Response from my Craigslist ad for piano lessons.

I wonder if people ever actually get away with this stuff? Seems like lots of businessmen/preachers/etc. and their "associates" in Nigeria do, because I still get those emails. Oh, and Great Britain National Lottery? I'm still waiting for my payout; but I prefer cashier's check. No, you may not have my banking information.


chriscoleman@yahoo.com to me



Greetings,

This is williams bill (not Chris Coleman?).I am from the United Kingdom,my son will be coming for an holiday in the United State,and i wont want him to be less busy (where did you say you're from again?),so i just want to know maybe you can always come and teach him great things (FANTASTIC things!) on Piano Lessons every afternoon.If this is possible,i will want you to get back to me with the cost of your teach ing for two weeks in october(10th-24th).He will be coming to your house for 1 hour each afternoon,2pm-3pm (presumptuous).I have someone that will always drive him down to your house (you're from where, now?) His name is Sam,he is 12 years old.I will want you to calculate 1 hour per day from Monday-Friday for the whole 2 weeks.Looking forward to read from you.
Best Regards

(wow, an Englishman who speaks worse English than any American I know! What a novelty.)

r

me to chriscoleman@yahoo.com

I'm not sure my program would fit your son. I give weekly 1/2 hour lessons for $10 each. He would need time in between to practice and learn his pieces, so a daily lesson for an hour is probably not something I can accommodate, either practically or in my schedule. I might suggest finding some other type of program, like maybe a performance group or activity program with the recreational center.

Thank you for your interest!


chriscoleman@yahoo.com to me

Greetings

Thanks very much for the mail.The price is okay wih me (thanks for your approval),he would come for 1 hour and it will be $300 for ten lessons.He will come along with his text books and all necessary accessories (no he won't, I'm not providing Tweenie daycare here),i am from the United Kingdom (you mentioned that.).I hope i will be able to trust you with my money,since this requires honesty and transparency (not much of that in the world these days, is there?).I have an associate of mine (might he be from Nigeria?) owing me the sum of $3600,i will instruct him to write out the check to you (GREAT!),so when you receive it you will have to deduct $300 the cost for ten lessons and send the remaining funds to person who will be taking care of my son during his staying in the United States(HAHAHAHAHAHA). in November.The remaining funds sent to him,will be for his feeding and other commissions (come again?).So if this is understandable (not even remotely) i will want you to get back to me with the following in formations of where the check will be sent to.

name in full
address in full
city state
zip code country
contact phone number

Looking forward to read for you

me to chriscoleman@yahoo.com

I'm sorry if my email was not clear. I do not have room in my schedule nor the desire to do an hour lesson every day. My weekly lessons are not even that long, and he would have no time to practice in between. I'm sorry but you'll have to find other arrangements for your son. Of course, since this is a total scam, you won't have to worry about that, will you?

Do not contact me again.



I'll post more if I get anything.

Camilla Kimball

When I was a teenager, I read a biography of Camilla Kimball. She was the wife of Spencer W. Kimball, who was a President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints when I was very young. She was a remarkable woman. There was so much about her that impressed me, and made me want to be better. I guess it takes an amazing woman to be wife and helpmeet to a Prophet of God.

One thing, however, really stood out. She had talked about a life lesson she learned: when you think of someone, call them. Listen to those small promptings you get. If you feel the slightest inkling to contact someone, JUST DO IT. She said the she never regretted following that advice, but there had been times that she had deeply regretted ignoring it.

I've carried that with me, but I haven't been the best about always doing it. Recently I did feel that I should call a friend, but I kept putting it off. When I finally saw her, I could see that she was really emotionally worn out and needed a friend. I told her that I had been feeling like I should call her and that I was sorry I hadn't. She let me know that she wished I had listened to that, too, because she really did need a friend.

So I am going to try harder to follow those promptings. It doesn't take long to call someone. Who knows if I am the person that they need just then? If I don't follow through, who will? We're here to lift and help each other. And so, I'm going to add this to my list of things to make my life more positive and meaningful.

My mom always said, if you want to make a friend, be a friend. I've already called a friend today. Have you?

Supporting Role

When I was a Senior in high school, I auditioned for the school musical. I had never acted or been in a play, but I loved to sing, and I wanted to do it. Like I often do, I decided that if I was going to do it, I was going to do it 100%, so I auditioned for the female lead. I got understudy. Basically that meant I got to do all of the preparation, but I would probably never be seen. I did get to do one matinee performance. I think about 10 people were there because most of the school was away at the state basketball championship with the team. Even the rest of the cast was in the green room between their scenes, listening to the game. I don't remember much of that performance, except I felt a little lost and alone and barely made it through.

