Tag: Amy Zents

Telephones in retirement

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I always laugh when people think certain things have become obsolete.
The old saying, “What goes around comes around,” holds true.
People often get consumed by the bells and whistles of the newest, electronic gadgets.
I’m one of those people. Even so, I still find it hard to let go of my past techy treasures.
I, for one, still have my “old” Wii, my PlayStations 1 and 2, my Nintendo DS, (all the versions,) including my favorite, the bigger version.
I also own a phonograph player, a transistor radio, and an AM/FM radio.
I love my walkie talkies, because I can access Noaa Weather even if there is no Internet access.

In fact, I would still have a landline if I didn’t become victimized by telephone pranksters.
Here is the story.
We used to have at least 6 phones on the property.
It was tolerable, and even somewhat fun, to hear the phones all ringing in full-throated chorus throughout the house, when someone occasionally telephoned us.
However, once I posted my home phone number on my website www.zentsmusicstudio.com, something changed.

The phones started ringing off the hook! Sometimes we would get 17 calls an hour, non-stop.
All the nuisance calls occurred even though I was registered on the Do Not Call list.
Our telephone company said there was nothing they could do to stop it.

We could not tolerate six or seven telephones in the house jangling uproariously non-stop. You see, my husband sleeps during the day after working 12 hour shifts. Also, our nerves were getting shot.
The first thing we tried was to unplug the phones. Later on we decided to try plugging in our phones again. It was to no avail.

Due to those many nuisance calls from auto-dialers and telemarketers, calling at all hours, wasting our time, and the phone company taking our money, but not helping us, we decided it was time to get rid of our land line.

It was probably the brightest idea we had. Life became sweet and quiet. Our cell phone provider saved the day. Today, I practically live on my cell phone, a smartphone.

Sadly, in different nooks and crannies around the house the old phones are a reminder of a bygone era.
Even now, we live with these vestiges of the past, a princess phone, a couple of wall phones, cordless phones and retro phones.
It’s a crying shame those old phones are now retired.

Musically yours, Amy Zents

Big brother or a good boss?

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There is a lot to be said for people who employ the physically disabled and the mentally challenged.
Of course, no employee is perfect. Some people have greater strengths than others.
Yet any person who is capable is considered a good hire.
The best thing to do, if you know your strengths, is to find work utilizing them.

The best employers are those who allow us to be ourselves. But first, we would be wise to know what we need, like, and can do, before taking a new job.

There has been a lot of negative press about employers. The fact is fewer of us these days are willing to take on the responsibilities of most employers. Most of us would rather ride along as passengers than drive the bus.

Imagine having to follow ever more stringent rules and regulations, having to deal with litigatious liabilities, the management that comes with dealing with whiny employees and picky customers, not to mention rapacious vendors!

Most people would rather not have that headache. It seems most people would rather have an employer to blame, than take the personal responsibility in the event of a difficulty.

Many times people try to tell you, “Face it. In real life, you are your own boss.” If that is the case, without employer’s oversight and feedback, generally speaking, people are often very poor bosses of themselves.

Most people don’t have an inkling of what it is to really be a boss.

Having your own business, means having to deal with other people’s business as well. You deal with their dirt as well as your own.

I would rather not be a boss if that is the case. I do empathize with my bosses. Yet, it really takes a team to make a business.
For everyone, bosses included, the focus should be on being a good team player.

All the different kinds of players that assemble in a business do so under the auspices of a good boss. It is good to be grateful to a boss who does a good job being the head honcho. If the boss does not do a good job, employee retention suffers.

Praise be to the bosses who are tolerant and understanding of all the varieties of people who come through their doors. It’s a two-way street.
However, in the end, the ultimate responsibility in a business is always put on the boss. Employees can  lessen that burden through self-monitoring and trustworthiness.

Musically yours, Amy Zents

Let’s put the Ag Day Parade on a Saturday

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Today I attended the Farm-city Hub Club Ag Day Parade. I was very disappointed it was not on a Saturday when more people could come and see and cheer on our farmers who feed the world.

Fewer farmers feed more people now than ever before. The American Farmer is a staple to everybody who eats. But the fuel they provide in the form of food not only feeds humans, but animals, and provides energy sources for fuel, such as ethanol.

