Friday Freestyles

Friday!

And I have finished for the day.

And there is NOBODY here at work. Everybody has SPLIT!

Wow.

It is tempting to leave. But alas, I will not.

This last week has been pretty nice out, all fall-like and what not.

But this upcoming week it's going to be super COLD in the ATL.  And I'm trying to get my mind right for that. I am just now getting accustomed to the 60 and 70 degree weather. I am not at all sure I am ready for the 30s and 40s this soon. YIKES.

But it will be alright.

I tell you one thing: sexual harassment is on its way out the door. Women coming out telling on EVERYBODY.  Jokers losing their jobs over what happen years ago. It makes me think about seed, I tell you. Don't plant those types of seeds in the ground. They might come back up.

I know a couple of years ago, there was a guy who had worn some shorts and he had some BEAUTIFUL legs. I almost said "You have some nice legs!"

But I caught myself. That could be misconstrued in all kinds of ways. I just kept it moving.

My follow up comment would've been "What kind of products do you use on your legs?"

Just because I may have been able to buy the same products to use on my own legs. That's all.

But hey... you can't say that type thing. Man, you really have to think about the little things.

Sexual harassment goes on at my job. But I have found that the women don't want to cause trouble for the guys who run up on them.

But I can see the fear in their eyes.

And that is sad.

Sigh.

On to lighter matters! 

Song of the Week. So... I don't like trap music much. BUT I will listen if I LOVE the beat.

One trap rapper I don't like is that doggone Young Thug. I have NO idea what he is talking about and he just looks scary. And he wears dresses, which confuses the hell out of me. BUT he has a couple of recent songs I like, and much of that is because it is experimental.  I think I posted this song last week.




I love the blend of horror and trap rap and the references to The Shining. And I could make out what  they were saying, even though they are not saying much of anything at all. I think I just like that beat too.

However, something else came out. And I have liked this song for a minute. "Family Don't Matter"



Wow. Trap rap fused with country music. How GENIUS is that.

So... let's talk about this.

1. First of all when I finished watching this video, I texted the Cowgirl Cre. She owns a horse that she boards in a barn. I told her that she must've directed this video! LOL

2. I have NO idea what he was rapping about. It all felt like a bunch of random words thrown together. I looked up the lyrics, and yes... it is RANDOM.   And the vulgarity is unnecessary. I guess I would have to be a twenty-something year old dude to understand that. .

3. I am sure Millie didn't know what he was talking about either. But she sang that song! She memorized her words and she worked it! Go Millie! (whoever you are!)

4. This has to be the most confusing song I have ever heard. Ever.

5. That crocheted pullover he had on had me confused on some other level.  


Not anything I will listen to on a regular basis, although it is on my spotify playlist.  It  shouldn't come up often since that list has some 500 songs.

I just found it interesting on a creative level.

Alright that is it for me. I am looking forward to the weekend! I have a reading on Saturday at the Barnes and Nobles!

There you go! Can you read that 0.02 font?  If not, click on it. 

Maybe I should have put that up earlier this week.

Nope, because I forgot all about it.

I would like to read something a little different than I have been reading, but I am not. I can't figure out what portion to read where I can snatch that portion out and it sound okay. So I am sticking with what I have practiced very well.  

It's gonna rain like crazy. I may catch an Uber there and an Uber home. We will see.

That is it for me!!

Ya'll have a great weekend! On purpose!

Ten Tuesday Thoughts

Ten Thoughts... in the late night hour.

1. I teleworked today. This is rare, but I have a ton of data to crunch.

2. I should've worked from home on Monday, because it was storming something awful on Monday morning. I made it to work pretty fast though despite the rain.

3. What I'm watching right now.

And it's pretty good. Makes me want to pull out all my Tupac music. All of it!

4. What I watched this weekend.

And it was pretty bad. I'm still not sure what was going on. And the acting was bad. Ugh.

5. All of a sudden, it is COLD in my beloved ATL. I have been cold all day, and I finally turned the heat on. I was trying to make it until November without turning the furnace on.

6. My president never ceases to amaze me. Just when I thought he may have scraped the bottom of the barrel, he does something more low. I still don't think we have reached the bottom of the barrel.

7. I tell you what, though. He may be laughing about all this, but I'm thinking about seed, and how he's sowing some bad seed. He better hope for crop failure.

8. I am not all that interested in these repub senators coming out and speaking up all of a sudden against all this tomfoolery. And of course they do it when they won't be running for election. Especially McCain. He have zero f's to give right now. But don't ya'll think it's a little too late to be speaking up?

9. I think if we can avoid nuclear war, we can count ourselves lucky, blessed, and highly favored. I rather for us to be emotionally dragged than nuked any day. That might sound kinda harsh, but it is what it is.

10. During these times, I pause when I arrive home from work and pull my car into the garage.... I cut the engine and it's quiet. In those moments, I take time to give thanks that I made it home alive and I have the luxury of thinking about what I need to do that evening. 

