That night Jo Koy and I…

…met.  That night Jo Koy & I met.  Geez, where was your mind headed?!

See! We met!

Looking for a good time?  Well look no further.

When I was growing up, my parents never gave my brother and I any kind of restrictions on what we were exposed to.  Some might consider it bad parenting, but considering we were good kids who graduated high school & never got caught doing anything illegal (I can’t speak for my brother, but there’s probably a few things I could plead the fifth about.), I’d say they didn’t do too bad of a job.  Aside from R-rated movies (My movie of choice at 5 years old was Boyz N The Hood, scout’s honor.  Isn’t that what little girls are supposed to watch?!), my dad LOVED comedy.  Some of my fondest childhood memories were made with my dad & uncle sitting around a campfire listening to all the great comedians.  We’d listen to George Carlin and his seven dirty words (I’ll choose to filter my blog this time & not include ####, ####, ####, ####, ##########, ############, and ####.  Although, that last one is not that bad.  You can click on the link and discover them yourself).  I’d giggle away knowing full well I’d get in trouble for most of those words if they’d come out of my mouth.  Then of course Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Red Peters, and the list goes on and on.  To this day, my dad will share new comedians with me along with his own brand of humor & jokes (“Have you heard the one about the 12 inch pianist?” “Yes, dad. I’ve been able to recite it back since I was 7.”).  Naturally, I have continued to carry my interest in comedy well into my adulthood.  From my own quirky, quick-witted, sarcastic sense of humor, you can easily see that I love to laugh, often at the most innappropriate times, & find enjoyment in making others laugh.

One thing I had always wanted to do was see stand up at the Improv.  If you’re a fan of comedy, you watch Comedy Central over and over and see all these great comedians performing there.  Back home (in Massachusetts), there weren’t many places to catch comedy acts aside from the Hukelau (woooooo, Chicopee!).  I did get to see Jim Breuer there once. While it was good, it’s not the Improv.  I’ve also seen Dane Cook at Boston Garden 3 times and while it was fun & I was a huge fan at the time, it’s not the Improv.

a lil artsy shot

I had lived in Tampa for over 4 years & finally one day I did a search to see who was on the schedule at the Tampa Improv in Ybor City.  Much to my surprise, one of my favorite comedians was scheduled to be there in a few months, so I immediately recruited one of my girlfriends who had never done the Improv or even knew of the comedian.  That comedian was Jo Koy.

[For a little taste of Jo’s comedy, click here.]

I can’t remember where I had seen him first (his first Comedy Central special or on Chelsea Lately), but I have always loved his comedy.  Jo’s style of comedy is very easy to get into, because his jokes are based on real life events which makes it relatable.  He is also extremely animated which makes it difficult not to get into his jokes.  The Improv’s atmosphere is amazing.  It’s very intimate, while it still holds quite a few people.  We did have the VIP package tickets (hairflip, just kidding), because I splurged with it being my first time and all.  Our table was right up against the stage and we went to the first of 5 shows.

obligatory “tickets on the stage” shot

First off, the music that was playing while everyone was being seated was off the hook.  Classic 90’s hip hop & R&B (I won’t deny the fact that I grew up a hood rat.  Do we remember Boyz N The Hood?!)   I later discovered that the music was arranged by DJ Ryan Live.  The opening act was a comedian by the name of James Ponce.  I had only known of James from listening to The Michael Yo and Jo Koy Show podcast [available on iTunes: download & subscribe].  He was great. He got the crowd pumped up with his original material and definitely made me a fan with that single performance.  Then, it was time for Jo.  My biggest worry (due to previous comedy experiences) was that he would have material that would repeat and I’d know most of the jokes.  This was definitely not the case.  He came out and killed it.  He performed for well over 2 hours.  I won’t give away too many details, because I think people should certainly experience it for themselves.  That night will remain in my memory bank for a long time to come.

If you’re in the Orlando area, Jo Koy will be back in town for a 5 show engagement, May 29 thru June 1, at the Orlando Improv.  For ticket information, visit http://www.orlandoimprov.com.  I’m sure Jo will be bringing the rest of his friends along as well (James Ponce, Beau Bowker, & DJ Ryan Live).   You can find more about Jo Koy here and also on Twitter & Instagram @jokoy.

Adventures in Waxing: A PG-13 Rated Post

     This is not a post for the faint of heart & rated a mere PG-13. You might as well learn early on that I have no filter. This post will be a prime example of this exact lesson & may even bring you a few of those giggles that I promised in my intro.  

