Carnival 2014: T-52

In a follow up to my Planning for Carnival post and with about 52 days left to Carnival in Trinidad, I'm asking now- how prepared are you?

Costume
If you intend to play in one of the "it" bands, you should have proof of registration by now.  If you are still waiting on a "link" to come through; that dream was as real as Santa came down a chimney for Christmas.  But fear not friends, there are several low key bands with costumes available and for less.  I also believe that costumes can still be purchased from Island People, Passion, Petlemas, K2K, Ronnie and Caro or on costume resale websites like Carnival Junction.

At this point it is okay to use your costume as a profile pic for all social media platforms.  It is important that the costume is tattooed in your brain. This constant visualization helps with your mental and physical preparation such as choosing the colour of your boots, bag, and other accessories.  For some, we must be careful to assume that we will look like the model in the pic on Carnival Tuesday. Ha! Very few of us are blessed with a "Soowan"...but if you think it's possible, more power to you.

The Soowan

Diet and Exercise
Luckily, my costume provides full coverage, but if you are not so fortunate, this is a very critical stage for diet and exercise.  If Christmas messed up your plan, fear not, there is hope even though you may have to fight up with the resolutionists in the gym (oh and remember to keep us fatties motivated with hashtags like #instafit #carnivalbody #carnivalbodytunup #frontlinebody etc). I would also suggest that you accompany the gym routine with an oxygen diet for maximum results.  There is very little time for anything else and air is very low in calories.

On a serious note, don't worry too much if you haven't achieved the much hyped about "carnival body". Despite what is seen in the media, most people don't have it; well except for the chicks in Fantasy.

Travel
The airfare is extremely high at this point especially from the US.  From other Caribbean countries, you are looking at about US$500-600, which is pricey. Kudos to those who already bought their tickets and good luck to those who haven't.


Accommodation
I'm sorry if you haven't finalized accommodation because there is none available. None.  Your options now are limited to what my Jamaican friends refer to as "kotching".  You may ask to "kotch" at a Trini friend's  house or you may request to "kotch" with friends who already have accommodation. Now, this is no easy task because you are forcing yourself into someone's space so ensure to employ proper "kotchiquette": 
1. Always carry your own blow up bed and bedding
2. Offer to buy groceries or meals
3. Offer to pay for gas because your host will be forced to be hospitable and transport you around
4. Pick up some top shelf liquor in duty free for your host
5. Don't "re-kotch"- meaning, you should not have any guests/kotchees of your own

Fete Tickets
I said last year don't worry about tickets just yet, but if you do plan on going to the high profile fetes, tics should have already been procured. At this point in the game, no one is "considering" if to go to Vale Breakfast, Beach House, or C'est La Vie.  Either you are going or not, and like your costume receipt, going means tickets are in hand.  But fear not, in the land of fetes, the scalper is always king/queen...

Carnival Next Year?????

After a severe case of Carnival tabanca, I've had time to reflect on my 2011 Trinidad carnival experience to see what I can do better for May in Ja or next year in T&T...

Probably I should lose weight; people with flat tummies and no love handles, don't have to worry about corsets, or costumes that cover up their front area which limit my choices. But I really did love my costume, whether the wholepiece option , bikini or monokini. I would have selected the costume even if I were 50lbs lighter.

But the problem with the wholepiece is that it's really hard to maneuver when you have to pee...so if I don't lose weight (most likely I won't), then a corset is a better option.

Again, what's with me and these damn belts? I thought I learned my lesson about these hanging gems but even without them, the belt still ripped my tights....Probably the width of the belt was the problem so what do I do....forget the belt? sigh

Talking about tights; Micles tights are always reliable and reasonably priced. I tried the toeless which is a better option than the footless. Because of the wholepiece, I selected the regular waist instead of the low waist which comes in the "Silky" brand. Although Micles claims that the "Silky" and "Micles" brand are the same, I saw a difference in the salmon shade because I wore "Micles" toeless and Monday and "Silky" regular on Tuesday and saw a clear difference with the "Silky" having a "white" tinge that I hate. I will NEVER go stockings free so Micles please get these shades right next year! I am considering trying the Peavy brand that are worn by the Hooters girls but there's too much trial and error with a brand I've never worn and will have to purchase online. Check out the Hotlegsusa website for pics.

The Shoekeepers boots were so uncomfortable this year! My Picadilly boots I bought in 2009 were so nice with a nice cushy sole that I did not even consider another brand this year. The boots were cute and I loved the bronze colour but after a couple hours, even with the insoles couldn't save them, so you just lost a customer Shoekeepers. I'm now going to experiment with Carnival Kicks for Ja carnival. I'll let you know how those go.

