DC Carnival

Me in mud

June 28th was the Caribbean Carnival in DC on Georgia Avenue. This was my second real year in attendance. I went many years ago but after all the festivities were over. I actually remembered to bring my camera this year. It was hard getting decent pictures of the parade as my friends and I stood on the sidewalk. So most of the pictures you see spectators walking along with the trucks. It was decent weather. At first. They have been calling for rain. Now if you have been there before, you know parking is a nightmare. After maneuvering through many alleys and blocked off streets, we managed to get a good parking spot. Patience is a virtue indeed. I would have given up long ago and parked somewhere far away but my friend T was an optimist. We made good timing also. We didn't miss much at all, if any. Then the rain came. It was cool on your body until the giant sized drops came down making everyone run for cover. Thank goodness D had umbrellas in her truck. Not that it did much when at one point the three of us tried to huddle under an individual sized umbrella. Minutes later, the sun came out and we were ready to resume the show.

After the last truck we walked down to the end of the Avenue to the high school where they have the vendors set up. Oh I forgot to say that once the sun came out, it literally felt like a sauna. It was so freaking hot you just couldn't do a thing about it. I don't care what you wore, it was hot and sweaty. At least for me. I get hot very quick and usually don't do outside activities until the sun goes down. So we walked and got to the field. Knowing we had to pay admission for entrance into the field, it was an unexpected $10. Now that may not sound like a lot but with the recession and gas prices, I could do a lot with it. LOL. We got in and walked around. The lines were so long for the food stands. After a pretty long wait, we reached the beginning of the line to be informed that they only had curry goat and chicken ready. Not that we would have purchased jerk due to the heat, but they didn't have fish either! Which is what I wanted. So I opted for the curry chicken. After being there for hours, we got our food and walked many a blocks back to the truck. It was so many people out there. Finally we get to the truck and I punished my food. That heat drained every ounce of energy and electrolyte from me and when I was done, I felt as though I hadn't eaten a thing.

During the walk down I decided to participate in the mud. I had already had a spot of mud on my white dress from a passerby so that gave me an excuse to go all the way. Well part way. I had on new tennis shoes that I adore and wasn't really trying to get all muddied up. Besides, I didn't want to get in D's car like that. It dried way before we got back but it was still the thought. As I approached the moving truck one of the gentlemen motioned for me to enter the back of the truck where there were just loads of mud. Uh. No thanks. He said to me that I looked like I was precious so he wanted to be gentle with me. Which was nice, LOL. So he used his muddy towel and just wiped it on my face, shoulders, and neck. Cool experience to say that I did it. I was disappointed that we didn't get there early enough to catch the beads they through out to the crowd but there is always next year.

I had a nice time and when I got home I was swamped. Completely and utterly exhausted. If it wasn't for the mud, I would have jumped right into bed but I had to wash it off. So until next year, here are a few pictures of the carnival.

Catching up

Well I haven't had much to blog about worth blogging about so that's why it's been a while. I have to blog about the Sex and the City movie. It was everything I wanted it to be, LOL. I felt as though when the season ended, it left me with a feel that it's not over. Not knowing it would soon become a movie. I admit I was devastated with that news. So it was very important to go out and get the series on DVD. So even before they announced the nearing of a extraordinary era, a guy I was seeing at the time was kind enough to buy me seasons 1-5. Season 6 wasn't out at the time. Then my hubby completed the collection and bought the final season. For me season one isn't one of my favorites but I will of course take it because that's when you get to know the characters. I think season 3, second disc is where it starts to get really juicy. Now the movie, I will not be a spoiler for those of you that haven't seen it yet. There will be funny moments, angry moments, happy moments, shocking moments and very sad and emotional moments in the movie. I have to say I am happy the way they did the movie and of course, it is an absolute must that I get a couple of copies on DVD when it comes out :-)

Seeing Bruce Bruce the comedian at Constitution hall on 6/21 was a treat. It was a treat because he has lost 140 lbs. To me, he doesn't really look the same. It's something to get used to seeing but I hope he continues to lose and become healthy. Michael Blackson, the African comedian, came on first. He is funny and had the crowd going. The next was Guy Torrey who wasn't originally scheduled to be there but John Witherspoon couldn't be there for whatever reason and we got Guy. I am not a fan of Guy. He isn't all that funny to me and I could have definitely done without him. Talent, the comedian, was our host and I would have loved to see him as one of the acts and maybe let Guy be the host. He was just hilarious. Loved him. I wasn't familiar with him prior to the show but now that I know his name, I will be on the look out for him in the future. Then Bruce Bruce came on and lit that stage. Now, I wasn't in tears like I was with Katt Williams but I did have a few stomach aches from his jokes. I didn't time his appearance on stage but it didn't seem to be very long. The show as 8-11 pm. I had good seats and a nice time. That's the great thing about summer. The concerts.

My movies. The Happening. Interesting movie. If I were to tell you the basis of the movie you would think it was absolutely crazy and wouldn't dare go and see it. However, as crazy as it sounds it was a very nice movie and I really enjoyed it. It's one for the collection and would recommend it to folks. The Hulk I also saw this weekend. I didn't see the first one so I have nothing to compare it with but I enjoyed it. The movie was an hour and forty five minutes long so I'm not sure if children of young ages would be content to sit there for that length of time but it was entertaining. There was a point or two where it got slow but it captured my attention. I have a speculation at the end of the movie that there will be a team up of two characters but I could be wrong. Go and see it.

So folks that's it for now. Nothing much else going on. My hair is growing and I'm loving it. I have a week off work with pay which was incredibly nice of my boss to do. So I'm just chillin out. My new thing is trying to save money. Never was good at it and now I am on a mission to be a saver. Wish me luck on that one.