Rules for dating a Virgo

Virgo's are very specific people, so I felt its only proper to blog about specific rules for those of you currently dating or pursuing a Virgo. I feel dating a Virgo may need guidance because of our high standards for ourselves, and other's. Virgo's expect the best from their significant other's and dislike when their partners don't put as much effort in as they do.

*One*
Be.On.TIME. Never make a Virgo wait, or anyone you're dating for that matter, its just plain rude! Virgo's take careful time preparing for a date and become easily frazzled and annoyed if you're late--especially if you have a pathetic excuse to go with your tardiness. You may of previously intrigued them but if you're one of those people who are always late then be prepared for your Virgo to lose interest.

*Two*
Keep your appearance neat and maintained. Virgo's are easily grossed out and turned off by those who have bad hygiene, slack off on being well-groomed, sloppy attire, dirty skin and other miscellaneous dirty details Virgo's pick up on immediately. You could be the ultimate catch for a Virgo, but if you're appearance is out-of-order, BYE.

*Three*
While on a date, please don't over-talk. Virgo's are great listeners but like to have an equal balance of conversation. If you do all the talking (and most of those who do this are completely oblivious to the fact that they can't shut up!) your Virgo may tune you out and not even call you the next day because your on-going conversation with yourself mentally exhausted your Virgo.

*Four*
Don't ask too many questions. By nature, Virgo's over-analyze way too much; all of your questions may come off as invasive and cause your Virgo to become suspicious or paranoid.

*Five*
Virgo's often come off as distant, cold, un-emotional, apathetic, or un-interested. This exterior is simply just an exterior. Behind their "cold" demeanor is an overly-active brain that's analyzing your every word, movement, appearance, body language, etc. This is why Virgo's come off distant because their minds literally cannot stop analyzing you and observing what's going on around them. They do not mean to be rude or cold. Once they've observed you and feel a sense of comfort, trust me, the warm-hearted and affectionate Virgo will appear and all their interest in you will be sincere. Don't take offense to their exterior :(

*Six*
Take. It. Slow. Virgo's hate being rushed into relationships, period. We look before we leap. For Virgo's to feel comfortable you need to have patience and give the relationship time. There's a lot for Virgo's to consider and a lot of pointless thoughts in their head to dispose of as they're getting to know you. It may take months or even a year for a Virgo to feel 100% okay with you (more so with female Virgo's).

*Seven*
Despite popular belief, Virgo's are spontaneous and love doing things on a whim when it comes to activities. However, when it comes to Virgo's they need a general heads-up of what to be prepared for during the date, for example: what time are we meeting up? should I keep my outfit simple or wear something that's casual yet can still get me into a club? will we be outside or indoors? should I eat beforehand so I don't starve while being adventurous? are you paying for everything or should I bring some cash? Once Virgo's get a basic idea of what *could* happen, they're all set to go on an adventure!

*Eight*
Virgo's love a meeting of the minds-aka mentally stimulating conversation. Movie dates aren't a good idea unless you've been dating your Virgo for a while and you both agree that sitting in silence in a movie theater might be relaxing. I personally hate when a guy suggests going to the movies for a date because then I can't get to know him, see his face in light, there's no conversation and we're restricted to a movie theater the entire time. (Mama Virgo only goes to the movies maybe once a year, no joke!) Be creative with your choice of date and don't smother a Virgo with affection or come off as obsessed/easy...that'll creep out a Virgo real quick.

*Nine*
Be prepared and know this now: Virgo's need lots of reassurance with dating and relationships. What I mean by that is, if a you're dating a Virgo and go a day or two without talking, Virgo is going to immediately start to worry about you (your well-being, are you ok? are you in a hospital some where? need help? do you suddenly hate me?) Virgo's are worry-warts BIG TIME. Its understandable if you've only been casually dating and the two of you have an understanding that you don't need to talk everyday, but if you're in a serious relationship with a Virgo then you need to talk on a daily basis. Virgo's love to be supportive and always have lots of questions about how you're doing, how was your day, do you need anything? Don't take this as them being clingy, take it for what it is: they're always genuinely concerned and interested and need their thoughts to be put to rest and the only way this can happen is if you talk to your Virgo everyday :)

*Ten*
Last but not least...your Virgo and the bedroom. I can't really speak for the male Virgo's on this one (but I'd love to hear your input!) but NEVER pressure a Virgo to move fast in the bedroom. If a Virgo doesn't want to have sex with you just yet its because they're simply just not comfortable or they may feel physically and mentally unprepared. Maybe your Virgo isn't feeling sexy that day. If a Virgo doesn't feel good in their own skin when you want to have sex, they're NOT going to enjoy it or give it their all. You want this experience to be amazing so take a hint next time your Virgo's not feelin it and wait it out because once a Virgo's ready, they bring their A game like no other.

*Bonus*
Don't hear too many words of affection from your Virgo? That's because Virgo's show their love by doing, not saying. Virgo's aren't exactly verbal creatures and find emotional subjects uncomfortable. If you're in a serious relationship with a Virgo and haven't heard the L word yet (LOVE, duh), its because Virgo's find vocalizing their feelings to be very difficult, way more than other signs would. Virgo's show love and appreciation by doing things for you...like the saying goes *actions speak louder than words* Give it time, eventually you're Virgo may open up and become vocal about his or her feelings towards you :)

Risque Carnival Fashion Show

~*Risque Carnival*~

Make-up Artist Jordan & Mama Virgo

Real's *twirl* dress

On March 11th 2011 Mama Virgo had the privilege of working as a model in The Set NYC's event: Risque Carnival. This was my second time doing a fashion show for The Set NYC and this time around I recruited a new friend of mine, make-up artist Jordan Kristin, to come along and do my make-up for the show. Jordan, being more than familiar with the Spanish/Portuguese culture, planned out the perfect make-up look for the theme Carnival. The fashion event took place during the time when the real Carnival takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Set NYC brought the Brazilian Carnival vibe to Sea Lounge NYC. I had no idea what designers were coming to the show until I got there, or what the clothes would look like but I was excited as ever to dress up Carnival style! Stylist Camille was there, along with clothing designer Real and bikini crochet designer Ivette Wilson.

Mama Virgo with another model & Eric Perkins from The Set NYC

Mama Virgo & Ivette Wilson

The first look I wore was a lingerie outfit with a matching feather mask put together by Camille--the mask was so pretty! Second look of the night was what I refer to as the twirl dress designed by Real. The twirl dress was so much fun to wear on the runway; the fabric flowed and twirled to the music of Marilyn Manson (one of my favorite music artists of all time). Hearing Manson while on the runway was an unexpected surprise that I'll never forget and cherish forever. Last but not least was Ivette's crochet outfit, my *favorite* outfit thus far out of anything I've worn in previous shows and photo shoots. Her line of hand-crocheted clothing is amazing and comfortable. She tried several different outfits on me before choosing the final one (my behind was a lil on the large side for some of the previous outfits I tried on lol) which is pictured in the photo of me with Jordan and the photo on the left. That outfit felt like it was made exactly for my body; once I put it on I knew I was gonna rock it.

Like any other Set NYC event, this one was just as upbeat and full of good vibes and good people. Having Jordan there with me was a blast and seeing her having fun and interacting with other industry people made me feel really excited for her. I love introducing my friends, who share the same interests when it comes to fashion and make-up, into this world and helping them make connections. I'm not your average model who only cares about making a name for myself and leaving others in the dust to fend for themselves. If I meet someone who is trying to climb the very difficult ladder of the fashion industry; I will introduce them to the industry people I know and keep them informed of things-going-on. That's the Virgo in me, I love to serve and help other's and see them succeed. I'm not a self-consumed bitchy model by any means.

Writing this entry is really frustrating because I have a lot of pictures I want to add to this and Google Blogger sucks when it comes to that. Its not letting me place the pictures where I want them thus screwing up the layout of my entry :( I have more pictures I want to post but I'm going to have to leave them out for now otherwise it'll just mess with the layout even more UGH (switching my blog over to Tumblr ASAP!)

Anyway Risque Carnival turned out to be a fantastic night. Jordan and I clicked really well with one of the male models, Ike Love, who is hilarious! He was really fun to hang out with after the show and made us laugh so much! Fashion blog writer and model friend-of-mine, Laz, came as well and wrote an entry for L'arbitre; his entry is really good. One of my oldest friends from back in the day showed up out of the blue to see me in the show which was so awesome and meant a lot to me. The ultimate bonus to being in this show was Ivette letting me keep the outfit I wore during her part of the show! When she said to me, "I want you to keep this," I almost cried (yeah Mama Virgo can get emotional-I know-strange). That was the first time a designer let me keep one of their outfits and was a huge honor. Ivette's collection of crocheted outfits are truly one-of-a-kind. Please check out Ivette's collection Eves Crochet. I hope to work with her again in the future and look forward to upcoming Set NYC events :-)

Real Men: What happened to them & where are they?

