MIX: Dream House

Ladies and the one gentleman that may read this blog, this is MIX! This is my happy place. Me, my mug, in front of thousands of people and in Barbie pink too! This photo was effectively taken from above me, slightly to my right. This is my view from ground level.

February 2, 2024 was Barbie Dream House time! But first, we had a very full day ahead of us.

Dressed early for a 10:00 AM appointment where we took Pango Apparel (our new sponsor) live! Miranda and I spent about three hours putting the finishing touches on everything. I am pleased with the look, now I need it to work. As an aside here, I am the social media coordinator for the company that has one of my apparel lines and am absolutely crushing it! If nothing else, I am creative, imaginative and still driving that wretched truck…

My next stop was to drop off some samples at a boutique I have been having conversations about adding my lines to her shop. Not a long visit, but cool nonetheless. I solicited her as Kandi and so far, a complete nonissue.

Then I had to return a dress for my wife at Nordstroms and I did a little shopping, just browsing, nothing purchased. I had only consumed about 20% of a bottle of whiskey for breakfast (please, no preaching here, I like to drink while getting dressed) for my daily nutrition, so it was time to eat.

I picked a great Italian joint and parked my pretty pink behind at the bar between a few gentleman. No one paid me the least bit of attention. Finally it was MIX time!

I was taken away from my usual post to run the photo booth, a picture of which opens this post. Yes, I am painfully aware the lighting sucked. I was able to get some more lighting, but all that did was ensure that my shadow (as photographer) was in every single photo taken.

My shift was from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. The party ends at 10:00. There was a line from the second the doors opened until they shut it down. For three consecutive hours I took pictures. All with other people’s phones. I must have taken literally thousands of photos. I took pictures of one person, couples, large groups, so many different combinations. Many asked me to get in their pictures or wanted a selfie with me afterward. There has to be at least a hundred photos of me I will never see. I gathered hug after hug while managing the entire operation as the line twisted around the corner. I had some help, but it was a complete Kandi show. It was nice that I was given enough free drinks to get me through all the yapping for three solid hours. I was exhausted, exhilarated, going hoarse, my face hurt from smiling the entire time. Every one was so kind and sweet to me, without exception. Yeah, I know it was party, yeah I know it was an art museum, but the love and acceptance, awesome! A dear friend who works there called me an icon. Putting modesty aside, I am becoming that there, IN A WORLD CLASS ART MUSEUM (literally)!

The final hour I spent getting “hydrated” and visiting with my many friends. One particular woman and I have really clicked. I shared quite a bit about myself because, it appears, people have an interest in someone like me. We agreed to have a real nice girl’s night to talk, we’ll see it it happens.

I was in that dress from about 9:00AM until 11:00PM. I was in an office, a boutique on a sales call, Nordstroms, Soma picking through clearance panties, a restaurant and The Cleveland Museum of Art. 14 hours, never one single time pausing to think about anything other that what was next on my agenda.

My “fluff” experience which you read about recently and this were two all-timers for me as the woman I am morphing into. Between the two parties, we probably had a good six thousand people there. At the one party I greeted every guest and at the next, I seemingly took pictures of every guest (not quite, but pretty close).

I feel like I need to keep stepping up my game to experience more and more, to leverage up this personality I have become. Yeah, but that and five bucks still will not get me that cup of Starbuck’s overpriced coffee….. My demographic peers are retiring and me, working seven days a week and volunteering my free time. I guess I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Did anyone say life was simple or easy? Blessings and curses, challenges and joys, great days and shit days. Life…

Actual proof that I did in fact take pictures.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I am rerunning one particular comments from Kris’ wonderful post yesterday. Vanessa, who has reached out directly to me in the past, posted this:

I’ve been going out regularly for several years now mostly thanks to the stories here. I think your (Kris’) observation is correct most people around you are too involved in their lives to notice you and those that do, in my case, have responded kindly. The more I go out the more addictive it is and the more I look for excuses to go out. Dressed to the nines I’ve attended the theater and the ballet. I’ve found that on Sunday around noon you will not be the only one in a dress at the grocery store. So I took Kandi’s advice and started to attend church. I get lots of compliments from women, young and old, at how put together I am. I had a young lady tell me last week that she looked forward to coming to see what I would be wearing. I have breakfast before church usually in the same restaurant, last week the waitress and the manager bought mine. The waitress told me, your breakfast in on us, because you keep coming back and are a genuinely a nice person. I almost cried.

Vanessa

She almost cried…I did. Jocelyn can attest, this is exactly the same experience I get at church when I can make it. Vanessa, you have no idea what that comment meant to me. We (not me, our Kandi’s Land community) do make a difference!