Zents Music Studio

The simple answer is, someone has to pay the bills!

Some people don’t like to work. They don’t understand that if they don’t work, someone else has to pay for them.
It seems, nowadays, we live in a society where people hate work.

Nevertheless, there are many benefits that come from even part-time work. If people get jobs, they can contribute to society in a positive manner and they get many benefits as well.

Other people prefer to be freeloaders, and have other family members or the employed work very hard to keep them in selfish comfort.

Everybody needs a job. Especially, if it contributes to self-sufficiency. When one person has to carry the load of financial responsibility for lazy people, it makes it very hard for that person. It’s pretty unfair, in my opinion. Especially when the worker bearing the brunt of all the hard work, begins to grow old, and feels the pain of long hours.

The maxim, those who do not want to work should not eat, is pretty harsh. Maybe it should just read, those who want to work, deserve to eat.

When I take the two dogs out on their big daily walk, it’s gives me a chance to think.
I had a lot of stress growing up and I also have ADHD. I don’t take any medications. Nope. I don’t use or abuse anything! 

Sometimes I try to distract myself by listening to podcasts while out walking. But that’s not a good idea for me. As much as I enjoy learning and being entertained, it’s important to allow myself some good thinking time. 

It’s always best when combined with movement, such as when I am walking my two dogs!

While I seem to walk away from home, it’s a way for me to come home. To myself. I get to think about things, and reason with myself. I get to plan new plans, and reflect on good times and bad. During my walk, I also count my blessings. 

I also take the time to celebrate the beauty of nature, and I like to take pictures with my smartphone along the way.

The two dogs also enjoy being out and about. They are good for me. I didn’t intend to inherit them, in fact I thought I would never own a dog or a cat again.

My mother’s two dogs came here from British Columbia. We brought them to our home here in Minnesota over 7 years ago. From the California of Canada, to the cold beastly winters of Minnesota, the dogs have been living large and enjoying life! 

Reading Julia Cameron’s book, The Artists Way in the nineties, she wrote how walking is physically, mentally, and emotionally therapeutic. I find that to be very true. 

I’m glad I happen to have my two dogs because I don’t think I would like to walk without them, alone, by myself.

I can still think my racing thoughts, and dream my grandiose dreams, whilst I walk along the streets of my community, with two canines surrounding me, like two furry satellites!

So your feelings are hurt. Someone you cared about unfriended you on Facebook. You don’t know the reason why. You don’t use the F-word on your Facebook page, you don’t slam political parties, all you seem to love is food, pets and flowers.

It doesn’t help to go chasing after that person. I’ve tried it. Believe me, it doesn’t help.

Granted, I’ve read a lot of remedies for when people unfriend you, and some of them are pretty nasty. Apparently, I’m not the only sensitive person who doesn’t like being rejected.

However, I learned the hard way not to chase after your friend, who’s decided to stop being your friend on Facebook.

My Twitter account goes up and down like the weather, sometimes I have over 3065 followers on Twitter other times I only have 3000 or less.

I don’t worry much about my Twitter account for some reason. However, I do like my Facebook account. I take it more seriously, because a lot of those people, are actually people I know personally!

When friendships fluctuate on Facebook, it makes me a little more concerned.

Perhaps the feeling in the pit of my stomach will disappear shortly. Perhaps I can forget about being unfriended by certain individuals. At least I still have many of my long time friends, still as my friends, on Facebook.

Majority rules, right? Count your blessings and not your stressings.

Anyways, it makes me appreciate the friends that do remain on my side. It does hurt however, when people you like unfriend you.

It makes you grieve. But to be clear, it’s better to appreciate those that stick with you, then to go crazy after those who walk away.

Since my truck got vandelized I spent money to get it repaired.
Sadly, my Maui bumper sticker, my Radio is Heard Here bumper sticker, along with a few other cherished bumper stickers, I had to travel hither and yon for, have all been removed for the new paint job. 

I flew so far and so long to buy that Maui bumper sticker, another trip to the Aloha state awaits, in my mind. You know you have to have your Hawaii bumper sticker right?

All kidding aside, they did an awesome repair job on my truck.

The back of my truck makes it look like a brand new truck. Especially with the new Frontier sign on my Nissan. They got rid of the old one, and the new one makes the truck look a lot newer, at least from the rear. I still have dings, dents and rust here and there on other parts of my truck, but the rear looks amazing!

It’s amazing how just a replacement part can revitalize a thing. My truck has really nice comfortable seats, but the upholstery is starting to see wear and tear, and I’m contemplating either replacing the seats or else having the upholstery repaired. It’s nice when things look nice. Same goes for people.

