The Last Monday of the Year...

 'Tis the last Monday of the year.

And I want to make sure I post this week, as much as possible. 

I have NO plans for the week. None at all. As a matter of fact, I am even on leave from work this week. But I will still be working because I have a report to write, well half of a report. I don't have the data for the other half. Someone at work, who wants to be at work, is working on that. He is off for 2 weeks, so I am taking this time to just catch up and have my thoughts together for when he gets back next week. 

Today, I ventured out to the grocery store. I needed to pick up a prescription. And do some shopping. I needed a couple of things but I ended up spending much more than I cared to. Is it just me or are groceries much more expensive now?  I do better if I just get grocery delivered. Really.  And I think that will be the situation for the new year.

While on the HIGHLY gentrified side of the neighborhood, I ventured out to a local salad bar. LadyTee recently visited it, and she had rave reviews. The name of the salad bar is Salata.

I walked in there and immediately thought, good gracious alive, I bet these gentrifying white folks LOVE this. Man oh man, they have upwards of 50 toppings for your salad. 50!!! Whew. Their motto, eat good, look good, feel good is an understatement. 

Personally, I saw Salata on ubereats and they had a salad dressing I like: Jalepeno Avocado. I saw that I could order a jar of it. And since I'd been doing my grocery shopping at a Publix in the same plaza, I decided to go investigate as it first opened, when there weren't many people in there. (This has to be only the second or third time I have walked into an establishment for takeout since the pandemic started. It is highly unnerving).

I think I paid $10 for my salad and $7 for the dressing. Talking about something GOOD. Wow. I got two huge meals out of it, as I ate half the salad for lunch and half for dinner. Wow. I usually make my salads at home, but I will be ordering from them from time to time, if only for the jar of dressing. 

But that was the gist of the day. I came home and did some reading and watched a little television. The day went by in a blur, I tell you.  Pretty much like the year. Ugh. 

Movie of the Week.  Soul by Disney Pixar

I have watched a lot of movies and episodes of anything this year, and I am always glad to see a good movie with a good message. This had it all. There were quite a few black characters, but Disney still has some work to do on that. But it was overall good. It is about a middle school music teacher who has regrets about his dreams and learns the lesson of finding ones purpose.  It is something that will most likely go over little kids heads, but it made me think about my own purposes and goals. 

I'm not going into a big critique/description, etc.  Watch it and make up your own mind. I know one thing: animation is coming a long way. The new innovations... wow!

Song of the Month.  Busta Rhymes and  Q-Tip "Don't Go"

I think I like this song because it is calm. And they are not mumbling. I think I am getting old. And Busta and Q-Tip are my age. Busta is 48 and Q-Tip is 50. So I just think we are all in the same age group and they are making something I like, lol.

I must say... I don't really listen to as much music as I use to. Sigh. I like older music. I can't tell you what the hot 2020 songs right now. Nor do I care. 

That is all for now. I promised myself that I would write for at least 30 minutes a day, just to have a record of my thoughts and issues faced this year. I can do that, can't I?  I know it would turn into me needing a good hour or two a day to lay out the good and bad of the year. But it has all been on my mind... 

This covid season has been... whew! 

Have a good Monday... and a good final week of the year... 

On purpose. 

Monday Night Fights

So....

Saturday night, I was sitting here, minding my business, crocheting. I don't remember what I was watching on television. (That means it was downright boring). I heard a few booms. I thought, hmm, that's not gunshots. And it doesn't sound like fireworks.

My phone started blowing up. Folks wanted to know if I was alright.

Ain't that the Wendy's over by you?

Turn on CNN!!!!

I learned later that they were the flash grenades, the noise gear used to push back protesters.

What happened, you may ask?

Well there was a protest down at Wendys that is 1/2 mile from my house.

Someone was shot by the police there the night before. I didn't know about this, as I try not to watch much news on the weekend.

And of course, it was all captured on cell phone camera.

So some white folks got mad. And burned down the Wendys.

A half mile from my house! WTF!!!!!!

I haven't been to that Wendys in a couple of years. Why? Because the drive-thru was the slowest on the planet. It would be ok in the mornings, but at night? You will be waiting for 15-20 minutes. Sometimes longer if you go at the wrong times. I myself have dozed off sitting in that danggone line!

And what happened with Mr. Brooks was that he was sitting in line, in his car in the drive-thru, and he fell asleep. The police came, got him out the car, and they had a civil conversation from what I can see for some 20 minutes. They determined he was legally intoxicated, so they tried to arrest him. But when they were trying to arrest him, there was a struggle. He broke loose and ran. And he got shot.

Yes he turned around and pointed the taser.

It was a FRICKIN' TASER.

Knock it off. What kind of training do the police get? Lawd.

Alas, the Wendys is gone. This is crazy. And when that was going on, a whole azz protest March passed down the cross street next to my house. I could see it from my house. And it was LOUD.  I think this was just a neighborhood March. They have had them up in Grant Park by the Atlanta Zoo. They seem to just pop up.

This is TOOO much.

I heard an interesting comment on a talk show out of Cincinnati today. And I have been thinking about it all day. It concerned the psychological mentality of us all right now.

Tell me, the caller said.. What is imprinted on all of our minds right now... for the past couple of weeks.

Watching George Floyd die on TV right in front of our eyes.

So what will happen if the police try to handcuff you right now?

The caller said... getting the hell on. Fighting for your life... because they are going to kill me.

Who knows. But it is most likely the most probable scenario. Especially after I watched the 20 minutes of body cam video.

You know what is sad, though? We are all armchair quarterbacks. We don't know what we would do in that situation. Me, I probably would have broke out crying, or fainted. Because the police got me and they gonna kill me.

Why not? Didn't we just see that play out on TV?

Man oh man... it's too much to think about. Too much.

Coronavirus. COVID-19 is still out here in these mean streets.

But peeps acting like everything is all good now. NO IT AIN'T. There are spikes in many states. We need to be on lockdown longer. I go to the store once per week, and I am not seeing any family (Only my Uncle's wife- I take supplies to them every 4-6 weeks- and we stand outside, some 10 feet apart).

But things with get worse with people all out, with no masks. It is daunting getting the masks and sanitizer together before leaving to go to the store. It is daunting to make sure I go at a time where there are less people at the store, usually in the mornings on a weekday, before lunch time. It takes a psychological tole on me.  But daggonit, I am just trying to stay alive. That's it!

