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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.
September 28, 2010 at 7:18am September 28, 2010 at 7:18am September 23, 2010 at 8:22am September 23, 2010 at 8:22am
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No entry since Monday? SLACKER!!!! Well, except for all the hard work.
Today, I mourn the loss of my old job. I am devastated to be missing all the audits, corrective actions, and extra hours I could be experiencing:
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm226885.htm?sms_ss=facebook
I knew I would regret my career choice.
Post at MichelleTuesday.com at least once per week.
 I'm deliberately holding off until after the Grand Opening, which is what I'll blog about next.
Advertising
PRIORITIES:
 Grand Opening window signage: STUPID PRINTERS.
School Fliers: DENIED. I don't want to talk about it. But I do need to print fliers for the music teachers and principal's offices.
Wii Rock Band Competition Sign-up Poster: Oh, yeah. I forgot about this.
Email List: DAMN. I forgot about this, too. I need to send that email out TODAY announcing the Grand Opening on Sunday.
Google "Grand Opening" campaign: LAUNCHED and getting hits.
LOWER PRIORITIES OR COMPLETED:
Get with Gahanna schools admin office about sending fliers home.
SEO: No idea, but we're enrolling students like crazy, so that's good.
Band boosters: PENDING.
Columbus Radio Group ads: DONE.
Promotional products: ORDERED shirts, tote bags, maracas, picks
Gahanna and New Albany local papers: DONE.
High school athletic calendar: STILL NO AD. SENT *ANOTHER* EMAIL
Business start-up activities.
PRIORITIES:
Computers: Ordered and arrived. Today I will set up my computer lab.
Lesson books and software: STILL HOT and on today's agenda.
Database: On hold.
Hiring: On hold.
Food/Exercise/Weight Watcher Points/Whatever: 161.6 today, and hovering around 161-162 for a couple weeks. I'm trying to pay attention, and although I've had some slip-ups, I'm not pigging out like I was. Therefore, holding steady and no longer gaining. I'll concentrate on *losing* in October ("October Novel Prep Challenge" [13+]) and studio Halloween party) November (NaNoWriMo) December (the Holidays)... January, it is. One goal at a time, Baby.
Peace out. |
September 20, 2010 at 1:55pm September 20, 2010 at 1:55pm September 17, 2010 at 10:54am September 17, 2010 at 10:54am
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I'm still debating about renewing my Premium so I can manage "October NaNo Prep: 2009 Entry Log" [E] from my Writing.com account. My portfolio is at 246/1000 (which, at Upgraded, would be 246/250), but I could easily clean it up. It seems a waste to renew Premium just for one Prep item, and I could renew for just two months (10/15-12/15), when I need to keep track, which would be much cheaper than a whole year.
But I'm in better shape to do it than I thought I would be. First, the donations have been pouring in, so I won't have to contribute any pocket pennies toward prizes and contest sponsorship this year. Second, I might actually have some pocket pennies to rub together anyway. My new business is already ahead of plan, and I haven't even held my Grand Opening yet, where I expect to enroll more students and get even more ahead. The sooner I hit my break even and start making money instead of spending it, the sooner I'll have more pocket pennies to spend on fun stuff like Writing.com. Even better, I'll be able to hire more office help and teachers, which will free me up for gigs, where I can make big bucks and simultaneously promote the biz even more. W00t! Small business is fun when you dream big. (I haven't had a reality check yet - but it helps when lots of people want to volunteer just because they want to see you succeed, OMG.)
On to the goals:
Post at MichelleTuesday.com at least once per week.
 Pending.
Advertising
PRIORITIES:
Google "Grand Opening" campaign: PENDING.
Band boosters: PENDING.
Promotional products: I THINK I ORDERED SHIRTS, MARACAS, AND PICKS. TOTE BAGS PENDING.
Get with Gahanna schools admin office about sending fliers home: PRINTED. TO DELIVER TODAY. (STILL.)
SEO: ALEXA FALLING.
Email List: I HAVE A LIST OF ADDYS FOR EMAIL-ONLY PROMOS. MUST COMPOSE GRAND OPENING ANNOUNCEMENT AND SEND.
Columbus Radio Group ads: DONE.
Gahanna and New Albany local papers: DONE.
High school athletic calendar: STILL NO AD.
Business start-up activities.
PRIORITIES:
Database: HM...
Hiring: BACKGROUND CHECKS.
Launch one new performance repertoire song per week.
Now it can wait until next Monday, when I'm back in the Gahanna Potbelly. Yay! I have a weekend.
