November Goals

3rd November 2018

November’s here and with it means a new list of goals! 

My October goals list was a lengthy one. I made a lot of progress on many of them, but for November, I wanted to reduce the load a little bit. I’m doing this by keeping my goals to 12 (rather than 26 like last month!) and reducing some numbers here and there.

There’s no point in having goals if they just merely become tasks you check off. Thankfully, I don’t feel that way about any of my goals, including the ones that have a numbers component to them. Still, I want to ensure that none of them become obligations. I want to approach all of my goals with determination rather than dread.

Here they are!

November Goals

  1. Vote. (Joke’s on you; I already did this. Please go vote.)
  2. Create my November budget.
  3. Track my spending in November.
  4. Continue tracking my meals. // I hit a very important milestone on November 2nd, and I’m excited to continue my journey.
  5. Read two (2) books. // Hopefully I will read more than this, but there’s no excuse not to read at least two, I think.
  6. Make two (2) new recipes. // During my planning time (see below), I’m going to pick out what I’ll make this month.
  7. Watch at least one (1) opera.
  8. Create at least four (4) new products for my TpT store.
  9. Post to the blog at least once a week.
  10. Schedule the time to do each of these tasks in my planner/weekly to-do. // I learned last month that if I don’t block out the time to do something, it doesn’t get done. At the end of October, I wrote out my weekly schedule and I am so much more aware now of the places where I can fit in extra activities or practicing, etc. Now to put those little blocks into action!
  11. Sit down each week and schedule my practicing/make a practice plan. // I have been experimenting with planning my practicing in advance and I really love it.
  12. Have the best Thanksgiving ever with my mom. // This may be the most important goal on the list.

What about you? What are your goals for November?

Goals Check In: October 2018

30th October 2018

Greetings, loved ones. Let’s take a journey through October and check in with how I’ve been doing on my October goals.

Let’s take them each, one by one, and see how I did.

  1. Map out my week and time-block my days. // I will call this one HALF done, as of 10/28. I mapped out what a “normal” (is there really any such thing for a musician) week is for me, including all the stationary obligations, like my teaching schedule and my church gig. It was pretty cool to have a visual representation of what my week looked like—it really helped me see big chunks of time in my day. The next step is to divide those big chunks up into time blocks for all the things I want to get done.
  2. Create a budget. // I did NOT do this for October. I WILL do this for November.
  3. Track my spending. // I am also going to call this one 50% complete, as I did a very good job of tracking my spending with my flex money (the money unreserved/left over after I pay expenses). Going to give it even more of a go in November.
  4. Clean out my iPhone photos. // I haven’t entirely decided what “clean out” means? That seems vague to me now, in retrospect. I DID manage to delete a lot of memes and clutter hanging out on my phone, but I don’t think I did a purge like I probably meant when I wrote this goal down.
  5. Organize my Evernote. // YES. I did this. I am also making a concerted effort to go through and each time I use Evernote, make sure I’m organizing things properly.
  6. Clean out my Pocket. // HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA NO I JUST ADDED MORE STUFF TO IT. See y’all on Hoarders: Digital Clutter.
  7. Celebrate fall & Halloween in the studio. // Oh boy, yes! I did this! I created a little incentive box for my students to pick from when they accomplish their practice goals each week in October. Some kids don’t care about stuff like this, but other kids LOVE IT.
  8. Decorate my apartment for Halloween. // TBH this one was done at the time I wrote the October goals post soOoooOooOOooOo, there you go.
  9. Carve a pumpkin. // Surprisingly, I have not done this? I’m kind of horrified by the fact that I haven’t. There are TWO pumpkins chilling in my apartment and yet … neither are carved. I’m not sure I’ll get this done by Halloween. And … I’m okay with that.
  10. Make four new recipes. // Again, 50% done. I made two. There was definitely enough time to make four new recipes, but I didn’t plan out what I was going to make and when I was going to make it, so you can guess what happened next. The two recipes I did make were fantastic. What did I make, you might be asking! Well, LET ME TELL YOU. I made Peruvian-Style Roast Chicken and a One-Pot Taco Casserole I found on MyFitnessPal.
  11. Celebrate my friend Audrey’s wedding! // Y’all, I did this and it was so good. I went to Oklahoma City, had a four hour voice lesson (and I’m not exaggerating), ate a lot of delicious food, and saw my beautiful friend marry the love of her life. It doesn’t get much better than that.
  12. Drink tea. Burn candles. // The weather has been deliciously wonky here, going up into the 70s and then down again without abandon, so I haven’t really felt the hot tea spirit as much as I should have. But uh … I have burned a lot of candles. And will continue to do so.
  13. Track my meals. // Yup! Did this. I didn’t track when I was in OKC, because why would I even do that when I could just eat #allthethings without abandon? I GOTTA LIVE, Y’ALL. Anyway, other than that weekend, I absolutely did this.
  14. Print out a calendar and write in potential dates. // My calendar is printed and my dates are … not in it. Yet. I am going to do this before November starts. MARK MY WORDS. I have typed this, so now I have to do it.
  15. Get a haircut. // I am ashamed to say that NOPE, this didn’t happen. Your girl still has a hair cape with split ends.
  16. Read four books. // I was hoping to call this one 50% done, but it’s more like 35% done. I finished my fiction book within 48 hours, and then I got a notice from the library that one of my holds was ready for checkout … and of course it was Helter Skelter, which is a bit longer than I probably would have chosen for my non-fiction book. I’ve spent the majority of the month reading that and then I saw last night that it had unexpectedly been returned early? I DON’T KNOW BUT I AM MAD ABOUT IT. Hopefully, timeblocking will help with my reading for next month. I may try listening to an audiobook or two next month, as well.If you want to see what I’m reading, follow me over at Goodreads.
  17. Watch four operas. // Nope. Didn’t plan for it, didn’t schedule the time, forgot.
  18. Listen to two classical works and write about them. // Nope. Didn’t plan for it. Didn’t schedule. Forgot.
  19. Listen to two non-classical albums and write about them. // Nope. Are you sensing a pattern here?
  20. Go to a movie. // I still haven’t done this! I am the worst at self-care that involves leaving my house.
  21. Take on at least five transcription jobs a week. // At the end of the day, I did not get this done, but the weeks I did transcribe, I did a LOT of transcribing, so I’m calling it accomplished.
  22. Create at least four products for my Teachers Pay Teachers store. // 50% done. I made two. One product is posted and one product I did today. I know I could be more prolific; I have so many ideas I want to execute. I’ve just got to schedule the time in and make a plan!
    As a side note, if you’re a music teacher-y type and want some cool stuff to use with your studios (for group or private teaching), you should definitely follow me at Southern Fried Soprano on TpT.
  23. Create running list of blog post ideas in Evernote. // I haven’t moved my list to Evernote yet, but I did write a list!
  24. Create a blog editorial calendar. // Nope. Again, I didn’t schedule the time to do this and therefore, I did not do it.
  25. Post one blog weekly. // I did not manage one blog weekly, but I did manage three posts in October (four if you’re counting this one!), which is like, more than most of 2018. PROGRESS.
  26. Gratitude journal. // Nope, and I think this is the one I am most ashamed of not accomplishing? Why didn’t I do this? I literally have no excuse.

