Rick Vargas Southfield

Today, on the Rick Vargas Michigan blog, I write about music and its effect on influence.

Music is used in advertising, in stores, in medical offices, and other places to continuously evoke a feeling. Music influences us to buy certain items, to feel a certain way, and help us feel emotionally invested in something. Whatever it is that the influencing party wants us to feel. You might be watching television, and music comes on to make you feel emotional, so you feel more of a connection with the characters. You might be at a dentist appointment, and soft, classical music is playing to help you feel calm and relaxed. You might be at a basketball game, and suddenly upbeat, dance music is playing to help you feel excited to root on your favorite team. Music plays such a vital role in our everyday lives and we probably do not even realize it!

Music has such a powerful influence on our society as we know it today. It improves our mood. It increases productivity (as written about in my previous blog post). It can help stimulate intellectual growth. It can reduce stress. Music has such amazing power that I encourage everyone to use music as much as they can as it can help people in so many different ways. Musicians may not even realize the power of music and how what they are performing can have such an influence on society.

I write this blog post to emphasize the importance of music in everything we do. Whether you pay attention to it or not, music is the soundtrack of our lives.

Thank you for visiting the Rick Vargas Michigan blog.

You can find out more about me at https://www.scenariostationmusic.com

And at https://www.ricardovargasmichigan.com

Today, on the Ricardo Vargas Southfield blog, I am going to write about music and motivation.

When I compose music, I want it to evoke a feeling – whether it be an emotion (future blog post on music and emotion will be coming soon!) or simply feeling something. What that something is, is up to the person listening to the music. You can make what you want of it. I never want my music to tell you how to feel. We are all in our own moments and will feel what we want to feel.

However, motivation is a different feeling. Music can motivate you to exercise, to do housework, to energize yourself for whatever is coming at you on any given day.

When I was in college, I did a psychology project using music and motivation. I had students complete a very boring task, involving moving washers around a board. Some students had music playing during this task, other students (the control group) had no music playing -only their thoughts. Can you guess which students completed the task quicker? You are right – the ones who had the music playing. The particular song I had selected had a strong beat, a powerful melody, and loud instruments. It was not a soft song, where one could feel relaxed. This particular song pushed everyone forward and gave them energy and motivation to complete the task at hand. Without the music, the task was very dull and it was not completed quickly.

The next time you need to complete a task that seems mundane or one where you have no motivation to complete, turn on a song. You will be surprised and amazed the amount of energy the right song at the right time can give you.

Thank you for visiting the Rick Vargas Southfield blog.

Thanks for visiting my blog at https://www.rick-vargas-southfield.com

You can find out more about me at https://www.scenariostationmusic.com

And at https://www.ricardovargasmichigan.com

Today on the Rick Vargas Southfield blog, I wanted to write about seasons of life.

There are periods of my life that are very busy, periods that are a little slower, and periods of my life where everything seems to be working against me. I feel as though we all have seasons within our lives that ebb and flow. Seasons where we need a fresh start and seasons where the familiar is all I want. Busy seasons, slow seasons, and seasons in between.

Right now, life is hectic. I feel as though I am pulled in many different directions and still need to have one foot in another direction. All that being said, life is good. I appreciate being busy because it makes me appreciate the slower times, when I can stop and take a breath. When I can relax and not feel guilty because I have been moving at 100 miles per hour.

Life is a reflective, ever-evolving season that keeps on going. When I stop and think about the seasons of life, it really causes me to slow down and appreciate everything around me. Without the seasons, it would be boring and uneventful. We all needs seasons to keep us going and give us motivation to give more.

Reflecting back on the ebbs and flows of my life humbles me. You realize when you get older how quickly time does go. Because of this, I want to slow down and smell the roses. When you are constantly on a schedule and making sure everything is where it needs to be, it is so easy to take everything for granted. It is much harder to stop and appreciate the small things in life.

Writing this blog post helps me to appreciate the small things. Thank you for listening.

