Reunited....

and it feels so good... Ah, don't we all love a little Peaches & Herb...

Last night Karaoke & I reunited.  We hit a rough patch in our relationship.  It was bound to happen.  We had three solid years of bliss.  Every week we would meet up and we would enjoy each other's company.  I talked about it all the time and it was always on my mind.  Every Thursday, people knew that I would be involved in a meaningful relationship with a microphone and music.  I made lists of songs.  I made lists of songs for other people. 

I should have seen the moment of separation coming.  It was clearly marked.  All the signposts were there.  Haven't we all been in those relationships before?  They are so perfect and so important that we ignore the warning signs.  The last few months it just hadn't felt the same.  So many people had left the table.  LS, MdS, JH, TC...  Then the regulars from the Cave started to leave, Martin, Pierre, Koozy Man, etc...Then Cher was no longer KJ.  So much change.  It wasn't the same.  I still loved Karaoke...but we had started to grow apart.

It wasn't the experience that I had fallen in love with.  So of course, I pulled away.  I started making excuses not to be available on Thursday nights.  I stopped making lists. I was indecisive about what to sing and could tell I was only half-heartedly engaged.  Something had to be done.  I needed to either break up with Karaoke or I needed to find another way to reconnect.  I didn't want to lose this relationship  between me and the music...I wanted to find a way to make it work.

So I recruited new people to come to sing.  I found new things to love.  I have been working on getting to know the experience all over again.  And last night....success.  Karaoke was fantastic.  It was fun.  It was satisfying.  It left me energized.

Was it the same experience as before?  No.  But that is okay....we change, we grow, we evolve and that is true for all relationships.  It is worth the effort when it is something we love.  So, last night, karaoke and I reunited.  It was a blast.  There were new faces around the table and new songs and a guitar.  Thanks DS, JP, AC for an awesome evening.

Let's raise a glass to many more years of Karaoke fun!

Josiah, Amanda & I at karaoke!  Building a new karaoke adventure.  Picture taken by Dan!

Fancy, Gilmore Girls & handwritten letters...

What do those three things have in common? 

1) These things all make me happy.

2) These things all make me think about my dear friend LS that moved away to Boston.  LS is a lovely Georgia peach.  She is hilarious and spunky and absolutely incredible.  I miss her terribly.  Boston isn't very far but somehow I never, ever manage to get down there.  LS was part of the original Karaoke Krew at the Kave! 

This brings me to the first thing on this list.  The song Fancy by Reba McIntire.  I have loved this song for a very long time. I worked very hard to get LS to get up and sing this song at karaoke...and finally she did.  Not only did she sing this song but she yodelled and she auctioned.  It was incredible.  

LS and I also bonded over our love of the television show The Gilmore Girls.  I have watched the entire seven seasons of the show about 4 times.   I really want the series on DVD but doesn't seem like a reasonable thing to spend my money on.  It comes in a lovely carrying case with a handle.  It kind of looks like a barbie clothes case that I vaguely remember having as a small child.  I think I stored my barbies and my GI Joes in it.  I also think that LS and I were both very much in love with Luke Danes (see image).  I know that we both cried when Lorelai sang I Will Always Love You and when they kiss on the season finale I know we both cheered. 


Finally...LS and I have agreed to write handwritten letters to each.  I LOVE snail mail.  I have been working hard on sending letters to friends.  If you want one, send me your address.  There is something so personal about handwritten letters.  It makes me feel more connected to the person I am sending a letter to.  Don't get me wrong.  I adore facebook and gmail and all my other technological gadgets and gizmos, but there is something so beautiful about a handwritten letter.  There is something about the time and care it takes to write the letter and mail it.  I know it isn't instant communication.  I also know that most times I have already communicated with the person I wrote the letter to and have told them everything in the letter.  Still, I take great satisfaction in sitting down and writing my thoughts in the moment.  Please also feel free to send me letters or postcards or small gifts.  I really like mail.  


Ah...LS...thank you for being in my life and for inspiring this joyful post.  Can't wait for our phone date.  

Throwback Thursdays

Every Thursday on Z97.1 is Throwback Thursdays.  For the run of the day they play throwback songs.  This generally means that they play the 80s and 90s.  It makes me so happy.  As the previous post noted, I love pop from the late 90s and early 00s.  The truth is that I love most music.

It is also so fitting that Throwback Thursdays is on Karaoke night.  Always gives me ideas about what to sing.

Speaking of, anyone out there have any ideas about what I should sing?

Another Thursday Night in the Upper Valley

Yesterday a student asked me whether I enjoyed living in the upper valley.  He asked the question full of the undergrad desire for big cities and more options.  I remember that feeling.  I remember feeling trapped here in the wilds of Hanover as an undergraduate student.

Now that I am "grown" and have lived in New York and enjoyed all its glory, I have to say that I like living in the Upper Valley quite a bit.  It surprises people when I say that for several reasons. First, I'm a brown woman...there aren't very many of us in this community.  Second, I'm single in a world full of couples, so finding a mate is also complicated.  Third, I hated it as an undergrad.

While, I am sure that I will either grow weary of this place or end up here forever...right now, it is where i should be.  I have really good friends here.  I have started to make a place in the community.  I have discovered that while I love the city in small doses, I grow tired living with the pace.  I like having people know my name.  I like that the bar I go to knows my drink without me having to order it and they know I'll cash out at the end of the night, so I don't have to leave my card.  I like knowing local vendors.  I like community libraries.  I kind of like small town life.  If I start getting involved in local politics and enjoying the outdoors then I may become an upper valley lifer.  I'm not quite there yet.

So, my Thursday night is an example of why I was able to tell my student that I really do enjoy living here.    It was nothing out of the ordinary but a great night.  Browsed the shelves of Borders with NB checking out ridiculous magazines, marvelling at the monstrosities that pass as runway fashion and taking self-help quizzes to discover our personality type.  I also had the song "Telephone" by Lady Gaga and Beyonce stuck in my head and wandered around singing it.  NB then graciously drove me to The Cave for Thursday karaoke.

As I have already said....I love Karaoke.  The Cave is the place where people know my name, my drink and my table.  LOL  I love it.  I miss MdS something awful since she departed to wedded bliss but it is still one of my favorite places.

Like I said, it wasn't an extraordinary evening but it was my life.  Good people, good fun and lots of laughter...

Let the joy commence

Today I was rocked by joy.  

I was working tonight until 1am at an orientation event.  I work at a small liberal arts college and have the dubious responsibility of helping plan social programming for our orientation week.  Tonight was karaoke and a dance party.  I LOVE karaoke.  I enjoy singing it, but more importantly I enjoy watching other people sing it.  I love when people truly love a song and whether they can sing well or not carry a tune, they throw their entire selves into the song.  

Tonight, I watched as student after student sang songs they loved, cheered each other on and danced while their classmates sang.  They supported each other.  They laughed and danced and sang.  

It was beautiful.  

As I walked home from work, I realized that I was smiling and I stopped in my path to pay attention to that feeling.  It was this warm glowy feeling of joy.  I was glad that I noticed it.  I want to remember it.  I am the only person that can notice my joy and let joy embue my life.  So here I am - starting this blog to document my year of joy!