Happy Birthday

on today, I have been on this earth for 23 years. It's been a long life... On the day I turned 23, New Orleans was inundated by a hurricane, and was swallowed by Lake Pontchatrain...

Hip Hop, pt 2.

Imagine a dark club, full of twenty somethings... the club is hot, but not smoky. It's a smoke free facility. The walls are sticky with the moisture of warm bodies which bob and pulse to the rhythm. The bass line reverberates in the chests of the concert goers as they plunge their fists into the air, fueling the energy of the MC that is holding the mic. Suddenly, the stage fades to black. From stage left, a green light streams forward to find the emcee... the stage goes blue, highlighting the silhuettes of the DJ and band members, while the green persists in following the MC. The stage goes from a blue haze to a purple ambiance, puncutated by streams of red and pulsing flashes of yellow. The yellow takes over, creating a surreal glow over the crowd, as blue gives visual expression of the bassline, and pink streams of light accentuate the mellifluous flow. Suddenly, the bassline drops out. The DJ stops spinning, and it's just the MC, the mike, and a sole white light. This is the MC, raw, on stage. The crowd knows it, the lights inform this unconscious recognition. When he is done spitting his lyrics, the lights slowly fade to black. The crowd goes wild.

Tonight, I ran a light show. :)

Ok, so maybe it didn't go exactly as I described... maybe the light show looked like an acid trip, like skittles on crack. Maybe the red and white lights were those of the ambulances that they needed to take the concert goers away after they convulsed into seizures because of my crazy light spectacular... but it was still fun, and I still got to do the lights, so there.

more realizations...

1. I am very fortunate to have such a wonderful boyfriend.
2. You will never make friends again like the ones you make in college.
3. When people get off of airplanes, their toes look like little smokies.
4. Los Angeles has traffic at all times, for no reason. However, the traffic moves. D.C. traffic is around rush hour, and goes nowhere.
5. It is a shame to live in CA and not to explore the state. Santa Barbara and San Diego are exquisite. Everyone should walk across the Golden Gate bridge, and take an evening cruise under it, and past Alcatraz. Everyone should see the Redwoods, and Giant Sequoia trees, and sea lions lounging on CA beaches. CA should be explored from beach to mountain. And when you are in LA, you should explore the ethnic enclaves, and the musuems, from the Armand Hammer and Getty, to LACMA and the Gene Autry musuem. And whale watching. Everyone should go whale watching.
6. When my dad went to Medical School in the 1970's, there were 9 black doctors in his class. My friend Lucy has enrolled in Medical School at USC's Keck School of Medicine. There are 6 black students in her class. I don't know what the question is, but the answer is NOT affirmative action.
7. I am amazed at my ability to be repeatedly stood up in short periods of time, and still maintain my sanity.
8. In CA, you can buy a large assortment of wine for $5 or less. If I lived there, I would be an alcoholic :)
9. Trader Joe's French Truffles are a must for everyone's cupboards. It's like heaven in your mouth.
10. I have more school spirit as an alum than I ever did as an undergrad. Go Trojans!
11. When someone tries to recruit you to join a gym, but they do so at Fatburger over a Triple thick chocolate milkshake, you are entitled to be confused.

No habla...spanglish?

So, as part of my summer gig, I have to call youth across the country and schedule interviews. Aside from catching people when they are home, this is not an exceedingly difficult task... Except for this one house, that I call, and the mother (or who ever it is that answers the phone) doesn't speak English. Now, I've called this lady a dozen times, and she always pretends like she doesn't know what I am talking about when I say her daughter's name. So, today, I decided I would try to use a little spanish, and maybe I could get somewhere. Ok, so spanish quickly turned to Spanglish, as I nervously rambled off an explanation of who I was, and why I was calling. Apparently she was quite amused by this, which I could tell by her muffled laughter. She was pretty damn pleased with herself as she got off the phone, laughing audibly, but she did tell me that her daughter was at work, and what time I should call back.

Points for useful information: 5
Points lost due to assault on ego: 75
Net points: -70

Verdict: Spanish mommy wins (this round...)

The big apple

Here are some things that I learned while visiting NYC...

1.) Sex in the City was not filmed in NYC. The city that Carrie Bradshaw traipsed in Manolo Blahniks had no sidewalk grates, pot holes, bricks, or even subways. This is clearly not NYC, as those things constitute a full 75% of the cities infrastructural makeup.

2.) It rains everyday in NYC. Honestly. Well, sort of. This old city suffers from a lack of central air, meaning that everyone has window A/C units... which means there is a constant dripping from high windows all over the city, hence, NYC rain, the the form of A/C condensation. I was pretty grossed out by this, while New Yorkers seemed to take it in stride fairly well.

3.) It's not always about the money. I went to a bar with my friend. There weren't more than 12 people there, and all of those people were "friends of the bar", and hence, getting free drinks. The entire night, I only saw one person pay for a drink, and this was discounted, because he was a friend of a friend of the bar. I didn't think I would ever see a bar lose money on a Friday night like that, but yes, I did. Guess it's not always about the money.

4.) If three men enter a bathroom together, and reemerge shortly thereafter, they may have been doing cocaine or other illicit drugs. Gay sex should not be your first assumption.

5.) Duck meat is very dark, and tastes reminiscent of roast beef (I don't eat red meat). According to the FDA, duck meat is not red meat, it is still poultry.

6.) New Yorkers have insane stamina. There is a restaurant called Serendipity 3, which serve amazing posh desserts, such as frozen hot chocolate and decadent brownie sundaes. Unfortunately, the wait is always 1.5-2 hours or more, just to get in this place. Apparently, there are lines all day, and it doesn't die down until 1am. Also, if you want to make a reservation, you must do so weeks in advance. Seriously.

7.) Starbucks is my new favorite place. Don't get me wrong, I don't buy anything, but they are great for sitting down after long days on the city, and they have free wireless, and outlets so that I can charge my phone. I used countless Starbucks as I traversed the city. Kudos for Starbucks.

8.) I called my cousin who lives in Brooklyn, to see if I could come visit him. He said that he "was having crazy drama with his wife," and would call me back. I don't know what that means generally, but specifically, it means that he never called back.

The End.