Eve Sophia

With the mess our Presidential election is in at the moment it makes me think of why people want to control other people. The premise of The United States of America is what our Constitution provides…Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

The democrats who crave and are so obsessed with controlling the government want just that. Control. They are already telling us what they want and not what it will do for us American citizens. And they haven’t even been declared the official winners yet.

The republicans are still holding firm realizing that there was immense voter fraud to get President Trump out of office. More and more I am angry that one group of people would trick us into selecting a candidate that would not be able to undertake his duties properly (Biden with his cognitive decline), and then have him removed from office so that his VP (Harris) would take over with her communist agenda. That’s certainly what it looks like.

And who gives people the right to have dominion over other people? The American citizens exercise their right to vote yet the party leaders trick us into electing control freaks. It’s taught to young people in school. Personal achievement is replaced by becoming equal in all aspects of life. If you want to achieve more than someone else it doesn’t matter. It’s considered wrong. What you achieve for yourself is to be shared equally with everyone. And people don’t realize that these ideas are embedded in TV programs, commercials, so-called news reports. I think that’s called brainwashing.

This virus was the last straw to getting Trump out of office. Blame him for the deaths of others. Scare people to death with a highly infectious disease even though there is a 98-99% survival rate. Scare tactics. That’s the best way to control people. Then start ordering them to do certain things…stay home, wear masks, practice hygiene, stay 6 feet apart. Most of these don’t keep one from getting the disease. Then the experts start arguing amongst themselves regarding what type of action actually does work. This spreads confusion.

So let’s recap…people who want to control others use tactics such as brainwashing through embedded messages, scare tactics and confusion. Plus there has been some inference that people should start calling the police if their neighbors are not following the mandated orders from the government. Just like the Nazis and Communists.

Back to the initial headline. Control. Is that what people want? Well it looks like people voted for it. Me? I am a Trump supporter and I want America’s freedoms. Something we have to pay attention to and protect no matter what. Otherwise…

So I retired from my many years of office jobs as of September 30. I am a professional musician which you already know and now a Master Makeup Artist, enrolling in yet a couple of more MUA courses. Retiring doesn’t mean quitting. I will always work and now I can concentrate on what I really am! But there are interesting consequences. You miss the company of co-workers but don’t ever want to work in that kind of environment again. You are alone a lot but then there is still somewhat of a lockdown going on. But you are alone more because you are at home and not in an office environment. So what to do? Well I am taking MUA courses online for certificates and teaching private music lessons online. Connecting with other retired friends and sleeping more. Repairing a few things at home. Reinventing myself and looking out more for myself. Still looking for that one special relationship. Doing and eating healthy stuff. What surprises me is that I don’t miss my previous life and it’s only been 2 months. Guess it was time. And I also have time for rambling on my blog. Ha! Press on and become yet another version of yourself…a better one.

So here I am blogging. And I sit here wondering about not only my unmarried state but un-relationship state and how long it’s been. Several years. Certainly nothing I intended.

Online dating has kinda’ been a turnoff for me since I really don’t like the whole process and people don’t really present themselves very well online. But it seems to be where everyone is. I had also joined a FB therapy group run by a professional therapist/dating mentor for a while. She’s good! She mentors people into finding what she calls a “phenomenal-fit partner.” And they do! But here’s the clincher…the price is several thousands of dollars to work with her. And I can’t even say right now how much money I’ve spent on dating services, videos, webinars, workshops, etc. For me the pricetag was not realistic. So again, here I sit. Still a bit lost. I’ve tried to put her five basic strategies to work for myself. I just question why this particular part of one’s life is so hard to realize? Why do some people find “the one” early on and others struggle for years? We’re confident, educated, have careers, and definitely won’t “settle.” But how does one plug that ever-so-important hole in one’s life…the hole that is so very important throughout one’s entire life? Deep-seeded intimacy.

