Confessions of a Middle Aged Groupie

How does a 67 year old highly educated white woman, raised in the comforts of a middle class home, privileged to have traveled all over the world and to live in 3 foreign countries become a rabid fan of a young Filipino man, raised in the slums of Manila, a struggling musician for most of his life who, by the grace of luck and YouTube, became the lead singer of one of the most iconic bands ever?

It started years ago when Journey

first started in the 70's.  I loved their music and appreciated the talents of each of the band members.  I listened to their music over the years as they produced hit after hit.  But it wasn't until I was laid flat (literally) by my back problems, which were a combination of sports and other injuries over the years, that I had the time to watch daytime tv and spend hours on the internet when I wasn't in so much pain that the only thing I could do was lie there and listen to music (lots of Journey).  I heard about Arnel Pineda's rags to riches story early on (coincidentally, I had seen the same covers on YouTube that Neal Schon heard when he was searching for a new front man for Journey and made the phone call that changed Arnel's and Journey's lives) and watched as CNN and Oprah and everyone else reported in late 2007 how Arnel joined the group.  I listened to more Journey music then and had no trouble making the transition from Steve Perry to Arnel.

In my darkest hours after I was hospitalized in August, 2009, unable to sit, stand or walk, after years of painful steroid injections and other procedures to relieve the pain and then months of rehab after that until my life changing neurotransmitter implant back surgery, sometimes the only thing that kept me going was listening to Arnel and Journey singing "Don't Stop Believin'" with tears of pain pouring out of my eyes for hour after unremitting hours and saying to myself that if Arnel could survive what he has gone through, there was still hope for me.  Fortunately, the surgery was a success, and despite the huge setback I received a few months later after discovering via a routine bone density test that revealed very advanced osteoparosis (so bad that I was in imminent danger of spontaneous fractures that could collapse my spine and every other bone in my body), which was miraculously reversed by over 50% due to a drug called Forteo, diet and a specially tailored exercise regimen, I was able to sit, stand, and walk again without excruciating pain.

I was tested during the long hours I was on my feet or sitting in folding chairs while working as a volunteer and as a voting rights attorney for the Obama campaign in Florida

, especially during the grueling period and long lines during the shortened early voting when Hurricane Andrea was going up the coast and blowing us all sideways,
the many weeks of overseeing ballot duplications because of an error in the printing, and the longest waiting times in the country on election day.

I was further tested during my dream of a lifetime 8 day whitewater rafting trip in the Grand Canyon

with my college roommate, Jane,

(although without the help of everyone on the raft, I never would have made it, because a lot of it was very challenging for me) and lots of plane flights in a short period of time to celebrate L.D.'s graduation from Wharton

, and to celebrate my Mom's 92nd birthday,

which set off some other health problems.

The thought of going to see Arnel and Journey perform again (I had seen them years ago with Foreigner) was beyond anything I could have dreamed of doing physically, but this weekend that dream came true and exceeded my wildest expectations.  I was very fortunate to have been sitting in the 3rd row with some of his biggest fans and friends (thank you, Coley twitter.com/coley716 )where I got a very different experience than when I have had good, but not great seats, but although I have had the privilege of seeing lots of great bands and singers from jazz (Chuck Mangione), to blues (Alberta Hunter), to country (almost every big star and group you could name), to pop (Michael Jackson and others) to rock (Bon Jovi, Elton John, and others), to Broadway and the London stage and music festivals and events in Israel that drew big name performers, never in my life has a single performer touched me in the same way that Arnel has.

Yes, he is gifted with an amazing voice

, huge range, great timbre, boundless energy (I had trouble taking pictures with my i-Phone because catching him standing still for a few seconds is like trying to rope the wind) and great stage presence.  But Arnel has that extra something that I have never seen before that makes you feel like every song he sings is being directed to you personally.  He looks at you, smiles and sends his message that hits you right in the heart.  Of course, it helps that he is singing songs you love and know all the words to and love, and he has some of the most gifted musicians in the world backing him, but there are lots of great bands with huge talent and great front men but none of them have had that same effect on me.

I was sad to read that when Journey's current contract ends in a few years that they will be taking a hiatus.  If this is true, I hope this doesn't mean forever, although each person in the band could certainly have a very rewarding life writing or doing solo stuff (you should check out Neal Schon's latest endeavors  http://www.schonmusic.com/), and Arnel is young enough at 46 to have a long life in the music business, both as a performer and a writer, and to continue nurturing new talent in the Philippines at his club and doing philanthropic work http://arnelpineda.org/, but I hope there are many Journey concerts to enjoy in the future.

