Sunday Night Musings

'Tis the last day of my 30 day challenge!

I missed 2 days of posting, both on the weekend, I believe. And both times, I was laid out across the bed, thinking about getting up and posting something before I go to sleep. But it's been more like...

"...as soon as the next commercial comes on, I'll get up and post something."

Well the next thing I know it's morning.

And I missed a day of posting.

But I must say, posting 28 days out of 30 days is not bad.

Not bad at all.

Alas, we have reached the final day. Maybe I will keep it up. I don't see that, but I have a whole list of posts I want to do so I want to get those out.

I stubbed my toe last night, and the way I was feeling, I hope the sucker isn't broken.  And it's not even the big toe, it's the toe next to the little toe. Every time I tried to walk last night and this morning, there were shots of pain! Who would've thought one small member of the body could affect everything like that? Wow.

I decided if I couldn't walk well enough by Monday, I would go get an x-ray to make sure it's not broken. I was able to hobble around and do some cleaning late this afternoon. I don't know if it's getting better, or if the pain meds kicked in real good.

We shall see tomorrow. Hmm.

Anyway, I watched a stream of my church service this morning and I wrote down a couple of notes concerning things that I'd been pondering as of late.

-If you are not content with yourself, you will continue to try to be like someone else. 

I never thought about it that way. But the more I look around, especially on social media, it is the truth through and through.

I am content with me, but I am constantly working on that. I think in the past 10 years or so, I have begun to understand that I don't want huge swatches of time passing where I am in a state of discontent. I want to be content where I am... while on the way to my destination, where I'm going.

-There is too much ahead of you, too many great things in your future, for you to spend time worrying about mistakes and missteps in your past. 

Not sure that sentence makes much sense. That's how I scratched it out in my notes.

In essence it means stop worrying about mess from your past. And press and look forward to the bright future ahead of you. And I think, just expanding that a little, be in high expectation of a good future... on purpose.

I have recently seen a someone that is upset about something that happened in their past. Not about something that happen last week or last year, mind you, but something that happened over 30 years ago.

30 years ago!

I spent time thinking about that, and wondering how is the best way to not let that happen. I don't have much of anything that bothers me like that.

You know, a mustard bottle may appear empty. But if that mustard is squeezed hard enough, some mustard is going to come squirting out.

Mustard being anger, that is. Circumstances tend to expose a range of emotions.

Maybe during quiet times of my life, bad feelings that have laid dormant in my heart, like my issues with my parents. When it comes to heartbreaks, I have found that it takes me one to two years to get over them. I know I am good when I can stand still and search my heart and can fully say that I feel absolutely nothing about the situation. I'm not angry or pissed or anything.

I have had falling outs with friends and it seems to take me about 6 months to get over and past that. I have had to realize that certain people are meant to be in my life for a reason or for a season. And those seasons and reasons have come to an end and it's time to move on.

You will never see a facebook or twitter fight break out with me involved. Especially since I'm getting older, approaching 50.

Thank goodness for the blog, because I have written profusely about such things, whether outright or in between the lines.

What do I want overall? I just don't want long swatches of times to go by where I'm actively angry about something or someone... and that anger is expressing and manifesting itself in some harmful ways. I spend much time being introspective about such matters, and doing personal journalling.

And just hearing some of those points hit on today during the sermon helped me understand that I am doing what I need to do to keep from living in my past and learning to be content with ME.

And that's a good thing.

That is it for my Sunday musings. I would go back and edit it, but uh... you will just have to piece together what you can from it!

1/3rd of the year is officially over... 2/3rds of the year is ahead of us.

Let's press on in expectancy of great things!

Have a good week!

Saturday Night 7

7 Things! On a Saturday! So here we go.

1. This has been a decent enough day, even though I didn't get my day going well until after 1:00 pm. Shame on me for staying in bed all morning.

2. Once I did get up, I got dressed and decided to drive Pam.

She has been sitting in the back of the driveway under a tree. I haven't really driven her since January. She was covered in sticky pollen.

3. I rarely drive her, which is a shame. She was filthy as all get out, so I took her to the car wash. A good vacuum and wash and she looks halfway presentable.

4. Pam was in desperate need of windshield wipers. I bought her some at the local auto store. I gave the person who installed them a $5 tip.

He said, "You didn't have to do that."

"Yes I did," I replied. "I'm a girl, and I don't know how to change windshield wipers nor do I care to learn."

5. While in that particular pseudo-gentrified neighborhood, I joined a gym I'd been eyeing since October.

October!

Geez. Ain't it just about to be MAY? Ugh.

6. So I left the car wash, I tried to go to the Curb Market. Not a big deal, as I could jump through the hippie district, i.e., Little Five Points, skirt through the gentrified Inman park area and be there in about 10 minutes flat.

WRONG.

There was a big Inman Park festival. I only remembered when I got tied up in the INSANE traffic in that neighborhood. I was stuck in traffic for 45 minutes.  I was just trying to get some 3 miles away. UGH.

I ain't never seen that many white folks out and about in my life. WOW.

7. I ended up going to the Whole Foods instead. Please remind me not to do any grocery shopping on a Saturday. NO.

8. So right now, I am watching The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu.

One word.

CREEPY.

And I'm not even sure what the world is going on. I have to go look up some analysis or something.

Or I may just have to sit this one out. It's enough to give me nightmares.

That is it for Saturday 7.

This Saturday was a day rife with high class problems.

And that is fine by me... and I am thankful for that.

Because things could always be worse. 

Good Friday Evening...

Friday!

GLORY!!

And the ONLY thing that would make it a better Friday is if this was PAYDAY!

Alas, it isn't. Oh well.

It is HOT in my beloved ATL. It was just cold as all get out earlier this week.

The confusion continues.

Our beloved President is in town today. I left to go down the Curb Market for lunch, which is 6 blocks east of where he will be speaking.You would think that that would be up out of the way of all the traffic mess. It sort of was, but you best believe they had a bunch of police cars posted up at EVERY single intersection. UGH!!

Keep him safe. We don't want NUTHIN' happening to him in the ATL.

NUTHIN'!

Get in, get out.

That is all.