Thank you for visiting the Rick Vargas Southfield blog.

Thanks for visiting my blog at https://www.rick-vargas-southfield.com

You can find out more about me at https://www.scenariostationmusic.com

And at https://www.ricardovargasmichigan.com

Today on the Rick Vargas Southfield blog, I want to write about summer. It’s hard to believe August will be coming to an end as quickly as it started. When I say that, I mean it. All of a sudden, it was August 1^st. And now, all of a sudden it’s the back end of August. Why does time fly so quickly? Is it because we are having fun?

I think I would be hard pressed to find someone who does not like the summer season. I can truly say it’s one of my favorite seasons, right up there with fall. Summertime brings with it late nights, hanging out at a bonfire, under the stars, needing nothing more than maybe a hooded sweatshirt on a cooler night. Of course, there are more insects that we need to worry about, but nothing some bug repellant or a citronella candle won’t fix!

Ice cream, the sun rising super early, fresh mornings, jumping into a cold pool and it feeling really refreshing – all of these things are the best in the summer.

Summer brings me back to some of my best memories as a kid, and having so much fun, with no concept of time and the summer coming to an end. As an adult, you realize how quickly time can fly and I have really tried to be in the moment as much as I can.

With fall right around the corner, which happens to be my second favorite season, I think of it as a time to reset and a fresh start. The crispy leaves, the smell of the air, the cooler mornings, all make me appreciate the summer I had and what I can look forward to next year.

Thank you for visiting the Rick Vargas Southfield blog.

Thanks for visiting my blog at https://www.rick-vargas-southfield.com

You can find out more about me at https://www.scenariostationmusic.com

And at https://www.ricardovargasmichigan.com

Today, on the Rick Vargas Southfield blog, I write about dogs. Who doesn’t love a dog? Dogs make me happy, they give me comfort, and in general, they are just good therapy. My dog, Rufus, is twelve years old, and he is truly my best friend. I have had him since he was a puppy – just twelve weeks old. I have been through ups and downs with him, and he has been by my side through everything. He is an amazing dog and I do not think another dog could compare to him.

As a puppy, I would take Rufus everywhere with me – dog parks, nature trails, downtown areas, to my parents’ house. He was like my kid. As life changed and got more hectic, I would still bring my dog with me but just not as often. Rufus would still try to jump into the car and would look at me like “aren’t you bringing me with you?”. I had a couple of incidents with him as a puppy – he once chewed the rubber cover off my iPod, but never once touched the iPod, oddly enough; he chewed through a remote control and burned his tongue on the batteries (had to take him to the emergency vet for that one!); he got stung by a bee on his paw; he had a couple of random trembles that again, I had to take him to the emergency vet to get him checked out.

He has these eyes that are still like a puppy and will never change. He is my boy through and through.

As Rufus has gotten older, this has made me reflect on having man’s best friend with me for more than twelve years. He truly is the best dog one could ask for and when people ask me if I will have another dog once Rufus goes, my answer is I really don’t know. I don’t know that any dog can compare to him.

I wanted this blog post on the Rick Vargas Southfield blog to be a tribute to my dog, Rufus, man’s best friend, a Rat Terrier and a beautiful soul at heart.

Thanks for visiting my blog at https://www.rick-vargas-southfield.com

You can find out more about me at https://www.scenariostationmusic.com

And at https://www.ricardovargasmichigan.com

Today on my blog, Rick Vargas Southfield, I am writing about the joy of music. I am Rick Vargas, Music Producer.

What is music? Music is my blood, my energy, my being – music is me. I love music. I love the way it makes me feel, the way it makes others feel, and the motivation and strength it gives me.

As a Music Producer, I am engrained in music. I have been making music since I was a little kid. I have never been professionally trained or taught how to play an instrument or how to read music. It’s always been from my heart. I play what I feel and I make music depending on my mood.

