Round 1

This past weekend, I saw my baby cousin:

I donm't talk to her dad, though. Because he's weird and not a good ally. Just a big asshole for no reason. THis was taken at a funeral parlor. I was busy playing with the babies. I don't really like speaking to adults in mourning...those conversations always become about something else. This is also the wake where my one aunt, who is terribly angry with me, ignored me. I expected more for a woman in her forties, but guess not.

On the way to my girl, I's house, I ran into my former classmate, R! She just graduated, and looks great as a blonde.


We went to see From Monuments to Masses play. They are kind of an amazing experience. Please listen and support them if you can on their Euro tour. There is no lead singer, instead they juxtapose existing media bites to awesome instrumentation. (I like "DEafening" and "Edagda"...because slow jams are my thing.) I was really happy to support my kasama while he was onstage...we weren't really able to chop it up, but it is so very meaningful to see someone who belongs in this community to produce such heart wrenching work.

Met up with P who was visiting for work from the Bay area. So happy to see her and talk about comic books! <3 Really looking forward to her return next month! WE're all celebrating our one year anniversary soon! WE all met on November 2,3,4! Awww, to good friends! <3


Then by SAturday night, after the CUNY SOcial Forum and a community share with Nodutdol, Sugarwalls made a bigass tub of potatomac salad for PInay Brunch the next day. BUt here we are wylin out on the tub of potatomac salad:


Lookit that glorious next-day spread! Thanks you to Sugarwalls and Ro for the Hawaiian themed deliciousness! The eating was nonstop.


When the numbers dwindled down, we went ahead and hung out on a fire escape. Some people were scared, so I will just show you their shoes.


BUt here I am being silly and looking like an unkempt muppet! Kids at home, don't fuck around on fire escapes. IT'S UNSAFE! (yes, I am rocking an old school isangmahal shirt. jealous?) One of the best investments I've made in my life! :)


Round 2 begins on Friday.

under the weather

mighta been the change is seasons, but i've been feeling a bit off lately. in encouraging my life in this slop hop, i was unable to go to the gym all week long. this means that next week is double time, double sleepy. next week is full, man.

for inspiration and getting back on it, i looked at my boy's lovely collection of cardio machine interfaces!

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returning is necessary, since there are texans in town (you know they eat BIG food.) went to serendipity (sorry, no john cusack) and then chicken and rice...cheddar bay biscuits at red lobster for appetizers. MAN! the Ung sisters are sweet folks.

!!!!!!!!!
took a dump at the Apple/mac store on 5th. So clean. So private. So 24 hrs. Highly recommended.

with I and S all day long!

My girl, I, moved over to the Right Coast after 7 years in Seattle. She lives in the East Village now, and we met up last night over some okonomiyaki and takoyaki. ( I love how the bonito flakes dance with the heat after they're sprinkled on!) Both were delicious and silky! so good, and cheap, and the old guy was super smiley and nice. We headed to Tompkins Square Park, and ate in the sun. Glad we got a photo of the nice old guy and the food, since some random guy got in the original shot.

Then, we met up with S to catch up on life, sprawl out on the grass in the approaching fall sun, and we saw a bee fly into S' purse. And stay there. For a long time. As we stayed on the the little manmade hill, we saw the Salt Lake City kids get into a series of arguments over liquor. You know these people, they panhandle "trying to get back home" as they look all punk rock with their big-ass dogs. It got frightening after a while.

Here is a photo of I and S looking 18.

Went to Queens for a BBQ and to laugh at J and his friends do Kali in a basement with low ceilings.

It proved to be terribly entertaining.

my setup

at pinkberry: coffee w/ capcrunch and mochi balls.
it's sour, so i have to be in the mood for it. the other flavors are funny to me. i think i like pinkberry over red mango.

reading kabuki then. gorgeous, gorgeous.

there goes the depth of my analysis.

good people around me.

M. has got to be my oldest friend. BY that, I mean she just turned 64 this past Wednesday! We met about two years ago when I was teaching poetry workshops to seniors in my hometown, and she was one of the students who was most excited about being there to write! Since then, she's been terribly supportive of my artistic endeavors (even went to my one woman show,) and has been a necessary source of support through the challenges presented by our hearts and homes.

This is the woman who at 62 acquired her M-class license and rode a Harley to some big annual Hell's Angels national get together in one of the Great Lake states. From New Jersey. That kinda wowed me. Also, given the restraints of being a queer (and OUT!) woman of color through the Civil Rights Movement and her time with a precinct in an NYC borough, M has developed some straight up gumption. I love her for it!

