Color Purple at The Fox

Went to see the Color Purple at the Fox Theater on July 30th. 

It was a mostly black affair. As in the crowd though varying in age was predominantly black, with just a sprinkling of white people, which I am sure just decided to come based on curiosity. I didn't enjoy the play as much as I thought I would. I remember seeing the movie a long time ago, and bits and pieces of it stuck out at me. I remembered the actors, that the subject matter was grim and that it was hella long. But not that much of the substance of it remained in my memory. This was partially the reason why I thought I'd go see the play, to refresh my memory and see the darkness played to full effect.

The play was very well done. The actors were very good, not amateurish at all. But my reaction to it was unexpected. 

1) I didn't expect it to be a musical. I must be living under a rock not to have expected that because everyone else was singing along (and had the CD's, etc) but there I was, not expecting it to be a musical. I just thought: subject matter grim, why the singing? I thought I was coming to see a deep dark play, but I guess all plays are musicals these days, who wants to see a play where they don't sing? Me. I was expecting to be carried along the story with everything but music. Nevertheless, the singing was a nice touch. 

Then, (2) it had some funny bits. Not so much funny bits as the actors and the lines being stretched in an effort to rouse the audience, be it with laughter or applause. Not in a natural way, with the flow of the story, almost as if it was forced, as if they wanted the crowd to laugh so let's emphasize that word, gesture, remark, or line and pause slightly while the crowd reacts. 

I was just stuck on grim subject matter, so I wasn't expecting to be guarded towards laughter or applause. I mean, no need for emphasis just say what you want to say and we, of the knowledgeable crowd who attends these things, will know what you mean and if we feel the need to cheer, or applaud then so be it, we will. Needless to say that with all the cueing and pauses for audience reaction I just held a stiff grimace on my face, wondering whatever happened to the solid story I had fallen in love, albeit remembered vaguely, but was so fond of that I decided to shell out money enough to see 4 movies to spend an evening seeing it at the theater. 

Was it a business reason that made them doctor it for audience appeal? Will I see it again, probably not, not unless it's on Broadway sans singing cue heavy drama.

the color purple

Went to see the Color Purple at the Fox Theater on July 30th. 

It was a mostly black affair. As in the crowd though varying in age was predominantly black, with just a sprinkling of white people, which I am sure just decided to come based on curiosity. I didn't enjoy the play as much as I thought I would. I remember seeing the movie a long time ago, and bits and pieces of it stuck out at me. I remembered the actors, that the subject matter was grim and that it was hella long. But not that much of the substance of it remained in my memory. This was partially the reason why I thought I'd go see the play, to refresh my memory and see the darkness played to full effect.

The play was very well done. The actors were very good, not amateurish at all. But my reaction to it was unexpected. 

1) I didn't expect it to be a musical. I must be living under a rock not to have expected that because everyone else was singing along (and had the CD's, etc) but there I was, not expecting it to be a musical. I just thought: subject matter grim, why the singing? I thought I was coming to see a deep dark play, but I guess all plays are musicals these days, who wants to see a play where they don't sing? Me. I was expecting to be carried along the story with everything but music. Nevertheless, the singing was a nice touch. 

Then, (2) it had some funny bits. Not so much funny bits as the actors and the lines being stretched in an effort to rouse the audience, be it with laughter or applause. Not in a natural way, with the flow of the story, almost as if it was forced, as if they wanted the crowd to laugh so let's emphasize that word, gesture, remark, or line and pause slightly while the crowd reacts. 

I was just stuck on grim subject matter, so I wasn't expecting to be guarded towards laughter or applause. I mean, no need for emphasis just say what you want to say and we, of the knowledgeable crowd who attends these things, will know what you mean and if we feel the need to cheer, or applaud then so be it, we will. Needless to say that with all the cueing and pauses for audience reaction I just held a stiff grimace on my face, wondering whatever happened to the solid story I had fallen in love, albeit remembered vaguely, but was so fond of that I decided to shell out money enough to see 4 movies to spend an evening seeing it at the theater. 

