Monday has been awesome so far...it's gone without a hitch. I surprisingly did NOT have any serious dealings with road rage, nor did I have a cigarette (smoked the last one of the pack yesterday). Let's see how far I can go without buying another pack. Shall we put a wager on it?! AHAHAAH... Nah, that would be too easy; an easy way for you guys to make some quick dough. NIX that idea. I do want to buy stuff in exchange for my lack of cancer stix. What a trade-off, eh?! If I don't smoke, then I have to buy something. Which habit is cheaper and less expensive...?! Hmmm...
I was beginning to forget that there are four more days ahead of us until the weekend comes again. With that in mind, let me crawl back under my rock and cry. *YYYAWWWWNNN* Damn, I'm so sleeeeeeeeepy.
So that was my bratty fit for the day, or night... depending on how you look at it. Friday evening felt like a late October evening on the East Coast. It conjured up all kinds of memories that are reminiscent of the American Fall. It reminded me of my high school days: the Friday nights where we'd get home from school and go out someplace like Old Town, Alexandria or Georgetown... when we were too young to drink, so all we'd do is shop or eat out. It reminded me of the college days back when everyone would be home during the weekend... we'd all come home from our dorms and go out at night - somewhere in the city, and eventually landing at a club of some sorts...partying the night away. Wait a minute, I still do those things to this day. LOL! All in a different context, though. Man, I love the East Coast in the Fall. It's the BEST.
Saturday night was downright MEAN. I got up early, went to damn Arundel Mills to (1) return something at H&M, (2) check out the Off 5th Outlet, and (3) check out the Wilson's Leather outlet. SO, I find nothing of mere interest at Off 5th NOR at Wilson's. Total waste of time. THEN, H&M was closed temporarily... WTF?! Total waste of time and gas and road rage. (i still love road rage) So I ended up driving back down from the outskirts of Baltimore and back into DC. Went to H&M at Metro Center, and took about a half hour tryin' to score parking. UNbelievable. Finally find one a few blocks down, so I walk. I return my ish, and all is well. Then I truck it to the gym and get my work-out on... I rush it cause I gotta meet Debz and them. After the gym, I head home and shower and blah-blah-blah. Then I go and meet Debz and them to check out the "Top of the Town." Very nice view of DC... I like it. Afterwards, I stop by the ATM and hit up the grocery store to pick-up a few things. Then I go to White Flint to meet up with Debz and Co. We walk around, then we go meet Jun and them. Debz and Co. go straight to Hooters, and I meet Jun/Katz at Best Buy. We all eventually end up at Hooters and eat - WINGS. AHAHA... Afterwards, we head out to Sef's new pad (like behind Hooters, literally. ahaha...), and we chill watching The Two Towers in his posh media room. OK, so it's not really his media room, but the complex's media room. VERY SWANKY place to watch TV. AHAHAHAAH. After all is said and done and eaten, we break for home. I cut through the city via the GW Parkway, and I'm enamored by the evening scene of the city. Driving alongside the Potomac, overlooking the shi-shi area of Georgetown was amazing. It looked like "old money." It was just nice to look at. It reminded me of what a world-class city DC is. It's so sad that no one really knows that. But I'll get into that later. Sunday (today) I got up, went to Mass, went to the gym... then Carrie came over and we had dinner at Eden Center in Falls Church. Then we had bubble tea and had a helluva adventure trying to find a gas station, cigarettes, and a place to just chill. We ended up at Faces in Old Town, and chilled by the water. We talked about REAL ESTATE. How sad. But not in the sense that you may be thinking...just bitchin' about how we need to look into getting our own places. YoUkNo?! It was just a funny conversation. But now I'm home and ready, or not so ready, to take on another work week. Where's my shot of vodka?!
