Forgot to blog Friday!

So Friday, hmm. Oh rite! I did nothing the entire day and went to my girl Angie's house that nite for probably one of my last bday celebrations this year.

I drove my mom to the nail salon and then headed over there. Since it's summertime, the sun stayed up way longer than I was used to and I got to look at
all the stuff around her house. Like the water and the boats! Who knew?! Anyway, I got there uncharacteristically early and went inside.Of course her place was as awesome as it always is and she had cool music on. 'Dream' I think she said the name of the dudes.

This was the spread (ooh, aah!)...she's super cute and sets a full table with
napkin holders and salad bowls etc. We had grilled boneless chicken marinated in
soy/teriyaki sauce with fresh green beans and jasmine rice! Aaah! She even had a
delicious French baguette readily available just in case! Hah that girl surely
knows what I like. We ate with her fiance and her best friend's mom who I've
become close with in the past couple months. And they got me presents!!

Then she pulled out an ice cream cake and they sang happy birthday! After that,
we watched Follow that bird...! Aaah, peeps who really know me, how ridiculously
awesome for me does that sound? Exactly!! So ridiculously.

I'll have her over this week during the day so she doesn't get shot. Hah! Just kidding! Or am I... *dun dun dunnnnnn*!!

I'm keepin my fingers crossed to hit up her wedding this Sept. in Kentucky. I'm taking donations and applications for potential dates ;)

Love you Ange !!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

L'Etranger by Albert Camus [Translation by Matthew Ward]

I'd like to become a fabulous reviewer of, well, any and everything some day. Emphasis on the word become. So here's my amateur review of a classic book:

When my friend Chelsea told me to check out The Stranger because it changed her life, I was expecting to read something, well, life changing! not that it wasn't by any means, but this certainly is the type of book that will mean something different to you at different stages of life.

Most people I know checked this out in high school or junior high school. I imagined how I would've read it back then. Firstly, this book has major themes in Absurdism and is considered part of the Existential movement [although Camus didn't intend for it to be so]. I will have to admit that I didn't even know what the hell the Existential movement was before I read this. Just sounded kind of cool to say I was checking it out.

Anyway, the book is almost written in prose. The dialogue reads as though someone is writing in their diary or even half way recounting a story. An example not taken from the book would be: "We went to the store and got some tea, I asked about the flavors and he told me something about how he only had one type and who was I to be asking for various styles of tea in the first place". Something like that. I write that way for comedic relief often. That style of writing lent to his atmospheric, Absurdist way of looking at the world. Like it is just happening around him with no sense of cause and effect. I'd bet that back then Existentialism made sense to philosophers as a way of thought, but to me, it comes off as chilling. Kind of the way serial killers would talk about killing people. EEE!

I realize I'm writing this review backwards. The dude in the book's name is Meursault. And the action that happens in the book is told by him as though they were mundane everyday events. Strangely, I had no idea what was going to happen in the book so that kept it really interesting for me. So I won't tell you anything about it except for that it's only 121 pages long and might leave you feeling kinda like WTF.

So totally read it?

PS- Don't be offended by how elementary this review is! If I wanted to write something thought provoking I'd go get a second Masters or something

I like to sing-a

Hey friends!

The weekend was awesome. Went to a wedding and did something else, don't remember. Then today was pretty long.

Had to move my car for alternate side before jetting over to the city for an employment agency. Didn't seem promising. Took a sip of the new McCafe (I know I know...bad idea, but *free* is in my price range) before getting back on the train to go home - oh, it was definitely gross.

My parents are home for an entire week on vacation so when I got back home, it seemed much like a lazy Sunday. They confirmed that perhaps I should look into becoming certified to teach so I can make ridiculous amounts of money eventually and, I dunno, finally become a @*?! adult, get a luxury car, move out...stuff like that. So I may or may not be looking into doing that.

Finally, it was time to go to rehearsal (which I have not-so affectionately dubbed re-re...seriously, these last 2 productions??? Am I, like, on punishment or something?!). I left a little early to get my mind ready for it and to have something to eat. I saw a UPS truck guy and a dude in a van get into it on a busy street.

UPS: Ey mon, wuts yo ProbLEM? (West Indian accent)
Van dude: Yeah, just drive your f*ing truck (in old school nyc drawl..definitely from Bensonhurst somewhere)
UPS: No!
Van dude: Get the f** outta here I'm tryna drive down the f** street, who the f** gave your dumb ass a license in the first f** place? Just keep driving that big ass truck of yours.
UPS: NO!

Kinda went on like that.
.
Just when it was getting to be a marginally exciting confrontation, I had to skip off to re-re. After the previous rehearsal, I wasn't much looking forward to it, but it went much MUCH better than any of us expected. Show opens in a week or so.

I ended the night hangin out in Columbus Circle with my old opera buddy Ishan! And now I'm on the train going home with a full bladder from drinking damn near one gallon of water at rehearsal and half of a small DD decaf iced coffee. Ah.

