Creative Careers

Posted on January 8, 2026 by Evesophia

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Happy New Year 2026!

Posted on January 1, 2026 by Evesophia

Well, absent again since late November 2025. As much as I have my regular MRI/CT Scans for my wonderful doctors at Brighams here in Boston for the past 2 years since back/spinal surgery, it does take time to navigate all of this time-wise. And as much as there is nothing new (yay!) there was still something old they were tracking for a year. So, 2 weeks before Christmas they scheduled one week of radiation to zap the old stuff. Done! Now to resume quarterly tests and see where we are with that.

Went to my Church’s NY Eve Party for the first time. I figured I needed a good party after the past few years of surgery, deaths, car accident, etc. It was good! Loud Greeks and loud Greek music but good. Ha! Good food, good company and great that I made myself do it. Thanks to a few of my friends who kept nagging me.

And something I’ve been doing since 1987…journaling every January 1st. I started doing it for some reason. But now in 2026, I’m reading past years stuff and seeing my life unfold through tough times, good times, interesting times, and weird times. Ha! Also my emotions through all of these moments and how I wished and prayed for the right outcome, and was determined to move forward “Come Hell or High Water!” It is always very interesting to see how you felt in years past and feel now about perhaps similar situations. How you grow over the years. It’s a real education into personal growth and just life in general…your life.

Now it’s on to 2026. NO MORE hurtful things happening. Time for a few real good events to enter my life and enhance my life. I’ve still got stuff I have to do in this life and plenty of energy to get it done!

And getting back on track with my blogging because I know all my fans, like you folks, are just waiting to read about my next adventure.

So what are you planning for 2026? Do tell!

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Other Experiences

Posted on November 13, 2025 by Evesophia

Why did I name this blog “other experiences?” I didn’t want to scare anyone saying “supernatural” or so even though this is what this blog is about.

As we go through life stuff happens. Many times you’ll hear other people say how they avoided something that could have turned out terrible…”whew!” Or a dream-job lands in one’s lap or perhaps one wins the lottery. And sometimes one is led down a productive path…networking, someone puts in a good word for you for a job or other event, etc.

But how does this happen? I personally think there’s Divine intervention. Throughout my life I have always tried to plan according to how experts recommend. Career, financial, you-name-it. And just when I’ve got a really darn-good plan…it all falls apart. Hah! Seriously!

I moved from Chicago to Boston because of music work with my best music bud but within the first 6 months landed an interesting job I wasn’t quite prepared for…organist/choirmaster in a Greek Orthodox Church. I was Roman Catholic at the time. My music bud recommended me to the priest who was a friend of his. Aaaaccckkkkk! I had no idea what a Greek Orthodox Church did. And…they hired me! Faint. It took me 4 months of intensive training (Orthodox boot camp) to learn the Liturgy and some Greek too since half the Liturgy is in Greek.

And you know what? Two years later I became Orthodox. Huh! I was so impressed with the Liturgy, how intense it is, how Memorials in honor of deceased loved ones at the end of the Liturgy helped so many people grieve and feel loved and comforted, and much more. My choir was good! I learned the basic liturgical music and liturgical Greek. Now if you think I ever planned this in my life…think again!

My music bud and I eventually did start teaching together and making more music together but that wasn’t the shockeroo that converting to Orthodoxy was! And interesting enough, a friend at the Church I used to work for (in the office) back in Chicago told me that perhaps I was moving for spiritual reasons. Ummmm….I think she hit that nail on the head even though I had no clue!

Before I moved to Boston I had head surgery…benign tumor (meningioma) that did not go into my brain. I was fine in about 6 months. After that and after I had moved, I decided I wanted to be the healthiest thing on the planet. Yet, I didn’t know how to accomplish that. I ended up reading a series of books starting with Deepak Chopra’s “Perfect Health.” Then I went on to read several other health books. How did I know which ones to read? I didn’t. They appeared either in an ad or bookstore, or for one of them, I was watching a 90 minute special on public TV. This nutritionist was talking about being healthy and losing weight, and pushing his new book. Well, I bought the book. It’s great. I try to follow some of his stuff to this day.

