Aubrey Up Close

I just spent a week with Flat Stanley! My friend Eric in Phoenix sent him to me and asked if I knew who he was and if I’d be willing to participate…of course I obliged, and Stanley and I had a great time!! So who is this “Flat Stanley” character, for those of you who aren’t familiar??? Well, he has a website – http://www.flatstanley.com/

Basically he’s a character from a book and because he’s “flattened” he can be mailed, thus allowing for great adventures all over the globe as he gets passed from friend to friend. I did this for Mrs. Mac’s 1st grade class at Cottonwood Elementary in Hesperia, CA!

I received Stanley in my Oakland mailbox right after Thanksgiving and of course he got to ride on Southwest with me cross-country to Florida! See how he got the window seat and was watching the luggage get loaded!?!? ha

We had one layover and plane change in Las Vegas, so Stanley took that opportunity to sit in front of the slot machines! Unfortunately we didn’t hit the jackpot and proceeded to board for our Fort Lauderdale bound flight.

The highlight of Stanley’s South Florida visit was a day out at an NFL game to see the Miami Dolphins host the Oakland Raiders! Here he is getting ready to enter Sun Life Stadium amidst all the pre-game festivities….

We had great seats at the game, but sadly the Raiders lost…womp, womp, womp… However, it was fun and Stanley got to meet my road dawg Jeanette and she will now be hosting him for a week over at the Raiders facility…hopefully he brings them better luck for this Sunday!

Are you a current, former or prospective professional dancer or cheerleader? Does your team need fresh choreography? Would you like to meet others in the industry or hear about audition opportunities?

Then get ready for the West Coast Pro Dance Convention in San Jose, CA on Sunday, January 29, 2012!
http://westcoastprodance2012.eventbrite.com/

CHOREOGRAPHERS

Our choreographers are top alumni and directors of dance and cheer teams in the NFL, NBA, AFL, MLB and other sports leagues. They will teach 6 sidelines and 2 routines in length of 45-60 seconds.
**Aubrey Aquino, NBA Dancer – Sacramento, NFL Cheerleader – Oakland & Arizona
**Kristin Medwick, 7 year NFL Cheerleader – Oakland, “Dancer of the Year” 1998; “Raiderette of the Year” and Pro Bowl Cheerleader 2005
**Kristena Wright, NBA dancer – Washington, NFL Cheerleader – Miami
**Chris Rhyu, NFL Cheerleader – San Francisco

PRESENTERS

**Faithe David, former 49ers Cheerleader will be giving awesome dance technique class to help candidates put their best foot forward at auditions.
**Jada Law, former NBA dancer in Sacramento and LA and current TV personality & host for Lakers TV will give a fitness/health/nutrition presentation to get candidates ready for auditions.
**Audrey Asistio, an alum of the San Francisco 49ers Gold Rush and Gold Rush Ambassador now works for a news station as a reporter/fill-in anchor. Audrey will offer participants interview, attire, and overall presentation tips.
**Mindy Kreis, Director of Crunch Fitness will be knocking our socks off with a specialized bootcamp geared specifically to dancers.

LOCATION

San Jose Athletic Club
196 N. THIRD STREET
SAN JOSE, CA 95112

For complete details – http://westcoastprodance2012.eventbrite.com/

The 34th installment on On The Flipside is online now! For this show, I hosted from my alma mater, San Jose State, since there was a charity reunion basketball game going for “We Believe vs. Dubs,” aka current and former members of the Golden State Warriors. This show also has extended versions and highlights from my Virgin Atlantic, #RedHotReporter, London trip…so more Bucs, Bears and England! Finally, it’s a visit with Seattle Seahawks Sea Gal Nicole for the Sideline Distraction feature!! http://ontheflipsidetv.com

I was lucky enough to attend “Watch The Throne” in Miami last night, courtesy of Dontaira and Kia… The Jay-Z and Kanye concert is nothing short of fabulous, amazing, exciting and inspiring!! The energy inside American Airlines Arena was unbelievable, not an empty seat in the house..and of course plenty of star sightings with DWade and LeBron leading the way, (on what could’ve been a HEAT game night at Triple A), but nonetheless, thousands upon thousands of Hip Hop fans threw the Roc in the air to party with the best of ‘em – myself included!

I borrowed the above pic from @CCole_E twitter, cuz apparently her tickets were slightly closer then mine…LOL!! I’m not complaining though…I had a great view of everything I needed to see.

The set design and staging for the show were extremely well done, they had a main stage with a platform that went up and down centered in front of it, then opposite there was another platform which could be raised as well, bringing the artists closer to the crowd across the main stage.

