Merry Christmas to all readers...

Wishing you Peace, Love and Joy this Christmas!

Be safe on the roads...and enjoy the Season :-)

Can we Wee?!

Oh yes we can! ...I soo could not resist :-)

Sauce beat me to it, but ah posting still.
The pending decision, as reported in the Guardian) has been made. Heard it live on CNews.

The Wee Wee trucks will be on the road, at least for Carnival 2010. They'll be in the middle of d band (how ewwww is that!), but at least they'll be with the band. 

Thank God good sense prevailed. I agree with Luis Hart...exactly which law was being broken by having the truck with the band?


p/s:- why in the middle of the band though??? 

A quote

Came across this quotation:

"LOVE...

isn't something that is earned
it's deserved
love is something I can give
Cause I'm worth it"

- Floerty"

I looooove it.

Borrowed from She She

Quick Update

Well at looooong last I got it!

What is this 'it' that I refer to???

I refer to that elusive thing, called 'TRIBE Costume Receipt 2010'.

It was sent out on October 2nd 2009, to an emil address that I used waaay back when I first registered with TRIBE in 2005. I have updated my subscription since then..but seems that this is still linked there. C'est la vie..it's a good thing that I check that address once in a while.

It is confirmed I am registered in 'Osage'! Yippeee!!

Bring on gym time now!

p/s:- The pic is from Sauce's album from Tribe's launch...

Karma and all that...

Saw this headline on Sauce's blog this morning "Not In with the In Crowd".

It confirmed the email that we saw sometime yesterday.

What amazes me, is that this 'social outfit' (love the term eh Sauce, taking a lil borrow) was MOST upset by having been informed on. The email suggested that the 'social outfit' was displeased and in the strongly worded email stated that people should be more concerned with others, and doh be so focused on themselves.

Now isn't that just 'the pot calling d kettle black'...wasn't the outfit trying to make a lil something off of other people heads?!

We live in T&T, and what this 'social outfit' was trying to do was a lil smart-man something. It could work, BUT just remember d islands small, somebody go know somebody, so be prepared to deal with d backlash when it comes.

My $0.02

TRIBE 'Secret of Silk' price review

Ok ok, I'm late commenting on these prices.

Read Sauce's price list before going any further aight.

My forecasted average backline price was $3700, as stated in the previous post.

And checking average price I was actually higher than the average price...By my calculations Tribe's BL price (basic options, nothing added, small headpiece) comes in at $3635. Not bad, not bad at all. Well with d FL prices, I was waaaaaaaaaay waaaaaaaaaaay off, with only FL three sections (Osage, Lapis Lazuli and Zari) priced under $5000. NB:- a couple sections do not have a FL option...what going on with that?!

I do know that many people are absolutely agasht at the prices and some stating that they not playing etc, BUT putting all things in context I really think those prices could have been MUCH higher. I'm not stating that they're not high, they are doh get me wrong, but considering that TRIBE kept prices more or less unchanged for 2 years straight then it just makes business sense that they would have increased their prices somewhat to compensate for what would have amounted to a year of less than normal profits.

• Sooo, will I register or not? Well I defintely am/will whatever (if pre-registration works, why not use it eh!)

• Will I have company? At least two friends will be registering, not sure if in the same section...but that's irrelevant!

Now to make sure that my a$$ is in that gym as often as possible between now and February 2010.

I plan to pay off that costume by year end ...doh want that going over into 2010.

The wait continues...

• Attended launch of Tribe's 2010 presentation - check
• Found myself in Tribe's mascamp to view the costumes up close and personal - check
• Noticed the price preview for Tribe's 'Threads of Morocco' section - check
• Read Sauce's Spice price listing (try saying that three times quickly!) - check

....and now the wait is on for the prices of the rest of Tribe's 2010 presentation.

As I mentioned somewhere before, each year I expect up to a 20% increase.

Which means I expect Tribe's backline prices to average just about $3700 (based on ALB's 2009 base price of $3150). Of course with bigger headpiece options, tankinis, collars, and of course if yuh go FL, den I think expect anywhere over $4500 minimum (and that's being very very conservative)!!

Soooo let's see how far off I am.

p/s:- I defintely agree with Jumbie, Mulberry is growing on me :-)

TRIBE 2010 - Secret of the Silk

Aight so TRIBE's 2010 launch has come and gone, and I am underwhelmed by the costumes.

Mind you, if ah playing it'll most likely be with TRIBE (as in like 90% positive), but seriously I was not AWED by the costumes.

The entrance: Nicely decorated, as it always is for a TRIBE launch...lots of themed cushions, pots, pillows, swathes of cloth. All very Oriental and Silk-themed. What's with the Digicel-thai dancers? Like the fans, wish I had one.