Not only am I a professional musician getting through this pandemic but also studying makeup artistry by taking online classes. Another passion of mine…art. I’m an Avon Independent Sales Representative and love that type of artistry as well. I guess I’m one of those intended to bring beauty into the world both through music and physical art. These two personas of mine do fulfill a wonderful part of me that I love expressing to the world. Maybe this is the link that will bring in the love of my life. If one is not happy with one’s work or life in general then I would expect another person would not be attracted to you intimately. They would be attracted to the love and beauty you spew forth. Maybe that’s what I’ve been missing? Having retired from my regular job has allowed me to let this part of me, the REAL me full of music and art, break forth into the forefront instead sitting on the back burner.

So stay tuned. Eternal optimism. Still looking forward to the love of my life. Hopefully the true me will bring him in.

So you are a professional musician and we are still in a measure of lockdown. If you are a performer only, your livelihood is on hold until ???? If you are like most of us and teach a modicum or a lot of students, you are probably doing okay but more than likely have lost students due to financial issues on their end…loss of jobs, etc. And we ALL are teaching online. O joy O rapture!

I’m tech savvy so teaching online wasn’t a huge leap for me but I did watch a 2-day webinar sponsored by MTNA about teaching online. Good points made and good advice given. Piano is easier online than voice. But we press on.

Will it ever get back to the way it was? No. Online teaching will be with us until the end. It has made a rather abrupt entrance into our lives and actually isn’t all that bad. I suspect teachers will eventually settle into a good mix of in-person and online teaching and that will work very well. Takes a little more legwork on both sides. I find myself doing more little recordings of new music and sending it to my students. It gives them that extra piece to listen to, something not included in a live lesson unless teacher plays/sings it, which is ok but can also be a bit intrusive in the lesson, although I’ve done it. But it does make the student take a bit more responsibility for their own actions…set your own practice schedule so you stick to it. Make sure you know where your music is. Mom can’t always drop everything to look for it.

So we gain more attention to the lesson details in spite of losing that in-person touch. Maybe that’s the payoff here? We teachers have to re-evaluate the way we communicate with the student and the student has to be more attentive on their end and make sure they understand what the teacher is asking of them…aka take more responsibility.

This too shall pass. But it will resurface with a new look. I hate the term “new normal.” We musicians re-invent ourselves all the time. So one more time won’t make a whole lot of difference. And now I’m trying to refine the process of finding new students online. Another learning curve. Well, 2020 has been that kind of year…curveballs all around. Ha!

Well, after a lifetime of working in offices to support me, all the while doing my actual vocational stuff as a professional musician after hours, I am finally retiring from the day job scenario to be a full-time musician. Funny how one has to retire in order to be a full-time artist. For most of us artists the puny money just doesn’t pay the mortgage.

This brings me to an article I read in the journal from one of the professional organizations I belong to, MTNA. The national president wrote a dynamite article as you just open the publication. It was like something jumped out and slapped me in the face! It was short and sweet and to the point…and he “brought it home.” The article is about understanding your worth as a musician/performer/teacher. To take a few points from the article, it talked about how we have to start music when we’re children (by the grace of God our parents saw this in us and took us to lessons), and we have to keep up our art well into adulthood. Thousands of hours and unknown amounts of money spent becoming a professional artist. Several college degrees. Then we have to keep up our skills through regular (eternal) practice and attending workshops when we can and of course, joining the professional organizations which help with holding conferences, local meetings, performance opportunities for our students, etc. The president equated us to some of the most highly trained individuals next to doctors and lawyers. Read that again! I have a dear friend who is a world-class organist who grew up on the organ bench and has been playing literally 60 years. He’s not retired either.

And this is what we artists bring to the table. This is the depth from which we teach you to play beginning piano, sing simple early music songs, etc. I know of a group of wind instrument players who have their degrees in music and are expert at their instruments but wanted to make enough money to live so they became lawyers and businessmen but yet, didn’t want to give up the music they worked so hard for…so they formed a local group that I’ve had the pleasure of hearing. Fabulous! And what a great idea!

So upon my retirement I am beefing up my own music studio and for the first time in my life, going to be all music! This is huge for me. I realized I know how to work for other people but not necessarily for myself. So a learning curve for me at retirement but it’s going to happen! And I’m going to make a more concerted effort to keep up my blog. Something else I haven’t had a lot of time to do.

So look for more of my wisdom in the near future. Tata for now!