How to Become Famous - or Infamous - at a Karaoke Bar ;-)

I love my favorite karaoke bar Terry's State Street Saloon and my friends who are "regulars" there! We have literally become a bit of a family over there. Some of the customers could be classified as "famous" while others are more deserving of the title "infamous". I think the following list of amusing observations sets these two types of customers apart (yes, it is quite subjective and all based on my own opinion, for entertainment purposes only!):

* Famous customers have an awesome voice, but even if they don't, they sing great songs, try their best - and what's more important, have a fantastic attitude!

* Infamous customers choose songs most people don't like, sing off key, don't care whether they do and quit halfway through the song, even if the KDJ tries his hardest to back them up...

* Famous customers may have a few drinks to get in the mood and relax their vocal cords. They do a good job singing no matter if they are sober or a little tipsy. They get into the music and convey the meaning of songs in their performance.

* Infamous customers get horribly drunk before approaching the stage, either slurr the lyrics, sing the wrong lyrics, or miss a lot of the lyrics, though intently staring at the karaoke screen. They often stumble around and mess with the KDJ who struggles to protect his equipment from the drunk singer.

* Famous customers have a song card or put their song requests in early. They wait their turn in the song rotation, perform well and tip the KDJ AFTERward or buy him a drink as a "thank you", if they can afford it.

* Infamous customers put their song requests in late, complain about having to wait their turn, try to bribe the KDJ to move them up in the rotation with offers of sexual favors or by putting money into the tip jar PRIOR to the performance, then steal the money back when the rotation is too big to allow them to still sing that night. They often make a scene and stomp off...

This all stems from real life experiences. Be "famous"! :-)

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Staying warm

Brrr it's finally getting to be winter in Idaho. Truly after a ate spring and summer and a wonderful Indian Summer that extended past th middle of October, the warm weather has come to an end.

* The sun is still shining a lot in places. Get every ray you can and stock up on natural Vitamin D to keep from getting the winter blues!

* Dress in layers! If you feel warm you can always take something off. It's a lot harder to get warm again once you are cold and run out of clothes!

* It has been proven that wearing a hat, gloves and socks is a better method to keep your body's core temperature up and protect you from hypothermia than wearing a warm coat and pants and none of the above. Your head alone loses as much a a 20% of your body heat in cold weather!

* Warm up from the inside. Keeping your body (core) temperature up with warm beverages is a good option and provides comfort!

* Eat hot and spicy foods. You don't call them thermogenic foods and spices for nothing. They have the tendency to slightly raise your body temperature and your metabolism!

* My personal favorite: snuggle up with a loved one :-) It warms your body and heart alike!

* Meet up with friends and start a bonfire! Make sure to be safe, keep an appropriate amount of water nearby and follow local fire safety regulations!

* When you are cold, keep moving! It keeps your blood flowing and your metabolism burning calories, which provides warmth to your extremities and protects your core temperature from dropping!

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Random things I learned from friends, friendships and while hanging with friends :-)

This post comes with a good portion of humor lol. The following list should give you smiles, subtle advice, and make you think a little further than you normally would.

* With friends around, you can never make enough coffee in the morning (note to self: I need a bigger coffee pot and bigger mugs!)

* A drippy coffee pot can fill 2 mugs at the same time lol

* If you smoke, your first cigarette in the morning should always have a mug of coffee with it. Both taste even better when you can share them with a friend or neighbor!

* When a fashionable and sophisticated friend suggests that you try on their clothes, do it, even if you would never buy those items yourself. You may just find that you are developing a whole new great style and build new confidence!

* Eating after midnight is never a bad thing, especially when you do it with friends who look out for you! Unless, of course you are a Gremlin haha!

* If a friend makes a mistake, be there for them, but don't insist that they follow it. You can only change yourself, not others! But learn from their mistakes. After all, you now already know the outcome and won't have to make them on your own!

* Everybody will respect you more, if you tell them the truth to their face! Even if they aren't your friend, and even, if it hurts! Matter of fact: you may gain new friends that way!

* Real friends will tell you the truth to your face, even if you don't like it, because they care. Respect them for it! Consider and appreciate their insight!

* When a friend gives you logical advice, listen carefully, they may know you better than you expect, and they may know things you don't!

* True friends will always be there for you when you really need them. They will go the extra mile to make you comfortable when you hang out together, even if you don't talk or see each other every day! Do the same for them!

* You have a great friendship when silence isn't awkward - ever! It means that you feel comfortable and you understand each other without words! Actions are all that really matter!

* Real friends will save you from that drunk stranger who won't leave you alone and kick butt, if someone harms you, before you even have to lift a finger! They always have your back!

* You can always get a ride or crash for the night with friends, if you had too much to drink or are too tired to drive all the way home! They will share their couch, bed, food and give you the company you like best! Their door is always open for you!

* You may hate doing your own dishes, but if you do it for friends, it's way more fun and will always put a smile on their face! This is not a joke! I have done it for quite a few friends and it always works! Especially when they don't know you did it until after the fact! :-)

* When you've had a rough day, be with friends. Their hugs, conversations and having fun with them will give you a renewed positive view on life and make you sleep better at night!

* Choose your friends wisely! Who you hang out with, defines you in the eyes of others, but also for yourself. Stay away from toxic people! If someone starts draining your energy and makes you feel negative or bad about yourself, the friendship will turn toxic. Take a break or find new friends. Life is too short to waste with people who make you miserable. Misery seeks company - and you're not it!

