Category: Future

Shy or Sly?

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Wesley Snipes at Comic Con talking with me

I was just thinking about people I have met who have not had the advantages of those with ambitious aka pushy parents, or siblings.
In my case, it was my sister who actually pushed me to come out of my shell and sing.
Ambitious parents sounds better than pushy parents, but it is great when one or both parents helps you overcome shyness.
As a kid I was shy. It was easier not to risk anything by just hiding or saying little in public.
Of course at home I would sing all day, and talk nonstop.
In public, I was very timid.
When friends of my mother would come over I was bashful. At school I had only one or two best friends and when I grew up I spoke very, very quietly.
I now have an inherent distrust of shy people as an adult.
Most of the adults I know in my world of music instruction and broadcasting are not shy. Thank goodness!!!
Most announcers are so talkative off-air you can hardly squeeze a word in edge-wise, and that is perfectly okay by me.
I think to some extent we all admire people who are bold.
If you are a shy person, remember some of us may view you with inherent distrust. Sly people with a plan often clam up in ordered not to be noticed. Shifty eyes, sly looks and shy personalities are people to be careful around. There is a reason they call outgoing people bold and beautiful!

Musically yours,

Amy Zents

Lousy Legacy

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You have to understand that in spite of all the noise from the media, when it comes to living
the good life, it’s all just temporary.
I’ve discovered that while rich people may seem to enjoy finer stuff, their focus is the same as you and me.

They want to enjoy a long life, and they want to continue to be able to afford living the lifestyle they have become accustomed to living.
Sadly, you can’t take it with you.

So, while the majority of people are worrying about accumulating more stuff, the aging well-to-do are concerned about leaving a legacy.

More aging middle-income folks are leaving a horrible legacy, leaving a pile of junk for the family to have to sift through, in order to either sell the house, or to vacate the premises of their deceased parent’s crap.

All these trends are food for thought.

My future plans are to focus on getting better at my work (music, and broadcasting,) so I can earn more money to travel more, and own less stuff.

The stuff I want to buy will be of higher quality and greater value. Less can be more, just remember, try not to leave a lousy legacy.

Musically yours,

Amy Zents

Face the facts

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imageSo, are you afraid of being yelled at? If so, then you probably don’t have what it takes to be a business success.

Apparently,  studies have shown that emotional  resilience is a mark of a key player.
My mum used to kick my butt verbally to get me to move. It was painful and I resented it. However, it did work. I didn’t like it and I wound up being mad at her, so mad, in fact, I wanted to run away from home.

I was delusional.  I believed life might offer fun instead of fear. It offers both.
Nevertheless, to be successful one must have the wherewithal to handle criticism and discipline.
Now I am stronger. My mother taught me that.
She was a pragmatist and helped me to quit lying to myself.
Hopefully,  we all have role models in our lives to help us to learn to face the facts.
If you want to run with the winners, you need to have the power to handle your feelings, stay focused, and be accountable.
If you don’t care, you will find out too late, there is no one but you to blame for your failure.

Musically yours,

Amy Zents

Training and Gear

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l attended a talk last night about running. The theme was From couch to 5K.

The talk was informative.

l found out most injuries happen to beginning runners. No big surprise there.

ln fact, the 2 biggest problems come from inadequate training & inadequate gear.

Folks make poor choices when buying running shoes, mainly people buying a half-size too small of a shoe, or else they don’t buy a new pair when the shock absorption in their shoes is shot. After 5 miles of running 25% of shock absorption is gone.

Also, their loose-fitting cotton socks don’t wick away moisture, so they get more blisters.

Next, training is where a lot of runners fall down. Their leg & hip & knee muscles are just too weak to support the pounding.

I learned that running hills is one of the easier ways to injure yourself. Did you know running downhill puts 50% more pressure on your joints? A great way to get sidelined if you are not in condition.

Last, but not least, if you can shorten your stride, you will find less pressure is put on your knees, for health and joy in running!

Remember, to get to where you want to go, you have to walk before you can run!
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Pings, pops, and buzzes.

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I will be traveling the next couple of weeks.
I have so much to do before I go. Time to pick up tax forms, run errands, and clean house. I have to push myself to face all my responsibilities.
The problem with me is too often I get too comfortable sitting down
The whole world is in the palm of my hand. I love the Internet, but it slows me down.
I either sleep too much or too little.
Right now I need to get my head on straight, but first a cup of coffee to motivate me.
Probably a bunch of chores could get done if I  would just choose 1 to get started on. Firstly, I want to switch all the notifications off on my phone. If I sleep with my phone by my bed the pings, pops, and buzzes keep me waking up all night! I had better get going.
Lots to do, and it’s already the afternoon!