I can't wait to live her life when I am that age. She understands the power of intention, and is just very committed to her own physical and emotional health. Sure, I can do it now. But I honor the idea of paying dues. She swears I'm one of the people in her life who keep her young, and in turn, she reminds me of what is right. I really appreciate having her in my life, and I can't imagine never having known known her; a direct result of not deciding to move back home when I did.

We're going to try to meet monthly for eats now, just to keep in touch. It'd been a little more than a year since I'd seen her last. She's in the middle of courting this beautiful woman, so I hope I have better love stories by then to throw into the swap.

She also recommended that I read some Dylan Thomas, this poem specifically. I just might.

It's awkward taking photos in public restrooms.

As I washed my hands, I was mesmerized by the amount of toe hanging out of this woman's shoe as she used the stall next to the sinks. I"d size it down, but it might lose the effect I'm tryiing to convey.

Man.

LIBERTY! SCIENCE! CENTER!

I think college has made us smarter than the science center. HOWEVER, even without the TOUCH TUNNEL (R.I.P.) t'was nice to relive childhood. (thanks for the free passes, sister!) Therefore, less words, more pictures:

Had a lively discussion with our boy, O, trying to get him on TEAM MINT Tees:

We're busy learning Arabic here:

A photo taken in the pitch dark of the old "omnimax" theater (it's IMAX but in a SPHERE! Whooooa.)

They totally hurt children on this wall for their own advancement:

I'm awake!

At 8AM! READ: It's a miracle! It's nice and lovely outside (in the shire,) y'all!

My sister is in the other room, getting ready to leave for college. (OMG, old.) The bustle is keeping me up, and I'm celebrating by watching all the episodes of Planet Earth, care of my cousin. Baboons walking upright and a good seal/shark chase will help wake anyone up, yeah?

Looking at my console television, I am reminded that I am in need of one of those digital box converters before February 2009. There's just something terribly familiar about an old TV; I find that charm missing from the flat panels (which generate tons of heat, btw.)

The way this morning is cold reminds me of BACK TO SCHOOL days in high school, where I used to wait for the #80 bus, or B's mom, to get to Downtown Jersey City. Oh, the memories!

I keep getting bug bites, btw. I pray they aren't bedbugs or anything. Anytime I feel a twitch on my skin or see a glimmer of black, I just slap at it. There's this one flat mole by the crease of my arm pit that I keep mistaking for an insect. Anyone would be easily assume I have an ill case of Tourrete's.

I wish I had something more exciting to tell you, but I don't.

bon voyage!

Byezies, H! See that face? SHE MEANS IT! While H is on the east coast pretty often, it is still a sad occasion to see her go! What a fun summer with my biffle! Had I not been so preoccupied, I woulda been able to see her on the daily; but a great summer with her nonetheless! We celebrated her departure on a MOnday night, and my oh my! Why was the place packed for no reason? Seriously, it was 1 am early Tuesday morning, no one but us had any business being there. My disdain for the noise made me feel old as hell, but I felt good that I wasn't alone.

It was a nice place to catch up with folks whose schedules are just misaligned with my own. Particularly, J, who I've been trying to coordinate with since APRIL! Ugh. She is one of my fave people, too. In the times we've hung out in group settings, K is someone who is super vibrant, and I just can't wait to spend more time with her, too! She is easily a good laughing time! So, it was good to meet these folks and play nice, as well as meet other portions of H's world, created this summer. (Personally, I've learned never to mix friends. Ever. Again.)

BONUS: if you look closely, you see me getting a little too extra with the ketchup. We ended the night with cheeseburgers, because, how else does one end a good night? This place was complete with a creepy guy at the bar, giving me (or quite possibly, the back of P's head) the eye. S was the smoothest at alerting me whenever his gaze would dart over by blatantly screaming, "AND, NOW!" I never looked over; I already sensed the wackness.

All these pix are stolen from P's facebook! Thanks, girl! She's kinda awesome. <3

O.P.P. (other people's phones)

Head over to Coney Island before it closes down for good (again)!

Hanging with B has allowed me to indirectly take advantage of her iPhone and mobile upload access! Now, it seems that most of my recent past is pictorially chronicled and posted by the end of the day. So here we are on the left eating the most delicious corn dogs from the original NATHAN'S on Coney Island. Trust me, there was a lot more food involved. I'm a little embarrassed to post, but fuck it. HERE. I had a corn dog, a chili cheese dog, and I split BACON CHEESE FRIES with all those who liked smokey bacon bits spooned over fat fries. It was so baaaaaaaaaaaaad, but I guess Nathan's is trying to be more health conscious by posting the caloric intake info on their menu. I think my meal...was about...1700 calories. Unfortunately, that is a pretty conservative estimate, too. :( Heart diseases to come. Will likely blog about those, too.

