A Beautiful Mess ...

Writing Prompt: Cold

2010-01-11T17:11:00.004-04:00

Ok so I haven't had much to say in about, oh ...2 years on this blog. But today I received the following writing prompt:

6:03 AM (9 hours ago)Today's Writing Prompt: Coldfrom One Minute Writer by C. Beth
Parts of America have been experiencing record-breaking low temperatures. Think of a product you could invent to help people stay warm.

I've thought up many ideas but it seems they have all been done in some way or another. What do we not have to keep us warm?

Hats (check), scarves (check), gloves (check), thermals (check) boots (check), coats (check) etc. etc. and the list goes on and on.

These things all make it somewhat bareable to withstand what seems to be subzero degree weather at times. However, I have experienced one too many days where the wind overpowered my twice and thrice layered clothing and got me right to the bone.

So if I could create anything, I'd love to invent cold activated accessories that warm up and maintain your desired body tempature. My gloves, hat or boots would simply remain at a warm but mild 72 degrees when 40-50 mph wind swooped in from no where. This doesn't mean this creation does not exist right now. I'm just not aware of it. If you have info on this please post a link or something.

What's been up ...

2009-06-07T13:48:00.004-03:00

I can't believe I took a four month break from here. WOW!

Anyway, too much has happened since then and there is no way I can create entries to cover all of that. So here is the short cut:

Activities ...
Signed up for the Team In Training ZOOMA Half Marathon;
Started training for ZOOMA;
Changed my mind for multiple reasons (see below) and decided not to continue training or the race.

Started training to take my PMP ceritification test;
Planned to take it by the end of June but at this point I don't want to rush it so we shall see.

Health and Well being ...
Stressed the hell out from work;
Damn near lost my mind;
Finally came to the conclusion that if it had to be me or work, it wouldn't be me;
Started reading about stress, diet, negative energy and other barriers to happiness;
Result = I am a much happier and more pleasant person to be around (People have actually come up to me and asked mw what I've been doing to make a 180!)

Travel ...
I've been to:
Denver, Colorodo
Phoenix, Arizona
Trenton, New Jersey
Miami, Florida
and I will be headed to Philidelphia, Pennsylvania

I really need to head to someone's island this year for a major vacation. Kinda like the cruise in 2007 *sigh*

Shopping ...
I'm still working on my shopping addiction LOL. But I haven't bought a bag since November (gasp!)
I don't remember the last pair of shoes I purchased but it's been a while;
I've been donating and giving away many of the extra crap that I own and either don't use or need;

Relationships, Friends and Family ...
All is well with the family;
I have the greatest support system through my fam and friends;
Things are looking up in the relationship department (don't be nosey thats all I'm saying about that).

So with all that said, All is well, or at least getting better and I have NO complaints!

Get Out!

2009-02-01T16:23:00.001-04:00

Today is absolutely beautiful! If you haven't been out yet I'd suggest you get out and enjoy this rare 'warm' day in February. I believe the recent subpar temps froze my ability to put thought to keys and enter a single entry since I don't know when. As tired as I was, I managed to get a little beautified for tonights Superbowl events.

I am a bit pissed though. I just bought a cute new coat to replace my relatively new (only had it for a year) winter coat. The newld (my new word for new and old) coat was purchased last year for all of about $30 at Burlington. Now yall know my taste can be a bit expensive at times. However, I try to get things on sale. The London Fog should have never been purchased nor should have those no name frames a while back. The cheap frame on my glasses began to chip and the lining in my cheap coat is now shredded. There was no fix for my frames so I've since purchased new ones. I thought of taking it to the cleaners and having it mended but I was told the amount it would cost to do that was comperable to buying a new one. So now I have this $80 coat marked down from $300 and no where to wear it :(

Its all good though. I suspect bone chilling temps will return and ill get a cance to break my coat in. Either way, I'm amped up for tonight's game/party. It will top off a pretty damn good weekend.

Are you ready?

2009-01-17T00:15:00.004-04:00

Yes it's almost time to Celebrate. I've been conducting my own little countdown to what may be the most historic moment of my lifetime for months now. The closer January 20th gets, the more unreal, yet expected the Inaugural chaos becomes. I'm not sure if I want to be out in the bitterly cold air on the National Mall with everyone else, experiencing they day with all of my senses, or if I should just stay secluded and warm, witnessing the day's events from the comfort of my living room. Either way, I can't wait!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Butterfly Effect

2009-01-02T15:41:00.004-04:00

About a month ago, with the encouragement and almost force of a coworker I joined Facebook. Like most of my friends, I had reservations. The first thought was, Facebook = mini me MySpace, uhhh No Thanks. To my surprise, that isn’t really the case. Yes they are both social networks and yes they have a similar format with the whole profile and friend request business. But for some reason Facebook turned into the ultimate online reunion experience. During my first week I caught up with friends from high school which was pretty amazing. Then it turned into a Six Degrees of Separation game. I’d catch up with one friend and find about 10 others. Then I’d find out that this friend knows that friend. Now my friends list consists of people as far back as elementary school.

With such an unexpected but positive experience, I soon spread the word to other friends who reacted the same way I did “Nah I’m not interested; I don’t want to be found; It reminds me of MySpace and who wants that?” Of course, all of them within less than a week signed up and are just as addicted as anyone else I know.
So today I started thinking about the butterfly effect. If certain decisions had been different, how different would my life be right now? When I graduated from 6th grade I assumed I would attend Alice Deal Junior High School. When I found out my parents went out of their way to get me into Hardy Middle School instead I cried (BTW, our web site is wayyyyyy better than yalls LOL). I remember thinking how could they do this to me? I won’t know anyone because all my friends were going to Deal. Remember I was a kid. This was a huge deal for me at that age. As far as I was concerned my life was over. I held a grudge against them during my first few weeks at Hardy. After that I found myself with a new best friend and a new outlook on everything. Life goes on.

When it was time to graduate from Hardy to Wilson Senior High school, my best friend and I decided to join JROTC. Who would have guessed that this one decision would impact my life as much as it did? Once again I found myself with another group of great friends and a completely different high school experience than the one I could imagine if I had not joined JROTC. I also met up with some of my old buddies from elementary school and of course we were still cool but by then we all moved in our own circles. Fast forward to now, almost 20 years later.

I have to say that connecting back with all these people, the ones that knew you when you weren’t as refined as you may be now, makes you appreciate them more. Most of us have grown up, some of us have kids, spouses and in some cases ex-spouses (wow! at that). I’ve also played the “I wonder if we did this instead of that” game with a few folks. I’m getting know people that I spent 4 – 10 years in school with but didn’t really know back then. At times I’ve wondered why we didn’t hang out back then but who knows? maybe we would have hated each other now if we did then. Then there are the people that I wonder, why the hell DID I hang with you then? LOL!

Either way, anyone you have met on the way to were you are now has impacted the path you are on now. Even those that may not have left you with warm and fuzzy feelings about them have possibly introduced you to people that you couldn’t imagine your life without. They may have introduced you to a life altering experience or great once in a life time opportunity.

The point is, if it weren’t for the decisions we have made or been forced into, how different would our lives be? I know I wouldn’t be who I am now and I love the person I am today so thanks to everyone that helped.

I will always love this song ...the original.

2009-01-01T16:59:00.002-04:00

New Years Resolutions has always seemed to be a pointless tradition and I've never participated in this annual activity. The tradition usually starts around somewhere between Halloween and Thanksgiving where someone inevitably makes note of how the left over candy or upcoming holiday feasts will ruin their year long diets. Then there is the vow to get back on track after each gorgefest. THEN right around Xmas there's the "oh I'll start off the year right with working out and dieting" rationale for having eaten three or four dinners in one setting.

Although dieting is the most popular of all resolutions, it isnt the only one. There are the going back to school, spending more time with family, working less and following your lifelong dream of whatever-it-is-you-do declarations as well. As a self-designated commitment-phobe, I just refuse to say that I will do X, Y, or Z in the upcoming year. Instead, why not have these thoughts all year around and do what you need to do at any time of the year? What is it about the New Year that folks decide to take chances with it and make huge steps to meet their goals? I encourage everyone to make a list of their long term goals and then a list of their short term goals or baby steps to successfully achieve your goals. BUT try doing this at any point of the year, not just today because its the first day of the year.

2008-12-19T00:24:00.003-04:00

Right about this time each year coworkers around the nation spend a week or two planning for the politically correctly labeled "Holiday" Party potluck style. I try to do my part and cooperate with the powers that be (the party planners). I volunteer to bring something, go with the flow and not cause problems. However, there are always those that for some reason there are always a few "participants" that either don't know or don't care about the proper potluck etiquette. Here we go:

1. If you participate, bring enough to serve the amount of people attending. Don't offer to bring chicken wings, knowing there will be about 20 hungry folks showing up and you show up with 6 wing dings for you and your office boo. Also, If you decide to bring something like, ohh I don't know, Brownies, don't eat half of them the night before and show up with a serving for 2. Comethafuckonman!

2. Either participate or don't. If you don't want to cook that's cool. This isn't a competition. We all get it. Some of us can't cook and some just don't want to put in the time. But damnit DO NOT sign up to bring Mustard. If you bring A condiment you must bring all of them. And wtf would you bring mustard to a Holiday Party for anyways? Did you expect to eat a pretzel or hot dog? Common Sense ...

3. For those that don't want to cook or chip in a few bucks, don't show up and grab a plate like someone owes you somethin. If you decide to donate money, keep your parking garage machine dollar coins to yourself. Stop playin!

4. If you don't eat meat, pork, beef, whatever, just relax. With 20 plus people bringing something I'm sure there will be something for you to eat. There is no need for you to squat out or hover over the foods you can eat and give people ugly looks for coming near.

5. Everyone cannot donate money. Again, if you can't cook, pick something up. But geeze, do something! It's a POTLUCK!

6. You and your fam, boo, whoever may like it extra spicy, extra salty, extra diabetically *ding* bland at home but keep in mind that you should cook for the group and not your own likings. Be sensitive to your coworker's ability to tolerate the extras.

7. This is the last one. Please know that if you appear to be filthy, you will be placed on the X list. Nuff said ..

Happy Holidays and eat well my friends!

2008-12-10T11:44:00.004-04:00

I am the first to admit that I am not the biggest Oprah fan. Don't get me wrong, I like her and all but I'm surely not one of her devoted followers that hangs on her every word. I do not record her shows or spin offs and watch them when I get home (I only do that for Y&R lol). While I don't run around spreading HER word (I swear that's how it feels sometimes when people talk about her good deeds), I do have respect for her work over the years.

So I write this entry because I appreciate her ability to openly discuss her issues with weight. In the past few months, three folks I know have had some form of weight loss surgery. All three have at some point admitted that they lead into their decision with the fact that they just don't feel like putting in the effort to drop the weight the old school way, by incorporating will power and making life long changes to their eating habits and exercising. They chose the clip and snip road. I'm not totally against weight loss surgery, I just have an issue with those that refuse to try.

Oprah has been in our faces about her struggles with her weight for years. After hearing every horror, success, and failure story regarding others and their experience with gastric bypass, lap band et al, I am more than happy to hear a regular tale of someone who just simply fell off the wagon, has realized their error and is disappointed in the results. Who knows, Oprah may decided to go under the knife one day after all of this. Hell, maybe she has and we just don't know it for sure. Either way, she has been up front about it, has not, to our knowledge, lied or mislead us to believe that she is fine with her situation or had success without the help of others. She even admits that she was on a liquid diet for months to achieve this:

Also, looking at her upcoming cover with the svelt Oprah next to her larger framed self, I don't think she looks that bad. No she isn't all buffed up but frame wise she doesn't look bad. What is more of a concern, which always should be, is the state of her overall health.

Hmmmm ...

2008-12-08T23:42:00.005-04:00

After work last week I decided to go ahead and renew my membership with COSTCO. There weren't many people in the store so I figured I'd browse around for a while. My coworker turned me on to dried mangos and so started my search. While rolling up and down the aisle looking for mangos, I casually strolled through the aisle with feminine care items. A man approached me followed by a young lady. He asked me to help him and the young lady understand which type of products she should use. My first reaction was to cover my back and look around for either cameras or a surprise attack. Don't ask me why but I get like that sometimes, especially when I'm out alone. But I provided the best advice I could. I'm not sure if this chick was his daughter, niece or something else but it was one of the strangest requests I've ever experienced. I'm used to the "ma'am do you work here?" questions but this was a different situation. The young lady didn't seem to have a clue what she should be doing and her "associate" was just as clueless. I would not have been comfortable with that situation when I was her age, especially with a man. I hope everything worked out for the little young miss.

Happy Thanksgiving all ...

2008-11-27T21:17:00.004-04:00

For the first time in years I spent this holiday at home. Mom and I just got up this early, cooked, relaxed and had the best Thanksgiving dinner ever! We usually cook for family and friends or end up going to someone elses house. When we cook for others, we are soo busy running around making everything perfect for everyone else and playing hostess, we don't get much time to really enjoy our super clean home or the hella good food. When we eat elsewhere, depending on whose house we visit, the food may not be as good as if we did it ourself. So this year, I am thrilled to have time to relax right here in my own space.

The amount of emails I have been receiving about Black Friday sales has become a bit overwhelming. While it may be hard to believe, I have never been to a Black Friday sale. I've never stayed up all night camped out to purchase anything, EVER. I've never gotten up before the sun to catch a sale either. This year almost became my first Black Friday experience but luckily I found what I wanted already on sale today. The only item I wanted was this HDTV and it's already been purchased and will be delivered. So while many of you will be shopping tomorrow morning I will be in bed chillin. I prefer to shop without fighting for parking spaces, elbowing through crowds of people (which isn't expected this year). Don't get me wrong, I know many of you enjoy Black Friday shopping. I've heard the stories of family bonding and all that jazz. If that's the case, enjoy yourselves and be safe. There are some real idiots out there.

Reunited with Mr. Advanced-Jerk-Step-Instructor ...

2008-11-15T12:59:00.003-04:00

Thursday after work I was convinced by a coworker to join her at the gym. Now I haven't gone to the gym for damn near half a year (sad right?). I had such a rough day I decided I would go ahead and get over my workout intimidation so we headed out. The intent was to go in, get in about 30 minutes of cardio (treadmill or elliptical) and get out.

When I got out on the floor I stepped up on the treadmill and for some reason got really nervous. I have no idea what triggered it but i got off and decided to go with the elliptical. So about 25 minutes into my stride who do I see walking behind me, Mr. Advanced-Jerk-Step-Instructor. We caught each others eye and smiled in that "oh its YOU" sorta way. Well, after gliding away on the elliptical, I started feeling much better about being in the gym and for some crazy reason I decided it was time to attend step class. I finished my "warm up" and headed right upstairs to his class.

When I walked in I was greeted with a "WOW its been months how have you been and where have you been?" That's when I was convinced, for sure, I needed to take the challenge. I informed him that he had 2 minutes of my time and not to get comfortable with me being in there past 5 minutes. We exchanged a few smart remarks which everyone found comical. He asked for beginners to raise their hands, which I did raise mine and he told me to put mine down. He made it clear that the class was advanced and that he didn't mind if folks left in the middle and encouraged everyone to keep coming back. Now he didn't do all that when I started with him months ago so someone must have said something to him. My coworker joined me and before you know it I was basic left, basic right, L step, pivoting with the best of them.

My coworker bounced out after about 5 minutes. I lasted 20 minutes. That was satisfying enough for me and yes I will be back next week. I was sore the next day but I wasn't bent over with pain so I'm in better condition than I thought. Dude isn't that much of a jerk to me anymore I actually appreciate his class much more than many of the other instructors. So from now on I will refer to him as Mr. Advanced-Step-Instructor, sans the Jerk.

www.tiredoftheblogger.com/blahtemplates ...

2008-11-14T20:42:00.001-04:00

These templates on blogger have been around for years. I've spent plenty of time searching the web looking for a decent, classy, easy to upload template to spice up my page. My search has resulted in everything from the boringly basic to extremely complex. I've found plenty of blogger templates that while I would love to use, a fee was required. These designs not only require payment but also insist that I tag someone stranger's name on my blog which just doesn't work for me. What's the point of going through all that trouble to make this blog uniquely mine but allow someone else to sign off on the look of it? So I decided to come up with my own template.

I've actually started studying web design again for my job and what better place to practice my HTML and graphic skills than here? So I will be playing around with the template for a while.

I'm not slamming Blogger (wait, yeah I am) so never mind that thought. I know things could be worse. They could get the bright idea to start charging all types of fees to blog. But hey, I'm just saying, it would be nice to have more options in the layout department.

Service me like you mean it ...

2008-11-10T20:47:00.000-04:00

Customer service is truly a lost art. I have discussed this with many friends and associates. I've even bonded with strangers in service venues because of shitty/shotty work. However, I have had the best experience with just about everyone I've done business with this past week.

It all started with an accident the week before my birthday. The guy that hit my car stayed, admitted fault and was very cooperative which was something I didn't expect. We didn't argue or fuss over who's fault it was, he did nothing to try and shift blame which in these rough economic times is rare. Even when his insurance company acted a fool with me by trying to find that 1% fault of mine for them not pay for the damages, he still insisted that he was at fault.

To expedite the process I went through my insurance company to get my car fixed and they recommended RPM Autobody in Laurel, MD. It seemed a bit out of the way but they happened to be right next door to Enterprise. The guys did everything to fix my car at a reasonable price and even fixed a few issues for free. Enterprise gave me $50 back to secure my satisfaction. So all in all I had a great experience.

So with my car almost like new, ankle heeling and after a long work week I decided to treat myself to a pedicure. I went to my new favorite nail salon, and they gave THE BEST Spa pedicure. My manicurist even came over and gave me a complimentary cuticle treatment and massage during my pedicure. While waiting for my polish to dry, I noticed a few flyers for a salon. Most nail shops have flyers and cards for other businesses and normally I pay them no mind. But with my my nails and feet feeling and looking good it only made my undone and very neglected hair stand out even more. I took a chance and decided to check the salon out. I had one of the best experiences. I even took a chance and let the stylist cut my hair. I will definitely keep the numbers of all these businesses and recommend them to anyone that asks.

Yo!

2008-10-08T22:13:00.002-03:00

I am pleased to announce that after all kinds of extra-ridiculous hours of overtime worked, if I play my cards right and don't mess around and let my mouth get me in trouble, I have a job for the next 5 years!

Our contract was up last month and much time and effort went towards ensuring that in these horrible economic times our crew (my coworkers) keep our jobs. There really is an unbelievable feeling of relief knowing that I don't have to look for a job for a while.

