0_o Part 1 of idk how many…..

 

How far will I go to be in New York City??

 

Let me start by saying I HATE buses.  I once road the Greyhound all the way to New Orleans.  The 24 hour ride was so brutal that we caught a ride back home.  I hate buses.  It’s a means to travel that is BOTTOM on my list of ways to get around.  The last time I road the Metro in Indy (not including Super bowl) was in 1999, of which my bus driver pulled us over, got off the bus and left after arguing with many of the passengers.  It was the East 39 bus, it was packed seat to seat and it was 90+ degrees out.  It took us a minute to realize he was GONE !! I lived all the way out East so while some people got off the HOT bus, I didn’t really know what to do but wait.  I vowed away from those then.  With that said……

 

I have to be honest.

I’m a google whore.  If I have a question that needs answering, some quick math I need calculated, words translated and of course, research done, I turn to google.  I don’t believe everything I read and I look for credible sources in whatever I do believe, but google and I have an outstanding relationship of trust and respect.  So when my Saturday show that was supposed to fund the first half of my trip got cancelled and flying was no longer an option, I googled “china bus”; the bus line that my fellow vacationers were traveling by.  I had never heard of it and couldn’t help but want to know more about it and when I googled it, several stories popped up.  None of which were good.  According to many reports, a several East Coast bus lines were raided and shut down for bad buses, lack of licenses and other things involving safety, endangerment of passengers and the like.  China bus was one of them.

I had a dilemma.

Should I call Too Black and tell him my findings OR should I buy my fifty dollar one way ticket, try to fly back and hope for the best?  My cancelled show threw a big monkey wrench in my plans financially, so this was really my only viable option.  I bought the ticket and disregarded what I read. 

Cut to Dayton, OH. 

After spending a couple of hours walking aimlessly around Target, aka the bus stop, we were forced outside about 45 minutes early due to two factors:

Target closed

The bus was REALLY late. 0_o

So there we were, standing at Too Blacks car.  Me, him, the guy taking care of his car in Dayton, Theon & Simone.  Four blacks and one Puerto Rican. ……..

…….so as the cops were taking our ID and we told them why we were standing there in the dark-ish parking lot, they begin to chuckle snidely at the China Bus.  The pot bellied pig with the brown semi curly hair and the forty something year old mustache proceeded to tell us they had been cited for human trafficking.  That we needed to be careful because the buses were essentially breaking the law by even operating; but that they WOULD be there to pick us up, which was something I had begun to worry about.  What further troubled me was that I knew at least part of what he was saying was true.  Again I faced a dilemma.

Should I tell the gang that this officer, while a perfect asshole, was telling the truth and I had read it with my own eyes, sans the trafficking OR ….do I stay silent and we keep waiting.  How else would we get there and what we were to do at this point?  We had an obligation to be there Monday night.

Moments later and after our IDs were fit back into our wallets, warrant free (0_o) and the cops were well on their way back to the donut shop from which they rose from, a bus pulled up.  It was here.  Big white bus, not too many people on it….it LOOKED safe.  * shrug *

And then there was that other problem.  Only two of us had tickets for that bus.  The other two, I being one of them of course, had bought tickets for the bus leaving at 1030.  This was the 10pm bus, although it was 1025 when it got there.. 0_o .  The driver didn’t speak English at all; he was a simple little Chinese man who looked at our confirmation numbers, made a mark on something and tossed the luggage into the area like ragdolls.  Too Black & Simone got on the bus and left; Theon and I walked off to our stop, which was not at Target btw.  It was at the Sake shop down the way.  Same parking lot though.  We started walking and my poor mind was racing as to what I had got myself into and just how far I would go to be with New York.  We got halfway across the lot when our bus rolled in.  We ran over to it, boarded it and saw a bus full of people.  Separate seats.  No window seat.  Theon went to the back and I parked someone near the middle.  And for the next 13 hours, me and my pillow that was supposed to be laying against the window, sat straight up and slept 0_o

…..the bus made about two or three stops.  I would open my eyes and see it was still dark, then rush to close them again.  Our arrival was 9 am.  Sunshine.  As long as there was darkness, I should be sleep was my thought process.  It was freezing outside and on the bus.  My neck was cramped, the man in front of me felt the need to keep trying to lean back and there was zero leg room.  The bus ride was rough.  Our bus had some kind of ongoing noise that sounded like the lines on the side of the highway that are meant to wake sleeping drivers.  For a while I thought we were driving on those lines.  then I figured out it was the bus . 0_o  

I did sleep for the whole trip with the exception of a few hours.  But it was not a sound sleep, mind you I was sitting up. And the bus driver had to have been pushing 90 the entire way there.  He bent the corners in Pennsylvania as thought it was the Indy 500.  It was nerve wrecking.  No one on the bus seemed to speak English and most of them were Chinese.  Our drop-off was in Chinatown, so that wasn’t alarming, but I couldn’t help but think briefly from time to time about the trafficking.  My phone was dead.  This was a toughie. 

