Rock and Roll Saved My Soul

April 26, 2020: I don't really know how I'm feeling these days. Meh, maybe. I don't know. I feel like I'm not doing much other than existing and even that is hard because right now I don't even want to exist. It's not that I want to be dead, I just don't exactly want to exist right now.  I get up and I go to work and I come home and sleep and do it all over again. Even my days off aren't great. Though they really should be, because I'm writing again and I feel like I'm making great progress with it, but I still feel off. I hope this feeling passes soon.

Have you been to an awesome concert or just had a really good experience at one? In this anthology you will find stories talking about epic concerts. Stories that changed lives, stories that have opened eyes and hearts to new things, and stories that have taken people on a new journey. Follow these adventures and maybe you too will be inspired to go to a concert in the future and make some of your own memories, have a life changing experience, or maybe just a great time. All proceeds from this book will be donated to Rock the Cause. Rock the Cause is a Minnesota based charity that use the power of music, community, and social media to create a new generation of stewardship for other non-profit causes. Amazon Goodreads

Israel’s Independence Day is celebrated on the fifth day of the month of Iyar, which is the Hebrew date of the formal establishment of the State of Israel, when members of the “provisional government” read and signed a Declaration of Independence in Tel Aviv. The original date corresponded to May 14, 1948. Most of the Jewish communities in the Western world have incorporated this modern holiday into their calendars, but some North American Jewish communities hold the public celebrations on a following Sunday in order to attract more participation. In the State of Israel it is a formal holiday, so almost everyone has the day off. Yom Ha’atzmaut in Israel is always preceded by Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day for the fallen soldiers. The message of linking these two days is clear: Israelis owe their independence — the very existence of the state — to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for it. The “Switch” The official “switch” from Yom Hazikaron to Yom Ha’atz...

Freedom Day on 27 April is an annual celebration of South Africa's first non-racial democratic elections of 1994. It is significant because it marks the end of over three hundred years of colonialism, segregation and white minority rule and the establishment of a new democratic government led by Nelson Mandela and a new state subject to a new constitution.  The holding of the first non racial elections was the culmination of years of struggle and a negotiated settlement which led to the unbanning of the liberation organisations, the release of political prisoners and the return of exiles and the formal all party negotiations which drafted an interim constitution. The moment which changed the path of South African history came after long and tension-ridden negotiations held between 1991 and 1992. The South African government, the African National Congress (ANC), the South African Communist Party (SACP) and other liberation movements engaged in these talks. The 1994 ele...

Has music had a positive impact on you? Changed your life? Or even saved you? For us, it has. In this book, you will find a collection of stories, letters, and poetry about how music has personally changed our lives. Each story is unique, each story is true. Filled with emotion, passion, and love for the bands and songs that have touched our lives. All proceeds from this book will be donated to Rock the Cause. Rock the Cause is a Minnesota based charity that use the power of music, community, and social media to create a new generation of stewardship for other non-profit causes. Amazon Goodreads

4-24-20: This week has been stressful but not. I started working on my book again this week. I have got almost two full chapters wrote out. I'll finish chapter 16 tonight and start chapter 17 Sunday night. I been coloring more too, alone and with the kids. I still have days where being stuck in the house really sucks. I had to get out and walk today. My knees were really bugging me for some reason. Not sure why. I got word I go back to work the 3rd of May. We see if that happens or not. They say a lot of things right now and change their minds. I know it will be good for my knee, but at same time still scares me. Just one day at a time I guess.

Arbor Day (or Arbour in some countries) is a holiday in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant trees. Today, many countries observe such a holiday. Though usually observed in the spring, the date varies, depending on climate and suitable planting season. First Arbor Day in the world The Spanish village of Mondoñedo held the first documented arbor plantation festival in the world organized by its mayor in 1594. The place remains as Alameda de los Remedios and it is still planted with lime and horse-chestnut trees. A humble granite marker and a bronze plate recall the event. Additionally, the small Spanish village of Villanueva de la Sierra held the first modern Arbor Day, an initiative launched in 1805 by the local priest with the enthusiastic support of the entire population. While Napoleon was ravaging Europe with his ambition in this village in the Sierra de Gata lived a priest, don Juan Abern Samtrés, which, according to the chronicles, "convinced ...

April 22, 2020: I don't really have much to report this week. It's just the same old things I've been feeling since this all began. Nothing is getting any better. I'm doing the best I can, but that's not really any place good. I'm trying, so I guess that's something. 