The Monday wear situation still sucks for me. It is now an indisputable fact that costumes cannot hold up for 2 days, so bandleaders don't even try and convince me to wear a part of my costume on Monday with shorts. I don't understand why other bands that cost the same or less than Bliss offered some kind of Monday wear. Even when I played with Spice, I didn't get why we had to pay an additional cost for the Spice tshirt. However, I saw persons in really creative outfits on Monday. Maybe I'll get something customized for my Monday wear next year.

I LOVED my makeup on both days! It was a great decision to have make up done on Monday and Tuesday. I kept asking myself, why hadn't I done this in the past???? I would never go without professional makeup on both days...EVER...I mean my Monday pics are so fab because of the make up so big up to Makeda from Shades of Sugar!

Weave, weave, weave!....A lot of people kept asking me why I wanted hair extensions/weave; even the sales rep at Hair it Is, was reluctant to sell me hair. Yes, my hair is medium length but I wanted it LONGER! I also wanted a different look. I had to eventually settle for a 14 inch because it was hard to get human hair in a longer length. The hairdresser who put it in suggested that I try the actual ponytail extension in the future which will be easier to do myself and I will get it in longer lengths. I think I'm going to look for a 20 inch ponytail for Ja. Ponytails can be chic, require little maintanance, and are practical for Carnival. There is no worry about sweating out your hairstyle or water damage (assuming you got bought that good hair).

I've already mentioned that I'm not sure who I'll be playing mas with next year. I do get caught up in the hype over the big bands during the launch season and love the bougie nature of the all inclusive bands, but I need to remember that my love has always been for the MAS, to parade in a lovely costume, and have a great time with my friends. Lunch stops, premium drinks, toilets and monday wear were never priorities. I'm now looking for a small band with a great FL or individual costume where I'll be treated as a masquerader and not just a customer....

Blissfulness...

After I received the Bliss costume distribution schedule today...I got so much more excited for Carnival Monday and Tuesday. Titans will be distributed on Tuesday 1st but I won't be there yet so I'll just have to wait. I am praying to the costume gods that there won't be any problems with my costume. And since I opted for the fast track payment I hope I can collect quickly and try on the swimsuit since that's the part that always needs adjustment. But I also started thinking about how ready I am for Carnival.

Necessities

The 3 most important things are confirmed: my plane ticket, my costume and my man...I am not in the business of wining on other people man so I walk with my own (I'll do a separate post on that).

Fete tickets

So far I'm confirmed for the beach house fete which I've never attended because I always felt it was an overpriced fete where people just went to look good...well look who paid for a seat on the bandwagon...Sunny side says that their couple tickets are sold out which is weird because we got tickets the day before the fete last year. And I'm still waiting on the crew to decide if we are going gold or platinum at Soca Monarch.

Monday Wear

Well after paying out of my eyeballs for my costume, there's not much left over for one of those gorgeous blinged out Monday wear options by Akin Ross I've seen on trinidadcarnivaldiary. So I'll just wear something from my closet- most likely simple white shorts, white top and my boots with my Chou Chou belle headband.

Footwear

One of my girls got my boots at Shoekeepers last week- I don't think that I will ever divert from the picadilly brand which has been the most comfortable boots I've purchased. My ami club boots from last were very uncomfortable even though they were gorgeous. I also got my insoles online and will be reusing my toe protectors from last year.

Diet and Exercise

This time it was existent (more the exercise than the diet) but no results...I found myself backsliding on the weekend but on the plus side I've cut out or down on a lot of crap but don't judge if you see me lining up by kfc in New Kingston. So besides the kfc and the chocolate muffins from megamart (hence the muffin top), I think I'm on my way to healthier eating (might be a looonnng road).

Leave

Could you believe that the leave was appproved in a week????I guess they just decided not to fight me and just give in...

Accessories

Earrings will be recycled as well as my gold avon swingpack from last year. You could see the post I did last year about my bag contents.

Make up Appointment

In true diva style, I made my appintment with Makeda from Shades of Sugar for both days but this was before she informed me that she had increased her fee to TT$250 and a downpayment is required so I'm not confirmed. I know that she's running a business and she wants to decrease the chance of someone not showing up but this will be my 3rd year and I think I have some credibility. In addition she knows I'm in Jamaica and it's inconvenient for me to do this. So we'll see how that goes...

Misc

I ordered my fletch dry powder a while back to waterproof the feathers since I need to ensure that the lovely feathers on the costume remain in all its glory...I still haven't found the weave for my hair so I'm off to the weave shops this week to find something long and straight....can we say a Beyonce ponytail...

A.M Bush

Believe it or not I've never taken part in J'ouvert! I know that it's strange being the Carnival lover that I am, but growing up, my parents never supported the idea because they felt that it was too rough and dangerous for me. And even with the proliferation of inclusive J'ouvert bands that offer security, it still never appealed to me. I love Carnival with every cell in my body but I lack the necessary endurance. There's no way that I can do J'ouvert and then play mas on Monday. What about the paint? How am I going to do makeup on Monday? and most importantly I will just be way too tired. Getting adequate sleep on Carnival Sunday is very important for your stamina on Monday and Tuesday.