I appreciate every genre of music. I love to incorporate different types of music into the music I create but you can always tell when it’s a song I have made. I always incorporate a bit of myself in each piece I make.

When I was in college, I did a study on music and how it motivates you. I put together a board for participants to move pieces around. Some of the participants had a song that I produced playing in the background; others did not. What I found is that music motivated the participants and they were able to complete the task faster than the participants who did not have any music playing. It was a great study and totally up my alley.

Music is an amazing thing. If I did not have music, I would not be able to express myself, express how I’m feeling, or express my mood. I am Rick Vargas, Music Producer.

Thanks for visiting my blog at https://www.rick-vargas-southfield.com

You can find out more about me at https://www.scenariostationmusic.com

And at https://www.ricardovargasmichigan.com

Today on my blog, Rick (Ricardo) Vargas Southfield, I am writing about a place where I spent several years of my childhood, Denver, Colorado.

Denver is a beautiful city, surrounded by mountains. When I was a kid, I lived in a middle class neighborhood, in a duplex house. It wasn’t very big but large enough for our family of five and close enough where we could walk where we needed to.

We used to live really close to all of my cousins and we would spend a lot of time together. My cousins are like my brothers and sisters and they are truly amazing people to be around.

I recently visited Denver for my grandfather’s funeral. Getting to spend time with my extended family was amazing, and of course, honoring my grandfather with a beautiful service and acting as a pallbearer was a humbling feeling. My grandfather is the one who brought us to the United States and created our amazing family.

Going back to the place where I have so many special memories means so much to me. My old childhood home is now worth a lot of money and is now in a trendy, hip neighborhood. It’s the place to be now (back then, it certainly was not a place to write home about!).

I feel so blessed to have the supportive family I do, and to know these amazing people that I can call my family. I feel so blessed to have had the experiences I have had growing up and being able to grow up in such a beautiful part of this country. It is an amazing feeling.

The picture below is from an electric music festival I went to with my cousin. He and I have very similar taste in music and we grew up listening to so much together.

Now that I, Ricardo Vargas, live in Michigan, it’s a treat to visit Denver.

Thanks for visiting my blog at https://www.rick-vargas-southfield.com

You can find out more about me at https://www.scenariostationmusic.com

And at https://www.ricardovargasmichigan.com

On my blog, Rick Vargas Southfield, I had this great idea to write about Costco rotisserie chicken while shopping at Costco.

I picked up a rotisserie chicken from Costco the other day and every time I eat one, I think about what a genius idea it is. How did Costco know a rotisserie chicken would be as popular as it is? How do they make them so delicious that people keep coming back for more? How do they make them so affordable? I came across an article about Costco chickens and how great they are https://www.rd.com/advice/saving-money/costco-rotisserie-chicken/

I write about Costco chickens because I think it’s such an interesting concept to business. I find myself specifically going to Cost BECAUSE I want a rotisserie chicken for dinner. I will brave the crowds for the chicken. I know I can use it for multiple meals; I know it will fill me up; I know it is relatively healthy (especially with no skin!).

What’s even more interesting is the fact that Costco is now controlling it’s supply chain of chickens and creating jobs in Nebraska.

https://www.eater.com/2018/12/11/18136019/costco-rotisserie-chicken-farming-agriculture-nebraska

I have been doing a lot of reading about business models and their impact on society. This one is quite interesting to me because of all of the different facets it explores and the amount of impact it can have.

Thanks for visiting my blog at https://www.rick-vargas-southfield.com

You can find out more about me at https://www.scenariostationmusic.com

And at https://www.ricardovargasmichigan.com

This is my first blog post for the Rick Vargas Southfield Blog and I am looking forward to developing this blog into whatever it becomes. Stay tuned for more content and please visit frequently as content will change regularly.

Thanks for visiting me at https://rick-vargas-southfield.com

You can learn more about me at: https://www.scenariostationmusic.com

Also, check out: https://www.rick-vargas.com

As well as: https://www.ricardovargasmichigan.com