Joy Leslie

I know… I know.. I always do this. It’s been a few days. I said everyday. It looks like I’m not committed. But really, I am!!! Here’s a quick rundown of the past few days:

FRIDAY: I was getting low on groceries and I needed more money to add to my metro card. The one thing that has been really hard for me while under a Next Selection contract has been that I have no source of income. Basically, whenever I need something, I have to ask. It’s always given, but I’m sooooo uncomfortable with asking for things. So I went to my brother to have a talk about it. First, I was gettting tired of ONLY doing MySpace, my blog and YouTube all the time. I needed something to do. So he gave me a project. And I’m glad. At least I have something else to fill my 18 hour days. My brother is making a movie and wants me to research all the film festivals that he should submit his film to. I think this could be fun… I’m also going to start checking out some new t-shirt designs for his Diamond Girl models. That is also something that sounds like fun..

SATURDAY: My parents showed up in New York for a surprise, kind of, visit. I didn’t know about it, but my brother did… so it was a surprise to me. I met with them at their hotel in Midtown and ate lunch with them. My mom was tired, so my dad and I walked thirty blocks to my husband’s job just to see him. My hubby was exhausted and was just getting off work, so he, my dad and myself all came back here to the apartment. My dad wanted to see it anyways. I started to get sleepy, so then we turned in while my dad went to the studio to catch my brother film some stuff for his movie.

SUNDAY: I met up with Ryan and my parents for church. It was supposed to start at 11am, but people kept trickling in WELL into the 11 o’clock hour. It was a good time though. Then, of course, the real reason that my parents came was to celebrate my dad finally passing the Arizona BAR! My brother went back to the studio for a while, so my parents both came back with me so that we could show my mom the apartment. Then we grabbed a taxi and went to brunch back at their hotel. That meal was so so so so good. You know what else was also really good? Hotels have cable TV!!! I haven’t watched a football game in soooo long, or seen my beloved Animal Planet, the History channel, or Discovery. I miss TV. LOL … So we had dinner reservations at Phillipe Chow’s at 7, but my husband couldn’t get off work. So it was just the four of us again - for another FANTASTIC meal. It was getting late, so we all decided to turn in. I miss them. They probably didn’t think so, but I do. I miss you, Mommy and Daddy!

MONDAY: My husband’s FIRST day off of work since the first week he started. He’s been working CRAZY hours for so long, I hardly ever get to see him until it’s bedtime!!! He got home late on Sunday night, so we slept in until around 10:30… well, he was also kind of sick, so he actually slept until about 3pm. Poor thing. He was all set to hang out, but he was seriously sick. I got him some non-drowsy medication and we made a walk down to Whitecastle. It was our first time there. One word: OVERRATED! HA! We also decided to get some movies since we don’t have cable for TV and only can watch DVDs. Spent the rest of the evening curled up in bed with the hubby watching some good stuff.

AND NOW - we’re all caught up! Back to the grind. I am still dedicated to trying this out for reals, but my family has always taken priority in my life… so I can’t say that I regret any of it - because I don’t. But I know I may have set myself back a little… *sigh* Forgive me?

Found some great instrumentals on YouTube… Decided to sing Norah Jones “Don’t Know Why” for you… hope you like!!!

I have been indoors for like two days. It’s been kind of gloomy outside so I didn’t feel like braving the rain. But then I realize, “why not? I have this new, curly do so that I can sweat, get wet and still look fabulous…” LOL. Riiiiight. SO.. today, I went to Times Square about an hour earlier than I was supposed to for my dance class. My husband was home from work, but all he’s been doing is sleeping (bless him, he needs it - but I get so bored!!!).. I decided to go a little earlier so that I could walk around and kill some time around actual people and not just those people on the TV screen. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been trying to befriend people left and right. It’s just not that easy to start hanging out with random people without feeling like you need to have a little bit of your own life at the same time. It’s starting to get cold. I was (and still am) wearing a tank top and some work out pants for dance. The only jacket I had was my sweatshirt.. so I’ll be honest, I was cold. I just didn’t care. I need to get out!!! I need a life. I’m too social not to have a life!!! So out I went to find something that could start looking like a life - it was pretty successful.