This has been a decent enough week. I'm just glad that it's Friday.

Thoughts on President's first 100 days. I haven't thought much about his first 100 days. Of course he hasn't fulfilled all these vainglorious promises. And nothing has convinced me that he takes it all that serious. I think the gravity of it all is starting to kick in, and with that, hopefully they will get the ball rolling.  Until then, and now, I will pray for our president. And keep it moving.

I don't watch a lot of news about it because it is so doggone negative. I am doing my best to keep my mind on positive things. The constant negativity is quite draining. So that is a goal of mine.

There is no CD of the week. BUT, Mary J. Blige came out with a new CD today.

Strength of a Woman

It is an interesting CD.

Why?

Because she is going through a divorce right now. And she spills much much tea on this CD.

One part in the song "Set Me Free" had me a bit... wide-eyed.


Tell me how you figure that you made me
And you gave me what I had before I met you
And gonna have it when you gone?
And how you fix your mouth to say I owe you
When you had another bitch and taking trips and shit with my money for so long?
You must've lost it!
Nigga, you won't get a dime!
Bout all you gonna get
Too bad I can't get back my time
Wasted all this time,
But I'm gonna be alright
Gonna be just fine.


Chorus:
Wooooo, there's a special place in hell for yooooooouu.....
You gonna pay for what you did to me...
I'ma tell you,  because the truth will set thee free.!  

*blink blink*

DANG.

That sounds like some rap lyrics, but she was crooning the cheese out of those words. 

That whole "there's a special place in hell for you" refrain... that is some anger right there. But what I can most identify with in that song is the loss of time. Time has been lost. And it will take time to get over the lost of time. 

A bit depressing, it is. It was NOT what I needed to be listening to when I am half sleep on a Friday morning.

And it is probably not meant to be depressing, but moreso introspective.

You know what it puts me in the mind of? Her second CD, My Life.

Do you remember that CD? That was a CLASSIC.

And she was all strung out over KC of Jodeci fame at the time. So it was full of angst. Full to the top.

I remember my friends and I thinking "She all strung out and pressed over some dayum KC? DANG!""

I guess she have to get all her stuff out in the open. Back then, some 23 years ago on the My Life CD, and now, with this divorcce.

I can appreciate that. I have been divorced, and yes, there are a lot of seriously complicated feelings involved. Best to get it out.  This is her avenue for expressing herself. And I respect that.

I will probably listen to the CD a few times this weekend so that I can properly digest it.  I may need to go pull the lyric sheet and read it, because the CD is highly conceptual.

I love Mary. We are the same age, and her career has spanned some 25 years.  So I remember being a 22-year-old, on the bus with my Walkman and headphones listening to cassettes and identifying with her. I was working at a Sunkist plant during the summer,  and I remember talking to a dude I worked with about that My Life CD and how it made me cry.

Mary and I are the same age, but there is a huge difference: she has to go through her messes in the public eye, and I go through mine in  private. I ponder this very point every time we are sitting around discussing some superstar's  private life. I secretly am thankful that I can deal with all my personal issues in private.  We ALL can deal with our issues privately.

Hmmm... There was a semi Food-for-Thought wrapped up in there.

And with that... I think I will put up my FAVORITE Mary J. Blige song. It is from the How Stella got Her Groove Back. It came out the year I got my PhD, some 19 years ago. (WOW has it been that long).

I remember because I turned my dissertation and the required copies (on cotton paper) into the graduate office. Then I walked up to the CNN center to see How Stella Got Her Groove Back. I was so doggone happy that day, sitting in the dark theater, smiling ear to ear. I'd finished school. I was "Dr. LadyLee".

Enough Reminiscing... Here is the Song of the Week: "Beautiful"



Okay... one more song since I am reminiscing: The song "Reminisce" from 25 years ago!!



 *lee chair dancing HARD*

And why do I know every single word to those songs? LOL

With that said, have a great weekend, on purpose.

Milk and Cookies Jr and Milk and Cookies 3.0

I went to the mailbox the other day and I was WONDERFULLY surprised!

I received pictures of my gorgeous little nephews, Milk and Cookies Jr. and Milk and Cookies 3.0.

'Shaun, aka, Milk and Cookies Jr!!  

Tristan,  aka Milk and Cookies 3.0!!

Such handsome boys, they are!

They are starting to look like their Pa, Milk and Cookies.

I'm not sure we can call him Milk and Cookies anymore, tho.

'Kari is Steak and Potatoes, now.

With a glass of Crown Royal.. straight, no ice.

LOL.

The boys will continue to be Milk and Cookies Jr. and 3.0, though.

And I will always and forever think of them like this.
 


Time is going by so fast...

Thank goodness for pictures! :)

On My Desk, Though

I arrived to work 30 minutes early this morning.

(I went to bed thinking I would get to work 2 hours earlier than usual but OH WELL).

I sat down in my cubicle and did what I usually do when I get to work - check my emails, write out my to-do list for the day, then talk trash to whoever has run up on me.

I got up to leave my cubicle and I see this over in the corner:

A little plant was sitting amongst my other plants.

*ladylee looks to the left*

*ladylee looks to the right*

Nobody was around. I'm not sure what I was thinking. For some odd reason, I thought that someone had sneaked up in my cubicle area and placed it there.

I hope this ain't no cannabis ativa plant, I thought as sniffed it and peered closely at the leaves of the plant.

If it was, I would've dropped kicked it directly into the trash...

... then I would've picked it up out of the trash and drop it into my bag.

Yes indeed.  

So I didn't say anything, as no one was really around.

I sat the plant down and ran off to the lab.

But Dr. Lin ran up on me in the lab asking about it.

"Did you leave a plant on my desk?" she asked.
"Not me, girl! I got one, too. I don't know who left it. It's nice, though."

We turned to another employee, Lady Charlie. "Girl, did you leave plants on our desks?"

"No," she said.

"Did you get a plant?" I asked.

"No," she said.

Hmm.

Dr. Lin looked confused. She went on to describe the density and consistency of the soil.

*crickets*

I was confused, as I didn't pay much attention to the soil.

But I was trying to run with her on it, though.

