Its been so long since I blogged about my life as a poet girl right ??!!!! Well forgive me for being gone for so long. I am in charge, as in HWIC, of so much, that this blog sorta took a back seat by accident. But this blog is so necessary. Its where I come share my experiences with my fans and loved ones AND its where I leave the boundaries outside the room. I might capitalize the first word of every sentence, but I might stop doing that midway thru the blog. I might speak with three dots at the end of sentences, I might use acronyms. And at this point of my life and career, where I am training myself on using more “disciplined” writing, I must say it feels good to come over here. But that is not why I started blogging. I have been so blessed in the last couple of months, and in having conversations with associates and friends, of which we’ve discussed the ups and downs of 2012, I realized that I needed to write a hit or miss list. I needed to chronicle for not only your eyes, but my remembrance the good and bad of the year because the truth is, I’ve had a lot of bad. And what I have learned from it and its preceding “bad” years, is there will ALWAYS be bad AND, it might outweigh the good in number count. But does that make the good lack the ability to outweigh the bad in weight? No it does not. This has been a BEAUTIFUL year for me. And its time for me to start saying that more. ….what the heck is a bad year???
I have that answer…..a bad year is the year you die unexpectedly, before your time and are no longer here to be able to enjoy and work you way thru and around life. I have survived 2012….at least up until now…..that is reason enough that it has been a great year.
So lets go. ….hits ….misses…and the unbelievable presence of love.
Misses Sept 2011 – Sept 2012
La Douleur eXquise – first let me say this….my cd, in my mind, is & was a TOTAL success. But for chart topping purposes, financial gain and demand, this was a huge MISS. Released December 18, 2011, I have sold enough cds this year to count on both hands and have enough fingers left over to …..make a whole new hand. *shrug*
The Exquisite Pain Poetry Stage Show – Missed the opportunity to recreate this again due to internal drama. *shrug* One woman shows or limited participants from now on. And due to the improv factor of it, I wasn’t able to remember every poem I planned to do and as a result, the show itself was much shorter than what I wanted it to be.
Family – my family dynamics are horrid. I love them, they love me, yet none of them understand having an “artist” as opposed to an engineer in their family. *shrugfest*
Friends – Man…this has been a world wind of a year for me where “friendships” are concerned. Calling people out has been a desired want for the bitchiness in me, but simply moving on with life has been more important and conducive to where I’m trying to be in life. Lost/let go of some “close” ones this year. And never felt better. *shrug* What's not good for me, will not prevail in my life. Its been a hurtful process but a process towards the goal so its all good.
Divafest – I submitted my show, The Exquisite Pain, in for Divafest. I didn’t really know what I was doing as far as putting the show in outline/play version, but I was fully confident in it, due to the success of the cd release party and follow-up show. I submitted and waited ….and waited….and waited. And when the results came back, I didn’t get picked.
NYC Trip – Was supposed to spend a few days in NYC for Labor Day. Was all excited and ready but the trip got cancelled. Shit happens.
A Different Peace of Mind featuring Tommy Bottoms - I completely dropped the ball on this. Missed creating a makeshift flyer, in the way only I can, and didn’t heavily promote it correctly. The results showed the night of the show. It was embarrassing but I did my best to keep the energy that was there in there and in motion. It worked as best it could.
Missed Opportunities – Indy Fringe Fest, Oranje, Art & Soul, AA Playwright Festival– I missed submitting for all of these, although I believed in my heart that I was qualified for each.
Relationship (as in significant other) – * dead * followed immediately by #ICant
Show shit – I have only had a handful of shows this year and by a handful I mean one hand. Not very many feature spots or out of town gigs. There have been a few but not many. Haven’t performed at a school since early 2011.
Travel – to date, I have not been further than the Ohio/KY borders. I have suffered what I referred to as “statewide cabin fever” for the longest and it really weighed me down. I’m not meant to stay in the same city for years on end. Lol. But it worked it self out with a bang ; )
RIP – heart breaking moments….lost a close aunt and one of the feral cats I feed.
as of right now, this is all I can think of for the “MissList” ….I’m sure there is more somewhere but ….you get the point. …now lets get on to the hits!
And the HITS just keep on coming . . .
