Niner #20: Sing Karaoke Solo and Sober

I did it. I sang an entire karaoke song alone and without any assistance from that famous friend to all, that centuries-old liquid courage: alcohol. Let's face it...alcohol typically makes both singing and listening to amateur chanteurses that much easier. I've been performing my whole life and was blessed with a pretty okay singing voice. But karaoke was always very terrifying for me because I knew it wouldn't be perfect. And when you're used to rehearsing for hours for even a 5 minute performance, getting up in front of a room full of strangers and attempting to sing without any practice...well that just sounds crazy! So in the past, I would typically only sing karaoke with a large group of friends and with a little liquid courage to help me along.

But not this time. With the amazing support of my friends, last Wednesday we headed down to the Drunken Monkey for their weekly karaoke night. While I hadn't had a drop to drink in weeks, I can't say the same for my friends. Here's a shot of Q and C rockin the Hall and Oats. And yes, in the video below, you hear one friend yell "sing the 'ummmms' damn it!" Classic. :)

I'm not gonna lie. This was a ridiculously stressful Niner to accomplish. The moment we walked into the building my stomach was tied in knots, my hands and voice were shaking, and I definitely tried to run and hide on more than one occasion. Alas, I put on my big kid pants and when my name was called I marched up on stage thinking to myself "this will all be over in 3 minutes." My awesome friend CC filmed part of the song for me. It goes without saying that this was not my best "performance" ever, but that's pretty much the point. I wanted to put myself out there, in front of my friends (and plenty of strangers) and just have fun singing, as shaky and off-key as it was. And you know what? I had a blast. :) 

Thank you to the Foco Crew for the heckling and cheers! Couldn't have done it without you! 

Picture of the Day 860: Nurturing My Inner Type A Personality

So as the last post demonstrates, I have a LOT to still accomplish on my Niner Project. And the only realistic way I'm going to achieve my goals is if I have a plan. So I spent some time today mapping out the next few months and figuring out where, when, and how I'm going to make this happen. If only I had been this organized from the beginning. But it's okay. I'm equal parts Type A/Planner and equal parts Procrastinator. The procrastination side has had its fun...now it's time to get busy gettin' busy.

The Niner Project - Day 859 [or "Oh Good Lord, How Will I Finish All This?!"]

With just 141 days left in my Niner Project, it's safe to say that I have a very busy four and half months ahead of me. I'm wondering if my boss will let me take a little sabbatical so I can get it finished? Ummm...no dice, I'm sure. Especially since he's done his part to help me achieve several goals and I really appreciate it! But with the home stretch of the Project upon me, I thought it was time for an update, like this one.

I think the two general themes of my Niner Project so far are: 1) Me being generally inconsistent (in completing goals and documenting the process) and 2) Realizing again and again that my eyes are, figuratively, bigger than my stomach and some of these goals are just plain ridiculous. Re-dique. (Yep, I went with the "French" spelling.) But hey, I'm nothing if not an eternal dreamer and hopeful planner. So once again I'm revisiting my list and editing accordingly in order to fit the reality of my life and my need right now for 99 problems distractions.

But before I get to the updated list, here are a few Project stats to give you an idea of what I'm up against and what I've accomplished.

45 - Number of goals completed

36 - Number of goals completed that I STILL need to blog about (that one stings a little lot)

11 - Number of goals in progress

43 - Number of goals I have yet to start (so basically I'm not even half way done! eek!)

1,368 - Number of unique visitors to my Niner Project page

141 - Number of days left in the Project

$450 - Amount of money I've raised for a good cause so far (see Niner #83)

999 - Number of friendly encouragements I'm going to need from my friends to get this done :)


So without further ado, here's the updated and final verson of the Niner Project.

Picture of the Day: Redstone Room With Red Hot T

This international woman of mystery is exploring Davenport, Iowa, tonight with the one and only Teniell! And we're enjoying the music stylings of Rachael Yamagata. (google her!)

Picture of the Day: Snowy Weekend in the Mountains

Spending the weekend at my boss's house up in the mountains. Lots of work and strategizing for the future complete with hot chocolate.