Power outage.  there was a power outage at my house around two o'clock in the afternoon on Sunday. And it was funny because, the power outage woke me up from a nap. I had dozed off on the couch, tv all up loud, and then I noticed... complete quiet. And that woke me up.

I jumped up, because it was an opportunity to change the heater element in my oven. It had gone out three months ago. Somehow it broke. I think some cheese dropped on it from a pizza or something, and I never really got it off (Yes, I thought it could just burn off). And lo and behold, it cracked in half.

I ordered another heating element 3 months ago. But I wasn't pressed about changing it, though.

Why? Because I RARELY use my oven. I use it to make cookies. That's it, most times. And with the covid-19 going on, I ain't baking nothing for nobody. I use my toaster oven for most things: baked chicken, warming up food, everything that requires an oven. Over the years, I've just hated turning on a oven unless I am doing pizza or baking multiple items.  I do not even have a microwave (although I would have liked one during these times. Really, tho).

But I jumped up and changed the element while the power was out. I didn't change it earlier too, because I didn't want anything to go wrong with the breakers for the stove. Don't know why that bothers me, but it did. So I changed the element... in 5 minutes, once I figured out what Philips head screwdriver I needed. I also changed the backup battery for my cellular house alarm. In 2 minutes. Go figure.

"Lord, you must've let this power go out so I could get this stuff done," I sang.

Maybe. Maybe not.

But I am always consoled in the fact that God thinks of me in that way. By faith.

That's it for Monday night fights! I do not have a song for the day, as I didn't listen to any song a bunch of times like I usually do. Sigh.

Wait a minute. Yes I do. Song of the day   "Sally Ride" by Janelle Monae.



This is one of my favorite songs. I am thinking of one lyric from the song in particular. It's how I feel right now.

"I'm packing my spacesuit, and I'm taking my shit and moving to the moon!"

Because it's just too much mess going on, man!

Today you're alive. Tomorrow you can be a #hashtage.

UGH!

And peep this: we haven't even made it through the first half of the year!!!"

*ladylee fights air with fists*

But I am happy for a new week. I had to tell myself that, as I attended the 15 minute pep talk and prayer and confession that my pastor does on the Facebook every morning. Doggonit.

Jesus take the wheel! We need your help! Ugh.

Rest in Peace, Rashard Brooks.

Good Fantastic Monday Evening

Good Monday Morning,

Haven't said that in awhile.

But it is a good morning, no matter what kind of mess we are caught up in.

Yes I call it a mess. I'm STILL tripping hard that we are lockdown, albeit not a national lockdown (which we actually need).  I am in the state of Georgia, so we in the house. But would you have guessed all this when we were hollering "Happy New Year!" on January 1, 2020?

No.

I keep saying it in past posts. But I am just amazed by it all. Amazed and saddened.

You know why we going through all this? Because we are captive to a leader with a fragile ego. Fragile as bible paper. Fragile as glass. Just fragile. We need some real leadership.

And for a minute there, it looked like we were about to be over in Jim Jones-Guyana moment.

Then Damian showed up on the scene.

(You have to be old school to understand those references).

Book of the Week. I haven't been reading that much. But I read a book over the weekend that was PHENOMENAL.

The Quiet Ones by Brandon Massey. 

He always does a FANTASTIC job. Just outstanding. If he wrote a book every week, I could get through this quarantine period faster.

This book is about two sisters who were separated when their single mother is murdered by a boyfriend. Both go into the foster care system, and twenty-five years later, one sister goes on a search for the other... and things go a bit crazy.

Yeah, that is vague as hell. Go read the description. It is available on kindle. GREAT READ, if you like black horror and black thriller books. Those types of books are hard to find.

I remember back in the day that I use to read a book a week, at least 50 books a year. THIS is the type of book that makes me want to go back to that habit. So good.

Song of the week. An Oldie but Goodie. I have put this one up a few times in the past. Putting it up again, as it is part of the "soundtrack" to a story I am writing.

If it does not come up, here is the link: "Why must we wait until tonight (remix)" by Tina Turner.



That is a FANTASTIC song.  The first few lines are incredible:
You gonna take a little time...
Gonna drank me like a... fine wine...
Write the book of love line by line.

WOW.

That's that good good.

That is it for me. My goal is to post everyday this week, as it is therapy during these trying times.

We ALL gonna have a good week and LIVE this week... on purpose.

Literally.

That has GOT to be the mindset during these dark days. Yes indeed.

Monday Night Fights: What It's Really All About

That's the bottom line. That's what it's all about. The gun lobby runs ALL this. Now you know if they didn't do anything about guns after the Sandy Hook tragedy, what makes you think they will do something now? Sure there is some talk... but if you want this gun lobby money, you better sit down and shut up.

(Well, feel free to offer thoughts and prayers for those affected.)

It confused me terribly to wake up on Sunday morning and learn that there'd been TWO mass shootings overnight. I remotely heard about the El Paso massacre, but the Dayton one...

This is all too much. And you know that it's not going to stop.

Someone may want to pull our beloved President aside and gently whisper in his ear, "Sir, this is NOT a reality show. This is real life."

Words matter.

I have said it before and I will say it again.

WORDS ARE SEEDS.

There is a reason why we, in the past, have looked to our President of these United States, during tragedy for words of comfort. For hope. It's our leader. We are looking for comfort and encouragement in the midst of our fears. Our president has always given us that.

But we no longer have that. We have a president who gleefully labels people of color in a negative light.

And like I said... words are SEED.

So is anyone surprised that some out there are ginned all up to the point where that bad seed begins to germinate and produce FRUIT?

BAD FRUIT?

One thing we can count on: seeds planted in the ground produce fruit. Don't know what kind of fruit, but they produce fruit.

This also reminds me that I must examine my beliefs and philosophies. Here is how I evaluate myself: will my beliefs and philosophy help or hurt others? Will they be a blessing or a curse? Does my value system produce good fruit? Or does it produce bad fruit?

If they produce bad fruit/bad results, then I MUST adjust my beliefs and philosophies. I must.

If not for me, then for the protection of my fellow man.

Newsflash: Your philosophies are WRONG if they result in the death of others, or the loss of your own life, through prison or death. I can say that for sure.

Those are my thoughts on this. Of course, we will light candles, express thoughts and utter prayers for those affected.

I think we are all affected. The residual affects are like tentacles... vast and far-reaching.

