Tag: Amy Zents

A new website domain name

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Find my music at CD Baby

So now I’m using this WordPress to update my music life. Part of being me, is being a radio broadcaster, a singer-songwriter and a music teacher.

I do have a music teaching studio call Zents Music Studio, but my life is really a studio of sorts. I’m learning everyday.

Although I’m looking forward to a bright musical future, I also want to discuss great singing technique, guitar and piano which I teach. But also there’s the lessons of living.

As a writer and songwriter there are stories everywhere you go, from the smiling old woman who curls her hair too tightly that you see at the grocery store, to the way you feel about the young guy who likes to use the electric wheelchair/shopping cart around the store even though he’s healthy.

There’s also the matter of psychology that comes along with being a performer. You can’t deny that people compare you as a singer-songwriter, the way you sing, the way you play, and the songs you write. Also, there’s no denying the CD’s which you record, and produce are always being judged.

There’s so many topics to write about here on my new WordPress domain at Zentsmusicstudio.com

Rigors of Living

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Plan your work and work your plan!

They often say the best laid plans of mice and men go awry.

Sometimes it’s better not to have plans, and do what you know you should do, and do what you say you will do.

Part of growing up is becoming disciplined. To discipline yourself is the hardest thing to do.

Did you know you can become a life coach without any degree? To become a life coach you don’t even have to join their organisation and get on their mailing list either.

Why do so many people hire life coaches? 

I think people like to have a life coach, although it costs them a lot of money.The fact is people are unable to kick their own butts, they prefer somebody else whip them in line. 

The reality is you probably do not need anyone to tell you what to do. You know what to do. You may not want to do it. However, the ultimate decision is up to you whether or not you do it.

The truth is revealed in the movie The Wizard of Oz. You have the power within you and you’ve always had it.

One of the nice things about the digital Revolution, is that we can set up our schedule on our smartphone, and use the timer and the calendar, and it’s all paper free. 

When it comes to time management, you have to be the one to manage yourself in time. Go for it! You can do it! I believe in you! 

You don’t need me as your life coach, you need yourself to be on your side, to stand up for your truth, and your goals and dreams!

Tired and disgusted

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Normally in November the weather is gray and yucky like this picture

I should be very happy. The weather today was not all gray and depressing as it normally is in November. In fact, it got up to 72 degrees, or  22.222 degrees Celsius.

Seeing a hearse outside Domino’s Pizza Parlor just makes me wonder about being overworked

But when you burn the candle at both ends, it doesn’t take a mighty straw to break the camel’s back.

I have so many balls in the air lately, sleep is just an interruption. When I really find myself fast asleep, then it’s time to get up and take care of the diabetic Pomeranian, and take the dogs out to wee.

Not only that, the two dogs have taken it upon themselves to be my alarm clock x 2. They bark their heads off when they want me to get out of bed on their timetable.

I have dyspraxia so it’s hard enough to finally go to sleep at night, and then to have to get up prematurely, it’s really awful.

One of the dogs loves to jump on the bed and jump on me. He tries to get me to get up by jumping up and down and barking on me. The other dog, who is visually challenged, just barks and barks to get me up.

The weird thing is that they go to bed when I go to bed, but they’re up before the dawn ready to go and run. So lately my life has just been so sleep-deprived. Tonight I’m going to try to go to bed a little sooner. Yet because of my  projects and work, no housework  has been done and yet it’s really piling up like crazy.

It’s awful when there’s no food in the fridge, dirty dishes in the sink and no one to do all the work except yourself.

I’m seriously considering hiring some help. But I hate it when people come over and see the mess, and also people seem to intrude in my life when I don’t want them here. I need to just develop some really good habits which I plan to do, so I can just do it all myself.

Everybody seems to be working very hard lately. It’s like when it rains it pours.

Then again there’s other people that just don’t want to have to work so they just don’t come in or they call in sick and then someone else has to carry the extra load.

You can be tired in many different ways, and usually all those ways at one time.

