to register or not to register....

alright. registration for IP starts tomorrow. yuh favourite noob blogger done make plan tuh maintain ah maco right dey on stone street. ah reserve meh seat in meh partner car. ah inside. i think...

ah ent really know if dey go let meh register. i get de email (dat ah post here- read de las post) and it says that they welcomin meh to register...but ah hearin ah talk dat is old masqueraders that getting to register first. me ent know, but ah goin tomorrow morning wid meh cash in han (me ent takin no chance with walkin wid plastic!) just in case aphrodisiac still looking as good up close as it was lookin on stage last sunday...if not..well...the search will continue...

ah really feelin IP allyuh- serious ting. ah hearin some good GOOD tings about IP that i ent hear bout nobody else. imagine, ah girl frien was tellin meh that they does fit yuh with bra and ting on de spot so you can feel out how ur bra size will feel on de road. dey does actually encourage you to find yuh correct size and wine wid de ting on tuh make sure it feel right. now that is customer service. ah like dat. is not like wid other bands (who name i ent go call in case ah get BIRD flu!) who does give yuh ah ting tuh follow online and yuh hadda come KNOWING yuh size. me? know my size? me? who shoe size does range from 7 1/2 to 10 according to the brand? it have girls who bra does be DD for victoria secrets and 36C with other brands. ah mean, what IP doing is ideal. they want to make sure that i comfortable on de road...that is a plus. alright, all those who keepin score- chalk up one for IP.

so far, i've been to some of the camps (tuh maco..maccoin' is important..doh act like allyuh ent know dat) and i see some pretty tings. the costumes pretty- some may argue that the prices not too pretty (especially ELEMENTS! whey dem come out chargin so much for costumes? prices PREEETY boy!) *ahem* and the concensus is that is like nobody not catering for noobs in terms of encouraging we tuh play mas. imagine this senario(the names have been omitted to spare those involved): "hullo there! im a first time masquerader so im not too sure what i'm looking for...would you mind helping me out a bit?" daize not enough for someone to drop de ole talk on dey cell phone and take five minutes to answer someone's questions? someone with *gasp* an accent? (doh open yuh eye big so- yuh well know that when ah trinidadian hear ah accent they does chook up on yuh quick quick and want tuh help- much less for dem widout one!). is not like ah want girlfriend tuh stay wid meh for hours waitin on meh hand and foot, i just feel that she cud have @ least made me feel welcome. ah mean, for a minute there i thought that i was in a government office expecting practicality (yes! allyuh know the attitude i talkin 'bout!) ah jus praying dat de cut eye that ah get fuh de launch from the calendar hand-outters ent happen when ah lan in de camp in de morning. ah doh tink i could take dat. i really believe that they way that yuh act in yuh camp is a reflection of how yuh go act on de road. if yuh want yuh move half way wid me home by you- who de arse tell you that i goin out in de road with you and yuh attitude? no no no ppl. ah payin for an experience here; it should be an enjoyable one...

where was i before i went off on dat tangent dey? i ent know if ah should register with IP and dem one time or if i should hold out until i see something else. i know ah say dat Ray of Light and Heavenly was meh favourites...but ah change meh mind. i ent like de backline headpeice for Heaven- it look too much like ah oxygen deprived boa. Ray of Light real pretty, but it ent have no coverage with that panty- ah mean, meh whole front in de road? i dont think so. really, for someone that going to be conscious of de whole half naked in public ting, aphrodisiac is the best bet. the belt giving some coverage and will not look bad with a whole panty or boy shorts. ah whole suit will still look good wid de costume too- not like the others. the other costumes looking like, well, they make dem for the size zeroes dat runnin rampant in de carnival. not all ah we like dat...but daize what we're being sold. whats the point of makin something look so pretty for one size person, that will look just awful on a thick ting? daize de one problem ah have with what ah see from IP so far...



right- if de costume and dem ugly, i ent know wat ah go do. serious. someone tell me once that de costume doh matter- is de band; as long as yuh get een a good band, den yuh good. i disagree. if i uncomfortable, i.e: if de costume foogly- i ent go feel right. i hadda KNOW that ah looking good. allyuh knw what ah mean? i hadda be feeling like de hottest ting on de road. ah ugly costume go make meh conscious. and plus, why ah should spen meh money on someting ah doh like? wha allyuh tink? does the costume not matter? is it really de band that is the object?

well, stone street- here i come! ah will take pics and ting fuh allyuh tuh see what i see. prepare yuh self!!