Perhaps next year they may put it on a Saturday, and then more of the world can show up and cheer on our American farmers!

Indeed, farmers have incredible equipment to work with, and high-tech software, and more pressure than ever to perform; they have to deal with the ups and downs of the markets,
not to mention the variability of the weather.
They do deserve our praise, and we do owe them a lot. Today we celebrate the farmers.

Who doesn’t enjoy fresh corn on the cob with hot melted butter, or a delicious apple or wonderful mashed potatoes?

For all you love: from cheese to milk, from sweet fruits to savory herbs, to crunchy, healthy vegetables and beyond. Let’s think on it, and thank all the family farmers!

Ag Day Parade 2016

Musically yours, Amy Zents

Bingo and Irish Songs

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I caught a little culture tonight in town. It was mostly karaoke and drinking, with a little gambling thrown in, at the American Legion.

I played bingo. I was unaware that there were so many different variations of the game Bingo.
It was eye-opening. Like any type of gambling with numbers, the odds are in the numbers favor. There are so many numbers!

Nevertheless, somebody won the $1,000 jackpot at the end of the night. Needless to say, it wasn’t me.

It was Saint Patrick’s Day, and in the bars and restaurants all the good old Irish traditional melodies were being played or sung.

I imagine in the future all the references in the old Irish songs will need to be explained to the younger generation. The world has changed so much and continues to change.

What one needs not explain is the wonderful fun that comes with the rousing beat, and the hilarious lyrics.
There may be new Irish songs written, but the old ones, the classics such as “My Wild Irish Rose,” “Danny Boy,” “McNamara’s band” and “Molly Malone” linger on and on and on.
my band sings Molly Malone

Musically yours, Amy Zents

Great Athleticism

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Years ago I sat beside a fellow on an airplane who worked for the United States Olympics. I’ve always been impressed with Olympic athletes. I heard tell that in my family tree, we had two Olympic athletes! Being that half my family tree hails from Greece, it warms my heart to know that I have ties to the original Olympics in Athens.

Nevertheless, I was curious about the physical health of amateur and professional athletes. To my dismay, I discovered that many athletes have a laundry list of ailments, and injuries. Many are not very healthy. To stay healthy requires treating the body with great respect, and a profound honor.
One football player I knew was willing to go through a brick wall to win the game. Needless to say, a mortal going through a brick wall will cause bodily harm to himself!

I suppose that begs the question, do you really want the W, or do you prefer to have a long healthy life?

Granted, athletes do look like the picture of health. That is what surprised me the most. In my opinion, gymnasts and figure skaters look superfit. Whereas, runners may look a little too lanky, and swimmers may look a little too stout.

They say soccer players are in the best condition, but if they bounce too many balls off their head, they may be in for some long-term brain injuries.

So what can I say? Take care of your health, admire the athletes as they do their stuff, but don’t imagine they are pain-free! Unless they’re taking drugs, but doping is a whole ‘nother subject.
In the future, I believe athletes will be far more concerned about their physical long-term health, which may change the nature of the game!
Perhaps they can eliminate those players who do not care about their health.
Now that would be the barometer of great athleticism.
Funniest Soccor Video Ever!!!! 🙂

Musically yours, Amy Zents

Babysitter or music teacher?

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Being a parent is hard sometimes. I’m not a parent, but I do have to talk to parents now and then because I teach their children music lessons.

In the past, I would teach piano, guitar and voice from my home. Happily, I state now that I teach individual music lessons in a music studio in an arts and cultural centre.

The one thing I like about having individual music students, is because students generally know what is expected of them.

When I used to teach at home I encountered situations where my music teaching studio was being turned into a babysitting service.

Perhaps it was not deliberate, but I recall times when mom or dad didn’t pick up their child for hours after their lessons were over.

The TV would be on in the other room and the student would just sit and watch and wait for their ride home.

After a few of these “extended music lessons,” I realized I was being taken advantage of. It drove me to stop teaching privately for awhile.

In the future, I believe teachers will find parents are a lot more appreciative of the one on one attention their kids receive when it is more costly, and more scarce.

When parents appreciate that a teacher’s time is valuable and respected, then teachers will be more willing to teach.