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Focus and Intent as a Key to Success

Napoleon Hill was one of the greatest visionaries of our time. His book "Think and Grow Rich" is a fantastic read. There is also a Facebook page you should add for frequent inspirational quotes.
Napolen Hill's belief system is basically based on the principle of "mind over matter".
A conscious effort to achieve your goals by conditioning your mind to create a desired outcome isn't only a myth. One of the best examples I came across are professional athletes who were asked to act out every stage of, let's say, a track race in their mind and winning while being closely monitored by medical equipment. It was found that their body reacted precisely the same as if they were actually running that race. Their muscles contracted according to their imagined movements and their heart rate, blood, adrenaline and endorphin levels corresponded in the same way. It has been known that many of the greatest athletes go over their routines, etc. in their mind prior to the actual physical performance and increase the probability of a win over those who don't. The reason for that is that, like in a dream, your brain cannot differentiate between our reality and the reality of your dream, i.e. your thoughts.

When you focus your mind on a positive outcome and imagine the correct steps, you prepare to take the right actions when they are needed. The more you practice, the greater the success!

Some tools you can use, are:

Dream or Vision Boards
Make a collage from pictures and magazine snippets that symbolize the goals you have. Look at it every day and let your daily actions correspond to the fulfillment of your dreams!

Visualization
Imagine yourself in that new car or house you want. Feel yourself getting in, driving, hear the noises, smell the scents in your imagination... Experience all the details ahead of time and get a "feel" for it as if you already had it!

Expect for Good Things To Happen
A positive outlook makes you more approachable and opens you up for new possibilties. Unlike depressive thoughts, happy ones automatically give your body more energy to be more productive due to heightened endorphine production.

Focus
Somehow, when the weekend or a vacation is right around the corner, we become incredibly busy and productive to get work over with so we can go and enjoy ourselves. When you focus on a desired result, suddenly, you tend to see less obstacles in your way and work harder and faster to achieve results. Try to approach every goal with that intense focus!

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Blogger-Droid :-)

I want to apologize, because I haven't been on here for a while. I was very disappointed not to have PC Internet access due to financial issues and not being able to blog. But I have a new Android phone with mobile web and just came across this cool app! I will be blogging on with gusto now! :-)

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Self-Confidence Boosters

I talked to a friend today, and we came across the topic of self-confidence. I used to be very shy and worried about what other people thought of me. Matter of fact, I was so afraid of rejection that I withdrew from people, spoke in a very low tone of voice for fear of mistakes (especially being German and wanting to be able to speak English perfectly), and basically talked myself down, while amplifying my flaws by pointing them out to others. I also have had some weight issues in my time, which didn't exactly help my confidence, either. Today, my confidence is at an all-time high, tho I still struggle from time to time. There are several things that helped me in becoming more personable, outgoing and confident, which I would like to share:

• Find your own BEST features and qualities. Make a list and write them down! Think of your beautiful eyes, the smile everyone adores, the knowledge you possess, the way you care about others, the skills you do have. You may be a great cook, really good at your job or simply a good mom or dad! Create a list of self-affirmations and read them out loud to yourself every day. Have a version of that list handy, wherever you go, just in case you have one of those days when everything seems to fail. Remember, like Zig Ziglar says: “Failure is not a person, only an event!“ If you make a mistake, just LEARN from it, and MOVE ON. Guess what - you just bettered yourself! Great job! Pretty soon you assimilate those great qualities with yourself. They will once again become part of who you portrait yourself !

• Don’t compare yourself to friends and acquaintances who seem to “have it all”. Instead, think of those who are less fortunate, less educated, less skilled, heavier, not as pretty and not as well off financially. Pretty soon you realize that there are people out there who have less, but are still happy. You have every reason to feel good about yourself! Count your blessings!

•  Don't point out your flaws! Chances are that the people around you don't even notice your flaws UNTIL you make them aware of your self-perceived shortcomings. Instead, USE your good qualities and let them shine!

• What are your goals and dreams? Don’t tell yourself and others that you don’t have any! What about that dress you would like to fit into, the new car you would love to own and reuniting with old friends? Would you like a promotion at work or make more money? Write all the goals down that you can possibly think of - and be specific. Write something like “I would like to fit into that cute dark red size 8 dress I saw at Macy’s by next spring.” Start with little goals that are easily reachable within a short amount of time. Then move on to bigger and more long-term goals. Again, be as specific as possible. Finally, be outrageous. Write down goals that are possible, but seem hard to reach at the present time. “I want to write a romance novel within the next 3 years, get published and sell 50,000 copies”, for instance. Goals and dreams refer to a better future self and reaching even the most minute goals on your list will improve your confidence tremendously. The magic word is “SUCCESS“!

• Sometimes low self-confidence is brought on by real life problems. Losing weight, for example, may be a difficult thing to do. You can either just try and accept yourself for who you are the way you are and be happier, or you can make a serious plan on how to resolve that issue, and  feel better within your own skin by eliminating the problem altogether. One of the most prevalent phobias, the fear of public speaking, can be counteracted by taking classes or joining organizations like Toastmasters International and meeting people with similar concerns who are trying to improve their skills and fight stage fright. It’s great to know you are not alone and learn tricks from the professionals while making new friends!

• Go out and TALK to people you don’t know. I like the saying: “Strangers are only friends we haven’t met yet!“ Practice gathering information by asking OPEN-ended questions. Those are questions that cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no“. For instance, ask: “ What type of music do you like?” or “Where are you from?” Inquire about hobbies, sports, favorite food and such. Also tell about yourself by answering the same questions in response. Pretty soon you have a great conversation going on!

• Enjoy yourself where ever go and whatever you do. Smile a lot. Make faces in a mirror and stick out your tongue, if you have to. Eventually you will start laughing, because you realize you are being very silly! Most of all, learn how to laugh at YOURSELF! Once you can laugh about your own flaws and mistakes, no one else’s laugh can affect you in a bad way any longer! Laughing is also one of the best stress relievers!