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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Atlanta Carnival 2011: We Kinda Ting Bandlaunch This Saturday!

I've been TRYING to avoid the nonstop, mad rush carnival scene after getting back from Trinidad and because I'm getting my other ducks in a row....but I can't lie I would love to see even one  Atlanta bandlaunching, and I missed Prizm Mas's launch...

We Kinda Ting is arguably the most popular mas band in Atlanta, and is, unless I'm mistaken, the largest.  Check out the event page on Facebook and RSVP, you know the West Indian massive going to be front and center checking out this year's offering!

Atlanta Carnival is Memorial Weekend every year, for those who didn't know...the last Saturday in May!


We Kinda Ting from their 2010 gallery:


Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Trinidad Carnival 2011: Day 8 Trinidad!


Trinidad Carnival 2011: Day 8 Trinidad!


Photojournal of the ride from Port of Spain to and through Chaguanas, Point Fortin, San Fernando and it's Gulf City Mall, the La Brea Pitch Lake and the Caroni Bird Sanctuary (we got severely rained out at the Pitch Lake and barely made it to the bird sanctuary after, so that was it for TNT tourism but I got plenty in for just one day!)

Pics only, videos coming later on the blog's YouTube page!  Didn't forget the remaining days, was just hoping to do them in order but most of my Maracas (Day 7) pictures are on someone else's camera and I am waiting like two weeks now to get them! smh Such a painful lesson on why to double and then triple check the memory card in my own camera...could have avoided this delay although I was PROMISED I would get them in a timely fashion!

Enjoy!  I had put captions but they all got erased except the first one, and as life rushes on after carnival with a lot on my plate and a major national standardized test coming up...the captions are going to have to wait! :)

And yes, the Trinidad Carnival 2011 SUPERPOST! blog has been updated!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

TrinidadCarnivalDiary mentions my blog! Yay!

And that fact is worth mentioning cause one: any publicity (that's hopefully positive) is good, and two: that blog post (or her blog itself, TrinidadCarnivalDiary.com) drove a lot of visitors to MY blog recently and that's always great since she's a Trinidad carnival veteran and doesn't have to give any recognition to us newbies!  Thanks Saucy for reading AND posting a positive review about it!
This pic just SAYS carnival to me...can't explain it!

P.S. she had also given me a great review when the blog was even younger, fresher, greener...here!

Eloquence, Inc. Trinidad Carnival 2011 Pics Now on Rockwildaz.com!



I don't know if I had shared the exciting news that I had been asked if I wanted to work with Rockwildaz (IF?!!!) a few weeks ago, but it's official...and they've got some of my Carnival Monday and Tuesday pics up to prove it!

Check the pictures out here (the albums named, appropriately, "Carnival Monday" and "Carnival Tuesday")!

Eloquence, Inc. pics on Rockwildaz.com: TNT Carnival 2011!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

5-Year Plan to Finance Your Legal Education! From The University of La Verne College of Law


A great addition to my Law School Bible blog post!  (Hyperlinks in this post added by me.)

Goal planning was also discussed here by my friend, a certified project management professional!

Financing Your Legal Education:
A Five-Year Plan
While many attorneys enjoy financial success, students considering law school should be aware that the proverbial road to riches is punctuated with toll booths. Your legal education will be one of the most important investments you will ever make, but if you plan your financial route in advance, you are less likely to veer off track.

Most potential law students understand that they must plan for the costs of at least three years of tuition, books, and living expenses (four for part-time students), whether via savings, parental support, scholarships, loans, or some combination thereof. What they may not know is that pursuing a legal career comes with all sorts of extra costs before, during, and after they attend law school.

Students who want to make the most of their investment are best served by creating a five-year financial plan, outlining their potential costs and developing strategies for meeting them. Listed below are tips to get you started, but you should also plan to speak with a financial aid professional at both your undergraduate institution and your potential law schools, to get a fuller picture.


