Back East

Tonight I was back in the East Bay (last night we were in Alameda for Jessica's birthday) to meet with some of the brigadistas to go over the details of our delegation to Cuba.

After our meeting I met with JennSu and her friend Martina. We ate hand cut noodles in Oakland's Chinatown, hung out at her eco co-op, and made many plans for the future (see twitter.) I am particularly looking forward to the West Coast renaissance of Delicious Beverages, which some readers may recall from her Brooklyn days. Look for its symbol (d.b.) on a bicycle spoke near you.

where frivolity and narcissism meet on the 2.0 web

Um, in case you haven't been pressing the "SOS!!!OMG! T-M-I!!!!" button like crazy in response to the existence of this here blog you can now do so by following the insider minutia of Rubylife on my Twitter site. Hello! This is what people DO in California.

Photo from 4/21 @ Hubba Hubba

Kiss Me Kate just sent out this photo from our last show:

Photo credit: Brad Zweerink

Ahoy!

Phillip and I spend Friday night getting belligerent with Jessica and Xande at a gallery opening in Oakland and devoted the rest of the weekend recovering at Dolores Beach.

Sunday evening I met up with a bunch of the Burlesqueteers plus some others to celebrate Erin's birthday. We rode a catamaran around the bay through sunset. The views were spectacular but it was incredibly windy. The real reason why my photos are sub par given the grandeur of the scene is explained by the difficulty in balancing a bulking SLR in one hand while steadying a glass of white wine in the other.

Upon docking we eat desserts in North Beach and then I met up with Heather and Rick/Gary at the Waterbar, the most glamorous drinking hole in SF yet.

Patterns

I've put my Etsy endeavor on hold on account of the fact that I can't stop giving away all of my flower hair clips (the moichandise!) This hasn't kept my glue gun from getting dusty: between all of the new costumes and pro bono flowers there is work to be done! Additionally, the April/May issue of Bust just pointed me to the fantastic online textile vendor Reprodepot Fabrics where I've purchased yards of the following drool-worthy cloth:



I plan to make a few pillows as well as a curtain for the pantry so that I can finally wash the dishes desnuda without the eyes of our neighbor Bob.

Ruby Fuerza @ the Uptown Club Hubba Hubba Review 5/5

More exciting news!

I've just booked my first performance without the Burlesqueteers. I'll be debuting a number at the Hubba Hubba Review at the Uptown Club where I normally dance with the troupe. The Cinco de Mayo show will be with nine other dancers, none of whom I know. Because I booked the gig independently, I will receive a share of the ticket sales (hold your horses! its only about 20 bucks!) When the Burlesqueteers perform, we pool our earnings which we've been saving to defray the cost of our Las Vegas trip.

I won't reveal the theme of my act, but I will say that it is an to my favorite Mexicana (and it's not Comandante Ramona) . . . . .

Viva (downtown) Las Vegas!

It's official! I've just purchased my plane tickets to go to Las Vegas in June with the Burlesqueteers for the Miss Exotic World pageant at the Burlesque Hall of Fame. MEW is the "Miss America" of burlesque competitions. Thousands of dancers from around the world converge in Vegas to compete. The officials have not yet announced the line-up so we still don't know if we will be among the contestants vying for the title of Best Troupe Act.

New Act! Hot Off the Press!!

a big hairy THANK YOU to all of my friends for hauling out to the 510 for the show!

For Twin Tea

We had a well-attended pot luck at our home yesterday. Food and good company were bountiful. Thanks to Bartoz and Katherine for the cases of It's It ice cream sandwiches, to Dani and Erin for the Swedish meatballs and other Nordic delicacies, to Josh and Roomie and Cake for the fruity boozes and snacks. And thanks to Pachamama! Happy Holiday!

Missed Encounters

Last night I went to see Rilo Kiley with the girls from Brazil but our Pakistani feast ran over and our cab got really lost. We arrived in time for the last half of the last song of the encore. Bummer. We pushed our way to the front to catch a glimpse of the band. Jenny Lewis looked absolutely lovely and the dudes (whatever their names are!) were cool. It was a good show but tame, judging from three minutes of it.

Los Angeles, CA: Union Thugs

On Monday my boss Kelly and I flew down to LA for the day for more union vs. union activity. In addition to all of the drama that has been stewing between UHW and the International, SEIU is also feuding with California Nurses Association (you can read about some of the depressing details here, here, here, and here.) The only redeeming element to the operation was our rental car, an electric blue PT Cruiser.