The layout: hmmm, a change from the norm, and that stage is SOOOO high! How people gonna take pics? Sooo many bars, nice :-)

The presentation: Like the idea of a little background, done by video(?), not sure 'cause from my position at the side of the stage I could not see :-( Costumes were paraded by models who did an ok job of showcasing the costume, they posed for pics, walked to both sides of the stage and posed in groups as well as individually. My only issue with the presentation: please please please someone tell these folks that they need to SLOW DOWN on that stage. Us folks in the audience are trying to take in the costume, but when yuh in a rush like that we almost get whiplash from having to spin in different directions trying to get pics.

The costumes: What can I say that hasn't already been said? check Sauce's review and Carnival jumbie's review. Don't really have much to add to those reviews, they pretty much said it all.

Do I regret attending the launch even though the pics were leaked? Nope, needed to see those costumes in motion in order to really appreciate them...especially since the lighting is not the best in some of those pics.

My favs in the lineup (backlines of course): Osage (hands down my absolute favourite), Mystery of Loulan (something about the colour combination), Xi Ling Shi (recylced Cotinga beads et al!!) , Tyrian Purple aaaand Mulberry is growing on me. Carmeuse is aight, but I wouldn't wear it.

My picks if I played FL or Individual: Mystery of Loulan (I would camp out in order to be able to register to play as the Super/Premium version!!), Xi Ling Shi (the cape of feathers, the dip-dyed cloth trailing to the ground, yep sooo would play in this), Osage (all those gorgeous feathers!) and surprise surprise Habotai (d corset version though)

So that's my opinion on Tribe's 2010 Presentation 'Secret of Silk'.

Since I've already heard that BL downpayment is $1500, I patiently await full costume prices...and hope that I am able to register in one of the sections that I picked.

p/s:- The pic is from http://www.trinidadcarnivaldiary.com/.

And the countdown is on...

With Spice's launch showcasing some pretty decent costumes, I eagerly await Tribe's launch dis Saturday.

3 days to go!

Money, money, money

Root of all evil or not...money is a necessity.

Unless you live completely off the land, and off-the-grid, money is required to do jsut about anything and everything in today's life.

Why am I posting about this? Well I am at a point where I have to make a decision.

Do I play mas, or do I reallocate the money saved for Carnival to something else in my life?

I have expenses @ home that are making me wonder if I should ever spend another cent on anything other than the house. Eat out? Go shopping? egads...every cent spent on items other than for the house makes me feel sooo guilty.

Plus to top it off, I really really would like to resume studies next year. Yes ah knnow there's GATE and HELP to offset costs, but those things cover mostly only tuition. Ah still have to live dammit!

Sooo I am in confused. What to do? What to do?!!

p/s:- enjoy the pic of one of the cutest puppies ever!

I Live...

Hey all..just a quick note to let you all know that I'm still alive.
Just occupied with work, and other stuff.

I hope to resume regular blogging in the weeks to come.

Take care all

Until later.

REVLON Warehouse Sale...the Aftermath!

Let's see: We got there about 9.30am (yep I know, for a warehouse sale that was scheduled to start at 9am that was late) and saw a bunch of ladies (and a couple guys) standing about outside the gates. Inside looked like chaos! After about 15 mins or so, amid shouts and not so pleasant demands the gates opened and it was a mad rush.
There were signs but geez! It was stress and pressure to get to the front to see what was on the tables at all. Many people resorted to just picking up handfuls of items then stepping away and sorting. So after going thru the tables for face (why weren't there shades deeper than medium-deep?), lips, eyes, hair, skin and toiletries I reviewed my bag and headed to cash.

Cashing was an adventure all by itself.

One line devoted to cash sales only. About 6 lines for cash/linx/credit cards. And an express line for 1 to 10 items only. Sounds painless huh? There you would be soooooooo sooooooooooooo wrong. I was in line for almost 2 entire hours from 10:30 till I cashed at about 1pm…wait that’s more than 2 hrs! My bill for about 14 items inclusive of a body spray and body lotion was TT$307.

Summary: Next time, I reaching about an hour before the gates open. Will also work in tandem with someone so we’ll take turns in the line…one of us will join the line while it’s still short i.e. less than 20 people, while the other continue shops or sorts out.

Some suggestions for the organizers:

logistics

• another entrance/exit is needed.
• try for somewhere cooler or have those cool-air fans
• distribute water…it would be appreciated

display

• it was nice having clear signs for face, skin, lips etc. However it would be nice to have signs for the different lines in the various categories like color stay, Almay etc

cashing

• More cashiers!!
• More cashiers!!!
• More cashiers!!!!

security

• 2 people checking handbags, SORRY skimming the contents of handbags, at a sale like this is ludicrous. Be very very grateful that most trini women are honest, ‘cause it would have been ridiculously easy to slip a lipstick, a couple mascaras and a bottle of nailpolish in the inner pocket of a handbag or slip an item in a jeans pocket and walk out unnoticed.
  
  Would I go again? about 90% certain that I would.

Reface me...