Musically yours, Amy Zents

Food in focus

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I think I might have a philosophy about emotional eating.
I find when I’m bored I turn to food. Food is not boring. Food comes in an endless variety. You can just go on Pinterest, and search the word “food” and soon you will find a billion delicious photos of food to drool over.
I come from a foodie background. Both my parents were in the restaurant business, and both were fantastic cooks.
My interest in food goes all the way back to my childhood, to a time when I used to watch my mother make the most delicious German dishes and Greek dishes, from foreign recipes. She used foreign language cookbooks that only she understood, not to mention the foreign measurements, none of us besides her could translate.
She would make sauerbraten, souvlaki,  tzatziki and other delicious main dishes, and she could bake a variety of delicious desserts that would curl your hair and your toes!
After I dropped out of high school, I went to Manpower. They made me take a test. It was a way for them to find out what my career should be. It said the test results were that I should be a cook!
They had me enroll in a cooking program, called Commercial Cooking and Baking.
I never took the class because I left Toronto, Canada in 1981 to get married, and move to United States.
After doing a few stints at babysitting, being a housekeeper, and trying to sell makeup,  I was hired as a cook in a hospital.
I found cooking for others was a far different story than cooking for oneself.
To sum up, it is better to cook for yourself. If you cook for others and their special dietary needs, it becomes repetitive and boring. Especially in a hospital setting; especially in the late 1980s.
I don’t know what hospital food is like these days. Yet, back then, I not only cooked for the patients, I also cooked for the staff.
The mundane American diet could not hold a candle to my exotic foreign mother and her delicious dishes.
I found it was such a disappointment to make the same things over and over again, still, that did not turn me off food.
Food is happiness on a plate.
Food is my premium go-to delight when things get rough. The point is not to allow things to get that rough.
The point is easier said than done. Try to find things that you’re interested in, besides food, such as people, music, art, pets, fashion, travel and other wonderful treats that make life fun.
If possible, try not to give food the starring role all the time.
However I must say, be grateful if you can still smell and taste, and cook!
Food is wonderful. And there’s nothing that beats home-cooking when you have a wonderful chef at the helm.
There are other things that may be wonderful, but I confess food really takes the cake!

Musically yours, Amy Zents

Zany days

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Spring is finally here. We’re in for all kinds of roller coaster weather.
A little rain is in the forecast, also a little snow.
The nights of thunderstorms are coming this way. That is no picnic in the park when you have 2 dogs who hate thunderstorms.

Say goodbye to your sleep. The dogs will crawl into the master bed, and climb on your face and head for feelings of security and safety.
Today I had a ravishing hunger. I made a taco salad, and then I was reading about Chelsea Market. The one in New York City.

I just had to make a homemade crepe. We had fresh whole nutmeg. So I fried a delicious crepe, and I grated some fresh nutmeg, adding delicious  butter, cinnamon and maple syrup!

Some days are easier to diet than others.
Nevertheless, I do have two days off to do some house things, and get some exercise, and prepare for a big couple of weeks of solid working.
Lately my dreams have been pretty vivid. Sometimes they are of me being an alter-ego character such as a superhero or a billionaire. Sometimes I’m screaming with fright in my dream, as I’m dangling in the air, hanging off one of those cable cars that got off their cable.
The busier I get, the more strange and scary, or more strange and varied my dreams are! 🙂

Musically yours, Amy Zents

Marching ahead

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It is Monday. It doesn’t feel like Monday, but I do have to work this afternoon. I worked all weekend long.
I know some people who work so much they don’t even know what day of the week it is, much less what year it is.
For those who say TGIF, they have to realize not everyone works 9 to 5 Monday through Friday.
While it may be 5 o’clock somewhere, when it’s time to work, it doesn’t matter what day of the week it is, it’s time to work!
Everyday above ground is better than seeing your name in the obits.
Having a job is better than being unemployed. While I’m earning money other people are spending it.
Do I seem grumpy? I hope not. I have to put on a happy face. In less than 30 minutes, I’m on the air! 🙂
Enjoy your week, and your weekend. We are marching through March together! The first day of April is on Friday. There’s a week full of fun ahead, as we march ahead!

Musically yours, Amy Zents

Walking in the dark

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This morning at 5:30, I walked to work to my radio DJ job. In the moments it took for me to walk to work, I noticed things I normally never do when the sun is up.

I chuckled to myself as I saw a newspaper man walking with his head down, texting on his smartphone. He was dragging his feet, walking very slowly. You hardly see kids delivering the paper these days. Usually they’re older people. Nowadays, they’re carrying smartphones.

I was able to look into lighted windows over shops, things I would never able to do during daylight. I saw kids drawings hung on the wall, and a creepy looking doll perched against the windowsill.

I was able to look into a cafe that I’ve never entered. The reason I’ve never entered it is because during the day you are unable to look into the building because of the window screen that prevents people looking in. Just to be clear, if I can’t see into a café or store, then I’m not going in.

Fighting over Charlie Brown

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Went for my big walk today. I’m trying to drop a lot of weight, so I go for big walks everyday. The two furkids love it!
Whilst I walk, I like to listen to Inspector Stone. Or some other mystery podcast. Today I was listening to Inspector Stone. His beat is a rough section of Manchester, England.
This one I was listening to was about a bunch of thugs. I thought about where I grew up in downtown Toronto. It was called Regent Park.
It was the furthest thing from royal ever!
Not like your Regent’s Park in Great Britain! 🙂
More like low-income housing!
I was bullied a lot as a kid.
Mostly, because I was weak as a kitten, and spoke like a baby. I was the youngest and babied by a single mother, and as an incredible singer I lived in a dream world of my own.
One day this girl stole my Charlie Brown comic book. I found reading comics made life better. She took my book and put it in her locker. I confronted her about it in class. I kicked my chair back and stood up. The teacher intervened. I never got my book back. I wanted to punch that girl in the face. I found that bullying creates tremendous hostility in the one being bullied.
Nevertheless, I realized in retrospect, I found so much fun in comics.
I suspect that the bullying girl wanted the same pleasure I found in Charlie Brown. Let it be.
I forgive her. I love comics! I love Snoopy, I love Charlie Brown, and I even love Lucy, the bully.

Musically yours, Amy Zents