Post-Thanksgiving Hangover

Post Thanksgiving trip to NYC breakdown:

• Drunken shenanigans
• Breaking Dawn Part 1
• Bar hopping...with my Moms
• Bad news - no - the WORST news
• No sleep
• Friendly arguments
• Family
• Friends
• Tantrums

Let's start with the trip.  Mom and I had to get up at 4am to be at the airport by 6 to make our 7am flight.  The flight was short - which is good - but I felt like a zombie the whole time.  That is, until I got some food and booze in me.
Thanksgiving was a total riot!  I loved it!  I had so much fun with the New York crew and I would love to do it again!  One of the (many) highlights was the photo booth my step-sister did!  I wish I had posed with her and my Mom and my aunt and uncle but it was really hectic and I'm surprised everyone made it up there for a photo in the first place!
As the night wore on, I got into what I thought was a friendly argument with one of the cousins about movie directors.  He took it seriously.  I took it drunkenly.  And I liked it because he was SO upset.  The argument started rooted in the truth: I'm not a Von Trier or Aronofsky fan and my love for the industry came from short form music video and experimental videos.  One of the (many) music video directors I rattled off happened to be McG, which brought up the topic of the Charlie's Angles movie franchise.  How on Earth could I use this to my advantage?  Of course!  Say that McG can get better performances from his actors than, say, another least favorite director of mine: Quentin Tarantino.  So he's not my fave director.  SUE ME.
ANYWAYS - the argument got so heated, even though it was obviously (or so I thought) a joke that we had to call it a night.  At 2am-ish.
No sleep night number 1.
Friday was fun.  No hangover, more leftovers than you could shake a stick at and plans for Breaking Dawn Part 1.  I almost said I didn't want to do it because we'd be bar hopping with some of the kids from the night before but after an attempt at a disco nap, I decided "What the hell.  Why not".  After the movie, we asked the Moms if they wanted to join us - to which they said YES.
We headed over to the Stonewall Inn for some gay pride action but all we saw were some hot bodied dancers and people gettin' sleazy in every dark corner of the club.  AWKWARD.  Especially when you're with your MOM.  Next, we went to Fat Cats - which was the hipsteriest of all the hipster places I've been to and you know what?  I liked it!  It was HUGE!  There were ping pong tables, couches, chess tables, beer pong tables (I think) and there was live music!  It was a great place!  The only downside is that they don't serve liquor.  We had to ask for more sake (wtf) in our cocktails to feel the buzz but it didn't matter.  That place was really great!  I highly recommend it!  It was at Fat Cats that I discovered my Moms enjoy PBR and Miller High Life.  WTF?!  Bizarro!!
After that, we hit up this piano bar that started out wack but the drinks were really strong and after a shot of Patron, everything was pretty cool.
After last call (which is 3:30am in New York), we decided to hit up this Cuban diner for some greasy food.  They were playing techno and there was this guy in the booth next to us who started freestyling over the beat with things like "Put your hands up", "Everybody say 'Yeah'" and such and what do the Moms do?  They do it.  They started dancing and moving to what the dude was saying.  It was pretty freaking hilarious.
After that, we cabbed it home and walked in the door at 5am.  Yes, we partied with the Moms until 5am.  Hilarious!  Not so hilarious was the phone call, voicemail and text I got at 7:30am.
No sleep night number 2.
At 7:30am, my co-worker called me to tell me that we had lost a friend and fellow co-worker the night before.  Our buddy Tim, who had been in Memphis to do a photo shoot, had passed away on Friday.  At first, I was still a little drunk and didn't really know how to process it.  As Michael told me the details he knew about what happened, I scooped up my little niece (who happened to be awake and wanted to know what I was doing in the studio) and started crying.  After a tearful conversation, I crawled back into bed with my other niece ans started crying some more.  She kept asking me what was wrong and I couldn't really bring myself to tell her - even though she's old enough to know.  Needless to say I didn't sleep after that and I was a zombie all day.  To keep my mind off of things, I went with the family to the High Line - which was beautiful but I was in such a daze that I didn't stop to take too many photos.  My aunt called and we talked a little but I didn't tell her about Tim because I didn't want to get upset.  Then we went to our favourite Puerto Rican restaurant: La Taza de Oro.  We also made a quick trip over to the Chelsea Market - which was awesome!  I had only ever seen it on TV so it was nice to see in person.  After that, we came home and packed for the two day road trip back.

It was a whirlwind of a trip!  It was a great time, as always, I just hate what happened to Tim.  I mean, what the fuck...I'll post more on that later.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday and please be sure to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you.  You never know what may happen

Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

Mermaid Parade - the videos!

As promised, here are the videos of the Mermaid Parade!

Part 1:


Part 2:


Here's an interesting ragtime (?) band we encountered on the boardwalk:


And here's the dance off! Sorry for the "Cloverfield"-type camera action. I had some pretty tall people to maneuver around...


I know I have some on my Canon PowerShot - I just have to look through my haul. Keep a look out for more!

Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

My New York trip - the photos

"The Path To Hell". A great way to start my flight.

BTW, this woman was clutching her barf bag during take off. I was a little worried...


