Comfy China

We hope your Christmases were bright! This is still a writing in progress, so time has kept on ticking.

Discovering new neighborhood spots has become the fad for me and Dwayne. While riding in a taxi a few weeks ago, we found ourselves in unfamiliar territory...AGAIN...but realized quickly that it was not far from our place. I spotted yet another DVD store and we were itching to check it out. Off we go...with Miles in his stroller...headed to locate this 'larger than the others' outfit. Miles was hanging out with us for the afternoon. We were also joined by one of our neighbors...Johnny...who acted as our guide. He and his parents have lived in our building for the past eight years, he just graduated from Shanghai University, and is just the cutest, politest young man we have met since our arrival...trust us. He was intrigued to go with us since he could not remember seeing this infamous DVD store and we were glad to have him tag along. The walk was long...but interesting. Miles enjoyed being pushed, as opposed to walking, and being able to chat with himself, the birds, or the people around him wanting to get a look at this gorgeous baby.

We finally get there and it was awesome! We were all pleased at the pickings and left with huge smiles. Miles was able to get his favorite..."Tom and Jerry"...Dwayne and I are "Law and Order" fans...guess what?...found the first couple of seasons. We didn't think twice about taking a taxi home...we had some TV watching to do!

The rest of the week was pretty laid back. The fellas only worked Monday thru Wednesday since Brown Sugar was hosting a New Orleans Jazz Festival featuring members of the Preservation Hall from Thursday thru Saturday. The club's grand opening was nearing, so they were glad to have a few days off. Dwayne and I enjoyed watching movies and entertaining. We had the Temples over for dinner on Saturday night. We were hoping to make it out to see the jazz preservation hall band...didn't happen. We went to the Temples' for dinner on Sunday night and out on the town afterwards. Oh boy!

We started at the House of Blues and Jazz. They have open jam sessions on Sundays...right up Dwayne's and Brannen's alleys. Another part of Shanghai was discovered and it was a night to remember. The house band was speechless once Dwayne got on stage and took the bass in hand. THEN...he found his way to the drum kit!! The whole place was rockin'! Brannen and Dwayne have magic when they're on stage together. Sam, the band leader, was in awe. Not to mention the club manager and other musicians and vocalists who had dropped by. We met sooo many wonderful people that evening. It was really comforting to meet more Black folk...fa' real. We all exchanged business cards and promised to support each other's shows when we could. Sarah had friends from Spain in town on business. They were up for some REAL partying...so...we close down this place and head to another! Judy's...yep...Judy's. Somewhere in this big city are places where you can really get your groove on...ANY WAY YOU WANT TO!! Need I say more? House music was blasting, we were greeted at the door by hotties waiting to get us seated, and before we could get our coats off, the big bottle of whiskey, glasses, ice and cokes were already in place. Aw hell...let's have some FUN!!! It wasn't long before the poles that stood around the place...didn't notice them at first...were being hugged by thinly clad girls who worked them like there would be no tomorrow. I couldn't get the words out fast enough telling Dwayne what was happening around him! He just had this shit-eatin' grin on his face as if he could really see. LOL. There were seven of us and we were never ignored. Food appeared from the little grill right outside...and it was delicious. You know we've been apprehensive about eating the food off the street, but hey...we were gonna have to try it at some point. This was a good time. A tray of shot glasses filled with some sort of sweet liquor topped with whipped cream arrived. We were supposed to use our mouths to grip the glasses and chug them down. Now THIS was waaay too much for the county girl. Dwayne did his thang and so did the rest. Somebody needed to have their scruples when we left!! LOL. What an evening AND morning. Daylight was not too far behind when we left. Guess it didn't take long for us to get comfy in China, huh?