Jyotsna du Ciel

“What??! I can’t hear you!” was a recurring ring in my ear today as I was performing a scene from Mrs. Klein. What has happened to my voice? I thought I had made some progress but the hard realities that a voice teacher from England told me, of not skipping vocal exercises even for a week, hit me hard. Today my teacher in this workshop (amazing, inspiring, man), had to keep reminding me of my current vocal size being inaudible on stage. I go up again in a day when the workshop ends but meanwhile I need to start immediate work on my voice! ahhhh…..wait, I mean AAAHHHHHHH…..

Last Thursday I was in the park downtown sitting on a bench near someone with a beautiful voice strumming on his guitar singing passionately. There was barely any sun seeping thru in this early part of the evening. I had gone there to memorize some lines but then felt in the mood to write about my current events. I was there for an hour when I got a text message on my phone. It was a classmate from my French class texting me from a meetup at place in the eastvillage, but I was content in my spot at the park and not that interested in going. A few minutes later another mate called me insisting that I stop by. So I ended up going . I must admit this time it was quite enjoyable. I wasn’t there long but it made me decide to go to the Monday one that was happening at a restaurant that I like in the lower eastside. So yesterday I went. The atmosphere was lovely and there was a great mix of francophiles to converse with. Glad I gave it another shot b/c it does help me in my application of the language, with my “creative” grammar and all;)

What can I say I‘ve hovered over that railing and watched them sliding, falling,spinning and turning away. Something I haven’t done since I went to a rink with my friends in middle school…but even then I never did do the sliding, turning or acrobatics part but more the falling, hanging onto friends and the railing. So another winter skating season has gone by and I never made it onto the roc skate rink. I need point to a date and make an event of this now for next year with some friends.

so i joined a group online and two weeks later, lastnite in fact, attended my first meet-up. it was in a dark lowly lit basement area of the pub with one big screen that had a football match playing on it. when i first got there the place was rather empty. a few people scattered around whose eyes i could feel fall suspiciously upon me. i scanned the room to see signs of my two classmates that had confirmed with me, would be in attendance, for this french language meet-up. at no sight of them and feeling a little vulnerable i started dialing. then i spied one familiar face and rushed over before giving the person at the bar hawking in my direction a chance for any type of interrogation. so began the start of the meet and greet and chit-chatting…in french…or as much french as we knew to chit-chat in. a few minutes in, the second of the two classmates arrived and one by one others from the group rolled on in. there were many there that were at this meet-up for the first time and then the “regulars”. i must be completely honest however, i did find… well i don’t like to say this but some folks were just a bit “off” and not in the way i find to be curious either, almost creepy at times perhaps evan personally aggressive. at one point i felt trapped in a circle being bombarded by a rapid fire of questions shooting my way. i think got dizzy. as soon as i was able to duck away i headed toward my friend and we just stared at each other across the way, sensing synchronisity in eachothers internal monologue, we just could not stop with our outbursts of laughter toward the situation we were surrounded by. i probably won’t be going back to this meet-up any time soon but am open to try other groups later…maybe a knitting group…who knows. i still think its worth a try for those who haven’t done it. it was quite hilarious really.

i might be on the path to getting this happen sooner than i thought. i enrolled myself in a class as part of “le club theatre” and even though i have a lesser amount of french knowledge compared to the others in class the teacher, Marie-Helene was very supportive and very comforting as it was a little scary to be the new girl in class working in a language that i am learning. during our exercises marie just tells us to use”blabla” when we don’t know or recall the words/grammar etc… so yes i’ve been bla-bla-ing away!

Ok this is not as impossible as people think, even here in NYC. First of all if you are an actor and belong to any of the unions (or even not) i highly recommend you go to a seminar on real-estate buying that the Actors Federal Credit Union.They have one every once in a while or call them and find out when the next one is. There are many purchasing options available. It is however very important to do your research thoroughly and get organized to achieve this or any other goal. You’d be surprised to know that straight out capital is not the most important thing! However your credit score and history is rather important when loan amount and interest are determined. So first, if your credit is not in order I highly recommend that you make that priority number one. There are many ways to do this and a number of book resources (one that I have read and like is Suze Orman’s) to guide you or even seminars as the one I mentioned above.
Also I can’t stress enough the importance of getting a good lawyer! A bad lawyer can make this process a nightmare. The closing process especially in NYC can be extremely daunting. unlike other places, in NYC as of right now b/c the sellers market is so strong, often the seller will put in terms in the contract that might set you back a couple $$$$$. They may for example in the contract ask you to pay their lawyers fee and also their transfer taxes, you may not have too much leverage in negotiating especially if they have the contract sent out to other people wanting the same apt., this is in addition to your own lawyer fee, taxes,working capital contribution (which is 2 months of the c.c. charge) insurance, and down-payment etc. Before the closing date make sure to go inspect the place and have the punch-list drawn up. A punch-list is all the stuff that you are requesting the owner to fix prior to your closing date or a period of time thereof agreed upon.