Then I retired in 2020 from my regular jobs and intended to just do my music. I had a retirement plan! But…the pandemic hit. We lost the music studio. My music bud died. I had major back/spinal surgery. What happened to my plan? Gone! Pfffttt! Here we go again. I think God slaps my plans into infinity and then drops His own on me instead…without warning. Grrrr.

Re the major back/spinal surgery I had 2 years ago…about 3 months before I had a dream about my Busia (boo-sha which is Polish for grandma)…my mother’s mother. I have a black and white picture of her standing and smiling. I never met her because she died before I was born. Well, the dream was so happy! She was smiling and sparkling…the picture was in color, the sun was shining…I was even in the dream. I was happy! And of course you can still think in dreams…I remember thinking “why am I dreaming about her again?” When I woke up I thought perhaps she was going to take care of me or ???? I have not dreamed about her since.

When I was in rehab after surgery…I was falling asleep one night and felt a light, warm hand first on one side of my back and then on the other. I thought “is that you Mom?” My mother took care of me after my head surgery. I always called her a saint after that. Soooo…I came to the conclusion that my Mom and her Mom were in charge of taking care of me. And I’m doing well today and determined to stay healthy as I did before!

I know God has a plan for all of us. And as far as me making more plans for the future, forget it! I still have my heartfelt dreams but I’ve gotten to the point where I refuse to make plans to obtain them. I just pray and wait for the obvious…God to make it happen…usually in a much different and more dramatic way than I would ever think of. Oy vey!

And let’s not forget the good ole “low gut feeling.” I have learned in life to never ignore it! Never! If something is nagging you just do whatever it is. You’ll be happier for listening to yourself…or the Divine intervention. Sometimes it seems like a secretary you can’t see. Ha!

Interesting isn’t it? That Divine intervention just pushing you around in life in different directions…but always in the right direction. That’s how it’s been for me, at least when I take the time to analyze what just happened yet again in life! Ha!

Feel free to mention how your own life has taken unrealized twists and turns…eventually for the better. I always say life’s a trip! And don’t forget, eat pie. It really helps!

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Here We Are Today

Posted on November 11, 2025 by Evesophia

So. Yes, I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus again due to life circumstances. My work schedule changed. It’s fine. And an old health issue has changed a smidge but it’s something the doctors want to take care of now! And my current health is just fine…happy doctors. Yay!

So here I am, having to backtrack a bit to get rid of some old crap from the previous hospitalization 2 years ago. A week of radiation therapy and the old crap will be gone. And there’s nothing new in my body so it’s a “clean-up crew” type of thing I like to think.

We all have to expect that life doesn’t go smoothly from point A to point B. Mine sure hasn’t. But we keep moving forward even if we have to go backwards a couple of steps…3 steps forward-1 step back, etc. But for myself, I am happy to be cleaning up an issue from about a year ago or more so that my moving forward feels more secure. I find myself being happier right now especially since we are keeping watch on my situation and being pro-active. Might I add that I have a couple of superb doctors who are also the nicest guys. That also makes me feel very secure!

I have a paid blog on what I call personal achievement careers. This is a real thing moving forward in this type of career path. Making strides in life isn’t a perfect science. We all see this in our own personal health. Like I said…3 steps forward-1 step back. And to add to this imperfect science is emotions and mental health. Life is tough like that, especially when you think you’ve “beat it” (what ever “it” is) and have to go back and beat it again…hopefully this time for good!

So what makes us press on and in a good frame of mind as well? For me, it’s Faith. I know the Spirit is in my corner and I do converse with the Spirit (God). We don’t know what is in store for us in life but I suspect it’s there to challenge us to rise above and grow as a person. And perhaps even help others face what we’ve faced and come out on top as well.

