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Posts tagged ‘Friends’

Dec 21

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Cassettes and Karaoke

I am moving soon, so I’m going through all the bits and pieces of life I’ve gathered in the last…well, since childhood. I am a sentimental pack-rat, and though I’ve been systematically decluttering my home for the last few years, I still have a lot, lot, lot of old stuff.

One of the things I’ve brought with me through move after move are masses of old cassette tapes. I’ve already gone through all the store-bought music, tapes we wore out in high school and the ones I’d sing with at the top of my lungs as I rode through the country in college. Today I started working on the make-your-owns, all the mixed tapes, and songs I recorded off the radio when I was a pre-teen, and the albums I transferred to tape way back when cassettes were the next new best thing ever.

I also unearthed, in these stacks of tapes, some of those SuperStar deals, you know, where you’d sing in a little booth and they’d give you a cassette of the recording. Just like live karaoke now, some people were super, duper awesome. And others weren’t. But it was fun to listen no matter which type they played on the loudspeaker.

I’ve always loved to sing. If I could have one single wish for my life, for something I would change about myself, it would be to have a beautiful singing voice. Even if no one else ever heard it. I just feel so much joy when I’m singing. Except that I can’t sing, lol. It’s not quite as joyful a noise, when it’s mostly just noise.

My voice has never been strong, but I could at least carry a tune when I was younger. Mostly. I was always in chorus throughout my school years, and I sang solos and duets in a couple of concerts. I even had a solo in the senior musical. An uncomfortably high-pitched, shaky solo, but I did it, dammit. Overall, though, my voice was best suited for the chorus – where it could blend in!

And then after I stopped singing (and smoked for years), my voice got worse and worse. I pretty much can’t even hit the right notes anymore. Ah, well…what are you gonna do? Keep my voice in the shower, I guess.

In any case, it was fun to hear those old SuperStar cassettes again, probably for the first time since that summer. But kind of painful, too – to my ears! And my pride, lol. I was pretty horrid and could have used a chorus in that booth with me. Unfortunately, there were several cassettes to go through. The amusement park where I worked had an employee party one night that included free recordings. My friend Cybille and I worked the studio for the party, but managed to fit in time to do a few recordings ourselves. Maybe too much time, haha.

But it was super fun, and listening made me remember all those fun times. And remembering was good.

I’m even going to share the fun, if you want to have a laugh yourself:


If you notice in the picture, it says “better”, and believe me that was the better version. And that haircut stuff is from an Eddie Murphy Buckwheat sketch on SNL. Good times, haha.

 

 

 

Aug 9

2 Comments

the Infinite Monkey speaks: to love and be loved

Random brilliance from across the internet…

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Once you begin to open yourself to love, you will learn to see it everywhere, creating a peace, a freedom, and a truth that will shift your entire experience.

– Billy Ward 

How to love and be loved

∞

Jul 19

the Infinite Monkey speaks: on making the list

Random brilliance from across the internet…

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My mother says we all have a list. It contains people who need us at some point, in some way.

We may not realize our role in another’s life, until retrospect sneaks in. An innocent gesture turned instrumental move can take on value to someone in need. We are Good Samaritans, unaware; the human equivalent of chicken soup.

Clarity, now sunken in, has thrust the truth that I, too, am list-worthy.

– Aline Weille

Our Lists

∞

Jul 1

5 Comments

There, I wrote something. Are you happy now?

I was talking to my friend Mark about not blogging for so long, and he told me “Just f*cking do it!” So are you happy now, Mark?

But he was right, and actually, this makes me happy. Just being here, typing this now, I feel excited and full of ideas and desire to write and write and write.

So why wasn’t I writing all along?

It’s been months, practically a year, since I wrote on a regular basis. I sometimes missed it, but not much. Same with the photography – I think I posted one picture this year. Almost the same with the podcast – a little spurt and then I was done.

In an interview I did last year, Asia Nelson said she was multi-passionate. I’d never heard that before, but that’s definitely me. I am not particularly great at any one thing, but I am a little good at a few different things.

Which is fine, and even great. But also not great. My passions flow through me in a cyclical pattern, burning bright then burning out then eventually coming back around with that fire again. I put a lot of creative and emotional (and physical) energy into one thing until I am burned out and have nothing left.

But that is just my personality too – I give all of myself over to a project, and at some point you have nothing left in the tank.

I didn’t feel that burning desire to come back to blogging; it was more like a little ember. But just being here is like kindling. We’ll see what develops. 🙂

~~~

What is your passion?

Is it self-sustainable, or does that flame burn out from time to time?

 

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