I can check 1 thing off of my NY bucket list!

I just had one of those moments. You know, the kind where you walk away saying to yourself "I just did that!!" I've been dancing as a hobby for the last couple of years and was once told that I should take this woman Luam's class because I would like it. I looked her up on youtube and watched her videos for about a year. I wasn't even half as good as the people in those classes, but I loved watching their passionate stomp of every "boom" and beat of every "cack". I watched the videos so much that I started learning people's names and noticing them in other videos - Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, etc. To me, they were celebrities.

Fast Forward to a day when Gilt Groupe's Gilt City had a sale where I could get 3 Broadway Dance Center (where Luam teaches in NY) classes at 40% off. I love a deal, so I bought it and didn't think twice about it. Fast forward 6 months later and I still hadn't used it...5 days before it expired. That day was today - a cold, windy and rainy NY day. I tried to go to the advanced beginning class (which I thought was still probably too advanced for me) but to no avail. Full. So, I naively signed up for the intermediate advanced class 5 hours later. For context, the website describes the intermediate advanced class as apropo for pre-professional and professionals with 10+ years experience. Uh, yeah...I've been dancing for 2 years at the gym.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am generally a very confident person. However, this was not my real life lane. These people dance day in and day out; they are professionals! I am somewhere between novice and top 20% of dancers at my alma mater. And uh, this is my alma mater:



Now that you get my point....I'll continue.

They dance to feed themselves. I dance to feed my inner-artist; the girl who should've been a star.People had come from all over the world to take this class. I'd come from a few stops up on the 3 train. I danced in the back (until she made people in the back come to the front) . I went for it. I didn't trip over myself and I did the moves. Not tripping over myself and doing the moves was 200% better than I expected. For once in my life, I had very low expectations. (And I'm OK with that)

When the class was over I grabbed my water and towel and walked straight to the locker room ( with the Rocky theme song playing in my head). Other people hung out in the studio to talk about their practice for their upcoming tour in Japan, disney auditions etc. Some hung back to take pictures with Luam. I walked out...mostly because I was in awe of myself, but also because I'm too G to be a groupie. (jokesies!! kinda) I walked back, interrupted a fan taking a picture and asked Luam "What song was that? Title and artist?" She replied (very kindly) "The Weeknd. Initiation." I said "Thank you" and walked away. (Told you...G.)

1 thing off the NY bucketlist...49 more things to go!! How much time do I have to do it? Who knows?!? YOLO.

For those who don't know who Luam is, here is a reel of her work:
LUAM CHOREOGRAPHY REEL from Luam on Vimeo.
(I saw at least 10 moves we did tonight in that reel. That's kinda cool)

Here is a link to her Youtube page: LuamWorld

Here is one of my FAVORITE Luam dances...mostly because the girl Maria to the left of Luam kills.It.


Here's another one that's pretty hot.


xoxoRo

Craziest Train Ride Ever

I rode the train earlier than usual today in an attempt to get to work earlier than usual. This train ride was definitely not the usual. Here's what happened:

I'm riding the train, reading my April Elle and still smirking from the cutie who kept making eyes before just getting off the train. (Super random interjection, but why didn't he just say something? I definitely caught him staring 3+times. This isn't the L train...no missed connections here buddy. OK. This is rude. This story is bigger than this. /digression)

We continue riding and I hear a commotion. A woman is yelling at a guy, but I'm not sure what it's about. I chalk it up to stressed out New Yorkers and continue reading about Gwen Stefani & No Doubt's reunion assuming they would soon realize they were being silly and stop. They don't. The woman gets louder and says "Don't light that thing on the train!" I look over and see that the guy she's yelling at has a lighter and the flames seem larger than normal. It wasn't one of those $.99 cents Bic lighters, it was pretty hardcore. Congratulations kids, I'm now alarmed. The woman continues to tell the guy to stop and tries to knock the lighter from his hand and things get physical. The entire train is looking at this go down and people are starting to get a little frantic. The man tells the woman "I will f*cking kill you". The woman yells at the man "I will f*cking kill YOU!!" They are pushing one another. Another woman steps in to help.

OK. STOP.

This is where I get mad. Like, livid. I don't care if this is a feminist society and we're in the middle of a freaking bra-burning campfire. If a man is getting physical with a woman, why in the hell are men just standing around looking?!? My brain couldn't process this. I finally literally yell out "Why aren't any of you men helping?!?" At that point, 2 men run over to try to help restrain the guy. For context, this guy is probably 5'7 150lbs...I could probably take him. I'm in the middle of the car trying to calm people down and I look over and see blood gushing from the woman's face. While she was restraining the guy in the corner, he took out his knife (edit: according to reports it was a pen) and SLASHED her face - from her temple to her nose. Yes. I'm riding the train to work...and someone has just gotten stabbed in the face. Twilight-freaking-zone. The craziest part is that the woman continues to try to get the knife (pen) from the guy and beats his hand until he drops it. She's obviously running on adrenaline. We are still between 14th & Chambers.

People are freaking out. 2 of us step up. 1 guy stops the people from pulling the emergency lever. That will only make the situation worst. I send someone to the conductor so he can call the police. The train starts to slow down though we are 2 stations away in an attempt to give the cops time to get to the station. The guy is now being held up by 5 guys in the corner. The woman is sitting on the train bench with blood gushing from her face and I'm standing there trying to calm people down. People are looking at me for instructions on what to do next, but what could we do?!

I started praying. Out loud. I prayed for that woman's health, her face and her family. I prayed that we were all safe. Amen.