What have I learned this month about setting goals? It’s not enough just to set goals. You must also meticulously design a plan for accomplishing them.

As for me, I did a fantastic job of deciding what was important to me in October. I’m totally allowed to pat myself on the back for this—this is my blog, after all! GOOD JOB ME. However, with some of my smaller goals, I didn’t create a plan for follow through. The bulk of those goals fell by the wayside.

It would be easy to be super bummed about all the goals I didn’t make progress on in October, but frankly? I’m going to take the lessons learned, adjust accordingly, and attack them differently going forward.

I think it’s important for me to be honest about what I did get done and what I didn’t–it’s easy to only post about my successes. I don’t consider the things I didn’t get done failures, either. They just haven’t happened yet! I need to analyze why, determine if those things are still important to me, and adjust my plans (or, in some cases, MAKE a plan!).

I was the most successful with goals that I have prioritized over a longer period of time. For instance, I was super successful with tracking my meals, but I have also been doing that pretty much non-stop since the end of January. It’s safe to say that continuing to track my meals in October (I use MyFitnessPal, by the way) was not going to be such a stretch to do. It’s a habit I’ve developed.

Contrast that with my goals to watch two operas and two new pieces of music and write about them? I didn’t plan out how I was going to accomplish it, just that I was going to, at some point. Nebulous planning leads to nebulous accomplishment!

Habits are fascinating to me. I guess you could say I am a creature of habit. I’d like to say I’m super spontaneous, and there are definitely facets of my personality that are, but for the most part, I like to know what I’m doing, when I’m doing it, and how it’s getting done.

I learned a lot about myself in October and how I like to get things done. I’m looking forward to November and all it brings–goals included! I’ll be posting my November goals this week, so stay tuned!

How did you do on your goals for October? What would you like to get done in November?

2018 Pumpkin Progress Report

14th October 2018

ATTENTION PUMPKIN HATERS: This post contains many mentions of pumpkin and pumpkin spice. Continue reading at your own risk.

I mentioned in my October Goals post that I love fall foods and flavors. October is Peak Pumpkin Season and I am not mad about it. Not even a little bit. Over the last few years, brands have been capitalizing on pumpkin fever and blessing us with all sorts of pumpkin-infused goodies and I have been gladly handing over every dollar I have for the sake of pumpkin.

There are folks who begrudge pumpkin and pumpkin spice. “Why does it need to be pumpkin spice?” they ask. And to them, I respond: “Who hurt you?”

Let people enjoy things!

Let me enjoy my pumpkin spice latte! Let me eat my pumpkin spice cereal! Let me burn my pumpkin candles! I’m not bothering you. You’re doing just fine. Move along.

This year, I’ve made a special effort to consume as many pumpkin and pumpkin spice adjacent goods as possible. I thought it might be fun to make lists of the things I’ve had so far this 2018 Pumpkin Season and the things sitting in my freezer/fridge/pantry waiting for me to try them.

Living alone means that no one but your higher power can judge your food choices. I am not responsible for feeding anyone but me, so if I want to have a pumpkin treat at every meal? I can. I think this is what Little Georgeanne dreamed of when she thought about growing up. This is true adulthood.