Once upon a time there was a young girl who dreamed of one day meeting a handsome tall man with big muscles who could fix anything with his hands and hold the ability to crush anyone who brought harm and feared no one. She had seen men like this in old movies and photos and was sadly lead to believe that these men would still exist once she was old enough to date. It seemed possible; her father was basically superman and could build a car from scratch. His hands were enormous and she was convinced they were made of steel. Her dad didn't mess around and always did the right thing. If something was broken, he'd fix it immediately. He never drank, smoked or used drugs. He worked around the clock to support his family and never had an excuse not to. Fast forward over a decade later and these manly men are now extinct; the girl is now a woman who is confused and frustrated with the slim pickings of so called "men" in her generation. The men she sees don't have manly hands that are scuffed up, scarred, worn and tough. They're hands might as well be more feminine then her's; same goes for their personalities.

Let me break down the typical 21st century male through the eyes of Mama Virgo:
-They're completely unreliable
-Pathetic excuse after pathetic excuse
-They don't say what they mean or mean what they say
-They're lazy as fuck
-The way they dress...please don't even get me started 
-Most of them couldn't even figure out how to change a let bulb let alone fix their own car
-No sense of family
-Lack of morals
-Lack of drive and persistence
-No respect for women
-98% of them are unfaithful 
-They don't call when they say they will or answer their phones
-They're not MANLY MEN!
-They hang out with a bunch of morons; their group of friends usually suck
-Terrible sense of style
-Too attached to tech gadgets and the internet
-Have no manners

Basically, men have forgotten how to be men. PLEASE stop wearing tight jeans, guyliner, styling your hair like the dudes from Flock of Seagulls (80's reference), treating women like disposable accessories, being blatantly obvious that you're only pursuing a woman for the end goal of having sex with her (its SO obvious and you're all SO dumb), quoting disgusting rappers on your Facebook or Twitter accounts everyday, and get some fucking motivation to learn all the manly things you need to know that should be instinctual to you in the first place! Oh, and most importantly, for all you dad's who treat your baby mama's like garbage, please either remove yourself from society completely or start paying the damn child support and be a proper father-figure in your child's life! If you can't do that, then you don't deserve to breath. 

Guys who are heavy into the club scene...gross (unless you're not a raging club drug addict). Guys who can't give up going out on weekends (or weekdays if you're really that much of an alcoholic) to get wasted instead of spending time doing something creative and constructive...even more gross. Guys who laugh at those who enjoy reading...please dunk your head in the nearest public toilet because that's how disposable your brain is. Guys who disrespect their mom's...find the nearest cliff. Guys who can't go every other word without cursing...there's this thing called a dictionary I highly suggest you purchase one because you sound like an idiot and appear ignorant (major turn off). 

This isn't how I planned on writing this entry, but writer's write according to mood and my mood has shifted since I first started this entry almost 2 months ago. Let me just say...if today's men could research how men were in the 1920's, 30's, 40's, 50's and even 60's...and they actually LEARNED from their research...they would benefit greatly and maybe us women would no longer have to put up with all you pansies! I'm SO sick of going out and being surrounded by stupid "men" every where! What is wrong with all of you?! It seems like there's no escape at this point and women just might have to resort to lesbianism.

Mama Virgo's Final Message to the 21st Century Men: GROW A PAIR. GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY. STOP BEING SO FUCKING SENSITIVE AND FEMININE. STOP IDOLIZING RAPPERS AND DOUCHE BAG MALE CELEBRITIES.

Feel free to comment. Ladies, feel free to leave some comments stating other things you dislike about the 21st century man, I'd love to hear other's opinions.

Weekdays & Writers Block

Hans Christian Andersen, famous author who suffered from depression but wrote great fairy tales, 4/9/1805-8/4/1875

I can't write about things I don't want to write about. I can't write when I'm tired. I can't write when I have anxiety about writing. I will not write when I'm extremely depressed, but I will write when I'm depressed. I especially will not write when I have too many topics I want to write about and can't decide on which one to start first because there's too many aspects of inspiration and I can't narrow them all down, for example, this past month and the last half of February I've had plenty of things I wanted to blog about but didn't all because of the reasons I just listed. Five minutes ago I read through one of my drafts for a blog entry I can't WAIT to write about...but because its a weekday, I'm tired as FUCK, anxious, extremely depressed and have other entries waiting to be finished...I can't finish that one awesome draft. All I can do and want to do is write about writing and how I can't write...hence why I'm writing so much right now because I feel so deeply about this topic that its causing me anxiety so now I have to write about it. This blog entry will probably make you question stuff or just really confused. I can't imagine anyone understanding this unless you're also a Virgo who suffers from always being tired, writing like a mad [wo]man, and goes through "black moods" quite often.

Weekdays really blow. I don't have a day job and hate daytime hours AND its cold out! Its the shitty month of March which only leads to the lousy month of April thus equaling a long wait till the pretty month of May (my son's birthday is in May :-). I get my best ideas and inspiration for writing at night; specifically when I'm laying in bed trying to go to sleep. This keeps me awake. I don't get out of bed to write and get everything out of my head...because one would think that would help me sleep...but no, if I do that then I'll go in to a state of hyper-writing (not sure if that's an actual term but I'll use it) and write for hours on end in to the dawn thus feeling even more tired the next day. Then once I'm finally asleep I have the craziest, sickest, most life-like dreams ever and when I wake up I want to write about them but can't because I have to get my nocturnal ass up and get my son ready for school. By the time I can sit down and write about them, I usually don't want to write anymore. Sometimes I'll briefly jot down what happened in my dream and then go back to it with a better picture of what happened. I recently had one of the coolest dreams ever and it was by far one of my absolute favorites. I wrote about it and I plan on turning it in to a story; that'll take forever to finish because like I said I can only write when the mood strikes and sometimes weeks even months can go by where I can't write. When I do finish that story though, its gonna be really good.

This entry just subjected you to what is known as "free writing." I just kept typing every single thought that came to mind without stopping or rephrasing anything (only thing I added afterwards is the picture of Hans Christian Andersen). Maybe now that I got this out of my system I can get back my inspiration and will to finish the drafts and start new entries that are waiting to be written and read.

Random statement: I changed my blog background from one of my portfolio photos to a plain white rose because I'm kinda like on the fence about how I feel in regards to posting  my face on every type of social networking site...on one hand I feel like it attracts more readers and gives them a better connection/visual as to who I am...and on the other hand I'm thinking to myself: who the fuck wants to see my picture plastered all over this blog every time they read my stuff? I'm also weirded out by my own modeling pictures; its unreal to me and creepy, like Ripley's, believe it or not. I can't find a satisfying background image for the Google blogger so I chose the plain rose for now. I tried to find cool Virgo backgrounds via Google search engine but there was nothing everything was really tacky ::wishing I was a graphic designer::

To all my fellow Virgo's out there who are also going through black moods and feeling very melancholy: don't worry, because I will.

Virgo of the Month: Charlie Sheen

Well well well, look whose a Virgo. 

I think that sentence alone is good enough to cover my *Virgo of the Month* March edition, but since Charlie  is such a controversial character and so prominent in the media right now; I must elaborate. Lets start with his birthday, September 3rd 1965. Now, notice his cheek bones, very Virgo-like. I approve. I admire his creative catch phrases and ideas. Before all the Charlie Sheen madness started I wasn't necessarily a "fan" of his nor did I pay much attention to him mostly because of all the domestic violence offenses filed against him by his x's (you lost major points there Charlie). I actually was more confused as to how his younger brother, Emilio Estevez (Taurus), is related to him. I loved Emilio in The Breakfast Club. Back to Charlie and his crazy Virgo antics. Watching his recent interview with his "Goddesses" really disturbed me because his baby boys were involved, and as a mother I would be FURIOUS if my son's father ever did anything like that around my son and those "Goddesses" would no longer be breathing. I hope his kids don't have to be exposed to that again. Anyway...now that I just sat here and thought about how pissed off I am about what his children are going through...I don't really want to write about Charlie Sheen anymore. I know a lot of younger guys think Charlie is awesome now and the idea of having two chicks help raise your kids is "cool," and that's just a really scary thought in itself. Younger men in todays society DO NOT need anymore shitty male influences; they're already beyond stupid and this just might make it worse. This blog is turning into a Public Service Announcement very quickly.