Because some people don't get the opportunity to do that.

Friday Freestyles

Man... I have not posted ALL week.

I have wanted to. But I've been super busy. But it is rare for me NOT to post.

I am glad it is Friday. This has been an odd week in the ATL because there have been some cold days. This, of course has left me completely confused because I have to throw on a jacket in the mornings. I even noticed the leaves on the trees in my backyard turning colors.

So I guess summer is over and fall has officially arrived.

But today is a warm day, so I am wearing my capris for the last time this year.

Notorious J. My nephew had his official "birthday" last Sunday. He was born 9 weeks premature, and on last Sunday he turned 9 weeks old. He is a far cry from the high yellow tiny baby born then.

I think I took that picture some 15 minutes after his birth. And I was thinking "He sure is light-skinned-ed!"

My friend Dawn, a massage therapist, called my sister over for a massage. I think my sister needed it because she had been a little stressed about starting back to work that Monday.

But guess who also got a massage?

That Notorious J!

It  must've been a good massage because he sure did lift up that arm!

He even fell asleep on the table.

Hilarious!

That made my whole entire week!

He is getting big.  I know he has to be over 6 pounds. I use to be able to pick him up like I pick up a little potato chip bag but no more! He is heavy and solid. Still little, though.

But overall, my week has been a good one. Hard, but good.

Song of the Week.  So... North Carolina rapper Rapsody released a new CD last week titled Laila's Wisdom. I have been waiting for it because GOOD female rappers are few and far between. And one rapping something of substance is an anomaly.

But here's a song from Crown, the mixtape that came out before the CD.



How AWESOME and positive is that!

Loved-ed that.

And I loved the CD. I will talk more about it next week!.

That's it for me!

I am looking forward to a great weekend.  I need to get a haircut. And I am going to a book club meeting.

Fun fun fun!!

Friday Freestyles. The "Mess" Edition

Friday!

Finally!

I am so glad for the weekend. The only thing that would make it better is if it were payday, or if Monday were a holiday.

Alas, that's not the case. And I am still thankful for the day.

LOTS went on this week. LOTS in the news. I may need to once again cut all of that off. I like to know what's going on, but I notice the quality of my life goes up when I take a news holiday. That may happen this weekend.

The Weinstein Mess. And yes, it is a mess. A complete mess. And just like what happened with Cosby, women are coming out of the woods, the closets, the attics, and the basements of their hearts with their stories. And all the stories sound the same: man in bathrobe, asking for a massage, etc. WOW.

This is my thing. What is with all this shock and outrage? Did we not know that this type of behavior goes on with powerful men? Especially out in Hollywood?

It is as wrong as wrong can get. But the shock and outrage. Ugh. You know this type of thing goes on. I say it's a bad seed to sow. And when the fruit shows up, it's a bad bad BAD crop. Weinstein lost his business, lost his wife, and is exposed. If he gets out of this without criminal charges, he should consider himself lucky.

It reminds me of a quote, which I will designate as the Quote of the Week.

"You can do many great things in this life, but you will only remembered for the bad things you do."

You know that's a terrible but true quote. You don't think it's true?

Well, what's the first thing you think of when you think of Cosby?

And now, what's the first thing you think of when you think of Weinstein?

Heck... what's the first thing you think of when you think of our beloved President?

This also makes me think of my story "Ma'am" in the short story anthology Atlanta Noir. If you haven't read it, make sure you do that. In that story, a woman details in a letter the horrific details of a sexual assault by someone of prominence. She was too ashamed to tell anyone or report it, so she writes it out on paper. I suppose that is a way of her getting it all out of her system, as I myself find it's good to exhaustively journal about whatever is bothering me.

But here's my thing... For all the women who have mustered the courage to come forward with their stories, how many more women are there that will make the decision to say nothing at all?

I don't judge these women. But I give the people expressing shock and awe over this a side-eye.

This is what up: EVERY woman has some questionable experiences in her lifetime. EVERY. I have not met any that haven't. Every woman has experienced something that they will tell NO ONE. And it can be something relatively simple compared to the events that have unfolded before our very ideas over the past few days...

...or it could be something substantially worse.

I've met women who have been in abusive relationships with other women (this confused me when I was younger, but I understand... I get it. But imagine coming out and sharing THAT with people). And I have met women who have gone through other things I have and never hope I experience.

But I have been caught up in my own ball of tomfoolery.

I've messed around with a married man before. Been caught up in relationships where, let's just say I was lucky, blessed, and fortunate to get out of it.

And my personal laundry list goes on... an on... AND ON.

My laundry list is LONG, weathered and tattered around the edges. The list is messy, with words written in pencil and different color ink. Lawd.

So today, I don't express shock and awe.

I express empathy and compassion.

I have empathy for those women. And for those who have come forward, and for those who have to daily live with those secrets in their hearts, I pray there is healing.

