Childhood, Favorite Things, Food, Friends, Humor, iPhone Notes, Life, Music, Nonsense

Things I Want to Remember | Part Nine

Writer McWriterson

I don’t want to forget these random thoughts that have been floating around in my head, so I’ve written them down in the notes section of my iPhone. I’m sharing them with you because I suspect they may be something that you can relate to as well.

Or not.

If you’re here for the first time, welcome! You’ll be able to find the other parts of this series here.

1- I played clarinet for eight years and was really good at it. I could not even play a note on a clarinet if I picked one up today.

2- I’m also unable to read sheet music. I learned to play solely by ear. I kept this a secret from everyone around me.

3- I only recently discovered that texting STOP will stop the spam texts.

Photo by Tiago Antunes Sales on Pexels.com

4- I could spend all day watching footage of planes taking off and landing at major airports.

5- I could also spend all day watching marching band and DCI (Drum Corps International) competitions

6- When I was 32 years old, I went to a Korn concert. On purpose.

7- When making homemade cinnamon rolls, the secret is to double the amount of cream cheese called for in the recipe.

8- I’m not a fan of feta cheese. I’m quite sure I’m the only one who isn’t.

9- I went to high school with the screenwriter for the Orphan movies.

10- In junior high, we had to choreograph a dance routine to a song for gym. My friend insisted on a particular song, which I disliked because it was slow and awkward. But she prevailed, so I had to buy the song on a 45 and rehearse every day. I think about that ridiculous dance routine every time I hear this song:

I’m sorry if this is your favorite song.

Here’s a better version (in my opinion):

And here is a cool rendition of one of my favorite songs. Musicians make the world a better place. 🖤

53 thoughts on “Things I Want to Remember | Part Nine”

  2. I respond so differently to those two versions of “That’s All.” In the original, watching that corny video, I think the speaker is just a whiny complainer who probably has an overly-exaggerated sense of injury in the relationship. In the second one, I hear a long-suffering co-dependent person who is in a relationship with a gaslighting narcissist. Either way, the idea of junior high Kari doing a dance routine to this song in PE class makes me want to hug you/her. And has a lot to do with why middle school was my favorite age to teach.

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  3. Kari, I can’t believe how much you and I have in common. I too played the clarinet. But not nearly as long as you. I took lessons for only year, and then switched to piano.

    And me too, I don’t read music. I used to be a professional stage actor and did many musicals. However, I learned the musical numbers strictly by ear. I found out many years ago that Judy Garland also did not read music. She sang by ear.

    However, I do love feta cheese. OMG…I could literally eat it by breaking off pieces and shoving it into my mouth. LOL! I’m a cheesoholic. Brie is pretty much the only cheese I don’t care for.

    That final video was so beautiful! And I agree, musicians make the world a better place!

    Have a beautiful week, my friend!

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    1. I love how much we have in common!!

      I love that you also played clarinet! I’d always wanted to play the piano, but it was too difficult for me. Isn’t it ironic that we were opposite in this regard?

      Oh my goodness, RON! I had no idea I was in such good company. I’m glad you and I (and Judy Garland!) learned by ear. I thought it was something to be ashamed of. I turns out  that we have TALENT. ❤️

      I, too, am a cheeseoholic, which is why I am surprised that I don’t like every kind of cheese!

      Every time I watch that final video, it makes me cry.

      Have a beautiful week as well, my friend! ❤️

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  5. I played clarinet in junior high and high school. I was visiting a friend whose child also played clarinet and I got myself a fresh reed and was definitely able to play a high C from muscle memory. I also did a quick Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I bet you’d be able to play some basic songs if you were handed a clarinet today!

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  7. I have certain songs that when I hear them I immediately think of dance routines I did in high school (I used to tap dance and certain songs/ snippets get stuck in my head with those movements).

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  8. I do like feta, but I hate goat cheese and bleu cheese, so I get it. But I can’t fathom a dance routine to that Genesis song. Not that I hear it often, but I still know my jr high choir concert moves to the song Car Wash by Rose Royce.

