. . . and stuck to all my senses.”

- Joni Mitchell “Chelsea Morning”

Summer has arrived in the Pacific Northwest, and this weekend was glorious. Up to now, we’ve been having “Juneuary”. I think we’ve invented a new word out here. Anyway, it has been a cold, wet spring and it is wonderful to see (and feel) the sun again.

Last night my youngest son graduated from high school. It was a surreal experience. The hall was filled with parents I recognized dating back to grade school. At soccer games and football games we stood together, huddled under umbrellas. We suffered through grade school band concerts together. We’ve talked to each other on the phone, checking that parents will be home for the sleepover. We, of course, don’t look any older. Not so our children. Look, there’s the child who came to grade school birthday parties and sleepovers, all grown up! And my son’s first girlfriend is a valedictorian. She’s grown into a lovely girl, and is going to be a dancer. And my son’s best buddies, walking together and looking so tall and . . . oh my goodness . . . adult. On and on it went.

I’m finding these ceremonies mean more to me as I get older. They celebrate a moment in time, and as I age I realize time moves fast. Marking the moment takes on more importance, and this was a big one for me. No more driving children to school, no more lunch money to give. No more middle school soccer or high school football. No more birthday parties at Papa’s Pizza. It feels sad and exhilarating at the same time.

I imagine over the next several months my emotions will swing between joy and sadness. My son is going through the same thing. He is saying goodbye to his childhood this summer, and so am I. Jess says his real life is finally beginning. A new phase of my life it beginning too, my life after children. We’re both alternately sad and joyful, but open to possibility.

You know you’re in voiceover if you recognize the voices doing commercials, narrations, etc. on TV as friends or colleagues you’ve met at a seminar. Or if “Name The Celebrity Voicing That TV Commercial” is a common game at your house. You’re a VO if someone can refer to “Four Guys In A Limousine” or “Bloopers Soap” and you’ll know exactly what they mean. You know who voiced the Academy Awards this year. You can totally relate to “Santa’s Session in Hell”. You’re conscious of the noise level of your clothes, and avoid people with colds like they have the plague.

You probably know all kinds of exotic remedies for preventing colds and if you get one how to sound normal through it all. You know what a neti pot is. You rarely eat dairy (clogs the throat) or wheat (runs the nose). No wait . . . that’s me. I also keep protein water in my booth in case my stomach starts to growl during a long session. Microphones will totally pick those growls up, usually during your best take. And speaking of microphones. If you’re a VO, you’re constantly in search of the ultimate microphone, the one that makes you sound rich and delicious. Neumann, Horch, Sennheiser, Gefell are all familiar names.

Here’s another VO thing. Right now I have to make an appointment with the dentist for my annual check-up and I’m dreading it, but not for the reasons most people dread going to the dentist. Even a simple teeth cleaning means I’ll be sibilant (lots of ssss in my tracks) for several weeks. And something more complicated involving novacaine? Forget about it, I’m out of commission for half a day. But it must be done, so I’ll make the appointment and hope a big job doesn’t come in that week. Or I’ll time it so the dental cleaning appointment is right before a vacation.

I’m fresh out of thoughts about weird VO stuff at the moment, but feel free to add your own. I have to call my dentist

Back when I decided to blog, I wasn’t sure of what I wanted to say, and what audience I wanted to address. I’m still not sure how that will develop. But as I continue with the blog, I find I like the process of writing a lot. Why? Because it’s interesting. I have to dig deep to find an authentic place to write from. I guess that makes for some (mostly) thoughtful blog posts. It sure has lead to a lot of soul-searching and some tears on my part.

I’m searching for my voice in many areas of my life these days, and it has become something of a spiritual quest. Very soon now, for the first time in almost 25 years, I won’t have children at home. I have no idea of how that will feel. I’ll always speak with the voice of a Mom, but it will be different after this summer.

It’s an emotional transition, and I’ve found that one of my strongest places of peace and grounding is the house we live in. It’s older, built in the ’20s, and is small but charming, a bungalow with lots of built-in shelves and cupboards and a sun room. Every time I clean the chandelier over the dining room table or open one of the cupboards I feel connected to every woman who lived here and who has done the same thing. I feel especially connected to the womanly ghosts of this house in the old garden. For instance, what woman planted the daffodils right outside the gate? They’re in a really inconvenient place, but you have to pass them to take out the trash. I just know a woman who lived here planted those daffodils, someone who wanted to see the first sign of spring. I look for them every spring, and expect she did too.

It’s comforting to know our house has witnessed a lot of life , and that life has left its mark here. It reminds me that life moves, but many things stay constant. Like the love a Mom has for her children, and the love they have for her . . . even though they’re not here every night to say “What’s for dinner?” I feel sometimes the house is wrapping its arms around me, reminding me to stay centered and live each moment as fully as possible. Our house reminds me we are all here for a time, we live our lives, we plant our daffodils, and ultimately we all move on. Buddah’s Wheel is always turning.

Enjoy your day.

