I have lost the Carnival vibe, there, I have finally said it. You would think that with all the excitement of playing in a new band, the return of the big stage in the Savannah and an early offering of new music including tracks by Machel and Destra that I would be beside myself with uncontainable anticipation for Carnival 2011. Sadly I have to admit my Carnival meter right now is running close to empty, and I need a jump start! Imagine the thought of selling my costume was a tantalizing possibility; blasphemy!
There are several reasons why I believe I am feeling this way and I think it started with the lack of anticipation, anxiety and dare I say stress for costume registration. The whole quiet, efficient and online experience of registering in Bliss via a committee member meant that I knew for sure I was going to be in the band and in my particular section of choice. There was no getting up early on registration day, heading to Cascadia and waiting for hours to get my costume. I was simply sent an email with a time and date on which to go online and make my payment, easy huh? And while in retrospect the registration at Cascadia might have been too much drama for some, it added to my whole Carnival experience and fostered camaraderie with the other eager masqueraders waiting there too; some of whom I am still friends with today, bonding over the common goal of getting into the section we wanted so badly.
The second reason is that I am admittedly a creature of habit and a loyal one at that. As much as I am looking forward to something new with Bliss I cannot help but pine a little bit for the familiarity for TRIBE. Some may say but they are both the same band, and my response would be how do we know that? Bliss has yet to show me what I should expect apart from their tag line “Same Vibe… Different TRIBE” everything else is still a mystery. Will we be collecting costumes at the same time and venue as TRIBE? Where will the band be leaving from? Crossing the stage or not? And what about lunch, where will that be? Who are our D.Js.? How many drinks trucks will be in the band and are we ending in the same spot as TRIBE or somewhere else?
See, I know that we leave from Stanmore Avenue so I know where to park my car after my makeup appointment which is walking distance to that spot and I also know that TRIBE ends up back at Stanmore so I don’t need to walk far to get to my car when it is time to leave Port of Spain either. I know where we stop for lunch so I can map out the fastest way to get there after we cross the judging point at the Savannah and as for costume collection I am also used to the well oiled machine that is TRIBE; will this be exactly the same with Bliss? I am curious to see who exactly is in the band, if there will be a rule to the section line up as in TRIBE and if the D.J.s suck. I guess I am not one of those people who can whip myself into a frenzy over a new band without seeing what they have to offer, call me cautious but there are many questions I have for Bliss and I am waiting to see how this works with TRIBE managing TWO bands simultaneously on the road.
And finally I have to admit that part of the reason I am feeling this way is that even though I like my costume of choice , it was my second choice, my first love would always be Mayan Eagle and I will have major costume envy when I see it on the road. Usually by this time I have photos of my costume plastered on every computer screen I own; my PC, my laptop and work machine all would have had my costume as the screen saver and desktop background. In the past my husband would roll his eyes at my slide show of every single photo I could find of my costume, from every single angle of course, that I would lie in bed and look at on repeat.
When I love my costume I am obsessed with it. I think no one could forget my Loulan love affair because for months I lived and breathed Loulan! By this time I should be in the throes of designing my Monday wear with my other Carnival addicted friends (several of whom are not playing mas I have to add) and I would have been ordering my THIRD pair of boots. Not to mention I would be discussing in earnest the changes I planned on making with my designer friends and ordering all the supplies I needed to do so. This year I have not looked at another photo of my costume since I saw it at the mas camp, my desktop is a lovely montage of Robert Pattinsion (don’t ask) and I am thinking of ordering Christmas gifts and not extra beads and feathers! Somebody, slap me please!
The first step to getting help is admitting you have a problem and I am going to say, hello, my name is Saucy and I have lost my Carnival Mojo! So I basically had to sit down and write a 12 step program for recovery, hopefully by the time the New Year hits I should be well injected with Carnival spirit and be rearing to go for March 7th and 8th. First step is getting the Carnival diet in gear second is working on my footwear and third Monday wear. Of course I would circumvent all 12 steps if by some miracle I got a Mayan Eagle Frontline costume, as well, so I could play mas in TWO bands for Carnival and have my cake and eat it too. Unfortunately it does not work that way so while I listen to all the new music for Carnival 2011 (Private Ryan you really need to make a mix !) and go scouring the internet for pics of my costume, tell me is your Carnival meter on high or running on empty ? If you are the former what is keeping that needle at high and if you are of the latter why have you lost the vibe and what are you doing to get it back?
