Eve Sophia

Ahhh yes…life. So. I had bought a Car Shield car warranty since my 8 year-old dealer warranty expired a few months ago. And it goes into effect 20 days after purchase. Great! Except 4 days after purchase my car alternator went. Oy vey. It couldn’t wait? So some more-than-I-wanted-to-pay-right-now-money later, all fixed. I went to my dealer and didn’t have an appointment but they said they’ll get it in. Can’t drive without an alternator/charging system. And they did it in two days…actually 1 1/2. They always take good care of me.

At the same time the temperature was oppressive at 90+ degrees and humid. Ugh. And a nice man from the Zoosk dating app contacted me. We started chatting. He seemed nice and wanted to keep talking. A few chats later we switched to email. We had a few nice, long emails trying to get to know each other…until I realized the emails from him were beginning to sound like he wasn’t reading the ones from me. Hmmm. Pretty soon his next email tells me what a big smile he has on his face when we’re talking on the phone. ???? He doesn’t have my phone number yet and we’ve never talked. So I gingerly bring it up in my next email and lo, he doesn’t return it. So…SCAM again! And this time it was not the usual “I love you” in record time. The scammers have upped their game! But…I figured it out anyway. So once again I am swearing off dating sites. So far I’ve paid a lot of monthly fees for scams and very few real men. And too many episodes of Dating-Scams-R-Us starts to erodes one’s trust in people, men especially, when on dating apps or even if someone just approaches you because they’re interested in you…in real life. Time to get out!

And on top of this stuff, it started to pour for 3 days thus making July 4 weekend the same or worse than Memorial Day weekend. It’s pretty depressing if you think about it. Finally stopped raining Sunday.

Lots of emotional stuff in one week if I do say so myself.

I tend to do Tarot readings etc. Numerology. And they say to be patient in all things and let the Divine Timing work. Don’t worry. Don’t get in your own way. Keep going toward your goals and the Timing should eventually kick in when it’s actually time to blossom. They also say to let go of things that don’t work for you. But sometimes feelings get in the way and it’s tough to just let stuff go that doesn’t work for you anymore even though you want to.

And as I’m writing this another scam comes in the form of a cousin of mine. Her FB account was hacked. That Federal Government “HCAB grant” where you pay money to get money, up to $100,000. Ha! There are so many scams out there it’s not funny!

Ahh yes…life. In the 21st Century. Good luck!

That’s me. A Survivor. I also fix things. What do I mean by this? I have become a professional musician and a professional makeup artist in this life. Both are personal achievement jobs where you use your talents to become your own business. I guess I’ve always been like this. I have to do what I AM as opposed to depending on somebody else’s workplace, although I’ve had to do that too in order to survive. Personal achievement jobs don’t always pay the mortgage. But I’ve always said you have to make a life for yourself no matter what.

I’ve been searching/praying to meet my lifelong partner my entire life. I’ve worked music jobs, jobs for other companies, I’ve done a lot of things alone…most things. I’ve had a couple of surgeries, been scared and upset, had to figure finances myself…something I’m not necessarily good at. I’ve been almost assaulted. I’ve built furniture I needed when I didn’t have the money to buy ready made at a fancy furniture store. But you have to make a life in spite of what you desire as your end game. You have to be happy. And that’s up to you to do that for yourself. If you are searching for love or for more accomplishments it doesn’t matter what your life is like at the present. You swallow hard and achieve. You make your own life.

And be proud of what you’ve done in your life. YOU did this. That’s part of your persona and your attractiveness to others, no matter if it’s a romantic relationship, work or just friends. Never put your own persona on hold or ignore it completely. You have to be who you are in this life.

This includes making your home a nice, comfy, happy place with your touch. Make a home for yourself. Live as a real person. Do inner work on your psyche. Work on problems that bother you and try to figure out how to fix them or learn to walk away from stuff that does you no good. Don’t put you on hold. Live your life. Chances are 100% that what you ultimately desire will make its appearance soon. Give it a home to come into.

So the moral of my tale here is that you have to make a life for yourself no matter what. I did and continue to do. And you’ll be glad you did. And you’ll feel better and shucks…be happier!

And that is what a Survivor is. Someone who fixes their lives and well, survives.

After about 6 years of rethinking the way I eat and now eating only healthy foods that are good for me personally and that I like, I finally started my own weight loss program to lose those 50 stubborn pounds I didn’t want in the first place.

I’ve studied Ayurveda, Eating for Your Blood Type, and the Mediterranean Diet since I belong to a Greek Church. I gave up some foods not deemed the best for my blood type, started thinking psychologically about weight which is what the Eastern medicine gurus like Deepak Chopra are all about, and then retired from my non-music jobs. When I took a couple of webinars and realized what type of body rhythm I have (afternoon/evening as opposed to morning person), I settled into drawing up a spreadsheet of all the foods I love and eat, which are healthy, and which meal is my favorite. After all, if you’re attempting bigger weight loss you need to eat what you like and are comfortable with, and not feel like you’re depriving yourself of everything you love, even some extreme foods. When you make the decision to cut back on something you like, then you are ok with it and don’t feel denied.

