Mia: Shaken Not Stirred


The true life stories of a NYC female.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck


The Yeti (my boyfriend) and I were walking in the village, an area of NYC known for its large gay community. The Yeti tends to talk before he thinks and as a result there are times when I just want to pop him one right across the puss due to inappropriate / insensitive remarks.



The Yeti: do you want some ice cream from the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck?

I narrowed my eyes at him not believing what he’d just said.

Me: What, what did you just say?

The Yeti: Big. Gay. Ice Cream truck…



“Gay” is slang for anything unappealing… a synonym for whack, weak,lame you know like a horrible flick or a hideous shirt…well you get the drift. The word gets tossed around a lot where I come from, even the gays use it and no one is offended by it much like the “N” word, it only has the power you choose to give it and in my world the word has no power other than a synonym. However due to the hood we were in and in light of Gay bashing I was shocked that the Yeti's usage of the word. I looked around to make sure no one was over hearing his comments; the Yeti tends to talk loud.


Me: Why would you say something like that?

The Yeti: No really, there's a big gay ice cream truck a block from here!

He pointed behind me... Yup, there was a Big Gay Ice Cream truck parked down the block according to the logo on it (see pic above)....whaddya know?! I guess the owners subscribe to the theory that words only have the power you give them. Nice.



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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The stuff great laughs are born of.



One of the things I love about NYC it is the fact that strangers will not hesitate to jump into your convo as if they were life long friends. It has been my experience that those brief moments are the stuff great laughs are born of.



My friend and I were discussing a trip an up coming trip we’re taking. As we finalized our plans my friend jumped up and down and yelled, “I’m so excited!” Without missing a beat one of the two queens who were slightly behind us “And you just can’t hide it!” they yelled.
I laughed and remembered the lyrics to the Pointer sisters’ song they were quoting and quickly offered up the next lyric, “She’s about to about to lose control and I think she likes it!” One of the queens saluted me, winked and threw back his head in laughter.




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Thursday, July 23, 2009

Sometimes I'm Slow As Hell


There are three things you need to know about me if you don’t already well actually there’s more but for the purpose of this post we’ll focus on three. I love taking pictures, I love walking in the rain, and sometimes I’m slow as all hell.

The rain had just stopped and I was walking down the street camera in hand when I spotted this flower I absolutely needed to take a picture of. Just as I raised my camera to take the picture a woman walked into my shot blocking my view. I kept my camera where it was waiting for her to walk past me. The woman at first appeared apprehensive. I wondered what was up with her, it was only a camera after all and at 4ft 11 I doubt if she thought I was a danger to her.

As she walked towards me the look of apprehension quickly turned into one of annoyance. Her eyes jumped from my face to my camera looking at us as if we were chunks of dog turd stuck to her shoe. Immediately my brain went all inquisitive on me...Why is she looking at me like that, do I know her? What’s her deal with grilling the camera as if it were going to steal her soul?

She stopped and stood in front of me the look on her face seemed to say, “Ugh get it over with, take your damn picture already.” It hit me then… told you I can be slow at times. I recognized her! She was an actress who had had a very successful show a couple of years back. Gilmore Girls, yeah she’d played the mom. the useless info section of my brain supplied. I chuckled as I realized that she had thought I was paparazzi out to get a shot of her. Oh please lady get over yourself I thought and while you’re at it get out of my shot!

When I made no move to take her picture or talk to her a slight blush crept up her face. I smiled and lowered my head shaking it once using my body lingo to express it’s okay lady don’t stress it…now can you get out of my shot? She seemed fluent in body language and stepped aside quickly moving past me. I gave her a quick thank you nod and turned towards the flower and raised my camera. She stood several feet away from me watching as I took several shots of the flower. When I was done we smiled at each other and walked off in opposite directions. I was off to embrace more photo ops and she from what I had seen was off to avoid them.



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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Smart women. Stupid man.


The argument was vicious, plenty of name calling and ill will was being flung out into the night. Thankfully they were mature enough not to take it to a physical level. The last thing I wanted to see was a couple of middle aged women throwing haymakers in the middle of the street. The women were arguing over a man, a man who was no where to be found. Smart man. Stupid women.


“Well he told me you were a lesbian!” the tall woman yelled.

The smaller woman gasped and sputtered. “I’ve never been gay in my life!” she yelled back.

That statement seemed to get the tall woman thinking. It was time to compare notes she said. Minutes later they were leaning against a car smoking and bonding. By their second cigarette they’d decided that the stupid man wasn't worthy of them.

Besides the taller woman added, “he’s got a small dick and can’t fuck for shit!"

"and he’s a premature ejaculator!” the smaller woman added for good measure.

The taller woman knowingly nodded her head and gave the other woman a high five. They called and left a message on his voice mail since he refused to answer their calls. He was no longer wanted in their lives or welcomed in their homes and they deserved better they informed him.

Smart women. Stupid man.


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Tuesday, June 09, 2009

A Moment Straight Out of A Movie


It was a moment straight out of a movie; seriously Hollywood couldn’t have done it better. I only wish I had my camera there to document it and even then I’m pretty sure still life photography wouldn’t have done it justice. A camcorder was definitely called for.

It was 10 pm and my friends and I were chilling at a small park in Greenwich Village. After several days of rain that would’ve sent Noah scurrying for his tool box New York had been granted a brief reprieve. The park was filled with people eager to shake off their cabin fever. It was comfortably warm night and a slight breeze carried the smell of spring in the park. You know the smell the smell of flowers blooming, rain soaked grass, and stuff that makes us allergy sufferers go ‘achoo’ but still it’s a wonderful scent. The air was also filled with the sounds of music generated by several musicians scattered around the park.

The topic of conversation as we stood about a foot away from a guitarist taking a break had been President Obama’s speech in Cairo. Even the one non- fan of Islam among us had to admit that it was a freaking awesome speech. We all agreed that for the first time in 8 years we all felt confident in the direction this country was moving in. I added my own personal hope that one day this world would look beyond religion, race, etc. and just come together as one. One of my friends playfully hugged me, “Always the dreamer Mia.” She’d said. “You never know man dreams can come true.” I replied. Then as if on cue the musician looked dead at me and began hitting some familiar chords on his guitar. My eyes opened wide as I recognized Come Together by The Beatles. I beamed at him and began singing in the smallest of voices as I swayed to the music. After several more chords the other musicians walked over and began jamming with him. Pretty soon a crowd had gathered to watch and spontaneously supplied the lyrics. Several thoughts crossed my mind at that moment:

1) I need to get back into the habit of carrying my camera with me at all times.