I’m trying to look at the bright side of things right now. There are good things coming. I know. I will just try to gather my strength, any way I can. I will try and get more sleep, not do anything tonight, except close my eyes and go to bed. If I can’t sleep, then I will get up and do some cleaning. But I think I know I’ll be able to sleep because sleeping is better and easier than having to face a sink full of dirty dishes. Nevertheless, my truck is full of groceries, I just got back from the store, now I have to put everything away and take care of my diabetic Pomeranian. The Merry-Go-Round doesn’t quit.

 I will find the strength, now that I have unloaded on my blog. It’s better to be too busy than bored. I’m no longer bored, just tired.

This diabetic Pomeranian is very feisty in the early morning hours

The Sound of Music comes to my doorstep

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Debbie Turner speaks to a large crowd about her role in the Sound of Music

Tonight I took the trek up the hill to Martin Luther College in the town I live in.
I had just returned home from work and had eaten some supper and was ready to recline, until the buzzing on my SmartWatch told me I needed to be up at Martin Luther College at 8pm because an actress from the Robert Wise hit movie, by the name of Debbie Turner was going to talk about her role in “The Sound of Music.”
Growing up as I did in Toronto in the Inner City, I was a very lonely and neglected child and I found my escape in music and in musicals.
Walking home tonight, I fell into that reverie, the lines of the song from Sunset Boulevard sang in my head, we taught the world new ways to dream. That is Hollywood for you. 

There is a resurgence and a resurrection of interest in the old movies. In fact, I’m leaving to another Turner Classic Movie Cruise in about a week. This will be my 5th Turner Classic Movie Cruise and I will see Jerry Lewis, Kim Novak, Michael York, Leslie Caron, Lucie Arnaz jr., among others. 

I’ve been on cruises where I’ve seen other stars such as Shirley Jones, Mickey Rooney, Theodore Bikel, Eva Marie Saint, Angie Dickinson, Richard Wagner, Lou Gossett jr., Richard Dreyfuss, Harold Lloyd, Ruta Lee, Jane Powell, and Margaret O’Brien, who are just a few that come to mind.
Listening to Debbie Turner talk about her experiences playing Marta in The Sound of Music told me a lot about the way Hollywood used to be. The so-called lesser players were paid much less back then. The things classic movie actors and actresses have to bank on now, is the keen interest Baby Boomers along with their children have in old Hollywood. Sadly, old Hollywood, is as recent as the eighties and nineties not just the thirties and forties.

I grew up very lonely with LP’s teaching me all the lyrics to all the famous musicals from West Side Story to The Sound of Music and others in between. The curse I had was that my rhythm was poor. I have perfect pitch but not perfect rhythm, that came later with training. My husband has natural rhythm but not natural perfect pitch so we’re a perfect match.

Nevertheless, Hollywood has put its imprint on me as well as millions of others.

While kids of today may have never seen a Judy Garland film they have heard of her, just like I have heard of Rin Tin Tin, but I’ve never seen him in a movie.

So when I go on the Disney Fantasy and see  Jerry Lewis for the first time for real, it will probably be just as startling and uplifting as when I saw Shirley Jones for real on the Disney Magic. I grew up watching Jerry Lewis films. In fact he was my role model for a spell. I was a crazy zany over-the-top teenager, every once in awhile, after watching one of those movies because I was yearning for a role model, even though people thought I was nuts.

I was in Oklahoma playing the lead role as Laurie in junior high school. I was unable to talk to Shirley Jones on the ship, but I was able to listen to her speak about herself and her past and I was duly disillusioned.

Did you know she was pregnant when she was playing in the movie, The Music Man? Finding out about these Stars close up and real, they were not like in my imagination at all.

How desperately I really wanted to be a part of Hollywood, is unfathomable. 

I imagined being a movie star would mean being perfect and being happy all the time. 

In college, they said you don’t want to meet your heroes or idols because they would surely disappoint you. For a while I was reading the biographies of Barbara Streisand and all the other movie stars that I was emulating. 

I had a chance to be in a couple of local television commercials and I learned about waiting. I hated waiting for the lighting and all that. I didn’t like being part of an ensemble either. I used to sing in a choir and I hated every second of it. I wanted to be the star.

So here I am today as a radio announcer, happy as can be with two dogs to take care of and a wonderful husband who loves me. Who could ask for anything more?

In another vein, so often I heard actors and actresses say they wound up being movie stars out of dumb luck.