Your purchase also comes with responsibilities. Such real-estate tax, common charges (if you live in an apt/condo/co-op). one thing to know is that many of the converted and renovated building in the NYC area are eligible for tax abatement which can relief a huge financial burden. There are also individual tax rebates such as, star.

There is a lot of homework to be done prior to purchasing a place be patient, ask questions, get organized, do everything in steps, there are many options out there and its not just about having capital. At the end it can be rewarding in many levels.

ok so when i say random i am also including people i’ve met along the way and have perhaps even inputted in my phonebook or e-mail but never made much of an effort to get to know them in anyway, for whatever the reasons maybe.

the other day i went to a bookstore to finish my homework. i had an interesting encounter. a man asks if he can sit down. i say, “yes, of course” and went about my work. he makes a comment on my energy. i look up and say, “huh” as to ask him to repeat himself. he replies, “i’m feeling…energy…” we ended up talking for a while. the release that came from that moment of being able to talk to someone without any sort of care or judgment and any of that other nonsense, such an overburdening wooing session, can feel very freeing emotionally. it is amazing the connection one can have with random strangers sometimes that doesn’t feel strange at all. that was it, it was a moment, then i got up and left for class. i asked him what he did and he said, “oooh im not important…i’m a business consultant.” his “business” was LIFE.

that is my tag line on a site i just joined. i always thought it quite intriguing that this has now become a common place and after being on it for one week, i can see kind of why it would be. i’m on a small site that i think is geared perhaps to the urban creative types (or so i think). yes, one does seem to get a lot of emails but i learned something from them. i tend to respond well to those that have stream of thoughts that are complete and a worldliness that sparks my interest.
you know what it is… when a person has had some experiences that are uniquely parallel to my own, it makes a connection that is more relatable. at least in a certain aspect of my life that is important to me.
i don’t know how long i’ll keep it active however…..because even though you can ignore to check your account, i still at times want to be unreachable…and go meditate~

I must have read the first few pages of this book time after time only to put it down and forget about it till a few months later repeating this cycle over and over again. It wasn’t until I managed to get past the first 14 pages that I then became hooked and couldn’t put the book down. Michael Preston does a great job retelling the true stories of the emergence, devastation and mysteries that lie behind the deadly Ebola virus. It was a thrilling read indeed.
Up next….”Life of Pi” by Yann Martel

In the past I have dabbled doing a Yoga class here and there but never had a steady practice going. Well now that it has become part of my daily routine it has changed my life…wait no, let me rephrase that: it has given me MORE LIFE!

Yes do it. It made a difference to have a space dedicated to all things, “work”. Keeps me organized, focused and a little more sane. Also allows the other parts of my room to be more of a sanctuary to rest and relaxation instead of work.

Yes the office is done…now if I can only figure out how to troubleshoot my printer and use the fax, well that would be the cherry wouldn’t it?!

Yes I was slow as a snail but I did finally finish.

A: Yes! (if ya have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner!)
Kay, I did my three days, yes my skin looks fab, but to be honest I couldn’t even complete a day’s worth of the meals and snacks recommended by Dr. P. It really became a chore to eat especially the crazy amounts of salmon. He even recommended it for breakfast! Yes…yes I’m re-starting my 4 month “go veggie” today.

I shouldn’t have picked up Dr. Perricone’s book while at Barnes and Noble! Anyway I ended up skimming thru it. I have a little bit of an obsession with healthy, glowing, beautiful skin and well…. So ya he promotes eating a lot of wild salmon and had a three day program to give skin some radiance. Long story short lets just say I’m on day one.

I ordered a desk and a proper work chair. They will be delivered tomorrow.

As an artist-actor I have to be very proactive about work. Much of my time is used for canvassing new work. I spend a good deal of time on the Internet, writing, mailing without the help of an assistant (not yet anyway;). I have been using the dinning table as my make shift desk with paper and stuff spread out in cabinets, closets, under the bed etc…
I NEED A HOME OFFICE!
Good news however, I started by getting a loft bed today. Thus giving me space for my office.

Ok… ok, so I got a new cell phone back in February, yet, I still haven’t managed or had the patience rather to completely transfer all my contact numbers from my old phone to my new one. The biggest reason being the snail pace process of the whole manual inputting thing.

So here I am again staring at my shelves piled with books thinking, “Damm Barnes & Nobles! Damm Drama Bookshop!” I go in to peruse and end up with some must have self-help, inspirational, book of the year, bestseller, this is gonna change my life, ooh… want to perform this or ooh… this may have a good monologue, book. Thus begins the catch up game. Months go by and there they are (half at least) stationary collecting dead skin cells guised as dust.

So hence forth I begin my journey conquering my shelf one book at a time. I shall begin with The Hot Zone by Richard Preston (NY times best seller) …A terrifying true account of a deadly ebola virus.