When I stepped outside the zone, I found...

Yesterday, I travelled from NY to the San Francisco International Women's Film Festival for a screening of BUTTERFLY RISING (screens Saturday, April 14 at 3PM at the Roxie Theater! Come on out if you're in San Fran!:) Anyhoo, I travel a lot and so I have a pretty good routine that works for me; little things like bringing my own food from home, having moisturizer for my face (and my lips! WOW!) and listening to my iPod with my favorite tunes.

This time, instead of listening to the stuff I knew I liked, I decided to check out what Virgin Airlines had in it's built-in-box o' 'entertainment' etched in the back of the seat in front of mine.

I clicked on "listen" and discovered ADELE! Now, I am firmly aware that I am VERY late to this party (as my friend @kgmoll has chastised, LOL!!!), but, I will tell you what I told her: I am a perennial late bloomer-- always have been. I always feel like I'm the last to know about what's cool, hip, in or "in trend". I would have never discovered Adele had I not gone out of my comfort zone--doing things that were habitual. I LOVE ADELE.

I also do something I rarely do--watch TV. Yes, that's right. Instead of the local channels, though, I check out PBS--there was a fantastic documentary on Willie Mays. Now, I am NOT a sports fan AT ALL. I was only vaguely aware of the hall of famer, but I was captivated not so much by WHAT he did, but WHO he is. In one example of his extreme generosity, the PBS reporter talked about how Willie, in an effort to raise money for charity, donated THE CLOTHES OFF HIS BACK. I had never heard of anything so wonderful in all my life. THE CLOTHES OFF HIS BACK! WOW. That was something to be admired.

That said, I got an invite the participate in the NY AIDS walk on May 20. I have never gone but I just joined my team (my talent agents here in NY) and I'm gonna walk for AIDS! My mother, Debra Fraser Howze, founded a terrific organization called the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS back in the late 80's when very little was known about the disease, when people were afraid of it, and, if you had it, it was automatically a death sentence. A lot has changed about AIDS, but what hasn't changed is that it is still a disease that takes the lives of thousands of folks every year.

Please donate whatever you can. xo

http://www.kintera.org/faf/donorreg/donorpledge.asp?ievent=1000060&supId=356587088&msource=bfgetwordout

Keep Rising,

xxoo

Tanya