"Fame Ain't For the Faint of Heart"

Hello duckies: I'm back! Ugh, it's been such a long time since I blogged. I feel like I put you up for adoption or something.

Anywho, it feels great to be back. More importantly it feels amazing to be a senior in college: "amazingly indifferent" seems to be a bit more accurate.

As a Senior, it's relaxing to look at freshmen chaos because it was only three years ago that I contributed to it. I miss the beautifully random (protected) sex, freshmen roommate issues, late night chats over Ramen Noodles, making my name on campus and trying to fight sleep.

(If any freshmen who attend the University of Hartford are reading this, hear are some tips.)

1) Do not wear your UHA lanyard around your neck. You look like a wandering puppy.

2) Don't be afraid to ask questions. (I ask questions everyday. Learning opens doors.)

3) Remember that you're here to learn, not party. (Yes go party but make sure your GPA is intact too...you don't wanna be enrolled at the school longer--or shorter--than need be.)

4) Get out of your comfort zone! (Explore, reach out, and enjoy!)

5) Call your parents more often. (They are always willing to give you money. Tell them you love them too...they love that lol)

In other news, my internship with HarperCollins was phenomenal. I had an absolute blast. I learned more this past Summer than I ever have in my life. I worked in corporate offices, updated international databases, contacted authors and agents...it was simply A-List and divine.

Speaking of divine, did you happen to see the VMAs duckie? Marvelous! Drama! Fame! Kanye! Beyonce! Gaga! Wooohuh!

A couple of days ago I was conversing with my colleague counterparts about the VMAs and this one girl said something pretty disturbing. She called Lady Gaga covers her face because she's ugly and said she's crazy.

Duckies, you know what's comical about this statement? The girl has the same physical attributes as Lady Gaga: teeth, eyes, and stark face. But I don't see her as ugly. I see her as Lady Gaga's apprentice: an typical beauty that redefines the current societal views on beauty. They both are model pretty, with a dose of the fierce, underlying conventional beauty.

Additionally, the girl had no idea the message Lady Gaga was trying to present to her.

"Fame" is a vicious beast that needs too much attention, 24/7 maintenance, and demands greater than any can fathom. Fame is very much a live and it needs to be respected and taken in doses. It can devour your soul! Some people actually die trying to obtain it and some go mad when fame reaches them: prime example, Kanye West.

The fame killed Kanye West on Sunday, September 13th, 2009.

I know this for a fact because I met Kanye West in 2003. As you know I was a top performer with the Boys Choir of Harlem back in the day and I had the chance of recording a song with Kanye West. He was such a nice man: very humble, talented, charismatic, humorous and unaffected by the fame. We were recording one of his first singles "Jesus Walks." He even offered to sign one of my composition notebooks--which I still have to this day, at home--and when I got home I mistakenly colored in his autograph. I didn't know who he was at the time, other than him being a nice, new artist. But nonetheless, I knew Kanye before the fame took his soul.

(ATTENTION: I just had a ciggy break. Yes, I smoke my ciggys. I think we all should do whatever we want. We all know the consequences of our actions: we're competent creatures. I know I said I quit but I didn't duckies. I love my ciggys! People always come up to me saying "Gabriel, smoking kills!" You know what duckies, I'm well aware of the effects. The pack even says it! But guess what? People kill too!

At least I know who my murderer is! Case closed.)

Back to Gaga!

Lady Gaga's performance of Paparazzi was an extended metaphor for the effects of Fame. In the beginning of her performance she was lying on the ground because her boyfriend threw her off the balcony (observe Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" Music Video). Her boyfriend threw her off of the balcony because he was a fanatic, a crazed fan who only wanted her fame, not the Lady behind the Gaga. Yes, the blood in the performance was gruesome but it was real. The blood represented the pain of growing in the limelight, under constant inspection.
Lady Gaga isn't crazy! Lady Gaga is a beacon of glamour meant to open our eyes to the deeper meaning of life. Life should be a sassy, dangerous, magical, and spontaneous ride.
Lady Gaga is an icon because the fame has yet to ravage her soul and she is still riding that beautiful thing we call life.