"Maybe it's that good soil, that type of dirt that releases water real slow."

We stood there and pondered this notion for a moment.

"I don't know who left the plant," Dr. Lin pondered.

"I don't either," I said. "But somebody'll step up."

"Besides," I continued, "people leave strange things on my desk all the time."

And yes, they do. I've eaten food that I have NO idea where it came from or who put it on my desk.

But it was good, though.

At times, I've made the biggest spectacle, yelling, "Blessing! The Lord knew I didn't make my lunch this morning, and He moved somebody to leave this tasty stew on my desk. BLESSING! Glory!"

*church shouts and church spins in my cubicle*

*cubicle folks kicking the hard eyeroll*

Yes, that free food is good.

And this free plant was good, too.

We stood there in all our confusion, doing our best to solve this mystery, when lo and behold, my former boss rolled up and said he'd left them on our desk.

"It's a tobacco plant. They make pretty flowers."

Aww. A tobacco plant!

That's that dedication right there. He works for the tobacco group and he likes tobacco plants. That's real. I'm not that dedicated.  I ain't thought NOTHING about buying a nice tobacco plant or a cigarette or anything related to tobacco. NOPE!

But that's alright, though.

I like my little tobacco plant.

It is a blessing.

I'm gonna water it and watch it grow.

On purpose. 

Tuesday Thoughts

Tuesday!

Thoughts!

1. This has been a long day, but not hectic. And that's good thing.

2. I trained someone new today, and it was a good experience. I am not sure why I was experience a small pebble of angst concerning it.

3. I was too lazy to prepare my lunch this morning. I was being highly rebellious and I did NOT want to chop up veggies for a salad. So I chopped my fruit up instead.

4. People have been passing my cubicle and admiring my fruit combo. *lee placing fruit bowl back into lunch bag*

5. We have this new IM function on our computers at work, and we can tell if you are active or inactive or offline, etc. This happens even if you're working from home. It all feels big brotherish.

6. With that said, I talked to my workplace mom on this IM. It is always a joy (And I had to show her how to use it).

7. This was a good thing because she was on her way out the door to make a visit to the Curb Market. And she dropped off for donation some clothes at Spelman. It was a pretty afternoon, a good time to run around (despite the traffic).

8. She had a Ivank.a Tru.mp shoe box. Humph.

I didn't even bother to look at the shoes. I am sure they were fly. And some young lady will appreciate them.

9. I am SO disappointed in my evenings, meaning, they are not as productive as they could be. My mornings are like that too. Yet I do get a good bit of stuff done. But I want the perfect mornings and evenings of my imagination. Hmm.

10. I was sitting here eagerly awaiting a stream of our WEDNESDAY night bible study stream. And I actually got mad, thinking that my Roku was jacked. Ugh.

It took me about half an hour to realize that today is not Wednesday. It is indeed TUESDAY.

LOL

And that's it for Ten Tuesday Thoughts. 

Good Monday Evening... The Rainy Night Edition

This right here is the situation in my beloved ATL.

Rain!

Rain, rain, rain!

Rain ALL the time (well over the past couple of days).

And here's the kicker: It is COLD. It is in the 50s here in my beloved ATL.

LAWD!

Rain and cold together. Uh, NO, NO!

Especially since it was just 80-85 degrees last week.

Last night I was shivering in bed, but I refused to go get another blanket. Nope. Because it's going to be azzzzz HAWT in a few more days. You watch and see.

This has been an interesting day. I had my routine 8-10 week doctor's appointment today. Every thing is fine, but the dude who does out blood work was out, and we all had to wait around for his replacement. I decided to wait an hour, then jet. I could always come back another day, since my next appointment isn't until early July.

But they all looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if I could do that.

The  answer was "NO.  Wait for Dr. B. to come out here."

Uh... yeah. I waited for her. And she made the new blood work person (I know this is a phlebotomist. I just don't know how to spell it) do my blood work. That poor young lady had a rough time. Took her 15 minutes to do my blood work.

I didn't mind waiting. But that's the wrong side of town to be waiting around for something. I have been waiting around  in the waiting room before when the wait was a bit too long and...

What's the most gentle politically correct way to say this... 

Let's just say the working class "Make Amurica Great Again" clientele went OFF.   And it was SCARY. Then for some odd reason they start going in on Obama..

O_o

Ain't nobody got time for that. Because if any of the black folk  stand up and say something, we might ALL get shot.  Because you know they probably packing.

And I don't care to be around all that. Let us all just wait... peacefully.

I thought of all of that this morning.  And I would have GLADLY made a nice 60 mile round trip back out there to get some simple blood work done.

Oh well.

It is all good and well.  I arrived to work a couple of hours later to work than usual after an appointment.  The supervisor was alright, but you BEST believe I was equipped with a doctor's excuse. I'm going to scan that in and send it to him. This Oldgirl doesn't want any trouble.

CD of the Week.  So. I ran up on the STRANGEST CD I've heard in  awhile. I actually ran up on two of them, but let's just talk about one for now.

"Awaken, My Love!"  by Childish Gambino.

Childish Gambino is the rap persona of actor Danny Glover. I'm not  a fan of his rap music, and I think he was a part of that Community sitcom on NBC at one time. He produces the show Atlanta now, I believe.

Have you heard this Awaken CD, though?  Is it not the strangest thing you've ever heard? It's like, a mash-up of Prince, Funkadelic, and Sly and the Family Stone. Just ODD.

But SO Good.

It shocked the cheese out of me. I had it on while driving somewhere far from my house.

Had me sitting in the car like O_O.

It sure snuck up on me. And I like it. It is VERY different from anything out right now.

So my Songs of the Week are two cuts from that CD.

"Me and Your Mama"




Isn't that CRAZY???

It sounds all lovely and nice in the beginning then it just goes off a huge cliff.  WOW.

And "Terrified", my favorite song off the CD.



And it's just such a nice song... doesn't go barreling off a cliff. Thank goodness.

That's it for my Monday Evening rambles.

You all have a nice week.

By design and on purpose.

Sunday Evening Musings

I don't know what it is, but I struggle with this posting on the weekends. I totally forgot to post yesterday. All I remember is laying across the bed last night thinking...

