Hi! Mommy finally came back from NYC this weekend! It's been the longest time. I was so happy when she came home with grandma I ran around her in circles to show how ecstatic I was that she's finally home! Mommy told me I should formally introduce myself to the world, and I've never really done that before (though I have appeared online before). Here I go:

When I was little, barely covered in fluff, I had to go around the streets looking for food. Then, a long time later, some nice people found me under a bridge where I was digging through some people food that smelled really odd and brought me back to a place with big lights and doors. There, they gave me some doggie food and lots of water. Then, one day, I woke up, and my belly was all sore. Soon after, I was moved to my own room. 

The people kept talking about the SPCA while I was in my own room. There were different people there all the time, but I didn't like them very much. They wanted to pick me up and pet me, but I didn't like it. And then, one day, mommy came in and I took one sniff and realized that she is my human! I jumped into her arms and she cuddled me for an hour straight! Then she left and I was so sad I didn't want to eat anything. I thought she'd never come back! But the next day, she came back with grandma and grandpa, and I've been with her ever since.

I try to be a good girl. I potty trained myself and I never complained. When I was little, I'd defeat all of my squishy opponents and tear out their stuffings. But these days, I prefer to cuddle with them instead and only chew on mommy's underwear.

When I was one, mommy brought home a little black squishy thing. He had the biggest ears I've ever seen! I thought he was a toy, so I tried to bite him and tear out his stuffings, too. But then he looked at me and sniffed me! Well, I was so scared I jumped and ran around while that little thing chased me! It was really quite embarrassing. Eventually, I got it through my head that he's my little brother his name is Milo. But, oh gosh is he annoying. He is always following me and cuddling up to me. Can't a girl just get some peace and quiet once in a while?

When I was four, grandpa drove Milo and me from home where the weather is nice and we're close to the beach to a place where it's scalding for a long time and then freezing for a long time and then scalding again. I mean, what's that white stuff on the ground and what does it do besides make my paws all cold and numb? 

Now I'm six and my favorite thing to do is help mommy with cooking. She always puts things on the ground for me to eat. Sometimes she throws things on the ground and then yell at me when I try to eat it and feed it to the trash can. I wish I were the trash can. He gets all the good stuff. 

Some hobbies of mine: cuddling with mommy in bed (though she has recently moved our cuddling to the bath tub... But there's no water so I guess it's okay), eating Greenies (those things are so yummy), taking walks outside (preferably without Milo, but that doesn't happen often), and sitting behind mommy while she works at her desk. My biggest pet peeve is that mommy sometimes leaves me with grandpa without any warning for a long period of time, and I don't get to see her. My dream is for mommy to be home all the time and for Milo to disappear when I don't want him to be here and reappear when I get lonely. Also, I wish mommy would stop holding me while she practices. She used to squeeze me too tight but now she's gotten a little better, but it's still loud. 

So that's a little bit about me. I'll probably be writing a couple more posts in the future. Nice talking to you! Have a good day and I wish you many Greenies in the future. 

I did a thing this week! I moved to New York City with my boyfriend to pursue my dreams of being a successful musical theatre performer. It’s terrifying, I’m not going to lie. Now that I’m here, “living too far away” is no longer a valid reason to not go to auditions anymore. All that is left is my crippling fear of failure. *forced laugh turns into crying*

Now, I’ve moved many times (like… in the double digits times) in my 22 years of life. They’ve all been quite painful. But this time, I think I’ve finally figured the moving thing out, and I’m here to pass on my new-found knowledge. Here are 8 tips to make moving less painful for everyone involved.

1. Figure out your primary goal for your space: ours was to maximize living space, so we opted for no coffee table to keep the living room open.
   
2. Decide what you can’t live without: Robbie brought all of his editing and camera gear (I mean, that’s what he does for a living) while I brought my keyboard and my vocal cords (and also sheet music and some monologues, too).
   
3. Be honest with yourself about exactly how much you are going to cook: do you really need 10 pots and 3 coffee makers? Are you seriously going to cook three meals a day and bake treats for your dogs? A clean and spacious kitchen will make you more productive than a cluttered, disorganized mess.
   
4. Figure out a theme for your decor: Robbie likes movies. I like musical. Luckily for us, those things kind of go together. Deciding on a theme for your space will make your home feel coherent and inviting while decreasing clutter.
   
5. Less is more: I chose to go the minimalist route, which is especially important this time because it’s a one-bedroom New York City apartment. I packed only the things that give me true joy (not nostalgia because that’s like… everything). And I carefully found homes for all of them.
   
