I hope you all survived Labor Day weekend. Here we are in September already and summer is over. How did I manage to not make it to the beach – not even once?
It has been a busy summer for me, not only with work and community commitments but also with family. It’s not that often that I see mine but both my mom and dad decided to come this summer. My mom, little sister and step dad are currently in town so you might see me out and about with them. I will be meeting them in Vegas and then coming to San Diego and Los Angeles.
Then at the end of this month I will be going to San Francisco with my friend Nicole to Folsom Street Fair. Can you imagine that? Should be very entertaining! I am also meeting up with Flava who is going to be performing with DJ Manny Lehman at the festival on Sunday, Sept. 25 at 3 p.m. Stop by if you are around.
2011 Nicky Awards
First, I would like to thank everyone who attended the event. Also, all the volunteers and sponsors that made it possible for this event to happen. Thanks for all your comments and constructive criticism. We will try to improve and make it better.
I heard concerns in regards to the venue and how rushed it was. I also heard comments on how no one knew who some of the winners were and how they were all my friends. Believe me, if it was based on friendship, a lot of those people would not have won. I had my own opinion of who I thought deserved to get an award but all I did was put out the results from voting.
All I can say is that I did my best and had my best intentions for a fun night. But I am here open to suggestions and help for next year.
Where did Nicky go?
Needless to say, I was exhausted by the end of Sunday night after all the stress backstage. I was starting to relax while picking up and cleaning when I looked on stage and noticed something was missing. “Holy crap! One of the Nicky statues is missing!” And Lisa Sanders replied, “No way. How can someone leave carrying that big statue?”
Now keep in mind those were original academy award statues owned by Robi Cox and they never leave his sight. In the past, even the police have been involved regarding the statues.
I then started to panic. One of the volunteers told me. “Oh, yes. I saw a girl carrying it out the back door.” I had the urge to strangle him but I just walked away to the parking lot and started to vent to my cute Latino friend that was waiting for me.
Of course with my luck who pulls in the parking lot? Mr. Robi Cox! “Hi, I just stopped by to say hi and say that you can bring the statues tomorrow.”
I couldn’t even see straight at that point. I was a hot tranny mess! And I don’t mean drunk. It was just all the stress. Next, someone comes out of The Center and says, “Don’t worry. We know who took it.”
Robi looks at me and says, “Took what? Did someone take one of my statues?” I thought I was going to faint!
To make a long story short, about an hour later Nicky was found on the back seat of a convertible driving down University on its way from Gossip Grill to Mo’s. And when I got there I realized that Sally Hall and some other people from ThatsSoGayLIVE.com thought it would be fun to kidnap Nicky and take him around town.
It’s all on video online on my Facebook wall. You will see a pissed off Brazilian cursing every other word, but it is funny. Believe me, those 60 minutes or so were not so much fun for me but I guess someone has to pay the price for the joke and this time it was me.
Just stay on the lookout Sally … pay back is a bitch! Make sure you superglue your camera to your hand or it might go for a ride around town and remember I can do video editing, so God knows what I can include in there.
My experience with Mike Ruiz
On Saturday night before the Nicky Awards, I took Mike Ruiz to some local clubs that I’d contacted ahead to make sure we were on the list and had something arranged for us.
Our first stop was Eden as it was still early. Eden has been growing in popularity and getting more people on their Friday and Saturday nights but they still need to work on their attitude and service.
While in there we had multiple people coming up to us to introduce themselves to Mike and ask to take pictures. Every single time he was beyond friendly and accommodating. I asked him if it was weird and happened so often to the point that it was too much for him. He replied by saying it’s expected and actually appreciated as people are just validating his work. And above all it gives him a voice within our community.
We had some really in-depth and philosophical conversations and some really personal things. I felt like I was being mentored by someone very grounded and genuine.
We had a great time and Mike emailed me saying that he had an amazing time in San Diego and was honored to receive his award.