Without further ado, I present my 2018 Pumpkin Progress Report:

Pumpkin Foods Consumed (as of October 13th, 2018)

  1. Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte
  2. Specially Selected Pumpkin Chipotle Pasta Sauce (Aldi)
  3. Chobani Flip Pumpkin Harvest Crisp Yogurt
  4. L’oven Fresh Pumpkin Spice Bagels (Aldi)
  5. Kellogg’s Special K Pumpkin Spice Crunch Cereal
  6. Dannon Oikos Pumpkin Pie Yogurt
  7. Dannon Light & Fit Greek Pumpkin Pie Yogurt
  8. Yoplait Pumpkin Pie Yogurt
  9. Kellogg’s Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts
  10. Specially Selected Pumpkin Brioche (Aldi)
  11. KIND Caramel Almond Pumpkin Spice Bar
  12. Priano Pumpkin Sage Ravioli (Aldi)
  13. Philadelphia Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese
  14. 365 Everyday Value Organic Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream Sandwiches (Whole Foods)
  15. Coffee-mate Natural Bliss Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer
  16. Harney & Sons Pumpkin Spice Tea
  17. Twinings Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea
  18. Land O’Lakes Pumpkin Pie Spice Butter
  19. Belmont Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream Bars (Aldi)

In the Pumpkin Pipeline But Not Yet Consumed:

  1. Specially Selected Pumpkin Gnocchi (Aldi)
  2. Pepperidge Farms Pumpkin Spice Swirl Bread
  3. Enlightened Pumpkin Spice Latte Ice Cream
  4. Halo Top Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream
  5. Talenti Pumpkin Pie Gelato
  6. Quaker Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal
  7. Happy Farms Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese (Aldi)
  8. Aunt Maple’s Pumpkin Spice Pancake Mix (Aldi)
  9. Yoplait Whips! Pumpkin Spice Yogurt
  10. 365 Everyday Value Pumpkin Applesauce (Whole Foods)

There’s still a quite of pumpkin stuff I’ve yet to try (Pumpkin Spice Frosted Flakes) and a few seasonal favorites that I haven’t had yet this year (Pumpkin Pie Larabars, I’m looking at you). I’m hoping that I’ll get around to trying them all before we jump full-tilt boogie into peppermint stuff.

Pumpkin. Do you dig it? Are you a hater? What things do you want to try? What should I add to my list?

Oh, and one more thing. How good does this pumpkin spice snack mix from my friend Gina sound? I’ll definitely be making it for some folks this season!

October Goals

3rd October 2018

It’s cliché, but these next three months are hands-down my favorite. No questions asked. No time to think needed. I love the weather, the flavors, the holidays, celebrations, and special occasions. I don’t care how basic that makes me.

I am acutely aware that at some point I will be miserably cold and shivering under four or five layers, but for the time being, I’m going to enjoy wearing makeup and not feeling like it’s melting down my face five minutes later. (Yes, I have setting spray. Don’t @ me.)

These upcoming months mean longer outside walks with Lily Munster (sans mosquitoes), comforting, hearty meals featuring spicy and rich flavors, warm baths, big cups of tea, blankets, oversized sweaters, open windows (at least for a few weeks), candlelight, and lot of general merriment. Even if I don’t have any parties scheduled in my planner, every day is its own little celebration.

I am that girl who got her PSL at Starbucks on launch day–which, if you recall, was in August. I do have a tiny bit of shame, so I asked the barista as casually as I possibly could, though I don’t think I fooled anyone.

I like cardigans. I like cardigans even more when I can wear them and not sweat.

The smells and tastes of this season are things I enjoy year-round.

I stock up on seasonal scents during this time so even when it’s April and everyone’s talking about flowers (which I enjoy), I’m still smelling peppercorn and spice and pumpkin.

Above all, I am just made for this season. I am stoked about fall.

Today in Kansas, the forecast is 89 degrees. Summer’s last stand! My AC is whizzing and whirring, even though I try my best not to run it past September. Outside on my porch, #dirtclods2018 maintain a strong presence–I’m up to my eyeballs in peppers. Despite a few days last week of lower temperatures, it doesn’t quite feel like fall is ready to stay.

Regardless, I am in Full Fall Mode™. My apartment is decorated for Halloween (though I doubt anyone but me [and maybe the Internet]) will really get to see it. There’s a pumpkin candle burning and I’m thinking about all the things I want to do in the last months of 2018.

I had a hard time thinking about how to structure my goals for October. It’s not at all challenging for me to make lists of things I want to do. In fact, I frequently overwhelm myself with lists of tasks.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see I regularly post pictures of my weekly goal checkboxes. There’s something so satisfying about putting a big X in a little box.

But beware! My boxes and lists can be dangerous! I can get so into the idea of checking off the box that I forget the reason I’m doing the task in the first place. The big why. What’s the point?

This October, I am trying to meet myself somewhere in the middle. As I planned out my October goals, I found myself in the between-space of making lists of tasks and lists of reasons why. In compromise, I decided to write the big picture and then how I hoped to accomplish that this month.

October Goals

I want to get more stuff done and get organized.