IP Mas Camp opening....just now...yes!

what ah go find inside meh email (amidst all de clutter) is this gem! people- Island People mas camp is about to open! i will keep allyuh posted with what ah see when ah maintain ah eeenside!

*

Hi TriniMasNoob,

We know that you are eager for that close-up look of our presentation for 2009 – ‘Heaven on Earth- it’s what you make it’ and we can’t wait to show it to you as well.

With that in mind, we invite you to view the costumes in our 12 Chapters on Saturday, August 23 from 11:00 am – 6:00 pm and on Monday, August 25 from 11:00 am – 7:00 pm at the Mas Camp, 11 Stone Street, Port-of-Spain.

Registration will commence on Tuesday, August 26 from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm through to Friday, and on Saturday from 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. We value you as part of our Islandpeople Mas family and we encourage you take advantage of our early client registration process.

To our extended overseas family, you have the option to register online at islandpeoplemas.com, beginning August 26 - September 02. Similar to last year you can pay by PayPal.

Friends, remember that at the Mas Camp we accept VISA, Mastercard, Linx, and Cash. Sorry, no personal cheques nor American Express.

We’re one step closer to our ‘Heaven on Earth’. See you at the Camp...


Island People Mas
‘Heaven on Earth’ – it’s what you make it’

9 mins! whey boy Tribe....

well i thought bolt was fast! wow! ah ent even get time to breathe, much less sign on to register. i ent understand tho...how could they do that? online registration only? so what about those without credit cards? not even so far- what about those poor souls without INTERNET access?

today i hear all kinda ting. who was trying to do the senvia thing from they office. you tryin to set up to register on their mobile phone. one friend of mine was actually cussin that she was going down to Tribe office/mas camp regardless and standup demanding that she be allowed to register...and it was all over in nine minutes...de collective thirty second steups that resounded across the island (or should that be the world??) rocked me to the bone.

i ent go lie eh; ah was well excited about Tribe. they always look good on de road and ah never hear ah masquerader complain yet. i kept in contact with the mas camp as much as i could. ah join dey facebook group. i wasnt able to get tix to the band launch in time, but thanks to Saucy blog, i see pics and ting. ah say nice. ah inside. den de tantana and questionable ting start...

i understand the pre-registration ting. the loyalists and dem must get first preference. ah ent vex for dat. i just didnt like de treatment ppl get. ppl start callin dey friend and makin arrangements to head to cascadia tuh camp out. then ah get de call "we registration push back". okay. for next day den. ah next call "registration is in de week". okay...now ah start tuh watch meh friends with dey tlc cards cokie eye. no phone call- txt message: "reg is wed. u cmin?". de cokie eye tun into a cut eye. WHAT? so when is my registration then? next wednesday? allyuh sure ah go get in african love bird? okay then. go ahead...needless to say, that didnt happen (first section to bite de dus) ah was real disappointed, but ah say okay...as long as ah get in de band to jump up wid de crew...silly silly me for having the audacity to hope...

ah tellin allyuh, meh foot was in de starting blocks @ 5:25pm. ah set up de page- ah had everyting ready to go. den bam, site gimme this "busy/unavailable" message. wtf? refresh. same ting. ah call de camp. busy tone. ah call again. no answer. ah reboot de machine. SOLD OUT. because is ah Mac and it expensive ah decide against pelting it on de ground...ah close de lid...and ah lean back in meh chair...an ah feel de hard, long steups rising from meh toe nail. because everybody hit it de same time, it sound like ah echo.

now, some ppl are saying that "Tribe had dey ppl" and "ah know ah wasnt going an get in" and "yuh see dat shyt? NEVER me again!" but, like ah say, ah cyah get vex. i was totally willing to spen meh money by dem. i still think that the treatment of the noobs was underhanded and stink (we had to fight up online with international traffic...ah mean, what did i really expect to happen?) and when i think about it, what chance did i have of gettin in a band that already cut down its membership? right?

congrads to all those that made it in. ah hope that allyuh have ah mash up time on de road. ah go see allyuh out dey. it still early man! so, on to plan B! there are still costumes out there, and, i still have meh money in meh pocket.