Was it a business reason that made them doctor it for audience appeal? Will I see it again, probably not, not unless it's on Broadway sans singing cue heavy drama.

Fly, Robin Fly

So far, not so good. 

But what else is new in my life. I haven't been able to get anything moving in that aspect. And I have stopped speaking to my family. Yesterday I was researching schools in Europe and suffering from some mild escapism...oh of all the things that could be if I were to go. But then the reality of me hits me, and in an effort to suppress the sadness I just doodle on nothing in particular. I am going to see The Color Purple tonight, which is good, a celebration of artistic excellence always brings the much-needed jolt to your disparate mindset. Hopefully I can treat myself to dinner, with or without any money for fancies being available. Fine food and theater is such a match made in coupling heaven. However, this coupling may not be possible...there have been far too many treats for a life filled with despair, lacking in triumphs, and riddled with unknowns. Far too many treats...what am I even celebrating...maybe there's a celebration in the horizon and I am ushering it in, slowly, very slowly. One can only hope there is.

Last night I had one of those dreams where you dream that you are naked, except I dreamt that I dreamt that I was naked and came to work naked but when someone recounted it to me that indeed I was, I said, I don't think I like my body that much to come to work naked. All in all, I know what the naked dream means, it means you would soon be put to shame. I don't know why it was a dream within a dream though. Maybe it means the dream will not come to be. I already know now that my dreams will not come to be. No SHIT!!

Not much luck

I am not having that much luck with the dating scene. I noticed that it gets worse every time I venture out on the town with people. The person always seems to get that much more attention than I do. I get a couple of hellos here and there but in order not to abandon the person I am with to start chatting up some guy (that I just met and in order not to seem like I am making myself too available) I dismiss the guy. Much to my detriment. But the person relishes in this attention. The second some guy as much as says Hi to her, she just leaves me in the dust and starts to chatter away, like I don't even exist. I don't know if it's my paranoia or what, but this is now a regular occurrence, so much so I may have to go back to doing the scene by myself, no more accompaniments. If it's a place I can do by myself, then I'll just get up and go, if it's not, then I'll just sit it out. Sometimes I think is it because they are with me that they get this much attention, or is it just my rotten luck I suppose.

The slum continues. Summer is not a good time to be going through a slum. I thought I had overcome all that early Spring, but something happened somewhere along the line and the slum came right back. Cupid draw back your bow...please.

Chasing Pavements Again

Isn't it sad? 

You go into the weekend and you are already broke. You get paid and that same day, you determine based on the allocation of resources, and how much fun you plan to have, that you are already broke. What type of existence is this? These are supposed to be the carefree days of our youth. You work so hard to make the money but you cannot afford to spend it. It's like a perpetual broke syndrome. 

The it's-a-pity-I-can't-get-a-latte syndrome.

America Excess

Photojournalism

An exhibit from the Coca-cola factory



High School Marching Band past my window on July 4th.



Some hot day in May, driving to the Dry cleaners decided to take a picture of Peachtree. I think I've posted this picture before.

Being that there's nothing really to say, I've decided to post some more pictures. I am looking into looking into myself. Meaning, I haven't started yet, but I will. Not more introspective look, more of future determination look...need to make a plan and stick to it, not say I am going to look into a plan. More on this, when I feel like talking about. Remember a few posts down, when I said that sudden prayer, it's like I could feel something bad was about to happen and bo, bam...it did.

If I were a photo journalist, these pictures would tell my story...

Posts with Pictures

Decided, with my whole world crumbling, to do an actual post with pictures. I always like blogs with loads of pictures and even though I take a lot of them, I never get around to posting them.



Sunday afternoon. The bus stop across the street.



Downtown rebuilding of of the Candler Building after the wreckage



The cute kids I bumped into at Centennial Olympic Park on my birthday

The Dark Knight redux

There's something really disheartening about watching The Dark Knight. 

Not only the fact that Heath Ledger is no longer with us but more so the fact that he was the best thing about it, and maybe if they had acknowledged that a lot more it wouldn't be so disheartening and he just might still be here. 

