denver to dallas & back down...to corpus christi

it's been a long time - i shouldn't have left you -- without a funky blog to step to! give it up for RAKIM! even when im trying to be corny with a side of cool - his lyrics bring me thru. :)
whassup web fam. i feel like it's been a minute. my bad. just didn't have internet access during the weekend. let me 'xplain

sat:
after we checked into the embassy suites (crazy beautiful, crazy expensive)
after jive and fish walked through the doors and my world is so much better
after i realized how much i missed j walking in all shaved and beautiful...
after we head to the theatre just in time to rock an impromptu "dress rehearsal"
after we grab a bucket of hot wings (about 50) and movies from blockbuster
after breakfast (for free) i'm talking freshly made mushroom and cheese omelette
with a crazy buffet - that i just couldn't eat (unlike fish and jive)
after we have a poetry workshop - with a turnout of a WHOPPING 8 (love to the seattle slam team & who's this?)
after all dat -- we head to the theatre for our show
about 10 minutes late
why: because fish is starving -- so chipotle for everyone!
it's this mexican grill that is the truth, yo!
fish gets pork, chicken and steak something or other
jive gets some steak and chicken joint
i rock a chicken burrito - jessica eats something while driving
(crazily) to the theatre - now 25 minutes late
we sit and listen to a funky ass band call VEGAS WITCHCRAFT
niiiice

my girl, catherine from the spot, is there and the show
is a blast
i get a standing ovation
and leave the stage - prepared for jive to trump me
it's our ritual. we feed off each other's energy

there is a much better crowd than the night before.
and we rip it so hard - that we are ready for the reggae club
no such luck. jive and i head back to braid him up before he heads back to NYC
and i pack for dallas

sun:
i fell asleep on the plane before it even took off
tired as hell
can't feel my ankle so well
this life is serious
i finally make it to dallas
my phone has been on the blitz since seattle
now -- it can't hold a phone call for more than 5 minutes
if im lucky enough to get the call
mr guinn hits me to let me know he is 20 minutes away
i'm like -- whatever. sleep still crowds my space
but i trek over to the baggage claim
damn near dragging my bag of product - which has yet to lighten enough for me to walk
semi-normal
i make it to grab one piece of luggage, just to find out they lost the other
it's a box full of my books, sent from the publisher
it's a slight glitch in my matrix as i have a show in less than 5 hours
and only about 30 books.
i'm over it already
make my claim, head to meet mr guinn and meet the texas sun

ick. its so hot i forgot my damn name!
i try to buy a pair of slip ons for the benefit of rocking on stage
without the ankle brace, as in that beautifully lost bag -- is my new pair
of black leather slip on sandals. that doesn't work out... whateva

decide on eating and just sleepin' until the show
mr. guinn takes me to the motel 6
it is one of the wackest rooms i've ever seen:
-- the bathroom smells like old mop water
-- the bedspread has cigaretter burns all through it
-- the remote is missing
-- and the damn HBO channel is NOT working
i don't have the strength to call mr. guinn back and tell him the deal
so i lay - with my scarf and jacket under me
and sleep until 7
waking up to espn's poker tournament - my new fav -
i "wash" up get dressed and wait for my ride
a fellow Buckie (she taught me that ya'll) as she loves starbucks too!

we make it to 5th Ave and it's so beautiful
the two men running it are young brothers
with incredbible hospitality and the room is packed
after an extended open mic
i sit on the chair and try to evoke something
from my still fatigued body
it works. the crowd is electric with laughter
and i walk away with another standing ovation

afterwards, we head to downtown dallas
to catch the regional slam for Texas
just in time to say goodbye, i get to hug:
marcell murphy - houston, joaquin - dallas, rock baby - dallas, aj of ft worth, janene of ft worth and camisole is in the house! nice. stefan is also there, he is my ride and host for the next city

before long we are heading back to my rank motel where mr. guinn refuses to settle for just anything. he rushes to the front desk and explains to them with such conviction - i got shivers.
he argued "sir, do you know who this is? how can we as Texans offer anything below standard to such greatness?"

ok maybe not all dat - but he got me another room! lol and it was clean. and had a remote. and i watched my girl LADY LUCK aka ANNIE DUKE win 2 million dolla's while whopping those men'ses ass on the poker table
way to end an incredible evening

mon:
my lost luggage arrived in my sleep. yea! then stefan, gwynne and emily (corpus christi slam team) scoop me by noon and we are off on our 6 hour journey to CC. it takes us almost 7 and a half hours, as we took the scenic route. filled with the most beautiful lakes i've ever seen - i let my body fall in and out of consciousness as stefan plays his jazz collection. we eat dairy queen burgers - which are like BANGING with a blizzard ice cream and later - some junk food to finish the trip. i take pictures (like a tourist) of an alien spaceship burger stand -- will surely post later -- and before long we drive into the surprisingly big beach city of CC. we make it to the venue @ 730pm. the sign up list started at 7pm, so we are just in time. i open the set (odd) and hope the starbucks that stefan treated me to won't wear off. it feels like the most draining experience ever - next to childbirth, but not as painful. but its so fufilling. the audience is beautiful. and very energetic. after the slam, which i am a judge -- nice!, i follow with a closing set and soon sell out of books. during the course of the evening Tammi (fellow mother and teacher) and i giggle like girls as we sit and listen to Chuck, a slammer, read his Tweeter piece. it goes: my girl has a tweeter and i really love to eat her. i give him a 9.5 outta respect! lol
we retire after stefan has won (with a jazz poem, dedicated to me, which turns to some ice cream/sex/freak poem YOWSER!) and head back to his crib. tammi offers to bring breakfast and wine and i lean against the window watching the houses and stars blend again.