gChameleon

gChameleon manhattan temples in french

2009-07-09T23:11:00.000-04:00

i manhattan temple tonight. so does a bus of french speakers from belgium and france.

french speakers are celebrities to me, and i'm happy to see them in the temple. they are so many that the session is in french.

at the end, i do something in french for the first time. i jump out of a plane without a parachute. who needs one when you sort of speak the celestial language?

"prie pour nous," a french saint who wants a temple in her country implores me.

gChameleon shake shacks

2009-07-07T23:11:00.001-04:00

i shake shack it up with gCrew luke for the last time. it's my first time at shake shack in madison square park this year. it's great to be back.

i wear my shake shack shirt. luke wears his prom suit.

shake shack mel takes my order. i remember him, and he remembers me. i order a shack burger and french fries.

gChameleon malecons

2009-07-06T23:11:00.000-04:00

for the second time this summer, i beach in brooklyn on a beautiful day.

i gFonz.biz in harlem on my way to fhe in washington heights.

after fhe, i cross the street to malecon. a girl awaits me in front of the restaurant. she sells me her brand new macbook.

gCrew dan, duran, jordan and i eat at malecon for the last time with gCrew luke.

a mariachi band entertains us. we feast on rotisserie chicken, rice, beans, yucca and sweet plantains.

for the first time, the five of us are all together and all awake and all at the apartment.

so duran offers a gCrew prayer.

gChameleon meets ezra

2009-07-05T23:11:00.000-04:00

martin joins gCrew in may 2006. he becomes a brother to me.

i receive his text at midnight: he's blessing ezra in harlem 1st ward this morning. hoping to receive it, i fourth of july in new york this year.

i stand in the circle as martin gives ezra a name and a blessing. ezra opens his eyes but doesn't cry during the blessing.

britney and martin bare their testimonies. britney mentions me, saying i'm with them at every milestone: martin's baptism, his endowment, their sealing and their first baby's blessing. i'm touched.

martin is a great example to me. i'm grateful to know him.

and i'm grateful to meet ezra and participate in his blessing.

as he does so many times, martin invites me over for sunday dinner.

gChameleon gCrews

2009-07-04T23:11:00.004-04:00

i love my gCrew brothers.

i envision a holiday at a barbecue or a beach.

but i'd rather be with my new york family.

so i go with them to coney island, even though i despise coney island.

and i go with them to a concert in battery park rather than the beach.

we laugh. we take pictures. we kick it.

in a grand finale, we walk up an empty west side highway and watch a fireworks display of the sort that happens only in new york.

i love my brothers. i love my city. i love my country.

gChameleon high lines

2009-07-04T23:11:00.000-04:00

i hear of a park called high line on 14th street and 10th avenue--a block west of apple store west 14th.

i hear of an fhe there.

i ascend the stair and see the neighborhood and the neighboring river side from another angle. it's so cool.

new york gets better and better the longer i'm here.

gChameleon trader joe's

2009-07-03T23:11:00.000-04:00

i enjoy an acoustic jam session in washington square park at sunset. i begin to dose on a bench and awake to hear acoustic covers of human nature and thriller.

i walk from the park to trader joe's. in a sweet surprise, i get in the store tonight, and i stock up because i never know whether i'll get in next time.

gChameleon koronets

2009-07-01T23:11:00.000-04:00

i enjoy lisa's new york cabaret debut.

after lisa's show, i see becca on the street.

she's hungry, so we pick up jumbo slices of koronet pizza and eat them on a playground in riverside park.

after we eat, she needs to go to the 2 train.

"i want to walk with you," i say.

gChameleon moving parties again

2009-07-01T15:33:00.001-04:00

ryan, one of my favorite entertainers, invites me to his and kim's moving party.

i start at harleman halls. i listen to michael on my gpod touch as jeff and i bring ryan's stuff down the stairs.

on his way to the apollo to pay his respects to michael, matt joins the party.

then joel shows up.

it's a history-making moving party: the first time the first three presidents of i3 eq are all moving together. two counselors are there too.

we take a picture.

"lovingly, lovingly, lift where you stand," ryan says as we carry heavy stuff.

ryan entertains me and gives me doughnuts, popsicles, water and books.

"you are an angel and a saint!" he texts me.

gChameleon moving parties

2009-06-30T23:11:00.000-04:00

jessica hires three young saints from harlem 2nd ward to help her move.

i join the moving party and film the saints moving the stuff.

i carry a few things as well.

if you too would like to hire these saint to help you move, go here.

when we reach the new apartment, it rains hard, and i leave to gFonz.biz in midtown.

gChameleon apple stores fifth avenue

2009-06-29T20:23:00.000-04:00

gChameleon beaches

2009-06-29T18:29:00.000-04:00

i wait for weeks for today's weather.

then, for the second time this year and the first time this summer, i beach in brooklyn.

i walk on the shore. i lie on the sand. i read a rock memoir. i immerse myself in the water three times.

i shower and gFonz.biz my way there and back.

gChameleon gHill songs

2009-06-28T22:10:00.001-04:00

my creative genius friend amy writes a song about me.

