Last night I was 1 of 5 featured photographers at the EXPOSURE.Detroit Photography Exhibit Opening & it was AWESOME!!!

The show lasted 3 hours & there was no one point when the room was not packed with fans, friends, admirers, photographers etc. I mean PACKED! Being that this was my first gallery styled show, I had no idea what to expect but I planned as much as I could. Luckily Suite Suzy was there to help keep me grounded because it was kinda crazy. Crazy but cool.

I was also happy that many of my friends made it out to the show to check out my work for the first time. I talk about my art loosely all the time but many have not seen it. It was nice getting their feedback & seeing the amazement on their faces as they viewed my work.

I displayed 9 of my favorite abstract macro pieces & they went over very well. Over the course of the evening, many commented on how sensual, colorful & unique my subject matter. I found it interesting though that so many talked about the sensuality of my presentation. One attendee stated that my piece “Wonderful Red Cliché” appeared to be two vaginas and this was before she purchased it. How awesome is that!?!

During the show, I was also able to connect with other photographers who inquired about my creative process, techniques that I use & I even gave some camera advice to some new photographers. That was pretty cool because I’m never really in a situation where I get t explain my work to others who know what I’m talking about.

After the event was over, Suite Suzy & I enjoyed a wonderful meal, then joined friends for drinks & laughs. Many of the laughs centered on some pretty unsavory topics. YES!!! I love unsavory topics.

The night was magical for many reason & I’m still on cloud nine from the love that I received from so many people.

One a funny note:
- I posted that I was wearing a beret to the opening on FB. When many of my friends showed up, they asked where my beret was. I had to explain that I couldn’t find neither my black or raspberry beret.

- Every time I gave someone a hug last night, they told me that my hair smelled of cloves. Everyone! Funny thing is that I didn’t have anything oils or other products in my hair. I’m still trying to figure out where the fragrance came from.

If you live in the Detroit area, you can see the photography exhibit through May 2010 at the Bean & Leaf Café located in Royal Oak, MI.

If you yesterday told me that Essence magazine was going to call me with a potential photography assignment, I would have cussed you out. But… Today, I would have apologized because ESSENCE MAGAZINE DID call me this afternoon.

This is one of my DEAREST friends ever, Yvette Tamika Johnson. I met Yvette about 12 years ago during one of my 1st trips as a Flight Attendant for American International Airways (now defunct).

During the flying days, Yvette & I had fun globetrotting, setting shit off & making new friends wherever we went.

After American International Airways went belly up, Yvette continued her flight attendant career & I grounded myself to be home for my young family.

Throughout the years, I’ve lived vicariously through Yvette’s experiences, good and bad, country to country. She always begs me to come back to fly but it’s only a pipe dream for me.

The funny thing is that Yvette only lives 2.5 hours away from me, we talk all the time but have not seen each other in almost 10 years. To my surprise, she called me the other day to tell me that she was coming to Detroit for an overnight layover before making her way back to Germany. Needless to say, I dropped all plans & inked her in.

Well today was the big day, we finally saw each other face to face & it was wonderful. It was great seeing her smile in person once more.

Over dinner we flashed back on the times spent abroad discovering, fucked up people that we encountered, all the good eating that we did & that time we danced in the middle of a jewelry store in Nice, France when we heard someone going past blasting Snoop Dogg. Man, we did some crazy shit.

I miss those days & happy that I have wonderful photos, friends I can call, & the experiences of a lifetime that put me where I am today.

The evening, for me at least started off very rocky to the point that I was ready to go home & this was even before I hooked up with Cousin Dee.

See, I planned to go to the Centaur for drinks alone to get my head right before the gathering. So when I got to the Centaur, I saw that it was packed with baseball fans from the Detroit Tiger’s opening day game.

I mean it was so packed that I could not get in the door. And even if I could get through the door, I was just not mentally capable to handle being surrounded by that many drunk sports fans. Anything could have jumped off, especially being one of few Negroes in the spot.

