A lot to update you on! First, my personal life has been in a bit of disarray because I've switched day jobs and it's a whole new industry with a lot to learn. The exciting thing is that once I've established myself, there is a lot of scheduling freedom so I should be able to work my gigs in easily! There's a lot to love about being in a cushy office job with huge commission potential. The job I left, while I adored it, did lead to a disfigured finger during an attempted robbery and a lot of uncomfortable moments with clients who hit on me.
Actually one of those uncomfortable moments came from someone I met at the jewelry store during my last two weeks when he struck up a conversation with me over social media. It got a bit weird when he asked for a photo. I politely declined and mentioned he could find photos on my website, but then he said "I guess I'll just have to take what I can't get." I wrote "Ha ha, you don't mean in a stalker way behind the bushes, right?" but then he replied with "No comment."
0_o
!!!!!
Even if he was totally joking and he just meant it to be funny, now I'm a little concerned that he *could* be a serial killer and I already let him know what my next job was. That is not happening to me again! I'm going to keep my whereabouts to myself. You just don't know with people and Marilyn has a LOT of... um... really... invested fans. I've been considering taking up martial arts.
Ooh! Exciting news! I got my two new dresses from my seamstress, so I'll be able to debut them in time for the convention! I'm especially excited about the gold dress. I haven't even taken them out of the box yet... I'm waiting until I feel a little more fit before I try them on. I'm getting there!
Recently I had a Singing Telegram for a gentleman celebrating his 85th birthday. I got there ten minutes before my contact did and nobody was expecting me, but some people who were about to leave let me in the house and decided to stay for the performance. It was fun! The man had worked in the motion picture industry when he was younger so some of the audience commented on that. Everything went super well until the very last bit of my last song when I mixed up the words! And then since I said "back" instead of "knees," my next line didn't rhyme so I gasped "Oh no!" and glanced at the audience, then found my place and kept singing. Super smooth, Lucy! Luckily I set it up in my monologue that Marilyn isn't good with remembering her lines, so if I do mess up the words, at least it's in character! :)
Right before I went inside I was putting on my earrings and I dropped one! It hit the pavement and a little rhinestone popped out. I looked everywhere for it but it was super sunny and hot and I didn't find it. I wore it anyway because I knew no one would notice, but gah! The jewelry store I used to work at fixed it up for me nice and quickly.
I had another Singing Telegram for a sweet old man turning 88 living in an assisted living home way across town. I was warned that since he has dementia he may get a bit inappropriate, but he was perfectly sweet. He kept saying, "Thank you, Mama," very respectfully in a deep voice like Elvis. His daughter who set it up really wanted to get the photo with the kiss on the cheek, so we got a good one! She lives out of town, and asked that we send her a picture.
My other singing telegram was for a dentist in an office full of women. When I was about to perform, I noticed that all the brunettes were on one side of the room and all the blondes on another, so I scooted over to where all the blondes were. He enjoyed the performance, and his all female staff were very sweet! I could tell they had all pitched in because at the end they gave me a tip in an envelope full of small bills. My "kiss first" strategy almost backfired when the dentist pulled away and gave me a quizzical look while my lips were pursed. My eyes must have widened and I asked, "May I give you a kiss on your cheek?" He ended up letting me, but it could have gone either way there for a second.
I also had the great pleasure of singing for a dear friend of mine! She's been so supportive for my entire journey and it was kismet that I happened to be getting ready for my singing telegram in a place where we both were, and it was also a surprise birthday celebration for her so I got to sing Happy Birthday! She said she was starstruck and that she felt like she was the most special person in the world when I was singing for her. That's exactly how I want my clients to feel!
I've been doing pretty well with my diet and fitness. My convention is coming up in 42 days so it is crunch time. I'm pleased with my progress so far and I'm focusing on being forgiving of myself when I slip up. Marilyn liked to eat too and sometimes had to have multiple costumes made for her in varying sizes because her weight fluctuated so much. She also spilled often on her dresses. So we have a lot in common!