And I withstood it.

Some thirteen hours later, I woke up….

in Chinatown. 

00jYOnAssignment: Kools Bazaar Gala Review

The New Big Band

It was a black tie night of cute dresses and fancy tailored suits.  The sun had just began setting against the backdrop of Westside Indianapolis and left a crystal shine on the JW Marriot Hotel, where the 2012 Uptown Saturday Night Inspired 100 Black Men Gala & Awards Dinner was being held.  The age range settled with a predominance of 45+ but it was easy to spot a few twenty and thirty somethings enjoying the dim lighting and awaiting the mock casino that would cap off the night's event.  The stunning decor helped us travel back into a time where clubs like The Savoy were heavily frequented.  Before long, the circular tables with the expensive chinaware were full of people eager to hear speeches from the night's honorees and indulge in the culinary magic served in three courses. This type of gala perfection could have only been completed with music full of high voltage drums, horns and sporadic keys that were reminiscent of the Harlem Renaissance.  

~ Enter Kool’s Bazaar ~

Back in the 1920's and especially during the Harlem Renaissance, Big Band Music was gradually evolving into the rebirth of the already popular jazz music.  These "big bands" consisted of 12 or so members (usually 5-6 on brass, 3-4 on reed instruments and 4 rhythm musicians) and became widely popular due in part to the dancing public that would frequent Harlem hotspots like  The Savoy and dance the night away to the sounds from groups such as the Jenkins Orphanage Band and the Bennie Goodman Orchestra.  

 

 Fast forward to that September night of the gala and local band extraordinaire, Kool’s Bazaar.  They emerged from their respective suites and entered the stage with ease and confidence.  It was as if each person clenched a tiny piece of the renaissance in their palms. In addition to the four members that comprise KB, they added six additional musical contributors creating a modernized Big Band with a neo-hip-hop flair.  8 musicians, 2 singers and 1 hip hop emcee conjured Old Harlem’s spirits from left to right of the Marriot’s ballroom.  Dressed in their signature colors red and black, from the moment they started playing, anyone within earshot of them could easily tell they weren’t listening to just any average band.  This was not a group thrown together over loosely rolled joints in the back of a cluttered garage.  This was a union of musicians who came ready to entertain, empower and embody [the theme] the way true professionals do.  These are keen spirits aligned not by happenstance, but rather by design.   

There were three sets.  The first one, which began as the people were still filing in from the lobby, was very big band inspired.  There were two trumpet players and two saxophone players.  The mixture of brass horns & reed saxophones created the type of harmony that deserved a quick step of the Lindy Hop or at the very least, a Charleston showdown.  And while a dance-off never happened, a thoroughly entertaining back and forth of these particular instruments picked up the slack.  The melodies were up-tempo and the vocals were tenacious. Althought there were a couple of technical difficulties with teh sound, as they say, the band played on. Naz Khalid was the lead songstress/poet with Ashlee Baskin on secondary vocals.  Both women’s voices were impeccable contrasts and compliments of each other. Naz owns a peaceful bluesy sound that feels as if it originated from the pains and loves of Lenox Avenue, while Baskin's voice was like the perfect flutter of butterfly bravado.   The band’s rendition of “Strange Fruit,” made famous by jazz legend Billie Holiday (who Khalid’s voice has often been compared to), pulled the attendees away from their programs and private conversations and brought them into the cultural world of Kool’s Bazaar.

Big band music had a knack for bringing people together regardless of race, class or creed.  The love of dance and the urge to do so when these bands would play transcended the racism and hard times of the 1920's and 30's.  Although a lot of the music was pre-arranged, the room for improvisation is what set them apart from the average jazz band. 

