Friends. How many of us have them...Friends. Ones you can depend on...

I love my friends; even with all the random ass drama they come with...For every petty argument that we've ever had, we share at least 20 laughs and hugs and comforting words in times of need and that's priceless...These women are more than friends. The emotional and social battle scars endured have made them my sisters now. ...Anyway ignore that random ass white guy in the picture. lol He just approached us and asked if he could take a picture with us...Believe it or not that happens quite often, so we didn't mind. lol

She Got It From Her Mama

Hung out with and had lunch with my mom...I miss her already... Hopefully I can get out to Cali again in December. It would be nice to at least spend Christmas with her and my big head brothers.

So Proud Of You...

This post is just a short one to mention how proud I am of my friend Nick Young...

Someone asked me about him yesterday. They wanted to know what Nick was like in high school; and it made me smile to be able to honestly say that he was and still is a very fun and easygoing guy....I had to admit that like most teenage boys he was also extremely immature and that was annoying at times. LOL. But he was just one of those people that made going to school fun.

Most people now know him as a member of the Washington Wizards. I am sooooo super duper proud of him for making it to the NBA; that was his dream and he worked hard to get there. There were times when his goal seemed unattainable due to academic circumstances and other personal issues he was struggling with off the court/ outside of school, but he never gave up on himself or let it alter his spirits. That is commendable....I am proud that Nick stayed humble, never forgets where he came from and I am elated to see him growing and maturing as a player. He has alot to offer the league and his talents will impress fans; just give him time...he's dope! ( LOL, yes I am bringin' back that old school slang)

YES WE DID!

I am so overwhelmed at the outcome of the election that I keep crying tears of joy.
I never thought that I would see the day that a strong, intelligent, compassionate Black man would be the president of the United States. I don't even have the words to fully express my emotions. I am so proud and I believe in democracy again. Obama said "Yes we can." ...Together WE DID!

We don't need 40 acres and a mule when we have 50 states and the white house.

Are you serious!?

After the incident in the nail salon in Brooklyn on Friday, I have concluded that this is the sign that should be blown up and posted on the window and main entrance of the salon..."See what had happened was" lol, I was waiting for my turn to get my eyebrows done. The place was pretty quiet; until some guy walks in. The guy was young. Appeared to be in his early to late 20's. He was well dressed..Okay not "well dressed"; let me rephrase... he had on the usual 'hood attire'. Timberland boots, overpriced jeans and a graphic hoodie with random, loud designs and words on it. I think it was Christian Audigier...Anyway so the guy comes in and I noticed that he had a box in his hand. I figured he was just selling something, like most random men who drop in the salon during business hours are. They either try to sell you bootleg DVD's and CD's or perfume. None of which were items that I was interested in purchasing, so I glanced at him for about 3 seconds before I proceeded to aimlessly flip through the four month old issue of Vogue magazine that was in my lap....But this guy was not selling anything. the box in his hand was empty. He was just begging! and do you know what he said?!...he was like: "Can anybody help me out with a dollar or some change; I'm trying to get a bag of weed."

*sigh* This guy was dead ass serious!

There is just so much that I could say about this incident, but you know what...It was really just another day, battling the slings and arrows of outrageous mothafuckas in Brooklyn.

*SMH*

Happy Almost Halloween

I love Halloween...the whole process of picking a costume and stocking up on candy to pass out to the little freeloadin' kids is great....I think you're never too old to enjoy the festivities...So in honor of my excitement about the upcoming day, I've posted a pic of me in one of my fave costumes... CLEOPATRA!

Thoughts on an excerpt...

As Trish answered, I found myself discreetly taking in her impressive features. She stood about five foot eight; her flawless skin was the same color as rich cocoa beans and so smooth that it looked more like a sheet of dark brown silk poured over flesh than it did mere skin. Her deep, dark eyes were surrounded by lashes so long that they could have been stolen from mascara commercial. Her eyebrows were thin in shape, arched to perfection by some Korean who’d mastered the craft. Trish obviously had a weave, but it too was sheer perfection; the long, black strands floated down her back and stopped a few inches before her curvy waistline, making her look like a sun kissed Egyptian queen. After silently concluding that she was a gorgeous woman, I noted that I was still better looking than Trish in some ways. Why we women do this, I will never fully understand; we compare ourselves, constantly judge one another and then we develop insecurities that fuel the process of tearing each other down. I was wondering if men do the same thing...