We spent the afternoon in one of our hospitals flyering and talking to nurses at shift change. CNA is trying to raid SEIU nursing units citing some random LA County law that allows workers a month-long window to file decertification petitions every couple of years. We received positive feedback from most of the nurses. The residents too seemed mildly interested in the issue. While CNA will only be running the decert campaign for the next few weeks they will be continuing an anti-SEIU campaign through the 2009 contract negotiations. Come on!

Before heading back to LAX Alex and I feted his birthday (April 13th folks - let it be known!) at a corny luau-themed restaurant. I am sad to report that neither of us ordered the Hawaiian steak dinner (spam.)

NY, NY: I Dream of Congé: Five Year Highschool Reunion

Phillip and I took the red eye into Friday morning and spent the day hauling the vestiges of his New York life out of a Sheepshead Bay storage unit. By nightfall I was exhausted but too easily seduced with the prospects of homecoming to stay home. I met Lauren, Ales, Allegra and Margot at Sasha's new apartment (Sasha was still at the billionaire barbecue in Crawford, Texa$) and we went out dancing until late.

Saturday morning we headed over to 91st Street around noon just as Mass ended in time for the wine reception in the newly rechristened theater. Sleep deprived and hungover, I was first overwhelmed with feelings of anxiety that echoed the dread of detentions and the cool wrath of Madame Teran. Once I saw familiar faces I felt at home again - 22 out of the 40-odd girls from my graduating class turned out. Our grade was pretty closely knit, despite expected friend-groups.

After the reception we moved to the ballroom for the luncheon. On the walk from the Kahn to the Burden Mansion I had the opportunity to look at the beautiful architecture with new eyes. Schleping across the Park each day to face a day of torturous classes and team sports really clouded my appreciation for the place. Not to mention the fact that they've spruced it up quite a bit since graduation (new upholstery everywhere.) The luncheon too was lovely. In fact, it was the loveliest meal I've ever eaten in my school: three courses and bottomless wine served by waiters in white jackets. Schnazzy!!

We walked to Dorian's en masse after lunch. Dorian's is a bar usually reserved for preppy assholes but with the big group it was really fun. We stayed for a couple of hours, chatting, catching up. A bunch of us went over to Sasha's after the bar for a little rest before hitting the town until daybreak.

It was really great to see everyone all in one place. It was refreshing to see that no one has changed. I look back on my years at Sacred Heart fondly. Despite a few flaws (Why were so many teachers alcoholics? Why was Nicky Hilton always sleeping in the library? What was this school's obsession with skits??), it provided a nurturing environment which shaped much of my present self. I can think of few other circumstances where I have conned my biology teacher into making 1000 fliers for a "US out of Colombia" rally or rescheduled my AP History exam to attend a NOW march in DC. Sacre Coeur, you'll always be my "trés bien..."



The chapel; architecture


Alicia, Ruby, Lauren Liz; Allegra, Ales, Regan, Lauren


The ballroom, Class of 1958


Table; Katie, Allegra, Katie


The rotunda (Manhattan's only elliptical staircase); "No smoking in uniform"


Ales, Lauren, Claire; Julia and Lauren


Grainne, Ruby, Katie; Kim and Sam


Katherine and Nazli; Alicia and Katie


UWS; manual focus


Tran get your cigarette out of my picture; the night ends well for Katie

Madame Maraschino's House of Burlesque @ Benders 4/19

Burlesqueteers @ Stage Werx Theater 4/30

This is the poster for the final date of our three April shows. We are also performing at Bender's on Saturday, April 19th and at the Uptown Club's Hubba Hubba Review on Monday, April 21st. I will be in a group number (or two) as well as a solo act on at least two of the three nights. Come early, come often!

Memories

I am sad to see that the Coney Island Mermaid Parade is taking place on June 21st this year, when I will undoubtedly be in San Francisco. In my sorrows I took a peek at Flickr and found this shot of our troop from the 2007 Parade:

Dill, Roomie, Allison, Heather, Lauren, Ruby, Glynis, Liv, Karen; photo credit 12by0

We were the "RIP Mermaids" mourning the death of Coney Island to condo developers (BK blog coverage here and here.) It took our large group a while to coordinate our theme, geniusly provided by Rebbecca Ritchie, with the costumes and props - tombstone picket signs and a life sized coffin. It was a hot day and most of us (save my teenage sister Hillary, thankgawd) were hungover from Talia's birthday. We were without water and little sunscreen. The train ride back to central Brooklyn was hell. I wanted to die on several occasions. Yet in the end it was rewarding to see such hard work, creativity, and group effort materialize into this great event shared with thousands of people doing the same. Sigh, I miss this homespun fun! I hope the SF LoveFest will fill part of this hole in my heart.

PS: To think! This was my (and several other's) first appearance wearing titty tassels in public!
"You've come a long way, baby" - FBS