 By the time the second set ended and the third set began, KB had shifted into their complete comfort zone.  Hip hop artist/emcee (and frequent Kool’s Bazaar collaborator) Tony Styxx joined them onstage to help bring the energy in the room to a new plateau. Whether it was age or awe that kept people from giving in and cutting loose on the dance floor, the music in the room definitely called for and was worthy of it. Each artist was given a fair chance to flourish under the stage lights. The audience was treated to a vast array of sounds and genres; even poetry made a guest appearance. KB crossed boundaries and generations in three single leaps. As the night came to a close and the people began to pile into the blackjack tables, the new millennium “big band” ended on a friendly, upbeat and bittersweet note. Throughout the night, they had successfully fused original work with a few covers and their final number, a rendition of classic hip hop song “The Rising” by The Roots, was a sublime crescendo in both performance and lyrical content.  After all, they are the breath of fresh musical air the world and on this night, the gala had been waiting on. 

It was indeed a black tie event of glamour, dessert served in martini glasses and profound guest speakers.  But ask anyone within earshot and they will surely tell you; the night belonged to the entertainment, Kool's Bazaar.  And they did it all with just the right amount of Uptown Saturday Night flavor ! 

 
 

 ~jY

Kool’s Bazaar is as follows:

Nazeeha Khalid: lead vocalist/poet/emcee/songwriter

Richard Trotman: keyboardist/band director/ composer

Jesse Thomson: Bassist

Joe Elliot: drummer

Musical collaborators:

Ashlee Baskin: Secondary Vocalist

Ronald Craig aka Tony Styxx: emcee

Brandon Crawford: Aux Keys

Jefri Payne: Trumpet

Joel Auxier: Trumpet

Jared Thompson : Sax

Lamont Webb: Sax

3 days to liftoff.

800 Plus miles away from the Indiana state lines…..

6 days with my beloved, HOMETOWN GLORY

3 opportunities to share my poetry and 1 opportunity to meet my new NYC Street Poet family

$0 in the account right now

Plenty of stress as to how to pull it all off

But.

3 days

Until

Liftoff

Vacation

Tourism

Big apple

Times Square

Brooklyn Bridge

GW Bridge

Trash, rats, People everywhere

3 days

Until

I finally experience what my soul has been MISSING the entire  last 2 years. …

New York City.

jY’s Hit or Miss List 2012

 

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

 

 

New York State of Picture

First of all, thanks for taking part in Toshiba Innovation's Put Your Face on Toshiba Vision program by uploading and voting on your best photos. Secondly, congratulations!  One of your photos has been chosen to be featured on the giant Toshiba Vision screens in Times Square, to be seen by thousands of New Yorkers and other visitors!

So it seems that anything is possible…dreams CAN come true and the power of using one’s voice to speak LIFE into existence is a powerful tool that is drastically underrated.  Anyone that has been a part of this blog longer than a couple of weeks should know for fact that I have a slight obsession with NYC.  Not only do I believe and have I spoken that my “soul was born in NYC” but I intend on living there….or at least very close to it by the time I get to age 35. 

But for now, I must watch from afar.  This year, I realized that my senses had not been allowed to run free in the open world of New York City since 2010.  It depressed me but made me determined not to close out 2012, a year with little to NO travel involved, without having been to at least NYC.  So many trips I have tried to plan, or ask ppl to be apart of in order to help cut costs and have someone to talk to, but nothing ever panned out.  From a solo trip to Ft Lauderdale that fell to the wayside due to me buying a car w/my vacay fund to attempting to find just ONE friend to hit Las Vegas with me, everything I tried seem to fall on fail. 

Waiting for ppl to do something has never been something I’m good at doing, so I set in my head that one way or another, I’’d hit NYC before this year was up.  Despite my pressing desire to be one with all these other places, and to experience a Florida beach or the many shows at Las Vegas, I was mentally willing to let go of all these other ideas if it meant I’d spend time in NYC.  I could not part with the idea of being there.  From NYC, I could go to a beach.  I could catch a show.  And more than anything, I could hop a ride on any number of cruises, boats, ferries and water taxi’s, all while traveling underneath one of the two most recognized bridges in the country. 

NYC is inbred in me some kind of way.  And I don’t even care.  I made this mental declaration and decided to stick to it.  I had even gone so far as to promise myself that if I was down to my last days of summer and still couldn’t locate a real travel buddy that had the time, the means and the desire to hit the road OR the skies with me, I’d go alone.  I’d save, hop a flight outta here and pop No Dozes for 72 hours.  No room, no transpo I would be responsible for; I was going on a solo trip and planned to not sleep til I got back to Indy.

