Wednesday, July 11, 2007

The Devil Gave Me Prada

The Date: Christmas morning, ‘06.
The Location: My living room in Texas
My gift from my mom: some basic black 1-inch Prada pumps for me. The thought was there but they were just not my style. I like high high heels…and she said I could exchange them….so, duh. It was a process though. It’s not like I could go to a department store and turn in my Prada pumps. She bought them through her stylist in Chicago, who got them from Prada in Chicago. So I had to send them to the Chicago store and wait for my credit to return. $375 – OK, everything at Prada is, like $400 plus, but whatever, it’s something. So, there’s no Prada in DC where I live, but it was cool, I go to New York all the time. Ugh! But then, I kept forgetting the credit receipt every time I went up there, so finally, 6 months later, someone suggested that I take it to LA since I had to go for a visit.

In June, I went to LA to try to obtain an apartment, meet some of my future classmates, and visit with my line sisters and friends. I was there for 5 days and had lots to do, but it was a priority to go to Prada. I had to use my credit! My friend, Candace, and I went to Prada minutes before closing because I had it in my head that I wanted this black wallet I had seen in Paris during fashion week. I wouldn’t have to spend much more than my credit, so if I couldn’t find anything else cheap, that’s what I’d get. Well, with some convincing from the salesgirl and Candace, I decided on this amazing vintage-looking clutch they just got in. It was a bit more than the wallet, but how often to I get a chance to buy Prada and not pay full price anyway?

Checking out, we were hurrying because the store was closing and I pulled out my credit card ready to pay the difference and be happy with my selection.
“Umm, you don’t owe us anything, and actually you still have some credit left.”
“Really?” I said, in complete disbelief, but I didn’t want them to renege. “Uhh, how much?”
“Like $200. I can’t look it up right now.”
With that, I slid out the door too scared to try and buy my wallet and risk Prada realizing they made a huge mistake. I was plotting my next trip already. The next day, I called to make sure their computer system still reflected my $200 plus credit and ran to the store as soon as I could. I got my wallet and I couldn’t believe it! A fabulous Prada clutch and adorable wallet for a grand total of approximately $1000…and I paid $200. $200! I was baffled and grateful all at once. Oh, and don’t tell anyone ☺


Look at my flyness when I carried the clutch to the BET Awards and afterparty. First of all, I LOVE this French Connection dress. It's perfect! I have worn it to a wedding, the BET Awards, and a presidential debate. (It's on sale now at French Connection.) Check out the pic of me, my hot dress, and my fabulous bag - and my proud stylist, Mark Gill.


Ibiza!!
On Friday, July 6th, the newest presence on the DC night scene opened its doors with a couple celebs and, of course, the fantastic ME. Ibiza, named for the popular and wild Spanish party island, had its grand opening with bright lights and a swarming crowd of thousands. All jokes aside, several of my friends are involved in the creation of Ibiza from financing to PR and promotion and I couldn't be more proud! We had a ball and I am sad to leave DC because I will miss the club's imminent growth and prosperity

Sunday, July 8, 2007

If You Don’t Know, Now You Know PART II



I am moving to LA in 31 days!!! If you recall, I took the GRE a while back and “failed” horribly. Well, don’t think I stopped there. I took it again a few weeks later and “passed” with flying colors. I received a score well above that required for my application and that plus an essay, 3 strong recommendations, a resume, and an ambush interview and I am going to USC, ya’ll! (That's Southern California, NOT South Carolina, folks.)

Time to share some things I have been keeping quiet. I love movies! I love TV! And I love entertaining! Years ago, I was a theater and (minor) television actress in Texas, but I stopped to pursue a “regular” life playing sports and focusing on school. (Yes, that is my old headshot. on the right) I have always absolutely adored the excitement, drama, and emotion that the big screen brings and I finally found and outlet so that I can actually enjoy my career by doing someting I love. In 2 years, I will have a Master of Fine Arts from USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program. The program grooms students to be television and film producers as well as executives in the industry. I have been completely in awe of the program since the moment I discovered it’s existence on the web (thank God for technology) and On March 14th they called me to congratulate me on being accepted into the program. What a dream! USC has an outstanding reputation for it’s Cinema-Television department and there is no better place to learn about the industry than Hollywood!

Since I was accepted into the program, I have met a few of my wonderful classmates as well as communicated with everybody and their mama’s cousins, sisters, brothers, daughters, and friends living out in LA. Though all of my loves are in Texas and the east coast and I am terrified to separate from them, LA and USC are a welcome change in my life, which I wholeheartedly believe is something we all need. This is MY YEAR! Of course, it is the first of many successes, but with confidence and determination, I found my way to USC and I plan to proceed with success in each step.