Ever since K read my palm, it's reawakened my interest in all that personality reading stuff. So, here's my attempt at a Big reenactment, by making a wish with some old school fortune telling machine (which I actually kinda appreciated, as I love old things with that general charm.) For $0.25, you can go ahead and get a little card applicable to your life, especially made for you (or the person you beat to the machine.) Zoltar woulda been cooler, but I had to settle for Grandma and her weird ventriloquist dummy face.

H mentioned going on the Wonder Wheel, and I realized that I haven't yet been on it. While it gives the best views of the parks and beach, if you're in a moving car, you will be busy being terrified. The colored cars are on a track, and as the ferris wheel circles, you roll around the track, almost feeling like the moment before a roller coaster drop. We were all pretty scared and not leaning forward. We were sweating and screaming, and we proved that it was not the best choice to have the weight of 5 people increase the momentum in one car. Drop 3 was the worst, it felt like we were going to flip over. I also think we were the only fools screaming our heads off. Of course we rode the Cyclone. Then we walked along the beach, and found mangoes on sticks!

We went to the pier, where folks were fishing in the dirtyass ocean. One guy let B and C pose with his catch. He even let them hold the rod, for maximum effect. Very nice of him. Then, there was some old drunk guy who was swimming around like a fool, getting caught in the fishing lines. He was being an asshole, but the funny kind. The only thing he said to us was, "You all Filipinos?" We said yes, then he swam away saying,"See, I'm not even swimming, I'm walking on the water." And then, he started walking in what might have been 25 foot water. Literally. So, he kinda started drowning. The exchange prompted many other folks to just dive on in from the pier, DESPITE IT BEING AGAINST THE RULES! (Never, ever jump into natural bodies of water when you don't know how deep/shallow the water is! You can kill your spine, kids!) It was pretty funny and spontaneous of folks...but while I am a great swimmer, I hate the ocean and the idea of swimming with all its creatures. Really grosses me out. And then into the Coney Island water? No, thanks.

Ew! How can he swim in that? Here's the old guy being obnoxious screaming, "Ey, man! Don't throw in your line!"

Being in B's bridal party allows me to see her more often, and take an appreciation for the friends who have kept me when I was less certain of who I am in life. It's surprisingly been about 10 years since B and I met, and I think it's great that we can still easily pick up where we left off. It's always a fun and funny time with her, and I like that effortlessness in the time we spend together. I've been meeting some other friends of theirs who are also in the wedding party, and a lot of people don't know this, but I'm pretty shy. Yeah, yeah. I'm loud, and I communicate clearly and all, but I still get really scared (?) by groups of folks when I'm the "new" one in the circle. I don't want to impose, be clingy, or overstep boundaries and all. Everyone has their established banter and all that, and here I am all, "HI! I'M THE NEW GIRL!" But in any case, they're all such nice people.

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In other news, the episode of The Simpsons set in the 1990s is pretty hilarious, I guess because I get all the Melrose Place allusions. And I really like "Closing Time" by Semisonic and "Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve.

bowling for jersey city.

As a tribute to our fair hometown, this lovely city of Jersey City, B and I thought it would be appropriate to bake a cake honoring one of our lovely local bowling haunts, Hudson Lanes. We were on the hunt for even more venues, which forced me out of my bed at an atypical 7 am. We went to see more sites along the West Side, and found ourselves in a shitty diner by 11 am, reviewing what we'd learned, and what we'd liked through the day.

Restroom story #1
With nowhere in particular to go, but just needing to go, B took me to her hospital, because the bathrooms there are clean. Well, they best be, shooot. As gorgeous as the tiles and hygiene were in that ward, the chatter of two other women coloring their hair found its way to me between the slats of my stall. I couldn't focus, which resulted in an aborted mission.

For the rest of the time, B and I wasted away in the big bookstore by Union Square. Yes, that one. It's good for passing the time, no? B and I outed the very hidden feelings we buried quite deep within us: we love a good graphic novel. Comics (my end) and mangas (her end) included. We spent a lot of time in that section of the store, and I ended up with V for Vendetta and the news that Kingdom COme will be reprinted in a new edition and released this September. Tee hee! I called J (who has not updated his damn page since 2006, apparently) to report the good news: I had legitimately joined his nutty nerdworld with my first trade paperback purchase.