Musically yours, Amy Zents

Don’t whack your liver with Tylenol if your knee is bad

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I don’t usually post videos on my blog. I realize many of my friends have knee problems. Even once in awhile my knee hurts.

If you are carrying extra weight, or if you have sports injuries that have damaged your knee or knees, you may find watching this video eye-opening! It’s something to be celebrated. Know that there is hope for you!

I found it fascinating to get an insight on how different medical professionals treat knee problems.

Here is a surgeon telling you that the road to knee health doesn’t necessarily mean a future of discomfort and a downward spiral to amputation, or liver damage.

Listen to it while you’re relaxing with knees up, and be reassured medical professionals are working on getting safe, proper knee help.

I’m thrilled to hear that it is to become available at a reasonable cost to the public.

AcuKnee Talk
AcuKnee may help to avoid knee replacements.

The Straight Path to Freedom

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Freedom is what we all love. The law allows us all a measure of it. Along with relative freedom, you also get a whole bunch of opportunities to find enjoyment and fun in life, in a variety of ways.
However, if you use your freedom to drink to a point where your thoughts are muddled by an excess of booze, and you put others and yourself in harm’s way, your freedom is taken away, and rightly so.
It’s crazy to believe that if you harm others, then pass out, or black out from whatever you may be under the influence of, that you should be free of responsibility. Sorry, life doesn’t work that way, especially if you are a grown-up.
Perhaps that is why we all need each other. We always have to remind ourselves and each other of our own responsibility to ourselves and others.
I fear that in the future, as a society we may lose our current freedom, if we do not watch it. If things keep going the way they are, I predict there will be developed more blatant stop-gap mechanisms put in place to prevent criminals from breaking the law, and hurting themselves and others.
If we don’t want the law to take over because we can’t manage ourselves, then it seems necessary we should make up our minds as individuals to keep on the straight path to freedom by being responsible grown-ups, and not insensitive, selfish losers.

Musically yours, Amy Zents

Age of Excess

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Everywhere we look today, almost on every
front, there is someone attractive trying to get you to buy something you may or may not need. Do we buy it because she’s pretty, or he’s handsome?

Do those sparkling eyes and that shiny hair convince us to open up our wallets? Perhaps they do, perhaps we’re buying a fantasy. We always like to be nice to beautiful-looking people, but do we have to give them our money?

We all admire the beautiful. And while it’s a good argument for us to always make sure that we smell good, and we are clean, and perhaps even try and be beautiful too, it begs the question: how much baby do we really need?

Do we buy an excessive amount of stuff because of the many beautiful people who are selling it to us through media, or through face-to-face sales?

In the future I think sustainability and not beauty will be the barometer of sales.

Repurposing of objects is good in itself, but it can be self-defeating, if you don’t need those objects in the first place.

Like it or not, there is an injustice in the distribution of stuff. Instead of buying and getting buried in a mountain of unloved clutter, in the future I think a more calculated approach to ownership will rule the day!

Musically yours, Amy Zents

Skip the flowers, let’s talk!

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Find inspiration in each other!

You can spend a lot of money to take a flower-arranging class, or maybe drop half a 100 bucks on painting and Pinot, but whichever class or workshop you sign up for, you’ll find benefits come from co-mingling and communication.
Sometimes your class or workshop is lubricated with alcohol, and there are munchies offered too. Nevertheless, it’s usually a joyful time. People are in a jovial mood. It’s time to relax.
I love these things, these classes with a central theme, that inspire creativity and conversation.
Whatever you like, be it flower-arranging, stitch and b****, learning to mix cocktails, quilting bees or cooking classes, you’re never too old to have some fun, and maybe even learn something.
Of course, you’ll find life sometimes gets in the way of fun times: the price of gas going up and down, the crazy in the truck who stares you down who looks like Rasputin, the time you misplaced your wallet and found it stuck in between two pots in the kitchen, or heaven forbid, when you’re trying to get out of
the door and the car keys aren’t where you left them!
With such variety in life in the way of hobbies, I predict in the future more of us will invest a little time and cash in getting to know our neighbor through taking community-based classes or workshops.

Musically yours, Amy Zents