I need to go do a quick post before I fall asleep.

Then I fell asleep. I don't even remember falling asleep.

For some odd reason, I sleep like crap during the week, then I catch up on Friday and Saturday nights. This is beginning to make it a bit difficult to plan much of anything for my Friday nights and Saturdays overall.

By Sunday I am back to being erratic in my sleep. Sigh. I need to put myself on some type of schedule, I suppose.

This was an unusually quiet weekend. I ran whatever errands I needed to run on Friday evening so I wouldn't be ripping and running on the weekend. I went to church on Saturday night, which did wonders for me. I am spoiled now that I can stream church.  I may have to get back into the habit of going on Saturday evenings again. It just did a lot for my heart.

I scribbled some notes on the back of an envelope. This week I will be evaluating myself in my journalling concerning the following:

1. Do I look to other people to satisfy my needs?
2. Do I blame others for my present circumstances?
3. Do I get upset with people when they don't help me in a way that I think they should be helping me?
4. Do I find myself routinely asking myself the question "Will I ever have enough?"

I think I will go back and read through this year's journalling to see if some of that is present. I don't think it is, but we will see. If I need to make adjustments, I need to get on it.

Today it rained cats, dogs, and frogs. I opened the windows and enjoyed the sounds of hard rain and the cool air. I managed to get some writing done during this time. I wrote some 1700 words, which is a lot since my goal is around 500 words at a time. I guess I was feeling particularly creative today.

This is going to be a hectic week, though. Maybe I should not think of it that way... Everything will fall into place. I have a doctor's appointment in the morning. I could skip it, but I am not. I haven't been in some 10 weeks, so I have to keep that regular appointment. Besides, I like running out to the suburbs. Gas is 80 cents/gallon cheaper out in the suburbs. I fill up my tank every 3 weeks, and I am only on week 2, but when I top off my tank when I am out that far. I have been caught downtown twice this year rolling on fumes... and I have to get enough gas to allow me to drive some 20 miles out for cheap gas.

(This is a high class problem. Yes, it is).

I also have to train someone new in our lab on a method I'm responsible for. I feel a little selfish because it cuts into my personal lab time and I can't work at my own pace.

But alas, I will get through that... as again, it is another high class problem.

I think it will be a good time. I am a great teacher.

I am AMAZING.

(That is something that I have been telling myself all week. It gives me great joy).

That's it for my Sunday Musings.

And I need a good Sunday piece of gospel music.  Here is one of my favorites at the moment.



That's a choir for you there. They had to practice to get all of that right. They would've put me out of the choir for getting my alto parts wrong!

One Year Later...

Prince died one year ago today.

It seems like yesterday.

I can remember where I was when I heard the news. I was at work, sitting in my cubicle. Someone said something in the cubicle area and I went over to a site to look it up and there it was, in big  bold red letters, that Prince had died.

What a SAD day. Ugh.

RIP Prince.

You left behind some 40 YEARS of music.

I can listen to Prince songs now and remember what was going on in my life when that Prince song was hot.

He's gone, but he left those memories behind...  memories as deep as the ocean.

If that isn't legacy, I don't know what is.

Food for Thought: Bill is OUT (A Time to Pause)

You know, I would've NEVER thought that Bill O'Reilly would be kicked off of Fox.

But it happened, tho.

The right combination of ingredients made for an interesting recipe on how to get someone booted.

First of all, he was labeled. ALL his business was coming out.

I think what disturbed me was the whole visual of him going off on his wife, grabbing her by the hair, and dragging her down the stairs. And his daughter, according to the divorce papers, saw it all.

Next, it came out that Fox was paying off all those women he sexually harrassed... Wow.

STILL, I thought he would keep his job.

I began to think, "Perhaps there is a problem here" when Auntie Maxine snapped on him for saying her hair looks like a James Brown wig...

Then the women put on their pink p*ssy caps, snatched up their phones, and went gangster on companies who advertised with the show.

(That picture captures their wrath. It looks like "I ain't playing with yo' azz!")

When our beloved President of these wonderful United States stepped up to defend Bill, I thought "Uh, Prez ain't got no credibility, Bill!"

That  ingredient hurt more than it helped.

When it was announced that he was taking a two week vacation, I thought "Oh snap, he's getting fired!"

This was what we called, back when I was in high school, someone getting snatched baldheaded.

In later years, it has been called snatching someone's weave. Or, as the youngsters says now, getting one's edges snatched.

Whatever you call it, we now have the perfect formula of how to kick someone off their throne.

Dude will walk away from this jobs with millions and millions of dollars. He will go on and live happily ever after, never having to work another day in his life if doesn't feel like it.

I think of all of this on a deeper level.

When I see people being all moralistic (is that a word?), I pause.

Correction: when I see someone being all moralistic and constantly shaking their the finger and shaming any and everyone who looks or thinks differently than them, I PAUSE.

(Because there is absolutely nothing with being moral. Nothing at all).

But, when I see this various mix of behaviors (moralistic + judgmental), I pause.

And I wonder...

What will we see...

When we pull back the heavy black curtain from the highly moral and judgmental person's life...

What will we see...

What are they hiding behind that curtain?

What are they hiding in the back corners of their lives?

Because that's always what's going on with people like that.

Pause and look back over some of  these scandals with some celebrities.

Hmmm...

This is just an observation.

And it is a stark reminder for me to be diligent about working on the deep complexities of my own life. Let's face it, we all have them. And it takes a lifetime to work on them. And it's much less painful to pick on people for having issues and struggles than to deal with our own. That's just human nature.

Sounds simple enough. But you know what I mean.

Anyway, it felt alright to see some justice. This last 100 days has been one helluva ride! 

Bye, Bill...

Live your life happily ever after in filthy riches.

And in the constant memory of what went wrong. On purpose.

Quote of the Week

Ten Tuesday Thoughts

1. Today has been a SLOW workday. I feel like I am sitting here watching the the numbers change  on the digital clock up on the wall of our cubicle area.

2. I was walking around earlier today with a full carton of Marlboro 100s. 

3. I was looking for a couple of people to ask about them, as I needed the whole carton for a set of  extraction experiments suggested by my boss.