There’s a girl I know who’s decided to embrace antiquity. In letting herself go, she looks ancient before her time . At least in my opinion. I have a problem with that. I want to stay as young and as vital and as inspiring to others, as long as I can.

Some people give into the grey hair, and the idea of looking like a granny, after a certain age. Give me the look of Raquel Welch or else even the look of Martha Stewart instead. 

No use looking decrepit in your middle fifties or middle seventies! As long as Medical Science allows, make yourself look good.

But, to each his own. For me, I want to live forever and stay forever young!

Is it possible to live a simple and clean life in a world of cluttered consumerism?
I can’t look on any of my social media without seeing somebody trying to sell me something. I just saw something about a doggie bowl that is portable and pop-up. The fact of the matter is I have two dogs and when we go on long walks I stick a CorningWare soup bowl in a sack with a cold bottle of purified drinking water for us to share. Everytime I get a specialty item I generally wind up either losing it or misplacing it amongst all the clutter.

Years ago I used to sing with the Minnesota Chorale. I would perform at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis under the baton of famous visiting composers and conductors. 

However, we used to rehearse in St. Paul. I used to drive up there every Monday night to the College of Saint Catherine’s to rehearse. While I sang with the Minnesota chorale, I met the Chorale’s phonetician, a fellow choir member, composer and concert pianist. I had a chance to get up close and personal with him, and visit him in his apartment in a borough of Minneapolis.

His apartment was neat as a pin. He was a collector of underground comics and every comic was catalogued and neatly kept on sheleves. His sheet music was all in binders and catalogued.

His whole apartment spoke of efficiency and organisation. Nothing was extraneous. He did not even own a microwave oven. I was shocked and surprised to see somebody living solo display such organisation. All his clothes were neatly folded in the drawers, his furnishings were simple and sparse, yet comfortable.

He had a beautiful spinet piano against the wall and he had a computer to work on to translate the choral works phonetically. He was a computer scientist as well as a concert pianist and he grew up out east in upstate New York. He’d written a book on religious comic writer/artist Jack Chick based on the comics he collected. As a kid in Toronto, I would often open up a library book and find one of those little scary Jack Chick pamphlet comics, inserted as bookmarks, that would scare the tar out of you!

Nevertheless, Bob inspired me by his personal organisation and cleanliness. It’s a very rare thing to find somebody who is very tidy and clean with not a lot of stuff everywhere. I have the book, The Magic of tidying up, and today I found it buried in a bag under a pile of clutter. A lot of good that book did for me, and I also found it didn’t help any of my friends either.

They say actions speak louder than words. I was inspired by my friend and I have started to declutter, just by meditating on how clean he was.

I would rather a good role model, then a lot of mumbo-jumbo talk.

I grew up in Toronto, Canada. I was raised in the downtown area and for the first 11 years of my life, I was very happy. When I got to my teenage years, however, I had trouble going to sleep at night, and worse trouble waking up in the morning. I dropped out of high school at age 14, and I couldn’t handle the stress of big city life. Especially, the big school. 

I had severe mental depression which lasted until about age 19. 

Later on, after I moved to Minnesota I really suffered a lot of culture shock. I made the stupid mistake of marrying too young. The decision was largely based on wanting to get out of the big city, and away from home.
At the time, little did I know, I was jumping from the frying pan into the fire! 

I never knew there were so many petty minds that would sabotage all my dreams. 

Because I lacked clarity, a cheer team, a solid financial foundation, and practical wisdom, I failed on many counts.

Needless to say, the depression returned, in spades. I was led to becoming self-destructive. I was doing crazy things, in a foolish cry for attention!

When I look back at the choices I made, I observe the roller coaster pattern of my life and I could not have it any other way. It all had to do with both my genetics and my environment.

I encountered good and evil people in my life. The good people were not all good and the bad people were not all bad. 

Living here today in small-town America, I rejoice.

I reflect on those city days, the overstimulation, the envy, the greed, the sadness, and my mind’s obsession with the self. 

I cannot say I am entirely free of stress, but living out here has lessened my stress immensely. 

When I’m out in the country, looking at the vast acreage with admiration and awe, I feel very much like a cowgirl on the range. 

There is something so satisfying in spacious places. Something that cannot be found in the cement blocks of the downtown area where I grew up.

As the song goes,

“Give me land, lots of land, under Starry skies above, Don’t Fence Me In.”

It’s been a few years since I’ve had darker hair. I’ve been blonde for many, many years and I keep going back to blonde hair.

Part of it had to do with a book I read about looking years younger by Joan Rivers. She wrote as you get older your hair should get lighter.

