So much to update you on! Maybe I should post more than every four months. 🤣
After the car show, I had a Christmas party in December for a repeat client (they hired me in 2018 and 2019 too!). It's so fun coming back to the same company and it was nice to see everybody again! They were shocked by my physical transformation and when I walked up behind someone seated, he said, "Marilyn's here!" He turned to look at me quizzically and said "Oh, you're not the same Marilyn." But I am! I heard I looked completely different from when I was last there in 2019. How gratifying to get such feedback! 😎
I wrote in the caption for this photo "life of the party" which I thought was funny because all you can see are empty chairs. They had a caricaturist, a hypnotist, and a one-man band. I didn't stay for the hypnotist, but I felt like the life of the party when I danced to "Jump in the Line (Shake Senora)" by myself. It's so fun to dance to!
A little less fun dancing with an inebriated party guest while he's saying "You are so sexy. You are SO sexy." over and over... and over. My dance with him consisted of me deftly backstepping away from his advances. I danced with a few other men that night and I'd just giggle when they'd say something like, "Oh, if I were only twenty years younger!" It was fabulous to see familiar faces and some new ones too. I hope they invite me back for 2022!
I sat for the caricaturist and I know it's not supposed to be like, lifelike or anything but I found myself pondering if I need to improve my posture after seeing this. 😆
After the Christmas party, I had a gig at a dentist's office across town. They had me wait in one of the rooms and he actually walked past and I thought I caught his eye, but he kept walking. He told me later that he noticed me in there and wondered briefly if there was a new patient he wasn't told about. They had him sit down as if he were about to start working on someone's mouth and had me walk in and perform for him right there. It was pretty tight quarters and we were surrounded by the entire office staff. He was surprised and seemed to enjoy it.
My next gig was at a restaurant in a rural setting. I was so glad I was told I could park in the "To Go" spaces because otherwise it would have been quite the walk across a gravel road and lots of grass in my heels with my suitcase lugging my jukebox. As it was, it was a long walk from my car to their table. There were tons of picnic tables outdoors and music playing. I sang for a doctor having a birthday lunch with his friends. I made eye contact with one of their party and that combined with the distracting background noise, suddenly *poof* and I forgot the entire second verse of "Diamonds." It was an awkward 45 seconds, especially since it was being filmed. I always say laugh it off and say, "it's because he's too handsome!" Everyone still enjoyed the performance and got pictures with me afterward. 😆
Happy to say I'm dipping my toe into the self-promotion pool. My recent attempt was at a pin up girl pageant. The organizer promoted us online, and most of the backgrounds she chose for the headshots matched well with the girls' outfits and were cute, but mine for some reason looks like an abandoned insane asylum:
I brought business cards and I made my pin up name the same as my Marilyn biz name, so maybe people will look me up. Quite a few people remarked that I looked like Marilyn, and guess how many business cards I handed out? ONE! 😂 It's a start, I suppose.
I ended up taking home 4th place! I was surprised, especially since I feel like I bombed my speech. It was so short, like less than 30 seconds. I said, "Hi, my name is Millennial Marilyn, I'm from Chandler, Arizona and I'm also a Marilyn Monroe impersonator. The question I received is "How would you define success?" I believe you can measure success by how much joy you feel." And that was it! Short and sweet. I think I may be able to place higher if I can learn how to talk in front of people. 😝
I've got a lot more to update you on which I'll get to next time. My next gig was literally one of the most exciting ones yet, but that story will need to wait. I got lots of video and pictures from this gig, so I've got a lot to share! Stay tuned! 😘