Birthdays

I don't know when it all started but, one year, I decided that I had too many friends to just celebrate my birthday the day of. Thus, my birth'week' began. I'd carve my friends up into groups: The Performers, The Party-ers, The From High School friends, The College friends, and even the Socially Awkward-not many people want to hang out with you- friends...

This year, I have some distinct groups and I went to Karaoke on Saturday for the first time in (no exaggeration) 8 years. It was actually quite amazing. I intended for it to be singers only to have that interesting spin on the art of Karaoke. Oh yes, there IS an art.

On Sunday, I went to my favorite gym class and had dinner with my friend John. On the holiday itself, I went to the beach w Sharde. I had planned on going to Manhattan Beach but ended up driving smack into Coney Island. M'eh. Didn't get a chance to get started on my tan but when summer gets here, I'm on it! Sharde loves Mango Thai, so, we went there. I promptly announced to the waitress that I know (and the entire restaurant, for that matter) that it was my birthday. I was hoping for applause but I can't get too mad that they weren't as tickled as I was. They were surely upset that it wasn't THEIR birthdays. Mmhmm. But! My waitress did surprise me with ice cream and a candle!!! Eee!!! I started singing along also. Couldn't help myself.

I had rehearsal that night and met up w/ my boy Darrell over in Columbus Circle. It is completely gorgeous out there at night. I can't wait to go out there on a date with a dude I actually like! Ahem.

And I'm not done!! Friday, in a rare occurrence, I'm having a huge bar/lounge party!! Whooaa!


xo

Cry me a river?

So, I had to go to the dentist today. It's my mom's dentist so I was hoping they'd be much better than those morons at the other place I tried.

On my way there, this woman gets on the train, sits directly next to me, puts her hand over her face and starts crying. '*Erm* Cut that out, you're like, on the train!' Is what I wanted to say but I didn't. I just, kinda ignored her...and that made me realize how extremely insensitive we are here in the city. If she was that down in the dumps, the least someone could do is freaking comfort her. But, I mean, I couldn't do that.

Anyway, the new dentist wasn't amazing but definitely an improvement. Afterward, I had rehearsal...so to kill the time, I went to Cosi on 42nd street. It was pretty empty inside so I sat around for a while. All of a sudden, this woman gasps really sharply and, surprisingly , loudly from the front. ' I dunno where my bag is! I went to the bathroom and I...I..I left it right here but...but...now it's GONE' Then, all this confusion ensued. The workers all start looking back and forth between each other like 'aww hell naw, she's gonna blame us" One of them had to flag down the manager so he'd help. The woman is wailing by this time. More people start filing into the store and some are backing out like 'Damn, the food must be terrible here'. Eventually po-po comes and takes her away in the squad car.

Then I went to rehearsal. Xoxo!!

There are no words (facebook import)

I haven't been able to write since Michael Jackson's passing. I wrote this note on Facebook the hour they pronounced him deceased. Looking back on what I wrote now, and having the deep sorrow I was feeling grow by the day, I realize how completely shocked I was when I wrote this. There's even a tone of disbelief in the note. Almost like I thought it was a really bad dream that I'd wake up from.

I was actually house sitting and practicing music for the opera I'm in at the time. My mom called and told me and I went online to see if it was true. The house I was in didn't have a television. So in a way, I was left alone, in immense silence, with my thoughts and began to experience overwhelming grief. There were a bunch of things I had planned to do that day that I didn't get around to doing. I never anyone in my adult life how much I loved MJ, and didn't expect to be dealing with his death so soon.

Anyway, at risk of making you all feel sorry for me any further, I figured I'd re-post my facebook note onto here before I continue with my nonsensical banter on this thing. Even I can't find humor in everything. So, without further ado...

**********************************************

~There's nothing I can write that will be worthy of his life and his memory. All I have are the words from my heart..-Me






When I heard the news from my mom, I think she halfway expected me to scream. I'm not a very emotional person outwardly but, I just can't shake how I'm feelin' right now.

Maybe I haven't had any statuses that might have clued you in, or even included him on my favorite music section [like people read that anyway] but, Michael Jackson was a staple of my childhood. He was my freaking idol. I rocked with him on all his RECORDS [yes, I said records], in my basement at my childhood home. I ran the Moonwalker VHS until I could say all the lines in it. I watched Thriller and the Making of Thriller. And guess what my first cd was? The Dangerous Album. I had parties for the dude, I was nuts!!! I made my parents stand around the cake and sing happy birthday to MJ for many Augusts at a time. I mean for real?

And today, all those memories came back to me. I tried to push out all that other stuff that happened with him in my adult life. What he was doing to his body, the court cases, all that shit. It hurt so much to hear people call him names. It hurt so much to see him do that... Eventually, I just made Mike an afterthought and became obsessed with other things [you know, like Harry Potter and LOST]. Imagine how I feel right now...makin' Mike an afterthought.

MJ, you have affected SO many peoples lives, and inspired so many to be who they are today and for that you will never EVER be forgotten..not by me at least.





RIP Michael Jackson, I love you so *so* much.