Well….as luck would have it….i didn’t have to go to such drastic measures…..and as I sit here typing this morning, I am approximately 2 weeks plus one day away from my first of two trips over 30 days to NYC!!!!!!

Yes indeed

I speak things into existence

I have been gifted with TWO trips to NYC, one of which will be me and a fellow poet performing in and around NYC/Philly and potetntially a few other places (depends on my vacay days)!!!

But first, in 2 weeks, I will be going for the sole purpose of being a tourist.  Needless to say, I am about to fall out of my skin counting down the days.

But that was not even the cake topper!

A few days ago, I casually checked my email while sitting with a friend, shooting the shit and drinking shots of vodka!!!! I opened an email at the top of my inbox that was from Toshiba.  Upon first glance, my immediate thought was why do I have an email for Toshiba (wondering if I had signed my email up or something)…..after opening it, I began wondering if I won a free tv (hey, wouldn’t you?) ……but as I read thru the email, I realized why they were sending it to me….sorta.

All though this portion of the story seems long, all this happened over the course of 15 seconds????  Reading the first lines of the email, “First of all, thanks for taking part in Toshiba Innovation's Put Your Face on Toshiba Vision program by uploading and voting on your best photos”, I remembered submitting my photo for the Times Square contest and was pretty sure this was an email to tell me I had lost. 

     But in fact, this email was telling anything but…..once I read “Secondly, congratulations!  ”, every word thereafter was read in really slow motion.  It could not be possible, I thought to myself.  I read, calmly said “oh my God”, and re-read the whole thing in its entirety.  “I can’t believe this….i cannot believe this!!!!!’ I kept repeating with my laptop sitting on the table and my eyes a cross confusion between worry and dare I say “excitement”.  I think my voice troubled my friend, of which she replied, what, whats wrong!!!!

I was damn near scared to answer her…..how things went after that is almost anyone’s guess, but word by word I told her that I had submitted my photo to Toshiba to be shown in Times Square and my photo was picked. Once she yelled OMG, it was on…..my emotions went flurrying all over the room and I clicked the link to see for myself was this some kind of twisted joke.  And it was not. MY pic, holding my favorite NYC umbrella that I stalked and saved on several computers before buying from amazon, had won me the gift of a lifetime.

My photo was voted on and won, along with 11 others, and will be showing every ten minutes on the Times Square screen that I stood in front of first in 2007, staring in awe.  MY picture would be shown LIVE, every ten minutes, in NYC.  So what its not a shot of my face.  So what all you can see is my heels and my umbrella.  So what that I can’t be there to see it live! Its there.  I live in NYC until Wednesday. 

This was so much more than winning a contest.  If ever I asked God to lay hands on me and make his desires for me plain and clear, I cannot deny that I took that as a sign from Him.  That wanting, planning and executing leaving Indy behind for the artistic lights and loud sounds of NYC/East Coast living is just what the Dr. ordered. 

Even as I type this, someone is standing in Times Square, possibly seeing my picture playing across the screen.  I watched the live link three times.  Before the night was over, I was in tears. 

This is a powerful voice I have here.

It speaks

And earth moves accordingly

My voice and my heart are in a love/hate relationship.  When they hate each other, things go awry.  But when they love each other, when they stand on one accord and serve the common denominator, I open up my eyes and see that life has shifted a lil more towards my direction.

They say be careful for what you wish for.

And maybe that is why seeing my pic in Times Square scared me just a little bit. Because what I’m wishing for is slowly unraveling itself to be truth.

But who would I be if I looked away now???

How would I be if I silenced myself soon???

I don’t know the answers to those questions and likely never will. Writing and living in NYC are the two things I know for fact I will NEVER give up on…..and I’ve given up on many many things.  Many times. But not this time.  This time, my soul has taken the reigns and speaks for me, making all things known aloud to Mother Earth & Father God. 

May we each, at some point in our lives, before its too late, realize the power of our voices!!!!

For they not only can hurt and destroy,

The tongue can build freedom walls right within your own body.  I say lets not be careful anymore.

Lets just Know what we want

And speak the belief that we will get it.

Then watch as magic unfolds before our eyes!

“  One of your photos has been chosen to be featured on the giant Toshiba Vision screens in Times Square, to be seen by thousands of New Yorkers and other visitors!”

and that ladies and gents >>>>>

is ME...live, every 10 mins, in Times Square, NEW York City.

jY