In other news, today (Monday, September 21, 2009) I've decided to take a personal day from classes. I only have two today (plus a Yoga class at 7pm).
We must realize that college is a business: you pay money for classes and you receive credit toward your given study. However, personal days are needed...especially when you've pretty much completed your major like moi!
Today you might see me running around campus in mission mode because I am hunting down professors and Deans to add classes and to drop my ridiculous minor: Rhetoric and Professional Writing.
As I mentioned, college is a business and the people running the business will try to swindle you (like any true businessman would do to naive customers).

Don't fret duckies! You're paying for this and that gives you a right to do whatever the hell you want. Just keep in mind that, every action has an equal and opposite reaction so choose your consequences with grace.

Wooohuh! This is getting heavy. Let's get back to being sassy and glamorous!

The weekend before last my son-son Gio decided to surprise me with his beautiful face.

It was such a pleasure to be in his presence...and the most remarkable thing happened when we were outside conversing about life.
Randomly, this kid exits a dorm was six foil HAPPY BIRTHDAY balloons tied together (I'm assuming they were for him...or maybe a girlfriend...or a boyfriend, who knows!). A few minutes later--and a few puffs of my ciggy--this kid let the balloons go! As the balloons raised higher into the night sky, the foil balloons looked like jewels!
I couldn't believe it! These wimpy foil balloons looked exactly like the stars they were reaching towards. Then I realized that these foil balloons weren't just balloons, they were people like us: hungry for success. Like the balloons we start off as regular balloons, held down by those who want to keep us a bay and for their own private desires. In time, however, when we prioritize our lives and enlighten ourselves...we then become one with the stars and flourish faster than we could ever fathom.

oOoOoOoOo, time for a new "Word of the Week."
The new WORD OF THE WEEK is...
Dreameater- One who tries to prohibit dream-thinking; one who's jealous of others' dreams; a 'hater'.
Ex.
Stephanie: "Why is Shirley so sassy and distant when we start talking about our goals Gabriel?"
Me: "Girl, watch out! She's a dreameater."

With that being said duckies, let's get to some "Words of Wisdom."

"Dreams are merely gems that we need to catch in order to survive. Dreameaters will always be around to interfere but if we follow our hearts, and not the words of others, we can achieve more than ever possible."

Well duckies, I'm off to hunt for some much needed signatures.
I wish you the best of happiness and a sassy week.

Live, love & Lady Gaga,
Gabriel Anderson

Hello Coporate America

First and foremost...

Happy birthday Kevin Blohm! I didn't want you to sass me so I posted this before anything. I wish you the best 20th birthday ever. Also, what you wrote on your Red Cap evaluation sheet still warms my heart. Love you man! This is your day so rape it. (that was dirty lol)

Hello duckies! Today is such a turbulent Tuesday, turbulent in a good way though. My office phone is ringing off the hook, my inbox keeps getting higher and emails keep appearing every minute. But I'm totally fine with that. I'd rather be busy than bored out of my mind. I did sign up for this, this being Corporate America.

As an intern for HarperCollins I get to see the transformation of submissions: either they're returned to sender or they transform into a beautiful, selling manuscripts. Every day is different. There hasn't been a day where I had to do the exact thing over and over again. Everyone here is so friendly too. Maybe because I'm efficient. Plus, just about everyone here has a BlackBerry, so I fit right in lol.
However, Blackbird--my precious BlackBerry Storm--is disconnected once again.


