I made no plans for retirement, no retirement accounts, or pension plans or socking away of money, yet here I am retired, and for a good ten years or more.
I didn't know I was retiring when the day came, I simply had had enough of running a restaurant. My very recent rotator cuff "repair" didn't exactly boost my desire to continue, and one day, January 1, 2010 it was, I decided I had had enough. I paid the staff, paid the vendors, locked the place up, claimed one day of business in 2010, and never worked - not for wages at least - again.
My parents were of the generation that planned to retire at 55 years of age. Both of my parents managed to do that, although my father continued to work in minimally paid positions pretty much until his death thirty years later, such as being on boards of things, election commissioner things, mayoral things, and the like. He liked telling people what to do.
My mother liked to do things. She started doing more of what she was best at, making stuff out of fabrics, yarns and threads. I love having the items she made for me, and am unable to part with a single one of them, even the ones that have been folded on a shelf, bagged in a closet, or stuffed into a drawer for forty odd years.
Back to me.
What have I been doing for the past ten years?
The very first thing I started devoting time to was learning how to sing. I'd gotten tired of saying "I can't sing" and decided to change that. I thought it would be easy peasy. I'd had some music training on the violin as a kid, I had a decent ear, and I loved the stage.
How hard could it be to belt it out like a rock star?
Couldn't anyone do that?
Just yesterday, I got a FB notice of a post I made nine years ago:
More than nine years later, nine years of studying with a half dozen voice teachers, of practicing almost every day, and of daring (and succeeding) to make a fool of myself on a regular basis, I still can't belt it out like a rock star. I can't sing a single opera piece, I know only one show tune, and if I counted the songs I would say I know how to sing, they would number fewer than twelve.
I've never been cast in a musical, even though I've auditioned at least a dozen times. Here's a two minute read about my audition experiences, titled My Egg Covered Face. If you want a bit of a laugh, go read it.
So what have I learned?
Singing is hard!!!
I've also learned that nothing makes me happier than singing, so I carry on. I had a lesson just yesterday with David Budway himself, and worked on two songs: A Kiss To Build A Dream On, and Detour Ahead. I've learned a LOT about music, even though I still can't really sing, not like I want to. But there's time, as in the rest of my life.
I still engage in most of the hobbies I had before I retired: gardening, acting, reading, fiddle playing, and dancing. Since my first blog on The Other Blockchain, I've added writing to my near daily activities.
I no longer care to bake or cook though; those are long ago passions of mine. Making a career out of those two hobbies took all the fun right out of them.
Have any others experienced that? You loved an activity, decided to do what you loved for a living, then stopped loving it? I wonder if that's common.
I think you knew that irl I was a musician, playing and singing for Senior Citizens in the places where they live.
I did that from about 2010 until 2020, and now have only performed once this year, and although I love music, I love to perform for those folks, as it brightens their days, and in doing that brightens mine too.
Made a fair living for someone who is/was as frugal as myself.
In this "Brave New World"(not) I am not at all certain I will go back to doing what I love, because so far, I have to either wear a mask while I sing (I guess you don't have to think to hard to imagine what that sounded like) or get vaccinated which, since I have my own natural antibodies, would make me sick, if only for a few days.
especially now that I actually have an entire building I devote to music. My best new idea is to make videos, perhaps rent out my studio to have folks come to ME and record their videos... I just don't know yet.
Since I moved up here to the Atl Ga area in 2009, unemployed and penniless, I had to be frugal, and I did save money whenever possible, so I had several thousand in savings, then I got SS disability, and was able to save even more, then in 2019 right after my hip replacement my VA disability came through, so now I have a LOT in savings and I don't HAVE to work.
I don't know what I will do. IF, I get myself checked again (which I need to do soon anyway) and I no longer have my own immunity, then and only then I may consider getting the vaccine.
That will change things a bit, but since near the beginning of 2020, I have hardly touched my keyboards. I just don't know.
Great post @owasco
↑Upvoted↑ and ←Reblogged→
The musicians have been hit so hard!! I'm very grateful that I have a fabulous music club nearby, that opened as soon as it could, at 25% capacity, 12 feet between musicians and customers, six feet between tables, which meant they could have about 6 patrons in the club at a time. But they did it! They found a (very) few brave musicians who would play in public; it seems the musicians went deep into the covid con. There were also piano bars, at which I was always invited to sing a few because the piano player is my teacher. It's tiny and in a basement, so there weren't many of us who would go in there during the height of the covid scare. Now that the vaccine has (wrongly) made people feel less afraid, (I'm not the least bit afraid of covid, I am terrified of the jab), and they are allowed to open at 100% capacity, the place is packed again. The owner actually meets people at the door and tells them directly that they don't have to wear a mask! So the place is full of people, full of live music, all unmasked. The musicians haven't played in over a year, and they are doing the best work of their lives! It's heavenly!!!
Can you get musicians together at your place?
I did nursing homes as a klezmer fiddle player and as an actress many times. Not for pay though! Loved it. They especially loved music, even when it was a klezmer band that sucked.
