Cuz I love ya'll - but don't have your addy

You are cordially invited
to
Kendra & Corey's Housewarming!

Location: The Black House
Finally!!! The house has been (mostly) painted, the boxes have been (mostly) unpacked, the yard has been (mostly) tamed, and we are FINALLY ready to party!!!
When: Saturday, October 21, 5:00pm
RSVP: Through notes, or drop me an email

Please join us in warming up our house right before it starts to get cold! Little people are WELCOME - bring portable outside toys if you have them!

ETA: I was seriously considering setting up a webcam in one of the main rooms for everyone who would love to be here but can't make it - but I'm not sure how the guests would feel about it - how would ya'll feel (assuming you were here?)

Wanted: A Dancing Queens Castle

went out last night - I was really looking forward to it. I had picked out just the right outfit - clubbin appropiate without being slutty (oh, if I had only known then....). I wore a tank top with "I [heart shape] my freedom" on it - which everyone amusingly enough assumed to be in SUPPORT of that foolish war on Iraq, and a smidge over knee length skirt that I had trimmed last weekend but never wore, and a nice study pair of clunky shoes. I was a wee bit nervous about the tank top as it was a WEE bit tighter than I usually wear, and I've got a little jiggly belly that showed through some(oh, if I had only known then....)
I've gotten directions off of Yahoo! and I knew that ladies get in free before 11, so I figured I'd try to make it there by ten - just to be on the safe side. The directions took me down the back roads to some of the CREEPIEST neighborhoods I had ever seen in my life (foreboding anyone??). There were few street signs, fewer street lights, and even fewer fools besides me going down these roads. I'm guessing where Yahoo! led me was it's version of 'shortest time'. They've got 'most direct' and some other category but I really think they need to add another category - 'least creepy'. So - I finally get to the shopping center the club is in (after turning around twice) - and realize that it is BARELY a mile from an exit on the MAIN highway in the city - which I LIVE a block from. We all know how I went home, don't we? But I won't jump ahead.
I had to stop and ask a cop in front of the just closing (and very abandoned looking) LoBill to figure out how to actually get to the club - which ended up being behind the shopping center down a road that was in a MOST disreputable state. I pull into the parking lot at almost ten on the nose, and there were less than 10 cars there. I finally started to get worried. Then, I thought - okay, CP time, no one is really going to GET here until 10:30/10:45. I was brave enough to GO to a club alone, but there was no way in hell I was going to be the first person to walk into an empty club. So - I sat in the car for 45 minutes, smoking cloves and listening to my 'get pumped' CD.
Two guys stopped at my car - one security guy to see why I was lingering there (most likely thought I was stalking one of the non-existant club-goers) and another cheerful young fellow who tried to sell me three CD's. It's interesting - I always thought unsigned, uncommercial hip-hop was called underground, not indie, but after I sweetly told him I wasn't buying anything, he gave me a free CD of indie hiphop. I've yet to listen to it, but I'm sure it will be, if nothing else, interesting.
