Today, I went to church with a good bit of family.  It served as a great opportunity to say my last goodbye’s to some aunts and uncles.

Right after church I met up with my cousin, Akili.  He had the task of helping me escape from the old birds and show me something exciting.  It just so happened that we did this on the same day as the Puerto Rican Day Parade.  It was a sea of 2.6 million loud half naked people everywhere I went. We walked from Central Park, past Times Square, through the market of Grand Central Station and all the way to  Union Station. I was happy to see the locations of some of my favorite shows, Project Runway and Heroes.  I was so tempted to run into the middle of Times Square and shout “Yataaa” in classic Hiro fashion.

However, Union Station had to be the best part. Not only did I get to be lazy and sit, I was able to watch the many kooky people that were there.  There was a man preaching about the negative effects of cell phones and the incompetence of today’s government, all in the same breath.  Another group were playing hacky sack in a giant circle, I watched as a random person would join in every few minutes.  This was all to the sound of some hippy looking kids banging drums and, get his, playing a kazoo.  Akili and I found it incredibly funny when, in the middle of the chaos, a young lady strolled across the park.  She clearly walked as though she was the prettiest thing in New York, that was until she tripped on her own foot!

It was the perfect place for people watching.  I wish I had my camera but no luck, I left it home.

We made our way home and I spent the night at his place, watcing basketball finals (boo Lakers!) and getting to know each other more.  He’s definately a cool and smart guy.

Baba Roots, which was founded by entrepreneur William Webb, is a herbal energy drink popular among young people in Jamaica. It is said to increase sexual energy and alertness. It is marketed in Jamaica as a homegrown and natural alternative to Red Bull. – Wikipedia

Today, I reunited with a handful of my family, seriously there is pretty much 1 for each finger. People I hadnt seen in about 15 years.  Watching my aunt and parents together has already opened doors to many jokes and you can imagine just how wide the doors blew open with this bunch.   These guys had a joke a minute, the men making fun of the ladies and the women replying with witty comebacks.  Of course the day couldn’t be complete without the timeless stories about thier good ol’ St. Vincent days featuring Ms. Lucy from Bayabou, or Francis from near the river in Mespo.  However, what took the night was when my aunts started asking if anyone knew “Baba”, Baba Roots.  My dad’s face stood puzzled as a small hot sauce looking bottle gets pulled out from the fridge.  Slowly the jokes start to go from innocent and lean towards risque.   Within minutes sexual innuendos were out on the table faster than my mom could say “hogwash”.  It was a pretty funny experience yet strains of awkwardness were very present.  I watched in total confusion as I watched my parents volunteer themselves the opportunity to partake of this bevereage.  My dad loved it.

Yesterday, Aunt Verbelle had told us about my mom and her crazy shopping, but I really thought it was being slightly exaggerated.  However, today I have learned just a little bit more about this woman I call mommy.  My mom flew into NY today and we picked her up at about roughly 11am. My dad and I looked at each other in disbelieve as without a question, or hesitation, Verbelle drove directly to a mall.  She knew exactly what my mom wanted to do because it’s thier routine.   We spent a good 3 hours watching mom conquer these stores. I think buying stuff from each is like a trophey for women.

Later in the day we went to church. Dad was doing a short sermon at a prayer meeting.  I found it weird that we were the first ones there. The meeting was supposed to be at 8pm, and we were the only ones there until about 8:15pm.  Anyway as I was sitting there I realised how good of a preacher my dad is!  He really shines and takes control of the crowd.  I know about the whole God is doing the talking thing but he is the perfect vessel for it.  I started to take note of  how he really uses his life expereinces, jokes and personality to convey the message… and people like it!

On the way home I got to witness my family saying some pretty funny things. “Chinese have no peripheral vision because of thier eyes.. they cant see a thing” … “But they can see money!”

Twas quite a day.

…yes that’s all.

This whole day actually went very fast.  It could be because of the time difference, technically today is 3 hours shorter than usual.  We had a 5 hour flight to NY and got picked up by my Aunt Verbelle (Mom’s sister).  Throughout my evening in her long island home, I couldn’t help but be reminded of my mother and grandmother.  Some common traits she shares with my mother is the little “uh”  sounds she makes and the mumbling to herself.  Also, I caught her a few times singing quietly just like my mom does as well as the laughing smile while making the short “tih” sucking of teeth sound often heard from my mom.  Clearly grandma rubbed off on both of them.  The one thing that reminded me of my grandma was the way she had her hair. I really don’t know if my grandma ever even wore her hair in the same way but something just really struck me when I saw it.  It was sorta braided back against her hair and prepared for bed. Hard to explain.

Anyhow, tonight I’m sharing a bed with daddy. Let the snore war begin!

Uhh, somebody might wanna fix that.

It’s our last day out here.  So how did we spend it? Did we go out for a gigantic buffet, visit every remaining site and return home exhausted?  No, I think we did that two days ago because all we did today was hang out in the room.  Vegas can be pretty tiring.  I know I didn’t see everything there is to see up here but I think I saw enough to feel satisfied.

So the big question is.. did i get everything on my list done?

1. Take lots of pics. YES
2. See the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign. YES
3. See one of those quickie wedding places. YES
4. Wear a suit. I love suits. NO.. though I did try on my suit jacket
5. Get a casino chip as a memory. YES

I think that’s pretty good. This trip with the old man has been pretty good you know.  Now its time to finish packing…

Pops just walked in and asked me to bring him up a milkshake from Denny’s so I guess I’ll wrap it up here!  We leave for NY tomorrow, I’m not sure what the internet situation will be but hopefully I can keep up to date with this blog tihng.

Can I have fries with that?

At the end of the day I decided to go downtown and take some pics since I was running out of Vegas time before flying to New York.  I spent most of my time at Mandalay Bay, watching some people play..craps? The one where they say “give me snake eyes”. It was just like on TV, the table crowded with people, everyone cheering on the dude in a tacky suit who’s on a roll and a half drunk bimbo on his side. I had the urge to inch closer to him so he can offer me the chance to blow the dice or rub his head, but i figured that might actually freak him out.
While there, I also listened to a really good cover band play.  I asked the bartender for a glass of water because I anticipated I may be walking home since it was past shuttle time.  Turns out I was able to get another bus that took me back.  Something I think I forgot to mention before was that its legal to drink on the street as well as smoke in the hotels.  But I suppose, what do you expect from the city where you can get married in a drive through?