So I left, met up with a friend & went to a spot far removed from downtown Detroit. Just to illustrate the madness that I encountered, here are a few of my Tweets:

“Drunk baseball fans have taken over down town Detroit. This is not cool!!!
5:51 PM Apr 10th

I’ve seem 3 white woman passed out so far on the streets as I hunt for parking. Do U need to drink that much at a baseball game to have fun?
5:57 PM Apr 10th

Downtown is looking like a mistake right now.
5:58 PM Apr 10th

Leaving downtown, drunk fans are making this a dangerous situation. #goddmuthafuckingdanm!!!
6:11 PM Apr 10th

Right now downtown Detroit smells like stale beer, Dinty Moore beef stew, with a light hint of vomit & piss.
6:13 PM Apr 10th”

Fast forward a few hours, I made my way out of Detroit to attend Alphonso Cox’s art show in Royal Oak (his work is very hot!) & back to downtown Detroit for Cousin Dee’s birthday jump off.

So its now 9pm & Cousin Dee calls me to tell me that the plans & venue changed because of a mix up with reservations. She decided to move the party to Eclipz Lounge in the Greek Town casino. At this point, I was hungry & when I got to the lounge, I called Cousin Dee to find out where she was. She was like we are eating. Eating at the restaurant that we were all supposed to meet at but she canceled.!.!. I was like WTF!!! WTMF!!!

Then she was like we are almost done & we’ll be at the lounge in 20 minutes.

So I was pissed, hungry & sitting in a very smoky lounge with bad music & service. It was a hot mutha fucking mess! And to make matters worse, that 20 minutes turned into almost an hour & some change. Here are a few Tweets that show how pissed off I was.

“Night is turning out to be a hot mess. At the Geeek Town Casino surrounded by smokers, drunks & slot machine losers. Should have went home!
9:29 PM Apr 10th

This lounge sucks, it’s not sexy & the DJ is a bitch. Gonna kick my cousins ass for having me up in this. Bygbaby is pissed the fuck off!
9:31 PM Apr 10th

I’ve been here for 10 minutes and have not been approached yet for a drink. Bad service! I’m not interested anyway. Just saying.
9:36 PM Apr 10th

I’m about to pull a hoe move & go home. I’ll have to celebrate my cousin’s b-day at another point with lunch. I wore my pink socks for nothing!
9:45 PM Apr 10th

I’m great at bitching and complaining. Especially when I wear my favorite pink socks for nothing!!!
9:48 PM Apr 10th”

So about the time that I did my last Tweet, I was getting ready to leave & that is when I ran into Cousin Em who was like why the fuck are you looking so sour. After I told her & her boo, she was like yeah, I hear you. As it turns out Cousin Dee gave her bad info too in terms of the plans also.

At this point, the baseball fans were all up in the lounge, drunk as ever, loud, dancing etc. It was just not sexy.

After I got my mind right Cousin Dee finally saunters in with her pimp switch, looking fucking great with her new bobbed sew in, tight red dress & black stilettos. I was like look at my cousin. I mean that mutha fucka was sharb (yes sharb with a long a) but I was still mad.

My attitude was bad & showing to the point that she cussed me out & told me that I was not going to fuck her b-day up, and was like get it together or leave. To all of this I said fuck you, buy me a drink bitch.

So again, after I got my mind right, I started to have a good time, no great time but this was all after I posted this to Twitter:

“Note to self: Tafari, you are too old & sophisticated for the club atmosphere. This situation is so passé.
10:53 PM Apr 10th”

Once I started to enjoy myself, the whole tone of the party changed big time. The change jumped off because Kid Rock walked up in the lounge.

I mean, people were all over his ass like white on rice. It was all very interesting to watch.

So next thing you know Kid Rock was chilling near our table while many of the other guest, including me started to take pictures with him. The Twitter piece:

“Kid Rock just walked in. Everyone is excited. Why????

11:42 PM Apr 10th

Just took picture with Kid Rock. He was on the musty side. But still nice. My man groupie moment is over.

11:52 PM Apr 10th”

Once all of the picture taking & groupie love was over, Kid Rock then asked if he could sit with us & we were like sure. As he sat with it talking shit, doing shots etc, you could see the obvious jealousy & disgust on the faces many of the lounge goers (mostly white). We all noticed that shit & we joked that they were mad because KR likes to hang with Negroes more. He chilled with us for a good hour.

It was almost surreal as the champagne & tequila flowed. The dancing, singing & back riding we did was just so crazy.

Truly it was awesome for Cousin Dee how the night was turning out. We really partied like rock stars with one. How crazy is that shit?

