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SHOW NOTES
In this episode of The Turn On, Erica and Kenrya interview each other about what they do outside the podcast, from peddling sex toys and books, to watching "WandaVision" and reality shows, to building the joyful lives they actually want.

Kenrya: Website | Instagram | Twitter | Books

Erica: Website | Instagram | Twitter

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TRANSCRIPT:
Kenrya: Come here. Get off.

Erica: Hey, y'all. Welcome back to this week's episode of The Turn On. Today we are going to give you a little quickie. Now most of you all know, Killa is my soulmate. I am her secondary soulmate. I say secondary only because she currently has a partner. Not currently. She has a partner. I'm trying to be respectful. Really I'm her first soulmate. We feel like you all know about us, but not everything about us. We're going to share.

Kenrya: You know a lot. They know a lot.

Erica: How will we share? Interviews. More interviews. We have a few questions we're going to ask one another. Right, Killa?

Kenrya: Yeah. We going to do this.

Erica: Let's go. One, two, three, go. You all are going to love it when we start having video, because I stay dancing.

Kenrya: It's a lot happening. Y’all missing it.

Erica: You want to start it off?

Kenrya: Sure. The first question for you is, outside of the show, what do you do with your time?

Erica: Outside of the show, what do I do with my time? I saw this meme recently. Were you the one that sent it to me? It said, "I realize most of the time spent with my girlfriends is going out to eat."

Kenrya: Yes, I did send you that. That's 90% of our social interaction. Do you know that the person who tweeted that was my intern years and years ago?

Erica: Oh my gosh.

Kenrya: The world is tiny.

Erica: It's so true. Why are we that old to have... I enjoy spending time with the people that I love. I really love the relationships that I have in life. I do a lot of going to people's houses, staring at them, kissing on they babies, all of that. Y'all know I have a full-time job, a regular 9:00 to 5:00 that I work. I'm also a mother to a fantabulous little guy. I'm working on my work as The Erotic Revolutionist. It has been something that I grew into through this podcast. I am currently getting certification in sex education, whatever that means. I am building my empire. Watch out, you all. Erica's going to be peddling good orgasms soon. Not giving them, but the gospel.

Kenrya: I'm going to say, aren't you already peddling orgasms? I want to back up to something that you just said. You said sex education certification or whatever that means. Let's dig there. What you mean?

Erica: I want to do sex education. We came to that. I feel like I lack some of the basics around sex education. I know what I like. I know what I know. I don't know everything, and not that I need to know everything, but I do feel like I need to have a better foundation if I'm going to be the person that people come to for questions, advice, at least know where to point them to get answers. I attend classes with this company, organization. I am doing classes. Pretty much they're an online web based. You track out your own time period. I do classes. It gives me just the foundation, sexual communication, intro to kink. The one thing that I like about the program, it is a little hippie, but they are trying their best. It's run by a white woman. She's trying her best to make it recognize that people of color exist and fuck.

Erica: I say whatever that means because I am now starting to reject the idea of certification. I am still doing the classes, but I'm picking and choosing what I'm doing. I'll probably finish the program not having finished all the coursework that comes with it, just because I feel like I don't need to write a 15-page paper about AASECT, which is the certification bodies. I shouldn't have to write a 15-page paper about ethics in sex education, because I don't want to get AASECT-certified. I just feel like I need for myself to have a more organized way of learning this information. I'm also meeting really dope people that are doing the same thing I'm doing and getting some really cool resources. I am sort of kind of getting certified. I'm just collecting knowledge.

Kenrya: Like infinity stones. I'm real deep into-

Erica: Cheap.

Kenrya: I'm deep into a Marvel Cinematic Universe watch right now, so infinity stones are constantly on my mind. Don't make that face.

Erica: What face?

Kenrya: I like a good superhero sci-fi thing.

Erica: I was going to ask. First you answer that, the same question. What do you do outside of The Turn On. Then I'll add my other question in later.

Kenrya: Shit, so much. I am an author, a journalist, and an editorial consultant outside of co-hosting and executive producing this show with you. Basically my work centers around bringing the lived experiences in advocacy and joy of Black folks and other folks of color to the center of the page. We get pushed to the margins all the fucking time. I'm all about putting us right where we belong, in the middle, where everybody-

Erica: Fuck that.

Kenrya: ... can see us.

Erica: I'm going to be the center.

Kenrya: Yes. Of course this show really features into that overall mission of all of my work. I write books. Right now I'm writing a book about ... It's currently called “Complex Saviors.” I don't know if that's what it's going to be called when it's over.

