excelsior!

Well, the dust - if not my digestive system - is starting to settle in the wake of the Ninth Annual Karaoke to the Death IX, and it's finally sinking in that I really am the champion for an unexpected third time.  So much had been written about the possibility that the game had passed me by that I had begun to believe it.  It pleases me that I had the resolve to dig deep and deliver another tuneless performance, and it especially pleases me that I was able to do so without the substance abuse that had accompanied my previous two victories.  (Not that I didn't abuse any substances, mind you - it's just that I delivered my winning performance early in the evening, before the mind and voice altering effects became a factor.)  I would like to extend my congratulations to all who participated in KttD IX, but especially so to Matyas.  She's a worthy adversary, and - truth be told - maybe should have won.  Maybe.  I would also like to thank, once again, my coach.  Vanna has put up with a lot of my bullshit over the years, and patiently at that.  And yet she gives tirelessly.  I wish I could say her (sometimes brutally) honest advice was always well-received, but I promise it never has been taken for granted.

And so it is with both joy and sadness that I hereby announce my retirement from the sport of bad karaoke.  After three wins, I feel I have nothing left to prove - both to others and to myself - and I much prefer to walk away at the top of my game than to hang on, desperately grasping for one last shot at greatness.  But though I may be removing myself from contention in future KttD contests, I am most definitely not removing myself from the event that means so much to me.  I will still be involved in what I hope becomes a more active administrative role with the KttD front office, and I think I would like to make a move into coaching somewhere down the line.  Time will tell.  And I will still sing, of course, but I will sing those songs I want to sing, regardless of how I calculate the performance of said song might benefit me in the voting.  Who knows?  Maybe someday I'll even be able to take the stage without becoming impossibly nervous.

As always: well, you know....