Can you name Part 2 differently than Part 1? Too bad, I just did it!
So...after work (leaving early, you'll remember), I trotted down to NE 8th St. Okay, trotted might be too strong a word. Walked fairly quickly (for me) might be more accurate. I did the 1/2 mile in 10 minutes, if that counts, thus proving that I CAN, indeed, make it to the bus stop each day within my 16 minute limit. Once again I was early and caught the bus before the one I was going to catch.
Wow. They sure hire some lovely people to drive the bus, don't they? Mr. Lovely did wave me through when my Orca Pass didn't work, I'll give him that, but I think it was because he didn't want to wait for me to fumble for the change to pay with.
We got closer to downtown Bellevue and he showed how truly wonderful he could be by 1) blasting his horn and yelling at the driver next to him, 2) even going so far as to call him a "dumb-a**", and 3) running a red light!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME???
Every time we were able to go, he slammed on the gas and when we had to stop he slammed on the brakes. We didn't get in any accidents. That's a good thing.
So, I'm once again stuck between the 2 Starbucks' and wondering if I'm ever going to survive this bus thing and along comes the Everett bus. YAY! A peaceful ride back to my car at the P&R! Except I forgot that it was Friday, and we had to take the freeway. Well, we only arrived 7 minutes late, so I guess that's okay. And I'm not sure what happened to the hour and 5 minute commute idea. That must have been without the walk time from work to the bus stop, which I neatly forgot to count.
Overall, the whole bus experience was okay. I'm not discouraged yet!
And about that Orca Pass...I now have this vague memory of the HR lady asking me if I was using the thing or should she cancel it...My bad!! Cost me 5 bucks, because I didn't have change, but it was a cheap lesson, I suppose.
Note to self: Bring change for the bus, just in case!
Friday, May 4, 2012
My Adventures with Mass Transit, Part 1
Taking the
bus. Wow, I never thought I’d be doing this again! But there comes a time in
everyone’s life when circumstances all come together and there you are, doing
something you never thought you would.
In my life,
a lowered income, the threat of $5.00/gallon gasoline, a long commute, an
aching tendon in my clutch-pumping foot, a changed bus schedule, a roommate
moving out, and my company supplying an Orca pass, all conspired to make me a
bus rider again, for the first time since high school.
That’s a
lot of conspiracy going on, isn’t it? I’ve been checking the bus routes and
when I first started working here, it was a 4 hour trip. The next time I
checked it had come down to 2 ½ hours. Then when I checked yesterday, it was
only 1 hour, 5 minutes (if I can walk fast enough after work to get to the bus stop on
time!).
So off I
went this morning, leaving home at 6:26 to make it 1 mile down the road before
6:43, driving to the Park and Ride near my house, finding a parking spot,
getting to my “Bay”, and lo and behold! the bus number I wanted was just
pulling up! Of course this was the bus before the one I was trying to catch,
because I had left so early...
I waved my
Orca pass, it beeped (yes! I’d sorta been holding my breath, a little, maybe),
and I found my seat at the very front of the bus, near the driver, because I
can see my stop better from there. (…?) I pulled out my glasses and my Kindle,
and settled down to read a book - on my way to work!
Then I
pulled my glasses off, put my Kindle away, and checked to be sure we hadn’t
arrived in Bellevue while I wasn’t looking, even though we had only left the S.
Everett P&R 5 minutes ago. >>sigh<<
After two
more of these compulsive incidents, I finally just left the Kindle in my purse and watched
traffic. We arrived at the Bellevue Transit Center right on time, which was 21
minutes before my next bus. Wouldn’t you know that this non-coffee girl got set
down smack-dab between two Starbucks? They don’t even have good hot chocolate
there! (Sorry, Amy, but they don’t!) This is probably a good thing.
So I once
again pulled out the Kindle, only to immediately put it away. Busses come
early, you know. And if I’m reading, I can’t see my bus show up. The bus
finally arrived, and then sat there for 4 minutes, because it was ahead of
schedule. At least it was warm inside. We pulled away from the stop,
and then I got really nervous. Some of the stops were quite a way between. How
would I know when to pull the little cord to ding the bell to alert the driver
that I wanted to get off?
I finally
moved to the front (two seats up) and told the driver which stop I needed. She
let me know it was the next stop, so I sat right there to make sure she stopped
for me. I didn’t want her to forget, or get distracted and miss the stop or
anything. Good thing that guy pulled the cord that dinged the bell, just in
case!
When I got
off the bus I had to cross the street, and the light took forever. The bus dropped
me off at 7:51, so I only had 9 minutes to get to work - a block away. I made it
to work in time to fill my water cup, get a cup of tea, and log in just before
8:00.
Whew! I
can’t wait to see what the evening’s adventures bring! Of course, I’m getting
off work 15 minutes early so I can be sure to be at the stop on time…
I know what
you’re thinking, but this time it makes sense! After work my stop is ½ mile
away, and I have to get there before 5:16, getting off work at 5:00. I’m
overweight and out of shape, so I’m not sure how fast I’ll be able to walk it.
It should take about 10 minutes. Aaaahhhhh! I don’t have enough time! I’ll
never make it! Oh wait. Today I have an extra 15 minutes. I’ll let you know how
that goes. J
(This
really is what goes on in my head. And it’s probably the same kind of stuff
that goes on in your head too; you’re just not crazy enough to admit it.)
Almost forgot the points game: 100 points to anyone who can tell me which bus I take from work to the Bellevue Transit Center.