Perform one household chore per day.
 Nope.
Read a book in print 15 minutes every day.
Nope.
Achieve a weight of 145.0 by 9/1/10.
Weight: *shrug* No idea.
Meals:
Coffee (2) and fiber English muffin with turkey and cheese (3)
TOTAL POINTS SO FAR TODAY: 5 (Goal: 25)
Wednesday post-breakfast: Roast beef sammich (7) and Chipotle steak tacos with chips & guac
Thursday post-breakfast: Roast beef sammich (7), crackers & cheese (4), three Canes chicken strips with fries (maybe 1/2 cup), cole slaw (like 2 oz), and a piece of their deadly Texas toast. |
September 16, 2010 at 8:39am September 16, 2010 at 8:39am
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October NaNo Prep Challenge is looming. How did I manage to schedule that so close to my Grand Opening?
Post at MichelleTuesday.com at least once per week.
Pending.
Advertising
PRIORITIES:
Google "Grand Opening" campaign: PENDING. NEW STUDENT LAST NIGHT MARKED "GOOGLE SEARCH" AS HOW FOUND! OMG.
Columbus Radio Group ads: APPROVED GRAND OPENING COPY.
Gahanna and New Albany local papers: QUOTED AND ART SUBMITTED.
Band boosters: PENDING.
Promotional products: I THINK I ORDERED SHIRTS, MARACAS, AND PICKS. TOTE BAGS PENDING.
Get with Gahanna schools admin office about sending fliers home: PRINTED. TO DELIVER TODAY.
SEO: LIKE 609K AND STILL FALLING, BUT WHO CARES? GOT A PAYING CUSTOMER VIA GOOGLE SEARCH.
Email List: I HAVE A LIST OF ADDYS FOR EMAIL-ONLY PROMOS. MUST COMPOSE GRAND OPENING ANNOUNCEMENT AND SEND.
High school athletic calendar: STILL NO AD. FOR THE CURIOUS, IT SHOULD BE HERE:
GahannaLincolnSports.Com
My ad should be one of the big ones down the right-hand side like Midwest College Planning, James Hutta DDS, and Papa Johns. By the time they publish it, not only will my Grand Opening be over, but so will the sports seasons. All of them.
Town Moneysaver: FIRST MONTH A SUCCESS, NEXT MONTH IN PROGRESS.
Business start-up activities.
PRIORITIES:
Database: EH...
Hiring: BACKGROUND CHECKS.
Launch one new performance repertoire song per week.
Now it can wait until next Monday, when I'm back in the Gahanna Potbelly. Yay! I have a weekend.
Perform one household chore per day.
Nope.
Read a book in print 15 minutes every day.
Nope.
Achieve a weight of 145.0 by 9/1/10.
Weight: *shrug* No idea.
Meals:
Coffee (1) and fiber English muffin with turkey and cheese (3)
TOTAL POINTS SO FAR: 4 (Goal: 25)
Off to the dentist, y'all.  |
September 15, 2010 at 4:55pm September 15, 2010 at 4:55pm September 14, 2010 at 7:44am September 14, 2010 at 7:44am
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D'oh. So much for my Alexa experiment. Yesterday, I forgot to make my link an actual LINK. I did have the one at the top of the to-do list, though. 
Post at MichelleTuesday.com at least once per week.
Pending.
Advertising
PRIORITIES:
Google "Grand Opening" campaign: Needs to be funded and revised.
Columbus Radio Group ads: LAUNCHED! Meeting today to discuss Grand Opening week copy.
Gahanna and New Albany local papers: PENDING. I did talk to a woman from a Quarterly ad circular.
Band boosters: Need the info.
Shirts, picks, maracas, tote bags: Working closely with the vendor to meet deadlines and submit artwork.
Get with Gahanna schools admin office about sending fliers home: Tweaking the flier.
SEO: Alexa is still at 580k, but it may not have updated yet today.
High school athletic calendar: Promises, promises! I paid a month ago, and still no ad. 
Town Moneysaver: Ad published, with results. Scheduled for two more months.
Business start-up activities.
PRIORITIES:
Database: Can't. No time. Later.
Hiring: Background checks.
Launch one new performance repertoire song per week.
Pending. I had a request yesterday for Rascal Flatts, and I'm taking suggestions.
Perform one household chore per day.
I am desperately trying to catch up on this. Today I washed and dried a load of laundry, folded the one I found in the dryer  , folded the basket that has been overflowing with clean whites for at least a week, and ran the dishwasher.
Read a book in print 15 minutes every day.
