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    Showing posts with label comedy festival. Show all posts
    Showing posts with label comedy festival. Show all posts

  1. Still Hopeful, After All These Years

    Tuesday, April 12, 2016


     
     
     
     
     
    In spite of having a heavy heart, I registered for a comedy festival. 

    Announcements will be made by September 1st. I like me for moments like that where I don’t totally surrender to the unfortunate parts of my life or to depression but instead “keep hope alive.” I am as aware of my gifts as I am of my suffering.
     
    Adding to everything, the director of my main job is moving on; most of us are sad and worried.

     

    She is exceptional and rare. I even asked her if she has a friend she can recommend. It is going to be a trying time.
    No matter how long or short she was our director, she did real good, and I just hope some things stick even after she’s gone.

    The good part (I think) is she will still be involved in our program as she is promoted to head our parent organization. I just pray her new role fits her caring self. I’d hate to see the demands of the job force her to be something other than who she is (ya know how jobs can do).
    …

    In terms of the country, there is hope on the horizon:

     http://observer.com/2016/03/bernie-sanders-rocks-the-bronx/

    The lone Bronx elected official supporting Mr. Sanders, Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda, said at the rally tonight that the Democratic machine had pressured him into endorsing the more moderate Ms. Clinton—and he had to say no, citing the devastation of the Iraq War. Bronx Councilman Ritchie Torres, who is officially neutral in the primary, also attended the rally.

    “Bernie is a man of integrity,” Mr. Sepulveda said. “Bernie is a man who’s gonna lead this revolution.”

     

    http://bronx.news12.com/news/bernie-sanders-speaks-at-bx-community-college-1.11672256

    Sen. Bernie Sanders made his second campaign stop in the Bronx Saturday.
     
    http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/04/08/bernie-sanders-highlights-his-new-york-roots-at-brooklyn-rally/

     

     
     
    As he has in other states, Mr. Sanders told the crowd that a high voter turnout would be critical for him. “Bring your friends and your family,” he said. “Let us make the world know that in this great state, New York is part of the political revolution.”
    Amanda Hooper, a 26-year-old waitress who lives in Brooklyn, said she was excited to see Mr. Sanders in her borough. She said she dropped out of college because she couldn’t afford tuition after her scholarship money was reduced as part of state budget cuts in Florida.
    Now, she’s hoping Mr. Sanders can help people like her afford school and said she felt confident that Mr. Sanders could win New York’s primary.
    “This is his turf. He’s from here,” Ms. Hooper said, adding that Mrs. Clinton might have worked on efforts in the borough but didn’t have the same connection as someone who grew up in Brooklyn.
    “That’s her turf, all those buildings over there,” Ms. Hooper said, pointing to Manhattan’s maze of skyscrapers. “Brooklyn, I think, is Bernie’s.”

     


     
    http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/04/10/bernie-sanders-did-not-disappoint-at-coney-island/?_r=0

    Mr. Sanders stopped to take photos with people as he walked into Nathan’s. “I love you Bernie,” a woman screamed to him. “I trust you.”

     

     

    Posted by Mindy Matijasevic at 12:00 AM | Labels: , , , , , , , , | 2 comments | |

  2. Just Stuff

    Tuesday, September 2, 2014

     
     
     
    Well, boo fuckin' hoo.  I didn't get selected to participate in the festival where I had submitted a video of me doing stand-up.  Almost sixty people were selected.  I am very curious about the quality of their work and how mine lacks.  In the past few days, I remembered that announcements would be made soon.  So I again watched the tape I had sent, and I realized that the first minute did not get enough laughs per minute if that's how it is judged.  I wondered if they'd watch the whole thing or if my first minute was it.  Oh well.   

    I have had some free time though quite broke.  My dog had vet needs which came when I'm the most broke.  That's the way it goes.  I know my free-ish time will be coming to an end, and though I was able to do many things, there are still many things I didn't get to.  I knew I'd feel somewhat uplifted if I did some cleaning of very neglected areas.  I already had the supplies, so no money was needed.  I finally put the thought and desire into action at 3am one night.  I felt better about myself turning something awful into its original white and shiny state.  Scents changed as a result, and I wondered for a quick second if I upset the mouse world.  The next day a mouse ran by and into my broom closet.  Ugh.  I have to work consciously to feel like it is my apartment and not the mouse's.  I am afraid of rodents and detest that they enter where I exist.  I stomped around to try to convince myself I am bigger and all the stuff people tell me.  My dog immediately knew what that meant, and he then seems afraid which is just awful.  Meanwhile, I am supposed to make sure he doesn't lie on the hard floor so his elbow can heal.  I feel I need to pad the whole place.  He has a bed, he uses the sofa, and I allow him on a chair, but still he lies on the floor also.  Maybe for the coolness.  But his elbow needs to heal.  I'm not supposed to let him lick it, so I put a cone on his head which he hates.  He's an old man, a darling old man, and I hate to make him miserable with the cone, but he has to heal.  He's on a second round of stronger antibiotics. 
    ​



    Soon, both jobs are going to blast me away.  That's how it feels.  I have to remember to breathe and how much better it will be to be able to pay my bills more easily again. 

    I just opened my bottle of wine.  Ten bucks, and I'm my Saturday night date.  I just need a big strong man who laughs in the face of a mouse.   