2) My friends really need to expand their musical history education beyond Tupac and Biggie. They couldn’t believe I knew the lyrics to the song. More importantly I had no clue as to how I knew the lyrics to the entire song though I suspected that my mom strapping headphones onto her belly for the entire 6 months she was pregnant with me had something to do with it.

3) Music is totally the ultimate unifier of people. There we were a crowd of at least 70 people of different colors, races, religions, and sexual orientations singing together to a song released in 1969 way before the majority of them had been born. Moments like that give me hope for the future and reinforces my faith in the human race. Maybe it should be mandatory for each head of state to play an instrument and several times a year they should get together at the UN and jam before discussing politics. I think the world would be a better place.

When the song was over the impromptu band decided to stick together and play some more Beatle’s tunes. As the third song ended my friends and I reluctantly decided it was time to leave. We all had to get up extra early in the morning. I approached the guitarist that had started the musical jam and dropped a few bucks into his case. He smiled and pointed at me and launched into I Saw Her Standing There.

As my friends and I walked out of the park with the echo of the still singing crowd ringing in our ears I couldn’t help but look around for camera and sound equipment. The whole thing had just been too perfect. I was certain that we were seconds away from being yelled at for trespassing on a movie set.

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Wednesday, May 20, 2009

MacHalo Tour, Imagine



I’m a fan of a book series called “The Fever Series” by Karen Marie Moning. I joined the author’s message board and ended up catching the fever. I've even designed a couple of things for their zazzle site. See picture here and here.

The MacHalo, a prop from the last book is making a tour of the United States and abroad. It’s currently in NYC in my care and I’ve been walking around with my fellow Moning Maniacs taking pictures of the modified pink helmet. Last night I was at the John Lennon memorial in Central Park with some friends shooting some photos and renewed my membership in the Smart Ass Club of America.




As soon as I put the MacHalo down on the ground it attracted several tourists. My friend quickly explained about the MacHalo while I continued to take pictures. Pretty soon I was joined by other people taking pictures. They were under the impression that the MacHalo was part of the display.

I had packed up my camera and handed it to my friend when a young woman approached me,“I don’t get it.” She said as she stared at the MacHalo.

Those of you who know me in real life or via my blog already know that I have a twisted sense of humor and my mouth is pretty fast. Unfortunately the general public doesn’t realize this about me. That coupled with my dead pan delivery tends to make for some pretty funny situations.

I could’ve explained yet again to the female about the MacHalo being a prop from a comedic moment in the book but we’d already tried that and she didn’t seem to be able to wrap her head around it. What’s a smart ass female to do? I glanced over at my friends and shrugged. No way in hell could I pass this chance up! My friends nodded their heads at me in encouragement.

“The lights are symbolic of the souls that have been sacrificed in wars all over the world. It’s symbolic of how when even one life is lost a light goes out in universe. You know a soul with the potential to do good and make a difference in the world is gone.” I said.

The girl stared at me and then back at the MacHalo as if she were in awe. I decided to continue. “Imagine if these souls were still with us. Imagine all they could’ve accomplished and how the world would’ve been a brighter place just by them being here.”

A couple of people had wandered over during my speech and nodded their heads in agreement. I decided to go out balls to the wall. I swept my hand out towards the crowd and then the MacHalo.

“You may say that I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one, I hope some day you’ll join us and the world will be as one. “ I said and pointed to the MacHalo.

My friends joined me in a reverent head bow and next thing you know the tourists went into a picture taking frenzy. When they were done I retrieved the MacHalo and walked out of the park without a word. They were none the wiser and my friends were snickering away.

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Friday, May 15, 2009

The Omnipotent Ones Were Just Waiting For Me To Let Down My Guard



For years my friends have teased me about how the oddest things always seem to happen when I’m around. We’ve been locked inside of an out door running track... stalked by an ankle humping Chihuahua... chased through the subways by a gang of angry looking ASL signing deaf mutes... followed by a giant Kotex with wings all over the village on Halloween. Lately things have been quiet. I thought that perhaps the pantheon of mischievous gods who’ve enjoyed messing with me felt I was no longer worthy of their attention. I was wrong. The omnipotent ones were just waiting for me to let down my guard.


As I walked past the man I heard him say something to me. Despite my headphones I’d heard him and I was knew he was talking to me because he was looking dead at me. I removed my headphones and he repeated what he’d said. Holy Monkey! At that exact moment one of my friends decided to text me.

She: What u doing?

Me: feels very disturbed with the vulgar message a looney told her while she passed by.

She: So now you’ve got my interest...lol what was the message?


Me: Let's just say it has something to do with licking a certain lady part lmao

She: Oh wow... what the hell? I'm sure u provoked it lmao j/k

Me: What? I had my headphones on I was like did I just hear right?
Riverdale is full of crazy people!!!!
Ughhh oh yea and while I'm waiting for the bus, dude lifts up his shirt rubs his belly meanwhile his fly was wide open!!!
I was like what the hell? Lol
I couldn't move anywhere I was at the damn bus stop! Lol

She: Lmao... sounds like u need some mace lol.
I see u haven't lost ur knack to attract the nutcases lol

Me: Please you take the cake!!
Remember that homeless guy with the bongos?
" IIIIII love you perup-pa-pa-pommmmm!!" Lmao

She: Naw that was the combination of the 3 of us lol

Me: Yea I loved how u left us behind! Lol

She: I just sped up, ur so dramatic lol

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Monday, April 27, 2009

Miss Beverly Rides Again



Our neighbor Miss Beverly, a wheel chair bound woman prone to popping wheelies when tipsy, had gotten bagged by the cops. She'd been drunkenly chasing squirrels on her way home from a friend's barbeque. In lieu of a summons the cops decided to impound her motorized wheel chair over night. Since her son was stuck in mid-town traffic my uncle volunteered to fetch Miss Beverly back home from the precinct.