Thank you, Arnel.  You changed my life forever and someday I hope to meet you in person to thank you personally.  You just never know how doing what you love can touch so many people.

I Hate Moving

In preparation for getting my condo ready to list (hopefully by August), I have started going room by room and sorting out stuff I want to throw out (so far two big garbage cans full), things I want to sell on e-Bay (assuming the reseller even wants most of it), and stuff I will probably have to give away, even though a lot of it would make great yard sale fodder if only my association would let me have one (not!).  I have so far managed to:
1. Sort all my 33 records into alphabetical order and make a list (I have 300 plus of them, which my son says are probably collectively worth a couple of thousand)
2. Same for my 180 or so CDs, which he says are probably not worth much
3. Consolidate two boxes containing every daily report I ever got for both kids while they were in daycare from age 6 months plus every picture (scribble?) and art project plus the same from the time they were in preschool in Israel into one big box
4. Sort through an entire box of pictures and negatives ( I surely kept this one store in Israel in business for years) plus a huge bag of pictures and memorabilia I forgot I had of my father and his side of the family including pictures of the family from the 1920's and 30's when they first came to the US from Transylvania (yes, I come from a long line of vampires, or maybe at least gypsies, since my cousin has managed to find out they probably came from Breton, stopped for a few centuries in Germany, where they lived in Saxony and were Lutherans, and ended up in Romania, where they intermarried, kept their German language and customs and then on to the US.  It was fun to see pictures of our first trip to Israel before we emigrated in 1985, with a stop in Brussels and Rome, where my daughter got blessed by accident by Pope John Paul II (I have closeups of the Pope but not the actual blessing), and of trips to
Switzerland, Amsterdam, England, China, Hong Kong, Thailand and videos I took of a week-long scuba diving trip from Eilat at the southern tip of Israel down to Ras Muhammed, at the southern extreme of the Sinai Peninsula, overlooking the Gulf of Suez on the west and the Gulf of Aqaba to the east.
4. Put all the kids' framed pictures, casts of their baby shoes, some of their favorite books and all of their stuffed animals (desperately holding out for grandchildren) in another big box
5. Cleaned out the guest room closet, which was mostly used as storage and put most of it in the e-Bay/giveaway pile (anyone want some good condition sets of Samsonite soft side luggage on rollers with matching garment bags, a CD rack that holds about 200 CDs (I can e-mail you a list of the CDs if anyone wants dibs on them before they go to the e-Bay guy), used and unused VHS tapes including a 10 volume set of Rocky and Bullwinkle, cookbooks (I brought my Mom's cookbooks down here and haven't opened but one or two of them in 3+ years plus a lot of my own),crossword puzzle books, an old but perfectly working Sony tv set (large), a bunch of cassettes of music (I have a list), a Sony dual cassette player (I still have the box it came in), a Sony turntable (still have that box, too), a Sony 6 disc DVD player (ditto on the box-I guess I never really planned to stay here long), a Prince tennis racket, a pair of skis and a ski bag (vintage late 1990's but the bag is a good one), or linen table cloths (I have a whole box of them and will never use all of them)?
Next room is the office, which I did clean out several years ago when I misplaced my Israeli passport and was sure it was in that room somewhere (I eventually found it on my kitchen counter in an envelope), but which needs to be gone through again, my bedroom drawers and closets (I have filled two big bags for Goodwill, but will probably fill half a dozen or more), the kitchen (I have multiple crockpots in there somewhere and an ice cream machine (hand crank) that I have never used), the downstairs closet (storage area), which is mostly filled with empty boxes stuff came in, and (horrors), the garage, which is mostly empty boxes, but I have shelving with stuff I have hauled from Israel to California to here and never opened the boxes.
Then I have to get the place painted and clear off all my personal stuff so the realtor can take pictures.
I'm hoping I can sell the furniture I bought from the previous owner or bought since I came here and don't want to take (master bedroom set with king sized bed, double dresser, two ceiling high side units with drawers and shelves and lighted headboard in white mica), guest room furniture, twin beds with bases and all the linens, pillows and comforters, night table and double dresser in excellent condition (grey mica) with matching lamps, large round kitchen table and 4 nice chairs (white)in great condition, porch furniture (recliner, 2 matching chairs and glass table plus smaller white table and two plastic armchairs)also in great condition, a La-Z-Boy three-seater sofa with 2 footrests that come out on either end (moss green-needs reupholstering or a slip cover because the seats are worn),  a black leather massage recliner with electric controls from Brookstone (cost $2200 new and was hardly ever used), wood office desk set (six shelf tall bookshelf, large desk with keyboard tray and drawers on both sides and a back unit with shelves and doors on both sides, corner piece for your printer and computer box, and double file drawer-it all fits together to form an L in real good condition except for a little wear on the keyboard tray, large white L shaped sectional sofa (4 plus corner unit plus 3) and two overstuffed armchairs, five throw pillows to match the chairs and large glass coffee table on a metal base (these are in mint condition).  I also have a king sized Select Comfort Sleep number bed with dual controls.  The topper needs to be replaced but it cost $1200 new.  I plan to downsize to a Queen.  I will probably want to wait until it sells to see if I can sell them to the next owner and if not, will want to sell them then because a house sells better furnished.  If anyone is looking for a nice end unit condo in Boca Pointe, Montego Bay (end unit just 100 steps from the community pool), 2100 feet under air, one car garage on ground floor and large storage closet, all the rest on floor two (the top floor).  Guest parking opposite the unit.  3 bedrooms, den, 40' long living and dining area with vaulted ceilings, screened in porch, large en suite master bath with tub and separate shower, remodeled second bath, remodeled kitchen with granite counter tops, custom to the ceiling oak cabinets, stainless steel GE Profile refrigerator/freezer, ceramic oven, dual microwave/convection oven and dishwasher with extended warranties, new GE profile white washer and dryer on pedestals with every whiz bang feature and extended warranties in separate laundry room, den off the living/dining area, top of the line Mohawk StainMaster carpeting, popcorn ceilings have been replaced by knockdown/textured ceilings, AC handler and compresser have been replaced as well as the hot water heater, ducts cleaned 2 years ago, tile in kitchen and dining areas, custom window treatments, windows have all had the sun resistant coatings on them, accordion hurricane shutters throughout, both toilets have been replaced with high height Kohler models, shelving in the garage.  Immaculate condition.  Comp unit just sold for $260, I think.  Built in 1988.  Gated community.  Quiet neighbors.
OK.  I've just exhausted myself just thinking about it and am going drink my smoothie with blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and citrus slices before it melts and watch t.v.