I then met up with S for late lunch. We spent about an hour in line for a cheeseburger, though I'd eaten the exact same thing not too long ago. Still delicious. Still mine. And despite his order of a shake and fries, he was quite satisfied (they are pretty dang good for crinkle-cut fries.) We talked about the difference between East Coasters and LA-ians. We talked about privilege guilt. We talked about how I had never had a proper rootbeer float in my entire life. I think he found my surprise at the rootbeer float's excessive foam fascinating and backwards! With impeccable timing, B came back from the last venue as S left, and had the Shackburger I had waiting for her as she gushed on and on about finding HER DREAM WEDDING VENUE!

Restroom story #2
For $0.25 you can pee at Madison Sq. Park. We tried it. It was clean, but the floor was VERY WET.

B and I ended up on a bunch of accidental side explorations. A cute comic bookstore for things we wanted to read (including the copy of Blankets S mentioned earlier during lunch,) then looking at cake-things! I really like stores like this; in utter disarray, where you have to touch everything, and pick apart cluttered rows of crap to find the perfect piece/tool/whatever you need. I guess I'm just hands on like that. I was all sweating the mini tart pans and madeleine trays for no reason at all. I mean, don't really bake or anything fancy like that, I just like the equipment necessary used to make cute things.

After the longest, most humid, and crowded train ride in the history of afternoon commutes, I ended up at B's place to make use of our time in the bakery supply store. We watched episodes of Cash Cab (because I get all deer-in-headlights-ish whenever I'm in a place with cable, not having it myself) then headed out with B, A, and M for the BEST BOWL OF PHO I EVER MADE FOR MYSELF IN MY LIFE! I never seem to get my hoisin, sriracha, (insert other condiments here) proportions to my liking! So, now that I finally formulated it to taste good, it was kinda big deal to me. The weather's been cold lately, so it was nice to warm up to a big ass bowl of tasty broth...eventhough I was picking out the pieces of tripe from the broth. (We googled the difference between stock and broth.) THen, we went back and spent the next 3 hours baking that dang cake. Lopsided, yes. Not the best tasting, sure. But as B said...this is the worst it'll be; nowhere but up at this point!

WORRY: My sisters leave so soon. :*(

Be Somebody or Be Somebody's Fool

Access to a rooftop in this city is an amazing privilege. Luckily, P has been great about having company over! Her roof is gorgeous for sunsets and shooting the shit, giving folks the space above the bustle of the city...which can prove to be overwhelming sometimes. I came equipped with two pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream, new flavors which I found terribly unsatisfying before they melted away. I kinda regret ending the night talking about the apocalypse in 2012(again) with H. I think P was scared afterwards...EMBARRRASssssING! Well, it at least helped that we got both a sunset and moonlit cityscape int he same sitting. (Ps. big-ass roaches live on rooftops, too.)

Anyway, I recently had to take some actions to protect my dear dear friend's privacy. That meant that I needed to limit access to certain areas of my life where others may take advantage. It made me think about how H has taught me a really valuable lesson when dealing with cutting folks off: there should be an explanation. When things need to stop (for whatever reason,) people should know why, or a the very least, be told that they will be cut off! Otherwise, that shit can just become a really passive aggressive exercise in cowardice. Let's see how this person responds to the current situation. You will be the first to know.

So. I like Muppets. I am pretty elated that The Wind In the Willows is on Masterpiece Theater right now. I think I like all things involving actors with latex facepieces. It's just my "thing." Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise to come home to a late night rerun of the film on PBS. It's super cute <3 (No, I haven't yet read the book.) I thought it was some weird Harry Potter thing at first.

I forgot to mention that I met K for late lunch at Shake Shack, which surprisingly had a shorter lunchtime wait! The site used to only be open 6 months out of the year; this is the first that it's been open all year round, as part of of a social experiment? So, K and I caught up in the sub, despite not having had the chance to see each other earlier in her trip. A convo that ended with me feeling good, feeling great since another Seattlite was considering moving to NYC for grad school! Yeeeee! I'm so excited I live in a place where folks visit frequently and decide to stay for a couple of years or so! While it's temporary, it's best to have had those folks here briefly, than never at all. (And yes, the Shackburger was delicious, as always. The only thing we have closest to In N Out. So, this is why I return to le Shack.)

