Missing In Action

Months and months have gone by, and a lot has happened. Things have slowed since losing my computer, but nothing's stopped. Thank God for smartphones and cool apps, I can keep everything going.

Stuff I've been hearing for God knows how long about how to get what I want, have finally sunk in. And in accepting what's being given and shown to me I acquired a new manager, began work on a music demo, finally completed my acting demo, performed in a short play festival, booked the lead in a touring production, met with a CD I've been wanting to meet for the longest, booked work through both of them, got offered a job today right after my bank screwed up my account, and my week STILL isn't over yet. Whew!

I have let my pride and fear block me from the life I'm supposed to live for way too long. Time to eat humble pie, and keep it moving.

From now on, I'll no longer be silent or missing in action.

Traveling Light

My goal was to blog more often, but the Universe has other things for me to do at the moment.

When someone broke into our house about a month ago, I took a zen approach to the situation, instead of letting it break me.   The blessing is that we weren't home when it happened.  The blessing was that our apartment was not ransacked, and emptied out.  The blessing was that our cats were not harmed.  The blessing was that the person -- and not people, thank god -- was not smart enough to go beyond a block radius, and robbed our home and three others next to ours that are all connected by an alleyway, within a few days of each other.  The blessing is that because of this, and the manner it was done, he will be easy to locate.  Our things that were taken...?  Something within me tells me they are not far, and will be returned.  I don't care how, I just know that it will be done.  I've let go, and I've let God.

Not having my laptop in my house has caused a bit of an inconvenience, but it hasn't stopped me nor slowed me down.  The blessing of not having it around is that I'm not glued to it, and I'm forced to be more active.  I've gotten back into my spirit, and bringing to existence my heart's desire.  New people have entered my life, bringing new opportunities for growth and abundance.  I'm more open to giving, and fears, doubts and worries are washing away.  The life I've wanted I see so clearly in front of me.  I'm floating high above the clouds...

My husband's Anti-Bling campaign in on the rise, and I'm getting a lot more buzz from writers, directors and casting directors regarding gigs.  We're both revamping things in our lives, and come this fall, it'll definitely be harvest season. Shedding the old to bring in the new.

"Ain't nobody gonna break my stride..."

NAMASTE

A Family Affair

Sometimes I enjoy being in front of the camera, and sometimes I enjoy being behind the camera. In this instance, I prefer behind the scenes.  A couple of weeks ago, my uncle contacted my husband to ask for his assistance gathering footage for his documentary, "Dark Girls", that he's co-producing and co-directing with Bill Duke.

Being a part of something this powerful is so exciting, and rewarding.  This is especially exciting for my husband, because this is just the boost and encouragement he needs to help him in the pursuit and fulfillment of his many dreams and goals:  to become a film and video producer and director.

My husband set out this morning, along with Harry B. Sando as the DP, doing interviews in Brooklyn, Midtown, Harlem and even in the subway.  I was so bummed that I had to work yesterday and couldn't join them.  But lucky me, they decided to shoot some more this weekend.

I overheard my husband talking to my uncle last night, and both of them talked about how grateful they were. My uncle was so happy to have my husband's help, and my husband was so happy to be a part of the project.

My husband and I are both excited that we get to be in front of the camera for this as well. I am not a dark-skinned woman, but I have still had to deal with issues of color and complexion.  And my husband will talk about his experiences being bi-racial.

My husband and I aren't just a "power couple", we are a part of a powerful family, and are happy we get to share that with the world.

Small World

A few days ago, I started the new temp job. 

NYC is a small world. 

One of the other temps is also from Brooklyn, and lives in my neighborhood.  Another, is an actress whose friend just happened to be at my wedding...and incidentally, was upset she didn't catch the bouquet.

I haven't talked about the wedding yet because I haven't gone thru all the professional pics.  But soon come, soon come...

Bittersweet

Two days ago, I put in my two weeks at my part-time job, and one of the regulars said, "One of these days, I'm gonna see you up on that idiot box and say, 'I know that girl!'  I can't wait!" 

Me too, my friend, me too. :-)

A New Life

So it's been one month and one day since my wedding day.  I get asked all the time, "How do you feel?" or "Has anything changed?"  Life is about change, and everyday is something new and different.  Which means everyday I learn about myself and my relationship, and I love my husband more and more.

I meditate as often as I can, but not as often as I should.  There were things I used to do to open up my mind and spirit, to keep me renewed, refreshed and charged to face each day ahead, and drive me even further to achieving my goals. That part of me has been dormant for quite some time, but I feel it awakening in me again.  I know that when you want something real bad, put the energy into it, and take the steps toward making it happen, it will happen. There may be a few bumps in the road, some obstacles to overcome, and some sacrifices to make, but if you truly believe and know what is for you is for you, then nothing will stop you from reaching your goal.