So I’ve been eating my diet which isn’t much of a real diet, and after 5 weeks I’m down 6 lbs. Wow! It IS working! And 1 to 2 lbs. per week is natural weight loss. And I am happy and I don’t feel denied and I’m looking forward to incorporating more fruits considering summer is upon us in a couple of weeks.

The moral of the story is, if you want something of this nature to happen to you, research it yourself and get to know yourself. How can you make this work? No one else can do it for you and with diets, you can’t eat food someone else tells you to eat. That doesn’t work.

And here I am again, with more personal interest stories for you to read and even follow. Why not? lf my blog can help someone else go for it!

So here I sit. Still single. I have spent literally a couple of thousand dollars on matchmaking services and online dating sites over the past several years. And I’m still single with no bites. Harrumph!

I think I’m done with the online stuff. Eharmony is by far the worst for me. Zoosk was much better as I did get some messages but it is just so frustrating. So I decided to basically quit that stuff since I think it works better for young people as opposed to older or senior citizens.

I’m educated, accomplished, a lifelong learner, nice person and nice looking, and funny. I think I’m a real catch for the right person. Maybe my unwillingness to sit still and settle is frustrating to a lot of older retired men. No wonder I look for someone younger with more energy. I have a young demeanor and mindset. My whole family does. Why be old when you can still be young? I personally think it’s attractive.

I know this is a rant but this is very frustrating for me. And I know there are many other people out there in the same situation. Why? Why is this one important piece of our lives the hardest to obtain?

Alas though. I press on. Hope and prayers spring eternal. And for anyone reading my blog thanks for putting up with my rants and sort-of-whining. It makes us better people for just laying it all on the table sometimes. Good thing it’s a sturdy table.

Retiring after 48 years of being in the rat-race, getting up every morning and running out the door to someone else’s place of employment, then in the evening either running to rehearsals (me being a musician) or running to teach, running to teach on Saturday mornings, choir directing on Sunday mornings…I am no longer in that rat race. However due to the pandemic our music studio closed and we’re not allowed to have choirs in church, etc. So my other jobs that I intended to continue with are hurting.

So how do you go from the rat race to no race? I find I can work expertly for someone else but do I know how to work for myself? I have one Makeup Artist Certificate and am ensconced in another makeup course, have signed up for a third and finally will probably take the skincare course as well. I’ve gotten some very serious accolades from the Executive Makeup Artist regarding my work. He feels that I may have a bigger new career in front of me rather than my rather small ambitions of just being able to help my Avon customers more. That’s great to hear. And I just got a new online music student. So that progress is slow but it’s happening.

A new life doesn’t happen in two months like I very much thought. It takes awhile to redefine yourself. And you have to have faith in yourself that this will happen. How many mornings have I awakened and felt useless. Laid in bed and thought “what am I doing?” Sucks sometimes but you push yourself to continue making that new life happen. I was almost scammed by an online job venture that thanks to my bank catching it, didn’t happen and didn’t cause damage to my accounts. There’s always that to contend with as well.

It’s survival out there. Especially now with people still on lockdown and not 100% functioning due to this pandemic I am now calling the “plandemic.” And then the continuing search/prayer for the love of my life. It’s ongoing. But I’m still convinced it will happen and soon.

So more life lessons no matter what stage of life you’re in. But we press on and make this new life evolve into a real new life. So here’s to becoming my new self again and probably again in the future. It never ends. And maybe it shouldn’t. Lifelong learning.

Yes 2020 needs to leave. It was a mess. However as we say goodbye to this year we can look back and think of all the things we actually accomplished in spite of being totally upended by a pandemic!

We all went online! Everything closed for awhile so we didn’t miss a beat and set our work lives, education, private music teaching, religious services, and more…online. Virtual classrooms, meetings, even cocktails/dinners with our family and friends on weekends and holidays. Online dates and parties. We had to redirect our thinking and we did it! Yay us big time!!!!

Regarding the Covid-19 virus, the gift from Communist China that keeps on giving, I don’t think anyone knows what to do with it. There are proven medicines that have been redirected to help interfere with the virus should you get it so that you don’t get really sick. But closing down the economy and keeping healthy people quarantined is just not working for anyone. Yet we press on.

So we are grateful for what we have and most importantly, who we have. We help each other, pray, learn to live in our homes, go to restaurants to pick up food so they can stay in business, and basically make our homes our headquarters for everything.

