Whew!

A day after Christmas and I'm spent! Not from the gifts bought or the extra helping of macaroni and cheese but from my new job! Yes! Well, I got tired of praying to the employment gods that have been showing no mercy to no man (or woman) and decided to get my hustle on, exhausting every realistic resource I have and in turn, got what I wanted. 

    I've been dying to change my occupation for a couple of years now for many personal reasons. The money was good but at the end of the day, I was exhausted and unfulfilled.  The only useful thing that I gained during my years of dancing are the contacts. Well, that, some pretty shoes and bags, and vacationing.  Living in 'the life' is a whole 'nother blog that I will be touching soon!  

     I love having my nights back! I had to get that off my chest. I no longer have to force myself to wake up in time to hit the bank or have to speed shop in the mall. But I'm still kind of at this in between state where I'm out late with the vampires and up early with the humans. I live in the night but I can't stop my eyes from popping open around 10. Last night I turned in at about 2 a.m. and was up by 6 to run to home depot and let the painters in at 8 (and currently they are an hour and a half late). So needless to say, I'm a little tired. So... quick recap of the 17th-25:

went to Hawks vs. Golden State game, had some bad food, was sick all next day, first early day at work, Christmas shopping, redecorating, getting paint at home depot in heels, christmas dinner with my boss' parents, drinking beer and playing spades with 'mama', karaoke [and I won, duh]!!! 

Ok, I'm going to take one of my infamous cat-naps. Then promptly curse out Jose and crew.

   

    

Last night I had a dream. .

A few days earlier I was occupied with the lack of space on my hard drive and my appetite. I headed out to my car and noticed tiny pieces of glass all over my passenger seat. Then my eyes focus in on the brick. Yeah, I've had my first vehicular violation. Apparently, whoever, threw the brick with such force that it ended up wedged in between the door and the seat itself on the passengers side. Now, when the trap was booming, Progressive would have put my baby on a stretcher and carried her on to the back, brought out my temporary lover and then tell me that they'll call me when it's ready. But since the economy has hit a "slump" ( I refuse to use the word recession) Super Auto pretty much lets you get it how you live. And right now. . . unexpected costs = trash bags and tape (damn, sounds like a dope boy). I hear about a lot of bullshit, which seems to be more common these days so I'm not surprised that this happened. But what I feel was the most remarkable thing about this whole ordeal was that nothing was missing!Even my Canon zoom lens was  still resting in the middle console. So yeah, hit a hurdle early on in the day, but I can still run. 

       Today was ridiculous in the best way. The weather here in Atlanta was 68 degrees. At 6:30 p.m. Most of the day was spent with the deck doors and windows wide open. Fans a go-go and a pile of you tube flicks to watch. What would have been the most ideal scenerio would have been to just relax the entire day but there was the 'unexpected' that had to be dealt with. It's semi sad that I mainly leave the house for roughly 4 reasons: to shop, to eat, bank runs, to work. I admit I'm a bit lazy but unless I'm spending time with people I actually like or making money, I pretty much find it pointless. So when a friend told me about a repair shop that would replace my window in my driveway I was elated. And intrigued. Why hadn't they thought of this before? I had been saying for months that the world should have infinite delivery options. Because I honestly don't feel like dealing with the special people on the road who obviously bought their licenses. 

     Needless to say, I gave them a ring a ding and told them to come right over. The whole process from the time I hung up the phone till the time they handed me my receipt took less than 2 hours and cost me less than $200. The guys were so nice and let me go back inside while they did their thing.

I didn't even have to worry about the glass. . . 'cause they got that too! The way things are happening on a day to day has got me wondering "what next?" Hmmmmm. Let's see. I have to get my hair re-done, get my transcripts, and get ready for work. That's right. Mama got things to do! Damn I'm hungry. Lucky for me, my trainer prescribes carbs! 