Can't. No time.
Achieve a weight of 145.0 by 9/1/10.
Weight: 162-ish.
Meals:
Coffee (1)
TOTAL POINTS SO FAR: 1 (Goal: 25) - 21 points yesterday! |
September 13, 2010 at 8:49am September 13, 2010 at 8:49am
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This is my second blog post in twenty minutes, because I decided to do it right. Finally, after all my Dell troubles, I have recreated my blog template. Which is good, because I want to try an experiment regarding my Alexa rankings.
Post at MichelleTuesday.com at least once per week.
Pending, but I did post last week. 
Advertising
PRIORITIES:
Google "Grand Opening" campaign: Needs to be funded and revised.
Columbus Radio Group ads: LAUNCHED! OMG, I have a radio ad during rush hour.
Gahanna and New Albany local papers: PENDING.
Band boosters: Need the info.
T-shirts (?), drum sticks (?), guitar picks, shaker eggs, tote bags: Working closely with the vendor to meet deadlines and submit artwork.
Get with Gahanna schools admin office about sending fliers home: DONE, and -surprise- they have a form. I need to create the flier, print it, and submit it along with the form for approval ASAP.
SEO: Alexa was at 480k before my computer died. Now it's at 580k. I have to wonder if my daily WDC blog reference to {xlink:http://www.michelletuesday.com} helped the ranking climb.
High school athletic calendar: Should be published today, but now I need a Grand Opening revision.
Town Moneysaver: Ad published, and we actually got a slew of calls! 
Business start-up activities.
PRIORITIES:
Database: GAH, this is so back burner, but really necessary.
Hiring: Look into background checks. New Employee Orientation was great.
Payroll: Ran! It works.
Order exterior signage: INSTALLED!
Launch one new performance repertoire song per week.
I only sang three days last week, due to studio painting and furniture moving.
Perform one household chore per day.
I am desperately trying to catch up on this. Today I washed and dried a load of laundry, folded the one I found in the dryer , folded the basket that has been overflowing with clean whites for at least a week, and ran the dishwasher.
Read a book in print 15 minutes every day.
I was getting in to "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" but stopped reading due to about five days of heavy manual labor. I find that I crash hard at bedtime.
Achieve a weight of 145.0 by 9/1/10.
Weight: 162, which is surprising after all the manual labor.
Meals:
Coffee (2)
NutriGrain bar (3)
Skinny roast beef sammich (7)
Coffee (2)
Salad (3)
Half bagel w/ham and cheese (4)
TOTAL POINTS SO FAR: 21 (Goal: 25) W00t! |
September 13, 2010 at 8:31am September 13, 2010 at 8:31am
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Michelle Tuesday Music School : STATUS
Doors are hung, walls painted, electricity and lights in place, HVAC tied in, and ceilings installed. Now we need door hardware, baseboards, crown molding, reception counter, a thorough cleaning, steam-cleaning for the carpets, a final inspection, and certificate of occupancy. We should be done by Friday!
We could have probably held our Grand Opening this Saturday as originally planned, but it's too close for comfort. If anything causes the final inspection to fail, the contractor will have to fix it, and that would delay our occupancy until Monday.
Meanwhile, I need computers, a portable wall, promotional products, fliers to send home with the schools, and advertisements, all before next Sunday, which means the one-week delay benefits me anyway. I would say I need my security system in place, too, but I'm about to fire ADT. So I'll be starting from scratch on the security system. Maybe not from scratch - I did have another quote. I'm taking recommendations on security companies.
And we've been taking calls and scheduling new students, which makes me very, very happy.
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September 8, 2010 at 8:47am September 8, 2010 at 8:47am
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...by a skinny little ginger-colored tabby whose name, we decided, is "Tiger." Penny and Dante are a tad bit disgruntled.
I have pushed my Grand Opening back once again. Assuming the opening happens as planned, my entire start-up from the first call to a broker to finally cutting the ribbon took nine months. That seems insane to me, and I vow to make the next opening happen more quickly. If I have the funds to install a site manager before I open a new school, I may run the project myself (or have Keith do it) rather than hire a general contractor. In my typical I'm-Better-Than-You fashion, I'm positive that I could do a better job than my current GC. This may be all he does, but he's doing it for multiple simultaneous clients, and all Keith or I would care about is our project. It would be right.