As for covid, here is what I think. You have had covid, you are more protected than anyone else around you, and for life. I am convinced that, if we want covid to go away, we have to stop paying any attention to it, and to stop obeying illegal restrictions on our freedom. So if I were you, I would never get tested, for anything, again, and just go about my life as if covid did not exist. Why stop living for fear of dying? Makes no sense whatsoever.
Can you get musicians together at your place?MY PLACE is my home, my personal property.I would place no restrictions and like you, I feel like I have life long immunity, which is not to say that some
REALmutation might occur from which I MIGHT get sick, but not die because my immune system has a head start.At present, MY Place is just one room, 23'x28', it has a small stage, but it is my intent to do a lot of moving stuff around, repainting, getting the lights to operate properly etc...
↑↑This is the diagram of all the buildings on my property↑↑
↑↑This is looking from my computer towards the 'stage'↑↑
↑↑This is looking back at the computer, not exactly FROM the stage, but you get the idea↑↑
Looks big enough for a band and some guests to me. Cozy!
When music comes back to life, we all will.
The people who built it, HAD a band, and the PARTIED HARDY out there on the deck (which I dismantled so I could dig a trench to help stop the water from pooling under the building. I have a guy coming next week to give me an estimate for some gutters)
I have a friend who works part time in Maint for a nursing home, they have lots of old chairs and stuff in the basement, which he has brought a bunch to me so there will be seating
Do you not use Discord DM @owasco? I sent you a message day before yesterday, with my contact info. I thought perhaps you might like to google my address and see where I live, I don't like to talk on the phone, discord is so much easier, but you can also do phone calls or video calls through Discord.
I checked, you and I share a server in The Lifestyle lounge, and we've exchanged messages before, last year on 2/9/2020
My friend, discord and I do not seem to get along very well. It has something to do with cookies. Whenever I clear them, I can't get back to my discord servers without spending half a day figuring out how to do so. Since I don't have half days to waste, I don't even try! Do you have a direct link to the lifestyle lounge server you could provide? Sometimes those get me back in there.
https://discord.com/channels/801459918141521990/801459919537700906
Or go to any of @jaynie 's posts, there are links and invites (which you don't need) at the end of all her posts
The Discord link to the Lifestyle Lounge @owasco:
https://discord.gg/By4EvZSfRx
Thank you @stayten!
My absolute pleasure @owasco!
Yes, this is my daily rant! Lol, much love 🍻
Wow, you were a brave lady, but I fully understand as the restaurant/ food business is hard with long hours therefore I'm not surprised you don't enjoy cooking after that!
I used to do part time catering for functions, fortunately not full-time so I still love cooking and baking; I worked as a draughtswoman and eventually a GIS Technician which was far from the cooking pots;)
Keep on singing and dancing Silver Dish
Plate😉, you never know when you get a break, even if it's just singing/ performing in a restaurant some time if not on the big stage💃Lovely post and thank you for sharing your story with us #silverbloggers!
Thanks for stopping by fellow feeder of humans! I worked in kitchens, several of them in restaurants I owned, for more than 30 years. There's gotta be a post in there somewhere. I was so burnt out by the end, I just wanted it to stop.
Yes! I get up at a local piano bar now, have done open mics, and am trying to get up the nerve to participate in a jazz jam. I always feel naked up there. But those rare times when I sing well, when I have the command of the audience, fuel me to keep trying.
Thanks for giving us invisible people a place to shine!
You know, I love to sing, too, and will often sing to myself around the house. The problem is that I am apparently not very good at it, and my singing really bothers my boys who keep yelling at me to stop. (one side effect of this is that, when angry at them, instead of yelling, I sing to them). I'm very impressed that you Just Did It. Good for you!
Ironically, I have been looking to make a career out of my hobbies; designing games, in particular. My current plan is to be efficient and just successful enough that I can do it part time through retirement and on My Own Terms and Hours. We shall see!
I support that endeavor!!! Maybe you could incorporate singing in your games?
My kids used to hate my singing too. I was really bad when I started learning (in my mid fifties!), but my kids have mostly moved out now.
That's really funny that you sing at them when they tick you off!
Thank for stopping in!
Oh, I am the best singer that I know. Bring them on, from Elvis to the latest rock star, or opera star, my voice puts them all in the shade.
The problem is, oh a few problems are that my stage is the shower. Only I think that I can sing and the old lady next door hide under her bed with her dog when it's my shower time 🤣
I also walked away from my world 21 years ago and decided to follow my heart. So I started a charity and this year it is the 20 year celebration of @papilloncharity
My lesson was that it's always good to follow one's heart.
Good luck with your singing career and have a slice of !PIZZA
Thanks for the slice!! It's good that you like your own singing. Why do it otherwise?
Congrats on the 20 years. It's a wonderful thing you do.
Hahaha, I think that most people like their own singing.
Thank you for the wishes.
@owasco! I sent you a slice of $PIZZA on behalf of @papilloncharity.
Learn more about $PIZZA Token at hive.pizza (6/10)