Hope you all had an amazing weekend, and I hope that some of you were able to make it out to Brooklyn for the annual AfroPunk Festival. This was actually my very first time attending the festival. My little cousin attended last year, and after seeing her photos I made it my mission to be there this year. She suggested that we arrive at noon because we hadn’t made a donation (which guarantees entry). However, I was out late Saturday night so by the time I woke up and made something to eat it was already noon, so I didn’t actually get to Brooklyn until about 4pm. The lines were long but they moved very quickly so that was a relief.
The first thing that struck me about the festival was the abundance of natural haired beauties in attendance. There was no shortage of eclectic, stylish natural haired sisters in every hue, size and shape imaginable. After all, the event is called “Afro Punk” so it only makes sense, right? I wanted to wear my natural hair to the event but after unraveling the third cornrow, the remaining six just seemed daunting especially given the time constraints, so I opted for the next best thing… my kinky curly unit which I made using hair from EHM Hair Company.
I pretty much spent the majority of my time dancing to Jasmine Solano’s incredible set on Electric Punanny! Everybody knows that reggae music is my first love, so when I walked into the park and heard reggae music blaring it was almost like an electric force sucking me in it’s direction.
In between dancing, I would spot a beauty and ask for a photo. Everyone obliged, which made it that much easier to ask the next. Here are some of my favorites of the evening…
How fierce is she? That hair, that lippy, that necklace!
These ladies are clearly not afraid of experimenting with colors!
I apologize for my 3 week hiatus. Let’s just say that life has been incredibly FULL lately. I’m trying to be better at managing my time and commitments, but like everything else it’s a process. I’ll do better, promise.
So this post falls in the “everything in between” category but like most of my other posts, there’ll always be an element of fashion, so indulge in the parts that you care about. This particular post is one near and dear to my big incredibly filled heart, because it involves my absolute favorite cousin in the whole entire world, Jermaine. Let me start by saying that I love ALL my cousins, but my connection to this one is unlike any other. Perhaps, because I was there when he came home from the hospital. At 9 years old, I think a part of me really believed he was my child. My aunt of course didn’t mind as all that meant is that she always had a babysitter who was ready, willing, and able! Our time together was short lived because I migrated to the states when he was just a toddler, but the memories built were timeless!
Then Now
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of giving my fave a tour of the city that I’ve called home for some twenty years. I’ve often dreamt of this day… showing him the same good time that he has always shown me when I return home (that being Jamaica). As it was a beautiful day, we started by first visiting Central Park. We then made our way to Times Square, where we indulged in everything touristy!
Time Square
After Times Square, we headed towards the East Village where we grabbed a quick bite to eat from one of my favorite eateries.
Roasted half chicken with fried and pita bread and a side of fresh veggies.
With a full stomach, and what everyone admitted was the onset of the “itis,” we set out towards Union Square. There’s always something to see in Union Square, right? I for the most part, just people watched. The boys (Jermaine and my brother Alex), did a bit of exploring.
I couldn’t have been happier to share the day with this guy, who is one of the humblest, sweetest and most dedicated young men I know! Yesterday was a genuinely good day.
Ever had one of those days where you felt like all the stars aligned and it was just meant to be your day? Well, that’s the kind of day I had yesterday… it was pure perfection. So, if you’re a New Yorker like myself then you’re probably well aware of Central Park’s summer concert series dubbed Summer Stage! Funny enough,I’ve never cared enough to attend one of these concerts before, due in part to the crowds and the lines I imagined I’d encounter.
Hopefuls waiting outside the VIP entrance.
This concert was different though, it was headlined by CHRONIXX (I’m sorry, I just yelled) and Junior Reid! No disrespect Mr. Reid because you a foundation but Chronixx mi love yuh baaaad! lol Can you feel my excitement? I was too excited about this concert and knew I had to be there.