I can't be the only person feeling this way.... or am I?
I can't be the only person feeling this way.... or am I?
28 comments:
hmm Saucy sounds like a small case of (P.C.A) Pre Carnival Anxiety.
I think you need some Palancil with a shot of some some new soca, you'll be just fine.
I AM THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE! I am suffering the Carnival Virgin Syndrome and I love it!!!! Every morning I have a ritual: Check TCD's Facebook page and blog, Check YUMA's Facebook page, Check YUMA's website and stalk the 360 view video of my costume. I keep scouring the net for the perfect accessories for Monday wear (which BTW I've redesigned about 3 times in the last month),different boot designs (since I'm forced to do my own boots) and the best places to buy rhinestones and additional feathers. I keep finding things to buy from gel toe covers to the perfect pair of tights!! I even have a carnival folder in my Gmail Account. Need to stop! (or maybe not!LOL!)
All I need is a great carnival mix to play on repeat while I'm at work.
Doh worry Saucy you are not alone - by this time last year my ticket was booked, costume paid, every day was spent looking for boots and other carnival wear. This year I could kind of care less - wow did I just say that? lol I feel like I didn't get into the hype band this year which is YUMA and I feel like although I love IP they not really hyping themselves up. But doh worry soon as Christmas past it will be only soca on de airwaves and carnival fever will be injecting we asses lol. I started de diet and trainer already just time to get myself in de mood. I'm actually enjoying thinking about the holidays and not sooo much about Carnival - last year I was obsessed. And it's still three long months away - so enjoy yuh holidays just now you will be hitting us with three or four posts a day about the trials and tribulations of preparing for mas :-)
YUMA VIBESSSSSSSSSSSSS...... lol!
I too, am not as hyper over carnival I have been in the past. I have just been trudging along doing the basics to make sure that when the fever does hit, that I am at least semi prepared.
But...I have to give props where props are due.
If it were not for
- YUMA's hype on their FB page
- Some of the other YUMA's antics on FB which keep me quite entertained and at times downright tickled
- The fact that I am playing in THEE hottest costume that my heart has ever desired (THANK YOU TAURUS FL DESIGNER!!)
I would probably be in a carnival coma. So thanks YUMAvibe and YUMAraders for giving me enough of a blood transfusion to keep my blood flowing.
Good for yall ..i ready to go right now, wondering when exactly is soka in moka
Shout out to all my YUMAS!! I must say Jenee sounds like me to the "T". My sister is tired of me already...lol. She played mas with IP in '08. I am also a Trinidad Carnival Mas Virgin and there is not one day that doesn't go by that I don't think about Carnival 2K11. I actually prayed that a gig that was presented to me to go to Austria this month would fall through so I wouldn't have to worry about messing with my Trinidad Carnival Time *gasp* I know...sickening! And I have to agree with the rest of the posts regarding Yuma Vibes FB Page. I know I have added some things on there as well. But to read this blog Saucy is making me frown. Your blogs thrusted me into breaking my Carnival Virginity. Please stay with us....(in the Titanic Voice) Come back...come back...As Yuma would say HUGS!!!
YUMA i say
Hope this Youtube Playlist Cheers you up and hypes up the rest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_nZ7nLwEmU&feature=&p=4319159FBD625120&index=0&playnext=1
HUGS!!!! YUMA WHA?!?!? YUMA WE SAY!!!
Those of us who are not feeling the Carnival vibe are clearly not a part of the YUMA VIBE!! Lol. Oh gosh, let me stop b4 I get attacked! But on a real tho, my Carnival spirit is very much there. I still have TONS of things to do in preparation, but that's my usual situation anyways. I love this season of Christmas into Carnival. I'm beginning to hear some new soca on the airwaves and I'm already planning fetes and fete outfits :D oh and machel, d stage, and Destra is back! What more could I ask for?? :)
Sancy, don't be discouraged babe...Ur the reason I started and continue to play mas year after year. We can't have u down in the dumps now, can we? NONSENSE!! If u need a jump start, come read or better yet join in on our YUMAvibe FB page!! We comment on urs, right? And aint nothin like Saucy's two cents lol!! Its all about an interchange of encouragement and the VIBES(of course). YUMAs aint stoosh or none a dat BS! Leave that ish to those who NEED to feel important. Come on now, ur the catalyst responsible for carnival fever in most of us each and every year! So now its time for us to reciprocate...Dont worry, we got u! Luv ya lots!!