THE FIRST EARTH DAY Every year on April 22, Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. As we prepare to mark 50 years of Earth Day in 2020, let’s take a look at the last half-century of mobilization for action: ORIGINS OF EARTH DAY Earth Day 1970 gave a voice to an emerging public consciousness about the state of our planet —  In the decades leading up to the first Earth Day, Americans were consuming vast amounts of leaded gas through massive and inefficient automobiles. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of the consequences from either the law or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. Until this point, mainstream America remained largely oblivious to environmental concerns and how a polluted environment threatens human health. However, the stage was set for change with the publication of Rachel Carson’s New York Times bestseller Silent Spring in 1962. T...

What does kindness mean to you? Would you go out of your way to help another? Or has someone gone out of their way for you? We can change the world with these simple acts of kindness, by simply helping another person in their time of need. In this book you will find stories to enlighten, inspire, or move you, as you read about the spontaneous and planned acts of kindness bestowed upon others. All proceeds from this book will be donated to Rock the Cause. Rock the Cause is a Minnesota based charity that uses the power of music, community, and social media to create a new generation of stewardship for other non-profit causes. Featuring: Jen Lea Robbins Clarissa Simmens M.J. Rain Sandy Ashley Renee Jean Abhishek Vipul Thakkar Tristen Klingensmith Kate Marie Robbins R. H. Ali Colleen Robbins Jasmine McGhee C. N. Christensen Twinkle (Sugandha) Varshney Anthony R. Jaggasar Gwen Selix Andrea L. Staum Yvonne K. Anderson Amazon Goodreads...

"Changing the World, One Story at a Time" Has music had a positive impact on you? Changed your life? Or even saved you? For us, it has. In this book, you will find a collection of stories, letters, and poetry about how music has personally changed our lives. Each story is unique, each story is true. Filled with emotion, passion, and love for the bands and songs that have touched our lives. All proceeds from this book will be donated to Rock the Cause. Rock the Cause is a Minnesota based charity that use the power of music, community, and social media to create a new generation of stewardship for other non-profit causes. This book includes pieces from:  Kate Marie Robbins Declan Kaba Andrea L. Staum Lauren Hartley Julie Young Melissa Jean Anderson Taren Paige Stacy Ashley Clarissa Simmens Jen Lea Robbins Terra Gray J.E. Haldeman Sandy Ashley Chall-Chan Inuzuka Arminta Dellow Abhishek Vipul Thakkar Heather Kirchhoff Je...

About Oral Cancer Awareness Month April is Oral Cancer Awareness month and OCF would like to invite you to join us in our national screening campaign to end oral cancer! Oral Cancer awareness in the American public is low. Approximately 53,000 people in the U.S. will be newly diagnosed with oral cancer this year. 132 new people in the US EVERY DAY will be newly diagnosed with an oral cancer, and that one person EVERY HOUR OF THE DAY, 24/7/365 will die from it While smoking and tobacco use are still major risk factors, the fastest growing segment of oral cancer patients is young, healthy, nonsmoking individuals due to the connection to the HPV virus. We cannot stop this virus from spreading; our only hope to save lives is with professional involvement and public awareness. This is your opportunity to get involved and give back to your community in hopes to raise oral cancer awareness and the need for early detection in order to save lives. Together, we have the opportunity t...

4-17-20: This week. Let's see. Overall I guess hasn't been too bad. Couple migraines. Been trying really hard to take my one pill twice a day like she wants. That has not been easy for me. My knee was pretty bad over the last week. Physical therapy was pretty painful. As much as I dislike most of the people I work around I would really love to go back to work. My knee hurts way less when I was work 40 hours a week. Some days my depression is really bad and others it's not bad. I did find out though that Idaho is on lock down til the end of the month. I won't get to see my older kids til at least next month maybe. Just have to see I guess on that. I mean I did see my oldest for about 5 mins cause his dad's girlfriend had come to get her kids in Utah so that was good. Just miss them both a lot. I usually don't mind stay home, but honestly I'm tired of staying home at this point. I'm slowly losing my mind over it. Thank you though to those still worki...

About Burmese New Year Burmese New Year takes place at the culmination of the Thingyan Water Festival. The New Year holidays are usually extended to the public sector and bolted on to the end of the Thingyan holidays. Traditions of Burmese New Year After three days of partying and soaking everybody during Thingyan, the celebrations begin to recede and the traditional New Year's Day customs take centre stage. Like other New Years, this is a day to make fresh resolutions for the coming year, usually about changing bad behaviour and promising to do more good deeds for karma. An unusual custom is releasing fish. Before the day, The fish are rescued from lakes and rivers that are drying up. They are kept in huge glazed earthen pots and jars before being released on New Year's Day into larger lakes and rivers with a prayer and a wish saying "I release you once, you release me ten times". On New Year's Day, people offer food called Satuditha...

