Would You Spend the Weekend with Your Co-workers?? (Book Review- The Beach House by Kenny Blue)

Would you spend a weekend with your co-workers at a secluded beach house and work on a special project in order to meet a set deadline?

That's the question that's asked (and answered) in a novel titled the Beach House by Kenny Blue. I bought this book at the National Book Club Conference in early August of this year. The author was there hustling this novel. I liked the cover and the subject matter, so I decided to buy the book.

Let me gently rephrase the question that I asked earlier: What happens when coworkers, most of whom don't associate with each other outside of the workplace, all having very different personalities, hangups, and/or deep rooted personal problems, spend a whole weekend together in a beach house for work and a little relaxation? Drama. That's what happens. Pure unadulterated drama. And a whole lot of drama at that.

There were several characters/coworkers, who happen to be Atlanta Marketing Associates, that spent the weekend at the beach house working together on a special project for their company: Felicia, the white-collar superwoman mother and wife; Stacey, the wanna-be model; Kym, the interracial woman with a bit of a inferiority complex; Antoine, the troubled Christian; Leslie, the somewhat militant black woman; and Damien, the ladies man. And to top it off, Felicia brings along her blue collar worker husband, Kelvin. As you can see, this is a funky mix of people to throw together for a weekend.

This was a pretty interesting book. It was a very quick read. All kinds of secrets come out into the open. Sexual harrasment issues, class issues, and inferiorty issues present themselves. It becomes real apparent really quickly who likes and dislikes who. Kenny Blue packed all these issues into a short read. Some of the climatic scenes made me gasp aloud! Oh my!

All the characters were interesting, but that was something that troubled me about the book: too many main characters. As a result, this felt like a very long short story, if there is such a thing. This book was a little over two hundred pages, and the author could have easily worked on more character development. It could have easily been a four hundred page book. I felt all the flashbacks and backstories were a bit abrupt and rushed, but however, they were good. I just wanted more, that's all. I wanted to know more about this diverse group of characters.

Overall, this was a pretty good book, well worth my cash!

Me? Would I spend that a whole weekend of my time with my coworkers working on a special project? Hmm... I don't know. It all depends on how much money would be involved. I don't want to hear all that craziness that government does (giving comp time instead of money). In that case... Heck no!! My weekends are precious to me! And it also depends on whether my supervisor, Sister T, is forcing me into it.

And it would be an issue of brute force indeed....

Hurricane Katrina...Set to Strike a Place Familiar to Me

Hurricane Katrina is set to hit New Orleans head-on...

And it pained me to watch CNN today and see all those New Orleans residents driving on I-10, creeping out of the city at a snail's pace. Usually, I look at hurricane activity and think to myself as long as it doesn't come up and swirl over Atlanta, then whatever...

But I don't feel like that about New Orleans. Why? Because I lived and worked there for 2 and 1/2 years, from 1998-2001, after I finished graduate school. And what's weird is that New Orleans was under a hurricaine watch both right before I moved there and the day that I packed my Ryder Truck and left to move back to Atlanta.

New Orleans is like a big soup bowl, with it being up to six feet below sea level and all. It is also surrounded by three bodies of water: Lake Ponchartrain, the Mississippi river, and the Gulf of Mexico (further south). I remember when it rained, flooding would always occur somewhere in the city. I lived in New Orleans East, in Orleans Parish, and I never experienced flooding problems, but I remember there being flooding problems as close as a block away from my apartment complex. I worked and lived only minutes from Lake Ponchartrain, and I would sometimes have to alter my driving routes because of flooded streets. Flooding in Uptown New Orleans is a big problem. I know a couple of people who lost their cars in bad floods. Also sections of I-10 would flood badly when it rained.

The city is dotted with lots of canals, and when it rained, a couple of the canals in my complex would fill up to the brink of overflowing, which use to completely freak me out. And since New Orleans is below sea level, pumps are needed to pump water out of the city. Sometimes these pumps broke down.

So imagine, that was just harsh rain causing all these problems. A direct hurricane hit would total the place out. CNN reported that even the pumps would be under water. It would be complete devastation.

So my heart goes out to New Orleans, my old dwelling place. I have a few friends down there, a couple of whom I talk to on a regular basis. Gigi and Alex, two of my book critiquers and themselves New Orleans residents, I hope you all get out safely. Please know that I'm praying for you and your city. And call me when you can and let me know you're okay.