My uncle was met by Miss Beverly’s nephew when he parked in front of our building. After hearing about her latest antic the nephew reached into the SUV for Miss Beverly and attempted to lecture her. It was no use though he couldn’t keep a straight face. As he adjusted her in his arms he sniffed the air and frowned.

“Aunt Beverly did you pee on yourself?” he said as he walked into the lobby.

Miss Beverly cackled and nodded her head. “Sure as hell did!”

Her nephew was outraged thinking that she'd been the victim of neglect while at the precinct. Miss Beverly quickly assured him that that had not been the case.

“I wet myself on purpose.” She proudly exclaimed.

“Why would you do that?” her nephew asked.

“Well, nephew," she said looking up at him, "when they couldn’t get a hold of my son they was talking about locking me up in a cell with them other prisoners.”

“And?”

“I watch television; I know what those prisoners do to new inmates!”

Her nephew stared at Miss Beverly with a look of utter confusion on his face. Miss Beverly let out an exasperated sigh.

“Think boy, think! I made water so none of them would want to come near me!” she said and rolled her eyes as if he should’ve known this.

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Monday, April 13, 2009

Way To Go Bruno!


My folks had gone off in search of cream cheese and I was left in front of the dairy case trying to decide what size container of ricotta we needed. A man approached the case, “Patty do we need any mozzarella?” “Yes!” his wife called from several feet away.


He grabbed a package of mozzarella and frowned when he couldn’t find the price sticker. “They’re on sale both the Polly-O and the Sorrento, 1.99 for the one pound package.” the elderly woman said looking up from her Pathmark flyer. “Thank you” the man said as he reached for three more packages. She noticed my tattoo and reached up to touch it and smiled warmly at me. She appeared to be somewhere in her 80’s and was a tiny thing several inches shorter than me, a white cap of curly hair framing her face. She must have been a beauty when she was younger.

“Did it hurt girly?” she asked.

“No m’am this one didn’t the one over my breast hurt like a mother though” I replied.

“Let me have a look at it.” She said. I bent over and pulled the neck of my t-shirt away from my skin to give her a look.

“Oh that’s lovely. Comedy and tragedy masks. You have a very nice rack by the way.”

I laughed, I just had to.

“Thank you.” I said.

She looked down at her bosom and shrugged her shoulders. “I remember when these were pert and perky just like yours.” She said.

“Enjoy them while your young girly.”

“I’ll try to m’am.”

She turned her attention back to the man and his shopping cart.

“You’re a good man doing the shopping for your wife.”

“You see this girly,” she said addressing me, “this is the type of man you need to find for yourself.”

Yes, m’am.” I replied putting the ricotta in my shopping cart.

“You should tell that to my wife. I always do the shopping” the man said.

His wife approached and smiled sweetly at the old woman.

“You’ve got yourself a good man there lady, in my day men wouldn’t be caught dead doing the shopping for their wives.”

The man put his hand gently on the old woman’s shoulder.

“See Patty she’s my number one fan!” Patty gave him a playful smirk.

“He should do something for me, I gave him 5 kids!”

“Five kids?!” The old woman gasped and a mischievous look filled her eyes. She nudged the husband’s side with her elbow.

“Oh you so like to play hide the wiener huh?”


Holy Monkey! Did that sweet old lady just say ‘ hide the wiener’?

I nearly dropped the package of mozzarella I’d just picked up. Patty gasped and blushed furiously from her cheeks all the way to her scalp it seemed. Patty’s husband simply laughed.


“Oh look how red she turned. Yes, Patty likes to play hide the wiener. Five wasn’t enough for her she still wants more.” The old lady cackled obviously pleased with the reaction she’d gotten.

“That’s nothing to be ashamed of my dear. Passion is important in a marriage. You hear that girly?” She said this time addressing me.

“Yes m’am. I gotcha. Passion. Important."

“Just don’t over do it Patty, like I did. Men aren’t strong like us women.”

Patty opened her eyes wide looking at me as if I had any clue to what the old woman was saying. I didn’t.

“I killed him.”

thoughts of homicidal elderly women shades of Arsenic and Old Lace ran through my mind.

“Killed who?” Patty’s husband warily asked.

“My husband, I killed him with my passion.”

“Did you now?” He asked.

“Oh yes, I was riding him…”

Patty and I stared at each others our mouths dropping open, our thoughts judging from our facial expressions in perfect sync.

Oh shit!

The old woman seemed oblivious to our reaction. Patty was shocked and I was just struggling not let loose the laughter I felt rumbling in my chest.


“And he died right there, right under me,” the old woman continued, “he came and left at the same time.”

I clamped my hand over my mouth to keep myself from laughing. I liked this old lady.

“Not a bad way to go though.” Patty’s husband said.

“Yeah but now at the age of 88 I’m all alone.” She sighed.

“I’m so sorry. How long has it been since he died” Patty asked.

“He died six months ago.”

Hold up six months ago, this old lay was still doing the Mc Nasty at the age of 88?! Holy freaking Monkey. Awesome.

“I miss him terribly. Nobody could ring my doorbell the way Bruno did and he did it without the help of that damn Viagra pill.” She said proudly.

Patty’s husband raised his eyebrows he was impressed.

“Way to go Bruno!” Patty’s husband said raising his eyes reverently to the ceiling.


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Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Not a Happy Yeti


It had finally stopped snowing. My friends and I stared out the café window watching the woman in high heeled boots navigate her way gingerly onto the slippery sidewalk. Actually we were placing bets on how long it would take her to kiss sidewalk. The sudden temperature drop was causing havoc making even the most sensible shoe wearing pedestrian a little extra cautious walking around the city.

I set my cup of hot chocolate down on the table and sent a silent prayer up to the snow gods that the woman would not slip and fall right there in the middle of Mulberry Street. The last thing she needed was an audience scoring her fall and score it we would, besides my money had been on her not to fall. Never under estimate a fashionista, those females can jump double dutch in heels. No joke.

My cell phone rang just as the woman entered the café, I raised my cup in salute to her and she smiled at me. Little did she know she'd just paid for my hot chocolate. I answered my phone, my boyfriend was screeching on the other end. He was livid, he’d expected me to be waiting for him by the train station several blocks away.

why on earth would I be outside in the freezing cold when I was supposed to meet my friends at the nice warm café?

