Update and Writing Prompt #6

Sorry its been a while.  I have been busy. I ended up losing my job the day after Thanksgiving. I have been looking for a job but its the holidays and no one is hiring. I have been through multiple depression episodes but I am currently doing alright.

Without further ado....Let's get back into the swing of things.

What kinds of books do you enjoy reading? Write a letter to the librarian asking him or her to get more of the types of books you love for the library. (Since I am no longer in school, I used the director of my local library.)

--Email Style Begin--

Dear Dr. Morley of Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, 

I really enjoy coming to the library to check out books and to study in general. The kinds of books I like most are Mystery-Thriller.  While you have an adult section, it is quite small. I would love to see more of that genre. Dan Brown just came out with a new book. There are a few more authors I would love to see also. I have attached a short list.

Thank you, 

Melody

--Email Style End--

I would love to elaborate more on this one. I have many favorite authors and genres but most books can now be digitally downloaded into an e-reader. The library is best used as a study hall rather than anything else. Also small children may enjoy the library because it has a large childrens section. Even then, so many kids are in the digital age these days. Very few pick up a physical book. I think that my generation of people that were raised in the 90s are the last generation to really love physical books like Novels. These days the only books I have seen gifted to people are about a specific topic, like wine or a hobby-specific topic like knitting or stones. The vast majority of people can get any information they want from the internet.

Melody

How I Found My Favorite Video Game

My online friend Ryan Cooper asked me to write about a topic that we both have in common. Videogames. Ryan wanted to know how I found my favorite videogame Creativerse.

I had just gotten a Steam account in October of 2015. Then I downloaded some of the free games. I played when I could for the first 4 of 5 months. Summer of 2016, I went looking for Minecraft type games (I am not a fan of Minecraft and I could not get it to work). All of my searches came up with games that cost money. On Steam, there were two free games that looked promising.

Unturned and Creativerse. I downloaded Unturned in January of 2016. At first it was really fun, but then something awful happened. Over the summer I began making a base high up in the sky. I even got an admin to help me out. One day I was putting away supplies and three players began looting the server. They somehow found my base, built a ladder up to where I was and surrounded me. One of them threw a grenade at my feet and it blew up the floor below me, sending me to my death. I did alert the server owners but it was too alte to spend time gathering more material. So I left that game for a while. I do go in every now and then to mess around in the singe player server but the zombies are way over-powered. I get bored when I die over and over.

Four Months later I downloaded Creativerse. I immediately fell in love with it. The grind was not too bad and there was always something to explore. The grassy overworld with multiple biomes, caves in the stalagtite layer, the firely lava zone, and finally the dreaded corruption zone. Don't be fooled by the beautiful purple hue of the lowest zone. A dangerous Thing lives down there. All in all, there are many items to unlock and some you find by exploring or special events. With every update there is always something new to keep you excited and interested. There is a Pro DLC (which costs money) and an in-game store where you can purchase coins to spend on various bundles. For every major holiday there are events and new items and blocks to aquire. Right now there is a Halloween event where you have to battle for candy that you give to the Halloween Miru in exchange for beautiful chests that contain various Halloween items. This years theme is Day of the Dead. I absolutely love it!

I need to go get ready for the next event!

-Melody

Am I Really Making the Right Choices? Part 3

Ok so I did a lot of research for this one. That's why it took me so long to get my thoughts together.

A few things come to mind when it comes to the choices I have made in my life. Most of them financially based. This is because I spend a lot of time thinking about living on my own and how expensive it can get. My biggest dream is to have my own place and be able to live on my own but that is a thought for another post.

In general, my finances are pretty well balanced. At the beginning of the month I pay various bills. Car payment and rent payment ( to my mom ) come first. Then there are expenses for gas, food and student loans. At the moment, I can't pay student loans as I do not have stable work. I will eventually get to that. I think I am doing pretty well making sure it is all taken care of. This is Adulting 101. Pay your bills and pay your taxes. But what about tithing? Isn't that important? God says to give him 10%. What does that really mean?

