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So overall, I’d rate this trip a solid B+.
I’m typing this at some indeterminate time (since I’m flying through time zones) on my United flight from Houston to Philadelphia on the evening of July 7 confused . I’m on my way home from Los Angeles.
I won’t even begin to get into the 50 million things I need to focus on this week for my life, but let’s detail my trip first.
cool Before the Trip cool
This year, Omar, Leo, James and I reprised our roles for a second year of running LA and Marlon and Kavon decided to join in on the fun too. I admit, I was freaking out a little bit because my body was nowhere near where I wanted it to be. Up until Thursday, our day of departure, I had only been working out for about a month or so after the sickness/depression period that I went through. Womp. xp
Also, my funds were low. I’m still in pretty massive debt due to Gordon and I’m behind on my student loans too…so my spending money wasn’t where I wanted it to be either, I only really had…maybe $500-ish after paying James for the car. Whatevs. I decided I was going to go and have fun regardless. surprised
I admit, I was nervous this time around because we were going with six people. I’m honestly used to groups of 4 or less while traveling. It’s much easier to manage and the fact that I elected myself “Director of Planning Committee Services” and came up with the itinerary for the trip made it just a bit more irking than it normally would’ve been. Every two seconds i hear, “So what are we doing?” burning_eyes . But we went, had some fun, experienced some drama and we’re all on our way back as I type this. I think James is probably the only one that might be home already.
cool Thursday – Arrival cool
James and I arrived to LAX around 1pm-ish on Thursday and grabbed a rental. As it turned out, James didn’t book one in advance so when we got to Enterprise we gagged because they had no cars left. Luckily the person who owned the Enterprise also bought the Alamo Car rental around the corner so we got a ride over there, grabbed a car and hit it to Westfield Culver City to browse since the rest of the group didn’t arrive till a little later.
At the mall I bought some running shoes from Nordstrom Rack. An hour or so later, the rest of them met us at the mall and we had “Hot Dog on a Stick”…basically a corn dog, before we hit it to Santa Monica and checked into our house.
The house was cute, but kind of misleading. It had a garage that could fit two cars, but the alleyway that lead to it, that ran under 4 houses and had other garages, made it hard to get both cars in & out of the garage. After the first day we stopped parking in the garage and just left it out front. The steps lead up to the main floor from the garage which looked very nice and was full of beautiful hardwood. It looked very clean. Upstairs told a slightly different story. I noticed that some of the sheets on our beds and comforters had stains on them. I’m thinking, “How much would it cost for you to buy clean, quality, darker colored bedding?”…that and our bathroom (James and I’s) had a dirty tub that looked stained…it was gross. The walls were all marked as well…and apparently there were power issues with Marlon & Kavon’s room. But honestly, other than those little things….the house was cute.
We got settled and huddled downstairs to catch the latest episode of Braxton Family Values before finding our way to the grocery store to buy juice, liquor & snacks.
cool Friday – AX cool
Friday is where some of the drama began. Before we arrived I had planned for Marlon, Kavon, Leo and I to go to Anime Expo (AX), the largest anime convention in the Western Hemisphere. James and Omar decided to tag along for the experience, but I guess when James went to get his ticket a day or so before we arrived, he saw that Friday was crossed out. We assumed it was sold out for that day. On Thursday, Kavon said that although it was crossed out, it still give him the option of purchasing for Friday so after a bit of research we discovered that he was right. So at that moment I bought my ticket and Leo and Kavon got theirs too.
