I started Temptation Island III last night, and I already know that this show is gonna be a whole lotta DRAMA. Man. It's sorta fuqued how they chose like the hottest girls and guys to be on that island. MAD-ness. It was just trife how the "couples" were being all emotional on their "last night together." I wanted to tell them off: "I know ya'll ain't come up in this shit to cry and be all emotional when you KNEW that you were about to come here for some booty...!" COME ON NOW.
Whatever. I'm out, ya'll. See you next month. I'm back Monday night; qwik trip. PaYsH!
One more day till the weekend... counting down... 3-2-1...
The Black Eyed Peas didn't perform, which was probably why the show got under way at about 8:15pm as opposed to its 7:30pm proposed start time. Xtina (that's Aguilera... ahahah...) explained to us that because of the schedule changes, the BEPs were no longer a part of some of the tour. I think that they might join in again if the tour catches up to its proposed schedule. So anyway...
Christina went first, and she was AWESOME. You know... those TV appearances, commercials, videos, magazine spreads, interviews, and other press junkets give her NO justice WHATSOEVER. It seems like the media is always makin' her to be some kind of crack-whore with a golden voice. But you know what?! The girl has a lot of personality and can perform like a mutha. She's not into the whole "i-can-dance" bit (but her dancers were pretty good), but what was cool was that her show was totally about her ability to do what she does best: SING. Surprisingly, and contrary to reports from other cities, Xtina totally had the crowd from the beginning of Dirrty till her encore performance of Beautiful. I think that Washington, DC likes her, a lot, cause they gave her mad-respect. And she was able to rock the crowd till the very end. My personal favorite part was when she sang two songs popularized by the legendary Etta James. Man, when she sang At Last, it was OVER. She had the whole stadium up-in-arms. DC appreciates them some jazz/blues, and she delivered with that one. She also gave a nod to her Latina culture with a number from her Spanish album, and one of the latin-style tracks from Stripped. That, too, had the crowd. You could hear the audience singin' with her EVERY WORD on most of the songs --- esp. with Fighter, Can't Hold Us Down, her re-vamped versions of Genie In A Bottle, Come On Over and What A Girl Wants, and esp. with Beautiful. The sound of the audience singing along during her encore gave me goosebumps... It was crazy. She came off as real, and was DEFINITELY live. The girl can BELT that voice, man. UNbelievable. She was very gracious for being in DC, and for getting the support that she was getting. From what I understand, there were many "Xtina Converts" after last night. Bring it on, gurrl. You got this sh*t...!
JT was very entertaining, although I didn't know half his songs. I'm not a big fan, HOWEVER, after his beat-boxin' and the whole old-skool thang I gained a new respect for him. His part of the show seemed a little shorter than I had expected, and some parts didn't seem live - but all in all it was entertaining nonetheless. GREAT CONCERT... AHAHAHAH!
Ahhh... the opening of the H&M Flagship here in DC will take place this Friday afternoon. Makin' sure I'ma stay away from THAT. LOL. Oh yah, I'll be leaving for California on Friday. BoOyAw.
