Sunday, August 19, 2007

Have you ever had a time in your life when you wished that every hour, every minute, every second was documented? A period of time that when you look back on it you never want to forget a thing, not even the color draws you were wearing at that very moment?? A time in your life where cameras followed you wherever you go as if you were one of 7 strangers picked to live on The Real World?

14 people. 10 women. 4 guys. Location: Atlantic City. Time Frame: One weekend. From the moment I boarded that damn bus to Atlantic City and the stinky Middle Eastern man sat next to me (SIDEBAR: no I am not saying he stank because he was Middle Eastern, he stank because...well, because quite frankly I don't think he washed his ass before he set out to gamble in Atlantic City. And funk knows no race, creed, or color. I judged him on the content of his stanky character. Dr. King would be proud. hahahahaha) to the moment I put my key in the door upon my return home, I tried to hold on to every single memory. From the onset, this weekend was special. The beautiful gems I call friends and I were given complimentary rooms at a casino in Atlantic City. Yes, you read that right - complimentary, as in gratis, no dinero, FREEEEEEEEEEEE!!! Call it fate, kismet, divine intervention, whatever, but we befriended a really cool dude who gave us the hook up. And no, the exchange rate was not booty claps for room keys. He thought we were cool and just wanted to hang. I guess that's what happens when you are going through transitions in life. You take chances you would have never dreamed of taking. But I digress. So 3 of his buddies and 9 of mine, all converged in Atlantic City, New Jersey, for a weekend I bet none of us are soon to forget. From the lemondrop shots by the pool to the New Edition vs. Jodeci war to my tipsy paparazzi wave upon leaving the 40/40 club (still don't quite remember that but hey, anything is possible!! LOL) to the near beatdown of the Applebees staff for messing up an order and trying to overcharge us. This weekend was the time of my life. How can I forget when I "drop down low and sweep the floor with it"?? Or when my lil sis did more than a 2 step on the dance floor and actually walked it out?? Or when the birthday girl tried to eat her cupcake with the candle still lit and almost burnt her nose off (mind you, this was before the drinking commenced. LOL)?? Or how about when one of the guys realized the shoes he just purchased weren't his and Aldo's was already closed for the evening?? Or how about when the white man on the sundeck asked me if I was going to be a Jet Beauty of the week after my "photoshoot" in my scandalous bathing suit? I never want to forget any of it. Sigh. Where were the camera crews when I needed them? I tried to document it as best I could. I took over 100 pictures in a 3 day period, which is sooo unlike me. But there were soooo many shots I missed like our group hug in the parking lot when everyone was heading home. But pictures can only capture but so much. What about our conversations, our debates, our catching up on each others lives, our getting to know these dudes, and chillin' with them like we've known them forever? What about our reactions when we first saw our rooms (One word: AMAZING!!!! no wait, change that to CELEBRITOUS. I told you I'm going to get that word in the dictionary!! LOL)??? That is something my Canon couldn't capture and I couldn't be everywhere at all times. Celebrities complain about the paparazzi and being stalked and hounded every minute of their lives. I can imagine that can be annoying as hell but just once, just one time I wouldn't have mind being followed by a camera crew and paparazzi because at least then there would be documentation of our celebritous weekend.

Over the past week, I've spoken to various friends about our weekend, and we each giggle over the stories and the moments. We all end the conversation saying "This was fun" and "When's the next weekend?" In the back of my mind I wonder if we will be able to have another weekend like this. When we gathered in Atlantic City, we all left behind responsibilities like jobs, husbands/wives/boyfriends/girlfriends, kids, books to write (wait that's mine and no, I didn't get any writing in but I did manage to haul my drunk ass to the gym Saturday morning. LOL). Life gets in the way of just letting go and having fun. No one told me about this part of adulthood or maybe they did and I was too stubborn to listen. I would have kept better track of these memories.

Ever watch the finale of any Real World and you see the cast crying, boo hooing about leaving? I can finally relate after experiencing this weekend. Its not about not keeping in touch. Because with effort you will email, call, or text, even hang out occasionally. But there won't be another time like this when you can actually leave the real world behind and step into this moment of surreal reality. So until the next celebritous adventure, I will share a laugh with a friend, smile while looking through my pictures, and scout camera crews who would be willing to tag along on the next adventure for FREEEEEEEEEEEE! LOL

1 comment:

rashad said...

This looks like a damn good time Janelle, and you and your friends should cherish (free) times like that. I will look into writing a book(before the chitlin circuit authors beat me to it) entitled "Keys for Booty Claps: A Love Story"