Erica: I was just about to shout it. (singing)

Kenrya: I just don't know. I'm just not sure if it, without a subtitle, gets you all the way to what the book is about. I'm constantly thinking about it even as I'm working. The book is about the ways that racism kills Black women and girls and the ways that we save ourselves. It's been pretty cool, because I'm talking to all of these folks like advocates and activists and policymakers and doulas and doctors and just all kinds of really dope Black women and nonbinary folk who are doing the work, both locally and nationally. The hope is that when folks finish the book, that I have pulled together all of these modes of saving our lives that work and that are replicable across the country. That's what I'm working on. It's been difficult to do, because I've been battling with my own health issues, and honestly writing about the ways that the system has us fucked up while getting fucked up by the system has been tough.

Erica: I was going to ask. I think it could seem like what you do ... You write about a bunch of heavy shit, right?

Kenrya: Yeah.

Erica: You also mentioned joy.

Kenrya: Yeah. That's important to me. One of my books is “How We Fight White Supremacy.” I always sign it like, "I hope you find some joy and some hope here." When people read it, they're like, "Oh shit. I laughed a lot," or, "Damn, I really connected with the work that this person is doing. I might've cried a little bit." It's important to me that ... This shit's heavy. White supremacy is heavy as fuck. It's trying to suffocate us every day. There is not just a place for joy, but I think it's really an important mode of resistance. It's an important part of us being able to be our whole selves. Who are we if not funny as fuck as Black people? It don't take but two seconds on Twitter to figure that out.

Erica: Whenever there is some shit going on in the world, I love running to Twitter, because-

Kenrya: Black folks are hilarious.

Erica: ... niggas are going to make it the best.

Kenrya: I fucking love us in a crisis.

Erica: I need joy. I'm like, "Oh, some shit burning down!" That whole Capitol insurrection, bitch, I was on Twitter like, "Yeah, get them. This and that."

Kenrya: I think that our show contributes to that tradition of finding joy and pleasure even in the midst of shit that could be really fucked up. The sexual history of Black folks in this country is fraught as fuck. We make space for it to be joyful and pleasurable and not confined to some terrible ass box that racists want to put us in. I think that informs all the rest of my work. It all fits together like a weird ass puzzle. That's most of what I do. I'm also a doula. It's been a while since I helped a baby come out into the world, because quite honestly, it was fucking with my anxiety, having a young child and being on call for two weeks when somebody is close to delivering had me all kinds of fucked up. You're not sleeping. You got to be able to answer the phone at 3:00 a.m., true story, if somebody's in labor, and leave from wherever the fuck you at. It was just too hard to do with a little person. The last baby I helped was our homegirl's little fat child. I love that baby. It's cool.

Erica: Who I am his fave.

Kenrya: You are his fave. It's true. But as his mama reminds him, I saw him before she did.

Erica: Actually, he's now getting at the age where he's just a rambunctious little thing. The way that he pays attention-

Kenrya: He don't like to wear pants.

Erica: ... I'll call them and I'll say, "Hey, I farted," and he just... I know it's so gross, because if my son farts, I can't stand it, but it's okay for him to do it in somebody else's house.

Kenrya: That's awful. What else do I do? I watch Marvel movies right now.

Erica: I was going to ask. Tell me about an unknown love or an unknown hobby, something that you do that people would look at you and might not expect?

Kenrya: Probably that. I used to watch them in the theater, the night that they came out, when I lived in New York. I saw “Iron Man” the night before it came out, because I was in New York and we saw it in Times Square. That was a thing that I used to do all the time. Then my daughter hit that age where I couldn't take her ass to the movies no more, because she start screaming at the screen like a nigga. I started missing movies, because I couldn't take her with me. I couldn't leave her anywhere, because she was attached to me at the boob. Then it just got away from me and started to feel overwhelming, like there was just too much for me to get back in.

Kenrya: Then “WandaVision” happened. I was like, "Fuck it, I'm going to just go and watch this." Man, “WandaVision” brings me so much joy. I work to get everything I have to get done on a Friday. I try not to work on Fridays, but appointments or admin, whatever the fuck. Then I lay on my couch by myself and turn the sound up and watch an episode of “WandaVision” every Friday. It makes me so happy. It also made me want to fill in some of my knowledge gaps and make sure I could get all the Easter eggs and stuff. I started a watch chronologically of the Marvel cinematic universe. I'm through “Guardians of the Galaxy 2.” I finished that last night as I was falling asleep.

Erica: This is Kenrya, anything she does. See, I would just be like, "Oh, this is cool. That was weird. That's weird. That's strange," and then just leave it at that, whereas Kenrya's like, "I need to do a deep dive and a-"

Kenrya: Girl, yeah.

Erica: "... 148-hour watch."

Kenrya: I read the reviews after I watch the show. What's so funny is that my partner's the same way.

Erica: I just do what the [crosstalk 00:14:20].