From a YUMA :-)))
YUMAize de nation! one trini at ah time!! YUMA to d World!!!
Feel d Vibe, love d vibe!!!
I'm in the same boat with Saucy. The joy and anticipation are just not there for me. Airfares are ridiculously high and I don't even have a costume yet. And I'm not even alarmed about that. I think YUMA take away all the vibes yes. Lol
Right now d plantation really pissing me off so that's my only possible motivation to fly down d road and take a break. Otherwise, meh. Lemme see by New Year's how I'll feel.
Saucy, I think alot of the Carnival veterans feeling a lack of vibe on some level or other this year, and it's the Carnival virgins who are carrying us along. And I don't even know where all this YUMA Carnival enthusiasm is coming from, and I IN de band! LOL
Part of it for me started with the whole bands and costume options. In my heart I didn't want to step away from the safety of TRIBE, and I preferred their costumes, but from a logical point of view, they were just too big for me this year and I didn't believe they would reduce their numbers for 2k11...and then the BLISS costumes...sigh I just wasn't falling in love with any of them! My critical eye was even moreso this rounds! And I didn't like all the hush hush that was going on either. And then my usual and not so usual Carnival buddies were all migrating to YUMA, so in the end I hemmed and hawed trying to find a costume I could say that I loved there and that would suit me! Even there I felt I had limited options :(
After that I got a lil excited as I created a group on fb for all my friends playing mas, so for a couple months there was alot of action going on re makeup, boots, advice for the Carnival Virgins in the group, fetes, etc....But now even that has died down and we talkin more about who coming home for Christmas and what parang we like than Carnival 2K11!
Everything just feels so lackluster! My Monday wear orders have been a battle of likes and dislikes, and up to now I have little ideas on design, I can't even decide what I'm doing re my Tuesday boots and am waiting for a 4th pair to reach (1st 3 got returned) and am not even feeling to do the bags I normally do for all my friends playing mas! It's pathetic! I haven't even started my Carnival workout schedule yet, I am SO behind *sigh*
I am hoping things pick up a bit after Christmas. If not then some force of will will just have to keep me trudging along.
I feel the same this year. Maybe because last year was my first year and I was psycho-excited and obsessed, but I'm just not going crazy yet... which makes me quite sad. I know part of it is down to the fact that, though I love my costume, it wasn't my first choice (I would have looked awful in my first choice color) and I didn't get to try on the headpiece like I did last year (which made it all much more real). But I think that, come January and 100% soca on the radio, I'll get my mojo back... or so I hope!
i know the feeling, i got sooo excited and stuff between july to september...from deciding on whether or not to go back to tribe after so many years of being loyal...to figuring out what costume i wanted. after we decided on a band....and picked costumes....i got boot fever and started my search...but now that my costume is just about paid off...my boots are in a suitcase on its way to Trinidad and ive kinda figured out what i would like my makeup to look like....i havent really got anything else to do so im at a bit of a standstill now...and even all the YUMA excitement is going way over my head. im just really looking forward to christmas and have so much junk to do home that carnival really has to take a back seat until january for real. maybe when i hit my first fete next year my carnival clock will start back ticking louder than my pulse lol
Bands launch way too early. It's got to a point of ridiculous now and totally kills the build up.
You have to wonder what would happen if Tribe (for example) decided next year, to hell with it, we launchin in October! Now THAT will be bachannal!
I have to agree with RWB...isn't carnival in March this year? I think my usual excitement is a little deterred because I know there is more than a month after christmas to go until carnival. Too much time between the launches and the actual event!
I love my costume...I started working out seriously a month ago because of it. I won't start getting excited about monday wear options and boots until Jan tho...which is right on time for some clearance sales! LOL
wow, thought I was the only one feeling this way, Saucy! Usually by this time I have my ticket booked, accomodations sorted, fete tickets organized...so far all i have are two costumes...neither of which I'm in love with. If I had gotten in my costume of choice: Persian Gold, I think i would have managed to keep myself hyped...but because this is the first year that i didn't get what i wanted, and I'm trying a new band: YUMA, but still didn't get my top choice of costume, I'm just not really feeling the vibe. Of course after I heard one of Destra's new songs i started getting excited...so I think thats all it takes...once the new tunes start pumping....it'll be on!!! At least that's what I hope...