4. It was AMAZING how many people were looking at me as I walked down the hall like I was CRAZY. "LadyLee, dang girl, I didn't know you smoke! You smoke them hard Marlboros????

It was either that or "Hey girl, let me hold a pack!!"

O_o.

Ummm No.

Next time, I must remember to put those in a large brown paper bag if I decide dot walk around the building with them.

5. There's a guy in my writing workshop group who reads 12 hours a day. 12 HOURS A DAY!

6. I often think about that. I am so envious. How BRILLIANT and SMART would I be if I read only a FRACTION of that time per day? Ugh!!

7.  Today's sliced fruit:  apples, pineapple, green apples, 2 strawberries, 5 grapes.

8. I  forgot to buy a honeydew melon yesterday. I have one at home but it has been sitting on the counter for a month. I am afraid that if I split that open, little aliens may fly out and eat me.

9. I have passed this place many times over the past 16 years while driving home from work.

Why haven't I been there?

10. This song is 31 years old and it is still AWESOME! Salt and Pepa's  "Chick on the Side/Love Bandit".

It's the remix, tho...



31 years old! Wow.

Still got me *chair dancing*

*chair dancing XTRA hard*

Always!

Favorite lines:

You're at the window
Staring at the sky.
Birds fly by,
You start to wonder why
You're not at my side sharing the dream 
That one day you'll be my King
And I'll be your Queen. 

Simple. But GREAT. (At least my 16-year-old mind thought  so at the time when it came out. LOL)

Those are my thoughts...

On a lovely Tuesday!

Good Monday Evening

I forgot to post yesterday.

O_o

And I was on my computer doing some writing. How does that happen? I was going to only post up an obligatory "Happy Easter" wish. And I just completely forgot.

Ugh.

Anyway, Monday will be over in 3 hours. I need to get something up NOW.

I took a sick day today. I didn't go to sleep until 6:00 am, so that meant, uh... no work. My sinuses were hurting, I suppose from all this georgia pollen, but I was NOT going to be at work hacking and looking crazy. I think I went to sleep around 6, and woke up around 9. I have to be at work at 10. That was not going down so I just took off. I think I may have slept another 30 minutes or so. So maybe I will sleep well tonight  (along with a little help of some trusty benadryl).

I don't even have anything around here to help me sleep.

The Big Buckle. So we had a freeway, I-20 West on the Eastside, buckle up this morning.

When I saw that on the news, I thought... so we're having earthquakes now?!

No we are not. They said something about a gas pipe issue. I still don't understand. A gas pipe caused that? Really.

Someone, a biker, ran up on it. He's in the hospital. I hope he is fine, because that is some craziness.

I don't go that way to work, but I passed it in the other direction late in the day when I made a run out to the farmer's market. I couldn't see the buckling but there were a gang of emergency vehicles in place. I got caught up in some of the bypass traffic. I got around it, though.

I hate it for folks who have to deal with a bunch of traffic foolishness everyday. I can't even imagine.

Quote of the Week.  "No" is a complete sentence.

How simple is that? I can remember that all day. And I will.

I think we all have trouble telling people "no" in some season of our lives. Those days are long gone for me. Don't get me wrong... I still say "yes" sometimes when I want to say "no". Those times are few and far between. For me, having rules for myself, like not lending money, cuts out a bunch of personal trepidation concerning people. I don't call that being selfish, I just call it being wise.

And for me, overall, being worried about upsetting people or being accepted by people is a bottomless pit, a battle I have learned that just cannot be won. Not possible.

Song of the Day. I came across this gem... "Whatever You Want" by Tony Tony Tone.



Can you believe that song is 25 years old?

And it's as good now as it was back then.

Timeless.

Have a good Monday Evening and a great week...

On purpose.

Saturday 7

A quick Saturday Seven!

1. I was laying in bed, about to go to sleep, and I forgot to post. I can't mess up my perfect April 2017 record so far.

2. I didn't leave the house today. I didn't plan to. I didn't want to get caught up in the Easter traffic. So my errands will have to wait until tomorrow. I washed a TON of clothes and cleaned up the kitchen. That's not much but it is something.

3. To my surprise, the Coachella festival is live streaming on youtube. They have some state-of-the-art cameras, microphones and speakers. This stream is in some type of super HD, some HD that hasn't even come out yet. Man oh man!

4. Future is up on stage now. I have no idea what the world he is saying. But my goodness.... these white folk know every word. What the world... All I know, he talk about a lot of codeine, percosets, and molly.  Stop it, I say. STOP.

5. I am waiting on Schoolboy Q and Kendrick Lamar. I don't think this Oldgirl gonna make it. Kendrick comes out at 11:45 pm PST. That is 2:45 am EST. Um, nope. I an taking my tail to bed. (Well, I may stay up and write until I get sleepy).

6. My crazy, uh, I mean, overly emotional neighbor, who likes to tare up stuff and cuss folks out amongst other things, asked to borrow my lawn mower. I said yes, as I rarely use it. She used it and returned it promptly without no tomfoolery. Thank goodness for that. LadyLee does not need to be fighting over no lawn mower.

7. My sister came over this evening. We watched Moonlight and an episode of Underground. We didn't have to watch anything. I was just glad to just look at her. I am so glad she is home.

That is my Saturday 7! Glory!

FriDay FReEsTyleS

It is FRIDAY!!

GOOD FRIDAY to be exact.

And very few people were at work today.

And the traffic?  OH HOW WONDERFUL THE TRAFFIC WAS!

I got to work in 10 minutes flat. That is all.

I am not a big celebrator of most holidays, including Easter. I will not be baking a ham, nor will I be dipping any eggs in bowls of food coloring. (I only buy brown cage free eggs. I wonder if I can color those... never mind).

However I do ponder Easter. On a daily basis, if that makes any sense.

I have much writing to do. I don't go to church on Sunday, but I may go on Saturday night. We shall see!

Hard shift into other news.

I was waiting for that new Kendrick CD to come out.

And it did.

This was me this morning while getting ready for work.

Yes, that was me.