I took it to heart. So I was platinum blonde, burning off the ends of my hair, thus it wouldn’t grow long like it used to be when I had my natural color.

It was time for a reset. What is bleach, but a burning peroxide that breaks off the ends of your hair.

Nevertheless, I’d been bleaching my hair for years and years. However, I want to grow my hair long, and bleaching your hair does not help in the quest.

In trying to get my hair to grow back to it’s natural color, I chose not to cut it all off down to the quick.

I’ve even had friends that shave their head completely to grow back their natural hair. That is not me. I did not want to sacrifice the length, so I sacrificed the color, instead.

Surprisingly, one person said that I look younger with this new hair colour closer to my own.

Although, I miss my old blonde hair, at least I know now I will be able to grow it down to my shoulders with it’s natural Ash colour, with a few highlights. As much as I like hair extensions, or as you can see above, a Wiglet of blonde, I prefer natural, long, beautiful hair.

I wear hair extensions, and I find them fun, but they are also hot and itchy. 

My desire is to grow my natural hair long, and the only way to save my scalp and my hair follicles, is to take a break from all the bleach.

 

Recently I was a victim of a criminal act. Somebody broke the hatch of my truck trying to break in. They also damaged my tail lights and scratched up the body of my pickup. I told people about it on my Facebook page. I was pretty upset. But do people really have to know about this? I had to ask myself why I felt compelled to tell others about it.

Child endangerment, animal cruelty, deadly risks, disgusting images, foul language, criminal behavior: these are just a few things I see on my Facebook and Twitter page as I scroll through the feeds. What’s it all about?

People desire the gift of Fame. Yes it is a gift. The gift that we give is our attention. People pay attention to the unusual, the strange and the bizarre.

Other people put those things up or share those things, but why?

Disturbing images are disturbing. We don’t need that in our world. Reality is disturbing enough.

Often these images make people more callous to others suffering. I block all those things as soon as they crop up. I unfriend those who like to get their jollies scaring people and upsetting them.

I don’t want to be an ostrich with my head in the sand, I know evil exists.

This doesn’t mean that I care to engage with it or pay attention to it. I hope people wise up and try to look for the good in life instead of only wickedness.

There is so much to drive a person crazy in this world. From the smartphone screen cracking when it falls face down on the cement, such as what happened to me a couple days ago, to accidentally putting all your toiletries for a swim session into a plastic bag that you found on the chair, that you used earlier in the day to pick up a tiny bit of dog poop. That’s what happened to me yesterday. 

Needless to say, I was quite angry and uptight. I also felt a cold coming on with a scratchy throat and  after a day of running around full of worry, the day ended with a stiff, sore ankle.

After a good night’s sleep you can laugh at yourself and all of the foolishness that rains on your parade. 

Sometimes it’s wise to get perspective and not get too concerned. 

Chronically unhappy people are always wrapped up in themselves and in their problems.
I think it’s also cumulative. 

The more you worry, the more you worry. 

Of course, misery loves company. I guess we all have our problems. 

You’ve got your problems, I’ve got mine. One has to keep things in perspective.

A problem shared is a problem halved. 

I told my husband about my dog poop escapade. I did not expect such uproarious laughter, but I guess it was well worth it because today I am cheerful again.

As for my smartphone screen cracking, I talked to the lady at the store and she says the company is sending me a new one because I had insurance, plus I had to pay a $199.00 deductible, but thanks to my smart husband, making sure my phone was insured, at least I can have new one to replace the one with the cracked screen.

Shakespeare got it correctly when he wrote, all’s well that ends well!

Musically yours,

Amy Zents

The brain is the frontier that most people think of when they think of the most intricate part of the human body. The human brain is more intricate than any Swiss watch or man-made computer. We did not have to pay for this brain, it was a gift to us at birth, with all the other priceless gifts that we have that make up our human body including our heart, and lungs, and life.
When you hear about a lot of suicides in the news, and lots of depression, and mental diseases that get people to the ER, the problems can go back to problems with their brain.

I no longer watch TV before bed. I’ve decided to make my brain my best friend. That means preventing it from turning against me. The brain needs nurturing with healthy food and drink, lots of laughter, and lots of rest.

Too often, people abuse their brain by not getting enough sleep. This world we live in is full of distractions. This world can cause people to get so weary, they kill each other on the roads because they fall asleep behind the wheel, or else they are not well-rested enough to focus on their driving.

Besides doing other people harm, they often do themselves harm because they have not had enough sleep, or not had good enough sleep.

When people’s brains turn against them, you often see people turn to drugs and drink to try and straighten things out. Faulty reasoning takes over.

Take care of that marvelous piece of machinery your brain, and your brain will take care of you!