Hits Sept 2011 – Sept 2012
La Douleur eXquise – despite the low cd sales, which is all on my shoulders & poor marketing, it was completed. And it was a job well done, in my opinion. It was EVERYTHING I wanted it to be. And truthfully, in my heart, I believe God will get that cd in the proper hands at the proper time.
La Douleur eXquise Cd Release Party – First of all, the room was full. The help I had along the way in making sure that it was everything that I wanted it to be and more, cannot be ignored. The show itself, which was 99% improv, was a pure SUCCESS. It went almost just like I planned and that works for me.
La Douleur eXquise Encore Show – One week after releasing my cd, I went back to the scene of the stage and repeated the same show (for the most part) for a room FULL of people who missed the prior one. More cds were sold, more connections made and I racked up my second standing ovation for the show! Hard Truth – Lets not forget I performed at the IMA, with the Thornton Dial exhibit and alongside some of THE dopest female spoken word artists out there. Yeah that was me.
January 23 – I made it to another and had a great birthday, as usual : )
The Exquisite Pain Poetry Stage Show – debuting at the Earth House, this show would NOT have happened had it not been for a friend who put her money next to mine and said I believe in you and I believe in this. I personally, would never had done that third show out of fear. But she challenged me, I stepped up and what a success it was. Despite the internal affairs, I had a standing room only crowd of over 100 ppl that paid to see me and my show. The performance between me and my castmates was priceless. We all did an amazing job and it has been captured professionally on video for the future.
The Signature: A Poetic Medley Show – I was blessed to be referred by another top name poet/artist to the people who operate this classy, upscale, artistic event that features only the best that ever did it. This show is like a TV show w/o the cameras!! That’s how powerful it is. Past performers include Sunni Patterson, Lemon, Black Ice, Georgia Me (upcoming 9/28), Shihan ….the list goes on. I was blessed to have performed with Shihan and what a great experience it was. To have this on my resume, for me, makes me feel great inside!
A Different Peace of Mind – In April, I was approached about being a host, which is something I had not thought of doing. I reluctantly said yes, and may have opened myself up to a world of new opportunities. Despite the times we have had low attendance, this place has really ushered in a breath of fresh air to my life….at least twice a month, now on Tuesdays ( 5500 Emerson Way, Peace of Mind pub & eatery) <--- shameless plug right? lol…I’ve had some powerful features come and share our stage zone and it has been one helluva ride so far!!!! Blessed for a new opportunity that forces me outside of me and into orbit.
Revelations – having people reveal themselves or…better yet, having yourself ALLOW your eyes to see what has been revealed long time, is a beautiful thing. Clarity is crystal & delicate.
Mars Vs. Venus – Having been gifted the opportunity to host has inadvertently given me access to a ‘space’ that I don’t have to pay a fee to make things happen. I was finally able to get Mars Vs. Venus off the ground and running. I’ve been wanting to do one of those shows for years now and this past July, I made it happen. In the midst of bullshitters and revelations 
, I was able to gather enough help and assistance to make that night one of THE most powerful, if not THE Most Powerful night in Indy Poetry History.
NYC – One week in NYC ….take off 12 days from now. I will be performing in BROOKLYN NY on Monday Sept 28 and it will be sorta live but not really live streamed…lol…come back later for more details on that. I am performing with Too Black at his Street Poets NYC feature that Friday. And I am spending 6-7 days in NYC. Do I really have to say how this makes me feel or do you already know? #Pow
Street Poets NYC – Speaking of Street Poets NYC, as of September 15 (this Saturday) I will officially be a contributing writer for Street Poets Midwest, the new chapter which will be appearing on their site. I will be in charge of putting the Midwest/Indy Spoken Word scene on the map for real! Can you say wow ??? After sixty days, the job is mine and paid ! #WinWinWin
Insight to Incite – Speaking of contributing writers……..as of yesterday, my official title for I2I, which is a magazine based out of St Louis but eventually moving to the Indy market as well, became “City Editor” !!! I am in charge of the content and the artistic parts of the magazine in which I again, will be focusing on putting Indy artists that are FOR REAL about their craft on the map. This is not limited to poets. This position is paid as well !!! 
Sponsorship – Not that we were even looking, but last night I was able to just about secure a sponsor for ADPoM !!! We are about to have a real deal budget !!! More to come on that later !!!!!!!!!!
