I will never forget Sunday, 4-28-2019.
It all started a little more than a year ago, Feb 2018 when Around Seattle in 80 Dates was published and my story became public.
A lot of people around me were involved in my life when I was living the stories. When I finally published the book many of them were surprised. I met a lot of people that had good stories and many of them declared on a regular basis, that “one day they will write a book”. They just “have to” and they are planning to. But it is hard to start – and finish.
When I was laid off from a company that I was employed with for fifteen years Mike #80 said: “That’s it, the universe is telling you something.” I had a bitter smile on my face when he said it. A lot of dreams were crashed the day I was laid off.
At that point in time, I was about to relocate to India for three years and Mike #80 agreed to join me. This meant that he had to quit a job that he loved very much and take the risk of relocating to a country that his professional future is not clear. India is not the best place for a blood bank technologist. But we were in love, living in India was a dream that we both had before we met and we decided that this is our chance. What will be will be – we are doing it.
Being laid off and losing the relocation dream was not an easy pill to swallow. The universe could have been nicer to me and my bank account. I still had to pay a mortgage.
“The universe is giving you the time to finish your book,” said Mike #80. Mike loved the stories I told him and kept saying that I should share them with more people – “so they can learn” he said. Everybody around us was online dating and we were a couple that ‘made it!’ We met online and our life changed.
Mike is a smart man, so I decided he is right – this is my chance to finish the book that I’m talking about for a year now.
Between job hunts, which is a full job by itself, I managed to sit down and write. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. The writing was natural and kept flowing. Mike used to come home, sit down and read what I wrote that day – he was and is the first person to read anything that I write and I take his feedback very seriously.
February 2018 – we were on a cruise to Havana when the book was finally published – which means it was available on Amazon. And then things started to happen. Standup comedy shows, storytelling events, meetups for singles all over Great Seattle, authors’ events, interviews, articles, and podcasts.
Do you think it was tough to write the book? You are right. It was hard, stimulating and emotionally challenging. I wanted to get through with a clear message to the people out there about dating: “You can do things differently and enjoy them. It works!” I also wanted to share stories with my own voice and have people enjoy reading a good book. And the feedbacks were amazing.
When I was approached by Stroum Jewish Community Center on Mercer Island I could not believe my good luck. I was offered a time slot, as part of the amazing and diverse shows that JCC is hosting.
Me? My own show? Where people pay money to see me? That was a crazy and tempting idea. I love challenges and this was a huge one – plan and execute a one-woman show all by myself. Oh, and then make sure that enough people are interested to come to see it and pay for a ticket.
Last Sunday – April 28th – is where a new achievement was made.
The show was SOLD OUT almost a week in advance!
I took the One Woman show and created a family show. My daughter and her soon to be wife started the event by playing and singing their own version to: “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” I continued with a short standup act that I wrote and from there we followed with an interview led by Paul Currington. Paul is a dear friend and also one of the major contributors to the storytelling world in Seattle. We met when I told my first story – 5 years ago – in his very successful storytelling meetup, Fresh Ground Stories – not less than a hundred people in each event, amazing crowd and all true stories. Love this man.
The fact that Mike #80 joined the final discussion and shared his own experience with the audience was the best way to end the show – I could not ask for more. Nobody wanted to go home, and two hours later we were kicked out of the room. Sigh. It was a wonderful event.
As I said – I will never forget April 28th, 2019. I shared one of my best moments in life on the same stage with the people who are my family and friends. They all provided their voice and together created a unique and interesting show that everybody in the room was fascinated and involved. I loved it!
I know, what’s next you are asking… what’s the next mountain you are going to climb?
I can only promise you that I’m working on a few new ideas and the most important one is a Screen Play! Around Seattle in 80 Dates should be on TV – this is how I feel.
The next Sex and the City/The Golden Girls/Thelma and Louise and… how can we forget Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – all mixed up together with Online Dating around Seattle.
Thoughts? Connections? Ideas you have? Do share 😊
Cheers, and wishing us all lots of peaks in life.
