Sing Along with Me!

I think one of the very best things about rock concerts and festivals is the feeling of a temporary community. The energy of the crowd feeding off one another, singing together, enjoying one of their (hopefully) favorite bands together. There's something about a sea of people fist-pumping in one accord that really moves me. Community. Then it's over, and you move on. Temporary.

Temporary communities can exist in large-scale, like a stadium-sized concert, or small venues, like a birthday party at your home, or anything in-between. Basically anytime 3 or more people get together to all do one collective thing; celebrating something is always a plus!

One of my objectives in learning to play the guitar is to be able to create temporary communities, in the form of sing-alongs. Seriously - I'd love to be able to get out the ol' acoustic guitar in a group setting, start to play, and have everyone join in. Like around a campfire, except that I don't camp, so more like around a fireplace. :)

To reach this objective, I've started selecting songs that I want to learn to play by considering if they are sing-along-able. Perusing my iPod, I notice that it does include many that meet the criteria, but many that don't. The main reasons being that they either don't translate well to the acoustic guitar (although sing-alongs could certainly spring up around an electric guitar, but I'm not sure I want to haul around all that equipment all the time), or the fact that it's a song that not everyone knows well enough to sing along with. I guess I have some obscure taste...

So, what better way to find out what songs everyone knows than to ask everyone? To everyone who's reading this, please comment with what your favorite sing-along songs might be. I'm not asking for your favorite song, per se - just those that you think would be fun (and easy) to sing in a group, that others would enjoy singing just as much as you do.

Just as an example, I've recently been working on "Every Rose Has its Thorn." I think it qualifies - do you?

Let me hear from you!

Changes...

OK, this is weird. I'm posting on my blog. That's weird enough, in and of itself. But what's even weirder is it has been just one day longer than exactly 2 years since I've written...

And what's even weirder than that is that not much has changed!

Yet, everything has changed. Laid off, new job, new company bought out and things uncertain, new home, fewer cats. Various other forms of turmoil and joy.

But one thing remains constant. I'm still rockin'!

In fact, harder than ever. I finally caved in and got some real guitar lessons. And you know what? It made all the difference. Seems like an old music major like me would have known that sooner. Oh, well. Live and learn. Even a 43-year-old can learn something. I'm proving that every day as my guitar playing progresses.

I counted today, and I know almost 12 songs now. That's in 3 months. Now, they don't sound all that great, but you know, passable.

And, if that's not enough, I'm also learning that my guitar teacher is correct when he says if I master certain chord progressions that I automatically know zillions of songs because so many of them are the same. I found that out today when I was able to learn 2 more songs...just changed up the pace and the strum pattern. Whaddaya know? Instant set list.

What's even better is, my main objective is to be a good rhythm guitarist and to accompany myself when I sing. And I'm almost there! Well...with the caveat that I'll still need polish. Then I'll be just like Guitar George. He knows all the chords. But he's strictly rhythm, he doesn't want to make it cry or sing (thank you, Dire Straits!)

So, that's my little update to catch you up on the past 2 years. Hopefully it won't be quite that long before I post again.

Geez, what happened to the Van Halen review?

I can't tell you how many times I've sat down to write a review of the Van Halen concert. Nothing I've written can express my feelings, so I've given up. Let's just say - it was a dream-come-true, perfect concert. I feel fortunate to have been able to go, too, since now it seems Eddie is ailing and the 2nd Dallas show has been postponed, and a lot of the remaining dates are in question. I wish him the best.

Since then, lots of "stuff" has been happening in my life that has needed to be attended to, so my blog has been neglected. I'm hoping to remedy that situation soon, as things seem to be smoothing out now. Hooray!

It's never too late to change

Most people make new year's resolutions. I usually resolve not to make any resolutions. LOL! This year, though, something odd happened. I didn't actually make a resolution but I'm making a change, anyway.

Some people say "lifestyle change" and that means something along the lines of switching orientations or something like that...my change is not nearly that radical.

I've struggled with my weight and self-image most of my life. Even had gastric bypass surgery, and even though I lost 140 pounds, I still didn't lose as much as I needed to. The past couple of years, my weight loss stagnated, and I even gained a bit. Frustrated with the tightening of my smaller clothes, and determined NEVER to get myself in the (literally) life-and-limb-threatening position I was in at my heaviest weight, and with some inspirations from some friends who don't know (yet) that they've inspired me, I'm now on a losing trend again. I've taken a new approach to food over the past three weeks, and *surprise!* I'm enjoying the change! I was even able to order a pizza and only eat one slice over the weekend...and I was completely satisfied. Not sure that had ever happened before. I'm amazed at the way this change has "stuck." Normally when dieting, I get angrier and angrier that I can't eat what I want when I want. This time, my view is more, I am eating exactly what I want when I want, it's just different than I thought it was...lol.