I feel like he worked so hard, almost overboard to try to rise up to the challenge that was required of him to play the part of the Joker. And he outdid anything else he's ever done. And no one else in that bleeding movie was working hard, (maybe Aaron Eckhart) but every one else seemed like they would rather be doing something else, some Merchant Ivory shit with more substance. Christian Bale, who I'm usually a huge fan of, just seemed like he was walking through it, he didn't train his body, his fight scenes were poor, The Batman voice was ridiculous (they should have voiceover-ed that shit) nothing worked. No additional grooming just tons of makeup on his face to make him look good and that was it. 

But Heath, was such a classic anti-hero. The rage, passion, and sadistic humor he brought to the role, made it the best comic-book movie we've seen so far.

And there we all were saying it was a poor choice that they cast him as the Joker. We all ate our words when we realized, he was the best thing in it.

Dear Heath, Adieu and job marvelously well done.

VA Highland no more

Went to VA Highlands to browse on Saturday. 

It was supposed to be an exceptionally hot day, and I thought what better way to spend the day than to browse through some stores, walk the beautiful streets and just soak in the sun. It was muggy, but not bright. And VA Highlands turned out to be not so High. The first thing that crossed my mind as I parked was ouch! I forgot my camera, and I would like to take a few pictures. There was nothing snap worthy there. It was just a residential block lined with a few stores and bars. And that was it. The houses are really old, not antique-y old, just old houses that need to be torn down. But since this is the only part of Atlanta that has not given in to capitalism, it is widely cherished and revered. I had more fun in Little Five Points than the Highlands.

More and more I realize that there's something about this place that is lacking of awe. I am not in a constant state of awe and my days, my weekends are devoid of activities, real time-consuming worthwhile activities. I thought, oh spend the day walking up and down Virginia Avenue, that would be fun. It was a total bust. Either it's the kind of fun that's not meant for me, or it was not all that they had cracked it up to be.

Prelude to the weekend

Went to the Atlanta Yelp party. 

The proximity of the venue and the timing was the draw for me. Table 1280 in the Arts Center. One free shuttle stop for me. Otherwise, I didn't think it was going to be head over heels fun. Just maybe a good time with some very excited people. But it turned out pretty good. The people were a lot friendlier than I thought they would be. I actually met some people who had read my reviews which was stunning, because you write these things and just send them off to cyberspace, you don't expect that anyone would bother reading, let alone remember who wrote them. It's just like meeting an actual reader of this journal. Yikes!!! But the closeness and the familiarity with which the crowd mingled with each other only went to prove that they've been at this for quite awhile, people like me are just newbies looking for a release. People kept asking me how many reviews I'd written. If I wrote a review everytime I visited some place, I would possible have about 40. But it just takes too much brain power to put those things together.

Overall, great night meeting new people. 

Prelude to the weekend

Went to the Atlanta Yelp party. The proximity of the venue and the timing was the draw for me. Table 1280 in the Arts Center. One free shuttle stop for me. Otherwise, I didn't think it was going to be head over heels fun. Just maybe a good time with some very excited people. But it turned out pretty good. The people were a lot friendlier than I thought they would be. I actually met some people who had read my reviews which was stunning, because you write these things and just send them off to cyberspace, you don't expect that anyone would bother reading, let alone remember who wrote them. It's just like meeting an actual reader of this journal. Yikes!!! But the closeness and the familiarity with which the crowd mingled with each other only went to prove that they've been at this for quite awhile, people like me are just newbies just looking for a release. People kept asking me how many reviews I'd written. If I wrote a review everytime I visited some place, I would possible have about 40. But it just takes too much brain power to put those things together.

Lately, I've been feeling like driving to another city, taking loads of black and white pictures of the city and coming home to show them off on this blog. I haven't used my film camera since I got back from the Las Vegas/San Fran trip, April 2007. And since then, it's been like life, as far as explorative life, has stopped. Don't get me wrong, I love exploring the city I live in right now. I am getting to see different parts of Atlanta that I wish I could have discovered sooner. But I never get that "take your breath" away feeling that I get when I visit other cities. It's like living life, to its fullest? It's an unbeatable feeling...irreplaceable feeling.

