In My Life

Sometimes I wake up...

...expecting to be somewhere else. This happened for years after Hawaii. Almost everyday I'd wake up expecting to be in that overcrowded little apartment with everyone hi hoeing off to work and me wondering how best I should waste my day. In the water by 7...Magnum PI by 9...free hula show at the Shell bye 10:30...exploring and wait for Kat to get off work. Now it only happens maybe once in a while. This doesn't happen with Europe thou. In Edegem we were there for only like 2 weeks but we were ultra busy and at times it seemed a lot like work. As with Hawaii I treasure and miss my time in Edegem. But unlike Hawaii I don't have a little reminder of how things once were.

A mile in my shoes.

I love playing with Google Earth. I know where a lot of the past Real World houses are. I've seen most of the locations for shows such as the OC, Fast and Furious, etc. I know where a lot of my friends houses are. Now I'm going to use it while I finish my stories about Europe so you the random reader may walk a mile in my shoes or if you like 1.61 K's. I think I'm going to plow through the rest of Edegem, because most of the particulars I can't remember and besides most of it will be on the final DVD anyways, and get on with the adventures throughout Europe.

So far most of the adventures in Edegem happened in Festival Hal. 51*09'19.28"N 4*26'34.70"E. The house I was staying at 51*09'29.63"N 4*26'48.74"E. The field we danced at in Hof Ter Linden is at 51*09'37.96"N 4*26'13.33"E

The Monday of Aug 14th there was a picnic in a gym somewhere but Pat and I missed it. Our host family spent every spare moment taking us to someplace amazing. This particular trip I can't particularly remember where we went. I believe this is the morning we went to Bruugge. That morning our host family met up with Marc and Romeo's host family. We started with a nice lunch and then we explored one of the most beautiful cites in the world. Whats that famous Italian city with the canals? Sicily? This is called 'Sicily' of the north. We took a nice boat ride around the city and we all climbed up a giant spire. I believe it was called the Belfry or Belfort and stands 83 metres tall. The view from the top was breathtaking. It's amazing how 800 hundred years ago people were able to make things like this without the benefit of sky cranes or materials like steel or concrete. It was on this day I started noticing small matching blisters on my pinkie toes. I thought it was because of the new stage. So Marc et al left for Edegem and made it on time for our practice that afternoon. We left maybe 15 mins later and were severely late. This was also the day of WWIII.

We had two performances that day, one for the Seniors in the afternoon and then a night performance. I believe this was the night of Jamille's Voyage Vinta. The whole time at practice Jamille was very unsteady and I could see it in her eyes that she was unhappy with Romeo and my carrying. A few times I thought she was going to cry. We practiced all day and I figured out Romeo was taking these giant steps that was causing me to shuffle my feet tying to keep Jamille's ride smooth. This practice started out with a few Sicilians watching and then some left to bring them all out to watch, even BMOC. And that night KP's newest soloist was born. All I remember was that when we did our final exit that night everyone started screaming and jumping up and down in the wings. And as soon as Jambon and Jenilee locked eyes they both started crying. Why do girls do that? That night the organizing committee requested Vinta as our closing day encore and we started pimping ourselves trying to sell the DVDs. It was recently brought to my attention that the DVDs we were selling had the wrong region encoding and that everyone that bought one probably can't watch it. That night we partied like usual and brought home our Spanish gear.


Rhoel

posted by R @ 9:36 AM Comments: 0

Sam I am...

Obviously I am not Sam. There is no green eggs. There is no ham. FYI, green eggs are most likely poisonous.

Two weeks ago a friend of mine passed away. Sam Largo died of complications due to liver failer. And on that Sunday his spirit went away. I look at a persons life like a book. These are my chapters to the book of Sam.

Once upon a time (the most timless storys begin this way) Likha met KP. I'm sure you've heard my side of this story, but at this time it is another telling of the same story. First generation KP and Likha made a special bond. Fighters from different armys finding themselves in the same foxhole fighting the same fight. My first impression of Likha was 'damn those guys are fucking good! I don't think I belong on stage with them' My second imprssion was, 'wow, they're just like us'. So begins the epic storey. In any storey one has to meet the characters.

I met Kuya Rudy, I met George. I met the other lead dancers whose names are important to the whole way of the world, but not to this storey. And I met a guy named Sam. My first impession of him was this guy leading the charge of Moe in his quest of the love of Liza, nevermind her bf. And then KP became Likhas bff.

My first turbulent time of this match made in heaven came at New Years, I can't remember ('96) when KP went down for the biggest NYE party in the west coast. If you watch my first kp movie 'California Love' I did a time laps segment that followed my steps from the airport to the middle of the giant ass mall where I met up with everyone (KP and Likha together). Nobody understands that peice but me because I was actually really scared. I drove from Van to Seattle and flew to SF with no warning because I finished work and decided to go in like matter of seconds. That was my most memorable NY ever. If you look at the pictures you see everyone dressed to kill except me. I wore a plain wool sweater. I called ahead and everyone said to dress casual. Then when everyone came up dressed up Jello dropped a few hun at Old Navy and Nick droped a few buying a new suit. Not me, I refused.

That first time to SF my first outing after they met me at the mall was a club. I know you all probably heard my stories of my first gay club experience in SF no less but I've never told the storey of when we left. Dinah A was trying to liberate her cousin from the gay dudes dancing cetere stage with him. And with my mind realing from George being gay we bumped into Sam. And he told us he was staying. Est tu Sammy? So Sam was gay.

Once Kp went to San Fran for our first tour. The first arivals was Eye, Flo and myself. Sam begged us not to let on to his roomates that he was gay. Two black guys. Cool dudes. So we decided to stay in and drink all night. Sam intoduced the girls to Boons Farm with Ghetto brown paper wrap. Of course I drank beer. All I remeber of significance of that night waswhen Eye decided 'Im drunk, lets see how much I drank." *unfold to see half the bottle is gone*. Flo asks the same, 'How much did I drink?' *unfold to see she only drank half way down the neck!*

KP used to do the workshops in the upper floors of the SUB at UBC. Sam showed up wearing the same cloths from the night before missing almost the whole work shop because he hooked up the night before.

I picked up Sam from the airport once and we ate Subway.

Sam did the lighting for many of our best shows. He did the first show at the QE with Nick.

Sam toured with us for the last time in Campbell river. He didn't return with us because of health problems. That was the last time I saw Sam I am.

But not the last I'll think of him. I'll miss you Sam.

Rhoel.

posted by R @ 10:01 PM Comments: 0