Daily Practice
1 hr 30 mins
I went to a Voice Tech class with Misa Ogasawara. She subs for Bettina sometimes, and I love her technical corrections. This class was a lot more intimate than most of my voice classes (about 10 students), so she was able to go around and give us individual corrections throughout the hour. I also stayed and took her Vocal Performance class. After having such a hard time with my song from yesterday, I decided to go back to something with which I was a little more familiar so I could break through the mental wall. I performed "A Whole New World" to start, and I went back to "Someone Like You" afterwards. The note that was most helpful to me today was to sing into the arc over my nose for some of the higher notes in both songs. I was trying to lift the soft pallet and pull the sound back, but she said it sounded a bit to classical. Instead singing into the cheekbone area will bring a brighter finish to the sound.
Performance was better, I was still shaky and went flat on some notes because of nerves, but it was still better than yesterday. I'm putting myself through a little vocal boot camp this week-- I'm going to try to attend 5 performance classes between Bettina, Misa, and Kurt. I'm hoping that if I have to get up and perform every day, then I'll start to get used to it a little bit faster. The variety of students and teachers at the different classes will also be really helpful so I don't find a false sense of security in singing in the same venue all the time.
My throat was still fatigued today, but I have to keep practicing... so I bought some special tea! I hope this brings some relief.
Healthy Meals 18, 19, and 20
I literally ate "on-the-go" today... like I took this Luna picture while
walking from the convenience store to the studio... like you can see the sidewalk. Ugghhhh, always rushing. Every day I promise to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier and get to stuff earlier. One day... One challenge at a time. :)
Breakfast- Luna bar and berries
Lunch- Chicken salad
Dinner- Homemade chicken wrap! (spinach tortilla, grilled chicken, shredded cheese, pico de gallo) and yogurt
Side note: I knew I wasn't in Texas anymore when I could only find tortillas in packages of 5! What?! I've definitely bought a 24-pack of tortillas before...
(Katie this is for you-- also eaten today, but not pictured: oatmeal, turkey and cheese, and light popcorn.)
Dance Class 6
I went to Chio's class again-- great choreography and a good challenge. The moves were fast, but I hung in there. I hope to go back later this week to polish it up a little more. I also went to a Cardio Dance class at Bally's-- insane! It's only an hour long, but when it was over, I thought I was going to need an oxygen mask. I kept cupping my hands over my mouth and lifting my elbows while inhaling-- my fifth grade gym teacher taught us to do that after we ran-- have no idea what it does, but now I always do it when I can't catch my breath. Anyways, I love that class at Bally's. First of all it's "free" in the sense that all group exercise classes come with my membership, so I might as well go. Secondly, unlike most "dance" classes at a gym that consider
step touch, step touch, with a pas de bourree as a dancing, this class gives really challenging choreography, but without all the pressure of a normal studio. Everyone's on a completely different level, but it doesn't matter, people just do what they can. At the end of the hour, our #1 goal is to sweat-- and that is definitely accomplished. I sweat in that class more than I do or have in ANY class at BDC. Moral of the story: with all my extra calories burned today, I treated myself to a Skinny Frappuccino from Starbucks. :)
Charitable Deed 0
I took the first step today in doing my 5 charitable deeds. I went to a volunteer orientation meeting for New York Cares. Basically to do almost any volunteer work throughout the city, you must register with
http://newyorkcares.org and go to a mandatory orientation meeting. The organization serves as a middleman-- centralizing all of the training and recruiting logistics regarding volunteers so that the various non-profits around NYC can just do what they do best and not spend hours of time trying to get qualified people to come help them. You can log onto the NY Cares website and search for volunteer projects according to your interests, how much of a time-commitment you can make, when you're available, and what part of the city you desire to serve. It's a brilliant idea, and apparently 200+ other cities have adopted this model. Obviously my first priority is to see if something like this has been created in Houston because if not, I know what my next big project will be.
I'm so excited about this, because I am amazed at the extensive variety of opportunities that are available. When I first thought about having to do this for the challenge, I will admit that my initial thoughts were to just find a shelter where I could serve a meal or if I was really feeling creative, volunteer my time at an interesting charity function. I've been so consumed with
myself here in NYC-- my dancing, my singing, my finances, my future, etc. However, looking at the New York Cares website, I was reminded of some of the issues that are really close to my heart, and now I have a way to be a part of the solution! Some projects that are really tugging at me: running mock interviews and giving resume advice for adults on public assistance seeking employment; being an English conversations partner with immigrants; holding Kaplan-based SAT prep classes for low-income students; traveling by van through Manhattan and delivering meals to the homeless; playing morning math games with 4th graders before school starts; reading "bedtime stories" with kids at shelters. Ahhhhhh!!!! I want to do it all!
The facilitator at the orientation tonight made a great point that seems obvious, but it was helpful to hear: volunteering should be fun! I think we tend to feel guilty if we consider
our level of enjoyment with the activity, and instead all of the focus should be placed on the people in need and serving them. The problem with that logic is that if the only reason you are serving is out of guilt or because you think it's something you 'ought' to do, then you'll end up resenting the activity and the time that it consumes from your life. But if you are doing something because you're passionate about it, because you enjoy doing it, and because you truly want to see change occur, then it's more likely something that will become part of your every day life. And at the end of the day, if
everyone would see helping others as part of their every day life, then it would no longer need a fancy name like 'charity', it will just be part of 'living'.