This is why I am endorsing Caesar's Army J'ouvert on SATURDAY March 5; not on Sunday morning. It is a very cool idea to have J'ouvert on Saturday even though it contradicts the traditional idea of "the opening" of carnival. They'll just be "opening" a little earlier to accommodate those who really don't like the rush between J'ouvert and Carnival Monday. I am confident that the event will be a success since they have a dedicated following and they have produced many successful events. The theme is also appealing and goes well with the J'ouvert concept. So if you are looking for an a well organized J'ouvert experience with much vibes or just an alternate event, be sure to check it out.

Budgeting for Carnival

It may be no surprise that Carnival costs a lot of money especially when you don't live in Trinidad. It can also cost even more when you want to go extra fab which can inlcude purchasing a FL costume, makeup, boots etc. In addition, the fetes you select can add $ to your budget. But it helps when you make do with what you have from previous Carnivals or in your closet. For instance, I'm using my bag from last year and wearing something I have already on Carnival Monday. I have a designated Monday boots that have matched all my costumes in the last 2 years, including my costume for JA carnival so that will be worn this Carnival Monday. My toe protectors are still good from last JA carnival and can be used again. This is where I am so far in my budget:

Airfare- Caribbean Airlines- US$437

Titans FL Costume- US$916

Beach house fete (tentative)- US$125

Sunny side up fete- US$100

Boots US$65

Makeup (2 days)- US$65

Fete outfits- US$100

Boots inserts- US$20

Fletch Dry powder- US$6

Stockings (2)- US$15

Weave- undecided

16 days!!!!!

Okay so I have been distracted with JA Carnival and fell behind with my Trini Carnival preparation. But with little time left, a hectic work schedule and my friend's upcoming wedding, I'm starting to stress out....

Costume

Since Spice has discontinued their online payment option, I have to wait until I get there to make the final payment. As a result I am unable to benefit from the express costume collection which will only be available to masqueraders who finalize payments by February 2. In addition, my friend who saw the corset for Thailand told me that it is almost beige and not yellow as seen on their website. I am very wary of this as I am expecting a yellow and gold costume with a yellow and gold corset and will be disappointed if this is the case.

Accessories

Everyone knows that I can't go anywhere empty handed so my Carnival bag is always important. There is a need to be prepared for any scenario and I always walk with necessities in my bag: MAC blotting powder, blistex, clean and clear blotting sheets, lipgloss, hand sanitizer, mini deodorant, a small toothbrush and toothpaste, excedrin, zantac, lomotil, clear nail polish, summer's eve feminine wipes, mini sunblock, money, small cell phone...As I said, I'm prepared for anything! So I obviously need a bag that will neatly hold all of these items. Luckily, I was able to get a gold swing pack from Avon for US$3.00 which I absolutely love...

I recently received my boots which I ordered from AmiClub wear for US$25....and I paid US$10 to the mail box company. I originally wanted 2 boots but I'm trying to cut costs and will recycle my footwear from last year for Monday. I am so pissed that I missed AmiClub's 50% off sale for Thanksgiving and Christmas where I would have been able to purchase the 2 boots...so I'm always checking their website now to ensure that I don't miss any sales.

Monday Wear

Now I am not in this business of wearing my costume on both Monday and Tuesday; not even part of it. I know that the bandleaders will prefer if we wear at least the costume top but I want a fresh costume on Tuesday so nutten nah go so for me. Spice does not offer Monday wear but you can purchase an extra shorts to match your costume for US$10. I do believe that you can wear something else that can match your costume so I was able to acquire a yellow and gold bikini from Guess for US$25. Now don't get too excited, I am not wearing this alone but with a white jumper from Victoria's Secret which I got last year for a beach party.

Make up Appointment

I loved my make up last year which was done by Makeda from Shades of Sugar and I'm hoping I can get her to do so again (keeping fingers crossed). The problem is that I don't want to leave my home in Chaguanas to meet a make up in artiste in POS or any where else at some ungodly hour. I'm also trying to get henna done to go with the whole Asian theme of the band...will let you know how that one goes....

Other Considerations

My stockings will be bought at Micles when I get to Trinidad. I don't have a problem with their brand and I love the low rise option.

To waterproof the feathers on my costume, I have remaining fletch dry powder and will not need to get more....so some money was saved in that area.

I'm working with a reliable pony tail (not mine) hairstyle, which went really well last year and it's easy so no long hours at the hairdresser.

Diet and Exercise

Non existent...big shout out to my boy Farley who sent a whole black cake for me from Tobago and ah eat the whole cake too!!!!

Leave

Still waiting on approval...you know this is a sore area for the non Trinis who don't get how important this trip is to my sanity and productivity...but the ticket already booked...so let's play along....