7 Quick Takes Vol. 10: St. Cecilia, Emmy, and Music Facts Edition

Happy St. Cecilia feast day. Today is a particularly happy day for me as well... and you shall see why. :D

-- 1 --

Today is the feast day of the patroness of music and musicians... who is also my confirmation saint. Yes, St. Cecilia is my confirmation saint. I always say that I didn't choose her -- that she chose me -- because I really didn't pick a confirmation saint. I'll explain why in a bit but I am so happy that St. Cecilia is my confirmation saint because (as many of you know) I'm a massive music nerd. My first love was music and the only times I go without it is for a brief period during Lent. Even when we were mourning my dad's passing, I listened to music because it's my security blanket. Music helps me express myself without my having to utter a single word. 

-- 2 --

If you're wondering why I said I didn't pick a patron saint, it's because I was confirmed in Mexico where they don't pick confirmation saints. I was confirmed at age 13 (against my wishes, fyi - I wanted to wait until I was 15-16 to be confirmed with my friends) and since we have a priest in the family (on my mom's adopted side), I was confirmed in his parish. This parish was named after St. Cecilia... and I was confirmed on her feast day in 1998. Yes, today is the 15th anniversary of my confirmation. It was just meant to be. When I found out all these things after my reversion, I decided to make her my patron saint and she's been a wonder heavenly buddy ever since.

-- 3 --

Fun fact for those of you who don't know: I actually almost majored in Jazz Studies. I had taken music courses at Santa Monica College (including a course with Prof. Fiddmont; seriously, Google him) and I had the application to USC filled out but things happened and I ended up reverting to the Faith and then switching majors to Religious Studies instead. Still, I'm a huge jazz geek (jazz, swing, big band, and classical are my preferred genres) and I often wonder if I will one day get over my shyness and perform again.

-- 4 --

Oh yeah, that's another fun fact: I used to perform when I was younger. I had the wonderful Ms. Shelby Flint as my teacher when I was about 11 years old and she was the first to really encourage me and give me confidence in singing. I also learned how to play a bit of the piano thanks to her. I sang in chorus at school until I got to high school and developed anxiety. I haven't sung in public since I was about 15 and it would take a lot of courage and a miracle to get me on stage again. I'm just not cut out for it anymore.

-- 5 --

This is my statue of St. Cecilia which sits on top of the family recorder player. Yes, we are vinyl people. ;) I got her a couple of years ago at the parish where I did my first communion. I saw the statue and went "*gasp* I must have it!" It's actually one of the last things that Fr. Leo Leblanc OMI (who helped us when my father passed away) blessed for me before he passed away so it holds a special place in my heart as well.

-- 6 --

This is my baby... and my skinny legs. lol. Yes, I have a pink guitar. Don't hate; it was my big brother's gift to me when I was in my early 20s. It's not my first guitar but it's been my main one for a couple of years now. It's a Daisy Rock brand. I choose it because they make guitars with slimmer necks especially for women because some of us have tiny hands. It has a good sound. I am saving up for a new one because I really love playing classical/Spanish style and I need a guitar that's especially made for nylon strings. Now I just have to find one that I can use with my dainty lady hands. lol.

-- 7 -- 

As you can tell by now, music and I are tight. I use Spotify to make playlists for different things, i.e. workout music, cleaning music, and I even make playlists for my novels and the characters in my novels. To attempt to make a playlist with all my favorite songs would be impossible but I'll share with you the songs that are always in my top three (in no particular order):

Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind":


George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue":


Schubert's "Ave Maria" sung by Andrea Bocelli (never fails to make me tear up):


And that's all for now. I have about 4000-5000 words to write today if I want to catch with NaNoWriMo (and finish on time). ;)

I hope y'all have a great weekend!

As always, thanks for reading and God bless! :D

MIA from Mass, Lent Surprises, Irish-ness and Awards Shows.

I haven't written in 5 days. Sorry. I've been so caught up with all the medical stuff (tests and news, etc) that I've been either concentrating on that or sleeping. lol. I got sick again for a couple of days (usual fatigue, lightheaded feeling, etc) so I stayed in bed most days last week. I was sick up until yesterday, too. I actually missed Mass which sucked. I was there for less than 5 minutes before I knew I wouldn't make it through the entire mass and I had to leave... of course, teary eyed and all. I HATE that I've been missing mass but it's beyond my control at this point. :( Hopefully I will get strength to make it to mass sometime this week and I will definitely try again next Sunday.