Since I retired from full-time jobs in 2020, my life the last 5 years has been the following: lost music studio due to the pandemic; my best friend/music bud died; my brother died; I had major back/spinal surgery; my last car was totaled. Huh! Excuse me whilst I faint. Ha! Maybe you have already!

Here are the positive things that happened because of the above paragraph:
-I started teaching again for a very good music studio with a wonderful owner who is quite the entrepreneur! One of the best I’ve been affiliated with.
-I was able to help with my best friend’s funeral and his burial in particular, in a cemetery very much affiliated with his religion (Russian Orthodox).
-Even though my surgery was emergency back surgery my doctors were the best in their fields, and the ongoing care is absolutely amazing as well as the doctors in charge of that.
-My finances of course were being affected with all of this happening. Then out of the blue my Church called and asked me to fill in as the office admin asst due to an issue with the current asst., something I had done for 22 years. I was there a year and the previous person came back but they still want me there a couple of days a week to help out as the job is pretty big.
-My brother’s children, my nieces and nephew who are very tightknit, celebrated him with a beautiful funeral and so much love.
-I was not hurt at all in the car accident. And with the accident insurance funds, I was able to buy a newer used car just like my old one with quite a few upgrades and even low mileage.
-With the financial help working for my Church and also my mortgage company I was able to tackle some debt and do a few necessary repairs at home.

So yes, the path forward over the past 5 years has been “gimme a break already!” But it led to a better situation all around! I remember talking to God and saying “does it have to be so dramatic?!” Well, since I’m a musician/performer aka drama queen, I guess so! Ha!

Ok. Now it’s your turn. What in your life has been this dramatic so-to-speak and what has it meant for you? How did you handle it and move forward? Take your time and always remember, eat pie whilst you’re pondering this. It always helps! Ha!

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Procrastinating

Posted on October 13, 2025 by Evesophia

I just read a question…”what have you been putting off doing?”

Good question. It’s called procrastinating. Hmmm…

Well, I am going to call the plumber this week. I’ve been putting that off for 2 years due to back/spinal surgery. It’s hard to clean house when you have to watch how you twist and turn. Especially floors! Ugh. Regular housework is fine now but…floors. And of course everything has to look sooooooo wonderful when the plumber or electrician or whoever-workman comes to fix something…and then you have to clean again after they’re gone. Ha!

So yeah, time for the plumber. Floors still aren’t great but well, he’ll understand I hope. At least I have a real reason though.

But think about all the other stuff we put off. Why? Well, some reasons could be finances. Maybe we just can’t find the right repairman. Other reasons could be that we just don’t feel like it. And if it’s not urgent then we procrastinate some more. Because that’s what we do.

So today, I called the plumber. And…he actually had time today and came an hour and a half after I called! Talk about the right time to stop procrastinating. Now I have a beautiful new NON-DRIPPING faucet. It wasn’t the easiest job for him because there was a lot of rust within the framework…from dripping so much. But after the drilling and hammering he got the old one off and the new one on. Then we talked about a plan for upgrading a couple of things for my bathroom. Wow!

So I now have a new healthy kitchen faucet…and a plan for the bathroom plumbing as well. I am well aware that sometimes it isn’t possible to get things done because of circumstances. But it feels like Heaven on Earth when you DO get it done.

And…I cleaned the inside of my car windshield too…the job ALL of us hate. Haha!

So. Now that the most important thing was repaired, on to the next round of procrastination! Yay! What can we put off next and for how long?!

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Websites

Posted on October 8, 2025 by Evesophia

We’ve all been there. Seriously. I’m writing this blog out of frustration!!!!