And that's what I will be thinking and praying about.

Probably for a long time to come.

Monday Madness

Monday...

And I am sitting up here at my good gub'ment job working... with no paycheck.

Bustas.

They better figure this out quick.

It is a GHOSTTOWN in this place. Oh my!! I think I have seen 10 people all day. All day.

I am not sure how this is going to work out. I might as well be off. And I am waiting for chemicals. And there is no one, it seems, to give me my chemicals IF they have been delivered. Stockroom personnel is not here, apparently. I thought they would have one person down there. I may have to break into the room down there or something.

So now I am stuck. And I have a new hostage face. Mitch's face says it best.

Annoyed hostage.

A hostage that's pondering and plotting something.

LOL.

Not funny, though. It is mad annoying. And I, like anyone else, don't like the unknown... especially when it comes to finances. NO.

But it is what it is. My prayer this morning was, "Lord, you know what is going on. Thank you for being consistent in taking care of me and my life.'

But for now, I am thankful for a new day.

Our beloved King, I mean, our beloved President speaks tonight at 9pm eastern time. I will not be watching, because I just... can't. I have always watched presidential addresses, no matter who the president was, but I can't with this president. The language level is on some grade school level. I just can't. I will watch tomorrow.

My House. I got my house appraised. And the first thing everyone says when I say that is "You're moving?"

Nope. But I am appealing my property taxes. They are OUTRAGEOUS. I have the monies sitting to the side, earmarked for it. I have a hearing, and if they deny my appeal, then oh well. But with a professional appraisal, that may not be the case. And they did overestimate my house values. They some BUSTAS. That is all.

We will see how it goes. I was annoyed that I had to clean my house way up. Turns out it wasn't all that bad. I think that for an appraisal, one needs to paint and all this craziness. Not the case if I'm not selling. I must admit that at least I got my yearly decluttering done. I even swept out the garage real good and got rid of a lot of junk that was out there. So I am happy about that.

Song of the Week. TWO songs that I like ALOT. Both by Justin, aka Big K.R.I.T. (I like saying Justin because that is my youngest nephew's name). I will post one now, and save the other for later. This one is titled "Energy".



That is a good song. It is in regular rotation on my playlist.

There is much more I would like to post about. But lunchtime is almost over. I will definitely be posting this week.

Monday Night Musings

It's Monday once again. And this Monday was special because daylight savings time kicked in and we are suppose to celebrate this beloved extra hour of sleep. But I haven't been sleeping the best lately, and it was disturbing to wake up to CRAZY sunlight this morning. So I think I need to adjust what time I actually wake up. We will see.

Another Mass Murder. So here we go, once again, a mass shooting. A guy shot up a church and killed 25 people. And this time, there were children murdered, one as young as 18 months old.

This type of thing is beyond sad and tragic when it happens. My thoughts and prayers are with these victims and their families. My thoughts are always... what is the root of the problem? What makes one resort to running up in somewhere killing folk, because you know this whole thing has the most horrific of consequences. And then, to make things complicated, we are all conditioned now: we know the race and religion of the perpetrator right off.  If it is a brown or non-christian, non-white person, there is IMMEDIATE outrage. But when it's a white male committing these horrific acts, it is Oh poor guy... he has a mental problem.

Terrorism is terrorism. An overwhelming percentage are carried out by white men. And as per usual, it is another white privilege exercise. Because you know congress can't upset these gun lobbyists...

And now, the actual solution to the problem seems to be that you best go to church armed with a gun.

How CONVENIENT for the gun lobbies! Someone's about to make some money! 

Imagine that. A shooter comes in, and we all have a gun and we all start shooting. Wow.

I will be thinking about that for a minute.

My Weekend. I had a decent weekend, especially after the strange week I had last week. I had some sinus issues that were giving me fits, had me all stressed out and depressed, so much so that I had to take a sick day off from work. It felt good to wake up Saturday morning and be able to breathe correctly. And it was nice to leave the house and not be super cold. As a matter of fact, the days could have been mistaken for a spring day. I went and got a haircut on Sunday, and that turned out good, for a good talk with my barber afforded some work through some of my personal issues and complicated feelings about some goals I am thinking about for the new year.  A pep talk is always good for the soul.

Saturday night, I attended a VERY special birthday party. Mama Adrienne celebrated her 40th birthday.

40 is such an important milestone.  I would think that was my most important age milestone to date, and I can only hope it is one of her most important ones, too. I think she is celebrating all month, but I was fortunate enough to join her for one of her parties. And the cake... it was breathtaking,

It was a good time, even though I suck in group situations. I am working on it. But it was good to see her, as I haven't seen her in quite awhile. I can only hope her 40s will be yet another great decade of growth, change, and love in her life. I am sure ALL that will come to pass!

Sunday, my sister and Notorious J were over. I am so happy to be able to keep him and give her a

break. She was able to get some of her lesson plans done for the coming school week, and I was able to spend a good amount of time with him. I hate that I didn't get up early enough to cook Sunday dinner for them. I didn't think she was coming over, but she did! So we just had leftovers from the fridge. That is Sunday dinner enough. And I got a chance to spend quality time with my sister and little nephew.

Song of the Week. "Sending My Love" by Zhane. 



How wonderful, soothing and awesome is that song? And it makes me think of love.

*checking to see what year that song came out*

1994. Hmm... I was 24 years old. I can't really remember much of what was going on around that time. That song came out 23 years ago.

Oh, yes I do. *raises eyebrow at that year*

And I don't listen to much R&B now. Do we have any good R&B music now? Not that poppy ish, but some real sangers?

If I have to ask the question, then that is not good.

Oh well.

I am looking forward to a productive week. I was a bit miffed about coming to work today, so I had some communion before hand and blessed my whole week. My emotions and attitude have been a little left of center this past month and I am desperate need of some correction. So that is the direction I'm going in and thinking on. Damn these hormones of mine and this menopausal craziness.

Looking forward to a great week... on purpose.

And I wish the same for you.

Monday Night Musings

Monday!

And this has been a pretty decent Monday.

And I remember waking up this morning eager to get to work because I had some data to pull. I pulled it, but I need to re-crunch it tomorrow. And that is okay. I just like being busy and gainfully employed.

My weekend was slow enough. I bought a piece of lawn equipment that I have been meaning to buy. A nice home depot employee saw me staring at the equipment (as I have in the past), and he helped me pick out what I needed. I need to get out and try and cut my grass because I haven't seen my usually punctual lawn man. He is probably on vacation (which means he is locked up right now. Sigh).