I like the CD. I need to sit with it for another week to completely understand it, as I did with his other albums. There is an interesting amount of religious reference here, which he said would be the case, since people rarely talk about God. So I saw much of that. And I need to sit with it for awhile.

But there are some cuts that I immediately like. And if I like 3 or 4 songs immediately, that makes it  a GOOD CD. But this was a LOT to digest. (And that is a good thing).

This has been a quiet, slow week. I had my first meeting with my new supervisor. I was a little concerned about that, as I didn't know what to think. But it went surprisingly well. It was a good chit-chat, and I am gunning for a new project I would like to work on, and he gave good suggestions.

A couple of people in the building, some managers, didn't know I'd been switched out.

My response has always been...

"I don't care who my supervisor is. Can he or she go in the system and hit the buttons to approve my time card so that I can get paid? That is ALL I care about. My money."

Really though.

And both of the supervisors in my group offer good wisdom. Let that be the icing on the paycheck check.

That is all. Not gonna stress about it. Nerp. 

Do I have a Song of the Day?  Not sure... let me look through my playlist

*flipping through playlist*

I am working on a love story for one of my coworkers. She gave me a fascinating idea. I didn't like it at first, but I have found that I can work on it. And I am enjoying writing it.

And it brought to mind this song.  "Superman" by Chico Debarge.



That came out some 20 years ago, I believe. Good song. And very helpful for what I am writing right now.

That is it for freestyles!

I am enjoying  this posting EVERY single day in April. I think I'm at about the halfway point.

OH JOY!

Have a great weekend!

On purpose...

Something New is Coming... Damn

So everyone is EAGERLY anticipating the new Kendrick Lamar CD, which supposedly drops on April 14.

A couple of days ago, the CD art work and cover.

*crickets*

The title is Damn. I don't know what to make of that. Kendrick looks like he just got off the bus.

The way he is looking on this CD cover...

I tell you one doggone thing...

This best not be no TRAP album. Ugh.

I don't care for trap music. After three songs I am exhausted and in need of a bible scripture.  I'm just saying.


The track listing came out also.

Odd.

People are treating the letters in the white part of the track listing like letters on the Soul Train Scamble board. That didn't even cross my mind (and the soul train scramble board was one of my favorite Soul Train segments). Folks actually came up with some phrases. I am sure he will explain all this.

I have no idea how he will top Good Kid M.a.a.d City or To Pimp a Butterfly. And I won't be disappointed if he doesn't.

I just hope it is available across all streaming platforms. I have Spotify and Tidal.

I don't have Apple, tho. I had it in the past, but I didn't listen to it much.

I would hate to have to steal somebody's I-phone to hear this CD. That would not be a good look.

With that said, I will play my favorite Kendrick performance. I will never forget it. I was knocked out sleep with the tv on, and Saturday Night Live had come on. His performance woke me slam up out of my sleep.

It had me wondering... Who this little black boy?

LOL

A New Type of Kit-Kat

So I was in my favorite asian grocery store and I saw THIS...

Now, I recognize the Kit Kat symbol, but uh, NOT those colors.

So I asked some questions. The kind ladies who mind the store do not let me buy anything stupid.

I took the bags of kit-kats to the register. "What kind of kit-kats are these?"

"They're imported," one of the ladies responded. "Green Tea and Raspberry."

WOW!

Who would have ever thought they had different flavor Kit-Kats in China?

I should know better that this occurs, as there were different types of chip in Dubai.

So I bought them. And at $4.99 per package, they were expensive. But I would suppose around 15 individual packs came in one package.

So...

The raspberry tasted okay. Very fruity. But it needed a layer of chocolate in there. This was STRAIGHT wafers and bright pink raspberry cream-like candy.

But the Green tea flavored?

YUCK!!

Didn't taste like anything to me. I don't even think I ate the whole thing.

I think it may have helped if I was a green tea drinker. I only drink green tea if it is blended with some other tea. Otherwise, nope.

So ya'll can have these green tea kit-kats.

I will stick with the regular American kit-kats... 

Ten Tuesday Night Thoughts

1. I ran into TRAFFIC this morning. A fuel truck overturned on the I-285 outer loop this morning and they closed down both sides of the freeway. So I think that moved cars in my direction. Ugh.

2. If that ain't the case, then it's that daggone, I-85 collapse. Ugh.

3. Either which way it goes, it remains a high class problem for me. Period.

4. I don't get along with a good bit of people. ON PURPOSE.

5. I learned something interesting today about folks I don't gel well with. When your friends, the ones who hang with you, have to work to tolerate you?  Well, that says a lot. That says a TON. And it gives me more of a reason to side-step you.

6, I didn't bring lunch today. I just did not feel like fixing a salad.

7. I lived off of fruit all day. And some raw kale chips.  It is such a high class problem.

8. The past couple of days have been SUPER slow at work. More thinking than anything else going on. That is good... and bad.

9. Favorite song I've heard today.... some TRibe Called Quest for you.



*ladylee chair dancing in cubicle*

10.  I can't wait for the weekend. Nope, I don't have nothing planned. I would just rather not be at work right now. Maybe I need a small Easter vacation.,

That was a short and good Tuesday Food for Thought.

Yay!

Good Monday Evening

'Tis the Evening time.

What a day it has been.

Folks have been all in an uproar in the ATL, as spring break is over, and the I-85 interstate collapse is at the forefront of everyone's mind. I live about a mile from the highway (on a quiet night, I can hear the cars), and this morning, traffic helicopters were hurrying to and fro over my neighborhood. It was quite annoying.

Here's the first real clear picture of the problem.

They have a June deadline to have that fixed.

Uh yeah... I'ma let y'all drive on that for a year before I drive down that way.

There have been some other suggestions.

Throw a hotwheels strip in there. 

 Yep. It would be finished up by tomorrow.

Or we can just take mattes into our own hand and jump that gap.

That's how they do it in the movies. Uh, I suggest we don't try that.

As for now, for the next couple of years, I won't be going that way.

Nope. I won't be taking that I-85 Greenville split. NOPE.