  1. Map out my week and time-block my days. // I know there are a lot of things I want to do. I also know there are many things I have to do. My life as a performer and teacher means an irregular schedule, but even so, there are a lot of stationary things on my calendar. I’m hoping a visual representation of my days will show me the little pockets of time I waste and that I can use for other things! Flexibility is key, I think, to make sure I maintain a balance between a nice routine and a stressful schedule.
  2. Create a budget. // I am not bad with money, but I want to be even better. I am saving for a lot of things right now (maybe more on that later). Knowing my fixed expenses will tell me how much I can devote to those things.
  3. Track my spending. // I want to be more mindful of where my money is going. There are lots of apps and digital tools I could use for this, but I will use an old-fashioned paper transaction register. Physically writing down each expenditure will force me to think about what I’m spending my money on.
  4. Clean out my iPhone photos. // I take a lot of screenshots of quotes, books, and other things I want to remember as I mindlessly scroll through the Internet (which … hopefully by the end of this month, I will be doing a lot less of). I tell myself I’ll put the ideas in another place and then I never do, which results in a backlog of screenshots clogging up my phone. TIME TO PURGE.
  5. Organize my Evernote. // I used Evernote religiously in undergrad. In grad school, I stopped for some reason … maybe because I realized that I’d rather take notes on paper. I love bullet journaling but I am not willing to add another paper object to my routine right now (my paper planner is fine). A few weeks ago, I decided to start using Evernote again and I’m remembering just how useful it was!
  6. Clean out my Pocket. // I feel like a digital hoarder, but yeah. Lots of articles and things in my Pocket that I need to sort through, read, or delete.

I want to savor and enjoy fall.

  1. Celebrate fall and Halloween in the studio! // I am already on the case with this one. On Monday, I showed up to work wearing a pumpkin headband and my first pair of seasonal leggings. (I literally cannot be stopped. You cannot stop me. I am unstoppable.) I also decided to create a practice incentive for my students with the Super Stash for Spooktacular Students™. More fall and Halloween fun is forthcoming!
  2. Decorate my apartment for Halloween. // I have already done this one, too. LOOK AT ME GO.
  3. Carve a pumpkin. // I’m not sure if I will make it to a pumpkin patch (who wants to go with me?), but no matter what, I’m determined to carve a pumpkin. Will I top last year’s Law & Order: SVU pumpkin? Time will tell. The answer is probably no.
  4. Make four new recipes. // Last year during Advent, I made a new recipe every week and I had so much fun. I love cooking, but when you live alone, making new things is a big commitment.
  5. Celebrate my friend Audrey’s wedding! // I have been invited to a number of weddings over the last few years, but because of schedules and distance, I haven’t been able to attend any of them. My dear friend Audrey is getting married in Oklahoma on October 20th and she invited me! I am going! I am going to a wedding!
  6. Drink tea. Burn candles. // #justGeorgeannethings

I want to continue focusing on my health and happiness.

  1. Track my meals. // This is decidedly not a weight loss or “”””Health”””” blog (whatever that means), but it is a Georgeanne Blog, where I talk about things a Georgeanne is doing, and every day since the end of January, I have been tracking my meals. I am going to continue doing that. It makes me happy.

I want to be prepared for a 2019 audition season.

I don’t want to go into too much detail about this one yet, mostly because I am still sorting it out, but I do have at least one tangible action step related to this already set.

  1. Print out a calendar and write in potential dates. // A simple but essential step.

I want to invest in myself.

  1. Get a haircut. // Y’all, it’s been … almost three years. I’m going to leave it at that.
  2. Read four books. // Many of my friends are super-readers. The other day, I saw another blogger report she had read 24 books! Awe-inspiring, honestly. While I am not shooting for that level of reading, I do hope to read more in October. Time-blocking my day will help me identify pockets of time where I can crack open a book. I plan to read one book for personal development, one music-related book, one fiction book, and one non-fiction book.
  3. Watch four operas. // I learn so much about singing and performing when I watch live performances. Even if I can’t experience a performance in person, there are lots of options for me to stream or watch broadcasts, so in October, I am going to develop my craft by making opera-watching a priority.
  4. Listen to two classical works and write about them.
  5. Listen to two albums (non-classical) and write about them.
  6. Go to a movie. // The last movie I saw in theaters was LEGO Batman (10/10, highly recommend), so it’s been a hot second. So far, I think I’m going to go see A Star is Born.

I want to make money.

(HAHAHAHAH DON’T WE ALL)

  1. Take on at least five transcription jobs a week. // At the beginning of September, I had 39 private students! I am grateful to teach so much, but as my teaching schedule has grown more rigorous, my time for side-hustling has decreased. Something is better than nothing, though, so I am going to
  2. Create at least four products for my Teachers Pay Teachers store. // I have been privately-teaching voice and beginning piano for a little over a year now, and I have noticed that lots of the resources published with method books don’t meet the needs of my students. They’re also very expensive, which is a strain on my students and often a strain on me. So, I started making my own. And because we’ve all gotta hustle, I started sharing these things with other teachers on Teachers Pay Teachers. My promise to myself has been that I would begin only by creating things I needed to use with my students … and I’m doing just that!

I want to grow my blog.

  1. Create a running list of blog post ideas in Evernote.
  2. Create an editorial calendar.
  3. Post one new blog weekly.

I want to exude joy.

  1. Gratitude journal. // I formerly used an app for this, but I may use an Evernote notebook this time around.

Whew! We made it, y’all. I know it’s a lot, but I am committed to crushing it this month. I’d love to hear about your goals for this October. What are you planning to do?

PS. If you’d like to learn a little bit more about how I set goals, start here.

Stubborn

1st October 2018

If there’s one quality I admire in myself, it’s my stubbornness. Some call it grit, others call it moxie, but I just call it stubbornness, probably because it manifests in lots of different ways. These manifestations aren’t always immediately positive. But.