Even though I've started Lent on a bummer, I am getting little surprises here and there that totally make my day. On Ash Wednesday I received the book "The Life of Teresa of Jesus" along with 2 bookmarks with her picture on it and 2 St. Dymphna prayer cards (which I have been wanting for a while now). (ed. And I need to remember to write about my crazy dream involving St. Teresa of Avila, tomorrow.) I actually ordered these things a month ago and they were actually 2 weeks late. It was awesome that I received these things on Ash Wednesday. Totally made me feel better about not getting my ashes, even though it's obviously not the same. Ooh, and I found out a Santo Niño de Atocha website featured one of my first blogs (from December) and I had no clue about it. lol. Seriously, I have no idea people outside my group of friends would read this blog. :D Well, thanks. :D

I received these really good candies from my good friend in Germany. Of course, I don't speak or read much German so I have no idea what's in them, but they sure are good. Haha. These candies took almost 2 months to get here too. They were a Christmas gift (Christmas letter included) that I just received. Good thing the candies didn't expire or get all weird in transit. lol. And, now I have sweets to last me through Lent... and beyond. Whoo! Today was also pretty awesome because my eldest brother came to visit... and because it was a "cool" 82 degrees Fahrenheit in the city which meant that I didn't have to wear a sweater. :D

You know what I just realized? Valentine's Day is coming up in less than 3 days. You know what else? I'm looking forward to St. Patrick's Day more than V-Day. Haha. I'm serious. Though I do consider myself a hopeless romantic and a sucker for romance and mushiness, I don't make a big deal out of this particular holiday. If I do, it's usually because I've planned a Spa Day with my girl friends. Who says it has to be a day only about romantic love and not platonic or familial love? I actually have a guest blogger who will write about that in the coming days. But, for me... give me St. Patrick's Day and I will be happy.

I have always been in love with the Irish culture. I remember how happy I was when I first sang "Carrickfergus." I absolutely loved it, and I actually still do. I also remember a very young me telling my friends how I wished I was Irish to avoid getting pinched for not wearing green on St. Patrick's day. lol. I don't know why but I've found the culture fascinating and have also felt connected to it somehow. The music (both folk and contemporary), the customs, the mythology... just everything about Ireland seems beautiful to me. I was recently talking to my friend about how we both love the country so much, we're going to go have a bachelorette trip out there as soon as one of us gets engaged to be married (money's on her to get married before I do). I remember when I found out St. Dymphna (one of my patron saints) was Irish, I almost did a cartwheel. Yes, I'm that much of a dork. :D I wanted to study in Ireland for the semester abroad but, sadly, none of the schools have an agreement with my school so it's been ruled out. Well, that is, until I find a loophole which I bet I can find. :D Anyway, before I move on from this topic I have one more thing to say/post about subject...

You're 65% Irish

You're very Irish, and most likely from Ireland. (And if you're not, you should be!)

How Irish Are You?

There you have it. haha.

Well, yesterday I caught two shows in between sobs (caused by not being able to attend mass properly)... the BAFTAs and the Grammys. This is the second year I've been able to watch the BAFTAs (thank you, BBC America). "Atonement" won, which I was happy about. James McAvoy didn't win (grr!) but, to be fair, the person who did win did a stellar job on his film so I can't be too peeved about it all. lol. The Grammys were MUCH better than they have been in years. I usually just tune it to watch for certain categories but this year, I couldn't stop watching it. I liked most of the performances (including the one of Alicia Keys duetting with Frank Sinatra). A few people I wanted to win, actually won... which was awesome. And, how incredible is it that Herbie Hancock won Album of the Year? Which other jazz artist (not counting Norah Jones) has won Album of the Year in the last 3-4 decades? As a jazz junkie, I was thrilled. I was also SO happy they played "Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin during the telecast. If there was ever a song that could describe me (without any lyrics), that would be the one. I cannot think of a more perfect song; totally love it.

Alright, well. I will stop boring people for now. lol. I am still planning on doing a Valentine's Day themed blog on Wednesday. I have no clue what I will write about tomorrow... but that's the fun part in writing a blog. :D Until the next time... thanks for reading and God Bless.