Music and Stuff

So since this blog is called The Music Box, I feel that it's fitting that my first post of 2011 should be music related!  

I really just want to express my love and passion for music.  Especially when I go through interesting things.  The best part about music is that you can find a song to fit any mood you are in.  Lately I've been finding a lot of relativity in artists such as Red, Trapt, Avenged Sevenfold, Breaking Benjamin... You get the idea.  These bands, as hard as their stuff usually is, have lyrics that can and do touch the soul.  This music is definitely full of passion.  When I am sad or in a rotten mood, I often find peace in this music.  I know - it's totally opposite of what most people relax to.  This one is a good example - Black Rose by Trapt.  If it were possible to wear out a song on your iPod, this one would be a good candidate.  "Black rose your thorns are cutting into me for the last time."

 

Good huh??  Yeah I thought so.  There are parts of this song that really fit a very recent situation...  Ok enough about this one.  

Another one of my favorites is a very recent find.  This one has excellent lyrics that have fit me lately too. "You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul."  Love it. 

 On a completely different note... (get it? note? haha...) We just finished up with the Holiday season.  Christmas music is one of my very favorite genres.  I'm really picky about my Christmas music though.  I hate and I do mean HATE the pop Christmas crap.  Beyonce and All American Rejects should NOT do Christmas music.  They completely ruin it.  Just sayin......  The Classical Choral, Instrumental and old Classics like Bing Crosby are, in my opinion, the best Christmas music out there.  Shawn and I put on a Christmas program every year and do a lot of fun Christmas music.  Our favorites are Mannheim Steamroller on two pianos.  We pretty much love to rock out.  Maybe, just maybe, I will post a few videos from this year if I can improve the sound quality.

Something else I recently did that had to top the cool charts is the Eric Whitacre Virtual Choir.  There's over 1,000 voices from all over the world.  You submit your video on YouTube and he puts them all together to form one big choir!  Here's the last one he did - Lux Aurumque.  Totally legit, right?

 

That's Sleep.  That's the one that he's recording this time with the Virtual Choir.  I definitely submitted my Soprano II video on New Year's Eve.  Perfect way to end 2010 if you ask me!!  I'm really excited to see it all put together.  Sleep is one of my all time favorite Choral pieces.  Whenever I can't sleep, I put it on and I relax immediately.  The lyrics (yet again) are absolutely beautiful.  

Playing music is the best.  I've recently started covering songs.  The latest covers I've done are "I Will Love You" by Fisher, "Storm" by Lifehouse, "Call Me" by Shinedown, "Jar of Hearts" ...... and I'm starting to now write one of my own!!  I will record and upload videos of any of those if there are any requests.... ha.  I want to try out the very first rough draft of my lyrics with you guys.  Please, tell me what you think.  Again, it's a very rough draft so it'll probably change drastically as time and editing go by.......

I can never forget.

Your heart is cold and hard 

as a stone under a frozen December night.

How she ever broke through 

and found a sign of life,

is more than I can see.

But I've cut the chains you bound me with.

The chains that held so tight....

Broken and gone.

Don't waste your breath.

Your sorry words are never worth my thoughts.

Nothing but lies,

That's all you know.

Don't steal my time.

Again, it's just a very rough draft, but I'm pretty excited to get it finished.  This is my first attempt at lyrics, and it's actually kinda fun!  

As a leaving note, I heard this song the other morning as I was rolling out of bed to go to work.  It was after a couple days off, and to be honest, I really didn't want to go to work.  I was feeling beaten down and, well, not happy.  But when I really listened to the lyrics, as cheesy as they and the music video really are, I honestly felt like I could conquer the world.  It was the best feeling EVER.  I still feel like that - hence the attempt at lyrics.  I hope you enjoy this one....

 

See??  Isn't music WONDERFUL??  :-D   !!  

This sort of relates to the last post....

Sad

I have been throwing around the idea of posting this blog for a few days - posting it has its pros and cons.  But I decided it will probably make me feel better, so just hang with me for a second.