Other than that, I have dumped some friends and made a few new ones *wink*. I've been having very little but SOME fun. Last Friday night was some of THE BEST fun had by my friends and I in a long time. You know when you kinda just plan to have a good time but the events of the night are soo good that they couldn't possibly had been planned by anyone? You know that random kind of fun where one thing happens after another, and another, and another and you can't even keep up with what all is going on? You know, that shit that has you and your friends asking the next day if the night before really happened and once everyone confirms you agree that whoever wasnt there really wouldnt understand so why bother tell other people about it?

Yeah, it was one of THOSE type of nights.

My birthday is in 2 days and I can't believe how time flies. Many have asked where and when I'm partying. Until last Saturday I had a plan. However, I was in a car accident (no worries, I'm blessed and I really don't want to tell the story again) and I will probably spend the big day at home. Trust me, if Trina-day isn't celebrated on the originally scheduled date, you can best believe I WILL BE making that shit up. Hell, it's deserved like a mofo.

2008-08-26T22:06:00.003-03:00

My beloved Blackberry had been acting up for the past few weeks. Programs had not been working, the screen was freezing up and messages mysteriously appeared and disappeared before I had a chance to check them. So yesterday I decided to use my lunch break to visit the Silver Spring T-Mobile store. There was no order in which customers were served so in Trina-esque style I "helped" them establish an ad hoc customer service system. The Customer Service Representative (CSR) that "assisted" me knew less than I did about Blackberries. She had a good ole time scrolling around on my screen which I guess in her world meant she was accomplishing something. To make a long story short, my visit was unproductive and I left pretty disappointed.

The only information I left with was that another CSR recently downloaded the beta version of 4.5 OS. When I asked how I could obtain this long lost desperately saught after OS she told me to "Google it". I wish I could say that CSR was being sarcastic but that wasn't the case. If it was that simple to just Google It wouldn't I have it already? She really had no clue what she was doing which leads me into another Blog topic, "Why do you do what you do when you know damn well you dont know what the fuck you're doing?" I was sure to give her my "BITCH PLEASE" look as I headed out the door to salvage the rest of my lunch hour on actually getting lunch.

When I got home I decided to check out a few Blackberry forums to get updates on when 4.5 would be released. I've been hearing/reading about rumors of the capabilities of 4.5 since around Thanksgiving '07. The only thing my searches turned up were dead links and explainations of Forum moderators having to delete any posts providing the beta version software links. I tried finding it through T-Mobile's website and for some reason that didn't help either so finally I went to BlackBerry's site. Low and behold, I found not only 4.5 but the new release of 4.6!

I was up most of the night configurating, deleting, and rebooting my way to 4.6. Finally around 4:30 a.m. I was successfull and yes it was worth it. Highlighted capabilities are recording videos, access to YouTube, the browser is MUCH more user friendly, and all those pesky little glitches I experienced are no longer.

So with all that said, here are my tips to successfull upgrading:

Unplug your Blackberry from the USB cord connected to your computer.
Delete your old Desktop Manager through Control Panel > Programs > Unistall a Program.
Go to the Blackberry Web site using this link to download 4.6.
Follow the download instructions.

For more explicit installation instructions check this tutorial out.

You are dismissed ...

2008-08-19T00:24:00.001-03:00

If you are a relatively intelligent person, you are probably a pretty confident individual with high standards and expectations. The people that you allow in your "inner circle" are like-minded and you are very protective of who you let in. This would mean that there is very limited or no space for dumb bitches. Right?

I have always been particular of the people I allow to get close to me. Even some that have been around me for YEARS aren't as close as they think they are. But once I let you in, it takes a lot for me to shut you out. However, once I have shut you out you can be sure you won’t get the chance to get back in. In my soon to be 35 years of living, there haven't been many that I had to shut down. However lately, I’m finding it necessary to tighten up my inner circle.

What I’ve observed is that the issue with keeping a person around you without like minded goals is that these individuals have nothing better to do than talk shit, attempt to disrupt other folks lives with lies, rumors and drama, and complain about not having what you or others have. This type of pettiness is useless to a chick like me with much more to contribute on all levels. Therefore, there is no room for dumb bitches in my life.

Possibly my tolerance for dumb bitches has diminished. Who knows? What I do know is that my time is very precious so I’d prefer to use it accomplishing my goals than defending myself to people that want to entertain the inept. Therefore I refuse to waste time on trying to figure out why others insist on being stupid. I'm sure there is a much more eloquent way of saying all of this but hey, I'm not an English major like my mother nor is the point of this post to become some sort of literary heroine. I just simply wanted to post about the disposal of dumb bitches.

I aint scared of you muthafuckas!

2008-08-11T06:28:00.003-03:00

"You DON'T understand ..."

It's not that I'm unintentionally being late with this entry. It just took me a minute to gather my thoughts. There was just too much going on with first hearing about Morgan then Bernie so I just waited. Last week I told my mom about Bernie being in the hospital and she said "yeah but he's getting better right?". I gave her a strange look and told her that the last I heard, his Ocean's Eleven buddies were sending flowers and well wishes. For some reason that didn't sit well with me. So although news of his passing didn't shock me, I was still taken back a bit.

The Bernie Mac Show became a staple of my insomniac nights. The show was cute, whitty but not quite as funny as his stand up routine. However I looked forward to his toe to toe battles with Nessa, gentle approach to BabyGirl and utter look of disgust for Jordan at times. Bernie also had many memorable big screen characters. Jangle Leg, Pastor Clever and Dollar Bill being on the top of my list. Bernie will be missed.

WARNING: This is NOT work friendly. If you work with me you wont be able to see shit anyways LMAO but just for the sake of not causing anyone to get fired, get back to work and stop reading my blog! However if you are having a bad day and need a quick smile by all means say FUCK THIS JOB and enjoy ...

KICK IT!!

Random Thoughts on the games ...

2008-08-10T21:40:00.003-03:00

I have been consumed with the Olympics this weekend which is alright by me. The gracefulness, skills, determination and desire of each athlete is simply amazing. This blog has no real theme or

These lil gymnasts scare the hell out of me. These chicks have to be the boxiest broads I've ever seen.
Why in the hell did the powers that be decide that Brook Logan, who apparently almost didn't make the US Gymnast team, should perform first? She was unimpressive and seems to have set the tone for her mates which was not all good.
If in another lifetime I had to choose an Olympic sport to excel in, I probably would have been a swimmer. I would have said a diver but hell I'm scared of heights *shrug*. I've based this decision on my body type (not current weight damnit! just the structure) and current (minimal) skills.
I need these lil girls to stop screaming. It's distracting.
The commentators talk too damn much too. Although at times I like the little unknown facts they throw out there.
Get BUSH off mah tv dangit!
Coach Béla Károlyi still looks the same. I watched this dude growing up and for some strange reason he intimidates the hell outta me. Much like Eric Braeden aka Victor Newman aka The Mustache.
OK I am turning this mess off. Our team simply effed up tonight.

Check back I may add a few more observations. I wonder if Family Guy is on.

LMAO!!!

2008-08-09T20:30:00.002-03:00

In stereo ...

2008-08-09T17:51:00.006-03:00

As I sit here blogging, flipping back and forth from The Jeffersons and the Olympic Games, slurpin on this wonderful Slurpee, and Stumbling, I am also reflecting on what I was doing this very moment last week. Well I was headed home from Richmond and reflecting on how quick a trip Baghag and I made. We skipped on down to VAVAWhooo! last Friday to check out Jill.

When Baggy and I arrived to Richmond Friday afternoon it was still hot and we were both tired as hell. It was still too damn hot to actually go anywhere or do anything so we decided to take a little beauty nap, sip on wine, watch TV and just chill out. Although doors opened at 5 the show didnt start until 8 and you know damn well it didnt really pop off until around 10. Thank God we didn't rush to get there because the group we met up with (bless their hearts) got there around 5, sat in the heat and had to the opening acts which didn't receive the best of reviews.

When we arrived the weather was nice and mild, our crew saved us a pretty decent seating area and the crowd was pumped. Jilly finally came out as calm and regal as usual. I was ready for her to kick her shoes off and get down to business but that clearly wasn't part of her plan. Someone lit up a lil somethin as she began to sing songs from all three albums. Her back up singers, band et al were fucking great. My favorite part of the performance was her back ups covering a few oldies. I refuse to go into detail about how this part played out because you simply HAVE to see it for yourself. Jill damn sure made it a baby making night for the couples that came out. There were a few in their own little worlds looking like they needed to go home and hit that Crown Royal.

Of course there was the fake me out it's been real Richmond close out to the show. As everyone started packing up their things you heard the expected chants for the show to continue. And as expected Jill came on out and sang the songs that I knew she couldn't leave without singing. Finally 4 signature songs and 1 new song later the party shut down and everyone headed out. We headed to Applebees for a bite and home for bed. We were still giddy off the events of the day causing us to laugh at shit when there was nothing to laugh at.

That has to be the best Friday off work I've had in a while. I plan to do it again, maybe next week back to Richmond for Ledisi *wink*

Friends, how many of us have them?

2008-07-22T12:34:00.005-03:00

There seems to be a thing going around where folks don't know how to act. I have had the same exact conversation about broken or strained friendships with three different friends. It seems many of us have friends that simply don't know how to act when they hang out with our other group of friends. You know how it is, let me give you the scenario:

You have a birthday outing or a girls night out and there is that one chick that refuses to enjoy herself. She has that firm fixed look upon her face of disgust/ego/fuck you all night. She doesn't speak to anyone and if she does, beware of what may come out of her frowned up mouth. If a smile is cracked it's probably because she's talking shit about someone.

So let me help you out 'ole troubled one':

See, the problem with this is that after you have gone out of your way to make everyone feel uncomfortable around you and you bitch and moan all night about the venue, the people, the food, the cost etc. etc., you will probably NEVER invited out again. You will also probably end up losing not only your friend that trusted you enough to bring you around her other friends but also the potential additional cool ass folks you could have been friends with. At the end of the day, you will end up alone. Here are a few suggestions:

Stay home - Spare everyone your bad mood and just keep to yourself. I've done this a few times and it's worth it. I'm sure my friends may have missed be that one night but appreciate the fact that I didn't go and piss everyone off :)
If you go, drive yourself - Don't ride with other folks and get stuck there. Take your own car so you can bounce when you really want to. Hell better yet, grow up and walk the hell out. Take a cab to your destination. There is no reason for you to stay if you really don't want to be there. Don't sit there and talk shit and make everyone miserable to try and guilt them into leaving. What a selfish bitch you are if you do that.

My advice to the 'victims of effed up friends':

Be wise in the folks you bring AND KEEP in your inner circle of friends.
As you get older you may have to cut some folks back. It's a natural part of growing up.
Don't sit around and make excuses for someone else's poor behavior. After the age of 25 you should be able to figure out who to keep around and who to cut loose.

Go away ...

2008-07-14T11:15:00.002-03:00

I cannot impress upon you how important it is for you to get out of your comfort zone on a regular basis. You have got to take the time to get away. Business related travel does not count. I mean, take a serious, lengthy vacation and GO AWAY! My vacation to Europe was a life changing experience. There is so much that I want to say right now and I can't seem to pull my thoughts together to put stroke to screen (pen to pad for ya slow folks lol). The best that I can do is to break it down into the major themes and hopefully you can follow along.

Family
The main purpose of the trip was to visit family. I have cousins that live in Heidelberg, Germany and this provided the opportunity to build and strengthen a relationship with people that I have heard about but never really knew. My cousin was stationed there 4 years go. She has since retired but still lives there with her mother and daughter. It's a shame for anyone to use excuses like distance or fear to hinder one's ability to get to know the kinfolk. My mother has been trying to plan this trip for 3 years and one of the reasons it took this long for us to go was my job. She patiently waited to make solid plans based on my schedule. Thank GOD I finally got it together and learned to say HELL NAW I WON'T BE AT THE CONFERENCE THIS YEAR so that we could do what should have been done years ago.

When we arrived at 5:45 a.m. their time my cousins were right there at the airport waiting. I was beyond tired from a cramped 11 hour flight and thought 'these people are crazy coming out here at this time in the morning'. I mean, how many times have you gotten up at 4 a.m., driven over an hour away to pick someone up at the airport, drive them back to your home, cook for them and entertain? OK maybe I am the only one that hasn't done that lol.

Our cousins took very good care of us. We were chauffeured, fed damn good food and entertained the whole time.
Tours
The fam took us all around Heidelberg. We visited the base, went to their favorite restaurants and did a bit of shopping. Let me explain something right now. DO NOT go to Europe for shopping purposes. The Euro is probably the only complaint I have. I only bought back a few souvenirs because it's too rich for me. I'm good but not that damn good.

Heidelberg, Germany
The majority of our time in Heidelberg was spent on the base, at my cousins' home and around our hotel. I have to say that Germany is one of the cleanest places I've ever seen. I hardly any litter. The air was easier to breath and everything was more vibrant. The food was fresher which made it better. You haven't had a salad or veggies. Yall just don't know.

When we arrived I was soo damn tired but not sleepy enough to enjoy my ride on the autobahn. That was one hell of an experience. Yes they really go 100 mph+ and I want to do it again. My mother who was not looking forward to this part of our trip for months didn't even notice because she was too busy running her mouth the whole ride. Now I feel like I've been all over the US and I thought I'd seen farm land. The land I saw in German was breathtaking.

We did get a chance to check out the town square which had all the souvenir and food shopping one could stand. We never made it from one end of the road to the other but we got enough in. We also got the most beautiful view of the city from the top of the Heidelberg Castle.

Paris, France
Paris reminded me of NY. Lots of people (not as many) but lots and a bit congested for my liking. Unlike my fear of the NY transit system, I was eager to try out the Paris Metro system. Our connoisseur provided us with maps of the city and explained the train system. Before he could finish I realized its no different than our beloved Metro.

The buildings were beautiful and there was lots to see. As I said earlier I did no personal shopping. I refused to go in shops where I could get the same items in the US for damn near half the price. Our tour bus experience was wayyyyyy better than the NY buses. I have a serious fear of heights so I pretty much freak out every time I get on a double decker. In NY you have to duck tree branches, gargoyles and all types of other crap. Our tour in Paris was pretty smooth. There was no ducking of any kind and the ride was very smooth. We were provided with earphones to listen to the tour which is provided in 5 different languages.

To conclude, I had the best vacation ever. I came back pretty relaxed, have maintained that and am in the midst of trying to plan a group trip back there hopefully within the next 2 years.

How you doin?

2008-06-09T10:15:00.005-03:00

Hello all and welcome back! Right, you all should be welcoming me back since it's been about a month since my last entry. Although much has happened since the last I simply don't have enough time to get through everything in one post (obviously).

The short of it all is this:

June 7th (Race for the Cure/BagHag's 30th) - Things did not work out the way I expected or planned a while back. After building up to a year of anticipation, I was unable to participate in the Race for the Cure which was an absolute disappointment. Due to illness I stayed home the whole weekend, even missing out on the equally anticipated 30th birthday celebration of Baglady *sigh*. That weekend simply sucked fat rocks but hey, there will be other races and I'm sure more parties hosted by my favorite bag hag so I'm over it (almost).

June 15th (Father's Day) - Not much happened this weekend. I was feeling much better and just chilled out. I hate to say it but Father's day is almost like any other day to me. When my dad passed I went through the normal emotional phases of loss. I have come a long way from that and though I miss him dearly and will love him forever I have started to move on. This is the first year that I didn't really recognize Father's Day in any tangible manner. Many that read this will take it as being sad, depressing, unfortunate etc. but truthfully I feel relief that I did not feel any of these emotions.

June 21st (Vino baby!) - I had a blast at my girl's wine tasting. That's all I will say about that :) I would love to host a wine tasting party but first there is a serious need to get educated on the topic first. I am planning to attend a few events this summer to

June 27th -This was the first day of a very appreciated, extremely deserved vacation. I spent my vacation in Heidelberg, Germany and Paris, France. There is way too much to say about this experience but let me preface by saying this was the best vacation I have ever had and the Euro is a bitch! More to come ...

2008-06-02T16:07:00.000-03:00

It's been a busy transition from April to May for me, hence the lack of bloggage. The last two weeks of April were spent in Ohio and Tennessee.

My trip to Ohio was somewhat boring. Better than my first visit to Cleveland which was probably one of the coldest trips ever. Back then I also checked out Columbus and it was much better than my Cleveland (no Drew it doesn't ROCK!) experience. I always said I wanted to get back to Columbus. This trip started out pretty mild. The hotel was nice even though I went against my better judgment to not stay in a hotel downtown ever again because I (1) cant stand valet parking and (2) can't understand why everything closes soo damn early.

I found the bestest *ding* mall on day one. Like the true shoppaholic I am, I took a quick trip to the mall, err rahh ruhh in search for a phone charger, yeah, thats it. No seriously, I "conveniently" left both of my chargers at home. I didn't find a charger but I did have a good time getting in a purchase or two. One thing disturbed me. While it must have been barely 50 degrees, I saw some dude and his kid running through fountains as if it was 80 degrees.

The work was intense and we were very productive on the trip but as usual it was great coming home. Traveling is starting to become more of a pain in the ass than a fun get-away every so often. I will say that my trips over the years has given me a list of where I would and where I would not move or visit again:

I'd pack everything and start over:

Atlanta, GA - It wasn't that difficult for me to feel comfortable in the ATL. I found my way around rather quickly and I actually have a core group of folks there so I wouldn't feel lonely or have a hard time meeting folks. Let me just say, much like DC this is not a place I'd be interested in the dating scene. Let me not go any further than that.

I don't want to stay but I'll come back to visit:

Monterey, CA - It was beautiful there. I wouldn't move to Cali, hell it's just too expensive. I would visit again.
Houston, TX - It wasn't beautiful and it's too damn hot. How the hell can you take a shower and come out sweating? I didn't get used to the highways/freeways or whatever they call them but I know quite a few folks in H-town and I have family there so I'll probably be back again.
Panama City, FL - My first trip was to DeFuniak Springs, FL (see below). On my second trip I stayed in Panama City, FL and the hotel was beautiful and the shopping was cost efficient and of good quality. I can't tell you much more than that because I didn't have much time to really get to know the area which is why I would love to go back and visit.

You want me to move/go where? GTFOH!

Cleveland, OH - UGH! It's too damn cold in the winter and when it's nice and hot in the summer I can't find a Slurpee for anything. There is nothing there that I would ever want to see or experience again.
Nashville, TN - It was an interesting trip but once in a lifetime is enough for me.
DeFuniak Springs, FL - The one hotel I could find was the worst I've ever stayed. The place was a complete dump. It was difficult to find anything to look forward to visiting the city of DeFuniak. This is a very small town with hardly anything to offer and I would encourage the people there to move. Anywhere. Something about this place reminded me of this episode of Married with Children.

Excuse me Mr. Bruckheimer but ...WTF?!

