my guitar skills are slipping. Ce la vie. You can't do everything.
More analysis about the Taylor Swift songs: They capture moments in time rather than generic ongoing emotions. Character, plot, setting. Action language. Show, don't tell. It's making me curious. I'd like to analyze a whole bunch of other songwriters for similar trends.
Count points:
Morning weigh-in: 165.0
Yesterday's points: 34.5 - Not great, but still in control. |
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A good friend of mine helps me with marketing now and then. He's smart, a good salesman, has a good business sense, and has a decent chunk of money set aside. He's also currently unemployed. So it crossed my mind to wonder why he doesn't start up his own business. I think the answer is that he doesn't have a product to sell, at least not one that he's passionate about. We (and by "we," I mean all 19 MTMS employees) are passionate about our product.
Are you keeping a running list? You, too, can start your own successful business if you have the right ingredients: Passion, business sense, leadership, planning skills, organization, and, of course, capital. What's your passion? What business would you open if you had all the right ingredients?
Reach 300 students at MTMS by 12/31/11:
We've been talking eventual expansion. Chris and I drove around a potential town for about an hour yesterday. We did not find our future retail home, but we did at least find neighborhoods that look promising.
Reading: One book per week.
She's writing out of a different head now. That's new.
Writing:
(1) Blog at MT.com by the end of Wednesday: Pending
(2) 30 minutes of daily freestyle writing: No, no, no. And I have no excuse, because I had time. I'm starting to wonder if I -gasp- want to write.
Count points:
Morning weigh-in: 165.2
Yesterday's points: 29 |
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In college, by coincidence, I studied Italian and Dante Alighieri at the same time. Some of you know that my cat is named Dante, which is a tribute to the great poet. I thought it would be way cool to read La Divina Commedia (not just Inferno; only the entire trilogy would do) in Italian. Those of you following my goals over the last several months or years may have noticed that one glaringly absent from my list. I know what you're thinking, but you're wrong. I did not, in fact, complete the goal years ago. Rather, I no longer give a poop about reading Dante in Italian. Someone took the time to translate it into English for me, and I have other things to do with my time than fight a language I barely know... like sing and play guitar, which, it turns out, impresses people much more than my multi-lingual abilities (and sometimes earns me an income.)
Goals are dynamic, people.
Reach 300 students at MTMS by 12/31/11:
Reading: One book per week.
I started reading Eldest, but I wonder where my copy of Eragon is, because I would like to re-read it first.
Writing:
(1) Blog at MT.com by the end of Wednesday: Goal met.
(2) 30 minutes of daily freestyle writing: Um...
Count points:
Morning weigh-in: 165.4
Yesterday's points: 43 |
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At Abbott, I used to bring home truckloads of money and spent at least half of my time writing. Now, I bring home next to nothing and don't have time to write at all. It seems backwards until you consider I picked up a time-consuming hobby (specifically, small business ownership.) And even with the apparently negative consequences of my decision, I was happier with my new life until I lost Potbelly.
Here's what I decided about gigging: If I worked hard, I am sure I could land a gig (or several.) I could offer a freebie the first time to hook potential clients, record and distribute CDs, polish my website and YouTube channel. But how hard do I want to work for it? I feel so tired lately, and I think the hiatus has been good for my stress. I'm tired because I'm not running on adrenaline. But if I don't gig, I won't practice... which is why I need to lose weight to gain the energy to work hard to find the gig to practice and keep up my skills, not to mention to supplement my income, visibility, branding, and ego.
I'd like to buy a preposition.
Reach 300 students at MTMS by 12/31/11:
Friday is my new day off. I could spend the day in jammies if I wanted. At least until I land a gig.
Reading: One book per week.
I just finished Eclipse. I may check out Seisa-sleepingcatbooks.com  's suggestion (for Kindle... I've been so spoiled by it that I forgot what a pain it is to hold a book open in bed to the right page and at the right angle.) But I do have a queue ahead of it, including more print-and-paper books that I actually invested money it at some point.
On a related note, I could walk from my house to the local public library, and it's crossed my mind that I might enjoy doing that regularly if my schedule ever lightened.
Writing:
(1) Blog at MT.com by the end of Wednesday: Goal met.
(2) 30 minutes of daily freestyle writing: I did a little journaling. I'm trying to tackle this one with baby steps... and, yes, Storm Machine  , I mean actual baby steps, where you take two steps fall on your face, and then... here's the important part... get right back up and try again. My writing baby steps have involved devising a daily schedule and promptly failing to comply with it; creating lists of ideas without actually writing anything; going through my port with revision intentions, and instead spending hours rearranging and deleting items; and journaling the reasons why I'm not writing. See how systematically I fail at writing? It makes it more of a success, if you think about it.
Count points:
Morning weigh-in: 166.0
Yesterday's points: 33
(4) Granola bars
(3) Fiber English muffin with apple butter
(2) Fiber oatmeal
(2) Peanut butter pretzels
(5?) Tortilla chips
(3?) More tortilla chips
(2) Guacamole salad
(4) Beef taco
(8?) Margarita |
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Reach 300 students at MTMS by 12/31/11:
I'm a bit bleh (I'm coining adjectives. Sue me after you admit you understood what I meant.) about this today. I spent the last two days moving out of my "office" (originally a lesson room on the floor plan) to open up space for students. Kind of a if-you-build-it-they-will-come philosophy, I suppose.
Reading: One book per week.
Still rolling. Edward just proposed. Like, formally (big surprise.) I have been enjoying the book a lot, but some things about S.M.'s writing have caught my attention. First, her (or her editor's) comma usage is atrocious. Second, her "newspaper article" read more like just more narrative than an actual newspaper article. Third, her suspense isn't working on me. I've predicted just about every surprise "revelation" so far, and I'm not one of those readers who always figures out what's coming. Still, I'm reading it noticeably faster than I read Jules Verne, and that has to be a good thing. Her pacing is flawless, and her characterizations invoke empathy (although, the whole Bella-and-Edward love story is a bit too fairy-tale unrealistic for my taste... even though I'm well aware how that shit sells.)
Writing:
(1) Blog at MT.com by the end of Wednesday: Yes, and I SEO-optimized (excuse the redundancy) my last several posts, too. Go, me.
(2) 30 minutes of daily freestyle writing: Bleh.
Count points:
Morning weigh-in: ?
Yesterday's points: 30-ish |
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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)
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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)
Blog at 
Blog at 
I know he's struggling with a couple things and lashing out a bit, and I'm not being very patient or understanding. I need to stop taking things so personally. 