Oh yeah... So, the whole mystique of DC. It's so sad that people can't stand it here. It's so sad that people don't think much of it here. Either someone complains about how there's nothing to do here, or how there's not enough shopping, or there's just no where to go. Well, lemme just ask you this: WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GOING?! Man, I've been in and out of this city like a freakin' mouse in a muther-humpin' block of Swiss cheese, and I still find something about the city that's new and exciting. There's so much going on here, but you know you'd never figure it out unless you're THERE LOOKING FOR IT. Metro DC-ers are so spoiled by the suburbias of nearby MD and VA that they tend to find NO NEED to venture into the city. They tend to believe that they have everything within' an arm's reach: gas stations, grocery stores, coffee shops, restaurants, shops, etc. And then when they think of DC they either only think of Adams Morgan, Georgetown, or Dupont Circle. HELLO, people. Look around you, and get up outta your freakin' HOMES! Stop being so damn reclusive and GET OUT THERE AND KNOW YOUR DAMN CITY! DC has so many nice things about it, but people can't appreciate them unless they're with the right people. So dump those fools and party it up with FUN people. If you need the hook-ups, lemme know. I'll find a person or two who can show you what DC is all about. It's all about power restaurants and bars, swanky lounges and ragin' clubs, peaceful vistas of monuments and historical pathways, old money and new money, shopping is there, too. It may not be Michigan Avenue, Union Square, Beverly Hills, or 5th Avenue, but it's definitely worth it's own weight. You just gotta get out there and appreciate it, and find something to do. NO MORE BORING-BORING bedroom living! That's so damn LAME!! Get out there and DO your city, Washingtonians! Make this brotha proud. *wink*
I know many people don't understand the logic behind the road rage code. But hey, it's a code that I live by. I personally don't mean any harm by it. Seriously. And as much as I try to avoid the rage, my day just wouldn't be right without it. It's that East Coast grit, I tell you. I go to the West Coast and face NO road rage at all, and to me that's boring. I mean TRUE it's a gorgeous drive up and down the PCH, which is why I think there's no road rage out there. In Cali you have the coastal views to calm you. In Seattle you have pine trees and vistas of lakes and mountains, which can be soothing. Even in Chicago, a drive along Lakeshore Drive can calm the bitchiness in any beeyatch any day. But on the east coast --- well, at least from DC up through Boston, you drive amidst trees, industrial areas, skyscrapers and cities, and smoke-stacks. If that isn't cause for some quicky bitchin' and moanin' then I don't know WHAT is. AHAHAH. I'm not complaining about it at all; don't get me wrong. I live for this "grit." I live for the short-tempered meanness that is manifested on our busy roads, highways, and by-ways. But when that shit gets violent, then that's when I have to take a step back. Let's leave the road rage to simple vocal outbursts, people. Hand gestures are welcome, and a little speeding here and there, but violence?! Don't need it.
If you drive south of DC well into Florida, you still have road rage, but not for the reasons that you have road rage driving from the Mid-Atlantic to the North East. The "South East" road rage comes about because there's absolutely NOTHING around you. Once you get past Potomac Mills (in Northern VA) it's over. It's all trees, farmlands, and a whole lotta boring-boring. Now that's cause for some "sick-in-the-head" road rage. That I canNOT live by. Bring me the North East road rage - anytime, anyplace.
Road rage is a sub-cultural manifestation of a person's yearning to be heard amidst the bump and grind of the daily routine. It's an outlet for city-dwellers and suburbanites alike to let-go of pent-up aggression from the socio-political stresses that plague our every day lives. It's something that Easterners live by along with coffee, cigarettes, and after-work drinks. OK, I just totally made all that bull shit up. . .but it sounded cool, eh? AND YOU THOUGHT I DID MY RESEARCH! Riiiiiite! All in all, road rage is a characteristic that comes from within. It just can't be explained at all, yet those who go through it understand its importance COMPLETELY. To my fellow road ragers out there: KUMBAYAH, my friends. KUMBAYAH!
So I went to the mall last night to watch Britney, Good Charlotte and Mary J. Good Charlotte was aight. They actually have great presence, which is a lot to say about a band out of Waldorf, MD. Those of you who are familiar with Waldorf - emmmm...we roll our eyes in unison. Lucky for those guys, they got outta that place. Britney was all about bein' nasty. HELLO, you were in DC dancing in front of families and military personnel. Ummm, hello?! First off, your hair sucks. Second, your song sucks. Third, your dancing wasn't all that great. And fourth, who are you - Christina Aguilera?! Ummm, Xtina perfected the slutty songstress routine ON HER OWN way before you even tried, Brit. Please. Keep to your bubble gum pseudo ho-ness. I'd rather see you wearin' a bra-top, with low-low-low rise jeans with a boa around your neck than seein' you with extra-short HOT shorts. O-K?! You're in need of SOMEthing to boost that career, I know. Keep at it, hon. Keep at it. For me, the performance of the night went to mah sista, MARY J.!! Go ahead, gurrrrl... Man, Mary J. was lookin' fly, and she just sang... Man, she was just cool. I was groovin' along with the pocket-ful of African Americans in the predominantly white audience. Although, there were many Caucasian Americans who were diggin' Mary J's thang. Even this puti auntie behind me was tryin' to swerve with MJ. Too bad she had no rhythm, but she got points for trying. GO AHEAD, puti auntie! Emm-hmm, das RIIITE!! We decided to leave after Britney, as did half of the audience. And as we were leaving, we caught Aerosmith doin' their thang. They're some GREAT performers. Steven Tyler - so old, yet still so ROCK STAR-ish. You can't say that for many of the other rock bands that have come and gone through the years. Aerosmith rocks. We missed Aretha, tho. It's all good, boo. You still got our R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Tell me why I saw a girl wearin' the "hit me baby one more time" outfit like it was the newest thing?! Ummm, didn't anyone tell you that the slutty-schoolgirl outfit was so 5-6 years ago? Yeah; circa 1998.