I dunno if is because I'm Jamaican (and don't know or live in the everyday energy of Carnival)that i don't expect to have the excitement before I actually set FOOT in T&T; this will be my third time playing mas and I've felt the same way each time...I get huge rush of the excitement /anxiety about getting into the band (and section!) of my choice and then nothing much really until I get on the plane in Kingston.
This year I'm more organised than I've ever been for a Carnival: boots and Monday wear on lock (down to custom-ordering accessories for my look - and hoping things come together perfectly as they are in my head), J'ouvert paid for, organising accommodation, paying off costume and ticket booked...so i'm just happily looking forward to March 4 (grin), but I'm not bouncing off the walls or anything
I too am not feeling the vibes. I thought that I was (for about as long as a week) but then it all went back to normal. I can't believe it but my band of choice had absolutely nothing for me to choose from and that was for ME, the last straw. The biggest thing for me is a costume that I absolutely LOVE!!!!! Haven't found it nor do I care. The vibes DEAD for me.
The death...no, bloody murder! *angry*...of one of my friends who was to play mas with me and the ensuing scattering of the group killed my vibes...but it is being reborn by reinventing this carnival experience...
Too many bad vibes associated with YUMA now for me...and it's not YUMA's fault they been great and the masqueraders have VIBES! But it's not the same anymore and everytime I see my costume now i remember who picked it for me, and how i only had to get help picking one cause the rest of a now non-existent group got in their sections, and my wearable choices were all sold out.
Fresh vibes needed to shake the death and drama memories that surround the whole YUMA experience (not YUMA's fault at all, they been keeping up vibes on their end and and so have the YUMAs)...plus, in case it for real turns out to be just me from the group playing mas, i need to be in a costume that is a first choice and makes me smile, not feel sad, every time i look at it! Fresh vibes, fresh costume, fresh band...just starting fresh. Same airline ticket though lol.
So Saucy seems like is not just you eeh...although I do like the ease of not HAVING to run into mas camp...cause i am overseas lol. And if i am not mistaken the new band for sure will cross the stage? Plus they treated me very nicely and personably from the first time i intended to go Trinidad and play with them for 2k10...felt like family and they didn't even know me. So i already have confidence in their customer service... they even remembered me this carnival season, I just had already registered...
Sorry to hear about your friend Eloquence Inc. Hope you do enjoy the new band and costume that you chose.
Thanks to everyone for the positive vibes and hugs, I must say the YUMA masqueraders have excitement to share!
HOW ABOUT...
y'all take a year of from carnival (maybe 2 for some) and discover a beneficial alternative for a change. it is not said that you HAVE to do carnival every year. or even just doing the fetes and sitting at the sidelines come monday and tuesday would be a nice change. and +, y'all would be saving some money! take some time to rebuild that carnival anticipation!!
it seems that many of y'all have been doing this for years straight, eventually y'all would no what and what not to expect, hence the reasons y carnival virgins are the most excited. be open to taking a breather. make babies, travel somewhere, work, save/make money, join the peace corps, or army (LOL) do something!
Nicky that's actually a good idea & I'm considering skipping carnival for the 1st time in 10 straight years! I always have my airfare & hotel booked by this time of year but so far I haven't bothered making any plans for carnival 2k11 except for securing my costume & Mon wear. dare I say that I think I'm finally bored with carnival???? the horror!
Thanks Saucy! Maybe the Christmas season in the islands will be a nice diversion for you! You have done well to maintain such hype for so many years!
Nick I actually have not played mas in YEARS so it's not carnival burnout for me...but you may have a point for the "seasoned" mas players. It's my first time in Trini and it's been an adventure in itself researching/discovering what I need to know. But I'm on top of it.
@ Nicky, I hear that - this is my last Carnival for a while
Well i decide not to play and just changed my mind... and guess what.now I cant get the costume I want in my bannnd of choice because I didnt register anywhee....*sigh* Im double mined about it but if I get my custome (Taurus-YUMA) I am back in the groove....
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