Kenrya: I do that too, but with that though, with that show, there's all these Easter eggs and interconnected stuff. It's a community. Shit, I like a community. We building one. My partner's the same way. We're right now very much into Korean, I don't even know what genre to call this shit. We just watched “Antiporno” over the weekend. That was interesting.

Erica: Huh?

Kenrya: I can't even really describe it. You going to have to look it up. “The Handmaiden.” We've just been watching a lot of foreign films. It's great, we watch them, and then he and I both had to Google and look to see what actor was in this and were they in this other movie we watched? Oh shit, they are, because he's really good at remembering faces, and I suck at it and don't remember the same person that we saw in this other movie. Oh my God, we watched this amazing movie called “Raw” last weekend. That was not Korean. That was French I think. Lord have mercy. Anyway, another thing is that I love movies in general, not just Marvel movies. Movies, great TV. I don't know. I like media, which is I guess a good thing, because I work in it. What I don't really do are reality shows, which you know.

Erica: Bitch, I love me a good reality show.

Kenrya: I know.

Erica: I love highbrow and lowbrow reality show. I love, if ever there's a thing as highbrow. I love the “Housewive”s and I love the “Chasing Atlanta”s.

Kenrya: I like competition shows. I watch baking show competitions and things where there's some kind of a skill involved. I watch the fuck out of those. Me and my kid watch Zumbo, all the good baking shows on Netflix we watch.

Erica: That's what she makes me watch.

Kenrya: It's good.

Erica: All righty. Next questions.

Kenrya: You were saying you have a day job and now you have Erotic Escapes and you're working on your sex education education.

Erica: Empire.

Kenrya: Yes, empire. How did you get here?

Erica: I don't know how far back I should go. In high school I won a beauty pageant. As a result of the beauty pageant, I won a full-ride scholarship to Howard. I ended up at Howard.

Kenrya: Yes, ma'am.

Erica: Which completely changed my life. Best decision hands down I have ever made. One of the best. I can't say the, because I don't know what else I'm missing. One of the best decisions I ever made.

Kenrya: I'm about to say, you got a whole ass kid.

Erica: Yes. One of the best decisions I have ever made. I guess kids are decisions.

Kenrya: They absolutely are, one way or the other.

Erica: Ended up at Howard and got my degree in Afro studies. I didn't even think about it now that I do so much with Black people. I'm literally just now connecting that right now that I do so much with Black people.

Kenrya: In the moment.

Erica: I majored in Afro studies in college. At the time, I was a first-generation college student, I was like, "I'm here. I'm going to enjoy this shit." My family fucking tripped, because they were like, "You supposed to be a teacher, doctor, or lawyer. What the fuck are you doing?" I got back around to a teacher, but I'm teaching about sex now. Ended up here, Afro studies major, graduated, just stayed in the D.C. area, never left. D.C. is the land of government associations and nonprofits. I ended up in that area of the world. Through this entire thing I've had Killa Ken as my best friend. We pledged our sorority together. I felt like we always did such different things in life, but as I think I come back to closer to who I am, what we're doing aligns so much more.

Erica: When Killa called me one day and was like, "We need to do a podcast," because everybody think they should do a podcast, but when she was like, "We should do a podcast," I was like, "Okay. Let's do it." The Turn On was born. The Turn On has led me into again getting back to who I am. That's how the sex education piece came about. It's hard to say. I know I was like, "How did you get here?" This is so weird for me to say, because I'm usually one with the plan, but I got here by just following the path that the Lord has put out in front of me. I just stepped, was like, "What's happening next?" Then a step pops up. I'm like, "I guess I'm going left."

Kenrya: That's faith.

Erica: Yeah. What about you? How'd you get here?

Kenrya: I too had a full ride to Howard. It was academic. I had to get the hell out of Ohio, period, the end. Great place to be from, but not where I wanted to live anymore. Came here, majored in journalism. My specialization was PR.

Erica: Which has been helpful for us.

Kenrya: It has.

Erica: Even at The Turn On.

Kenrya: Yes. I got bored while I was still in school. I started interning in fucking high school. Halfway through school I was like, "Oh, this ain't for me. I'm bored," and so basically just got excused from the rest of my PR classes and focused on print and ended up working in magazines. I did that for a few years. I guess I still do that. I do a lot of shit. Moved to New York after graduation, worked in magazines. Went to grad school and got a degree in publishing because I thought I wanted to start my own magazine. That was always my ambition. That was my little spunky Black girl thing, until I realized I didn't actually want to do that shit either, which really happened after I got laid off from a magazine that I was working at, right at the heart of the recession or the beginning of the recession. I was applying to all of these jobs. That's not true. I was looking at all these jobs. I was like, "I don't want a job."

Erica: "This ain't for me."