First, I met a guy on the subway named Aramis. A poet who knows some people at the Broadway Dance Center, and who is actually good enough to get an editor’s shout out on Poetry.com. You can check him out.. his stuff is pretty good! Also new to the city - he struck up a conversation with me because he was asking me if the train I was on stopped at 14th street. Of course, there was no way I could help him, but we got into a conversation anyway. Nice guy. Well dressed… manages a store - I forget the name of it. (Oops).. but that was that. I got his email address and told him I’d look him up. Then, there was Jasmine, a girl who worked at the Duane Rx in the Square. We didn’t talk too much, but for some reason when I DID talk to her it was all smiles. She made an impression. But that’s about it. Then, there’s Chanan (pronounced like Shannon). He’s the guy that took my payment for the BDC dance classes on my first day. I passed him on the street first, but didn’t realize it was him until I was like 10 feet past him. I still ended up at BDC like 45 minutes earlier, but he was there! Thank goodness - because I can really see this guy becoming a cool friend. If you’re reading, Chanan, I really do! You should all check out his myspace page at www.myspace.com/jakhamah. That’s also his YouTube name… He’s teaching and dancing all over the city and he’s totally interested in maybe doing some choreo for me (if I ever get to a place where I need it.. I will I will! POSITIVE THOUGHTS…) so yeah.. We exchanged info and I’m totally planning on seeing him again in the near future. He teaches HOUSE/HipHop and Step classes. I had no idea exactly what HOUSE is, but it sounds fun. Maybe I can get my husband to come with me to a dance class that he teaches. Y’all don’t know it - but my man can dance circles around me. If you ever saw it - you know what I’m talking about. LOL .. So hooray!!! AWESOME networking day for me!

I’m glad I got out of the house today. Sometimes I drag my feet and feel lazy, but I never regret it when I do. I’m going to make it a habit. Even in dance class, I saw a girl who looked like it was her first time - she was real quiet - not unapproachable, but reserved, so I made it a point to talk to her at the beginning of the dance class. Her name was Whitney.. I managed to tell her when it was my brother’s song playing during the warm-up. No sign of Athena.. She was the one who first told me about the House classes. I think I might try it once. Bev is awesome in her Hip Hop classes - but I want to spread my wings a little too.

ALSO, one of the guys I met out at the restaurants/bars a few days ago found me on facebook so we’re totally going to get to see that guy too. I’m making friends - and I love every minute of it. Anyone else wanna be my friend??? LOL

OH YEAH, and in the spirit of Halloween… Saw these HILARIOUS pictures of some pumpkins… they’re kind of cras - so get your children out of the room!!! I warned you all…

So yesterday and today I had the privilege of being able to see and meet people on their own personal New York Hustle. I went down to 92nd street and 2nd Avenue, close to where my husband works, and got to see a little bit behind the scenes of busy New York bar/restaurants.

First stop, Yorkville, which is two buildings away from the ASPCA (I’m SO volunteering there!) and located in the Marriott Hotel. I met one guy who literally came into work, asked for a schedule change, got his paycheck, looked at it, and QUIT all in the span of 30 minutes. Seemed like a cool enough guy, just wanted more payoff for the hours he was putting in. I felt kind of bad for him, but since he quit, that made my husband the new manager. Crazy right? One man’s pain-in-the-butt is another man’s promotion. Later, went to another place where I met some guys in their mid to late 20s that were basically taking a break from the business life to relax a little. Also cool people, and I think we might hang out again one day. I let one of them hear a little bit of my songs and he wishes me genuine luck on my singing career. He “really think(s) that I got a chance.” One more stop at another bar where the bartender just moved here from Vancouver. VANCOUVER folks. It’s really close to the Washington state border, and it’s not Siberia. Yeah it gets cold - but I really think we should start to know a little more about our Canadian neighbors up there. There was a super cool chick with the most beautiful sleeve tattoos I think I might have ever seen. She’s gonna call me up so we can go to the Met soon, and she knows some people where she can go see some live music for free and wants to get me in with her sometime. Really excited to see where that’s going. (I’m making friends, see?!) Another man at the bar, Kenny, a little inebriated to say the least, but a musician. He sampled one of my songs and was really happy and genuinely surprised at what he heard. He thinks I got something too. This is the opinion of the general public, folks, so I think we may be on to something here… I dunno, what do you think? I had a late night so I didn’t write (I know, sorry!!!) but I’m here now, and that’s all that matters. HAHA, I sound like a bad movie.

