B-Nice

1/31/2006

Farewell

Today the news was announced that Mrs. Coretta Scott King has passed away. I heard the news while driving to work and listening to the Steve Harvey morning show on WBLS. I think her passing saddened me even more than the passing just a few months ago of Rosa Parks. Both women were definitely female icons of the civil rights movements. Women who gave to the struggle for which I now reap the benefits. Steve Harvey took a moment to expound on the greatness that was Coretta Scott King. In the years since her husband's death she continued to work for that in which he believed. Indeed as Steve pointed out he could not have been the man that he was had she not been the woman than she was. How many women would be ready to sacrifice their husband for other people? How many women would be tolerant and supportive of a servant husband traveling many hours, bringing heat on the home with threats, bombs and fires? How many women after their husband's death would continue to work for what he believed and not go on with their life with a new man? A woman of strength, character and conviction. Farewell...

1/26/2006

STAY OUT OF MY BUSINESS!

By now almost everyone has heard about the latest invasion of our privacy by the government. As if they don't have enough information on us already they now want to have access to our internet searches on commercial search engines. Kudos to Google for being the only search engine to defy the request made by the Department of Justice who then went to court in an attempt to force Google to comply. Unfortunately since 9/11 there is almost nothing that the government will not try to access under the guise of protecting my "Security" in some way or another. My personal feeling thanks, but no thanks and stay out of my business.

This morning I was able to check out my friend Shree the tech guru on ABC who as usual has answers to my questions. If you've never seen him, his advice is always worth checking out. His segment today of course dealt with ways to keep people out of my business and addressed most people's major concerns. You can read his advice here! Of course as sure as I am that I need the tech guru to keep me informed from a tech standpoint when things like this come up, I am equal certain that terrorists, child molesters and other creeps in our world already knew everything he had to say and more that even he may not have known. $hit they are probably writing programs themselves to keep folks out of their business.

All of this brings to mind that really good although frightening movie with Will Smith, Enemy of the State. After all once it begins, which for the record it definitely has, where does it end? Where is the line? I guess right about now it's invisible. All of this makes those who are all to willing to believe every conceivable conspiracy theory seem like the rational ones while those who are resistant to the Big Brother spying on me day and night notion seem two steps short of the loony bin. After all, it's not paranoia if they're really after you, is it?

1/24/2006

Ridiculous A$$ Bull@@$#*

Every morning upon entering work in our main office there is an easel with information of importance for the day for staff to make note of. This morning the article taped to the easel was all about how January 24th is the most depressing day of the year. To make it worst I heard this same story this morning on ABC's morning news program. How damn ridiculous to waste ink and air time with such bull$hit. I would like to say a big CO-SIGN to the editorial that counters this ridiculous assertion.

Each day is what you make it. You want to be depressed and you will be. You want to be happy and you can do that to. Point being its a choice that you make for yourself each day. And although I actually like my job, why put that type of crap up for the staff? Is it supposed to boost staff morale? I think not! Perhaps it was to be a joke that we would all laugh about. Not funny!

It is so stupid it just pissed me off. In the words of my good friend Max. I'm done!

1/22/2006

Just Watch Them Pass

Ok, so here's the background on my weekend.

I spent all day Saturday in my pajamas in bed doing sorority work and work I brought home from my regular job on my really cool HP tablet. My diet was shot to hell beginning on Friday night with a serious Ruffles with the Works, Almond Joy Cookie binge that continued into Saturday and then on into Sunday.

I tried to repeat Saturday on Sunday by ditching church, working on the sorority website, and bingeing some more but I did at least shower, dress, and go to the store only because the house was down to the last 2 rolls of toilet paper and it was on sale at RiteAid. My son and husband tried to pry and guilt me on the non-church attendance issue, which is amazing since the first has not been to church since the pastor died 2 years ago and the second ditches church when ever he wants to fish and nobody says word one to him. My point being, mind your business and get off my back. Toward the end of all of this I got to my horoscope for today which said:
  • Here is your horoscope for Sunday, January 22:It's time to dial down the volume just a notch on any obsessive, anxious or worrisome thoughts running around in your skull. Have you tried just watching them pass rather than feeding into them?

Now I'm not saying there was anything serious that I was consciously thinking of this whole weekend but damn how real was that advice for today and every other day for that matter.

1/15/2006

Week From Hell!

Some weeks are just so bad that you just have to document them so...

Monday - No shower cause there was not damn water in the shower head (I hate and don't have time for baths in the morning), got lost on my way to Queens for my workshop, traffic crazy on the Deegen, late for the Block, iPod died again, late night.

Tuesday - No hot water at all (Boiled water for bird bath), I thought I lost my diamond bracelet, library visitor needed to be entertained, husband found my bracelet outside my door in the hallway, ran to Best Buy to take iPod for service again (2 down and 1 to go before they get up off of a new one), choir rehearsal, another late night.

Wednesday - Uneventful, library visitor day 2, just another late night at the Block.