Year 1: Getting the Ball Rolling

“What?” you may be asking. “I have to pay for law school before I’ve even started?” The truth of the matter is that the costs of preparing for and taking the LSAT, applying to multiple law schools, and visiting law school campuses can run in the hundreds and even thousands of dollars.


So what’s a pre-law student to do? 
  • Plan, save, pay off debt, and plan some more.
  • Create a spending plan for cost-of-living expenses while in law school, budgeting for basics like housing, food, clothes, limited entertainment, and, of course, that law school staple – coffee!
  • Consider investing in a laptop computer and sturdy backpack for trudging your huge casebooks from class to class.
  • Research funding opportunities such as student loans, merit- and need-based scholarships and grants, and work-study assistance. Be sure to ask law schools about scholarship opportunities when choosing where to apply.

Year 2: The First Year They Scare You to Death…

In addition to tuition, books, and living expenses, the first year of law school comes with a number of hidden costs. Bar examiners in your intended state of practice may ask you to pay a registration fee. Many law students also rely on commercial outlines – thick paperback books that outline black letter law – to supplement their casebook and classroom studies. If you are attending a law school far from home, do not forget to factor in travel expenses for holiday visits.
  • Plan in advance for how you will pay for your summer living expenses.
  • Consider applying for fellowships, and/or participating in activities that will qualify you for a summer grant from your law school if it has such a program.
  • Consider taking out an additional student loan if you are able to get credits for your summer fellowship.
  • Budget for work attire, a resume portfolio, travel expenses for job interviews, and association fees.
  • Expect to pay up to $400 as a deposit for a bar exam preparation course.
This all might seem overwhelming, but don’t even think about taking a summer gig as a waitress; 90 percent of law students work in a legal position during their first year summer, and if you are not among them, you will be at a significant disadvantage when it comes time to secure employment later.
law school casebooks

Year 3: In the Trenches

Tuition? Check. Books? Check. Living expenses? Check. Professional wardrobe? Check. What else can there be?

The Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) that’s what. This exam, which tests your understanding of ethics in the legal profession, is a pre-requisite or co-requisite for taking the bar and being admitted as an attorney in 47 of the 50 states. 
  • Set aside funds to pay for the MPRE.
  • Plan for your summer as if you will once again be working for free.
  • If you anticipate getting a paid position, expect to spend more on office attire.
    Yale law student
Year 4: They Charge Me to Take a Test?

By now, you’ve learned to plan for recurring expenses like tuition and books. You’ve invested in a great wardrobe, and, if you haven’t already secured post-graduate employment, you’ve got stacks of resume paper just waiting for that perfect opening. 

Unfortunately, some major costs are just beginning. 
  • Expect to pay a few thousand dollars on the balance of your bar exam preparation course.
  • Budget for the MPRE exam if you have not yet taken it or failed to pass the first time around.
  • Plan for other hefty fees associated with registering for the bar exam and the moral character application.
  • Don’t forget graduation expenses such as cap and gown rental feels and graduation announcements.
  • If you are planning to practice in a state other than the one in which you attended law school, count on moving expenses as well.

Year 5: The Most Important Year of Your Legal Career

You have taken your last law school exam, thrown (or politely waved) your cap at graduation, and maybe even had a whole week’s vacation for the first time since you started law school. Now the real work begins.

Don’t kid yourself: Studying for the bar exam is a full-time job with lots of overtime and no benefits. (That is, until you pass!) You will spend the first two months after graduation and then some mired in virtually everything you have learned in law school.
  • Expect to spend at least two months without a steady income, studying for the bar full-time.
  • Consider a bar exam loan to get you though this rough patch.
  • Be prepared for more time unemployed while you search for your first job after passing the bar.

Remember, investing in a legal career means more than just tuition and books. The legal profession is an important and worthy one which offers great potential for financial security, intellectual stimulation, high social standing, and the opportunity to make a difference in the world. But just as you wouldn’t drive at night on a highway with your headlights off, don’t begin your journey into the legal profession in the dark.