Fast Forwarding a bit; I danced my ass off, talked all kind of shit & thought to myself, can this night get any better or more interesting. Once I asked this question, that is when shit flipped & my buzz was over. This was the point that I noticed that my silver bracelet was missing. The same bracelet that I was afraid to tell Suite Suzy how much it costed.

When I saw that it was missing, I started to sound the alarm! I demanded that my friends help me find it. Shit I was crawling on the floor, digging between cushions & all kinda shit. Well all of my efforts were futile & the bracelet could not be found. At this point, I Tweeted:

“Just fell victim to the recession & thievery. My Sterling silver bracelet is missing. I can literally cry now. This night is not worth it!
about 23 hours ago

It’s interesting watching the party go on around me as I’m wondering who has my fucking bracelet. #stayathomenexttimebitch
about 23 hours ago

Yeah I know the party is jumping & my socks are pink but I want my damn bracelet back!!!! #ilovepinksocks
about 23 hours ago from

So fucking hurt now. I may cry all the way home!
about 23 hours ago

I somehow feel like I’ve been exploited. Don’t ask me to explain why. I could not even break it down. At least my drinks were free tonight.
about 23 hours ago”

My night ended on such a down note! Before I left the casino, I did file a report incase someone was actually honest enough to turn my beloved bracelet in.

After I filed the report I bounced & headed home. I called my boo to tell her what jumped off & she comforted me during my drive & by the time I got home, she had made me a little something to eat seeing that I was still really hungry.

As I was eating, I thought to myself about how spoiled I really am. I bitch a lot, always want my way & stop at nothing until I win. Truly a big baby. The I refected on the fact that I really am lucky to have all that I have & the bracelet was small potatoes. My family is healthy, we have a home, we have an income etc.

With that said, I crawled into bed & my boo held me until I fell asleep.

Fast forward one more gin’. Its now 10am Saturday & I get a call from the Greek Town. It was Agelita calling to tell me that my bracelet was turned in & that I can pick it up any time. I screamed thank you in her ear & told her that I loved her. After I got off the phone, I called Cousin Dee to share the news & she of course was happy & offered to pick it up for me.

I was so fucking happy! This put the cherry back on top of my Friday night. I later went to pick it up from her & we sat around laughing about everything that went wrong with the night & the many unexpected surprises that occurred.

A-fucking-mazing!

…:::I was tired when I wrote this, forgive me because it does go astray:::…

My Future:

Over the last few weeks, I have been thinking about what my future professional life will be like. Will I be a photographer fulltime? Will I be the human resources professional that I’m studying for?

I have also been thinking about how I think & where my interests lay. I’m a very serious right-brain thinker with a somewhat crippled left-brain (but not really).

With said, a career in photography will meet all of my right-brain needs but for the business piece, I will need to pull out my left-brain power. If I go with a career in human resources, I think it will be a good marriage of left & right-brain skills that could keep me satisfied at the end of the day.

Recently I started talking to HR workers to get advice, direction, clues etc. And today after attending the Greater Detroit Area Human Resources Conference hosted by the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources I have a few more clues & contacts that will help me in the not so distant future.

One day, I hope to have an idea of what I want to be when I grow up figured out. I now think that asking kids what they want to be when they grow up is a dumb question. Especially if you run into a kid like me because I never knew.

I guess what I can say is that at least I am successful thus far, no matter who schizophrenic my hustle is.
———————————————————–
Pamper Me Bitch:

So today after the HR conference, I treated myself to a paraffin wax manicure at Fundamentals Spa in Ferndale, MI (one of the regions best Black-owned & operated spas).

The conference wrapped early so I have like 50 minutes to kill before my appointment. So I decided to stop at the Meagan Mitchell Salon to see my salon friends & to also check on my colorist Mary Vest Henderson, who just got back to work after being off for months following a broken wrist. (this is a perfect example of a run on sentence.)

My timing was actually perfect because Mary’s b-day was this week, so we had a little cake after singing happy birthday (I needed that snack). Then I winded up breaking out & doing an African dance. I tell you, things are always funny at Megan Mitchell’s.

Anyway, while we were chit chatting, Mary thanked me for referring some customers to her (this is when things got interesting). So after probing, I found out that the 2 new clients found Mary via my blog, some anonymous readers with locks.