2008-05-20T00:43:00.005-03:00

Before I got consumed with work I was a TV fanatic. I watch damn near EVERYTHING. However, the past few years I haven't had the time to keep up with my favorite shows (CSI, Law and Order SVU, Young and the Restless etc.). When I got DVR capabilities I thought all my issues were no longer. I had it all worked out. Recording my favs as series seemed to be the solution. How wrong was I. The next challenge was keeping up with what shows changed to which nights and times. Once I got over that issue I started recording series again. I only ended up with a rack of recordings that I just simply couldn't find the time to watch.

So I have gotten down to recording Y&R and CSI. I have a week's worth of Y&R to catch up to and a season worth of CSI Vegas. I can no longer go with the expectation that the show wont move storylines fast enough to care.

Where is all this coming from you asked?

I spent all season recording CSI (Vegas) but not watching. I didn't watch CSI Miami. I haven't watched religiously in years, but I saw the promos for tonight's episode. I happened to turn it on for the last ...ohhhh 5 minutes. What I saw has me hellbent on catching up on whatever the hell I missed. I have to know what lead up to Horatio getting shot. Then I have ...ohhh about a month's worth of CSI Vegas (that's what I call it damnit) to watch so I can figure out WHAT IN THE FUCK got Warrick (bless Gary's crackheaded heart) killed. I mean DAMN!

The worst part about it? There was a clue in the CSI Miami promos all season. I even watched the damn shot up glasses thinking "Hmmm Horatio is getting shot in the eye? I wonder why?" so I shouldn't have even been surprised. No one should have.

Change has never been something easily embraced by moi. I stopped watching many shows simply because casting changes tend to make no sense and at times can mess up storylines too much. Sadly, I will find myself addicted to the idiot box once again.

So please Mr. Bruckheimer, somebody tell me ...

WTF is really going on with the CSI franchise?

Are you going to gimme mah money?

2008-05-18T22:44:00.004-03:00

Something has to give. I need more money. I bust my ass working almost daily and yet ...I don't feel like I'm making nearly enough in comparison to what's asked of me.

I just read a report from PMI and it claims that I am being ridiculously underpaid. Now I know the first thing most of you would say is "stop your damn shoppaholic ways" Well guess what? That not going to happen anytime soon so get over it LOL (just joking, sorta). Sometimes I joke about wanting more money to buy more crap but it really isn't about that. The real issue is that I need to be compensated for as much work as I'm putting out there. No I am not broke or in any type of financial trouble. This is about the principle.

It's almost summertime and I have a wonderful vacation planned and a few other events I'm looking forward towards. Someone suggested I get my hustle on and so far I haven't committed to any of the ideas I've considered. Either way I do plan to spend less time at work and more time relaxing and earning more money.

Do you have a side hustle? If so what is it and how lucrative has it been?

Tired ...

2008-04-22T00:18:00.005-03:00

Last week I was in Ohio. I just got back Friday. I worked Saturday, Sunday and today. I head out tomorrow for Tennessee.

Man, I'm tired as hell!

I thought I would travel less than I am this year. Granted my travel has decreased almost by half, the amount of trips I have been on this year so far is seriously starting to wear me out.

However, I have enjoyed all of this year's trips much more than the previous ones. I also have to say, I'm damn blessed to have a job right now.

Yeah I already know, this post makes no sense but ohthefuckwell :)

Racing for the Cure ...again!

2008-04-18T12:35:00.003-03:00

I am participating in Race for the Cure again this year. The event is June 7th and I ask for all of your support. It does not have to be monetary. Well wishes are appreciated as well. Check out my Race website when you get a chance.

For more information about the organization and event click this link. If you would like to participate with me on my team check out our team website.

My goal is to raise $500 for the cause and hopefully walk and run the race. I have been working out regularly for about a month now but this month I will kick it up a few notches in preparation for the event. I'll post my workout plan once I get one in place but you already know it will involve my beloved step class, the treadmill, weights and giving up the crappy foods for a while.

No more update reminders!!!!

2008-04-14T11:18:00.003-03:00

I would like to formally request that all my little blogger friends cease and desist all emails, IMs, etc. reminding me that they have updated their blogs. I appreciate your attempts to ensure that I am aware of your newest brainfarts and all that jazz but we now have this new little extra on Blogger where I can see when you update right on my own little blogger page.

I urge you to update your blog roll links so that you can do the same. Blogger in draft has the most updated features. They are in the testing stage but they are available for use. Those of you that are not on blogger (James) sorry but you're out of luck.

I can't wait for Blogger to come out with new templates. I mean damn, its been about 5+ years!

His eye is on the sparrow ...

2008-04-13T06:50:00.003-03:00

It is 5:52 a.m. and I haven't been able to sleep all night sans the 15 minutes nap around 3 a.m. So usually when I experience a night of insomnia I try to find music to help put my mind to rest. So far I've watched Snoop's Storytellers session on VH1 Soul, several videos, and my iPod. Finally I ended up logging on You Tube and for some reason I ended up looking for one of my favorite songs. There were several versions but this one was the best:

Now I'm heading to bed for good this time I hope. I doubt I'll be making the 9:45 a.m. Step and Sculpt class in the morning lol.

Step progress ...

2008-04-11T13:08:00.003-03:00

As much as I miss Lady T I have finally found something to keep my interest in working out like she did (well almost as much). Last night I went to step class again. This time I went to the jerk-o instructor as a challenge for myself and guess what ...I got through the WHOLE damn class!!

I am soo damned pleased with myself. Attending the introductory classes on Mondays has helped out tremendously. Although my muscles are tight today I am not in any pain and I never got winded in class last night. The only obstacle I have now is grasping the concept of some of the jumps and spins on the step but not to worry. With the exception of tonight I will be in class working on this and hopefully I'll be ready in another month.

In the beginning of the class the chick next to me fell and straight busted her ass. Jerkass kept barking cadence as some of us looked at her laid out on the floor while others continued to step to the beat out of pure shock. I kept moving the same way Beyonce and Kelly did Michelle. Now I wasn't trying to be rude or ignore the fact that she could have been hurt. I simply didnt want to end up on the floor with her. Jerkass realized what happened and did go over and help the chick up, slowed things down so that everyone could gain their composure and then continued class.

There were quite a few newcomers in class last night. Shortly thereafter another person fell on her ass and two others tripped over the step during class.

During a water break I went up to jerkasseded instructor and asked him if the class is an advanced level. He had the nerve to say "according to me?" No jerkass according to a new person like myself. Of course he responded that yes it is an advanced class. They really need to let folks know that they should take a beginner class before coming in his class.

Here are a few rules that I would like to share with those interested in taking a step class:

Get there early and find a good spot - You really need to make sure you aren't near a wall or somewhere that obstructs your ability to see the instructor. If you can't see the instructor find someone that knows the moves and watch them. There are one or two folks that have taken the class enough times that they are just as good or sometimes even better than the instructor.
Beware of your neighbors - I cannot be behind or next to someone more uncoordinated than me. If you are fucking up steps it will throw me off. Just like dancing and watching someone off beat, that shit will have you looking like Elaine.
Spread the hell out - The class can get full pretty quickly but damn, make sure you aren't on top of the people around you. There are times you actually have to move around the step. It isnt simply up and down.
Practice makes perfect, or at least better - Don't be discouraged after just one class. The more you go the better you get.

www.whereiskatrina.com

2008-04-10T11:04:00.003-03:00

It's strange. I come into work every day now and have a line of about 5 people waiting to see me. I'm not sure why but I'm just not used to it yet. I don't think that I'm all that important but I just have to wonder.

I realize that I spend soo much time on running around in circles trying to take care of everyone and everything else and I am far from giving that much time and attention to my own damn self. It has gotten to the point that I end and being my days in a state of being lost. I sat in my office yesterday and just stared at the monitor. I kept telling myself and others I am forgetting something. You know the feeling, like when you get on the shuttle to head for the airport and you wonder if you packed everything.

This morning I had three people talking to me about emails from yesterday that I somewhat ready but today had no clue what they were talking about. While I am soo wrapped up in everyone else's world I have no clue what is going on in mine. That's just crazy.

This is a completely random entry inspired by random thoughts after reading this article.

The Last Lecture ...

2008-04-09T23:34:00.005-03:00

I'm sitting here watching Primetime - "The Last Lecture: A Love Story For Your Life" profiling Randy Pausch. He is a 47 year old Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist that is dying from pancreatic cancer. Now normally I wouldn't dare watch something soo depressing. So when my mother called and told me to turn it on and watch I naturally reacted "I dont want to watch anything about someone dying of cancer." *pause commercial break over*

.
...
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So anyways, I took the chance and watched. Yes it was sad. Yes I teared up. But not for the reasons I expected. This guy is simply amazing. His positive attitude and ability to make the things that one thinks are major obstacles and problems seem like nothing. The things we complain and stress about, those things that at times you can consume yourself with to the point that you cant eat or sleep properly are just ...THINGS.

This does not mean these things are worthless, but are they worth the time wasted on negativity? Probably not.

If a date and time were put on your life would your priorities change? I can tell you that mine would. I wouldn't give a damn about what drama or BS is going on at work. I wouldn't care how I looked to other people or if and when I would get married and have children. I wouldn't worry about if I would do things like finish school. The issue would no longer about WOULD I, it would simply be COULD I.

This does not mean I am pledging to never complain about work, friends, men, family or anything else again. But when I do I will remember to put things in perspective. I do that now but it never hurts to be reminded every now and then.

Check him out when you get a chance. It's 76 minutes but it's worth it:

2008-03-30T19:24:00.005-03:00

I haven't been to step class since the week I started. It wasn't on purpose. Since then I hurt myself (don't ask) and right behind that I've been fighting off a bought of bronchitis. I was getting better and breathing well this week until I over exerted myself against my better judgement. My advice to all is never EVER ignore your body telling you to chill out. I've heard that a cousin of mine has pneumonia and my hair stylist has been in the hospital for a month. Needless to say, all my weekend invites and plans were null and void. I spent this weekend resting and taking my happy meds again and once again I feel pretty good.

Tomorrow I look forward to getting back in the swing of things in the 5:45 p.m. class right after work. I found out the beginners class is Monday nights so I'm hoping it will give a great workout but help me with the fundamentals. I'll also be in the other two classes on Thursday and Friday night.

2008-03-14T12:00:00.002-03:00

Last week I took my first step plus abs class in almost a year. I went in prepared to sweat, huff, puff and sip (water) my way through the end. The instructor asked how many new people were in the class and I along with about three others raised their hands but this meant nothing. We soon found out that this short ass pumped up jerk could care less as he L stepped, A stepped, and Round the World stepped all over our virgin little uncoordinated selves. 10 minutes into the class my head was spinning and hanging down. I gave it a good try and even pushed myself past my limits trying to learn the steps and keep up. I finally gave up and turned to my friend and told her I was done. She gave me that *trick please* look as if she didn't believe I would walk, but obviously she doesn't know me that well. About three other newbies and I gathered our things and proudly walked out the class. I told my friend that it wouldn't be my last time going.

Last night I stuck to my words and nervously went in the class. We had a "substitute" teacher which gave me some promise. She had a very inviting personality unlike last week's teacher. This instructor did the same asking how many students were new and again I raised my hand. To my pleasant surprise this instructor did exactly what I and the other new comers needed. She took the time to go over basic moves, showing us first how to do the move and then repeating it with us over a few times until it stuck. Then she would add a new step and go over that step with the previous ones enough times for us to learn it. This time I sweat, huffed, puffed and sipped my way through the entire class. The instructor was extremely encouraging and she did not lose one person. Some of the newbies from the last class were there and a few first timers joined in. There were some that could not keep up but with her encouragement they marched in place or simply stepped up and down during the difficult parts.

Many students, even older ones thanked her for a good class. We found out that she teaches a class Friday nights and although I am a bit tired today you'd better believe I'll be there.

Violators of the week ...

2008-03-13T11:42:00.000-03:00

Following up on my post about violations I have a major issue with the security of my company, mainly the IT department. I understand that there have to be rules and regulations in business to ensure that preventative measures are in place for the protection of our files etc. etc. blah blah blahhh. However, it amazes me that I am blocked from most web sites but I get hundreds of unsolicited junk mail every day. How in the hell does it make sense that you can block us from shopping, listening to lastfm.com and even legit sites that my staff and I need to do our jobs but my mailbox is flooded to the point that I can't even send mail? I mean damn! I can't even archive properly and the IT team cannot find a solution so that my mail can auto archive and save me time from clicking on each and every fucking piece of mail to get space so I can send one simple email. (I know these are long ass sentences but damnit thats how I vent lol). So they are the violators of the week.

Violations ...

2008-03-12T00:10:00.003-03:00

There have been way too many violations in the past couple of weeks. Here is my list:

The midget asseded mofo caught in my office digging in my purse trying to steal my shit. If I ever see that Gary Coleman reject I swear I will not hesitate to torture him Dexter style. He's lucky it was the Coach and not the LV.

The mofos at my job that really think my name is Kizzie. Slavery is over damnit. WTF?

The Mayflower King ...There is nothing you can say to make that mess right. Just step down and STFU already.

All yall bamas that decided to get gym crazy as soon as the weather broke a little. Get off my ass. I've been doin it for a while. Catch up :)

Family Guy all day every day! Stewie talkin bout Geena Davis' not having a good tooth to gum ratio is stuck in my head LMAO!!

James on Big Brother lookin like Dallas when he's curled up on the floor of his cage looking helpless because no one will let his hyper ass out.

James kissing Chelsia (the one on BB) all in the mouth R rated style while he is obviously likes men and hasn't told her (Again, WTF).

Big Brother not having an emergency line so family members can tell their folks to stop doing dumb stuff in the house like chasing people that dont want to be with them (Natalie) or kissing gay men (Chels) on national TV.

More to come ...

Let's talk hair ...

2008-03-04T23:16:00.004-04:00

Ok so I'm pretty effed up for not blogging about my trip to Hawaii but damnit there are more pressing issues I must discuss at this moment. So my girl Chels posted her thoughts and feelings about fake handbags. She sent me the link to her entry and I giggled as read. Yeah I thought it was petty but ohhhhhhh soo on point. As I continued to read and half way watch Law and Order SVU in bed (Clicking PAUSE and thanking the inventors of DVR), in typical Trina style, my thoughts came to one of my passions. HAIR. So I made the suggestion to BagChick that she should post about bad hair. I quickly took it back and here we are.

People that know me well enough will understand where I'm going with this. I can't stand to see a chick with bad hair (Singing "I'm talkin bout good and bad hair see if I care good and bad haiiiirrrr").

So anyways, I have seen it all. Here is a list of what I came up with ...

Long, but broken off hair - Cut it and let it be healthy. Long damaged hair is not flippable *flips hair* :)

Short broken off hair - UGH!! WTF if it's already short what's the damn problem here?

Too Dry - Your hair shouldn't look like it's meant to start fires. Try deep conditioning it every now and then.

Too oily and stringy - Lay off that Kemi oil, Pink Oil, Lustrasilk and all that crap. It causes build up and funk.

Nappy roots - If you have a relaxer take care of it. If you are trying to stretch between touch ups, I'd help you out and tell you where to go but damnit yall bamas aint finna be piling up in my spot having me wait all day to get MY hair done so figure something out. If you are growing it out there are ways to blend. Check out www.nappturality.com for ideas ladies.

Old natural styles - Keep your braids, twists, puffs, afros etc. fresh damnit. Find a staple produce to keep it fluffy and luscious. Have back ups for when your staples no longer work the same.

Dirty, lentbally, dusty, crusty hair - Wash and defuzz that shat. Need I say more?

Locs that are too thin - You know they type. They are long but all you can see is scalp. Starter kit locs should mature. If yours don't, they would appear to have a 'learning disability'. You obviously didn't wait long enough before starting the process. I suggest shaving your head and starting over. If that doesnt work, your hair's not tough enough. Do something else.

Foreheads starting at the crown - Brandy and Susan Taylor never made that shit look good. Try Rogaine or something. I'm not sure what else to say. Your hair is just fucked *shrug*.

Kitchens that look like pubes - Don't make me draw you a picture.

Bad wigs/weaves - I swear I'm tempted to pull and cut those weave strings like a snagged sweater string when I see them. And there is nothing cute about an ill fitting, poorly placed wig. STOP THA MADNESS!

Weaves and wigs that move around during the day. As if your scalp grew a 5 o'clock shadow under there and it pushed it up. Yes I've actually seen this mess.

Here's the point of all this. I've heard all types of stories about what looks good and what doesn't. I'm well aware of people and their hang ups over hair. GET OVER IT!

I know we all have bad hair days but it shouldn't be the norm. No matter if you have chemically treated or natural hair, it must be healthy. They only way it can look good is if it starts out healthy. No one is above this.

Miss you ...

2008-02-07T14:48:00.000-04:00

It is never acceptable to work soo hard that you don't take time to acknowledge friends, family, and accomplishments or anything else that has significant meaning to your life. So at this moment I am stopping all work, stress, bullshit etc. to make note of the fact that today would have been my father's 64th birthday. He passed away in 1991 and I truly miss the hell out of him. He was a huge influence on the woman I became (good/beautiful, bad/ugly and beyond).

Daddy (yes my grown ass still uses the terms mommy and daddy) contributed to my love of everything creative and beautiful around me. He is the person that introduced me to the music I've come to love. Anytime I hear a song I either remember when I heard it with him (old school) or I wonder if he would like what I like now (new school). He was a very gifted artist and photographer, and through me those hobbies are still appreciated. I'm a bit teary eyed typing this entry as I think of all the things I have accomplished and all of the mistakes I've made that he was not here to witness. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think of him or remember something crazy, silly, humbling or amazing about him.

Unforgettable exchange ...

2008-02-03T12:39:00.001-04:00

I was up at the crack of dawn Friday morning to head back home from Corpus Christi, TX. I was totally exhausted, even misspelling a word or two in my blog which was point out to me (Thanks Crazyman). So by the time I got to the airport I was ready to pass out. When we went to check in the check-in chick asked us if we would like to go out on the 6:45 a.m. flight instead of the 8:10 a.m. which we replied "sure why not". It was only after she started processing our tickets that she informed us "I'm sorry but there is no earlier connection". I was too tired to care how pointless her original suggestion was.

When I got on the "jet" (yeah the plane was small as hell) I fell asleep before we took off. The flight was only about 40 minutes but as usual I woke up while drinks were being passed around. My seat neighbor was a middle aged white woman who until that moment never even looked my way. Out of the blue she started talking to me. It started with her bringing to my attention that a child must have sat in her seat recently due to the nasty, dried up smudge marks on the window made by little fingers. We went through the normal exchange of "are you from CC? Where are you headed?" etc. etc. She began explaining that she was headed to Philly to help plan her father-in-laws funeral. Normally I have no clue what to say to a complete stranger after hearing something like that but I expressed my condolences and just listened to her.

