Newborn and Forlorn

Arriving, groggy, motion-sensitive, and exhausted, I made the trip to VA from Brooklyn with my uncle, aunt and two cousins along with an adorable dog named Daisy to see my sister and her family, namely my newborn niece. All in all it seemed like a sitcom on the way down. Before even getting into the car I was hounded by my uncle to pick up my phone while at work. After some heated text messaging there still didn't seem to be any understanding that there would be repercussions for picking up the phone on the clock, so I ignored the angry, loud buzzing notifications until I was off work which was oh, 20 min. later. The absurdity did not end there however, for I had about 5.5 hours to acquire some fantastic memories. For instance, the strange pang of guilt I felt for traveling with a small animal. Little Daisy was a champ throughout the entire ride, but her trip was far from over once I was released from the four-wheeled prison. Their ultimate destination was Miami.
Being in a packed car is hard enough without having to hear my uncle tell the same stories over and over and over again and then to top of the horrendous way he speaks to his wife, it felt like I was in some kind of terrible off Broadway drama about male dominance and dreams lost. It was depressing. All I could do was sit there and witness an unspeakable reality and be completely helpless in remedying the situation. It was a testament to the heartbreaking seriousness of volatile relationships and the painful affects of an unfulfilled life if you're not careful. All of these heinous thoughts vanished however after a good night's sleep and seeing my little niece for the first time.
There's something about a newborn child that gives you hope, a new life in this world of chaos and deceit. She is a ray of light, unknowing and innocent. Although, I fear for her as well for obvious reasons. It's so easy to be a cynic and succumb to negative thoughts and doubt. The world is a scary place, but there is beauty. It's an important thing to remember. It's not all bad. There are little miracles like life to remind you of the significance of family, friends, love, and the crazy, beautiful spontaneity of life.
Life is beautiful. She is beautiful.



I'm out.

Jonte and Cherie Lily @ Santos Party House

Santos Party House

I think I'm in love. The place just oozes with fun. On all the walls, encircling the dance floor are speakers. Hanging intimidatingly from the ceiling, enticing sounds bursting out of them reverberating off the walls, into you. It was almost impossible to stay still in there, yet people did just that. Most of the crowd seemed like a slow moving lump of boredom. Entreating people to dance, Andrew WK blasted faster, bass-filled tunes, yelling every so often about partying hard because we were in NYC. You know how Andrew loves to party. However, the crowd was not having it. People were not as into the music as would be expected, but it was still fun to just be there and be entranced by the lights and music. There were a few people there trying to break out and party hard like in the song, but they were looked at strangely by others so there intensity decreased and they were reduced to emotionless drones. I'm exaggerating, but you get my point.
There was an mc who was a a guy in a costume- a suit with a huge yellow balloon for a head, was just walking up and down this strip that was laid out in front of the stage like a catwalk, rapping and/or yelling random things into the microphone. Because of the way the costume was constructed, the guy's actual face was in the middle of the suit, so it was really bizarre seeing him lift the microphone to his chest to speak. Freaky.There were also a few guys dressed like secret service agents hovering around him the entire time. Needless to say, I was completely and utterly confused by what was going on. Then abruptly, the balloon head popped and the secret service agents rolled up the catwalk and nothing was mentioned. I thought maybe I dreamed it.

Cherie Lily

I came in late (it's becoming a frightening trend) so I only saw one other performer besides Jonte, Cherie Lily, who at first I was skeptical of- probably because I was still recovering from the balloon man, but then she won my heart. She was really fun! Her adorable American Apparel work-out outfit didn't hurt. Her music reminded me of vogueing music: very fast, with few, easily memorable lyrics so the audience can sing along. She had this one song called "Get Sweaty," where she basically yells about getting wet and sweaty. It was fabulous. Here's a horrible quality youtube video of her performance of it from another night...

I love when her and the dancers go crazy at the end!

JONTE
Need I say more? He was incredible! He and his dancers came out wearing these intricate black jumpsuits fit with a monitor on the crouch. When they came out the monitors had beating hearts on them, then when he performed another song there was a loop of him yelling into the camera, so it was like their crouches were yelling at the audience. Jonte is a performer in every meaning of the word. His stage presence is undeniable. His choreography is crisp and together- all the time! I love when he perfomed "Bitch You Betta" because the entire place was filled with such great energy and everyone knew the lyrics. Unfortunately, during his set he realized his headset mike wasn't working so he had to pick up a hand-held and dance with it, but he didn't flinch at all. He knew exactly what to do, like a true performer, he improvised and solved the issue.
It was an amazing show. I didn't even mean to go last night, it was totally spur of the moment. Oh what a pleasant surprise.
Here's a picture I got with the beautiful quality of the iPhone-ugh.


And here's my all time favorite video of his...

I may be slightly biased because my friend Jade taught me the dance.
LOVE IT!


I'm out.