NEW YORK WAS THE HOTNESS!

Ok I admit it. I suck as a member of the blogging community up until now....plenty of comments, but no posts. I guess that's my way of living my life through other people, which is utterly ridiculous considering all the ish that's going on in my own life. Having said that, here is my attempt to redeem myself, and this blog. Hmm...I think I'll start with a series of longer blogs to lay down the foundation for what is going on day to day. Sound good? And I know just where to start....

MY TRIP TO NEW YORK!!!

***my apologies now to my 'long post hating' bloggers....I've been studing narrative qualitative research, and the ish has permeated into every aspect of my communication....so deal!***

After a turbulent 6 months of 15-hr work and school days (grad school is a bitch fo real), family drama, and a very "interesting"dating situation (see the previous post), I decided to say F**K CALIFORNIA and took my ass to the East Coast for a week of rest, relaxation, and actin' a donkey fool! I'd like to thank my boy Reg for encouraging me to invest $ on myself and making the trip out there.....it was WELL worth it.

Day 1:
After a hot mess of a week in preparation for the trip, I found my way on JetBlue Airlines headed to the Big Apple. I had a great time eating premium tortilla chips, taking random pics of 'drool rollin down the face' sleeping passengers, and LAUGHING MY ASS OFF at all the TOMFOOLERY that is being allowed to show on MTV. Oh my sweet jeezus there were folks on there that needed to get fired WITHOUT pension or social security. Made the 5 hours very enjoyable though.

Reg picked me up from the airport, which turned out to be a godsend...this was my first trip to NY, and my dumb ass decided to fly into JFK with no sense of how to find my hotel in midtown Manhattan. Anywho, this was the first time Reg and I met face-to-face, after months of wearing out AIM and our cell phones. From first glance, he seemed like a well put together brotha (well, except for those run-over glasses, but we won't go there :)). But when this fool turned around, things got crucial....this boy had more ass than I did! WTF! Now i know it's bad to have unpure thoughts of your friends, but I couldn't help but notice. So i left in tow of my favorite blogger and a deflated ego :).

First stop was to Queens for Reg's capoeira class. He didn't play, but it was still cool seeing him in his element. His fellow capoeiristas were very nice, and a cool lil' vibe was in the air of that studio. I caught my own head bobbin' and hips moving at several points.

After circling Midtown manhattan for almost an hour trying to find parking that didn't cost like 20 DOLLARS, we arrived at my hotel room, or shall i say my "pod". I was staying in one of those budget hotels, and being the broke ass academian that I am, I jumped at the $70/night accommodations. My dorm room in college was bigger than this room, y'all. 4 walls, a twin bed, sink, and a table. That's it. Despite the serious lack of space, i was delighted to find a small flat screen TV and an Ipod compatible radio up in the mix. The space was perfect for me, but taking a look at that bed killed all expectations of entertaining overnight guests...sigh...

The first night was spent at a Latin/Brazilian club, Bemba, in Brooklyn. I was originally going to hit up the legendary Shawn QT's b-day party in Newark, but I soon realized that NY is big as hell and not the best place to be wandering alone at night. I spent the night cuttin' up and dancing alongside Reg and his friends. His folks were mad cool, especially that cute Colombian girl Gina. She gave me a nickname! I will now be known as "Funky Freaky" while at the club. Hey, what can I say? It had been a minute since i last danced, and when a hot beat comes on my hips and facial expressions have minds of their own...and I'm sure the capirinhas and mojitos didn't help my case either :). Y'all New York folks blow L.A. out of the water when it comes to nightlife...i had a GREAT time.

Day 2:

After a much needed night of rest, I woke up super late and hongry as hell. Hit up this nice lil' French restaurant next door to the hotel. I'm seated at the bar next to this middle aged white lady who was RAISIN' HELL on the wait staff. My first though was "why they got to sit me next to this disgruntled ass heifer!?" However, after she explained why she was all heated, we ended up having a good conversation. A 2 HOUR conversation, complete with champagne and cappuccino. I don't know why the hell I engaged in conversation with this random lady, but it was good talk and I learned a lot about the city. And who says New Yorkers are unfriendly?! Whatever, y'all were cool with me!

After the food, I took a ride uptown to Harlem. I was lookin HELLA rough and needed to make friends with a set o' clippers and a straight razor. Found a barber shop, and got my first real experience of black folks in NY. Y'all are a trip, fo real...new york heads talk twice as much shit at the shop compared to L.A. barbers. They had me lookin' right though so it was all good. Something weird happened though. I mentioned to my barber that I needed to find something to do that night (it was Sunday), and he suggested that I hit up this spot called "Bed" down in Tribeca/West Village. I was like "cool, whatever" thinking this place was a kick-back Neo-Soul lounge or something....boy was I wrong....i'll get into this a bit later.

Jumped back on the train down to the Lower East Side to see Reggie play capoeira...got hung up in a 'traffic jam' on the tracks (how the f*** can u have a traffic jam on some train tracks??) and didn't make it in time. When I finally got there, i missed my chance to see Reg in action. When I stepped to him, all i got was a cold stare and "You're Late." Oops. I could tell he was really pissed, but he TRIED to play it off. thanks for not biting my head off bruh!

After briefly hooking up with Reg and a few of his peeps, I went back to my room and got myself so fresh and so clean for my night out. After catching the wrong train and walking 15 blocks, I found myself in front of "Bed". This was NOT some kick-back lounge. From the outside, it looked like the frickin' Rage, or Factory in West Hollywood! This thugged out barber (whom I assumed was straight) directed me to a friggin gay party...on a SUNDAY! Now keep in mind I never mentioned my orientation to this dude....homeboy read me like a New York Times and sent me to the playground! Looks like my "straight-guy" persona is slowly starting to fade away...oh well!

Needless to say, I acted a damn fool at Bed. As I mentioned before, you New York heads are on some different stuff. At most of the clubs in L.A., you have to deal with pretension, excessive shallowness, and creepy old guys. I didn't get that impression at this joint. The upstairs area (where the hip-hop and latin beats were playin) was full of BEAUTIFUL men of all colors and sizes. Dont get me wrong, there was some triflin' negroes in the mix, but for the most part everybody was cool. I loved how the guys that wanted to meet you actually stepped up and spit game instead of just looking at you from across the room. Being assertive is hot! Anyways, I was treated to some bomb music, hot young men, one FIERCE vogue showdown, good drinks and debauchery until 6 in the morn....and I left the club at 3...u do the math :)

Ok, this is getting really long so I'll end it here. I'll finish this off next post.

J.