Aids Walk!! BMA's!!! Awesome day!
Gosh, I can't believe how long it's been since I've written....so hard to keep up, I swear!
First of all, I think I'm gonna change my name to Merlin because somehow I managed to go from this:
to this:
in less than 2 Hours, LOL!
My day started off with the Aids walk, a truly beautiful event. Stephanie Mills (one of my ALL TIME favorite singers) performed "Home" and Wayne Brady (who really is pretty funny) hosted. There were over 30,000 walkers and I walked with a group of my friends including, the AWESOME Robert and Johnny, and my beautiful Sistas Michelle, Lisa, Marvelyn, Nikki, Auntie and Julie. The walk was a 10k which I thought would be a breeze...boy was I wrong! I think I must really be out of shape, I couldn't believe how out of breath I was!! One of the great thing about walks, besides the obivious helping other people aspect, is the amount of treats people pass out to you. They had tubes of yogurt, biscotti, energy bars, fancy packaged waters, chips, and for finishing the walk, Starbucks treated us to Frappacino bars! I was great to see so many companies supporting the event.
It was also interesting to see the differences between walks. I found the Aids walk to be much lighter in terms of tone, just kinda more casual and laid back somehow. The Cancer walk seemed more serious and even a little somber. Maybe it's because it's so close to my heart. Or maybe its that you see so many people walking "in memory of" or "survivor for __ years". I remember having to fight back tears through most of that walk, then just breaking down when it was over. It's terrible that so many have to suffer from disease. Once you've been affected by it, things are never really the same again. E is always on my mind...I miss him so much. More and more everyday. The longer he's gone the more I realize that he really was one of a kind. I love that man. Ok...I know, serious digression....lol...sorry about that...where was I? Ah yes, the Aids Walk, lol. Here are some pics from the day...
After I got done with the walk, I had approx 2 1/2 hours to get myself together for the 2006 Black Music Awards. HUGE thanks to Nicole for the tickets!! Thank you, thank you, thank YOU! I didn't really have a lot of clothing options because a) I couldn't really afford to buy the dresses I liked and b) my recent weight gain has made my already limited selection...well, even more limited, LOL! But I worked it out in time to get my car wash and pick up my partna for the evening Lori (a very cool girl from the ATL) who works for the network that sponsored the event.
The BMA's were just simply wonderful. It was beautiful to see all of our black stars looking elegant and radiant and refined. It was an event filled with class and dignity which I was humbled and thankful to be a part of. I am so grateful to God for his blessings...and attending this event was truly a blessing, it was truly inspiring.
Some of the highlights was a beautiful speech by Cicely Tyson. She received an award for her amazing body of work...did you know she is the first black woman to appear have a lead in a series that was not a Maid or a Mamie? Go 'head Ms. Tyson! Her speech was so touching it brought tears to my eyes. Spike got the Ossie Davis Humanitarian award for "When the Levee's Broke". They showed some of the film and well...more tears...lol. What a powerful piece of work...I haven't seen it in it's entirety, but after last night it is certainly a priority for me to do so. Laurence Fishburne won and I was really moved at his gratitude. He was so appreciative and thankful...I guess I was taken aback b/c I'm used to seeing him in those Ike Turner roles, lol. Gosh who else, the amazing Melvin Van Peebles, Angela Bassett, Oprah, Ruby Dee, Kimberly Elise, the amazing (and still fine, lol) Billy Dee Williams, Barry Gordy, the supremely talented Ms. Jill Scott performed (simply amazing), host Tyler Perry (who does one heck of a Loretta Divine impression, lol)...and honestly TOO many others to name.
After the awards show we headed to the HBO After party. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but somehow my Patna and I managed to procure a SUV stretch Limo to transport us to the second event, LOL. Now, anyone that knows me knows that I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a materialistic woman. Fancy cars and clothes really mean very little to me. But I have to admit, that Limo was the BOMB!!! LOL!! It was alot of fun and everyone was sooo cool (which is a real rarity in LA, lol!). We were having our own little dance fest on the way to the After party, lol. The After Party was also a bunch of fun. It was really well attended. I actually ran into a lot of people I knew, or that knew me over the course of the evening. Many of them had seen the film...I really can't believe how many black folks watch BET, LOL.
After the After party, we went up to a birthday party for C.R. (the director of ATL). And after That, we called it a night.
Whew! That was one LOOOONG but Beautiful day! I'll be lucky if I can move in the morning, lol.
