Friday Freestyles... The Rainy Day Edition

It is Friday...

Rewind. It is a RAINY Friday here in my beloved ATL.

And that picture is exactly how it looks in my city today. This is not nice during morning rush hour. Not at all.  Here in the ATL, we drive FASTER in the rain. I'm not sure what that was about. This morning my short commute was me driving behind a wide load vehicle, and everybody was trying to get out of his way, so that worked out fine for me. There are several skyscraper condominiums going up around my job, so street closings were more of an issue than anything.

But I am looking forward to the weekend. I took yesterday off, totally by mistake. I woke up late, and my sister was going walking, and you know how it goes... I figured since she is leaving soon, I'd go with her.

I live around a mile from the ATL zoo, which is inside a large park. It has a nice trail, which I've never walked. (I go up there for the Farmer's market on Sundays, which is along the trails, but that's about it.  But what's good is that there's a nice park about a couple of blocks from my house with a nice walking path.

One of my neighbors told me about  it, but I've never  investigated. My sister has been walking down there, so I walked with her. It is a beautiful park, with a full baseball field, huge playground and swings, and a pavillion. Who would've thought that there would be such a nice park in the middle of the hood?  I'm glad my sister went down there and investigated. It's a new walking spot for me from now on...

I was so tired afterwards that I didn't feel like changing for work. So we spent the rest of the day together. I took her to a local butcher shop in a nearby Alpine village that I like, and we stopped by my favorite gourmet grocery store (where she likes to go anyway since I took her a couple of months ago). We came back and watched television. She finally watched 12 Years a Slave, which completely unnerved her. That was the second time I'd seen it, and I didn't realize how well that movie was shot.

But I'm back at work now... I have a ton of paperwork going on. I have 100 pages of data. I've spent the morning organizing that for a data package. This is more tedious than I care for. But oh well... gainfully employed.

This weekend I have nothing planned. It's supposed to rain, and I'm just looking forward to being in the bed. And I will probably be following my sister around as she gets ready to go. Sigh.

It's gonna be alright. I am just trying to be helpful, any way I can.

And that is all I have to say about that.

Movie of the Week. This has been my favorite movie this summer:

My sister and I watch a TON of movies, but this is one I saw on netflix alone, and I told her, "Hey, you gotta see this movie." She liked it, too. So when someone wants a good movie, I tell them to peep that one. It's a good rainy day movie. I may watch it again this weekend since it's gonna be all stormy and dreary.

CDs of the Week.   

I don't care for current Atlanta/southern rappers, but I really like the new Travis Scott CD.... 

Does it have a name? I have no idea. I like his production skills. And I can at least understand what he is saying. Not something I will listen to everyday. I yanked a couple of songs and put them on my rap playlist. Good enough.

That's it for ME. Hope all is well with YOU!

And have a good weekend... on purpose!

Sigh (Lord Help Me... Please)

It was such a nice sunny morning in my beloved ATL...

Yet this was me this morning:

Why?

Because my sister Kentucky got her Visa and travel itinerary. She leaves for the UAE on October 1st.

She got her official email (her "golden ticket" as the teachers are calling it), this morning. She'd left the house (to go walking), but came back in. She went upstairs to check her computer. I looked up her facebook teacher page, and people were announcing that they got their info. She hollered down that she got her ticket too...

"Good for you," I said, my voice shaky. "I'm not gonna cry."

Yet I fell back on the sofa and cried so hard that my shirt was wet.

Kentucky flew down the stairs and sat next to me and patted me on my back.

"It's okay," I said, between wails. "You go on and go walking."

She got up and left a few minutes later. I didn't know if I should go to work. But I finally stopped crying, got myself together and left.

Man oh man... I don't know how I am going to deal with this. I thought she would  be staying with me for just a couple of weeks, a month at the most, but I got the chance to spend 3 whole months with my sister.