Kenrya: Yeah, legit was just like, "I don't want a job. I don't want somebody else back over my shoulder. How about I use this time and try to build a freelance business while I have unemployment." That's what I did. After about a year of freelancing, I moved back to the D.C. area because I was close to wanting to have a kid, didn't want to do it in the city, wanted to be back down in this area close to my friends and my chosen family.

Erica: Your friends.

Kenrya: Yes. Did that and steadily built up my business and started writing books, just started, had ideas, and was like, "Fuck it, let me try," which is a lot of, I think, related to the way that you're saying, you just stepped. So much of my career has been me taking steps and then asking myself questions and asking God questions. The big question I ask myself right now is, “Does this bring me joy?” I am super blessed in that I have a constant stream of consulting and freelance work. Lately, and I've been talking about this on our social media a lot, I have been asking myself, "Does this bring me joy?" Oftentimes the answer is no, and so I say no to work. My bills don't like it, but they get paid.

Erica: The universe provides.

Kenrya: Every time. Jehovah Jireh, yo. God always provides. I remember that and I try to constantly shift my work closer to joy every time. If I get into a contract and realize, "Oh, I don't like these people. I don't like this work," I feel stressed out just thinking about having to work on this contract. I finish my work up. I deliver, and then I leave. I don't do anything with them anymore. I don't burn bridges, but I also just remember how those gigs make me feel or those people, because sometimes it's the folks you work with and not the work, and remind myself that I didn't quit jobs in order to work on shit that I didn't love. My last job, which I quit last year, I was the senior editorial director at Colorlines. I always wanted to be an editorial director or an editor in chief. That was my 20-something-year-old Kenrya's dream. Then I-

Erica: Got there and was like, "Uh."

Kenrya: Got there and was like, yeah, because so much of running a show is administrative and managing up, as opposed to doing the work that you love, that got you there in the first place. That's not what I wanted. That's not how I wanted to spend my days. I was spending so much time managing things that in the grand scheme of things didn't feel important and weren't feeding me and definitely weren't giving me any joy. I'd be too exhausted to do the things that I loved.

Erica: Girl.

Kenrya: When I find myself, I think day before yesterday, I got up, and I don't know, it was 10:00 or something and I was like, "You behind." I had to stop myself. I hadn't gotten enough stuff done. I was like, "Behind what? Bitch, you set your schedule. The work will get done whether you start it at 10:00 or start it at noon. You'll get it done. You don't have a boss, B. Just relax and be kinder to yourself." That is really a big part of my journey right now is remembering that I am supposed to be building a life that I adore, and that comes with building days that I enjoy and not just days that I'm working to get through. I don't want to spend all my time trying to get to Saturday.

Erica: Yeah. Woo! All right. What's the most fun thing about what you do?

Kenrya: If I'm doulaing, it's when the babies finally come and I get to see their little fat faces. The show, my favorite thing is honestly just fucking cooning with you. It's fun. Y’all, I get to spend my days twice a week.

Erica: Kicking it with best friend.

Kenrya: That's just dope. It don't really get too much better than that. Then with the writing and stuff, it's when the book is done, but before I have to start promo.

Erica: That little period of time.

Kenrya: Yeah, where I get to look at it, but I ain't got to go talk about it yet.

Erica: That's dope.

Kenrya: What about you?

Erica: For me, I definitely feel like not that I have made it there, but I see myself building the life that I want. It's the life that I want now, but like you said, my job is to coon with my best friend. We have such a good relationship that even the work, we know each other's strengths and weaknesses and so it just works.

Kenrya: We bring each other grace.

Erica: Exactly. It's great. Kenrya was having some health issues. I was like, "Okay, don't worry, we going to move this." Being able to do that for my bestie was just like, "This is great," or the time I ate an edible and forgot that we had an interview scheduled. Kenrya was like, "Okay, don't worry, we got it." That is my favorite thing about the podcast. My favorite thing about sex education, I feel like my work, my journey through sex education had a lot to do with my divorce and getting out and going through the uncoupling of a marriage or whatever. I am so happy with who I am and where I am and how I express myself and how I feel and all that. I love being able to help guide women, Black women and femmes and nonbinary folk through that same process. Seeing them get that kind of joy that I have, I'm like, "Oh, I love it."

Kenrya: That's what's up. Yay. What's the most challenging thing about your work?

Erica: Podcast stuff, social media. I hate social media. Just actually doing it. I love being on Twitter, kikiing and all that. I love it. I love consuming it. It's just it is tough for me to do the promos. Kenrya's so good at it. Then I'm like, "Hey, you all!" It probably comes off a little different, but that's how I feel.

Kenrya: I'm about to say, you come off great.

Erica: Least favorite part about the other part is just working my 9:00 to 5:00. I hate to say it, but I am hitting that point where my 9:00 to 5:00 is stealing from my energy to work on the projects I want to work on. I'm trying to transition. That's scary but fun. You want to know something else?

