i just want to be normal.

disney university (yes, disney university) teaches us to watch ourselves when we go out. it's teachings insist that we make sure we're portraying a "positive public image" because there are hong kong-ians who are anti-disney. (how could you be anti-disney?!) apparently, when the park first opened in 2005, media would go to the lai kwai fong area (where there are lots of bars and clubs frequented by disney employees) to try to capture these "negative images" (read: singers, dancers, and face characters getting shit-rocked retarded until the sun comes up) and use them against disney. 

me: you mean, like paparazzi?

can you just imagine my black ass on the page six of hong kong?!

"i wish they'd leave me alone. i just want to be normal."

peaches yancey.

"here she is boys. here she is world." here's peaches.

peaches yancey is the name of my brand new macbook. i bought it today, and i'm so excited to rejoin the living world. i know that i'd originially mentioned that i wanted the black macbook, but it's far more expensive. you get a lot of bells and whistles, but i just couldn't afford it right now.

in any case, i'm black in action. i'm importing cd's (danity kane - welcome to the dollhouse), listening to music (amy winehouse - october song), and dreading the packing i need to do tonight. let me bring you up to speed:

we finished our rehearsal process, and we got approved to start doing shows. i did the final show friday night, and i begin a regular grid (disney for "schedule") tomorrow. we also move to our permanent housing tomorrow. we'll be living in a sweet place called harbor plaza. they're basically extended-stay suites. they're attached to a mall-like building that has a grocery store, drug store, bowling alley, and cinema. the only draw-back is that they're 30 minutes away from the park, which is even further away from the city. it's all good, though.

there hasn't been too much excitement to report. wes lackey is getting married today, a wedding i'd love to be able to attend. i've got some visitors slated for 2009. pat will be here sometime in january, and jim and david will be here in feb. hilarity will ensue, no doubt.

be on the lookout for more frequent posts, more photos, and even more jermainia.

computer-less.

the dell is out of commission. the computer itself is fine, but my actual charger is the busted part. i ran around all week long looking for a universal charger, but the one i found wasn't compatible with my old-ass laptop. (shakes a raised fist.) hmm. payday can't get here quick enough.

anyhow, all is well in hk. we've been running the show all week long, and now we've approached a weekend off. rehearsals went pretty well this past week. next week we add costumes, make up, etc. basically dress rehearsals for a few days, then i'm sure we'll start doing shows by this time next week. i'm excited for the weekend, though. i plan on chilling poolside, exploring hong kong, and going out. (i also need to do laundry...ugh.)

last night, we went to a restaurant called 'zaks'. it's on sunnyside bay, overlooking the water. i learned that a ton of westerners live there. there's a huge plaza and great restaurants. zaks is american/western fare, but last night was a hawaiian buffet. (what?!) yes. beef curry, pork ribs, greek salad, and some other delicious goodies all for $125 HK (about 30 bucks, roughly.) i ate my money's worth, trust. you know, i love an all-you-can-eat situation...especially when ribs and watermelon are involved.

*sigh* i need to give eddie his computer back. have a great weekend.

a day off

this week has gone by quickly. it's crazy to think that this time last week, i was (hungover) on a plane to china. today i'm here, chillin on a day off. it's been a very productive week. we started off the week with paperwork, id cards, and measurements. tuesday, we started staging the show and learning vocals. when we weren't in rehearsal, we were watching the show. the rest of the week followed that same pattern. we're about halfway blocked at this point. we're off until monday, so i'm taking the weekend to do a little homework so i can be my personal fiercest for monday morning. i feel good about the progress i made this last week. i've also been rifling through photos today, and i'd like to post a few photo albums this weekend. my computer won't read my camera for some reason, so i have to put the photos on someone else's computer, then copy them onto my own computer. annoying? slightly. however, this will all be resolved once i get my new computer.

the asians take very fondly to the american performers in the shows in this part of the world. josh has amazing fans at universal studios japan, and there are many regular fans here at hkdl. HOWEVER, there's one girl who is crazed/obsessed with many of the cast members here at FOLK. (festival of the lion king). like, she'll appear out of nowhere and hand you a picture cd of shots she's taken throughout different performances. she always sits in the same seat, knows every word, etc. we got our first dose of her the other night. after rehearsal, we decided to head into the city for dinner and to get cell phones. literally, all of the chorus dancers from my show and "golden mickeys" (they're not housed by HKDL, fyi.) take the train from the park into various parts of hong kong. she was waiting there at the train stop, which isn't so bad, but i was told that she's been known to follow cast members...where'er. like, she followed us 25 minutes and 3 train transfers but tried to hide. she's not slick. two of my castmates are grown-ass women who are not having it...at all. i laugh at it all.

however, i don't laugh at ashy skin. (i do, just not my own.) turns out, i packed everything EXCEPT my f'ing lotion!! day 2, i was talking to some of the vocalists (read: blacks) about "skin care options". one of my castmates lent me some lotion, but it just wasn't doing the trick like my vasoline intensive rescue moisture locking lotion in white bottle with the blue top. yesterday, someone hands me a plastic bag and said "it's from brittany" (one of the current nalas who's injured.) i open the bag, and it was a big bottle of vasoline intensive rescue moisture locking lotion in a white bottle with the blue top. i was happy. can't wait to shower today after the gym and maybe a dip in the integrated pool here at the hotel. i love a day off.

i made it.