Almost forgot the points game: 100 points to anyone who can tell me which bus I take from work to the Bellevue Transit Center.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
The Trip Home
I got so excited about the conference that I forgot to continue the saga:
We all piled back in the van, with the addition of Lisa. We heard rumors that the pass was closed/had been closed, but was now open/was open, but may close, so we rushed off toward home. We stopped in Ellensburg to change clothes and get something to eat, then headed up over them thar hills.
It started looking a little snowy around Cle Elum, and by the time we hit Easton the pass was, indeed, closed. So there we sat. For about an hour, we sat. It was really pretty up there in the snow. The snow flakes were huge and fat, and it was truly a winter wonderland. What a lovely interlude in an already lovely day!
We had actually started thinking of various alternate plans. Plan B: drive back to Yakima and on into Oregon. Plan C: Aunt Jenny volunteered to book us a hotel in Ellensburg, where she had stopped for a rest. Plan D: I could call David and ask to use the retreat center over night, it being right there in Cle Elum and all.
Then wonder of wonders, things started moving! What was normally a 3 hour trip took 5 1/2, but we made it home!
Cheryl dropped us at Choir Jenny #2's house. Mom picked Lisa and I up from there and took us back to her house to get my car. I drove Lisa to meet her family in Everett, then I went on to my wonderful, warm, inviting home! And straight to bed! Never felt so good to be in my own bed, with my own non-smoky air. Not to mention without the threat of smelling like I'd hung out in a bar all night. How does one wash a suit case, anyway?
It was quite an adventuresome weekend and I truly appreciate the time I was able to spend with Aunt Jenny. It just proved to me once again that I need to make more of an effort to see her more often. She truly is one of my closest friends and my heart-sister.
Well, that's quite enough excitement for one weekend. I'm going to kick back and watch TV today and get my laundry done.
Oh, and then there's that little treat at 8:00 pm on ABC, Once Upon a Time! If you haven't seen it, check it out. You'll love it!
We all piled back in the van, with the addition of Lisa. We heard rumors that the pass was closed/had been closed, but was now open/was open, but may close, so we rushed off toward home. We stopped in Ellensburg to change clothes and get something to eat, then headed up over them thar hills.
It started looking a little snowy around Cle Elum, and by the time we hit Easton the pass was, indeed, closed. So there we sat. For about an hour, we sat. It was really pretty up there in the snow. The snow flakes were huge and fat, and it was truly a winter wonderland. What a lovely interlude in an already lovely day!
We had actually started thinking of various alternate plans. Plan B: drive back to Yakima and on into Oregon. Plan C: Aunt Jenny volunteered to book us a hotel in Ellensburg, where she had stopped for a rest. Plan D: I could call David and ask to use the retreat center over night, it being right there in Cle Elum and all.
Then wonder of wonders, things started moving! What was normally a 3 hour trip took 5 1/2, but we made it home!
Cheryl dropped us at Choir Jenny #2's house. Mom picked Lisa and I up from there and took us back to her house to get my car. I drove Lisa to meet her family in Everett, then I went on to my wonderful, warm, inviting home! And straight to bed! Never felt so good to be in my own bed, with my own non-smoky air. Not to mention without the threat of smelling like I'd hung out in a bar all night. How does one wash a suit case, anyway?
It was quite an adventuresome weekend and I truly appreciate the time I was able to spend with Aunt Jenny. It just proved to me once again that I need to make more of an effort to see her more often. She truly is one of my closest friends and my heart-sister.
Well, that's quite enough excitement for one weekend. I'm going to kick back and watch TV today and get my laundry done.
Oh, and then there's that little treat at 8:00 pm on ABC, Once Upon a Time! If you haven't seen it, check it out. You'll love it!
Thoughts on Yakima
This weekend, as you may have read in a previous posting, was Sonus Boreal's clinic at the Washington Music Educators Association Conference in Yakima. Here's how that went:
My Friday started off with my annual visit to the dermatologist. I've had a pre-cancer on my face before, so we're checking regularly for anything new. This worked out well as 1) there were no new anythings, and 2) I would have had to take time off of work to get my checkup, but I had the day off anyway for our choir trip.
I was meeting Mom at noon for lunch, so I scurried up to Marysville after my appointment, only to find no sign of Mom. Okay, I was early, so I called and left a message that I was heading to Wal-Mart for a little spontaneous snack shopping for the trip. Done with Wal-Mart, I called again. Still no Mom. Off to the new Dollar Tree I had spotted on my way in, then I headed over to Mom's and rang the bell. At this point it's noon, so I figured I was right on time for our arranged lunch. She ought to be home by now, and she was. And very surprised to see me! Seems she'd forgotten to write me in on her calendar...AND she'd already eaten lunch!
So she went with me to grab something to eat. Our chosen destination had a line of about 10 people, so we ended up at KFC, then she dropped me off at Choir Jenny #2's house (we have 3 Jennys in choir and my sister-in-law Jenny, and I don't like to name last names on my blog).
We loaded into Cheryl's van (Cheryl, Cindy, Choir Jenny #2, and I) and off to Yakima we headed. The trip out was nice and we only had to stop once on the way - this is pretty much a miracle, considering the amount of coffee, Pepsi, and water being consumed!
We arrived around 4:30 and the ladies dropped me off at the exhibition hall where I met up with Aunt Jenny (my afore-mentioned s-i-l), who works for a book publisher and had a table at the conference.
When she finished up for the day, we headed out to check into our hotel room.