Kenrya: Hm?

Erica: This is how you know you have an amazing ass crew of people. I made a pretty big announcement among my girlfriends. I made a declaration—things are happening. Every single time I tell one of them that, they are so excited for me. I just feel like the doubter in me or the old Erica is in the back of my brain like, "Girl, you shouldn't be taking these big leaps. What are you doing?" All of my girls are like, "Bitch, fuck yeah! This is great. Do it." I'm just like, "Whoa." It just feels so good to be surrounded by people that support you like that.

Kenrya: Believe in you.

Erica: That was totally off topic, but what about you? What is the most challenging thing about what you do?

Kenrya: I think maybe two things. One of them is just throwing away old scripts. When my brain is like, "Hey bitch, you might want to say yes to this work so your lights stay on," having it so hard to relax that we good. That is sometimes difficult, but getting much easier. It's honestly just practicing coming out of a scarcity mindset and moving into one of abundance, has been really, really helpful.

Kenrya: Then I think the other one honestly, and it's actually very much tied to that, is avoiding overwork. My therapist will say, if it weren't for HIPAA, that I'm a work addict. I give myself term limits on how long I can work on things. I take breaks and I eat where I'm not allowed to actually be working on anything. I have to read a book or maybe I can go on social media, as long as I'm not working on social media. I have a hard stop time for working on client work Monday through Thursday. I have enforced that I no longer work on the show on the weekends, which you've been incredibly helpful with. I give one of my clients 30 minutes on Fridays, because I was finding that two days just wasn't enough. Some of it is just that my body is requiring a lot more rest these days.

Kenrya: A lot of it is just again coming back to that whole what do I want my life to look like. You know what? I only want to work four days a fucking week. I don't want to be rushing to the weekend and then end up spending the entire weekend at my computer looking up, and I've been working on this project for five hours. That is a thing that happens to me constantly on the weekends. Working to not overwork and to listen to my body and take breaks, even in the middle of projects, if that's what I need to do, has been challenging but incredibly rewarding. The days when I do too much, like I think Tuesday, no, oh god, yesterday, I worked so many hours that I couldn't see straight. I don't go to bed early, but I was in the bed at 9:30 last night.

Erica: Look at that.

Kenrya: It's not good. I was in the bed early because my body and my brain were so burnt. I needed to edit this book that I'm working on. I needed to put in a smooth 90 minutes on that, but I couldn't. See, I listened to my body and went to sleep anyway. There was a time when I would've said fuck it and pushed.

Erica: That's why I was like, "Oh yeah," because even hearing that you were crazed and overworked, I haven't heard that, not saying it hasn't been a while, because towards the end of the year last year I was like, "Look, bitch."

Kenrya: Worries too much.

Erica: I think you're doing a really great job of self-regulation, which is great.

Kenrya: Thank you. I'm trying. It doesn't help that I get dragged in my therapy sessions if I don't. I guess it does help.

Erica: It does help. What is a little-known fact about some other shit you do?

Kenrya: I'm interim books editor at Essence? I never say that. I do that. I edit the book section. That's pretty big I guess. That's something people don't know. I can't think of nothing else. I don't know. I just got a dope fellowship.

Erica: Congratulations. (singing)

Kenrya: Hey. That's cool. I think that'll be announced in between when we record and when this goes up.

Erica: We'll edit it out.

Kenrya: What about you?

Erica: I knit. Does that count? I'm working on a scarf.

Kenrya: Wait, you knit? Did I know that you knit? I don't think so.

Erica: It's one of those things that I do that allows me to just turn off my brain and keep my hands moving.

Kenrya: I tried to do that once.

Erica: I'm not good at it. I don't know how to do anything other than square or rectangle items.

Kenrya: A scarf.

Erica: It's just something that helps me just do. I don't have to think about it. I just kind of just keep going.

Kenrya: That's dope. I tried to learn how to knit. I didn't buy it. I got a little kit I think when I worked at Reader's Digest, because they used to make all kinds of shit. It was a knitting kit. I never got good.

Erica: I adore people that can do an amazing job. I can't. It's more about just being able to sit and turn off my brain and do some stitches, because when I get anxious I have all this energy and I need to be doing something. That helps.

Kenrya: That's what's up.

Erica: What's next for you?

Kenrya: What's next?

Erica: “Complex Saviors.”

Kenrya: “Complex Saviors” is next. I'm in that vein of the whole I'm saying no to things. I'm not taking on any other big projects. The fellowship, one of the reasons that it's awesome is that it affords me the opportunity to say no to a few things. I don't have to take on what I call the low reward projects in order to pay those bills that's over there shooting lasers at me. It allows me to spend a little bit more time actually writing on this project that I'm super passionate about. I guess it's that and Season Four of The Turn On.