    My middle child loves Straight No Chaser, who are a popular acapella group. My husband took her to a concert and was impressed, so the next year, he bought tickets for my son and I to also attend. My son and I sort of went with eye rolling at each other, thinking it would be lame. Imagine our shock when they sang Creep! He and I burst out laughing. Still a fave moment of mine.

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    1. I’m not a fan of bleu cheese either. My dad loves it.

      That dance routine was excruciating. The fact that the gym teacher did not intervene when they learned our song choice proves that they like torturing students.
      Car Wash would have been so much better! I love how your choir danced to it as well!

      I know exactly who Straight No Chaser is! I love that they sung Creep. 🖤

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  9. #6 made me giggle. And you are not alone in your feta cheese dislike! I eat it sometimes, but I really don’t enjoy it. I’d much rather have goat cheese or mozzarella.

    How neat that you played the clarinet by ear rather than reading sheet music! That is such a cool innate talent.

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    1. I really went to see their opener, Puddle of Mudd, which makes it all the more embarrassing.

      I don’t think I’m a big fan of goat cheese. I’m sure I’ve tasted it before, but it’s not my favorite thing ever, and I love cheese.

      You’re the second person to tell me that my inability to read music is cool. This makes me incredibly happy, and I can’t thank you (and Nicole) enough. I felt a lot of shame about this for the entire eight years I played clarinet. But, now that I think about it, it’s pretty cool that I played by ear. ❤️

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  12. I think that’s amazing that you learned to play by ear!

    I remember having to choreograph exercise routines in junior high as well, I think I did one to a Depeche Mode song, and one to a Midnight Oil one. I remember one guy did Paradise City and he mostly just did pushups for the whole song, so every time I hear that song I remember that.

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  13. I also don’t care for feta. Brie, mozzarella, sharp cheddar – almost anything but feta.

    We had to do the same dance thing in middle school. Their first mistake was pairing the two most awkward girls together – of course we did not get a good grade…what other outcome did they think would happen?

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  14. It will probably not surprise you that I don’t know who Korn is. Then I watched a snippet of the video and I STILL don’t know what that was.

    I have PTSD from having to do aerobics routines in freshman year gym class to Huey Lewis and the News. When I hear some of his songs, I revert back to PURE discomfort mode.

    I wish I could play any instrument. Reading music is not in my wheelhouse.

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  18. I like feta but in small doses – like in a Greek salad. Same with blue cheese. Not a fan of goat cheese though.

    I played the flute all through jr high and high school but I wasn’t that good. I can read music and also play a little by ear. I took piano lessons from age 8-16. (Only cuz my mother forced me to!)

    xoxo

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  19. Whenever I hear Phil singing That’s All, I will forever think of you.
    I really don’t love feta cheese; it’s my least favorite crumbled cheese.
    I honestly don’t think anyone can read music; they’re all faking it.

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    1. I’m not sure how I feel about that…😂

      Okay, I thought it was me. I’m not sure why everyone gets so excited about feta.

      Wouldn’t that be the greatest conspiracy theory of all time? OR the ones who can read it are actually aliens from outer space…

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  20. How cool that you played clarinet. The only cooler instrument would be a saxophone! I played guitar, I also was able to read(ish) music, as it was a requirement to be able to sight read and sing acapella in order to join our school choir. I can’t do either now. I tend to think of my brain as like a computer, where it makes decisions over what to retain and what to chuck out based on what you’ve used most recently. No doubt a neuroscientist will put me straight on that, but it’s an image that works for me.

    The Phil Collins era of Genesis? Poor you!

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    1. When they initially started letting us try out different instruments in fifth grade, they suggested tuba, but my ego said no. So it was clarinet. I wish I had said yes to tuba because there aren’t many female tuba players.

      I like your computer/brain analogy and completely agree with it.

      YES! Fortunately, there is no videotape footage of that dance routine. It would be funny to see it now, though.

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  21. Did you enjoy the Korn concert? I went to a NIN concert when I was 43 (on purpose) and enjoyed it very much 😉
    Learning how to play an instrument without knowing how to read music sounds so hard to me. I am not sure I could have done that. You must have a musical ear.
    Music definitely makes the world a better place!

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