Pics from the BMA After Party...
First of all, I think I'm gonna change my name to Merlin because somehow I managed to go from this:
to this:
in less than 2 Hours, LOL!
My day started off with the Aids walk, a truly beautiful event. Stephanie Mills (one of my ALL TIME favorite singers) performed "Home" and Wayne Brady (who really is pretty funny) hosted. There were over 30,000 walkers and I walked with a group of my friends including, the AWESOME Robert and Johnny, and my beautiful Sistas Michelle, Lisa, Marvelyn, Nikki, Auntie and Julie. The walk was a 10k which I thought would be a breeze...boy was I wrong! I think I must really be out of shape, I couldn't believe how out of breath I was!! One of the great thing about walks, besides the obivious helping other people aspect, is the amount of treats people pass out to you. They had tubes of yogurt, biscotti, energy bars, fancy packaged waters, chips, and for finishing the walk, Starbucks treated us to Frappacino bars! I was great to see so many companies supporting the event.
It was also interesting to see the differences between walks. I found the Aids walk to be much lighter in terms of tone, just kinda more casual and laid back somehow. The Cancer walk seemed more serious and even a little somber. Maybe it's because it's so close to my heart. Or maybe its that you see so many people walking "in memory of" or "survivor for __ years". I remember having to fight back tears through most of that walk, then just breaking down when it was over. It's terrible that so many have to suffer from disease. Once you've been affected by it, things are never really the same again. E is always on my mind...I miss him so much. More and more everyday. The longer he's gone the more I realize that he really was one of a kind. I love that man. Ok...I know, serious digression....lol...sorry about that...where was I? Ah yes, the Aids Walk, lol. Here are some pics from the day...
After I got done with the walk, I had approx 2 1/2 hours to get myself together for the 2006 Black Music Awards. HUGE thanks to Nicole for the tickets!! Thank you, thank you, thank YOU! I didn't really have a lot of clothing options because a) I couldn't really afford to buy the dresses I liked and b) my recent weight gain has made my already limited selection...well, even more limited, LOL! But I worked it out in time to get my car wash and pick up my partna for the evening Lori (a very cool girl from the ATL) who works for the network that sponsored the event.
The BMA's were just simply wonderful. It was beautiful to see all of our black stars looking elegant and radiant and refined. It was an event filled with class and dignity which I was humbled and thankful to be a part of. I am so grateful to God for his blessings...and attending this event was truly a blessing, it was truly inspiring.
Some of the highlights was a beautiful speech by Cicely Tyson. She received an award for her amazing body of work...did you know she is the first black woman to appear have a lead in a series that was not a Maid or a Mamie? Go 'head Ms. Tyson! Her speech was so touching it brought tears to my eyes. Spike got the Ossie Davis Humanitarian award for "When the Levee's Broke". They showed some of the film and well...more tears...lol. What a powerful piece of work...I haven't seen it in it's entirety, but after last night it is certainly a priority for me to do so. Laurence Fishburne won and I was really moved at his gratitude. He was so appreciative and thankful...I guess I was taken aback b/c I'm used to seeing him in those Ike Turner roles, lol. Gosh who else, the amazing Melvin Van Peebles, Angela Bassett, Oprah, Ruby Dee, Kimberly Elise, the amazing (and still fine, lol) Billy Dee Williams, Barry Gordy, the supremely talented Ms. Jill Scott performed (simply amazing), host Tyler Perry (who does one heck of a Loretta Divine impression, lol)...and honestly TOO many others to name.
After the awards show we headed to the HBO After party. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but somehow my Patna and I managed to procure a SUV stretch Limo to transport us to the second event, LOL. Now, anyone that knows me knows that I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a materialistic woman. Fancy cars and clothes really mean very little to me. But I have to admit, that Limo was the BOMB!!! LOL!! It was alot of fun and everyone was sooo cool (which is a real rarity in LA, lol!). We were having our own little dance fest on the way to the After party, lol. The After Party was also a bunch of fun. It was really well attended. I actually ran into a lot of people I knew, or that knew me over the course of the evening. Many of them had seen the film...I really can't believe how many black folks watch BET, LOL.
After the After party, we went up to a birthday party for C.R. (the director of ATL). And after That, we called it a night.
Whew! That was one LOOOONG but Beautiful day! I'll be lucky if I can move in the morning, lol.
Pics from the BMA After Party...
posted by Jillian at 10:53 AM
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