Come to find out, Marlon backed out of the con, which kind of set me off a bit. The reasoning was that he recently paid out his lawyer $3000 for the drama with his brother from last year and he is rather upset at all parties involved. I didn’t feel like that was an adequate excuse, however I guess I can understand his feelings. My only thing was that I planned the con because I know he and I were into anime and I thought it’d be fun for us…if I would’ve known that he wasn’t going to go I probably would’ve paid it too…even though I was extra excited to go. xp
Hanging with Kavon and Leo was different. It was rather interesting to learn what set them off in their current relationship. It looks like with Leo and Omar, it’s just petty stuff that happens when you’re together for a while. I learned that Kavon isn’t too fond of Matt, apparently because Matt and Kavon used to mess around and be fairly close, but since Matt and Marlon have become close he has felt some type of shade. Kavon thinks Matt is a little messy and perhaps shallow…and Matt’s current party boy image doesn’t help at all. dramallama
So we got to the LA Convention Center in downtown LA. They scanned my QR code that contained my ticket and gave me my Friday only badge and we were official. We went to the dealer’s room and walked around the whole thing. I felt a bit nostalgic after not being at a con for ten years so it was almost like a homecoming of sorts. I wanted to do so much more, but when you’re with people…you have to be considerate. After the dealer’s room closed, we left…but not without noticing the masses of people that occupied that small section of the convention center. It was too cool. I kinda wanted to go to the Gamers Room & attend a few panels, but it’s whatev…I’m just happy I got to go and see the people and the costumes and revel in anime paradise. I should’ve stopped by the Funimation booth and asked about Fairy Tail….ugh. stressed
While we were AX, they linked up with Matt Brinkley, who showed up earlier that morning. On Friday Leo and I went to LA Fitness and Matt and Marlon went to 24-hour. While we were doing AX, they were doing the Beverly Center mall. We were supposed to do Harold and Belle’s that night, but drama pursued when we were hungry after the con and got In-n-Out burger (which was delicious btw) and they called asking if we ate yet because they were ready to go to dinner. Some dumb stuff happened with that and we ended up not going at all.
Matt spent the day with them, so when we all linked up at the house, James, Marlon, Omar, and I with Matt decided to go searching for food and we found Fatburger! I wasn’t hungry so only got a salad. We actually met Matt’s friend Kari (the ANTM girl) at Fatburger and she was sooooo sweet, I wanted to put her in my pocket and keep her forever xd She had a beautiful aura 3nodding She didn’t eat with us because she had an event to attend, but after Fatburger we went to some gay panty store because Matt needed to buy something scandalous for the function he was attending the following day and I must say…the creep in me really enjoyed see him try on this tinyyyyyy little bottoms where his a** and thighs just hung all out. We got back to the house, drank and kii’d a bit more and pondered on whether or not we were going to go with Matt to whatever party he was going to. In hindsight, we probably should’ve gone with him even if we had to pay whatever to get in but we decided not to. confused
Matt left, so it turned out to be a night spent in the house until Marlon and I decided to go bowling. Luckily the bowling alley was pretty fetch (tbh, any bowling alley with a menu, bar and servers is pretty fetch) and we had a great two games at 1am. I got second the first time (Kavon won) and I won the second time. I ordered food for the table and James and I had drinks and had a good time.
cool Saturday – Independence Day shenanigans - EscapeIQ, Arts excursion, Pride & Donuts! cool
Saturday was soooooo busy for no reason. After the drama and tension that was Friday, I decided we all needed to come back together as one, so I bought an adventure for the six of us on LivingSocial.
EscapeIQ has coined themselves the “Ultimate Real Life Escape Room Experience”. Located in the arts district of downtown LA we had a good time with random photos against edgy & artsy walls. We got up to Escape IQ for our 1:30pm appointment where we got the briefing and rules of the game.
Long story short, we split into two teams and were locked in two adjacent rooms. The goal was to use the clues in the rooms and cooperate with each other to figure out how to escape. I can tell you, the experience was quite interesting. Omar, Kavon and I were put in the darker room and Leo, Marlon & James were in the second lighter room and we only got one clue. Unfortunately, we didn’t use the clue until almost half way through our one hour time limit. In hindsight, Leo said we should’ve scoured the rooms for the ten minutes then used to clue to get us started on the right track. We didn’t make it out, but we almost made it, if we would’ve had five more minutes we would’ve figured it out. But it was good to see everyone excited and working together but to be honest, we had a lot of help. It seemed like the moderator guy came in a good 2-3 extra times to help us.
After our Alcatraz adventure, we hit up the indoor/outdoor flea market that was totally fetch. They had a bit of music and a few vendors selling their goods. James and Leo bought accessories and Kavon got this cute crop top. I would’ve got it but I don’t believe in buying the same piece as someone else…unless it’s a basic. We took photos and enjoyed that space before we hit it to Hollywood Boulevard to hang out for a bit.
It was kinda funny when Omar was like, “Do you guys want to go to Hollywood Blvd?” and I said “NO.” in disgust lol Hollywood Blvd is like New York’s Time Square…a mess to go through. But we did it, stopped by the Chinese Theater, I bought some cute shorts from Zara (that I changed into, it was kind of hot and I had on pants) and we also had Coldstone! Marlon ended up splitting from the group to go visit one of his friends (which turned out to be slight shade :drama llama: ) before we hit it to West Hollywood for a Black Gay Pride Day Party.