And of course research all the former (and current) law students' blogs, especially ones from similar backgrounds/with similar life circumstances as you.  

Check out/join/participate in sites like 
MyShingle (opening/maintaining a solo law practice, something to consider/be informed how to do before you even start law school, given the current legal employment climate!)

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Atlanta Carnival 2011: Prizm Mas Band Launching This Saturday March 19-- "Elemental Forces"!

Will be showing us Earth, Water, Wind, Fire!


Q&A:

So we hear some of you are feeling a bit shy and bashful this year. No worries, all costumes come with an option of a one-piece or two-piece. See you at the band launch Saturday night! http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=185463931495503
Tuesday at 11:42pm ·  · 

  •  likes this.

    •  [Eloquence, Inc] Monokinis?
      Yesterday at 8:29am · 

    • Prizm Intl Reg one-piece. Unless the general consensus is monokini...we might reconsider

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Trinidad Carnival 2011: Day 5--Carnival Monday (J'ouvert & Monday Mas!)


Trinidad Carnival 2011: Day 5--Carnival Monday (J'ouvert & Monday Mas!)


Pictures AND videos!

More J'ouvert pics later, I had camera issues as stated before and could NOT take my phone out to get chocolate on it! I took a waterproof camera but of course those pics are not developed yet.  Stay tuned!

Mas with D'Krewe Carnival.

Trinidad Carnival 2011: Day 4--Jab Molassie/D'Krewe Mas Camp (again!)/ and J'ouvert Prep!

Sunday was more of a chill day due to the incessant swelling of my feet that began from my first day in Trinidad...and because of a SERIOUS problem with our Sunny Side Up All Inclusive tickets that I am still waiting to see if I get my money back on time from before I say much more than that! :-/


Trinidad Carnival 2011: Day 4--Jab Molassie/D'Krewe Mas Camp (again!)/ and J'ouvert Prep!


The Jab Molassies and following masqueraders were, I believe, the start of Dimanche Gras carnival Sunday.

I also had to make a run to Chocolate City's mas camp cause my crew picked up the wrong type of shirt for me...my registration said female top but I got a t-shirt.  Sorted that out immediately cause I had no razors to cut up a t-shirt and wanted my tank!  That was resolved fast and painless thank God.

Back at D'Krewe's mas camp cause one of the crew whose costume was actually one I ordered then transferred to her, was somehow not ready til Sunday (and a quick call from me to Akeisha) despite it being ordered before my second order for myself when I changed my mind AGAIN and went with Tempo section in D'Krewe over YUMA's Capricorn (which can't come in monokini).  I paid mine in full same time as I registered though so I think those who paid in full prior to the week of carnival, their costumes got made first. Don't know what was going on but at least we got it...cause one guy didn't get his costume til he was already on the road...I still rate whoever stayed behind to finish his costume and bring it out to him while we were jamming on the road though!

My registration personally had no hassle. Just the waitttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt Saturday to pick up when I had scheduled all the housekeeping stuff for Friday was a no-no.  However, that was their scheduled day for Tempo (Saturday), and they were open one set range of time that never changed (1pm to 10pm)...which was not a time I had anything planned to do so I was cool.  I showed up, after the wait that people suffered at most mas camps anyway, my costume was there, it fit nice, it was as pictured, and it looked great on me even women i didn't know who passed by the room I was trying it on in said "yuh mas look nice!"

Big ups to Mark who was assisting us D'Krewe newbies free of charge on behalf of the band lol!  The D'Krewe masqueraders were definitely like a little family...people remembered each other from mas camp, from carnival Monday, and on the road Tuesday!  It's a medium band and the size was perfect for my first time.  YUMA, as I saw the 2,500 of them out on the road ahead of us to get on stage...would have been way too big and way too much press of people as I try to move around on the road!  Now I have the experience I feel like I could handle it but one of my crew did play in YUMA and fainted in the heat...which could easily have been one of the rest of us if we had played with them cause it was ALL of us first time...so again I'm glad I saved myself that massive crowd!