In Sunset Park - my step-sister's neighbourhood


Great show at Tammany Hall! We were bar hopping around the East Village and stumbled into this really awesome place. Lots of fun! I definitely want to go back!
Check out a brief video from the show here.


This piece was on Broadway in SoHo. We spotted it on my quest for a gold rope necklace.


It's not a trip to NYC unless you've been to Little Italy! (Yes, I had amazing pizza, as usual)


My step-sister and me in our mermaid outfits before the Mermaid Parade


The iconic Wonder Wheel ferris wheel at Coney Island


Coney Island's parachute drop








We ran into Jesse and Courtney during our walk through the parade route!






I loved this girl's cute little necklace! I should've asked her about it but it seems easy enough to recreate with vinyl ^_^


Sheryl Yvette


I had only passed by Rockefeller Center in the past and on Sunday, we celebrated Father's Day with my step-brother in-law by eating at the Rockefeller Center Cafe which is where you normally see ice skaters during the winter. This is the closest I've ever been to Prometheus!


Mandatory photo of the iconic NBC Studios sign


Top of the Rock view


Top of the Top of the Rock


My niece checking out the view


The always gorgeous Saint Patrick's Cathedral - which we spotted from the Top of the Rock. I didn't realize it was right there!


Mandatory photo of the iconic Radio City Music Hall


Chandelier at Jacques Torres


I finally made it to a Jacques Torres store! I have always been a huge fan of Jacques Torres from his Food Network show days but I could never make it to his store in Dumbo BUT there was a store at Rockefeller Center and I totally spent a ton of money on his high end chocolates. I regret nothing! Every piece is like heaven. I wish I could live on his chocolates forever...

More photos and videos to come, I promise!!

Love and kisses,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

2011 Mermaid Parade

I try to go to New York at least once a year to see my nieces and this year, I was able to work in the Mermaid Parade.  Aaaactually, I kinda scheduled this trip around the Mermaid Parade since I have never been before and I will say - it's the BEST thing ever, besides NYC for Halloween (which I HIGHLY recommend).  But this trip was very special for another reason: I have done the most things I've ever done in NYC in the shortest amount of time.  Like, as soon as I got off the plane, we were off and running!  And it included my first ever karaoke experience (as a singer and not just a spectator).

First things first - let's talk about the Mermaid Parade. New Yorkers are so creative.  I mean, who thinks of a freaking Mermaid Parade?!  Brilliant!  It's quite the sight to see.  The costumes are original, people get all kinds of creative (including us!) and you never know who you might run into...

But because it's the Mermaid Parade, you have to watch out for the pervs taking advantage of photographing scantily clad women.  I get it - it's summer and hot and Mermaid-y but be aware of the pervs!  Okay - PSA over.

Speaking of photos, the parade is a great opportunity to capture a lot of creative New Yorkers.  Check out the Flickr Pool my step-sister started.  LOTS of great images and energy.  The people around us were giving us our own commentary - which was hilarious - and I feel like our spot on the fence we ended up getting was pretty good considering we left the house a little late.

After the parade, we made our way to the boardwalk.  I will admit, the first time I had ever been to Coney Island was about 4 years ago in August and it was the most depressing train ride and depressing time ever (for me, anyway) but I did get a hot dog from Nathan's (which I've been wanting to do) but still - it was kind of a sad trip, so I was kind of meh about the whole boardwalk experience...until we were up there, walking around the mermaids, pirates and costumed parade goers.  It was great!  We were running around taking photos of people we missed or didn't get a clear shot of, we ran into Sheryl Yvette (Bitch Cakes blog)

And dodged breaking glass.   Yes, New Yorkers are still feisty at the Mermaid Parade...

Aaaaaaanyways, the REAL party wasn't on the boarwalk though. Oh no. It was tucked away on a patch of asphalt where they usually have flea markets set up (apparently). The real party was the always entertaining dance circle that seems to happen in clubs (thought not so much anymore because people are too cool to dance). Yes, the dance circle. Most of the dancers within the circle were AMAZING. People were throwing it down and doing it hard - which made us think they were a bunch of kids going to school for dance.  Not surprising.  But it was inspiring.  As I recorded footage with my trusty Flip Cam (which really belongs to my Dad but I've held onto it the entire time), I spotted him.  He was like a shining light on the other side of the dance circle.  It was the one and only Benny Ninja.  You might know him from a little show called America's Next Top Model and you might know him as THE Vogue Master. I couldn't resist. We had to talk to him! Normally, I'm extremely star struck (as I was with Sheryl Yvette a few hours earlier) and I was afraid I was going to do / say something totally stupid but I didn't!  I actually didn't!  AND I have the photo to prove that I met Benny Ninja in all his fabulous glory!


I must say that both Sheryl Yvette and Benny Ninja were totally awesome about letting us take their photos. Actually, everyone was great about letting us take their photos! And I'm so glad we got amazing feedback for our own mermaid costumes! We were a little worried about leaving the house in such a small amount of clothing but it was totally worth it because we looked freaking amazing!

I hope to be able to experience the Mermaid Parade again soon. It was a really great time. If you all get a chance to go, DO IT!! It's awesome! If you can't make the parade, there's always Halloween!

Check out the Flickr Pool (and add stuff if you were there!) and I hope to have videos up very soon!

Love and kisses,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.