Around 10:30, suddenly the parking lot started to fill up - cars of women. This is when I REALLLY started to get nervous. I haven't lived in the hood, or associated with hoodlike people since I left Atlanta 3 years ago, and I've done enough maturing at this point that they aren't even FUNNY anymore. Every single woman who walked through that door personfied hood-trick in a different fashion. Whether it was the bootyshorts showing off the tattoo on both thighs (and the generous cellulite) with the droopily braless halter top, or if it was the big gurl who borrowed her ten year old (her SKINNY ten year old) little sisters dress for a shirt, it was worrisome. And I'm not even going to TALK about the hair. I may have been the ONLY woman in that club who grew all of the hair that was on her head. So - I watch this parade of women for about 10 minutes, then decided that I had better go on over before the line got too long. I brought 5 bucks, my ID, my car key, and my smokes with me - which shortened the search process considerably.
What is it wih black women and the whte eyeshadow? I could never get that - I NEVER thought it looked attractive, but that's clearly just me as the group of girls in front of me were sharing a stick before we got in the club, and the girl behind me looked like she had been slapped with a stick of it.
I make it through the search, and enter the club. This place was actually HUGE - I was really suprised by the size. There was a little bar and grill (hot wings and french fries), 4 bars, a nice sized VIP section, a pretty roomy dance floor and a smaller one, and a area in the back with 6 pool tables in it. Plus, there were several nice little seating areas - with TV's. I grabbed a good seat (so that I could watch the parade as it went by) and proceeded to wait. My ONLY reason to go was to dance - not to hookup, not to really talk to anybody, not to get drunk. Hell - I had to go to WORK the next morning. I waited...and waited...and waited some more - about a good 30 to 45 minutes had gone by before the DJ got set up really good and started playing music. In that time, this guy and girl at the bar next to the seating area got into a fight - much cursing, much accusations of being a 'broke ugly ass bitch' and 'weak ass nasty nigga' which ended with homeboy being gently escorted from the club. I watched the girl celebrate with her friends how she had just played him, and made a consious decision to stay as FAR away from her & her girls the rest of the night.
The DJ played NOTHING but hiphop, and the occasional slow jam (or assgrinders as he so colorfully called them). Now, don't get me wrong - I dig hiphop. It's not the easiest thing to dance to - but you can get down. I danced pretty steadily for about an hour, but after slapping four DIFFERENT pairs of hands away from going UP my skirt (annd I was actually dancing rather conservatively - comparing), and witnessing a girl literally hump a guy on the floor (and I was just praying that the bits I couldn't see had clothes on them), I decided that I needed to be MUCH drunker than the almost stone-sober I was to enjoy this. I held out dancing on and off until 1:45, then decided that it really wasn't going to get any better, and besides, I had to go to work in the morning. The club closed at 3am, and I didn't think I wanted to see the effects of any more alcohol in the bloodstreams of the folx around me. I had the distinct feeling that people had been shot as they were leaving this club, and I wanted to be gone WELL before that.
As I was leaving, there were still people coming INTO the club - white eyeliner and gold fronts everywhere. I laughed as I left - I swear, sometimes there are REALLY perfectly good reasons for not going out. As I left, the security guard told me to be sure to come back Saturday - as the club "gets a lot more live". I don't think I could HANDLE any more live than that.
So - now I'm on the hunt. I've GOT to find someplace that I can go and dance and have a good time without having to deal with nasty ass dudes and trampy acting girls and nasty attitudes in general. I hope it wasn't simply the almost all-black clientle that made it so...unpleasant (my people, my people) but I figure I'll try Have a Nice Day Cafe next Thursday - once again a cover free ladies night. Anything has GOT to be better than that - and it's much closer to home - on a MAIN street even. *sigh*
I'm a dancing queen with no club to call home.....