We finally get to the train station...no cops. I run to every single car on the train and ask for a doctor or nurse. There wasn't a single medical professional on the entire train! (Note to self - donate to a cause getting more kids interested in healthcare) The guys are still restraining the man. 2 trains of people are out, trying to see what is going down.  There were plenty of witnesses. A girl even took pics on her iphone. The MTA guy was attending to the woman. I could do no more. I am shaking...and I start to walk to work. I was 2 stops away, but I needed that time to pseudo-decompress from the craziest train ride I've ever had.

This woman was doing what she thought was right. She was standing up to this man for her safety...for our safety. This story will probably not make the news because this is New York - it's not news unless someone brutally dies...or someone involved is famous. My colleague was on a train behind me and was simply told "We are being held because of an 'incident' on an earlier train". I will never think of "incident" the same again.

UPDATE: This story did make the news...and mostly because of this blog. Crazy.
New York Daily News
MSNBC
Village Voice
DNA Info
Daily Mail in the UK (Peep the pixelated photo they swiped from this page that makes me look like a missing person lol. Crazy Brits.)

I also heard this blog quoted on Hot 97's Morning show. Crazy how fast word travels on the interwebs.

Aggie Women - Bigger than the chip

National Champion Texas A&M Aggies definitely has a ring to it. While this was my first time witnessing my school win a national championship, it felt like we'd been here before. Our women showed the fight and tenacity inherent in people who have overcome something.Their triumph may have literally been basketball related; for me, it was symbolic of the past our university has had to (and continues to) overcome.

Here's a little A&M History for ya...

Founded in 1876, Texas A&M was an all-white all-male all-military school.



After a lot of debate and resistance, it wasn't until 1963 that women were allowed to officially enroll in the university. They were taunted as "Maggies" because they weren't considered real Aggies. (P.S. - this headline makes me think of.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUg7G3CPos0 )
These were...white women of course. It wasn't until the following year of 1964 that black students were allowed to enroll in the university.



This is where Seinfeld would add in a "yadda yadda". As in, "in the years to come there were lots of issues with diversity like racist cartoons in the school paper, discriminating practices by local businesses, yadda yadda".

Fast forward to 2011 when for one night, the country is recognizing Texas A&M as champions largely because of the work of African-American women. Women who, fewer than 50 years ago, would not have been allowed to enroll in the university.


I think that's pretty freaking special.

Gig 'Em (M)Ags.

xoxoRo

Cali: I think I love you

I spent last week in Cali for work and had the opportunity to take in a few sights in the evening.
The water.
The mountains.
The trees.
The calm.
Maybe the concrete jungle has me fiending for landscape, but I needed that. Simply beautiful.


xoxoRo

You Are South African

Occurrence of 5.10.10

Like any other post-work evening, I got on the 2 train headed uptown, sat down, opened my book, (I joined a book club!) and began to read. As usual, I scanned the train for crazies. I caught the stare of a slender dark-skinned fella, but this wasn't unusual because people in New York unapologetically stare...all of the time. If you live here, you're probably used to it by now, but it definitely takes time to get pseudo-comfortable with.

I made a mental note of the gazing guy and continued to read my book avoiding eye contact. 30 blocks later I looked up to take another inventory of crazy people and again...he was staring. Finally, we were one stop before mine and he got up to get off of the train. My thought bubble read: "Hooray! He can't get off of the train and follow me home." Before the train actually stopped though, he struck up the weirdest conversation I've had all year.

Staring guy: You South African?
Me: No
Staring guy: Where are you from
Me: Texas
Staring guy: *with a look of unsatisfaction on his face* Oh, so the U.S.
Me: Yeah
Staring guy: *stares*
Me: Well, my grandpa is from Haiti *hoping that will satisfy what seems like a determination to find some "root" of me*
Staring guy: Ah, no darling *hits me in the arm* You...are from South Africa

*****He exits the train*******

Weird!

This is actually the second time a person has said I look South African, but people tell me I look like everything...including their kid sister so I never think much of it. I've all but resolved that I have one of America's most generic faces. This guy, however, had an oracle-like disposition. It was as if he was imparting the wisdom of my heritage on me. Even his punch to my arm was less of an attack and more of a "wake up child!"

My inclination to dismiss him was rooted in the fact that I've never known there to be a "South African look" per se. To me, they've always just been black and white people and some combination of the two. (I admittedly don't know much of the history of indigenous tribes in South Africa) When I google image searched "south africans", this was the first picture that came up:

I don't see any defining characteristics.

There are, however, a few coincidences of my life that can't go unnoticed:

1. Exactly 6 years after I was born, Nelson Mandela was released from prison.
2. Though my name is merely a combo of my parents' names Ronnie and Mathea, I've only seen other reference to the name in a South African context
   
3. There is a Capetown Library with a building named "Ronethea"
4. The only other Ronetheas on facebook are from South Africa

While these are all definite coincidences and don't necessarily have me lining up to get a South African Passport, it's interesting to make the connections. In the end, the guy could be right. Perhaps my pre-middle passage roots are in South Africa.

The end.

I Must find Betty's Dress

I LOVED Betty's get-up in the Million Dollar Smile episode. I'm making it my personal mission to find out who makes this and how I can get it. Granted, it's a pretty classic silhouette, and I'm pretty sure there's some editing done here (shrug added up top, etc) but I would rock the heck out of this! I'm also taking note of the optical illusion of her belt. The detail of the belt only extends across the smallest part of the front making her waist appear even more tiny. Love it!

Here's a Forever 21 attempt at the silhouette. Definitely not close to achieving the actual look, but it's a cute attempt. If it works for you; do it!

Serena Williams Rocking Forever 21

Check out Serena Williams wearing a Forever 21 skirt! I'd seen this skirt before and wasn't a huge fan, but you go girl for making it work! I guess her line at Steve & Barry's was just one embodiment of her belief in access to fashion for all.