LadyLee

Gas...How high will it go? Part II

Glory! Hallaleujah! Praise the Lord!

Sing a song of gladness! Lift your voices in praise!!

Clutch the Pearls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Somebody give me one of those old hand held church fans with Martin Luther the King on the front of it!!

Did you hear that gas prices have dropped this low overnight?????

No.
Heck No.
You didn't hear it. And you didn't see it either. That above is just an old picture... A really old picture.

I thought I would just play a little joke on you, that's all!!!
(LOL LOL Whew! LOL LOL)

But do you remember when gas prices were this damn low???

And more importantly, were you like me during this time? ...Complaining that $1.41/gallon was too doggone much to be paying for gas????

HA!!

And even worse...

DON'T YOU FEEL DOWNRIGHT STUPID RIGHT ABOUT NOW FOR COMPLAINING THAT $1.41/GALLON WAS TOO MUCH FOR GAS????

I do. Hey, and I am not ashamed to admit it...

Who would've thought that we were living in days of glory back then??

And I've got another question for you...
How are you gonna feel when gas hits $5.00/gallon???

Because you know it's coming. Oh yeah, it's coming...

...Just like when Miss Celie stood out on the front porch of Mister's house looking out over the horizon at the swirling storm clouds. She knew something strange was going on. Something bizzarre was about to happen. That's when Mister bought home Suge Avery... And Suge Avery looked in Celie's face and said "You sho' is ugly!!!"

Back to my point...

And I'm saying that now. Gas prices sho' is ugly!!!!!! And they're probably gonna get even uglier.

You know it's coming...

So what are you doing to ride out this storm we call "the high price of Gas?"

I was listening to V-103's Frank and Wanda Morning show on Wednesday morning, and they were asking listeners how they were coping with the price of gas. The two major answers were:

1. Filling up the tank with regular unleaded even though the manufacturer
suggests Premium unleaded gas for your car. (Oh yeah, I bet the mechanics just love that one. They're gonna make much, much bread off of busted up engine repairs and replacements.)

2. Buy an extra car. Some folks are paying up to $400.00/month in gas costs for SUVs. That's the same as a car note. So, some folks are buying an extra car. (Okay this sounds good? But somehow, I don't think it is good. I won't comment any further on that.)

Me? What am I doing?

1. I use to fill my gas tank only halfway. I know this is stupid, but hey it at least made me feel like I was spending less money.

2. I've been riding MARTA. They have that oh so popular motto, you know: "MARTA is Smarta". Most of the time, it doesn't feel that way, though. For example, this morning, we were packed on the trains like sardines, shoulder-to-shoulder, butt-to-butt. And the air conditioner was busted, so it was like 100 degrees and 100% humidity on the train. And someone standing near me forgot to brush their teeth. And let's not talk about the one or two people on the train who are a couple of sandwiches short of a picnic, i.e., the people who are just a wee bit crazy!

My best friend, Lady Tee, is paying sixty bucks a week for her gas. Her commute is around seventy miles round trip. She said once gas hits over 3.00/gallon, she's turning in her resignation.

Hmm... Oh my!!!!! That's too drastic for me. I have a nice cushy government job!!

But...What is a girl to do???

Lemonade Diet Blues...

Poor Kay...
Poor, Poor Kay...

My 24-year old sister Kay was so excited. So excited about a new diet. The Lemonade Diet, she called it.

Well, it's not exactly a diet. It's a cleansing program, detailed in a 50 page book entitled The Master Cleanser by Stanley Burroughs. It basically consists of drinking a water-based concoction of organic lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and pure maple syrup for a minimum of ten days and a maximum of forty days. There's also some bizzare laxative step involving salt water. You can't eat food. You can only drink this wonderful potion. (Yuck!)

When Kay told me this, I turned and walked away. I didn't want her to see me giggle.

For a couple of weeks prior to starting this wonderful program, Kay diligently did her research. She read the book and she studied various internet sites related to the subject matter. I would pass by her bedroom and just shake my head... because I know how my sister, the Diva, is.

I told her not to do it. Even our beloved Auntie wasn't all that crazy about the idea. Auntie encouraged her to research it thoroughly so she wouldn't hurt herself. Usually, we listen to Auntie. I thought that would be the end of that.

So when she walked into my bedroom at 7:30 a.m. last Saturday morning with a bright smile on her face, dressed all nice for her job at the bank, I eyed her suspiciously...