Charlie Sheen is a Virgo, sigh. His Twitter is very funny and entertaining, so are some of the things he says and does. I must admit I love his latest self-description: "unemployed winner," because I consider myself an unemployed winner too. However, I can't let him get a *Mama Virgo Approved* pass for just being funny and a great actor. Virgo's are very perceptive, intellectual and deep thinkers...so I hope Charlie Sheen can come to grips soon for the sake of his 4 children and stop threatening his baby mama's. The Virgo in him will eventually do the right thing...? On the bright side...I think its safe to say all Virgo's have Tigers Blood.

Risque Carnival!

The Set NYC Presents: Risque Carnival!

One of New York City's most diverse entertainment company is bringing the Carnival of Rio to Manhattan for one night this Friday March 11th at Sea Lounge located at 835 Washington Street [meatpacking district]. $15 entry fee comes with a yummy Caipirinha drink! Samba your way in to the lounge for all-night house music by DJ TEC NIK and a fashion show with gorgeous people rocking some very Risque underwear and swimwear ;-) *Underwear becomes Outerwear* A contest will also be held. Mama Virgo will be there all night and you'll get to see me strut my stuff in the fashion show along with other beautiful models. This event is going to be a fantastic place for models, stylists, photographers, make-up artists, producers and designers to network so be sure not to miss out on this great opportunity to make connections while enjoying a fabulous night! I hope to see you there and I look forward to meeting new people! 

NY Couture Fashion Week Experience

"Haute Couture should be fun, foolish, and almost unwearable"-Christian Lacroix [French fashion designer]

This past Friday, February 18th, I had the opportunity to go see one of the shows for New York Couture Fashion Week at the famous Waldorf Astoria hotel in NYC. This was my first time going to anything like this and I'm very grateful to Fransisco Romeo, editor of Hombre magazine, for inviting me to come see the show with him. Fransisco and I met this past December to do a few test shoots for his magazine--still a work in progress. I wore a black and white striped mini dress with one sleeve to the Couture show but unfortunately I DIDN'T bring my CAMERA!!!! My only regret of the night and huge mistake. I could of taken my own photos of the show and video :-( What was I thinking? The only things on my mind were getting to the show on time and anticipation of what I was about to witness. Fortunately Fransisco took some photos from that night; hopefully I'll get some of those to post on this entry!

Walking in to the Waldorf Astoria for the first time was an experience in itself; I felt like I was in another world. Once Fransisco and I made our way to the grand ballroom to see the show; I was in complete shock and awe of what was going on before my eyes. It was everything I expected and more. The fashionable music playing to the beat of the models runway steps and flowing bodies, the detailed colored lights displayed in sequenced arrays on the walls, the flashing light bulbs constantly shooting off from photographers and press, and an indescribable air to the entire scene that only exists in the world of fashion. We saw famous Lebanese fashion designer Hadi Katra's collection which consisted of bridal wear, couture fashion and ready-to-wear fashions. His designs were some of the most unique fashions I've seen thus far. I was literally on the edge of my seat the entire time, and for the first time in...probably ever, maintained perfect posture while sitting.

To get a visual of Hadi's design we saw that night, check out this photo collection from a photographer who was also there @ flickr

I didn't want the show to end. I was absorbing every single thing going on around me. Every detail, every design, outfit, model, people in the crowd...there's an art form to all of it. Its more than obvious to me that average people typically show a lack of appreciation, respect and understanding towards this world aka models and the fashion industry. Here's my two cents: seeing as I'm pursuing a career in modeling, I DO appreciate, respect and understand the industry. I know and understand why the models are super skinny, very tall, and very unique looking. It is not only a requirement for them to look that way but it is also a major part in the art of fashion. The clothes simply wouldn't flow the way they're supposed to if it weren't for these statuesque-slim women and men. I don't mean to sound harsh or offend, but if a 5'4" woman who wasn't...skinny...was walking down the runway in those outfits...it would destroy the art of fashion and never properly convey the message of the designers collection. That's the God honest truth, accept it or don't, just don't knock the models for their physique. They're not hired to be role models or display the average woman. Fashion shows aren't about the average!

Studying the bone structure and physical appearance of the models was amazing for me. Comparing one models walk with another was also really fun and entertaining. I had a few favorites in the show ;-) Seeing those super long legs dominate the runway was incredible. Watching the show just added more fuel to my ever-growing fire of desire to be up on that runway with them. I felt totally in my element surrounded by girls my height and taller. The ending of the show was beautiful and bittersweet because now I have to wait till September to see another one just like it!

Fransisco and I hung around for a while after the show to talk with some people he knew. He took a few pictures of me standing on the runway. I must say I felt like I was on someone else's territory but at least I looked like a model up there ;-) We saw the whole back stage area and the wardrobe/make up room...so surreal. I was just imagining how chaotic it was only a few moments earlier when the show was still going on. A lot of models were still hanging out as well and chatting with the stylists. I was lucky enough to meet the producer of the entire Couture show (thanks to Fransisco)! We then proceeded to another room where the red carpet was set up for the designers to take photos with their models. After that we headed over to the after party a few blocks away on 35th street. It wasn't your typical fashion show after party...compared to the last one I went to for Vogue magazine for NY fashion week September 2010. This after party was more low key and actually served food that models were actually eating! What a concept! It wasn't at your typical Manhattan night club with people drinking and crazy music (although those are fun too). I met some models, made some contacts, met new people and had a great time.

Needless to say I can't WAIT for my next fashion/model fix! I need to be surrounded by this as much as possible. Here's a video I found on YouTube from the show that night; its not a video of Hadi Katra's collection (couldn't find one of it!) but it takes place in the same room and shows the red carpet scene as well. The featured designer is Mireille Dagher.

Virgo's that Bewilder: Heidi Montag

And now for my newest blog segment: Virgo's that Bewilder. Any time I hear about a person who is of Virgo blood that doesn't seem to truly radiate *Virgo* or would otherwise go completely under my Virgo radar; I'm going to blog about said Virgo and why they seem off as Virgo's. I feel this is a subject only Virgo's would be interested in writing about or discussing, so this may come off as boring or stupid to other zodiac signs, but to this I say: pish posh.

Virgo's that Bewilder me are those born under our awesome star sign that do not accurately portray what Virgo's are. A few months back, Baby Virgo brought it to my attention that HEIDI MONTAG is a VIRGO! When she told me this, and once I confirmed her date of birth via Google (September 15th 1986...a day after me & Baby Virgo's birthday...too close for comfort!), I was in Virg-shock. My immediate reaction was, "WHAT? SHE'S a VIRGO?" It truly threw me for a loop. How could Heidi Montag possibly be a Virgo? She's an attention addict, always wants (or wanted) the spotlight on her, and is consumed with vanity--all characteristics which most Virgo's do not posses. Oh and lets not forget that her husband, Spencer Pratt, is a Leo (explains everything about him). I won't hold that against her though, since she's not your typical Virgo, plus Spencer's insanity is highly entertaining in my opinion. I actually like them as a couple and think they're perfect for each other.

I'm not a fan of The Hills, however I've watched a few episodes in the past just to see what all the Heidi & Spencer hype was about. While watching those episodes, not knowing that Heidi is a Virgo, it never picked up on my Virgo radar that she could be a Virgo. Seeing her on television interviews also didn't convey anything obviously Virgo-like, EXCEPT for the fact that she's a perfectionist, which is one of our main traits. I'd say the only Virgo traits she portrays is being a perfectionist, loving fashion and dressing well, neat physical appearance, and loyalty to her husband.

I do feel empathy for her as a fellow Virgo because of the extremes she went through to achieve "perfection" and then ended up regretting all the plastic surgery she had done. Virgo's are their own worst critics. There's nothing you can tell a Virgo about themselves that they don't already know. It must of drove her Virgo mind insane to nit-pick away at herself and decide on what parts of her body needed to be re-done. That kind of mental torture is something a Virgo mind is often subjected to on a daily basis; constantly scrutinizing every little detail about yourself and doing whatever it takes to perfect whatever it is you think is out of order. I'm totally OCD about how my hair looks so I can't even imagine what it would be like to be Heidi as a Virgo who wants her whole entire physical appearance altered. Being a "plastic" Virgo is so opposite of our natural Earth sign tendencies...when I think Virgo in a physical sense I think of naturally good-looking people...don't mean to toot our Virgo horns on that one but its the truth I'm being blunt. I saw an interview she did a few months ago about what  life is like for her now and how much her lifestyle has changed...and it was really sad. Yeah yeah yeah I sound lame for feeling bad for Heidi but whatever she's only human and she is a Virgo so I can't not feel for her. It seems like all those surgeries and the amount of crazy fame she got so quickly had finally brought her back to *Earth* and she's now thinking clearly in Virgo terms.