Heaven in Troot!

allyuh!

ah get ah gift of two tix to IP band launching Sunday gone dere. ah call ah partner and ah say lehwe go and maintain ah: maco- i mean, an intense observation of what derek and dem have tuh offer we in '09.

we jump in de car and reach de Oval early-ish. we were like the third and fourth person in line...if yuh want tuh call that a line. see meh looking hoth. see meh negotiate de stairs. see meh hold on de banister for dear life. see meh cough in de smoke (more on that blasted smoke later!) see meh walk straight into the security guard tuh get scan...(that is the second time that i get scan to enter an event...i usually look so innocent that im waved through...hmmm...i might have to call radio shack and get meh halo fix...) and finally, see me intensely observe the venue.

the place look well nice. cloud on string. ah water feature (allyuh get permission to run water on grandad tree?? de ole boys permit that...wow...the things dey doing for money now yes...sad). a lil bmobile siddong ting on de side. pretty stone on de ground...a cracker in de corner..?? (why?? pretty- but wtf, right?) pretty vip area looking like a piece of heaven. ah big orange ting. nice lil backdrop and ting. two crane. a large bar and a food area. wait nah- ah orange ting and two crane? WHAT? ...okay....

...and everything else we have come to expect from IP: bar with expensive drinks and food that too pretty to eat. i especially like the ultimatum posed by the bar man "look, yuh cud get one drink for $35, or yuh cud get de two. choose." even if i had to pour the extra drink on meh foot- yuh really think i woulda pay the same price for one?...right star...

de pretty ppl began arriving. strangely enough, noone complained about the fog that they had to negotiate the stairs on- in de dark. you know the type. the -look-i-too-pretty-to-sweat-and-my-feet-are-killing-me-in-dis-heels-but-i-must-smile-for
-de-camera-everytime-it-pass-nursing-de-same-drink-since-de-ting-start kinda girls. i see some styles that night...Lord put ah hand. allyuh didnt leave home? it ent have ah mirror in dey? look it have on in de pee pee area- go and chek urself luvvin. ah go hold yuh drink. (then you proceed to pour it into the nearest plant. ip will forgive you).

nice. soca playing. ppl wining. good ppl and nice vibes- daize wha i like. skipping ahead...

we got the call that the presentation was gonna start in half an hour, so, i take out meh digicam and went to stand near the orange ting. they try to make it look pretty with cotton and ting. but that thing was far from lookin pretty. one ting tho- de ting start half an hour later on the nose. ip ent stickin with time. nice! dey say de orange ting hadda move...okay....we go step back...two fire officers lookin nonchalant...alright...

looking up, we see two white box with ppl inside it. ppl with costume. de ting start!!....no...de box stick in de air for a while...and everybody stand up watching it. imagine that image: "ooooooooooo. ahhhhhhhhh. pretty blue costume. we see dat in de papers already. wow....arm, dey staying up dey or what?" newais, but once they got on the stage from mid air, the rest of the pres went on without a hitch. the orange thing was a motorised ramp that went back and forth from the stage area to the front and brought the models back to the crowd. it was a nice idea that was poorly executed. if they had only thought to rope off the area where the orange thing had to go back and forth, a lot of cussing and mashing of toes could have been avoided.

the costumes were all...well i've seen them all before in one way or another honestly. but the colours were all vivid and im sure will look incredible in the shining sun carnival tuesday. i've included pics of them all here for allyuh tuh mac- intensely observe! im sorry for some of the pic quality eh, i had to negotiate my way around all that blasted smoke! if the point of us goin to the event was to see the costumes, i ent care what kinda ambiance yuh trying tuh create- is see we come to see. we CANNOT see if every flippin minute mr special fx want to spray down de stage with fog! ah mean come on man! common sense would dictate that....steups...