Tithing came from biblical days when the people of a city gave 10% of everything they had to the priests. Back then it was mostly cattle and crops and some money. Then the priests turned around and gave 10% to the government. Back in biblical days, tithing was a way to support to temple. What does this mean for todays synagogues and churchs? Same thing. Tithes go to support the religious establishments and to pay thier staff. In turn those workers give 10% of thier income to the church. It works kind of the same way.

Here's the issue. Currently, I do not tithe. I'll tell you why. I believe that tithing is very important as a family unit. As I am single and live with my family, I do not tithe. I think there are scriptures about this somewhere in the Bible. Let me tell you a little story. I was in my 20s and someone in my congregation got word that I do not tithe and told me that it was a sin not to tithe. I immediately bought it to the rabbi and he said that its okay. I live in my parents home and do not live on my own and cannot tithe due to small income. The scandal was put to rest right then and there. I have even had someone tell me that I should tithe what little I have. I am pretty sure that God does not want me to starve. I dismissed that suggestion. I do, however, tithe of my time.

I am a firm believer in tithing of my time in service to the Lord. I also believe that this is one of my callings. Ever since I could remember, I loved being the helper. Its like what Mr. Rodgers used to say, "In times of trouble, if you look around, you will always find helpers". I have been a servant for over 15 years for various synagogue functions. I even have my ears pierced in the cartilage as a symbol of servitude to God (Deut 15:17 and Exod 21:6).  I recently joined a church and I plan to be actively involved there too.

I believe that my life has progressed slower than average but it all happened the way it did for a reason.

Melody

What Does My Future Hold?

Well no one can predict the future.  I do have a vague idea of what the next year will look like. This is not set in stone or anything but I have had to make some serious decisions.

After this year I will no longer be doing the Alive After 5 events. There are many reasons. The main reason is that no one I invite shows up to these events because they are in the middle of the week and parking is confusing if I do not explain what to do. I just have no support for it anymore. This alone is very heartbreaking to me. One of the other reasons is that I only make about $10-$15 a night most nights. I used to make $50 a night on a good night. Many of the events this year were rained out also.

I may also do another search for orchestras that need flutists. I have auditioned for many orchestras but they just don't need flutists. Many up and coming high school kids are taking positions in community orchestras. I am not sure what is out there but hopefully I can look into other groups.

Starting the beginning of next year I will begin to record videos once a week (I am nearly done cleaning my office and nearly ready to make a recording space here). I may not put any of them out for a while but I want to get back into recording things. I am still wrapping my mind around the fact that Youtube is just not a career for me. I am turning it into a passionate hobby instead.

This blog will remain a huge part of my hobby and I will continue to write updates here as I go. I also plan to make a trip to Canada next year. I have always wanted to visit my friend there and enjoy Niagara Falls.

There is so much I want to do but I never seem to follow through or even get the opportunity to try. I am on a constant journey of self discovery. I think this blog is an excellent hobby for me to keep up with.

See you all in the next post,

Melody

Quick Update

Well as you probably noticed, I published my last post about a month ago. I am currently writing my next blog posts in batches.

I have a folder where I keep a bunch of blog brainstorms and then sit down and write them in further detail. Part 3 of Am I Really Making the Right Choices? will come out very soon. There is also some information about Jealousy that I want to write about too. Some of the things I am planning to write about do require some minor research, so bare with me on that. The Writing Prompts are also in my folder. I have not forgot about those. I will likely be ordering more of the same series to continue.

Today I want to talk about what is happening on YouTube and the in-depth reason that I will not be returning to that platform for a while. The Ad Sense issues are literally non-sense (pun intended).

I have not worked out a way to monetize my videos and I likely will not for a long time. The only ones that are eligible are the Teatime series and any vlogs that I do. None of those contain any copyrighted music so they should not be flagged at all. I do review some products and do un-boxings. Those are not sponsored and I do purchase them with my own money. These should not be flagged by the system either. On top of this, those videos do not get very many views at all so there is no sense in monetizing at this time. The only video on my channel that has over  1000 views is The Scientist by Coldplay that I did on the Flute. It has over 8000 views but the song is copyrighted so I can't monetize it for fear that I will be removed from YouTube. AdSense has a lot of issues but the main one is that advertisers are saying that some content is not advertiser friendly. For this reason, thousands of videos have been demonetized on all size channels. I do not want to fight an uphill battle with this problem. Until it is resolved, I can't return to YouTube. There may be other platform options but until then I am going to stick to this blog.