i anticipate it for months, and she performs it for me for the first time tonight.

it shows she knows me well.

it captures me, and it hits big in my book.

gChameleon shakedowns

2009-06-26T23:11:00.000-04:00

i lose my shakedown at the majestic virginity at pete's candy store in brooklyn.

gChameleon pinkberries

2009-06-26T17:55:00.003-04:00

i go on a free pinkberry tour of new york city. find me here.

gChameleon thrillers

2009-06-26T04:44:00.005-04:00

as i walk in central park, i receive the news from my sister who arrives in 1983: michael leaves today.

how can it be? i disbelieve.

i receive a thriller tape for my 8th birthday. i bootleg a thriller beta and watch it all summer in 1984.

i spend all my quarters on his stickers at the store.

i want to moonwalk.

years later, i deny i ever like him.

when i'm angry, his comeback single understands me. at the mtc, his lyrics are the text for a testimony.

when they play his music before a j-lo show two years ago, the crowd goes crazy. i do too.

he steals the show at an east village club last saturday.

i talk to ben as i bus through harlem tonight and see the people celebrate him.

i dig through my collections to find pieces of him.

i listen to thriller in the middle of the night.

maybe i'll meet the 1984 you on the other side, my fellow adult child peter pan man.

gChameleon trader joe's

2009-06-25T23:11:00.000-04:00

i race from the temple to trader joe's, and i arrive after it closes.

out of breath from running, i slip in the out door.

i show my trader joe's beach bags and explain that i came from clear uptown.

the angels from the temple get me into trader joe's.

i run up and down empty aisles. i sample swiss chocolate. i avoid lines.

i bus from the east village to gCrew. i talk the gCrew ben who introduces me to trader joe's two years ago.

gChameleon manhattan temples

2009-06-25T22:10:00.001-04:00

i manhattan temple.

i do something in spanish for the first time, and i enjoy the challenge.

as i hang with angels, i think of today's new graduates, and i realize i too will graduate someday.

alma 34:32

gChameleon late shows

2009-06-25T18:06:00.000-04:00

after days of rain, the sun and the stars come out this afternoon.

gCrew luke and i standby for the late show with david letterman.

luke is lucky: thanks to him, we are the third and fourth in the standby line. when our numbers come up, we are placed in the red section right in front of the stage.

johnny is a guest. he's as gracious as he is great.

johnny stars in edward scissorhands, one of my all-time favorite films. johnny's appearance on dave's talk show reminds me of edward's talk show appearance: a gifted individual invaded on a stage as an audience applauds every sentence.

after the show, we await johnny outside the theater. he gives autographs, and we take pictures.

thanks luke.

gChameleon shakespeares

2009-06-24T23:11:00.001-04:00

gCrew luke and i standby for shakespeare in the park.

we get in.

the afternoon rain leaves a pleasant scent for the evening scene.

we watch anne hathaway play.

after the show, we meet her and pose for pictures with her.

and high-five each other on the way to the subway because

we like anne hathaway.

gChameleon shake shacks

2009-06-23T23:11:00.001-04:00

gCrew dan d, gCrew luke and i standby for twefth night tickets in central park to see anne hathaway.

when we don't get in, we shake shack it up.

i have a shack burger and french fries with ketchup and mustard. i want to try the cucumber mint frozen custard.

it's good gCrew bonding.

i come home and take a shack-induced nap.

gChameleon meets needs

2009-06-22T23:11:00.001-04:00

i meet tag in midtown, and we visit suzanne and the copes.

tag reminds me of clay, my former elders quorum counselor and manhattan temple cohort. tag is clay married and resurrected, and we get to go needs meeting together.

and i know our heavenly father is watching out for us and the brothers and sisters we visit.

gChameleon fhe's

2009-06-22T22:10:00.001-04:00

i fhe it up down at the little red light house under the george washington bridge.

it's my first time there, and i dig it.

thanks, erin, for guiding me there.

gChameleon clubs

2009-06-22T04:06:00.002-04:00

gCrew dan d and i go to chris's 30th birthday 80's dance party at a club on avenue a.

they play a lot of awesome songs.

tiffany: i think we're alone now
pet shop boys: west end girls
madonna: lucky star
erasure: stop!
violent femmes: blister in the sun
cure: just like heaven
b-52's: love shack
pat benatar: love is a battlefield
david bowie: modern love
michael jackson: beat it
duran duran: hungry like the wolf
depeche mode: i just can't get enough
prince: when doves cry
eurythmics: sweet dreams (are made of this)

cult figures appear all over the dance floor: briggie, zantar, jeff, jamar, stevey, chris, chateau, brooke, brianna, me. jamar and stevey compete in a beat it dance duel. it's a highlight of the night.

i could stay there all night, but i have to get to the church on time to hire a saint.

gChameleon hireAsaint.orgs in inwood

2009-06-21T15:33:00.001-04:00

i hireAsaint.org tour in inwood 1st and 3rd wards.

a sister in inwood 3rd wards reports that she's hired multiple times from her hireAsaint.org listing.

on future father's day, i visit inwood 3rd ward elders quorum. we sing and receive incredible cookies from the sister who leads us.