Been eating solid foods. It’s undoubtedly still one of the biggest highlights of my days. Haven’t been to the studio in about 2 days. The walls were starting to close in on me, so I had to take a breather.

Halloween is like a week away folks! I have a cool witch costume that I’ve never gotten to wear out. Anything fun going on for you guys? I want to do SOMETHING, but since I’m a total newcomer, I’m totally at the mercy of whatever the city has to offer me. But this is NEW YORK?! There’s gotta be something right???

I’m posting a picture of my costume below. I think it’s really cute.

BAH. I stayed home today to do laundry and run errands. It was piling up. Sometimes even the musicians have to get back to reality and handle their business. I needed groceries (YUM), batteries for the TV remote, and to clean house a little. But I didn’t forget any of you guys.

Since I can officially sing, I decided to leave you all a song today. Actually - this is for Evonne… Love you, girl!

Anyways, sorry I was so uneventful today. But I hope you like my video!!!

PHEW!!! I literally JUST walked into the studio to sit down and do my blog. I left home at 12 noon today to get to my hair appointment in SoHo for 1. MAN.. My hair really needed this because they gave me the WORKS. Dye job, heat, shampoo, conditioner, set, cut, curl, dryer, tracks, flat iron, curling iron - done!!! That’s the extremely condensed version. This process took me a little over five hours to complete. My hair dresser’s next appointment was at 4pm and we didn’t even finish until a little after 6! Lucky for us, he had a lot of other errands to run, so he wasn’t annoyed or pissed off. This is a TOTALLY new look for me! I’ve only gone to a hair salon once to get curls like this - and they only lasted 3 days because I couldn’t run my fingers through them. Since then, it’s been straightened, highlighted, braided and straightened some more, but I haven’t gone back to the curls. So… I’m trying something totally new. I kind of like it. It’s different - but I think it’s kind of hot too. LOL — I just hope I can get the same look tomorrow when I’m not in the salon and have to do it all myself. I told the hairdresser that I was doing this for a kind-of makeover for my singing career and she was like, “You should have told me!” I got nervous because I’m wondering - am I NOT going to get the rockstar hair I thought I was getting? But in the end, I think it turned out pretty awesome. I would normally be really self-conscious about how it looks and think that all of the stares mean that I look ridiculous. But the way that the assistants were oohing and aahing over it, I’m going to CHOOSE to believe the the stares are admiration…? That feels weird to say. But I’m saying it!!! HAHA there was a really, really, drunk, old guy on the subway on my way home, who was actually sleeping for 80% of the ride, that woke up and was asking me in a super-slurred voice, “Hooww…you..geshhoo.. puurddiiee?” Then he wanted to sing to me. “Whooshuurrr faaavrrit singehh?” I tell him Stevie Wonder. He starts singing “Isn’t She Lovely” and I’m glad that I have to get off on the next stop. Nah, he was harmless. Just wasted. But it was funny. And I got two pick-up attempts on the way to the studio. So, yeah. I’m choosing to believe that my hair looks good.

Man - I wish I had more to write about, but this hair thing literally took up my ENTIRE DAY. One extra good thing about today… I’M FINALLY DONE WITH THE MASTER CLEANSE!!! I have made my final batch of lemonade and tomorrow I get to begin the journey back to actual food. Thank the LORD! I already bought my orange juice, veggie-soup broth, and some other veggies. I can’t wait. VIVA la FOOD! LOL… until tomorrow!!!

Day 9 of this Master Cleanse. I’m so seriously ready to have a normal meal that I can barely stand it. People say it gets easier as the days go by, but for me, it’s gotten harder. I desire the lemonade mix less and less and a big, juicy steak more and more. HAHA!!! But - as an added bonus for you guys, I’ll get to sing some more on my videos… since I’ve been on restriction, my voice is all nice and ready to sing. So I’m hoping that not only will I get to sing more on the blogs, but that work on my album can start up and go quickly.