That's all for now about Virgo's that Bewilder...till the next time when I come across a Virgo that's incognito...stay true to your Virgo roots people xoxoxo.

February Virgo of the Month: Wiz Khalifa

  Proud to announce that my choice for February Virgo of the Month is, what I consider, hip hop's newest pick of the litter rapper: Wiz Khalifa. Before I write anything about Wiz let me just inform all readers that I'm pretty much always the last to know about what's going on with the hip hop scene and today's music in general. I just don't follow it and I hate the radio, main stream music tv channels, and flat out don't pay attention to the "whose who" of todays musicians--UNLESS you are so fucking awesome that you fly over the radar of lame and do such a great job of not sucking that I, Mama Virgo, end up hearing about you and genuinely start to like you (aka YOU WIZ!). This doesn't mean that I think I'm like some higher person that once you have my approval you've hit a fan base so untouchable that you're now *officially cool,* I'm just sayin' for me to actually LIKE, NOTICE, and follow up on new artists is very rare. 

"Fly solo"

                                                                     "Black & Guido"
Back to Wiz. His birthday is September 8th 1987 (yay we're the same age!) and he is so *Mama Virgo Approved* its ridiculous. His clothing style is impeccable; if I were a dude I'd rock the same wardrobe. Just from Google-imaging him I already want to look up where he buys his clothes. He hit it big with his single "Black & Yellow," which I didn't even know was a song until Jersey Shore's Vinny Gaudagnino re-made it into a parody called "Black & Guido." Hearing Vinny's version was the first time I recognized it was from "Black & Yellow." So for me to find out about Wiz Khalifa only because I love Vinny and Jersey Shore THAT much was so cool. Vinny's version is hilarious and one of my all-time favorite songs now. I had only previously heard a small clip of "Black & Yellow" on a commercial for ringtones and didn't pay any mind to it. Once I YouTubed Wiz Khalifa and listened to his actual music I was blown away simply by the fact that, here's a *new* rapper, from MY generation, that doesn't suck!!!!! I fell in love with his song "Fly Solo" and have been listening to it almost on daily basis since first hearing it. Thanks to Twitter I found out that Wiz is indeed a Virgo. He was listed as one of the famous Virgo hip hop artists @TheDailyVirgo's Twitter page.

My younger sister is always the first person to tease me about how I'm completely out of the loop with todays music and hip hop artists. She seems to know about all these artists years or months before the rest of the world does; she's a die-hard hip hop fan. In the past I've gone to her for new music to listen to, and whatever is new to me is old news to her, so if she reads this blog she's probably going to say to herself, "Wow what a fucking dumb ass how did she not know who Wiz Khalifa is?" All I have to say is, musically I'm stuck in the 90's ok?! (And 80's, 60's, 70's, 50's...) lol.

Wiz's real name should win an award for most original: Cameron Jibril Thomaz...what the hell is that? I don't know, but its dope. He put a mixtape out in 2010 called Kush and Orange Juice; that title alone gives him more bonus points...and really makes me want some OJ. I could tell you more details about his music career but instead you can just look all that up on Wikipedia so I don't have to repeat it on here (lol). I'm just going to highlight all the *Virgo* things about him in my blog since I'm not a music reporter. Wiz has the classic Virgo facial structure and intricate tattoos that are very detail-oriented which I heart. Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to see all of his tatts because my Virgo brain would have a field day looking at all the detailed art work. The lyrics to his songs are also very Virgo-like. To me, he just emits Virgo essence a lot more than other Virgo rappers (not to say that the other's aren't just as Virgo--he just happens to showcase it all physically and lyrically in a way that sets him apart from the rest). One of my most favorite rappers ever, Ludacris, is also a Virgo and was my first *Virgo Rapper Love* even before I knew he was a Virgo.

Then there's the fact that Wiz just so happens to love Amber Rose as much as I do ;) ::sigh:: they are perfect together. I don't know the details about their relationship (obviously...) but from what I do know and have seen via media pictures, Mama Virgo likes very much :) I LOVE Amber Rose!! She has everything the classic Virgo would be attracted to: sick wardrobe, neat and intriguing appearance, visually stimulating in a very original way, beauty and kick ass persona. It doesn't surprise me Wiz would kick it with her and vise-versa. Serious upgrade from when she dated Kanye West. Please Google-image her if you don't know who I'm talking about, your eyes will not be disappointed. Ok enough about my love for them as a couple and my obsession with Amber Rose. I'm very happy and honored that Wiz Khalifa is on Team Virgo. He's just one more amazing Virgo to add to the never-ending list of greatness.

If you're a hip hop fan and want to read one of the most excellent music blogs that would have actual music info and keeps you up to date on the "what's what" in the hip hop world, check out my boy Kevin Casey's website at Kevin Casey Music. He's guaranteed to know what he's talking about but hasn't written a blog about Wiz yet [that I know of]...but I think I'm going to suggest that he does after writing this entry haha.

Stay tuned fellow Virgo's (and non-Virgo's too :-) for next months featured Virgo <3

Why men end up in the *friends zone*

WARNING: THIS CONTENT MAY BE PAINFULLY HONEST AND TOO BLUNT FOR SOME. 

Guys, don't be too down about what I'm about to tell you if you're in the friends zone. Remember, you WILL find a girl that won't put you in the friends zone and that WILL be either a great friend with benefits or become your girlfriend. There are ALWAYS other fish in the sea, don't let one girl get the best of you! That being said, the following reasons why you're in the friends zone are based on reasons why I have personally kept certain guys in the friends zone and reasons why my girl friends have told me they keep their guy friends in the friend zone. I'm not the type of girl who is always in a relationship or always has a guy in her life, I'm very independent and have spent a LOT of my life single (because I'm picky) so I've had plenty of experience observing why guys end up in the friend zone.

The friend zone is something I've noticed that men have a low tolerance for and become very sensitive about once they realize they're in the friends zone for good. Maybe its because men think about sex more than women and immediately think about what it would be like to have sex with every girl (of age) they meet, and can't fathom, why women don't do the same when it comes to men. There have been plenty of times when I've met a guy, and upon first introduction, I'm not thinking about what you would look like naked or how big your penis is. I'm not contemplating what type of boyfriend you'd make or if you'd ever date me. My ultimate goal is not to fuck you. Even if you are good looking and have great qualities, I'm still not considering having sex with you or dating you, and I'm sure there's plenty of other women who would say the same. This is coming from a woman who has a lot more male friends than female. I've dated some of my male friends in the past, but kept other's strictly in the friends zone. I have spent SO much time listening to my guy friends talk about their hook-ups, break ups, relationships, one night stands, graphic sexual encounters, etc, etc. All their conversations about these scenarios were very interesting and enlightening to me as a woman. I'm grateful for how much my guys have informed me of when it comes to the whole what-men-think-of-women thing and why they treat them the way that they do....
But over the many years of me dating or being single, almost every time I make a new guy friend I feel the "are you going to have sex with me/date me/let me hit that?" vibe SO strongly. Honestly, some guys are so obvious about it that it makes me so uncomfortable to the point where I will, and have, stop talking to them completely. Guys, just because a girl hangs out with you and likes to talk to you and appreciates your company DOES NOT MEAN SHE WANTS TO DATE YOU OR DO YOU! I know, seems crazy to you because you're a guy. You probably think, ok she hangs out with me and laughs at my jokes, we text, we're friends on Facebook, so she wants me more than a friend. That's seriously the vibe I get from guys, and yeah I guess I can't blame you too much for thinking that because a girl is showing interest. However, interest doesn't equal sex! Remember this PLEASE!!! I meet really cool ass dudes that I will talk to frequently and make plans to hang out with, but I don't want them in my bed! I don't want to date them, I don't want to do them, I don't fantasize about them, and here's why:

1. You are not attractive to ME (that doesn't mean I think you're ugly by any means, I just don't feel any physical chemistry or attraction in the looks department).