Okay so that was an excerpt from a novel...While the storyline and characters are ficticious, the soul of the issues in the book are all too real... I couldn't help but to spend a little additional time thinking about the part of the excerpt that I highlighted in red though... I strongly believe that women tend to do that more than men. If you are a woman reading this, what do you think? If you are a man, do you or other men that you know do this? What do do you think about women doing that?

Procession Line Pimpin'.

Okay so I was out jogging the other day, but I got tired after a little over a half hour or so into it and therefore decided to just walk through the rest of my little workout until I caught my breath…So I’m walkin’ and I hear a car horn blowing. At first I didn’t look because I figured that as usual it was probably just some guy trying to holla’ at me…The culprit was persistent though; kept honking. So I glance over, prepared to just roll my eyes and then wave the guy off because I am not drive through pussy! Ain’t nothin’ worse than a guy trying to get at you from the window of his car, like you’re a damn combo meal at a fast food joint… So anyway when I turned to face the street, I was appalled to see that the guy who was desperately trying to get my attention was driving a hearse; leading a funeral procession!
That is so disrespectful on so many levels. Granted the deceased couldn’t see or hear this man trying to make a love connection on his way to the grave site, but I’m sure the family could… *Sigh* hopefully they were too grief-stricken to realize that the driver was procession line pimpin’.

The PAIN...The HORROR...The HUMANITY!!!

Got my wisdom tooth pulled today...the one on the bottom...far left side of jaw.

OUCH!!!!!!!!!!

Chivalry is DEAD!

Found out today that someone shot Chivalry with a desert eagle, slit his throat and then left him drowning in a puddle of his own blood...
Sure I've brushed off many subtle clues as to his death in the past...You know, a "failed hold the door for a lady" here; and a "take my seat on the crowded subway,obviously old as dirt woman" there, but I shook those things off. I thought maybe Chivalry was taking a sick day; but he certainly couldn't be dead.
WRONG!!! He is as dead as Ma$e's rap career. Let me tell you how it became apparent to me...
Today I saw a man shove a pregnant woman so hard that she stumbled; just so that he could get inside of the doors to the Chase bank first... As I was helping the woman get her balance, the same man managed to step on my foot, and did not say "sorry" or anything on his mad dash to the teller...Upon finding out that the window he was headed toward was closed, the man then proceeded to hurry past and get in front of an elderly man using a walker. The old guy was slowly but surely making his way to the next available window, but he never stood a chance.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Chivalry is dead.

UPDATE (What Should I do?)

So I caved. I told my friend about my brother...Guess what happened? This trick told me that I was lying and she thinks that I'm just jealous. She said that I had been "hating" on her hooking up with my brother before he even came to visit. (mind you she used a number of curse words and invectives while saying this to me) Can you imagine the look on my face when she was saying this? I ended up having to laugh; because that was all I could do to keep from slapping her pregnant ass! And I'm not a violent person. That just isn't me...Wasn't raised like that...Fighting is primitive and to my credit, I have never been in a physical altercation in all my days on this Earth and I don't plan to ever be...Anyway; after cursing me out, she told me that she was going to tell my brother the "joyous" news and that there was nothing that I could do about it. I said "I didn't tell you all of that in hopes that you would refrain from telling him, you little Jezebel! I told you so that you could brace yourself for his reaction, which I assure you will be derived from the things you don't know about his actual life!"
She wasn't trying to hear me though. It is always so funny to me when I try to warn these broads about my brother and they don't believe me because they think that I'm suffering from sort form of sibling rivalry. worse is when they think I'm telling them because I'm jealous of the fornication infested facade that they have going with him. To that I say "Oh fuckin' Please!" I could expostulate further but it's not worth it...Anyway I have washed my hands of the situation...Two tears in a bucket, fuck it, fuck her and four people who look like her!

I'm Not Hungry Right Now.