Wish me luck.

Tertiary

So - the main players were: Myself. Paul. Erika. Phil. Luis. Allison. John. Sanjay. We allworked together, and for everyone excpet Paul (who lived there) it was our first time in Geneva. Paul worked at the site, and he was a wee bit of a party animal, so he took it upon himself to take us out and show us a GOOD time on the town.
We started as soon as we got off of work - around 7:00pm. Our first stop was to a lovely outdoor cafe - the drink of the night for the main players was rum & coke (diet coke for me!), and we started out with two or so drinks here. The cafe was in Old Town, so we were surrounded by old buildings, cobblestone streets, and lots of hills. After finishing the drink, we walked down the hill toa little bar/ resturant type place that sold tapas. We cohntinued to drink here - along with a WEE bit of food. After we ate, westayed there and took over a large section of the bar. Yet another thing that I thought was GREAT about Ge. - all the bars had real seating areas - with cushy chairs and couches that simply INVITED you to sit down and to get to know your neighbors - very nice. So - we sat there and ate and chatted until it was dark outside - which would have made it around 9:30pm or so. As we left this place, we walked by a stand that sold a lovely collection of postcards. I promptly snapped up several, figuring that I would not have to find anymore. Our next stop was barely a block away, and it was a basement bar. Once again, there was GREAT seating, and they had REALLY good music. The DJ was spinning mainly american R&B/HipHop tunes, and was mch better than any of the DJ's I've heard here (as in in Indy). We started getting into trouble at this point - when we opted to buy an entire BOTTLE of Bacardi instead of ordering it drink by drink. We finished off the bottle - that would be 1 bottle of rum divided by 8 people - and ALL of us had at LEAST 3 drinks before that. And oh MY - the bartenders do NOT pour light! We started feeling nice and light and loose, and we traisped off to yet another dancebar, but we lost two people - Allison and her husband John. They decided that they were a wee bit too old to keep up with us young lushes. We left them regretfully, and went to the next place - which was down a couple of hills and up a couple of hills and around the corner. It had to be around midnight at this point - maybe a little earlier. So - we get to the next bar and the FIRST thing we do is order yet ANOTHER bottle of Bacardi - now being divided amoung 5 people really as one of us (Erika) doesn't drink much (read at all, but we twisted her arm!) Luis, Paul (who at this point of enibriation was being called Pablo) and Phil all smoked - and me being the substance freak that I am, I HAD to taste one. Okay - why did noone ever tell me that cigs give you a FIERCE brain rush, or is it just me? ONE cigarette, and I felt like I had drank that entire bottle ON MY OWN. So - being wonderfully tipsy, and having ust watched Luis salsa with this cute Italian girl - I decided it was time to boogy my way onto the dance floor. OH. MY. GOD. I wanted to start singing Nelly - I've never been to a club that felt more like a HOT HOT basement party EVER. The fact that we actually WERE in the basement helped - but there felt like there were HUNDREDS of people down there. I danced myself damn near sober :(, and once I took a break, Pablo was ready to move on. We left, and we waited outside for Phil and Luis who were inside macking. I was hot, tired, and semi-sober, so I plopped my tail on the street. Erika, Sanjay & Pablo proceeded to give me the third degree about my dancing style (I get buckwild - I know I'm only dancing, and I let the men know that I'm ONLY DANCING - so what's the harm, eh?) We (being the loud Americans that we are) were being - loud. Apperently we were loud enough that the Swiss Police came to tell us to keep it down as it was 3am(!!!!) and we were surrounded by sleeping people. One of the interesting things about Ge. is that it's not really zoned. Bars are next to (or under) apartments and stores and schools. So - truly, we were in a MOSTLY residential neighborhood that happened to have a fabulous dance club in it. So - the boys finally came out - and we started heading to other bars, trying to find a stylish one that would let us in. Since we thought we were JUST going to bars - two of us had worn sneakers, and that caused a problem dress-code wise. We tried four different places, before one FINALLY had mercy on us and let us in. As we wandered around, I found a stall that was still open that sold PEACE flags. On of the first things I noticed in Ge. was that many of the apartment balconies had rainbow colored flags with either Paix, Peace or Pace on them. I found only ONE - with Pace on it, and promptly brought it. It had to be around 3:30/4am at this point - and MOST of us were still going strong. Luis and Sanjay were both getting worn out - and this last club had these BIG LONG Couches. Naturally - they BOTH went to sleep. In a club. Right NEXT to the dance floor. The poor things were EXHAUSTED. Those of us who were left standing then closed down the club (and half of yet ANOTHER bottle of Bacardi) - by the time we left, they had turned the lights on for us.
We left around 5am, and went to get something to eat. The very thought of food made my rum filled stomach do some very interesting flips, so I opted out. Pablo then suggested that we walked to the lake and wathc the sun rise - which was going to happen in another hour or so. On our way to the lake - poor Luis simply had enough and collapsed (read - passed out) onto the ground. We refused to just LEAVE him there, and when hand tugging and general noise didn't bring him off the ground, we took tougher measures. I straddled his waist and began to tickle him (he's VERY VERY ticklish) and Phil (who happens to be a good friend of the very straight Luis) sat on his FACE! *laughs* That popped him up - and we finished our walk to the lakeside. We sat, ate, chatted, tired to keep Luis awake (me and Pable were really the only ones still going strong) and 'watched' the sun rise. I say 'watched' because it was so dang cloudy, we never really SAW the sun rise, it just got lighter and so we KNEW it had risen. We finally gave up on seeing the sun really well and caught cabs back to the hotel. I walked back into my room at 6:53am. I had woken UP on Friday at 6:30am. I haven't been awake for 24 hours straight in YEARS, and I can never remember feeling quite so good at the end of the 'day'.
At some point during the night - all those lovely postcards vanished. *sigh* I'm going back (YAYYY!!!!) in July, and I will be SURE to get more and actually send them out.
The rest of the week was actually rather dull! We worked, went out to a great Thai place for dinner one night, and managed to close out the hotel bar EVERY night. Those of us who were leaving Friday morning tired to duplicate Firday night on Thursday, but since the Ge. people had to go to work the next day, we ended up back at the hotel at a very decent hour of 12:30am.
I had wisely packed Thursday afternoon before we went to dinner, so when I woke up a mere 15 minutes before the shuttle left for the airport to catch my plane, I was rather calm - tired as HELL - but calm.