I actually found this was exciting! I may be a fucked up writer who can’t proofread for shit but my points are made & my referrals are always on point (yes, they are).

Mary is my girl & I’m happy that she is satisfying color needs of my unknown readers. If I’m talking about you, show yourself dammit!

So back to my manicure: The manicure was the shit & my hands are back to their normal sexy man hands state, no more bitch length nails.

The staff at Fundamentals Spa really know how to treat a brother!

Side Note: Suite Suzy was like, you can get a manicure at one of the local Asian spots for cheap, but my thing is, I prefer to spend my money on quality products & services within my community. 15 extra bucks for something that makes me feel great & is really a reinvestment into my community is what I’m down with.
———————————————————–
Real Friends:

So after my man pamper time, I headed to meet with my girl Zana. We have not kicked it in weeks so we had lots to catch up on. Spending time with Zana is always great because she knows when to cuss me out, is genuine & just a beautiful person.

Zana is one of a handful of real friends that I have outside of my home. And you know real friends are hard to come by!

After Zana & I caught up, Cousin Dee & I set up a mini Thursday jump off at a Chucks Millionaire’s Club (a very hood bar on Detroit’s west side). Normally, we prefer a nice lounge or more upscale bar but we deviated for shits & giggles.

Flashback: The last time I was at Chucks it was like 1995 or 1996 & back then, I thought “hairy navels” were the bomb (yes, I have enjoyed bitch drinks for a while). And that last time I was there, I winded up kicking it with a stripped who was like 20 years older than me.

We shared a bottle of Don P & danced. During our little time together, she told me that she was a lesbian. She was telling me that she hates “dancing” but it was all she knew. She also shared that she was a lesbian because men repulsed her. It was a very interesting ironic.

I have never understood why people feel open with sharing their personal business with me. I guess it did not matter because she paid for the bottle.

Back to today: When Cousin Dee & I walked into Chuck’s, we were both surprised to be frisked like we were thugs (only in a Detroit hood bar). I actually was really turned off & was like, do I look like a thug? I mean; for real!

After that drama was over, we caught up, talked some shit, enjoyed some of the best chicken wings in the city & good service. Honestly speaking, Chuck’s always had great bar maids who are on top of their game.

While we were talking, I told CD about me being reincarnated as a Pisces with the body of an Alvin Ailey Dancer & said that I needed my hair & dick to remain the same as they are now. She then threw me off by asking if I would be circumcised in my next life & of course the answer was no!

I then cussed her out for asking me that, then she cussed me right back out for being the fool with a reincarnation requirements check list. Too funny. And yes, the coming back as a Pisces is total fun bullshit.

Cousin Dee & I always have a great time & it was a nice mini cousin date jump off.
———————————————————–
On The Road:

I will be in DC next week for the Cherry Blossom Festival & I’m really excited about it. I will be a quick road trip, arriving in town Thursday & leaving Sunday.

I have a few must do festival activities, like the photographers boat tour & a few photo walks/bike rides that will have me on the go. Then I found out today that there will my BFF will be hosting a BBQ & possible cocktail party (that I suggested). If the cocktail party jumps off, best believe I will be serving ginger lime martinis!

Hopefully there will be no hoe baths on this trip!
———————————————————–
School:

It’s kicking my ass & I have a month left in the semester. Nuff said!

Here is a video from the night that I presented at Pecha Kucha NIght in Detroit.

If you look closely, you will see my somewhat rotund body on stage.

So far, this night is one of my highlights of the year.

I also found this article & video here.

Yesterday I anxiously waited to read the results of who was selected to participate as an artist for the 2009 Ann Arbor Street Art Fair. I had applied back in November 2008 so it was a long time waiting for the application process to close & finally the jury process.

Well yesterday, I never got any information after checking the website all day like every 20 minutes.

So today I constantly check the website & still got no answer on the website. Things changed while I was at lunch with my wife. I got an email from the selection committee notifying me that I had made the waitlist.

When I got back to my desk after lunch, I check the website & found that I was 46th on the waiting list, which is 75 people deep.