I even bought gas for the lawnmower. My lawn man uses my lawn mower sometimes to cut my grass. He has to to "find" the gas, as I ain't supplying it! 

I will take a picture of it when I use this special piece of equipment. Cowgirl Cre and I have talked about it, and my reservations concerning it, but she hyped me up! (As only a hypeman can properly do! LOL)

Now if it would just stop raining on a haphazard basis. LAWD. 

Book of the Week.  Anyway, the highlight of my past week and a half has been listening to my first audiobook. I have never really seen a reason for audiobooks, especially for myself, but I love streaming stuff, so I decided to give it a try. So I'd been dabbling around with wanting to order Hunger by Roxane Gay.

I had a sample of it in my kindle and I remember thinking after reading that sample, "Wow, this is powerful." And my twitter sister Jixxa was all flustered because she wanted to go see Roxane Gay speak but she'd purchased the book already after listening to a podcast. She gave me the name of the podcast ("Tell Me I'm Fat", episode 589, on This American Life Podcast), and after listening to it, I ordered  the book on audible. I am so glad I did. The audio is about 8 hours long when read aloud, so I'd taken to listening to it when I was settling down for bed. And this weekend I had lots of chores to do around the house, and I finished it....

And I went back and listened to parts that made me all weepy.

It was such a powerful story. I think it meant so much to me because I am a big girl and it helped me understand my feelings toward my own body, much as she expressed there. She is such a powerful storyteller, and she tells her own story so well. So that was a powerful listen, very vunerable, and I could go back and listen to chapters over again if I wanted to. And I understand myself so much better, just from listening to her story.

I bought her short story collection. I love short stories. (Shameless plug: order Atlanta Noir for my first EVER published story.  Yes, this is a shameless plug).

Ya'll better get out and get THAT!! Good stuff.  There are some great authors in there, 3 of which are my all time favorites, and then there's ME!! You better do that!

It's been so much fun getting feedback and signing my story in the book. I will ALWAYS remember this. Always!!!

This feels better than getting my PhD in Chemistry. Or maybe since that happened 19 years ago, this feels much fresher. It is a life milestone, I tell you THAT much.

But I digress. 

Alright, back to our regularly scheduled program.


Go Roxane! I will be reading (or listening to) all of your work for now on!

Glory!!!

Song of the Weekend.  I heard "Whatever it Takes" by Anita Baker  this weekend.



How awesome is that song??  That is such a GREAT song. Why don't we have more great songs like that? Such despair and love and a hint of desperation. (Every woman has been desperate, whether outright or quietly, in her life over some guy at one time or another, even though we don't care to admit it)..

Even the instrumental is nice. That song is over 20 years old. And it is timeless.

And aren't you glad  I don't have a completely RATCHET song of the week!?

Of course you are!

LOL!!

This week will be plagued with making work travel plans. I don't really want to go anywhere, but I need it to boost my work review (I never have had to worry about this, and I get great reviews  and bonuses, but some extra padding does not hurt, man. Never.). And plus it is a chance to get away from the workplace.  I don't particularly like the scientists of this conference as it is incredibly cliquish, which means I will be wandering off somewhere by myself. And I can't really blend in, as you can count the scientists of color on one hand (and have fingers left over). To sneak off and explore the city would be great, but there is a possible snitch going, and I would hate to have to pull out my book of Cuss on a coworker for snitching. Humph.

But the scientific talks are phenomenal. Plenty to be learned.

And that's a GOOD thing.

My goal is to find and love the "good" of an experience. It is always there, and it must be given the strength and attention it deserves.

(Was that a bootleg Food-for-Thought of the week? Did I just do that?)

Have a great week!

On purpose!!

Monday Musings: New Black Panther Trailer

So I had a great weekend. And I will save those thoughts for a Tuesday Thoughts post, I think.

But what had my eyes wide open this weekend was the official trailer for the Black Panther movie. I wish I would've seen it on the big screen, but I think I saw it in those Twitter streets. At any rate, it is phenomenal. Have a look.



How GREAT is that? I may have to go to some special Wednesday showing of that. Not the weekend. You know EVERY black person on the entire planet is going to be up in there.

The sad part is that it's not out until 2018.

2018!

Ugh.

I thought it would at least be coming out around  Christmas this year. Why must we wait so long for it?

Oh well.

I immediately recognized the background music for the trailer. It's a song from Run the Jewels 3. I'm not a big fan of the whole Run the Jewels franchise, but I actually liked the third CD in the installment. And they have a video for that song in the Black Panther trailer.



I didn't notice before, but that video is an interesting piece of social commentary. Hmm.

I like that song.  But I like several songs on the CD, which for me, makes it a good CD.

My favorite song, though, is "Hey Kids"


Now I haven't been much of a fan of Run the Jewels. This is another group favored by guys, as there are not any "girl friendly" songs (whatever that means). I've also seen this type of rap referred to as stadium rap. I suppose it will sound good in a stadium with some crowd surfing going on. (That is not my thing. Nope). And frankly, after a few songs, it's time for me to switch over to some old school R&B. LOL.

I cannot WAIT for this Black Panther movie, though. I love sci-fi,and with a gang of black folk in it, well, that is a RARITY.

2018 will be here soon enough.

Good Monday Evening

Monday!

And this has been a pretty good Monday.

80% of my day consisted of technical writing, so I could've worked from home.

It's interesting realizing that at 5:30 pm.

Maybe one day this week. Friday would be GREAT!

We will see.

Anyway, I had a great weekend.  It was quiet, and I didn't do much. My sister Kentucky was over this weekend and that was a treat since I haven't seen her in a couple of weeks. I'm just glad she is home. We watched movies and talked. This is great, since I don't profess to be the "turnt up" type.

Saturday night, I attended a play downtown that my former cubicle mate Michelle's son was in.

The name of the play was "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee". I didn't know what to expect, but I know her son Son is a great actor, and anything he is in has to be GREAT.

And it was. It was the story of county spelling be, but in the midst of these "kids" spelling words, you get a glimpse of some of their hardships and insecurities and family life. It was amazing how they wove all of those storylines into a play about spelling bee. Yes it was about a spelling bee on the surface, but what lies beneath the surface is equally important... and life-impacting.