She told me that she drove from CC to Philly during the Xmas holidays with her daughter and just got back in town the previous weekend. Five minutes after pulling into her garage she got the call that her father-in-law passed. She then told me that her husband was headed back to Iraq. Her husband was given leave to see his father since he was having an operation to remove a tumor. Father-in-law was given a longer prognosis after the surgery but unfortunately the doctors were wrong. Because he was expected to recover and live longer the military had her husband return back to Iraq sooner rather than later. I struggled to understand this situation but who am I to try and understand this war or the decisions made behind it. She discussed her not wanting to be lonely in CC. We discussed her original plan to move to PA which she flat out refused to do at this point. She was only going to help take care of pops. Then she mentioned having family in KY which she also said she didn't want to move there so she has opted to stay in CC with her daughter.

Seat neighbor was obviously emotional about her situation but she didn't really show it. She made it clear that she needed someone to talk to and I had no problem being that person. What didn't dawn on me until now is that although I thought she needed someone to speak with I also needed someone to listen to. Her issues only reminded me of how small any of mine were and how blessed I am right now. We continued talking about what we do, why I was in CC and she gave me about three recipes (cooking is her thing). We thanked each other for the conversation and wished each other safe trips.

I never got her name and she didn't get mine but I will never forget that short exchange. I'm not an avid church goer or scripture reciter but I do have faith. I think that people go through situations and are put in places for specific reasons. I do believe that a total stranger can be placed in our path and serve a purpose in our lives when God thinks that it's necessary. I do think that my catching an earlier flight did not get me home earlier but could have been necessary for me to come in contact with this particular woman.

Since then I've been able to contextualize by so called issues. I've come to a conclusion that I am in a happy place in my life and I wouldn't exchange it for anyone else's. That doesn't change the fact that there are a few goals I will continue to work on. It just means that I have more peace of mind than I thought. I can put more of a positive spin on what I'm trying to do. I only hope one day I can uplift someone else in the same way.

2008-02-01T07:18:00.000-04:00

I simply can't wait to get home. It's been a long week starting with unexpected 4 hour strandedness *ding* in a small dinky country airport on Monday through a long week of great conversation, new ideas and personal gain while helping others. Best believe I will be giving my bed a huge loooooooonnggg hug upon my return.

Yeah this entry is short as shit but damnit get at me when I'm fully awake.

Oh and some of yall bamas that call yourselves my friends, check on a sista every now and then damn! I know technology is great but a call goes much further than a text. I know your mamma't taught you better than that LOL!

What to do ...

2008-01-22T11:18:00.003-04:00

Last night's debates were somewhat interesting. As usual, I was annoyed and turned off at the mud slinging between Clinton and Obama. I've never gotten much out of watching debates because of this. I can see that type of childish behavior on the multitude of "reality" shows. However with the lack of fresh BS being written due to the strike last nights debates filled that void.

Both Clinton and Obama made good and obvious points on each others weaknesses. The Clinton's need to fall back a bit, especially Bill. He had his chance in office, twice, therefore he should sit back, relax and let Hillary handle it. She needs to take a stance now and become an independent candidate. I also agree that Obama needs to be more upfront with his stance on the issues. I still have no idea where he's coming from or what he plans to do. Even though what all of the candidates say they will do now means nothing. I'd still like something to refer back to if they get in office and switch their master plan up on all of us.

Edwards should have just requested a seat in the audience because he couldn't get a word in edgewise which was sad. The few times he had a chance it seemed like he was ganging up on Obama with Hill as if they made some type of side deal.

I have to say as a Dem I have no clue who I will be voting for. I do know that I'm not easily swayed towards Obama or Clinton which I guess others would find to be odd coming from an African American woman but thats my reality.

2008-01-20T12:51:00.000-04:00

This writers strike is a blessing in disguise (for me at least). Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the movement and all that jazz but the lack of new shows or episodes has helped me break my horrible TV addiction. I tried to watch the Golden Globes or whatever was on last week and it sucked salty, rotten fat rocks! The main attraction for me has always been the red carpet. Ta hell with who wins and loses. Without much to watch I've found more time to:

Read books that have been collecting dust for over a year
Set solid, attainable goals for this year and taken steps to achieve them
Work the hell out and get back in the groove from this past summer

I don't set New Years resolutions because it seems pointless. Why wait until the beginning of the year to do what you want or need to do at the moment? One of the biggest challenges will be financial management. I went a little crazy on spending last year so this year that will be my main focus.

I'm ready for change ...

2007-12-30T21:55:00.000-04:00

Maxwell (where the hell is he?) - Changed

Last night I got a hold of a bottle of that whateveritis my friend had at her house and I'm sitting here eyeballin it as I blog. Whatever is in that mason jar is pretty as hell and probably will knock me flat on mah arse so I will approach it with caution.

My friend and I went to a house party and had a good time. I don't remember the last time I laughed that hard. There were many o' hysterical moments but this kid cracked me up the most. First of all, its always comical when a kid wants to hang with grown folks. The adults try to find a way for the kid to find something else to do yet the kid is always persistent and wont budge. Now kids aren't really my choice to converse with but listening to this lil dude was hearing a grown person tell stories. Most kids jump all over the place soo much I become quickly annoyed and I find a way to shut em down. This kid on the other hand has a way with words. Hell if he had a blog I'd read it lol.

I am damn sure ready for spring. This non-snowy winter is absolutely disappointing. We've had one snow day and it barely stuck around past a week. This dreary, dark weather has done nothing but cause me some serious sinus issue and reignite the love between me and my bed. So unless a white winter is on the way I'm done with this season. Watching clips from the Broncos/Vikings game today made me jealous and craving a snow storm STAT.

I'm finally recouping from the last 2 week's holiday hustle. 2007 was a pretty good year with more accomplishments than disappointments. 2008 holds many challenges for me but I expect it to be very rewarding. I'm looking forward to less travel for work and much more for pleasure. A trip to Vegas and a vacation in Europe are in the works. This will also be the year for getting back in school for the long haul. There are a few other goals set for 08 but that's enough about me for now.

What do you look forward to this year?
What were your biggest challenges and most memorable successes of 07?
What are the top three headlines in 07?

Weekend in review ...

2007-12-24T14:14:00.000-04:00

A dear friend came to town to spend the holidays with her family and told me she wanted to check out some live jazz. I've always been in the habit of catching live jazz after work in the middle of the week. Clubs on the weekends are usually reserved to hip hop/rap/pop R&B DJ enhanced music. At any rate we ended up checking out a Cynda Williams performance at Bohemian Caverns. If you don't remember Cynda she was lead songstress in Mo' Betta Blues.

I'd never been to BC but figured it could be a nice change. The band, W.E.S.,was pretty good but unfortunately I wasn't impressed with Ms. Williams performance. This was no shocker as my expectation was that she would sound the same as she did way back when. The crowd was rather dull/uninterested and people started leaving during what I thought would be her more anticipated performance of Harlem Blues. Cynda still looks great though. I also had a good time with my friend although the evening ended pretty short. I probably should have checked out Ledisi instead. I'll catch her next time.

What's strange is that this is that I've known my friend for 16 years and I remember when we used to club hop all night. Those years are way behind us and we now look forward to spending time with our families and friends. If we do hang out it damn sure isn't an all nighter. I miss those days but we all have to grow up.

The rest of the weekend continued with more shopping, football and preparation for Xmas. Somewhere in the mix of it I have misplaced my bank card. I remember the last place I had it which has me thinking it is probably lost. Hopefully it will turn up and if it doesn't I refuse to stress over it.

Lenny Kravitz - Fields of Joy

Freebee workday ...

2007-12-21T11:35:00.001-04:00

This is not a day for getting any work done. Today will be mostly spent searching the net e-window shopping and somewhere in there I'll schedule a long lunch. I spent last weekend finishing up my last minute shopping which included me purchasing gifts for my staff. When I set out to accomplish this goal I didn't realize how much of a task it would be. It all started with me going to Walmart to get my money back from the trifflin ass whole in the wall photo shop my friends chose to take pics with their little ones. The experience was horrible. I love my friends dearly but I will never go through a situation like that for the sake of being cheap. Sometimes it's just not worth it. Anyways, while I was there I decided to pick up the last of my gifts which worked out pretty well. Today I gave the staff a goodies bag of travel samples. To my surprise they seemed pretty appreciative and that made it worth the effort.

I still have more gifts to wrap and one to send which may not be sent until after the holiday. I just don't have the patience to stand in line at the post office again. I will most likely spend the holiday with friend and family. For some reason I've developed a very strong interest in the Wii. More research needs to be done on that before making a purchase that large. This weekend is filled with activities so don't worry I'll get the fun in. I'm fighting the urge to work through the holiday.

Growing Pains ...

2007-12-19T22:03:00.000-04:00

I have been following MJB's career since her scraggly ponytail Father MC days, way before What's the 411? I remember watching that video and wondering who the hell is that rough looking chick not having a clue she would materialize into the woman and artist she is now. Sure you're wondering where the hell is Trina going with this. Well I picked up her Growing Pains CD and let me say that Mary is back. She's back with a new view and her old sound and I likey :).

When MJB hit us with What's the 411? it was the new old. New songs with old samples so we loved it. I was an 18 yr old freshman at Bowie State and I don't know anyone that didn't relate to her music. It was the beginning of the Bad Boy's crew and at the time it fit the scene. Then Mary went into her My Life stage. The majority of the songs had the theme of I need you, be with me, its all about you babbabypleasebabypleasebabybabyplease. Don't get me wrong, I love the CD to this day but the songs were desperate (i.e. You bring me joy, I'm the Only Woman, I Never Wanna Live Without You etc.) At age 21 hell yeah I could relate (damn @ the thought of who I was dating then and that's a whole different blog entry). Since then came through with Share My World. Again I love the CD but the songs were more pretty much the same as the prior songs.

Now the albums between Mary and Love & Life did nothing for me. She had a few singles like Rainy Dayz, Sexy, No More Drama and Love @ First Sight I enjoyed but those CDs get used as coasters every now and then.

Breakthrough seemed to be the CD where she got out of a rut. She produced the best quality music in years AND all of the songs were not about begging a man to stay or be with her. What I've noticed is that MJB has grown. Yes it seems that through her music she is a much happier person. No she doesn't have to go back to being strung out and stuck up under the likes of K-Ci to produce music you can feel. Some of her fast cuts on Growing Pains I simply can't get into (i.e. Work That, Grown Woman). Her ballads (Feel Like a Woman, Stay Down, Hurt Again, Roses) are not all about begging someone to stay with her. They speak more towards how grown folks need to work together to make a relationship work. THAT my friends I can get with. She discusses:

The need to feel pampered and taken care of every now and then "I'm tired of screaming independent I wanna start depending on you"
The importance of sticking it out through the rough times and putting in work to make a good relationship last. "The trouble won't last forever we'll beat it as long as we're together"
The insecurity of not wanting to be hurt again (hell we've all been there before) "Always tryin to act like your lovin' doesn't faze me when the truth is that it amazes me"
That although love feels good it damn sure ain't easy or peachy all the damn time. "This love stuff is demanding"
The definition of love "It feels like joy, it feels like pain, it feels like sunshine and it feels like rain, an excuse for dying, a reason to live"

Its all about growing up folks. There are plenty of sad songs out there for when we are having "love sucks" moments but its refreshing to listen to music that promotes healthy relationships. Also, music isn't just about a "nice beat to dance to", check out the lyrics sometimes of some of the crap that moves the masses.

Its not her best CD but its damn sure not her worst. I'm not mad for spending the bucks on this one. Check it out and let me know what yall think. If you didn't catch the link above you can check it out here.

I'm wayyy too crute to BAH HUMBUG! but ...

2007-12-18T01:17:00.000-04:00

This is turning into a hellishly (yes I'm adding that word to my personal dictionary) eventful week. I've mentally committed to every holiday party/happy hour invite received knowing damn well something(s) just won't happen. At this point I'm seriously thinking I need a few days off to recoup from this weekend.

When I got home from work I cooked for tomorrow's office party (what the hell do we call these things anyways?) and I went over a friends place to drop off a few gift donations. As usual, ended up hanging out for a while. I met one of her friends, had a drink of whothahellknows and we had a pretty good time. I rarely meet people and feel comfortable enough to speak openly about things that I only share with folks close to me (nuff said on that). So this chick must be cool as shit :) I'm sure she thinks I'm nuts but hell who doesn't. That's party of my charm *blush n smile*

This week I need to fit in a few workouts. The holiday festivities breed nothing but FOOD. My coworker and I have been duckin' and divin' all the cookies, cakes, pies, popcorn and all kinds of other holiday junk on a daily. Its enough to make even a fluffy chick like me SCREAM! Between tomorrow's holiday party (yes another one) and possibly a few happy hour invites I'll have plenty of calories (and stress) to burn off.

At some point tomorrow you can find me at FYE, Best Buy, Circuit City or somewhere pickin' up the new MJB :) Until then enjoy this ... oh and LOL @ the "she needs to get divorced/back with K-Ci cause she's not hittin like she used to" comments but I kinda see what you mean. IMO Prince needs to follow the same advice (I STILL LOVE YA BABY!).

Love @ First Sight - Mary J. Blige

Hello there ...

2007-12-16T15:27:00.000-04:00

I've really missed blogging. Just like I missed working out. Since my last post Halloween and Thanksgiving have passed. Thats a friggin shame. I realized that regardless of my crazy schedule I have to make time for things that bring me pleasure and are important to me.

This is the first year that I think I've enjoyed the fall/winter seasons. Spring is more my speed but there were two weeks in November where the foliage was perfect. I'm a bit pissed I didn't take time to capture the beauty on "film". We had one snow night/day and I enjoyed that as well. Hopefully more will come soon.

This weekend was spent hustling in the Holiday shopping spirit. I finished just about all of my holiday shopping and it wore my ass out. In about round 4 of shopping kickin my ass I found a 5 yr old lil girl wandering around and crying her eyes out at "The Plaza" last night.

I'm walking, feet hurting and down on my right hand side I see this little cutie looking around in a panic. Everyone else was ignoring her and it was hella crowded. I just couldn't ignore the situation so I asked her if she was lost, tried to understand what she was saying and opted to walk her over to the Customer Service desk. The good thing is that security guards were there and they took it from there. The bad thing, this little girl followed me without paying attention to the fact that I am a complete stranger. Its THAT easy for someone to get your kid and run off with her/him. That has been bugging the hell out of me.

After finishing my shopping I went back to the CS desk and asked if she was found and her mom did come and get her.

Parents and guardians PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE watch your kids closely. I know everyone is hustlin' this time of year but its way too dangerous out there. Kids come before shopping damnit.

Other than that this was a chilled out weekend. The weather folks around these parts were full of crap. I saw no ice and now it seems too warm for anything to ice over. I'm sure many-o-parties were in low attendance last night because of the false expectation of treacherous weather.

I haven't bought any new music in a while. I'm patiently awaiting MJB's new CD other than that there is nothing more to report.

Oh and I am highly disturbed by this Snoop video that is obviously influenced by Prince of all people:

Artsy

2007-10-24T23:10:00.000-03:00

Prince - Purple Rain

I'm feeling much better although I did not have the most relaxing day off. I did get my temperature under control around midday and I was able to eat today. I especially enjoyed listening to the day long rain showers which I had been waiting for all month. It was well needed.

This article about Vanity Fair naming the soundtrack to Purple Rain as the greatest soundtrack topped my day off. I am completely bias but if I wasn't I would still think that this is well deserving. Saturday Night Fever also topped the list, another classic I watch almost every time it comes on.

I had a really good conversation with one of my best friends about my trip to NY and seeing The Color Purple. I've been wondering how many of my friends and acquaintances see plays other than the 'chittlin circuit' style plays. He informed me that if he did not get a deal on the tickets to that play he probably would not have gone on his own. He told me that most of his and our friends are not into other forms of art let alone outside of black plays. This reminded me of being a kid and my nana, aunt, mother and father going to the Kennedy Center for all types of plays. All of the schools I attended were sure to take us on field trips to expose us to different types of art. I've never taken those things for granted but I am realizing as an adult how many people simply haven't been exposed as kids or stepped out of their comfort zone to experience something 'different'. Just another reason I love my family and I appreciate my parents for all they have done.

One of my friends in high school also sent me a video to her daughter's honors recital at Duke Ellington. Little Miss is singing Opera! She has a beautiful voice and I wish I was there to see it in person. I've already put in my request for an invite to her next performance. I remember when she was born during my senior year so it amazes me how many years have gone by and all that I've missed. I need to call a few folks geeze.

2007-10-23T22:41:00.000-03:00

Mariah Carey - Fly Like A Bird

In the mornings I watch the local news while I get dressed for work, check that I've packed all cell phones, Blackberry, flash drives etc. etc. This morning I watched as one of the reporters gave an update on the San Diego wildfires. She described the mood of the people that were being evacuated and moving to the dome. What pretty much pissed me off was her comparing their situation to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The part that stuck out was her dumb ass giggling and saying that she talked to folks and they said its like a big ass party (ok they didn't say ass I did but you know how I do). Now how the HELL can you compare any situation to Hurricane Katrina and lightheartedly giggle about the food and drinks and all of the so called great and immediate service these San Diego vics were receiving.

These people have all kinds of food and drinks available and if they can say its 'like a party', there is NO WAY IN HELL that situation is comparable to Hurricane Katrina. There is the obvious distinction in classes of people from each situation. I am also not arguing about other mistakes that were made, mostly by the local and federal government and even by the victims not evacuating early enough in some cases. I am also fully understand the urgency in this matter and the magnitude of it's devastation. BUT DAMN! I feel the reporter was completely disrespectful and should be called on her shit. I don't recall her name but best believe I will find out.

Now that I'm off of that soap box, being sick is completely horrible. Some how or another I've ended up with some type of stomach flu. This is exactly why I try to make staff members go home at the slightest hint of a REAL symptom. I wont be in tomorrow and if I can get into the doc's office I will probably try to get out for the rest of the week. I knew I was feeling off but nothing kicked in yet. I'll be damned if it didnt kick the hell out of me yesterday yelling I'M HERE MOFO WHATCHU GONNA DO? lol.

2007-10-23T22:23:00.001-03:00

Here's another video entry for yall. This is an update to the donations sent for the Jena 6 guys, specifically, Robert Bailey, Jr. I have no comment on this situation because in the back of my mind all I can think is maybe just MAYBE it isn't true. Let me know what you think on this:

2007-10-22T23:19:00.000-03:00

I don't really watch Dancing With The Stars much but tonight's episode was interesting. No more than an hour after the show was aired this incident was posted on the net and on Wikipedia.