While on my 6-month hiatus, I did some serious introspection. I came to the stark realization that I was doing YouTube for all the wrong reasons. For me personally, it will never be a career like it is for the lucky few with millions of subs. This is a reality and not just me bashing myself. So as a result I have a new goal for the channel. It is a hobby that I enjoy doing on the side. I still have a regular job and everything but I still want to share music with people.

Lastly, I want to share with you all that I do have a new job. I am my own boss and have my own office. I work for someone but mostly I am free to think and do what I think is best for the business. As a result I do have a spare room that I can use as a recording space. When we get the suite cleaned up and organized, I will make the space a storage room with a recording corner. My gear will be kept in a plastic suitcase or trunk that I can get in and out of my car when I need my gear for practicing and recording. For the time being I plan to have regular practice sessions here in the office after work. We are nearing to the holiday season so I may be pretty busy but I plan to stay in the office some late nights regardless.

--Melody

Am I Really Making the Right Choices? Part 2

The other day I began to think about my current situation. I live with my family.

Is that a bad thing? Not really and I will tell you why.

Financially it is difficult to live on your own and with the present economy, good work is hard to come by. I would have to be married and combine incomes with my spouse to survive. That is the reality of today's economy.

Don't get me wrong. I do not live in my parents home for free. I do help out around the house and I pay rent. I also have a car payment but still I make things work out while I'm here. This brings be to my next dilemma.

Would I move out with a boyfriend if he asked me to? No. I do not believe in this living arrangement(See part 1 for that explanation). Also, I would not be in a relationship with someone that does not believe in marriage. My romantic relationships, or lack thereof, is the only thing that seems to be difficult with my present arrangement but I believe that the right guy will understand my situation, not judge me for it,  and we can still go out and have fun.

Do I want to move out? Yes. Eventually
Is that feasible right now? No.
Is that a bad thing? No.

-Melody

Writing Prompt #5

Choose an event in your life that would make a good basis for a book. Explain why other people would be interested in reading about your experience.

I would probably be practical and say that a book can be written about my job search. It may help other people better understand how to look for work and the steps they need to update their resume as well as what to wear.

Job searching is really hard work. That's right. I said it. Job searching is a job in and of itself.

The first thing is to make sure your resume looks good. The next thing would be knowing what you are looking for. Next would be a spreadsheet to keep track of the places where you applied and to make a point to call them back after a week. Lastly, make sure your business casual wardrobe is up to par.

Each of these topics can have a chapter all its own.

- Melody

Why Do People Complain So Much?

There is a difference between someone getting annoyed and a legitimate concern. A difference between someone asking a single question and someone spending all their time bugging people for answers.

Complaints taken seriousy can cost someone their job. That is what scares me the most. People complain about every little thing. Its like tattle tails in grade school. Its immature. I wish people would come to me directly about something that is bothering them and we can work it out between us and not waste our managers time.

Legitemate complaints are constructive in nature. They are an effort to make something better than it is. An example of this is when your food at a restaurant is not cooked all the way or if someone at work or school is not compliant with regulations or rules. Complaining about someone just because you are annoyed by them is the worst reason to complain.

I used to be the type that tattled on other kids and complained about everything until I came to a realization.

My words have more power than I knew.

--Melody

Am I Really Making the Right Choices? Part 1

Many times throughout the day I ask myself. "Are you really making the right choices in your life?" While second guessing myself is both harmful and beneficial, I think it helps to be confident in my choices. Often the world says something is acceptable but I am over here thinking, "Would God approve?"or "Is that what I really believe inside?"

The first thing I have had on my mind a lot has been my romantic relationships. Should I date or should I try courtship? Or maybe a mixture of both. Start out casually dating while in a group of friends and then get more serious and start courting someone. Truthfully courtship scares me. I have had bad experiences with both types of relationship but if the right person comes along I am willing to give it a chance.

The second thing that I have on my mind a lot is my choice to remain abstinent until marriage. The world definitely has a strong opinion on this topic. I know plenty of people that have no problem sleeping with someone if it "feels right". I also know people on the opposite end of this topic that believe I am doing the right thing and that someone will be forced to fall in love with me for who I am and not what my body can do for them. That sounds great but I can tell you that I have had a ton of guys tell me they can't date me because I won't sleep with them. It is depressing when I remember those guys but hey it's their loss. 

