I went to check the mail today and the key to the package box was in there. I opened it up to find a cd from Lynne!
Verve Remixed baby and I love it. I just listened to it in it's entirety and I think I've been turned on to some new music. Thank you.
They have this new room here at work. It’s called the quiet room. I went in there on what was my last break of the day. The room is cool and dark. There are comfortable couches and two fat chairs to sleep in. When I walked in there was only one other person in there. She was sitting on the longer couch reading a book. I walked over to the shorter couch and lay across it. I took my glasses off and put them in my pocket.
I was comfortable, relaxed and it was quieter than the library. I was on a 20 minute break. I wanted to make the best of it. It was 2:44 when I walked in there. A few minutes later I opened my eyes to find my girl standing over me telling me my break was over. The clock said 3:30.
Damn that nap felt good.
I love it when I make decisions that I feel good about. It rocks.
Thank God it’s Friday. I’m supposed to be going to the club tonight but my ass is tired. The rest of me is too. I don’t think I can drop it like it’s hot tonight, but we shall see. I still have a ton of laundry to do and there are clothes all over my room. Shoes too. I need to get a box going for goodwill. I just have so much stuff. It’s crazy. I acquire more each week too. That’s IG Monique doing her thing. I’m all about instant gratification.
Games. Men and women. We play games with each other. It’s funny though, there is something that you men will never realize. We have so much more game than you. I mean really. The shit that you do that you think you are being slick with? We’ve already peeped that shit homey. We’re just giving you enough rope to hang yourselves with.
On the other hand men that know how to be straight up and to the point tend to go further. At least with me they do. I love a man that can say what he means and means what he says. Indeed. I don‘t need your circumlocution. If something is on your mind, bear witness to it. Fuck all that bullshit, okay?
These two dudes want to get at me and my homegirl. We know they want to and we are just sitting back waiting to see how they are going to handle themselves. The other night (the night before my birthday) we were all sitting over their (the guys) house and they were getting us loaded and everyone was drinking and these negroes decided to start talking shit.
Now I can talk shit with the best of them. I love to talk shit. Whether it be simple flirtation or speculating on the size of your genitalia, I have that art down to a science. (art/science?) So they started it, telling us we better “buck up” (if you’ve seen How High you will get the reference) and how they were ready to do this and that. They kept teasing my girl, telling her that the dude who was interested in her wanted her to hurry up and drink so they can get it going. Too bad old boy wasn’t speaking up for himself. His cousin and his homeboy were doing all the talking for him while he sat there grinning like a cheshire cat. Then his cousin said, “My boy is ready for you. What you gonna do?” My girl and I just looked at each other and started talking that fragmented girl shit that women do when they are in the presence of men and want to only acknowledge the understood, silent agreements. Inside I was crying laughing.
I didn’t want to say anything because it wasn’t my place. It was between two consenting adults and I wanted to see how my girl was going to handle herself. The “boys” kept it up for another thirty minutes and my girl and I grew tired of all the “talk”. I picked up my car keys and said, “let’s be out lil mama.” My girl knew the cue. She turned to the one who wanted her and said, “When I get ready to fuck the shit out of you - and I am going to fuck the shit out of your ass - neither of these two clowns are going to be here. So all this entertaining you trying to do for them? Save your smiles and giggles for after you get the pussy nigga.”
Those negroes were silent for like two minutes I swear. My girl and I were laughing and openly talking shit at this point. I turned to little man and said -
“You ain’t got no game nigga?”
“Whatchu mean?”
“I mean damn, your boys have to talk up on the pussy for you? You can’t speak up for that shit yourself? What part of the game is that?”
At this point his boys came to his defense and started saying that they really weren’t trying to speak up for the pussy on his behalf, they were just joking around and didn’t really mean anything by it. Yeah right niggas.
So we get in the car and I’m taking her home and she calls the house on her cell and asks for little man. He gets on the phone and she asks him if he thought he was being funny trying to play hard in front of his boys. I was pissing my pants on her side of the conversation cause I could tell by her answers that this negro explaining himself to her. He tells her that they were just kidding and they really wished we would come back to watch some movies (they have a huge DVD collection). She asks me if I want to go back over there and I tell her that I want to discuss it so she tells little man we will call back in five minutes.
I don’t know if it was the weed or what but when she hung up we started talking about something totally different and when I looked up we were at her place. My cell starts ringing like crazy and I see from the Caller ID that it’s Little Man’s Cousin (he wants to fuck). When I answer the phone he says, “Yeah girl, you better buck up.”
“Don’t worry about me nigga, I stay bucked.”
“Oh is that right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. So what are you saying? Are you ready to get buck?”
Silence for like thirty seconds then he goes
“You crazy girl.”
“Yeah I am nigga. So you call me after you buck up.”
I hung up the phone just like that. The next day ( my birthday) I went over there cause they said they would smoke me out. I banged on the door like the police and when he opened it I said -
“So what’s up nigga, did you buck up?”
His boys just started laughing. I think that’s going to be the joke this summer. Besides, I know he is really not ready for this and I don’t really go around letting everyone get bucked. But shit talking is fun, right?
Damn. That guy at my job? The one with all the muscles? I am totally bordering on sexual harassment. Did I just type that? Holy shit. I mean if you could look at him and see, you‘d understand. I put my hand in the small of his back today while I was talking to him and I felt the dip between his two sides (am I explaining this clearly?) and holy cow. I mean, even touching his arms gives me chills. I’ve taken to softly murmuring “got dayum” every day when he walks in wearing something else that shows off his physique. Woo. I have a picture of us from yesterday at my at work birthday celebration. Did I mention that when I rolled up to the job looking for my girl on the night of my birthday he was standing outside? When he saw me he said “happy birthday beautiful” and came and kissed me on the cheek. I was like, “heyyyyyyyyy.”
What’s wrong with me? I’m so Samantha. Someone told me today that I was aggressive. Is there anything wrong with being aggressive and going after what you want? I don’t think there is. I’m straight to the point. I don’t feel the need to play around if it isn’t necessary. There are some instances when you want to play it cool and then there are times when you need to speak on it, not tweak on it, know what I’m saying?
Today when I got to work I found that my entire desk and work area had been covered in birthday decorations. I was so surprised. Then Ms. Banks came to work with fried chicken, dirty rice and caramel birthday cake, all homeade, just for me. I was so happy. I have the coolest coworkers, I swear.
Everyone has made me feel like a princess on this birthday. I'm still on air.