April 12, 2020: Sorry for the lack of an entry last week. Work was hell and I only had one day off, so I just didn't get to much of anything. I'm trying now though.  I'm about the same as before mentally and emotionally. A friend pointed out she's feeling the strain from being an empath and I'd never thought about that. I am an empath, so that might be triggering a lot of stuff for me. But at least I kind of know why I'm feeling the way I am.  In other news, we have to wear masks at work now. Which sucks and is stressful on its own, but I discovered whatever the disposable masks are made from, I'm allergic to it. I got a horrible, itchy rash. My face felt like it was on fire. It was awful. Luckily, a friend got me a few cloth ones. And now Mom is working on making some. Very thankful for the people I have supporting me through these terrible times. 

National Child Abuse Prevention Month, also known as Child Abuse Prevention Month in America, is an annual observance in the United States dedicated to raising awareness and preventing child abuse. April has been designated Child Abuse Prevention Month in the United States since 1983. U.S. President Barack Obama continued that tradition, and in 2016 issued a Presidential proclamation stating: "During National Child Abuse Prevention Month, we recommit to giving every child a chance to succeed and to ensuring that every child grows up in a safe, stable, and nurturing environment that is free from abuse and neglect." Purpose of National Child Abuse Prevention Month The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that for National Child Abuse Prevention Month, communities should rededicate themselves to being supportive of families, and play an active role in preventing child abuse and neglect as well as taking positive action to promote child and family well-...

About Khmer New Year: Khmer New Year generally falls on the 13th or 14th of April, every year, as per the ancient Khmer horoscope reading. It goes on for three consecutive days, and it marks the official end of the harvest season in Cambodia and the commencement of the rainy season. Like other local celebrations in Cambodia, the Khmer New Year is also all about practising the best of rituals and traditions. Each of these three days of celebration has its name along with a particular associated traditional concept. Three Days Of Khmer Celebrations: Day 1 - Moha Songkran - The Day of Blessings: Moha Songkran is the first day of the New Year celebrations and the inauguration of the Khmer New Year. Customs: On this day, each member of the family has to work hard in cleaning and decorating the house in the best possible way, along with arranging foods & drinks on a table for welcoming the angels. The Buddhist followers usually prepare some meals and offer to the ...

Sorry this is a day late!  Easter, which celebrates the resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ, is a holiday actually based on an ancient Pagan ritual. Unlike most holidays, Easter does not fall on the same set date each year. Instead, Christians in the West celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the full moon of the vernal equinox on March 21. Therefore, Easter is celebrated each year between March 22 and April 25. The exact origins of Easter are unknown, but some sources believe that the word “Easter” is taken from the Teutonic goddess of fertility and spring – Eostre. Easter has also been traced to the Latin words Hebdomada Alba – meaning white week – referencing Easter week in which white clothing is worn by people who get baptized. The Pagan ritual of the Spring Equinox is a celebration of renewed life and the change that comes with spring. This solar festival is celebrated when the length of the day and the length of the night are equal, which occurs twi...

4-10-20: Mentally I'm not ok. Physically my knee seems to be getting worse. It's getting worse. I think we out of work for all of April. I know I can get money from my boyfriend if I need it, but I'm not sure if unemployment will pay my bills. Which makes me sad because I paid a couple credit cards off with taxes. Weather is getting nicer and I can't take my kids anywhere. I haven't seen my older kids in like almost a month. I'm not able to stream on twitch. Which doesn't help my mental health either. That was a really good thing for me. I'm just slowly falling apart and nothing I can do about it. I'm having a hard time remembering to take some of my meds twice a day. I don't know what to do anymore honestly.

April is Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month and raising awareness of esophageal cancer is important because it is one of the fastest-growing cancer diagnoses in the US. Nearly 18,000 new cases are diagnosed annually. In the last 30 years, there has been an over 600 percent increase in esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is typically found in the lower region of the esophagus and has been linked to acid reflux.  “This increasing incidence gives cause for great concern due to the fact that esophageal cancer is often diagnosed in late stages,” said Mark Stern, MD with DeKalb Gastroenterology Associates, LLC. “The American Cancer Society estimates that over 15,000 Americans die from esophageal cancer each year and  survival rate is low when diagnosed in an advanced stage.” Although esophageal cancer is not entirely preventable, knowing the risk factors and recognizing the symptoms is important and can lead to earlier diagnosis. Chronic heartburn can lead to Barrett’s e...

In 1970, the Autism Society launched an ongoing nationwide effort to promote autism awareness and assure that all affected by autism are able to achieve the highest quality of life possible.  In 1972, the Autism Society launched the first annual National Autistic Children’s week, which evolved into National Autism Awareness Month (NAAM). This April, we continue our efforts to spread awareness, promote acceptance, and ignite change. The Autism Society of America, the nation’s oldest leading grassroots autism organization, is is proud to celebrate National Autism Awareness Month  in April 2020 with the its new “Celebrate Differences” campaign. Designed to build a better awareness of the signs, symptoms, and realities of autism, #CelebrateDifferences focuses on providing information and resources for  communities to be more aware of autism, promote acceptance, and be more inclusive in everyday life. The Autism Society recognizes that the prevalence of autis...