I told him I didn’t recall telling him that I’d meet him at the train station after all his joining my friends and me had been a last minute thing. He continued to argue with me stating that he’d left a message on my voice mail, a message I obviously had not gotten I informed him. He was just winding up I thought to myself and before I got angry I cut him off and told him he was free to join us or make his way home. Either was fine by me.

He was about to launch into another argument when all of a sudden I heard what sounded like wind whipping the phone and then the line went dead. I figured the call had dropped and turned my attention back to my friends. Several minutes later he called again and I was greeted by a torrent of curses followed by “I slipped and fell!” Of course me being me I laughed, him being him didn’t, me being me I laughed even harder and ended our call.

Ten minutes later he stomped into the café still put out. He glowered at me as he approached our table. There was snow in his hair and all over his clothes. From the looks of him he’d obviously landed in a pile of snow and had to roll his way out of it. I struggled to keep my composure.

“Oh look it’s a Yeti!” I joked in reference to his 6ft plus tall snow covered frame. He gave me his best Yurisonofabitch glare, which I promptly dismissed with a beautifuly executed eye roll.

"So uh Yeti been making snow angels have ya?” I asked with a straight face as I handed him the hot chocolate I’d ordered for him. My friends erupted in laughter. He glared some more as he accepted the cup and took a seat next to me. He was not a happy Yeti.


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Friday, December 05, 2008

Chatting Near The Film Set



One of my fellow interns and I were walking past a film set on our way to our internship when she decided to stop and light a cigarette. On the third try she managed to win the battle she’d been waging against the wind and got her cigarette lit. She was one happy intern.


One of the guys from the film set walked over and stood next to me as the intern took her first drag. She looked up at him appreciating the view. I was concentrating on the film set and thinking of my friend Tanya she would so love this. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his wool pea coat and rocked back and forth on his heels shooting me a sideways glance before addressing me. I dragged my eyes away from the crew setting up and briefly glanced up at him.

-“You know what she was thinking when she lit up.”

--“What?” I asked

- “You know what she was thinking when she lit up.”

--“No, I mean what was she thinking?”

-“You know… that it’s bad for you.”

--“What’s bad?”

-“She was thinking that cigarette was bad for her but she wanted it anyway.”

--“Oh.”

The intern looked at him as if she were a puff away from blowing smoke in his face and telling his to go screw himself. You know smokers can get pretty snippy when someone criticizes their nicotine habit. I feel the same way about my addiction to pizza.

--“I think the very same thing every time I have a drink in my hand.”

He laughed.

-“You’re funny.”

--“Thanks.”

He looked down at me and smiled. He had a great smile it was warm and inviting. He stared into my eyes for a brief second then his attention was drawn to the bottle of orange juice I was sipping from. He tilted his head at me and arched an eyebrow asking me the silent question.

--“No, no there’s no liquor in my juice.

He laughed again and stepped closer and teased me with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

-“Uh huh sure that's what they all say.”

I laughed and held my hand up as if swearing on a bible

--“This is strictly orange juice I swear!”

---“That’d be really messed up you showing up to work drunk.”, said the intern

-“You work around here?”

I nodded my head as I took another sip of juice, while the intern replied.

---“We intern at the mental health clinic down the block.”

-“What do you do?”

---“She interns in the substance abuse program and I intern at the adolescent clinic.”

he smiled and jerked his head my way

-“Oh then it would definitely be messed up if she showed up drunk.”

--“Ya think, especially this early in the crusty morning?”

-“What do you do there?”

---“I do intakes and process reports.” said the intern taking a pull on her cigarette.

-“I’m a therapist slash social worker for mentally ill substance abusers.”

-“Wow, that’s impressive.”

-“Thanks.”

-“I was locked up for distributing heroin.”

The intern’s eyes opened wide and her mouth formed a perfect circle in surprised. I looked up at him and smiled.

--“Now there’s an interesting career choice. How were the benefits and did it come with a dental plan?” I asked.

I guess my response wasn’t what he was used to hearing. I caught him by surprise he covered his eyes with his free hand as he laughed.

-“God you really are funny. That doesn’t bother you?”

--“Being thought as funny? No, not all all.”

-“That’s not what I meant.”

--“I know what you meant. Na, why should it bother me? What’s important is that you don’t let it bother you. What matters is what you’re doing with your life now. Don’t ever let the embarrassments of the past negatively affect your present.”

-“That’s good.”

I shrugged my shoulders

--“Feel free to print it out on a t-shirt.”

-“I used to smoke weed, never used heroin though.”

--“Good, that stuff is bad for you.”

-“Weed?” he joked

I snorted, “Yeah, weed.”

-“ I stopped smoking after passing out one day.”

--“Yeah all it takes is one bad trip to put you off. I used to smoke too I was a social toker.”

-“Really?”

--“Yeah but like I said all it takes is one bad experience to make you quit.”

-“Are you really a therapist?”

--“Yup”

-“I can see it, you’re easy to talk to.”

--“It’s what I do man.”

He laughed again, “I haven’t laughed this much in awhile.”

--“You’re living all wrong then. You should laugh at least 3 times during a conversation. It’s good for your heart.” I said.

Taking my advice to heart he laughed again and then pointed towards the film set. The intern looked towards the set and tossed her cigarette butt on the sidewalk grinding it into the asphalt with the heel of her boot.

-“I work here; I’m a production assistant on this set.”

---“What are you guys filming?” the intern asked.

-“Law and Order: SVU.”

--“I love that show.”

-“You do?

--“I love the whole Law and Order franchise.”

-“You want to laugh?”

--“Of course, are you going to juggle cameras for us?”

He laughed again and shook his head shooting a glance at the intern.

-“Is she always like this?”

the intern nodded her head and smiled.

---“Always!”

-“Nice”

--“So how were you going to make us laugh?”

-“I’ve never seen the show.”

Once again the look of surprise planted itself on the intern’s face this time my face mirrored hers.

--“You’re kidding me right?”

-“No I swear. All the guys on the set tease me about it.”