     So I bought a deal over a year ago for a Brazilian wax. I never used it & since it didn’t expire, I decided to get my monies worth & give it a shot. I have only ever had my eyebrows waxed & I’ll be honest, that’s pretty much nothing when you’ve done it for a while. The hair is also tends to be a lot thinner in your brows than your lady bits (guys, just take my word on it).  

     I arrived at the salon early. The waiting area playing Coldplay. Coffee, tea, water, snacks, all readily available. However, unless I wanted to induce vomiting from nervousness, I was not touching any of it. I sat down, filled out the disclaimer, & proceeded to wait while playing around on my phone. (Side note: thank you sweet baby Jesus for technology.)

     The 15 minutes I waited felt like an hour. Finally (but not really finally, because it wasn’t THAT long of a wait), I got taken back to my private room. Here’s where the fun began. First off, the woman did not question whether I had ever done this kind of thing before, so the look of confusion on my face when she handed me what looked like a tampon must’ve been the key factor. This “tampon” was actually a pair of underwear. Really?!?! If you’re going for a Brazilian wax, it’s pretty much assumed that the person doing it is probably going to see everything. I mean, really I hope they are, because closing your eyes and applying hot wax to an area of high sensitivity is not exactly my cup of tea. If Stevie Wonder were the person performing this service, I surely wouldn’t have volunteered. Modesty during this situation is completely thrown to the wind. Any who, she left me to “change” privately.  Upon returning, she informed me that some areas would be more sensitive than others. Oh, really?! I certainly thought that applying hot wax & ripping hair from the root would be a pleasant experience, so this is not what I signed up for. One word comes to mind: torture.

     Remember the scene in 40-year-old Virgin when Steve Carell gets waxed and yells obscenities? Had I lacked in self-control, that would have been me. Luckily, my nerves were wound so tight that I couldn’t stop laughing every time it hurt. I also may have jumped 6 inches off the table upon occasion. After all was said & done, or so I thought, she proceeds to tell me to put my legs straight up in the air & hold behind my knees. Yeah?! Umm. Ok. Nervously, feeling somewhat more violated than I had for the past 20 minutes, I abided by the instructions. This is the point where laughing became uncontrollable. So I embraced it and stared at my knees.

     How people do this job for a living is beyond me. But then again, getting to consciously torture people probably has its perks. I can honestly say, as much as it hurt, I will most definitely do it again.

     I hope you enjoyed taking time out of your day to laugh at my crazy antics and I hope that you’ll return again soon!  Keep on dreaming!

 “Laugh loudly, laugh often, and most important, laugh at yourself.” ~ Chelsea Handler

  

 

It starts…

So, let me set the scene for you…

It is a beautiful, breezy, 90 degree afternoon here at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.  I am sitting here, Macbook on the table, a Lauryn Hill Pandora station as my music of choice.  Walt Disney World vacationers are everywhere as it is Spring Break for many, but this here, is my everyday life.

Why am I starting a blog?

That’s a great question and I don’t know if I necessarily have one specific answer for it.  I’d love to say it was for the purpose of world domination or something just as exciting, but that would be far too much work and responsibility.  I enjoy writing.  Sometimes my thoughts and ideas take over and I feel the need to shout them from the rooftops, so I guess the keys can work just as well.  The thought of being an inspiration to someone, a bright ray of sunshine in a cloudy day, or even just a little giggle inducer…I’m pretty sure those are some great reasons.

What content will I include?

There will be Disney!  BUT there may also be motivation, inspiration, recipes, tips, music, comedy, movies, events, or just about anything else possible.  The possibilities are endless…literally.  Not to mention, I tend to be the queen of random from time to time, so don’t be surprised by my crazy antics when they occur.

Who am I (in a nutshell)?

For those of you who don’t know me personally, my name is Kira.  I live in Central Florida.  I was born and raised in Western Massachusetts (& no, you’re right, I do not have a Boston accent).  I work in the healthcare industry, but still have no idea what I really want to do in life.  Well, hold on, let me rephrase that.  I know what I want to do, but for some reason, continued learning of new material for the rest of my life is not necessarily a wise career choice.  With that, I am exploring different avenues all the time and perhaps this blog could somehow assist me in that journey.  I love everyone with my whole heart and I hope that if you were to meet my friends, they would tell you the same.

Well that’s where I will end for today. I hope that with my little introduction, you will feel intrigued to come back and check out future content. Have a magical day!

Never stop dreaming.

“Second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning!” ~ Peter Pan