I stumbled across this site this morning...Reface.me
According to their site "...Starting now there are two sites you'll need to visit every day to get your daily Facebook fix. reface.me is your source for all things FB, but we've just started so check back regularly for updates."
Since I am not an addict or obsessive about checking Facebook, not sure now much use I'll make of this site.

Time will tell. Check it out.

aaaand I'm back!

..yeah right, I'm sure not many people even realised that I was gone in the first place.

Not much to report though.
I'm back out from a 10 working day which translated into 14 actual days. They weren't all that restful but I wouldn't trade those days for anything. Next time I'll try actually planning those days and not just letting them come as they may.

Saw this post on Sauce's blog and it's great that her blog is being noticed and appreciated for what it is. Yay Sauce...get on!

Looking forward to band launching season which should be upon us in a couple mths or so...sweet!

Quick Update

Hello peoples. Haven't posted anything for a while, so a quick wrap up of goings-on:

• On my first official vacation in quite sometime. Not quite sure what to do with myself though. Been running around doing tonnes of things that I've not been able to do whilst working, but I'm hoping to get at least one or two beach days in!
• Had a physical recently and the results almost put me into major depression. Suffice it to say I need to make some major diet changes. And work in some exercise....did half hour of low-intensity cardio this afternoon..yay me!
• Have to do some car shopping...yep, yep. Need to gets me a new automobile. Now its just to get my a$$ in gear (whoops, no pun intended LOL!), go do some test drives and make a decision

That's it for now...hope I can write someting more cheery soon.

People with waaaaay too much time on their hands...

A fake Facebook page for God circulated a couple months ago (it may have been circulated before but I got it in email then aight!).
Now the folk at Msn tech & gadgets have done fake pages for other people.

Check 'em out.

TRIBE email: "C2K9 Thank you....Journey into 2010"

This is just one of the things that I like about TRIBE.
Acknowledgment that without people, they would be nothing.
It may be nothing more than just good P.R., but yuh know what ... it works! And it makes a difference.

Thanking you for 2009…
Journeying into 2010

To some, Carnival 2K9 is a distant fond memory of a Rollin' Road Party. To others, it's the beginning of a new journey venturing into new and undiscovered lands.

Once again, we would l like to extend our sincere THANK YOU for 'flocking together' and bringing our 2009 presentation of "Birds of a Feather" to life on the streets of Port-of-Spain. Without you, our Masqueraders, Sponsors, Service Teams, Volunteers, Committee Members, Family and Friends, we would have never taken flight. We could not have asked for a better 5th anniversary gift than your continued support. It was our pleasure providing you with

The Ultimate Carnival Experience, and hope that our impromptu Las' Lap was enjoyed by all.

We continue to be an innovative team that appreciates and understands the importance of your feedback, opinions and expectations. TRIBE continues to strive to provide new and exciting ideas and to make every moment, the most memorable.

2010 will be the year of discovery, where we follow a path to find new people, new cultures and new destinations. Our dedicated design team is in full creative mode and have already begun to bring their designs to life, and promises to make the journey well worth it!

MAS CAMP OPENING HOURS

Please note that our mas camp will be closed from

Wednesday 1st April to Monday 20th April 2009.

Our regular opening hours are:

Monday - Friday from 12 noon to 5p.m.

We are closed on weekends and public holidays.

Next...

Carnival 2009 has come and gone.
Faye-Ann Lyons-Alvarez created history by winning both soca Monarch titles, the Peoples Choice award and the Road March crown all while eight months pregnant. She then went on to complete her eventful February by having her baby on the last day of the month, or was it on the first day of March? In either case, she has had a 2009 Carnival season that tops most everyone elses.

Soooo... what's next?
Well, I'm back in the gym from tomorrow.
Did not get to the gym nearly as often as I should have for all of 2008 into January 2009 and it showed. My apologies to all who had to look at my out of shapeness on Carnival Tuesday. I just did not bother any more. No excuses, nothing...will be dragging my a$$ to the gym and doing my absolute best to matinain a minimum three-day-a-week attendance for the remainder of 2009 (Will be monitoring this and reporting on my attendance...hopefully).

Other than that it's Carnival tabanca, and the patient wait till band-launching season.

Carnival 2009 - review

My review of everything Carnival 2009-related that I can recall.

Fetes

1. Amnesia - as per my review it was great. Not fantabulous as in previous years but memorable. IP has to go back to the drawing-board with regards to the food distribution, but other than that it has always been a great fete. Rating 4 out of 5.
   
2. WITCO ONE fete - what can I say about ONE fete that hasn't already been said. This was a FANTABULOUS, glorious fete! Can you tell that I had a blast? I love this fete. tickets were a lil difficult to obtain (thank you, thank you Q and S) but other than that this is a fete that I think will remain a fixture on my fete list...at least unless the price puts it completely out of my budget! Rating 4.5 out of 5 (it loses the half point 'casue the bathroom area could have been better maintained!)
   