The Puerto Rico Mess. Man listen... I, like everybody else, am sick and tired of the juvenile tweeting by our beloved president. But when I saw those Puerto Rico tweets of his?

They made me teary-eyed. They were so horrific.

And they made me think about one thing:

Character.

And how important it is. Character is so important.

Character is who you are when no one is looking. But my goodness, we are all looking. 

You read between the lines there. You read that with a third eye.
 
That's all I have to say about that.

This has ALL, the events of the past year, been a master class in white supremacy. If you don't know what white supremacy is, or in denial of its existence, then something is wrong with you.

Very wrong. You are probably part of the problem.

That is all I have to say about that.

God bless Puerto Rico.

Song of the Week. So while I was driving to work this morning, I listened to some throwback Spotify list of songs that are apparently compiled from Oldies lists that I have made. They tend to do this type of thing from time to time. I especially like when Spotify compiles all the songs I listened to most in a years time in one list.

But this "throwback" list was a little different. Let's just say it made for an interesting ride in traffic this morning. I am sure someone was in their car looking at me thinking "That chick is sanging her tail off!"

LOL

But one of my favorites came on this morning: MC Lyte's Paper Thin. 


How great is that video.

OH how I wish for great female rappers in this present day!

That's it for me!

I am looking forward to a great weekend! In my mind I want to go grab a plate of chittlins since I've been inhaling a plethora of fruits and veggies all week.

But that's only in my mind. I feel great and I want to continue to feel great.

On purpose.

You have a GREAT weekend!

Wordless Wednesdays: Nephews, Part 2

Wordless Wednesdays: Nephews, Part 1

10 Tuesday Thoughts

1. I have had the most lovely 4 day weekend.  It was lovely because of the simple fact that I had that much time off.

2, I did not mean to take off on Friday. It was just that my sister came over the night before, and I'd rather hang out with her and Justin than go to work.

3. This is fine, as I have a weeks worth of what's called "use-or-lose" time. This means I don't take enough time off from work.

4. I may end up taking 2 or 3 weeks off for Christmas. And that is fine by me.

5. One thing that stresses me out: constantly having to password everything, and constantly trying to remember those passwords. When did all this begin?

6. Another thing that stresses me out: calling my credit card or mortgage company and the customer service is apparently in another country. I feel bad when I can barley understand what the person is saying. That bothers me, that someone in a foreign country can pull up all my information. Sigh.

7. One last that bothers me: when I have to deal with and understand that some of my friendships are seasonal, for a season, when I thought they were for lifetime. This is difficult to deal with, but I know it is for the best.

8. I sometimes do a fast on the holidays. So the Columbus day fast was three days of nothing but smoothies and infused waters. My life has been full of kale, baby spring lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, berries, pears, peaches, nectarines, grapes, apples, cherries. But I forgot to buy spinach, though. Sigh. Maybe next time. But it has been a decent thing for me to do on a regular basis.

9. This wasn't the best time for a fast since Aunt Flo is visiting. In other words, I am one weak chicken over here. All I want to do is sleep.

10. Aunt Flo is a HIGHLY unpredictable visitor these days, as I am premenopausal. It is so confusing, it is. I have to go buy a book on it or something. I like a little order to my life when it come to such issues.  And this change of life is not very orderly- physically, mentally and emotionally.

Happy Columbus Day

Happy Columbus Day to you!!

I am not a fan of Columbus day, for I cannot figure out how he discovered a land that was already here, full of native peoples.

And I often wonder what was the real name of this country? Because it was not "America".

Truthfully, I'm just happy for a day off.

So yeah, Happy Columbus day.

10 Tuesday Thoughts on a Tragedy

So the events that took place on Sunday evening are on my mind. I thought I would shape them into 10 Tuesday Thoughts.



1. The condolences are as they always are during these times: My thoughts and prayers out to to those affected by the mass shootings. 

2. I am sincere in saying that because it is definitely heavy on my mind and in my prayers. 

3. I think about the shortness and abruptness of life and how today is today and how tomorrow isn't even promised, even though we are planning for tomorrow.

4. And I am reminded of a post I wrote which I go back and read every time this happens (Food For Thought: 5 minutes).

5. And with all that said, there is no way to solve the problems. You know how folks are about their gun rights.

6. And we don't change unless tragedy falls on our own doorsteps at our feet. Sad, but you know it's true.

7. The worst thing is waking up to something like that, the breaking news, on TV.  Of course that isn't the worst thing. BEING there as it all unfolds is the very worst thing. BEING a victim of such a tragedy is  the worst thing.

8. It's not only the act that is tragic... it's the residuals of the act that's tragic on it's own. There is no description of how it feels to lose a loved one to tragedy. One never gets over that.

9. Every time something likes this happens,  I pray it's the last time it happens...

10. Then unfortunately, the next time comes along.