Today I'm seeing my life that way. I feel like I'm behind the scenes playing supporting roles for other people. That wouldn't be bad, if I were in proper character, but sometimes I think that I've been cast all wrong. Even worse, sometimes I feel like I'm in roles I'm not equipped or prepared to be in. I'm forgetting lines, dropping props, messing up choreography all over the place. Even worse than THAT, it doesn't even seem like any of it matters. Everyone else is off doing something more important, and the little part I play today isn't really going to matter tomorrow.

I'm feeling a little lost and alone and I'm not sure I'm making it through all that well. I'm stuck in the same scene, making the same mistakes almost every time. For every mistake I fix, I make a new one. My castmates are getting frustrated with me. Surely the director is questioning my placement. The audience is bored.

So, what now? Re-write the script? Muddle through until the curtain is drawn? The show must go on, but to what end?

Getting Russ's art up

My brother-in-law, Russell, is an amazing artist. Before I knew him, my art world was limited to the cliche' Monets and Kincades hanging in so many living rooms. He has opened my eyes to the many different ways that art can be beautiful. His work is so evocative; even moreso in person. He often works in very large scale, and with his hands rather than brushes. Just seeing images of his work is very impressive; seeing them in person is amazing.

Anyway I'm working on getting a blog up for him here on Blogger. I will link it as soon as I can figure out how. Take a look, leave him some feedback, and link to your blog if you'd like. I'd love to get his name out there.

For now, you can take a look from here: http://russrummlerart.blogspot.com/

Women

How will we ever accomplish the things we want to accomplish if we just keep tearing each other apart? Think of the power that would come in lifting each other and helping each other out. Think of the mountains we could move.

Free Day!

So I got a huge wake-up call a couple of weeks ago. I went to the doctor for my annual check-up and all those wonderful things that a woman gets to endure every year. Somehow, I've managed to gain 15 pounds this year. I'm the same weight now that I was the day I went in to have my 16-month-old.

I come from husky (coughfatcough) German stock, rife with diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Aside from obvious cosmetic issues, I'm pretty freaked out for my health.

So I've started watching what I eat. No stringent plan, just really watching portions and limiting simple carbs and sugar. WELL. Thanks to fitday.com, I've come to realize that I was eating roughly twice what I need in a day. Dang. Emotional eating, mostly.

In order to avoid total failure, like all my other diets have, I'm allowing myself one Free Day. Saturday is the day that I forget that I'm on a diet and do whatever in the heck I want. Body for Life recommends it. My sanity counts on it.

The cool thing is, I find I'm not really binging at all. I don't want to mess up what I've done all week, but also I'm recognizing when I'm satisfied and enjoying the taste of things instead of just inhaling- then inhaling more. I feel so much better overall that bogging my body down with sugar just doesn't sound appealing, so I'll allow myself some, but I don't want half the pan.

Moderation works for me.

I need to add exercise into the mix, but this is the healthiest I've lived for a long time, maybe ever. Even my attitude is healthier. I'm starting to see and feel a little bit of difference already, and that feels good. Mostly, I love being in control of things again. Having no order or control or limits on what I was eating really didn't feel good. I guess that could be an analogy for a lot of things. Fill in the blank.

My favorite song

Lately my favorite song is "Reasons Why" by Nickel Creek. I've heard it a hundred times, but a few months ago it was like I was hearing it for the first time, and it really resonated with me. It was one of the things that pushed me towards being more honest with myself. Being realistic about my faults and my good points, and being more responsible and accountable for my life and the things I do. I always had reasons, but if you really cut away at so many of those reasons they are excuses, and they can be overcome. Also about how we can so easily and quickly slip away from where we want to be. How we can make choices that adversely affect our circumstances, and still blame God even though it's our own agency that brought us to the "ladder against the wrong wall" Here are the words:

Where am I today, I wish that I knew
'Cause looking around there's no sign of you
I don't remember one jump or one leap
Just quiet steps away from your lead

I'm holding my heart out but clutching it too
Feeling this short of a love that we once knew
I'm calling this home when it's not even close
Playing the role with nerves left exposed

Standing on a darkened stage
Stumbling through the lines
Others have excuses
But I have my reasons why

We get distracted by the dreams of our own
But nobody's happy while feeling alone
And knowing how hard it hurts when we fall
We lean another ladder against the wrong wall

And climb high to the highest rung
To shake fists at the sky
While others have excuses
I have my reasons why

With so much deception
It's hard not to wander away
It's hard not to wander away
It's hard not to wander away