What a great play. They did such a good job.  I was watching these young people sing and dance, and I was thankful I wasn't out there because I would've jacked ALL of dance routines. ALL. I'm just amazed when people can coordinate and memorize lines and what-not. I have seen her son in another play, but this was the first time I got a chance to shake his hand and tell him how much I enjoyed his performance.

That, and hanging with my sister were the highlights of my weekend.

Movie of the Week.  We rented and watched a great movie, The Queen of Kwate.

This movie is about a young African woman who comes from a poor village and goes on to be a master chess player. The movie chronicles her journey, both physically and emotionally. It was such nice feel good movie. I am definitely going to purchase a copy of it.

If you haven't seen it, see it.

Song of the Week. Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) has new artists from time to time. I have liked some, and I haven't liked any.  As long as Kendrick Lamar is there, I'm good. They are my favorite team right now.

Here's a song by their new R&B singer, SiR.

"W$ Boi"



That has to be one of the most visually stunning videos I've seen in a LONG time. What is that video technique called? Monochrome? Sepia Tone?  What the world!!??

Plus that song.... what a good story. Music is so empty these days. I love when I can come across something so intriguing.

Did you catch the sample used. It's a Jill Scott sample from the song "Slowly Surely"!



That's it for my Monday Evening ponderings and pontifications. I look forward to  having a great week.

By design and on purpose. 

You do the same! 

Monday Evening... Again.

Another lovely Monday evening is here... again.

And I say that out of happiness to be alive to see another week.

I have been hobbling along with my sprung or broken toe. Not sure what it is. But it was a BEAST getting from my car to my desk. First of all, it was raining when I got to work, so I had to sit in my car and wait for it to stop because there was no way I was going to bust my tail in the rain.

Nope!

Then I tried to play it off and walk normal... and my normal walk turned into something Quasimodoish. LOL

Later in the day, my boss called and wanted to discuss some work. He had meetings in his office with others, and wanted to talk to me later after those meetings. I felt the tears well up somewhere deep inside as I imagined myself hobbling over to the other building, where his office is located. Luckily he said he would drop by my desk.

*hard exhale*

So I hobbled most of the day. A cubicle mate ran and got me some ice for my foot. It feels a little better, but I know I won't be turning big swooping cartwheels anytime soon.

Anyway, when I got to my desk to this morning, there laying on the keyboard was something I'd ordered through one of my cubicle mates.

A food grade kit of essential oils.

There are 3 oils: Lavender, peppermint, and lemon.

But my cubicle mate is the queen of essential oils. And her supplier is awesome.

I wanted some drops for my water to make it more interesting. And these are also great aromatics, where I can put a dab under my nose and feel alright about life!

I eagerly dug the cash out of my wallet and threw it on her desk.

So I am looking forward to testing those out.

That was my happiness for the day... that and the awesome vietnamese food I had for dinner.

I am thankful for these cool weather temps, that will apparently be around for the week. Hopefully, this will give me a give me a little time to get my AC serviced, because I will NOT be hot this summer. Nope!

But May is here... and soon we will be hollering MERRY CHRISTMAS.

I wonder how life will be then...

Correction: I wonder how life will be under 45's presidency.

I wonder if... America will be great again.

Hmmm...

Good Monday Afternoon: Intl' Cat Day Edition

Good Monday afternoon!!

Today Is International Cat day. *throwing glitter*

Not all excited about that. I just find it interesting that there is a day for EVERYTHING. And I have noticed that on Twitter, whatever special day it is is trending.

So I thought I would put up some cat pictures. Yippee! LOL

Happy Cat Day to that Mitchell and Callie Jo.

I took this picture last week sometime. I woke up and they were both looking at me. I'm not sure what that was about. Thank goodness I don't sleep on that side of the bed. Humph.

I've tried to get some selfies, especially since I came across this picture of a guy and his cat on twitter.

Man, that is gangster. They look like they 'bout to go whoop some tail.

I know I can't get any selfies with my cats. They don't stay still long enough. And they won't look directly into the camera.

Anyway, I came across this picture several months ago.

Callie likes to climb the back of the chairs whenever I am sitting at the dining room tables. I have watched her bust her azz quite a few times with her acrobatics.

Then I came across this picture.

Me with Sweet Sister Callie. Sister Callie when she was a baby kitty...

And not always destructive... not always on fleek, like she is here.

I swear. I don't even think she blinks. She is always wide open, trying to figure out how to tare up something. Sigh.

International Cat day. I am not doing anything special for the kitties.

Maybe a rub on the head.

That's it.

Monday Night Fights

Here is is, 10:00 pm on a Monday night, and I am writing a post.

Sigh. Didn't have time to do it today. I like to work on my posts while I eat my lunch, but that didn't work out. I didn't even pack a lunch today. And Lady M was kind enough to bring me some curry chicken lentil peas concoction in an old Ragu glass jar. I heated that up and ate it right out of the jar, like a hobo or something.

It was good. And I promptly thanked God for providing my free lunch today. Glory.

This was a quiet weekend. I didn't work. Like I said in the previous post, there is no overtime, and I would be working for free.

Nerp. Not going down. SO WHAT if I am behind. I'm not really behind, though. We give a tally daily in these doggone meetings IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FRICKIN' DAY, and I am on track, seems like.

(I just don't understand meetings in the middle of the day. Throws everything off track, especially when they stretch beyond an hour long).

Anyway, I went to church this Saturday night. I haven't been all year, I must admit. We have extensive streaming of all services, so I see more services than I have ever in the past. But I had a talk with myself, and I decided that I wanted to be in the actual Church building, so I went. And it was good for me.

On Sunday, I ran up on Cowgirl Cre's Daddy, Daddy Cre. I needed some help with Pam.

Pam has a loose battery lead. And you know that resets the whole doggone computer each time it happens. It will fail emissions when that happens. So I have to drive a good 60 miles and before I get an emissions test. It's a trip when I do all that driving... and the battery cable comes loose. Sigh. Then I have to do it all over again.

Seeing that I haven't driven Pam in over a month (and that was to work one day, which is a 9.5 mile round trip), I decided to crank her up. She wouldn't crank, so I had to pop the hood and shake the battery cable. She crank right up, and I drove as fast as I could over to Daddy Cre's house.

He took a look at the situation. A couple of years ago, he solved this problem with a toothpick jammed into the connector. That broke off a while ago. (I had a box of toothpicks in my pocket just in case he needed them).

