Radio Roots Revisited

It was surreal.  Truly surreal.  There I was, walking into the control room of a radio station...slightly envying the producer behind the board...stopping myself from blurting out "So what program do you guys use?  It doesn't look like Prophet nor any other program I've used before.  Do you have drops? What music do you use as filler?  Is it touch screen?"  Its felt like a lifetime since I've been in the studio of a radio station (save the quick visit to Colb in Ohio in November - what up Colby?!).  It was definitely a different experience though, because instead of the whiney baby rhymes of Nikki or Drake, there were opera like religious tunes playing in my headphones.  Yeah, you read that right LOL now let me start from the beginning.  Remember the wedding that I went to with Mama (where we killed the photo booth with our gangsta picture reel)?  Well, that day I was introduced to a woman who has her own afternoon program on a local Christian radio station.  My neighbor, knowing my background in Communications, made it a point to connect us stating "You never know what it could lead to!" and boy, was she right.

Annie, the radio woman, and I immediately connected!  She told me she started off as a secretary at the station and one day management recognized that she had a wonderful voice.  They especially loved her clear pronunciation.  She went on to give me a mini lesson in phonetics and diaphragm breathing (yes all in Spanish, yes in the middle of the wedding, and yes my life is a sitcom).  We exchanged numbers and she offered to tutor me on phonetics, pronunciation and anything else I may be interested in.  She also made a point to introduce me to her daughter who studied Television Production and seems to have interned or worked at just about every network this side of the island.

Annie in action

Before I knew it, Thursday had arrived and it was time for yet another cooking class...which happens to be steps from the radio station that Annie works at.  So, I gave her a call, and next thing I knew I was salivating at the sight of sound boards, microphones, and headphones.  It was a great feeling because I no longer have expectations or put ridiculous unnecessary stress on myself.  In the past, my immediate thoughts from the moment I entered the station would have been: What's my angle?  What am I trying to get out of this? Who do I need to talk to for a job around here? But as quickly as those thoughts came, I pushed them out.   Being there was enough of a blessing.  I am here to see what I've been placed here to do.  So, there was a calm over me, a peace that I really enjoyed relishing in.  By the end of the third talk break Annie was asking me to give her a few quick notes about me and my background.  By the fourth talk break she was signaling for me to have a seat and throw on some headphones.

Me tryna be slick with the camera phone LOL

Then, I got interviewed.  In Puerto Rico.  In Spanish.  I told my story.   In SPANISH.  Why I'm here, what I did before I got here, what being in Puerto Rico means to me, what the language means to me...which lead to what my grandmother means to me (which of course led to me crying for the first time in my life on air).  Was it perfect Spanish?  I'm almost positive it wasn't, but it didn't matter...it was AMAZING!  That was probably a bucket list item that I didn't even know I should have had until after I did it.  Once we got off the air she told me she could always use volunteers to help her with the phone.  I told her I had no problem with that and since I take that cooking class every Thursday we can designate Thursdays as our days together.  Then, she gave me a homework assignment.  I'm to practice the phonetic exercise she demonstrated the day of the wedding, I'm also to read the newspaper out loud daily and practice my diaphragm breathing...all in front of the mirror.  I assured her I would, took my 'homework' notes, and prepared to head out the door...then she dropped the bomb on me as she said "I sure hope you do practice because I'm going to have you do some reading on the air next week."  Pray for me!!!!!!

I had to try to get a shot of myself behind the mic again woo!