The Year of Living Dangerously

I'm so sorry, my darlings, that I have been neglectful, but things have changed in Quesadelia Land (it's an actual place!), and I've had some thinking to do. Especially about this past year, ol' 2 thousand and 9. It was a weird one, no? It was...

The Year of Douchebag Famewhores (and even those who didn't mean to be famewhores but ended up being a douchebags)
- Jon Gosselin became Father of the Year, while wifey Kate took advantage of his cheatin', schemin' ways to garner pity and cash in- all to raise her huge brood, of course.
- Octomom became a household name, because she is not actually human but rather a spider who can lay hundreds of eggs at once.
- Balloon Boy sailed across the sky for a couple of nail-biting hours, at least we thought at the time. Manipulating the press and emergency services to become famous? Low. Manipulating your kids in order to manipulate the press to become famous? Pathetic.
- A couple crashed a party at the White House and became famous overnight. Congrats, annoying couple! Maybe after you pay your hefty fine (if you don't actually go to jail or something), you can earn it back by teaching classes on how to pose for pictures with Heads of State. That draping-over-the-Vice-President feat was impressive!
- Squeaky clean, super famous, super rich athlete Tiger Woods was busted for lustful excess. Are we really surprised? And do we really have sympathy for the Mrs.? I mean, it kind of sucks for her, but I'm thinking theirs was not exactly the love story of the decade. He was a rising star, and he bought her, and then he bought everything else he wanted. So now we know he's human. Let's move on.

The Year of Perplexing Celebrity Deaths
To be fair, every year we lose someone very famous, and that person is young, and we are all very sad. And interested in how/why it happened. But this year, it did feel like, for a while there, public figures were dropping like flies.
- We lost Natasha Richardson early in the year, and her death was sobering and tragic. She hit her head on a ski slope, and then she was gone. It didn't seem fair.
- Then we lost MICHAEL JACKSON, and who saw that one coming? In retrospect, yes, it was just a matter of time, but still. There was no one more famous, and there was no one with more cringe-inducing factors going into his demise.
- We lost Farrah Fawcett and Patrick Swayze to cancer.
- Now Brittany Murphy? Weird, sad, tragic.
I hope, when (if) I go to Heaven, I see all my favorite celebrities. May they be at peace.

The Year South Carolina Puts Itself on the Map
Fun Fact #1: My sister had a date with Governor Mark Sanford back when she was a debutante and he was a 20-something bachelor from a prominent family. She only remembered this fact when he made the news this year, in his very classy way. Then she thanked her lucky stars that they only had the one date, and she ended up marrying a cowboy from rural Georgia.
Fun Fact #2: That douche who heckled the President in the fall is my Dad's Congressman. I don't think he voted for him, but still.
Fun Fact #3: My Dad is always calling his Senator, Republican Lindsey Graham, an "asshole." (That's just a fun, bonus fact for S.C.)

Oh, and also, Gov. Mark Sanford refused (or tried to refuse?) the President's stimulus money to his state.
South Carolina: Proud and prouder!

The Year of Transition for Quesadelia
After more than a few uninspiring and career distracting jobs, Quesadelia is forced to succumb to her destiny and teach music. I may regret saying this, but I'm kind of glad the whole Recession thing happened. At least for me (and of course, it's all about MEEEEE), it has forced me to re-think, re-design, and start over. As a result, however, I will be stopping this blog. Oh, I'll still blog somewhere, but right now, I have to hunker down and write a bunch of articles for my teaching website, not to mention maintain the site, practice music, advertise, and start up another business or two. I have plans! And I kind of have to protect my online identity.

So, this is goodbye, at least for now. May 2010 be full of luck and blessings for you. I hope you will send me some good vibes, too. I will be in touch.

I Blame Jenny McCarthy

Have you checked out Jim Carrey's website? You should, just for the experience. I have to give the guy props for the Bosch-ian creatures and themes there - birdies with his head, weird things in the sky - and just the utter mish-mash of it all. That said, I'm not a fan of sites that automatically play music, and the links are not terribly smooth, either (how do I simply read his filmography? Oh, screw it - I'm just going to go to imdb.com). Ok, so perhaps it's a bit annoying. Oh, and if you click on Biography, you'll get a big, nasty eyeball. Unacceptable!