I have no idea how much (if any) weight I've actually lost, but it doesn't matter too much because the clothes are looser, and I'm feeling great. I'll probably go ahead and invest in a scale soon, because I'll be starting personal training next week to kick my fitness plan into high gear.

And, to tie all these things up with a pretty bow, further marking the milestone - I got a tattoo last weekend! It's so pretty - a pink rose and a yellow rose with a white dove. Love it!

And...did I mention...I'm going to see Van Halen!!! And it's THIS weekend!!

Van Halen - Van Halen - Van Halen!

Wowee!! Tickets went on sale today and I got them! Woo to the hoo times 2!

I got them like 2 minutes after they went on sale, and I ended up in the first balcony, to the right of the stage. They will be excellent seats! I would have preferred the floor, but only if I could have gotten first 10 rows or so, and since those are normally impossible to get, I'm VERY happy!!

Now to figure out what to wear...lol! :D

Van Halen!!

Yes, I was disappointed that Van Halen hadn't scheduled any Dallas dates, which you would know if you've read my previous posts. But now...**fanfare** They finally announced that they will play the American Airlines Center on Saturday, January 26! And, guess who will be there? Well, duh - me, of course! ;) That is, if my compadre, Guitar Guy, doesn't back out on me. But, if he bails, then something's REALLY wrong with him, because what dude that goes by "Guitar Guy" could possibly miss a chance to see THE EDDIE VAN HALEN??

Rock on, everyone!!

Back from the Frozen Tundra

OK, so where I was it wasn't exactly frozen, but it was tundra. I guess - I honestly don't know what tundra is. OK, fine, yes, I was in Alaska for a week.


I was up on business, on a trip that had been delayed for six weeks due to my stupid stress-fractured foot (which is now out of the cast...thankfully).

Dutch Harbor is enjoying recent fame as the home-base for the ridiculously tough crab fishermen on the show, "Deadliest Catch." I thought it would be neat if I could meet some of the tough guys from the show, but some of the folks in my office that have been to Dutch Harbor before started spooking me out about the flight. I was literally shaking in my shoes, not wanting to have to fly. I heard all kinds of horror stories about how sometimes the planes can't get in, so they turn around and go back to Anchorage, how the flights are seriously bumpy and they needed the barf bag the whole trip, to sometimes you get stuck in Dutch Harbor because no flights get out, etc., etc. The six-week delay helped me get over it, and I'm glad! On the small Saab plane that got me to Dutch from Anchorage, I actually even slept - a rarity for me. Bumpy, yes, but not the harrowing experience I was expecting by any means.



Once on the ground, I found out that it's king crab season, so the "Deadliest Catch" ships are out in the Bering Sea, so it would be unlikely for me to run into any of the "cowboy" fisherman. In spite of that small disappointment, I have to say I was able to enjoy fresh-out-of-the-Bering-Sea king crab legs on a brunch buffet at the Grand Aleutian Hotel. The Grand Aleutian is a nice hotel, but being so remote, it's not as luxurious as the name might indicate. But if you're going to be in Dutch Harbor, there's really not another alternative. The Chart Room restuarant is really quite good, with very interesting seafood selections and a nice wine list.

One of the things that impressed me most was the presence of Bald Eagles. Yes, our National symbol. These majestic birds hang out in Dutch Harbor like blue jays or grackels hang out in Dallas, TX. One of my hosts was driving me around on a tour of the island, and we saw this one hillside that had 14-16 Bald Eagles just sitting there. Hanging out. No big deal. For someone who has only seen Bald Eagles in the zoo - this was just amazing. We also saw some sea otters and sea lions - again, animals that land-locked southerners like me only get to see in zoos.

I enjoyed my visit in Dutch Harbor, but unlike many places I've visited, I don't think I could live there, at least not for very long. It is very remote, and there aren't a lot of options. The Wild Thing said, "well, can't you just go outside and meditate?" Well, of course, but someone as City-fied as this Rockin' Chick needs to have options. I absolutely love the option of just going and meditating, but I need to be able to go to a loud concert or Denny's at 2:00am, too. :)

But, I definitely recommend that everyone that has the chance to visit Dutch Harbor if you have the chance - especially if you're a city person. It's completely different, with breathtaking scenery, and it's a chance to do something that not just everyone gets to do.

Oh, and I did get a glimpse of the Maverick from "Deadliest Catch" out the window of our port office, through binoculars, as she was on her way to transload a shipful of king crab to an air freighter for some lucky diners to enjoy!

Coming soon - the rest of my visit to Alaska - the glittering city of Anchorage.