We got to the day party where Donta (Omar’s cousin) was and we pretty much posted on the wall, looked cute, and took selfies…which I’m fine with. One thing I can say is that LA has some fineeeeeeeeeeeeeeee black men. The guys at the day party were a little older but most where gorgeous. The bartender and dancers there were snatched. The outside bartender in particular was gorgeous…beautiful skin, beautiful body, beautiful face and a nice piece….but to be honest, everyone was gorgeous. Go them. 4laugh
After the day party we walked around wondering what we should eat, we ultimately decided to just eat the Abbey…which caused even more drama.
James was rather irked by all of the indecision that was happening throughout the day (the day party was a last minute decision) and ended up leaving us for our dinner at the Abbey. It didn’t help that we met Donta and his partner Eddie there and they ate with us in a booth which left no space for James when he got back after his phone call…so he left again.
We all met up at the house again after that and were supposed to be going out for Black Gay Pride….but I felt like if we weren’t going to WeHo (which was close to the house) then I didn’t want to go…and if there was a cover…then I definitely didn’t want to go. I swear, I just stopped believing in paying covers after the age of 18. rofl I think others shared similar sentiments but Omar was still going to go to support his cousin, which I get….I told the group that someone had to go with him and Leo graciously, yet reluctantly accepted the responsibility. While they were gone, we decided to go to Krispy Kreme in Burbank and get donuts. I bought a half-dozen for Leo and Omar since they went out and we didn’t rofl
When we got back to the house, we played cards and listened to music and that was our night.
cool Sunday – Racing, The Pier and WeHo cool
James’ special activity was an indoor racing extravaganza. This is similar to what Rob and I did in Jersey and of course the outcome was the same (I won). We left the house on Sunday, stopped by Jack in the Box, where I got another salad because I wasn’t that hungry, and went to Burbank to race! Me, Marlon, Kavon, and James decided that our racer name was going to be EGGS, BACON, GRITS, SAUSAGE! ….a reference to the running inside joke for the trip that revolved around Lil Mama’s new song, “Sausage” and whyyyyyyy she was screamingggggggggg the hook rofl
After racing, we went to the Santa Monica Pier where we found a Del Frisco’s Grille and decided to eat there. Marlon used his special connections to get us well taken care of and we had a nice meal. I can tell you, the food and drinks were stellar and the service was great as well. They even gave us extra dessert to play with. Our bill was about $200 so it made it super easy to split evenly amongst the five of us. Omar didn't join us for dinner because he wanted to go visit family.
After our dinner stop, we went to the Pier and Marlon and I played DDR which was also very nostalgic and a real workout…which was definitely needed, by the time we hit the pier, it was cold and I needed to get the blood pumping. After the arcade, Omar and Leo left, James and I decided to ride a few rides on the Pier and Kavon and Marlon played more arcade games.
After some fun at the Pier, we went back to the house, took naps, and hit the town. That night, Omar and Marlon were doing something...somewhere... so Kavon, Leo, James, and I piled up in my bed and had girl talk (which is essentially what it was) where we discussed sex and other random topics...which was a nice change from the norm. Earlier in the day while we were racing, Matt invited us to go to Rage that night, so although I hate clubs and hate going out…I peeled myself out of bed (that nap was heavenly and so needed) and we went back to WeHo for another Black Pride event(ish). Again, LA has beautiful men. The girl who was performing there had potential, she was a random….anddddd we saw Eddie (without Donta) and we also (think we) saw Nicole, who was a server earlier that day at Del Frisco’s. We go up to her and I yell, “Nicole!” and she answers, looks back, and goes “Do I know you guys?” ………………………..**DEAD!!**…………apparently her name was Diane and she was not Nicole from earlier, but she still gave us great conversation, introduced us to her cute friend and liked some of our photos on instagram. rofl rofl
Needless to say, Matt never showed up. We ended up leaving the club shortly after meeting Diane, I feel like we might’ve been there for maybe 30 minutes to an hour. We chatted with Michelle, Marlon’s friend from back home and she was extra fun and then we hit it back home.
