Morning! So, as promised, here are some of the Good Things that are happening. This is a seriously long read so grab a cup of coffee or tea. :) But, first, I want to say that Im not boasting. I just want to share something positive with you after literally months of posting mostly not-so-great news. My hope is that these little stories will inspire someone who may be going through a similar stretch to just keep swimming... :) Good Thing #1 I got asked to return to the Collision Project teen theater Summer camp at the The Alliance Theater as an instructor! Ill be working with the theater students/campers and world renowned author + playwright Pearl Cleage. Ive been working on my first play and a one woman show for the past two years so it feels *really* good to be transitioning into things in that field. :) Good Thing #2 I also got asked to blog for and to do some cultural/arts programming for the National Center for Civil + Human Rights, which is set to open June 23. I had a meeting with the director of the center in December but found out I needed surgery right after that and dropped everything to deal with it so I wasnt sure it was still a go. I thought the opportunity was lost, but, three weeks into my recovery, I got an e-mail confirming my participation! Ive been producing events like Queerstock, Ladyfest and Farm To Ear with budgets that havent consisted of much more than my rent so this is a BIG step up from those days. :) REALLY Good Thing #3 Speaking of my surgery... At the time of my diagnosis I was uninsured. Most full time musicians are because we dont get the same paycheck every week--or, maybe, because we think were invincible since we have so many near-death experiences on the road. Ha. Anyway, I was able to get insured through the ACA with a pre-exisitng condition by the Jan 15 deadline, it kicked in on Feb 1, my surgery was approved by Feb 3 and done on Feb 20th. A $42,000+ bill was reduced to a little over $6,000. They also discovered during surgery that if I had waited another month I would have lost control of my major bodily functions. So, the sincerest Thank You I can muster without crumbling into a watery heap of joyous tears to President Barack Obama for pushing this through warts-and-all. No doubt, my life would be *very* different right now... #CloseCall REALLY Super-Fantastic Good Thing #4 Speaking of my medical bills... I received a grant from an organization called MusiCares to cover the majority of my medical bills! This is what they do. They help professional musicians in their time of need. I would like to say Thank You to the staff at Musicares for their patience and a BIG Thank You to my friend Jan Smith aka Mama Jan/Mama J aka Vocal Coach to the Stars like Usher, India.Arie, Matchbox 20, Justin Beiber and many others, who called and went to bat for me. So very, very grateful...
Posted on: Tue, 20 May 2014 12:12:59 +0000