When is Mahavir Jayanti? Mahavir Jayanti is the most important religious holiday in Jainism. This is a gazetted holiday which means that government offices and most businesses are closed. History of Mahavir Jayanti The holiday is celebrated on the 13th day of the waxing (rising) half of Hindu month of Caitra which usually occurs in either late March or early April in the Gregorian calendar. Mahavir Jayanti celebrates the birth of Mahavira, a contemporary of the Buddha, and the 24th and last Tirthankara (great sages). Mahavira, known originally as Vardhamana, was born in either 599 BC or 615 BC. The Digambar school of Jainism say that Lord Mahavira was born in the year 615 BC, but the Swetambaras believe that He was born in 599 BC. However, both sects believe that Mahavira was the son of Siddhartha and Trisala. According to the legend, Devananda, wife of a Brahmin named Rishabhdeva, conceived him, but the gods transferred the embryo to the womb of Trisala. ...

Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. In most liturgical churches Palm Sunday is celebrated by the blessing and distribution of palm branches or the branches of other native trees representing the palm branches the crowd scattered in front of Christ as he rode into Jerusalem. The difficulty of procuring palms in unfavorable climates led to their substitution with branches of native trees, including box, olive, willow, and yew. The Sunday was often named after these substitute trees, as in Yew Sunday, or by the general term Branch Sunday. Source:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Sunday

I worked 1 day this week. Which isn't a problem at all. My country finally out a stay at home order into effect just the other day. Which we were doing anyway cause we want to keep our family safe as we can. I already have no idea when I'm seeing my older kids at this point. So that sucks, but I ordered Easter stuff for everyone. $200 bucks later. Ouch. Lol worth it though. I would do anything for my kiddos. They are my world. I saw the Dr about my head again. I just need to get in the habit of taking my one meds twice a day. I'm trying just hard it happens about every other day. Lol my boyfriend mom got tested for coronavirus thankfully that came back yesterday and was negitive. Which was a relief. That was causing me a lot of stress because the kids had spent some time over there from when we went to the store and our anniversary. So I was in full mom freak out mode. Hahaha we shall see what the next week brings me though. Rumor at work is we may be down through...

The Qingming or Ching Ming festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day in English (sometimes also called Chinese Memorial Day or Ancestors' Day), is a traditional Chinese festival observed by the Han Chinese of Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and by the Chitty of Malaysia and Singapore. It falls on the first day of the fifth solar term of the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. This makes it the 15th day after the Spring Equinox, either 4, 5 or 6 April in a given year. During Qingming, Chinese families visit the tombs of their ancestors to clean the gravesites, pray to their ancestors, and make ritual offerings. Offerings would typically include traditional food dishes, and the burning of joss sticks and joss paper. The holiday recognizes the traditional reverence of one's ancestors in Chinese culture. The Qingming Festival has been observed by the Chinese for over 2500 years. It became a public holiday in mainland ...

April 2, 2020: I'm definitely not doing okay. I wish I could cope with everything that's going on, but I don't know how. I saw this wonderful post that I will share with you that explains sort of how I'm feeling, because I don't think I could accurately describe it.  Originally posted by SayWhat Creations For me it feels like that damn hurricane. I don't know why I feel that way, but I do. It's become so bad, my stress level that is, that I've developed an eye twitch. Things are getting more and more stressful at work. I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to be there, but I can't afford to stay home until this is all over either. Just trying to take it one day at a time right now.  I also need some face masks for work that aren't cheap disposable ones, but I can't afford anything. I guess I'll have to wait until I get that money from the government. And make do with the one I have from work. 

The Homeless Gospel Choir, also known as Derek Zanetti, is a folk-punk musician from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. His act consists of his voice, his emotions, and his acoustic guitar. He's signed to A-F Records and has released five albums to date. His debut album, "Some People Never Go Anywhere," was released in 2010, "You Work So Hard to Be Like Everyone Else," in 2011, Luxury Problems, his third was released in 2012; and his fourth album, I Used To Be So Young, which was released in 2014, contains his hit song, "Untitled". Most of his songs revolve around the topics of politics and mental health. Discography: Some People Never Go Anywhere (2010) You Work So Hard Just to Be Like Everyone Else (2011) Luxury Problems (2012) I Used To Be So Young (2014) Normal (2017) This Land Is Your Landfill (2020) Social Media:  Facebook Website Instagram Twitter Where to Buy/Listen to Music: YouTube iTunes Amazon Google Play...