Slam Poetry Profile

I'm spending my spring break in LA for my birthday and visiting my best friend of over 15 years. Before that i went to the Starry Plough and finally got an interview with 4 people at the event. The first two times that I visited, there weren't that many people and not too many amazing mesmerizing poets as i had hoped for. I didn't feel it, i really didn't. I did go back again and again, spoke to the bartender after a glass of blue moon and asked her in her honest opinion "Where are all the wonderful poets from your website" and she laughed at me at first but, later i got a story. She gave me numbers of a few regulars who attend only on a BIG night and told me to come back on Wednesday and she would help me out with my story. I had found my help.

I recorded a woman, a young girl actually, who brought tears to my eyes with her SLAM. It was about Islam and North Pakistan and UNO and American aid in India. Did i mention she brought tears to my eyes? I waited to interview her but it turns out she only came to perform and not win or stick around long enough to even know her scores. Now where is the point in that, wouldn't that have been a great story there. A missed opportunity ah!

I am attending again on Wednesday in hopes of seeing this girl again, i hear she comes only once in a while. I did manage to record an audio. I recorded the whole thing and made a youtube video of it..





Lets pray for the last of this profile tonight and see if i can add more tomorrow. What a wonderful place, amazing people all rounds. No doubt this SLAM culture has been blooming at the Starry Plough.

Fit Bernal Fit

Covering Fit Bernal Fit has been pretty fun. My favorite part is meeting all the cool dogs! My favorites are a pair of pit bulls named Sasha and Azul, they have such friendly happy personalities and are full of energy! There owner doesn't like to talk much, though!

I feel like I have a solid start to my story, but wish it could be a bit more compelling. I read and hear about all the drama everyone else is covering and wish Bernal Heights had a little more to offer.

However, I should be happy that there is not a large homeless population or need for more SROs in Bernal Heights. Instead, I have furry friends and fit people!

I'm not sure how to include the idea of all these "new" gyms in San Francisco, it feels like it would just be adding an aside at the end.

I really wanted to include pictures or video with the profile, but can't come up with a solid idea of how to. I feel like a video tour would make describing the place much easier, as it is always good to see with "ones" own eyes. ;)

It's not the greatest but I GOT THE INTERVIEW!

I love my profile subject but I am confused on my lead. I initially wanted to connect the fact that the African Outlet is now the only store in San Francisco dedicated to African culture to gentrification and the dwindling black population in the city and Hayes Valley. BUT! Its proven to be more difficult than expected. However, I think I can come up with another interesting topic to lead with, but I haven't found it yet. This has caused me to yell out loud at my computer many times this weekend.
The most troubling part of this profile though is that my subject, African Outlet owner Judah Dwyer, is never there! They close the store when she does errands and she's always with customers. After I called and emailed numerous times, and physically went to the store 3 times, I finally caught her and she happily agreed to an interview. She said just call Thursday and we'll interview Friday.
I called. No answer. I called. No answer. I called. No answer.
I decide that since I have left 3 messages, I should just walk in and check if she's busy. I did this, she admits she forgot and is not a diligent phone user. I ask if there's anyway to do the interview (because it's Friday and this is due Monday, I need this interview, I need this interview, I need this interview!)
She said maybe.
Huh?
What does maybe mean?
She says," This is retail honey you never know when you'll have extra time."
I nervously laugh a shrieking high pitched laugh. I give her my number and tell her to call me when she has a few minutes. I began my waiting at 3:00, expecting her to never call, but I was determined. THEN! She calls at 7:12, sure I waited but I GOT THE INTERVIEW!
Judah has an amazing story that i hope I can structure properly.
We spoke for about an hour before Horgan Edet, who was sick and on heavy medication, apparently became annoyed with my presence and I was asked to leave. BUT I GOT THE INTERVIEW! I was happy anyway.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to really speak with anyone else because I was kicked out, so my sources are severely limited. The story is definitely a bad draft but it has some potential.

Profile Story

I love this weather!

This week I encountered an endeavor that I am sure all journalists are forced to deal with at some point, and probably many points, during their careers. My subject pretty much flaked on me. After trying endlessly to get in contact with Dr. Meir Schneider for another follow-up interview this last week, it became obvious that we weren't on the same page as far as what was required in order to complete the story. It turns out he doesn't always teach the lectures at the School for Self-healing. In fact, it turns out his appearances at the school are quite rare.

The whole ordeal was unfortunate, but probably turned out for the better. Earlier in the semester I stopped by Sunset Pet Supply in order to get food for my cat, and completely fell in love with the store. The employees are the nicest people you've ever seen behind a counter, and will go far out their way in order to help you pick the right stuff. When I first came in, the associate behind the counter was moving heavy bags of dog food but set them down right in his tracks in order to help me pick out cat food.

They sell the highest grade of pet foods, and have a complete 100 percent satisfaction guarantee. I met the owner, who is one of the coolest and most personable guys I've ever talked to. To me, he represents the anti-business man: against business growth, and for complete community involvement and support. If it means turning away companies that sell lower grade products that want to pay him off to sell their food in his store, or take a profit loss by selling beds that are made domestically in Fremont and not in other countries, Johnson is willing to go out of his way in order to serve the people of the Sunset and San Francisco.

