It's my anno

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Blog-anno that is. Celebrating one year of writing ... the good, decent and nonsensical. For my anno, I think it's a good idea to rehash my commitment to this blog. For those of my readers that ask, "what's your shtick?"  I can't claim to be an expert on anything exclusively, I think some people have the ability to be social influencers on the specific. You have your relationship bloggers that some people use their words as bible, your athletic blogs, which tell you the same things over and over about diet, nutrition and their daily exercise routine, etc. And those blogs are great - if you're looking for something specific. From my perspective you read for pleasure; running, relationships and even food can't always deliver. But if you combine them all and have the ability to pick and choose - you get what I'm doing; blogging for pleasure. I offer some creative insights, opinions and stories; from me to you, unfiltered, non-committal. I just ask that if you enjoy it, you share it! 

Another question: "What keeps you committed to your blog?" This one is easy. I love to write, I have a few big wigs to impress and I have an ambitious goal to reach multitudes of people. I know the publishing industry is experiencing a mini-crisis right now, but I think it's because people aren't enjoying what they read. Everything is being recycled, reused and re-purposed. My posts,  thoughts/opinions I hope are interesting enough to not be considered as lackluster as this year's super bowl ads. Now, I'm not committing that I will write the next great American novel, but I seek to entertain, give a break in the mundane and get a few things off my chest every now and then.

And now a note of importance in history: Remember the week before you went back to school, your parents took you back to school shopping for notebooks, pens, pencils etc? If you were like my parents, who waited until Sunday night and all the stuff was picked over, the only notebooks that were left in stock were those expensive Five-Star multi-subject notebooks. So that's what I started with every school year, organizing five subjects into those sectioned tabs (color coded of course). Years later, I figured what better way to start my writing career than with another notebook - a multi-subject one filled with a multitude of characters, stories, opinions, hopes and dreams.

So here we are, one year under the belt. Thanks to all the my dear readers, dedicated over the last year - I hope you continue to read, comment and share, trust me there are more interesting, embarrassing and just plain happening things to come. Happy Anno!!!

I didn't know it was 1811...

I couldn't resist commenting on this notion of "Black Thanksgiving". Coined by sports writer Mike Wilbon, but condoned by CNN, ESPN and their apparent non-biased writers. Congratulations on pointing out the Black attendance at the events, with your reasoning the Black Plague must have started in Africa.

Here's the thing, there's more to Black culture than basketball and Roscoe's chicken and waffles. Yes, rappers and basketball players tend to be Black, but that doesn't suggest that our youth strive solely for those positions. And finally, just because we have a Black president and certain media channels are considered liberal (or as they say un-biased), does not give you card blanch to decorate events with names like 'Black Thanksgiving' and 'The Black Super Bowl'. Most Black people are forced to accept this subtle racism because these type of comments are not on the diversity exclusion form yet, because they are considered harmless.
I had a friend a few weeks ago that mentioned he was on the 2 train with a gang - they were loud, obnoxious and he told me the only way to describe them would be with the N word. This reference to my friend and the CNN/ESPN reporters proves that their vocabulary and creativity has not advanced beyond our 19th century notion of Black culture - because hey, if there is chicken and basketball involved can't go wrong with calling it Black, right?

Happy, happier, love

Ah, Valentine's Day... all the typically cliches linger in the air. This time of year always makes me think about the "happily ever after", what it used to mean vs. what it means now. Back in the day, Cinderella was my favorite movie - my dad tells me I would cry and cry once the wedding bells rang and The End would appear on the screen. Back then, the only thing I was worried about was seeing the story again; anticipating the fantastical obstacles fate threw at the couple to keep them apart, but only in the end to see that true love prevailed! I didn't care what happened after "The End" because that was it; if they wanted you to think on it they would conclude the movies with "The Beginning". Every couple has their story and to the larger public once you hit happily ever after, it's just that, it's happy forever after that moment. With all the critiques and comments made about Disney Princess movies we should all consider that as our mantra for love: ... and you live happily ever after. But, see, Cinderella might have lost her shoe that day, but she knew where it was and she wasn't sitting around waiting for the other shoe to drop - she was with Prince Charming, not  Prince "I'm temporarily" Charming "until you rationalize me as less than that". I'm thinking at that moment, when the wedding bells start to ring in the movie, Cinderella decided to live her life in that moment when she was happy.

A note to my dear readers, this post isn't to be taken as naive, it's one thing to fall in love and decide then and there this is love, it is quite another thing to fall in love with the idea of a person and have your expectations fall short.
So now, happily ever after makes me think of one moment. I can remember a physical moment in space and time when I fell in love. When something inside me was so happy and so present running for miles couldn't exert this energy. And with all his faults I can't help but still feel that happy - and when you are this happy, it doesn't have a time stamp, so it could very well be ever after... Happy Valentine's Day!!

Trip to Lala Land

So I guess the reason they call it lala land is because people are crazy to pay this much money to live there! When you are paying an arm and a leg to live in New York it's because you actually live closer to infamy and celebrities. I expect to rub elbows with SJP in the elevator at work, in LA I didn't see one notable celebrity randomly walking down the street. The other thing is, when people talk about LA they mention how relaxed and free they are ... I think that relaxed attitude is confused with being lazy. No one is ever in a rush. My theory is since everything happens on the east coast three hours before LA hears about it, west coast people are like "oh well, we already missed it, no point in rushing now!"
It's weird, the way we value time in the city. Nothing is on time, everything is late and needed five minutes ago; ah, the value of a New York Minute...
Getting back to LA, women there dress to impress. You would think, NYC, a fashion city and no one looks very fashionable. Women walk around New York looking like they haven't slept in days and validate it with the trenta size latte from Starbucks (by the way, a trenta holds a whole bottle of wine ... wowzers I'm trying that one and will report back). Anyhoo, everyone I met looked like they were on their way to a photo shoot be it a fashion magazine or a comic book - beauties and cartoon characters make up this town. It was interesting, by the time I got use to the time difference and began to feel like a homeless person in my daily get-ups, it was time to leave.

Then, I stepped off the plane and into a blizzard ... the blistering cold stung my sunburn.  Thanks New York, oh how I missed thee.