Afterward, I headed to New School to see C at work! I was so lucky that she was patient enough to spend the next three hours of her life copying files onto DVDs and googling people we dislike! THanks, girl! i thought I was getting a stellar deal on these blank DVDs at Staples, thinking that C could use them in her film stuff. BUt I got the wrong type (even though she straight up gave me the physical DVD I should buy.) I'm stupid. I didn't know there was a difference in DVD formats. So we looked it up.

Oh, internet! How I love it so!

food is my boyfriend.

It's delicious. Thank you to B for taking me for my first time, and thank you to R for showing me that they're the same cart! (That was a disguised tip for you.)

Looking for wedding venues has reiterated how difficult it is to find a free place to pee in NYC. I really think that's backwards. GIVE ME A PLACE TO PEE, FOOLS! (Aaaaand. I have a weak constitution. tee hee!)

The wedding venues are quite good looking, but I agreed with B that a person's demeanor greatly influences how to feel about a certain place. My, my! How off-putting some of the snooty-poots with whom we've come across! But, I think she's close to finding a working venue for her wedding! As soon as that date's set...really now...we shall celebrate, and get all the other steps going.

After a long day of walking around and dreaming up details, B and I sat down at a certain family restaurant in Times Square that smelled like the poops, and we made little notes about venues and visions and other things. And really, you can't beat afternoon wine.

I then went to V's in BK for MORE food. Her cooking did NOT disappoint! Saw my ladies, and felt gooooood.

Some guy was reppin Brick City, but talked about living on the Jersey Shore. Wack.

The canceled Qbert show meant that it was free for the rest of us. R had a friend playing there, but we missed his set by a matter of minutes. Enjoyed Roc Raida's set lots.

Being in that space made me think about those fools who get into fights at events, and then there's that one girl who's always all "RESPEK da club! Don't do dis here." While whoever says that is an idiot, I think it'd be a useful segue for dance battles.

Phelps is a beast! When people have a gorgeous butterfly, I really miss my varsity days. Thursday. That's a swimming day. Maybe.

oh, my peoples.

After being turned away from the Jill Scott concert, I met up with some wonderful friends for some chocolate foodstuffs. I was encouraged to dip my fingers in various petri dishes and beakers filled with syrups and other toppings complementary to chocolate stuffs. Man, t'was delicious.

We caught up a little and talked men and hearts and loves. It was nice to see such great ladies in such a casual setting...licking chocolate off of our fingers, just cause. After having a convo with C earlier today, I wa reminded how talented all my friends are, not just in some weird abstract artsy sense, either. I mean straight up knows how to live life as best as they see fit. I am truly truly grateful for these amaaaazing folks, and I have no clue what type of person I woulda been had I not run into these folks at those pivotal intersections in my past.

Speaking of what coulda been, K read my palms! The science of prediction has always been fascinating to me! I loved hearing what she had to say, moreso when it was ON POINT! So here we were, on the corner of Union Square by Shoemania, just blocking up the sidewalk and reading each others palms. God. We were those annoying people, but I guess it's okay because I got a stellar palm reading! I don't remember all of what she said, just that the X between my head and heart represents how to be with someone romantically, I'd need to be united with him intellectually, too; that I'd always been my own person, without a mentor of some sort; that something around the age of 15 caused me to be independent; that I have a lot of reserved energy for my passions; that the shape of my thumb indicates I am witty-like.

The left hand is the life that could have been, altered by the choices I've made in real-time. Let me tell you...it looks different as hell.

Then, headed back to Brooklyn to meet up with R and V for C's bday! OMG! The place was cute! Al fresco dining! A cute little serving truck. Patio umbrellas. To be honest, I wasn't overly impressed with the food, but then again, I didn't get the steak. I really liked how it felt like a banketa in the Philippines! For the last year, H has been ALL ABOUT making me check it out, but the timing was bad, or etc etc happened. So this was a lovely treat, and we celebrated C with some grilled corn and good laughs.

Catching the trains back home took a while; the rhythm was all tampered with! Bah!

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In using initials for these entries, I noticed that many of my friends have named that begin with Cs and Ss. It makes it pretty confusing for me to keep a story straight.

OMGWTFBBQ (offish!)

I cut my hair short myself. (This is me checking it out in the mirror. I look like I got an ill glass eye thang happening.) Just felt like cutting hair. It was time.

My sister infected me with a disease! Therefore, plans shot! I had to stay in and not subject the public to my virus..es.