2. I find you very attractive, yet I just can't imagine...or want to imagine...sleeping with you or dating you. You come off (to me) as asexual. Not your fault.

3. You have automatically registered in my brain as 100% friend material. There's nothing I can do to control this. If my brain reads you as "friend" then that's what you'll remain. If my brain reads you as "friend, but has qualities that could be good for dating," then I will make a move at some point, till then, please remain friendly...emphasis on the friend part.

4. You've proven to be a good friend thus far and if we were to date or hook up, that may ruin the friendship, and as corny as it sounds, I'd rather keep the friendship solid.

5. Your friends are just as awesome as you. If you're a guy, with kick ass friends, and we end up dating or hooking up and things go down hill--then there will be no more fun times spent with you and your boys.

6. You're a good wingman! This should be a really positive thing to know if you're not happy with friend zone status because if you're a good wingman to me then I'll hook you up with pretty females I know. If we have fun together when we're out 'n about and draw a crowd of cool people then we are remaining as friends and wingman+woman.

7. You're just not my type. Its that simple. You may be a great catch but you don't pull on my heart strings or intrigue me.

8. You're cuddle-buddy material. Let me explain this for all women who feel the same as I do about cuddle buddies....we just want a cute cuddly boy to be affectionate with when we're single and affection-deprived. Not a friend with benefits, not a sex friend, just a cuddle buddy. Someone to go out with and be playful with but without the sex part. Guys, I know the majority of you aren't believing this or do not want to believe this because most people think cuddling always leads to sex.

9. You wrongfully assumed you were an option for me just because I smiled at you or gave you my number. I do pick up on this vibe and when I do, I put thee in thy friends zone immediately.

10. You're not a threatening male figure, and I don't mean threatening as in aggressive, I just mean you appear nice and don't compete with guys that I'm actually interested in. In my past relationships, certain guy friends of mine did not bother the guy I was dating, which is what I mean by you being not threatening. You don't come off as a guy that would try anything and other guys would feel comfortable letting you hang out with their girl. When a girl knows this, you'll definitely be spending a lot of friend zone time together because you don't bother our objects...umm...men of affection.

So I hope this helps some guys understand why they get hit with the friend zone. There's nothing more uncomfortable than knowing that your guy pal hates the fact that he's in the friend zone and will try anything to get out of the friend zone. Its really awkward, obvious, rude and sleazy. You KNOW you're in the friend zone yet you still try and drop hints, please. Even worse is when I have a great guy friend and he gives me attitude or doesn't want to hang out as much once he realizes he is in the friend zone and has been from the start. Why do you have to get so snappy just because ONE girl doesn't want you? I'll gladly hook you up with another female if you're that miserable about being single, just please don't make our friendship suck. Biggest piece of advice I can tell you friend zone boys: DON'T continue to hit on a girl that's a friend of your's who doesn't mirror your romantic hints. If she's not leaving classic clues that 100% confirm she likes you, you're not only going to keep getting denied or given the cold shoulder, but you may just be dropped completely, not even in the friend zone. For example, if you make passes at her or do small simple things like touch her shoulder or arm when talking, and she doesn't do the same thing back to you, DO NOT continue, you ARE in the friend zone, stay put. That's SUCH an uncomfortable situation for the girl, trust me, it happens to me way too often and kinda creeps me out when the guy keeps trying yet I've given you NO reason or hints to even attempt such moves on me.

If a girl wants you out of the friends zone and all to herself as her man, YOU WILL KNOW. Direct physical contact will be made. Hints will be strong. Awkwardness will subside. If you and a girl once were in a relationship, and you are now past the point of the after-break-up-stage-moved-into-just friends-stage, then leave it at that. There's a reason you're still just friends after a break up. I'm a firm believer in the philosophy that girls and guys can just be friends, its totally possible. If you go on an actual date with a girl who has yet to decide whether or not she wants you as a friend or more, and it turns out she just wants you as a friend after all, don't keep pursuing her, you'll only become a nusense and possibly scare her off for good.

I really hope this entry penetrates the thick skulls of the men in this world who are delusional and think they deserve more than the friend zone. I'm sick of guys who can't take a fucking hint and who are offended when I just want them as a friend--I think I speak for all woman when I say this. Don't be offended when a girl wants you as a friend, please, there's nothing offensive about it when you go through all the reasons why she'd keep you in the friends zone. Mama Virgo has been single for a very long time and can't tolerate anymore guys trying to break free from the friend zone with horrible attempts. It sincerely baffles me to no end when some of my guy friends, or new guys I meet, act as if they're a great catch and think they know what I want in a guy and try to pursue me when I've shown NO interest outside the friend zone.
 Thanks for reading and respect your female friends!

*I may come back to this entry in the future with more information about the friend zone if I feel it necessary to further educate the minds of clueless men.*

January Virgo of the Month: Paulo Coelho

My first entry for my newest blog topic: *Virgo of the Month!* I've been thinking about doing this each month for a while and now that its a new year, its the perfect time to start this new Mama Virgo blog tradition. I decided the world famous best seller Brazilian *Virgo* author, Paulo Coelho, should have the honor of being my first *Virgo of the Month* because he's a writer, which is a major Virgo quality and is something Virgo's are well-known for. Paulo's birthday is August 24th 1947. He recently released his new 2011 agenda titled Wisdom, which I of course had to get and love it! I write in it everyday. Side note: I just realized he was a Virgo last week, don't ask why it took me so long to notice that, I should of informed myself of his star sign years ago. It makes total sense that he's a Virgo and gives him huge bonus points in my book ;)

I was first introduced to Paulo's work in 2005. My son's father gave me a copy of one of Paulo's best sellers, The Alchemist for my birthday because I had previously kept borrowing his copy of it and read it constantly.   That book truly altered my way of thinking and had a profound impact on me. For those of you who have read it, or any of his other books, you know what I mean. Personally, his words make more sense to me than the bible (not to get offensive towards Christianity, I myself am). Since then I've read Brida, Veronika Decides to Die, The Devil and Miss Prym, and The Witch of Portobello.  I'm no where near done reading the rest of his books but they're all SO GOOD! Every book is like entering a world of characters that are more interesting than real friends (I'm an oddball, I know). Every time I read one of his books, I'd either highlight every other sentence or write down in a note book all my favorite parts (I did this with most of the books because I borrowed them from the library and couldn't highlight)--his work is that good. Just knowing that I have sections of his books written down in my notebook makes me feel better about life because when I'm feeling down I can just go back and read them. When I'm down is when I turn to Paulo's words for comfort. I don't want to make this blog in to a book review so I'm not going in depth about the contents of his books.

If I had the opportunity to meet anyone famous in the world, and I mean ANYONE, it would be Paulo Coelho, no question or hesitation or need to even consider someone else. Not even Marshall Mathers over Paulo Coelho, and I'm a MAJOR Eminem fan (Sorry Em). I follow Paulo on Facebook, Twitter, his website and his blog. Every thing he writes is golden. Everything he says about life's challenges and everyday issues is like the most spiritually awaken words ever written. No matter what your issue is, Paulo has an explanation for it, and how to deal with it. His words are so universal. I can't comprehend how someone like him exists peacefully in a world like this. Call me crazy but I think he's magical. When I logged in to Facebook today I saw that he added another blog entry titled "Parents and Children," a topic I'm all too familiar with. After reading it, I started writing this blog entry. In that entry he talks about how his parents wanted him to give up his dreams of becoming a writer and just take the "normal" road. I struggle with the same thing, as I'm sure most of us do, with my parents. They don't believe in my dreams and goals with modeling and are always nit picking about how I should get a "government job" or some other job that has nothing to do with what I'm about. That kind of stuff pulls you away from your life's path if you let your parents wishes influence your decisions for yourself and what you truly want. Its not about what they want for you and it never should be. Paulo has helped me deal with this issue and has given me the motivation to keep going after what I want in life.

Paulo Coelho as a person is extremely interesting and unique. We have eerily similar adolescent experiences that make me feel closer to him when I read his stories, blogs and quotes. I suggest to anyone that feels lost or unhappy with their lives--read his work and you will feel less alone in the world. Paulo inspires like no other and every thing he says is genius. I'll be honest, I am depressed and have been struggling with that for over 10 years now. Once I found out about Paulo Coelho and started reading his work, he really became a solid source of happiness and comfort for me.