The Olsens are all over that

Halloween may be over, but you can still dress like a club-footed demon from Hell. That's right: these are actual "boots," designed by someone allegedly famous, and I don't think they're intended as a joke. Or maybe fashion is just a big joke anyway. Who knows? Why ask why?

Sunny Days, Sweeping the Clouds Away

Sesame Street is just about to turn 40! I'm so happy for this classic show that entertained and educated me as a little kid. Did you know that it started with an objective to reach out to preschoolers at home who weren't going to good schools, or weren't going to school at all? And that Cookie Monster used to binge eat and smoke? Ah, those nutty 60s!

Today the Street emphasizes healthy diets and exercise (especially yoga) -- even Cookie Monster watches his line and only indulges in cookies occasionally. Here's to another 40 years!

Marry A Gay Today

That's the slogan to the new movement I'm starting. It's a grass roots movement that will rise up and overturn all of these ridiculous laws that do not allow consenting adults to legally make a commitment to one another.

Banning gay marriage is a direct violation of civil rights.

(Disclaimer: I have not marched yet for gay rights, although I've talked up and down about the issue. Maybe it's time I start.)

Let's Go Visit Some Graves, Kids!

I positively love this concept: graveyard tourism!

If this isn't "me," I don't know what is. I think cemeteries are fascinating and I love to visit them. Although, I didn't always feel this way. It was living in France that helped me to "discover" cemeteries. Not only are tons of famous people buried in cemeteries throughout Paris, but they so peaceful and serene. (well, duh - of course they're peaceful; bunch of dead people there!) No, but I mean, in the middle of a dense and busy city, it's rather relaxing to sit for a spell in a Parisian cemetery. It's like a park, but with lots of personal history around you. Also, cemeteries in France are especially lovely on Nov. 1, the day after Halloween, when families lay flowers on the graves of their loved ones. Mix those flowers with the colors of the fall leaves, and it's quite a sight.

I dunno. I must be a goth at heart.

Hallelujah, I Free

I didn't tell you, officially, that I lost my job two weeks ago. Well, perhaps I didn't "lose" it; Oscar Wilde, for one, would deem such an act careless. I know where it is. It just doesn't belong to me anymore.

Over the course of my almost-two year tenure, my boss promised me a number of things. Below are some of her "promises;" can you guess which one came true? (Hint: there is only one correct answer)

1. "I will give you more hours."
2. "You will get a raise."
3. "You can telecommute occasionally."
4. "You can telecommute when I can give you more hours."
5. "You can perform in one of our shows."
6. "You will be let go on October 15th."
7. "You can stay on after October 15th, on contract."

I think you get the picture. I only agreed to work there for the experience. It was below my paygrade, but I knew I was making a career transition, and accepting the position seemed like a good idea at the time.

I will spare you the details of my employment there. It's possible, anyway, that someone connected to that place will find this blog, and then I'll be blacklisted for life. Suffice it to say that I am happy to be "out" and on my own.

Because I'm working for myself now, suckas!

Mr. P and I have opened a music studio, and it's going gang-busters. Who knew? First of all, who knew I could teach music, at all? Turns out, I'm totally in my element! I actually really love it! I mean, it's challenging. I haven't played guitar in ages, and now I'm teaching it, so I'm all - eee! Better catch up fast. And then singing: I feel very competent and knowledgeable now teaching singing, but my piano skills are el suckitude, so that makes me nervous every time. Not that I'm expected to be some great pianist as a voice teacher (I've had a number of voice teachers who weren't), but it would be nice if I could give them something to sing over.

Despite these small hesitations, I'm noticing many benefits to teaching. A.) I work for myself. B.) The money's pretty good. C.) There's a demand for it. D.) It's like "tightening my gears" as a musician. E.) My life is now consumed with music. I mean, what's not to like here? It's awesome. There is absolutely no down side.

I don't want to jinx it and start bragging or anything, but I think I can safely say that I'm off to a great start in my new career, and it's more than a welcome change after this difficult and anxiety-ridden year I have been having. It's pretty ironic that I looked for nine months for another office job, with no result, and then I open up for teaching, and in TWO WEEKS I replace my measly previous income, and it's only going up from there.

And we even have many more plans for expansion, and not just for the music studio/school! I'll tell you more about that at a later time.

Right now I have to run to my piano lesson. (That's right: the student becomes the teacher becomes the student again. Hey, I gotta keep up here!)