You are food for my soul; but I’m not hungry right now.
My heart is full on your conversation and kisses.
Tired of your taste lingering on my tongue, tickling my sense.
It’s made me thirsty and you can’t quench this.
I’m craving a new, wet drink to wash you down with.
Today I won’t be coming back for seconds; even though your food is always hot.
I’ve got a hankering for a tall drink of water that will swim down my throat, splash in my stomach then course through my veins.
After while hunger pains may make me dizzy ‘cause you won’t be in me; but that’s okay because I want to miss you.
Want my mouth to water when I see or smell you. Don’t you miss the succulence of the first bite? The pleasure derived from pressure when I sink my teeth into you?
I used to swallow you; but now I just push you around on my plate.
Wrap you up. Once fresh, now cold leftovers.
I’m not hungry right now; but this doesn’t mean that I’ll never eat again.
Doesn’t mean that I’ll never take you into my mouth again or let you feel my taste buds on your texture.
You’ll always be my favorite because you’re so filling; but that’s what’s got me feeling full.
Lost my appetite.
Don’t want a bite or a morsel of you.
For now I’ve finished you.
Insatiable sweet tooth is ready for dessert.
Some sticky, sugary syrup that I can suck off my fingertips.
It’s got to be savory to get in me and make me forget that you are the first thing on my lips; going straight to my hips and thighs. Morning, noon and night, in proper portions all the time.
My personal I HOP; 24 hours, no wait in line.
Oh hell, maybe I’ll just eat you and drink him at the same time.

What Should I Do?

What Should I Do? Okay here's the thing, I have an older brother. He's not that much older than I am. There is a yr and 9 month age difference between us. Because we are so close in age, we hang out a lot when I'm visiting the westcoast (he lives in LA)...In fact he and I have always been close. We went to the same schools for most of our lives and have a ton of mutual friends...Anyway my brother is what women consider to be fine, hot, attractive, charismatic, sexy, etc... (I don't see it lol) but anyway my closest girlfriends all have or have had a thing for him at some point or another and he has fucked ALL of them! As you can imagine, his rendevous with my friends have created some problems for me over the years. Anyway as the years progressed (he conquered/ had his fill of my girls) but when I moved to New York for college (and my girls went to other states to do the same) those types of problems subsided...Since then all has been well within my circle of friends....BUT last month my brother came to Brooklyn to pay me a visit...While he was here he met and had sex with another good friend of mine. I went to college/ shared a few classes with this particular female and I've come to value her place in my life over the past 4 1/2 yrs that I've known her...Anyway the problem is she got pregnant...My brother went back to LA...he doesn't know yet; and considering the fact that he is ENGAGED to a lovely young lady back in California AND he has a child with her!! I don't think he is going to want to know...Hell, I don't want to know what I know. My friend here in NY has no idea that my brother is in a relationship back in Cali. She is aware that he had a child but my brother mislead her...She thinks he is single. What should I do? I don't want to not be loyal to my brother by blowing up his spot; but at the same time I don't want my girlfriend to be in this situation blind; which she is at this point. My friend asked me not to tell my brother the news, as she wants to be the one to break it to him. She only told me because she wanted to know how I thought he'd react when she told him. (can you imagine what was running through my head?) This is such a mess there is no way that I'm going to come out of this without someone being upset with me; which is really fucked up because I'm not the one who was lying or cheating or having sex with anyone! I've always told my friends to stay away from my brother, to no avail...It was kind of funny and cute when we were younger, but now things are more serious. There are babies involved!

What the hell?

This is random...But I thought I'd share...Okay I don't know why it is, but I am super jinxed when it comes to drive throughs/ fast food joints...I am sooo over it...And actually I prefer to cook; but like so many other working class Americans, I only have an hour lunch break while at work and most of the time I work through more than half of it, so I'm forced to rely on the pound packing fast food chains...Anyway I went to McDonalds and I ask the chick at the counter for a 20 piece Mcnugget meal...I know what you're thinking... (that I don't need 20 damn nuggets!) lol but I skipped breakfast and I knew that my firm would have me working late on this Bloomberg case so I was going hard; lol...okay so I asked her for it and she says: "We don't have the 20 piece. We only have the 10 piece."
WTF!? If you're not annoyed or perturbed by this, then you're as slow as the chick behind the counter. LOL.

Drive through.