I went home yesterday and asked Gabriella if her phone was disconnected too and she said no. She proved it by calling my phone from hers! The funny/sad thing about it we're all on a family plan and only my phone is off. It's kind of backwards that my phone is disconnected because I'm the one that uses it most. I actually bring my phone everywhere I go and I'm always out the house. It just makes sense to keep mine on. Gabriella just stays home all day: she can use the house phone lol, it still works.
I'm just so over living at home with my family right now. I live in a four-family house and my grandmother owns it...which means even my landlord knows all my business lol. I have privacy--to an extent--but we all know how nosey family members can get. Right after graduation, I know I'll have a decent paying job and I'll move out and be roomies with Graham (aka--follow him on Twitter--@rjjason). Note to Graham: Save your pennies. I want our starter apartment to go down in the books.

In other news, last night I stumbled upon the movie THE KITE RUNNER. I would always surf through channels and see it playing but I would bypass it. I though it would be lame but it is a masterpiece of a film.

The film focuses on the central character, Amir, and his childhood. Amir is a wealthy boy who has a servant named Hassan. When they were kids Amir betrayed Hassan, something quite devilish duckies. As time passes the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan and Amir and his father flee to America. Years pass and Amir becomes an American-Afghan novelist and later discovers that Amir is murdered...but left an orphaned son, Sorhab. That's all I'll share about the movie. Even though it looks like I gave you the entire synopsis, there's a lot more to the movie.

(UPDATE: My dad just called me and said my phone should be on by the time I get home! Yaaaaaaay!)

Anywho, after THE KITE RUNNER I flicked through the channels and stumbled onto SHOWGIRLS. I'm sure you've seen it before but if you haven't seen SHOWGIRLS, you can borrow my DVD lol.

Some people think it's porn. Some people think it sucks. I love this movie!!! It teaches the vital lesson about the cutthroat industry of show business. The moral of the movie is no one is untouchable: even though you earned the job, it doesn't mean you're guaranteed it forever. Also, when in Vegas hold onto the banister, don't trust sexy singers as parties, and watch out for clear pearls on the stage lol. For those who haven't seen it, beware of nudity. Nipples and bush are on the prowl!

Speaking of nipples, I am growing tired of my moobs (man-boobs). They've been around for years and I'm now fed up with them.

Past boyfriends loved them and even implored me not to work on my chest because they had too much fun with them. (I did have a couple of stray boyfriends lmao) But since I'm single and every gay male seems to be a Greek God nowadays I think it's time to rid myself of them. I'm losing weight--due to working so much and cutting back on eating--but all that does is make them bigger. They look bigger because my stomach is going down and my moobs can do nothing but sag, exaggerating their appearance. I wanted to get surgery but since both my TV and the living room TV died around the same time, the procedure is out of the question for awhile. (We're not cheap when it comes to technology.) Hmmmm, looks like I'm gonna have to hit the gym in my basement. The things I do to keep up with the kids!

Speaking of kids, a few weeks back (as a joke) I ordered the video tour DVD of my school (University of Hartford) for Gabriella. She wants to go to Georgetown, like hardcore, but I wanted her to see my school too. We started watching it and I was so taken aback.

This upcoming Fall commences my Senior year in college: it went by so fast. Where the hell have the years gone?! Watching the "candid" students in the DVD tour made me think about all my memories on campus, my first impressions of my school, how I wanted to transfer within a week of me arriving on campus--only because I didn't want to write an essay lol--and all the friends I've made. I had to hold back tears because I started thinking about graduation...ahhhhhhhhh! University of Hartford is my home away from home and in most cases... I feel like it's my real home. I LOVE YOU UHA!!! Woooohuh! Getting all emotional over here.

Okay duckies, let's get to some Words of Wisdom.

"It is selfish and conflicting to love and hate something truly: it leaves you in a constant state of flux. In order to determine your true feelings about something--or someone--evaluate its pros and cons. Determine this by coming to terms of what would benefit your well-being in the long run."
Okay duckies, as much as I love you I have to go and do some work. (Not to mention it's lunch time and all I had today was a cappuccino.)

I wish you the best of happiness. I love you. Stay true, tuned and glamorous!


Live, love & Lady Gaga,
Gabriel Anderson