Well......I made it to Laughlin, NV and have made it through the registration and orientation for Talent Quest Nationals 2009! We've got another great group of singers from all over the globe. We have several singers from New Zealand, six from Canada, one from Russia and another from Guam!
The contest grows every year and, if I do say myself, continues to improve. So far we're just over halfway through the first round of competition in the female categories. By the time my head hits the pillow tonight, I will have heard 120 singers!
Although I have no desire to be a performer, music plays such a big role in my life. I can tie a song to all the great moments in my life and many a song can take me back to the glory days of high school and college in an instant! I'm a sucker for good lyrics and if you add a killer bridge to a song, I'm in heaven! Even the worst of the singers in any competition have my adimiration for getting on the stage and doing what they feel in their heart.
You can pour your soul out singing
a song you believe in
that tomorrow they’ll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway,
sing it anyway
I sing,
I dream,
I love,
anyway
Monday, September 22, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The Starlight Manifesto
I've mentioned it before and I'm sure I'll mention it a million more times in future blogs, but my mother is probably the wisest person I know. She peppered my upbringing with so many great lesson which have stayed with me and helped me in every aspect of my life.
Destiny has not led me down a path that included children of my own (although my life has been richly blessed with 9 nephews, 3 nieces and 2 godchildren) but that hasn't kept me from using the lessons my mother taught me and passing them along to others.
Not everything I pass along to friends is directly from my mother, but all things in my own life philosphy were directly shaped by her love and wisdom. One of the things I share most often is what I call the Starlight Manifesto. On the surface, it seems a very nebulous kind of advice, but over the years I've learned it applies to every aspect of my life and by using as a type of "mantra" has helped me to keep an even keel and avoid some bad life choices.
I feel the manifsto is self-explanitory, so this post won't be very long. I leave you with the words I've repeated to myself and friends more time than I can count. It's short and easy to commit to memory......take some time to think about it after you finish reading this post, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. If you have your own type of maifesto, I'd love to hear about it!
The Starlight Mainfesto:
It is what it is-
We are what we are-
I can only be myself.
Destiny has not led me down a path that included children of my own (although my life has been richly blessed with 9 nephews, 3 nieces and 2 godchildren) but that hasn't kept me from using the lessons my mother taught me and passing them along to others.
Not everything I pass along to friends is directly from my mother, but all things in my own life philosphy were directly shaped by her love and wisdom. One of the things I share most often is what I call the Starlight Manifesto. On the surface, it seems a very nebulous kind of advice, but over the years I've learned it applies to every aspect of my life and by using as a type of "mantra" has helped me to keep an even keel and avoid some bad life choices.
I feel the manifsto is self-explanitory, so this post won't be very long. I leave you with the words I've repeated to myself and friends more time than I can count. It's short and easy to commit to memory......take some time to think about it after you finish reading this post, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. If you have your own type of maifesto, I'd love to hear about it!
The Starlight Mainfesto:
It is what it is-
We are what we are-
I can only be myself.
Monday, September 15, 2008
What the Heck is Talent Quest?!?
The birthday festivities really messed up my blogging schedule, but I think I should be back on track!
So....Talent Quest. Just what is it?!? Talent Quest is a national karaoke and singing competition.
As I've mentioned before, my friends and I love karaoke. Actually, we love to sing and karaoke is just a natural fit if one loves to sing and doesn't have a spare band lying around. But for my friends and me, karaoke has been the catalyst for so many things in our lives over the past 7 to 8 years. There have been births, marriages, national successes and even deaths among our dear karaoke family and life would not be the same without it in my life.
Six years ago (or maybe it was seven......how many was it Jess?) My friend Jessica entered a local karaoke contest for a chance to win a trip to the national contest and a shot at the national title. That single act started a progression of events that brought many new experiences and friends into our lives.
Jessica ended up going to nationals the next 3 years and showed everyone else what a susperstar we always knew she was! She won the National Female Country award in 2004! During her 3 years of national competition she started working for Kim who owned a local karaoke store and who also organized and ran the local and regional qualifing contests for Talent Quest. When Kim was looking for judges, Jessica suggested me.
I started judging at the local contests in 2003 and one thing has led to another and I'm now the Regional Director for Talent Quest. It's a volunteer gig, but it's so excitind to be around people who love to sing and enjoy a good competition. Nationals take place every fall (usually in September) in Laughlin, NV at the Tropicana Express. It'll be eight days packed with lots of work, millions of questions (I'll be wokring the information table for most of the competition) and TONS of music! But don't be fooled......I love every minute of it!
Jessica had to retire from competing because her in-laws are now part owners of the competition, but I keep holding on to the hope that she'll decided to come on-board and help in the future (although I totally understand why she hasn't done it yet).
If you love to sing and want to know more about Talent Quest or would like to find a TQ contest in your area, visit the Talent Quest website and check it out. I'll be at nationals all next week, but I should be able to blog everyday while I'm there....I can't wait!!!!!