Perhaps it was dumb luck that prevented me from going to Hollywood and becoming an actress. Perhaps I was too dumb to qualify. I’m glad of that. I’m glad to be where I am today.

In my dreams I’m an Academy Award winner

Hanging out with my dreams

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There were four things that made me very happy when I was a kid:

  1. Singing with LP’s in my room for hours and hours lost in my own world of music,
  2. cooking or baking in the kitchen
  3. reading books I got from the public library, and
  4. staying up late watching classic old black and white movies on our old black and white television set.

Yes, I was a lonely child. Nevertheless, living in the city, I found ways and means to be happy.

Today, I know other kindred spirits who can relate to me. People who don’t seem to need people.

One guy I work with loves to cook and finds he loses all worries when cooking.

Another person I know, can spend hours singing and playing songs on the guitar, oblivious to anyone or anything around him.

I watched a video of one lady singing a country song who had her eyes shut. At first, I thought she was vision-impaired. No. She could see. She only liked to sing a whole song with her eyes closed. I understood completely, she was in her own little world.

Once I was getting a ride home from this guy I used to work with. We both worked at a music store when I lived in Toronto. In the van on the ride home, I had a song stuck in my head, so I was singing it.

I did not know what to say to the fellow behind the wheel, so I did what I always used to do when I was a bit stressed, I sang. I have a light soprano voice, and perfect pitch. Secretly, in my starstruck juvenile mind, I felt the guy would enjoying hearing me vocalize, if he paid attention to me.

Boy! Was I in for a surprise! The guy told me to be quiet. I think he knew where he was going, but he may have wanted to listen to something else other than me like CHUM FM.

Oh dear! I didn’t quite understand his protests. So, I just kept on singing away!

Finally, in the most hostile manner imaginable, verging on bloodshed, he screamed at me, Shut Up!

After my shock and terror, I never spoke to him again!

In hindsight, I imagine he felt I was ignoring him.

Another time, I was spending time in my own musical reverie, listening to my Walkman with my headphones on, in the presence of a friend, again in a vehicle.

My friend did not like that I was not paying attention to him, even though he spoke not a word to me. I thought it was okay if I enjoyed my own private concert through my headset if I wasn’t driving.

I did not expect I was supposed to entertain him, or even to make conversation.

He got so mad he yanked my headphones off my head.

When you’ve suffered benign neglect for decades, you find ways and means to compensate.

As a kid, and a teenager, I found escape, and happiness in music, books, cooking and films. I was happy then, and not without good company.

Now, I am a little more grown-up. I understand others want to be in my show.

So, I show them a little attention too!

Nowadays, I am happier to enjoy a week alone at home, in my own company, but other times I love to give and take attention from real, live, lovable people, and not just hang out with my dreams.

 

 

 

 

Universal Sport

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People often complain that they can’t make room for exercise. That is nonsense.
All you have to do is step outside and see your gym. There are hills to climb, there are places to walk or run to, and of course there are all the other opportunities for motion with a bicycle, homemade gym, or even housework.

Since I am a prognosticator of future events, I believe that in this 21st century, it is even more vital that we work on being thin and fit.

New inventions are making life more exciting for those who can engage with their environment on a physical level.

I don’t say hand-gliding, or bodysuit-flying is for me, but one would feel much better going down a zipline or going down a waterslide or riding on a brand new amusement ride if one is thin and fit.

Sadly, that is not in the range of many people today.

So the question has been raised, who rules your body? Take charge and don’t let your lack of self-control ruin your life. You deserve the best, and that means taking care of your body.

I thought I saw my future self walk by the window of my radio station the other day. I told my sister my destiny could be one of two things. Either a women of 82 who is trim, with great posture, and a sprint in her step, or else one of those morbidly obese in the Tom Kruse Hoveround, going through the till at the grocery store, clutching a bag of chips and soda pop, unable to walk.

Since I do not want the latter, and I pray and hope and daily work towards the former, I think about tomorrow, but I focus on this moment. I chronicle everything I eat, and I wear my fitness watch that tracks my heart rate, my steps and my sleeping.

We all have dreams, but the time is now to wake up and act, to make our dreams come true!