    ​


                                                                                                                                                                                   
    ​Other than that, I need a nonjudgmental cleaning and therapy team to help me.  It's not that I don't want to throw things out.  I am very happy when I've gone through clutter and fill a bag for garbage.  I appreciate the cubic inches of air space.  It feels hopeful.  What is so very difficult is going through and looking at each thing.  No one can do that for me.  I'm digging out, but the pace isn't fast enough.  It's like an archaeological dig.  I find things from eras ago.
     
    I have prepared a shopping bag of clothes to bring to the shelter in the neighborhood.  The more stuff I get out of my house, the better.  I am so overwhelmed.  I need to get this place back to where it once was when it looked like someone creative and healthy enough lived here on a low budget.  Now it looks like a baffling case study. 


    If you would like to come to a free comedy show this Thursday evening, I'll be in Johnny Zito's show at Goodbye Blue Monday, 1087 Broadway, Bushwick, Brooklyn.  (J train to Koskiuszko Street & walk a block.)  7:30pm, nice place, CBGB vibe, affordable drinks, and good food.  I hope to have the honor of entertaining you.  It is my last free Thursday night for some months.  Next week, my evening job will be in full swing.  I am thankful that Johnny fit me into this week's show, and I hope you come and have some laughs with me.  (Hosted by Greggory Daniels! Stand-up from Joe Newman, Robert Commiskey, Monica Taller, Gabe Zucker, Mindy Matijasevic, Rogin Kim, Momoh Pujeh, Mike Hernandez, Dee Marie, Caleb Barge, Yohei Kawamata and Johnny Zito.)
     
     

     

     

    Posted by Mindy Matijasevic at 12:00 AM | Labels: , , , , , , , , , | 3 comments | |

  3. I submitted to a comedy festival.  Those accepted will be announced by September 1, 2014.  There's an entry fee and I got the early bird special entry fee, so I feel reasonable about it.  I accept that the prize money has to come from somewhere.  I don't have a real sense if submitting is premature, or if I'm a contender.  I go back and forth on that.  But I had the money and chose to take a shot.  It can really boost things along if I'm among those selected to participate.  Paid work, exposure to some who can impact my road, and all that jazz.


     

    I know some who have won in the past.  They are definitely further along.  They may have been further along before entering as well.


    I asked around some to hear views about entering.  Of course, in any competition, the majority do not win.  So some of those folks felt ripped off.  Having to pay someone to watch their tape didn't sit well.  I understand that too. 
     
    Speaking of competitions, I'm also in the running in the poetry category of the annual competition from the Bronx Council on the Arts.  They select people for B.R.I.O. (Bronx Recognizes Its Own) awards which comes with a grant.  There are many categories.  I won in 1999 for nonfiction literature and in 2001 for poetry.  There is no entry fee for this as the money comes from grants.  The monetary prize would help me a lot now.


    ....
    On a totally different note, I have had a twisted back for over a week now.  I was in so much pain.  Took a hot shower, had Ben-Gay on, but my sleeping surface isn't helpful and may be partly responsible.  It had been getting better last week, but then maybe I re-injured it in my sleep.  I couldn't do much this past weekend.  Took me over eight hours to get one small wash done at the Laundromat.  Ugh. 
     
    Then there's all the emotional stuff which is what I consider the real life.  There are many people I want to be able to make contact with while we are all still on this Earth.  Many are cousins who were kept in the dark about what my life was all about growing up.  The problem is how risky it all is.  Some prefer the dark.  They paint their own pictures.  Some could never believe things I experienced by people they had very different experiences with.  Some feel abandoned by me but have no idea how painful it all is for me.  Some can't process my reality.  There's a lot of blaming the victim that goes on.  Then there are people who were friends, and for whatever reasons, some still unclear to myself, I didn't continue the friendship.  One has weighed on my heart much of my adult life.  Billy Groginsky.  A very good human.  I often want to contact him but am not sure what to say that would mean anything to another person.  He didn't deserve to be made to feel bad by me.  He was always good to me.  I've cried much over this.
     
    There are aunts and uncles who I wish could understand what weighs on my heart.  I had hoped my autobiography would've been written before now.  I had hoped everyone would've understood more of the picture.  But it isn't written.  Truthfully it wouldn't have been as good as when I do write it because I have reached deeper understanding now.  But my grandparents, parents, and my mother's oldest three siblings have all passed.  I hope they are still alive in whatever form and aware of me.  Sometimes I feel sure they are.  I talk to them often.  Some cousins and friends have passed too.  It all hurts a lot.  The estrangement with those alive hurts too. 
     
    When my body isn't up to par, I can really delve into unhappy places.  I guess it boils down to missing my mommy which was often my grandma as well.  While I miss everyone, these were also very troubled relationships (not so much with my mother as I never had to doubt her love, but that's a whole other tragedy).  Anyway, I remembered a once best friend telling me about the wonders of Alleve.  I bought some, and it helped my back (and mood) a lot. 
     
    Some relationships at work are great while others are challenging in very different ways.  Sometimes for breakfast, I watch this to help me get ready.
     


     
    ...
    Then, due to the era in which we are living, there are moments that are such wonderful surprise gifts.  A woman on Facebook from Australia saw my video and wrote:

     
    Hi Mindy loved your standup video-I would love to see more youre really good!


     
    ...And that was so uplifting and made me glad once again that I applied for the festival.  So we'll see what happens.  You know I'll share with my readers, fans, friends.  While I'm thinking of it, let me ask you once again if you know folks who'd be curious about the off-stage life of a N.Y.C. woman trying to make it in comedy, please share this link with them.  I thank you.






     

    Posted by Mindy Matijasevic at 12:00 AM | Labels: , , , , , , , , | 3 comments | |