Marie Osmond Faints on "Dancing with the Stars"
Uploaded by Stroheim

2007-10-18T11:52:00.000-03:00

I know it's been over a week since my last post but I've just been too busy. I've thought about it but actually doing it is the problem. I decided to take the day off and dedicate today to conducting an inventory of my life. I haven't been feeling well physically or mentally for a while and it's time to get it together.

I love my new position but as usual the same problems remain with the same damn people. I was told the other day that I have an A type personality which I don't believe but I want to take a test to figure out if that's true. It may give me some insight to why I think they way I do about others and why I react the way I do to situations.

My birthday was also probably the best day of the year. Stress free (for once although short lived), good friends, a great dinner. It was a perfect day.

2007-10-08T20:34:00.001-03:00

Whodini - Five Minutes of Funk

I spent this weekend in NY with mommy for our birthday weekend ritual. I wasn't really interested in going when we first talked about it a few months ago but I'm damn sure glad I went. I saw The Color Purple. The play was pretty comical at times and the singing was spectacular. I looked forward to hearing Fantasia sing I'm Here. The first time I heard her sing it was on American Idol last year. She and Mary J. sing with conviction. They make you feel a song through their interpretation of the words. Not everyone does that. She did a pretty good job but Elizabeth Withers blew me away! I had no idea she was in and playing Shug. Her voice was too beautiful for words. I decided to pull her CD out again and listen to it with a new found appreciation for her voice. I felt chills listening to everyone else sing as well. I suggest you all check it out when you get a chance.

Visiting the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) was a highlight of the trip. Some of the displays were every form of boring, strange, weird, weirder and even perverted (nothing new in the world of art). But I loved seeing the floor dedicated to the evolution of technology and innovation. Simple things like the first swivel chair to the more complex topic of computers and music (huge smiles from me on this). I forgot how much I enjoy going to museums and have vowed to make more time for the things that make me happy.

I visited Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. That was one of the creepiest experiences I've ever had. Some of them (Whoopi, JLo, Will Smith, and 2 of the 5 members of N Sync) looked soo real I thought they were going to start moving. The one of Beyonce looked nothing like her face wise, but of course, the body though was on point. Many-o-men were overly excited to have their wives take their pictures with JLo and Beyonce while grabbing their hind parts. It was comical seeing the before and after of Al Roker. The absolute fav of mine was none other than Prince himself.

One last note. I forgot about the damn Hip Hop Honors tonight and thank GAWD they show these things 10 times in a row. I sat here watching of all things ...friggin football *gasp*. At any rate when you get a chance, if you haven't done so, check it out.

Too much goings on ...

2007-10-02T09:39:00.001-03:00

I'm a bit irritable this morning. Late last night I got an invite to Jameka's homecoming party and it happens to be this weekend and I will be out of town. I also missed her sister's baby shower last weekend because I had to work on Saturday. I have many questions for Jameka that I don't want to read about. I want to ask her myself. Oh well I'm sure I'll catch up with her some other time.

I really need to find a decent homebuying program. If you know of any send a sista a reference. That's it for now but I'll be back.

Conditions and Issues ...

2007-10-01T11:46:00.001-03:00

LIBRAN MONTH IS FINALLY HERE!!!!!

I consider October the official month of Librans, simply because my birthday is in October :)

On my way out the door today I just missed a news report on a new eating disorder in which diabetics are not taking their insulin in order to lose weight. I told my mother I would beat her like that time ... (nevermind we won't go there) if I found out she was doing some mess like that. She laughed but said that she understood why the were doing that because of how much she finds herself eating to keep her sugar up at times. It never ceases to amaze me that as much money, technology, resources we supposedly have there are still diseases/conditions and issues that will never be cured.

The season has definitely changed and I will be gearing up for the sickly. You know. Those that don't seem to realize that sometimes you do need a jacket in the morning and evening. They refuse to stop wearing summer apparel and next thing you know they are coughing and sneezing all over you. I have had the argument with others in the past on whether the weather (you like that huh? lol) contributes people catching colds. I stand with my theory that your body fights harder to keep its temperature level when it is too hot or too cold and that affects your immune system which causes one to be more open to getting sick. Of course there are other factors like the spreading of germs and a body being too tired etc. etc. Either way I can't stand to get sick so I'm quick to tell my staff to go home and stay home until they get better.

I have never been much of a coffee drinker because it upsets my stomach and I cannot stand the smell of a person after drinking it. This morning the notorious day long coffee drinker literally got up in my face trying to explain a process and killed every sinus cavity and appetite I had. His ass breath turned my stomach upside down as if I just drank it myself. Starbucks actually has a line of gum especially for java lovers. I wonder if he would be offended or understanding if I bought him a pack and sat it on his desk.

KMA! with a smile please ...

2007-09-24T10:22:00.001-03:00

Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over

So this is the crap I can't stand about sports which is why I never got into it in the first place. The competitiveness nature of it makes me sick. I can't be happy when my team wins because all the losers wanna be babies and cry that you are too happy too soon. When my team loses I can't just simply take it without some asshole(s) coming at me when I haven't even said shit. I'm not the typical Skins fan. After 2 wins I didn't run around saying we were going to the Superbowl and all that jazz I simply expressed happiness that my team won. Hell yeah I'm pissed they lost. I'm pissed because they had that game and then got sloppy, which has been the M.O. for them. No I'm not going to stop being a Skins fan but I'll be damned if Skinhaters will have me ducking and diving every time my team loses. So to answer your question YES YALL CAN STILL KISS MY ASS!

:)

2007-09-17T21:42:00.001-03:00

Prince - If I Was Your Girlfriend

I can really say that I miss Lady T. I've been thinking about her lately and some way some how I will figure out a way to get those workouts back in my schedule before it gets too cold. The gym and working out on my own has started to become very VERY boring. In my quest to find something to keep me awake , I decided to try out the AquaFit class at the gym. I did not like the instructor because she bored the hell out of me. However, I am sitting here and I'm really starting to feel wiped out. I was told the Wednesday night instructor is much more engaging and gives a harder work out. I'm looking forward to a good nights sleep.

One thing I can't seem to get used to is taking showers in public. I mean, taking showers in a shower that isn't my own. After class I attempted to get good and clean and it just didn't happen. Gym showers are beyond disgusting (use your imagination). So I would prefer to rinse and dry off just enough to race home and get in my own shower. I also tried to go in the steam room. I was doing fine until some bare bottomed, female came in there and sat her ass right down on the bench. This is the kind of stuff that completely erases the good vibes I get from working out. Before you laugh too hard to my reaction to this, yes this was my first time seeing someone sit their nasty ass down on a steam room bench. Is this normal? Please let me know.

On a brighter note, my next small challenge the ADA walk next month. The goal was to run my next 5k but I really don't see that happening right now. I will try to jog some of it, more than the last one but that's as far as I'm willing to wager.

This weekend I spent a good amount of time in my newest favorite store, Bed Bath and Beyond. Ladies, and men feel free to share this with your ladies, there is no reason for us to look tacky in a decent outfit. I have seen many of you and at times myself in public tugging at bra straps, wires, pantylines (ok I don't do this type of shit in front of other folks but I've seen yall do it.) It's ok for men to grab their ...unmentionables to readjust things but it's NEVER lady like. There are soo many little helpful, inexpensive products out there to really keep us looking our best. So I suggest you invest in some Hollywood Fashion Tape. This stuff is great for bra straps that wont stay hidden, shirts and pants that ride, gaps in buttoned down shirts, all kinds of stuff. There are plenty of other products on the site so check it out. I'm not saying don't be sexy but PLEASE stop with the tacky shit.

Oh and one last note ...all yall anti-Skin folks can KMA!

GOOOOOOOOOO SKINSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-09-12T13:23:00.001-03:00

Well in case you didn't know I am a Big Brother fan so I've been watching this year rooting for our home grown, Jameka. Alas, last night was her night to go. Her exit interview with Julie and reaction to the other house guest's messages for her was as raw as they got this year. This season was not one of my favorites for many reasons ranging from the choice of America's Player to the overall game play of most people in the house. Although it was quite boring at times I was glad BB gave us a chance to see what goes on after the show and get heads up of what was to come in their BB After Dark series on Showtime. Normally I don't watch but I caught it last night and I am now sleepy as hell. That hangover kind of sleepy that makes you jumpy and edgy all day.

I normally don't watch many of the award shows because I find them to be a bit lengthy and boring and I always find something better to do with my time. So obviously I missed the VMA's the other night but I couldn't miss the comments about Britney Spear's performance which was not a shock. However, the comments regarding her weight were IMO uncalled for. Labeling her fat is reaching. Maybe her outfit revealed more than what is normally expected but she is in no way FAT. All I saw was a little pouch gained from her having two kids. I'm all about promoting good physical, mental and emotional health but the issues the press had with her appearance were strictly shallow. "Society" sends mixed messages on appearance. In the same breath celebs can be called fat and anorexic claiming the problem is with the person's health. No wonder our kids (and adults) are all messed up in the head.

I love weekends ...

2007-09-11T14:19:00.000-03:00

Last Friday after work I finally made it to the gym and got a quick workout in. I will not go into how long it's been since I was in the gym but lets just say my muscles are still asking what in the hell happened?!?! That one workout resulted in THE BEST nights sleep. Although the individuals that have been questioning my hiatus seriously got on my nerbs *ding*, they also helped me realize that I have to get out of my rut.

That one workout seemed to guide me through my weekend as I immediately realized how out of control other things in my life had become. This weekend I spent the majority of my time decluttering (I'm making it a word) for the new season. Football was also a part of the festivities which sadly I didn't watch the Skins play but I went to a Cowbroad vs. Giants game party (ugh!). The game was interesting but I left before it was finished. The babbling on and on of the Cowbroad fans was annoying as hell.

In the shopping portion of my weekend I noticed something interesting. I went to Target and there was a group of women sitting in chairs that were on a little stage obviously meant for display. The odd part was that the women were sitting there just laid back and conversing for damn near an hour. They sat there as if they were having an after church meeting. The second time at a different Target a young man was sitting in the same display doing homework. He wasn't a little kid, this was a grown man of a child probably a high school senior or college freshman. Of course I thought, maybe they are being paid to do this but c'mon.

Speaking of college men, I was really happy to hear about young Julian McCormick surviving his accident last week. I would like to know how the search for him was conducted because what bugs the hell out of me is if they were looking for him and his car was in this position how did they notice a flipped car within a mile of his home?

This was also the weekend of "crazy crappy communication from men". One professed his love, the other I still don't know what the point was and the award for the Funniest Come Back goes to this fool that sent me a text message stating "how ya been and why haven't I heard from you?" yet the last time we spoke was over a month ago and his words were "I'll call you". I had not called him since then because he has a problem with keeping the lines of communication open (don't ask). I responded that I was fine, I've been busy and in Trinaesque style reminded him that it was on him to call ME back. He of course said I could have called him and to put a long story short, I remembered why I never called him back :)

2007-08-24T15:03:00.000-03:00

Yesterday I decided work wasn't part of the plan. Therefore, I stayed home and got some much needed rest. I also got a chance to do something with my hair which ended 4 year journey into naturality. It was a wonderful voyage while it lasted but I simply got bored with my style choices and opted to try something new (there are other reasons). I don't regret my decision and I'm quite happy with the results. Many of my friends, family and acquaintances voiced their opinions, mostly against, me relaxing my hair. Although their views were appreciated, it always comes down to what makes ME happy.

Speaking of hair, I have a bit of advice for all reading this. Clean your house before you try to clean mine. Where did this come from? A chick that looks like a corn cob shat on her head three times over had the nerve to ask me if I needed a hair stylist. Granted my hair has been swept back into a ponypuff for the past 2 weeks but lets get real. If my hair looks better than yours, don't try to gain my patronage.

I finally got a chance to check out Prince's new album, Planet Earth. In comparison to his other albums this is not my favorite. It's difficult for me to slam on Prince but I will say there are probably 3, a possible 4 of the 10 songs I really like. The others I can live without.

I came across this article about being overworked. I have to admit, I had already started practicing a few of these suggestions and they do work. The article lead me to this blog which offers many-o interesting techie solutions and other random stuff. The most interesting for me being the blog about what's in your work bag. Ive been searching for the perfect workbag for weeks yet I keep coming up empty. My faithful leather messenger finally fizzed out on me and I just simply can't find anything as worthy. I've considered finding a leather shop or tailor that can revive it for me.

Anyways, what are things that you must have in your bag? Here's my top 5 list:

My two flash drives (Loving the 4G's)
An extra pair of glasses and contact solution (Contacts + Monitor + Stress = Get these things out but I still need to see!)
A pair of flip flops (I'm a realist, my feet want to fall off by the end of some days)
This Project Management book (I can't seem to live without it)
My Blackberry (Lifeline)

Checking in ...

2007-08-17T14:54:00.000-03:00

I have been under a tremendous amount of stress in the past few months which has hindered my ability to keep up with this blog. Although there has been PLENTY for me to comment on I just simply haven't had the time or energy to get my positive thoughts on "paper" if you will.

My life has been a complete roller coaster. I have been faced with a major challenges and complete change both positive and negative. During this time I have come to realize how strong willed I am, something I was not aware of until now. I've also had my eyes opened to the fact that certain individuals that I thought would have my back, be my rock and be of great assistance while I make major changes serve no purpose to me. They have made it clear that they do not support me and will not support me. It is hurtful and disappointing for me to know this. With that acknowledged, I do realize that nothing stays the same and every now and then it's good to have thing shaken up a bit to keep us on our toes.

I do appreciate my real true blue friends and family. Without them I would probably have lost my mind (which I haven't). I thank each and every person that has checked in on me and encouraged me through this process.

2007-08-06T03:33:00.000-03:00

I told myself I would not blog about this crap but ta hell with that. I have to bitch about this somewhere so why not here? It is 3:10 a.m. Monday morning and I am at work burning CDs for a conference. There is no way I will be home within the next 2 hours. Therefore, I wonder ...

How the hell I am going to be downtown tomorrow for a meeting scheduled to start at 9 a.m.?
Did I made a mistake with this decision?
What kind of idiotic shit am I dealing with here?
What kind of idiot am I for taking this shit?
How many other people are up right now going through the very same thing?
Why has my music ceased soothing me?
What the hell kind of person does things like bring you a large Slurpee with a short straw instead of the long straw? (This pissed me of and made me laugh at the same time).
Why is the AC not on and it feels like an oven in here? and furthermore, how in the HELL did my press n curl stay straight through all of this heat?
What kind of drugs do people take to work literally all night and function the next day?
When was the last time I was truly happy and content?
What am I going to do about it?

Relax, Relate, RELEASE!

2007-07-30T11:03:00.000-03:00

Thank God for weekends. I had a pretty good one considering how hectic the work week was and although I just had a vacation the weekend couldn't have come any quicker. Friday after work I attended two parties. One birthday get together and another lets drink, laugh and have a good time shindig. The first event was a good tension breaker and it was nice being around folks on the up and up. That always leaves the cynic in me with a bit of hope that there are some good folks out there.

The second get together was a blast. We played one of the most intense games of Taboo I've ever played and everyone had a good time. The hostess made some of the best spaghetti I've ever had, aside from my ex's mother's recipe. A few folks got blasted from taking shots. II got a bit tipsy but that's as far as it went.

Saturday started out with A LOT of cleaning and ended with a good day of rest. I didn't realize how much running around I've been doing in this summer and it's starting to catch up with me. I felt a bit congested and decided to stay in and rest. Sunday was a bit of the same but I got a chance to catch the last bit of Nordstrom's anniversary sale.

I also checked out the 7-11 converted into a Kwik-E-Mart which was one of the strangest things I've ever seen. The marketing campaign for the Simpson's movie is probably the largest I've seen in a while. Life sized figures of Homer, Apu and Maggie were spread out in the store. The store was packed with people taking pictures and stocking up on memorabilia. People were buying Krusty O's and Buzz Cola as if they were planning for a hurricane. The obvious question came to mind: How good do these gimics taste? I have no plans on find out.

A bit of sad news was received this weekend. Angela Bofill suffered a second massive stroke earlier this month. The only information provided on her website is that she is in critical condition. My grandmother had two massive strokes before she died so this story struck home for me. That was a devastating experience and I sympathize with her family and friends. Hopefully her fate will be different and she will recoup. Either way I pray she isn't suffering.

Back to the grind ...

2007-07-25T09:51:00.000-03:00

I was off last week for vacation which was hard earned and definitely needed. The cruise lived up to every expectation I had plus some. The food was pretty good, the ship was HUGE! and there was plenty to do. Once we were out in the middle of the ocean it was amazing to see this huge ship surrounded by nothing but water. The ocean is a POWERFUL thing. My roomie and I played the WHAT IF game and scared the hell out of ourselves. We even got bold enough to do a night time glass bottom boat sail and visited the Bermuda Triangle. Now THAT was some scary shat.

WORK OUT/HEALTH
I did work out during my vacation and let me tell you, an elliptical on a rocking ship is no fun damn it! Coming home in a cast was not part of the plan and thankfully that did not happen. However there were plenty of people on that cruise all kinds of bruised and bandaged up. I did end up with a rash and never figured out what I was allergic to. Yes I'm sure it was cruise related because all is well since I've been home. While my friend and I went to lunch one day a woman came limping in the restaurants with huge sores all over her legs. She claimed something on the boat bit her up and caused it. We saw another woman with the same marks. I have no clue what that was all about but thank God it wasn't me.

Luckily I did not get sea sick and the movement actually felt like someone was rocking me to sleep. I started wishing I had a bed that had that type of function for my nights of insomnia. I had the best sleep on of all things a twin bed during my vacation. Up until I returned back to work this week I finally found myself experiencing peace of mind for the first time in years.

FOOD
I enjoyed the food and eventually stopped stressing about it. We worked out to compensate for the change in our eating habits and I'm confident that things evened out at the end. There was every imaginable variation to all meats (poultry, beef and pork), there were plenty of veggies and fruit. The water was horrible (maybe that's why I broke out) and plenty of deserts (cakes, cookies, pies and puddings). My desert consisted of the low fat frozen yogurt. That was THE BEST damn low fat frozen yogurt I ever had. They didn't miss a beat on the cuisine. There is no lie about the all day all night buffets and two of the nights we were presented with midnight feasts. I did eat at one of them but chose my snack very carefully. My roomie on the other end woke up with major stomach pains from eating things her system couldn't handle that late. The second feast we took pictures of but did not consume.

ACTIVITIES
I planned to take a rock climbing class but quickly changed my mind once I realized I had to sign a waiver. I'm sure you have to do that anyways but I wasn't prepared to sign one at the time. Other factors that swayed my decision was how windy it was while cruising and how high the rock climbing wall reached. My fear of height quickly kicked in and that ended that. I plan to eventually take a beginners class but I'd rather do it on solid ground. It took a while to get used to the rocking and one night we sailed through a storm.