Today is Friday, and I want to go to P.F. Chang's. That, or I wanna buy a winter coat. My friend, Helen, just bought a damn Andrew Marc coat for $330.00. That freak. I want an Andrew Marc coat. That, or the Dolce & Gabbana one I saw at Saks for like a G. Syke, I can't go there... But I gotta find something. I live for winter coat shopping. Don't you?
Since Kelly Clarkson won the contest last year, she's been on the rise. She has a career that's steady (so far), and she's on the up-and-up. For Reuben, however, it hasn't been that great. Now where on earth can you hear his song on the radio except for like the lite FM station?! Clay seems to have more pull in the industry for some reason, but he's only relegated to lite FM fame as well. And then you have Justin... Justin, Justin, Justin. Didn't anyone tell you that there's room for only ONE Justin in the land of American POP?! The difference between Justin Guarini and Justin Timberlake is, first of all, the dumb hairstyle. Secondly, Timberlake is a better over-all performer. Third, TImberlake doesn't look constipated when he's singing STUPID songs like Guarini's I'm Sorry... (i'm SO sorry for you, too, Justin G.) Fourth, Guarini was in a dumb movie. And finally, Timberlake is just dirty-POP. Hello, Guarini, did you not get the memo?! Dirty pop is IN.
I just feel sorry for Reuben. I think that the hype and mystique of the 2nd American Idol contest lost its novelty somewhere along the way. They sure had a better pool of talent, but it just wasn't all there. And to think about the 3rd AI coming later this year (or early next)?! I don't know. Something tells me that it MIGHT get a better response since this year's contest was kinda "eh." We shall see. Poor Reuben. He so has to share the limelight with dorky-looking Clay Aiken. I'm sorry, as I've stated before during the days of the AI2 hoopla: Clay has an amazing voice, but he's just a dork. It's like listening to Celine Dion. You know the woman can sing, but you just can't stand her; you can't stand to look at her even. You know?! Same goes for Clay Aiken. And then Justin?! Get over yourself, bud. The light eyes, the Side-show Bob hairstyle, and the "i-wanna-be-a-crooner" attitude is working your favor towards the big, blue lite FM music genre heaven. Accept your defeat with pride, young man. Accept it with pride. (ahahahaha...)
As for Kelly Clarkson, ride that wave, boo. Ride it as hard as you can. You see, she has the edge here: she's a woman, she's cute, she has a powerful voice, and she can be totally manipulated to be any kind of marketing tool for the industry. Kelly, you have ARRIVED! But Reuben?! If he were skinny with a 6-pack, I bet you he'd be all over the place. But since he's bordering Luther Vandross-ism, that's not gonna happen just yet. I mean, it's sad what has happened to Luther, but Luther is indispensable. There's only room for one weight-fluctuating male singer out there, and that would go to Luther Vandross. Reuben - good luck. And Clay... if he had the least bit streak of "coolness" then he'd probably work it on out. Right now, even Billy Gilman has a higher "cool" quotient going for him than Clay does. Embarrassing. And Justin?! Shave your head and go back to school. You all have received the IDOL SHAFT.
Did you now that Harlemm Lee is formerly known as Gerry Woo?! Gerry Woo - I had one of his CDs from back in the day. He's had 2 records under that name. That was totally back in the 80s, though.
OMG, this woman on Hot 99.5 is totally crying on the air because they did some trife ish with a cat, or something like that. Now a woman just called-in to bitch the DJs out about how animal rights and blah-blah are gonna give 'em a lawsuit or something. WOW. UNbelievable. The things that go on in some of our nation's radio stations are just whack. Like the time Teapot Tim (also from Hot 99.5) went around town looking for the American HOMELESS Idol. I KID YOU NOT. He was straight-up out there asking homeless people to sing and "win." What they won I have no clue. But isn't that just whack? Get real jobs, folks.
I am so mean, and I can't help it. As my friends have agreed, I need a major pray-over. They (my friends) suggested a pray-over with full bon-fire and chanting, but that borders witchcraft... yikes! So I'm gonna have to NIX that one. I may be mean, but I sure as heck ain't wicked. Ya' feel me?! (to all those who are snickering right now, SHUT UP. LOL)
OK, enough of the insanity. Let's get back to HOOTERS. OK, so I don't know why I go there... It's totally not my kind of place, and in essence it seems very much someplace too TPT for my nature. You know what I mean? I only say that cause when I mention "Hooters" to some of my friends, I get this weird look from them... and I have to convince them that their wings are awesome. And that they ARE. I made my cousin and Godsis go with me to Hooters for their first time a few months ago, and they were diggin' it. Once they were in there, it was nothing. Even the ladies in their skin-tight tanks and shorts sorta just fizzles out into the background, and the only time you notice 'em is when a dumb drunk fool drops something in order to have one of the gurlz pick it up. But even Hooters girls, my friends, are NOT stupid. Do you think they wanna work their for their health?! Ummm, no. They work there cause they have goodies that can be ogled at, and if that bumps up the tip scale a bit more than usual...then more power to them, right?! Just cause a woman puts on a Hooters tank doesn't mean that they're to be treated like senseless bimbos. If you drop something, you bet your ass they're gonna pick it up, but NOT the way you're wanting them to pick it up.