No matter what, I am stubborn. If there’s something I want, I am determined to have it. If there’s something I want to do, I will figure out how. It may take me a while. I may (okay, I definitely will) complain about it if it’s hard. But I’m stubborn and I’m going to get there.

This isn’t a thinly-veiled humblebrag. I said my stubbornness hasn’t always worked out in my favor, which is true. It has, however, always, always, always worked out for my growth and good, even if I couldn’t see it at the time.

So, stubbornness. Who cares? I guess I do. A few years ago (almost four to be exact), I decided I wanted to start a blog. I have stubbornly kept this blog—its hosting, domain name, and all its ilk—for four years now, updating intermittently, going dark for months at a time.

I still haven’t given up that goal of really starting a blog, writing regularly (consistently, even!), sharing my experiences with the world. All that junk. I know that as an avid consumer of online content, I look for writers that connect with their audience. I think there’s a lot to be said for the Return of the Authentic Blog™ …  and I’m gonna talk about that in an upcoming post, I think.

All that being said, you can take one look at my sidebar and … you will probably notice I haven’t updated since February of 2018. Oops. THE REAL IRONY IS THAT I WENT RADIO SILENT ON A POST THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE RECURRING CONTENT. HA HA HA. That’s what I call comedy.

A lot has happened since February, some of which I will keep pretty private, some of which I’m sure I’ll talk about eventually, none of which I feel like talking about currently. Things look so different than they did then. February and March were rough, and in early April, it all sort of came to a really horrible head and … kaboom.

One of the things I started doing when my life exploded was journaling. You know, in a paper journal. I have some friends who roll their eyes at me calling it a journal. They want me to call it a diary. I’m not sure why. I guess it’s a diary. Is there some sort of difference? I don’t know. Talk amongst yourselves.

Regardless of what you’d call the book I kept it in, I started writing. Daily. About everything. The mundane little things that happened. What I ate for lunch. The bills I needed to pay (not fun). Things I saw (sometimes fun). Whatever thoughts were swirling in my head (sometimes fun, sometimes really not fun). The feelings I felt I couldn’t publicly express.

I just wrote. And it was really good. Healing, even. I felt like writing made things less dire. Things suddenly weren’t merely happening to me; I was happening in the midst of them.

Right now, I’m not writing daily in my journal, mostly because I don’t feel the practice immediately necessary to keep me from going bonkers. I write here and there as I please, and it’s just as good as it was when I was writing daily. I had forgotten how much I liked writing.

I like writing. I like writing for myself. I like writing for other people. I just like to write.

I didn’t forget my blog. I’ve probably thought about my blog every single day since the last time I wrote. I’ve also thought about the millions of things that people like to tell folks they should or have to do with their blogs … and I got overwhelmed and annoyed and felt behind and inadequate and just … didn’t write here.

I’m looking forward to sharing things again–not because I have to, but because I want to, because I like to do so. It’s October, after all, and I’m stubborn. I won’t let this season pass by without squawking about it on the Internet.

Monday Miscellany // 1

19th February 2018

Happy Monday! It’s my first Monday Miscellany.

I’m hoping to start up this new little series to get me posting more regularly. I often feel like I shouldn’t post unless I have something of Relative Importance™ to say, so I figure there’s no better way to face that feeling than by starting a series dedicated to writing about the small things that are making my life just a tiny bit more productive, enjoyable, or better.

Or, you know, also potentially just cute animal videos. What better way to start your week? Here we go!

A few things I’ve been into recently:

1. Roasted, salted pumpkin seeds.

Whenever I’m trying to ~eat better~ (re: not treat my body like various trash receptacles), I consume an ungodly amount of pumpkin seeds. In their little delicious seed coat. Pumpkin seeds satisfy my intense craving for salty snacks … and I get like, 20% of my fiber requirement in one serving!

2. Atlanta Monster

Podcasts are really having A Moment™ right now. It seems like every blogger and their mom has one. I listen to podcasts. You probably do, too.

I wouldn’t call myself a true crime podcast junkie; most of the podcasts I listen to are about music, politics, pop culture, or self-improvement. But there are a few in the genre that I’ve found really interesting/compelling.

On a recent trip home to Arkansas, I started listening to Atlanta Monster, which is an investigation into the Atlanta Child Murders of the late 1970s and early 1980s. I didn’t know anything about these events, so it’s been really informational for me on that point, but this podcast doesn’t stop at exploring case facts … it also delves into race relations in Atlanta during this time period. Very thought-provoking.

There are only ten episodes (seven of them are available right now) and the episodes are about an hour each, so it’s not a huge time investment. I find it really well-done and the editing really ups the thrill factor. Shout out to whoever wrote the music. A lot of true crime/investigative podcasts have some like, embarrassingly-weird soundtrack. Not this one.

Anyway, give it a listen. I really like it.

3. Plant Nanny

You know, for a singer, I sure have a hard time drinking enough water. Enter Plant Nanny: an app that allows me to game-ify my water consumption. Every time I drink water, I get to water my little virtual plant and it grows and it’s really cute. The app even reminds me when my plant is thirsty.

I am ashamed to say that since beginning to use Plant Nanny, I have killed my little virtual plant and have had to start over with a new one, but I can also say I have seen myself make a great effort to drink more water. And the days when I don’t drink water? I can really, really tell. HYDRATE YOURSELVES, EVERYONE.

