My Newest Plans: Update

Okay, so I have been doing a lot of thinking and learning in the last month. I have hit a spark and I want to keep working at it and enjoying it. So I did a vlog about this recently. It can be found here:

I talked about everything going on with YouTube on multiple occasions but lately I have been forced to rethink my strategy. I still want to do YouTube videos but I want to add more to what I do. So I added in Twitch and a little sprinkle of gaming. On Twitch you can make the settings move your streams over to Youtube when you are done recording. Over the last month I have learned how to edit thumbnails on a program called GIMP. Its about as good as Photoshop so I am okay with that. I also downloaded Windows Movie Maker. Again simple enough but that's all I really need. I am so proud of myself for learning the things I wanted to learn. The last step is to actually start practicing flute again. Mainly the whole Youtube thing will become one of my many hobbies. I will do it because it is fun. Of course the blog will always be a thing too.

Another update I have is about work. I found a really great staffing agency that is really good about communicating. So 9 out of 10 agencies are garbage so you should really keep looking for what is right for you. My first assignment was in a warehouse but my next assignment is at a medical facility. I am okay with this arrangement for right now. The agency is called Express Employment; just in case you are looking for work. I just hope this will work out for a permanent arrangement at some point. My family might not be okay with this but I am. If I want to do the things I really want to do then the bills need to be paid. Work is work. I won't be totally miserable but at least I will not have to worry about the financial side of things. I have so many goals and dreams but I do not know how to make them happen. That is my biggest problem but I will figure it out. 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

-Jeremiah 29:11-13

-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

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

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

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

Can't Sleep....Music on the Mind....

I am thinking about doing some of my own arrangements on the channel.

I have three more pieces nearing completion. I will still be doing the Concert Series. In addition to all of this I got an idea I have not seen before.
I plan to do a blooper reel with a clapper board that says KLUTZ on it. So fitting. More on that another time.
In the next couple of days I plan to update my Blog with 4 new Blog posts that I wrote down but did not have time to type up.

In other news  I added a Donate link to my Youtube channel for all that want to support my efforts.

Much much later down the line I would love to do a charity live stream to bring music back to schools.

I will look into that but for now I bloom where I am planted so to speak.

Fluteplayer777 out!

New Idea!

Lately I have been getting some feedback from people about my channel.

One such comment was that I am not entertaining. I wanted to elaborate on that and share my thoughts about that comment. It was commented by one of my closest friends. It sort of hurt but then I got to thinking about it and I realized something.

Youtube is not my first priority. 

I have so much going on right now. I work full time. I am working on a few arrangement projects. I am busy with my synagogue. I go to the gym 3-4 times a week. My birthday is coming up. Let's face it, I am one busy lady. 

I still plan to stick with Youtube but I need to do things differently and learn how to edit my videos. I am going to try out Filmora and see how that works. I plan to add a blooper reel with a clapper board to make it fun. I am still doing the concert series but with less talking. I plan to prepare more videos ahead of time. I also have like 6-10 videos waiting to be uploaded. 

I know there is a lot to work on and improve on but it all happens very slowly. I appreciate how much time it takes to do Youtube. I did not understand just how much work goes into this. Now that I understand I need to plan accordingly. Once the holidays are over I should have a better schedule of things. For right now one video a week is as good as I can do and this should be good enough. 

As far as my friends comment is concerned, I don't really care. My channel will evolve as time goes on and I will become a better musician in the process. In the end I do Youtube and music for me. I do it for my sanity. It is my anti-depressant. If I can share my gift with just one person then I have achieved my basic goal.

If anyone has any ideas or comments please feel free to try to reach out to me. Constructive criticism is always welcome but bashing and bullying is not allowed on any of my social media pages/profiles/channel.

Fluteplayer777 out!