So....Talent Quest. Just what is it?!? Talent Quest is a national karaoke and singing competition.
As I've mentioned before, my friends and I love karaoke. Actually, we love to sing and karaoke is just a natural fit if one loves to sing and doesn't have a spare band lying around. But for my friends and me, karaoke has been the catalyst for so many things in our lives over the past 7 to 8 years. There have been births, marriages, national successes and even deaths among our dear karaoke family and life would not be the same without it in my life.
Six years ago (or maybe it was seven......how many was it Jess?) My friend Jessica entered a local karaoke contest for a chance to win a trip to the national contest and a shot at the national title. That single act started a progression of events that brought many new experiences and friends into our lives.
Jessica ended up going to nationals the next 3 years and showed everyone else what a susperstar we always knew she was! She won the National Female Country award in 2004! During her 3 years of national competition she started working for Kim who owned a local karaoke store and who also organized and ran the local and regional qualifing contests for Talent Quest. When Kim was looking for judges, Jessica suggested me.
I started judging at the local contests in 2003 and one thing has led to another and I'm now the Regional Director for Talent Quest. It's a volunteer gig, but it's so excitind to be around people who love to sing and enjoy a good competition. Nationals take place every fall (usually in September) in Laughlin, NV at the Tropicana Express. It'll be eight days packed with lots of work, millions of questions (I'll be wokring the information table for most of the competition) and TONS of music! But don't be fooled......I love every minute of it!
Jessica had to retire from competing because her in-laws are now part owners of the competition, but I keep holding on to the hope that she'll decided to come on-board and help in the future (although I totally understand why she hasn't done it yet).
If you love to sing and want to know more about Talent Quest or would like to find a TQ contest in your area, visit the Talent Quest website and check it out. I'll be at nationals all next week, but I should be able to blog everyday while I'm there....I can't wait!!!!!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
My Top 5-ers!
For about a year I've been part of an e-mail group. We call ourselves the Top 5 Friends because that's what we e-mail about. When we first started the group, you never knew what would be waiting in your inbox in the morning when arriving at work but it would always be fun and insightful. Here are some examples of some of our past top 5 topics. (feel free to list your top 5 picks for any of these in your comment post! Oh! Maybe I should pick a day of the week to dedicate to a Top 5 interactive blog post!)
- Top 5 Songs you'd put on the soundtrack of your life.
- Top 5 Things to do/place to do when the ice storm leaves you with out power.
- Top 5 songs you hate but always find yourself singing when they play on the radio.
- Top 5 favorite lines from songs
- Top 5 favorite childhood memories
So, you get the idea. We used to have a Top 5 everyday, but we've gotten a little out of the habit so I was surprised to see a Top 5 e-mail pop up in my inbox yesterday. It was sent by my best friend, Jessica, and here's what it said:
"So today marks the beginning of Heather's 2008 Birthday Blitz. I thought it would be appropro to dedicate today's top five to her.
Here (in no particular order) are five songs that will always be irrevocably tied to Heather in my brain. These are the songs I can not hear without thinking of her"
It was so touching......and I'm not really sure why other than the fact that it's nice to have a group of friends like my Top 5 group. As always, the responses were fun and insightful and particularly appropriate since we would be going out for karaoke that evening.
I've been doing a pretty good job blogging everyday, but last night, there just wasn't time to fit a blog into my day, but we had a great time last night and I can't think of any other way I'd rather kick off my Birthday Extravaganza!
Here are some pictures.....there maybe some video I can post later!
Headed out to sing!
My best friend, Jessica!
Chrissy and DeAnna
Renea and me!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Looking Forward!
Wow! Today has been so busy and the birthday festivities haven't even begun!
I'm really going to try and post everyday this week, but the posts might be very late-night/early-morning posts.
I should have pictures of karaoke fun and antics with my friends, an update on the fine/warrant situation, tales of food and fun from the fair AND........
......pictures form the sold-out American Idol concert in Tulsa!!! That's right, I'm going to see David Cook and the others! I'm not a huge AI fan, but I could just eat that David with a spoon. I've already made plans to pack my spoon just in case I get close enough to make it a reality.
Coming up in the next week or so, I'll be talking about Talent Quest (and explaining it for those who haven't heard of it yet) and talking about the Starlight Manifesto!
I'm so excited about all the b-day fun that's about to begin!
I'm really going to try and post everyday this week, but the posts might be very late-night/early-morning posts.
I should have pictures of karaoke fun and antics with my friends, an update on the fine/warrant situation, tales of food and fun from the fair AND........
......pictures form the sold-out American Idol concert in Tulsa!!! That's right, I'm going to see David Cook and the others! I'm not a huge AI fan, but I could just eat that David with a spoon. I've already made plans to pack my spoon just in case I get close enough to make it a reality.
Coming up in the next week or so, I'll be talking about Talent Quest (and explaining it for those who haven't heard of it yet) and talking about the Starlight Manifesto!
I'm so excited about all the b-day fun that's about to begin!
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