Why the belated celebration? Until Friday, I had a full time job and it was best for me to conceal my news from the public until I could inform the j-o-b. (I told them a couple weeks ago, but it was best to write, once I was unemployed.) The last two years out of college have been a time for me to learn to live on my own, attempt to support myself, and find a way to fulfill my passion for entertainment. I am here and there's one thing I must explain:

The title of my blog – My Scene: I selected it back when I was ready to begin blogging in November and certainly did not want to delay the process because I didn’t know what to call it. I love movies and entertaining. If money was no object, I would go on auditions all day everyday and pursue acting. However, I am also a businesswoman. It would never be enough for me to receive a check when I could be the one writing them. I came up with “My Scene” because I knew I wanted the title to have something to do with film, but I didn’t want to give myself away. So, my blog is called My Scene because it is where my opinions, my activities, and my stories shine. If my life is a film full of intricate plot twists and an assortment of interesting characters, each of my blog posts is my scene, where the reader sees my side of the story.

Friday, July 6, 2007

Our World is Changing

June 29th marked an important milestone in American life and history if this conversation I heard while waiting for Transformers to begin on the 4th of July is any indication.

A: Rob, are they talking to us? She said turn off all cell phones and pagers. Is she talking to us, Rob?
R: Naw, she can’t be talking to us.
A: I don’t have a cell phone. I have an ipod-laptop-cellular…
R: I have a multimedia device. I have an MD.

My boyfriend and his cousin picked up iphones on their release date, a total of 3 – one for each of them and one to sell (when times get tough, I suppose). I can’t say it’s not an impressive little machine. If you have any doubt: It is exactly as it appears in the commercials, except thinner. And apple provides web tutorials/advertising walking you through its easy-to-use technology. Anywho, the phone really is hot, y’all. As long as you have a mac, you can sync your calendar, contacts, photo library, and probably a bunch of other stuff that I don’t do with my mac, but they do. They, meaning my boyfriend and his family, are apple people. The entire weekend was about the iphone: showing it off, playing with it, talking about it. The picture is crystal clear like a flat screen plasma tv making coolest thing about the “device” the ability to pull up and watch youtube videos quickly and clearly. Aside from Ciara’s “Promise” video and Beyonce’s “Me, Myself, and I” both purchased from itunes, any music video or movie trailer that is on youtube is accessible with totally clarity on the iphone.

This is the the most accurate and succinct article I found pertaining to the multimedia device:

Amazing iPhone "matches most of its hype"
“The phone is so sleek and thin,” reports David Pogue (New York Times) in his review of iPhone, that “it makes Treos and Blackberrys look obese.” And the software transcends. “It’s fast, beautiful, menu-free, and dead simple to operate.” If you need “to answer a call, you can tap Answer on the screen, or pinch the microscopic microphone bulge on the white earbud cord. Either way, music or video playback pauses until you hang up.” As for email, it’s “fantastic. Incoming messages are fully formatted, complete with graphics; you can even open (but not edit) Word, Excel and PDF documents.” And “the Web browser,” he points out, “is the real dazzler.” No “stripped down, claustrophobic My First Cellphone Browser; you get full Web layouts, fonts and all, shrunk to fit the screen. You scroll with a fingertip — much faster than scroll bars. You can double-tap to enlarge a block of text for reading, or rotate the screen 90 degrees, which rotates and magnifies the image to fill the wider view.” In short, Pogue calls
the iPhone, “the most sophisticated, outlook-changing piece of electronics to come along in years.” [Jun 26, 2007]


So, when it comes to the iphone, I’m definitely a fan…and as for Transformers, it was outstanding! As someone who had no feelings for the transformers toys or cartoons, this movie wasn’t exactly on my To Watch list. However, I was excited about Josh Duhamel (right, an actor that I adore and respect dating back to his days as Leo on All My Children. Soap acting is like boot camp), Shia LaBeouf (left, from Disturbia and Disney’s Even Stevens), and Tyrese (y’all know who Tyrese is), so I had no problem escorting any true Transformers fans (who, as a whole, clap and cheer throughout the film).

Seriously, the Michael Bay-directed film is hilarious, consistently exciting, the acting is perfection, and the creativity in providing realism to alien/robot vehicles is just phenomenal! I truly think it was one of the best films I have ever seen. It is in a category of its own, of course, but it was a wonderful experience.