I guess I'll start off with a little history.  In 2003 I got a job at a local music store - my first job after I graduated from High School.  I was really excited for this job because it was my favorite place to shop and I knew that it would be a perfect fit for me.  Basically, I got really close to all my coworkers - including the owners.  I pretty much considered myself part of their family.  I went to their family parties and I felt really close to all of them.  I really grew as an employee.  I learned a great work ethic there.  I took every opportunity to learn new skills such as changing strings on all stringed instruments, pulling stuck mouthpieces off of brass instruments, replacing bridges on violins, violas and cellos, recommending reed sizes for woodwinds, etc., etc....  I also took a few books home to learn about the differences so that I could give a solid recommendation.  It was perfect.  I studied Music in school too so for almost five years I lived, breathed, ate, slept, dreamed music.  It was so ideal for any musician.  I could suppliment things that I was learning in school at the music store and vice versa.  There was one time that I actually bought a trumpet from a guy that brought it in to the store to sell.  I did the same thing with a clarinet because I had such passion for learning new things in music.

But that ended almost as fast as it had begun.  Some members of the owners' family began to get involved in the store.  They didn't have the store's best interest at heart at all - the only thing they cared about was themselves and their power trip.  I had a passion for that store that even the owners didn't have.  I was fully planning on buying that store one day when they decided to retire.  Without getting into too many details, it started going downhill fast.  Right before things got so bad, I was promoted to the store manager.  I was making great money and I could make a lot of decisions about the way the store was run.  But then these certain family members decided that they didn't like how much say I had in their family's business.  They thought I was coming in to completely take over.  It got so bad that I quit.  But the owners could see that I was the best thing that happened to their store, so they begged me to stay.  I told them exactly what needed to change.  They made promises, and I decided to give them until Christmas and if things were still bad by then I would leave.  Things were better for a while, and then they got way worse than before.  So I quit again.  More promises and deals were made, so I stayed again.  I got to work one day to meet the owner in the back.  He said "I can see that this situation really isn't working.  I'm going to have to ask you to turn in your key right now.  You can stay and work the rest of your shift today, but after today, don't come back."  Yes, I got fired.  After I had quit not once, but TWICE.  No, I did not stay for the rest of my shift.  How could I?  I went home and cried for probably a week.  It felt like a really bad break-up.  After everything I had given to that store that was how I was repaid.

I continued with my Music degree, but after that it was never the same.  I had no practical application anymore.  I threw around the idea of becoming a High School music teacher, but that idea only lasted for a short while.  Performance maybe?  No.  I'm not good enough for that.  It's such a cut-throat industry and you have to be the best of the best.  I would never make it.  Plus, I didn't want that lifestyle.  The only thing I wanted to do was to have a music store.  Period.  I got a few other odd and end jobs but I never felt passion for my work after that.  Even now - I like my job, but that's it.  I just like ti.  I don't go to work excited anymore.

So I was talking to my parents and after a lot of discussion and prayers, we decided that after I graduated from college I should open my own music store.  Since that was really the only thing I ever wanted to do, it was the only thing that made any sense.  So with a lot of meetings with different business people and a lot of planning, I had somehting started.  I began to look at buildings and I started talking to possible investors and wholesalers and business partners.  We looked into the financial aspect a lot.  I had a business plan almost completely written.  The name was Naturally Sharp.  I even began some word of mouth advertising to a lot of my old customers at the music store.  Oh that's another thing - Every time I ran into old customers from the music store, they asked why I wasn't there.  Even still today.  I had a lady come up to me at Target last week and said "we really miss you there.  You were the only one who knew what you were doing."  I hear that so much.  A couple years ago it was almost on a daily basis.  So anyway, I knew that I would have the customer basis that I needed to survive.  The music store just wasn't cutting it for most people.  They weren't and still aren't in many ways able to satisfy the needs of the musicians in this area.  So I started the advertising and everything.  I was getting super excited and nervous all at the same time.  My dream was finally going to come true!  I was going to be a 23 yr. old business owner.  Wow.  The music store found out about my plans and it got a little ugly for a while because I think they knew deep down that if I did it right it would put them out of business.  Not that I wanted to hurt them personally or anything, because they were really good to me for a good part of 4 years, but some small part of me really did want to see them fail and fail miserably.