3. MovieTowne's Fiesta Plaza show - this was surprisingly good. We went the night Ventures performed. They are a band that seems to be suited to this type of thing. They did covers of lots and lots of current and past soca and calypsoes. Hits from Kitchener, Sparrow, etc, etc. They also did lots of non-Carnival related songs...all in all a pretty decent performance. and it was free to boot :-)
   
4. Army - this is a fete that needs to be experienced to understood. Yuh either in General, or in V.VIP rubbing shoulders with the Defence Force top brass and other dignitaries OR yuh in the limbo of whatever they chose to call the in-between section (this year it was VIP). Marked difference in behaviour in the various areas...in general, people were removed bodily if even a lil scuffle broke out. People in VIP had to pay for drinks and food on top of the cost of the ticket...in V.VIP no tickets were purchased AND no money had to be spent for nothing! I think I went to this fete with like $20 in mih pocket. The performances are also usually decent at this fete...marked exception being KMC (dude u need to learn to perform!!!). My in depth review. Rating 3.5 out of 5
   
5. AC 7 - not a fete people. This is a concert...a looooooooong concert! Lots of performances, lots and lots of lags in between. If yuh not willing to be on yuh feet for the duration head to the stands. Rating 3.5 out of 5
   
6. TriniPosse - the cooler fete to end all cooler fetes. If yuh used to go Pier 1 cooler fete on Carnival Friday nite before it became a teenie-bopper thing (yes ah showing mih age dammit!!!) and like yuhself..this is d fete for you. Tickets ranged in price from $240 d early-bird price, to $500 from d usual scalpers. Walk with yuh own drinks, as much or as little as yuh want, yuh crew (at least 2 fellas if yuh cooler gonna b packed), eats, cups, a plastic bag (to keep ur area clean at least) and yuh set. Just make sure d coller gets there before 10:30 else it not getting it. Rating 4 out of 5. It loses points this year 'cause of part of HD's performance... HD come better dan dat nah, yuh cyah b berating d police (no matter yuh personal opinion) for doing their job.
   

Mas Experience - TRIBE

1. Costume Collection - easy. Get to Cascadia around 1:30pm in a slight drizzle. From the various moves between waiting room 1, holding area 2, balance payment area to costume collection area I was amazed at the efficiency. We were done by 2:15pm...and this included a return by me to collect d forgotten collar! Impressive!
2. Monday Experience - always great. No costume to bother yuh head about, just pure inhibited fun. We were on d road from about 12:30pm (TRIBE was crossing d Savannah 'stage') till about 7:30pm when TRIBE got back to Stanmore Ave. We parked on Sweet Briar Rd, which made it really easy to get into and out of Port-of-Spain...hopefully I can do this again next year.
3. Tuesday Experience - Woke up around 5-ish. Bathed, dressed, put on sun-block, then had my mom do my make-up. She did a good job 'cause even at the end of the day my makeup was still there! Thanks mom muahhh :-) Anyways we got into Port-of-Spain around 8-ish, walked to Sweet Briar Rd again to meet up with a friend, then met the shuttle @ Stanmore. We were taken to where the band was on Charlotte St and the rains came!! Cold rain, before ah even jump a lil bit is not fun at all. Got d first of many Johnny and coconut water and we roamed. And roamed., and roamed. The only time I can safely say I was with my section was when we were crossing the 'stages'. Chipped, danced, took pics with various people (will send u your pics Sauce), and had a time heading to d savannah. The we crossed that non-stage...felt great. Met up with even more people, very glad that I put wrist-straps on my skirt 'cause there were minor mishaps with some with those skirts. Then it was on to the rest-stop. That rest stop is now TOO small for the band. there was major spill-over into streets around the square. And the rain...Jumbie mentioned it in her review and I tend to agree, TRIBE should think of using one of those massive tents the expos use and have those big a$$ fans all-over pumping in cool breeze. Believe me, masqueraders will be soooo grateful you'll have their loyalty for that lil effort alone! We didn't even bother with seeking shelter during the downpour andmy headpiece looked awful aftter the rain (it's recovered nicely now though). When the rain finally subsided and the band started moving on around 2-ish, we decided to look for other bands...other than Harts and Elements, where d hell was everybody else? IP I learned was on Park/Charlotte Sts, and had been there for sometime. Kaotic where were u? Spice? Pulse 8? Dream Team? We rejoined the band when they turned west onto Tragarete Rd just before d oval and continued the party down Pole Carew, east along Ariapita, north along Edward until TRIBE's trucks turned back onto Stanmore. Stayed with the trucks till mom etc found us, then headed home. Got home around 9-ish..and could not sleep. Thank God I was home Ash Wednesday.

SummaryI had a great time for Carnival 2009. Did not attend as many fetes as I usually do (4!!! I usually hit like 10 or something!) but still had a blast at those that I did attend. Army was d only slightly social one, and that cuase we were in V.VIP. I've learned that there will be limited feting with certain people, 'cause I do not like to be made to feel like a 3rd wheel especially if I did not want to be there in the first place. I can have a blast with only one or two people with me, and partying with an entire crew at Carnival time can be limited to cooler fetes (too much drama trying to synchronise more than 5 people for one fete..geez!)