He walked off and came back with a screw. and he screwed it into the connector.

Man... that worked out well.

(Somebody else at some time stuck another screw in the other side. It is bootleg. But as long as Pam cranks up... let's get it!)

Daddy Cre went on to check all of Pam's fluids.

I am sure that Pam appreciated all of this. She is such a neglected girl. Lucy Jr. gets all my attention.

I walked on up in the house to see Mama Cre.

The first thing you see on the wall when you enter the house are pictures of the family.

And there is a big picture frame containing pictures of the current first family.

My goodness.  It brought tears to my eyes.

I AM GOING TO MISS THIS PRESIDENT AND HIS FAMILY.

And it all becomes ESPECIALLY evident when I'm looking at the current presidential race.

I am NOT ready to look at Trump and his wife in the White House. No, no... NO!!!

Did you see the HAWT MESS that was going on this weekend. The repub candidates were all joning each other like they were in 7th grade. Then there was the KKK foolishness. Ain't nobody got time for that. No no... NO!!!

Then I think about the pictures above. Pictures of people with some class. People who look like me.

*LadyLee falls to the floor and cries uncontrollably*

I don't think Trump will win. I think they got something on him. And once people realize that they have to listen to him for 4 years, and his juvenile vocabulary, they will wise up. I hope.

Go Hillary. You are our only hope.

I do wish Obama could be president for 4 more years. I do wish he could be president... forever.

Anyway, back to Pam.

I went to get her emissions, and she passed. I snatched that piece of paper so fast that the tester's head was spinning. I'm riding clean now!

I text my boss earlier and let him know that I would be in to work between 11 and 12 noon. I got in around 10:44 am. My butt didn't hit the chair good enough before 2 supervisors were in my cubicle.

Sigh.

One wanted some paperwork. I would've had it done if there had been overtime. OH WELL.

My boss Ray said "I just saw your text."

I was wondering why he hadn't responded to my text message. But Ray gets a pass. He is not the crazy type to run up on you thinking you sneaking into work. Afterall, this is a cool dude. He has texted me pictures of the pork chops he's fried for dinner. And they looked quite tasty.

I finished my paperwork in another hour and a half, just in time for the meeting HELD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY. Ugh.

Later, I ordered Pam's tag online. Yay! I got something big accomplished.

This is good. Last year, I didn't get Pam's emission until June. Emissions and tags are due by one's birthday. So at least I got it in my birthday month. That's great.

This is a leap year, so this is our extra day of the year. I was waiting for something spectacular to happen today.

I guess getting Pam's tag and emission will have to be my spectacular event of the day.

I will take that!

Glory!!

That's it for my evening post. Time for bed.

Have a great week on purpose!

Good Monday Afternoon...The Rainy Day Edition

Happy Monday Afternoon to ya...

I just got into work. And I am sitting here trying to plan my day... or what's left of it.  It's all nasty outside. I think we are getting some of this Hurricane Erica rain or something over the next couple of days. I texted my boss and said I would be in late. He said stay home if I needed to.  I wanted to holler "Don't tempt me, sir!!!"  But I texted him back and said that I felt like I had a bad headache, like I drank some bad liquor or something, but I was going to choke down some kale juice and all would be well.

That didn't get a reply.  He probably sat his phone down gently... and walked away.

I have data to pull and crunch and ponder. So that is why I am here! I will get all that done by 3. Then I can chill at my desk... and think about what to do next. 

This was a crazy weekend. I didn't do much of anything. I went to the local bootleg distribution warehouse to pick up some trusty tin foil pans that I use to heat up my food in, since I no longer have a microwave. My sister seems to be adapting well enough. I guess she is saying to herself, as soon as she gets her work visa she is outta here and she can buy a microwave. Yep.

This weekend was crazy because two folks of  many died... Wayne Dyer and Wes Craven. Now if you could get any more opposite, then I would be surprised. Wayne Dyer inspired me.  Wes Craven scared the cheese out of me with that Freddy Krueger foolishness.




 


And then there was the whole Donald Trump machine rolling along.

I tell you, this guy continues to surprise me. I wonder if we will end up having a president who unmercifully attacks people, calling them bimboes and sleezebags and losers? What have we come to?  Do ya'll think he has a chance? And do you think the foreign leaders of other countries are going to put up with the name calling and hate?

And uh... The Latinos... Ya'll need to start up a Latino Lives Matter campaign up and going... . QUICKLY.

Because ya'll are getting dragged through the mud. When did immigrants become such a instant problem? Wow!

Even Christie talking about tracking folks like Fed-ex.  Sounds all too much a part of a familiar and dark part of history. Let's just say I watched an interesting historic documentary a couple of weeks ago, and I had to blink twice... Because history may be about to repeat itself if we are not careful.

The Latino community can solve all of this tomfoolerly if they turn out and vote. Line up. Get to the polls. 100% turn out. Shut up ALL this foolishness!

I don't understand the republicans. I am sorry, but you will HAVE to appeal to more than the southern white males. Or you will not win anything. Sorry. That is all.

Did anyone see the VMAs last night? What the world?

Can somebody get your boy?

 What the world was he talking about last night? Was I just sleepy and didn't understand what was going on?

I have decided that I am officially too old for today's music. I think Old school is where it is at. Ya'll just too way out there for me. I miss the days of MC Lyte and Queen Latifah and LL Cool J... and Michael Jackson.

Sigh.

Anyway, he says he is running for president. This doesn't surprise me. If Trump can run, then anybody can run. Really.

Kim K. as First Lady, though...

FAIL.

Not trying to look at that every day. Nope.

Song of the Week. So I went in the lab and pulled my data. Just that quick. And I think I ran one of my coworkers out of the lab... because I was singing these two songs waaaaay to hard.





WOW!!!

After watching last night's VMAs, I can appreciate REAL music.

OH JOY!!!

Made my rainy Monday BRIGHT!!!

On purpose

I might have to pull out some of my old Queen Latifah... really though!

Have a good week!

Monday is Here... GLORY!

Monday is here...

Glad for it! A new week is ahead!

This has been a pretty good weekend. There was much of this!

I had stuff to do on Sunday, but me and my sister Kentucky were laid out in the living room watching TV allllll day long, from nine in the morning until midnight! Wow!

