Learning From a Bad Experience...

The bad experience that I am about to share with you happened to me last Saturday. I was at the Sheraton Hotel getting ready to perform with my salsa band, when I had a strange feeling. I knew that after getting dressed and having my makeup ready, I had to grab my purse and get on the stage, but I didn’t. Instead, I looked at it and thought: “No, come on, we are at the Sheraton! Besides, where can I put it? It will look awful on the stage”.

Sadly, I decided to ignore that feeling, I went on stage and enjoyed our performance. At the end of the show, I went back to the “green room” (that’s what a room backstage for performers is called) to grab my purse, but it was not there. I looked everywhere before I could think that someone had taken it. I checked the green room, the stage, behind the stage, the bag of cables, and nothing. I knew deep inside that my purse was gone, and it was probably better for me to start thinking about having to make those annoying phone calls to cancel my bank cards and get a new driver’s license.

Purses are something I have always had an issue with. I tend to forget to switch things from one purse to the other, or there are times when it's difficult, for a female musician like me, to find the right place to leave it while performing, and this can be a nightmare. I have no idea how many colleagues out there have similar issues to mine, but I would like to share my experience with you and say, DO NOT leave your purses out of sight, always bring them to the stage with you. This is the lesson I learned the hard way this past weekend. If you have any other tips on how to avoid this from happening to us women, please feel free to share it here!

My view from the stage that night.