I don't roll down that far, and I my work schedule is not within the t rush hour window. So this morning I got to work in about 15 minutes, which is the usual for me. (Although I had to go back home once I got to work. I wasn't sure I let the garage door down. Sigh).

So that's the angst of the day. Sorta kind of a high class problem. But maybe not to some folks.

My new supervisor came back today. He asked me how my supervisory duties went, and I said ok. I thought he made me acting supervisor while he was on vacation because NOBODY was gonna be here except me. There were several people here, sending me stuff to sign and texting me.

NOPE. They can keep that.

I don't care to be in charge of people. It feels narcissistic to me.  I have enough trouble supervising my own.self.  I also like to be a hand up to people, and not an hindrance. And on top of that,  it is difficult supervising scientists. Our egos are way out there. They truly are.


CD of the Week. Lots of good CDs are coming out. I tend towards rap. I wish there was some good R&B or gospel, but I tend to swing towards oldies in those categories.

Friday, Joey Bada$$ came out with All-Amerikkan Bada$$

I liked this CD. Very thought-provoking, very black lives matterish.

Favorite songs? I had 2 which I've been listening to, and they are not the most popular ones. "Ring The Alarm" and "Y U Don't Love Me (Miss Amerikka)?"





"Ring the Alarm"  had some beat and key changes, which I ALWAYS like. Yay!

I like "Y U Don't Love Me". At first listen, I thought he was talking to a woman, but he is actually talking to this country as a whole.  I like that. I need more diversity in my rap like that. It made me think.

So that's it for my Monday Randoms. I can't wait to see what adventures this week brings. 

Last Weeks's Lunches

So I had some interesting lunches last week. I need to overload my life with fruits and vegetables right now. Hopefully by the end of April, I will be back in my subconscious fruit and veggie groove. We will see.

I had a bunch of strange salads.

That salad was good, but it was too big. I was whining hard about it being the bottomless salad bowl. It took me 45 minutes to eat it. I was full as a tick afterwards, and I needed a nap.

Now I am big on my fruit. Usually I will cut up a whole pear and a whole apple. Then it's whatever after that. This week I had pineapple, grapes and honeydew. And it will probably be the same this week.

So my cubicle buddy Lady Sharbucks bought me some spaghetti squash in tomato sauce.

I like sphagetti squash, but I don't like fighting with it. Too much work. I could have some spaghetti or some zuchinni noodles without the fight.

It was great, and it's the second time she has bought me some. But it was missing one thing:

Chili pepper flakes!

That set it off! Glory!

Then I had some red pepper sweet potato soup.

I bought that at a gourmet grocer I like, the Mercantile Market, down in Candler Park.

Good stuff. Not sure who on earth thought to put those two flavors together, but it was a great idea. A gourmet chef owns that spot. That soup tastes like it was the idea of someone who went to culinary school.

Really tho.

That is my lunch review for last week. I am wondering how this week will go?

Hmmm.

Saturday 7

7 thoughts on a SATURDAY. So here we go.

(Gotta come up with something interesting so I can blog everyday).

1. Today didn't start off great. I was suppose to get up and go to my Writing Workshop waaay out on the deep eastside. But I overslept. And I have to get up early to get out of here if I am going to be on time... 40 miles away. Ugh.

2. So today was a LAZY day. I have a strange habit of catching up on sleep on Saturday. That needs to stop. I may need to just treat it like a regular work day.

3. The people across the street have been having some type of party for the past couple of days. I am sincerely hoping that somebody over there didn't die, and that is why so many people are around.

4. I wouldn't know about the folks across the street. They don't speak. As a matter of fact, the lady runs in the house whenever I come out, or I am leaving for work. I have NO idea what's up with that. It is SUPER weird.

5. My rule: I speak to you two times, and you don't return the greeting, i.e., look at me crazy, then I don't speak to you anymore. I hate to be that way, but OH WELL.

6. I took out the trash today and I cleaned the living room. Everything else will have to wait until tomorrow. That is what I get for being lazy. Humph.

7. So I have been watching 13 Reasons Why on Netflix. All day.

 And at times, it has been watching me sleep on the couch.

It is interesting. But all this TEENAGE ANGST. Ugh. It's too much. It is just too much. I am some 30 years removed from my teenage years. This is definitely for teenagers. Worth watching, though, even though I have fell asleep or wondering off from time to time.

Well... I made it through my Saturday 7 thought. Since I wandered around the house today, I didn't think I had any cool thoughts for the day, but apparently I did.

And that's a good thing.

Friday Freestyles: Noir Style

LOOK AT THIS...

LOOK AT IT!

It's something special, my beloved ATL at dusk, shrouded in something more sinister than darkness...

And it is an anthology. And one of my short stories was accepted for this anthology.

I rarely post on Facebook, but I posted about this, because it is special.

I can remember to this day where I was when I received news of my first scientific journal publication. It was 1992, and I was in my 2nd year of grad school at Emory University. The internet was not a factor back then. So imagine my shock when a friend ran into class and threw the complimentary author copies on my desk. The article was published in the Journal of Heterocyclic Chemistry. I can remember my teardrops hitting the pages as I read the article silently to myself. I have had scientific publications since then, but none have excited me more than the very first one. Now, some 25 years later, i can announce that I have my first fiction writing publication credit. And as I sat at the kitchen table reading the galley proof copy for errors, my tears hit the page all over again. I shed tears over this accomplishment now as a creative writer, just as I did so many years ago over my first major accomplishment as a young chemist. I have a story coming out in Tayari A. Jones' Atlanta Noir, a collection of short stories about the shady side of our beloved hometown. It is not out yet (pub date August 2017) but do your Oldgirl a favor and preorder it. (Heck, Tayari's hilarious jacket summary makes ME want to run out and buy it. Let's hope I don't order them all, lol). 

Finally... I will have an officially published story. I am sooooo happy about that. 

It is available on August 1, 2017, but it is available on Amazon for  pre-order.  

Here is the jacket summary by Tayari Jones. 
 