I went with B and M to watch a friend, John Flor, play at the Living Room. It was spectacular to see him play with a full band for the first time! HISTORY IN THE MAKING! Also, one of my fave people in the world sang background vocals, and sounded fantastic! Really love the new stuff, and can't wait til the new album drops!

Who opened for Norah JOnes!

Had a delicious tiramisu crepe, which poo-ed nutella. Thanks, B! (Who we discovered had a huge chunk of it hiding in her one nostril somehow?)

How lucky to have such talented friends!

Will be spending time with my girl from Seattle, sending H off and back to the Midwest, C on her bday, and then seeing one of my very bests, V this week.

Might even go swimming with my sisters in a couple of days.

With the remainder of summer at our heels, let's make it count, team! <3

my tongue has fingers

Ok! Not really!

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V just returned from the other side of the world, K from Seattle is visiting, and C is also celebrating her last week of her 20s, so Yeeeee! It's gonna be a fun weekend!

Been spending a lot of time with the women in my life lately. It's something that I've really missed out on since I allowed serial monogamy and my dating era (ew!) to define the social spaces I take up. But now that I'm in neither situation, I have more control over my social circles, and the meaningfulness of the moments I share with those close to me. Over the years, I've noticed that the friends I make depend mostly on the activity I do. Say if I go rock climbing, my fave friends will prolly by the guy who helps me belay, or sells me the carabiner. This last year, a lot of my new friends are women who I came across in organizing my womens group.

I meet a lot of people every year. Not to be on some "OMG, I AM TOOO POPULAR" type shit, but I didn't realize how many people I knew until someone commented on how I make worlds smaller, especially in New York, about 2 or 3 years ago. And please, New York is already a lot smaller than it should be.

I see how this can be a potential problem.

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For me, it's the texture of things. The wings at Dalls BBQ in NYC are pretty good; up there with Hooters wings. Split a full order with some of my fave ladies the other night. And of course, I was the plate finisher. We swapped stories as we sipped on them huge apple martinis, and it was just goooooooooooooooood for my heart. Then off to karaoke to get our SONGS on.

Luckily, I was able to meet up for some quality time with C earlier in the day, and my god...the stories about the first loves came spewing out over dim sum! (I like to eat.) I still think about mine sometimes, and the space/time where our relationship existed. I was really honest about still being fond of what I remember of him, but I guess that's natural. (It also helps that a decade has pressed me to idealize our relationship and romanticize every little detail.) As trite as this is, the comparison points reaffirmed that it's hard to forget the one who was the first to capture us in youth. If you were to replace all those weird loner high school feelings, with a seemingly deep connection with someone, in the microcosm of high school, that "absolute" acceptance is kinda a big deal.

Oh, first loves! Such a good way to start the day!

about to pop!

M is having her baby any day now! I missed the baby shower due to a scheduling conflict, but sent my gift through the registry! I really LOVE LOVE LOVE purchasing things from registries. I think it has to do with my love of lists! Anyway, watched Guys and Dolls with them over a large pizza pie with sweet tomato sauce: perfect for a Filipino palette!



I failed to mention that earlier in the week, H and I went to Six Flags: Great Adventure. We coulda had an even better time, but we were forced to sit uncomfortably behind a couple with body odor on the Log Flume. After which, we were over the park, despite the great build up leading to the trip. Luckily, B and A were also going with a group of a friends during the weekend, and I got to tag along! The day looked like this: El Toro, Superman, Dolphin Show, Congo Rapids, King Da Ka, Medusa, Runaway Mine Train, Batman: Dark Knight (which sucked!) and Nitro (3x, in the dark!) WE all agreed that it was the most productive we've ever been at the park, and it was a good return since most of us hadn't been back since some point of our teendom. King Da Ka being the group favorite (which despite being 7 seconds feels a whole lot longer,) makes my personal pick the gorgeous wooden El Toro (which has an amazing first drop)! But I think I've pushed my my roller coaster luck as far as I can for the time being. With ill-mannered and poorly trained tweens acting as roller coaster dispatchers, I'm sure the probability on keeping thangs safe is bound to decrease at some point. In any case, some of us purchased the ride photos; anticipate their surfacing.

Also, at Great ADventure, the Chiller and Freefall are no longer there! Check out this erm...requiem?

*With Chiller's breakdown in late June, the park needed more money to fix the problem. However, the park had already spent millions to fix the ride in the past, including back at the start of the year when two track sections were replaced. The Dark Knight Coaster had already been planned, taking a huge amount of cash out of the park's wallet. Not to mention future park renovations to occur during the off-season.