I was curious as to how he’d made it from heroin dealer to working as a production assistant on a show he’d never seen. My friend Tanya had majored in film at college and as of yet hadn’t been able to get her foot inside of the business. I wanted to hear his story and hopefully pick up some tips for Tanya but then the intern announced that it was time for us to leave otherwise we’d be late. She’d finished her cigarette and was thoroughly saturated with enough nicotine to hold her until well after lunch.

-“I should get back to work too.”

He pointed to the crew busy setting up equipment.

-“Hey it was really nice talking to you maybe I’ll see you again later?

--“Maybe, we have to walk back this way on our way home.”

-“We’re going to be filming here for 14 hours today.”

We said our goodbyes and headed off in opposite directions. The intern and I were at the corner about to cross the street when we heard him calling from the edge of the film set.

-“Hey funny girl,” he said pointing at me, “hey….what’s your name?

--“Me?”

He laughed and nodded his head

-“Yeah you, what’s your name funny girl?”

--“Mia”

He stared at me for a second as if he were tasting my name and deciding if he liked the taste of it or not.

-“Nice... Mia…Mia, my name’s Casey,

I smiled at him and waved

--“Hey there, Casey!”

He laughed and waved back

-“Hey there Mia, it was really great meeting you, see you later?

I shrugged my shoulders.

-“I’ll be here until 10:30 tonight. I really hope I get to see you again Mia.”




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Posted by @ 2:19 PM
5 comment from: Anonymous Anonymous, Anonymous Anonymous, Blogger Mia, Blogger Goggles Piasano Ritardo, Blogger Mia,


Tuesday, October 07, 2008

I guess she really did hate those boots


The mall parking lot was nearly empty when the elegantly dressed woman emerged limping from the store. The physical pain of every step she took was etched on her face.When she reached the edge of the steep side walk she seemed hesitant to step off.

She shifted her weight onto one leg and then the other looking like a ghetto fabulous flamingo in her straight leg jeans and 6 inch stiletto heeled boots.She looked up and down the sidewalk as if she were looking for something to lean on. She exhaled a deep breath when she saw the phone booth on the opposite end of the side walk she was standing on. The look on her face said it all there was no way she could make it to the booth.

Spotting me sitting inside my car a few feet in front of her she called out to me,“Miss?” she called jangling her keys in the air as she continued to do her flamingo stance. “Miss? Could you please help me ? I can’t get down from here. ” she said and held out her hands. She was breaking my heart she sounded as if she wanted to cry. “Sure thing M’am, let me lock up my car.” She slid her arms over my shoulder and I helped her step off the sidewalk. “Put your weight on me” I instructed her. “Could you walk me to my car ?”she asked, “it’s right there.” Her car was parked a couple of rows away from mine and judging from the condition that she was in she was in no shape to walk it alone. She handed me her keys and I walked her to the car leaning her against it as I opened the driver’s side door.

She flung herself into the sear and practically cried with joy, “Oh my god, oh my god I hate these fucking boots!” she shrieked as she began unzipping them. She threw them onto the ground and reached for something under her seat. After making sure she was going to be okay I headed back to my car. As I drove past her I saw her sitting on the ground pulverizing the boots with the crow bar she’d pulled out from under her seat. She looked up at me and waved.The look on her face was one of pure joy as she continued to smash the boots. I guess she really did hate those boots.





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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Miss Beverly


We were on the way out of the parking lot when I turned around to check on my car and spotted the outrageously drunken woman popping wheelies in her motorized wheel chair. Mom, my brother and I stopped to watch her maneuvering her chair around the parked cars. “Should she even be driving that thing?” I asked. “I have no clue.” “Seriously ma isn’t that like drunk driving?” My brother laughed,“Let me go get her”, he said as said as he jogged towards her.

“Hey Miss Beverly!” he called out to her. “Hey Steven how y’all doing, where your mama at?” she shouted back in her thick southern accent. Steven jerked his head towards where we were standing. “She’s right over there Miss Beverly." Miss Beverly turned her chair towards us and waved with one hand as she balanced the chair on its rear wheels, “Hey Miss Maggie, Hey there little Mia!” “Miss Beverly,” my brother said, “it’s awfully hot out here why don’t I take you inside?” She shook her head and attempted to wave him away nearly falling out of her chair. Oh yeah she was polluted, she was blotto. “Na don’t you worry about me boy I don’t even feel the heat no more.” “Miss Beverly,” he pleaded, “Miss Angie was looking for you earlier. Please let me take you upstairs to her.” she shook her head again reminding me of a mischievous child especially when let out a laugh and squealed “Tag!You’re it!”

Miss Beverly took off and Steven quickly gave chase “Aw come on Miss Beverly don’t make me run my feet hurt!” “Whoa look at her go!” I said as she deftly avoided my brother giggling like a maniac. “Miss Beverly please you’re going to hurt yourself!” Steven yelled. My mom doubled over in laughter and yelled “Go Miss Beverly go!” “You is never gonna catch me little boy I just charged my battery!” Miss Beverly taunted. “Mom don’t encourage her!” Steven whined. Mom wiped a few tears from her eyes. “Oh man I swear that is too funny! Hey Mia do you think I should call the security guard and have him shoot out her tires?”




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Thursday, July 31, 2008

LL Cool J


Bumping into celebrities is a fairly common thing here in New York, occasionally though you do get star struck. Ever since I was a little Mia I’ve been a fan of the rapper LL Cool J. Jackie’s cousin spotted him sitting across from her in the airport the other day and snapped a picture with her camera phone. Naturally Jackie forwarded it to me. This was my response to her…


Note: for the purpose of this post I inserted phony numbers.

------ SMS Text ------
To: + 1 (555) 555-5555
Sent: Jul 30, 2008 2:42 PM
Subject: Tell her to write this down on a...

Tell her to write this down on a piece of paper and slowly slide it in the book.....

555-555-5555 lmao

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile



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Wednesday, July 09, 2008

That's No Way To Win Friends and Influence People


I’d gone to the biker bar as a favor to Guay to keep her company while she got her wrist tattooed. Mike,the guy that does my tats owns the bar and on certain nights he inks from the apartment over the bar. Guay and I were on our way up the stairs to the apartment at the same time a group of guys were on their way down and we met half way. The stairs were really narrow so the leather clad bikers stepped aside to allow Guay and me space to continue up. I was at most two steps above the guys when someone reached up and cupped one of my cheeks giving it a healthy squeeze and slapped it.