Trinidad Carnival 2011: Day 3--Insomnia!


Trinidad Carnival 2011: Day 3--Insomnia!


Pictures AND videos!

Trinidad Carnival 2011: Day 2--Girl Power 2011!


Trinidad Carnival 2011: Day 2--Girl Power 2011!


Pictures AND video!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Trinidad Carnival 2011: SUMMARY!

More straight albums of just pics (lots more pics) and videos coming but just to get some news and views out for now!


Blog and youtube coming with the rest of the HUNDREDS of pics and videos!

But summary of the major things:

TOBAGO:



GIRL POWER:



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INSOMNIA:

I can't talk about this without talking about my first encounter with a RHYTHM SECTION! This guy was on the most GINORMOUS drum I've ever seen in my life...not sitting by it sitting ON it, and banging out the rhythms like his SOUL depended on it! The beats and melodies are hypnotizing...and something about those drums brings the ANIMAL out of you! I thought I loved pan but I think I ADORE this! AND D'Krewe had Siparia Rhythm Section on the road!


BEFORE the water:

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AFTER the big water hose wet up EVERYTHING in sight!



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J'OUVERT:


(most of these are still on my waterproof camera...have to wait to get those developed)

The men on stilts were wicked, but the WOMEN on stilts RUNNING, WINING, and strutting around like they run things...were wickeder!


MONDAY MAS:
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TUESDAY MAS:
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MARACAS:


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^^^we know where I was half the time right??? lmao! SOOOO hot just leaned up there!

Oh yeah the man cute too! lol He saw me give the bikes side eyes twice and told me to come sit on one and take a pic, I know I want to!

I said ahmmmmm YOU'RE RIGHT.

TRINIDAD:
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FOOD:
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^^thought that was my first time having it then realized my favourite bartender at Insomnia gave me that with Johnny Walker Black and I just didn't know wth LLB was at the time! Nice!


:)

Downsides:

1. Forgetting my 16 gig SD card. 
2. Nasty heat rash and apparent allergy to the sunblock...standing for hours waiting to cross the Savannah Monday is a hot sticky drippy affair = bad for my skin. Learned to walk up and down and take pics and vids after that, not wait...
3. No sunblock tuesday turned everything to a nasty sunburn...I'm peeling now
4. Jammed big toe against one of the carnival crew females' sneaker (the HARD part at the bottom, not the sneaker part) and it still swell/burn/pained up...probly going to lose that nail...and it wasn't even during parade, it was during Insomnia...and no the crowd in general did not step on my foot whole night, I just shoulda been partying out in the crowd whole night it was safer, clearly!
5. Trinis fry so much stuff...saheena was the spiciest thing I tasted and that was just hot enough to clear my sinuses after a couple of them lol. But the food overall is good...Arab food in San Fernando's mall was WICKED I think I inhaled that!

But that's it. I lasted all day Monday from jouvert straight through to Monday on the road, sitting down for only about 5 minutes to cut-and-swallow a sandwich for lunch...all day tuesday from about 10am through Las' Lap, ate lunch at a more relaxed pace in the cooldown bus provided by D'krewe...

and YES I crossed the stage...


TWICE! ha! Wined on stage, on stage manager, on cameraman...


The soca song phrase that describes me for Trinidad Carnival 2011 must be "tall ting, short ting, I wining up on all ting!" AND "go gyal go gyal go gyal GO!"

Several man tell mi seh di wine illegal lol or as that one said coming out of Insomnia (I kept tiefing more wines instead of just walking straight out) "yuh waistline RELL LOOSE gyul wayyyyy!"

:) 
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