Hey friends,
It’s me, Onicia — writer, comedian, human no longer suffering from eczema and seasonal allergies.
Beloved, ya girl was going through it. From scalp to knees, my body was itchy. Thankfully, I finally put my good-good health insurance to use and went to the doctor. I’m happy to report that I’m no longer flaky and itchy.
I got a Paramount+ subscription to watch Average Joe and Diarra from Detroit. I thought Diarra was a comedy, but it’s more of a detective/mystery-type show. It’s not bad, it’s just on some days, I want to watch a straight comedy and not solve a mystery.
Average Joe is great. The gang got a travel budget for season 2. Love that for them.
Comedy Writing
In my last letter, I mentioned going through 290+ emails with joke ideas. To date, I was able to polish 3 of the 42 usable joke concepts. Before you jump on me for not being more productive, I’ll have you know that I have been working.
Greeting Cards
In August, American Greetings re-opened their writing program. I was able to sell 1 of the 20 greeting card concepts that I came up with. I’m so happy that American Greetings is once again hiring greeting card writers. It had been almost 2 years since their last open call for submissions. I was pretty sure I’d lost that gig to AI.
Fingers crossed that I’m able to sell more cards during future open calls.
Back on Stage
Last month, I also performed at Genius Night. I presented on what it’s like to be an election judge in Chicago. Thanks to Tom Harrison and Josh Watkins for inviting me to share.
A New Era
Friends, we are officially in a new era. My roommates ended their summer furlough and are back at their day jobs. They are now working full time! This means I have the apartment to myself. Now, I’m searching for a way to balance my day job and quiet hours to create art.
I love my roommates. I enjoyed the years when we were all unemployed and kicking it at home. But it’s time for everyone to get to work.
Side thought: According to Chicago Public Library, we had 6 books checked out. The problem was, I’d just returned a literal cart full of books. I was pretty sure that I’d gone through the house and collected all our loaned items. I wondered if the librarians had missed a few books while scanning our huge pile. Thankfully, after about 2 weeks of searching, I was able to find all 6 books. That’s good ’cause I was about to put belt to ass. Not really. It’s just, as a Library KidTM, losing a book is the worst thing that can happen.
Fitness Journey
I’m still on my fitness journey. I have about 1 month to go. I feel like I’ve made life-long habits. I’m now walking for 60 mins a day (I started at 30 minutes). I’m even jogging for the last 3-6 minutes. My mom came to visit and we went to Detroit for a few days so I didn’t lose any weight, BUT I’m feeling less bloated and more energized. Weight isn’t the only marker of health.
In the future, I’d like to incorporate more flexibility training. I’ve been trying to achieve the splits for about 8 years. I think it would be so cool. I’m so out of practice that I’ve lost some range. I would also like to do my core training. In my first sessions, I barely held a plank for 30 seconds.
Women in Comedy
Yay, I discovered another funny woman in comedy. If you have 30 minutes, I highly recommend checking out Ebony Moore’s stand-up comedy special Body Dysmorphia.
Future Goals
This month, I want to write a new 10-mintue set. When I have that on lock, I’ll reach out to some comedian friends for some stage time. Reply to this e-mail if you’d like to beta test jokes for me.
It would be cool to get back to Hey, Ms. Trudy, but I think that would require waking up at 4 am and I’m not quite ready for that.
Also, I think aiming to write a solid 10 minutes of stand-up in 1 month is a good. I should also leave some time in my schedule to write greeting cards should American Greetings have an open call for September.
Anyways, friends. That’s all I have for today. What are your plans for fall? Are you revisiting an old hobby or project? Have you decided on a Halloween costume?