The lighting and use of lasers, fire and effects = mind-blowing…I was seriously mesmerized.

Obviously I wouldn’t expect anything less from Hip Hop Royalty, but all the staging, paired with SO MANY hits…all that music…WOW, just WOW!

During the 2 hour show they each had their own sets in addition to performing several songs together from Watch The Throne and elsewhere….but more than anything, I loved hearing Jay’s hits that took me back a good decade + … and being surrounded with everyone else who felt it too.

And — the best part, they did “Ni**as in Paris” 5 TIMES!! Twice to close the show and 3 times for an encore….and each time they re-started the crowd loved it that much more! “THAT SHIT CRAY!!!”

Shouts to my concert date Kimi..it was her FIRST EVER rap/hip hop concert!! I know, right!?!? It was a hot, sweaty, humid mess inside the Arena, but worth every beat that we danced too.

How many artists can make tens of thousands (grown ass adult fans) throw the Roc symbol in the air and all be on the same beat…. If they’re coming to an arena near you…you DON’T want to miss it…simply EPIC.

A great weekend in the Bay with some of my favorite folks! Friday my baby sister Alison graduated with her ABSN (Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing) from Samuel Merritt University!! It had been a grueling year with lots of sacrifice, but now she’s an RN!! Here I am placing a (graduation) lei on her before the ceremony!

Following her “pinning we had a dinner at Kincaid’s in Jack London Square – their crab and artichoke dip is our FAV!! Check out this photo of Alison giving a speech..she gets “emotional! hehe

Here she is with her crew..they’ve been her close friends since she her age was a single digit!

What’s a celebration without some sweets? Ordered these “nurse” themed cupcakes from Marley’s Treats…

Alison’s proud fan club – Ade, me, T and my Dad!

Saturday was the “We Believe vs. Dubs” charity reunion game (aka GS Warriors game) at SJSU…

Look out for EXCLUSIVE footage On The Flipside…coming soon…

Then after the game, it was a trip to V Bar at Santana Row to hang out with the homies!!

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!

This is the “prom couples” picture! haha

Then Sunday…a day at the Coliseum!!! Viva Los Raiders – was not happy about the L! grrr

Here’s another segment I did for “Here’s To Your Health.” This aired on last Saturday’s show, so if you missed it, you can watch my clips now! Also, another episode will air this Saturday morning at 8:30am on TLC. **Note – If you have Directv on West Coast, it’ll be 5:30am your time. Anyhow, this segment took me to Bluffton, South Carolina where I met Chris and Sarah Arthur (really sweet couple), and they shared the story of how selecting the RIGHT car safety seat saved their new baby’s life!!

Me and Baby Ella as we wrapped the shoot….

After doing hundreds of product videos for “Babies R Us” …I was already familiar with many of the car safety seats out there, but learning about how the “Air Protect” technology literally saved baby Ella and kept her so safe, it’s now on the top of my list – for when I need one! ha Many of my friends are new mothers or have little ones…so I love doing pieces like this, because the information is so valuable!!

Today is the last day of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so I wanted to post a couple informative segments I did for “Here’s to Your Health.” I’m the Senior Field Correspondent (fancy title) for the show, and I travel across the country to host and produce segments on health-related topics. The show airs on TLC on select Saturday mornings.

The first segment is about Digital Mammograms and how they are helping the fight against breast cancer. Digital Imaging allows the experts to have clearer pictures and more immediate results, so patients don’t have to wait as long to know what’s going on…early detection is SO important to help cure the cancer!

The second (breast cancer) piece I field produced/hosted highights the connection between breast cancer and bone loss. Many women don’t realize how the cancer can affect their bones, and in this piece… the patient didn’t even realize she had breast cancer until she began to have bone loss issues in her eye!

I stepped out last night in costume to attend a friend’s party…I “recycled” my costume! ha! I’m always amazed at the creativity people display for the occasion…I’m not super “spirited,” but I do appreciate those who go all out.

My sister Ade is a Halloween lover who takes it to another level…can you guess what her get up is??? She went the “edible” route… LOVES IT!!

In costume or not…always good times with my girls!!

So then I started thinking about past Halloween (work) experiences… In 2008, I visited a haunted house in Miami that seriously had me “spooked!!” I laugh now, looking back at the video, but that “startle” factor had me shook when I walked through the haunted house!!

And — in 2007 (my original Wonder Woman cameo) I hung out at O.J. McDuffie’s “Grand Ghoul” Halloween charity event in Florida, and interviewed Michael Irvin and some Miami Dolphins…

Ah, the memories…