I’m very excited about this because:

a) I was not rejected

b) My work is more interesting than at least 29 other poor souls but slightly not as good as 45 others from across the country

c) My work was reviewed in 5 jury sessions by up to 4 people & this tells me that there is some respect for my work

d) If I get in, this will be a major ostrich feather in my cap

If I do not hear anything by June 21st in terms of my waitlist status, I will take myself out of the running. I do not want to get in at the last minute & have a disastrously stressful 3 sales event.

My fingers are crossed hoping for the best outcome.

Oh wait, there’s more; I need to tell you that my presentation at the 3rd Pecha Kucha Night in Detroit was awesome!

There were at least 400 artists & art enthusiasts in the audience. Suite Suzy could not make it because no one wanted to watch out 3 damn kids but my momma & Cousin Dee made it out which was awesome. I was also lucky enough to have Amber (Bam) Cabral show her face in the place and a new Twitter friend Kensington.

I have met some great people through all of this social networking.

BTW, here is a link to the images I presented at Pecha Kucha last night.

Anyway, the last 7 days have been packed with good news & opportunities for my photography career! I wonder what’s next??? My artist resume is really starting to take on a life of its own.

Many of you support me from your corner of the world & I really appreciate all of your encouragement as I haphazardly guide myself through my photographic journey.

Friday night, I was vending at the Holiday Baar Bazaar when I ran into Heather Fagan of Bettula, one of my crafty art friends. I met Heather at last year’s Holiday Baar Bazaar & we have been cool ever since.

Anyway, Heather makes very unique & very hot jewelry made from birch bark, which you cannot help but to love.

So last night we were talking about the recession etc when I spotted a birch cuff on her table that spoke to me. I told Heather how much I loved it. I put it on immediately & it was too much like right. It looked so good on me & she was feeling it also.

Before I knew it, she said take it as a gift.

I was like what???

I am not surprised that she offered it to me as a gift because she has a very giving personality & generous spirit. I just was like wow, for real, me, no ,yes, no, ok yes???

What a gift, a beautiful gift, a gift that was in time to put a positive spin on a week that had so many low points.

I teased & said that when I wear the cuff, I will turn into Wonder Man & fight off evil and repel bullets. We both laughed.

Later that evening, Claireta, another crafty art friend mind stopped by my table to kick it & to get a few bars of soap. After a rather funny conversation, I bagged up her soap & handed it to her. When she handed me her cash for the soap, I told her that her money was no good tonight & to enjoy the gift.

She thanked me with a giant warm hug.

I paid it forward!

For the rest of the night I wore my Wonder Man cuff, which attracted a lot of attention, which I directed to Heather. It was so cool having people dig it & my sexy wearing it.

After the night was over & I had a pocket full of Quench cash, I walked over to Heather, with my Wonder Man cuff. I thanked her again then handed her a 16oz body mousse & bar of soap. She was like, you do not have to & I was like yes I do, because I want you to be moist boo.

On another note, I found an original Orko (from He Man) figure at the Holiday Bar Bazaar from this cat that had had a bunch of cool 80’s toys. Orko was always my boy!

On another, another note, I tried “molecular gastronomy” at a party tonight. Very tasty & interesting cuisine option.

On another, another, another note, I went to see “The Day The World Stood Still“on iMax the other night. It was good, action was great but it was not a world rocker & certainly not worth the energy of me doing a full post on it. in short; Jaden Smith got on my last nerves, Keanu Reeves was just OK, Gort was the SHIT & favorite character in the movie.

Well, the weekend is over and so are my birthday celebrations. I really had a great weekend doing nothing but eating & chilling while enjoying my damn self!

My little party was big fun last Friday & my turn out was awesome. I recall few details but all the important people were there I think.

My bar friends at the Centaur really hooked my up & my favorite bar tender Julia surprised me with a mini bottles of Tanqueray 10, Patron Silver & some lottery scratch offs; the quick perfect barfly gift.

I always tell people not to get me anything because I am not into that but I never turn anything especially the tickets that Suite Suzy got us to see “Wicked” (I have been wanting to see this for 5 years & cannot wait to see it in Detroit).

Other than the gift of good bottles, my other favorite surprise was meeting my Blogging Buddy Ro~ (finally). Like with the rest of the bloggers that I meet, I felt like we already had a bond & Suite Suzy & I thought she was someone who we would hang out with all the time. I guess I attract the best peoples. LOL!!! But Ro~ had to cut the visit short because her boo was coming over & she had to get home to but on a batch of waffle fries & heat up the chicken wings (Ro, I told you I was going to put your business in the street! LOL!!!!!!).