I’m in hong kong. The flight, surprisingly, wasn’t too bad. After nursing my hangover with bad airport food, I boarded the plane, had more bad food, took painkillers purely for sport, and passed out for a little nap. I woke up seeking entertainment. I used the restroom then took a lap around the plane to see what the others were doing. Many were sleeping. The ones who weren’t were watching their little televisions. News (blah), celine from vegas (eh), sex and the city movie (wha?!) the name of the program escapes me, but you can choose your in-flight entertainment from tv shows (grey’s, curb your enthusiasm, satc) e! entertainment (top 10 mama dramas, true Hollywood story, KIMORA), and new/old movies (goonies, satc, sarah marshall). I opted for a very pg-13 version of the satc movie, then made a playlist of musical selections for my pre-nap pleasure. Next thing you know, it was time for a last in-flight snack before we had to prepare for landing at HKG!!! I said goodbye to my seat mates, two late 20-something girls who’d just come from a wedding in Indianapolis (!). they’re nightlife promoters here in HK. Check their website: www.dimsumandthensome.com.hk.

After going through immigration, I got my luggage, exchanged some monies, and went to meet my HKDL contact, who’s name we learn is “Gigi”. Gigi is an adorable Chinese girl who went from dancing in various shows in the park to working for the entertainment office. She took me and another dancer (named “fish”?!) to the hotel. Apparently, there’s a housing overflow, and the new cast members of “Festival…” are all staying at the Hollywood Hotel. We get to the hotel, go through a few admin things, run into a few of my castmates*, then I head to my room. My room is very nice. Two full sized beds, flat screen tv, etc etc. I’m pleased that I’m forced to live here until September 28th.

*My castmates:
Eddie – CCM grad, has worked for Disney in CA, cast as Simba
Angela - from California. I believe she’s worked for USJ in years past, cast as Nala
Otha – originally from NYC, lives in LA. Cast as Storyteller
Phillip – lives in LA, did ships for Landau, just finished a contract as an a cappella singer with a few of my dancer friends from the Constellation. Cast as Scar
Stephanie – from Florida. Got here late due to ridiculous plane delays. Seems very no-nonsense. Cast as Storyteller.

(the roles are at least double cast. I thought we’d be doing all four shows daily. No sir, 2 shows a day. WORK!)

Today, we did a lot of running around. We got official Disney ID’s, HK id’s, opened bank accounts, got cell phones, got remeasured for costumes, and saw the show! It’s a great show, and I’m very excited to start working on it tomorrow. My track looks fun, and I get to siiiing! Should be a blast. Stay tuned…

matt martin vs. shannen doherty

matt martin is the worst.

i've got my eggs

saturday night was a riot. i worked a blood pasta saturday at becco, had a few drinks, then met up with a wasted mario to share a cab to harlem. we met in front of renaissance diner, and ran into mitzi michaels, nick adams, and anthony adams. they'd just come from a runway show, and nick was generous enough to donate his baby phat stationary to my cause. (one step closer to meeting kimora.) we'd been joking about how renaissance diner is a super exclusive place and you can only gain entry by showing your "egg" to the guy at the front door.

-so, let me preface this by saying that there are some really prizeful people roaming the streets of new york at any given time. however, the freaks really do come out at night. -

this young lady in a (big) little black dress comes pouring out of the cab with her two busted friends. i'm sure they'd taken a train into the city at 7pm and started drinking at 630. she looked like she'd lived a little that night and it was time to eat. fair enough, i get it. mitzi asks the girl if she had her egg (we all snicker). the girl rubs her midsection, and is like, "yeah, i got eggs."

we. fall. out.

she walks over the anthony, and she's like, "you're italian enough."

i think she would've taken a ride on the adams train over a western omelette. (it'd sure beat that 2:15 LIRR back to levittstown or schenactedy or wherever these folks come from.)

i digress.

i've been knowing about the hong kong gig all summer long. now it's labor day, the last day of summer/5 days until i fly around the world. c-razy! i feel like i have a lot to do, but it mainly involves me buying luggage and being social. i think i can handle it.

today's agenda:

• sweep room (check)
• shower
• shave (?)
• charge camera (check)
• get money from work
• go to marcus' bbq
• get drunk at aforementioned bbq
• go to splash to watch the musicals.

i've got my work cut out for me.

i think being passive-aggressive is the worst. i'm not telling you what to do, but you if i were you, i'd check out the website.