The third thing, that goes along with the second thing, is marriage versus living together. I believe both have different meaning. When married, laws apply to you and your spouse and leaving is not that easy because of alimony and child support and all that. This includes joint bank accounts and joint taxes(if you live in the US). My personal belief is that divorce is only allowed if there was abuse, verbal or physical, or if there was cheating.  Both are severely destructive and hurtful. Living together is a completely different arrangement. You can easily leave and laws do not bind you at all. I feel like it is a way to get what you both want without tying yourself together by law. You can still have separate lives away from each other. Separate bank accounts and even separate bedrooms although you might still sleep in one room on occasion. I do not know the details of this lifestyle but it seems a little distant to me.  Marriage is about uniting as one. Living together is still two people living under one roof. 

Those three things were pertaining to relationships.  There are a few more things that come to mind but I will cover those in another post. 

--Melody

Social Media: Silenced Voices

Social media is the best and worst thing to happen to society.

Sure. It connects people socially and romantically but it can be devastating to your self esteem.

Lately I have been very upset by it and a very famous quote comes to mind. In one of the Harry Potter films, he discovers that he has a connection with Voldemort and he says to Professor Dumbledore, "I am so angry all the time" I am not angry per se but I am incredibly frustrated and maybe I am letting things get to me. 

Lately, I have seen a disturbing trend. Anytime ANYONE says something remotely uncomfortable, comments get deleted and people get banned. I even remove my own comments at times. What is saddening is that people can't freely express their own opinion without someone attacking them for speaking. It is like this in real life too. Often times I am not even saying that someone should believe as I do but there are certainly better ways to respond to someone.

Whatever happened to freedom of speech? Apparently it does not exist on the interwebs at all.

-Melody

Writing Prompt #3 and #4

Describe your favorite place and time to read. Why is it so special?

I like reading on my bed in my room or at my desk. I am most active after 4pm so I like to read when I can focus the best. However, if the book has me hooked then I can read it any time anywhere. An example of this was when I was reading Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. I could not put my e-reader down. I read that book and its sequel very quickly as the story line had me hooked in.

Describe a book you enjoyed so much that you wished the story would continue. Write a letter to the author, encouraging him or her to write a sequel.

Dear writers of The Tribe,

I know this was not initially a book but the story was written by someone. After that series ended, I really wanted more. I guess that’s because there was supposed to be another season but it was cancelled. I guess this is 16 years late but I would love to have a supplementary text written to explain what happened to the characters after they floated off on a boat.

The same goes for Higher Ground. I would love to know exactly what happened to those kids and if they found the healing they so desperately searched for.

Thank you for your time,

Melody.

Why Temp Work is Not for Everyone

I have done temp work a few times and each time I feel the same way.

Companies use temps to avoid the risk of hiring a bad employee. The bottom line is that temps are very easy to get rid of.

Temp status can be very depressing. Its like being at the bottom of the food chain or the lowest caste in a society. You are expendable. Also you are frequently not included in activities that the main group in society gets to participate in.

As unfair as this is, there are really good employees hired via this process. The saddest thing is that some temps do half a job, have bad attitudes, and act badly behind the bosses back. Those are solid reasons to let them go.

But what about those that work hard half their life and do not get hired permanent.

Thats where I sit.

I have been working since I was 16. Thats half my life. (I will be 30 in 2018). I still don't have permanent work and no healthcare. How is that fair? Its not. But thats the way things are. You go looking for a better life and its a stalemate.

Temp or not, the choice is yours. Just be prepared for the heartache.

Writing Prompt #2

Which member of you family would make a good character for a book?

I would say, probably, my mom. She is super expressive and is always the life of the party but her life is also never dull.  There is always something going on in her life. As a kid, I knew my mom as the clownish type. For example, my toys always seemed to develop personalities and move around in unique ways. When I got older, my mom was always the one to plan the New Years Party, and it was always a blast. She was always the creative, artsy one. We may not see eye to eye on a personal level but mom always knew how to make life interesting.