Saturday was just a mess... a GOOD mess. I had a good day. It was pretty much an "alone time" day. AHAHA. I drove out to a local trife beach to get some sun, and I was only out for like under 2 hours because I was already getting dark. It was gross. So I left, and then I headed over to this mall in Waldorf (it was the closest one - *eh*) to find something. FOUND IT. Then grabbed a veggie burger at BK, then went home. Afterwards, I went to Mass then hit the gym... then came home. It took me like 50 million hours to figure out what to wear to AIR that night. When I finally settled on something simple, I scooped G up and we went to AIR. We found parking (SCORE!), and walked right up. It was my first time at AIR, and I pretty much liked it. It was filled with people - most of which were trying to be so PRETENTIOUS. It was like a cross between LA and MIAMI nightlife meets the northeast swang... You get it?! This one NOT-SO-CUTE white girl came over and sat with her friends at this table next to ours. I hear her tell her friends, "I feel really sexy sitting down, so I'm gonna sit here..." I wanted to laugh so damn hard at that point. But there's more. She then goes, "I feel like 'Sex And The City' drinking and sitting here!" MORTIFYING. I looked at Gina and whispered it to her, and it was over. I had to get up and move. Luckily I got to see a drunken MAE to wish her a happy b-day. I was gonna buy her another drink but she was so AGAINST IT: NO MORE DRINKS!! OK!! Robbie was there, too, with Jaho and Bernz - it was his b-day, too. But Robbie was NOT even close to being phaded. AT ALL. Weird. Not that it's a pre-req to be incessantly drunk on your b-day, but you know. I was feeling the need to be drunk-aSs during my last b-day, but I ended up not even. I had a few vodka tonics, wine, and a rum and coke. OH DUH. That was back when I was afraid to drink because of those weird dizzying/fainting spells I had been having. DAMN!! WHY DID THAT ISH HAVE TO HAPPEN AROUND MY B-DAY!! Oh well. Well, bottom line was that AIR was a nice place...very chic and somewhat pretentious, which is actually what I like. I mean, I personally don't like to be pretentious, but it's funny to see other dumb-aSses be pretentious up the a-hole. Oh, and I saw the Filipino "kids" over on the other end of the club, so me and Gina were like, "oh let's stay on this side..." Sorry, I've got mad-love for my peeps, but let's get real here... that congregating thang is just too high school-ish for my tastes. I've gotta move around; mix and mingle. Well, we weren't feelin' the music nor the scene. It was a nice night to be out, but we were just "eh." Even Mike and Arl left right before we did, then Eric wanted to go home but couldn't find Mae or Dennis. Dude, I hope you found them and got home safe. AHAHHAH...!! So yeah - cool place, but just wasn't feelin' it that night AT ALL. When I got home, my brother looked at me like I was stupid, and I was like, "WHAT?!" He goes, "Do you know what time it is?!" I look at the clock and it read "12:45AM," and I was like, "OH SHIT!" Then Mark goes, "you're home WAYYY too early..." He was right. It was weird. I'm usually out until the wee hours of the freakin' morning, but not that night. All good, I'll have to make that ish up later. I'll def be hittin' up AIR once again, ahahah... I'll make Florence or Helen come out with me so that we can entertain ourselves by laughing at everyone and their mother. So mean.
And now it's MONDAY... Beginning of another work week. No hate, though. I'm gonna see JUSTIFIED/STRIPPED tonight. Dayam. Did I just say that out loud?!
One piece of news... word is that in some hospital out somewhere, some black woman needed her foot amputated or something. I think she needed a new foot, basically. So they told her that they could only give her a "white woman's foot." Apparently, they have more white women's feet (as opposed to black women's feet?!), and that it was cheaper (ie, in her price range). Now HOW jacked is that?! How you gonna tell a sista that she can't get no black foot, and that she can only afford a white one?! UNbelievable. So they ended up giving her a prosthetic. GOSH! Deny a woman a foot, and give her a damn fake one?! What's the world coming to?!
