Merry Christmas to all!

Well, Donna's sciatica was acting up all day yesterday, so I didn't get to go over to her house last night after all. Too bad. But Jeff is coming to get me after breakfast today (probably around 10 or so?), so I'll spend the day with them at least. I'm so excited to see them!

I'm still disappointed that I have no money to spend this week, but I should be getting my pension from my dad's retirement this weekend, so that's good. At least I'll be able to go out for New Year's Eve if I want to. (I just have to be sure not to spend all the money! I do need groceries next week. And I also need to put a little bit back for savings.)

I'm still hoping that I can save up enough from my SSI to get a new laptop this coming year. I also still have everything on my Amazon wish lists that I want to buy (I categorized stuff into CDs/DVDs, books, and everything else). I'm hoping I can get some of it for Christmas next year if not during the year. Two of the things I want soon are an iPod and a stereo with a disc changer and an iPod dock. Then I can get all the other stuff. (My laptop and printer, as I've said before, will be bought during the back-to-school sales in July or August.) I also want to get a new digital camera. The one I have now is only 3X zoom, and I'd like a 5X or better. (That way if I'm way off in Bumf***, Egypt, when I see Styx next time, I'll still be able to get some good pictures of them. When I saw them in Wabash in '08, I was in the 17th frickin' row, and the pix I took were really crappy.) I don't want that to happen next time.

I'm listening to Trans-Siberian Orchestra right now (Christmas Eve and Other Stories). I really want to get some more of their CDs. I first became a fan of theirs around Christmas of '91 or so (around the time this album came out), and the song I'm listening to now -- "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo (12/24)" was the first song of theirs I'd heard (I think it was the first song of theirs that was played). I love their mix of rock and classical music, which I'd never heard before. (I wish some of the "old masters" of classical music could be updated to have a more rock feel. Is it some sort of blasphemy for me to feel that way? lmao) Don't get me wrong, I can handle classical music in small doses, but I just like rock a whole lot better. Maybe I should add some classical music to my musical want list. I have almost every other genre on there. My dad, who was born in 1933, got me interested in big band/swing music, so I put some of that on my want list in memory of him. I also listed some country bands and artists that I grew up listening to, as well as some blues music. I need to get some jazz artists, too (Dixieland is my favorite). Maybe some light jazz, like Kenny G.

Speaking of jazz musicians, I want to take a trip to New Orleans sometime (go to some jazz clubs on Bourbon Street). Maybe during Mardi Gras (although not this coming year... maybe I'll go to the Mardi Gras celebration at the West End when they have it. I've never been, and I'm wondering how it is since the influx of Katrina evacuees in 2005. Did they influence it in any way? If anyone would know how to throw a good Mardi Gras celebration, I think they would.). Or maybe I'll find out when the Southern Decadence celebration is this next year and go to that. I'm not even sure what Southern Decadence is all about; I'll have to research it, but it sounds fun.

Well, it's 2:50 a.m. here, and I need to go to bed if I'm gonna be coherent later on today. Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a 2013!

Music and musings

I'm up listening to some Christmas music on my iTunes right now. I don't have enough of it. (Can you ever have enough Christmas music?) I'm planning to use some of my Christmas money to buy some CDs to add to my library. Sandi Patti, Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, TSO -- those are some of my favorite artists and groups. I have The Lost Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve and Other Stories by TSO, a couple of Amy Grant's CDs, and excerpts from Handel's Messiah and Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. I'm not much of a classical music fan, but I'm thinking of getting some -- I think it's good to at least have an appreciation of different genres of music.

Being an 80s chick, I'm more into classic rock (Styx, Boston, Foreigner, Guns 'n' Roses, Meatloaf, Pat Benetar) which anyone who knows me can tell you. I also like the Eagles, Alabama, Oak Ridge Boys, Charliie Daniels and other country groups (I am from Oklahoma, so I grew up listening to country music as well). My favorite current country star is Taylor Swift. She may be young (about 23, I believe) so hasn't lived much, but she is a great singer/songwriter.

I've always loved to sing. I used to be good at it, but unfortunately, years of smoking has taken a toll on my voice (word of advice, kids: Don't smoke! :-)), and I can't do it anymore. I've tried to give up smoking, but to no avail... so far. (Maybe when I move, I'll be able to quit. I have a feeling my new roomie is a non-smoker.)

The worst part of being disabled is the fact that the creative things I'd really love to do (singing/acting) are beyond me, because of my speech. I mean, I do sound better when I sing than when I talk (for some reason it's just that way when you have a speech impediment). I remember a story my grandmother once told me when I was little about a country singer I grew up listening to (name of Mel Tillis). Seems he and a friend of his went camping one time, and as they were setting up their tent, Mel saw a bear come up. Now he had a horrible stutter, and as anyone with a speech problem can tell you, any kind of stress can make it worse... such as being terrified out of your mind, which Mel most definitely was. He tried to warn his friend, but couldn't get the words out. So he sang a warning. I laughed when she told me that, but I've never forgotten it.