I honestly wasn’t thinking blinded by rage and a stinging butt cheek I whirled around and jumped down onto the step below me and nailed the first guy I saw across the face with my forearm making him lose his balance and hit the wall with his back. “Oh shit!” one of his companions shouted and laughed “shorty decked you!” The guy stared at me in shock at first and then a slow smile crept over his face as he ran his hand over his nose. Guay fearing that the guy would hit me pulled at me from the step above and I shrugged out of her grip wanting to stay where I was. I figured if I was going to have to fight the spot I was standing in was just fine.

Instead of blowing a gasket the way I thought he would the guy shook his head and then apologized to me for his actions. He introduced himself as “Mike’s nephew” and asked my name as the blood started to trickle down his nose. I glared at him and without saying a word reached into the front pocket of my messenger bag and handed him my pack of Kleenix tissues. As he reached for them he smiled again and thanked me. Feeling a surge of adrenaline and wanting to get out of there before the guy decided he was supposed to be angry and retaliate I turned my back on him and jogged up the stairs. He asked my name again and I flipped him the bird over my shoulder, “I’m love!” he yelled at my back as I reached the top of the landing.

“Well that’s no way to win friends and influence people.” I muttered under my breath to Guay as I grabbed the stair case railing to the next flight of stairs. “That’s going to leave a mark.” Guay wisely surmised I wasn’t sure if she meant the smack to my butt or the forearm to his face.




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Posted by @ 10:21 PM
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Sunday, June 29, 2008

Even Our Damn Squirrels Are Friendly



The big guy shrieked and jumped back crashing into me and dropped his soft pretzel. “Good gawd almighty that’s going to leave a mark.” I hissed as I patted my chest. He’d been startled by a couple of black squirrels running up to him. “I am so sorry. Are you okay?” he asked with a hint of an accent not native to New York. I waved him off and limped towards one of the benches with him stepping on my shadow.


I slid my foot out of my flip flop and rubbed at the skid mark his sneakers had left on the top of my foot and looked up at him. “Are you okay?” he asked again. “Yeah I’m fine. How about you, your heart returned from that trip it took to your butt yet? How are you doing?” I asked. He chuckled and seemed surprised that I was being civil. Being the genius that I am I quickly deduced that he was a tourist by his accent, the camera slung around his neck, and the tour bus parked in front of us. I figured he was part of the tourista crew that was scattered around the park’s benches munching on the food supplied from the street car vendors lined up on the block.

“I’m okay," he said, “I’ve never seen squirrels actually run at people, where I’m from they usually run away from people not towards them.” “Well you see these aren’t ordinary squirrels, these are Bronx squirrels. They’ve got a little bit of an attitude problem.” “Really?” “Oh yeah man don’t let their size fool you, they’ve got some deep seated anger issues. Those suckers will throw little fistfuls of nuts and twigs up at you in a minute. The ASPCA tried calling in some animal shrinks to talk it out with them but the little suckers refuse to lie prone on the benches.” He stared at me for a second before he realized I was joking and barked out a laugh.

He held out his hand, “My name’s Brian. I’m from Aberdeen…uh Scotland.” I took his hand and gave it a hearty shake, “Mia from The Bronx, New York and I’m really sorry you just got your pretzel jacked by a squirrel.” He ran his hand over the back of his neck and blushed probably embarrassed by his girly scream I thought. Who knew a guy could yell like that without being kicked in the cojones?

“Actually Brian the squirrels in this particular area are so used to being fed by people that they have no fear of humans. As you saw they run right up to you as soon as you come into the park.” He nodded his head and started taking pictures slowly moving around the squirrels. “I thought they were going to attack me.” I nodded my head. “A lot of that being reported in the Glasgow Daily Brian? You know bad ass squirrels running up and attacking innocent tourists in New York? “ No” he laughed, “not at all.” Hmm I see.” “Mia you have a lovely accent by the way.” I laughed and shot back “Brian my friend I’m not the one with the accent here.” He studied the squirrels that were busy tearing up his pretzel. “They’re black.” “Yes, yes they are.” “I’ve never seen a black squirrel in New York before.” “We like to trot them out to impress the tourists Brian. Actually I’d never seen one either until I moved to The Bronx.” I replied.


“Hey if you really want some fantastic pictures go up that path there stay to your right and after a block or so you’re going to see a stream and a little further up there is a beautiful water fall. You’ll see some non violent wild life as well. ” He narrowed his eyes at me looking at me as if I had just tried to sell him the Brooklyn Bridge. “ Brian I am not lying we have some lovely sights up here in the Bronx. It’s not just criminally minded black squirrels and Big Pun murals you know.” He laughed. “This is Pelham Bay Park the largest park in New York City.” “Bigger than Central Park?” he asked. “Pffttt Central Park’s 843 acres is puny compared to Pelham’s 2,700 acres.” He seemed surprised by that in fact the Bronx surprised him period he expected to see the burnt out gang infested crime riddled Bronx of the movies. I shrugged my shoulders and informed him that it was Hollywood stereotyping.

We chatted for a few minutes more and I suggested some non-tourist places easy on the pocket for him and his merry band of touristas to check out. He wrote them all down in his pad and seemed impressed with all the information I was giving him. Finally when it was time for me to leave he took my hand again and said, “You know people have this impression of New Yorkers being so cold and unfriendly but I’m finding that not to be true at all.” “Brian New Yorkers have a reputation to protect but now you know our secret... even our damn squirrels are friendly.”





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Posted by @ 10:05 PM
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Monday, March 24, 2008

I Have a Gas Hose In My Hand and I’m Sure My Mother Has a Lighter Somewhere In Her Purse


I don’t understand the reason behind non-New Yorkers bad mouthing New York.The minute they find out someone is from New York the verbal sludge flows. Actually the ones who tend to pop the most nonsense have never been here.