-Melody

The Impact Of Movies

Yesterday I went to see Lion. I walked out of that theater a changed person. I had a stark realization that every single person I come in contact with has a story. Even the peope we don't particularly like are people with a story. In the film a little boy gets lost after he fell asleep on a train platfom. He later ends up in an orphanage and is then adopted by an Australian couple. Then for 25 years he lived a really good life until he ran into a favorite Indian snack at a friends party. This marked the beginning of his Google Maps fueled journey to find his family that had been looking for him too. I won't spoil the rest for you guys. Dev Patel did an amazng job in this film.  

I have said this before but movies have a huge impact on me. They make me feel something or change my pespective on the world. Lion made my heart race. Other movies made me emotional and contemplate my own life. I think Youtube has a similar effect. Films and videos both take me away from my own world for a few short hours and make me experience things that I otherwise may never see in my lifetime.

Thanks for reading and I will see you in my next post.

Writing Prompt #1

Describe what it would be like if your favorite book character lived next door to you.

My favorite male book character is Robert Langdon from Dan Browns books. He is a famous symbologist and professor of symbology.

I imagine that if he lived next door I would pop in for a cup of tea and sit and talk about a symbol I found somewhere or a cipher I want to write. I can picture his house. Shelves full of books, and various historical artifacts everywhere. His desk is piled over with papers and texts. His laptop is drowning in a river of projects, assignments and essays that he was grading or writing.

My favorite female book character is Louisa Clark from Jojo Moyes books Me Before You and After You. She took care of a quadriplegic man and ended up falling in love with him.

I imagine that she has flowers all over her front steps. She is a bright and bubbly personality with eccentric clothing choices. I can see us having coffee at a cafe and laughing really hard. I can see us hanging out at her house for her birthday and her freaking out over something or other. Her reactions to things put a smile on my face and I imagine she would be a really sweet neighbor to have.

I was going to list Anastasia Steele from 50 Shades but I think her situation is really different than anyone ever expected. I would say I like her in the last couple books of the series. She is a working woman with a super rich now husband. I can't imagine ever having the income to live any where near her and Christian Grey. I can picture the two of us meeting for coffee outside her office building and discussing some new, up-and-coming author who's manuscript landed on her desk.

Anyways the next prompt will be written when I feel up to it. Lemme kick this cold first.

- Melody

New Year...New Job!

Ok so this year has blown my mind so far. I will make this short since I have to be up a little early tomorrow.

Last year my life was headed down hill very fast and I was very discouraged. A little over a week into the new year, I had been in a car accident which was the most unfair thing because the other driver was at fault but walked away with just a scratch on their car. My car took all the force (standing vehicle hit by another vehicle) and was totaled. My Lucy was gone. I had to drive rentals for a couple months. Then I got Carolinka but now I have car payments. I took the bad with the good and went with it.

Then I found a job as a security guard. I kind of enjoyed it but the hours were crazy. I missed out on so much and at times it made me really upset. Especially around the holidays. Just a few days before Christmas my dad fell off a roof and hurt his back. Thank God he is ok now.  Then I spent New Years in a tiny little guard shack. Thankfully my parents Skyped in but still I was beyond upset about that. It was a really terrible year.

Here comes 2017. A couple weeks in I got a Facebook message from a friend in response to my pleas for a job. She said her old company was hiring and she could talk to the Manager. I agreed to let her put in a referral. I also put in about 10 other applications. In addition to the friend, 2 other applications showed promise. All 3 called me up and I considered my options. the first offered part time 3 days a week. The second offered a temp position but only for 3 months. And the last one offered full time temp to hire. The last option was the least risky. I decided to throw myself into the third option. Within a week of the interviews, I started working at a Securities Firm.

I am so mind blown right now. It is surreal to think that I do longer have to think about reports, patrols, or bar codes. I don't have to freeze in a tiny little building on a Saturday night. "Dobby is free!!!!" At the end of this week, I have my first weekend off in a year. I don't even know what to do with myself. I think I might go to the movies to see a special screening of Princess Bride and maybe record some videos for my Youtube channel.

I am so happy right now.
Humble but confident.