What else are we doing with this time? Well, since I just retired, I am still teaching music online but I also acquired a Master Makeup Artist certificate from an online academy based in Canada. I am involved in 3 more of their courses as well. So more personal achievement. Why not? Though this is a weird situation we can use this gift of time to do more for ourselves and our well-being. We’ll never have this time again. So we all need to take advantage of it. Even if it means getting a new job since your old one succumbed to the pandemic.

Though I hate the term “New Normal” we are all making a somewhat new life for ourselves. Maybe THAT was the point of the year 2020. Get out of your comfort zone and rejuvenate yourself!

So here we go into 2021. And may it actually be a better year, one that we can see the fruits of our transformed lives from 2020. And yes, it will be VERY NICE to see 2020 in the rear view mirror.

Here we are. Christmas in a pandemic. And New Year’s as well. Oy vey. But we manage to celebrate no matter what the situation. Says a TON about the human spirit. We CAN do it!!!!

And here I sit again thinking about the true things I want for Christmas. They’re all personal of course. So what is number one?

First I want my businesses to succeed…continue to build my private music clientele even though it’s mostly online now. Next is to market my makeup artistry business so as to attract clientele. Financial health.

Next comes health for myself, my family and my friends. What’s life without health? Faith, good food and home. And of course, my quest for the love of my life, true love and a husband. It’s been my Christmas wish for a while now.

I also wish for the best for this country, USA. Trump has been a good president for the people. If he is not going to continue, if the democrats have indeed stolen the election which all roads point to, then I pray those who hate us who will be in office are not allowed to ruin our freedoms. We must always pray and practice due diligence to protect our freedoms and way of life.

So there it is as usual. The same gifts every year. Some gifts are timeless. And what are you asking for this Christmas? What will make you a better person? Those are the real gifts we need and should want.

For 48 years I went to someone else’s place of employment and worked for them. I got up and ran out the door to be at a job on time. I am a professional musician but music on its own doesn’t usually pay the mortgage. So one must have other jobs. Yes, plural, jobs. And after this regular job I ran to either performance rehearsals or teaching private music lessons. On Saturdays I ran to either my own lessons or more private teaching. Sundays for the past 20 years I ran to choir directing jobs.

Well I retired from that regular job routine. I don’t miss it. Now I am wanting to build up my private music studio but bam! Pandemic hit and we lost that studio. Nevermind choir directing as we aren’t allowed to have choirs in churches right now. So I’m teaching online which is ok but not great for attracting new clientele. But yet another direction emerged, one that I have always been interested in and have done some studying about over the past several years…that of makeup artist.

I’ve already graduated from my first and hardest initial master makeup artist course and gotten my certificate. I’m onto another one and then signed up for a third. And I see a skincare course in my future as well. This is a nice new direction for me since I’ve always loved makeup artistry as well as music. Now I will be qualified as a Makeup Artist in just about the same manner as I am as a Professional Musician.

So I am ready for that new direction. It’s the same me but finally doing my thing for me and not for someone else. I am happy about this although I have to actually make more money at it but I expect if this is the path that is opening for me, doing jobs that I actually love, I expect the funds will start coming in. That door will open too…it actually has started to open.

The new ME!

So what new direction are you going to follow in your life? Have you had a low gut feeling pulling you in a direction you always wanted to pursue? Entertain that going forward. You’ll never know in what new direction it will take you.

So here I sit the day after Thanksgiving 2020 musing about every one of us who had a turkey alone. Well I make a good Thanksgiving so mine was excellent. Ha! And I have an entire wonderful pumpkin pie to eat for a week. And I did have dessert while online with good good friends. A real trip!

But yet even with the communist governors ordering us to stay indoors whilst pontificating about having no more than 10 people in the house, we still had fun and are grateful for what we have. This is certainly different.

It’s like life. We have to make changes and come out of our comfort zone and be creative. Lots of things have changed and will remain changed for the future. As a professional musician, we lost our music studio to the pandemic but I’m teaching online. Who knew? And it will be a factor in all of us professional musicians’ lives going forward. A combination of in-person and online. It can work. I’m also pursuing another viable business, that of makeup artistry. I’ve always been artistic as well and in love with makeup. Puting the two together never crossed my mind. But it is happening and I have graduated from my first class, started a second and signed up for a third.

As crummy as this virus situation is, it has forced us to reconsider what we do, be creative and go with a new flow. It’s opened another path for me and I’m sure tons of other people. We’re not just one-trick ponies. Sometimes the Spirit makes us hurt and closes the door to what we are used to doing but opens another one with a new path to pursue. And we must walk through it. We may not know where exactly we’re headed but the right road signs will let us know when and where to fully engage.

So yeah. This was a weird Thanksgiving but it turns out we still have a ton to be thankful for. It may new but here it is. Embrace it.

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…