Thursday - Locked my keys in my car, stood outside waiting for husband to bring spare, ran around all morning in preparation for visit from superintendent, took jewelry to be repaired and spent a grand I don't have on jewelry I don't need, went to cable company walk in center to swap digital box for DVR box, argued with husband, connected DVR box, NO SOUND ON BOX ON 2 DIFFERENT TVs, thankfully there were blue long island iced tea like drinks and Sex and the City DVDs to pass the night away.

Friday - Ran to cable company to return no sound DVR, library visitor day 3, Block again but for one hour only because hubby locked himself out of the house, hooked up new DVR discovered the idiots and the cable company gave me the wrong remote, good thing there were more blue long island iced tea like drinks.


Saturday - Back to cable company again for correct remote and to exchange another digital box for DVR box (those shits are hot), ran to nail shop to have nails repaired (managed to break 2 and chip 1 during this hellish week and the manicure was not even a week old), hooked up boxes, programmed remotes, changed for dash to sorority founders' day celebration, lost again due to faulty directions, more drinks over long distance call from LA from my girlfriend who let me know that 20 year old, sophomore college student daughter(my son's half sister) is pregnant and is due on my son's (her half brother's)birthday.

Good news through all of this, as I was so elegantly reminded by my soror sistah friend from Brooklyn, is that I am still here and have survived the week from hell a week, which will hopefully not be repeated any time soon.

1/05/2006

Whose Culture Is It?

Today I managed to squeeze in a nail day at my favorite neighborhood nail salon. The salon is filled with what I assume are the usual Asian nail salon items: price list, vibrating whirlpool chairs for pedicures, posters of beautifully lacquered nails, boards of nail designs, little Buddha statues, TV, cablebox, DVD/VHS player, etc.

The TV is always going sometimes with something in English and sometimes with something in (what I found out today is) Vietnamese. I always go in with purse, water bottle and iPod for protection from conversation with anyone in the place accept for the person doing my nails and not much with her. Today the iPod was playing The Broker by John Grisham and the TV was playing something in Vietnamese. I was glancing back and forth from the nail designs glued to the nail files to what was playing on the TV. It was pretty loud and I could hear what was playing over The Broker. The TV was playing some kind of Vietnamese awards show.

I'm going to assume it was a music awards show based on the picture that kept showing up of an old fashioned phonograph player. I watched and randomly thought how very American award shows seem to me and wondered how that had slid so easily into their culture. Little did I know what was to come. Before I knew it my head was bobbing to a really catchy tune. Then it happened. I heard rappinig coming from the TV that caused me to remove the iPod earphones and pause The Broker. Yes, it's true. There was a Vietnamese man rapping to the very catchy tunes of Moulin Rouge with Vietnamese women dancing all around. And I have to admit I didn't know whether to laugh or what.

I sat there remembering being a sixteen year old senior in high school in 1980 and dancing to Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five. Rap was really starting to be something and while I have flirted back in forth with how I feel about rap over the past 25 years, deep down it has always been part of what I totally claim as my culture as a person of African descent in America. Yes, I laughed at Vanilla Ice and accepted Eminem, but looked at them as aberrations. I decided to laugh but now I'm really confused. Whose culture is it?

1/02/2006

Happy New Year!

How can we sum up the year that has just ended. I think the words of an old school tune says it best, "Another one bites the dust." Looking back one can't help but be glad it is over, which seems like the case each and every year.

Many of my friends are gearing up for a revolution. They are unhappy at their jobs which we all now refer to as plantations. Places where they go every day and wait anxiously to be set free when it is time to go home. I know all too well what that feels like since I have been there and done that. I'm one of the few people I know who actually like their job and don't groan in misery each morning at the thought of going to work. My crosses to bear in the year that has passed have all been personal.

So what am I looking forward to in '06? (Not necessarily in order of importance but just hoow they hit the brain).
  1. My children returning to school has to top the list since they have been getting on my nerves and invading my space since before Christmas. Love them dearly and love them most from a distance and in small doses.
  2. Celebrating my fifteenth wedding anniversay to the man I love. It was really a hard year for us with many ups and downs and I had to face up to some not so pleasant realities about myself and just how much I count on him in my life even if he sometimes disappoints me and even if I don't always act like it.
  3. Seeing my baby graduate in June from High School. Can't believe it and don't know where the time went.
  4. Seeing him off to college in September. Hopefully somewhere that I can afford to send him where he will be AWAY. I'm sure after 2-3 months of a full house I will be singing the Halelujah Chorus as I pack him off.
  5. Hopefully taking a family cruise this summer with my husband, all of the boys and any other family that I can convince at the last minute. It will probably be the last time that I will pay for all of them to go away and could possibly the last time for all of us to be together like that.
  6. My line sister's wedding in July. I know she is getting a great guy and I knew it the moment I met him.
  7. My girl Max's wedding in June. What can I say, it's been a long engagement and they have worked hard to achieve the things they want in life before tying the knot and now the time is right. I haven't even know her for her entire engagement but I feel like I have.

Not bad at all. I didn't think I even had 5 things to look forward to this year and I ended up with more.

Happy New Year and a Blessed '06 to all.