With all of this stuff waiting to be built, much cash was drained from the park to make these future changes a reality. The park decided to call up Premier to take a look at the problem, but in early September, Six Flags canceled all offers relating to the ride and decided to do away with it completely. Even with modifications, more problems would eventually return, so Six Flags decided to dismantle the ride.

Ohmahgawd, y'all! This poor person who put this video together must have loved the ride BAD! I think my fave is when the instrumental from Titanic creeps in. CLASSIC! (and CLASSY!)


Summer's coming to an end, I am prioritizing some time to enjoy this weather with my friends. When the fall starts, I'm sure it'll be insanely busy, and we'll all burrow ourselves back into our skins to prep for winter.

no sleep 'til brooklyn.

Hello, August.


I'm crazy. But it's comforting that my friends are, too.

A long day at an amusement park bled into a birthday party, where the lovely K turned 30 on the 30th, her golden birthday! (I didn't know what that meant until the last year or so, and I was 12 when mine passed. So, I don't think I could have possibly enjoyed it in a memorable way.) So, H and I ended up in BK, ran into TEAM SEATTLE and flew across the street to say hallo to Ch who was visiting! Also at the golden party, where K was looking all like the fly celebrant in her leopard pumps, it was lucky to see J, since our schedules just have not been meshing! We talked story for a little bit, and that exchange, while brief, really filled me with the warmfuzzy; repeated themes of the earlier convo I had with R, about being grounded surfaced, and again, it made me happy to have the friends I have. (Thanks for keeping me, y'all! Forreal!) But anyway, as the golden party dwindled down, while we were just talking life, midsentence I suggested we head to Coney Island for the sunrise.

The charm of Coney Island relies mostly on its grit, disrepair, and knowing that the near future's development will close this place down for good. Last summer was the "last summer," which makes it being open this summer, a bonus. To me, the space is treated like a unicorn with a ticking time bomb around its neck; you see businesses have left for more promising pastures, because the inevitable is exactly that. Acting on our whim, we headed to C's place and picked up sweaters and blankets. We were originally on the hunt for 40s (I loves me a 40!) to take to the beach, but lo and behold nonesuch could be found in a neighborhood like Brooklyn Heights; so we stocked up on wine coolers, Asian popcorn snacks, and toilet paper! As we got bit up by mosquitoes, my girls and I draaaaanked our drinks and talked story. We peed in the hidden shadows of the beach, since the restrooms were locked until 6 am. (This is where we used our toilet paper.) We stretched and walked in the freshly tilled sand, which felt a lot like shag carpet. As the sun came up slowly, we left as the seagulls swooped in for breakfast. It was too foggy to see stars, but talking about sloppy first kisses in childhood and the history of now made up for it.

After a brief nap, I finally saw Os Gemeos at Deitch with K who I'd played phone tag with all last week! The twins make some gorgeous work, and their installation components were really interesting! My fave was the altered speakerheads portion, connected to a keyboard spewing hip hop samples, and some unfamiliar Brazilian songs. I just like shit like that, I turn out to be a very tactile learner. There was also this pyramid-like structure that blew bubbles from the mouth. Inside, it was lined with mirrored paneling, and the LCD lights changed every now and then. When I went in there, Sarah Mclachlan's "Angel" came on. Sobered me up, as it was a little depressing.

Late lunch with K was great, and we were super happy to find another person new to this type of community work. I love politicking and just learning about the challenges folks face in organizing settings. I realized that while I do work for the community, I don't think I'm more activist than community worker. I like that distinction, because I feel that activism requires more radical actions from the originator. Over a filling meal at a new restaurant, I was glad that K and I had the time together...and despite the bad music, we didn't realize that we'd been there for 3 fucking hours just swapping stories. So we left, and we tried to figure out how to use the next hour.

Headed to Chelsea for the Blue Scholars show. Ran into A and her crew while I was heading to Popburger to meet H. I had a Black and White shake while there. The food there is delicious, but it is WAY TOO NOISY. The restaurant's sound system is louder than DA CLUB, and it's just really unecessary since folks are just eating cheeseburgers. Back to Blue Scholars; just really happy to know those guys. Kind, talented, hard-working people who can pull a crowd! It's really hard to dislike them, especially when all your folks love them, too. Saw EVERYONEIKNOW at the show, including the my faves from Pinay Brunch and Deep Foundation --- who are releasing their LP this fall! Watch out for it. So, after dancing with my friends in the front row during the Blue Scholars set, I was spent!