All I can say about that room is "YIKES!" I think they use that room so that the staff who smoke have an indoor break room. And I think they were there right before we checked in. And I think they may have even come in several times during the night, just so we wouldn't lose any of that "just-smoked-in" ambiance. Yes, she requested a non-smoking room. But they were out and their excuse was that they couldn't find the phone number of the travel agency to call them back. You know, that obscure little company, American Express? Yeah.
We went out to dinner, and after a short wait, were seated at the table right next to 1) the front door, where all the hungry people were lurking over our table, and 2) the bar, where a duo was crooning 70's songs. Yes! Oh wait...NO! Off-tune and wobbly as all get out. Although they looked a little bit like Simon and Garfunkel, they sounded NOTHING like them. They had volume, though. I'll give them that!
After dinner we went back to the hotel, gabbed for a bit, and went to sleep. Only to have Aunt Jenny wake up sick from something she ate. Or the smoke. Or both. Not sure which. So after a long night, filled with dreams of Jenny asking me to sleep in the van because of my snoring, we awoke. We got ready, took one look at the free breakfast provided by the hotel, and went elsewhere.
We found this lovely little place, Mel's diner, over on First Ave. They served BIG breakfasts and we were quite content. Jenny wisely stuck to just toast. I called the choir ladies and they were out looking for breakfast and said they'd call back when they found a place to eat. Lo and behold: they ended up at Mel's!
I climbed back into Cheryl's van and away we went to rehearse. We hadn't found a place to rehearse prior to leaving for Yakima, thinking there would be somewhere at the hotel. Well, the "hotel" was a motel and all it had were parking spots. Kari made some quick calls and the Nazarene Church in Yakima opened their doors to us for a quick hour of rehearsal.
Going in to this presentation, I was not very confident in my memorization of the songs we were singing. After all, we were to be singing in three languages. I actually had the two Latin ones and the English one down, but the Swedish one was just plain beyond me. I thought I could fake it, but imagine my relief when our Fearless Leader gave the word at rehearsal that we could use our music!
We headed back into town for the big presentation. We started out with a double choir presentation of a song called "Pueri Hebraeorum". It's about the children bringing olive branches to throw down before the Lord on Palm Sunday. They were shouting and declaiming: "Glory to God in the highest". We (choir 1) sang the first part, then choir 2 echoed us. We echoed back and forth for most of the song, and at one point we actually had all 4 parts of both choirs singing different things! WAY cool!
Then Fearless Leader spoke about how the idea for the choir began via Facebook, Sara spoke about how the founders actually started the choir, and Choir Jenny #1 spoke about how we go about business on the internet.
We then sang two songs, back to back: "Vitae Lux", a song about the light of life, and "Gabriella's Sang", from a movie in which the singing of this song is the pivotal point in the main character's life, that calls the end to the abuse she's been suffering at the hands of her husband. They gave us a standing ovation! (Tears!)
Another couple of testimonies: Lisa speaking about music as a non-negotiable in her life, Loren on what a difference music teachers have made in her own and her children's lives and what a resource teachers have in parents and grand parents, Dr. Ann speaking about how music affects people physically, mentally, and spiritually, and Diane speaking about how music affected her through her children's lives, and now has rescued her from the pains of life.
This was followed by some question and answer time. The first question was the big money question: "Would we consider doing this presentation again in other communities, as a sort of commercial for what could be?" YES!!! This is our mission! This is what we long to do!
The second comment was equally wonderful: The gentleman basically said that he was really impressed first by our being so confident in our music; everyone knew right where they were at all times and were extremely competent, and second, by the way we expressed the meaning of the song through our singing. He said that even though it was in Swedish, it was no surprise to him when he glanced down and saw the words we were singing in the English on his program. We exactly conveyed the feeling behind the song. (more tears!)
Please hear my heart. I am not bragging, but confirming something here: we have worked so hard for the very things that this man confirmed that he saw in our performance.
We want people to feel the joy of corporate music, but we also want them to realize what is possible using the resources at hand - by which I mean that all it takes is looking around and gathering up everyday people with a heart for music.
The choir has only been together for about two years, and half of us only since September. But with commitment by willing, hard working people we have achieved something wonderful!
Brava, Sonus Boreal! I am pleased and honored to be a part of such a fine and worthy undertaking with such fine people!
To see what we're all about, please visit our website at http://www.northernsound.org/.
My Friday started off with my annual visit to the dermatologist. I've had a pre-cancer on my face before, so we're checking regularly for anything new. This worked out well as 1) there were no new anythings, and 2) I would have had to take time off of work to get my checkup, but I had the day off anyway for our choir trip.
I was meeting Mom at noon for lunch, so I scurried up to Marysville after my appointment, only to find no sign of Mom. Okay, I was early, so I called and left a message that I was heading to Wal-Mart for a little spontaneous snack shopping for the trip. Done with Wal-Mart, I called again. Still no Mom. Off to the new Dollar Tree I had spotted on my way in, then I headed over to Mom's and rang the bell. At this point it's noon, so I figured I was right on time for our arranged lunch. She ought to be home by now, and she was. And very surprised to see me! Seems she'd forgotten to write me in on her calendar...AND she'd already eaten lunch!
So she went with me to grab something to eat. Our chosen destination had a line of about 10 people, so we ended up at KFC, then she dropped me off at Choir Jenny #2's house (we have 3 Jennys in choir and my sister-in-law Jenny, and I don't like to name last names on my blog).