SHOPPING!
The highlight of my trip was shopping! I purchased t-shirts, jewelry and liquor. For the drinkers out there the prices were a steal. My prized new possesionsitems are the watch I got half off and my Swarvoski crystal earrings and bracelet. I lost my budgeted $50 in the casino but won $10 of it back lol. The drinks were another highlight. Unlike the food there was a charge to get tipsy which I did. It was comical to see people begging the liquor store guy to let them take their liquor to their cabins. When you buy liquor they package it and hold it until the last day of the cruise. Many knew this rule but tried to get around it none the less.

ISLAND
Bermuda was beautiful. Beaches with pink sand and clear blue water. I've never seen a sky so blue and the weather was about 80 degrees, low humidity but great sun for tanning (which I did). Damn I just got that feeling of not wanting to be here again lol. The air is much cleaner and my breathing improved while on the island as it always does when I visit.

DEFLATING
This week back at work has been absolutely horrible. My feelings are of disappointment and fear for the future. Not my future but the future of this contract. I'm still in the midst of making decisions on what I will do to improve my stance in this situation and so far I'm happy with my options.

BON VOYAGE!!!

2007-07-14T10:39:00.000-03:00

Music: The Isley Brothers - Voyage to Atlantis

Ok folks I am finally out of here and headed to peace of mind for a week. Check yall out when I get back. Hopefully there will be lots to blog about. I'm taking my journal with me to keep notes of all the festivities :)

PEACE!!!!!!!!!!

GIVE US AIR!!!

2007-07-12T12:43:00.000-03:00

Music: A Tribe Called Quest - Electric Relaxation

This morning was absolutely perfect work out weather. At some point last night I did not feel like getting up to grind but I did. I usually don't enjoy is my commute to work however today was a pleasant surprise. Something as simple as the ability to open my windows and get some much needed cool fresh air just topped off my start to what is becoming a good day. Never underestimate how having a good morning can affect your attitude and how that can positively or negatively impact the rest of your day.

Speaking of breathing good quality air, I think smokers should pay extra fines for effing up such beautiful thing. As I was admiring the extra bounce in my step heading in to work my good thoughts were distracted by a cloud of smoke. A smoker stood right there and blew her funky air right into my clean air. That violation temporarily put a scrunch on my face and pissed me off. That was followed by me getting on the elevator with a man reeking of smoke. To my non-smoking readers, don't you just hate being trapped in small places with foul smelling people?

My solution to this problem? I think that smokers should have their own enclosed rooms like at some airports for their habit. To fund this effort I think they should have to pay to use the rooms just as obese people pay for extra seats on a plane. If they don't and insist on smoking in open air they should be fined just as we are for parking in handicap parking spaces. They should also receive some kind of tax form at the end of the year to pay additional taxes on each use of such smoke rooms. If you haven't figured it out I'm sick and tired of my air being violated. Yes I know that the air quality is already messed up but ta hell with allowing folks to eff it up more for free.

No I haven't forsaken you ...

2007-07-10T10:42:00.001-03:00

Music: Patrice Rushen - Forget Me Nots

I have not been moved to blog about anything in the past week. The things that I thought about are personal and I really just don't care to share with any of you. Don't take it personal, sometimes it's just like that. Those that are reading this and close enough to me more than likely know what's going on with me.

Every now and then I listen to regular radio and right now Donnie Simpson is my choice. He plays the old and new which I can appreciate. He shares his personal iPod favs which I really really appreciate. I believe his son DJ said if anyone listens to this song and can't feel it he doesn't want to have anything to do with them because they are obviously not from the same planet. I feel him on that. I'll have more later but for now I just wanted to share the song that Donnie Simpson played this morning. That was my inspiration for this entry so enjoy as I did :)

My head hurts ...

2007-07-03T12:03:00.000-03:00

so I don't have much to say today. The only thing I can say about today's work out was that it was much needed and I now love the weighted ball and have replaced the stadium stairs as my most hated. I've been slipping a bit, not a lot and I need to seriously step it up.

I finally listened to Chrisette Michelle on blast and I have to say, I am NOT nearly as impressed as the masses. She sings ok but I don't know if that is her real voice. I was definitely not hearing the child through my laptop at work yesterday. Billie Holiday was the first influence noticed and it was confirmed on track 11 as she mentioned that she studied Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn and Natalie Cole (how strange) as well. She does not sound like Lina at all, but I detected hints of John Legend and Macy Gray which turned me off a bit. There are probably three songs I really like on her CD but to be honest her voice only makes me want to hear the original divas. I'd be more convinced of her talent if I heard her sing sans the studio. There are way too many studio singers out there and I hope she isn't one of them. Check out the sample.

Entertainment Overload ...

2007-07-01T11:53:00.000-03:00

Music: Diana Ross - Love Hangover

Saturday I went to a cook out with a friend and met more people that will be on the cruise. Despite the overcast threatening to ruin all outdoor events, the clouds retreated and the sun was revealed towards the end of the day. What was once a count down of weeks is closing in quickly and I can't wait to go on vacation. The folks I met were a fun bunch. Ages ranging from about mine on up. I expect to have a great time even with people I consider to be strangers.

Yesterday I got to hang with an old friend I haven't seen in probably a year. She came to town for a little vacation and we hung out. We checked out the new Circuit City my area and after realizing it was a waste of time we ended up having to go to another CC. The new store doesn't have the majority of their stock so don't bother checkin' them out for another week or so local folks. I finally found and bought the Chrisette Michele CD as many of my fellow music lovers suggested. If you don't know who she is you have probably heard her voice in Jay Z's Lost Ones. I'm making a weak attempt to listen to it for the first time of all places, at work. This just simply can't be done. I need to be in my car or at home where I can crank it up. That song just came on and I'm resisting the urge to blast it. What I've heard from her so far is refreshing. She reminds me of Lina (wonder what happened to her?). If I find a song that moves me enough maybe I'll share it with yall :)

I watched the BET Awards this weekend to the best of my ability. I knew I made the right decision the first time in NOT watching. I listened to the wrong person come to work all hyped up the next day recapping the show. As usual it was a hot mess and not worth the hours. So I waited for the performances I heard so much about and in between flipped stations. Speaking of the show, something that is irritating me in the music industry is this alter ego crap. I am tired of artists having alter egos. Tyrese and Black Ty, T.I.P and T.I., Ron Isley and Mr. Big. When does it stop? What is it about? During the show T.I. apologized for "T.I.P.'s" actions in the altercation with Luda's manager Chaka Zulu. What kind of backhanded crap is that? Then he followed up by promoting the release of his alter ego CD LMAO! Talk about using a situation.

The hype over the iPhone is pretty funny also. People are actually getting the phone and breaking it up just to see how it works. I wish I had that kind of money and time to spend. Then again, no I don't. In other news, I keep hearing that Mike J is moving to the Eastern Shore. Yeah right. I'm not believing this. I wish I would see MJ moonwalking his way around MD claiming it to be home.

The past few weeks have gone from utterly discouraging and depressing to exciting and reassuring. No matter what happens I am sure I will be fine, and I couldn't say that a few weeks ago. I would have said I'd be OK but I wasn't as convinced as I am now.

2007-06-28T20:24:00.002-03:00

Music:
James Brown - It's a Man's World
Alicia Keys - Fallin

This week just keeps getting better and better. The things that bothered me are slowly but surely fading into the nothings they were in the first place. Finally there is an inkling of peace and normalcy back in my life and I couldn't be happier to be back in a state of chill. I think my decision to stop thinking and start doing actually shifted me back up as opposed to the downward spiral I was headed for. This is truth! It speaks to exactly what I'm experiencing. Don't believe me? prove me wrong and try it for yourself.

One of my coworkers told me she is proud of me and my dedication to health. She seemed genuine in her words as always. Her words actually stopped me from buying that Snickers I thought was craving *blush* People never know how what they say can positively or negatively effect someone else.

I'm watching the Draft. This is an interesting process to watch. II have a few newbies *smile* I'd like to discuss this with later so hopefully I'm not wasting my time watching this. I will say this, I need Mr. Oden to do something about that cavemanesque look. He really looks like he belongs in the Geico commercials. Also, I can't STAND this guy. He sounds like he's yelling for no damn reason. Listening to him and Dick Vitale is just out of control. Lastly, is it me or does this draft thing resemble a friggin slave trade? It must be just me, oh well.

2007-06-26T22:40:00.000-03:00

2fer1 Music:
Switch - I Call Your Name Girl
Rich Boy - Throw Some D's

I watched Shaq's Big Challenge and this is one of the most difficult things I've watched in a while. To hear a kid being told that they are morbidly obese was just down right disturbing. What was even more amazing was how their parents enabled their kids to be that unhealthy. I hope they will show some type of program for the parents to help with time management or whatever their reasons were for not having healthy foods available for their kids. Watching the youngin's struggle with basic physical activity was hard too but the fact that they are doing this show and reversing the damage is great. What are the schools doing? I mean, when I was in their grades I had mandatory gym and our teachers didn't just let us give up or not try. It seems the school systems are failing our youth again. I applaud Shaq and his effort to get involved with these kids. I hope it starts a trend and we get back to the it takes a village style of raising our youth. I saw a Caveman commercial and I can't say that I will be watching that. Those cavemen characters are just strange and I don't find them all that funny. I never got the big craze over them. Oh well I guess I'm alone on this because all of America has embraced them.

I swear I will enjoy the most ridiculous songs based on the music alone. Especially when I recognize the oldie that was sampled. I heard Switch the other day and I've always liked the DeBarge clan and their music. I wondered at first why I was drawn to Rich Boy's song and now you and I both know why :)

"I doooo you do birds and bees do too THROW SOME Ds ON THAT BIATCH!"

(I wonder if I can start saying that to people, especially if they ask me stupid shat ...hmmmmm).

No theme today ...

2007-06-25T11:35:00.000-03:00

My schedule has been so crazy I haven't been able to keep up with this blog the way I expected. There was a song I heard on Saturday on XM that completely captured how I was feeling in that exact moment. Whatever song that was it was damn sure supposed to be posted on here and now I'm at a complete loss of what it was.

While flipping through my Runner's magazine the other day I came across an ad featuring John Legend. The ad was for The Gentlemen's Fund. The purpose of the initiative is to raise awareness in five platforms (opportunity, health, education, environment and justice). I'm all for this type of stuff. I would encourage all of my male buddies to become involved if not in this organization, in something similar. In the past year's I've become more active with community initiatives and programs. I appreciate the fact that I'm in a position to give. It may not always be that way so while all is well I'm doing as much as I can stand.

Last night's attempt to stay up and cram 3 chapters of finance was a failure. No I did not just start studying last night. I've been studying with focus since I got home last week and I just got through a chapter yesterday. I did have a successful tutoring session and was encouraged to stick in and not quit the class. I made some headway on my assignments and even peeped the midterm right after it was posted (around midnight). I finally gave in to exhaustion a little after 2am and sent my professor a quick note requesting an extension on homework and the midterm.

One last random thought. I wouldn't say that I generally don't like children, I actually do. But there is one child that I really just don't like. Other kids I can understand, relate to even if I think back to my own childhood. This kid? I cringe every time I see him and I avoid talking to him completely. I wonder if other people do the same or if it's just me.

Challenged ....

2007-06-24T14:46:00.000-03:00

Yesterday I had my first work out with Lady T in 2 weeks. For reasons I'd rather not to get into, the session did not go as well as I wished. I was forced to take it down a few notches and finish with less intensity than what was planned. For the record it was not the workout she had planned, on a regular day I'd love it (I still do) and it wasn't even too much for me. But I will say that working out at 3pm is not a good idea. That track was hot as hell and it did NOT help my situation out at all. I'll be in the gym tomorrow and I'm looking forward to picking back up this week. Nevertheless, I'm glad got a jump start yesterday.

I'm sitting here waiting for my tutorial session to help me get back on track from where I left off, Chapter 2, to where we are now, Chapter 5 and the damn midterm this week. Quite a few other students dropped the course because of the class continuing despite the lack of resources (textbooks). The complicated assignments were also a factor in the decision of some to give up. I will decide after this tutorial if I can hang in there or if I should just cut my losses and try again another semester.

To help my situation even further I went to Borders and picked up two additional books to help me understand wtf this textbook is blabbering about. I also stopped by Pier 1 and picked up a few of these. The price was right (compared to many others) and they smell friggin WONDERFUL! I also ran into an old friend. I text with her often but haven't seen this chick in probably 3 years. I realized that downtown Silver Spring (DTSS) is not only the spot for families but also the newest dating mecca in this area. I wonder how much money is made in DTSS per weekend?

I also wonder (out loud) if any of my friends, besides one, boycotts products or places of business due to bad publicity or unfortunate events? A friend and I discussed the incident at Six Flags and she mentioned going but not riding the rollercoasters. Her plan is to just stick with water rides and the lazy river. I don't really understand this concept. Why pay the price of the tickets just to be in water when I'm sure there are much cheaper ways to wade in tha water?

alli: The New Weight Loss Craze ...

2007-06-21T20:45:00.000-03:00

I was not feeling good at all this morning so I opted to work from home. Don't laugh, I actually got a lot done today. The plan is to be in the office tomorrow and maybe even get a work out in after work.

During my frequent visits to the Super Walmart last week I kept walking by the alli stand. So of course I decided to take a pamphlet and do my own research. If you have no clue what I'm talking about, alli is a new weight loss aid that has been FDA approved. alli claims to help you lose up to 50% more weight than dieting alone. When I read the details of this innovative weight loss method I was immediately drawn to the side effects, affectionately referred to by the makers as 'treatment effects'. The pills work by blocking approximately a quarter of the fat eaten from being absorbed in your body. The fat is instead expelled. The 'treatment effect' situation comes if you eat a meal that contains too much fat. You then run the risk of having "uncontrollable gas with an oily discharge and/or diarrhea". Ok back up. Lets think about this. Could you imagine being on this "treatment" and ohhh lets say a being stuck in a business meeting or God forbid on a DATE while one of the "treatment effects" hits you.

Granted the plan further explains that users should be committed to following a low fat diet and all but, if you are going to do that anyway why even bother messing with this stuff? There are also other warnings such as pre-cancerous lesions. I just don't understand the need to take this crap (ha!) and not know what embarrassing situation could pop up (ha ha!) at any moment. Do people wear Depends for protection? I'm laughing a bit as I type this but seriously. I invite you to check out the following discussion and read up on it to draw your own conclusions. I'll stick to letting Lady T and the gym beat the fat out of me.

HOME SWEET HOME!

2007-06-20T17:58:00.000-03:00

Music: Aretha Franklin - Aint No Way

I'M BACK!! After being stuck on a plane for over an hour with crying terrible twos echoing off each other only to be told the brake system was shot ta hell. Then switching to another plane and waiting almost another hour before take off I am at home and soo very happy. This business trip turned out to be a beast and I still have love for GA but lawd THANK GOD I'm back in MD. I missed my friends and even my foes. I missed my routine and my mommy (lol shaddup! yes I still call her that). I missed the hell out of my XM radio (online just isn't the same), my dented up Toyota (the 4Runner I had in GA was pretty cool though) and I just missed being in my own space. It's nice to get away to really appreciate what you have sometimes. I was soo pressed to get home I took a cab because the Super Shuttle man told me he didnt know how long I would have to wait and it could be hours for all he knew (dayum that and i better get my money back for that cab ride).

During my time in GA I was faced with many obstacles. Quite a few folks I worked with tried the shit out of me. They tried my patience and kindness. The had the nerve to try my professionalism and knowledge about what I do. Going through it I spent a few nights questioning if I really am as good as I thought I was. I questioned if my heart was in the right place on decisions I made to dig a little deeper in helping out situations. Another thought was, what is the purpose of taking 6 steps forward to have people strategically place hidden mines that blasted me 10 steps back. After doubts, concerns, tears and lots of solitude I decided I know exactly what the hell I'm doing and there will always be folks that want to make you believe the opposite. You can't run from the things you want to do because of others. So with that said, I'm home, it's on and fuck anyone that gets in my way *said with a beautiful smile*

Reaping it ...

2007-06-18T23:05:00.000-03:00

When I got in from work today I was so drained from playing the therapist/mediator role all day and being around negative energy I literally came in my room, declined a dinner invitation and went to bed. My eyes were burning, stomach poking out from lunch and I just all around felt like crap. I thought back to my lunch and although I enjoyed it, I felt horrible. I remember feeling that way before I started seeking help and I began feeling depressed. I was soo damn tired but could not for the life of me just close my eyes and take a nap. All I thought was 'what have I done to myself?' Before I realized, it had reached 8pm and I hadn't even called and talked to my mom. When I did talk to her I told her I'd call her back when I got myself together.

As drained and down as I felt, I knew there was only one cure for my misery. I got out of bed, got dressed and hit the gym. I can't live how I did before. It's not worth it. The meal I once thought tasted like heaven all of a sudden made me want to force it out of me (no I didn't do this I'm not crazy). I lasted all of about 5 and a half minutes on the stairmaster but I broke out in the biggest sweat and felt the stretch in my muscles so I know it wasn't all for nothing. I got my walk/run on the treadmill and felt like I was home. I had no music but the TV served as my distraction. I did a few weights and wrapped it up.

At 10:18pm as I write this I am wide awake and feeling great. Depression subsided and feeling less guilty. To my friends that encourage me in the nicest and sometimes most insensitive/effed up ways I thank you. For all you know you could be saving my life.

Weekend Review ...

2007-06-18T09:04:00.000-03:00

Mood: Homesick
Music: The Roots ft. Erykah Badu - You Got Me

At the end of last weeks activities I treated myself to see Fantastic 4 Silver Surfer. I was so tired I thought I was going to fall asleep but I didn't. The first F4 movie was never seen so this one kept my attention. It was not the best movie I've seen as of lately and it didn't have that blockbuster feel at all but it was a nice distraction for the moment.

Saturday I went to the North Georgia Premium Outlet Mall with someone I've worked with for four years remotely and more recently onsite. We had a great time! The stores were fantastic and finally something I'd been looking forward to did not fall through or get derailed. I did not go overboard and buy everything I liked. I purchased a few pieces of clothes I needed, fed my handbag fix and picked up miscellaneous items just for fun. We had dinner at P.F. Changs which was really a good time. It's always great to hear that someone appreciates your work and that was made clear during dinner.

Father's Day was a quite day for me. Since my dad passed in '92 it hasn't been the easiest day to get through but I always manage. I attempted to complete reports but I was distracted so I tried to study but I still am without a textbook. Midterms are coming up quickly and I have no idea how this is going to work out. Another thing I've decided is out of my control so it's not worth worrying about. I read as much as I could and then called it quits.

I did NOT stay on my eating plan at all this weekend and trust me I will pay for that between now and when I get back. I never really got comfortable with this trip and my health routine. I decided not to worry about it and to do the best that I could. This trip has been way too stressful work wise for me to add anymore added pressure. I'll be glad to get home and have things back to normal.