A small prayer

Dear God save me from the humdrum routine of my work life. I worked somewhat hard in school and in my work so far, that I feel like I deserve to get further than I am now. I know you know what my work goals are because we helped build these dreams together, but so far I have fallen short, and I need your help to complete the journey. I want to have my sliver of happiness. I want to feel consoled that the time, energy, money and sacrifices that I spent on school have not completely gone to waste. Take me from this rut and help me to build a career. 

This I ask of you in Jesus holy name. Amen.

iPhone Mania and then some

So...What did I spend my weekend doing?

Standing in line for 5 hours at the Apple Store on Saturday waiting for my iPhone.

Voila! My Birthday present finally happened, about a month later. It's amazing. I had to get a new number and it feels great. Now, I can be out with the old, the weak ass brothers that never call me and in with the new - actually sifting through the chaff as I decide who is worthy of my new number.

As I stood in line, I met this 2 gay guys that were so funny and so much fun to hang with for 5 freaking hours. It made the time just fly. They were part of the reason I could stand in line that long. They had jokes, oogling all the gay boys at the mall, being criticized by onlookers and just having fun without a care in the world as we waited for our phone. The overall experience was fun. I don't think I would ever have to wait for 5 hours for anything again in my life, but for this one time, it was amazing. I shopped, had a smoothie, got some new gay info at what they look for in a guy (skinny and chocolate and apparently there are gay sugar daddies, who knew) and discovered what motivated a good number of people into standing in line on a Saturday. I made some new friends - friends that Apple brought together -- and had a wonderful time.

Friday night, not so much. I chose this ridiculous outfit to wear for my friend's birthday party at Luckie lounge. Needless to say, it didn't help with my rut. Had to pay $22 for 2 glasses of Chardonnay, of which one of them was spilled across the table. Suckage. Then, finally got to go to THE WHISKEY PARK at the W Hotel. This has been talked about as the new IT place in Atlanta. It was not as great as they had talked it up to be. The music was techno-house shit, fit for gay or white people, but yet still the black posers outnumbered everyone there. There was a certain lack of mingling and excessive profiling going on in there. The men were all clustered by themselves in groups and the women just the same, everyone hoping for someone to talk to them, all nicely done up in their notice-me-now attires. The men were probably afraid to talk to the women so they wouldn't have to pay the very expensive tab for a drink.

I just kept wondering two things - why did I wear the ridiculous outfit that I wore (a very short dress that I spent all night pulling down) and that there are way too many single women in Atlanta and it is not a good thing. Got home around 3AM, no numbers in tow, and a whole lotta money spent. Woke up early the next day to stand in line for 5 hours at the Apple Store.

So High and Dry. Still single.

An Apple a Day

So...What did I spend my weekend doing?

Standing in line for 5 hours at the Apple Store on Saturday waiting for my iPhone.

Voila! My Birthday present finally happened, about a month later. It's amazing. I had to get a new number and it feels great. Now, I can be out with the old, the weak ass brothers that never call me and in with the new - actually sifting through the chaff as I decide who is worthy of my new number.

As I stood in line, I met this 2 gay guys that were so funny and so much fun to hang with for 5 freaking hours. It made the time just fly. They were part of the reason I could stand in line that long. They had jokes, oogling all the gay boys at the mall, being criticized by onlookers and just having fun without a care in the world as we waited for our phone. The overall experience was fun. I don't think I would ever have to wait for 5 hours for anything again in my life, but for this one time, it was amazing. I shopped, had a smoothie, got some new gay info at what they look for in a guy (skinny and chocolate and apparently there are gay sugar daddies, who knew?!) and discovered what motivated a good number of people into standing in line on a Saturday. I made some new friends - friends that Apple brought together -- and had a wonderful time.