Today, January 24th in his Wisdom Agenda 2011, the quote at the bottom of the page (there's one for each page in the agenda) is "The angel is always protecting us, and that is a divine gift, there is no need to invoke him. The face of your angel is always visible when you see the world through the eyes of beauty"--excerpt from his book The Pilgrimage. 


If you're not familiar with his work, never heard of Paulo or read anything written by him, here's some classic Paulo quotes for ya :) If you know me then you've probably seen me quote these on my Facebook and Twitter from time to time:

"Don't complain because our scars are our medals. But hit back whenever its possible, because we are not saints."

"When you go after what is important for you in life, don't take no for an answer"

"Things pass, and the best we can do is to really let them go away"

"If you must say yes, say it with an open heart. If you must say no, say it without fear."

and last but not least..."dreamers cannot be tamed." ;)

Paulo Coelho's website
Paulo Coelho's blog
Paulo Colho's facebook
Paulo Coelho's twitter

For my future *Virgo of the Month* awards I'd like to have a graphic designed for those entries to display next to each Virgo. If anyone out there is a graphic designer and can help me out with that please leave me a comment so we can discuss :)

No *sign* of a Leo here...

Ok, ok, ok. I've read just about every article, every Facebook and Twitter update, regarding this zodiac "change." I'm always a target when it comes to zodiac-related subjects because I wear my Virgo identity on my sleeve and every body knows I'm all about Virgo-ness every second of the day--so when I got the first text message in my phone today telling me I'm a LEO, I knew this was only the beginning of SHIT I'd be hearing for a long time about Mama Virgo not being a Virgo. Within a matter of 10 minutes my phone and Facebook was blowing up with messages. I think people are truly getting off on the fact that some Virgo's could be considered Leo's now and they'll be shoving this in my face for a while. Newsflash: I was born in 1987 so the zodiac change doesn't apply to me or anyone born before 2011.

I AM, AND ALWAYS WILL BE, A VIRGO. I'M NOT IDENTIFYING OR ACCEPTING THIS SHITTY NEW LEO "IDENTITY." I WILL TAKE MENTAL POINTS OFF YOU AS A FRIEND IF YOU REFER TO ME AS A LEO OR QUESTION MY VIRGONESS.

That's not meant to sound bitchy or come off as some brat that's trying to get you to stop with the Leo shit, but I'm already seriously annoyed with people who have called me a Leo. It just irritates me that people could be so foolish especially during a time when I'm building up the Mama Virgo brand. Just don't call me a Leo, please, I want to keep you in my mind as a cool person not as the person who called me a Leo.

Let me just put it all out there, my dislike for Leo's is deeply rooted and tied to a particular Leo family member. That's where my dislike for the fire sign originated. Growing up with a Leo taught me all the ways in which we are entirely separate people that live on polar opposite wave lengths that will never meet in the middle. I'm beyond baffled by the way Leo's do things (and some other signs as well). I don't "hate" all Leo's, I'm actually very good friends with a few of them and like them a lot for who they are as people. One of my cousin's is a Leo and she's one of the coolest people EVER. However, that being said, the majority of Leo's I meet turn me off before I even know they're Leo's. Its like some subconscious signal is set off inside my head that's like...nah...I can't vibe with this person at all. Then I find out they're Leo's...and it all makes sense. They're fire, I'm Earth. Black and white. Like water and oil. Plain and simple. WE DON'T MIX. This subconscious zodiac signal only goes off when I meet Leo's or Scorpio's. I can smell 'em a mile away and know their traits like the back of my hand. Other signs don't give me the same warning as those two do.

I've been wanting to blog about why being a Virgo is so important to me for a while now, and today just gives me a great reason to explain where the Virgo astrology obsession started. Ever since I could remember I've known I was a Virgo. I didn't know growing up that I was the quintessential Virgo or that there was a term for my being, I just knew there was a huge difference in my personality traits, behavior, habits...the way I did things...that was totally different than my family, which doesn't consist of any other Virgo's except for my Grandpa whose birthday is a day before mine :-) We always celebrated our birthday together as Virgo's. My Mom has always been into astrology and passed it on to my sister's and I. She didn't force it on us or anything but it was more prominent in my family than other's from what I observed. I started asking her for astrology books at an early age, reading horoscopes (not just mine but all the other signs as well), hanging out in the astrology section of the book store and learning as much as I could about it. I would silently study everyone in my life and then read up on their astrology signs later. To this day, the personalities I've studied and compared to zodiac signs are perfect matches. Some with zodiac traits stronger than other's of course.

My favorite thing to read up on is about people who dislike astrology and think its a joke. Travolta, my Dad, for example thinks the concept of astrology is hilarious and phony. Come to find out, he's the ultimate Cancer! If anything could explain my father's unique personality and behavior (and I use the word unique because its the least offensive word I can think of to describe such a misunderstood man) it was the zodiac's description of Cancer. He still gets annoyed when I bring up anything astrology related but I do it anyway because its so on point about him :-)

Once I fully realized that my habits, likes, dislikes, physical appearance and health, traits, style, way of thinking, matched the way of the Virgo 150 million percent, I was sold and felt less alone in the world. Just to be sure I would read and study other signs to see if I had any relation to them at all...and guess who was the furthest away from my personality? HUMM? LEO? Yeah, you, Leo, you're no where near Virgo when it comes to how Virgo's function. Obviously I have great traits in common with my fellow Earth signs Taurus and Capricorn :-) Whenever I meet someone new in my life, and we vibe really well as if we're the same person, you bet your zodiac-disbelieving ass those new people are either a Taurus, Capricorn, or Virgo ;-) It NEVER fails. My closest friends end up being Earth signs and that's for a reason! We're cut from the same mold, not FIRE, not AIR, not WATER, but EARTH. When I met Baby Virgo the connection was instant. I didn't know for a fact that she was a Virgo with the same birthday as I until a month later, but before we showed one another our ID's, we both had a subconscious feeling inside hinting that we're Virgo soul mates.

Virgo's can always detect other Virgo's. I've been out in the most random of locations and met other Virgo's who automatically pick up on the fact that I'm a Virgo as well. We're always elated when we discover we're Virgo's and a type of love and respect emits like no other. It may sound corny to those of you who aren't Virgo's or haven't experienced something similar with your own fellow zodiac signs, but its true and its real. For someone to just tell me out of no where that Virgo's are now considered Leo's is literally like taking a knife to my heart and soul and shredding it. That's like replacing my brain, personality, habits...everything...with an entirely new identity. If I were to accept Leo as my star sign I should get a sex change and just become a man because that's how drastic of a change it would be for me to accept the Leo identity. I only recently discovered that my moon sign is Gemini, which I'm content with, Gemini's aren't my favs on the zodiac ladder (no offense) but they're still really awesome and my son's a Gemini so I can't dislike. Finding out my moon sign provided me with enough new zodiac info to research for the next couple of years. I just began researching how the Gemini moon relates to me as a person. Now to hear about this whole zodiac switch these scientists just pulled on all of us was way too much for Mama Virgo's soul to take.

I know some people think I'm silly for being such a deep believer in the zodiac. I've heard the backlash all my life. Then again, I know just as many, if not more, people who believe just as deeply as I do in the zodiac so I know I'm not alone in my fascination :-) I also would like to add that I do not consider myself to be on a higher level just because I'm a Virgo. I don't just talk about Virgo stuff all the time to annoy other's or brag about how amazing Virgo's are. I do it because I live it. I can't stop talking about it, living it, breathing it, feeling it in my everyday motions and experiences and schedule--that's why its SO prominent in my being. I'm just as interested in other star signs as I am my own. I read all of your horoscopes all the time. I research all your traits. I read my own horoscope either at the end of the night or the next day to test it...to see if what it said was true or related to my day in any way. I'd say 97% of the time its correct about my day. Then I read a few other horoscopes to see if they could match with mine and what I did that day, and no surprise here, they don't add up to Virgo. Also, I do not plan my life around what my horoscopes say, I do not look to as a fortune teller or the end-all be-all of explanations. I create my own destiny, I decide my own path, I like people based on who they are not just their astrology sign.

Sometimes for fucks sake I won't ask a new friend their zodiac sign, I'll just study them for a little while and take mental notes, then after some time I'll ask them what their sign is and I end up being right about my suspicions all along. There are some random ass people that throw me for a loop though and catch me off guard. I've actually met 4 Leo's that do NOT come off as Leo's at all which is shocking because Leo's have such strong personalities. I've also met Virgo's who don't act very Virgo-like or show the known physical attributes of a Virgo--this is rare though. There's always exceptions, this I know and am fully aware of just in case you think I'm certified looney tunes after reading this blog entry. Now that my whole day has been disrupted, which Virgo's do not handle well, I have to reconfigure my mood and put myself back on track, not  an easy task for Mama Virgo. I was having a good day, I had a bunch of things I wanted to get done, new blog entries to work on, ideas to bring to life, and all of this hasn't been accomplished yet because of the zodiac "switch" news. One of my biggest pet peeves-having my plans for the day thrown off course and pushed aside.