What a week ...

2007-06-17T12:18:00.000-03:00

The rest of my week was pretty interesting in good and bad ways. I haven't been inspired to write for multiple reason's including exhaustion. My 45 minute rides to and from where I've been working have literally had me wiped out and the last thing I thought of was writing about that. There is a topic that has been on my mind and I've debated if I would bring it up in this blog or seriously censor myself. After much thought it was decided this is my space to exercise freedom of speech and so here it goes.

I have never been around rednecks. This is not me using that word to describe anyone. These are self proclaimed rednecks. I've met all types of people from all kinds of backgrounds but rednecks (just typing the word makes me nervous) is just ...interesting. This word came up the first time when I made a trip to Super Walmart. I was going in and coming out was a mother and daughter. The mother says in the strongest country twang "yeah you lookin like a real redneck nah" . So I kept it moving but all the while wondering if I heard her correctly.

The context in which the word was used sounded much like how my people call each other the infamous "N" word. I began thinking about how controversial the word became earlier in the year. I started wondering if the "R" word was acceptable in white community as a whole or if any of them were equally offended by this term. Then I recalled a situation where an Apprentice contestant was "fired" by Trump for using the term white trash.

You're wondering why any of this means anything to me right? The person I worked with this week used the term multiple times. She used it not only in front of me but in front of children. You say you need more examples of what happened this week? Sure! why not:

- She proudly displayed her confederate flag decorated myspace page, showed me pictures of her "thug" boyfriend that she has saved in her phone as "bootycall" and she shared with me her past drug usage and his current drug habits.
- A simple conversation about contact lenses turned into me being described as a light skinned black person *sigh*.
- The kids played uncensored rap and she asked them to turn it up as she bopped her head and recited lyrics.

This is only the tip of the ice burg of this weeks events. This story started a few months back and based on what I've seen some of my fears have been confirmed. I'm getting a bit irritated recalling it all and I think that's enough for right now. I attempted to guide her in the right direction but there was just no hope. This was one of the strangest site visits and it makes me nervous that this person will be providing services in this manner to our kids.

All was not lost. I'll be back later with the wonderful weekend I had! :)

Good day ...

2007-06-13T21:54:00.000-03:00

Music: Ice Cube - Today Was A Good Day

After the BEST thunderstorm last night today turned out to be absolutely beautiful. The sky was clear and the air had that crisp clean feel which I haven't felt since Christmas when I went to Bermuda. I was overcome with the feeling of nostalgia and as I packed my bags to go from one hotel to another. I wished I was heading to my grandmother's house for summer vacation. Usually I only feel this way when I hear certain songs but the weather got me good today.

It also turned out to be a really good down day. I got a lot of work done and I'm ready to go tomorrow. I got probably THE BEST pedicure ever. I usually don't like males doing my pedicures because at times they can be a bit heavy handed. But this lil guy gave me the most thorough, neat and beautiful job. He was firm but did not hurt me and it was an overall great experience. For me it can be pretty hard to please. I've been a certified manicurist for ...OH SHIT 15 YEARS (I really cant believe it, I need to check my friggin records!) I can be particular about things like technique. I can't stand for someone to not follow proper procedures. It's obvious to me when a person did not learn the right way and probably got their papers under the table. I have reported a salon (or two) for things that could potentially harm clients. I know you are probably wondering why I don't just do my own nails and pedicures. Well like anyone else I like to be pampered every now and then. I do my own services when I find time and when I want to save money and yes I'm still the best *smiling knowingly* (nope this isn't an advertisement) but it's not as relaxing.

It's late but I'm headed to the gym! I'm finally in a hotel with a small, but REAL gym space. I've been missing the treadmill and I really miss LA Fitness :( It's pissing me off that I can't find a scale ANYWHERE. Neither of these hotel gyms have scales and that makes no friggin sense to me. Maybe I'll pop over to the Super Walmart will do the trick (why don't we have Super Walmarts in my area?). No I'm not buying one but I wonder if I can get away with "testing" one or two out while I'm "shopping". Oh and yes I've already relyriced (yes I'm making this a word damnit!) the song to suit my own needs (~~The Lakers beat the Supersonics~~ The Spurs beat the Cavs!)

Just thinking ...

2007-06-12T09:37:00.000-03:00

Last night I actually had FUN studying. I was uninterrupted (well almost) and was not distracted even with the TV was on mute. I managed to breeze through a few income statement and balance sheet assignments. I forgot that I'm pretty (thanks for making me want to type pre-tay, pre-tay damnit! that crap is stuck in my head now) damn good with excel :) When you don't work with something for a while it's hard to remember that you've mastered that skill. That was the biggest lesson learned yesterday.

One thing I did not mention was a conversation I had with someone yesterday. The woman I am working with commented on my weight loss when she first saw me. At lunch she revealed to me that she had a weight loss surgery. It wasn't the gastric bypass it was a stomach stapling (I can't recall the tech name for it). This young lady is about thrice my size and I felt horrible because without thought I made the expression of "what happened?". My face didn't completely scrunch up nor did my jaw hit the floor but I just looked blankly. The only way I realized how I was looking at her was because of her response. She immediately began to explain that she had the surgery a few years ago and before she had her daughter.

This woman is about my age so I recalled information from a friend interested in having similar surgery. If you are a woman of child bearing age it is not recommended to have any form of surgery that requires any form of altering the size of the stomach. I asked her about this and she responded that she believed she was unable to have children. After the surgery she became pregnant. She told me of all the complications of her surgery and we both discussed the pain of the healing process. I was also able to detect her disappointment in not being able to successfully reach her goal weight as she mentioned to me that she gained 10 pounds since I last saw her. She told me that she is comfortable in her skin and happy with her current state. But I wondered why she looked so unhappy and previously expressed disappointment.

I've been thinking about this conversation since yesterday. I've always said one thing I would not do is have another voluntary surgery, especially anything weight loss related. I fully understand that some people need to have the surgery if they are morbidly obese. But so far I know of two people, one that had GB and one interested in the lap band procedure and neither are close to needing surgery. This makes me appreciate what I'm doing even more. I feel for those that are having a hard time getting out of depression, fear or whatever is holding them back from making life changes.

I have a feeling I'll have more to add for today's entry but I just needed to get this out there. There will be at least a song added later.

Huh man ...

2007-06-11T17:33:00.000-03:00

Music: Phil Collins - Against All Odds

Today was pretty good. For some reason I woke up around 6:15 a.m. which is just out of character for me. At home I can barely get out of bed before 10 without feeling like a zombie and on travel, especially on day 1, I'm usually comatose. However, this morning I was wide awake, perky even (no not like that, keep it clean folks). I attempted to get up and make the most of it but I took a bit of a nap until 7. I had a wonderful, FREE (can you say per diem in tha bank!) breakfast of turkey bacon, egg whites and wheat toast and I finally felt at ease about the whole eating out thing. That may be my staple breakfast while I'm here.

I worked with a new person today and things turned really well. For the first time in I don't know how many years I put my Bachelors of Science degree in Computer Networking to use. I forgot that working with computers was my true passion. I realized that I lost my love of computers. How did this happen? Straight out of college it was difficult working for the gov't on contract as the only woman (and minority) in a male dominated field. I was young and at times easily intimidated (yeah that's right lol fix ya face). Although I knew what I was doing, I was often passed over by folks or my white male counterparts. This became frustrating and I decided to move into a different field that I felt I would be respected as a woman. Today only confirmed that I'm still damn good at what I do. I don't have that "piece of paper" for no reason. Now that I'm older and wiser I realize that I can indeed have things my way. Will I go back into the tech world? I have no clue but I am no longer completely shutting off the possibilities. I've already come up with about three new ideas on having my own business and incorporating all my loves *wink*

So I'm right back to feeling how I usually feel on these trips; excited about being out of my realm and thinking forward. I called and spoke to a couple of friends in the area so I know that I will be taken care of while I'm here. All is back right within TrinaWorld (well almost).

Change ...

2007-06-10T02:56:00.000-03:00

Music: Sam Cooke - A Change is Gonna Come

If you get a chance and have access to VH1 Soul, please check out their series Soul Deep, the story of black popular music. The documentary follows the birth of soul through our current state of music. It discusses different styles that were created in around the country. Our most popular artist and producers are profiled and interviewed during the series and I hope (but I doubt) I have access to watch the other episodes. I love to hear the history of our music and how it influenced artists world wide. That reminds me of the list of movies that I want to collect (Sparkle and The Temptations top my list).

I'm sitting in DCA bored out of my mind. Nothing exciting is happening, this wing of the airport has NO shops, just these unappealing kiosks selling crap I don't want or need (well maybe something at the overly expensive silver goods kiosk). After getting through security my first stop was the magazine stand. I took my time and made what I think are wise choices. I usually pick something health related up to keep me motivated during my time away. My first choice easily became Runner's World and I can't wait to shift through it. I already see great articles for beginners like myself. My second choice is, of course Business Week. What kind of business student would I be if I didn't keep up with what's going on? I tend to be open to any news that relates to topics that I've written about in previous classes. So the cover page headline on the cost of offshoring immediately caught my eye. My third choice? I didn't plan on having one but I felt the need for a bit of entertainment so I got People magazine to feed my very rare but at times guilty pleasure of celeb gossip. I've cut myself off from Hollywood drama but hell what else do I have to do?

I sit here reflecting on my disappointment of the plans I missed out on this weekend. This being my last weekend in town for a lil while there are several events, parties etc. that just did not work there way into my schedule. I usually look forward to my GA trips but this time not so much. I'll try to keep my time occupied with school and work and hopefully the time will quickly pass by. When I first started my position I never gave much thought to traveling. I didn't even think it was a possibility. Then I got my first wiff of business travel and I damn near prayed for the opportunity. 4 years later I sit here wondering WTF was I thinking?

Yes it's a great opportunity to see the country for free and meet lots of great people but my time has come and gone with it. The packing and worrying about forgetting things, the hustling to make flights and now missing social events due to travel are all reasons for me to press forward in making this my last extended business trip. I'm ready to settle down, stay home and really focus on the things I want to achieve. Traveling is a huge interruption in your routine from the foods you eat to scheduling conflicts. It's also difficult to get back in the swing of things when you return. Life goes on at home as if you don't exist and it's a lonely feeling trying to catch up with friends, family, bills and everything else without a pause button. So with that said, please check out today's song choice. It's time to deep clean and get rid of some of this mess.

T.G.I.F.

2007-06-08T09:47:00.000-03:00

Music: Wu Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M.

Let me get this out of the way. I am beyond irritated that wearing flip flops has been deemed as unprofessional at work yet there are several people around here that negatively impact my ability to breath. I will never understand how anyone smells horrible first thing in the morning. This is not to say we all are expected to be shower fresh all day and night but come the fuck on. I know these are strong words so early in the day but sometimes there's no other way to put it.

I did catch the game last night. I originally had no preference to who wins, but that has changed. I'd like to see the Spurs get this. I have nothing against Lebron and his team but for some reason I feel like he still needs more time to marinate, kind of how I'm feeling about Obama here lately *sigh*.

With that out the way, I thought about checking out the gym's sauna and getting in a swim after work. However, with all the stuff I have on my plate today I'm not sure the gym will be an option. My preference may be to just go home and do an airconditionedindoorsawayfromfunkycrazyfolks work out.

I still have not received my textbook for this class so next week will be quite interesting as I try to stay afloat out of town without study materials. I'm hoping my professor posts chapters as she started to do. But don't you hate when you order things only to be told they are on backorder? So you've spent your hard earned cash with nothing to show for it.

Meme ...

-What is the most important thing in your life today? What makes it so important?
My family because it keeps getting smaller and smaller so I cherish every moment with them.

-Where would you like to go for a dream vacation?
What's a vacation?

-If you could pick one (only one!) person at your place of employment who would be fired today, who would you pick?
I don't know who the hell reads this blog in lurker status so I'm just gonna leave this one alone. But just know that I have a list of mofos that need to raise up out this camp HAHAHHAA!

Awake!

2007-06-07T13:05:00.000-03:00

Mood: Energized
Music: Ohio Players - Heaven Must Be Like This

Last night I went out to a dinner party and had an ok time. It's strange at times to be in such an intimate setting with people you really don't know. I was blessed to be around a handful of people I do know and that slightly took the edge off. It really was great seeing a few familiar faces an I did meet some cool folks. Before going I did not know the atmosphere of the venue and took note that if I ever (which I doubt) plan an event I will make sure to inform the attendees of such information. I was home a little before midnight and I called Lady T to confirm our morning session.

I'm glad that I went to work out this morning. When I woke up I had every inclination to stay in bed and skip today. However; seeing that I will be without access to Lady T's services for damn near 2 weeks I got over it and headed out. I also did not feel like going to the gym after work. Today's work out tested all that we have worked on since session one. I immediately noticed improvements as I jumped rope, did crunches on the stability ball and mat. I am not where I want to be with lunges. Lady T keeps pointing to the damn stadium steps letting me know I will be running up and down them. She will continue to get the infamous Trina-style straight face until I'm comfortable with that goal. I almost fell asleep about 5 times on the way home from the track today but I'm happy to report that I am wide awake and full of energy.

I cringe at the thought of planning meals on the road for the next 2 weeks but that will be my ultimate test of determination and knowledge. I fear that I will fall so far backwards from my progress that I will come back home in a never ending pit of personal disgust. Therefore, I will authorize Lady T and maybe a few personal friends to call regularly and check up on me.

Last and least, WTF is with this Paris Hilton crap? They reduced her sentence from 45 days to 23, she goes in for 3 days and leaves because of some medical issue but they credit her for 5? Why can't they just lock all those broads up and keep their overly dysfunctional asses out the way.

Today's meme ...

-What one thing/person do you have the most compassion toward?
A person without family

-What is your favorite "pig-out" food?
Everything.

-Of all the airports you've been in, which one would be the best one in which to be stuck for 12-15 hours?
Atlanta!

...

2007-06-06T11:03:00.000-03:00

Mood: Anticipating great things ...
Music: Sheila E. - Love Bizarre

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing Prince and Sheila E. perform at the ALMAs. My mom, called me and told me when he came on. After that the TV was muted as I spent time playing around online, looking through my wardrobe and catching up on school work. I slept pretty well and feel great today. There will be no working out today. Well, as of now there is no plan to but maybe a walk later will do the trick.

I listened to Steve Harvey this morning, something I half way do most days, and he was interviewing Randal Pinkett. The discussion topic was being a business owner vs. working for others. I unfortunately only got the tail end of the conversation but this is something I have always wanted to do. I'm slowly but surely becoming weary of the constraints of working under other's rules, regulations and expectations. I understand that the aforementioned will always exist even if I start my own but I would love to have more control. Another reason to cut back on people and things that serve no purpose in me becoming the woman I want to be.

I liked this meme ...
-Which one entertainer would you like to have attend your funeral? Good lawd, what kind of morbid mess is this? I'll get back to ya ...

-Think back to your childhood. What was something you were looking forward to doing/being as an adult? Have you done/been it? Funny enough I wanted mail to come in my name, cards with my name on them, to make my own meal choices and be able to spend my money however I wanted. I've done all these things (obviously) and I now understand why adults always said they wish they could go back to being a kid lol.

-What team would you like to have season tickets for? Where would you want to sit? The Redskins and as close to Shawn Springs as I could get!

This is not a meme question but I really want to know, what songs would you pick to make up the album of your life? This is something I've been thinking about all week and I still haven't answered it. So I'm asking the handful of readers here. What songs would really tell your life story. What songs would you pick to tell your desired future?

Back on track ...

2007-06-05T09:52:00.001-03:00

Mood: Relaxed! (Thanks Lady T!)
Music: Cheryl "Pepsi" Riley - One of Us

I went to the gym after work last night and had a good time. I walked/ran off some stress. I had some real characters on the treadmill next to me. The first lady literally must have been walking at a pace of 0.5. She had me effed up as I saw this white blur moving at such a slow pace in my peripheral. Then came the chick that got all excited from whatever she was listening to. She damn near had me duckin and diving as she waved her hands. Last was the dude making the strangest stretching movement while walking. I believe that treadmill is cursed.

Today's song played as I ran 10 consecutive minutes, something I have never done. No the song isnt that long I just played it over and over. It gives me the same feeling as Mariah's Fly like a Bird. The song really makes you think about how you carry yourself, how you treat others and the affects of your actions. I've always loved this song (original by Joan Osborne) however I really love CPR's interpretation. I just found out Prince also covered the song so you know what I'll be searching for when I get home.

So Lady T got around to reading my blog and the first thing I hear this morning ..."You ate Mexican Food and drank?" See, this was the purpose of this blog. To, when needed, put my ass on blast so those that care can fuss me out and keep me on track. I did explain that I had chicken nachos but I ate less than a quarter of my meal (although they were DAMN GOOD). I didn't speak on the bread that came out that I refused. We discussed drinking and the negative effects it can have. I wondered of all my going out and having a good time accompanied with drinks here and there in the past 2 months, how much it has held me back from seeing more results. So I challenge myself to research and write about the effects of partying on someone like myself seeking to improve her health. I also realize that I need to tighten up my game plan and stop bs'ing. It's summer so I wont say I'm done with going out but I will monitor my food and drink intake more closely.

We did the walk/run mile and per my request I got stretched tha HELL out. Ohhhh it hurt. And not a good hurt. But as I sit here I appreciate all that pain because I feel like a new person. Oh and we have a new goal. Running 3 miles by the end of this summer. I did not set this goal. It was set for me (thanks!) and hell yeah it makes me nervous. The improvements in my running have been the ability to go from lasting 2 minutes to 10 on the treadmill and experiencing less pain in my shins and thighs while doing it. I look forward to reaching this goal.

I don't see a meme posted for today so I'll do an older one ...

-Have you ever had a dream that explained something that happened in your past? Predicted something that happened in the future?
Yes I have had quite a few dreams that ended up coming true.

-What is your favorite candy?
SNICKERS! Damn I miss them :(

-If you had to have one, whose autograph would you have tattooed somewhere on your body?
That would be Prince of course.

Searching ...

2007-06-04T18:31:00.000-03:00

So since I've been here waiting for the day to end I browsed blogger and found quite a bit of useful information. When I started this blog I had no intentions of promoting it or spreading the word. However, I have a few friends that are in the business of making their blog turn to cash. I was lead to Technorati - a website that allows you to get the word out. There are many others like this one but I was able to do something on Technorati that I have not figured out how to do here on Blogger, search for other blogs with similar interests. I'm not saying that you can't but it's a lot easier on Tech. I found some great

The Daily Meme is also something that caught my attention. Here is my participation for today's Meme:

What one burden in life do you think should be shared equally by everyone?
-Cramps!

