Drowning

Feels like I was trapped underwater all night
And I couldn't breathe
Drowning in hugs
Drowning in kisses
Drowning in love
Drowning in gifts
Drowning in romance
Drowning in fragrance
Exercising my patience
And I'm so glad that I'm finally up for air
I guess I love the ones who don't love me
And hate the ones that do
Life can be so unfair.

..:: IMUNURMe ::..

Wow! Did you just clutch your purse???

As if clutching your purse would keep me from getting it if I wanted
it! Ladies, let's be smart here. Demonstrating fear in this kind of
manner only escalates the situation. I may not have even been thinking
about your purse until you grabbed it.

Besides, who am I to be afraid of? Of course, I don't always look like
a rockstar, but I don't imagine I ever look like a thug. I mean, the
closest I get to that is a white tee and a pair of Howard University
sweats! Right now, I'm wearing fitted jeans, a fitted polo, and chucks.

All this is to say DON'T DO THAT!! It's offensive. If your purse is
gonna be taken, it's gonna be taken.... PERIOD! Thieves are not
gentlemen, silly!

..:: IMUNURMe ::..

The New Nightmare on Elm Street movie

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a huge scary movie fan! I'm not into unnecessary gore or monsters - gore is cheating, and monsters are just stupid - but an honest, scary, it-could-happen-in-real-life story in film form is a treat for me. Of course, as an 80s baby, I grew up watching movies like Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, and movies like that. So, when I went to see the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, I had a particular perspective.

My first thought, when watching, was that the recasting of the teenagers was great! The casting directors obviously paid close attention to the physical details of each character, and tried to replicate the looks of the original characters and did a great job! Even with the modernization, anyone who is familiar with the characters from the original would know right off who was who.

I did, however, have a problem with Nancy's mom. She wasn't deep enough for me. Granted, the original was attempting to shelter her daughter and came off pretty fake, but the duality of the role came across as well. Somehow she was able to convey the concern of a mother while also revealing to the audience that she had a secret. The new mom honestly should have been the redhead from Desparate Housewives. The oringal mom was a very neat and polished woman, which did not come through in the remake.

One thing that kind of annoyed me about the story line is that they tried to make the audience feel compassion for Freddie Krueger! WTF??? There at least 13 movies in the original series. THAT MEANS HE'S KILLED AT LEAST 13 PEOPLE!!! HE'S A VILLAIN DAMMIT!!! I'm sorry, once you've killed that many people your compassion card has been maxed out, remake or not! 

I may be old school, but Robert Englund will always and forever be the best Freddie! The new guy wasn't bad, but his Freddie swag was just different.    

Lastly, I think CGI is ruining visual effects artists creativity! Though someof the effects in the original were kinda cheesy, there were some that were phenominal, and they didn't spend much money creating them. Like the part were Freddy leans through the wall while Nancy is sleeping, the original is very minimal an effective while the remake looks absolutely ridiculous and overdone.

Of course, there's always the part in the movie where the characters do things that just wouldn't make sense in a real life situation. Who "kills" Freddy and decides they also need to burn the body but throws the lantern to the far corner of the room, as opposed to throwing to at (or at least very close to) him, so that he has time to resusitate and excape before the fire consumes him??? If you gon' burn the motherfucker, BURN HIM!! If I'm ever afforded the opportunity, I'm gonn make the first scary movie to feature characters with common sense.

Overall, I give the movie a C+, and that's largely due the fact that I'm a fan of the series of movies and that that they explained some things from the original. 

..:: IMUNURMe ::..

Dreaming of Cake

I had a pretty weird dream last night - not the weirdest I've ever had but weird nonetheless. Perhaps you can help me figure out what this means.

The dream was set at a party, a somewhat formal party. I'm not sure who was the honoree, but after walking around and greeting some of the guests, I noticed a slice of the richest and moistest chocolate cake with a drizzle of cream cheese on a small saucer. It had a big chunk taken out of it. So, I assumed it belonged to someone, but the search was on to find the source of this amazing looking slice of chocolate cake. 