I really can't wait to go back. Heh. I'm going to see if me & The Boy can duplicate a night like that here - I'm sure it's doable.

Dance Fever

I too can FREE my mind….. cuz I KNOW my ass will follow.

Papi drove me to L.’s place this morning, and we talked more about this ‘thing’. He suggested that he come to Indy with me, and if we are to have any kind of real & serious relationship I think that it would be a good idea… but at the same time I had doubts dancing around in my head that were too too vague for me to put a hand (or anything else) on… mainly the fact that we hadn’t even decided what this ‘thing’ was, or what we might want out of/from each other.

As we parted at L’s house.. I told him that I wanted a straight answer from him, because I already knew what I wanted. After he left… I put the matter mostly out of my mind… except to explain to L exactly what the hell was going on… his only comment was… ‘Ya’ll might be jumping from step A to step ZZ without going through all the in between portions first, and that could ruin all that you all have’. Humph. I knew that and it was one of the reasons that I am kinda antsy about the whole concept, but I put all of it out of my mind and prepared myself for at least 3 days of freewheeling fun.

L had to run and do some work, so I went along and managed to get in a good 5 hours of sleep while he handled his bidness… making life so much brighter (stiff back and all) when it was time to go out. Our first stop of the night was to a house party being thrown my one of his friends. Mind you, I had decided that I would be spending the weekend with mainly nothing but gay men, and I knew that it would be….hmmm fun to say the least? And indeed it was… from drinking some of the most DELISH rum punch I have ever had, to taking digital photos of them in various poses, to going to a club simply PACKED with men and dancing your ass off. Earlier I had said there is nothing like the sound of hundreds of women lifting their voices in song, in the same way there is nothing like hearing hundreds of men chanting ‘can I get a fuck you’ in time to Jay-Z. Sent shivers down my back…

I now fully understand why many straight black women are bitter on the subject of gay black men. I met more tight, together, intelligent, working, FIONE AS HEEEELLLLLLLL black men this one night in a dance club than I think I have ever met at one time. I can see how sisters look at them and get bitter as hell… our men can be sooo beautiful, and it might make a sista angry to see so many of them totally out of her reach. Ah well… I know that I had FUN…. *smiles* I get flirted with more, and in a nicer way, by gay men that I ever do by straight men…. why is that? L says it’s the tits… and men no matter whether gay or straight have breast fixation… *grins* that may be… but I am cool with it…

After the fire Marshall shut down the club for overcrowding, we walked back to L’s house… and I fell asleep, knowing that I would be tight and sore the next morning… but having loved every minute of it.

Stay Jazzed.