I admit I have times when I have doubts and feel depressed that I'm not exactly where I want to be, but then I remember how blessed I am that I have come as far as I've come, and have what wonderful things that I have.

I currently work with 3 agencies for theatrical, film/tv and commercials.  I only work part-time, so money is kinda low in between gigs. Today I was offered a temp position to help me cover business expenses, i.e. classes and workshops I want to take this year.

I dream about longevity in my career, cause there are too many people out there who are hanging on as tight as they can to their 15 minutes.  I am utilizing every second, minute, hour, day, month, year, decade and century that I can.

This is within my 5 year plan:

I have everything I need to make that happen...I just have to claim it :-)


...next post, I'll write about the wedding 'cause I know everyone is dying to know ;-)

2 Weeks To Go!!...Well, 12 Days, But Who's Counting? ;-)

Yep, I'm counting down, and I'm very excited. Yayy!

Yesterday was my bridal shower, and it was sooo cute!  My Matrons of Honor set everything up in this cool apartment in Tribeca that had an AMAZING view.  I LOOOOVVVVEEEE Tribeca!  The food, festivals, shopping, architecture...That's another rant for another post for another time.

Anyhoo. Besides the gifts, and the food, and the drinks, and the advice, the best thing about the party was watching the girls play a game where they had to create a wedding dress out of toilet paper and paper clips. I can't wait to see the pics.  The best gift I received was from my best friend Natalie, who gave me a mini Oscar (my first of many, as she put it *smile*) with the inscription "Nihara Nichelle, Best Supporting Wife, Married Life - May 14 2011".  Yes, I got all teary eyed, but I blamed it on my allergies, and wine buzz ;-)

I truly am blessed that things have been running so smoothly. Besides the wedding day of course, I am anxious to see what the girls come up with for the bachelorette party.  Yesterday, was pretty tame, that's only because we didn't do a lot of drinking.  I can't even imagine what to expect when the booze starts flowing.

 

See, I know my girls.  I'm not worried about their antics.  What I'm looking forward to seeing, is what'll happen when my mom, my stepmom, my dad's new wife, my future mother-in-law, and grandmother get a little happy juice in them. 

 

I have a feeling it'll be an interesting night, to say the least...

My parents are having their own little fun with the idea of what may happen the night before the wedding.  My dad, with his silly self, said he wanted to join us for the bachelorette party, dressed as Madea.  I told him no, girls only, and never to mention that to anyone again lol. Then my mom took it a step further by saying she'd have her new 62 year old boyfriend strip for us. I don't want old or ashy balls, or anyone in drag that's related to me, or otherwise, anywhere near us. Ugh, that image will give me nightmares.

We have a few surprises in store for everyone, and I can't wait. 

Next stop, honeymoon in Cape Cod

Spring Forward

Ok, I've got exactly one month to go, and I'm about to explode.

I've been good this whole journey, but this week a lot of people have been pushing my buttons.  I've been planning my wedding for five months, and things have gone rather smoothly.  I've given people who've wanted to help out certain things to do, and plenty of time to do them in.  But now with just a month away, people want to ask me questions which I've already answered quite a few times before, and my patience is wearing thin.

Writing this out helps me relieve the tension, thank god.

Also, thank god for my fiance. He has definitely been my rock.

Outside out of my notion of wanting to kill everyone who asks the same questions over and over, or wanting to put their two cents in, I'm looking forward to my birthday and wedding week.  I'm excited about the things I get to do for myself, and the fun I get to have with my friends and family.

Not all of my friends and family will be able to attend 'cause of finances, but I completely understand. Hell, it's been a struggle for my fiance and I trying to pull all this together on our own, while trying to juggle home, bills, and work.

Our biggest help has been my mom.  She has been my biggest support, even when she had next to nothing.  I owe everything to her.

My mom has been blind for 12 years. And thanks to Oprah (All Hail Queen Oprah Winfrey), well indirectly, my mom's new doctor, Dr. Calvin Grant (my grandmother saw him on Oprah's show, and recommended him to my mom), will help her regain her sight. 

In the first procedure, he went in, repaired the retina, and removed the scar tissue. In phase two, he'll put photon chips in her eye, so that light can enter it.  And in the final procedure, he'll put in a new lens.

So by next month, my mom will be able to see me walking down the aisle. :-)

More blessings related to wedding and career:  like any smart actor, if you meet an agent or casting director, you keep the lines of communication open in order to build a good relationship. Earlier in the year, I attended a meet-and-greet luncheon at Scott Powers Studios, and got the chance to chat briefly with Michelle Kilic of Ramona's Model and Talent. I arrived to the event a few moments late, felt terribly embarrassed, and knew that was not a good first impression to make.  Like everyone else, I handed in my headshot and resume to her for review at the end, and played the waiting game. I just knew I blew it by arriving late, and I'd probably never hear from her again.

