DIO - I am a DRAG QUEEN

Do you get that Bitch?
A DRAG QUEEN - not just an itty bitty performer
long gone are the Karaoke days

Our last class on Thursday was beyond beyond.
We had an outing - fully dressed and made-up
We Drag Queens went on a roadtrip.

We drove in pairs (safe buddy system)to Wilton Manors
to check out the place we'd be performing.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE scoping things out -
helps me feel balanced and secure when I know
the layout - the rules - the lay of the land.

We walk up the steps - we're on the stage

we experience the length and width of it all

and what the room is like

(even though it was empty and fully lit, tee hee)

We cheered each other on as we pranced

in our high heels and did our routines

We clapped and LAUGHed and woohoo'd.

Twat La Rouge & Chocolatta had a surprise

We were going out into the public

We crossed a street in Wilton Manors

- one at a time, in total drag -

we walked as if we were models on a catwalk

once we got to the center of the street;

we screamed out our names (Alter Egos),
did a little half spin and kept on walking

It was wild!!!

We stopped traffic as people honked

and a bicyclist fell off his bike watching us

More than that - it was a defining moment for me

there is something strange about screaming
without any attached emotion

it's like a disconnect with your brain and mouth

ha ha ha

it was a powerful experience -
I am Chutzpah Hussy, you bitches.

Hear me Roar: "What's Going On?"

~@~

P.S. The funny thing is that I felt sick all day.

I didn't want to go to class. I thought it would

be best to go home after Laughter Yoga and

see if I'd feel better the next day. No way, Jose.
I remembered that SHOWING UP is what it's all
about. So, I put on a smile and a shitload of makeup

and I had a fabulous evening. Woohoo~@~

For more CLICK HERE

DIO - Practice makes Perfect

After 13 grueling weeks of transformation,
I am ready to perform - tee hee ~@~
at least I say I am
with a lot more bravado then I feel

I have the makeup down - more or less, if
I can keep from smudging the black all over
and I still need lots of practice on gluing my eyelashes
without getting glue all over, tee hee ~@~

Changing my face, my hair, my clothes -
entering the ALTER Ego -
the me that is not me,
that is within me,
tee hee ~@~

I keep on reMINDing myself that
this is for the GREATER GOOD
my little sacrifices - time, make-up, heels,
getting up on stage and dancing and singing
feeling the fear and doing it anyway -
to bring awareness to Drag it Out
this OMazing movement of Sister Goddesses
and this great program they have created
which benefits the charities they FUNdraise for
and helps the draguates gain so much self esteem
and new experiences.

Well, two more weeks and here we go~@~

For more CLICK HERE

DIO - Who's that GIRL?

Ha ha ha.

This is me right after Laughter Yoga - only 98 degrees outside tonight. I had 25 minutes to put on my makeup. This is why no foundation and yet look at those eyes. I think I done good. Tee hee ~@~ WSM Noah was pretty impressed too.

I am so proud of my work. I have an outfit and a song. I am getting the hang of this makeup. Painting your face is slightly different than painting on paper. Just need to be a little softer and gentler and slower. More loving affirmations for your face. Tee hee ~@~

Now, I need grit. My airy fairy energy is not what I want to get out of this performance. It belittles my song, my message. I am being asked to dig deep and share intimately. SHE is ready to emerge. I am afraid to let her loose. Ha ha ha.

Wasn't aware there were parts of me that had to be reigned back in.
What happens if SHE doesn't want to recede in the limelight once she's had her moment?
Ha ha ha - stay tuned....

For more, CLICK HERE

DIO - My message to the World

Classes 7 and 8

I am very conscious of music. The vocalist, the words, the message. I have an opportunity to perform - to say something - okay, lip synch something. I would like it to be powerful. I am searching all kinds of music. I even entertained Diana Ross' I'm Coming Out. And while I love this song and what she conveys, this is not my message.

Listening to my IPOD, shuffle on, letting the Universe send me a message - I hear it - "Hey, Hey, I said Hey, What's going on......." and I knew. This song was like an anthem for me when it came out in 1993. It expressed emotions I was not able to convey - a distaste for the patriarchy and the way it is interweaved in our society and my frustrations with HIStory. I also know all the words by heart. I found a disco mix which has a great beat and that I can work with. Need to get coaches' approvals - yet I am excited and giddy and pretty sure this is it.

Went to Party City to check out the options. Found a cute wig - I wonder if I can make that look with my wig. Went to Michael's and got a hot pink sharpie marker and tried to color the wig. Tee hee ~@~ It took too long and was too hot and I just stopped.

WSM Vaughn a/k/a Sigh Chosis came over. He drew a color picture of the eyes I want. He took me shopping to get the colors. He came over and patiently and gently went to work on my face. He is the first person who showed me how to apply foundation correctly and have a flawless face. This is what we came up with. I need to practice if I am going to accomplish this.

While WSM Vaughn worked and I waited in anticipation to see myself, GingerMama and Lucky Girl decided to hang out and watch us. Thank you WSM Vaughn for your hard work and patience.

I was not so gentle with myself as I showered all this makeup off. Interesting, isn't it?

Classes are getting faster paced. More information to share about tipping and arriving into a club and entourages. Reminders of who we represent - Drag It Out - and the reason and purpose for our performances - to raise awareness and funds.