So will I be on the road next year? That remains to be seen... if it happens it will almost defintely not be with IP (ah not going back there...twice bitten, a million times shy). TRIBE? hmmmnnn...if the band remains at this size then nope! Spice.../ Kaotic.../someone else. Who knows? We'll see what happens.

Looking forward to Carnival 2010.

It's done ...

Carnival 2009 is finsished. Over, completed, passed...sigh!

Had a blast on the road, both Monday and Tuesday.

Began developing issues with my toe nail on Monday, so ended up wearing totally different shoes on Tuesday. Have a least one blister from where the collar of my costume rubbed, and seems as though my skin has reacted to being exposed to people and their sweat. But all in all these aftereffects are tolerable.

Will do a more complete review some other time.

Looking forward to Carnival 2010.

2009 NLCB/bMobileSoca Monarch Results

The results are in:

• Groovy Soca Monarch - Faye-Ann Lyons-Alvarez
• People's Choice - Faye-Ann Lyons Alvarez

...aaaaand

• Power Soca Monarch - Faye-Ann Lyons Alvarez

What a feat...all three crowns, the million dollar pot AND she's eight(8) months pregnant to boot!!!

Women Rule! whooo hooo :-)

Update - TRIBE's starting points

For all those who have already collected your TRIBE costume , please note the change in starting point for Tuesday:

PARADE STARTING POINT

CARNIVAL MONDAY: STANMORE AVE. START 10:30AM

CARNIVAL TUESDAY : STANMORE AVE. START 7:30AM

Repeated on Sauce's blog as well

2009 Valentine weekend recap

Whew ..what a weekend I had.
Started with Army fete on Friday night into Saturday morning, ended with rain, LOTS and LOTS of rain. Collected my costume and went AC7 as well.

Let's start at the beginning:

Army Fete: d safest fete in d world!
We got there around 10.30ish, entered via the entrance opposite TGIF around d savannah. Parked and then proceeded north and then east across the STAGE!! Yes people dat stage is there...it's not nearly as big as the previous ones, but who gives a SH!T..I just hope it dere come Carnival Monday and Tuesday eh...
This is either my third or fourth year going this. VIP or V.VIP, doesn't matter...it's a comp, so I not fussy once I didn't have to pay for the ticket. Oh an' as long as its not in general...dat crowd lil too big and boisterous for me.
An elevated platform viewing area...unobstructed view of the stage. Bar stools and chairs set up to allow for dining under the stars.
Corn coup, wings, bar-b-q, macaroni salad, bar-b-q pork, and other dishes that I didn't sample. Tents setup for if yuh wanted to sit under shelter (very very useful cause it started drizzling into the night). Lots and lots of drinks, I sipped on Alize all night :-)
Ok moving on from mih belly... d performances, can't recall the order of all eh so I'll just mention d ones that stood out for any reason. Iwer mash up as usual, Supa Jigga needs to stop wearing tights, some trini-dancehall artisite (didn't get his name), they all came on with KMC who in my opinion still needs to learn how to do a proper LIVE performance. He sounds sooo much better on CD or on d radio.
Destra: was clothed for a change and looked good. Decent act, but for her 'Obsessive Winers' song Saucy wasn't there...why even bother performing it. Allison Hinds did her part well, but let's see here: Destra backside vs. Allison backside or Saucy's backside moving skills...come come Destra, yuh not even in dat race!! Destra and her band did aight...1st time I saw her perform live for the season so not bad at all. NB:- Saucy did come on by herself a lil later on.
Faye Ann, Bunji, Benjai, Scarface all came on with Asylum. 3suns also came on, and almost took over d act from Bunji et al. An honorary thing was given to Supa Blue, and I give him credit for attempting to perform a lil somethin' with Faye Ann...but to jump to the other part of a stage..after it had drizzle. Not well though out at all. Den to even suggest dat Faye Ann join yuh?! All in all good performance..it went on a lil too long though.
There were random acts thrown in like Crazy (?why?), Hunter and a couple others.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

AC7
What can I say about AC7 that hasn't already been said by other reviewers? It's a Machel concert when it all boils down to the nitty gritty. It started with Karma (missed most of that performance though), went on to have Ventures (who you should see perform alone..they're quite decent) with Benjai and Scarface (those two again!), up next was Shurwayne and Y.O.U. then d healine Machel Montano HD. It was all in all TOO LONG! I got bored waiting for Shurwayne to perform, then got bored again 'cause his performance just kept going on...den during HD's performance I kept thinking geez when is it gonna end.
For a show/concert dat I was not soo interested in attending in d first place, it was aight. not fabulous, not bad. And as for all d drama with MM and SW...I would have had a tiff with SW as well...just not in public as HD did.
Notice I made no mention of either food or drinks: nuff said!
Rating: 3 out of 5

Costume Collection: TRIBE - African Lovebird
Still had a balance to pay off, so we did our best to get there early. We made it by 1:30pm..not bad, not bad. Waited for a few mins under d tent in d car park, then was called in to the waiting area. Called to go pay, then collection of costume. Almost forgot about d collar for mih costume..had to go back to get it. We were out of there by about 2:15pm or so.