Fast forward to about a month or so ago.  Scott Powers held a commercial print agents forum, and Janine Cerny of Ramona's Model and Talent, was scheduled to be on the panel. We chatted briefly, and I felt really good about our exchange.  She told me to keep in contact with her because once a month Ramona holds interviews with talent they're interested in.  I took that as a good sign.  I got home, found her and Ramona Pitera on facebook, and befriended them both. Then I sent a follow up email to both of them on facebook, and thru my business account. One interesting thing I noticed on Janine's page was that she listed that she's a New York State Licensed Marriage Officiant.  I said to myself, "Is this a sign, or just a random coincidence?" The next time I followed up with her, I also mentioned that I was getting married, and joked that the way things were going, I may have to inquire about her services.  Shortly thereafter, I received an email from her asking me to come in for an interview.

The interviews were held at TVI Studios in the city, because their office is based out of Jersey.  When I got there, Michelle came out to greet me, and she surprised me by saying that she wanted to sign me the first time she saw me at Scott Powers' in January, but some family issues came up, and everything got pushed to the back burner.  And when she saw my name on the list of people scheduled to come in, she just had to come out to see if it was me.

Hearing that definitely put my mind at ease, because I was so stressed and nervous.  Stressed, because the day before, mom had gone thru the first procedure, and I hadn't talked to her yet. And nervous, because I had no idea that I had made a positive impression on all of them instead of a negative one. My dumb butt should have known better.  If I had really made a negative impression, they would not have contacted me in the first place.

My fiance went with me as my support system, which totally helped.  I filled out the paperwork, and we chatted with Michelle until it was time for me to go in and talk with Janine and Ramona.  They asked me about myself and what I had been up to, and I told them about the last couple of projects I worked on, about mom's surgery, and my upcoming wedding. I asked Janine about her being an officiant, and she told me that she became one so she could marry her best friend.  How cool is that?  They asked me if I had taken any commercial classes, and suggested a couple of places to check out since it's been years since I've taken anything.  After the wedding, that is definitely the next step. My goal is to book at least a handful of national commercials, so I can stop messing around in a "day job".

I'm feeling good. Spring has definitely sprung, and I'm looking forward to what blossoms next...

How Sweet It Is!

I passed up a networking event last night cause I'm on a mission. 

I listened to two great teleseminars last week, which reawakened my motivation and drive. I've realized that even though I've been doing a lot, I felt like I was at an empasse. I was moving but not really in the direction that I wanted to be going. 

Emily Grace conducted a seminar entitled "Get Known NOW:  From Frantic to Focused in 7 Simple Steps".  What really hit home for me was when she said (this is not verbatim) "Are you one of those actors who says, 'I just want to be working'?  Well, you've probably already reached your goal:  You're probably working at a number of things or a number of jobs, and you're frustrated 'cause you're working your butt off, and you don't seem to be getting anywhere. You need to have a clear goal." I realized in life that when you're ready to make a change, ready to move forward toward the life you want, and toward becoming the person you're meant to be, the path will open up to you, and you'll begin to look at things with new eyes.  I've been performing, auditioning, studying and practicing the majority of my life. Listened to countless suggestions on what to do in my career "in the meantime/to make some money now/cause you never know where it can lead", instead of listening to my own intuition, and believing that I could have what I really wanted.  Just like I let go of my hangups and fears, and opened myself up to a loving relationship, it was now time for me to do the same in my career. I wrote down all 7 steps, and re-worked my five-year plan.  I've taken the steps toward completing my first goal, and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of me.  My fiance has been a blessing in my life in so many ways. It was him who told me about Emily's seminar.  I don't know how he came across it, I just know it came right on time.

The second one I listened to was Lisa Gold's teleseminar on social media.  I'm already on facebook, twitter, actors access, ny castings, casting networks, model mayhem, linked in, myspace, skype, etc., and now have a blog.  Lisa's seminar just helped see what more I can do to brand myself as an artist, and how to properly utilize tools I already have.  I've been on Lisa's mailing list for quite awhile, and really enjoy her seminars and her networking parties.

With Emily and Lisa's words fresh in my brain, I quickly got on the ball. I ordered my reproductions, new business cards, updated my profiles on the casting websites and signed up for Scott Powers Studios' Commercial Print Agents' Forum. I finally feel I'm in the right place for myself.

The other end of the spectrum is the wedding prep. Wonderfully and surprisingly enough, things are going rather smoothly. I'm so happy and relieved about that. My fiance almost has his guest list together, and I have some extended family helping out with finding good group rates for hotels.