Erica: Season Four of this-

Kenrya: Which is coming.

Erica: ... bitch.

Kenrya: Next week.

Erica: (singing)

Kenrya: What about you?

Erica: I am working on ways to transition from my 9:00 to 5:00 into my empire, Erica's empire. That's what the folder's called on my computer. I'll be launching my Erotic Revolutionist website soon. I am doing this thing called the Erotic Escape. I think one is going to eat the other, but for now they're two separate entities. The Erotic Escape I'm selling sex toys and consulting with couples about ways to improve their intimacy and spice up their sex life, and again, I don't fucking know, but-

Kenrya: Yes, you do.

Erica: I just feel like I'm bubbling with lots-

Kenrya: Yes, you do.

Erica: ... of new things. We'll see.

Kenrya: You know.

Erica: I know, but I don't. I know that there are new things. I don't know what it's going to look like in the end. That's where I am. I'm very excited about it. Old Erica, Erica four years ago would've been freaking the fuck out right now because she has no idea of what's next. Erica now is like, "I don't fucking know, but guess what? I'm going to be good one way or the other."

Kenrya: That's true. That's what's up. Where can folks connect with you outside of all the show places?

Erica: My Instagram is @TheEroticRevolutionist. We'll include the link. I'm not as active as I should be. Then my Erotic Escape website is TheEroticEscape.com. I'm peddling dicks and pocket pussies over there. Just keep up on Instagram. I have no problem using The Turn On to push my shit. Just keep following us on our socials and you'll find me. What about you, Killa?

Kenrya: I am @Kenrya on all the things.

Erica: Everywhere.

Kenrya: Yeah, everywhere, K-E-N-R-Y-A. My website is Kenrya.com. I fucking love my website.

Erica: I fucking love your name, because I can't get Erica.com. I want Erica.com. I can't get Erica.com. I think Erica.com is a-

Kenrya: Not even with all your names or some combination thereof?

Erica: ... is a porn star or something. I do have EricaEaster.com.

Kenrya: That's dope. There. That's your name.

Erica: I do have EricaEaster.com. I just want to.

Kenrya: See, look at that. That's where I am. That's where the latest on books and articles and appearances on other people's shows are housed, but no events, because I ain't doing what? Events!

Erica: Events no more.

Kenrya: No, not for six months.

Erica: Kenrya might not say it, but follow us here and I'll make sure I'm telling you all about her projects.

Kenrya: Thanks, boo. Appreciate you. Yo.

Erica: With that, this was your Quickie. Is this final Quickie before Season Four?

Kenrya: It is, yeah. Season Four starts next week.

Erica: (singing) All right.

Kenrya: Not live, but on video. We got to be camera-ready and shit. Marginally.

Erica: I'm like, "What does that mean?" All right, you all. This is Erica and Killa, two hoes-

Kenrya: Making it clap.

Erica: ... making it clap.

Kenrya: Peace.

Erica: Bye.

Kenrya: This episode was produced by us, Kenrya and Erica, and edited by B'Lystic. The theme music is from Brazy. Now you can support The Turn On and get off. Subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast app, then drop us a five-star review, and you'll be entered to win something that's turning us on. Just post your review and email us a screenshot at TheTurnOnPodcast@gmail.com to enter. Our Patreon page is also live. Become a supporter today and you'll gain access to lots of goodies, including The Turn On Book Club and two-for-one raffle entries. Don't forget to send us your book recommendations and your sex and related questions. Follow us on Twitter at @TheTurnOnPod and Instagram at @TheTurnOnPodcast. You can find links to books, merch, transcripts, guest info, and other fun stuff at TheTurnOnPodcast.com. Thanks so much for listening. We will see you soon. Bye.

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SHOW NOTES
In this episode of The Turn On, Erica and Kenrya talk about what is bringing them joy these days.

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TRANSCRIPT
Kenrya: Come here. Get off.

Erica: You bring me joy when I'm down. Okay.

Kenrya: Mm-hmm (affirmative). You know how much I love Anita.

Erica: Welcome y'all to this week's episode of The Turn On.

Kenrya: I'm still sad that we didn't get to see her.

Erica: I know. And so, in my mind, I have an amazing voice. And when you turn on this podcast, you hear a crystal clear voice sounding beautiful through these speakers.

Kenrya: You be like, it's my time to shine.

Erica: It don't. I'm sorry. I love y'all nonetheless. So, for this week's quickie, we are going to talk about what brings us joy right now. We are currently living under the thumb of what we call that rona and-

Kenrya: That rona.

Erica: We so Black.

Kenrya: Black people so Black.