Boiled Eggs & Brown Rice

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One thing that really saves me a lot of time is cooking ahead.

We always like to eat hard-boiled eggs and brown rice in our diet.

These two staples are the launching pad for many a delicious meal.

When I have a little extra time where I can mind the stove, such as today, a day off from work, I will make a big pot of brown rice, and boil a lot of eggs, plenty to satisfy my husband, and the two dogs who love eggs just as much as we do!

The eggs often wind up covered with horseradish, find their way into salads, or are just enjoyed on their own with a little salt and pepper.

Brown rice, an impetus to make stir fry, rice omelettes, and of course vegetable-fried rice, a family favorite!

When you have a bed of rice, a little hot sauce and butter make a quick meal!

If I could find it, I would show you.

I have a t-shirt I bought years ago at Comic-Con. It says, rice is nice.

So are eggs!

Not another phone book!

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Today I opened my mailbox, and there it was, my tri-annual phone book! It seems every few months I’m getting a new phone book for free!
I love books. I truly do.
I even tried publishing my own book.

Bitey Poodle’s Vices

But, in this age of computers I have no need of a printed telephone book.

I imagine some people who are not connected to the Internet need a phone book.

I haven’t used a phone book in many years! There was a time when the phonebook was an integral part of our lives. A bare necessity!

Like the home phone, it’s obsolescence is imminent and inevitable.

I have strange memories from when I was a kid, growing up in the sixties, of the Toronto phone book. It was always dirty in the old phone booths of Superman fame.

Those tired, well-thumbed, nasty fat phone books always had a smell of their own. And when you looked something up it was always that one page that was ripped out!

They conjured up thoughts of winos, hookers, and dirty old men.

I can’t say this phone book won’t wind up at the public library, in the free giveaway box, or in the garbage can. It most likely will.

If someone could give me a good reason to keep it I might, but so far I haven’t found one.

These days all I have to do is ask my voice-activated smartphone via Google to tell me the phone number for such and such a business.

Some people find practical functionality with phone books. Not as reference materials per se, but as props!

Propping up that wobbly cabinet leg or propping open a window or a door.

Surrounded by winners

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You’ve heard it said that you become the equivalent of those you hang around with. I am surrounded by winners. I cannot say how it all happened but I can say part of it has to do with my close association with my husband who is an MD, his relations and my relations including my fabulously beautiful, extremely talented sister who sings better opera than Sarah Brightman, in my humble opinion, and my super talented brother who works for a Fortune 500 company and is very active and athletic. Also, not to boast, being a radio announcer where I live in the heartland, I encounter many Superstar people.

I called them Superstars because they have their heads on straight. They are Straight Shooters. They tell it like it is. They are real people and not posers.

Being surrounded by winners helps me to be happy because when I get all nervous and flustered, with my ADHD, I get the advice I need to calm down and move ahead with maturity and soundness of mind.

Let the Reader Beware!

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Everything we read online is posted by someone we may or may not know.
We hope that everything we read is true, but underneath we know not everything will be.

We were just watching Irma La Douce and in the movie she lies her pants off.

I imagine most of us do not lie when we post our stories or opinions online. I know I don’t fabricate huge lies about what I do, what I own and where I go. I don’t know if it takes a big imagination to tell tales, or if it just takes an ulterior motive.

The National Enquirer has a reputation of telling tales. One would think in this sue-happy climate, yellow journalism would be a thing of the past. But even other papers besides The Enquirer have been guilty of twisting the truth, writing lies, and padding their stories with lack of proof, fabrications and outright plagiarism.

Yellow journalism is the only kind of journalism nowadays, or so it seems.

We can agree to be honest with each other on our blogs, and hold each other to a higher standard of truth and honesty, and perhaps personal blogs are the only source of true journalism. Who knows? If there is no mercenary aspect behind writing a blog, one can always write the truth and shame the devil!

The reason yellow journalism is so rampant is because it sells. Sensationalism is always in season with the masses. Yellow journalism is often one-sided, dumbed-down, slanted, opinionated, and often untrue.

There’s a lot of bad things happening in the world, and any time newspapers or news outlets exploit a story with loud, salacious headlines, one has to wonder how much of it is true. Let the reader beware!

Musically yours,

Amy Zents