Views from a BrewTown Sista (aka The Chronicles of Kayleah H. Madison)

Sunday, December 30, 2018. Here I am, watching the first Indiana Jones flick, "Raiders of the Lost Ark", and retyping my final blog post of this calendar year on my new 10' tablet with a Bluetooth keyboard. I have had plenty of sleepless nights contemplating how to sum up my 2018 without probably boring the shit out of you, the reader of my blogpage. A lot can happen in only 365 days. We've lost a Bandit, a Queen and a Cranberry this year, to name a few people. I got to celebrate 20 years being an openly trans queen, and still have no regrets.   Why should I? My hair was dyed multiple colors, also with no regrets. I'm still driving a cab in this town, which is both a blessing...and a dreaded curse. Of course, there's my long-awaited appearance running in the Forest City Pageant back in August. It became just my second-ever drag pageant since my coming out in 1998. I had gotten myself so damn hyped up over this that I eventually failed to prepare myself for w

From left, Farrah, Ryan Royale, me, and Jade Lemonade in the evening gown competition of the Forest City Pageant. I should mention I kinda felt a bit overwhelmed backstage, with all the performers and contestants seemingly not missing a funky beat. As the chaos of the bright stage lights continued, I wondered what were the other performers doing. Each of them with custom-made outifts to fit their respective bodies more perfect than a case of golden-ribbed Trojans. I guess I played it on the less-expensive side when it came to my outfits, thanks to eBay and a few good resale shops. Makeup, on the other hand, was probably the one major thing I overstocked up on. Out of all the materials collected for the Forest City Pageant, my makeup was beyond a doubt a necessity. Lips glosses/lipsticks, eyeshadows, brushes, eyelashes, bobby pins, barretts, hair spray, earrings, etc. Not counting the outfits, of course!  Allow me to flashback a ways before you guys started reading part 1.

https://www.facebook.com/mznita2u/videos/10155721973567467/?t=31 https://www.facebook.com/mznita2u/videos/10155721976152467/?t=19           So, after over a year self-building up the hype on social media and yakking my black ass of to co-workers and total strangers, my time to run in the 2018 Forest City Pageant had became a reality last weekend. A total of over $800 was spent for this one-night local tradition, including $500-plus for the coveted evening gown. (relax. I posted either links above and below to see my talent, plus photos before and after the pageant.) I had bought tickets for those who wanted to go, and a kick-ass backup choir was going to back me up.  Well, not everything that happened had a storybook ending. To start, one should never ask a seamstress to work on an pageant gown during their busiest time of the year--bridal season!! I discovered this first-hand. I had to go all the way to her house, in a near-secluded upscale part of town just to find her.

why didn't I think of using this clip instead of "still I rise"? not saying maya angelou's poem isn't inspiring...

I have noticed that I hadn't posted a blog here since last Christmas. Whoopsie! Then, again, most if not all of my commentaries have been on Facebook for everyone to see. My autobiography, Cocoon2Butterfly, hasn't been worked on in over a year. Not that I didn't want to continue to write about my life, mind you.  Time flies, no matter what you do.  So, 2018 has been a milestone year already for me. I'm still driving a cab here in town for two years now. It's still a job and it's still helping me bring in money, as long as I can hold onto it before tempting myself into buying something stupid. Mariah and I are still blessed in this house...and on April 11 I officially celebrated 20 YEARS since I first came out as a trans person. What did I do to celebrate, you ask? By watching some NHL playoff hockey and eating some chili. To wash it down, I finally used the white wine chardonnay that I had kept for sentimental reasons following the passing of my friend Judy W