Well, right when I was ready to take the full plunge into my plan, the economy tanked.  Many small businesses were going under and it became increasingly difficult to get any kind of a loan.  So I decided that the timing was not right.  I think that if I would have progressed with my plan, I would have lost a lot.  I was inspired to stop.  I know that that was the right decision for the time, but when can I start again?  Why did my dream have to be crushed?  Will I ever be able to see my dream come true?

I went in to that music store today because it really is the only option I have for my own library and to help out my cute little piano kids.  Some days when I go in there I feel a lot of pain.  I miss the good old days of loving my job.  I miss the passion I had for the music.  I miss my customers.  And I really miss the relationship I had with the manager.  I need to say that he stood by me the whole time even against his family.  That's another story.  But he was wonderful and always will be.  I was just so sad today.  I just feel a small sense of hopelessness.  If the economy would have stayed strong and if the timing would have been right, I would have my own business and be my own boss.  I would LOVE my job.  Maybe I just had some more growing to do, or some people that I needed to meet or something.  But sometimes it's very discouraging.

Anyway, this has been a long enough post but it's how I'm feeling today and it really did feel good to get it off.  Now I just need to focus on having a great day.  I know that most of how I'm feeling is in my attitude and I can control that.  So I'm off to have a good day now.  :)  Thanks for reading.

Boston

So I promised a Boston blog.  Here it is.

A lot of people wondered why I was going to Boston.  My dad and I really wanted to go on a trip.  He let me pick.  So I put a lot of thought into the decision.  I went to Boston when I was in High School and I loved it so much.  The history of that town is incredible.  There is just such a great feeling there.  When I got back the first time I had told my family that I wanted to take them.  So this was a great opportunity!  When I told people where we were going, the answer was always the same.  "Boston?  Why Boston?  What is there?"  Well, the answer is History is there.

We spent all day traveling on Thursday.  It was super long and we were ready for bed when we got in.  Friday morning however, we got up pretty early and we were ready to go.  We were staying in a small town called Middlesex (insert joke here...) just outside of Boston.  All the locals we talked to told us to not even try to drive in Boston.  The streets are confusing and parking is almost impossible.  We met a lot of really nice locals.  There was one lady at a restaurant that was so helpful!  Anyway, so we decided to take the train into Boston.  Long story short, we got super lost and it took us around three hours to figure out where to park and how to ride the train.  These towns are not tourist-friendly.  Oh well.  It was an adventure.  We finally got into Boston   We saw a bus tour going around the city and decided to hop on.  That was the best decision we had made all day.  Our tour guide was incredible!  He was a local history teacher who did the tours on the weekends.  He had so much information on all of the buildings and the streets.  He was very charismatic and fun.  My family and I got super in to the tour.  At the end of the tour, he pulled me aside and said "you have a serious passion for history that I don't see very often.  You really ought to consider moving here to Boston and getting involved in the history here.'  I thought that was pretty interesting since I dropped out of AP American in High School because I hated it.... I guess when you are actually there seeing, hearing and feeling the history it is a lot different than being in a class. 

The rest of Friday night and all day Saturday, we walked the Freedom Trail and took as many audio tours as we could.  We walked on a few ships.  I soaked in the history like a sponge.  I could really feel the presence of our founding fathers.  Especially when I stood on the exact balcony that the Declaration of Independence was read from for the very first time.  I really wish I could go back there again soon. 

Sunday we went on a whale watching tour.  That was so cool!!  Some whales came right up to our ship!  The tour was scheduled for three hours, but we ended up staying out for almost five hours because the captain and the tour guide were having so much fun.  We saw more whale activity than is normal for that time of year.  So they got caught up in the observations, so we got a longer, sweeter tour!  The whales are absolutely beautivul creatures.  Totally fascinating. 