Pilates . . . what a strange and wonderful discipline. I’ve been at it for six weeks, and I’m now moving from privates 3x/week on the Reformer and Cadillac to duos with another person 2x/week (still with a trainer) and a private 1x/week. Most people don’t know what a reformer is, so here’s a video of a routine. Here’s another good video showing most of the different machines used at the studio I go to. This looks like an advanced class, so don’t let it put you off. The machines are really fun to work with, and strength is built gradually so at some point you’re actually able to do some of those impossible looking moves. After 6 weeks I can already feel profound differences in my strength, energy and flexibility. I’m sold, in fact I can’t get enough. On days I’m not at the studio I do mat work.

I’m also fascinated with how the exercise form called Pilates came to be. There was actually a Joseph Pilates. He developed his original method during WW 1 in internment hospitals using hospital beds and springs rigged to provide resistance for bedridden patients. If you look at the design of the Reformer, you can see where it came from. When he and his wife moved from Germany to New York, their fitness studio shared an address with the New York City Ballet. When the dancers were injured, they were told to “Go see Joe” and he would rehabilitate them. George Balanchine studied with Joseph Pilates in the ’60’s, as did many other dancers in the New York community.

I’m loving this exercise method, and an unexpected benefit is all my summer clothes are loose. I’ve been a happy camper just with the gains in strength and flexibility I’ve made, but wow . . . now I can see the difference with the way my clothes fit. What’s not to like?

I sure did love this quote by author Ann Lamott.

“I think joy and sweetness and affection are a spiritual path. We’re here to know God, to love and serve God, and to be blown away by the beauty and miracle of nature. You just have to get rid of so much baggage to be light enough to dance, to sing, to play. You don’t have time to carry grudges; you don’t have time to cling to the need to be right”.

It’s Friday. Go outside, it’s beautiful out there. Take a walk, do some gardening, sit in a park and befriend the flowers. We will never have this particular spring moment again in this lifetime. Be present in this moment, for the wheel is always turning.

]]> http://kitziesvoice.wordpress.com/2008/05/16/a-quote-for-spring/feed/ kitziesvoice http://kitziesvoice.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/bye-bye-palm/ http://kitziesvoice.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/bye-bye-palm/#comments Tue, 13 May 2008 20:58:15 +0000 kitziesvoice http://kitziesvoice.wordpress.com/?p=31

I have been using a Palm Pilot since I forget when. My Palm has been my constant companion for a lot of years, has held important details of my life, addresses, calendar, games and books . . . lots of books. On my last phone upgrade I did a bunch of research trying to decide between Palm and Blackberry. I ultimately decided on the Palm Treo because of all those applications I had accumulated over the years, not to mention the books. And it would sync with my ACT contact database.

What a difference a year and a few months make. I’m no longer using ACT (another traumatic change), and because of a glitch in the Palm software I can no longer sync it with my contacts & calender. In fact, it loses contacts when I sync, and I won’t discover it until I go to make a call. SOOO frustrating. So today, my phone upgrade arrives, and it’s a Blackberry. Goodbye Palm OS.

Now here’s hoping I can read my books on the Blackberry. Or on something else, maybe Kindle? I’m sad to say goodbye to an old friend, but I’m about to discover a new one.

I’ve been an exerciser for most of my life. I started with Yoga in high school. From there I went to swimming, running, aerobics with Jane Fonda, Callenetics, Yoga with Racquel Welch, Step, Body for Life, elliptical, treadmill, and Water Gym . . . I love exercise, and I’ve done a lot of different types. But nothing has ever changed my body the way Pilates is changing it.

On my first visit to the studio the instructor saw I had an unstable SI joint. My lower back has bothered me for a lot of years, and no one was ever able to figure out why.  One session on the Reformer and the pain was almost gone. I was impressed. I continue to be impressed with the sessions we’re doing on the Reformer and the Cadillac. I’m being stretched in ways I didn’t know I could stretch, I’m getting stronger and I’m standing taller.   I’m striding the Earth. Yowsa.

No matter what your political views, this article in Fast Company is worth checking out. Marketing anything, including yourself usually involves creating a brand, and the brand that is Obama represents the reality of life after the Boomers. His appeal to the 18-29 year old millennial generation ( who will outnumber the Boomers by 2010) is a taste of things to come.  Evidently Obama has a secret weapon in Chris Hughes (co-founder of FaceBook), who is doing online organizing for the campaign. Can you say social networking?

I’m someone who pays attention to what goes on in advertising, and if you’re in VO you should too. Here’s the message I took away from this article.

“There is a new, authoritative consumer empowered by the Web,” says Karen Scholl, a creative director at the digital-advertising agency Resource Interactive. “And they can smell a fake.” The agency has coined the term “OPEN brand,” an acronym for on-demand, personal, engaging, and networks; it is a framework for companies to think about distributing brand messages in new ways. With Obama, “not only do people feel they know who he is, they feel trusted to share their views,” Scholl says. “And they get constant feedback from the campaign and from each other.”

Who will we be talking to in ten years? Whoever they are, it’s clear we’ll be taking to them in different places and in a different way than we are now.  Our marketing should be adjusting to this new reality too.  Twitter anyone?