Jamboree
Doh laugh...dat's where I was supposed to be on Sunday evening (Ended up going movies instead LOL). Of course by now you know dat it was first psotponed to 2009-02-16, then a further update was sent out. It's been post-poned to Carnival Saturday 2009-02-21. Same time, same place. Nope I won't be there... Sorry!


What's in store for this week...God alone knows. Did my hair yesterday, it took sooooooooo long! But I likes it :-)

2009 Costume Distribution

For the IP masqueraders...it is out.
Seems slightly compressed, and to me a couple days are gonna be lil congested with sooo mnay sections collecting on the same day. And I really hope no-one needs to do any alterations on their costume 'cause that schedule leaves little to no time to make arrangements for that, unless IP doing alterations on the spot. But the important thing is that the schedule is out.

As for TRIBE...I was @ Cascadia yesterday. My costume is out for distribution on Sunday February 15th 2009, but dread I want mih costume now!!! The ones that I saw last night were gorgeous!! *sigh* Waiting..but not so patiently LOL

Hopes dashed ...

My hopes for parading on the 'Big Stage' by d Queen's Park Savannah Carnival Monday and Tuesday have been dashed... *sigh*

*sniff, sniff* gonna go cry some some looong tears now, and then continue the mental and physical preparations for 2009 Carnival!

D Stage is back...

...or is it?

After complaining bitterly of not having a stage to cross on by the Savannah on Carnival Monday and Tuesday for the past two years (2007 and 2008), when I saw this blog entry by Wining Kriminals I was pleased, sceptical, and more than a little wary.

Went and checked out the article and sure amidst all the items mentioned this line stood out "...The stage is complete. It is 136 by 60 feet, which excludes the ramps which are 50 by 60 feet each..." Is it true?! Did it survive Panorama semis?? Anyone went Pan semis???

Need confirmation of if it'll actually be used... doh want to get all excited and happy for nothin'.

Picture coutesy Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday.

Distribution Schedule - TRIBE

African LoveBird collection is on February 15th 2009, 1pm to 6pm @ Cascadia.

No cheques or crdit cards accepted.

p/s:- So, how come an email did not go out before this??


Edited to add: TRIBE's website is now updated with this schedule.

Commess in d place

Commess University
Stumbled across this website that's written apprently by a former student of Holy Name Convent Secondary (mih ol' high school). I presume she graduated before me, because of some items of history that she mentions experiencing back when I would have been like four(4) an' ting.

Anyways, take a read.
Once you get over the fact that EVERYTHING is written in dialect then you're ok.

It's interesting.

2009 Carnival update..part 2

Another update, this time not good news.

Due to the economic climate in the US one of my cousins has had to make the painful decision to not play mas for 2009. This hurt her tremendously as this would have been her first year being here for Carnival. Just a couple weeks ago she was sooo excited about coming in and even had her flight booked and stuff. At this time though, with her job in jeopardy she won't be here. To say I'm bummed about that is an understatement.

Another casualty is my brother. This would have been his first year 'officially' playing mas. He's always on the road with us (his sisters), or with his friends. He actually decided to play for 2009. But due to the timing of payments for his studies he is not able to play this year either.

This news sucks a$$...

Carnival update...

So after seeing Saucy's post on Tights in stock I set off for Micles, Price Plaza yesterday.
That was an exercise in patience. Usually there are soooo many sales staff on the floor you have to keep politely tell them to take a hike. Yesterday was a whole other story...I spent almost five (5) entire minutes trying to locate a sales person.
After that the process of identifying colour, which by now I should know right? Anyways, colour determined...BTW my colour is salmon, size determined using that chart on the back of one of the display packs, then it was to locate my size in the stock. That was nerve-wracking.

• Plus size normal tights - salmon: lots and lots of pairs!!! All too big for me
  
• Normal tights - salmon in large: none
• Low waist tights - salmon in large: none
• Low wait tights, toeless - salmon in large: four pairs

I bought two(2) pairs. One for Monday maybe, defintely one for Tuesday.

Tights - check!

ONE fete - the aftermath

I went WITCO's ONE fete on Saturday night.
This is only my second time going this fete so I'm not a die-hard loyalist, but I'd heard about it for years from friends. The plan was to reach for between 5:30pm and 6pm...ensure adequate time for browsing all the food options, sample what was on offer and doh forget find a decent parking space. All I have to say is that d plan did NOT come off. We never left home till like 6.25 or so, which meant we never reached the Oval till just before 7pm. (this time it was my fault so ah can't make too much noise about it).
Designated parking was supposed to be in King George the 5th park...i stress on the supposed, cause very very few brave souls parked in there. It was a muddy, swampy looking mess when we got there. We made a block around the Oval and parked on one of the side-streets just south of the Oval...and there were security guards on patrol. Quite a reassuring sight.