Okay I’ve come to the conclusion that one of the most time consuming, annoying, suck the patience and tranquility from your soul, like a good vacuum sucks crumbs off of a rug, things is : PULLING UP TO A FAST FOOD DRIVE THROUGH WITH MY MOTHER!
I love my mom. I feel like I should type that right off the bat because of the nature of this blog entry and the height of my annoyance with her when I think about this topic may contort my language and emotions, causing you to think otherwise. Now, with that disclaimer out of the way let me tell you what happened…
I was out in LA. It was a beautiful afternoon. I was driving. My mom and I were coming from church….Okay I have to interrupt myself to insert this: You know that a person or situation has tested you and worked your last nerve when you’re so mad that you’re cursing like a sailor and pissed off to the highest point of ‘pissedivity’, if there is such a thing, after having left church no more than 20 minutes prior!.. Anyway back to what happened. Like I was saying we had just left church and I was feeling great. We were both crazy hungry though because, the church we attend seems like the service starts at 10am on Sunday morning and doesn’t let out until 2 o’clock the following Tuesday! Especially when the old folks choir is singing (which they were) because they make a simple hymn stretch like a tiny rubber band on a fat person’s wrist; and the pastor (bless his heart) can get really animated to say the least. But it’s a predominately Black church; so that’s just how it is and how it has always been. I’m not hating…I’m just saying. Lol…The things that I love about Sunday service at a Black church are also the things that get on my nerves about it some of the time. I wouldn’t trade the experience though…Anyway I’ve gotten off subject, let me get back…So me and my mom were hungry, but we had already started driving. We were on the 405 freeway… I’m not sure if any of you are familiar with this interstate, but bumper to bumper traffic on this particular slab of concrete is a given. The worst part about it is that I, for the life of me can’t figure out why other drivers speed up only to get in front of me and drive two miles per hour. I also hate the jerks who refuse to let me over when all I’m trying to do is get off the damn freeway; it’s like they want me to be stuck in the madness with them. They’re so hell-bent on not letting anyone get in front of them, even tough they're not going anywhere because traffic has been and will continue to move at a snail's pace, that they end up pissing me off enough not to let the next poor driver over. It's a vicious circle and I'm seriously starting to believe that the government hires these bad drivers just to make me mad or late or both; depending on the situation… Anyway we decided to get off the freeway and go to a drive through so that we could get something to eat and get back to the house quickly; fine that’s simple enough, right? WRONG! Because
my mom has no respect for combos! I mean the good people at McDonald’s created the numerically labeled combos for our convenience, not so that we could dissect them until they no longer resemble the original meal!!!
So we’re at the drive through…it took us forever to finally get to the intercom. There were about 5 cars ahead of us; probably being held up by some other indecisive patron who doesn’t respect combos….When we FINALLY got our turn, the employee says “Hold on!” Straight like that. No “Hi, welcome to McDonalds; can you please hold on a moment.” The heifer just said “Hold on.” And then when she was ready she says: “What you want?” RUDE!!! But anyway…
I said “I’d like a # 7 with a sprite please.” And then I looked over to my mom, asked her what she wanted and she goes “I don’t know yet.” She then proceeded to study the menu. At that point I was like “Oh my God am I being punked?!” I mean there are 2 huge reasons why my mom should have already known what she wanted to order.
#1: It’s freaking McDonalds! Everyone in the free world pretty much knows the menu by heart. It hasn’t changed much in 20 some odd years… Everything on the menu pretty much tastes the same anyway so in hindsight it doesn’t even matter what you order.
#2: There was a long line of cars ahead of us. She had ample time to decide what she wanted before we pulled up.
After a 2 minute time lapse my mom said that she wanted a #5 Sounds simple, right? WRONG! Because she proceeded to make absurd changes to the combo. This is what she said:
“Give me a #5 but can you put it on the bread that the #7 is on? And I want the mayonnaise on the side; no lettuce…Wait I do want lettuce but only a little bit and extra pickles.” Then the employee says something along the lines of
“It doesn’t have pickles on it.” So my mom goes
“Well which combo has pickles on it?”
The rude heifer taking our order says “Hold on.” And then the car directly behind us started honking. That annoyed me but at the same time I couldn’t blame the guy. The lady gets back on the intercom and starts telling us which combos have pickles. My mom listens to all and then she says. “No, I don’t want any of those. Just add Pickles to the order that I already placed.”
I was too through at this point!
The lady starts repeating our order only to have my mom interject with more changes to her combo that is not even a combo anymore; it’s now some personalized monstrosity that includes some of everything on the menu, with extra freaking pickles! …We drive up to the first window. Now keep in mind that this is the window where you’re supposed to pay; you pick up your food at the second window. My mom decides that she wants something else though when we’re at the first window. She wants an apple pie. The pie throws off our total. The lady had to reconfigure and of course tell us to “hold on” yet again. Our total came to $12.82. As I was handing the lady a $20 bill my mom stops me and says “Wait Treasure, I have the 82 cents.”
I really don’t care about giving or getting back exact change at this point. I just want my damn # 7; but my mom insists. It took her exactly 49 seconds to locate the loose change in the bottom of her purse. How do I know it took 49 seconds? Because I counted each scrutinizing second under my breath as I shook my head in utter frustration.
At the second window they gave us our food…I pulled off…Mom looks in the bag
“They didn’t give us enough napkins Treasure.” She exclaimed. “Turn around so I can go in and grab some more.”
I’m thinking “You gotta’ be kidding me.” I said “No, we’ll work it out mom; don’t trip on the napkins. We got to a red light and I asked her to give me some fries. She said
“Oh they must have messed your order up. There’s only one carton of fries in here and those are mine.” Woe is me. All I wanted was a #7.