The concert was slated to be from 3pm to 7pm. In standard Cindy fashion, I arrived at 4pm thinking I would just walk into the park and enjoy the show – WRONG! The line was insane, not only that but they were at capacity and were only letting people in as people left (that means they were letting people in, in twos and threes sporadically, pure ridiculousness). I hate lines, and so after learning what the situation was, I made a u-turn back to the VIP entrance. I had no idea how I would get in but I knew I was getting in there. As I sat there and made phone calls to my friends telling them not to bother wasting their time trying to get there because they wouldn’t get in, a very nice rasta man who was also standing outside the VIP area waiting to be let in, told me to stay close. I did as instructed and shortly after, someone I assumed to be his friend came over and handed him a “used” VIP bracelet. It had almost no tackiness left but we did our best to make it look official and it worked. He made it in, and as promised he returned and handed me the same twice used VIP bracelet. The poor thing was done, I had to use a piece of gum to secure it (desperate times…)!
Oh by the way, I forgot to mention I rode my bike to the park! Yeah, I thought I was cute.
My wheels for the day…
Seeing my VIP bracelet, security motioned me over to the front of the line. However, when I got there and they noticed I had a bicycle, they told me they couldn’t let me in with my bike. I was crushed because I didn’t have a bike lock, which meant I wouldn’t be able to go inside. As I made my way off the line, I could see the rasta man in the distance waving with a puzzled look on his face. I yelled to him that I couldn’t come inside with my bike. He motioned me away from the crowd and met me at the fence where he asked a cop who stood watch if he could take my bike. Sure enough, the cop permitted him to take my bike over the fence. I then made my way back to the VIP entrance and was granted entry now that I didn’t have a bike.
Talk about “pleased puss” – that was me! I was stoked. I thanked the Rasta Man who I then learned had a name, Elvis! It didn’t end there though, Elvis got me backstage where we found a corner to tuck my bike. At that point I was prepared to have my bike stolen because I had no way of really securing it and anyone could just walk off with it as it wasn’t my intention to babysit it all evening. I didn’t care though, I was just excited to see Chronixx and Junior Reid in action. Elvis assured me it would be fine, and sure enough he and his friends set up chairs directly in front of my bike and sat there during the entire show. That bike was not going anywhere!
Chronixx in action!
Comforted by that fact, I was able to watch and enjoy the show without worry! Junior Reid was great, vibes can’t done! I only caught the tail end of his performance so I didn’t have a chance to record anything as I was too busy dancing up a storm. Chronixx took the stage shortly after and he was everything!! From start to finish, They Dont Know, Ain’t No Giving In, Here Comes Trouble, Capture Land, Spirulina, Smile Jamaica, and Behind Curtain… he did not disappoint!
Amazing capture with Junior Reid by Rod Figaro of Figaro Images.
I’m always proud of my Jamaican heritage, but seeing Chronixx perform live and seeing the crowd soak up every word he uttered just reaffirmed everything! I love my people, I love my culture, I love reggae music!
I’d be remiss if I didn’t shout out my new friend Elvis. Thank you for what was nothing short of a perfect day!
My good Samaritan, Elvis!
Click here to see video footage of the Chronixx performance.
Enjoy!
Amazing capture with Junior Reid.
Chronixx in action.
Dancers in action.
Malik Yoba and concert guest.
Me! 🙂
People enjoying the vibes.
Spliff Star
My wheels for the day.
My good Samaritan, Elvis!
Guests deep in conversation (obviously not the dude on the right)! lol
Hope you all had a fantastic weekend! Mine was amazing for so many reasons. For starters, my girlfriend Stacy had a her baby’s dedication on Saturday and all my girls came out to support. I’ve known these women for upwards of 15 years, and while we do our best to get together as a group – it’s not often that we all get the chance to be in the same room at the same time. However, everyone showed up for baby Bella, and that just made my day!
Today, my brother Kevin and I had an impromptu brunch date. We decided on Agave in the West village. I always have a good time at Agave. How could I not when there is bottomless mimosas and margaritas involved?
As usual the food was on point, I went with my usual, the Sunrise Fiesta Burrito. Believe me when I tell you, it NEVER disappoints!
My brother went with the Silver Dollar pancakes. If nothing else, it sure is pretty!
Silver Dollar Blueberry Pancakes.
All in all, I had an excellent time. Good food, good company, good convo – another great weekend in the books.
