Virgin

Well, really, in the beginning, there was purchasing the tickets. But, we’ll get back to the story of how I came by the US Virgin Festival tickets in Baltimore, MD in a later blog… so stay tuned, I may just turn out all of the gritty details in the spirit of catharsis, and be a testament to Aristotle while purging my emotions and making my protagonist’s case. We’ll see how flinch-worthy I have the guts to make it.

In any case, the tickets were mine. Two 2-day VIP tix to the festival, with each day getting closer leaving my brain able to do little else but dream about what was to come that weekend. Music, booze, sun, booze, music, booze. Did I say booze? Ok I’m not an alcoholic, but I surely enjoy to partake in my fair share of $8 beers and $12 Carribean Red Bull Drinks, like any other good time charlie. (When I say those types of things I completely reveal how American I am and how old I am becoming.)

My weekend started out with a three hour drive to Baltimore, meeting up with my BFF, for the purpose of the blog she shall henceforth be dubbed the moniker “Nicki Muse”. I booked the room, and I take full responsibility for the fact that the hullabaloo (read it slowly, because I had to type slowly to figure out if that was spelled normally) that ensued seemingly as soon as we checked in was due to my choice of hotels. I could describe this in detail, however, you’ve got better things to do and I want to get to the good part. Trust me when I tell you it wasn’t just a fiasco, it was a hullabaloo. Thank goodness Nicki Muse and I are the type to find the most amusement in something that would cause other’s heads to explode.

After things were set straight, and we were comped a stay at the hotel (free fiscally, but oh boy did we spend two hours paying for that hotel’s silliness), we did our hair, slathered on our makeup, put on our “look at my crazy hot gams” shoes, asked each other if we looked alright, decided we looked MORE than just alright, and headed out. We had said that we wanted to stay local on Friday night; our hotel was in Columbia, MD. We were to hit the afterparties in Baltimore on Saturday night. Our “intention” was to go out, have a few reunion drinks as this was the first time in two years we laid eyes on each other, and then head back to the hotel, get decent sleep to get an early start on the first day of the Virgin Festival. Well, folks, like I said it had been two years since we’d hit the town together and time has a way of fuzzing out all of the gory details of nights past. But Nicki Muse and I are a true testament to old habits die hard.

We made our way to downtown Columbia, which is an appealing outpost of Baltimore. We were pleasently surprised to see that there were plenty of other people walking around from here to there at midnight when we rolled in. We set our sites on a little bar with a Latin American theme, mostly because the music coming from that establishment was actually able to be heard outside the walls, while the other places were much more subdued. Nicki Muse and I THRIVE on the unsubdued.

So, in we go to be greeted with a nice size bar, outdoor deck area, and an ample size dance floor. Drinks in hand, we begin to scan the crowd and make comments about what we are observing. You know how it goes, drink in the scene for a bit while you drink up your alcohol for a bit so you can get loose enough to go out dancing for a bit. The DJ played hip-hop and rap, and everyone was just out to have fun.

Nicki Muse and I head out to the outdoor deck so I can have a smoke—yes, vices galore here, friends—and we are talking about our upcoming event tomorrow when we are approached by a group of gentleman. Interestingly enough, they come and talk to me, which is unusual because Nicki Muse usually gets most of the attention. Her affable nature combined with her witty sense of humor and pretty smile causes men take notice and feel comfterably compelled to come over and start chatting. One of the group started the conversation with, “I will give you a DOLLAR if you talk to my friend, he just got dumped”. Well, after I talked him up to $2, I doubled my profit and went back to the dancefloor two dollars richer.

It was an interesting beginning to the weekend. Getting back to our home for the weekend, we sat and laughed and talked until about 4 am. And we want to get up at 8. We’ll see.

The next several posts will describe my weekend as a VIP ticket holder to the Virgin Mobile Festival. I will talk about the music, the surroundings, the ementities. Mostly, though, I will talk about my experiences, the people I met, the amazing talent I wish I could’ve met, and why this was one of the most fun weekends of my life. Read on…