Work – can I just say I’m still employed !!! I became an official employee of S&S (not telling, don’t ask) right before my cd release party and have been able to parlay myself into a raise for being honest about the situation!!!! #Blessed
Blogs – yeah its not secret I’m a writer….right? So I have lots blogs that most of you know about right ? Well I was granted an opportunity to takeover a well read local blog that informs followers of the arts community here in the city. This absolutely ties back into both the site and the magazine that I am writing for. #WinWinWinWin
************************************* - Today I was approached by a friend and asked to do something, but I want to hold off on telling exactly what it is until after it has passed. Not because I don’t believe in what was said because I do. But if you notice, everything above has already happened, except NYC. That way, I can give you a real deal detailed account of it, however, this opportunity is another writing/review shot that is fabulous !!! I can’t even begin to describe exactly how fabulous it REALLY is. Just know there is a fab on the horizon
Did I mention I’m performing in NYC? Oh. Ok.
DivaFest 2013 – Well….the submissions are open again. Might as well try again. After all, it is free !
Fashion Night Out – Ok….I tweeted my desires of being involved in Midwest Fashion Week. I mean, I’m an artist, a female and I love fashion, with a special emphasis on shoes So it only seemed right to speak that into existence. Well, MFW has not arrived yet but FNO did and guess who was a part of it !!!??? ME!!!!!! Thanks to a great supporter and networker, I was able to be a part of Fashion Night Out and hopefully, tonight I will write a blog about it !!!
Networks – My network is steadily growing. …last night I was able to meet with a new collective that is going to work together to increase the culture of the arts in Indy, with a special focus on Indiana Ave/The Walker Bldg. Some of the connects I made include a videographer for WFYI, one of the board of Directors members for the Walker Theater and a woman who works at IMA and worked on the Hard Truth Show we did (she heard of me before !!!!) ! In addition to that, I have my ladies at Black Apple Styling Agency & Boutique who will dress me in the best if need be, are supportive of my shows and will network me right along with themselves!!!! #Blessed
She heard of me before !!! - Well I figure I should mention this more…..so the lady, who’s name leaves me right now but will come back, recognized me but didn’t know from where. When I arrived, immediately after work, I introduced myself as Kendria by accident. It sorta happened naturally since I hadn’t decompressed from Ken’s role as an employee and by the time I realized jY was not coming out, it was a wrap. Well once everyone arrived and we all did our formal introductions and I said “januarieyork” was my stage name, she got excited !!! Because she recognized my VOICE from working directly with the sound bites and clips for our show !!! AMAZING FEELING
Videography – First let me start by saying I have two YouTube pages. One under nsay that is mostly personal videos from parties and such…..the other, under januarieyork, is performance, high quality videos. I need more followers on YouTube. But in the meantime, The Definition, also known as Sexy You Aint BooBoo, has hit 1495 views to date and that is just the one version of it. There are about three videos of this same exact performance out there. Who knows what the real total is but I think 1400 plus views is WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!
I’m gonna end on this last one, even though I just KNOW something is missing….anything else will have to be in a part two towards the end of the year
On August 8th, I was contacted by Toshiba, telling me that the picture I submitted to their contest was one of eleven winners. For the next seven days, my picture was shown every ten or so minutes on the Toshiba Screen in Times Square New York!!!! I watched it live a couple of times to see if it was real and it was very real!!!!!!! That unmistakable , center-tall structure that I once stood in front of in awe, switching from snapping pictures to snapping video, held my photo within it for seven days!!!! This is not by chance.
It is by design.
This list was not compiled to brag and I hope it does not come off as such. this was compiled to remind all of you that your year is NOT bad. You might have fourteen bad things happen to you and three good ones for the whole year, but if you stop and think about it, the good is often SO DAMNED GREAT, that it outweighs the bad that outnumbers the good. Sounds like a working plan to me. No more this year will anyone hear me say I have had a bad year. I have had a BLESSED year. This year was the year of jY. The Hard Truth show was the first time I publically came out as januarieYork and not nsaychable ! I declared to myself that I was restarting with a brand new attitude and name and the my first show was sooooo huge that everything afterwards would have to be amazing to even be possible. Well….according to this list…..
Possibilities are endless.
Be blessed.
Love your life EVERY EAR!
jY
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