what stood out for me? Rays of Light. the beading is fantastic. Aphrodisiac. loving that head piece. Heavenly, is it? blue was always a favourite colour of mine. what i will not even bother with? Ocean Whispers. looks too much like Kingfisher(re animal instincts, IP 2008) colours for me. um, caramel and chocolate...oh no no no. carnival? nope...and it pretty much goes downhill from there. i have to mention the section called Love tho...the frontline has a serious bra. all that covering dem 'oman areola from the intense observation of de world is a big (well, as big as it could be) red, heart shaped gem. wow. that is not a bra for everybody- but ah sure most ppl will try for it. ladies ent play dey brave nah...yeesh...

there is ah pink section called Touch that is really pretty but im not a big fan of pink. bad man doh wear pink. seeeeen?

long story short, i generally liked what i saw Sunday night. most of the costumes look like only a fit woman (or man) would look good in them, but then again, which costume is'nt, right? (i think so far, only D'Krewe had a plus sized model @ their launch..correct me if im wrong allyuh). but doh worry, if de bra/pants too small for you once yuh collect- daize wha seamstress for. dey cud wuk ah magic, yuh never know...

Island People looks very newbie friendly. ah arx some ppl (veterans) what they were like on de road and i ent get no complaints from anyone. security? check. food? check. drinks? check. and de big one: service??? check! there is also a pre-registration for old masqueraders with IP...and that is a lil frightening. ah mean, what if *gasp* i dont get my costume of choice??

besides all ah dat tuh worry about, the whole ting that i didnt get ah calendar(i wish i had it so that i can refer to it for the names of the sections- half ah dem i cyah remember dey name)- everyone i asked for one watch me like ah jumbie. a couple of them (ip staff) told me right out that the ones that they were holding were for specific people...*sigh* i thought that everyone was supposed to get one...and i ent pushy...i saw the costumes live, so, i guess for now that will just have to do.

i ent figure out how to post pics yet. when i do, i will. be patient ppl! :-) ah promise ah go post de smoke free pics i managed to take. try to find them HERE. yuh never know...this ratchify ah doing here might actually wrk...if not, let me know and ah go handle it j quick.

IP is definitely an option! now, on to Tribe registration...that is another headache all by itself.

de ting start

alright. ah reach. lemme get straight to the point...

when yuh search for a definition of the word masquerader, usually you get some lil ads and ting advertising Trinidad and/or Trini carnival. try it. i'll wait...

yuh reach back? nice! wha ah tell yuh? ah lie? *sigh* now all that well and good eh, ah cyah get vex with the rest of the world seeing us as ppl who are totally preoccupied with Carnival and tings mas related, because that is true to some extent. what does get me sick is that they feel that dong here daize all we does do- yuh know what, that is ah totally different tack. lemme get back to what the point of this here blog is.

ah never play mas. that is the troot. in all meh 26 years ah never put on a carnival costume and wine in de road for two days. it looks like great fun, and i never hear a complaint against playing marse yet ('cept de fus year island ppl come out. Lord Jesus- ah never hear ppl cuss so about bad road service! a problem that they have since fixed). i see pics year in and year out of ppl smiling in the streets of PoS, waving for the camera...and is shame too. scenario: "aye girl who u play marse wid this year?" "i ent play marse girl" (add in look of horror/disbelief) "WHAT??" ...you get the picture. ppl have this idea of what it is to be trini and marse is a big part of dat. marse and cricket. so, its not peer pressure or anything...more curiosity, i guess.

so then, this blog is ah chronicle of my journey in finding the correct costume in a band. ah go talk about de ups, dongs and typical tantana of finding a section. now, i really doh know about this bloggin ting eh- is chain up ah get chain up...and fed up ah get fed up of reading other ppl non-objective opinions. i will be as real and as true to dis ting as i can be. ah just prayin God that i have de stamina and de discipline to make posts everyday- regardless of if i ent get meh daily doubles.

comment, post info- all ah dat in it. ah jus askin please...keep de ting clean. nice.

right- daize it dey! de ting start!