We loaded into Cheryl's van (Cheryl, Cindy, Choir Jenny #2, and I) and off to Yakima we headed. The trip out was nice and we only had to stop once on the way - this is pretty much a miracle, considering the amount of coffee, Pepsi, and water being consumed!
We arrived around 4:30 and the ladies dropped me off at the exhibition hall where I met up with Aunt Jenny (my afore-mentioned s-i-l), who works for a book publisher and had a table at the conference.
When she finished up for the day, we headed out to check into our hotel room.
All I can say about that room is "YIKES!" I think they use that room so that the staff who smoke have an indoor break room. And I think they were there right before we checked in. And I think they may have even come in several times during the night, just so we wouldn't lose any of that "just-smoked-in" ambiance. Yes, she requested a non-smoking room. But they were out and their excuse was that they couldn't find the phone number of the travel agency to call them back. You know, that obscure little company, American Express? Yeah.
We went out to dinner, and after a short wait, were seated at the table right next to 1) the front door, where all the hungry people were lurking over our table, and 2) the bar, where a duo was crooning 70's songs. Yes! Oh wait...NO! Off-tune and wobbly as all get out. Although they looked a little bit like Simon and Garfunkel, they sounded NOTHING like them. They had volume, though. I'll give them that!
After dinner we went back to the hotel, gabbed for a bit, and went to sleep. Only to have Aunt Jenny wake up sick from something she ate. Or the smoke. Or both. Not sure which. So after a long night, filled with dreams of Jenny asking me to sleep in the van because of my snoring, we awoke. We got ready, took one look at the free breakfast provided by the hotel, and went elsewhere.
We found this lovely little place, Mel's diner, over on First Ave. They served BIG breakfasts and we were quite content. Jenny wisely stuck to just toast. I called the choir ladies and they were out looking for breakfast and said they'd call back when they found a place to eat. Lo and behold: they ended up at Mel's!
I climbed back into Cheryl's van and away we went to rehearse. We hadn't found a place to rehearse prior to leaving for Yakima, thinking there would be somewhere at the hotel. Well, the "hotel" was a motel and all it had were parking spots. Kari made some quick calls and the Nazarene Church in Yakima opened their doors to us for a quick hour of rehearsal.
Going in to this presentation, I was not very confident in my memorization of the songs we were singing. After all, we were to be singing in three languages. I actually had the two Latin ones and the English one down, but the Swedish one was just plain beyond me. I thought I could fake it, but imagine my relief when our Fearless Leader gave the word at rehearsal that we could use our music!
We headed back into town for the big presentation. We started out with a double choir presentation of a song called "Pueri Hebraeorum". It's about the children bringing olive branches to throw down before the Lord on Palm Sunday. They were shouting and declaiming: "Glory to God in the highest". We (choir 1) sang the first part, then choir 2 echoed us. We echoed back and forth for most of the song, and at one point we actually had all 4 parts of both choirs singing different things! WAY cool!
Then Fearless Leader spoke about how the idea for the choir began via Facebook, Sara spoke about how the founders actually started the choir, and Choir Jenny #1 spoke about how we go about business on the internet.
We then sang two songs, back to back: "Vitae Lux", a song about the light of life, and "Gabriella's Sang", from a movie in which the singing of this song is the pivotal point in the main character's life, that calls the end to the abuse she's been suffering at the hands of her husband. They gave us a standing ovation! (Tears!)
Another couple of testimonies: Lisa speaking about music as a non-negotiable in her life, Loren on what a difference music teachers have made in her own and her children's lives and what a resource teachers have in parents and grand parents, Dr. Ann speaking about how music affects people physically, mentally, and spiritually, and Diane speaking about how music affected her through her children's lives, and now has rescued her from the pains of life.
This was followed by some question and answer time. The first question was the big money question: "Would we consider doing this presentation again in other communities, as a sort of commercial for what could be?" YES!!! This is our mission! This is what we long to do!
The second comment was equally wonderful: The gentleman basically said that he was really impressed first by our being so confident in our music; everyone knew right where they were at all times and were extremely competent, and second, by the way we expressed the meaning of the song through our singing. He said that even though it was in Swedish, it was no surprise to him when he glanced down and saw the words we were singing in the English on his program. We exactly conveyed the feeling behind the song. (more tears!)
Please hear my heart. I am not bragging, but confirming something here: we have worked so hard for the very things that this man confirmed that he saw in our performance.
We want people to feel the joy of corporate music, but we also want them to realize what is possible using the resources at hand - by which I mean that all it takes is looking around and gathering up everyday people with a heart for music.
The choir has only been together for about two years, and half of us only since September. But with commitment by willing, hard working people we have achieved something wonderful!
Brava, Sonus Boreal! I am pleased and honored to be a part of such a fine and worthy undertaking with such fine people!
To see what we're all about, please visit our website at http://www.northernsound.org/.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Sonus Boreal
Today I leave on an excursion to Yakima with the choir I belong to, Sonus Boreal (Northern Sound). We are going to give a clinic at the Washington Music Educators Association conference. The clinic is titled "Community Choirs and Social Networking". We will show how our group began through social networking on Facebook and how we conduct business and recruit through other online means, in addition to Facebook.
We hope to remind music educators that even though schools are losing funding for music education, they still have a vital role to play in society. And we hope to inspire them to take action in keeping music alive in their communities. We also hope to help them see that their options are much broader out in their communities than just at the student-age level.