I know that I rarely touch on my spiritual side on this site. When I first started my Xanga site, and eventually this one, I was unsure how I'd go about sharing my spiritual side. I know that my blogs can be so off-the-wall at times, and my stream-of-consciousness doesn't always linger on my personal notion(s) of God. But truth be told, I am one God-fearing mutha. I've been a part of the Catholic Christian renewal since 1999, and it's an awesome thing. I think I've already learned to be able to distinguish between living life in the renewal "bubble," and keepin' it "real" while being who you are. For the most part, I've been a dry one when it came to my outward faith; this is in recent times, too. But despite that, I've never lost sight of my duties to attend Mass and to worship God in a way that is comfortable for me, and still pleasing to Him. That's when I realized that it's OK to be imperfect, cause as humans we are just that: IMPERFECT. Only God is perfect and infallible, and while we're on this earth we just gotta truck on believing in Him, and lifting up ourselves to Him. Now I'm not saying to go out there and sin like there's no tomorrow, then go to confession later on for absolution. I'm saying that you gotta be true to yourself AND to God. How do you do that, you ask?! Well, that's a day-to-day struggle for everyone, and we each figure bits and pieces of that paradigm as life goes on. But I know one thing --- judging and condemning others for things will NOT get you anywhere, esp. if you - yourself - are a sinner. That's the first step, and I've taken it willingly. I can't be too judgemental over others, esp. if I myself am a sinner. I am just as human as the next person, so all I can do is try to lead by being an example. It doesn't mean that I have to be some leader in church, or a leader in a community, or this or that and blah-blah-blah. It means that no matter where I am or what I do, I've gotta be an example. Some of my greatest friends, many of whom aren't a part of the renewal, are my personal examples. Yes, my friends, you can see God in all people.Anyway. With that intro out there, let me just tell you about this CD. It's called BLESSED, and it's part of the Hillsong Praise and Worship series. Hillsong is a ministry in Australia; part of the Christian renewal - not necessarily Catholic, but hey, a Christian renewal is a renewal no less. Hillsong is the same ministry that brought us Shout to the Lord, which has become an anthem, of sorts, for Christian ministries the world over. Well, Blessed is equally powerful, and I recommend this CD to anyone who is familiar with contemporary Christian music and/or praise and worship. You can find a copy of it anywhere Christian music is sold.
Anyway, I'm driving around town takin' care of bidness today, and I'm listening to the title track, "Blessed." And all of a sudden, I was suddenly overcome with something... like my throat all choked-up. I was singing along: "Blessed are those who dwell in Your house. They are ever praising You. Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on our God. We will go from strength to strength, till we see You face to face... Hear our prayer, o Lord God Almighty! Come bless our land, as we seek You, worship You!" It was as if I was having this affirmation that God blesses us no matter what --- no matter where or when we've fallen. And despite the hardships that we go through as human beings, we should at least attempt to build our relationship with God by finding strength in and through Him - and in nothing else. It was empowering for me, and I totally felt that God was speaking to me as I was "worshiping" along with the song in the car. It was a weird feeling. Completely.
OK, so I hope that I didn't weird you out. It's just that we all have the capacity to know God. And I assure you, that if you take that step to know Him...then things can, and will, change for you. Now I'm not saying to lay down your lives and become a social recluse and pray all day. No. I'm saying to live your lives, but with a new focus. Making Him your focus changes things completely. And it's a blessing that only you'll be able to feel and understand fully.
I was able to celebrate the weekend yesterday, though. After the gym, I went to Pentagon City with the hopes of "buying" something. But I didn't find anything. *EH* I did try on some frames (for new glasses) and I think I am happy with a pair of Georgio Armani frames... VERY sweet. I also saw a pair of Versace frames, Bvlgari frames, and Prada frames - but I wasn't able to try them on. But so far so good with the Armani ones. I think I'll have to get 'em next month when I "shop" around for new glasses. YaHoO!@! Well, after the not-so-fruitful visit at Pentagon, I went to Pentagon Row to meet Elle and Jun at Baja Fresh. But before that, I ran into Arl in the parking lot. POOR, ARL!! The girl was looking around for a damn parking space forever. That lot SUCKS. I can't stand the parking lot at Pentagon Row. Since she lives like RIGHT there, she should've just WALKED! *HINT! HINT!* Syke... but yeah. Good to see Arl, even if I only caught her tryin' to snag a parking spot. Arl, I'll most likely see you at AIR on Saturday. AHAHAHA!