I'm leaving those decorations up. I've decided it's going to be my birthday for the rest of the week.
how high? (a haiku)
why am i still up?
‘cause i’m still riding that high.
don’t wanna come down.
um yeah
I don't know why I'm still up. I'm just in awe of how good my birthday has made me feel. Not like I got a million dollars or something. Something about it though. I think I do feel a little different.
Someone told me I'm not a girl anymore, I'm a woman now. They said I had a deepened, woman's voice. (does that mean I sound like a man? they said no) They said I was changing in ways that moved me from girl to woman. I guess that's part of it. I do feel that part.
I'm starting to realize that I am more responsible for my own happiness, my own heartaches and my own disappointments than anyone else. When I was talking to Saima about the magic wand, I asked her what she would change and then she in turn asked me the same thing. I ran off a list of things off to her and her response to me was, “all of those are attainable.” And she's totally right.
It's not like I hadn't thought this to myself. Hearing someone else say it though - I think it just brought it home for me further. I am in control. I can create the life I desire for myself. Because ultimately every choice I make on a daily basis determines the outcome of my day, week, month, year and ultimately my entire life in some way, shape or form. Damn. That's deep.
So if that's true, then everything I do during every second of each day should in some way contribute to the life I see myself leading one, five or ten years from now. Whatever I do has to be directly related to whatever I want.
I can dig it.
So I'm waving my magic wand. I made a birthday wish tonight on a candle (after which my mom commented "damn nigga, it's a wish, not a prayer). Even that wish is within my control. It's all about going after what I want. Right?
Oh, eventually I will finish the post that talks about what happened this weekend. The rest of what happened anyway. The concert and all that.
but i don't feel any older
Thirty-one years old today. I don’t feel any older. Tonight at my birthday dinner at the Macaroni Grill I was actually carded by the waitress before she would serve me a drink. When she saw how old I was, she was like, “oh my god girl, you look good.” I hope people are still telling me that 31 years from now. If my grandmother is any indication, they will be.
birthday wishes from friends far, near and dear
My first birthday telephone call of the day came from D. If I had been asleep I probably would have been a little grumpy about someone calling so early but since it was him and I wasn’t actually sleeping I was excited to have the phone calls starting. His call made me smile and the day started on a high note.
I got to chat with Cecily, Jason and Lynne all morning while I contemplated what it was I wanted to do. Tracy’s birthday wish in my comments reminded me that I need to add her link to the bottom of my page. Cyn gave me extra special birthday shout outs on her page. Thanks to Susan, Xkot, my wonder twin Anitra and everyone else who stopped by to give birthday wishes. It’s appreciated.
to get older is to be boring . . .
To be honest I am really rather boring and I had no plans whatsoever. I just wanted to chill out and be mellow today and be alone with me. I had done so much hanging out this past weekend that a mellow day was in order. So I chilled. I took my time picking out what outfit I wanted to wear today and I took a cat nap so I could be refreshed. Does getting older make you want to sleep more?
but still be fly ...
I decided on the powder blue sweat suit that was a birthday gift to me from me and my blue thong sandals. Summertime is, afterall, all about pedicures and open-toed shoes. I washed my hair and finger combed it with a little bit of gel to work the curls. I know I looked cute today, you don’t have to tell me. Do you ever have one of those days where you just feel like it’s all good? That was me today.
sing happy birthday to me baby
My mother woke me up by serenading me with Happy Birthday. She told me to pick the restaurant I wanted to have my birthday celebration in. I think she knew I would pick Macaroni Grill. I picked it because I wanted one of the waitresses to sing Happy Birthday to me in Italian. I was not disappointed. The beautiful dark sister with her hair cut as low as Meshell, full lips and bright, white teeth stood at my table and sang in a voice so strong and sweet I thought I would melt. I engaged her in conversation afterwards and found out that she is a homegirl, born and bred right here on the west side of Las Vegas. Go figure.
and then of course there are the gifts
Oh, I got a book in the mail from Jason. Thanks boy. You rock. Lynne told me she sent something from my wishlist too and I cheated and peeked to see what it was and thank you so much!
I went to see the local homies because they promised to smoke me out for my birthday. They didn’t lie but for some reason I was on a natural high today and I didn’t really feel like smoking the herbals. Yes, you read that correctly. Monique turned down some weed.
My sister gave me a pair of pink Puma flip flops. They are so cute! And they match the pink sweatsuit that I am buying tomorrow which is the twin of the blue sweatsuit that I am wearing today. My friend Lori says I am a fashion dynamo. I just want you to know that I have co-dependents.
and at the end of the day
So now I am at home and chilling and reflecting on everything that I have been blessed with, including the chance to see another birthday. I feel good.
moving right along
Oh. I am still keeping this diary/journal/weblog in a one entry display mode but occasionally I do post more than one entry per day and that was the purpose of the recently written links down below. In case you miss one while it’s up. I’m zany like that. I’ve taken to treating this thing the way I treat my pen and paper journals. I write whenever about whatever now. It’s all free form. I like it like that.
baby pictures
I wanted to show you some pictures of my baby cousin because I got to spend a lot of time with him this weekend. He’s so cute. This is the same cousin that was born on New Year’s Day this year. He cut two teeth! He’s still a bundle of joy so take a peek at the little boy wonder.
This first picture is one I took of him on Mother’s Day. Everyone fell in love with this picture and I’ve printed out enough copies to pass to family members.
tell me that is not the cutest baby you have ever seen
This is MJ on Monday morning. He's sitting in Granny's lap and preoccupied with this talking parrot toy so not even feeling me or my camera at all. I was trying to get a shot of his two new teeth.
Well, he's halfway cooperating. Show us them teefus.
This kid loves our granny. And she loves him. She cannot stand to hear him cry. Which is why he's so rotten now because no one really likes to hear him cry and we all want to play with him so much that he is constantly being passed from one set of arms to the next. Everyone loves this baby. The arms he's most content in? The ones he's in right here. He loves his granny.
He drools a lot. I was playing with him on Saturday and I was lying on my back on my grandmother's bed with him in the air above me doing that thing that all kids like to have done to them - tossing him up and down in the air. He started laughing and I was making cooing noises at him and he laughed and drooled right into my mouth. He's lucky he's my cousin and I lub him. There's those teefus!
Here is a picture of MJ and the man he was named after, his father and my Uncle Tony.
pictures of the LA homies
The next set of pictures are of my friends from LA. The pictures were taken inside of the storage room in back of the "Play Fam" home. The storage room was made into a studio years ago when I was still a teenager. Much music has been made back there and in these pics you will see the vast record collection we have going back there as well as some of the home studio equipment. My friends are musical geniuses.