Entrance: The ticket had a lil note on it stating that you should fill out the information on the back. The big white tent at the entrance had signs reminding that if yuh doh fill out d information on the back of yuh ticket you would not be premitted to enter. The du Maurier ladies at the gate repeated the same thing...so why did trinis think that they would be able to get in without filling in the information on d back of dey ticket??? If all d info was already filled in then entry was a breeze, if yuh didn't, wellll yuh had a wait for the one or two pens that were floating around. They made no joke about that information! After that there were the du Maurier girls in their red tube dresses greeting patrons. Not sure if they were there to distribute tokens or what, but by the time we reached they were only greeting people "Welcome to ONE fete...hope you enjoy yourself"

Food: I'll change from the last time and mention food now. Options were many: Indian, Chinese, Arabian, West Indian, Spanish, Off the grill (yummmmm!!), Suckling Pig, Arabian (another one), desserts and the list goes on. The smells were great. No I did not partake of samples from all of those booths. One or two though, do deserve special mention.

• Off the Grill: I love ribs, I love barbeque, so barbeque ribs? I loved this booth!!
• Then there was the geera pork available @ the Indian deliccacies booth.
• Bake and Shark: I don't think this tent actually had a name but I dubbed it that cause that's what was on offer. Felt like I was @ Maracas with all the toppings available. Bake and shark was great, mango chutney, chadon beni (sp?), tamarind sauce as toppings...I need nothing else!

Drinks: OMG!! The assortment was mind-boggling. Weren't dedicated booths as in Amneisa but most everything was available. Bar services was by Angostura bar so of course the Angostura Cocktail bar was there. As a many time attendee of Triniscene's Cocktails I did not bother to try any of the cocktails available, but from the crowd that was around that bar it was a hit! I reaquainted myself with Uncle Johnny and his companion coconut water and had a nice buzz going for the night.

Performances: Even though we reached the time we did, we apparently did not miss any performances. Not necessarily in order and as I recall them:

• First on stage was the Synergy soca star contenstant Chinee. Since his tune is the only one I hear outside of the show I presume that he is the most popular. Entertaining performance...one that should be seen.
• Next up was KES with Nadia Batson. A solid performance all round, with Eclectik performing sort of as an intermission so that Kes could do a quick wardrobe change and allow for a change in pace. Just so yuh know there is a local verson to "Rum and roti".
• The Red Man group. Yes yuh read that right...direct from Las Vegas the group that's been performing with Le Cirque du Soleil. Steupsssss! And they came on just before the headlining acts ...ALL the headlining acts. Steupssssssssss again! Could have done without this. Suffice to say their act was not well received, people used the time for bathroom braks, drink runs, to locate teir crew etc etc
• Hunter: the guy of "yuh could bring it in a bottle" fame, and now of "Jep sting" fame. Dis guy can entertain. He came on stage by himself and mash up d place.
• The Asylum Family: Bunji, Fay Ann, Benjai, Scarface et al. Last weekend their performance was overshadowed by the placement and they seemed slightly tired. This weekend though wow! Only downer to their performance Bunji did NOT perform his road-march contender (my personal pick) 'Clear D Road'. Faye Ann was great, pregnant and all :-) Bunji had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hands!
• Machel and HD: Machel (in a silver/white Armani Exchange T-shirt and pants combo), Farmer Nappy (in a bright yellow something!), Zan (in a red and yellow get-up), Patrice Roberts and Benjai. Yes folks Benjai will be performing with both the Asylum Family AND Machel HD. A lil duet was done with Machel and Benjai, after which Machel said "All d media people asking mih questions...yuh see dis doh ask mih bout this!". It's Machel HD, so the energy was amazing! I think that 'Rave' has serious mash up road potential, cause it causes mayhem when it's performed! Liking the effect of the glow sticks and nitrogen fog during that performance...cooling effect if nothing else. The backup dancers deserve mention cause they perform some pretty amazing feats...and there are a couple 'thickies' in the mix :-)
• Rachel Price: she was d MC...I am not a fan. I heard that she'd lost weight, and yes she did. She's almost half her original size, BUT it's not all firm! nuff said.

After seeing Kes' performacne from just about half way between the stage and the bars, I was coerced, dragged whateveh up in front the stage. So my experience of Machel, Bunji etc was from right up under d stage!! When the performances were done I was soaked from the skin out...this is the way to experience a fete. It counts as a workout if it's done like that LOL! But I need to get flat, closed toe-shoes though.

So anyways, even though I lost both sets of people I was supposed to be liming with, I had a blast at ONE fete. The only down to this night, other than that Red Man group, was the puddles of water, and occasional mud patches near the bathrooms from the earlier rain.

All in all rating 4.5 out of 5.