Monday we toured a few battle sites.  Lexington and Concord were the main ones.  We walked a lot of the war paths.  We got a little choked up when we read some of the monuments dedicated to the soldiers - British and American alike.  I couldn't help but feel great respect and pride for my country.  I was thinking to myself that some of the leaders (or most) in our country should go walk along the freedom trail and visit these battle sites just so they can remember what our country was founded on. 

Needless to say, it was a great trip.  When Shawn gets back, I hope that we can go back with him.  I know he would enjoy it as well.  Side note - it was so weird to go on a family vacation minus one... But I only have about 7 months left! 

Boston preview

This is a picture that I took on our last day.  It is from the Old North bridge where one of the first battles of the Revolutionary War was fought.  I'm still sorting through my pictures so I will have a full Boston blog hopefully in a few days.  In short, it was an amazing trip!  I didn't want to come home.  The historical aspects were incredible and the leaves were absolutely GORGEOUS!!   :D

Good music videos :)

Society

Today I was thinking.  I know - that's a a scary way to start out... But, with my new sales floor position, working in the morning gives me a lot of alone time - thus, a lot of thinking time.So here it goes.

When was it suddenly "okay" to be completely rude?  I think I must have missed the memo.  Maybe it's just the crazy town of Centerville, but maybe not.  One of the things that Target does is to have all their Team Members say "Can I help you find something?" to all of our guests.  It's honestly amazing to me to watch the reaction of the guests.  A large portion of them are downright rude.  Sometimes they will turn and say very shortly "No." No "thank you" or anything included...  I actually had one guest say "No" in a very short, almost angry tone.  But, my personal favorite reaction is when they look at me, so I know they heard me, turn their head and continue walking.  Saying nothing.  Really?  HOW RUDE!!!  I'm just doing my job and being nice.  Next time you actually do need help with something here, don't come and ask me.  I might just look at you and ignore you.  But probably not, because if I did that too often I'd lose my job. 

The sales floor can be a gruesome place to work - guestwise.  (I know that's not a word...)  Since when is it okay to pull something off a shelf or a rack and drop it on the floor?  Why can't they just drop it back where it goes?  Or, why do they have to throw clothes over the rack?  Is it THAT hard to hang clothes up?  I don't think so....  And, when they finish a drink or a candy bar, why do they throw the wrapper on the floor?  Is the floor a new garbage can?  If it is, I missed that memo too.  And I won't even start on the fitting rooms... I'd just hate to see the way some of these guests live at home.  If they treat their houses even half as bad as they do our store, then they must live in pig styes.

And then there's the check lanes and service desk.  I don't know about you, but when someone asks me how my day is, I usually respond.  I don't just look at them.  Sometimes I want to ask if the cat's got their tongue.  And, if I'm having a conversation with someone and my cell phone rings, I don't just answer mid sentence when the other person is talking to me.  I don't know, maybe some cell phones come with a card that says "the ownership of this cell phone device gives you the right to be a complete b---- to whomever you choose.  This cell phone, when it rings, is the MOST important thing in your life, and you MUST answer it NO MATTER WHO IS TALKING TO YOU OR NO MATTER WHAT YOU ARE DOING."  Sadly, my cell phone didn't come with that.  One last thing.  If your shoes cut your feet and your feet bleed on the shoes, DON'T RETURN THE SHOES.  I don't want to touch them.  Also, if you cook a frozen meal and decide that you don't really like it, DON'T EVEN ATTEMPT TO RETURN THE FROZEN (or now cooked) MEAL.  Last I checked there was no guarantee that the meal will be the best thing you've ever tasted.  OOOHH!!  ok I lied... One more thing.  If you don't know how to budget your weekly food needs and you overbuy by a few cereal boxes, DON'T RETURN THE CEREAL.  We have to throw it away.  Completely good food goes to waste because YOU don't know how to manage your money.  Good heck. 

Ok I think I feel better now.  If you are reading this and you work in retail, you are probably either laughing and agreeing or you are feeling somewhat angry and agreeing.  If you don't work in retail and you find yourself saying "oh, I've done that before," then STOP IT!!!  Ok. Now I'm done.  :)