I'll end this entry with a Virgo fact: "Virgo exist in the mind, everything inside...they live in their minds not in their emotions and feelings. Virgo is a very independent zodiac sign."

MAMA VIRGO FOREVER.

A Virgo NYE

Its 2011!!!! Mama Virgo is actually kind of sad that its no longer 2010 because 2010 was hands down one of the most amazing life-changing years of my life-meaning 2011 has to top 2010 so there's some serious competition in that department. I had a lot of "firsts" in 2010 (losing my virginity wasn't one of them...). To recap my firsts brings nostalgia to my soul. Starting with really exploring NYC on my own, that was huge, I've been going to the city since birth but for some reason never pushed myself to just take advantage of the sites on my own and learn the roads. I also went to the beach as much as humanly possible this past summer and for the first time, left for the beach WAY before dawn with one of my good girlfriends. We got to Robert Moses beach in Long Island as the sun was rising, set up camp, fell asleep on the beach, and woke up around 10AM to the ocean and immediately went swimming. I'll never forget that day. I'm a beach fiend and would rather swim in the ocean than a pool so that was a very special day.
I made a ton of new friends and connections in 2010 that I never would of seen coming back in 2009. Mama Virgo truly came alive in 2010 and spread her *social butterfly* wings to the extreme (I hate the term social butterfly being that I'm an introvert). 2010 was like the year of women for me. I made friends with a lot of cool chicks and hung out with them more than I did my guy friends. It was a much needed change to my life because I've been like one of the guys for so long that I really lost faith in the fact that women could be real. Hanging out with mostly females for a year was awesome. I finally got to do all the girly shit I used to see my sisters do with their friends. I'm happy to say the friends I made in 2010 have become, what I consider, parts of my "circle" (I don't actually have a circle of friends, everyone split up or moved away or don't get along, so the term circle doesn't mean circle...confused?).
Of course another huge part of 2010 was meeting Baby Virgo in the city at one of the clubs we used to work at. Baby Virgo changed my life and vise versa. She's the ultimate female friend (I hope I don't piss off my other female friends by saying that...but true friends will understand). Our friendship has grown so strong, and is so beyond this planet, its like mystical Virgo spirits becoming one...some people are definitely reading this right now and thinking we're completely nuts...
The biggest first of 2010 for Mama Virgo was going on a plane. Yup. Never been on a plane until August of 2010 when me, my son and my dad went to San Diego, CA. Growing up my parents could never afford to take all 5 of us on a plane to vacation some where so we spent the majority of our summers on the Jersey Shore (damn proud, love JS). Long story short, I'd been on an e-mailing list for a photography company out in San Diego that works with FHM. They had been e-mailing me opportunities for about a year at that point and I kept ignoring most of them because I couldn't fathom a way to get myself to Cali. Then August rolls around and they e-mailed me an offer I couldn't refuse. I MADE a way. It truly was mind over matter, determination, belief in myself 100%, hard work, that got me to Cali. When I first told my parents they both shunned the idea and called it "pipe dreams"...very typical reaction that I knew was coming and was prepared for. I told them I'm going with or without their support, yada yada, the whole "I can do it" speech, but this time I meant it and believed it. And it worked. My Dad was the one who believed in me and surprised me out of nowhere one day at the pizzeria over lunch, telling me, "We're going to California. Me you and the baby."
It still wasn't easy getting to Cali from that point on, but the fact that my Dad said that, and was willing to make this happen with me, is still astounding to me and speaks volumes about what lengths he'll go. So my Dad left it up to me to plan the whole trip, book the flights, hotel, car rental, the whole 9 yards. I've never planned for anything like this in my life so I had no clue what I was doing. I did research day and night, stressed over every little detail about traveling across country with a small child and what I needed to bring to my photo shoot.
The plane ride was so much fun! So many people had warned me about how much plane rides suck so I was all prepared for a shitty plane ride...come to find out that plane rides are actually fun. The coolest part was guessing which states we were flying above while looking at a map book and finding out most of our guesses were right. My son loved that. Coming from the east coast to visit the west coast for the first time ever (My Dad's never been there either) was so mind blowing I still can't get over it. My Dad and I found a lot of the reality out there to be very...unrealistic and fantasy like. We loved it though, my son had a blast, it was his first time going on vacation and man did he get the royal treatment in Cali. We're hoping to go back to Cali this summer :)
My son started his first year of school in 2010. My Dad and I took him to a lot of new places which I'm so grateful for. As mentioned in a previous entry, I did my first runway show, got my body painted for the first time, saw the Rockette's at Radio City for the first time (why my parents never took my sisters and I to see that when we were kids...Idk?). I went to a lot of *exclusive NYC night clubs* as well with friends. I got gigs with The Set NYC. One of my oldest friends took me to Fashion Night Out and I ended up being let into an exclusive party for Vogue. I found a bunch of long lost family members without even looking. I started this whole Mama Virgo image, which is real, its who I am and what I'm about all day everyday, now I'm just trying to make it known.
Unfortunately I did lose two friends in 2010, Pete and Miles. Pete passed away in February and Miles passed in November. Those were firsts I wish didn't happen...the harshness of reality and how quickly someone can be taken from this world.
I kicked off 2011 with my cousins, my son, and Baby Virgo. It was all last minute which is always the recipe for a perfectly bad ass night. My cousin Thomas invited me over to his NYE party. Being that my son was going to be with me NYE I was happy to go to his party since we'd be surrounded by family and I'd also have my mom there to watch my son while Baby Virgo & I participated in some adult beverage related activities. The fact that Baby Virgo wanted to spend NYE with me even if it meant hanging out with my family and son on a night where most friends would definitely reject that option meant the world to me and just adds to the list of things I love about her. She really took me by surprise when she told me she wanted to come with me upstate to my cousins because she wanted us Virgo's to be together when the ball dropped *aw sentimental* It would also be our last weekend together before she left to go spend some time in Peru for the next few months. Our NYE kicked ASS. We wore yellow underwear from Victoria's Secret that said on the front *New Year* and the back *New Boys* ;) My cousins know how to throw a party so the next day was a complete Virgo relaxation day. We were lazy as fuck New Years Day and did things only Virg's would find enjoyable. The day after that, I had to bid farewell to my Baby Virg as I dropped her off at the train station so she could be on her way to Peru :( I won't see her again till April.
Till then Baby Virgo and I continue to talk daily on the internet and I'm just continuing to build my Mama Virgo empire. I'm on an endless quest to fulfill my modeling career and branch out as much as possible. So far 2011 has been good, my Dad and I have also started to make some major changes as a family. I lived in 2010, I need to keep living in 2011 and stay on the right track to welcome new experiences and believe in positivity. I have some cool opportunities that have been proposed to me recently that I'm currently working on...so 2011...Mama Virgo is ready.

An unusually uplifting Monday

Today has been such an uplifting day for a Monday that I had to blog about it immediately because I'm overjoyed. Before I get to that-I've been meaning to blog about NYE 2011 and a couple of other events but I keep getting side tracked! When I write a blog, or write in general, I go into a writers zone and don't come out for hours. I can't be distracted or interrupted so now that I got some peace and quiet to actually do so; I'm going to blog about what my Monday of January 10th 2011 has been like up until this hour. Later today or tomorrow I'll get back to what I originally have been meaning to blog about.


So I've been trying to get a day job for the longest time and the hunt has been unsuccessful. I haven't been too down about unemployment though because I have a lot of other things going in my life besides the whole unemployed single mother aspect. The other day my son and I went to the local beauty supply store (not the coolest place for a little boy to accompany his mother with) because I needed products for my hair exstensions. I LOVE the beauty supply store and loved that they had like 4 different signs stating they were hiring. I asked for a job app and couldn't wait to get home to fill it out.