Look! Technology! It’s helping us live our best lives!

4. Vegetable and Rice Casserole

During Advent, I decided to do this thing where I made a new recipe every week. This particular recipe was not one of the recipes I made over those four weeks, but cooking new things during that time reminded me just how much I love being in the kitchen and making something new.

I stumbled upon this veggie and rice casserole while I was logging my meals into MyFitnessPal and it was just the perfect thing for these weird mid-winter days. Warm and hearty and full of leafy greens.

Yes, I am that person who searches for “healthy casserole” recipes. You can take the girl out of the South but …

5. Lysol Wipes and Hand Sanitizer

Y’all know it’s flu season.

So, there you have it, folks! I hope your Monday’s going swimmingly and you find all sorts of miscellaneous things to brighten your week. What sort of things have you been into recently?

Southern Fried Soprano - In medias res

In medias res

12th February 2018

Southern Fried Soprano - In medias res

Look, y’all, it’s 2018!

And where have I been? Rather than start by relaying everything I’ve missed or been doing, let’s just start where we are. Right in the middle of it. In medias res.

Did you know that overwhelm is a real thing? This is probably not news to you. Honestly, it’s not really news to me, either. I think we are all pretty overwhelmed by something in our lives. My overwhelm is probably a little bit different than yours. And that’s a verified Martha Stewart Good Thing™.

I think overwhelm is why I have avoided writing. What do I say? It’s going to take forever to catch everyone up on all the things I’ve done, seen, whatever. I’ve kind of been feeling that way since 2018 started. There’s so much to say. I’m overwhelmed.

I spend weeks or months kicking myself for not saying anything, knowing that I should say something, and then, for whatever reason, one day (and it turns out that this day is February 12th), I decide to just open up Notepad and start typing.

So, here I am. In medias res.

In some English class or another in school, we learned about narratives that started in medias res: works of literature that began in the middle of action or the events in the book. Past events and exposition are revealed in various ways, but you don’t experience those events in real-time.

For now, let’s just say this is a narrative that is beginning in medias res. Maybe I’ll explain what’s been going on, where I’ve been, what I’ve been doing … but let’s just start here, in the middle of the present, the now.

I look forward to writing even more frequently and voraciously as I realize that it’s not necessary to recount the past, but merely describe the present. I don’t have to go back and write a history.

I can live in the now.

In medias res.

Photo by Dana Marin on Unsplash

I Apologized to My Harasser

21st September 2017

It’s 8:00 AM on a Wednesday. I have stumbled out of my apartment to walk my dog. I haven’t yet brushed my hair or my teeth. I’m wearing a Minions shirt (adorned with some very nice paint splatters from a show work day last year), yoga pants, and off-brand lime green Crocs. Clearly, I am a fashion plate.

My morning walk is often one of the most pleasurable parts of my day.

I put in my earbuds, switch on a podcast (NPR’s Up First is great to get me updated on the stories of the day), and walk. If we time it just right, Lily Munster and I can catch the ducks from the lake as they parade across the street to the house that always has breadcrumbs for them.

I was looking forward to my walk yesterday. And everything went just as it usually does. Earbuds were in, podcast was on, dog was walking and sniffing and doing all the things that dogs do.

As I walked along the edge of one of my apartment complex’s parking lots, a pickup truck pulls into a parking spot. Nothing out of the ordinary; I ignore it. People come into parking lots all the time.

But then I notice a man poke his head out of his driver’s side window and motion for me to remove my headphones. I do.

“Could you tell me where 603 is?” he asks.

I live in a different building, so I look around for the structure that has those numbers so I might be able to point him in that direction. My eyes search the buildings surrounding us. It couldn’t have taken more than five seconds.

“I’m just kidding you,” the man says.

I stare blankly back at the dude, unsure if he’s aware that he just made the Unfunniest Joke Known to Man™. I’m not particularly annoyed, just confused. Does the man think he’s funny? Why is he talking to me? How do I respond?

I force a laugh and begin to put my earbuds back in, but before I do, the man has something else to say.

“I was wondering if I could … see your tits?”

Nope. I heard wrong. No way. There is no way this guy just asked me to take my top off in a parking lot at 8:00 AM.

“What?” I ask, convinced that my ears are somehow deceiving me. But they weren’t deceiving me.

“Can I check out your tits?”

“No,” I flatly stated.

“Please?” the man asks.

“No. I’m sorry,” I replied.

And then I walked away and I didn’t look back.

In these moments, you always think you’re going to transform into Wonder Woman and use your Lasso of Truth to whip guys like this into shape. You imagine that you’d give them a piece of your mind. You’d tell them off.

I’ve done way more dangerous things than tell a dude off. 

But I didn’t tell him off. I apologized for not showing him my breasts. I actually said sorry to the creep who was sexually harassing me.

I apologized for being violated.

This is not the first time I have been sexually harassed or catcalled. I am, unfortunately, just as sure that it won’t be the last time. Things like this happen to women every day, in every possible place.

It happens on the street. It happens at the supermarket. It happens outside churches.

It even happens where you feel you might be safe, walking your dog in your apartment complex parking lot while wearing a paint-covered Minions t-shirt, gray yoga capris, and off-brand lime green Crocs.

It doesn’t matter what you look like. It doesn’t even matter if you say no.