Nephew sitting by the door. He's so cute. He's twenty-one ladies, that makes him legal!
D and Nephew talking shit while Mr Dad and Mike play NFL 2K2. Nephew is in the black hat of course, drinking the smirnoff ice.
That shit goes on for hours. Here is don, patiently awaiting his turn to play. You can see some of the equipment in the back I think.
Mr Dad (blue shirt) was laying the smackdown on Mike (white shirt). Yes, those are all crates full of records piled up over there.
I finally got them to look at the camera during a break. The action was intense.
They were all annoyed at the camera at this point, including D. He was telling me so as I snapped this picture.
Well, don started playing along again after a few hours. He said this was his cool pose with the basketball.
Mike, however, was starting to get pissed.
D decided the best course of action would be to put his headphones on, write rhymes and make music. He was ignoring me basically.
He couldn't ignore me for long though. When we went outside to smoke again, I was able to get a few more good pictures of him before my camera finally died.
woo ...
I wanted to write about my weekend and how much fun I had but all I can think about is him. Seeing him, being around him, experiencing his vibe - it just made my entire weekend. Not that anything else I did was less important, but there is something about seeing someone you share a special bond with that makes any kind of logical thought over the course of eight hours nearly impossible.
My mind was flooded. I had been home for the entire weekend and spent most of it with family - grandmother, cousins, sister - people who know me best. I still felt like something was missing. I hadn’t checked in with my crew and I was interested in knowing what was going on. My grandmother and I were on our way to the Walgreen’s on Pico and Robertson when I decided to take a detour and drive through my old neighborhood and see if any of the crew was around.
Uncle Boy’s house has always been the spot to catch up with everyone. No matter how many of us move in and out of the neighborhood, we always congregate over the "Play Fam" family’s house to make connections with people who are more like family than friends. We all grew up in the same neighborhood, went to the same schools and have maintained our solid friendships well into adulthood. We still get together and sit in the storage room and play video games, make tracks and talk shit. Mr. and Mrs. "Play Fam" have become a second set of parents for all of us, so no one in the family even has to be there for us to be able to go in the yard and play in the storage room. We are all welcome at anytime, day or night.
I stop by there every time I make a trip into LA and spend time with the "Play Fam" family. I laugh and joke with Mr. and Mrs. "Play Fam", tease the younger kids (Uncle Boy’s nieces and nephews) about the fact that they too are growing into adults and give everyone updates on where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing. Every single time I secretly held out hope that I would run into him there.
He’d been with this girl for six years and didn’t come around as much as the rest of us. I always braced myself when I asked about him because I was afraid any day someone was going to tell me that he had gotten married or gotten the girl pregnant or any number of things that would let me know there was no chance in hell we were ever getting back together. If I had to categorize him I would say that he was one of my two true loves. It was that deep. We were young and stupid and our friends were way more involved in our relationship than they should have been so it goes without saying that we eventually broke up. When I moved to North Carolina that pretty much cemented the deal but we never left each other’s minds I suppose. We are the butt of many jokes between friends as everyone thought we would end up married one day. Every time I went to the "Play Fam" house and he wasn’t there, someone eagerly gave me an update on his situation (a bad one) and told me that I should be working to get him back. Every time I brushed it off with an “I don’t still think of him that way” (lies) and kept the conversation moving on to other things. Secretly I relished the fact that everyone was just as convinced as I was that he and I belonged together no matter what.
So on this sunny Sunday in LA I pulled in front of the "Play Fam" house and found Mike standing outside on the grass while Nephew (Uncle Boy’s nephew) washed his car. I called Mike to the car and we began the usual “where is everyone” banter. I was asking where Uncle Boy was and he told me that he was supposed to be coming over that day. He didn’t know Uncle Boy’s cellular number but he was sure that either Mr Dad or D had it.
The very mention of his name started the butterfly orchestra in my stomach. Then it went something like this:
Me: (probing but not trying to be too obvious) Well, you should give me Mr Dad’s number then. I can’t call D because he still lives with that girl.
Mike: (big grin spreading across his face) No he’s not. You are so late. That’s what happens when you don’t come around enough. D been left that girl.
Me: (getting all happy but trying to play it cool) Oh, really? What happened?
Mike: A whole lot of shit. He left her almost a year ago. He’s back at his mom’s house.
Me: (score!) Oh. What’s the number again?
Mike: (calling out the first three numbers)
Me: (finishing it off)
Mike: Yeah, that’s it. Damn you still remember it.
Me: (Kool Aid grin at this point) Yeah, I guess I still do. Well, I’m going to take my grandmother to Walgreen’s and then to get something to eat and I’ll come back by later on. Cool?
Mike: Cool. I’ll tell everyone that you are coming.
I didn’t even pull away from the house before I started dialing D’s number. His mom answered the phone and I thanked God she didn’t recognize my voice or acknowledge the fact that it was me if she did. I don’t think she cares too much for me but that’s another saga. Let’s keep it rolling. He gets on the phone and the conversation goes something like this:
D: Hello?
Me: Hi D.
D: (surprised) Monique? What is up girl?
Me: Nothing. How are you doing?
D: (mildly excited) I’m good, how are you? What are you up to? Are you out here?
Me: (overly excited) Yeah I am. I’m driving through the neighborhood right now.
D: Where are you heading?
Me: Walgreens with my granny. Then we are going to get something to eat. (hoping) Have you had breakfast?
D: Actually my mom is making a big breakfast right now.
Me: (slightly disappointment but trying not to show it) Oh.
D: I’m going over Al’s later though, are you planning to come over?
Me: I was planning on it. What time are you going over there?
D: I’ll be over there around 2 or 3 probably. I have to eat and get dressed and all that.
Me: (trying to play it off cool) Ok. I’ll try to make it back over there by then.
D: So I’ll see you over there?
Me: Yeah you will.
D: Is that a promise?
Me: Yes, I promise I will come over Uncle Boy’s house to see you today.
D: Ok, see you later then.
Me: Ok bye.
I hung up that phone and I swear to god/allah/jehovah that you could have put me in a toothpaste ad my smile was so big. I spent the rest of the time with my grandmother in a daze because my mind kept moving back to seeing him. Walgreens and brunch at Callendar’s on Wilshire passed in a haze. When we were done eating I drove my grandmother back to her house on the southside and I punched it up Western to Venice past La Brea and Hauser and back to the neighborhood.
The last car I remembered him having was this black Jetta and when I pulled up in front of Uncle Boy’s house and didn’t see it, the disappointment was already starting to set in. Still, my homies would be there and it would be all good so I went into the backyard and saw the mass of Negroes and immediately got happy because there he was in his usual position in front of the MP, Dreamcast controller in his hand playing NFL 2k whatever. I couldn’t even pay attention.
Usually I’d sit down and wait my turn to get on the stick but this time I wasn’t even interested. I kept staring at him. I couldn’t help it. It felt like 11th grade all over again. It felt like it did when I knew he liked me when I was 19 and working at ups and considered myself to be too worldly for a guy so tied to his mother.
So I sat and waited for any excuse for us to go outside. We made trips to the store for snacks and drinks and later on to Campos for fish tacos and combo burritos. I went anywhere to try and be alone with him. When we rode in the car to the store it was like old times. Me riding in the passenger seat and him driving me through the city. The windows were rolled down. A tape of tracks he made was playing in the deck. Our idle conversation and frequent laughter filled the car with happy memories of days gone by, when love was young and sweet and I loves yous whispered into the phone at all times of the night made hanging up and saying goodbye take hours at a time.
When nighttime came we went outside to smoke, as the new rule is there is no more smoking of any substance in the storage room. We now have to smoke on the side of the storeroom. He and I went out there for the last time after everyone had left. He was making fun of the fact that I was snapping so many pictures. I told him that I needed another shot of us where I wasn’t washed out by the flash in the camera. I got him to hold the camera since his reach is longer and we stood next to each other and snapped the picture. The flash card ran out of memory then and he rejoiced at the fact that I couldn’t take anymore shots.
Then we hugged. It wasn’t the tentative quick hug that we had given to each other in front of everyone when I initially came into the storeroom. It was bittersweet and made me want to laugh, cry and scream at the same time. I know he could feel it too because when I went to pull back, he held me there just a little bit longer. He held me tight. And it felt the way it used to feel when I was in his arms. When it felt like nothing else mattered and I could just inhale his scent and wait for it to linger in my clothing.
It was at this point that Uncle Boy decided to show up. I knew he’d want to spend some time with he and Mike alone and I had promised my cousin Nikita that I would take her out that night so I started to leave. Slyly I asked which one of the guys was going to walk me out to my car. Uncle Boy immediately volunteered Mike. This is another long-standing joke in our group of friends because everyone knows that when I say that I really want D to walk me to my car. I didn’t wait for him or Mike to say anything I just told D that I would like him to walk me to my car.
We stood outside the car for what seemed like only a few minutes but what was really 2 hours and we talked and expressed feelings and held our guards up and talked about hurt and pain and shit that we’ve been through over the course of time that we haven’t been together. He confided in me his feelings about his break up and I listened because it was therapeutic to know that someone else out there felt just as lost as I have been. The honesty. The letting out my feelings no matter what I thought his reaction would be. My boldly asking him for a kiss, him telling me no and then kissing me anyway. Again and again and again. The memory of his lips pressed against mine as he whispered hello and good bye and good to see you and all the things I needed to hear right then in that moment.
There are other things that I won’t talk about because they are feelings that run long and deep and things that we share between the two of us and they are still too fresh for me to open up about but everything about him is making me see daisies right about now. And I like it. I don’t know what is happening, I don’t know where it’s going, I don’t care (ok of course I do but you know) and I love it. It’s all so exciting.
And it feels so damn good.
Oh my god! What a weekend! I mean damn! Three days straight of being in my hometown just vibing, soaking up the local flair and being with my people. This is what birthdays are made of.
I finally got on the road about 9 on Friday morning and I got into LA at about 12:30. I went straight to my grandmother’s house because three and a half hours of driving with no rest stops means I have a bladder full of pee by the time I get to L.A. I took the 15 to the 10 to the 110 and got off on Imperial Hwy, heading west until I reached Denker. Yes, my grandmother lives in the hood.
It’s a familiar hood though. One I’d spent countless summers roaming around, playing in the dips at Southwest and walking to the K-Mart on Imperial and Western to steal candy with my friends. I thought of all these things I drove through the neighborhood. The sun was shining bright and I was already on an L.A. high. Too bad my grandmother wasn’t home when I pulled up. I did the pee pee dance all the way across the street to my uncle’s baby’s mama’s house (for real) but she wasn’t home either. I didn’t know what to do so I pulled the car around to the alley and copped a squat behind the car, all the while looking both ways up and down the alley to make sure no one was coming. TMI I know, but it’s all pertinent to this story. At this point I’m thinking damn, is this the way the weekend is going to go? With me missing connections with people?
don’t let anyone tell you anything different, when you have to pee, that is all you can focus on, i swear to god. so after i peed, i decided i would go check into my hotel room, change my clothes and continue my mission to run the errands i said i wanted to run once i got into the city. i had intended to get my hands and feet done, get a haircut and maybe if i had time go last minute shopping in case i changed my mind about what outfit i wanted to wear to the concert that night.
so i get to HoJo and find a parking spot right in front of the door (score!) and walked up to the counter. I had done everything over the internet via Expedia dot com, so the room was prepaid and all they needed to do was give me a key and point me towards the elevator. Pay attention now cause this is gonna go fast.
They confirm with Expedia that I indeed have a pre-paid room so they give me my key and send up to the 9th floor where i find that my room is like right in front of the elevator doors. The room itself is large and roomy and I contemplate throwing a get together in it later in the weekend just because I have that much space. But no time to worry about any of that now, because I need to go get my hands and feet done. My sister is blowing up my cellular at this point to make sure I’ve made it into town. She informs me that she has set up the nail appointment for me at Classy Nails which is in Santa Monica on Lincoln and Pico. I met Jimmy who was put in charge of giving me a pedicure and a manicure. There was another lady in there who would be waxing my eyebrows for me. My sister told me they use the string technique and I had never heard of it but now i’m sold on it. Doesn’t hurt like the regular wax way, and my face did not break out from the wax either which was a definite plus.
I left the nail shop at 4pm and the concert was starting at 7:45. I knew I didn’t have time to make it from Lincoln and Pico to Pico and Fairfax in time enough to get a hair cut and then get back to Manchester and Airport to my hotel to change and then back to Beverly Hills to meet my sister for the concert so i decided to just go get dressed. It took me an hour to get from Lincoln and Pico to Manchester and Airport but I eventually made. This time I had to drive into the actual parking structure to find a place for the car. There weren’t any up front. I ran upstairs, hopped in the shower and then started working water and gel magic on my hair. I put my clothes on, applied minimal make up and made my way up to Beverly Hills and waited for my sister outside her apartment. My sister will be late for her own funeral but it’s ok. We both have that problem.
When she finally shows up, we go upstairs into her apartment and drink a bottle of Moet. Then we get on the road heading towards the Universal Amphitheater.
The place was packed. Cars and people everywhere and it seemed like it would take us forever to get into the show. We were already running late and once we finally got in and found our seats, truth hurts was on the mic and we found out we missed Cee-lo's performance.
The concert itself was off the hook. Everyone who performed put on a great show. I found some new favorites sitting there. The vibe was mellow; everyone was just chilling and having a good time. When Rakim came out for his performance in the truth hurts portion he had on all Laker gear. This sent the crowd into an uproar. Everyone was disappointed that he didn't do more than just rap that one little part.
After the concert, Jen and I drove around for a little while people watching and then I took her home. I made the drive across town back to the HoJo only to find out that this hotel does not have parking. They expect you to park on the street (Airport Blvd just south of Manchester) and walk back to the hotel. I was pissed. As I drove down the street, the only parking spot I found was on Arbor Vitae which meant I had to walk past the ghetto apartments with all the niggas hanging outside by myself just to get to my room. I was not having that. I drove back to the hotel and parked right in front of the front doors. I told the lady at the desk that they should have disclosed to their guests upon check in that their parking facilities are limited. Had i known that, I would never have stayed there. She wanted to try and argue with me but I was not having it. I basically told her in so many words, "Bitch, get on the phone with Expedia and get this charge off my card or you guys are going to have issues." After I went off in the lobby angry black woman style, both Expedia and the hotel agreed I should have a refund. I went and checked into Motel 6 instead.
Saturday morning I got up and took my grandmother to breakfast at Roscoe's on Pico. She and I then spent the day shopping at the mall. My grandmother was doing nothing to curb my spending habits. Every outfit I tried on got a rave review from her. I ended up buying three outfits. She bought one. We went back to her house where I lay across her bed and passed out for two hours. When I woke up she was tired and getting ready for bed so I made my way back to hotel and called my sister. The plans were to go to Dublins and hang out. I agreed to hang and got dressed but got sidetracked and ended up not meeting with them at all. Picture taking in L.A. is much more interesting.
On Sunday I took my grandmother to brunch at Callendars on Wilshire and then hung out with D and the gang in the storeroom. Seeing D, well, that's an entry all its own. Seeing my niggas was as fun as it always is when all of us get together and start bagging on each other. When it was time for me to say goodbye, I hugged each and every one of them and let them know how cool it is to have had friends like this since high school. Friends I can come to and be myself.
My weekend in one word? Da Bomb!
I'm back from my birthday weekend. I had a blast, went to a concert, spent a lot of time with my baby cousin, went shopping with my grandma, got to see some old friends and discovered that I do indeed still have a weakness for chocolate ...
More later . . .
Well I’ve packed my bag (making sure the concert tickets were in it), I’ve got the cds I want to listen to on the road and I’m getting ready to head out the door and put the rental car on 15 and do my thing all the way into L.A.
The rental car company gave me a car that has a fucked up arm rest which won’t stay down even though they have applied velcro to try and disguise that it is broken. I don’t have time to argue with them this morning so I’m not going to try and take it back. I’ll just deal with it.
I have a lot I want to do when I get into LA today. I’m still anticipating all the fun I’m going to have with my sister. She told me I could stay in her tiny Beverly Hills apartment with her but I decided to get a hotel room at the last minute because I know I like to spread my stuff out and grown folks just need their own space, even on a mini-vacation.
I hope everyone has a good weekend and I’ll be sure to take plenty of pictures of everything I see.
Love!
haiku:
Whenever I am
at a loss for something to
write, I improvise
work
I got approached today about another position within my company which is a slight promotion to a somewhat less stressful job. My interview is tomorrow morning. Yayness.
play
Tomorrow is also only a half day for me because I am leaving for L.A. I am so excited. Birthday weekend with the girl that makes me laugh harder than anyone else, my goofy sister Jennifer. She’s such a princess.
other ish
Some things y’all need to remind me to talk about:
Muscles and the concern with his masculinity
The book review of Jemima J
The Magic Wand of Life
Why sometimes you just wanna slap a bitch
That’s all I can think of. Peace.
Yay
8 more days until my birthday. 3 more days before I go to Smokin' Grooves in L.A.
Hood Rich part 1.2 - the after effects
Whew. I am tired of my new schedule at work already. I am tired of the way it leaves me tired all of the time. I’m finally admitting to myself that being greedy for money is leaving me with a grumpy nature and a tired spirit. Being at work from seven in the morning until six in the evening and then spending an hour commuting in Las Vegas traffic each morning and evening is leaving me feeling like I don’t even have time to breathe. I’ll admit that initially the 4/10 schedule appealed to me because I liked the idea of having Friday’s off. Now I’m wondering if it’s even worth it. Since the first week I was on this schedule I’ve had to work every Friday anyway due to a new system we’re installing at work. I’m one of the lucky people to get picked to learn it first so that when it rolls out we can assist everyone else with it. I’m honored that my superiors think so high of me but a sister is tired.
So I’ve decided to go back to a somewhat normal schedule. Screw having Friday’s off if I am going to have to come in anyway. Something like 8-4:30 is more my speed anyway. I’ll admit that the overtime I was getting on this schedule was making me very hood rich, but at what cost? I only have 168 hours in a week. I need a few more of them to myself.
Company’s Here
My old Aunt Flo is in town. Let me tell you that she has made me the grumpiest, meanest bitch ever. Yesterday at work everything was pissing me off and I was snapping people left and right. I felt crabby the entire day and I think after a while people just got afraid to approach me. My girl knew what was up as soon as she saw me in the morning and she said as much. I thought that was extremely funny. Not funny enough to laugh though because I was pissy.
On Writing
Another drawback of this crazy work week is that I can barely form thoughts to write. This is not a good thing. The one thing that I do take pleasure in doing, the thing that flows from me like - like - see, I can’t even think of a good simile. Just know that it’s not easy going but I’m still trying to practice at it because if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.
Weird Dreams
Last night Brick and another female blogger were in my dream. I could see Brick and hear her voice clearly but I can’t remember who the other female was. We were looking for an apartment and I kept telling Brick that I didn’t want to live anywhere with old, raggedy toilets. I’m a bathroom snob, what can I say? In the dream Brick and I were rocking the same hairstyle, which is not so far from the truth. Brick was only concerned that she had a cell phone. Again, very weird dreams.
Make a Wish
Saima and I were chatting on AIM over the weekend and I asked her the following question:
If you could wave a magic wand and give yourself the life that you wish you had, what would you change about your present situation?
I’m going to work on composing my thoughts on that subject throughout today and share them with you this evening, but for the time being I would like to hear your thoughts. What would you change? What would you keep the same?
Have a good day at work everyone. :o)
You make me wanna throw my pager out the window
tell MCI to cut the phone calls
break my lease so i can move
cause you a bug a boo, a bug a boo
i wanna put your number on the call block
have AOL make my emails stop
cause you a bug a boo
you buggin what? you buggin who? you buggin me!
and dont you see it aint cool
Destiny’s Child - Bug a Boo
Oh My God
I'm going to be 31 in exactly nine days. Trip out! I remember 21 like it was yesterday. Is it time to start counting backwards yet? I still get carded everywhere I go so that's a good thing. People tell me I look 20. This is a good thing too.
Incognegro
I spent this entire weekend undercover. Late Friday evening I turned my cell phone off and I didn’t turn it back on for the rest of the weekend. It felt good not to be in touch, to just do what I wanted to do. I’ve lived by that cell phone ever since I’ve had it and this weekend I decided that I’ve had enough.
Why is it that people feel like your cell phone is their personal tracking device for you? I’m sure we all have at least one person who calls repeatedly if we don’t answer. They will leave a voice mail but still continuously call back. I will sit there watching the caller id, letting them make a fool of themselves. Why are you blowing my shit up like that man?
Not to mention that nine times out of ten, when something is going on, everyone wants me to drive. I get tired of that shit too. So I dropped out this weekend. I wasn’t reachable for anyone and I felt like I had been let out of prison or something. I think I will turn it off more often.
Aside from that, I rarely give my home phone number out to anyone. It’s always the cellular. The cellular has caller ID and I label your number the first time you call me. That way, any time you call me after that, I always know it’s you. I’m free to send you straight to voice mail if I feel like it.
The Weekend
I spent the weekend in seclusion. I kept to myself and I liked it. I fell asleep on the Harry Potter movie. It looked like it was pretty good but I was very tired from the past week. I needed that rest and I rested the entire weekend. No partying, no hanging out, just me and television and books I’ve been meaning to read. I’ll need all the rest I can get since this weekend I will be in L.A. celebrating my birthday with my sister.
Why I don’t Like to Sign On AIM
Lately I’ve taken to only signing on AIM when I’m trying to find a specific person that chat with or get information to. It’s really hard to maintain multiple conversations. Even though I sign on hoping to chat with one or two people, a million people send me messages. I’m not ungrateful; being acknowledged by your peers is a good thing. Sometimes, however, you just want to chill out and not be into the scene as much. It’s hard to concentrate on ten conversations at once believe it or not.
I am a hypocrite however. This doesn't apply to me bugging you. :o)
The New Coach Bag
Um yeah. I am loving this purse. It has a pocket for my cell phone, a pocket for me to put my calculator in ( i often balance my checkbook on the go) and it’s just all around cute. I know I look good carrying it and people have been commenting on it. No buyer’s remorse over here!
Ghetto Karaoke
I’ve recorded myself singing/peforming the following songs:
Mariah Carey’s Breakdown
JJ Fad’s Supersonic
Chaka Khan’s version of Sweet Thing
Kelis’ - Get Along With You/Saddest Story
Destiny Child’s version of Emotions
Prince’s Irresistible Bitch
I’ve decided that I am going to do a remake of Irresistible Bitch. Anil’s going to do the production and I’m going to make a lot of money. You watch.
Damn You, HBO
Hey, why didn’t the Wire come on last night? Why wasn’t there a new movie on HBO saturday night? Did you know Sex and the City returns next Sunday? Why do we have to wait until September to see the Sopranos? When is Oz coming back?
Gator Boots, with the pimped out Gucci suit
Ain't got no job, but I stay sharp
Can't pay my rent, cause all my money's spent
but that's ok, cause I'm still fly
got a quarter tank gas in my new E-class
But that's all right cause I'm gon' ride
got everything in my mama's name
but I'm hood rich da dada dada da
- Big Tymers, Still Fly
A Long Day At Work
Working in a call center is no joke. When call volumes rise, you don’t have time to regain your composure between assholes and it can make the minutes seem like hours. Compound that with about nine hours sleep over the last two days and you can catch a glimpse into my world. Of course I started my day with a Quad Venti Non-Fat Vanilla Latte so I was running off caffeine for the longest. I didn’t start to come down until it was almost time to go home. The funny thing is you can be tired all day at work feeling like you want to play sick so you can go home and catch a nap, but as soon as quitting time comes you get a second wind. I’ll get back to that in a minute.
During the lulls I browse web pages, talk to my neighbor, write notes to myself in word and stare at the eye candy. We just got a brand new piece of eye candy at work and he is delicious I must say. I’ll call him Muscles because he has plenty of them, though not in that disgusting, I-chew-steroids-like-Flintstone-vitamins kind of way. You can tell he’s into good health. He let me feel the rock today (not that one you pervs, the one in his arm) and let’s just say I have no doubt of his strengths. He came to work with a sleeveless sweater on and no shirt underneath and you know he knew what he was doing when he did it. He told me he likes having his bald head licked. I know some girls that are exercising their tongues right now.
In between staring at/feeling on Muscles, I watched other girls feel on/stare at Muscles and browsed web pages. I ran across this link (via Jason, via Tracy) to an article on PlayerHata.com regarding capitalism. If you don’t read anything else this week my people, please read this. It put a heavy load on my mind. I have to agree with Jason though, for all its faults I would rather stick with capitalism. There’s something about it that goes with my shopaholic ways. Which is probably the only reason I go to work. So I can shop. Okay, so it’s not the only reason. It’s a big part of where my money goes though. I work a lot of extra hours not because I need the money but because I like to increase my shopping budget. There are 168 hours in a week and I generally spend 52 of them at work. Capitalism at work.
So I’m sitting at work and by the time six hits my stuff is already packed up, the computer is signed off and I’m heading for the door, waiting on my partner in crime who was riding with me tonight.
Parking Lot Pimpin’
We leave the parking lot with no particular destination in mind. I want to go get something to drink and just hang out. I work 4/10s and have Friday, Saturday and Sunday off. The schedule leaves me tired for 4 days a week and I do the most the other three days. Thursday nights are a free for all because I don’t have to get up for work the next day. So what’s cracking? I call Shorty up to see what she’s doing and she tells us to come over to the bar and have a drink with her. We oblige her and thirty minutes after leaving work I’m sitting on a stool drinking an apple martini and watching the pool hustlers go to work.
We are on the west side of Las Vegas, otherwise known as “the hood.” All sorts of characters are walking in and out of this bar as we sit there. The chronic man comes in, stands by the jukebox and casually gives that look that lets everyone know he has sacks. He stands there for a few minutes making eye contact with anyone that may be a potential customer. A few people approach him right in the bar but he’s too smart to let it go down like that. He’ll sit at the bar and play it off, having a beer and smoking a black and mild while people come up to him and casually ask what his prices are. Once he establishes who is buying and who isn’t he strolls out of the bar, taking one last look over his shoulder to make sure everyone sees the direction he’s heading in. Pay attention. No more than two or three minutes later people start to drift in and out of the bar. I go to the door and take a peek. Old boy is handling his business across the street in the parking lot of 7-11. He was selling eighths. Fifty dollars a bag but you get some good chronic (kind bud for the white people) and about five nice blunts (rolled in cigarillos) out of the sack. I saw at least ten people walk outside and subsequently come back into the bar. It was obvious where they were going. He was only out there for thirty minutes. You do the math.
We sit there a little while longer and finally one of the pool hustlers has made a killing. What his white mark is doing on this side of town no one knows and no one bothers to ask. He came to the wrong area of town and got hustled out of his freshly cashed paycheck. Anyone from the west side would have just sucked that shit up and kept moving but he actually tried to talk the hustler into giving him his money back. That gave me a good laugh. What part of the game is that?
A little while later the booster comes in. You know this man when you see him. He prefers to think of himself as a businessman and a purveyor of fine goods, but when you get that shit it’s so hot your fingers are burning so you know that either this cat is a booster or he is working with a network of boosters to sell the stuff they rack out of Macy’s, Dillards and any number of department stores and specialty shops. Whatever it is, he'll never tell it. Not too many of his customers will ever bother asking about item origination.
He usually frequents the beauty salons, barber shops and nail shops in the area. Occasionally he will walk into other businesses and announce to all present that his has some things for sell and if you are interested you are welcome to take a walk out into the parking lot and look in the trunk. My man today comes in talking about Coach bags. I had to step outside when he said the magic words and he was selling this saddle bag in black for $125. I wasn’t the only one interested in what he had. One brother picked up a pair of Louis Vuitton sneakers for $75 bucks. A sister bought the new pink Coach bag for $150. The booster was out there for forty-five minutes before the bar’s security guard came and asked him to leave. It didn't matter. He made $2000 while I waited patiently for my turn to take a peek. He was still out there for another twenty minutes after I went back inside.
We decided to leave at this point to. We were a hungry group of people and we had another person to go pick up so we went riding into North Las Vegas in search of good times and good food. Someone said we should visit the Hut and since I hadn’t eaten there since last summer I felt nostalgic enough to agree.
Hole in the Wall
The man who owns The Hamburger Hut used to be the cook at Stop and Shop. Or Stop and Get Shot as the locals call it. Stop and Shop is a gas station/food mart on the corner of Las Vegas Blvd and Pecos in North Las Vegas. They have cooks in there who fry chicken wings and burgers and make tacos and burritos and all sorts of good greasy food that you can only get done the way you want at a hole in the wall joint such as this. When Stop and Shop switched from being a late night snack destination to a death wish, the head cook bought a small building about 2 miles east and took his cooking staff with him. Hamburger Hut was born.
“The Hut” resides in a building that used to be a barbershop. It is in the middle of the hood, bordered by a rowdy apartment complex (complete with chalk outlines) on one side and a dangerous alley and gas station on the other. No matter what time you go in there, there will be a nice sized crowd gathered for the food. They make everything they made at Stop and Shop and then some. Tonight our mission was for fried chicken wings. ‘
You never wait less than 20 minutes at the Hut. During that time you can stand on the inside and sweat like a pig or you can walk outside and sweat like a pig plus risk being the victim of a drive by. We take our chances. We alternate standing inside under air conditioning vents that feel like they aren’t blowing anything and standing just outside the doorway of the store (putting ourselves in a position to run back in and all the way through the back if necessary) soaking in the warm desert air at night.
The Hut is exceptionally busy tonight and we end up waiting almost 30 minutes for our food. During that time we watch people come and go. No one buys less than 25 chicken wings (the most popular item at $7.45) and everyone wants fries, drinks and beer. There are slot machines in one corner for anyone who wishes to play, but most people just stand around waiting to be told their order is ready. In and out, in and out, I watched 30 people come in while I was sitting there. It was hot and I was bored, so I was counting. No one bought less than 15 dollars worth of food. There was still a large crowd of people waiting when we came out. We took our food to go.
Winding Down
I was sleepy and ready to call it a night but the others had other plans. They wanted to stop here and stop there and we did this driving around thing until 9:30 and finally I decided it was time to start dropping mother fuckers off cause, well shit, I am driving right? I think my partner in crime could tell I was tired because she followed my lead and suggested it was time to end the carousing.
By 10:30 I was sitting in front of the computer, a hot plate of fried chicken wings beside me, glass of Kool-Aid sitting on the desk and my brand new Coach bag in my hands being examined under the light. No sensor tag holes, nicks in the leather or spots on the fabric. It’s going to look good with that new skirt I just got.
da da dada dada dada
Now tell me why .... is it I’m digging your scene? - Blow Monkeys, Digging Your Scene
Site Stuff
Do Mena and Ben rock or what? I haven’t even upgraded to the latest version yet (I’m still on 2.0) but I am still totally in love with Movable Type. Looks like I’m not the only one. Everyone is digging Movable Type right now. Long live the internet rockstars!
So I discovered today that my individual archive template was messed up. I fixed it but now it’s made me dissatisfied with this layout so it’s back to the drawing board for me. I’m not in a hurry though. I plan to work on it a little bit at a time until it’s done. I’ve realized when I work under the pressure of a deadline, I don’t do too well. I tend to rush through it and not work out all the kinks. I’m stretching this project out in hopes of preventing that. I need to learn to slow down. It’s a personal growth thing. You probably won’t understand.
I think I’d like to switch from individual archives to daily archives but I’m not sure yet. Damn Movable Type for making it easy to create so many different ways to present yourself online. I’m addicted. It’s hopeless.
Book Reviews
I am working on an actual review of “Jemima J”. Some of the themes in the book gave me points to ponder. I’m going to reread some parts this week. It was that good. After that I will start “Valley of the Dolls”.
In the meantime I enjoyed reading Anil’s review of “The Weblog Handbook”.
Picture Taking
I realized today that I haven’t actively gone after good shots with my digital camera since Mother’s Day of this year. I was in a slump. I admit it. I’m over it now. I didn’t realize how much I missed taking pictures. I felt even better when I came home and uploaded all the pictures that I took today because they were good. I actually went to Walgreens and had some of them printed out on Kodak Picture paper. I plan on having a few more printed out. I am happy I have a 64mb memory card. I can afford to leave some of the pictures on my camera and still have room to take even more pictures tomorrow.
I suppose today I should be grateful that I live in Las Vegas. if not for the freaky weather we were having this afternoon, I wouldn’t have been prompted to find shots.
Dust Storm
There was a dust storm during my evening commute. Apparently we got all the dust in the North East Part of town and everyone else got just the gusty winds. The first few intersections we passed through were horrific. The air was so thick with sand it was like trying to drive in fog. You could not see more than one car ahead of you. To top it off the power was out in some spots which meant there were no traffic signals. As much as I complain about Las Vegas drivers I have to say that today they did the right thing on the being cautious tip. Except at the intersection where Texaco meets Nevada State Bank, Raley’s Supermarket and Kentucky Fried Chicken. People were just jumping into the middle of what should have been a four-way stop. I’m glad I turn right on the corner and don’t have to cross over traffic. I was scared just watching the fools.
It wasn’t until we were almost home that I remembered I had a camera in the back seat of the car. I whipped it out and started snapping flicks of the insanity. No, my camera is not out of focus and the windshield is not dirty (much!). The dust causes the distortion in each picture. Clicking each image pops up a larger view.
I was the majority of the way home by the time I snapped this picture. This wasn’t even the worst of the dust. The intersections we passed prior to that were awful.
It was hard to see what was going on in the distance. You had to wait until you were right up on everything.
As we moved along, it was worse in some spots and better in others.
In this picture you can’t even see Sunrise Mountain. It made it very surreal for me because Sunrise Mountain is huge and it’s the mountain I drive towards to get home.
Another view of Sunrise Mountain from about a block east and 2 miles north. Not as much dust blocking the view in this picture.
Taking these pictures inspired me to find some shots in the desert landscape before the sun went down. I didn’t have to look too far for a subject. This is at the base of Sunrise Mountain facing west towards the direction from which we came.
Ok so the muse struck me while in the drive through line at the Walgreens Pharmacy. I decided to jump out of the car and take more ....
I couldn’t look through the lens to get this shot because I didn’t want the sun to burn a hole through my eye to my brain. I used the preview screen. The Walgreens pole got in the shot.
Not quite the angle that I was looking for, but still a good shot to me.
Usually from this vantage point you have a good view of the Statosphere Hotel/Tower and the rest of the strip. The reason you can’t see it in this picture is because it’s clouded with dust.
I think I was turning back towards the sun.
I am a true sun child. I love the sun.
Second verse, almost the same as the first.
Did I mention I love the sun?
Did I mention I need more prints?
Scenes I’m Digging (biting)
J-To’s song quotes at the beginning of posts.
Aaron’s uppity ass attitude.
George’s Bootylicious stance.
Anil’s homemade recording studio.
Stace’s Leave/Comeback steelo.
It’s Hot in Herre
So many people are bitching about the weather in their cities being hot. It was 108 here today. Deal.
I’d love to intrigue you with an incredibly witty entry about life and all sorts of things but unfortunately I didn’t get around to doing much writing tonight.
Blame it on Anil. He introduced me to the wonderful world of recording my voice on my computer and converting it into mp3s. Well hot damn! Who knew I had my very own karaoke machine right here in my study? I surely didn’t.
Everyone knows now though. My mom, the neighbors, the pigeons nesting in the eaves of our roof - everyone knows I learned how to do this shit because I just spent the last 3-4 hours recording myself singing various songs either a cappella or along with the mp3 via Windows Media Player. And it was fun.
So tomorrow we will attempt to resume our regular programming but for the remainder of tonight I will be a singing fool. Get your giggle on. The sound isn't the best because my mic is cheap but after tonight you know i'm going to buy one with bells and whistles. American Idol, here i come!!
Peace.
P.S. A big thank you to everyone for welcoming me back. It’s good to be back.
Now I don’t want anybody
to get the wrong idea about me
I ain’t got nothin’ to hide
I want the world to see
- Cameo, Single Life
I’m back. After a break (almost two months!) I return ready to do it all over again. Did you miss me?
The layout is plain, basic blue. I like this. I’ll work on a more involved layout later. I had a number of test layouts and it all went the same way. They were cool for about a day and then I would think of something else I could do and the previous one would be moved to the experiment folder to be revisited at a later date perhaps. Whatever, overly complicated layouts are so last year. Heh.
Yesterday was George’s birthday. Happy Birthday again George. I like announcing it when things happen.
Here in Vegas it’s incredibly hot. We have been having triple-digit temperatures for about a week straight now. Today I went outside on my lunch break to move my car to another spot. I was wearing these gigantic gold hoops and when I cocked my head to the side to put the key in the ignition my earring burned my neck. I shit you not. I have to constantly remind myself that I live in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Did I expect shady days all summer? Still, it's 11:00 pm right now and it's still 98 degrees outside. Someone send me some ice. Lots of it.
I went to the bookstore on Saturday and spent the requisite $100 (actually it was only $80 this time). I bought Jemima J by Jane Green and I read it in one sitting yesterday. If you like a sweet, modern day fairy tale this one is it. There is more to it than the sappy ending though. Good messages about superficiality (did I just make up a word?).
I’ve still been breezing through a lot of my regular reads daily. You will see a sampling of my pleasure reading list down below. There are more that I know I am missing, but it’s late and I’m ready to shower and go to bed. I have to be up early in the morning.
I have a lot more I’d like to say, but I’m too tired to say any of it right now. Let’s just leave it at I’m back.
Oh, and I missed you too.