What do people like about you?
-I often wonder the same thing ...hmmmm

What is the most embarrassing thing your parents ever did to you?
-Things that were soo bad I'd never post them here :)

BOOO-RINGGGG!

2007-06-04T15:35:00.001-03:00

Mood: Bored (didn't figure that out from the title?)
Music: Maxwell - Get To Know Ya

I am bored out of my mind right about now. This picture of a skull covered in 1,106.18 carats of diamonds was the only thing interesting thing I've seen or read about. It's eerily beautiful. The teeth could use some veneers but I guess that gives it character. Well, there was also this positively uplifting site (thanks to the sender). I've spent the day sitting at my desk trying to get organized. I will say that with all this boredom I was motivated to clear a few things off my agenda which will make my upcoming trip to GA pretty productive. I am craving the gym and I almost feel like dipping out right now (3:05 P.M.) to head over there and not come back.

This past weekend, I must have seriously gotten back every ounce of rest from my recent sleepless nights. For the first time in months I have not felt exhausted at work. I was a bit tired earlier but nothing like most days. I'm realizing I don't get enough rest and I wonder how that affects my overall success rate with my quest to better health. I'm starting to think I hang out too much and I need to chill with the running around. It is true that as you get older you just can't hang as tough. Maybe something will happen between the time I get out of here and me going to sleep. For now that is all.

Expectations ...

2007-06-03T17:32:00.000-03:00

Music: Frankie Beverly and Maze - While I'm Alone

After the race yesterday instead of going to bed, I went and got a pedicure. A friend called and we met up for lunch which was fantastic. We had a chance to catch up and since I will miss some of her birthday events next week I treated her to lunch. I planned to go shopping afterwards but seeing how I damn near left my credit card at the restaurant because I was simply too tired to pay attention, I decided to go home and get some rest. I slept for a few hours and only woke up because I had a date.

Things started out well enough. We had some Mexican food, danced salsa (Relax your eyebrows ...you read it correctly) and talked. We began finding out about each other, likes, dislikes ...yanno, the basics. The convo went from me receiving compliments to dude trying to lock a sistah down in a com ...commit ...I can't even type it. This dude went on and on about how I am his intended and then he broke down all the things he was planning to do to make it happen. Now I've heard comments about how women meet men and immediately start thinking of them as potential husbands but I never hear about how men do the same (hmmmm).

The flags that I slowly lowered to about half staff were suddenly once again flapping in the winds of suspicion. My expectations for a fun, stress free date came to were apparently too much. I smiled my way through the rest, hoping not to trigger dude's crazy bone if he had one. This continued to be the tone of the rest of the shortened outing and through it all, I ended up home safe and sound. I awoke this morning to a call inviting me on a shopping spree which I nicely turned down.

Dating just seems to get more and more difficult to me. All women are not looking for or expecting love at first sight (well I'm not). Hopefully this wont throw me back into the me, myself and I routine I have become so accustomed to. Will I go out with this dude again? probably not. Am I looking forward to the next date with whomever? ehhh not really. I am hoping that the next time around things are a bit more relaxed and the other person is on the same page as moi.

Race Day!

2007-06-02T12:47:00.000-03:00

Mood: Full of myself!
Music: Tupac n em - I Get Around

One goal down and many more to go. Today was a perfect day for this event. The weather was beautiful, the people were great and I was ready to go. I met up with members of my group around 8:15 A.M. right at the start of the walking race. As we began, to the left of was a sea of people running. I immediately got jealous and vowed next year (yes this will be annual for me) I will run this race. I have no clue what I need to do to get to that point but damnit I'm doing it.

Four of us stuck together bobbing and weaving through crowds of folks. Some Sunday strollers, others jogging and running. The day started off cool enough, it felt like the perfect Spring morning. As I walked I started looking for signs. FINALLY the one mile mark made it's appearance and out of no where I was overcome with a desire to get it DONE. While I was speeding up getting I was irked by the sudden slowness of people headed to the water station. As I sipped my own water I dipped my way past the slow strolling and stopped racers. I started really feeling the physical pressure I was putting on myself around the second mile but it didn't slow me down. I pushed and dug deep to keep my pace again wishing I could run it.

Right around 2.25 miles the heat set in. As my pace slowed down, I started getting disappointed in myself for allowing the sun to slow my stride. The heat in one spot was so intense I felt like a higher being was above me holding a galaxy sized magnifying glass over me intentionally burning me (did you ever do that as a kid to ants? I never could ...it seems so heartless). I passed that hurdle only to find myself rounding on the finish line. I picked it up and jogged my way through finally satisfied with myself. It took less time than I expected (1 hour). I'm thankful for the folks I was with they kept me on my pace and of course my iPod. I don't know how people could do something like this without music. Of course I took a few pictures that I'm not sure if I will post any (*Disclaimer* I will only my own pics so folks that I took pics with calm down I wouldn't do that to you with out your permission).

Overall this is one of the best things I've done and I can't wait for next year.

Random ...

2007-06-01T09:08:00.000-03:00

Mood: I have no clue but I'm smiling :)
Music: Doug E. Fresh - Keep Rising To The Top

Because of the race tomorrow Lady T made me promise NOT to go out tonight or at least be in by 9pm. I did make that promise and I plan to keep it although I sure would love to hang out after work at a nice spot with plenty of men and good drinks. I made a commitment so I won't mess that up.

I watched the game in its entirety last night. Everyone knows I am NOT a sports fanatic but last night? yeah I was on the edge of my seat literally. Now c'mon, it must have been good to have me watching double overtime. The best part of it, I claimed neither team. I could care less who won so I harbor no ill feelings today over the outcome. I have no real commentary, no insight for future games none of that. Is this a weak attempt on my part to write about sports? hell no because I have nothing technical to say about it. So before you critique my comments how about I guide you to go here, here or here for all that jazz. I just wanted to acknowledge the fact that I DID indeed watch and enjoy it all and I was impressed with one Mr. LeBron James. I kept watching just to see what he was going to do next. OK enough of all that.

I don't feel like going out of town next week. I've been invited to three events two of which I will miss. All these connections I've made in GA over the past two years better step up and show a sistah a good time. Spring is my favorite season and I'm ready to have fun. This traveling thing is getting in the way of all that and it needs to stop. So with that said, I need to be out this weekend. Doing what? Hell if I know. With whom? *shrug* That's it for now. Have a great weekend!

Desperation ...

2007-05-31T22:23:00.000-03:00

Mood: Relaxed
Music: Ready For The World - Let Me Love You Down

I didn't meet up with Lady T this morning *smh* (means shaking my head for those that don't know) but the plan is to make it up tomorrow. I did get my cardio in so I don't feel too bad. Things are running smoothly and as of this morning I'm down 12 pounds :)

So I read the info on TB dude and I just don't get it. How effed up of a person do you have to be for your family (father-in-law works for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta) and health officials to tell you NOT to travel because you have a contagious and deadly disease and you just sit there and say "ummm yeah I think I'll do it anyway can I just wear a mask?" *seriously pressed*. As I prepare for my trip to the ATL next week I am completely annoyed by the whole situation. This fools name was put on a no-fly list however upon his return he just slides right back in the country as if to have not a care in the world. What the hell is really going on in this country that an alert goes off informing border control folks "HEY! don't let this mofo in!" and they do it anyways. What the hell kind of country do I live in that my health is put at risk so easily? I'm already paranoid when I travel and damn near can't sleep for the first three nights in hotel beds. Now I have to worry about hackin' Herb behind me on the plane coughin all God knows what. Another reason for me to get right. My immune system will need a boost next week.

I read Dr. Gupta's take on all of this in his blog. Apparently the chances of actually getting infected from this dude are pretty small. That sounded good and put my mind to ease until I read how the situation was not handled properly (what a surprise). Dr. Gupta questioned the readiness of our public health system which only further confirmed that our country's processes in dealing with crisis are seriously flawed.

So that guy I met last week. He's been blowin my phone the hell up. Can you say red flag? Maybe I should give dude a chance. But right now, the five messages in less than an hour just isn't sitting well with me.

Today's song choice ...to me is just sexy as hell. Beggin? yes. Desperate? maybe. But if you're gonna go out like that this is the right way to do it *whew*. Anyways, enjoy!

Discipline sigh

2007-05-30T18:03:00.000-03:00

Mood: Focused
Music: Res - Golden Boys

Baja Fresh has a damn good salad. It was pretty clean (not too much extra crap), fresh and I was pretty surprised that I enjoyed it that much. What annoys the hell out of me is people that eat crap in front of you that you may want but you know you can't have. I asked this chickazoid to get out of my office space smackin in my ear (another pet peeve). She continued to smack and slob down on a vanilla frosty and I swear I was ready to choke tha shit out of her. These are the type of challenges I hate. If you aren't going to be supportive you may wanna stay away from me :)

I went to Best Buy on a mission to get noise cancellation ear buds. The price ranges from $50 - $100 and me being the overly pressed at times especially when it comes to anything related to music, I planned to spend $100 (hell it's pay day too so wtf?). I'm proud to say I spent $35 and so far I'm pleased with my purchase. When I got to the office I tried them out right away. I could no longer hear the loud friggin printer or folks laughing. No more loud ass yawns from my neighbor, no flip flop sounds. Just music ...Pure bliss!! I did not buy any new music. I don't remember the last CD I bought. I realize now that I really need to get a hold of my budget just as I have to deal with this weight issue. I'm determined to own property and spending my earnings all willienillie just wont cut it.

Summer courses started this week and for the first time in years, I dropped a class on day 1. I read the description of this Research Methods for Managers class and immediately withdrew. The description in the catalog is NOTHING like what the professor explained. This is a situation where I need to be in a classroom setting. I am not a fan of statistics (yes I took it twice in undergrad) and I felt my chest get tight as I read the syllabus, assignments and study group expectations. Last semester I damn near had a breakdown working with a group. It's summertime damnit I don't need the stress right now. I signed up for a Financial Decision Making for Managers course and I'm much happier. 16 weeks of this class is gonna get downright crazy but I'm excited and open to learn all that is presented to me.

So as of now I have three goals for this summer, reaching my weight loss goals, finding a condo and getting through this class. I will be a scheduling queen. For my folks reading this, if I go ghost don't take it personal. Every time I do that folks get real caught in their feelings. A sistah's just trying to get her grown woman thing going. Remember, be supportive or get tha eff on *said with a smile*

HELL YEAH!!!

2007-05-29T21:25:00.000-03:00

Mood Change: Ecstatic!
Music: Talib Kwali - Just To Get By

I am officially down ONE SIZE!! I did the clothes test after work today and tried on multiple things in different stores. I'm in shock. I tried on a halter dress and damn near wanted to feel myself up in the dressing room *blushing* This is gonna be one hot, sexy ass summer :) *Listening to mah music and doin mah happy dance*

Step it up!!!

2007-05-29T10:24:00.000-03:00

Mood: Don't you see the smile on my face? :)
Music: The Game - Wouldn't Get Far

As usual, I'm sleepy this Tuesday morning and struggling to make it to noon. Lady T stepped it up today and I'm feeling it all over. I have no complaints though as I am officially down 10 pounds and what I'm wearing today did not look this good two weeks ago. Today's work out was a combo of MORE jogging and less walking and upper body strengthening. I can see why people run. The results are much quicker than many other cardio exercises I've tried. *Sidebar - Someone just walked past talking loud as hell and I felt like I was hung over*. It was increasingly difficult not to fall asleep in this morning's meeting but I managed to keep up with everything. It was nice finally meeting our new director. I realized that I missed this film series

You ever have folks around you that are hard pressed to get in your world but there's just no way they can be a part of your inner circle? I have a few folks like that. It's funny to watch them keep trying, damn near begging to get close. The more you try the less I'm willing. Sounds cold but that's how it has to be some times. You can't just let anyone in your life. I know I can be real standoffish and closed in but it works for me. I let my guards down for people over time. My friends are all different but in some way or another they are all like minded. All of my friends have goals and have achieved them or have solid plans in getting it done. I take pride in everyone I deal with and I hope they take some in me. What bought this up? I just had a convo with someone that is looking to upgrade their friends. I hope she realizes that in order to upgrade she has to be ready for personal growth and change.

I'm a bit tapped out right now so that's about it. I'm not a huge rap fan but this song cracks me up and seems fitting. Check it out and enjoy! last week. I'm trying to find out where I can get a hold of it. Last week was just too hectic and I regret not going. If I track it down best believe I'll be there!

Inspiration ...

2007-05-28T18:08:00.000-03:00

Ok so wow! I usually start my blogs with what I've done to keep up with my new healthy regimen. Right before I started typing my mom informed me that my godsister's husband died. They are not much older than myself, mid 30's. He was diabetic and last year he had part of his foot or a couple of toes removed because he wasn't taking care of himself. They were married about three years ago so I am a bit in shock. I couldn't imagine being a widow at the age of 36. I think it's very selfish to not take care of yourself the best you can ...if not for yourself at least for your spouse and kids if you have them. So this inspires me to continue in the direction I'm headed in.

With that said, I went to the gym today, as promised, and I did an hour of cardio and a bit of free weight lifting. I realized I still have to do my morning bootcamp with Lady T so I called it a day. I'm getting much more comfortable with the treadmill and it is far from boring. A friend met me at the gym and she cant stand the treadmill. I used to prefer the elliptical but I realized, there's much more effort put into the treadmill than the elliptical. I've upped my speed and resistance and each week I look forward to the next challenge. My friend and I also discussed free weights vs. machines. I have more of an appreciation for free weights and of course, she prefers the machines. What fun is it if you don't challenge yourself and step out of your comfort zone? I also hate the fact that the have all the free weights in a room where mostly men spend their time. It's intimidating for women to go in there and usually I avoid that area. Today I said eff it and did my thing. I received a few raised eyebrows but lets see how they look at me in a few months *wink*

What got me through an hour of cardio? PRINCE!! I loaded him up and went to town. I love Prince. No let me say it again because yall don't understand I LOVE PRINCE! He is on the top of my list ...right up there with MJ (yeah I said it). Price is the epitome of musical genius. He plays EVERY instrument, I love his voice and style (even when he's a bit girly). These are my top Price songs. I can't say it's in order but it's close enough:

1. Lets Go Crazy
2. Pink Cashmere
3. If I was Your Girlfriend
4. Insatiable
5. Scandalous
6. Purple Rain
7. Soft and Wet
8. Computer Blue
9. The Beautiful Ones
10. Baby I'm A Star

Now if you haven't figured it out, Purple Rain is on my top 5 movie list. Prince sends me into another world with his music. I enjoy songs with long instrumental sections and just about all of his have that. His music is original and meaningful. His greatness is inspiring and uplifting. There is only one Prince and no one can sound like him or be like him. He is the ONLY one. I mean damn, dude had me RUNNING on the treadmill. So you know what I'll be listening to during the Race :)

Unexpected Outcomes ...

2007-05-27T22:55:00.001-03:00

Mood: Encouraged
Music: MJ - Workin' Day and Night

I had hesitations going to a cookout today but I womaned up and actually had a good time. I damn sure had no clue how I would deal with the food part but I did ok. I had one plate of food, small portions and I managed to get some veggies in there. I will be at the gym working it off tomorrow. I love going out and being around decent folks. I didn't expect a bunch of ignorant muffs (tryin not to curse again so figure it out) to be there but you never know. I can't stand going somewhere and being around a bunch of trifflin folks. I used to go to an annual cook out where everyone was getting drunk and high, the hostess always hit on another chicks husband or man right in front of the chick's face, someone always got cursed out and threatened and the hostess usually had to have someone drag her to bed. The first time I attended, I was in shock. The second time it was to see if there would be drama. The third was my last time. I grew up and it was no longer entertaining or comical to see grown folks acting so disgusting. I realized that wasn't my style and I damn sure didn't want it to be.

Another bright spot, I met a man today :) I was coming out the store he was going in. He kept looking but I really didn't think he would say anything and one of my hang ups is I've never been comfortable approaching men. He didn't let me get away before giving me his number, telling me a little about himself and complimenting me. Now I always hear about women meeting someone and day one and wondering what kind of husband and father the guy will be. A friend just called me telling me about her meeting men and writing out how her name looks with his last name. None of that crossed my mind. Hell yeah one day I want to settle down and all that jazz but for now I will be happy going on dates and meeting some decent men. Nothing may come of any of this but it always feels good for a fine man to take notice and approach a woman in a positive way. All women like to be told they look good so don't underestimate the power of a compliment.

It is just too much to expect a person's blog to be interesting all the time. It's like these reality shows. They create drama in order to have a damn show each week. Unless I'm gonna sit here and make up stories there are going to be plenty of dry spots. I can have the most interesting, enlightening day but trying to put it in writing and at times get other's to feel as excited as I do is just a difficult task.

Memorial Day Weekend ...

2007-05-26T18:58:00.000-03:00

Mood: Sleepy
Music: WAR - Slipping Into Darkness

I started out this week anxious to get to the weekend with no intention of making plans for this extended weekend. Out of nowhere I've been invited to a few traditional Memorial Day weekend events. But to be honest, I am beyond sore (thanks much Lady T! you owe me a stretch) and I could just sit here at this computer watching TV until Tuesday. Race day is a week away and I can't wait. As usual I'll probably put forth a 150% effort this week in exercise and eating right and hope I don't go -80% on both after the race is over. To ensure I don't I guess I'll just have to put my money where my heart is and extend my training sessions. Maybe I'll even find another race to sign up with for a worthy cause to keep the momentum going (don't get too excited out there).

I often wonder how much this holiday means to most. All I ever hear about are the cookouts and excitement of not going to work on Monday. I wonder how many people I know really take time out to think about those that went to war and either lost their lives or in many cases their sanity. I just had this convo with someone last week. She told me her son is signing up for the Marines and I just couldn't imagine my child (if I had one) telling me during this time of "war" that s/he wants to join the military. We discussed the recent issues at Walter Reed Hospital and the treatment of our vets upon their return from war; not only the physically wounded but the ones that come home in one piece but have literally lost their minds. The lack of necessary benefits for vets when they come back from serving is sickening.

Many focus so much on those that die in war but what about the ones that come home? I have first hand experience with my dad and his issues from Vietnam. I think of and miss him daily but this time of year I actually do reflect on my dad and grandfather, the best and worst times. For the past decade I've said almost every year I would take a trip to Quantico to visit their graves. For whatever reason I just don't go. I am sure one day I'll get over myself and make the trip out there but for now I'll continue to celebrate the weekend by reflecting on my folks and appreciate those that are out there doing there thing.

*Disclaimer* For those wondering WTF is going on with me, I am fine. I'm not depressed, sad or anything. Just posting what's on my mind this holiday season. Now I'm gonna attempt to grub on some healthy cookout food hehehhee!