Driving through the Holland Tunnel takes about 3 minutes & it’s so much better than the Lincoln Tunnel, which has the rudest toll booth workers in America but that’s another story.

My weekend road trip was packed with goodness and photography as you saw in my “NYC Analog Portraits” post.

The great thing about this trip was that I tried some great restaurants across Greenwich Village & SoHo.

I mean, I did some good eating & some good drankin’!

Of the new places that I tried, I have to say that these spots are on my permanent list.

• Galanga Thai Restaurant – Grennwich Village: Quick & simple Thai at a reasonable price. And they have mean iced tea cocktail
• Bubby’s Restaurant Bar-Bakery - Tribeca: Excellent breakfast menu & AWESOME cheesy grits & super friendly service.
• Thom Bar – SoHo: You step into this spot, lounge on the sectional couches & inhale expertly made martini after martini & you will find yourself in another world. This was a great random find! (make reservations)
• PDT (Please Don’t Tell) – East Village: Out of this earth exotic cocktails & you cannot beat the low key lounge atmosphere! Perfect if you do not want to be seen by anyone! (make reservations & try the Brazilian Tea Punch)
• Veranda Lounge New York – West Village: Great cocktails, awesome service & excellent people watching! (reservations may be necessary & try the Pimps Cocktail)
• Macaron Café – Mid Town: They have THE best French macarons EVER. With over 20 flavors to choose from, I have to say that I’m totally cracked out on the the cassis & coconut flavors

One another note, Saturday I was walking back to my hotel when I spotted a small group of tourist.  As i walked past them, on of the guys asked me if I knew were the Cipriani Lounge was.

I said that I did not know & started to excuse myself. Before I could take a step away, he was like, we’ve been lost & I know it’s nearby.

I then asked him if he had an iPhone to which he responded yes. I told him that he should consider using it then I got back to stepping. My friends said he must have thought I was a local based on the way I was wearing my hair (Hollywood fuck bun) or it was my “edgy mens top” or both.

Art Credits:
Music: “Astral Traveling” by Electric Birds
Setting: Holland Tunnel NYC

Yesterday, I did something that I said I would never do again after my fiasco last year. The promise I made to myself was to never to venture downtown Detroit on opening day at Tiger Stadium.

Last year was the 1st time that I experienced the crazed madness of opening day & it was truly a mess! Drunken baseball fans every where, people (men & women) pissing in alley ways, women passed out in the streets, fights, vomiting & just about anything you can imagine.

I was so turned off hence the promise not to make that same mistake twice.

So how did I wind up breaking the promise to myself? I still don’t know. Maybe it was my intense need to have a cocktail or two to wind down my week of extreme highs & lows?

At any rate, I made my way downtown & was able to find a parking space right outside of the Centaur, my favorite watering hole, so I guess it was meant to be.

I walk up to the door & some bouncer type guy was like 10 bucks to get in. I’m like bitch I’m a regular, I’m not paying to get up in here to possible get vomited on my one or more these over indulged baseball fans.

OK so I’m in.

The place was packed like I’ve never seen before. Like way worse than when the Super Bowl was in Detroit.

So I meet a couple of friends that had been hanging out & we just watch the madness surrounding us. It was almost like observing a social experiment with hundreds of crazed drunken white folk. Nothing but laughs!

While I’m chilling I stumble into this group of young people who are like have a toast with us. I’m no! I don’t know you & I proceeded to walk away & they were like come on have a toast with us.

I gave in to get them off my case.

OK, fast-forward 45 minutes later… I pay my tab & I’m out the bar headed to a meeting when I spot this guy in his undies just chilling on the sidewalk. Turns out he was with the people that I did the toast with a bit earlier.

Then I notice that all of his friends were around. I egged him on to take it off so that I could take his picture & so did others on the street.

A minute or so later, I pop the lock to my car & get in to take off but before I do, the people that I did the toast with were opening my car doors & like climbing into my car. Eight people just like fucking randomly got into my five passenger vehicle. I’m like WTF is going on & why am I letting this happen.

I was like WTF are you guys doing…. Then they were like come hang with us. I’m like no, get out of my car please. Then they were like can you give us a ride to the Old Shillelagh. I reluctantly said yes. WTF was I thinking?

All the while I’m driving these eight people in my five-passenger vehicle, I’m hoping that I don’t get pulled over for a moving violation. Again, WTF was I thinking?