Our choir started as a group of student alumni from our director's various choirs, but now includes some of their mothers, as well as friends and strangers found out in the greater community. (I'm one of the strangers, found through a posting on Craig's List!) Some of us work out of the home, some work in the home. Some are music educators themselves, some can't read music. Some are single, some married. Some are moms with little ones, some are grandmothers. But we all have one thing in common: our love for music.
Another thing we are hoping to show is that even the most inexperienced group can take up challenging music and do it well. Right now we are working on songs in Latin, Swedish, Norwegian, an African dialect, and even English! Among the songs in our repertoire you will find double choir music, barber shop, antiphonal chant, and even some jazz with a little three part scat thrown in! We don't place limits on ourselves and we rely on our director to teach us what we need to know. The rest is just practice, practice, practice! With a little proper breathing (from the diaphragm!) thrown in...
We performed at the Lights of Christmas at Warm Beach this past year, at the Marysville Church of the Nazarene's Women's Christmas event, and at Marysville's Lights Celebration at Christmas.
You can't join us for this clinic unless you are going to the conference, but you may wish to join us for two upcoming events:
We will be doing a benefit concert to raise money for formula for orphans in Ethiopia on Saturday, March 17 at 4:00 p.m. at my church, Mountain View Community Church, in Snohomish. Admission is free. A love offering will be taken, with all monies going directly to Youth With a Mission (YWAM).
We are having our Spring-Summer concert in June this year, date TBA. It's going to be absolutely fantastic, so I hope you can be there!
We can't do this without you there to support us. (Otherwise we'd just be singing to the choir! Hahahaha! I crack myself up!) But seriously, we do this for you as much as for ourselves. We want to bring beautiful music into your lives and to have you leave with a song in your heart, if not a seed planted that you will someday join us!
We (Sonus Boreal) may be found at http://www.northernsound.org/ and also, of course, on Facebook as Northern Sound Choirs.
Music has been such an important part of my life, all of my life. I feel as though I would never have made it through some of the tough times without that one special song, played at just the perfect moment. Or without those old stand-bys that I could sing day after day to bring me out of the blues. Music is pure joy to me and I hope that everyone finds the joy, peace, and healing that comes from a beautiful song.
Happy trails to you, until we meet again...
We hope to remind music educators that even though schools are losing funding for music education, they still have a vital role to play in society. And we hope to inspire them to take action in keeping music alive in their communities. We also hope to help them see that their options are much broader out in their communities than just at the student-age level.
Our choir started as a group of student alumni from our director's various choirs, but now includes some of their mothers, as well as friends and strangers found out in the greater community. (I'm one of the strangers, found through a posting on Craig's List!) Some of us work out of the home, some work in the home. Some are music educators themselves, some can't read music. Some are single, some married. Some are moms with little ones, some are grandmothers. But we all have one thing in common: our love for music.
Another thing we are hoping to show is that even the most inexperienced group can take up challenging music and do it well. Right now we are working on songs in Latin, Swedish, Norwegian, an African dialect, and even English! Among the songs in our repertoire you will find double choir music, barber shop, antiphonal chant, and even some jazz with a little three part scat thrown in! We don't place limits on ourselves and we rely on our director to teach us what we need to know. The rest is just practice, practice, practice! With a little proper breathing (from the diaphragm!) thrown in...
We performed at the Lights of Christmas at Warm Beach this past year, at the Marysville Church of the Nazarene's Women's Christmas event, and at Marysville's Lights Celebration at Christmas.
You can't join us for this clinic unless you are going to the conference, but you may wish to join us for two upcoming events:
We will be doing a benefit concert to raise money for formula for orphans in Ethiopia on Saturday, March 17 at 4:00 p.m. at my church, Mountain View Community Church, in Snohomish. Admission is free. A love offering will be taken, with all monies going directly to Youth With a Mission (YWAM).
We are having our Spring-Summer concert in June this year, date TBA. It's going to be absolutely fantastic, so I hope you can be there!
We can't do this without you there to support us. (Otherwise we'd just be singing to the choir! Hahahaha! I crack myself up!) But seriously, we do this for you as much as for ourselves. We want to bring beautiful music into your lives and to have you leave with a song in your heart, if not a seed planted that you will someday join us!
We (Sonus Boreal) may be found at http://www.northernsound.org/ and also, of course, on Facebook as Northern Sound Choirs.
Music has been such an important part of my life, all of my life. I feel as though I would never have made it through some of the tough times without that one special song, played at just the perfect moment. Or without those old stand-bys that I could sing day after day to bring me out of the blues. Music is pure joy to me and I hope that everyone finds the joy, peace, and healing that comes from a beautiful song.
Happy trails to you, until we meet again...
Sunday, February 12, 2012
I Lose!
January 27, 2012
Well, I haven't been very good at this Daily Writer thing, have I? To make excuses for myself, Nicole had surgery this week and it hit me in a way I hadn't imagined it would. It pushed every Mom button there is, from the "What Have They Done to My Poor Baby?" button - which also gets pushed when she gets a new tattoo - to the "Watching Someone Else Care for My Child" button, my personal favorite lately!
I'm not sure what the problem is, exactly. I trust that she is in God's hands - Lord, help my distrust! I know that Ken and Brenda are fully capable of taking care of her, again, Lord, help my unbelief! I guess it's just that I am so thoroughly horrified and unnerved by the nature of the procedure done to my baby girl (I know she's 21!), that I just can't calm down. I need to see her and be sure she's okay every hour or so, and I can't.
Anyway, between that and several meetings this week, choir practice, and sleeping 11 hours one night, I've had no time to blog.