Friday night, not so much. I chose this ridiculous outfit to wear for my friend's birthday party at Luckie lounge. Needless to say, it didn't help with my rut. Had to pay $22 for 2 glasses of Chardonnay, of which one of them was spilled across the table. Suckage. Then, finally got to go to THE WHISKEY PARK at the W Hotel. This has been talked about as the new IT place in Atlanta. It was not as great as they had talked it up to be. The music was techno-house shit, fit for gay or white people, but yet still the black posers outnumbered everyone there. There was a certain lack of mingling and excessive profiling going on in there. The men were all clustered by themselves in groups and the women just the same, everyone hoping for someone to talk to them, all nicely done up in their notice-me-now attires. The men were probably afraid to talk to the women so they wouldn't have to pay the very expensive tab for a drink.

I just kept wondering two things - why did I wear the ridiculous outfit that I wore (a very short dress that I spent all night pulling down) and that there are way too many single women in Atlanta and it is not a good thing. Got home around 3am, no numbers in tow, and a whole lotta money spent. Woke up early the next day to stand in line for 5 hours at the Apple Store.

So High and Dry. Still single.

certain things

Certain things I have discovered about myself:

I am very high maintenance. I pride myself on being able to take in some essential retail therapy and fine dining therapy. I don't think anyone I know, or have ever dated can keep up with the amount of money I spend on these two splurges just to keep myself entertained. I somehow think that's why God has delayed the "much needed soul mate". He is busy scratching His head wondering, "Who can fit and pay the bill, who will want to, and who will I put through this?" You have to be exceedingly rich or extremely intelligent to keep me entertained at all times. I have just noticed that about myself.

One other thing is, which I am sure everyone who knows me by now, knows this. I like Keanu Reeves a lot. To a feverish pitch. I sometimes think he is my kindred husband, and I think, what if he is, and what if he's the man I've been waiting on, waiting on him to figure it out and for me to work through my craziness. When you look at it, he is those things I described above, rich enough to appreciate the finer things of life and intelligent to keep me intellectually engaged. And my hyper activity and love of life and travel and of course, will surely keep him entertained. I don't fit the bill of all the women he's dated but maybe, just maybe there might be that one thing about me that rocks his socks off that he cannot let go of, that will keep him tuned in.

It's been a boring week. The first week of July was very boring, so to entertain myself I allowed my imagination to run wild. Hmmm...

Happy 8th year to me

Today is some sort of anniversary for me. It's my 8th year in the United States. Every year that I survive this country I try to celebrate and thank God that I have survived another year, that I haven't stuck my head in the oven (even though I've been tempted so many times) that I have a job (even though at times I have lost my job so soon after the anniversary but let's not remember those times) and that I have the worldly things that God has given me, and then I pray for another year that will be filled with love, some more worldly things, God's blessings most of all, and the peace and goodness that He grants to us year after year. And most of all, that this may be the year, He reaches into His crystal ball of prayers and pulls out that one special blessing for Anita. One can only hope, but for that which we have, and all He has afforded us, we thank Him...

Maybe next year I can share it with someone else besides me, not even my family knows about this anniversary. Maybe some year we would be celebrating so much more. Maybe, we won't have a life filled with so much maybe's.

Happy Anniversary to me!!!

Chasing Pavements

The first of July was not so bad. I bought a dress for the second time yesterday and made my last official (hopefully last) retail purchase of the summer. It was quiet, no one called me to torment me and I didn't torment anyone with my raunchy texts. I just stayed home and listened to Adele - very good music I might add. I want to get back to my hobbies, certain hobbies that do not cost so much like retail & incessant shopping and also enrich my mind. I used to love sitting at the bookstore and reading whatever book I could digest in 60 minutes. I used to love riding (and struggling with) my bike for 2 hours at a stretch at the park. I still love taking pictures specifically film with black and white, but I haven't taken any in over 1 year, my SF trip was actually the last time. All these are healthy enriching hobbies. But lately it's just been about boys and the mall. Maybe that's my resolution for the 2nd half of this year - spiritually enriching hobbies.