Back to the Old Blog

I took a year off from this blog to devote my time to my other blog, "Grand Canyon Trip of a Lifetime", and since I posted my final post-trip blog on that blog, I am resuming this one.
If you read my other blog, you would know that I am almost up to where I was before I was forced into retirement by medical issues.  Actually, one surgery, lots of physical therapy and lots of work under the direction of some great personal trainers at LA Fitness later, I am in better shape than I was.  I am back on my Forteo, which I am receiving free of charge from Eli Lilly for the next 24 months, after being off of it for 5 weeks.  I was on it for 11 months prior to that, and my bone density has more than doubled.  I am still going to the gym 3 days a week for a double training session each time and some cardio and I feel great!  I go off my diet every time I travel, which isn't good, but then I try to work harder when I get home.  I have too many friends who have had heart attacks or scares lately and I don't want to be a statistic.
I will hopefully be able to go back to work, at least part-time or 3/4 time to supplement my Social Security and retirement checks once I relocate to Cumming, GA, which I hope to do by the end of the year.  I'm hoping to beat hurricane season, but I have a lot of junk to get rid of or sell on e-Bay before I move and I am going to tackle one room at a time.  Since I plan to downsize, I will only be taking a third of my furniture and will sell/donate the stuff I bought for a few thousand dollars from the previous owners because it will cost more to move it than buy new stuff which will be more to my taste anyways.
I've been trying lots of new recipes, which I have gleaned from other sites online and re-pinned on my Pinterest boards, so if you have any healthy recipes that are vegetarian or which don't mix meat and dairy or which don't include shellfish, pork or lamb, please share them with me.  I've watched lots of shows on the food networks while I haven't been working (except for the 11 months I was working on the Obama campaign), and I have been trying to expand my palate.  I especially love Indian and Southeast Asian food and anything that is spicy or uses a lot of herbs.  I just made some Sriracha Chicken Strips that were pretty good, especially dipped in more Sriracha.
I am also seriously hooked on Scramble (a speed Scrabble-type Zynga game on the internet) and Words With Friends, so if you like to play, I'm always looking for new partners. 
I've also been doing a lot of reading, so if you have read any interesting books lately, let me know.  I am currently reading Sonya Sotomayor's autobiography, "My Beloved World", Michael Connelly's "The Black Echo" and listening to some old Reacher novels by Lee Child, that somehow I missed.  I have books on tape that I listen to in the car. 
Have a nice weekend, everyone!