I had a hair consulation today in SoHo. Man, I took the subway and there’s all of this construction going on so I kind of got a little lost and ended up being like 30 minutes later than scheduled. But I called the girl (Melinda) and she was cool. So tomorrow I finally get pampered and get to do something totally girlie!!! If I’m ever in a bad mood, or I feel like I need to get away - this is the best way to do it. I go get my nails done, or my hair, or buy a new outfit. So needless to say, I’m super excited to get my hair done. I was talking to her about different styles and we’re going to try to train my hair to go curly and more natural. It’ll be a completely new and different look, but I’m open to it. I mean, she’s a professional, right, so she knows what she’s doing.

I’m going to get a new look for this blog. Any ideas? I’m totally clueless. Leave me a comment with your ideas and I promise to consider them. I have no ideas of my own - so you know I’m not lying..

Dance later! Basic class. I am expecting to have fun. So I better. Haha.. no really.. It should be fun. Because, as you already know, I love dancing!!! Take care guys!!! Until tomorrow!

First off, I know this post is a few hours late - but last night when I got home the internet connection was down… so… Sorry!!! Better late than never though, right?

Okay. So since I’ve moved to NYC with my husband, we see each other, but we haven’t had the time to REALLY spend quality time together. I’m sure you all know that QUANTITY isn’t the same as QUALITY… He’s been busy with his job, and I’ve been busy with all of this. By the time we get done working, all we have time to do is walk home and crash at the house. I said a few posts earlier that my marriage takes priority and I happen to take this statement very seriously. To be completely honest with you all - I told my brother that if he wasn’t able to move out here with me, that I wouldn’t be pursuing this music thing at all. Home is where the heart is, and this guy IS my heart. Literally, the guy is my rock. So if I start to feel us drifting, I start feeling like something has to be done.

So yesterday, after he got off work, we decided to go to the city and hang out. Of course, on the one day we decide to do this - it’s raining. So we know we can’t just walk the streets. So we take in a movie. Bourne Ultimatum. Actually pretty good. I don’t know what it was about it though, but like 10 different people got up and left before it was over. Do people in NY just not like Matt Damon or something? LOL … Oh well, I really liked it. Poor hubby was dying because he’d only gotten a few hours of sleep the night before and when it was over he confessed that he watched the whole thing in a daze. So maybe it wasn’t the best idea to be sitting in a dark room when it’s raining outside and you only had 3 hours of sleep the night before. Lesson learned. But even so… we needed it. Just a little time to get away, you know?

I was going to film some of me walking around the city and post it up, but there was a camera malfunction… Sorry guys… Anyways, be good to each other - and be good to yourselves!

Just got back from my dance class. I did a lot better today than I did the first time around. The song wasn’t as fast and I actually picked up all of the moves! Bev, the teacher was workin’ us out, though!!! She had us do this routine over, and OVER, AND OVER and when she shut off the music - all you could hear was everybody breathing all hard. No one talked or anything! She kept saying that she was going to show us how to get “ghetto.” What exactly does that mean? LOL But this Saturday is her Basic level class and I think it’ll be (on the whole) slower paced. I plan on going and maybe I’ll get some guts and not stand in the back for that one. I think she noticed me today because there were so many people that were having trouble with bouncing - and that happens to be one thing that I figured out. Even the class assistant was getting some whoopin from her! She started to get a little frustrated at the end and broke out the “I only have one lung and I’m working really hard right now - so can you people PLEASE try to get this right?” Way to make the entire class feel bad! Nah - she was cool - the class was cool. I made a friend, I think. Her name was Athena. Lives in Long Island. I gotta start being more outgoing. Otherwise I’ll be a wallflower forever in these classes. I think my brother’s song is a staple for her warm-ups. They do the same warm-up every time so… um yeah. Duh. I don’t know the name of the song we danced to today, but I liked it. It made it fun. I’m telling you, without music my life would be so empty!!! We’d have no reason to dance, and I’d be out of a career. LOL.

