Because I'm happy

My second poetry performance at Rich Mix went well. Very well. I woke up feeling damned good about myself. I had done the reading for my class (Canto I and II of 'Don Juan') and was ready to seize the day. Skip a few hours ahead and I was on my way to work. Yep, work.

When that was over, I made my way over to Shoreditch. I was two hours early for sign-up and starving. I holed myself up in Pret and settled down to do some reading over a tuna baguette and vanilla chai tea. Getting through enough of Orwell that I could handle, I went for a walk and found 25p and then a nice little church garden where I managed to convince a dear old man that I was insane.

But I digress.

At the actual Jawdance event, I sat at the same chair I occupied last month, still feeling good and singing along to the music played by the DJ I didn't realise existed until the host pointed him out. I thought it was a CD of old school hits. Good tunes.

By some weird twist of fate, my performance was third. The host pronounced my name correctly (the accented 'e' thing is definitely working!) and I didn't trip over my own feet. I read my poem a little too quickly for my liking but people laughed in the right places which was cool. Then it was over and the place stormed down with applause. I am not kidding. I tried to head back to my seat but Yomi a.k.a GREEdS insisted I get back up so the audience could cheer for me again. I am still not kidding.

Back at my seat, the two women I was sitting by and got chatting to said I was good - but then, they weren't exactly going to turn around and say I was rubbish, having just met me and all... During the ten minute break, a lady approached me to ask for my details. She said she thought my poem was very honest and would I be interested in working with her charity (which I know is legit, because I've seen it on TV). I gave her my business card. That's right baby, Terri has business cards now! In the aftermath of a careers evening at my uni, I was advised to follow my creative instinct but always be ready for opportunities when they arrived. That meant having a business card.

That wasn't the only cool thing to happen to me during the break. A guy sitting behind me tapped my shoulder and said he thought I was really good, too. And he remembered me from last time. I thought I recognised him and it wasn't until much later when he was performing as a showcase act that it dawned on me who he was. Patch.

People think I am good at poetry.

One of the women I was sitting with, Sally, was on the reserve list to perform. She was ten years older than me and had never been on the stage. I wished her the best of luck but sadly, there was not enough time for her to get her chance at a début. On the upside, I inspired her to get some business cards made too. But then, we never actually exchanged contact details...

Sally! Don't let fear hold you back: I'm rooting to see you perform next month!

At the end of the night, Yomi/GREEdS decided the vibe was so good, we were going to celebrate with a party. He got the DJ to play Candy and invited us to come on stage to do the dance. Well. I am not usually one to be so forward - especially among strangers - but I was feeling so incredibly happy that I didn't think twice. I was the second person on that stage and we brought it down. I can't wait for next month.

(Click here to watch a delightful short film that was shown on the night.)