I got another interview with him for the draft of my profile story, but am still excited to work on it over the break. On a side note, I found an utterly peculiar house for my parents to move in to after they retire, since they are die-hard UCLA alumni.

Looking at some of the many oddly colored houses throughout the district, one has to wonder: what were these people thinking? Only in San Francisco, my friends.

Profile Crisis

I was really looking forward on doing my profile on the Italian American Social Club in Excelsior but after interviewing them last Tuesday, I felt like panicking. When I got there, some of the members approached me like if I had intruding. Their hostile approach made sense when I found out the social club was Italian men only. Why would a non-Italian female being doing there? Though they argued to be interviewed, their answers were very short and I had little to work with.

After I left, I decided to go in a coffee shop across the street called MamaCafe. As I started making conversation with lady working there, I noticed a different vibe from the coffee shop compared to other ones. I noticed the agenda they had outside and how they hosted live music and events for the community. The lady told me her son was the owner and he is the one in charge of organizing all the events.

So I contacted him, but unfortunately he was out of state. I emailed him some questions so I could do my profile on that place, but it's Monday and still no reply.

I's still interested in doing the profile on that cafe. I feel like it is a good representation of a new business that is trying to help the community grow. I'm thinking of interviewing the mother, since the cafe is called Mama. This is my last hope!

Coincidence or Fate? (written on 3/17)

After class yesterday I was feeling a little bit defeated after all my plans for the next assignment had fell thru, and I would basically have to rework my entire plan which I hate to do but I know is necessary. While everyone was moving on to the next step I was in my head trying to think of someone or something that would be an entertaining subject. I thought about it, then I browsed the internet, and then I went back to my notes, and I remembered someone.
For the meeting story I had interviewed Rev. Elouise Oliver and although I only used one of her quotations in my paper we did have a pretty good talk and I remember telling her about this story (the profile).
Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to call her last night, it had got too late, but while I was on BART going home something amazing happened, 2 insanely drunk people got on BART.
A woman sitting across the aisle, and 2 other women sitting behind her, we all snickered at the drunken woman who look pale and exhausted and smelled like Jameson (it was St. Patrick’s Day) and a man drunkenly falling on unsuspecting people as the train departed from 24th and Mission.
I was feeling a little uneasy when the drunken woman exclaimed she was dizzy, all I could say was “if this woman throws up on me, it won’t be funny,” the lady across the aisle from me laughed… as if I was joking. Then reached in her bag and pulled out a folder for me to hand the woman if she was going to “hurl”.
The woman didn’t get sick, thank goodness, but that small instance led me and the woman to start talking. I told her how I was a Journalism student and that I want to be a lawyer and she told me how much she misses her friend that passed away. She was a peculiar woman but a Christian, which she wore in her ears, and around her neck and proudly told anyone about her love of God, if they asked.
She told me that tomorrow was her birthday but she was a little too stressed, as a woman of faith myself, I offered these words to help her stay positive.
“I am too blessed to be stressed, and too anointed to be disappointed.”
And for everyone who was listening was like wow that is such a great saying, the women sitting behind us were texting it to their friends, I felt pretty cool. The woman I was talking to loved it so much she said she was going to take it back to church with her. Then I asked do u go to church around here (by this time we were at West Oakland BART) she said yes I go to church downtown on telegraph “Eastbay..” I cut her off “Of Religious Science,” I said. And both of us were stunned for a moment. She was excited because she thought I was a part of the congregation, I was excited because I found a source for my story. Got her contact info and ready to start interviewing my sources (yes before the person I have in mind, I figure that it would hurt).
So I was ready to get off BART, so I grabbed my things and the Christian woman’s contact info, then out of nowhere the woman sitting behind the Christian woman introduced herself and told me she liked the way I handled myself and handed me her card, turns out she works for Thomson Reuters and told me to keep in touch.
I believe that today was meant to happen. Things just fell into place and brought me exactly what I needed, and even a future contact and/or opportunity, and I am so blessed.

Jazz Quarter

Writing my profile has been the most interesting experience I have had thus far in this class. I walked into the store having no idea what to expect. The only time I had seen the store was a quick passing by on the bus. As I waked in the very small space I was completely overwhelmed. There were piles and piles of stuff everywhere. The walls are covered in photos, newspapers, paintings and stickers. Tom has a chair that he sits in all day and just reads, listens and thinks about jazz. He has such a vast knowledge of jazz that while interviewing him he put on at least 7 different songs he wanted me to hear to prove a point he was discussing. As soon as I turned on my recorder, he just began to speak. The interview just flowed really well and felt really natural. Like most other interviews I feel like I have to warm up, but this just felt like I was having a conversation with him.

One thing I really struggled with was getting him to talk about himself. Each time he would start he would get on a tangent about anything but himself. When I tried to move the conversation back to him it would just happen again. Hopefully when I go back next week I will be able to get him to talk about himself now that I have put some of the questions he didn't have answers to in his head. I can tell he has a really interesting story to tell, but I just need to figure out how to get him to tell it.