As a side note, during the drive I played Erykah Badu’s “Turn Me Away (Get Munny)” and my random passengers love it.

Anyway, four minutes later, we arrive at their final destination & my passengers start to file out of the car all while I block traffic & have a city bus blowing at me.

Before they took off, one of the girls was like “Tafari, give me your card.” I’m like shit but I get out of the car to give it to her then next thing I know I’m doing group hugs with my eight new random friends. And the city bus is still behind my car & the driver is looking pissed.

As I turned to get back into my car, the one girl pictured above gave me 20 bucks, hugged me & said thanks again.

Now I’m back in the car taking off before this damn bus rams my car. As I’m driving off I laugh, wonder WTF just happened and figuring that white people must simply love me.

This evening I visited the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History for the Black Women Rock event, which was hosted by Detroit’s foxy poet Jessica Care Moore. While enjoying the sites & sounds, I snapped a few images of FluxPhonic during their 1st performance.

You may recall me photographing Fluxphonic’s promo shots a few weeks ago. And I’m sure you will be excited for me to know that this photo made the cover of their recently released EP.

It was truly a great night of Black women rocking the stage with raunchiness, rock & roll, painting, poetry & everything in the middle!

Check here for a few outtakes from Fluxphonic’s highly energetic performance.

Fluxphonic: Facebook | Myspace

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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

Sade being sick really put us in a pickle because we shipped Olivia off to Suite Suzy’s mom already & had no one to watch Sade so that we could still attend. Well after some frantic calls around we got one of Suite Suzy’s best friends (Ramona Jones (street name given to those looking to boo up)) to baby sit.

Ramona Jones showed up around 6pm, then Suite Suzy & I hit the door with the quickness. 35 minutes later, we were at the Detroit Opera House box office purchasing 2 box seat tickets (saved 50 bucks, since it was just before the show). With tickets in hand, we had an hour to kill, so we shot over to the Centaur for a cocktail & light snack. 55 minutes later, we were back at the Opera House perched on our seats.

We got the bomb box seat, as we faced the stage dead on. Talk about great luck!!!

OK, so just before the house lights went down, the woman across from me started to pop her gum all up in my ear. I was thinking & hoping she would stop when the show started. Well that never happened! This chick popped that damn gum all the way through the “Love Stories” act (EXCELLENT). When the lights came up for intermission, I had to stop my self from cussing her out! I hate a loud gum chewer, & not only that, why would you purchase box seats for a fine arts performance & act all ghetto by popping gum & you are over 25???

I was at the point that we had to move to prevent me from going over the edge. Eventually, I chilled a bit just before intermission ended & Suite Suzy agreed to switch seats with me. Now during the “The Road of the Phoebe Snow” act, Suite Suzy was about to kill her because the gum popping continued & she was talking to her girl who was seated next to her. Suite Suzy (also a gum popper at times) was annoyed also because the gum popper had on a pair of summer pumps with an open toe & white lace, then she had on a pink leather cocktail jacket obviously from Wilson Suede & Leather (very tacky). Lastly & to make matters worse she kept on pulling out this fucking Blackberry because it went off non-stop. At one point, I was wondering if she was sending text messages to Kwame Kilpaptrick so they could meet at the room after the show.

By the time the “Revelations” act started, we both had, had enough of the gum popping, Blackberry light & that tacky ass pink leather cocktail jacket. 2 damn hours of hot ghetto mess sitting next to you is not cool at all!

After the show, we headed out for Sushi & had a great meal, but the conversation on the way home was even better. Things started off by me telling Suite Suzy that I wanted to have a dancers body by June this year. She then laughed hard as hell & was like, Nigga that ain’t happening unless you get on that elliptical machine tonight & not get off that bitch until June, then we both laughed very hard.

Then we had a very interesting conversation on being Black, her own racial ambiguity, Barack Obama’s dark lips, Irish penises & defining what is meant when people both Black & white say the “Black Experience”. I really wish I was recording it because we both talked a lot of shit!

Wait’ let me get back to the performance then I’m out. I can never get tired of seeing the dance troupe perform & will seem them anytime they come Detroit.

This is a shot from “Wade in the Water”, my favorite part of the “Revelations” dance act. I found a good video of this act on YouTube, so if you are a fan of dance then you will enjoy this.