Hope you all had an AMAZING July 4th weekend! Mine was incredible! If you’re in the NYC area, then you know July 4th was pretty much a wash – literally, as it rained all day. I didn’t feel like doing much of anything due to the weather, but at the very last minute my brother and I decided we had much to be thankful for (see previous post), and so we decided to throw some chicken on the grill, sort of like a celebratory jerk! LOL
On Sunday my best friend and I (along with other family members and friends) had plans for the beach and so we were both up at the crack of dawn. I made BBQ chicken, and she made fried chicken – don’t judge us! We had planned to head out at 9am as we wanted to beat the rush and be able to get a good spot on the beach. Of course you know that didn’t happen. Despite being up early, we didn’t leave home until almost mid-day.
The water was freezing cold when I first attempted to get my feet wet… enough to send me running back to dry land!
I figured I would spend the majority of the day laying around as the prospect of actually taking a swim seemed rather bleak. That was until I got smacked flat on my behind by an incredibly aggressive and obnoxious wave! I was soaked from head to toe, but ironically after being submerged I didn’t feel as cold so I spent the remainder of the day being a water bunny… best decision ever! We had such an amazing time!
Hope you all had an awesome Saturday! Mine started entirely too early, and for reasons I wish weren’t true. Now I don’t know about you ladies (or men even), but I’ve personally always had a mistrust of mechanics. I don’t know where it all started, I just know that I’ve never trusted them. I always felt the need to take a guy along with me if I needed to get a quote or have work done on my car because I felt like the male presence would deter any attempts to take advantage of this damsel (try not to choke on your laughter)!
Long story short… against my better judgment I loaned my car to my baby brother who had a fender bender. He got rear ended which resulted in a broken tail light and some damage to the left fender and back bumper. I took the car to a mechanic who was recommended by my dad and was quoted $1,000 for something that easily would have been $700-$800 elsewhere. However, because I was familiar with his work, and he was highly recommended by the padre, I went along with it.
A few days later I went to pick up my car, only to find that the front fog light was broken and the panel immediately below that was missing from my front bumper. I immediately brought this to the attention of my mechanic who claimed that’s the way I dropped off my car! Say what? I told him absolutely not, but he convinced me that the impact of the accident could have resulted in the broken fog light and missing panel. I had no reason not to believe him because he seemed like a nice enough guy, plus this man knows my father. Surely he wouldn’t try to pull one over on me knowing my dad, right? WRONG!
I got home and his theory just didn’t make sense to me. For one, if in fact it happened when my brother got rear ended, would someone not have noticed the missing panel laying in the road? Would he as a mechanic seeing that I had this damage in the front not bring it to my attention when I dropped the car off so as not to be held liable, or to see if I wanted to have that damage repaired as well? It made absolutely no sense, and as Judge Judy likes to say, when things don’t add up, it’s because it’s not true!
Something told me to go examine his work a bit closer and so I went to double check and make sure that he had installed OEM lights on my car. As I approached the car it was clear the lights were different, as the original light on the right was a rich amber, and the one he replaced on the left was much lighter and looked almost yellow. When I picked the car up earlier that day, I was so distracted by the damage in the front that I hadn’t even noticed this! I wanted to inspect a bit further and so I popped my truck and started to release the pin which secured the light only to have it break apart in my hand. When I inspected it, it was clear that he had recycled the same broken pin from the accident and attempted to glue it together, and upon further inspection I noticed he had used an aftermarket light (and not OEM like he promised). I was FURIOUS!
I immediately phoned him and called him out on his deception. He claimed to have believed it to be OEM when he ordered online. I call bull—-! You’re a mechanic, this is your business… either you purchased it from BMW or you didn’t! I told him I was disgusted by his actions and now that he had shown me that he was a liar, I didn’t believe that I brought him my car with a broken fog light and missing panel. He tried to squirm his way out of it but I held firm. He claimed not to be responsible for the damage in the front of my car but he apologized for the “misunderstanding” and resolved to order the correct lights as well as the missing panel and fog light for the front.
Today, after a week of waiting for parts to come in, I went to have everything installed (at 8:30am no less). Despite it being way to early to be up on a Saturday, I’m happy because my baby is whole again! I’d be lying if I told you it wasn’t awkward. It WAS! You could cut the tension with a knife because I was so disgusted by his actions and I sensed that he was embarrassed by the whole ordeal.
I wish I had two… if I did, I’d be scratching them right now! Don’t try to pull one over on me boo!
SimplyCin 