Erica: And so, we just want to talk about what brings us joy in the midst of being quarantined at home with our kids under the thumb of that rona and distance learning and all of that.

Kenrya: Yo, that distance learning ain't no joke.

Erica: It's the worst. So yeah, Kenrya.

Kenrya: I don't like it.

Erica: What brings you joy?

Kenrya: Hey, that's pretty good.

Erica: In my mind, I sound better than I do usually. This time I know I sound bad, so I'm sorry y'all.

Kenrya: So, I think the first thing are our social distancing walks. So, up until a few days ago, we were walking almost every day, somewhere around four or five o'clock when I can take a break from work, I grab my kid and my partner usually joins us because he, we're basically all isolating together because he works from home and doesn't go anywhere except for the grocery store and my house, to bring us groceries. So, the three of us go for walks around and then when your kid's home, sometimes he joins us and we just walk around the neighborhood and try to stay away from the white folks who don't seem to understand that we need to stay away from each other.

Kenrya: The time of day matters a lot because I know you go super early, which has to help with staying away from people, but I can't. I don't be up, I ain't got that body clock. But the walks have been good because I need-

Erica: Yes.

Kenrya: ... Sunlight to thrive and I need to move my body. I had just finally gotten back into a really good gym routine before all of this started and it really hurt.

Erica: Oh, okay.

Kenrya: Right. Like two weeks. But-

Erica: Yeah.

Kenrya: ... It hurt to have to stop going. I was going three days a week again feeling like my old self and then this shit happened and I was like, okay, don't want to die because I decided I had to go squat with the bar. So, it's been good in terms of just keeping me moving, but I think more than that, keeping my mood up and also after a few hours of the day, my kid starts running around like a crazy person, which I know you can hear. So, I have to take her ass outside. Yeah. So, I feel joy walking the streets.

Erica: Good.

Kenrya: And staying away from people. Yeah. What about you?

Erica: I have made our porch into a little sanctuary. I bought some really nice patio furniture and-

Kenrya: I haven't had a chance to sit on it yet.

Erica: Don't worry. It's a coming. Yeah. So, I bought some really nice patio furniture and a little rug and some cute little pillows and it's just nice to sit on the porch and look at people pass and wave. I turned into an old Black lady from Mississippi because I sit on my porch. I have a blanket if it's chilly and I fall asleep out there. But yeah, it's been really nice and my son will come out and he will ride his hoverboard and the dog will sit out with me, but it's been really nice to really just turn that into my little special place. Yeah. And I get to sit outside and like right now with this whole immunocompromised situation, I can't even go to the store. So, sitting on my porch has definitely become my thing and I love it. I put on some Anita and some Luther, literally the only thing I listen to on my porch is Anita and Luther. I think I listened to some Ari Lennox the other day too. But yeah, Anita, Luther.

Kenrya: That's what I was listening to on my way to the dispensary to get edibles last week.

Erica: Thanks.

Kenrya: Running errands.

Erica: The important things.

Kenrya: The important things.

Erica: So yeah, just, Anita Luther, me, the porch, it's been great. So, that is bringing me joy.

Kenrya: Yay.

Erica: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Kenrya: So, I have another and you're going to be angry.

Erica: Angry?

Kenrya: But it is what it is. Yeah, I've been baking a little bit.

Erica: Bitch.

Kenrya: You can't eat the stuff that I bake.

Erica: I can't, but I do.

Kenrya: I got to figure out new recipes for you. I'm not trying to contribute to you feeling like shit.

Erica: What do you got up there? What's behind you? Oh.

Kenrya: Nothing now. I made snickerdoodles from your auntie's recipe actually.

Erica: Okay.

Kenrya: Yeah, remember when she was here, she made snickerdoodles. She sent me the recipe to check for allergens, so I used her recipe instead of mine. I liked it. It was good. And I made brownies and this is all the stuff I've made since I've been up here. And I made lemon bars a few weeks ago.

Erica: Yeah. I found a lemon bar recipe that I was going to use because I have some sugar dookie. Sugar dookie. Sugar cookie dough. Yeah.

Kenrya: Oh, so to use it as your base? Yeah. I use a really simple shortbread dough that's amazing, that honestly you can just eat on its own. I'll send you that one too. But again, I'm like we have to modify it so it doesn't make you sick.

Erica: I literally spent Saturday morning, when you came down Saturday morning for ice, we were eating the cinnamon rolls that I made from scratch.

Kenrya: I saw. They looked good. Cinnamon rolls are the bomb.

Erica: Yeah. You came down at one. I started them at eight.

Kenrya: I have only done them once.

Erica: But they were good.

Kenrya: Bitch. Yeah. Because you got to let the dough rise twice. Yeah. I made them with my kid once because she asked for it and did not realize what I was getting myself into until we were three hours in and-

Erica: She's like, "Girl."