6. Take your time: Whenever my little dachshund, Milo, goes to a new place, he runs around and sniffs at everything before he inevitably pees on something important and claims it has his own. *MINE* Although I don’t suggest peeing on the floor anywhere, I do think that his philosophy is valid. Familiarize yourself thoroughly with your new space before giving things permanent spots and putting your personal touches on it.
   
7. Ask for help from hungry friends: What are friends for if not to help you move from one cave to a slightly nicer cave? Just make sure to feed them and water them, and to return the favor when they move.
   
8. Don’t rush the process of settling in: Presumably, you’ve just moved from a very familiar place where you’ve lived for a prolonged period of time to a brand new place. It probably feels a little jarring and not quite your own yet. But don’t rush the process of settling in. It will happen organically and naturally within the next two weeks to a month. Before you know it, everything will have a place and you will be calling your house a home.
   

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When I was auditioning for colleges four years ago, I was lucky enough to have been offered a practice room 15 minutes before my audition at all of the locations. Of course, when auditioning to be a classical voice major at a college, you typically audition in the music building which contains an abundance of sound-dampening practice rooms. Then, when I was auditioning for Avenue Q at Rhino Theatre last December, I stayed in my car and warmed up before I went in. And then, just last month, I went for my first audition in New York City. Being that it was in a studio, I did not have the option of warming up (after the initial morning warm up) in a practice room or my car. I ended up going into the girls' bathroom just to do some sirens in private. 

​I came home after the audition and went on Facebook. In what was sure to be creepy proof that your phone listens to you and tracks your every move, an advertisement for Beltbox: "a portable voice dampener for performers" popped up. It claimed to let you "take the warm-up room with you" and is great for "warming up in the shower." Okay. I'm intrigued. 

​Three days and 50 bucks later, the Beltbox showed up at my door in an Amazon box. The back cover claimed to allow the user to:

• ​Warm-up to full voice without disturbing those around you.
• Dampens voice while allowing user to hear what they are singing.
• Perfect for use in auditions, dorms, while traveling, backstage, etc.
• Acts as a sound-isolation shield for Voice-Over recordings.​

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The box came with the mask as well as a carrying pouch and a hands-free strap (not pictured). Excited, I promptly put it through a rigorous test by singing my whole senior recital program into it (not really, but basically). Here is what I've found:

​For Musical Theatre and Contemporary Music:

• ​​When singing into the Beltbox, there is a small pressure build-up, which is helpful in learning how to belt.
• The Beltbox simulates the feeling of being magnified by a microphone, making practicing musical theatre rep easier.
• When singing at full volume in the middle voice, the Beltbox dampened the sound to approximately a light speaking volume. 
• When pinching the nose holes on the mask, it became much quieter to the volume of a murmur, though I had to remove the mask to breathe in between phrases. 

For Classical Music and Opera:

• ​The blocked air flow made singing high notes difficult. I found myself falling off of my breath and going into marked singing at and above my secondo passaggio. 
• The pressure build up is greater when singing classically than when singing musical theatre. It became quite uncomfortable on my face. However, this was fixed when I loosened my grip and held the mask slightly away from my face. 
• As with the musical theatre singing, I had to remove the mask to breathe in between phrases. The difference is I had to do this regardless as to whether I pinched the nose holes or not. 
• As classical singing puts out more volume because of the lack of external amplification in the art form, it is much more difficult for the Beltbox to contain the sound. In the middle and low voice, the mask does fairly well, bringing it to the volume of a loud speaking voice. In the high voice, though, the mask does very little to dampen the sound. 
• I found myself pushing and straining while singing into the Beltbox, perhaps because of the change in breath pressure. However, this was fixed by reevaluating my breath and alignment and focusing on my technique. 

​The Beltbox accomplishes what it sets out to do: dampening your voice. I've used it a couple of times when other people were napping. When they woke up later, they did not report hearing my practice sessions. It has also made it easier for me to practice my belting due to the small pressure build up within the mask.

As to whether it is worth its $49.99 price tag, it depends. I think if you are a musical theatre performer or contemporary singing, this would be great for you. You'd be able to warm-up without disturbing others and hone your belting skills. It would also be great for high school and college students, or anyone living in an apartment. If you're a classical singer, however, I'd pass on this. The sound reduction is minimal and it messes with the breathe. Ultimately, I shouldn't have been surprised that this nifty little mask favors the contemporary singer. It is called BELT-box after all. 

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