After I dropped my son off at his school today, I came home and got myself *ViRGGED OUT* (aka looking beautiful and awesome) to go drop off the job app. Travolta, my Dad, was ranting about how he doesn't understand why I needed to get "ready" to drop off a job app or to leave the house in general. He continued to rant saying, "You're dressed, what else could you possibly have to do before you go out?! Why does it take you SO LONG to get ready every damn time you go out?! I-I don't know, I-don't-know-why. Jesus Christ. You take forever!!!" Travolta goes on this rant about me all the time and does so while he's in his room downstairs and I'm upstairs in Virg world. What Travolta, and other's, may not understand is, Virgo's take careful measures in their appearance and are highly detail-oriented, so if one thing is out of place with my look you best believe I will take forever to perfect it.


ANYWAY, after I was done with my Virgo tendencies and felt 100% successful with my appearance, I looked over my job app and realized I left out the personal reference section. For some strange reason I immediately thought to write down my old auto-tech teacher's name as a reference. Mr. Nelson aka Nelson. I haven't thought about Nelson or my old auto class in a long time, so the fact that I thought to write down his info was strange but happened for a reason because it led me to my amazingly happy Monday experience.
Back track to Mama Virgo's high school days: I went to 2 schools during my last 2 years of high school, my main high school and then a school called BOCES that teaches different skilled trades. I originally signed up to take cosmetology classes like most girls do when given the option to go to BOCES, but quickly realized after 2 days of being in that class that my heart wasn't in it and I transfered to auto-tech class (excellent decision). The auto-tech class was 99% male students at the time, the only other girl in the class was my long time friend Michelle, who kept telling me that I should switch to the class from the get-go (she's also a Virgo- had to add that). The appeal of being around cars, being able to take them apart and put them back together all while in the company of cute boys and one of my closest female friends was too good. I grew up around cars, my Dad's a car junkie and our house is basically like an auto shop, I love the smell of auto shops and the way guys who have been working on cars all day smell, its really comforting (TMI?).


I looked up the phone number for BOCES on Google and wrote Nelson down as a reference without hesitation. My relationship with my auto teachers (Nelson was my main teacher but my class also had Ward & S, yes we called one of our teachers S) was beyond good. After the first 10 minutes of meeting Nelson I knew I was going to have a blast in his class. I may not come off as a person who enjoyed high school or had respect for teachers, but I genuinely loved my high school experience and my teachers. I was nicer to my teachers than I was to the majority of adults in my life. I can honestly say I love the majority of teachers I had throughout my education and spent a  lot of time talking to them after class. Nelson is definitely one of my all-time FAVORITES!!
So I went to the beauty supply store to drop off the app and the timing was perfect because soon as I walked in, one of the district managers had just come to the front of the store and saw me holding the app. He called me to come to the back of the store to talk. What he had to say was positive news and hopefully all goes well with that.


Once I got back to my car I couldn't stop thinking about Nelson and how much I missed BOCES. The school wasn't far from where I was and I had time to kill before my son got home, so on a whim I drove to BOCES. The vibe was great soon as I got onto the campus. Like I used to do back in the day, I drove directly up to the auto-tech garage and ignored the rules of where one is "supposed" to park their car. I opened the door to the garage and Nelson greeted me before I could even blink an eye as to how different his garage/classroom looked. He greeted me as if I had never left and was still one of his *favorite* students (lol). I literally could not stop smiling and was so happy to talk to Nelson and see his giant bald head again (we used to joke that he looks like Mr. Clean). We caught up on a bunch of stuff and he asked me how Michelle was, I really wish she was there with me today. Reminiscing about the way our class was, the class of 2005, was awesome. Nothing but good times. I told Nelson (and Ward) that I'm now a mom and showed them my son's school photo. Showing them his photo and waiting to see their reaction gave me a feeling close to that of when I told my own father that I was naming my son after his father (my Grandpa) and waiting to then see his reaction. Nelson and Ward had big smiles on their face when they saw my son's photo and their response was filled with positivity. I feel as if I let them down as a student in the past because I didn't take their lessons seriously so explaining to them my life now and telling them about my son made me feel a little vulnerable of being judged but once I told them it was clear they passed no judgement on me and were just so excited to see me. 


Michelle and I were always looked forward to leave our school and get on the bus to go to our *other* school where we could be in a way more interesting environment and hang out with our friends from auto. Everyone in auto had to wear a mechanics jumpsuit over their clothes, and since we were the only girls in a class of 35 guys, Nelson was over-protective of us and was like a second father. He always wanted us to go in the bathroom and put our jumpsuits on instead of getting ready by the lockers where all the boys did. Sometimes we'd go to the bathroom...and other times we'd just put our jumpsuits on by the lockers with the boys ;) Nelson would get so annoyed which was always entertaining. There were so many things we did just to get a reaction out of Nelson and our other auto teachers but Nelson's reactions were by far the best. Whenever we were supposed to be working on cars with our assigned group I would end up either flirting with assigned group or moseying on over to Nelson's desk to bother him. I really loved seeing the look on his face whenever I'd approach his desk, it was a look of utter annoyance yet happy to see one of his girls wanting to talk to him. I never had anything in particular to talk about I just wanted to bullshit and say whatever came to mind that would shock or disgust Nelson--basically this is what I wanted to do with my own Dad but couldn't because I always had to censor myself around my Dad, and didn't feel like I needed to do that with Nelson. I could just be myself.


No matter what kind of day I was having at school,  going to auto class improved my mood, even if it didn't seem like it to my teachers or classmates. There were a lot of times when I'd be completely withdrawn, would not participate in class, barely say 2 words to anyone, and just sit at my desk with my head phones on drawing or writing in my notebook (other times I'd just straight up fall asleep on my desk). Sometimes Nelson or Ward would get mad at me and tell me I had no choice but to work in the garage, and other times they just let me be. Its like they knew when I was in that mood to just leave me alone and I'd come around, and I always did. Our class would rotate between having Nelson as a teacher and having Ward as a teacher. S didn't come into the picture until halfway through the first year if my memory serves correct. He was Nelson's assistant but then later got his own auto classroom so I never had him as a designated teacher but he was really cool. One time he took a bunch of us for a ride around the parking lot in a convertible car we had all finally finished re-assembling. It was a sunny day and everyone was in a good mood. The auto teachers had an attitude about them that I've never experienced with traditional teachers. Maybe they were more friendly and lenient with Michelle and I because we were the only girls. All the boys in our class had very distinct personalities and backgrounds. They were a real group of characters and so much cooler than the boys from my main high school. I still keep in touch with a few of them. The way the auto teachers treated the boys was so amusing to Michelle and I. We would literally just wait to see their reactions to some of the crazy things the boys would do and say.


Back from my trip down memory lane and to my conversation with Nelson present day, it seriously changed my mood and I haven't felt this happy or smiled this much in a very long time. Nelson and Ward both told me they would help find me a job, although I told them that's not what I came to see them for at all, they insisted on keeping me informed of job openings in the auto-field.  I've been putting off visiting my auto teachers for years now. Nelson was just as astonished as I was that it had been 6 years since he last saw me and couldn't believe how much time had gone by since 2005. 6 years is a long time to put off seeing people you admire and care for so much. Admire is the best word to describe my feelings towards Nelson, Ward and S. They created an unforgettable classroom experience that I'll always be grateful for even though I  wasn't a model student. Grades didn't really matter to me in high school, I was your typical rebellious I-don't-give-a-fuck teenager. I did however always look forward to seeing my favorite teachers, and it always brightened my mood to talk to them. The events leading up to making the decision to visit Nelson and the BOCES gang today happened for a reason. It just goes to show Monday's don't always have to suck and making positive decisions that may seem small at the time will go a long way and bring happiness.


Sadly I have no pictures to accompany this entry with :( the digital camera craze was not in effect when I was in high school. The disposable camera trend was still big and I did take pictures with a disposable camera one day during auto class but unfortunately the pictures from that day came out so blurry and dark that only I can tell who is who in the pictures. I'm still really bummed about that but whatever memories last a lifetime as corny as it sounds. I'll be going back to visit Nelson, Ward and S more often now. I have no excuse the school is literally 4 minutes away from my house. I feel bad I didn't have time to see S, I had to rush back home to get my son off the school bus. The physical appearance in the garages changed a lot but my teachers didn't and the mutual happiness of seeing one another after all this time is enough to last me, the usually melancholy Mama Virgo, a good month or two (hopefully). I've also been wanting to visit my other  high school teachers for a few months now, last time I went was 2008 when my younger sister was graduating, so enough with the putting-off-seeing people habit! I'm going to visit all my old teachers that I care about and continue to learn from them. There really is no time like the present...ok I'm done with the positive sayings for now...ending my happy Monday blog entry with a smile :)