Kenrya: I'm like, we ain't even put them in the oven yet. Yeah, they were good though. But yeah, so that's another thing that's bringing me joy.

Erica: So something else that's bringing me joy, I feel like breast cancer talk has become all I talk about, but why fucking not? Right?

Kenrya: No, it's not.

Erica: So, Thursday's chemo treatment is my halfway mark and it's flown by and I know you never say chemo was good, but I've beasted through it.

Kenrya: You've done so well. Yeah.

Erica: And so, the fact that my body is just doing so well when it's up against so much, really brings me joy. Yesterday I met with my doctor and she said that my blood levels were great and when I found out I had to have chemo, I went out and bought-

Kenrya: Yeah. That was the hardest, yeah.

Erica: I went out and bought so much shit. I have cases of ginger ale, I have all these special suckers that you're supposed to eat to keep you from getting nauseous. I have this expensive ass mouthwash that keeps your mouth from getting sores and I was prepared for my fingernails to fall off and my tongue to be a mess and I ain't got no hair, but a bitch still cute.

Kenrya: Exactly.

Erica: And literally, I have had no real adverse situations. I had heartburn and so I take Pepcid every morning. And so, just the fact that I have beasted through it so successfully and I'm treating my body right, my body is responding well. I'm not in a ton of pain. That really brings me joy because I'm like, "You know what? Look at God, He good. And all the time, God is good."

Kenrya: God is good.

Erica: So yeah, that brings me joy.

Kenrya: That's awesome. So, my next one is blah next to that.

Erica: Oh, shut up.

Kenrya: It's just that we figured out that we can in fact have quiet morning sex even as my child is running around.

Erica: Ooh, that is not blah.

Kenrya: Because he'd always be like, "Oh, she's out there. I don't want to." And I told him, "Just be quiet." And so finally, he listened and we did it.

Erica: And it worked.

Kenrya: She didn't hear.

Erica: Yay.

Kenrya: Exactly. You know how I feel about morning sex. It's a really nice way to start the day.

Erica: Morning sex is great sex because everything been marinating all night.

Kenrya: Yeah. Juicy and ready. Yeah. I'm like, why not do this if we can? But yeah, on the days, which now is all the time, right? Before she would go to her dad's, and now we in the house. So, it's been nice to not have to wait until nighttime to have sex sometimes. So, that's bringing me joy.

Erica: Okay. Last thing for me, cooking. Now that we have all this extra time, I have been taking the extra steps when cooking. So, if I want a burger, then I'm going to make a burger, but then I'm going to make a special sauce and then do some fancy onions, maybe some fried onions and then a great pickle. I've been moving slower and crafting my food more and it's been really nice.

Kenrya: That's what's up, especially for, I know how much you love food.

Erica: I love food.

Kenrya: And that's no shade because I also love food.

Erica: Food is bad.

Kenrya: Yeah. So, it's nice that you're getting to be super intentional about it.

Erica: Yeah.

Kenrya: And slow down and enjoy it because I think a lot of folks, me included sometimes, have just been like, fuck, I made before this, I definitely was making 90% of our meals, but now it's like we only get one meal out of the house all week. So, it's more like I'm making 98% of our meals. And just that little shift sometimes feels like, fuck, I don't have no more ideas. I don't know what else to do. So, it's nice that you're finding joy in it and then it's not feeling like a chore.

Erica: So, my brother cooks and so we always have meals available for somebody to eat in the house. So, I find that it's not all the time, but when I want something, it's perfect.

Kenrya: It's there. Yeah.

Erica: So, I'm making breakfast a lot more. We went through a 30 pack of eggs in a week because we were just scrambling eggs every morning or boiling eggs, that kind of thing. But yeah, so it's been cooking.

Kenrya: Dope. Yay. Well, I'm glad we got to share the things that are bringing us joy.

Erica: What brings us joy.

Kenrya: Mm-hmm (affirmative). And I hope that these things help y'all to reflect on what's bringing y'all joy even as shit is kind of falling down around us.

Erica: Amen. Erica and Kenrya, two hoes, making it clap.

Kenrya: Two hoes making it clap.

Erica: This episode was produced by us, Erica and Kenrya and edited by B'Lystic. The theme song is from Brazy. We want to hear from y'all. Send your book recommendations and all the burning sex and related questions you want us to answer to TheTurnOnPodcast@gmail.com. And please subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast app. Follow us on Twitter @TheTurnOnPod and Instagram @TheTurnOnPodcast and find links to our books, transcripts, guest info and other fun stuff at TheTurnOnPodcast.com. And remember, the turn on is now part of the Frolic Podcast Network. You can find more shows you'll love at Frolic.media/podcast. Thanks for joining us and we'll see you soon. Holla.