Yes, I got some things done. I cleaned the kitchen and cooked dinner. I suppose I should cook since somebody is in the house. There have been many a conversation with me saying... "Well, there's salad fixings in the fridge." She of course says, okay, but she's not eating that. I think she cooks something while I not here. I'm not sure. But I dug around in the freezer and found some frozen chicken and salmon. I knocked the ice off of it in hopes that it wasn't frostbitten. I baked some chicken, and I sauteed the salmon. I also made (what I REALLY wanted) some squash, and I stewed some okra and tomatoes. I wanted that over some rice. That was some GOOD eating. And she was happy to get a home cooked meal, seems like.

Humph. I'll cook. All she gotta do is ask. Double Humph.

I think I vaccumed the living room. But that's about it. House was somewhat clean from the day before, so I deserve a day to veg out.

Alas, I am OFF today. I deserve that. Lots of folks are off from work due to their children getting ready for school in the coming weeks. Last call for vacation time and time with the kids!

Me? I just need to go to Wal-mart. That was supposed to get done yesterday, but... oh well.

So a couple of pictures for you.

Here's the 1st place bell I won in the cookie contest!

How wonderful is that? And I've been running around the house ringing my bell! It sounds like a ship coming in to harbor.  The cats aren't nearly enthused as I am. Let's just say that I keep my beloved bell up on top of the book case. If I don't, I'm sure they will hide it from me.

The Cowgirl Cre bought me the most wonderful gift on Friday.  I saw her bouncing around the corner of my cubicle area with a big ol' bag of something...

An industrial size bag of snap pea crisps. I've always seen and brought the small bags in the grocery store. But I've NEVER seen a big bag. That's gonna last forever!!

(And check out my screen saver. That's what I point to when folks come over with some tomfoolery. Mitchell's facial expression of O_o is priceless).

I ordered a couple of cookbooks from the infamous Chef Darius!

Stories from My Grandmother's Kitchen.  I hit him up on Twitter on Thursday and said I'd placed my orders that Wednesday, and I was waiting next to the mailbox with baited breath for my books. I received them on Friday morning!

I'm not a big recipe book person, but I wanted to support him. What I am loving is the stories. I am enjoying the stories of his grandmother and her cooking. Such a good read on a cool Sunday morning.

He has a recipe for a cake that I posted once.

I didn't know it was HIS original cake. LOL!

I don't plan on making it. But I know some folks who might get up on that!

I want to make his roasted veggie rice pilaf, stewed greens with tomatoes, and collard green pesto, just to name a few.

If you want a copy, get on over to Dariuscooks.com and order it.

I'm thinking about giving away a copy for the sweepstakes too. How'd you like that?

That's it for me. I want to steer a bit more spiritual this week, if you'd allow me. I am up to page 445 in my journals this year, and I'm going back and reading and highlighting a few epiphanies that have come from deep deep inside. They cannot be from me, because the test of that is that I spend months, even years, working what I learned and thinking about it. I tend to be highly analytical, and this may pose a problem, but I be so happy to get a good ramah word, some good revelation, that I just want to spend time chewing and gnawing on it and working it. And I am always amazed how a whole orchard of fruit can be produced from one little seed of revelation.

And if you've read this blog for any good amount of time, you know how I feel about seeds and fruits and roots and trees and the like. I LOVE and devour that type of thing. Always. Can't get enough of it.

I wanted to post some of them for my bloggaversary celebration. I think they will make you go...

Hmmm...

On purpose.

Should I turn the comments off for it? No, I want.

I've always wanted to do that, though. So I can write what I want to write. But I do that anyway, so...

Stay tuned.

Sweepstakes is still on and popping. We are fast on our way to 3 gift cards for the drawing. No telling how many we can do!! I am EXCITED!!!!

*ladylee passes out from overexcitement*

You may ask me why... I am just happy to sow some seed. My heart is beating fast.

And you know how I feel about seed and fruit and trees and roots and... never mind.

Alright. I'll holler! Have a good week!

Monday Afternoon Moments

It's Monday!

Glory...

Even though some of us don't like Mondays...

We act like Mondays are horrid...

That's alright! I'm changing my perspective. I want my Mondays to be like:

Beautiful sunny days. Perfect temperatures. Beautiful flowers.

I'm in a little bit of a funk today. I feel better. The Cowgirl Cre had to come talk to me. She has known me for the last 20 or so years. She knows my good, bad, and completely ratchet side. I have to take her advice on a few things. It's nothing work related, but family related. No, me and my sister are okay. I'm just not family oriented and some things went down that I didn't necessarily agree with that had me giving the hard side-eye. I choose not to mention it here. But Cowgirl Cre had good advice as always. I need to get my mental right. And that will be done.  Thanks Cowgirl Cre for knowing me and talking.

This has been  a semi-productive day. I am pretty much done with my report. Then I wrote a more casual report to myself. So I will talk to my boss and see where I go from here. Glory!

Sad news. Bobbi Kristina passed yesterday. Here's a picture in happier times.

What's sad is that Cissy Houston has had to bury a daughter and granddaughter. Not only that, but it's all under suspicious/tragic conditions. There is speculation that this may be a murder investigation, so more info is coming out. As a grandmother having to live through all of that has to be horrific.

For myself, and my thoughts about it all, I have some issues in the back of my mind. I always imagined that fame and money was equal the good life. Life is supposed to be good. Carefree. Good life.

Yet this isn't always the case. It proves that trouble and tragedy spans across economic levels. I guess I just always close my eyes and imagine if I had all this money, etc., that life would be good. It's not the case. Life can take various twists and turns in the midst of good days. And bad days seem to get all the focus.

My hope is that they can bury her and get through all the mess. It is terrible to go through things, but to go through it in the public eye... sigh. We are spectators on something that should be very private. Sad.

Song of the Week. I want to play some Whitney Houston.  I love this video: "Heartbreak Hotel"



How gorgeous is that video?

Lovely.

Thoughts and prayers with the Houston Family.

That's it for me. I am out of here. The Bloggaversary Sweepstakes is still on and popping until August 15th. Run it like you run a marathon. Lots of posts today. I'm  reading some old journal entries from last month  and I'm trying to cull the epiphanies into something useful. I may not get to that until next week. But there are lots of posts planned for the week. I hope you enjoy them.

With that said... Have a good week on purpose.

Monday Afternoon Funk

It is Monday afternoon.

And I am in a funk.