I'm also finding that this book is for a different kind of writer than I am. It seems to be for someone who writes for a living, or writes with great aspirations of being a Writer. You know, fiction, and publishing, and all that. I just want to set my thoughts and feelings down on a page, be it real or virtual. My writing is all real writing, not fiction. And based on the last couple of exercises in the book, I'm not so sure I'm very good at fiction, even if I wanted to be! (No, I'm not fishing!)
February 12, 2012
(to continue where I left off . . )
What I am good at is getting my life experiences out there so that others can learn from them, whether it be a successful lesson, or a mistake that I've made, been convicted of, and fixed (I hope!).
Here's what's been going around and around in my heart lately:
My first response to all of the above was "I need a vacation", followed closely by "yeah, how's THAT gonna happen?" I told God that I think I need to get away, with time to just be alone with Him and work through some of this stuff. I didn't know how to do it, but if He would make it happen, and make it somewhere sunny, I'd really appreciate it! (This is the first year in my whole life that I've been affected by the lack of sunbeams here in beautiful Washington!)
So God sends my friend Marilyn, who hears my plight and offers to let me help her drive to Phoenix at the end of March! I will drive with her down to the land of endless sunshine, get dropped off with my best friend, Sue, and spend the week. All I have to do is get the time off and get my flight home. DONE!
Sue will have to work that week, which is perfect, because while she's working I can spend time working through things with God. Then I'll fix dinner for her and her boys (which I love to do), and Sue and I can gab ourselves silly until bed time! Sounds perfect to me!
But this goes much deeper than just a week-long vacation and then everything's better. I'm planning on slowly making some major changes in my life. The first change is something that I've been hearing God say for a while and I think I'm finally listening closely enough to do it: When I want to do something I will pray about it until I get a solid "yes" or "no" from God.
I have once again got myself in a place where I am so busy I don't even see anything at home but my bedroom for sometimes a week at a time. I don't know how this keeps happening, but I suspect it has something to do with wanting to fill my time so I don't have to be alone with myself, and face the reality of being alone. (Yes, I know I now have a roommate, but our paths don't cross that often. And I need to learn to fill my time with God, not another person.)
So, at the prompting of God, I am letting what I am committed to do run its course, then I am putting my plan into action - but beginning to pray about it all now. This includes:
You never know, God may want me to do some of the other things and allow me to go back to them (choir!), or He may want me to have a season of rest.
The second change will hopefully result from spending time with God, basking in His love for me, letting it rub off so that I will love me too. I need to love myself enough to start eating right. I'm not even talking about losing weight, I'm just talking about not eating the foods I'm allergic to. This may seem like an easy step to some of you, but with the activity level in my life lately, I haven't been taking time to make meals for myself. And when you are allergic to dairy, soy, eggs, nuts, and wheat, it's hard to find fast food that's okay to eat. Did you know that everything at Taco Time but the soda has soy in it? In fact, 75% of the foods in America have soy in them (based on something I read somewhere...). This means I have to really be careful if I am to love myself in this way. Thank you, Lord, that none of my allergies cause serious reactions.
I did take some time last weekend to make several meals and freeze them, so I have a couple of weeks' worth in the freezer. One step at a time! And then maybe, just maybe, I'll feel well enough to start doing some other things to take care of myself. We'll see. I think these things are probably enough to start with, don't you?
I almost forgot: The contest is still on!
For 15 points: Who is my (Sharon's) favorite Disney actor? (Could be a person who acts in regular films, could be a person's voice in an animated film...)
Well, I haven't been very good at this Daily Writer thing, have I? To make excuses for myself, Nicole had surgery this week and it hit me in a way I hadn't imagined it would. It pushed every Mom button there is, from the "What Have They Done to My Poor Baby?" button - which also gets pushed when she gets a new tattoo - to the "Watching Someone Else Care for My Child" button, my personal favorite lately!
I'm not sure what the problem is, exactly. I trust that she is in God's hands - Lord, help my distrust! I know that Ken and Brenda are fully capable of taking care of her, again, Lord, help my unbelief! I guess it's just that I am so thoroughly horrified and unnerved by the nature of the procedure done to my baby girl (I know she's 21!), that I just can't calm down. I need to see her and be sure she's okay every hour or so, and I can't.
Anyway, between that and several meetings this week, choir practice, and sleeping 11 hours one night, I've had no time to blog.
I'm also finding that this book is for a different kind of writer than I am. It seems to be for someone who writes for a living, or writes with great aspirations of being a Writer. You know, fiction, and publishing, and all that. I just want to set my thoughts and feelings down on a page, be it real or virtual. My writing is all real writing, not fiction. And based on the last couple of exercises in the book, I'm not so sure I'm very good at fiction, even if I wanted to be! (No, I'm not fishing!)
February 12, 2012
(to continue where I left off . . )
What I am good at is getting my life experiences out there so that others can learn from them, whether it be a successful lesson, or a mistake that I've made, been convicted of, and fixed (I hope!).
Here's what's been going around and around in my heart lately:
- "They" say that you have to get moving doing what you want to do and then if your course is the wrong one, God will correct it. I say that I have spent too much of my life listening to "them" and correcting course, and too little time listening to what God wants of me FIRST, then stepping out in faith toward that goal.
- I'm empty-nested. Really truly. I no longer have a family to come home to at night. Well, that only took me a year to realize. I don't know what I actually thought was going on, but never that! Silly me... But now that I've realized it, I have to deal with it. And it's lonely. And, while I don't feel abandoned, exactly, there is a big hole there that needs to be filled. Don't mistake me: I know that God is here and he has been very comforting to me. And don't be ridiculous, a dog is NOT the answer! (Nor any other kind of pet!) I think it's just something I have to get used to and it's part of the next thing.