My mother was there. So, I asked if she knew where it came from. I also asked a few others, but no one seemed to know. Finally, I had gotten some food on my face and noticed a pile of napkins on a large silver platter. After taking a few napkins, what did I find beneath? CHOCOLATE CAKE!!!

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to consume any because I immediately woke up. What a weird and unnecessarily torturous dream! Any thoughts?

..:: IMUNURMe ::..

MEGABUS SUCKS!!!

I should start this off on a positive note. So I'll say that I did a
very good job planning my day trip to New York. I went up for ISM5
(Indie Soul Mixer 5) to network with other artists, promoters, DJs,
etc from underground independent music markets around the world.
Besides overcrowding the venue, it was a great experience!

While planning my trip, I had heard about Megabus but had never ridden
myself. So, I figured what is there to lose on a trip that costs $17
each way and has comfortable seating, two floors and free wifi?
Apparenty, that question would be answered shortly.

After running into a few of my artist friends on the bus, we had a
great ride up laughing in between naps. That was until we were dropped
off at 26th Street and 7th Ave instead of at Penn Station. It was only
a few blocks different - 31st Street and 3rd Ave. So, we didn't make a
big deal of it.

After attending ISM5 and hitting a bar afterward, I headed back to the
bus stop at Penn Station for my 2:15am return trip, since I was
scheduled to sing on Sunday morning. There was a huge crowd of people.
So, I asked around so that I would not just assume I was in the right
place. I was.

Unfortunately, at 5:30am, I was still in the right place being
harassed like a homeless person by Penn Station police. "OMG! Did the
bus not show at all," you ask? That would be correct. Fortunately, a
good friend from college was supposed to be on the same trip but
happened to live in New York. So, he offered me his couch.

While we were waiting on the bus to arrive, I had attempted to reach
MegaBus's customer service line, but of course their department would
be closed at 7pm. It would make WAY too much sense for them to be open
as long as buses are scheduled to run in case of situations like this.

After a great nap on a surprisingly comfortable couch, I called
customer service. I waited about five minutes to speak with someone,
and I was so proud of myself for the calm and extremely pleasant
demeanor I maintained while speaking with the young lady. After
explaining the situation, she placed me on hold for twenty minutes,
and call finally disconnected. However, I maintained the same gentle
tone on the second try. I DESERVE AN AWARD!!

I explained to her that my bus never showed and that I had incurred
additional expenses that come with staying overnight in a place that
is not home and missing work. She then explained to me that nothing
can be done about that besides rescheduling my trip for 11pm. Hhhh-
what????

At the most basic level if customer service, I would expect something
like, "I apologize on behalf of MegaBus. This is not something that
happens frequently, and we don't take it lightly that you have
incurred extra expenses and have missed out on an opportunity generate
income. Unfortunately, we cannot offer you financial recoupment of
your expenses, but do we value you as a customer. Will you accept a
few free rides on us?"

Because a crater had already been carved out of my budget, I didn't
have very many options. So, I accepted the 11pm trip rescheduling with
a promise to call back the next day, when management would be available.

Later, I got a call from another friend who was up for ISM5 offering
me a ride back to DC with her and a few other friends. They would be
leaving around 5pm, which sounded much better to me than 11pm. So, I
agree to ride with them and try to have my 11pm trip switched to one
on Tuesday, since I would be back in New York then to promote my show
at Sugar Bar the following day. Surely, this would not be a problem.
After all, I had just spent the night in Penn Station at MegaBus' fault.

After explaining the ordeal, she says that once a trip is rescheduled,
its final. This was neither printed anywhere on the wesite that I saw,
nor was it mentioned by the previous representative. "So...a bus
busdriver at the bus stop can do more with a pen and paper on the
street than you can do on a computer at the customer service center,"
I ask? On my way up, I had changed my reservation to an earlier time
so that I could ride up with some friends who were on an earlier trip.

Her response was that it is against their policy, in a situation like
this, to reschedule a trip that has already been rescheduled. My tone
finally changed at that point as she continued to act as if this was a
regular rescheduling. I'm trying to get the fuck home!

Needless to say, I am in the back seat of a car on my way back to DC.
I WILL NEVER RIDE MEGABUS AS LONG AS LONG AS I CAN HELP IT!!!! If you
enjoy being neglected and mistreated, go for it! By the way, the wifi
signal is very inconsistent.