I do need to re-establish my goals and check progress, but my primary short-term goal is to host my Grand Opening by the end of September. Today, we move furniture. |
September 7, 2010 at 1:29pm September 7, 2010 at 1:29pm
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I can't believe how quickly the time flies. If I thought I was busy before, I had no idea what busy was. My last week:
Friday: Played at Potbelly and was pleasantly surprised by the early arrival of Robert Waltz  , in town to see and help me with my new studio, Michelle Tuesday Music School . After my set and a couple sammiches, he followed my over to the school. My signs were newly installed. Photos will be posted at Facebook shortly.
Saturday:Painting the interior of the studio all day. Ironically, the selected color was "Studio Taupe." After a hard day of labor, we made our way to Butter's Bar at the other end of the strip mall, where Waltz discovered God and Old Rasputin On Tap. (We heard at least twenty times: "Oh, my God! I can't believe they have Old Rasputin On Tap.") I expect a relocation soon.
Sunday: More painting. I had to ditch my volunteers to go sing at a wedding, which was good, because I earned more beer money.
Monday: A temporary heart attack when, after swiping my credit card and signing, the Kroger cashier informed me that my newly-acquired Home Depot gift cards (purchased at Kroger to earn the fuel perks, but with the intention to use immediately after the Kroger visit) might take up to 24 hours to activate. Luckily, the cards were activated by the time we reached Home Depot, but not before the poor Kroger cashier and customer service counter got a piece of my mind. Painting at a much reduced speed, several return trips to Home Depot, construction of a kick-ass movable stage, teacher bio and ad copywriting by Waltz, and the sad subsequent departure of Mr. Waltz.
Assuming Waltz can provide photos of the stage, those will also be uploaded shortly at Facebook.
Tuesday: Meeting with the contractor to discuss crooked framing, unfinished sections of drywall, and colors for baseboards and countertops. Today, the electrician is installing lights, and the doors and trim are being delivered.
My Grand Opening is postponed until 9/26.
Today's Meals
8:00 Coffee (1)
9:00 Donut (7)
10:00 Coffee (1)
12:00 Quarter bagel (1) with cheese (1.5)
1:00 Granola bar (3)
3:00 Chips (3) and some other nibbles (1)
Total Points: 18.5 |
September 2, 2010 at 7:28am September 2, 2010 at 7:28am
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Have I seriously not blogged since Sunday? Sheesh. Although I have not been documenting my points, I *have* been keeping track, and I've been keeping it under 30. Go me.
My week:
Monday: Back from vacation. Keith took the week off to help at the studio, but they just started drywalling, so not much we can do. Worship planning meeting, Potbelly, biz planning, lessons. Meanwhile, my phone and email account were bombarded with queries about the school, because my (first-ever) Town Moneysaver ad ran in two towns. OMG, that advertising works.
Tuesday: Prepared for New Employee Orientation all morning. Keith dropped me off at Potbelly and shopped at Home Depot. I met my photographer at lunch (I have PICTURES of Summer Recital!), then went to the studio and worked with Chris, the office manager, while Keith worked on the restroom floor (which kicks ASS, appropriately for a restroom.) Then I held New Employee Orientation over pizza Tuesday evening, and I certified all our new teachers. They're really awesome.
Wednesday: Keith went back to work since they're still drywalling. I met with Chris before Potbelly, went to PB to play, then went back to meeting with Chris, and we worked until 9:30pm. We enrolled three students and have half a dozen other very strong potentials in progress. I ran payroll. Yay! I finally got to pay Chris!
Thursday: If I were still at Abbott, or Coca-Cola, or General Chemical, I would not be working today.  Traditionally, I don't work on my birthday.  (Side note: Birthday notifications are the best thing about Facebook!  ) But this stuff isn't work, but rather fun stuff that people are willing to pay me for ( don't ask me, I just work here ), I'll be "working" all day. Potbelly at lunch and my own lessons tonight at a minimum, although I'll probably be updating my website with teacher bios and head shots and a "Computer Lab" page, developing a Mommy and Me Class description (for which we've had a surprising amount of interest despite the "Upcoming Classes" status and lack of description), and continue planning my Grand Opening. I've gotten an initial "probably" from my landlord on approval to set up a concert in the parking lot on Grand Opening day. I just need to run it through the City, and I need some help planning my Wii Rock Band competition. I have the perfect group of teenagers to volunteer for the job.
We'll paint and finish the restrooms this weekend, and then the contractors will hang the ceiling grid and tiles, install doors, and button up the electrical and HVAC endpoints. If all goes well, we should be opening our doors to the public on 9/13.
And that's all I got to say about that. |
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Even better if she can whistle to the tune of Mozart or something. 
celebrate
!
Comment • View 1 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)