Reviewing the night with everyone the following day. I felt like that night could’ve been fun. I didn’t hate it at all…but something was definitely missing. I was definitely drunk enough but I wish we were a bit more social. Idk, something to think about for partying in LA next time. 3nodding
(So I'm picking this back up on the morning of July 11)
cool Monday – Runyon, Kristy, Tea, and a Drag show cool
I woke up Monday morning kind of hung over from the night before but I knew Kavon really wanted to do Runyon, since he mentioned it to me the day before so it’s something that had to be done.
I think I woke up at around 9-ish and peeked in everyone’s room and told them that we were leaving in 30 minutes. The cute thing that I noticed about our trip in particular is that everyone was up early…or at least 4 of us were…and by early I mean by 8 or 9am. It’s funny/annoying how being on a set work routine will just have you up. xp
We all got up, stopped by 7-11, and went to Runyon Canyon, located in the Hollywood area. I originally dressed more like I was going to the gym but then changed to look a little more fetch. I should’ve kept my gym attire on, tbh. sweatdrop
The trek up the mountain was long and filled with gorgeous half nekkid men and a lot of dogs. We met a group of Jewish girls who were trekking up the mountain and we even saw Mel B running down the mountain as well. The weather was pretty perfect. It started with an overcast, then the sun came out with a light breeze.
We made it up and down the mountain in about 3 hours (10-1pm) and got a good workout a long the way. I felt bad and a little rushed because I told Kristy that I would meet up with her for Brunch around 12pm, then pushed it towards 1pm but by the time we showered and got to there, it was 3pm. stressed
Luckily, Kristy was gracious as ever. Brunch with her was a delight and I’m glad that we both took the time to do as such. She seems to be doing very well as the owner of an All Star Cheer Gym in Hawthorne and loving her life. Cheer is what she loves and what she’s good at so I’m happy that she’s happy with what she’s doing. She’s living in Long Beach now and doesn’t find time to make it to the city but was came just for us. Again, I’m reallllllly glad we got to sit down and catch up. Plus, the food was great. Blu Jam Café on Melrose, where Martin works(ed?) gets 5 stars from me…and even his friend Irene(?) whom I met a few years ago was still there. Our server was sweet, I ordered French Toast, a side of fruit, and a cappuccino. Just lovely and perfectly LA heart
Unfortunately, my little brunch date seemed to cause just a tad more drama :drama llama: Nothing overt, but it just split the group again since James and I showered and left out earlier than the others to meet Kristy, since she was already waiting. The four of them had a table in the back, while the three of us sat near the door. We sat with them as they finished breakfast (and got a ticket doing so…ugh) and we split again. Omar and Leo took Marlon and Kavon to Inglewood and Omar showed them where he grew up, the same thing we did last year and James and I went to the Beverly Center and Century City Mall.
Our mall trip was cute, I bought two items from Uniqlo but the real interesting part was all the tea from James that was spilled. We actually spoke a lot on the way to the mall which made it hard for me to focus on the directions and I took forever for us to get there, but here were some interesting takeaways:
1. Kavon is clingy a. This is something that we all knew but was never explicitly said. Apparently he feels that whenever Marlon is around his friends, he is pushed to the side and even brought up the specific incident in Deep Creek when Marlon, Mardi & I were having it the f** up. i. My response is: The power of friendship is very important and you’re either with it or not. Like the Spice Girls said, “If you wannabe my lover, you gotta get with my friends.” And lucky for him, he’s already in with us so when Marlon is around his friends, stop trying to be the trophy piece and be one of the boys. You live with the boy so you don’t have to be all up under him every five seconds. James even mentioned that if they’re separated too long, Kavon will leave the group to go check on him. Cute, yet annoying. Kavon has friends in the group…make it work.
2. Kavon is aware that Marlon might not want to be in a relationship right now a. Which James told me that he said…and I quote, “I mean…we can be roommates. I’m fine with that.” Which shouldn’t be the case while in a relationship. i. My response is: Marlon….clearly doesn’t want to be in a relationship but James and I both agreed that it’s convenient for him right now. How that is so? I don’t have a clue since Marlon makes more than enough money to live on his own. It was hard to pinpoint just one issue from their relationship. Kavon is too clingy and always has an issue with something and Marlon doesn’t communicate effectively and does shady s**t. Outside of the whole having sex with other people while in a relationship, there was a small incident on Hollywood Blvd. While we were shopping in Zara, Marlon went to a record store where one of his friends worked but didn’t tell Kavon. When Kavon called him, apparently his response was, “Dad knows where I’m at.” And left it at that. Why wouldn’t you tell your boyfriend that you were visiting a friend at work? Is it because you didn’t want him to come? Why wouldn’t you want your boyfriend to meet one of your friends? And the questions go on. I mean, I guess they could be roommates, but I just don’t see that working out well. Marlon, if you want to be single…then be single. It’s really not that hard. Especially for Marlon, tall, dark, built and handsome…and a full top? Chile, he’s a hot commodity in the gay world right now….no reason to be tied down if you don’t have to be.