Anyway, many pomegranate martinis, laughs, nipple pulls (don’t ask), a molestation attempt, Suite Suzy & I headed to Andiamo’s for an intimate dinner with Cousin Dee & Zana.

I love Andiamo’s, I mean love but they are the slowest bitches ever!!! We got there at 8m & did not leave until damn near 11pm. If it were not for the 3 pomegranate martinis (yes I had more), great conversation, a big juicy ass pork chop, obnoxious laughing and slamming live jazz joint music, I would have had to cuss someone the fuck out.

While at dinner, Zana passed me a gift and as I opened it, I saw that she got me a smudge stick of white sage. All I could do was my bitch scream & laugh. People were like WTF, & Suite Suzy & Cousin Dee were like what the hell is that. Zana & I broke down what it was & we joked about it because the whole thing is an inside thing between her & I. And truth be told, I just learned about the concept of smudging 2 weeks ago from Zana. Bottom line, I think I will do some smuding around the house later this week.

So, I’m officially thirtymuthafuckinfoe up in this bitch, so what’s next???

Anyway, I’m out so I can hit the sack cuz I gotta be at the plantation in the am & sugar buzz that I got from a slice of my birthday pineapple upside cake is wearing off.

BTW, here is a link to party photos.

Back Story: Noureen is Sade’s big sister through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.  They have been a pair for the last 4 years & have a great relationship.

Last year when Noureen got married to Adbulkalid, she asked Sade to be one of her bridesaids at her Shaadi (Pakistani brides reception) & I think it was quite a journey for Sade.

Sade struggled a bit in her saari but she looked great in it & I was so proud of my little sister!

We are all super happy for Noureen & Abdulkalid & the future that the they will build together!

What Happened Yesterday: The Shaadi was scheduled to start @ 6 but I got there at 5 to drop Sade off so that she could get into her saari with the other bridesmaids.  After I had her set, I chilled in my car for a good 1½ hours waiting on Suite Suzy, Olivia & Amelia to show up.

It’s now 630 & a few people start to trickle in but not as many as I thought for the event to start @ 6 right….

So now we are sitting at a table & people are still slowly coming in.  I questioned Suite Suzy about the time & she said it started at 6 & there was even a program on the table.

About 7ish, someone announced that appetizers were being served so the fam went to see what was available & came back with plates loaded with Pakistani delights, none of which I was interested in.  I am not a fan of Pakistani food & I am not a fan of lamb or goat meat at all, so this event was going to be a challenge.

It’s now after 8 & the even still has not kicked off & people are still slowly coming in & I was hungry as hell & had a headache from all the sprite I drank.  So I decided to go to the bar to get some wine because I figured that I needed a buzz to enjoy the event since food was not going to do it.  Once at the bar & begged for a Chardonnay & he said, we don’t have that here, then I asked for a Zinfidel & he said we don’t have that here.  So I was like, what do you have.  He said pop, water or tea.  I then asked why come, I need a DRANK!  He then looked at me like I was a fool & said, we do not serve alcohol at Muslim events.  I was like damn & went back to my seat disappointed! 

When I got back to the table, I told Suite Suzy that I had to bounce early cuz with a lack of edible food & drink, this is not my type of party.  Yeah I know I was supposed to be in the spirit ect ect ect but wedding receptions equals, dancing, drinks & food to me.

I did wind up staying until 1030 & actually had a nice time but I had to go.  Before I left I had a conversation with a friend of mine Ousama, who had showed up at 9.  I told him that I could not believe that things started to late.  He then looked at me with a smile on his face & said, didn’t you know that Pakistanis run late for everything just by nature.  That is why he came at 9, which was pretty much when things started to move.

Later Suite Suzy told me that someone else had told her that a few days ago.

Anyway, it’s now 1045 & I am at the Popeye’s drive up window ordering a 2 piece spicey (breast & wing), with red beans & rice mashed potatoes & 2 peppers.  7 bucks & some change later I was wondering why Popeye’s is so damned expensive.

To see a few more images from the shaadi, click here