"People who don’t know Atlanta don’t understand the codes and contradictions of the New South. Yes, Margaret Mitchell imagined the plantation Tara within the city limits, but it’s also the home of OutKast. Atlanta has captured the imagination of trash TV with Todd Chrisley’s magnolia-cream accent but also the decidedly urban antics of Love & Hip Hop. The ashes of the Civil War still hang in the air, but immigration is turning the South into the Global South.

With Atlanta Noir, my hope was to find the writers who could show the city in all of its dizzy complexity. These fourteen writers represent the city’s many neighborhoods and demographics—from the Southern punk scene of Little Five Points to the Junior League world of Peachtree City, where things are not always as they seem. There is more going on at the local Waffle House than just scattering, smothering, and chunking. This is a major international city but it’s still the Bible Belt. A megapreacher’s past catches up with him, and gentrification cannot tame the outlaw spirit of the city too busy to hate. Our airport boasts that it is the busiest in the world; locals declare that even on the way to heaven, you have to change planes at Hartsfield-Jackson. Let us think of Atlanta Noir as an after-hours welcome to the city where we serve our sweet tea with a shot of bourbon."

How awesome was THAT?


THAT makes ME want to run out and buy the book!


I am so excited. I can hardly wait. And I get paid for it. I get paid for my contribution!

This has to be the best thing that has happened to me all year. It has me all giddy.

And look at the list of contributors:

Brand-new stories by: Tananarive Due, Kenji Jasper, Tayari Jones, Dallas Hudgens, Jim Grimsley, Brandon Massey, Jennifer Harlow, Sheri Joseph, Alesia Parker, Gillian Royes, Anthony Grooms, John Holman, Daniel Black, and David James Poissant.

There are three authors  (Tayari Jones, Brandon Massey, and Tananarive Due) on that list that I read. I read EVERYTHING they put out. I have even attended some of their readings here in town.

To have my first official publication next to theirs... priceless.

I could wish for nothing better than that.

Ever.

LadyTee's 49th Birthday

So...

My best friend LadyTee and I have a running tradition: we spend our birthdays together, where we usually do movie and a late lunch. We try to go to restaurant that we've never tried before, and we see a movie that we just really want to see.

Earlier this year for my birthday, we went to see Hidden Figures and we had dinner at the upscale mexican restaurant Superica.

Of course, a good time was had.

LadyTee celebrated her birthday number 49 last month. (And she doesn't look a day over 30. She always hollers "I'm 29.95!" LOL).

We went to see John Wick 2.

What was funny about this is that I hadn't even seen the first John Wick. So I woke up super early on the day of her birthday (5 a.am. to be exact) and watched the movie. What a scary piece of violence. It was good, but dark.

And John Wick 2 was good too. And darkly violent.

"There sure was a bunch of shooting," I said upon leaving the theater.

I thought it was good. But I don't want to see it again. TOO much violence. My goodness!

Then we went to Ponce City Market, which is a mixed use market in Midtown Atlanta. There are restaurants and stores there, and there are are apartments up above the mall-type area. This is good in that everything is right there (including a Whole Foods and Home Depot across the street). And  it is GREAT if you can work from home and you don't have to get out and fight the hellacious ATL traffic.

I bought LadyTee some gifts. One gift I buy her every year is soap. That GOOD soap.

LadyTee went to jail for a couple of hours some 25 years ago for something trivial.  In that time, they gave her some soap. She told them she has sensitive skin, and asked if they had Caress or Tone. (Of course you know the officers laughed at her). I just remember her lamenting about the situation. So I always make sure she has the best soap.

So after the movie, we went to Ponce City Market. We meandered around for a half hour, trying to decide where to eat. We decided on Botiwalla, an indian restaurant, i.e., Irani Cafe.

I've had Indian food from time to time. It's not my favorite, but I like it. LadyTee had never had Indian food, so we thought it was as good as any time to try.

It is a pretty nice place. They even had some chips that are sold in India.

I didn't buy any. I am just amazed at the different types of chips. They were different in the UAE, too.

We decided to split two entrees... the tamarind spiced ribs and the lamb burgers. Both were GREAT!

The lamb burgers were GREAT. They were spicy, and that slaw was good.

"This here is real lamb, tasting all gamey," LadyTee said as she . They didn't cut this with chicken or beef or nothing. This real"

"Yes it is. And it is good," I replied.

Now, the tamarind spiced ribs... I thought those looked a little burnt.

But they were not. That is just an extra dark sauce.  It too was good, especially with the yogurt sauce.

I almost forgot about the appetizers. We decided on the masala smashed potatoes, which are fingerling potatoes tossed with salt, chaat masala, lime and cilantro.

I suppose that is that version of french fries. The skin was crispy. That was good. I felt like we needed some sour cream with it, though. It was served with some special type of ketchup. I would definitely order it again. Good stuff!

There was another appetizer.  Something called SPDP - savory puffed flour crisps (puris). I thought that sounded good enough.

But once we got it, it was uh... well, it was cold. I didn't know what to do with it. The menu stated they were stuffed with potatoes, onions, and cilantro, and then piped with yogurt and chutney.

That looks like cheese on top, but they are rice noodles.

It was just a lot going on. And I expected it to be solid, but it busted open like an egg.

"EWW!" I hollered.

But I ate it anyway.

And that was probably the best thing I ate. There were a ton of flavors all in my mouth all at once. And like the menu said... "It's mindblasting!"

It's rare to find something good like that. I am definitely 

Yes it was.

Something I had that I keep seeing on Indian restaurant menus is Mango Lassi. It is a mango and yogurt drink. I've been wanting to try it.

Uh, I drank it, but I didn't really care for it. First of all, that is something that you can eat as a stand alone meal. Second, I'm not the biggest fan of mango, but I eat it from time to time. Third, it needed to be blended with some ice or just made extra cold. It was worth trying. I won't be ordering anywhere again. I will definitely try the other indian drinks.

Ladytee said, "I'ma save some of this for Mama and Milc [her daughter]."

Uh no.  How bout I just went and ordered more lamb burgers and spiced ribs. It was too good to share. Nope. They could just have their own! 

It was a good time, as is always on our birthdays. We didn't spend our birthdays together last year because I was overwhelmed at work and was unable to take off.

But I cherish these simple times.

And I look forward to spending such precious times with my best friend.