OK, why am I talking about Hooters? I have a craving for their wings, and that's it. AHAHAAH. Other than that, I think I've OD-ed on mamon and ensemada. I do know this, though: Red Ribbon's mamon is a cut ABOVE Goldilock's, BUT Goldilock's has it down with their ensemada. FINE, no more talk of food. I just gained like 50 gazillion pounds mentioning it. I think that I should just go to Hooters for carrot and celery sticks with ranch or bleu cheese dressing. Hey, that'll make me feel better.
I woke-up this morning with thoughts Paris Hilton in my head. For some reason I kept picturing her having a cat fight with Tara Reid somewhere along Sunset. Wait, did that really happen? Or are they like friends like that?! Either way, I can't stand Paris. Go eat something, woman. (see, it all comes back to food. *eh*)
To make matters worse, they announced that all flights to the DC/Baltimore area were delayed because of damn thunder storms. So we had to wait 20 minutes. THEN an "unforseen mechanical issue" came up and we had to taxi back to the gate and get it checked. That took about 30 more minutes. Then we finally got on our way and left to come home... my arm STILL pinned-down by sumo-wrestler's arm. At points, the sumo man would rest his arm by grabbing the seat in front of him. One time he fell asleep in that position, and the girl in the seat in front of him wanted to pull her seat up. She tried, but dude had gripped the chair so hard. So she turned, looked at him and then looked at me. When she looked at me I made this face and gritted on him. Then she did the same, then we busted out laughing. I'm so mean. Then at another point, Josef turned around to look at us, and as he did so he totally was leaning ALL UP on the person on the window seat without knowing it (he was on the center seat). Me and Jun could NOT stop laughing about that. Literally, Sef was like all UP on that person - like skin-to-skin contact. HI-freakin'-LARIOUS... So finally, we get back to BWI... and we get back to my house by like 1-1:30AM. BLOWER.
It was good to visit Cali, even though I didn't do my usual gallavanting in and around Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica. But I'll be back. Sheeyt, I might as well make it full circle and take a fourth trip to Cali later this year. Why not make it a quarterly thang, eh?! *EH* I just might. If I'm feeling the need for some Sushi Roku or Katana on Sunset, then I'ma have to let Perce and Leslie know. REALLY.
The conference wasn't bad... in fact, it had some great talks... Creative presentations were NOT that great, but whatever. What's to expect, eh?! When they did When God Ran, I was highly disappointed. It wasn't nearly as touching (or clean) as the way they did it at YFC's conf. But oh well. That's usually the case. I had a good time bonding with some of mah homies, and talking with peeps that I hardly see on a regular basis - esp. Franny, Michi, Eleanor and the Jersey folks, the full timers, Americ, Andy, etc.-etc.-etc. VERY good seeing everyone this past weekend. And it was awesome to hang/stay with Kuya Pat and Ate Krishna... they took us to Old Town Pasadena, and we just chilled there; had dinner at Noodle World. Then we headed over to their house (very cool house...) and watched some ABS-CBN and totally laughed our asses off watching those people do dances on TV. HILARIOUS. And then the gang got into watching Tabing Ilog. OhBoO... I was grossed out. AHAAH. But yeah, being able to talk all night (literally) with KP, Sef, Jun, and Jen was the best. Can't wait to do it again. So it was a great weekend. Brought home some mamon from Red Ribbon, so I'm a happy camper.
Washington, DC is bustling today... the politicians are working in full-swing, and the fast-paced pitter-patter of feet walking through the busy streets is rampant. It's good to be home. Nice Cali weather or not, the East is still where it's at. Now, gotta figure out who's gonna watch Britney, Mary J., Aerosmith, and the rest of them foolz on Thursday night for the NFL kick-off... What a way to start the football season, eh?! Free concert on the Washington, DC mall - it'll be hot as balls, but it'll be hot as balls with BRITNEY SPEARS... *sigh* I mean she still can't sing, but just one look at her is ground for forgiveness for her lack of singing talent. AHAHAHA...
Just come home safely, all you who are still in California. Oh, and hope you don't have to sit by a sumo-wrestler on the plane or anything like that. I'm all about comfortable flights. Speaking of which, I'm feelin' that trip to Miami more than ever. Shall I book a flight?!