Recently a friend was planning a trip to New York and had the chutzpah to ask me if was safe.I didn’t know whether to be insulted or amused since he was basing his judgment on crappy B list movies and a couple of ancient shows that claimed to take place in New York but were actually filmed in Canada. “Dude,are you serious? You’re worried about your safety here?! For the love of god you come from a country where BOMBS are considered an acceptable form of political protest! Your country is like a Dr. Seuss book gone retarded!" "Bombs on the train...bombs in the rain...bombs in a box...bombs by the rocks! Bombs, bombs every where! Bombs on your chair...bombs under the stairs... bombs on the bus...bombs strapped to the bearded man’s nuts! Bombs in the car... bombs near and far! Bombs, bombs every where!” By the way he was not amused.


Then there's the Florida incident invloving my dad. My dad was pumping gas for his parents when another customer over heard him talking to the attendant. Picking up on my dad’s New York accent the man approached my father and asked if he was from New York, when my dad replied that he was the man just felt free to let it all hang out. “Whoa New York", he chuckled, "you wouldn’t catch me dead there! It’s so dirty, dangerous. The drugs! The people are so rude!”

Okay here’s the thing anyone who knows me is by now familiar with my mother’s razor sharp tongue. Seriously the woman can draw blood from her victims with just one sentence. My father is not like my mother. I repeat the man from whose loins I sprung forth is nothing like the woman who carried me in her womb for six months. My daddy is gentle, polite, and above all diplomatic. So naturally it came as a complete shock to everyone when he glared at the man and said, “Sir, we’re standing in the middle of a gas station. I have a gas hose in my hand and I’m sure my mother has a lighter somewhere in her purse. Do you really want to continue the anti-New York speech?”


Out in California my home girl Jackie gets a lot of attention with her New York accent. The other day she was on the phone and the woman realizing that Jackie was from New York felt the need to inform Jackie that New York was culturally bereft in comparison to Cali. California in her opinion which she stated as if it were an undisputable fact was the culture capital of the world. WTF?! Put the crack pipe down lady; stick the cork back in your bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon it’s time to get bitch slapped by reality.

Cali is THE movie making...plastic surgery...wannabe zen...hopping on the latest trend...superficiality as a lifestyle...people becoming famous for flashing their bare cooch... and starring in bad home made porn movies.. CAPITAL of the world. Pop culture capital sure no doubt own it, own it, strut it Cali that title is all yours baby wear that shit with pride putos. However culture capital as in museums,opera,and theatre uh uh I don’t think so.

There are 1300 museums spread out over the entire state of California but unless you’re from Cali or the surrounding area I doubt you can name one, meanwhile aliens on the dark side of the moon plotting anal probes of our species can name at least two of our museums. Please don’t think I’m disrespecting Cali, I’m just calling it like I see it. All I’m saying is that the female who dissed New York while on the phone with Jackie sure had a lot of nerve making her claim of cultural superiority when you consider they don’t even have a freaking Dunkin’ Donuts to ease my gentle giant’s cravings.



PS:Here’s a little something for those trash talkers straight from AOL, according to an article by Morgan Quitno Press entitled The 12 most Dangerous States the most dangerous state is Nevada. New York didn’t even make the list. The states that did make the list just happen to be the home states of friends who are always trashing New York in terms of safety... booooyah biotches!


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Friday, January 04, 2008

Submitted For Your Approval...



Submitted for your approval A New Year's Eve tale...

We were packed pretty deep on the sidewalk at Times Square when I was approached by a couple of behemoths. The dark haired guy was well over 6 ft and the blonde chick with him was close to hitting 5 ft 10 herself. Just before approaching me the woman smiled and because I’m super friendly like that I smiled back at her, “Hi Mia my name is Haniel and this is my friend Mebahiah” She said. Most likely a tourist in need of help and having over heard my name she’d figured I was the most normal one of the bunch therefore approachable. Oh beautiful dreamer I thought if you only knew."Hey there Haniel and Mebahiah, how's it going?" I returned.

She stuck out her hand and we shook only instead of letting go of my hand she kind of held onto it for a hot second and kept staring at my eyes. Great. Fabulous. Wunderbar. Was she hitting on me? If she was it wasn't a big deal a couple of the girls in the crew were bisexual I could introduce them to each other. She let go of my hand and her hand was quickly replaced by her friend's hand. He smiled at me and said, “Hi Mia." and stroked my cheek! I basically snarled at him, “Do me a favor don’t touch me again or I’ll kick you in the balls.” but instead of jumping back in fear and cupping himself the guy actually laughed and said I was adorable! So much for my attempt at being "gangsta".

Out of no where the chick starts talking to me about things going on in my life and making predictions for my future. They must be roving fortune tellers I thought, working the crowd trying to earn a few bucks. The things she was saying were right on target. Stuff no one outside of my immediate circle knew about unless.... I was having some after effects from the concussion I had suffered the week before. Na it wasn’t an illusion my friends could see them too, my home girls were chatting up the guy. I began to think that I was being "punked" and nearly gave myself whiplash looking around around to see which one of my friends was going to ‘fess up to the trick. No one volunteered. Instead my girls asked the woman to read them too but she refused telling them that she had only come for me. Wow this female is good I thought she’s creating this whole aura of mystery around her, smart marketing ploy.

The woman continued to talk to me for awhile longer. When she was done I tried to press some money into her hand but she refused it. Instead she asked if I’d mind if they just chilled with me for a bit. I saw no problem with it since I wasn’t picking up a bad vibe from them, besides the area was full of cops and I had no intention of wandering off with them. I relaxed and we kicked back enjoying each other’s company. The guy turned out to be really nice he even danced with me in the middle of the street much to the amusement of the cops standing near us. When it was finally time for us to bounce the chick bent down and kissed me on the cheek. The dude grabbed my chin and kissed me on the forehead and said, “You’re just too precious you know that?” Then he put a silver medallion around my neck,“Do me a favor wear this for me from now on okay? I felt like I should give the guy something too you know so I reached into my messenger bag and pulled out some M&M’s with peanuts and told him, “Yo dude do me a favor and eat these for me okay?” He just laughed took the candy and said, “Mia you’re just too adorable.” and bear hugged me. Then they walked away into the crowd. I’m happy to report that after they left I still had my property intact.