..:: IMUNURMe ::..

MEGABUS SUCKS!!!

I should start this off on a positive note. So I'll say that I did a
very good job planning my day trip to New York. I went up for ISM5
(Indie Soul Mixer 5) to network with other artists, promoters, DJs,
etc from underground independent music markets around the world.
Besides overcrowding the venue, it was a great experience!

While planning my trip, I had heard about Megabus but had never ridden
myself. So, I figured what is there to lose on a trip that costs $17
each way and has comfortable seating, two floors and free wifi?
Apparenty, that question would be answered shortly.

After running into a few of my artist friends on the bus, we had a
great ride up laughing in between naps. That was until we were dropped
off at 26th Street and 7th Ave instead of at Penn Station. It was only
a few blocks different - 31st Street and 3rd Ave. So, we didn't make a
big deal of it.

After attending ISM5 and hitting a bar afterward, I headed back to the
bus stop at Penn Station for my 2:15am return trip, since I was
scheduled to sing on Sunday morning. There was a huge crowd of people.
So, I asked around so that I would not just assume I was in the right
place. I was.

Unfortunately, at 5:30am, I was still in the right place being
harassed like a homeless person by Penn Station police. "OMG! Did the
bus not show at all," you ask? That would be correct. Fortunately, a
good friend from college was supposed to be on the same trip but
happened to live in New York. So, he offered me his couch.

While we were waiting on the bus to arrive, I had attempted to reach
MegaBus's customer service line, but of course their department would
be closed at 7pm. It would make WAY too much sense for them to be open
as long as buses are scheduled to run in case of situations like this.

After a great nap on a surprisingly comfortable couch, I called
customer service. I waited about five minutes to speak with someone,
and I was so proud of myself for the calm and extremely pleasant
demeanor I maintained while speaking with the young lady. After
explaining the situation, she placed me on hold for twenty minutes,
and call finally disconnected. However, I maintained the same gentle
tone on the second try. I DESERVE AN AWARD!!

I explained to her that my bus never showed and that I had incurred
additional expenses that come with staying overnight in a place that
is not home and missing work. She then explained to me that nothing
can be done about that besides rescheduling my trip for 11pm. Hhhh-
what????

At the most basic level if customer service, I would expect something
like, "I apologize on behalf of MegaBus. This is not something that
happens frequently, and we don't take it lightly that you have
incurred extra expenses and have missed out on an opportunity generate
income. Unfortunately, we cannot offer you financial recoupment of
your expenses, but do we value you as a customer. Will you accept a
few free rides on us?"

Because a crater had already been carved out of my budget, I didn't
have very many options. So, I accepted the 11pm trip rescheduling with
a promise to call back the next day, when management would be available.

Later, I got a call from another friend who was up for ISM5 offering
me a ride back to DC with her and a few other friends. They would be
leaving around 5pm, which sounded much better to me than 11pm. So, I
agree to ride with them and try to have my 11pm trip switched to one
on Tuesday, since I would be back in New York then to promote my show
at Sugar Bar the following day. Surely, this would not be a problem.
After all, I had just spent the night in Penn Station at MegaBus' fault.

After explaining the ordeal, she says that once a trip is rescheduled,
its final. This was neither printed anywhere on the wesite that I saw,
nor was it mentioned by the previous representative. "So...a bus
busdriver at the bus stop can do more with a pen and paper on the
street than you can do on a computer at the customer service center,"
I ask? On my way up, I had changed my reservation to an earlier time
so that I could ride up with some friends who were on an earlier trip.

Her response was that it is against their policy, in a situation like
this, to reschedule a trip that has already been rescheduled. My tone
finally changed at that point as she continued to act as if this was a
regular rescheduling. I'm trying to get the fuck home!

Needless to say, I am in the back seat of a car on my way back to DC.
I WILL NEVER RIDE MEGABUS AS LONG AS LONG AS I CAN HELP IT!!!! If you
enjoy being neglected and mistreated, go for it! By the way, the wifi
signal is very inconsistent.

..:: IMUNURMe ::..

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