- Jesus says "Love your neighbor as yourself" but I say "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? If I treated other people the way I treat myself, I wouldn't have a friend left!" So how do I go about learning to love someone who, for most of her life, has been told: "you're not lovable", "you're not enough for me", "you're not worthy", and "I have no problem simply walking away from you"? (Never in words, only in actions...)
My first response to all of the above was "I need a vacation", followed closely by "yeah, how's THAT gonna happen?" I told God that I think I need to get away, with time to just be alone with Him and work through some of this stuff. I didn't know how to do it, but if He would make it happen, and make it somewhere sunny, I'd really appreciate it! (This is the first year in my whole life that I've been affected by the lack of sunbeams here in beautiful Washington!)
So God sends my friend Marilyn, who hears my plight and offers to let me help her drive to Phoenix at the end of March! I will drive with her down to the land of endless sunshine, get dropped off with my best friend, Sue, and spend the week. All I have to do is get the time off and get my flight home. DONE!
Sue will have to work that week, which is perfect, because while she's working I can spend time working through things with God. Then I'll fix dinner for her and her boys (which I love to do), and Sue and I can gab ourselves silly until bed time! Sounds perfect to me!
But this goes much deeper than just a week-long vacation and then everything's better. I'm planning on slowly making some major changes in my life. The first change is something that I've been hearing God say for a while and I think I'm finally listening closely enough to do it: When I want to do something I will pray about it until I get a solid "yes" or "no" from God.
I have once again got myself in a place where I am so busy I don't even see anything at home but my bedroom for sometimes a week at a time. I don't know how this keeps happening, but I suspect it has something to do with wanting to fill my time so I don't have to be alone with myself, and face the reality of being alone. (Yes, I know I now have a roommate, but our paths don't cross that often. And I need to learn to fill my time with God, not another person.)
So, at the prompting of God, I am letting what I am committed to do run its course, then I am putting my plan into action - but beginning to pray about it all now. This includes:
- Bible Study (already stopped going, but am still working the study, and will be done in April),
- Condo Association Board President (May),
- Apologetics Seminar Team Registration Coordinator, with Allen Creek Community Church (May),
- MVCC Women's Ministry Team (May),
- Choir (June),
- Prayer Shawl Ministry Team leadership (as soon as we decide on a new leader)
You never know, God may want me to do some of the other things and allow me to go back to them (choir!), or He may want me to have a season of rest.
The second change will hopefully result from spending time with God, basking in His love for me, letting it rub off so that I will love me too. I need to love myself enough to start eating right. I'm not even talking about losing weight, I'm just talking about not eating the foods I'm allergic to. This may seem like an easy step to some of you, but with the activity level in my life lately, I haven't been taking time to make meals for myself. And when you are allergic to dairy, soy, eggs, nuts, and wheat, it's hard to find fast food that's okay to eat. Did you know that everything at Taco Time but the soda has soy in it? In fact, 75% of the foods in America have soy in them (based on something I read somewhere...). This means I have to really be careful if I am to love myself in this way. Thank you, Lord, that none of my allergies cause serious reactions.
I did take some time last weekend to make several meals and freeze them, so I have a couple of weeks' worth in the freezer. One step at a time! And then maybe, just maybe, I'll feel well enough to start doing some other things to take care of myself. We'll see. I think these things are probably enough to start with, don't you?
I almost forgot: The contest is still on!
For 15 points: Who is my (Sharon's) favorite Disney actor? (Could be a person who acts in regular films, could be a person's voice in an animated film...)
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Typical Setting, Atypical Characters
Here's the assignment:Take a typical setting for a horror or fantasy novel and jot down ideas for atypical characters and situations that might take place in that typical setting. This shouldn't be too difficult having read mostly Stephen King and Dean Koontz (my only horror reading), Robert Jordan, Tad Williams, and every other Fantasy author in creation for the last, oh, I don't know 30 years or so! Here are my thoughts:
An abandoned military base
Used for scientific experimentation, and loaded with high-level, but non-functiong equipment
Buried and forgotten after the Great War, which reverted our world to a Medieval level.
This is the war in which all of the world's leaders were killed when the people of every nation grew tired of their constant usuary and rose up and took over.
The world still remembers their history very well; none of it has been lost. And most of the people alive at this time are wary of going back where they came from.
Power for the sake of power is no longer tolerated. Life is about taking care of your family and your neighbor. All centers of power have been destroyed, and while a certain level of technology is tolerated, medical devices, for instance, all weapons of mass destruction have been destroyed. (I don't know how, I haven't made that up yet.)
The abandoned base is found by a group of Tinkers, nomadic peoples related to Gypsies, with an ability to "Tinker" an item (rebuild it instinctually, and almost subconsciously) into uses for which it was not originally intended, or to produce massively more than it logically should, or improve it beyond the sum of its parts.
Tinkers wouldn't purposely do anything wrong; they are a peace-loving, musical, colorful, gracious people. But because of their innate abilities, they are normally closely watched. There are still those in the world (few, but some. A Rebel Force, you might call them.)who would take advantage and force them to create items to be used to gain power.
This particular group of Tinkers has been very careful to stay unseen and unknown, however, because they have a secret. A very long time ago there was a prophecy. And they believe that they hold the key to the prophecy's fulfillment.