For more, CLICK HERE

DIO - SHE Emerges

Classes 4 and 5

Okay, time to get my look together. Being a Drag Queen means everything you wear, your hair and your makeup is exaggerated. I am a woman being a man trying to be a woman. Tee hee ~@~

I figured a wig was the way to go. Found this great place in Hallandale called Hair Talk Studio formerly known as the Wig Outlet. Kathy helped me try on all these high end wigs made of real hair. Talk about a change. So dramatic - I couldn't believe it was me. I tried on blonde hair and brown hair, short hair and long, curly and cut. It was OMazing. And so empowering. In just a few moments, I was a whole other woman. Who would have known? Ha ha ha. Showed up in a wig to class. No body recognized me. Tee hee.

We had an auction - trading of clothes, materials, ideas for outfits. Woo hoo ~@~ Snazzed up this little black number. So unlike me. I have gone makeup shopping and bought another pair of heels (we are gradually gaining height). Tee hee ~@~ However, these long hours are definitely taking a toll. Perhaps it's just this intense summer heat.

I love, love, love the music my fellow Draguate Queens have chosen. Explicit lyrics that leave no thing to the imagination and tell it like it is. I still haven't found my beat yet. Although I am getting closer.

I am OMazed by the creativity and imagination of the performances and outfits I am witnessing. How people are putting it together and making it happen. Most of the Queens have their outfit and song and make-up going on. I pray this starts to come together for me too.

For more, CLICK HERE

DIO - Exploration into a New Beyond

Classes 2 and 3 -

I am here and I am not here. I am not sure I fit in.

Right after Laughter Yoga, I rush over to DIO and learn how to make eyebrows disappear and how to apply shading on a foundation flawless face. How to draw dramatic eyes and create new spaces. How to put together an outfit and ideas for recycling materials to keep the cost down. These AWEsome coaches, Twat and Chocolatta are complete LOVECats. They share everything as they try to keep this process sweet and simple and fun. Everything is provided in handouts to reinforce what we learn during class time.

Prepping us for performing - part of my Draguation - preparing our alter egos and music selections. Some of my classmates have it down pat - the makeup, the music, the personas. I have been through two songs - Whatever Lola Wants and We Are Family. While they are both cute and lovely - they are not me. Chutzpah Hussy is cute. That is not what feels like emerging. I am patient as I wait to see who the cat drags out of my psyche. Tee hee ~@

Learning to strut - holding my head up high - carrying myself tall - in heels. Ha ha ha. After I swore I would never wear them again. Yes, after seven years - I have gone shoe shopping for heels. Ha ha ha. The consequences of being in heels is seen in the lack of muscular strength in the front of my eyes. I have refocused my Pilates workouts on increasing muscle to the front. How quickly I remember why I stopped wearing them. How OMazing how long I was desensitized to the experience.

Many physical symptoms are coming up for me. This emotional overload and stretching of my comfort zone is taking a toll on my central nervous system. I am operating on less sleep after two physically exerting activities back to back. I come home full of enerchi - hot and bothered. So much to absorb and see and understand. So many emotions with no names.

For me, this is play. Dressing up, dancing and karaoke. For some, this is real life. A profession, a Joy of Being, a necessity. I am acutely aware of this during our sessions. How much harder this is for a man then a woman - or is it? (Since most of the WSMs in my draguate class pull it off with such ease and flair).

Twat and Chocolatta explain all sorts of details that never crossed my mind - walking out in drag alone not an option. Buddy system always - safety in numbers. What kind of moves a performer does on stage - and how to mix it all up. So much to absorb.

What am I doing? I still don't have all of my make-up supplies although I did get a cute Kaboodle Box to put it into. Me and makeup. It's still too hard to digest. Ha ha ha. Tee hee ~@~

For more, CLICK HERE

Things that make me LAUGH

NO more taking things for granted or making an ASS-out of U-and-ME.
Thanks to the power of WIKI and the DESIRE to be CLEAR, I look everything up.

For example, truffles... we ordered Truffle Fries appetizer at dinner tonight. We tried Il Mercato Restaurant in Hallandale with Great Auntie Sylvia and Sister Goddess Marlene. Auntie Sylvia who is 93 years old gave it a 5 lights up recommendation - a place she would eat at even though it's too dark to see the menu or your plate. Tee hee~@~ Thank you SG Leslie for being a trendsetter and finding this yummy place. And thank you Chef Emily for delicious and delectable dishes (such as Cauliflower Aranchini) and a great dining experience. We will definitely be back for more.

WSM Noah and I wiki'd truffle fries to find out what made them so wonderful and different from regular fries. And what exactly is a truffle? I've seen its name in association with chocolates - I thought it was a mushroom - I know it can be very expensive (see Pushing Daisies , Episode 203). Now, with the internet, the answers are at my fingertrips. I have the power to look things up. To find facts and instantly know instead of guessing or wondering.

Black truffles

A truffle is a fungal fruiting body that develops underground. They are usually found in close association with trees. Hmm, fungus in the earth found at the base of trees. Fungus a/k/a the mushroom, of which I am not a great fan (except of course the Setas del Bosque at La Barraca or the Sauteed Shiitake Mushrooms and Leeks at Sushi Blues Cafe). The picture does speak for itself. Looks and sounds like tree turds to me. Tee hee. Safeway is selling truffles for $999.99/pound (see Georgetown Metropolitan).

That got me thinking to the most expensive coffee in the world (according to Forbes Magazine). I first heard about it in the movie, The Bucket List (great movie - 4 lights up recommendation from Auntie Sylvia). Kopiluac coffee made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet and then defecated. The picture below is a civet. This animal poops coffee berry turds which are then processed and sold as coffee. At the whopping price of $600 per pound. Has the world gone mad?

Civet

It's funny.
Mother Nature's sense of humor - turds. A delicacy. A most valuable commodity - be it civet or tree.

Tee hee ~@~

Money, money, money, it's so funny, in a rich man's world. (Thank you ABBA)