Later on we met up with a friend of ours and when we told him the story he was heated and yelled at me, “Mia don’t you know you’re not supposed to talk to strangers?!” I couldn't understand why he was so livid, it wasn't a big deal. “Wait what you mean you’re not supposed to talk to strangers? I thought it was you’re not supposed to take candy from strangers. No one said anything to me about not talking to them. Are you telling me I have been misinformed all this time?” Now this is where it gets weird a couple of days later while telling the story to someone else they informed me that Haniel and Mebahiah are actually the names of the guardian angels pertaining to my birth date and zodiac sign. You may now play the theme to the twilight zone.

Of course my friend believed it to be a sign of some sort something mystical. Personally I think they adopted the names to coincide with the season. The fact that they came upon me and that the names they were using happened to pertain to my birthdate was a coincidence and most likely they had over heard our crew's conversation about our hopes for the future. Maybe the were con artists with a conscience and somehow we won them over so instead of trying to fleece us they decided that for this one night they prefered our company above all else. No matter what the circumstances it really was nice to meet them. It would be cool if some of the predictions she made for me came true but then again isn't that what a new year is all about the hope for positive changes in our lives?

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Thursday, July 19, 2007

Queen Funkerella


It hit me as soon as I entered the store. WTF?! Wham…boff…bing… whomp all up in my face! My nose tingled, my nostrils flared.

WTF?! Where was that coming from? Who up and died in this here place?!Pungent and acidic the stench entangled itself within my nasal hairs it refused to be snorted out…there was no escape.


I smelled her before I saw her. Her stench walked several feet ahead of her announcing her imminent arrival like some sort of royal page…. Her fellow shoppers were less than amused since it was wafting through the store via the air conditioning. Her scent was of dead bloated sewer rat mingled with curry and raw onion hidden for safe keeping under sweaty hairy armpits. The smell won’t be made into a perfume any time soon I can assure you of that. My head instinctively turned to find the source and of course human nature being what it is of course I took in a deep whiff of the funk. The source of said funky funk was holding court with some sandals at least 8 feet ahead of me in the size 9 aisle. She was tall and majestic and wore a pretty skirt with a floral motif of pink and peach. Her top was pink; her turban was of the same fabric as her skirt even her sandals matched. She was absolutely beautiful. I dubbed her Queen Funkerella.

summer in NYC is hot, humid, and muggy. There’s a lot of us peeps living on this lil’ ol' island so can someone tell me what on earth possesses people to leave their homes without deodorant on? Why do they insist on assaulting fellow New Yorkers with their funk? Why good lord why leave your house smelling like goat ass and go into the most crowded situations you can find? Why?!

The queen seemed oblivious to the stench wafting around her. A stench so thick I’m sure with proper lighting it could’ve been visible. I imagined that once she removed her clothing they’d have to be thrown out. Nothing was ever going to ever make that pretty outfit smell clean again. She held her head high…and I wondered could it really be this woman had no idea that she smelled like the bottom of a landfill? She quickly left after making her purchase a fact we were all grateful for. I could only hope that her funky ass made a stop at the Rite-Aid next door and purchased a shopping bag full of deodorant. Without saying a word one of the store’s employee’s sprayed deodorizer into the air…it didn’t help. The store manager then opened the doors in order to air out the place… still nada zip, nothing helped. Her smell still lingered. I think at that point we would have had to call in a voodoo priest and sacrifice a couple of virgins at the cash register to some shoe god in order to rid the place of the smell.

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Posted by @ 11:28 PM
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Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Waiting on a friend


It was one of those magical New York nights when the stars and planets are aligned in your favor, and even though the weather was a little hot and humid it was breezy enough that your curls behaved nicely and were not doing the afro puff thing. Life was good.

The evening had started out with a one man show by Rick Cleveland called “My Friend Bill” about his friendship with the former president. One story in particular about Christopher Walken smoking a joint in Amsterdam was really funny. After the show we met up with friends at a Mexican lounge for dancing and drinks. I was introduced to a drink called la cucaracha (the cockroach) and after a sip I understood why it was called that, my leg shook as if I were a roach from el barrio (them heffas are mad tough) on the losing side of a battle with a can of Raid.

After a bit of dancing one of my friends needed a cigarette break so we stepped out side and sat at one of their sidewalk tables while she puffed away. We weren’t there for long when this guy on his way out of the lounge looked at me and double backed. "You’re Puerto Rican aren’t you?" “Who me?” asked my Guyanese friend… "No her." he said pointing at me. I took a sip of my bottled water before replying, "Yeah I am." "I knew it! I can spot my own people a mile away!" He was a Puerto Rican attending college in one of the "red" states where the only Latinos around were the ones that had crossed the border. He was visiting New York for the first time and really excited about finding one of his own people so far from home. "There’s more of us here in NYC than there is actually on the island so stick around man you’ll be spotting another one of us any minute now!" I told him. Talking to a fellow Boriqua even though I was New York born seemed to ease his homesickness for the moment.

Our conversation attracted the attention of a sailor standing near us trying to hail a cab back to his hotel. I caught him looking at me and chuckling at our jokes a few times and invited him to join us. He was on leave and also visiting NYC for the first time. His leave was almost up he was leaving NYC in the morning and in a matter of days he'd be headed out to Iraq. We spoke about life in the service; life on a submarine,college life, and of course politics. In between we laughed a lot and discovered how much we all had in common despite coming from different backgrounds and different parts of the country. As we sat there shooting the breeze someone drove by blasting an old Rolling Stones song, "Waiting on a friend" and it just seemed to fit the scenario perfectly.

Finally it was time for me to leave, after nearly two hours a small posse had been formed and been sent in search of me. I called a car service for the guys and waited with them until their cabs arrived. Before I left we all hugged and the guys asked to take a picture with me. We took a couple of shots of us as a group hugging each other and another few acting silly then of course there were obligatory cheesy grin ones. As I headed back up the stairs into the lounge I felt compelled to turn around for one last look. The Puerto Rican guy shouted out to me,"Hey you owe me a dance!" "Next time!" I shouted back at him as he took one last photo of me before getting into his cab and driving off. The sailor stuck his head out of his cab window as his car pulled out giving me a salute and gentle smile. I saluted him back before disappearing into the crowded lounge.

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Posted by @ 12:07 PM
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