Had a 3on3 with C and CJ at Baden Baden, because we loves the chicken there. And because CJ is good folks from Jersey, we headed back into Jersey City together, and he made sure I got home in one piece.

I am overwhelmed with the number of good people in my life! Yadda yadda.

only so many days until autumn...

Today was a pretty long day, but it ended with a cookie!

Just got home, and the sprinklers are on in front of the Roman Catholic church I live by. It has these gorgeous red brick Romanesque domes...just lovely! It stands out because a lot of the churches in the area are mostly Gothic-style, and gray marble. When the spotlights meant for the statues on the landscape hit the wedges of sprinkler water, several dancing rainbows appear in front of the bronze, open-hearted Jesus. Until this discovery on the way home, I'd never seen a rainbow at night! Maybe this is a sign?

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Today, I was part of the wedding planning process! It was pretty exciting to meet up with B (the bride,) IV (the designer extraordinaire with the meticulous eye,) and the bride's cousin, G (who incidentally is the model rocking the winning design on this Project Runway episode.) IV, being great, already narrowed the search for a specific pattern of Chantilly lace down to two stores. B found the materials she needed at the first site out of sheer luck! After determining that all the other stores were full of dirty old salesmen, we headed to lunch at Aceluck with a non-demanding morning tied loose in the notches of our belts. After talking shit about life, we went to Sephora, and scurried off to complete all of our individual missions, which means that I was able to partake in my favorite store activity: sniffing scents! I really loved the Masaki Matsushima stuff --- everything's just so light, ad doesn't smell terrible once it hits my skin. I think the one I loved was Mat; it smelled like sno cones. I was gonna get it, but then B convinced me that is was Blah blah blah summer fragrance. Why can't I wear it in winter? Why am I not allowed to smell like sno cones in the winter? Dang. Can I live? After shopping at Herald Square, we all parted ways.

Smelling like 17 different parfums, I went back to B and A's cute apartment in downtown Jersey City. There was something striking about being where my BFF since the age of 15 and her husband will live their new lives. It was very moving, even if all we did together was watch Paula Deen internally struggle on whether to top a chocolate pecan pie with either fresh whipped cream or ice cream (ultimately, she decided to use both!) The time with them made me realize how much I care about B's friendship in my life, and how she's been a great influence on the person I'd become. To see her settle into the next step of her relationship with A, was just moving...

Their new place was in an excellent location, full of the hustle and bustle of new blood (and money) in that neighborhood. So, after Jeopardy and making ourselves look less greasy, we decided to actually hang out in our Jersey City, since the cool night just made it the best time to explore! We tried Bar Majestic for some more girl talk, and the drink specials. It's definitely recommended if you're in the area, as things were tasty! I had the baby spinach and goat cheese (chevre) salad, and B raved about her mojito. Also, the waitstaff is super kind. It's surprising how the gentrification is altering that portion of our humble city. While I really hate how there are so many yuppies and hipsters out and about, at least the restaurants they need to meet their "higher" quality of living have brought about some tastier food venues. B and I rounded out the dinner with some life story, and after A was refreshed from his nap, we rushed into Chinatown to catch TrickBag play a set. They're all such good friends, since B and A's band are in the same big circle of band folks. Because I pass through association (being B's Maid of Honor and all) they were nice enough to extend an invitation to Great Adventure (which will be my 2nd time THAT WEEK this summer!) Yeeeee, how exciting!

It's odd how places remind us of times in our lives. The entire stretch of walking LES to Alphabet City is 2005 for me. When I ended up in that area for C's birthday party earlier at midnight, I saw the exact same corner where I vomited 17 drinks for my 23rd bday covered by the DJ booth. Charming, eh? But that was fine, because C and the other C and I just busted out with the remainder of our energy while the standard 1 am dancehall set played. The crowd dwindled, we left, I bought a bottle of water, and C bought me a black and white cookie.

A good way to end a full night, with the entire weekend to recover.

another full weekend

i have a show tomorrow in the early afternoon. despite being insanely fatigued, i cannot, for the life of me, fall asleep. so, i'm just passing the time by lollygagging, and catching up with the google reader. what a full spring break; i hardly got a breather in. i'm insanely behind on emails, so i hope no one's sent anything important.

looking forward to seeing philly again tomorrow, that should be fun. can't wait to get a steak and possibly see the show up at ICA. it's full weekend; some shows and some people to be seen in the mix.

to relax, i'm writing and rehearsing and elongated the lists of this and this.

in other news: