I love her. I just want the world to know.
She completes me with her radiance. My little spark plug, she is.
We're here in Tally and I couldn't be happier. I think I might move to West Palm Beach...
Stace, she's great.
*Obviously Stace hijacked my computer to type this post. Right after she typed that post about my awesomenessocity.
Showing posts with label State of Black America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label State of Black America. Show all posts
11.15.2008
6.22.2007
State of Black America Part IX: Let Someone In
Let someone in. Let someone in. That's a hard one, Wise. Because after years of being treated like an outcast or welcomed in only to be rejected in a few years, you just start to get to the point where you don't want to try anymore.
Let's back track a bit. This started with Nikki's post about the limited view of Black women in televisions sitcoms, dramas, dramedys, etc. How we are always the angry asexual, the man I need a man, or the video whore. I know they hate that phrase but the women who dance around and shake it in next to nothing while some man throws money at her and sings about what a whore she is should take a closer look at what she is doing.
Merriam-Webster defines whore as a woman who engages in sexual acts for money. While you may not be performing an overt sexual act on camera, you are giving the impression that you are more than willin. If your parents raised you right, you can't tell me you are not ashamed on some level of how you are presenting yourself. Because once you bend over in shorts that are now so short they become underwear, any semblance of intelligence is gone. No one cares how many A's you made in 3rd grade or the fact that you won the spelling bee in 5th grade or the college degree you have. All they now see is your backside and what it will do to entice them. And while you're doing that, you're also giving the next generation their view of themselves. Instead of thinking I can run the world, they think this is the way to make a man pay attention to me. By virtue of your scantily clad, mouth parted presence you are making a statement I'm sure you'd deny. But the reality is, no matter how you feel about what you're doing today, most people want more for their daughters, nieces and friends. Charlotte radio host Janine Davis started Girl Talk Foundation as a means of counteracting those very effects.
After Nikki's post, this conversation morphed into Wise's partial solution to let someone in. In it, Wise states that in some respects it's our fault white people don't know us. So let's get to a little Jameil history. We know I grew up in a predominately white neighborhood (see less than a handful of black families out of about 500 homes) but let's go a bit deeper into what that means. That means I also went to a predominately white elementary school. Almost all of my crushes prior to 6th grade (other than my mom's friend's son who I now know is at least 10 years older than me) were white. There weren't enough cute black boys to choose from. Not a problem. Except when none of them actually want to be your 3rd or 4th or 5th grade boyfriend and you've liked boys since birth (according to my mother).
No boyfriend? No sweat. I had LOTS of friends. Almost all of the white. Also, not a problem. I was one of those great products of integration. The child who doesn't see color. My mother worked hard to do what she could to prevent her children from feeling some of the pain she felt growing up. She wanted us to be color blind. Then in kindergarten, someone called me black and I was confused. I took a brown crayon and a black crayon and held them next to my skin and asked which one was closer. One of my first debating victories. I came home so proud. I later learned my mother was crushed. It's not that she didn't want me to know about and be proud of my heritage. It's that she wanted to shield me from any pain as early as possible. I think she couldn't understand why there was some white parent whose child was interacting with hers who felt it necessary to explain to a five-year-old that there are black people and white people. Why does a five-year-old need to know that if not for you to lay the early groundwork to further hundreds of years of separation, confusion and mistrust?
My mother responded by buying me a book about Martin Luther King, Jr. which talked about his own similar experience of black versus brown. That made me proud. I shared something with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.! Except his story ended with him not being able to play with his white friend anymore once they got to school age because the friends mother would no longer allow it. It was time for them to learn their places. I went to my mother to ask her if she thought my friends would do the same. I mean, no way! She implied that it was quite possible and even probable. I didn't believe her anyway. Then I went to middle school.
There were a lot more black people, but I "talk too white" for them and having white friends was a BIG problem. The one black female friend I had from elementary school joined those girls and was suddenly too embarassed to be seen talking to me anymore. See, they learned early, while interacting predomintaely with black people, that the races should indeed be separate, and there weren't too many people around who wanted to change their minds. The separation of the races works both ways. Once you take all the black people out of their cocoon and all the white people out of their cocoon, you have two groups of people who can't relate to one another because the only images they have of each other are the ones they've seen on tv. The jigaboo, the angry black man/woman, the whore, the mammy. The ones with all firehouses, the ones with all the power. At some point, it's all going to explode.
Now my "friends" were less willing to talk to me. And every passing year, I had fewer and fewer friends among the people I was closest to in elementary school. Of course all of it wasn't the clash between black and white. I finally got my core crew of like-minded girls: none of us wanting to become teenage mothers, all of us already thinking about college and making good grades. That was my first group of black friends. In 7th grade. There were also the people who were into some strange things now. Our interests grew in opposite directions, away from each other. But there was at least one girl who told me I shouldn't come to her house anymore because either her mom or her step-dad didn't like black people.
Then there's getting ignored or followed (or both) while shopping. These things slowly chip away at who you are creating a new person. One who is a little more closed off, giving off the angry black woman vibe. Part of my vibe is just me being a bit uncomfortable around strangers at times, but another part of it (beyond not wanting to constantly field stupid black questions) is not wanting to let people in. I would have been a stellar only child. I have many only child traits but as I previously mentioned, all of it starts to wear you down or cause you to build up a wall.
Wise suggests counteracting the 3 black women effect by being nice to a white person today. :) Don't you love how I broke that down? Stop saying no when your white co-worker asks you to accompany them somewhere. Stop being so closed off. How's this for a great point from Wise?
"We expect that when we work hard we ought to be seen as whole and competent and intelligent and nuanced and complex and human. Just like any other woman. Problem is, we don’t care for the follow up. We don’t want you in our business bec we refuse to be exploited. We refuse to give you the satisfaction of thinking you know us." Wise!! You think you know me!! But at some point all that guarding will backfire. Whether personally or professionally, for you, or for the other black people who come behind you, it will backfire. Trust and believe that some people will never, ever get it; but punishing yourself and the world (by denying it yourself) is not the answer. Constantly shutting out the world will get you nowhere but angry(ier) and alone. And I for one want to be no ones stereotype.
*was this state of black america or state of black jameil?
Let's back track a bit. This started with Nikki's post about the limited view of Black women in televisions sitcoms, dramas, dramedys, etc. How we are always the angry asexual, the man I need a man, or the video whore. I know they hate that phrase but the women who dance around and shake it in next to nothing while some man throws money at her and sings about what a whore she is should take a closer look at what she is doing.
Merriam-Webster defines whore as a woman who engages in sexual acts for money. While you may not be performing an overt sexual act on camera, you are giving the impression that you are more than willin. If your parents raised you right, you can't tell me you are not ashamed on some level of how you are presenting yourself. Because once you bend over in shorts that are now so short they become underwear, any semblance of intelligence is gone. No one cares how many A's you made in 3rd grade or the fact that you won the spelling bee in 5th grade or the college degree you have. All they now see is your backside and what it will do to entice them. And while you're doing that, you're also giving the next generation their view of themselves. Instead of thinking I can run the world, they think this is the way to make a man pay attention to me. By virtue of your scantily clad, mouth parted presence you are making a statement I'm sure you'd deny. But the reality is, no matter how you feel about what you're doing today, most people want more for their daughters, nieces and friends. Charlotte radio host Janine Davis started Girl Talk Foundation as a means of counteracting those very effects.
After Nikki's post, this conversation morphed into Wise's partial solution to let someone in. In it, Wise states that in some respects it's our fault white people don't know us. So let's get to a little Jameil history. We know I grew up in a predominately white neighborhood (see less than a handful of black families out of about 500 homes) but let's go a bit deeper into what that means. That means I also went to a predominately white elementary school. Almost all of my crushes prior to 6th grade (other than my mom's friend's son who I now know is at least 10 years older than me) were white. There weren't enough cute black boys to choose from. Not a problem. Except when none of them actually want to be your 3rd or 4th or 5th grade boyfriend and you've liked boys since birth (according to my mother).
No boyfriend? No sweat. I had LOTS of friends. Almost all of the white. Also, not a problem. I was one of those great products of integration. The child who doesn't see color. My mother worked hard to do what she could to prevent her children from feeling some of the pain she felt growing up. She wanted us to be color blind. Then in kindergarten, someone called me black and I was confused. I took a brown crayon and a black crayon and held them next to my skin and asked which one was closer. One of my first debating victories. I came home so proud. I later learned my mother was crushed. It's not that she didn't want me to know about and be proud of my heritage. It's that she wanted to shield me from any pain as early as possible. I think she couldn't understand why there was some white parent whose child was interacting with hers who felt it necessary to explain to a five-year-old that there are black people and white people. Why does a five-year-old need to know that if not for you to lay the early groundwork to further hundreds of years of separation, confusion and mistrust?
My mother responded by buying me a book about Martin Luther King, Jr. which talked about his own similar experience of black versus brown. That made me proud. I shared something with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.! Except his story ended with him not being able to play with his white friend anymore once they got to school age because the friends mother would no longer allow it. It was time for them to learn their places. I went to my mother to ask her if she thought my friends would do the same. I mean, no way! She implied that it was quite possible and even probable. I didn't believe her anyway. Then I went to middle school.
There were a lot more black people, but I "talk too white" for them and having white friends was a BIG problem. The one black female friend I had from elementary school joined those girls and was suddenly too embarassed to be seen talking to me anymore. See, they learned early, while interacting predomintaely with black people, that the races should indeed be separate, and there weren't too many people around who wanted to change their minds. The separation of the races works both ways. Once you take all the black people out of their cocoon and all the white people out of their cocoon, you have two groups of people who can't relate to one another because the only images they have of each other are the ones they've seen on tv. The jigaboo, the angry black man/woman, the whore, the mammy. The ones with all firehouses, the ones with all the power. At some point, it's all going to explode.
Now my "friends" were less willing to talk to me. And every passing year, I had fewer and fewer friends among the people I was closest to in elementary school. Of course all of it wasn't the clash between black and white. I finally got my core crew of like-minded girls: none of us wanting to become teenage mothers, all of us already thinking about college and making good grades. That was my first group of black friends. In 7th grade. There were also the people who were into some strange things now. Our interests grew in opposite directions, away from each other. But there was at least one girl who told me I shouldn't come to her house anymore because either her mom or her step-dad didn't like black people.
Then there's getting ignored or followed (or both) while shopping. These things slowly chip away at who you are creating a new person. One who is a little more closed off, giving off the angry black woman vibe. Part of my vibe is just me being a bit uncomfortable around strangers at times, but another part of it (beyond not wanting to constantly field stupid black questions) is not wanting to let people in. I would have been a stellar only child. I have many only child traits but as I previously mentioned, all of it starts to wear you down or cause you to build up a wall.
Wise suggests counteracting the 3 black women effect by being nice to a white person today. :) Don't you love how I broke that down? Stop saying no when your white co-worker asks you to accompany them somewhere. Stop being so closed off. How's this for a great point from Wise?
"We expect that when we work hard we ought to be seen as whole and competent and intelligent and nuanced and complex and human. Just like any other woman. Problem is, we don’t care for the follow up. We don’t want you in our business bec we refuse to be exploited. We refuse to give you the satisfaction of thinking you know us." Wise!! You think you know me!! But at some point all that guarding will backfire. Whether personally or professionally, for you, or for the other black people who come behind you, it will backfire. Trust and believe that some people will never, ever get it; but punishing yourself and the world (by denying it yourself) is not the answer. Constantly shutting out the world will get you nowhere but angry(ier) and alone. And I for one want to be no ones stereotype.
*was this state of black america or state of black jameil?
4.12.2007
State of Black America Part VIII: Nappy-headed Hos
By now, you've heard over and over about (irrelevant) radio shock jock Don Imus calling the Rutgers' women's team "nappy-headed hos" and others on his show referring to the team as "rough hos" and "hardcore hos," even going so far as to compare the team to the Tennessee women's team calling it the jigaboos vs. the wannabees. Spike Lee doesn't like being dragged into it, but calls for an immediate boycott of all advertisers. Rutgers is not happy. The coach is not happy. Tennessee's Women's Coach is not happy. (Please don't make Pat mad. She really looks like she could harm you.) The NCAA is not happy. The Washington Post had a very interesting live online chat.
As with anything, I get a little less pissed, but a little more contemplative with each passing day. I'm absorbing a lot of information and the changes keep coming. It started with the boycotts and protests, then CBS and MSNBC suspend him for 2 weeks. Then advertisers, including Staples, Bigelow Tea and Proctor and Gamble pulled their support. Now MSNBC has pulled its simulcast after taking "into account many conversations with our own employees. What matters to us most is that the men and women of NBC Universal have confidence in the values we have set for this company."
And yet the questions continue. Is Imus so relevant that it hurts for him to call any educated Black woman a nappy-headed ho? No, he's not that relevant, or even relevant at all to me. I only knew who he was prior to the incident because there is a giant bank of televisions covering every news station at work. Every morning I look up and he's on. Yes, he's a shock jock. But at what point do we say enough is enough? Where do we draw the line? Not knowing the sexual proclivities of the women in question, can you really call them hos? Or does that border on slander? Nappy-headed is also in question considering 2 of the people on the team are white. At the very least, he's inaccurate and NOT FUNNY.
I was amazed when I first heard it, then shocked, then really, really pissed off. I have, and love my, natural hair, and I don't like when my own father calls me nappy-headed. It just doesn't sit right with me. It's the implication. Nappy as in unclean or undesirable. Some would disagree. But that's what you meant right? Or what did you mean? Let us know. Then the "they say it so I can" argument is foolish. It's okay to just go along with everything everyone says? Come on. There has to be something that is not okay to you. What is it? Where is the line?
This is not the first time he's made questionable comments. According to wikipedia, Imus may be familiar with the word nigger. He previously pledged not to engage in further racist talk. He has repeatedly apologized, but is it enough? Now the shock jock is upset that the most recent incident is clouding his record of community service. This is true. In many articles, if mentioned at all, his service record is relegated to the final paragraph, which in media terms means first to be cut if there is a space or time issue. Here's a tip. When you make incendiary comments, that is precisely what happens. Any positive impact you have becomes clouded by controversy.
The context also matters. When Imus, a 66-year-old white male, used the airwaves, television and radio, national television, a nationally syndicated radio program to denigrate a group of black women and say they looked like men (didn't hear that part? He and members of his radio program said the women looked like the Toronto Raptors. One took it further and said the Memphis Grizzlies), there is a problem. Take heed. I wouldn't like it if some black people said it either, since so many have chosen to bring rappers into the mix. I'll get to that in a minute.
I'm not clear, however, on how Al Sharpton can say, I will complain to the FCC. On what grounds? FCC indecency standards are somewhat convoluted. I think the better complaint would go to the stations themselves and the advertisers. Imus makes a lot of money for these stations. Do I think he should be fired? I don't know. What does Imus think should happen?
If you've been watching any of the coverage of this issue, I'm sure more than once you've heard the question, but what about the rappers? Black people have got to stop saying it themselves. We're back to this again? Like with nigg(a)(er), right? Trust and believe, there are many black and white people calling rappers to the table on a regular basis for their community-destroying lyrics. Search music on many of my regular bloggers' pages and you'll find great disdain not only for the music and their "artists," but also the media outlets that play them. At some point, you get tired of being nigga-ed, bitched and hoed, not to mention encouraged to sell drugs and smack asses. We've covered that. But since you want to ask, let's go to the source.
On Hollywood.com, Rapper Snoop Dogg refused any comparison to Imus. Snoop went so far as to say "(Rappers) are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We're talking about hos that's in the 'hood that ain't doing s**t, that's trying to get a n**ga for his money. These are two separate things."
It's a bit clearer now, but do go on. "We are rappers that have these songs coming from our minds and our souls that are relevant to what we feel. I will not let them muthaf**kas say we are in the same league as him. Kick him off the air forever."
I kind of hate you right now Snoop. Maybe even more than I did when you brought those women to the MTV Awards on a leash. You have a wife and I'm pretty sure, a daughter. So, though you are not referring to them when talking about hos, surely you see the problem with leading a WOMAN around on a LEASH. I suppose at this point, you are still saying it's not your wife or daughter, but what message are you sending? Can you really get mad if your daughter shows up on someone's leash one day?
But let's get back to the point at hand, an elderly, white, male radio personality referred to a group of young, educated black women as hos. This is not just a black issue. He made it racial by adding the nappy-headed part, but not only black people are up in arms over this. True, some people are weighing in for their own personal gain, but that's neither here nor there.
Barack Obama called the comments "divisive, hurtful, and offensive to Americans of all backgrounds." Kind of pat, but a response nonetheless. Hillary Clinton dedicated space on her website for people to send their support. The National Organization of Women jumped on the bandwagon, too. Though a bit late to the party, the Journalism and Women Symposium also added their two cents.
I think the bottom line is for you not to come out of your mouth against a group of women who did nothing to deserve it. The team captain is a straight-A student who plays the piano, bass guitar, drums and saxophone. The team includes All-Americans, a future attorney, a psychology major a player of the year. And this is how they are rewarded.Talk about kicking someone while they're down. They'd just lost the national championship. You are talking about someone's sister, someone's daughter. Do you know how I would react if someone attacked my sister or child like this?
Black people have a tendency to group identify. When you attack one black person, many feel like you're attacking all black people. This particular incident also has a sense of no matter what you accomplish, to some people you are still nothing but a nappy-headed ho. So maybe there is a lesson in this after all.
For Previous State of Black America posts, go here.
As with anything, I get a little less pissed, but a little more contemplative with each passing day. I'm absorbing a lot of information and the changes keep coming. It started with the boycotts and protests, then CBS and MSNBC suspend him for 2 weeks. Then advertisers, including Staples, Bigelow Tea and Proctor and Gamble pulled their support. Now MSNBC has pulled its simulcast after taking "into account many conversations with our own employees. What matters to us most is that the men and women of NBC Universal have confidence in the values we have set for this company."
And yet the questions continue. Is Imus so relevant that it hurts for him to call any educated Black woman a nappy-headed ho? No, he's not that relevant, or even relevant at all to me. I only knew who he was prior to the incident because there is a giant bank of televisions covering every news station at work. Every morning I look up and he's on. Yes, he's a shock jock. But at what point do we say enough is enough? Where do we draw the line? Not knowing the sexual proclivities of the women in question, can you really call them hos? Or does that border on slander? Nappy-headed is also in question considering 2 of the people on the team are white. At the very least, he's inaccurate and NOT FUNNY.
I was amazed when I first heard it, then shocked, then really, really pissed off. I have, and love my, natural hair, and I don't like when my own father calls me nappy-headed. It just doesn't sit right with me. It's the implication. Nappy as in unclean or undesirable. Some would disagree. But that's what you meant right? Or what did you mean? Let us know. Then the "they say it so I can" argument is foolish. It's okay to just go along with everything everyone says? Come on. There has to be something that is not okay to you. What is it? Where is the line?
This is not the first time he's made questionable comments. According to wikipedia, Imus may be familiar with the word nigger. He previously pledged not to engage in further racist talk. He has repeatedly apologized, but is it enough? Now the shock jock is upset that the most recent incident is clouding his record of community service. This is true. In many articles, if mentioned at all, his service record is relegated to the final paragraph, which in media terms means first to be cut if there is a space or time issue. Here's a tip. When you make incendiary comments, that is precisely what happens. Any positive impact you have becomes clouded by controversy.
The context also matters. When Imus, a 66-year-old white male, used the airwaves, television and radio, national television, a nationally syndicated radio program to denigrate a group of black women and say they looked like men (didn't hear that part? He and members of his radio program said the women looked like the Toronto Raptors. One took it further and said the Memphis Grizzlies), there is a problem. Take heed. I wouldn't like it if some black people said it either, since so many have chosen to bring rappers into the mix. I'll get to that in a minute.
I'm not clear, however, on how Al Sharpton can say, I will complain to the FCC. On what grounds? FCC indecency standards are somewhat convoluted. I think the better complaint would go to the stations themselves and the advertisers. Imus makes a lot of money for these stations. Do I think he should be fired? I don't know. What does Imus think should happen?
If you've been watching any of the coverage of this issue, I'm sure more than once you've heard the question, but what about the rappers? Black people have got to stop saying it themselves. We're back to this again? Like with nigg(a)(er), right? Trust and believe, there are many black and white people calling rappers to the table on a regular basis for their community-destroying lyrics. Search music on many of my regular bloggers' pages and you'll find great disdain not only for the music and their "artists," but also the media outlets that play them. At some point, you get tired of being nigga-ed, bitched and hoed, not to mention encouraged to sell drugs and smack asses. We've covered that. But since you want to ask, let's go to the source.
On Hollywood.com, Rapper Snoop Dogg refused any comparison to Imus. Snoop went so far as to say "(Rappers) are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We're talking about hos that's in the 'hood that ain't doing s**t, that's trying to get a n**ga for his money. These are two separate things."
It's a bit clearer now, but do go on. "We are rappers that have these songs coming from our minds and our souls that are relevant to what we feel. I will not let them muthaf**kas say we are in the same league as him. Kick him off the air forever."
I kind of hate you right now Snoop. Maybe even more than I did when you brought those women to the MTV Awards on a leash. You have a wife and I'm pretty sure, a daughter. So, though you are not referring to them when talking about hos, surely you see the problem with leading a WOMAN around on a LEASH. I suppose at this point, you are still saying it's not your wife or daughter, but what message are you sending? Can you really get mad if your daughter shows up on someone's leash one day?
But let's get back to the point at hand, an elderly, white, male radio personality referred to a group of young, educated black women as hos. This is not just a black issue. He made it racial by adding the nappy-headed part, but not only black people are up in arms over this. True, some people are weighing in for their own personal gain, but that's neither here nor there.
Barack Obama called the comments "divisive, hurtful, and offensive to Americans of all backgrounds." Kind of pat, but a response nonetheless. Hillary Clinton dedicated space on her website for people to send their support. The National Organization of Women jumped on the bandwagon, too. Though a bit late to the party, the Journalism and Women Symposium also added their two cents.
I think the bottom line is for you not to come out of your mouth against a group of women who did nothing to deserve it. The team captain is a straight-A student who plays the piano, bass guitar, drums and saxophone. The team includes All-Americans, a future attorney, a psychology major a player of the year. And this is how they are rewarded.Talk about kicking someone while they're down. They'd just lost the national championship. You are talking about someone's sister, someone's daughter. Do you know how I would react if someone attacked my sister or child like this?
Black people have a tendency to group identify. When you attack one black person, many feel like you're attacking all black people. This particular incident also has a sense of no matter what you accomplish, to some people you are still nothing but a nappy-headed ho. So maybe there is a lesson in this after all.
For Previous State of Black America posts, go here.
1.02.2007
New Year, New Blog
Not really. But I like to make things up to make y'all pay attention. LOOK AT ME!! So, it's 2007. FINALLY!! I'm usually the girl dragging her feet into the new year. I never really care about celebrations. Big Kyle (not my Kyle) had hotel parties in Charlotte two of the years we were at Hampton so those were always mucho fun.
Otherwise, I'm not really into going downtown to crane my neck upwards at fireworks, I don't want to drop $50 on some wack club that's $5 any other night, I don't want to spend all my money (is that the same? yes and no). Basically I want to do the same thing I've done the last 3 or4 years, either bring in the New Year on the phone with Kyle or speak to him and a million other people within the first 15 minutes of the New Year.
I also am not the type to make resolutions. This year I decided I will commit myself to a few things. Not world peace. I want something attainable. I am not Miss America though I could give her a run for her money with my gangstalicious fiyah walk. That's right. I said it. Though I guess a fab walk is more model. Too bad I'm 5'1. Whatever. Semantics.
Les Resolutions:
1) continue working out. I'm in the rhythm now and paying too much money a month to let it go to waste. I will need to start switching my routine up a little though because my eyes are starting to glaze. I reallly (count the l's) need a workout partner.
2) as a result of the aforementioned fitness, buy a Rosa Cha bikini because I only have about 3 years to wear it. Go to collections, Summer 2007. 2nd on the left, 3rd on the right. I would prefer them in other colors. Something to make my skin pop but those are the styles that caught my eye. Her 2006 collection was ick. (No, I don't want to be THAT skinny). Yes I will have to do some strategic placement to make either of those work with my Black woman body.
3) get somewhere to wear #2. clearly i can't go to va beach or rhode island (right t?) w/that on. I'll get arrested and that will NOT be a resolution. Never been to the Carribbean. I'm overdue.
4) Go to Canada!!! Geez! Its ridiculous that I'm this close for a year and a half and have never been to Canada. It's something crazy like 2 hours or less away. So field trip for me.
5) Save $3000. This starts with nine west. sigh. I just bought 2 pairs of shoes. They were on sale, but they will be my last for a while. Ugh. Why did the sales lady show me a pair of white slouch booties? *shudddddder!!!* WTF are you thinkin about? White shoes? And booties at that??? *vomitttttt!!!* Why don't you just spit on me? Absolutely not. These shoes were so ugly I can't even find them on the website. Not that the site is AT ALL easy to navigate but still.
6) Budget. I'm already a step ahead b/c I've written down all of my bills, including food, entertainment and gas. Now implementation is the key. My first test is Friday when I get paid again.
7) Promotion. I've made August 23rd (my birthday) the promotion deadline for each year as long as I'm at a relatively entry-level position. Not quite entry-level, but still not in a job I would want to keep for more than a year. 23rd birthday, got the associate producer job, promoted to weekend morning producer by 24th birthday. 25th, I don't know what it will be, but not weekend mornings. Onward and upward people, onward and upward.
8) Meet a blogger. This is ridiculous. I'm sick of y'all comin to Pittsburgh, or me going to your city and suddenly we're unable to connect. FINE!! Don't meet me!! You smell like feet anyway.
That's enough, right? Those are the goals. The Carribbean may not happen because of the whole saving money thing but I'm down for an October or December trip. That would be so fun. I'm thinking December. While you guys are freezing, I'm heading South! Way South! Speaking of the Carribbean, has anyone seen the Bahamavention commercials??? HUH-LARIOUS!!! Please watch Lyle. I couldn't stop guffawing for like 15 minutes... at work! Hilarious! SOLD! But I think the Bahamas is the place Stace doesn't like. Is that right?
So! Thanks to Wise, I'll be reviewing the last year in blogdom and revealing somethings about my blog that my bloggiversary (how rambling is that post??? wth? pick a topic!!!!) and 100th post did not.
Inspiration for This Blog: Jamar, Erin and Talia's blogs. All fellow j-school Hamptonians. I wanted to get in on it too!! Only Talia still blogs. Booooooooooo!! But I've started a few people blogging myself which I'm quite proud of including my line sister and sister (both no longer blogging boooooo people, booooooo!), Wynel (never posts), and now for my proteges, Ashli and Stace. Love them mucho. I couldn't live w/o their blogs.
Why the Name Mindspace: Because I liked it. It was also around the time I became addicted to myspace. Well, not addicted, but first introduced. I can go days w/o myspace, but not w/o the blogs. I come home and run to the computer like crack.
My Fav Blog Entry: Hmmm... many of the early ones. They were so truly free and hilarious. I go back and read them and can't stop giggling. Some mindspacing. Good times, good times.
Fave Concept: Letters to God. CRACK me up.
Defining Moment: I don't know that there's one. Any suggestions?
Most Popular: State of Black America. All of y'all stop pressuring me. Those take a lot out of me and I ordinarily have to be in a really bad mood or pushed to my wit's end to post them. Why Men and Women Can't Be Friends.
Entry I Wish I Never Published: I don't think there was one. I think very carefully before I post things. They are all representative of who I am whether its unpleasant to others or not. There are, however, some posts I wish I had published but who knows if I will.
Why I Blog: Because I am vain. And bored as all get out. If I hadn't created a blog la familia, I really don't think I would've made it in Pittsburgh. Thank God for computers and the internet.
Blog Resolutions: continue to be me. B/c who wouldn't want to by this fly?
My fave blogs: there are so many. I don't even know where to start. Plus I really don't want to leave anyone out. If pressed, the blogs I check most regularly would be Stace, Ash, X, Cnel, Dream, Wise, Joy, La, and Veronica. If Karamale would come back to regular status, I would be overjoyed. I cannot link all these people. I don't have the patience. Read the comments dammit.
First regular reader: Ashli. We weren't super close in college, but through her reading my blog and sometimes bullying me into posting when I thought no one was reading anyway, we've become pretty close. I love that.
The State of Blogging: Ya know... I really don't care. The dramatics and antics can't ever keep my attention. I don't keep negative people in my life, I'm certainly not going to read it on someone's blog. So. Folk will do want they want to and that's fine. Do you.
Most Personal Entry: it's all personal. Life with D. It's also hard for me to divulge too much about me and the bf's relationship because I know there are people who read this who don't need to know my business. Plus there are some things so good you just want to keep them to myself. So when I do, that's very personal.
Funniest Entry: Fresh AzImiz, Ugly Sweaters, I don't know! Office Ebola and Open Toes? Like I said, a lot of them make me giggle. I can't walk you through 151 posts people! Hahahahahaha
My Blog Style: fluctuates with my mood, pensive, angry, hyper, romantic, political, suppressive, oppressive, brooding, silly, crazy, evil, bitter, I think it pretty much runs the gamut. I also promise lots of posts and rarely deliver on them. I just forget. So if you have something you've been waiting for and I haven't gotten to it, you should tap me on the blog shoulder. But don't be too insistent. I'm known to slap at people who tap me.
The Entry People Still Email Me About: Well, since I hate forwards and try to discourage stalkers, only the few who've directly asked me for my email and sent me their email addy have my email addy. So I guess that's none.
Most Bizarre Encounter Set Off by the Blog: Hmmmm... since I've never met most of you, I have no idea. I don't think this one even applies to me. Now I have gotten some juicay (not juicy) stories from some of you from e-mailing. You guys have some faaaaaaaaabulous lives. I'm telling you, life is so much cooler than fiction. You wouldn't believe it if you read it in a book.
Biggest Disappointment: the first few months when no one read my blog. I felt like such a failure! Boo hoo hoo. Hahaha.
Greatest Blog Triumph: Being shouted out by bloggers I love!! Starting another blog. Getting others to blog. The post w/33 comments.
Place I Most Wanna Visit Thanks to Blogging: Colombia, Panama (Karamale for both of those). Both sound and look cool as hell. And actually, Rhode Island. Tdot makes it sound very picturesque. I don't think I should be lured, though. She's a writer. It's her job to lure people. Lolol. B-more. I'm really jealous Cnel, Epsi and Wise met up. Plus I just love that city.
Place I Least Wanna Visit Thanks to Blogging: Michigan. Y'all make it sound awful.
What I Think Other Bloggers Think of Me: Hyper. Geniastic.
What I Hope Other Bloggers Think of Me: Fabulous writer, fun, I would buy any book she wrote, I can't wait until she posts again. Hahahahaha.
What Readers Can Expect in 2007: Same fly me. But better. Yeah... better. Ow! Come on. How am I seriously supposed to answer that? I don't know. I just aim for the stars.
Otherwise, I'm not really into going downtown to crane my neck upwards at fireworks, I don't want to drop $50 on some wack club that's $5 any other night, I don't want to spend all my money (is that the same? yes and no). Basically I want to do the same thing I've done the last 3 or4 years, either bring in the New Year on the phone with Kyle or speak to him and a million other people within the first 15 minutes of the New Year.
I also am not the type to make resolutions. This year I decided I will commit myself to a few things. Not world peace. I want something attainable. I am not Miss America though I could give her a run for her money with my gangstalicious fiyah walk. That's right. I said it. Though I guess a fab walk is more model. Too bad I'm 5'1. Whatever. Semantics.
Les Resolutions:
1) continue working out. I'm in the rhythm now and paying too much money a month to let it go to waste. I will need to start switching my routine up a little though because my eyes are starting to glaze. I reallly (count the l's) need a workout partner.
2) as a result of the aforementioned fitness, buy a Rosa Cha bikini because I only have about 3 years to wear it. Go to collections, Summer 2007. 2nd on the left, 3rd on the right. I would prefer them in other colors. Something to make my skin pop but those are the styles that caught my eye. Her 2006 collection was ick. (No, I don't want to be THAT skinny). Yes I will have to do some strategic placement to make either of those work with my Black woman body.
3) get somewhere to wear #2. clearly i can't go to va beach or rhode island (right t?) w/that on. I'll get arrested and that will NOT be a resolution. Never been to the Carribbean. I'm overdue.
4) Go to Canada!!! Geez! Its ridiculous that I'm this close for a year and a half and have never been to Canada. It's something crazy like 2 hours or less away. So field trip for me.
5) Save $3000. This starts with nine west. sigh. I just bought 2 pairs of shoes. They were on sale, but they will be my last for a while. Ugh. Why did the sales lady show me a pair of white slouch booties? *shudddddder!!!* WTF are you thinkin about? White shoes? And booties at that??? *vomitttttt!!!* Why don't you just spit on me? Absolutely not. These shoes were so ugly I can't even find them on the website. Not that the site is AT ALL easy to navigate but still.
6) Budget. I'm already a step ahead b/c I've written down all of my bills, including food, entertainment and gas. Now implementation is the key. My first test is Friday when I get paid again.
7) Promotion. I've made August 23rd (my birthday) the promotion deadline for each year as long as I'm at a relatively entry-level position. Not quite entry-level, but still not in a job I would want to keep for more than a year. 23rd birthday, got the associate producer job, promoted to weekend morning producer by 24th birthday. 25th, I don't know what it will be, but not weekend mornings. Onward and upward people, onward and upward.
8) Meet a blogger. This is ridiculous. I'm sick of y'all comin to Pittsburgh, or me going to your city and suddenly we're unable to connect. FINE!! Don't meet me!! You smell like feet anyway.
That's enough, right? Those are the goals. The Carribbean may not happen because of the whole saving money thing but I'm down for an October or December trip. That would be so fun. I'm thinking December. While you guys are freezing, I'm heading South! Way South! Speaking of the Carribbean, has anyone seen the Bahamavention commercials??? HUH-LARIOUS!!! Please watch Lyle. I couldn't stop guffawing for like 15 minutes... at work! Hilarious! SOLD! But I think the Bahamas is the place Stace doesn't like. Is that right?
So! Thanks to Wise, I'll be reviewing the last year in blogdom and revealing somethings about my blog that my bloggiversary (how rambling is that post??? wth? pick a topic!!!!) and 100th post did not.
Inspiration for This Blog: Jamar, Erin and Talia's blogs. All fellow j-school Hamptonians. I wanted to get in on it too!! Only Talia still blogs. Booooooooooo!! But I've started a few people blogging myself which I'm quite proud of including my line sister and sister (both no longer blogging boooooo people, booooooo!), Wynel (never posts), and now for my proteges, Ashli and Stace. Love them mucho. I couldn't live w/o their blogs.
Why the Name Mindspace: Because I liked it. It was also around the time I became addicted to myspace. Well, not addicted, but first introduced. I can go days w/o myspace, but not w/o the blogs. I come home and run to the computer like crack.
My Fav Blog Entry: Hmmm... many of the early ones. They were so truly free and hilarious. I go back and read them and can't stop giggling. Some mindspacing. Good times, good times.
Fave Concept: Letters to God. CRACK me up.
Defining Moment: I don't know that there's one. Any suggestions?
Most Popular: State of Black America. All of y'all stop pressuring me. Those take a lot out of me and I ordinarily have to be in a really bad mood or pushed to my wit's end to post them. Why Men and Women Can't Be Friends.
Entry I Wish I Never Published: I don't think there was one. I think very carefully before I post things. They are all representative of who I am whether its unpleasant to others or not. There are, however, some posts I wish I had published but who knows if I will.
Why I Blog: Because I am vain. And bored as all get out. If I hadn't created a blog la familia, I really don't think I would've made it in Pittsburgh. Thank God for computers and the internet.
Blog Resolutions: continue to be me. B/c who wouldn't want to by this fly?
My fave blogs: there are so many. I don't even know where to start. Plus I really don't want to leave anyone out. If pressed, the blogs I check most regularly would be Stace, Ash, X, Cnel, Dream, Wise, Joy, La, and Veronica. If Karamale would come back to regular status, I would be overjoyed. I cannot link all these people. I don't have the patience. Read the comments dammit.
First regular reader: Ashli. We weren't super close in college, but through her reading my blog and sometimes bullying me into posting when I thought no one was reading anyway, we've become pretty close. I love that.
The State of Blogging: Ya know... I really don't care. The dramatics and antics can't ever keep my attention. I don't keep negative people in my life, I'm certainly not going to read it on someone's blog. So. Folk will do want they want to and that's fine. Do you.
Most Personal Entry: it's all personal. Life with D. It's also hard for me to divulge too much about me and the bf's relationship because I know there are people who read this who don't need to know my business. Plus there are some things so good you just want to keep them to myself. So when I do, that's very personal.
Funniest Entry: Fresh AzImiz, Ugly Sweaters, I don't know! Office Ebola and Open Toes? Like I said, a lot of them make me giggle. I can't walk you through 151 posts people! Hahahahahaha
My Blog Style: fluctuates with my mood, pensive, angry, hyper, romantic, political, suppressive, oppressive, brooding, silly, crazy, evil, bitter, I think it pretty much runs the gamut. I also promise lots of posts and rarely deliver on them. I just forget. So if you have something you've been waiting for and I haven't gotten to it, you should tap me on the blog shoulder. But don't be too insistent. I'm known to slap at people who tap me.
The Entry People Still Email Me About: Well, since I hate forwards and try to discourage stalkers, only the few who've directly asked me for my email and sent me their email addy have my email addy. So I guess that's none.
Most Bizarre Encounter Set Off by the Blog: Hmmmm... since I've never met most of you, I have no idea. I don't think this one even applies to me. Now I have gotten some juicay (not juicy) stories from some of you from e-mailing. You guys have some faaaaaaaaabulous lives. I'm telling you, life is so much cooler than fiction. You wouldn't believe it if you read it in a book.
Biggest Disappointment: the first few months when no one read my blog. I felt like such a failure! Boo hoo hoo. Hahaha.
Greatest Blog Triumph: Being shouted out by bloggers I love!! Starting another blog. Getting others to blog. The post w/33 comments.
Place I Most Wanna Visit Thanks to Blogging: Colombia, Panama (Karamale for both of those). Both sound and look cool as hell. And actually, Rhode Island. Tdot makes it sound very picturesque. I don't think I should be lured, though. She's a writer. It's her job to lure people. Lolol. B-more. I'm really jealous Cnel, Epsi and Wise met up. Plus I just love that city.
Place I Least Wanna Visit Thanks to Blogging: Michigan. Y'all make it sound awful.
What I Think Other Bloggers Think of Me: Hyper. Geniastic.
What I Hope Other Bloggers Think of Me: Fabulous writer, fun, I would buy any book she wrote, I can't wait until she posts again. Hahahahaha.
What Readers Can Expect in 2007: Same fly me. But better. Yeah... better. Ow! Come on. How am I seriously supposed to answer that? I don't know. I just aim for the stars.
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