Friday, October 26, 2007

Just Fine!



Go Ms. Mary! I've been a Mary J. Blige fan since day one, and I am so pleased that she has grown into such a beautiful and classy lady. Ya'll know Mary was a lil thuggish when she first came out. I'm not knocking her swagger at all, cause like I said I was a fan day 1. It's just nice to see someone of her caliber and talent, evolve and realize her full potential in such a positive light. Get your shine on girl!

Friday, October 19, 2007

American Gangster Trailer



Oh, yes, my man is back and I am so there! I am always interested in movies which are based on true stories, and well, I would watch Denzel floss his teeth, just to look at fine self. I'ma stop now before I get in trouble with the mister. Enjoy the trailer!

The Miseducation of Chocolata




Back in April, I received notice that Lauryn Hill was going to be at the Paramount Theater in Oakland, CA. I was juiced! I loved the Fugees, I loved the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (the rawest female album of the 90's), I love Lauryn!

The day tickets became available for sale, I was right there, perched on line, on both my laptop and desktop computers. I had cleared my schedule to make sure that at 12:00 PM, when tickets went on sale I would be right there, and so I was. I jumped right in and purchased 4 tickets, 3rd row from the stage, cause that's how I roll. $400.00, later, I called my son, daughter, and my BFF Kim, to let them know that we were in the house for the June concert. We were all excited and anticipating the date.

At long last, the date comes. We arrived at the venue ready to get our grooves on. The opening act Jupiter Rising, was great but after about an hour of them playing, the crowd was getting restless. We all came to see Lauryn. They cleared the stage and we waited...and waited, and waited, and waited. People were leaving, booing, chanting Lauryn - Lauryn - Lauryn. It was beyond ridiculous. Finally after two hours of sitting and waiting, this is what showed up



What the Hell? My kids were like "Mom, who is that?" I was speechless to say the least. She looked like a homeless Ronald McDonald starring in Tim Robbins, The Nightmare Before Christmas. I was just stunned. My son was saying, "she on that powder man", and I could not justifiably argue his allegations. It was insane. She fell down on stage at one point, and continued singing from the floor. She did manage to recover, blaming the fall on the very high (5 inch) heels she was wearing. Ok, I could give her that, but her sound was raspy and crackling, very staccato. She played a lot of music that was completely unfamiliar to the crowd, who did not know how to react. She then began barking at her band to "give 'em something they can recognize." Yes, please!

Later in the show, she very coherently shared with us her woes with the industry trying to sculpt and mold her art into a product which is not reflective of her, and her rebellion to that process. Now, I don't want to see anyone oppressed but damn, I didn't spend $300 to see this ghetto hot mess.

I told my children and my friend that Lauryn needed our prayers, and proceeded to pray for her on the spot. It seemed the only Christian thing I could do. I was sorely disappointed with her performance and appearance, and will not spend two cents to see her again. I should have done my homework because there is a ton of information out there attesting to her having a reputation for showing up in this fashion. My bad! I will however keep her in prayer, and just keep listening to my Miseducation of Lauryn Hill CD, and reminiscing over better days.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

22 Months Sisterlocked - Girl, where have u been?



Well, I tried to hold out until my two year lockversary, but my absence had some folks thinking I had fallen off the face of the earth, so I figured now that I have some down time, it would be a good time to post.

It's a long story...

Back in May when I realized that the real estate market was going totally crazy and a sista has two daughters, both in their last year of college, (translation: bills, bills, bills), I applied for a JOB. Yikes! Having been self employed for several years now, that was a trip. I was really just testing the waters but as it turned out, I interviewed, and was offered a position that I could not refuse, and the company, despite the fact that they needed someone ASAP, was willing to wait two months for me. Great!

Well in June, three weeks before I was to start my new position, I was leaving for Las Vegas to attend a family reunion. The airport shuttle was minutes away from my door. As I was walking down the stairs with my "overweight" suitcase, I took a step and dislocated my knee, tearing my ACL. The pain was excruciating. I let go of the suitcase and immediately sat down on the stairs. Just in that moment, the doorbell rang. It was the shuttle, there to take my son and I to the airport. I had to make a quick decision. Do I cancel this vacation and go to the emergency room? Or, do I man up and keep it moving. I decided that if I could stand and hop, I would go, and so I did. I had to be escorted through the airports in a wheelchair, and I flew from Sacramento to Las Vegas hobbling all the way. I arrived in Vegas, and hobbled to the rental car terminal, drove to my condo and looked up the nearest pharmacy store I could find. I went to the CVS and purchased a knee brace, stopped by my aunts hotel to pick up some Vicodin, and was cool for the time being. I was only there from Thursday to Sunday, and once I got home, I saw my doctor on Monday.

I was diagnosed with a torn ACL which was going to require surgery. Wondering how my job was going to take the news, I hobbled in to my new position on July 2nd and assured them that they had not gotten a two for one. Now, mind you, I'm the only black, hell, the only minority in the office. I might meet their EEO requirement, but they could not double count me for ADA credit. I told them what happened and that I would be needing surgery in the weeks to come. They did not so much as bat an eye. I worked from 7/2 until 9/20, and had my surgery on 9/21/07, job still in tact. Is God good or is God Great?

So here I sit, re-learining how to walk, going to physical therapy, and having my son and my husband wait on me pretty much hand and foot. Just waiting until I can go back to work.

By the way, I work for a very upscale, conservative, high end life insurance company, and never have my locks been an issue. Now I will admit that I did wear them curled to my two interviews, and it was curled when I started the job. I would say about two weeks after I started and my curls started to fall, I went freestyle. I was swimming quite a bit and it did not make much sense to have to wash and roll it every couple of days. No problem!