I told a male friend later that night about my experience and he said, “Man, you don’t think guys like that really exist.”

But they do exist. They always have. And what’s more?

We’ve been telling you about them since time immemorial, and you didn’t believe us.

You didn’t want to believe we were lying, but … really, come on, who would actually do that, right? How could someone be so brazenly horrible? Seems like a big city problem. You’ve got to expect that kind of stuff in Chicago or New York City. Pretty sure that stuff just happens in movies.

Riddle me this: why would women lie about men being horrible to them? For sympathy? Why would I degrade myself for sympathy? Why would anyone do that? What possible benefit do I get from telling someone about being violated? Does a pile of money just drop into my lap? Do I get a star in my crown?

We aren’t lying and we aren’t exaggerating. This sort of thing happens all the time. It’s happened to probably almost every woman you know (although I wish I were wrong on that one). It happens in New York City, but it also happened to me in Wichita, Kansas. It happens to your little sister, your best friend, your mother. But it doesn’t matter who it happens to, because it’s wrong to happen at all.

Believe women when we tell you about our experiences. Believe that these men exist. Believe that there is so much work to be done to make the world safer for us.

I want to believe that I will never again have to apologize to my harasser for not giving in to his will, but I also know that my self-preservation instinct will do anything it can to keep me safe in this world.

Dear Internet, dear reader, dear anyone, please believe women. That’s all I ask. Believe us.

Questions Won’t Kill Opera, Unless We Don’t Ask Them

16th July 2017

Every few months, there’s a new panic about the state of opera.

We ask a lot of questions. Is it dying? Have we killed it? We attempt to diagnose the problem. Who (or what) is responsible?

Aging donors? Often archaic, over-the-top, un-relatable plots of standard repertory? Overhead costs for lavish productions that might rival the Baroque in scope? Language barriers?

And I suppose these are relevant, important, timely questions. Obviously, people (myself included, duh) have a lot invested in the genre. Performers, directors, designers, creatives of all sorts want meaningful work. Businesspeople want meaningful profits. We care deeply about these things. We want our art form to proliferate, to be fruitful, to multiply.

We don’t just want opera to merely survive, but thrive.

Yeah. I said it. Thrive, even in the face of virtual reality headsets or big-budget Hollywood films. War for the Planet of the Apes (which I probably won’t be seeing in theaters, no shade really, just not my gig), for instance, had a production budget of $150 million.

The LEGO Batman Movie (much more my gig) had a budget of $80 million. It grossed around $310 million dollars worldwide in theaters. Some of that money was mine (you’re welcome, LEGO Batman). I was one of those theater-goers. I saw the LEGO Batman Movie. In 3D. I got to wear those goofy glasses. There was popcorn and Buncha Crunch. And it was good.

A disclaimer: I’m not good at math. I’m really, really bad at it. But I’m going to attempt to crunch some numbers here.

According to a May 2016 New York Times article, the Metropolitan Opera, the United States’ largest performing arts organization, had an operating budget of approximately $300 million dollars. It offered 225 performances of 25 different operas over the course of one particular season.

The gross earnings of the LEGO Batman Movie (in theaters for approximately 117 weeks) could pay for the entire Metropolitan Opera season. A single movie! One film!

And yet the Met projects to fill only 72% of its seats. So we ask more questions.

Over the past few days, there’s been some hullaballoo on Opera/Classical Music Twitter (yes, it’s a thing) with regard to the new Mason Bates opera, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, set to premiere within the next week at Santa Fe. Both Seattle Opera and San Francisco Opera have signed on to give the work performances within the coming seasons.

Before I go any further. Let me be crystal clear: any new opera is worth attending. I do mean any. If I were in Santa Fe, you’d best believe my keister would be filling a seat to see the premiere.

You don’t know what’s going to become the next warhorse of the standard repertory. Two hundred years from now, if we haven’t demolished the planet by then, companies may mount the Steve Jobs opera like they put up La Bohème. It’s entirely possible. Plausible, even.

Barring some pretty substantial and rapid medical advance, though, all of us reading this will be dead, so I guess we’ll never truly know. Anyway.

Back to Twitter. So, a few folks started talking about the Steve Jobs opera. They asked some poignant questions. Questions with no easy answers (or maybe answers at all). Some of them made statements expressing sadness that yet another opera was being produced with the plot of “successful white man is successful.”

And some other folks got wind of the criticism and mused that perhaps these critics were telling composers what to write about.

They implied that criticism stifled the conversation by asking questions.

I’m not going to make this post about what I personally think re: the Steve Jobs opera. I haven’t heard any music from it. I don’t know much about it other than that it exists. I’ve read every piece of related content I can get my hands on about it, because I’m just that invested in opera. In new opera. In every opera. In the state of our art form. Where it’s going. What we’re doing to give it direction, to make it more of a purposeful journey rather than an aimless amble toward survival.

The thing I do know is this: we have to be willing to ask questions about opera.

“Beloved” works, like Turandot or Otello. New ones, like The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.

Without asking questions and critically engaging with the work, the future of opera looks a lot less promising.

You’re going to tell me, “But Georgeanne, are people really critically engaging with the LEGO Batman Movie?” I don’t know. Are they? Maybe there are. Can someone on the Internet verify? If you find someone, let me know. But I think that really isn’t the point.

My point is that asking questions doesn’t lessen the impact of artistic work.

