Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Confessions of a car singer

I love to sing.  But not in public.  I don't think I'm a terrible singer, but I'm not good either.  As a result of that, I sing in the car.  Loudly, proudly, and constantly.  Unless, of course, the husband is with me.  I sing alone in the car.  Yes, I'm one of those crazy looking people who sing away regardless of other drivers staring and laughing at us.  Sometimes, if I'm lucky, the person in front of me in the left lane on the freeway will think I'm having an episode of road rage at them and will move over out of my way.  All they see is this crazy woman voicing something LOUDLY and assume it is anger directed at them.  Well, sometimes it is, but mostly it's me and some good singin' tunes. 

As I've mentioned ad nauseaum, I commute a sizable distance every day to work.  Now that I've transferred to UWM, I don't go to Sheboygan two to three times a week, so my singing time has been cut a bit.  Still, I manage to belt out tunes on the 45 minute drive one way to work.  What do I sing you ask?  Well, a mixed variety of classic rock, goofy tunes, show tunes, classical music, and opera.  I can hit soprano notes after some warm up, and there are days I'm good and can sing in tune and days I'm horrible and dogs are howling all the way to Milwaukee.  Then, there are just the good driving tunes that are fun.  Sometimes I think I'm performing and think about how different my life would be if I had chosen that path, and sometimes I sing just because it's easier to do that than to think about life at that moment. 

  I find that car singing is a great way to leave my work issues behind.  My job is pretty high on the aggravation factor, and some days it really proves it.  Today, was a perfect storm of first of the month (all financials are due), a half day because of school, work not being or getting done, crazy coworkers who didn't realize it is May 1st (or didn't care), and the current evil that is Ascension Health Project Symphony.  I'm not going to go into detail about Symphony because it has taken an hour at the Y, a slow drive home, a very hot shower, and pizza to put my anger away for the night.  But, needless to say, I was belting out tunes with Jackie (Evancho) all the way home.  I don't understand a word of Latin, but I can make the sounds pretty evenly.  She, however, has a perfect voice and I still marvel at her range and maturity.  She is one of the few people I've heard who I think has a real gift from God.  Anyway, I love singing with her because most of her pieces are slower and I can change pitch easier with her than with others.  Say, the Queen of the Night aria from Mozart's Magic Flute.  I can't quite hit those high notes, but I can get most of the piece.

There you have it.  I'm a car singin' maniac and I freely confess it.  I'm not sure what I'll do when I get one of those fancy cars that listens to you when you talk.  I wonder if I'll have to get ear plugs for the car?

 

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