The Fat Black Girl

I went to Six Flags on Monday, but today, I road the biggest roller coaster of them all. I logged on to post my fat black girl observations for today, but they seem somewhat trivial in the grand scheme of things.

The first incident happened this morning/afternoon when I was too embarrassed to leave my hotel room because of my now limited wardrobe; I looked at my tired clothing for hours before I actually had the strength to leave. Maybe it was a mistake to send all of those clothes home. Sorry guys.

The second was during my trip to Old Navy to put emergency finishing touches on said sad outfit. I had to return an item that was not the size as marked on the plastic strip and hanger. However, I did not have a receipt. All the drama that ensued was going to be a part of that rant. I left the store with the correct size in hand but still a little miffed. There is nothing I hate more than condescending bitches. I would have rather she told me no she wouldn’t exchange the item than listen to her go on with such attitude. This reminded me of an incident over the weekend. I figured they were both because I'm now black AND fat.

Whatever.

My next trip was to the bank to make my deposits. When the teller returned my slip that revealed that I was now $550 over my goal I was elated. With the Old Navy bitch completely forgotten, I called my parents to share the good news. I had a very interesting conversation with my father. He didn't know it, but he reminded me that life is short, and the things that seem big can become unimportant very quickly.

In this world of theater where drama is in super-overdrive and people make things seem as if their lives depend on it, a person can forget that there is life to really enjoy. Getting caught up in all of the drama and beating yourself up over it is not always worth it. Sometimes we need to cut our losses no matter how much of ourselves we've invested, just to save the one you sometimes forget…Yourself.

Dad I love you.
-Kimberly

Powerful Images

I came across this site today.

What's on your postcard?

The Funniest Thing All Day

Thanks to LaTonya for sending this to me.

This photo is entitled: Crack is One Helluva Drug

"And what? Whatcha gonna do now?!"

Hey, LaTonya. Is that your new house on the corner of Figeuroa?

Chicago 6/25/05

I walked around Chicago today.

The Taste of Chicago was in the park across the street from the theater. Iris and I decided to take a stroll and take pictures as well. I realized that I have no pictures of myself on this blog. So here it is. Iris and I in front of Buckingham Fountain. If I had any doubt that this tour has been hard on me, this picture is proof.

It just supports the conclusions I came to in New Orleans.

Chicago is a great town. Finally. Here are the pictures from my first week in Chicago.

Creative Producers at Columbia

Columbia University was in the NY Times.

Click the link below to read Jesse McKinley's article on the new Hal Prince/Columbia University "creative producers".

I wonder if it's too late for me.....

Click here to read the article (you will have to log in).

The Big Easy

"I love heat, humidity and free flowing cocktails"

New Orleans was a welcomed change from Detroit. The weather was hot and the Saenger Theater was hotter.

The Hotel Monaco was beautiful and my 2 room suite featured a sorround sound entertainment center and a jacuzzi tub.

Personally, New Orleans was about facing some tough life/career decisions. There's nothing like a little heat and a lot of booze to make you think.

Click here for more New Orleans photos

Detrois May 30th - June 13th

So Detroit.

I'm really glad I missed the first week. The hotel was weird. The theater was old. I went to Atlanta on my day off because I couldn't imagine spending a whole day in the city.

Click here for pics of Detroit

Maybe I should start a special section on gross hotels....

Are we going to see the Lion King?

This is my 8-year-old cousin. Her name is Deja, but I like to call her The Butterfly.

She has been bugging me to see the Lion King for years.

December 2002, with comp tickets in hand on the way to see A Christmas Carol at The Madison Square Garden Theater.

The Butterfly: "We're going to NY? Are you taking me to see the Lion King?"

Kimberly: "No, not this time, but I think you're going to like this."
Meanwhile, I'm mentally making a note to take her to see the Lion King one day when I get the money. I felt like I let her down. Sucker.

Spring 2003 with comp tickets to A Year with Frog and Toad in hand (for those of you who forgot, it was the children's show featuring Mark Linn-Baker at the Cort Theatre, it wasn’t open very long).