My prayer on the way to work this morning was Thank you God for thinking about me so much that You gave me THAT much time with my sister before she left. Only You know how much I needed that.

I'm always amazed how God thinks over and beyond  when it comes to what I need.. It never fails.

Now what  I need to do is pull myself together, pack her up, and get her on out of her.

That much I can do... even with a few tears in my eyes.

Ten Tuesday Thougts

Now...

How on earth did YOU let me go a whole week without posting anything?

I blame YOU.

LOL. No I don't. I have been busy. I had to write some reports that were due this very moment. I am done with that and I am idle!

(Only for a few moments, though. Back to the lab!)

Not before I kick my 10 Tuesday thoughts, though.

1. It is a dreary day in the ATL. And it's not hot. Good for me. And good for my light bill.

2. My sister is still here. She's still waiting on that work visa. There are some islamic holidays right now, so forget about it. I know she's ready to go, but I like having her here. And my prayer has been God don't let her go until it is time for her to go. Amen. 

3. My work group has a standing 9:00 am meeting every Tuesday. There's nothing worse than rushing to work for a meeting and the meeting is canceled. I always initially think Dang, I could've stayed in bed a little longer. But the good side of this is that I get to leave at 5 pm today. I hate traffic, but I live only 4.6 miles from my job so an extra 5 minutes spent in traffic is cool.

4. I was moving so fast this morning that I neglected to bring lunch. Sigh. So I need to walk to get something. This would be great if it wasn't a nasty icky rainy day outside. This limits my choices. Can't walk too far!

5. I mailed out the 10th bloggaversary sweepstakes prizes to the winners last week. If you haven't gotten your gift cards, you better say something! Say something if you have, also. I've only heard from 2 people. So the other 3 better say something! I have the tracking info... guess I better sit down and plug all the tracking info in.

6. I hate admitting it, but I don't like when I call about my mortgage or credit card and I'm clearly speaking to someone who is in India. I hate not understanding what they are saying. I wish I could talk to someone who spoke clear english with no accent. Better yet, I wish so many jobs weren't outsourced.

7. My boss was telling me how he ate butter sandwiches as a child and how good they were. Sir, they may have been good, but that meant you were poor as hell.

8. He said they sprinkled seasoning salt on the sandwiches. I said you were still poor... with a little flair.

9. I tell myself often that I live in astonishing abundance. Astonishing.

10. I saw a documentary the other day that made me think this is true. It was a documentary about how the media shapes how we think about everything. They literally shape our perspectives on a subliminal level.  If you don't think this is true, sit down with a refugee who has had to grab up their family and run for their lives with nothing but the clothes on their back.

Sit down with them and tell them your money problems, personal problems,etc...

And you're realize just how silly you sound and how rich you are... 

I live in a nice house. And I can control the temperature of that house. I can store food at the temperature I like. I can pick the clothes I want to wear every day. I can wash my clothes and dry them in machines. I have a phone in my house. I can choose which car I want to drive.

I could go on... and on. But I won't.

I read in a book last year that someone in a third world country can't tell the difference between you and Bill Gates.

Hmmm.... take a moment and let that one marinate.

Leaving you with a little food for thought, eh?


With that said, have a great Tuesday... an astonishingly great Tuesday.

In Memoriam... 16th Street Baptist Church

Today is the 52nd anniversary of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

Here's the church as it stands today.

It looks as nothing so tragic ever happened there.

The bomb was planted under the stairs. 4 little black girls lost their lives that day.

I wonder what would have become of their lives. 

The first African American female Secretary of State was friends with one of them. She heard the bomb go off at the church while she was at home.

I wonder what would have become of their lives had they lived? What "firsts" would have they accomplished.

We'll never know.  But it does attest to the importance of every child's life.

Friday Freestyles... The 911 Memorial Edition

It is Friday... but just not any ol' Friday. It happens to be the 14th anniversary of the 911 tragedy.

So this has been a day of remembrance.



