Happy New Year

For those of you into Salsa music I have been listening to Eddie Palmieri's Ajiaco Caliente OBSESSIVELY over an over. The song is beautiful, the interplay of the horns and the piano. When I listen to the piano I can imagine his virtuosity, the push and pull, its like he plays with my emotions...then the horns and the vocals come back in for a glorious finish. Get this song and listen to it and just close your eyes. Its got kind of slow start but if you listen closely and carefully its incredible, I can imagine him manipulating the keys on the piano so skilfully. Kind of makes me think of what it must have been like to watch Thelonius Monk on the piano.

I played "truth" with Rosalie yesterday and it was the first time I think I'd played since 8th grade and the first time playing sans the "Dare" component. One of her questions (she asked good ones, I asked adolescent stupid ones like "duh where's the wildest place you've ever hooked up?")

Anyway she asked me my best and worst of 05 of an arbitrary time frame especially because my years tend to fall along the academic one having been in school or working at a school or both for the last four years (five counting Brooklyn Museum education) but January to January Best and Worst of 05.

Best (no order)
Good times with good friends in a manner that is only going to decline as people grow up settle down (though I will be the last I guarantee it). I have always been blessed with good friends but the strength and support of my closeset friends this last year has been a treasure. I never fail to stop and pinch myself and ask myself why good people care/believe in/support me.

Growing phenomenally at Wagner and learning and networking in ways I never thought I'd be able to. Its what Im payin those fuckers for.

Making a serious leap as a dancer (especially last summer-I feel like I am taking the next step into really getting it as expression and not just doing steps and moves, I feel like I own my dancing more than ever before)

A birthday party that provided at least year's worth of comedy and I'm still learning shit about.

One completely responsibility-free, chill-ass, summer an absurdly high-paying internship without the pressures of a real job.

West Coast and NY Salsa Congresses...blaze....

Fuck that, I was on TV hahaha.

Worst
Mad self doubt, too much knowledge, too much learning. I reminisce about the bull-headed ignorance and passion I had when Kwah and I sat down and started 7ARTS because we wanted to some art with teens because it had helped us so much and that was it. Now I'm immersed in all this management, program evaluation strategic theory and I'm trying not to let it paralyze me but help me. But definitely very worst in 05 was learning too much and how scary it can be.

Wondering what the hell I was doing with mysef and whether my whole premise for attending Wagner was just stupid and I should have gone and got my Art Education degree and that my whole think big shit was just stupidity. Typical self-doubt graduation's approaching shit.

Sleeping on a bed of knives, hiding liquor and sending cryptic text messages to Thomas in one of the most bizzare and fucked up nights of my life. (Manu I love you man).

Nearly hitting Acadmic Probation at Wagner. (Which I'm not in the clear yet).


Happy New Year y'all