DAY 17, JANUARY 18, 2023
Good Afternoon,
I finished my yearly treasury reports for 2022 and am relieved and happy today. Our board meeting is tomorrow via Zoom. I usually have them complete and sent out by the first week of the month, but adjusting to the Challenge has caused me to slow down and readjust to the pressure, and some of my typical responsibilities are behind.
I’m not a person who has nothing to do. I have already made people I want to work with this year aware of my new plans for 2023. I take my time and succeed most of the time.
For example, in this year’s second half, I plan to go back on stage and do five or seven concerts with my band. For a woman like me, five or seven gigs are a lot.
We will start rehearsals sometime in June and then take the autumn months to be on the road on the weekends. I look forward to it. When I sing, I connect with my audience; these are the times that I am pleased that I am fluent in German.
My audiences are a mix of all cultures, and because they live here, they speak German. If I want to connect with them, I must communicate in their language. That’s one of the things I learned from the German Professor who was so strict with me. I have seen too many Americans fail to connect in Europe because they refused to learn the language of the country where they live.
I am blessed to be able to travel to Italy, France, and the french speaking parts of Belgium and communicate, even though my French and Italian could be better.
I will take a break in a few minutes and will close now.
I have an hour of knitting today with my little old ladies. One of them has already texted me on WhatsApp and asked if I would come. I quickly arranged my calendar for today, so I could be with them for an hour. I so look forward to being there.
The open items from my list for this week to include new items are below.
- I’m revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her what I call my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
- I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
- Answering emails and text messages, Daily
- Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
- Catch up on blog comments,
- Knitting Group at the Post Office
- Send one of my stories to the person who will do the critique I won for winning the WEP.
Have a lovely Wednesday.
Shalom aleichem
Pat Garcia
Pat, you have a band? OMG!! How cool is that? You are a lady of many talents. Ouch!
You are amazing, Pat! Frankly, I’m impressed you finished your treasury reports. I’m still staring mine down, knowing they have to be done this week (or next, at the latest). I’m using this blogging challenge to procrastinate. I, too, would love to hear you sing with your band! Music is the universal language of the soul. What fun it will be to tour those countries and share your songs. I was never fully fluent in German or Italian, but I knew enough to carry on conversations and get to know friends in both countries. It’s no wonder the ladies in your knitting group love you. Now that I’m back in the USA, Spanish is the other language I use the most. I’m enjoying your daily posts!
Blessings!
Patty
Hi, Patty,
I’m enjoying your blog too.
Don’t forget I didn’t have a big beautiful Christmas tree to take down, but you do. I was amazed by its beauty but I know that is work.
And Patty, you can carry on a conversation in German and Italian. That is more than 90 percent of the Americans that are living here can do and I find that fantastic!
You too are amazing 🤩
Shalom aleichem
Hi,Pat! I loved this blog. You are such a busy person.I admire your passion about singing and would love to hear you sing. I used to sing a good deal when I was younger. We did shows in the hospital once a year and two of us nurses would sing duets.What fun those days were.
Hello Joy,
How wonderful! Isn’t music medicine for the soul? I bet the music within you made a big difference for lots of people.
Thank you for sharing.
Shalom aleichem 🤗
Pat, my comment disappeared before I was done, so I will comment again. You are multicultural and multi-talented, a real force of nature! You definitely live life to the fullest and I find that so inspiring. Thanks for these interesting “snippets” of your life!
Hi Maura Beth,
I desire to be fully human and fully alive. I haven’t reached that yet but I’m on the way.
Thank you for coming by.
Shalom aleichem
I’m impressed you can sing and in German. I don’t sing in front of people anymore ever since my Buttercup solo performance in HMS Pinafore in elementary school.
Hi Susanne,
I sing in English and in German. My concerts have an international audience and I enjoy singing in both languages.
Thank you for coming by.
Shalom aleichem
Pat, I love that photo of you entertaining. What a rush that must be, and how awesome to live in a foreign country, comfortably! Thanks for sharing.
How wonderful that you have plans to return to the stage to entertain!! Way to go!
You are one busy lady, Pat! Enjoy your Wednesday!
How great that you are going to be singing again, Pat! I also think it’s great that you fully assimilated into the German culture by learning the language. I wish more immigrants to America would do the same. Instead, they find communities who speak fluent in their native language and stay within that community. In my area, it’s mostly Spanish. I know enough Spanish to hold a conversation, but I’m far from fluent. I continue to work on it, though.
Yvette M Calleiro 🙂
http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com
Hi Pat–You’re amazing! I’m so happy that you’re singing again. And in multiple languages, to boot! I used Spanish while I was still working, and now I’m reviewing French because I’m using it in one of my novels. My French was always much better than my Spanish, but I haven’t used it for so long. Gotta use it or lose it. You never cease to amaze me.
Hi Wanda,
I sing mostly in English or in German. And I love it. If I am invited to do background vocals I usually sing in English. The nice thing about having concerts here is that most everyone understand English songs because that is the music that many people hear on iTunes, Spottily, YouTube or any other streaming channel.
Thank you for coming by.
Shalom aleichem