Promises, Promises

Ok so a few weeks ago I announced a new 'mixtape project' tentatively titled Plaza Roller Rink: Class of '98-99. Well this week I promise to finish that and post it. "Cover art" and all. Get ready for nostalgia.

My New Favorite Song

"Sunshine" by Rye Rye ft M.I.A. Rye is a 19 year old rapper from Baltimore. I like her a lot. Being a fan of M.I.A I have heard of Rye for a while now. Last year she released "Bang" but shortly after she found out she was pregnant. So now she is starting over again and her album Go! Pop! Bang! will be dropping soon.

Oh Yeah! Pumpkin Patch Yeah!

I remember as a small child taking class trips to the pumpkin patch and going on the hayrides and such. It was such fun. After a certain age you tend to stop doing that stuff cause you figure your too old. Or like all teenagers think they're just sooo grown up to do anything that juvenile. Then you hit your 20s and you start to feel a bit nostalgic. You want to feel those feeling you felt as a child being carefree and elated about the smallest things. Back in school Mu Phi Epsilon started going to this pumpkin patch every year, it has become a tradition, a tradition I missed after graduating. I could never find anyone who was really down with going with me to do these things. Luckily my cousin Alexis is down here for a while and she was totally down to go with me, we were both really excited, really. You would think it would be easy to find a legit place to go for the full pumpkin patch experience. Well it wasnt that easy. We found a place in Toano which right outside of Williamsburg, appox 45 minutes away from Hampton. The day started out like a perfect autumn day, but the further up north we drove the darker it got. By the time we (Alexis, my brother and myself) got there it started raining booo. But we went to eat and drove back and the rain let up enough for us to browse and be giddy. It turned out to be a really fun day.



And here is a quick little video we did:

When Things Get Old, Spray Febreeze On It

So I know at this point you've all heard the "Bed Intruder" song and at this point its getting pretty played out. Brilliant, yes. Getting old, for sure. But I know best to keep something stinky semi-fresh, you spray febreeze on it. Consider this musical febreeze.

Skating Mishaps

When I was growing up in New York almost every saturday afternoon was spent at the Skate Key (a roller rink in the Bronk on 138th, right up near Harlem). It was the highlight of my pre-teen life. At times my mother would take me and a number of extended family members. Sometimes I would go with this kid named Troy whom was my best friend at the time and I had a MASSIVE crush on (I didnt tell him this until 2 weeks before I left NY to move to VA, we used to do everything together, we were in the cadets, went bowling, movies, ahhh youth...moving on) Of course it was fun, a lot of people, great music, good times. Well, it was good times. One unassuming Saturday afternoon in 1995 I go to the skate key with my brother, cousin Jennifer and God-sister Chasity. Everything was going fine, I was skating along. All of a sudden I felt some grab me, then they proceeded to push me to the ground and fall on top of me. By the way this was a grown man! So the skate officials clear the floor, I pick up my dignity and move to the bench. I sat down, I felt fine at the time but they said they had to send me to the hospital. That's when I started to freak out. So they put me in the ambulance and I am at the hospital, in the waiting room, by myself, for HOURS. My mom finally shows up and that's when they take me in to examine me. I fractured my right wrist (good thing i guess cause im a lefty) I had a cast and everything. It was pretty cool cause all of my classmates wrote on my cast and I had a story to tell. Needless to say though, we never went back to the Skate Key.
Then we move to Virginia in the summer of '97. Around this time we discovered this place called Plaza Roller Rink in Buckroe. On friday nights this was THE place to be. If you weren't at Plaza on friday nights, you were no one! Plaza was the place to go to see your crush, meet up with your friends, put on your freshest FUBU, Nautica, RP55, WU Wear and Tommy Hilfiger gear, and plan to be a part of or watch a fight. Man it was great. Well, it WAS great. Back in the day I used to super duper stunt on them. I always had the "name brand" jeans (that were really from the chinese beauty supply from across the street) the best "name brand" shirts (that my aunt Linda was selling from the trunk) and the dopest pair of Air Force 1's with the coolest colorways (now those were real!) oh with the NY fitted to match. Anyways one xmas my parents got me these Baby Blue Suede low top AF1's with a matching sweater vest(LOL). Those sneakers were my pride and joy and everyone at Lindsay went Oddles a Noodles on em. So one day I go to Plaza with my bestie Shawquana and we switch our sneakers for skates. Me being a dummy I put my brand new sneaks in a cubby instead of a locker. BAD MOVE. The night was fine until I went back to the cubby and seen that my sneakers were not there. I lost it. Mind you at this time (in 1999) I was super hood. Im running all around yelling "WHO THE F@#K STOLE MY SNEAKERS!?" I wound up walking out of Plaza in my socks, my mother yelling at me, and walking on a gravel parking lot. Needless to say I never went back to Plaza. Actually I probably went back twice while I was in high school, but the thrill was gone. One good thing though is that my birthday is not that far from xmas, so I got a new AF1's all gray high tops,


but they were not the baby blue suede joints, ugggh.

All in all I had fun as a kid, and I look back at those times fondly. I decided the other day to dedicate a mixtape to my time at the Plaza. It was a time of fun, laughter, questionable fashion and antics and the beginning of my journey here in Virginia. I'm calling the mixtape "Plaza Roller Rink: Class of '98-'99". It should be here soon....enough. Although this post was lengthy I hope you enjoyed it. This was probably the most fun I have had writing a blog post.
PS here is a bonus video from my days at the Skate Key

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GHOSTWRITER!!! As a kid growing up in NYC I so wanted to be on Ghostwriter and I had a major crush on Alex the spanish kid.

Breakfast

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