3. Kenny feels left out a. Apparently Kenny feels that since Marlon has came around, it’s been all about him (with Omar) and he’s starting to feel a little excluded. i. My response is: SIR! NO ONE IS EXCLUSING YOU! Omar is still obsessed with you as is Marlon, you just have to come around more and be present in your relationships. That’s just dumb.
We spoke about a lot of other things, but those were some of the main points. We all met back up at the house, drank a little bit (btw, Marlon's Cucumber Margarita is the BEST margarita I have EVER had! rofl ) and went to Mickey’s for a drag show that Leo wanted to check out….which brought even MORE shade.
So, to be honest, none of us reallllllly wanted to go to see a drag show, but we figured that we would come along for the ride. It would’ve been better if we had seats….but we didn’t so we were left standing and watching. Apparently seats opened up and Leo knew someone who was like…hosting the show...or whatever…so the two couples went to sit down, when I went over for a seat I discovered there were only four. I didn’t understand why….if there were six of us…why secure only four seats? :drama llama: But it was whatever, James and I left Mickey's (after paying to get in btw) and went to Festiva Cantina to get a bite to eat and a margarita. We left shortly afterward and I went to bed. By then it was after midnight and I had a morning flight. Oh…and we got another ticket that night. gonk scream stressed
cool Tuesday – Departure cool
The next day, we left the house. I appreciate James for packing my bag for me. I said my goodbyes to everyone (James didn’t rofl but then again, he lives close to them), filled the car with gas and hit it. TSA was easy as pie on a Tuesday (a small two stations set up in the lobby) and boom. My LA flight left on time, but my Houston flight got delayed. Then I think the delayed flight left earlier, so when I reported to the gate at the designated new time, I think my original 7.15pm flight left so they scooped me on the 7.05p flight to PHL which was more comfortable since I had a window seat & no one sitting in the middle seat, so I definitely had more room.
I took a cab to Rob’s house which cost about $30….this time. Cabbies are so ******** annoying….only because one time it cost the flat rate ($28.50) to go from the airport to my house (when that ride is only really….$15-1 cool . The last time I took a cab to Rob’s it cost $40+ because he took the extra long way due to “traffic”…like…it’s too much and this is why Uber is pricing them out. But anyway, I didn't get home till midnight.
But yeah, besides my delayed luggage (that was delivered to Rob’s the next day)…that was my trip. I admit, I was pretty perturbed the Rob didn't pick me up at the airport, but then again, it's common knowledge that whenever I go on a trip somewhere he a) doesn't answer his phone when I call b) if he does answer, doesn't want to talk and c) gets so attitudinal. talk2hand
Overall...
…it was a great time. It would've been an "A" trip if I went with less people and there was less drama, although it could've been much worse. I applaud Leo for always being a team player from texting James at the Abbey, texting me at Mickey’s, and going with Omar to the club. He did seem genuinely concerned and wanted everyone to feel included and not ignored. I applaud James for being down with the cause…and I would applaud Marlon because I think he would’ve been and would’ve had more fun if Kavon wasn’t there. rofl
But I also need for Marlon to start acting like a loving boyfriend…but I’m also pretty sure that would disgust me. Yuck.
Gigi saw that I was in Santa Monica and wanted to link up, but at that point it was kind of late. She told me to come back for her birthday in November, which I would love to. It would be great to catch up and meet a few of her industry folk along the way. Depending on my finances, I might find a quick flight out there. Hopefully I can meet up with #CsquadLA next time too.
I’ll post this now and edit it a little later!
One Love heart
Ryo
Mood: Refreshed, but hating work xp Music: "Keep Us Together" - Jessie J from Sweet Talker Music(2): "Wannabe" - Spice Girls from Spice World Music(3): "SAUSAGE!" - Lil Mama
Ryonosuke · Sat Jul 11, 2015 @ 12:04pm · 0 Comments |
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