200 Writing Prompts Project

Ok so this is something I always wanted to do in my own time. I have this neat little book of writing prompts. There are 200 of them. If I do 2 each day that I want to write something then it would take me approximately 4 months to complete. If they are short, I might do more. I think this exercise will cause me to dig deep within. This is also an excellent way to get to know me.

I will put in my best efforts to stick to this.

Why do I love going to the movies?

I just went to see The Space Between Us. I absolutely loved it. Asa Butterfield did a great job portraying a teen named Gardner Elliot that was born and grew up on Mars. Britt Robertson played his Earthling friend turn love interest named Tulsa. Sadly he can't survive in Earth's atmosphere and has to go back to Mars but something tells me that Tulsa will go there to be with him in the future based on the fact that she was adopted by a retired Astronaut and was in the NASA Training program at the end of the film.

When I walked out of the theater I got to thinking about why I love movies so much. To put it simply: Movies make me feel something. My world is pretty lonely. I have a few friends but everyone is busy with their lives and sometimes I don't see my best friend for months at a time. I completely understand. Over the last year I have kept busy too. I also didn't have weekends off. So I missed the chances to hang out with my friends.

Movies tell a story in a very real way. Especially when a good actor is in the movie. In this particular movie, I felt butterflies when Gardner kissed Tulsa for the first time. That is just one example when I really felt a connection to the characters and what they were feeling. In other movies I have felt a stronger connection to a character on a personal level. A good example of this is with Zootopia's Judy Hopps. I related to everything she felt and went through in the movie. I like to say that Zootopia is the story of my life in a way.

Movies are like small adventures that take you away to another world for a couple hours.
So I guess.... movies make my life a little less lonely.

2017-New Year, New You?

Well its half way through the first month of the year and already a lot of positive things have happened. I am honestly a little overwhelmed.

First I was able to connect with several people about open positions in their companies; mostly family members and friends this time. The first few came back with temp positions that lasted for 3 months or part time 3 days a week. Then a major opportunity fell into my lap from a friend on Facebook. On the first day, I was called for a phone interview, the next day I came in for a second in-person interview, and the next day they called and offered me a job. The conditions were acceptable. The only thing is that it is temp to hire to see what I can do. I am a little worried but since I will be trained, I feel a little better about it. Now I am just waiting for them to start background checks and all that. While I wait the next couple of weeks for processing, I plan to read up on the stock market and how it all works. As terrified as I am, this whole thing is exciting. I believe I can do it.

Next I visited a few churches in the last couple of weeks. I ended up coming back to New Life church. It is a Slavic Evangelical church that I have been to before. I ended up at a service on a Friday night. It turned out to be a youth service but no one kicked me out. Instead they asked me to go ahead and join them for the evening. The pastor even said that the youth ministry could use a lot of help in all aspects. I plan to email him about that and start coming regularly on Fridays. And eventually on Sunday when I get settled into a new schedule. I immediately felt that God was telling me that this was my new home. I felt God saying, "This is where I need you to be."

New Year, New me? For sure! This is shaping up to be a really great year. I just need to keep leaning on my faith and really listening to God.

Next Step: Figure out how to fit a running schedule into my day.

Happy New Year!

Well its official. 2016 was one of the hardest years of my life but somehow I managed to grow from those experiences. I am so glad it has finally come to a close.

Just a recap of 2016.
I was in a car accident in January. My car was totaled.
I got a job as a security guard in February. To this day my parents hate that choice of job and frequently start fights about it.
About 5 months after started said job I got a second post at a Baptist church.
Shortly after that I left my own congregation and to this day I do not go to any house of worship.
I dated a few guys and one stuck around for all of a month before realizing that we were not right for each other and he was faking it the entire time.
Shortly after that I deleted one dating site profile and switched to another one. No luck there. Frankly, it is discouraging.

Now that whole year is over. 2017 is upon us and the first thing I felt on the first day of the new year was hope. I felt hopeful for the first time in years. A new year. A new beginning. I have a few goals for this year.

1. Travel more around Georgia. Waterfalls and hikes.
2. Get the Youtube channel up and running.
3. Start an exercise regime of some kind. ie running on the neighborhood on my days off.

Those are just the beginning. The rest is up to God. I just know this year will be awesome.

Happy New Year!!!