As many of you know I’m writing a subscription blog for creative careers, named Creative Careers. Ha! And I’ve created another Page for it…you can see it above in the Header. And, I’m trying to make it stand out so ALL of you can see it and flock to it and subscribe to it and rejoice in it and tell your neighbors far and wide about it and…

I love technology…except when the instructions don’t seem to match what comes up on the screen when you do everything they say!!!!!! And I’m pretty darn good at this. Harumph!

So…here I sit. You actually CAN see my new Creative Careers page. But I wanted it to stand out and look sooooo wonderful. Anyway.

Knowing me, I’ll probably rearrange it again. Ha! That’s me. And that’s a lot of people. We fix and fix and fix until we get it right…even if it was right the first time. How many of us have gone full circle with “editing” stuff? I’ve done that with music. Especially editing music for weddings so the bride can enter during the best part but get down the aisle in 60 seconds all whilst making the music sound like a complete work…even if I’ve only played the first page! Ha!

This brings me back to my website blog that I’m writing on now. I put a headline and url in to get to my subscription page, although the page is right there for people to click on. I was frustrated and inventing new words etc., spent a couple of hours haggling on this, and then deleted all the stuff I added. Hahaha! Oy vey!

So. At any rate. Thanks for listening to my website rant. But…this also turned into a big push for my Creative Careers subscription page. Click on the Home page…under the Header. There are 3 pages listed…Home…Creative Careers…Welcome. It’s the middle one…Creative Careers. You knew that. Ha!

Yes, you have to pay $10 per month to read it. But it’s good advice for the “personal achievement” careers. I’ve lived through that stuff and continue to as a musician. It never ends.

Now back to frustrating websites. Actually I think I’ll contact Support for advice…again. Hahahahaha!

Cheers!

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Where Are We in Life

Posted on September 15, 2025 by Evesophia

Have you ever wondered where you actually are in life? Stuff happens…big surgeries, loved ones dying, people losing businesses…what on Earth is going on? Does it make any sense to make plans for the future only when you see it explode without trying? Huh!

That’s kinda what my life has been like the past 5 years. I retired from one job, had a plan, was soooo happy, made some changes for myself personally, then…BOOM! The infamous pandemic caused our Music Studio to close, my best music bud got sick and died, I had major back surgery…umm…

Finances were all over the place. I was all over the place. Tried to take care of my friend as best as I could considering we weren’t living in the same State at the time. I ended up in physical therapy for stress I didn’t even know I was carrying in my upper back. I started teaching with a very fine new Music Studio…in fact I think the owner approached me, since I don’t remember applying to teach there. Then I ended up having back spine surgery and radiation to annihilate a spinal tumor. And, of course, still trying to climb uphill financially whilst recovering.

Then, as I was feeling so much better almost a year ago, my Church called and asked if I could run the office part time due to a situation that was unfolding. Couldn’t say how long they would need me but it’s almost a year and I’m still there, and they still need me. Six months after that my big brother died…great guy. Then 2 months after that my car was totaled by someone in a pickup truck while I sat staring at the red light 20 feet from my home driveway. You end up feeling defeated.

Then little by little the financial situation started to improve. Now it is on the verge of becoming quite good. The “new” car is a car 3 years younger than what I had but a good car and a good deal! I’m feeling very good physically. I’m happier and more upbeat. It’s like my life has made the turn back upward after going downward for a couple of years.

So how do you handle that? Make more plans? Nope! Apparently the Spirit has life under control. I am so convinced of that at this point in my life. I’m not going to “interfere” considering every time I come up with a good plan (ahem!) the Spirit slaps it into infinity and I’m left reeling. Oy vey!

One thing I have always read and am seriously trying to do right now is think more positive than any time in my life. Be upbeat. It’s so easy to be afraid of what might happen in the future. We stress about it and then wonder why it indeed happens. If we can’t control the future then whey are we making ourselves sick about it? The only “real” time is the present. And that is what I am trying to work on with more confidence and definitely prayer. Do what my low gut feeling tells me to do now and feel positive that it will grow for the future…and benefit me. I’ve started doing a couple of new things…like setting up a section of this Blog as a Subscriber Blog about professional musicians. I’m even thinking of taking several of my blogs since the beginning and forming them into a book. I’ve wanted to write a book for several years now.