Anyways, I worked it out today. I took the subway out there (first time by myself) and back and I’m totally pooped. But MAN, I feel so accomplished!

So today, I kind of got in trouble because of an overdrawn account. My brother wants to help me out with this so much that he basically ordered some sort of program that tells you your credit score in a few minutes. I don’t have the best score, but it’s not as bad as I thought it was. I checked with three different credit bureaus and my score ranges from 583 to 571. All of them say that my credit score is “Not Good.” This all started because of the mail. Since I moved to New York, my parents have been checking my mail at my old address and there was a statement from my bank in there saying that I had overdrawn. My mom told my brother and my brother had a meeting with me about it. So now I have to go through all of my accounts, close old ones and open new ones so that I can work on bringing my score up to at least a 700. This may sound boring to some of you, but if you don’t handle this sooner rather than later you’ll have problems doing a lot of things in life as an adult. They check your credit for everything.. renting apartments, getting a loan, getting a car, getting other credit cards.. pretty much anything that you need to survive on your own. So, it looks like I have my work cut out for me.

My views are up!!! Today, I was the #8 most viewed musician’s page on YouTube. This is mostly due to my myspace/YouTube friend, Stacey aka “princesscandy899″ — so thank’s girl!!! Whatever you did worked WONDERS and I’m really grateful. I’m going to keep up with my posts and I’m probably going to start singing some more on them so stay tuned! I singing Alicia Keys’ “No One” today in my video… well, a little bit of it. Thanks to YouTuber Parisbeach123 for the instrumental! I’ve been kind of sick so my brother told me that I can’t sing too much right now - at least until I’m off this crazy diet…

Speaking of the diet, Day 6 and I’m feeling a lot better. I slept for a long time last night, but it was sooooo what I needed! Plus, no dance classes today. I’m going tomorrow. And then again on Saturday. Can’t wait! Haha.. riiiight. No, really. I do like dancing. I think this is good for me. Thanks again for reading, and I hope you enjoy the song!

Hey everyone!!! Today in my video I talk a little bit about this thing we call music. I have been thinking about what it is that I wanted to say to people who only feel like I’m getting a shot at this music thing because of Ryan. Well.. I have an answer! Yes, I am lucky to have his support and undoubtedly the opportunities I’m being given can only come from him… but this is really MY project. I wouldn’t have completely uprooted my entire life - not to mention the life of my husband - so that I could come out here, eat some bomb New York food and just HANG OUT. No way! This is something that I am requiring myself to put 110% into! This is a self-directed project. All of the ideas for what I need in order to prepare to make this happen has to come from me. My brother is there to help me get those things, but I’M the one telling him that I want to take the dance and voice classes. I’M the one telling him when I feel like I’m ready to sing at an open mic. I’M the one that is the driving force, and he basically provides the means. So I’m going to keep on writing songs (since I’m not too good at that yet), trying to put my face out there more, and really give this music thing all I’ve got. Otherwise, what would this be? A nice vacation maybe? I mean, I don’t know many people who want to be in New York during THESE months (not to mention the colder ones to come).. That would be such a waste… of money, time, energy. Let’s face it. I’m the one who has to make it happen. So, here I am. I’m putting myself in the hands of the rest of the world. To be completely honest with everyone, it’s a scary thought. I don’t want to let anyone down. My husband, my brother, his staff, my family and friends - they all believe in me. I can’t let them down. Shoot… I can’t let ME down! So yeah. This is the real deal. Gotta make it happen. Who’s with me?

Been feeling kind of exhausted today. I seriously had one of those comatose sleeps where you try to wake up or move and you realize that you can’t. It was so hard to just get out of bed without giving up within seconds and jumping right back in again LOL! If after 10 days I’m still hungry and this exhaustion is still hanging around - I’m so done with the Master Cleanse. I can’t stress to you guys enough just how much I LOVE food. I mean, I really really love it. My husband even says that he notices that whenever I’m eating, I’m like singing or dancing around… it’s because food really brings me happiness! So this is day 5. I’m counting them down. Can’t wait!!! Until tomorrow, folks….