The # 2 Train.

I wrote this poem during a train ride to class, my freshman year in college... So its an old poem. Everyone loves it to this day though... Anyway, since I've retired it (won't be reciting it during open mic shows anymore) I've decided to post it for those of you who get all nostalgic and feel urged to read it on your own....Enjoy!

He's beautiful. Expression hardened by Brooklyn's madness. A streak of sadness and anger dwell on the corners of his full lips.
Its his demanor that stirs me. He sits so close to me on the #2 train, but its plain to see that he's somewhwere else. Somewhere far.
Not really on his way to a destination unknown to me, but probably completely gone already.
A fitted cap covers his hair and its decorated with the letters N and Y and I'm wondering why I lie to myself like I ain't salivatin' everytime I coincidentally catch his eye, why I can't get up the nerve to ask him his name, on this train, underground, I found this young man who appears to be... Everything I never knew I always wanted.
Well I want him now. I want him like kids want candy, Like a beach is sandy, like a baby wants milk.
I want to lay him on sheets of silk and touch his heart and suck his lips and rub his skin and put him out and in and out and in and out and in and out and in and then... Well then I want to switch positions and do it again.
I want to know how he got that small scar on his chin; but I don't want it to go away cause he's perfect in his imperfection.
Viewer discretion would like have to be advised cause I'd place him between my thighs and ride him 'till his knees get weak and he can't speak.
He'd be as speechless as I am, sitting across from him at this very moment.
The way his jeans sag seem to be coreographed in rhythm with his untied Timbs and scarred and bruised limbs that have been kissed by the streets. Consequently he's tough, like Brooklyn.
Lookin like the urban warrior he is; this boy is gorgeous. Presence is enormous, yet common enough to be overlooked.
A fish on his line, I remain hooked to the way his sideburns blend with his goatee, placed so perfectly on his brown skin, can't tell where his begins but I'm sure I don't want it to end.
I want to thank his daddy for not pullin out, cause his fine ass takes the words right out of my mouth.
I wish I had the courage to seize this moment. Own it. Control it and contort it into a true fantasy; instead of just this wistfull wish that he'd acknowledge me.
He's sitting right accross from me. I'm in his view but he's blind to me.
Unaware that he only need say the word and I'd crawl there on knees that were bare.
He's ruggedly soft with sensations of truth. He's a man and a youth. He's fly, hot , hood, fresh, a beast, hell at least a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10.
He's the end to a long day that has yet to begin.
He's salty sweat spilled from a hard day's work.
He's love poetry's core epitome.
He's....he's ...
He's getting off at the next stop...and he didn't even notice me.

First Order of business

Okay so this is my first blog. I have to admit that I never thought that I’d succumb to blogging; but now that I’m on the proverbial bandwagon with the rest of you who keep public electronic diaries , I hope I enjoy the experience… I’m not looking for anything special…I know there’s no prize involved, lol. I just have to admit that the idea of my words/ thoughts/ experiences and etc. reaching others on such a broad scale is intriguing… We’ll see how this goes.