Amnesia: 4 out of 5

So what's the next fete?

• 2009-01-31: Wicked in white (50% poossibility)
• 2009-02-13: Army (70% poossibility...BUT no comps then this drops to 0%)
• 2009-02-15: Jamboree (80% possibility)
• 2009-02-21: Tini Possee (50% possibility)

Chocolate and Caramel.. things that make you go mmmm...

I just love IP's description/narration of their 'Chocolate and Caramel' chapter of their 2009 presentation.

Suddenly my life crashes into someone else's, our paths cross one time too many...I find myself intertwined with a stranger I pass everyday… till now..."Hi"...was all it took...things coming together for reasons we sometimes can't see in the now...two things combined to add flavour to life's sweetness and bitterness...nevertheless I am living a life where two is sometimes better than one...it's the pleasure and comfort of unification...ahh… chocolate and caramel…the ultimate pair, the perfect bond of pure excitement...one small but precious taste of heaven's nectar.

TRIBE makup options

For those of you that follow the Carnival blogs, will know of Carnival Jumbie's post yesterday and then The Sauce's post today.

I saw both, and being an advocate of "yuh never know unless yuh ask"...I emailed the artist about make up options for African Love bird. Yesterday I was politely but firmly told that " Right now i haven't received many requests for African LoveBird. If i receive a few more i will definitely do it . I will keep you posted". Cool...no problem, at least I got a response.
Sometime today I got another email from the artist stating " I have decided to do a package as I have received many requests. I will send pictures as soon as i put it together." Seems that there have been multiple requests since my own request yesterday.

However it happened... YAY!!! Can't wait for those pics :-)


p/s:- The pic is courtesy www.carnivaltribe.com

It has begun!

First off...Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to ME!!!

Aight on to the business at hand: I went Amnesia yesterday. After Island People cancelling amnesia in 2008, when I heard that this was back on for 2009 I planned to be there. I think I only missed the first year or two of this fete. It has always been good. And this year was no exception.
We reached about 7ish, yes yes ah know lil late...but say what we reach! We heard from a friend who was already there that the food distribution was a lil different, but that the drinks were spectacular. Sooo with that as our warning we aprked and entered.
Entrance: The 'Arrive Alive' people were there to greet you, asking who was the driver cause they'll be doing random breathalyser tests when the party dun. Didn't drive so I walked on by. Decor was not as spectacular as previous years. Pretty lights. Lots of promotional items at the entrance, dancing characters in masks an' ting. Decent, decent.

Drinks: wow! Lots and lots of bars. Margarita station, Baileys station, Jose Cuervo station, wine station...etc, etc Then there were the other bars for other drinks like the Hypnotiq, Johnny, non-alcoholic stuff, water of course and the list goes on. I was introduced to a drink (new to me) Smirnoff, Crnberry and Sprite...try it.

Food: WTF was IP thinking?! Ok I understand that is 2009, economy on the downturn etc, etc. But yuh charge people $495 if they bought their tickts early, God alone knows what yuh charged those who bought tickets late or bought from scalpers. At that price I expect lots of options. Food was served on trays by some 'servers' who seemed to think they were in some sort of 50m dash! by the time yuh notice that someone bringing out a tray, they zoom on by you and yuh left with just d wafting scent of something delicious passing by! Not cool, not cool. So trinis, being trinis positioned themselves close to where the servers were emerging and mobbed the 'servers' as they were coming out. Drama. Not impressed at all.

Performances: Ah said we reached about 7ish, which meant that we missed the first performance Kes. Means I'll have to catch them perform at some other fete. But we did see Machel HD and The Asylum family. All I have to say about Machel HD is WOW!!!! That man is amazing on stage...the energy, the vibe, each year is something different and this year well you have to experience it. Asylum family is always a hit. Faye Ann looks great as an expectant mum and for all you detractors "She is PREGNANT...NOT SICK!!"

So all in all Amnesia was a great first fete to bring on Carnival 2009.

Looking forward to the next one.

What's going on with domain names?

Yes I love Tech Republic's Geek Trivia...and this seriously reveals my nerd-tendencies :-)

that said, you MUST read this Master of your (top level) domain!

It has begun

Happy New Year people...All the best for 2009!!

In less than two(2) months it'll be Carnival Monday. If you haven't already made your list of things that are to be done, DO IT NOW!!

So far I'm planning to be at two(2) fetes over the next couple weekends (God willing): Amnesia on Jan 11th and ONE fete on Jan 18th. Total cost to attend these: $1100TT...I'll give you a moment to absorb that...They are both all-inclusives, and usually quite good, but waaaaaay that is a lot of money. Sooo if I don't see anyone till the week just before Carnival please understand. At this rate I'll probably attend a cooler fete and one other fete and fete budget DONE.

Bring on Carnival...I can see that people are gonna have to be innovative/creative finding ways to enjoy themselves this Carnival without breaking the bank. I look forward to seeing some of that famed trini creativity.