It doesn’t reduce its importance or worth. Questions aren’t a wet blanket. Asking questions about something isn’t going to stop me, personally, from seeing something. It’s not going to stop a composer from writing if that composer feels they have a story tell to tell and it’s that story.

Asking questions about something means just the opposite—that whatever we’re questioning is worthy, that it is alive, that it’s worth cultivating, saving, supporting.

Isn’t any conversation about opera worth having? Like I said before, we ask a lot of questions about the death of opera.

Shouldn’t we similarly be asking questions of what is bringing opera life in the 21st century?

I hope that you, dear reader, will continue to ask questions about everything you consume, opera or not. And more than that, I hope you go see an opera.

If you’re in Santa Fe? Go see The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. And tell me how it is. Maybe you’ll have some more questions after seeing it. Maybe you’ll have some answers, too.

That is how an art form doesn’t merely survive. That’s how it thrives.

PS. If you’re interested in writing an opera (and I hope you are), why not take a look at Four Historical Women Who Need Their Own Opera (because they do).

PPS. If you’re curious about #OperaTwitter, follow me @absolutment

Photo by Radek Grzybowski on Unsplash

Why not?

28th June 2017

It’s my favorite day — Wednesday. We’re halfway (kind of, y’all know math doesn’t really work that way or something) through the week. Wednesday is just a good day. It’s the best day.

I started loving Wednesdays a few years ago, thanks to Russell Westbrook (or should I say 2017 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Russell Westbrook). You see, Russell used to take to Twitter on Wednesdays and retweet a whole bunch of folks who were doing all manner of things because … well, why not?

Russell Westbrook - Do What You Do

Some people were taking tests or talking to their bosses about a raise or working out really hard. Russell would encourage them in his own distinct Brodie way. It was really charming and adorable and all those cute adjectives you use to describe NBA players and other people on the verge of massive fame but who weren’t too famous to stop using social media in an ~organic~ way.

Why not do something different or new or fun or maybe completely out of your comfort zone? Why not try your very best in whatever it is that you’re doing, whether that be physical fitness or starting a new job or taking your AP Calculus test?

(Full disclosure: I took AP Statistics and don’t ask me to regurgitate any of that information, as I cannot. I actually drew a comic of Blu Cantrell’s “Hit Em Up Style (Oops!)” on one of my free response sections on the test rather than actually answer the statistics problem. Yes, Mom, I am proud of that. I’m admitting it on the Internet.)

I have adopted the #whynot mentality. It is not just something I do on Wednesdays. It is a 24/7/365 kind of thing.

Russell and I take the #whynot mentality very, very seriously, of course. Russell started the Russell Westbrook Why Not? Foundation (because that’s what you do when you have influence and a lot of money).

I, very bereft of influence and even more bereft of money, named my 2001 Chrysler Cirrus the #WhyNotMobile. Maybe that’s not on the same level as starting a philanthropic foundation, but … I’m sure I’ll get there. 

Sure, the #whynot mentality allows me to do silly things, like have ice cream for dinner or stay up too late reading or wear mismatching socks. But I also use it for more serious stuff, too. Whenever I’m scared or anxious about things, whenever I’m being tentative because of my propensity to self-sabotage, I invoke the #whynot mentality.

If I don’t think I’m good enough to apply to something — #whynot me? Why can’t it be me?
If I don’t think I’m smart enough to figure out a problem — #whynot forget that negativity?
If I don’t think I have the courage to say what I really mean — #whynot say it anyway?

I’m not joking when I say that I have spent nights avoiding clicking “send” on applications. I have literally screamed “#whynot” aloud, alone in my room (except for my dog, Lily Munster) and pressed the button. It works.

Don’t misunderstand me. While very useful, the #whynot mentality is not magic. I wish I could say that all it takes is a mere mindset shift to overcome some very pervasive, intrusive, and potentially destructive habits and thoughts. I’m silly, but I’m not silly enough to think that it’s as easy as saying #whynot and being done with it. The #whynot mentality doesn’t necessarily make the mountain of The Thing That Needs To Be Done™ any more imposing. It doesn’t make the doing of the thing any less hard.

But what I will say is that every time I invoke the #whynot mentality, things do tend to seem a little less dire. Things don’t seem so end-of-the-world. The climbing of the mountain and the doing of the thing are a teensy bit more fun when you’re thinking about it from a #whynot perspective. 

What’s the point of this post? Y’all, really, I don’t know. I wanted to write something and I was planning on dumping a few links on you guys for a Midweek Reads post and now here I am waxing poetic about the #whynot mentality. I am overcome with #whynot.

Sometimes I get the impression that people think my endless #whynot-ing is a joke. And it can be very, very funny. But it’s helped me do a lot of things that I might not have otherwise done. And that’s what it’s all about — trying. Maybe not always succeeding, but trying anyway. Because #whynot?

So, dear readers (if you’re out there), I challenge you to have a taste of the #whynot mentality this week. What have you been putting off because of fear or apprehension or tentativeness? What new thing can you try? What new, unfamiliar experience can you have? How can you be just a little bit better than you were the day before?

It doesn’t have to be a massive commitment. There’s no obligation with the #whynot mentality. Start small. Get bigger.

What can you do this week that can bring a little bit of #whynot into your life? I’d love to know! Drop me a comment. And happy #whynot-ing!