So, I go to Baja Fresh, and I decide to go healthy. Well, me and Elle both do. Too bad the "healthy" items were like SO low in terms of fat grams, but the caloric intake was INTENSE! It was almost INSANE! But anyway, we sucked it up. I ended up getting the "Side-by-Side" which is a salad with a side of grilled chicken. It was SO good. And I got a side of red beans... Gotta get that fiber! AHAHAH. Good stuff, that Baja Fresh. After dinner, we went to Champps because of Elle's unnerving alcoholic addiction. We had two rounds - I had a rum & coke, Elle had a cosmo, and Jun had an amaretto sour. AHAAH! So we DRANK and talked and laughed and talked and made plans to go see JUSTIFIED/STRIPPED! So now the three of us knuckleheads are gonna go see Justin and Christina (and Black Eyed Peas) on MONDAY NIGHT! HOW EXCITING! No gym for me on Monday night. LOL! I'ma see mah gurrrl get dirrrty!
So last night started my weekend... It was GREAT, what can I say. Tonight should be chill since the ladies headed out to the Bahamas. But hope I get to see some of my other peeps tomorrow night at AIR. Gotta go rep for mah sista - MAE!!!!!@! Ah... Friday's... Gotta love 'em!
SHOUT-OUT to mah BOO, LESLEY. All I gotta say is "Wesley-Lesley..." TOO funny! TOO freakin' FUNNY!! *sigh*
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So yeah. Last night me and Marz were watching Paradise Hotel, and WHY were we into it like we were watching 90210 back in high school. EMf*ckingBARRASSING. We're totally INTO it. Then they flashed a commercial about that up-coming show about people who pose/perform as their favorite stars. OK, so that one woman who sings as Celine Dion is quite PRESSED to be singing on top of a fake-me-out Titanic like that. And the gal who sings as Annie Lenox scares me. Whatever happened to Pop Stars anyway? Now THAT was lame... that and Making the Band. P. Diddy thinks he's rollin' big time with his spin on Making the Band, but in all sad reality it's just as DUMB as the FIRST one. Let's get over it, PUFF. I wonder what they're gonna come up with next?!
Reality-shmality aside... I'm not at all excited about the movies that are out right now. I'm shocked as hell that the dumb ass Freddie Kreuger/Jason Voorhies movie is actually toppin' the charts right now. Sick. Sick, I tell you. And I already bitched and moaned about the sequel to Jeepers Creepers. Aaye-yaaah! What is this world coming to?! It's bad enough that Ben and jLO scored LOW with Gigli. At least Pirates of the Caribbean was good. I can't wait for the new Johnny Depp flick with Antonio Banderas and Selma Hayek. That looks good. Aside from that, there's nothing out there that's really makin' me wanna go out and get entertained...not through TV or the silver screen at least. What's going on out there?! HELLO?!?!??!! I'd rather watch a sitcom of my day-to-day life to make me laugh. I swear. I should the sell the rights to my private life just to get a huge laugh. Seriously. I go through the most laughable instances with my family and friends - it's no joke that I'd make a killing out of a My Big Fat Greek Wedding-esque kinda movie. Not that it would revolve around a wedding or anything, but just something Seinfeld-ish. Seriously.
On a lighter note, I had a great day yesterday. Work was a breeze, the gym was cool, and I did a lil' grocery shopping before I headed home. When I got home, I was able to fix-up the pics that I uploaded to my hard-drive. Now I need to upload them onto Shutterfly.com. Another day, another time. Tonight I have my plate full. Paradise Island is on, and I gotta keep up... ya' heard?! LOL. I freakin' over-cooked my dinner, tho. I ended up over-baking the fish that I was having for dinner, so when I ate it...it was pretty tough on the teeth. But it's all good. It was HEALTHY! It was GOOD! And NO cream sauce... (ahahah... inside joke...)
Shout-out to mah gurl, Helen, who's cookin'-up dinner for one of her friends tonight. Boo-boo, you KNOW who you have to call for the PERFECT recipes... NOT. You might end up eating like a freakin' whale or something. AHAHHA. Did I ever tell you that I'm mean?! No wait, YOU taught me - remember?!