"I'm starting my lemonade diet soon. You want to try it with me?" she asked.
"Hell, nawl !!!" I replied, a little too quickly.
She continued to smile. "Well, are you going by Dekalb Farmer's Market or Whole Foods today?"
I was not planning on going, but I was going to my first book club meeting out in Decatur somewhere near Dekalb's Farmer's Market that afternoon. "I could stop by," I replied.
"Can you get me some organic lemons and Kosher sea salt? I'll give you the money." She reached into her purse and pulled out a twenty dollar bill.
"No don't worry about it. I'll get it for you," I replied. I went back to reading the book I'd been reading before she walked into my room.

I would buy her lemons and salt for her.
I, after all, wanted to be the supportive big sister.

Well, Kay started her diet on Saturday evening. I knew there was a problem when she decided against going to Church on Sunday morning. By the time I got home from church, she was sprawled out across her bed, whining about how bad she felt. She'd been running back and forth to the bathroom and was extremely nauseous. I just left her alone and tried to stay out of her way.

That evening, Kay was headed out the front door. She said she was going to Picadilly to get a vegetable plate.

"I can't do it," she howled. "I just can't do it. It's nasty."
"Go on back and sit in your room, girl. Try it 'til the end of the week!" I yelled, trying to be supportive.
"Unh-unh," she said shaking her head. "This is for white people."
She quickly walked out the front door. She returned thirty minutes later with a lovely plate of broccoli, green beans, and sweet potatoes.

She didn't even last a whole day.

It turns out a coworker hipped Kay to this diet, and wanted her to go on this little diet with her. Kay was trying to diligently follow the rules of the master cleanser program, but it turns out her coworker was cheating a little. The coworker, who had been on the program for two weeks, was mixing orange juice with the lemon potion, and eating dinner in the evenings.

Hmpfh... some coworker.

Kay was sick for a few days, but she's better now.
But now, Kay has sworn off of anything that has to do with lemons.
In fact she has been wailing all week about this little short adventure she had.

I went off on her tonight about paying me back for those expensive lemons and special salt.
Turns out she left a twenty dollar bill on my bed sometime this week. (I thought that this was money that had rained down from heaven or something liked that.)

So I apologize, Kay, for yelling about the eleven dollars I thought you owed me.

Please girl, do something with those lemons taking up space in the bottom of the refrigerator. And don't forget about that seven dollar bag of kosher salt sitting on the counter next to the kitchen sink...

And please, honey... stay away from crazy coworkers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Book Review - The Company You Keep by Angela Henry

I recently finished reading the mystery novel The Company You Keep by Angela Henry. This book was one of the books I received in my gift bag from the National Book Club Conference held in Atlanta, Georgia earlier this month. I was really happy about that because this book is on my current reading list.

Kendra Clayton, a twenty-eight year old part-time GED instructor and part-time restaurant hostess, lives in the sleepy town of Willow, Ohio. She leads a nice and quiet life surrounded by family and friends. Kendra's best friend, Bernie Gibson, is involved with Jordan Wallace, a shady ladies man. Bernie confides to Kendra that she is sick of Jordan's cheating ways and plans on cutting him lose. Bernie, already mad and fed up, discovers Jordan's murdered body on her property. She calls Kendra first. Then she calls the police. Kendra gets to the scene of the crime before the police. As a result, both Bernie and Kendra are suspects in the murder of Jordan Wallace.

Kendra, in a effort to clear herself and her best friend, starts doing a little private investigating on her own. And she finds that there was more to Jordan and his shady life than meets the eye. The story goes on from there...

This book was a great "whodunit". At first, I was thinking, okay, there are going to be one or two suspects and that's it. After all, this book isn't that long-- only 210 pages. But the author's attention to detail amazed me. With each chapter, the list of suspects lengthened. The backstories of many of the suspects made this book all the more interesting. When I thought I had it figured out, I was wrong. And that's what made this book a good page-turner: I couldn't wait to see who the killer was and why.

And then there were a a couple of good subplots in the novel, and these subplots in no way overshadowed the main plot. Kendra had a love interest in this book, and this love interest was one that may have some of the answers that Kendra was looking for. Kendra's relationships with her mother and neighbors were also interesting. Again, none of this took away from the main storyline, and I liked that.

As you can tell, I really liked this book. From what I can tell, The Company You Keep is the first in a series of novels involving Kendra Clayton. I look forward to seeing what Kendra gets herself mixed up in next!