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Tag Archives: Karaoke

I’m On A Roll

03 Tuesday Jul 2012

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I stand looking out at the crowd and I feel my heart start to race. They’re not particularly paying attention to me, but they’re still there. And of course all I can think is that they’ll judge me if I do poorly. The music starts: eight measures of intro and then it’s time. I have to start singing. By myself. It’s karaoke!

Karaoke Baby!

The last time I sang by myself in public was nearly ten years ago – in college. To be fair, that was to an auditorium packed with friends and fellow students for a musical/humor competition among the Greek houses. And in law school I was in the musical as well, though I don’t think I had a solo. It’s possible that I did and I was just too drunk to remember. Either way, it’s not as though I’ve never done this before.

But it’s been at least seven years and a lot has changed since then. While I’ve become more confident and comfortable with myself, I’ve also lost a lot of the bravado and sheer fearlessness of youth. I blog all the time about intensely personal things, but I don’t want some drunk strangers to think I shouldn’t be up here singing.

Too late now: the intro is over and I dive right in. I’ve picked one of my favorite Indigo Girls’ songs, I Don’t Wanna Talk About It. I know it by heart, I’ve sung it hundreds of times in the car or in the kitchen, it’s perfect for my range, and I absolutely love it. I get a bit of a rocky start, but soon I relax into the song. I stop thinking about the girls who’ve already been up here singing Adele like they deserve a record deal. I let myself feel the emotion of the song and I do my best to put it out there.

Really feeling it

By the end, I’m in love with this experience. Instead of looking to the crowd, I look to my friends in the booth near the front. They’re clapping for me, cheering me on. I finish the last phrase, take a breath, look around, and then celebrate!

I did it!

I can cross another item off my 30 Before 30 List. I have a little over three months to go and I’m about halfway done. Considering that I started three months ago, I’m calling that pretty awesome. Here’s the complete list with my progress so far. More to come soon!

  1. Fund 30 Kiva loans (20 so far!)
  2. Submit something to be published (Done!)
  3. Do 30 Days of Truth (In progress)
  4. Learn Photoshop (Done!)
  5. Get a new tattoo
  6. Write a novel (or participate in NaNoWriMo)
  7. Finish Project 52 (In progress)
  8. Get something published (Done!)
  9. Go somewhere I’ve never been before (Done! Maui!)
  10. Climb a 14K (Scheduled)
  11. Forgive someone
  12. Find my go-to Karaoke song (Done!)
  13. Master one yoga pose
  14. Do a cleanse (Done!)
  15. Go to an opera
  16. Master a difficult song on the piano  (In progress)
  17. Find a good place to volunteer and start volunteering
  18. Start composting (Done!)
  19. Print photo albums
  20. Learn how to use camera in manual mode (Done!)
  21. Do something that terrifies me
  22. Write a business plan (Done!)
  23. Do something fun for my 30th birthday
  24. Audit a science class
  25. Take a hot air balloon ride
  26. Paint a picture (Done!)
  27. Watch the Godfather movies
  28. Purchase a very expensive, staple item of clothing/accessory (Chanel?)
  29. Get a facial (Done!)
  30. Forgive myself (Done-ish)
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30 Before 30: Update

30 Monday Apr 2012

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With less than six months until my 30th birthday, I’m trying to get through things on my 30 Before 30 List as quickly as possible. Here’s a quick update on what I’ve done so far.

1. Fund 30 Kiva Loans. OK, people. I need some help on this one! Kiva is a non-profit that enables people to make micro-loans to borrowers around the world. Borrowers use these loans to start businesses and help themselves. The minimum loan is $25, which is probably not much to you, but combined with all the lenders around the world, makes a huge difference to borrowers. The loans are almost always paid back and you can then re-lend the money or just take it back. Not only that, but if you’ve never lent with Kiva before, you can lend for free the first time! So PLEASE, join my lending team and help me fund 30 Kiva loans. We’ve funded 9 loans so far, so just 21 more to go. I know with your help we can fund 21 loans in no time!

2. Submit Something to be Published. Done and done and done! I got on a roll a few weeks ago and submitted about five different articles. Still waiting to hear back on most of them…

3. Get Something Published. Done!  Oh, did I forget to mention that? I wrote an article about my struggle with postpartum depression and it was accepted for publication in Natural Child Magazine, an online magazine. Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!  I was also published today on The Momoir Project. You guys! I’m a real writer now.

4. Start Composting. Done! I thought this would be easy because Denver composts, so I figured I could just sign up for a compost bin and that would be that. But apparently it’s only a pilot program and they’re not letting anyone else join right now. (Get on that, Denver!) Luckily a friend of mine has a backyard composter, so for now I’m just saving up stuff in the freezer and bringing it over to her composter periodically. Hopefully I can either get a city bin or get my own composter soon.  Either way, I love not throwing away so much food. Woohoo!

5. Do a Cleanse. I’m really excited about this one, guys. I was going to do a juice cleanse, but when I did a little more research I decided on a nutritional cleanse. I’m doing one based on the program set forth in the book Clean. I’ll be eating smoothies or soups for breakfast and dinner, and a solid meal (of limited, healthy food) for lunch. My goal is to do it for two weeks. Expect more posts about that as I’m doing it. I think it’s going to be incredibly challenging and incredibly rewarding. I’m starting two weeks from yesterday. I’m already making some adjustments to my diet to ease into it: less dairy and carbs, more raw vegetables, no processed foods. As my doctor said when I called to get her approval, “It’s funny that we call this a cleanse nowadays, when this is really how we should be eating all the time.”  Amen!  (And just to be clear, this is in no way an attempt to lose weight. This is an attempt to be healthier, to break bad eating habits, and to be more energized.)

6. Find My Go-to Karaoke Song. Again, I need some help on this one. What do you love to sing for Karaoke? I’ve thought of Wicked Game and Landslide as potentials. I’m an alto, so I need something either by an alto or a bass (and I sing an octave up). Or maybe a high tenor. But no soprano songs. I can’t sing that high. So help a girl out. Any ideas??

I also have scheduled or am in progress on several other items on the list. I love having a challenge like this and a list to cross things off of. Please keep cheering me on, I love your support!