On the Path train-
The Butterfly: "You're taking me to NY? Am I going to see a show? Are you taking me to the Lion King?"

Kimberly: "No, we're not going to see the Lion King, but I think you'll like this."

Turns out she loved the show, she sang the music all the way home to New Jersey, and continued singing for weeks. This is probably her favorite experience to date.

We had a similar trip to see 42nd Street. Honestly, I should've known better. I HATED the show; I have no idea why I thought she would like it. Tap dancing, sequins, and mirrors will only get you so far. By the end of the second number she groaned, "When is it going to be intermission?"

A year later, I tried it again. After finally landing my first 1st National Tour, I wanted to take The Butterfly to see the show I was working on. Here I am, walking down the streets of Midtown Manhattan, full of pride with The Butterfly in tow. She asked if we were going to see the Lion King. I said no, but I expected her to have a good time at Little Shop of Horrors. A plant, singing black girls, music with a beat and soul…Did she like it?

Not so much.

As soon as the blood red logo appeared on the show curtain, she said, "Aw man, I saw this movie."

Once again, she was praying for the intermission. Little Shop on Broadway was less than two hours including the intermission. I was faced with the fact that Broadway musicals aren't for everyone, and my idea that if you start young, they will grow up to appreciate the form. Boy, was I naive. I will have to figure out another way to entice young black people to support my career.

Anyway, this bring us to May of 2005, the day between returning from Puerto Rico and flying to LA. I made a stop in the New York Metropolitan area, picked up The Butterfly and we road the Path.

The Butterfly: "I know we're going to NY. Are you taking me to see the Lion King?"

Kimberly: "Yes"

I was so excited to be able to say yes. She was excited to finally go. We had a quick dinner and walked to the New Amsterdam where Simba loomed above us.

We took our seats in the middle of the orchestra on the aisle. The lights went down, the antelopes called, Rafiki appeared and the elephants came down the aisle, right next to The Butterfly. The moment was magical.

As the first act plods along, I find my mind wandering, I figured it was because I’d seen it so many times. Apparently Deja's mind was wandering too. When the lights finally came up for intermission I asked "How do you like it?"
She said, "It's ok. It's kinda boring." "Can we go to the bathroom or something?"

I think the most fun she had in the theater was in that bathroom.

After all those years of wanting to go, and all those years of wanting to take her, what did she enjoy most? Washing her hands in the bathroom.

Well, that's life. Deja won't be my new audience. AND I've taken her to see the Lion King. That circle in my life is now complete.

Trip to Puerto Rico May 17-21, 2005

My brilliant boss, Bill Ferry came up with the idea that I should take vacation the week before our May layoff.

The original plan was to go to my Columbia University graduation. That didn't quite work out. Maybe next year....I wonder if Steven's even read my thesis yet.

Anyway, I digress.

I managed to have an amazing time with my father in Puerto Rico. We stayed at the El Conquistador Resort and Spa in Fajardo Puerto Rico.

Our room was great. We had a lovely covered balcony overlooking the golf course, mountains, and the Atlanic Ocean in the distance.






My father and I rented a car after 12 hours confined to the resort. Mobile and self-sufficient, we went into San Juan. We dined at the Parrot Club.

We visited the Governor's mansion, which apparently is the oldest governor's mansion in the western hemisphere still used as such. We also visited the Coach Store and some Church (OK the San Juan Cathedral) and Nunnery (uh, I mean El Convento), my father could tell you more about that or you can follow the link for more information.

Click here for my interesting stops in Puerto Rico. Click here for all of the PR photos.

Where in the world is Kim Shaw?

Welcome to my weblog where you can follow my travels and my thoughts as I traipse around the country. I think I can keep up with this.

I will start posting with this week in Chicago and try to work backwards a little at a time. I would like this to become my personal diary to share with family and friends.

Special thanks to Rachel Kiwi for giving me the idea.