The other day, my best friend and my roommate went with me to do a cake tasting. A facebook friend recommended Karen Charles Teesdale of Empress Cakes LLC. Let me tell you, we tasted the cake of Life!  She had samples of red velvet, chocolate and vanilla cakes, as well as strawberry champagne, mimosa, lychee, vanilla bean and pistachio buttercream. The three of us attacked those samples like they were our first and last meal. Now considering that I ended the cleanse less than two weeks ago, I'd been very careful about what I had been eating lately.  I haven't had that much sugar in God knows how long, and my body wasted no time in reminding me of that fact.  Once that sugar crash hit, the three of us were completely done in:  I had the worst stomachache, my best friend had a sugar headache because she didn't eat anything all day except fig newtons, and my roommate ended up with the itis. We were miserable by the end of it, but we all agreed it was sooooo worth it!

We were about to finish all of it, until we realized the nice thing to would be to save at least a few forkfuls for my fiance to try.  He didn't care what flavors I picked, he devoured what was left the moment I put the plate in front of him at home. I asked him what flavors he liked, and he said it all tasted the same to him:  like sugar. He doesn't really care what flavors I picked for the cake and cupcakes, this is all he's looking forward to (and I admit, so am I lol): 

Shenanigans aside, if it isn't obvious, I truly do love my fiance more and more each day. He never ceases to amaze me. On Valentine's Day, I opted to work to have the extra cash, so we decided to have our V-day the night before. It was the most romantic thing I could ever hope for. A candlelight dinner, Al Green on wax, cocktails, dessert, "Romancing The Stone" on Netflix, and a little wink wink nudge nudge. Chalky candy hearts, and cardboard valentine cards from grade school were nice, but Grown Up Valentine's are so worth the wait ;-).

Oh life, How Sweet It Is!

A Clean Slate

Day 6 of the Master Cleanse. My fiance doesn't understand my will power, especially since over the past few days I've been looking at different recipe websites and cookbooks. I haven't been doing it to torture myself, but to motivate myself into getting back into healthy eating habits. I've been working out 5-6 days a weeks for the past couple of weeks.  I'm not only determined to lose the holiday weight, but also to look and maintain a positive and healthy physique for work (acting, singing and dancing), and of course the wedding.

The wedding is very nontraditional, eclectic and colorful. I will be wearing a saree, which means my tummy will be showing, so I definitely gotta show off my six-pack, and of course my tattoos ;-). My fiance wants to wear a sherwani, and the groomsmen and bridesmaids will be in chinese attire.

I'm happy cause I already got the ball rolling on all the plans:  our website is almost done, the place is booked, and in a couple of weeks we begin cake tastings.  I know that seems counterproductive coming off a cleanse, but it's a tough job, and I can't wait to do it :-D!  (In a Homer Simpson voice:) Mmmm, caaaakkkeee *droool*

Sometimes things seem slow careerwise, but I know they're not.  There's an MC I've been working with for several months, providing the hooks on a few of his songs;  "The Colored Museum" will be going up again in March at Roy Arias Theater IV;

I begin rehearsals for "Half Past Yesterday" by Ife-Gail Young within a month; and I'll be working with Jazz Ain't Dead, providing spoken word for one of their pieces in their production of "Porgy and Bess". I will fare the weather this week so I can meet with my agent to go over my pics so I can get some repros done.  And I've also decided to fit voice and dance classes back into my schedule and budget.

In 2011, I've gotten my groove back and I feel great. :-)

No Place To Begin But At The Beginning

It's winter in Brooklyn, NY.  In little over 4 months, I will be a married woman.

Since deciding NOT to become a bridezilla, the wedding planning has been a lot simpler.  That's only cause I try not to think about all that goes into it all that much.  When I think about all that's gonna go into that one day, the thought does get overwhelming.  Mainly because of all the people that want to travel here from out of town.  I keep telling folks I want this to be a small affair.  I don't want anyone to get their feelings hurt.
Funny, I've thrown countless parties before, and my worry then was how I was gonna get a lot of people to come.  And now my worry is how NOT to get a cast of thousands to come.  I'm not gonna worry about it.  I'm just happy that a lot of people do want to come.

On the flip side, is balancing what little finances I have between wedding expenses and career expenses i.e. new business cards, getting more headshots reproduced, classes etc.

As I sit here sipping my coffee, listening to the neighbors outside shoveling through the mush, there's only one thought going through my mind:  "callback callback callback".  I had an audition for "American Idiot" on Broadway today. My saving grace was the headshot that I used:

I channeled the teenage suburban angst of my youth, and did my thing. Now I play the waiting game...