This morning I watched the news while I was getting dressed and ready for work. This is my normal in the morning, and the news is just background noise. But this morning was different because they played the news reports from that awful day in 2001 in real time. That was rough to watch.

I didn't see it all in real time when it happened in 2001. I'd only been at my current employer for 3 weeks, and I was away in Denver in training. The class started at 9:00 am, and I remember the instructor saying something about the twin towers, but I thought the hurricane out in the gulf had hit New York or something. Then during our 10 o'clock break, I went to the hotel lounge and watched it all unfold on the big screen TV. I remember thinking That is not a crop duster. That's a real plane hitting the towers!

It all made me think, and I continue to think now, that tomorrow isn't promised.

The next moment isn't even promised.

That was such a tragic day in our history. Thank God it hasn't repeated itself on that scale in all these years.

And I pray it never will.

Quote of the Week

Ten Tuesday Night Thoughts

1. I was at work today looking like...

Staring off into the distance, looking at nothing.  Why? Because...

2.  I was laid up most of the weekend looking like this:

All stretched out, toes flexed, and but-nekked at times like ol' Mitch here. It was a lazy holiday weekend indeed.  But never fear, much got done.

3. I bought the winners' gift cards this weekend. It was easy enough. I just needed to go to the right place. I was also able to buy hard envelopes and thank you cards. I don't do well when I have to run all over the place looking for everything, but I was determined to do so this weekend. And it all worked out. So your cards should be mailed by the end of the week. I will email you or announce here. GLORY!

4. Lucy Junior was washed this weekend. She was filthy! She was hollering "Oldgirl, wash me!!!" I sprayed the carpets and cleaned up the minimal stains. Lucy Junior is good as new! Almost.

5. Lunch today was bootleg today. Salad greens with sliced zuchinni. I ran out of tomato and cucumber. Make due with what you have, man. Really.

6. I bought a new phone this weekend! Samsung Galaxy Note 5!

Pure Awesomness. That is all.

7. Sister Callie Jo and Mitch fought hard this weekend.

This is the norm, and it gets on my everlasting nerves.

Sigh.

8. I missed The Cowgirl Cre's family and friends cookout down in the country. I didn't go this year. I got lost going down there last year and had to be led back to the freeway super late last year. So that was too much for me.  Sigh.

9.  You best believe I parked my behind on the sofa this weekend and watched those Williams sisters play tennis.

10.  And you best believe that I will be watching the match tonight. I hate that two sisters have to go against each other.  But this will be their 26th time playing against each other, so this is nothing new. Not at all.  With that said... GO SERENA!

That is it for 10 Tuesday Thoughts!

Friday Freestyles... The Holiday Edition

Friday!

BAM!

And it's a three day weekend!

Double BAM!

And the blinds of my mind are half down. I might as well not even be at work today.  I hope to get something done, though... something. But I am leaving early because I worked until 7:30 pm last night, a whole hour past quitting time. And I've turned in my time card for the week.  So let's just say that around 5:30 pm or so, I'm gonna be looking around for my car keys...

It has been a fast week. So fast that I haven't even posted. I've been dirt tired when I get home in the evenings, so while I have thought about posting, I have not pulled up my laptop and posted. Oh well.

But I am here today.

Story of the Week #1.  This has been an eventful week! Trump is on program as always.  One of my supervisors is Puerto Rican.  So I ran up on him while he was walking around the lab and hollered "Latino Lives Matter!"

He looked at me crazy.

"I'm just concerned, dude.  Do you see what's going on???"

He said he did, and we had a good discussion about it. I know he is a US citizen and he's not an immigrant, but it's just too much for me right now to see this whole Latino attack. So it was good to talk to someone from the community concerning their thoughts.

That's what I like to do... educate myself. And he gave me a lot to think about...

Story of the Week #2: And then there's this woman here...

Mrs. Davis refuses to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.

To each his own concerning their beliefs.  But heterosexual couples aren't being issued marriage licenses either. What do they have to do with this?