13 Tinkers, each with a different ability focus
Twins: Adrielle and Gabriel - 16 years old; Fabrics: Adrielle technology and Gabriel growing materials to be made into fabrics
Brother: Samuel - 12; plants and trees for food
Twins: Murielle and Daniel - 8; not yet known
Mom and Dad: Annabelle and Ferdinand - 33 and 34; Animal husbandry, aquatic and mammal
Grandma and Grandpa: Belva and Austin - 52 and 56; Cooking and baking
Uncle Theodore and Aunt Sophia - 28 and 26; healing arts: Theo, technology and Sophia, plants
Twin cousins: Colie and Cope - 14; Banned technologies. Gee, who might be the main focus of my little story?
Okay, so my creative ability is not as buried as I thought. I'll develop these ideas a little more and see if they want to play!
I'd appreciate feedback to see if you think this would work as a plot. :)
I can see that this exercise is not going to be my usual writing style, but the whole point is to expand my thinking and exercise my brain. I hope you'll stick with me as I work it through! I'll try to intersperse the exercises with some real life stuff, too.
This exercise so far has been, to quote an old friend, "Fascinating."
(5 points to the first person who names the old friend!)
That brings up an idea: I will try to come up with point awards for each of my blog entries and will track the first to answer correctly each time, either on the blog itself or on Facebook. At the end of my year of playing through this book (January 19, 2013), or soon thereafter, I will award a lasagna dinner for 6, complete with dessert, to the winner. Points will vary (based merely on whimsy) for each question, and I'll track them in one of my very favorite things: an Excel spreadsheet! If I don't have your contact information and you want to play, friend me on FB and we can message our contact info.
Just to set things straight, I'll do one for yesterday's blog: 3 points to the person who tells me the theme behind the book "Redeeming Love". Has to be the answer I'm looking for, mind you, not just any correct answer!
I'll talk to you again soon! I'm praying for all of you, and wish you a blessed life.
Disclaimer: This is not an official contest, with rules and regulations and all. It's merely meant for fun. Yes, I will award the dinner. And yes, I get to say who gives the first correct answer. Period.
An abandoned military base
Used for scientific experimentation, and loaded with high-level, but non-functiong equipment
Buried and forgotten after the Great War, which reverted our world to a Medieval level.
This is the war in which all of the world's leaders were killed when the people of every nation grew tired of their constant usuary and rose up and took over.
The world still remembers their history very well; none of it has been lost. And most of the people alive at this time are wary of going back where they came from.
Power for the sake of power is no longer tolerated. Life is about taking care of your family and your neighbor. All centers of power have been destroyed, and while a certain level of technology is tolerated, medical devices, for instance, all weapons of mass destruction have been destroyed. (I don't know how, I haven't made that up yet.)
The abandoned base is found by a group of Tinkers, nomadic peoples related to Gypsies, with an ability to "Tinker" an item (rebuild it instinctually, and almost subconsciously) into uses for which it was not originally intended, or to produce massively more than it logically should, or improve it beyond the sum of its parts.
Tinkers wouldn't purposely do anything wrong; they are a peace-loving, musical, colorful, gracious people. But because of their innate abilities, they are normally closely watched. There are still those in the world (few, but some. A Rebel Force, you might call them.)who would take advantage and force them to create items to be used to gain power.
This particular group of Tinkers has been very careful to stay unseen and unknown, however, because they have a secret. A very long time ago there was a prophecy. And they believe that they hold the key to the prophecy's fulfillment.
13 Tinkers, each with a different ability focus
Twins: Adrielle and Gabriel - 16 years old; Fabrics: Adrielle technology and Gabriel growing materials to be made into fabrics
Brother: Samuel - 12; plants and trees for food
Twins: Murielle and Daniel - 8; not yet known
Mom and Dad: Annabelle and Ferdinand - 33 and 34; Animal husbandry, aquatic and mammal
Grandma and Grandpa: Belva and Austin - 52 and 56; Cooking and baking
Uncle Theodore and Aunt Sophia - 28 and 26; healing arts: Theo, technology and Sophia, plants
Twin cousins: Colie and Cope - 14; Banned technologies. Gee, who might be the main focus of my little story?
Okay, so my creative ability is not as buried as I thought. I'll develop these ideas a little more and see if they want to play!
I'd appreciate feedback to see if you think this would work as a plot. :)
I can see that this exercise is not going to be my usual writing style, but the whole point is to expand my thinking and exercise my brain. I hope you'll stick with me as I work it through! I'll try to intersperse the exercises with some real life stuff, too.
This exercise so far has been, to quote an old friend, "Fascinating."
(5 points to the first person who names the old friend!)
That brings up an idea: I will try to come up with point awards for each of my blog entries and will track the first to answer correctly each time, either on the blog itself or on Facebook. At the end of my year of playing through this book (January 19, 2013), or soon thereafter, I will award a lasagna dinner for 6, complete with dessert, to the winner. Points will vary (based merely on whimsy) for each question, and I'll track them in one of my very favorite things: an Excel spreadsheet! If I don't have your contact information and you want to play, friend me on FB and we can message our contact info.
Just to set things straight, I'll do one for yesterday's blog: 3 points to the person who tells me the theme behind the book "Redeeming Love". Has to be the answer I'm looking for, mind you, not just any correct answer!
I'll talk to you again soon! I'm praying for all of you, and wish you a blessed life.
Disclaimer: This is not an official contest, with rules and regulations and all. It's merely meant for fun. Yes, I will award the dinner. And yes, I get to say who gives the first correct answer. Period.
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