I keep thinking about filing out the police report. My car wasn't in the best area, but out of the whole year I've been parking in the same spot, nothing has ever happened to it. One of the things that the officer suggested was that it could be potential rivalry. 'Beef' is the word he chose to use. I thought it was hilarious and didn't think much of it. . . . until now. The night before this all happened I had a dream that I got pulled over in my car for I assume speeding but for reasons that weren't explained, I was arrested. It's just so odd. That I was dreaming about an incident involving my car and I really had an incident with my car. And I wasn't at home. . . but there's always the what if. Let me marinate on that one and get back to you.

No place like home.

Due to a course of undesirable events, I took an extended trip to see my family over the holidays. I call it my mini retreat because my family really does bring me joy. The ones I can truly say love and care for me and keep my feet on the ground. Every time I spend time with them, things that seemed hard makes sense and I definitely consider them the loves of my life. The drive home is no joke though. Here are some of the sites:

i think this is a church. . . . ?




my brother helped me out and took these while I drove.

My Mom, sister, and her two kids all live in the same town my Mom and her entire family grew up in.  The same town we visited every summer for reunions and routine visits. Where the movie theaters only shows two pictures at a time and $20 is way more than enough to get sauced at the local bar. When my brother and I arrived it felt the way it always did. You head down Main St. [yeah, Main St.] and the whole montage of summers growing up with the soulful voice behind it comes to mind. You pass the pizza place that serves those square slices you like, and the home made donut shop. What is it about little towns and one of a kind cuisine? As you all will find out, I get really excited about food. I pay attention to spots that I like and even keep my favorites programmed in my cell phone as well.

       A couple of days later was Thanksgiving and the whole family was at my hospitable aunt and uncle's home. I'm not sure who's idea it was, but the meal was completely catered. The food was good, but Thanksgiving just isn't the same without the home made.

    Most of the kids played games, got to know each other, and begged for "one more piece of pie".

     My family is huge and everybody spends the first half of a gathering catching up. With 10 of the 17 aunts and uncles in attendance, you can imagine how busy my night was. I couldn't wait to go visit my cousin who's only a few days older than me. He's always got something interesting going on.

  I swear my Mom could have her own vintage car lot.

   and her sense of humor is uncanny [she thinks even trees deserve faces]

 my lovely Zoey. . .

 the reason I don't trust many to take my pic. But, not bad considering my photographer is 4.

Zoey's pup Barack!

Hi!

Ok, I guess this is the part where I tell you about myself. Well. . . this is me, in a nutshell. But before all the formalities, let me take the time out to say Hey! and thanks for checking out my blog. It's been brought to my attention this year the many facets of people, so for whatever reason brought you here, a supporting friend, someone just surfing the web, or a nay-sayer who 'just wants to see what this b**** is talkin' about'... thanks for coming all the same. I understand that everybody and their hairdresser has a blog, but I don't care. Im a writer at heart and have a need to express myself as well as share my solitary take on life and its crazy happenings. 

    I've always considered myself an appreciative and humble person. Lessons learned early in life taught me that anything can be taken away as easily as it's given. So I had to learn to slow down and enjoy the simple things that life has to offer. Monetary things are just that. They don't last forever, so why bank on them? My cousin Marquis really lived that credo and was a big influence on my present outlook on life. He encouraged me to not fear being open and putting myself out there for something I feel in my soul. For a common good cause. He was always smiling and willing to help anyone he came into contact with. His maturity amazed me because he was younger than I was. He passed away in a swimming accident August 3rd of this year and I couldn't believe it. It might really sound cliche but I have lost a lot more friends this year than I would like to admit and I felt a unique sensation. All the sadness and sorrow of 'not knowing why' built up too much and my soul felt the emotional fatigue. Too tired to care about the thoughts of others or their actions. 

     My blog isn't here to point fingers or judge lifestyle choices, or incite riots by dwelling on controversy. I am here for myself and whoever else wants to listen. To talk about something pleasant instead of celebrating the inconvenient. But bottom line, the opinion is mine and my thoughts are here to provoke. . . . more thought. My goal is to encourage someone else to adopt my same enthusiasm of life: doing what makes you happy... whatever that's supposed to mean!