At any rate, I guess getting the drama out of my life from the past few years has started to clear a path towards seeing a clearer future, one filled with my own talents/desires which are leading to new ideas. Interesting. It is very interesting to see how life unfolds on its own. They always say “things happen for a reason.” I guess that’s true. I wish it wouldn’t be so dramatic but…there is a plan. Don’t you wish you knew what it is in advance? I guess the Spirit just won’t share will It? Harumph!

So how’s your life going? What are you praying for? Is it unfolding the way you thought it would or what???? Think about it.

And as I always say, as you well know, it’s ok to have pie whilst you are pondering your life. It does help!

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Voices and Building Them

Posted on September 12, 2025 by Evesophia

You all know I’m an opera singer and voice teacher of 38 years. So I know a few thousand things about voice.

But I’m always impressed and thrilled when a new student enters the studio and has such a nice natural voice and some knowledge about how to use it. I have a new student who is like that. Two whole lessons and auditioning for her school musical. Nice voice originally. I usually start a lesson by explaining how voices work. Then start tackling the “breathing from the gut” issue. Always interesting to see how each student realizes that.

Starting a student on vocal exercises is always a trip. You very often discover that they have more voice and can hit higher notes than you imagined. And when you start opening them up, it can be purely amazing! The student I’m referring to has a nice natural voice. But as we explored more through some exercises, it opened up into something that was quite nice! We went pretty high up and then explored some pretty nice low notes as well. My diagnosis is that she has a very very nice natural instrument!

She brought her audition song which was handed out to those auditioning so everyone sings the same thing. We went through it. Since she had it almost memorized it was easier to move along and center more on her vocal production. And with a little more coaching to drop her jaw and enunciate the words more clearly, it not only improved her presentation and pitch but brought out more of her voice, making the entire song so nice to hear. I felt that she has a very real shot at getting the role she wants.

So welcome to the world of training a voice. You assess the natural talent. You start exercises etc. You guide that voice during weekly lessons and impress upon the student the need for regular practice. I don’t say daily with voice because voices need rest too. I would encourage one day off per week and a couple of days of light vocalizing. It’s also good to incorporate songs that are not too heavy on the vocal mechanism on the “lighter days.”

As time goes by you start hearing not only a more solid sound and ability to hit higher notes but the voice starts becoming refined as well. More of a sparkling resonance. That refinement is not to be taken lightly! The voice is molding…solidifying. It’s moving forward. It’s like exercising at the gym. After a period of time you start to see your body molding into something more refined. More solid.

The key to developing the voice is to keep going. Yes, that’s it! Just keep doing what you’re doing. It takes some years to make a voice into an opera singing voice but the process is just to keep doing what you’re doing vocally if it works! As you move along the teacher works in more aggressive exercises and singing material. Challenges. Embrace them. You start building stamina. And the voice becomes more brilliant as you move along. It’s called growth.

Of course everything isn’t going to go smoothly. But your training should go somewhat smoothly with a teacher who can hear what is going on in your voice, and one who can guide you to the next step in vocal development. When I started teaching I was told a voice teacher has to develop “functional hearing.” And you do that by paying attention to your own lessons plus listening like crazy to all the famous singers out in the world. You learn in a hurry! And you start hearing “things” in voices that aren’t quite right. I would always say “that singer needs a couple of more years in the lab.” This means a bit more time working some of these issues out for a smoother production.

No not all voices out there performing are perfect. But a good voice teacher (and I think I’m pretty good at this) can hear the issues and strive to help the student through these things. Professional singers usually have a voice teacher to fall back on. One really does need to “check in” somewhat regularly to keep the voice at its best.