I fail miserably at religion. Miserably.  Why? Because of the legalism, where legalism is all the rules that one must follow from the Old Testament, down to the letter.  This is somehow impossible, and so much picking and choosing goes. There are 10 commandments and over 600 laws. Compound all this with the laws I struggle to keep, and at the same time pointing a finger at you for your not keeping up with the laws...

It's just a lot going on. It reminds me of the Pharisees following Jesus around and harassing him and then eventually killing him. Sigh.

I fail miserably at it. And I would consider myself an even worse failure for prosecuting those who don't share my beliefs.

I am glad we are not at the point where we kill folks off for homosexuality, etc.  ISIS will kill your behind. Plain and simple.You believe as we believe or you DIE. Yikes.

I am wondering out loud here:  she does not drink or smoke. So why is she issuing marriage licenses to people who may drink or smoke? Does she ask them?  Or does that not count?

There are some 60 abominations in the Bible besides homosexuality. Some of the worse are lying,  jealousy and envy. Do people possessing these characteristics get issued marriage licenses?

I don't know. It's a lot to think about. If you're gonna be strict christian, then do it to the max.  Or are we just picking and choosing?

I maintain that it's a lot easier to walk in hate and judgment than it is to walk in love towards our fellow man. 

If she feels so strongly about it, then resign. Story over. But she makes $80,000 a year in a rural county. That's a LOT for a country living. I'm not sure she wants to lose her job. But she is jail now. Can't be fired. She is doing the right thing for her.

In the meantime, they are issuing marriage licenses to all couples in that county now... You better go on down there and get yours today if you want it. Better go!

I make more than her. I work with tobacco. Yet I don't smoke. Should I simply refuse to do my job? Whether it's for religious beliefs or not? I may have to work with weed someday. I've already told my boss... yo, I use to smoke. I don't want to work with it. But if I have to, I have to. Let's just say I need an accountability partner. That's it.

Those are my thoughts. This type of  thing always reminds me to mature in showing love to my fellow man... and not judgment and hate. It's also much easier to judge others than to judge yourself.

I am a work in progress. I can only assume everyone else is also.  I remember thinking this week that  I was so glad that God loves me... he answers prayers, keeps me out of  mess, covers me, has my back,  chastises and corrects down to the core when needed, etc, etc...  All without concern whether I keep the law. I simply receive His grace and what Jesus did on the cross... Period.  It is very apparent that these people haven't set down and read the book of Romans. They would reject me outright. I am not good enough for them. Thank goodness God accepts me.

That's it for me!! I am ready for the holiday weekend. No big plans, but whatever. Glad for the time off. If I get one thing done, I will celebrate that like I got ALL things done.

(I read that in a book somewhere. It do that and it works wonders.)
 
Well, there is one thing I must do: go get these gift cards. I stood in line at the credit union for them on Monday, and it turns out that branch doesn't issue them. HUMPH!  I have had trouble finding hard envelopes to mail them in. This is turning into a scavenger hunt.  I will make it a goal to get those this weekend and mail them this week! You best believe I haven't forgotten! No indeed. And I will email the winners when I mail them :)


I need need NEED a Song of the Week!

I like this song right here! It makes me happy every time I hear it. It's an OLD oldie:

"Maybe" by the Three Degrees:



I  remember the first time I heard this song. It was over a decade ago, and I was driving down Old National Highway in College Park in the rain.  This song came on the radio and I remembered thinking "Dang! How long is the preamble to this song? This chick is talking through the WHOLE song?"

Back then, the songs had  long preambles with no talking. It is said that that was to give the DJ enough time to talk and  introduce the song.  But this song? All that dayum talking? LOL. 

I love it, though. Every woman done begged a man to come back to her or not go.

Don't lie. You have had your moment... I've had one or two my own self.

Take a little time to remember,  why don't cha.

On purpose.

Have a great weekend!!!