One, because I've been trying to get my laptop to work all day. It is just now acting right. This laptop has to be 6 or 7 years old, so it's time for a new one I suppose. Or maybe I can just look around for my trusty netbook that I never use.

The other reason I'm in a funk is because I am off today. I have had a headache for the past 36 hours or so, and it has worn me out. So I just called in sick. I'm not doing any lab work right now, only spending this week and last writing up a report. So I am kicking myself for not signing up for telework. I will work on that when I get back to work. I have been working on some data for the past several months, and oddly enough, I have it on copy of it on a drive. But uh, this Oldgirl ain't working at home for free. No sir.

The headache is subsiding. I think I'm just dehydrated. Sigh. I've been gulfing down a ton of water. I need to stock up on some tylenol. Ugh. Too bad I don't dig around for it until I need it.

At any rate, I had a decent weekend. I had my writing group this Saturday morning. I have to get my mind right to make the 80 mile round trip. And it is hot as hell outside. This weekend it actually hit 100 degrees in the ATL. 100 degrees. I had the AC on super high, as high as it would go. I am thankful for AC. I remember when cars weren't equipped with AC.  That was back in the 70s. We had to roll the window down and go fast and catch the breeze, if you could call it that. Thank goodness those days are over.

But I really enjoyed the writing group meeting. I have said it before, and I will continue to say it: they are such NICE people. Just wonderful. I look around at them during out 2 to 3 hours together and I think "I wish I was this nice of a person."

I just like being around them. Such a even calm spirit in the room.

Anyway, I am proud to report that I finished up my story "Microwaves and Crockpots" and I turned it in. I think I got up to the 5th draft, and was done. It looks good, and when I read it to my break-out group last month, they all really enjoyed it. So I was happy about that. I don't really write inspirational pieces except here on blog. So it was a challenge to take a blog post and shape into a story of sorts. I have been culling together blog posts anyway and rewriting them for hopes of publishing them in my own anthology. That's been a goal for awhile, and I have some 10 stories ready and formatted. I may even go back and pull together a couple of spiritual pieces, since I have room to submit another 4 pages to the group for the anthology. So I will be working on that the rest of the month.

I made my 80 mile round trip without much trouble. Usually there is construction out that way, but it wasn't all that bad. It takes me 40 minutes to get there (at 10 in the morning), and about 50 minutes to get back home due to more people being on the street.

Something interesting always happens at meetings. Last meeting, our group was reading our pieces, and one lady didn't have copies for every one.  She said she didn't have a computer at the time because she was poor, so she wrote her's in her journal and she would read from there. I was in utter shock by this all. I was thinking about my laptop, netbook, kindle, etc... Here she was, not even having a computer. I have been thinking about that every since.

This time, one of the ladies had published a book. We were all excited about it. She writes sci-fi and paranormal. I remember a couple of months ago that she was talking about what she wrote. I was thinking, hmm... somebody else that doesn't write christian fiction (even though this is a christian group). I need to get up with her later on. I caught up with her this time, as she was sitting behind me. I bought a copy of her book. A guy next to me said he needed to save up for the book. I bought him a book, too. It was only $15. He was elated.

This is something that's not of the ordinary for me. I've been sowing seed for well over a decade, and it is habit, as I want it to be. I am most definitely not worse off for it. It is habit. And I hope it becomes a more ingrained habit. I harvest a TON of "fruit" from such seed. A ton.

And this leads me to something interesting. I was listening to a black talk show I love, one I have been listening to for close to a year (I never miss it), and the host said something interesting. She said that when a white homeless man walks up on her, or if she even sees one, she thinks... For real?

I froze the first time I heard her say that. Why? Because I have felt the same way too.

For real? You a white man, running up on ME asking for help?

I remember that happening a few months ago in the Whole Foods parking lot. First of all, I'm looking at you sideways for walking up on me while I'm putting my bag in the car. I have all manners of crazy stuff in the trunk to shank a joker with. But you're asking me for help?

COME ON, MAN.

You are white. You can go shave and shower and look like you own the company. No problem.

I am a black woman. Even now, with all these degrees, even with a "Dr." attached forever and ever to my name, I will always be thought of as "less than" than my peers. Always. I could discover the cure to AIDS, cancer and ebola, and it wouldn't matter. My skin color will always be an issue.

What a waste, I think, as I had to hear the man's plea for a dollar. What a waste of good white skin.

I remember when I was young, we would sit around talking about what we would do "If we were white".  I even remember as a child walking around with a towel on my head, pretending that I had long lovely "white girl" hair.

So yes. When I see a homeless person, in my mind I too think... For real????

And I remember when the show host talked of her exact same thoughts on the subject, I froze. Why? Because I thought I was the only one that felt that way. And in my heart of hearts, I knew that it was wrong.
In my prayers, and in my journal, I remember praying about it being something I needed to work on. I don't want to be color struck like that. People need help, regardless of skin color. Regardless.

So little situations present themselves of examples of people of the majority not having enough. I recognize them as such. I may or may not lend a helping hand. I do what I can, as for anyone, and I keep it moving. I just want the thoughts of just because a person is white and having a rough time, that I can fold my arms and judge them. We all go through stuff. There are more poor white folks than black folks. Yet for some reason, we are the face of poverty and all things negative. Cultural conditioning at it's worse.

I remember watching Minister Andy Stanley one night, and he said if you are thinking racial stuff, you better book a meeting with yourself and work it out. And he was right. I've booked several meetings with myself and there have been some decent results. And a need for more meetings. Sigh.

So that's what I am thinking about today. That was a mini-food for thought freestyle.

That's it. I feel better. I have been drinking a lot of water. My blood pressure has been low, so it has come back up to where it needs to be. I will be the first one in the door at work tomorrow.

Not!

I have 840 hours of sick leave. I try to save them just in case I fall out and need to be out for a couple of months.

Song of the Week. Oldie but Goodie! SOS band "Tell me if you Still care"



That song is some AWESOMENESS... and I am sure that my 13-year-old mind was mesmerized by the high technology of that video.

Yet it is a great ORIGINAL song. No originality these days. And not many bands either. Humph.

That's it. This is Sweepstakes time, all the way up to August 15th or roundabouts. Be sure to comment to enter. I am giving away $100 gift cards. Not sure how many. I am taking the number the posts over the 6 week period, and dividing by 10. That's what I will give away. So get on it, doggonit. Make that money!

Strategize and execute. You know how to make it do what it do.

Over and out... on purpose.