Getting back to my new student, I can’t wait to hear how she sounds this week. She really does listen well and will probably be singing her audition song much better than last week! This is exciting for the teacher. The student is taking control of their singing right away. I like that! They have somewhat of a plan you might say, about how they want to pursue and present their voice. And that’s a great recipe for moving forward productively in any walk of life. It’s all in the preparation. And having a good teacher. Yup!

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Finding Your Niche

Posted on September 8, 2025 by Evesophia

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Another Holiday – Labor Day

Posted on September 1, 2025 by Evesophia

So here we are, the “end of summer” so to speak. We celebrate the working people who is US! It came about in the 19th Century by the labor unions who were looking for very specific improvements in their working conditions. What came out of it was the 40-day work week with company benefits such as paid time off, vacation time and sick leave. So here we are today celebrating the common worker…US!

And, in my research, it’s the first Monday in September because they just wanted it to be between July 4 and Thanksgiving. In my opinion, we do need a holiday to jump-start our new year after lying low during the warm months of summer. And kids need a boost to starting the new school year.

I personally don’t care if I engage in the usual outdoor barbecue with family and friends. Sometimes you just want a day off. I slept in, made a very nice breakfast (ahem), went for a stress-free ride for about 20 minutes. Then did a bit of laundry…yes, laundry. My winter bedspread. I change to winter in September and to Spring in April. Very much on time I’ll have you know. And you know how it is. You get the urge to “do it now” to get it done so you don’t have to worry about it on a busier day, when you wish you didn’t have to worry about getting it done. Ha!

But you also reflect on the working group of us people…at least I do. We work. All the time. Even if you’re retired you still want to work at something. I remember a priest I used to work for saying right before he retired, that he “wanted to still do some priestly work. Didn’t want to play all the time.” And sure enough. The Bishop at that time used him very well. He sent the priest to be the interim priest at a parish looking for a permanent one, and then to another parish struggling to stay together after some uncomfortable occurrences with the parishioners. And positive results every time! This priest loved what he was doing. And he did it very well for several years after he retired.

So what we also celebrate on Labor Day is being useful. Yes. Humans need to feel needed and useful. I know several self-made millionaires who you would never expect were millionaires at all! They act like normal everyday people. They built their wealth. But they realize it as well. Plus their wealth also helps them to be useful and contribute to other areas of society that need extra help…e.g. charities etc.

I’ve always been the “personal achievement” career person. I think all of you who read my blog have already been saturated with that. Ha! But that’s how I feel useful. Of course I feel useful in the regular jobs I’ve had but I feel the MOST useful when writing about my subjects, the stuff I do with my own personal passion. I’ll bet you can list them in your sleep by now. Ha! Music, Makeup Artistry, Professionalism, My Philosophy about Life. My “categories” are usually listed above the blog…which one I’ve assigned the most recent article.

Anyway. So back to Labor Day. We labor at our stuff and are proud of ourselves. We love accomplishing our stuff. We love accomplishing stuff we’ve invented and making it come to life. I come from a creative family. My Dad especially. He was a musician. He was also a wonderful artist. He built furniture. I’ve done and continue to do all of that. Just so you know, the furniture I’ve built is shockingly still standing. Ha!!!!! But I’m proud of my work. I’m proud of my accomplishments and I have felt very useful engaging in these activities.

Again, that’s what Labor Day is all about. Working, yes. Feeling you’ve accomplished something that was very much needed, yes. Feeling useful, yes. We’re not robots. We love to work and feel we’ve contributed to society. We ALL do.

So do celebrate this Labor Day. Celebrate the working class which is really all of us. Celebrate yourself. Eat a hotdog. Have ice cream. Play games. Lay about. Relax. And yes, I do know that many work on holidays. But still celebrate yourself as you work. Because that’s what us humans do. And we make a pretty darn good collective contribution to our society.

Cheers to Us! I’ll have more pie!

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