Mini-Road Trip: California

I recently returned from a week-long vacation to California. It was my first visit to California and surprising, it was not as warm as I thought that it would be. Temperatures hovered around the mid-60s and when we did make it to the beach, the water there was very cold. Still, the trip was a nice and mellow one and rather than give you an extensive list of all the things that we did, I’ll provide a few details in 10 bullet points of what I remember most clearly. Of course, the ultimate highlight was spending a week catching up with friends but as we all know, its all about the experience:

1. I have a rule about street/subway performances: if it’s entertaining, I will give a dollar; more if I love it. But a smart aleck-y, annoying street performer at the Walk of Stars almost made me want to take my dollar back. After his ragtag group did a little dancing, the self-proclaimed “little Mexican” proceeded to whine and curse his audience, probably hoping to shame us out of more of our money. Well, that didn’t work in the least (the audience dispersed fairly quickly) but he was funny and it was entertaining watching him try to run game on us.
2. Again at the Walk of Stars, a man came up to me and asked me to buy him a beer. Shouldn’t he be offering to buy me a drink?
3. Realizing how truly tiny the feet of some of Hollywood’s leading men really are was a snickering moment. Unfortunately, I can’t think of any names at this time.
4. Being locked out of the place where we were staying in Redondo Beach and sitting in our car waiting for our host because we selected the wrong house keys was not very fun. Admittedly, there were three of us so we probably should have gotten it right but in our collective defense, the directions were misleading.
5. Being advised not to order the fish cakes by our waitress at a Thai restaurant was a first for me. Of course, Thai Elvis is the premiere form of entertainment so the fish cakes are not the only things that are fishy about the Palms Restaurant.
6. My friends and I were referred to as “light, brown, and dark” by an overweight, middle-aged white man at the beach. No comment on that one.
7. We spent a lot of time eating at various restaurants but Broadway Grill, which featured Motown Mondays, was one of the better ones. The food was so-so but the entertainment was what made this place great. Of course, we kept the party going in our little corner after the band wrapped up their set.
8. Being splashed, several times, during our whale watching tour (where we didn’t see any whales and few other sea creatures during our 2 hours plus boat ride). We were too lazy to move from our perch and we ended up serving as entertainment for our fellow passengers.
9. Being pulled over by the cops after we made an illegal left turn was mildly exciting. It wasn’t completely our fault and we got off without a ticket but that cop in California is the nicest one I’ve ever encountered.
10. Pebbly sand and cold water are what I now think about when I think about California beaches

Things we learned from our experience:
A road trip throughout California is not easily achieved in a week; expect lots of driving.
A free breakfast is the best breakfast i.e. stay at Embassy Suites

*pictures featuring the beautiful scenery and places we visited will follow shortly*

Death of a Legend

By now everyone has heard the news: Michael Jackson is dead. A mere day after I returned from the state he called home, I was beyond shocked to learn that this larger than life man is no more. Of course, the suddenness of it most likely contributes to the shock I still feel in the days since. I had spent a lazy Thursday catching up on recorded programs that I missed while I was away. Hence, I had not tuned into any of the local channels and when my brother sent me a text that simply stated “Michael Jackson died” I didn’t want to believe him. I grilled him for further details but he could only tell me that it had something to do with a heart attack. Once the program I was watching ended, I switched over to a local news channel and when I didn’t immediately hear news of MJ’s death, I believed it a little less. But then my sister switched over to CNN and it was there that we learned that he was in fact hospitalized, not dead. I started to believe that there was a chance for a full recovery but then further reports stating that he’d suffered from cardiac arrest and was in a coma were released. Hope dimmed a little at this point and quickly disappeared with the next report: the King of Pop is in fact dead.

Despite your personal opinions about Michael Jackson’s private life, there are very few people who can say that MJ did not touch them in some way through his music. Since his sudden death, I have continually sought out programs that celebrate his life and music. I can’t seem to get enough. Some of my favorites of MJ’s many hits include Man in the Mirror, Wanna Be Starting Something, Smooth Criminal, and Bad. Some of the tributes I’ve witnessed thus far (okay, just BET) have done him little justice and I can only hope that those scheduled for this week do a better job of celebrating the life of a legend. As I mourn Michael Jackson’s passing with the rest of the world, I find comfort in the fact that his music will live on through time.

Vacation is Here

Not much to say except I'm on vacation! Happiness ensues. Unless I can get computer/internet access while I'm away, I will not be posting again until the end of the month. If I'm not too lazy, I'll keep notes on my travel that I can share here when I get back. If not, there're always pictures. Please try to carry on without me :)

Vacation Almost In Sight

Over the past couple weeks I’ve been preoccupied with my upcoming vacation. All plans seem to center around my vacation, from what I need to get done at work to what I need to buy or get done at home before I head off to have fun in the sun. I have no doubt bored some of you with these details but it's almost over. I hate the thought of adding to the pile of work that will be waiting for me when I get back so the goal has been to get through as many of the pesky tasks that I have avoided doing until now. And, more than anything, I fear forgetting to pack something that I will need so needless to say, I’ve been running through a mental checklist of what I’ve done, what I’ve packed, and what I still need to do. This is in addition to planning details of the trip as far as hotels, activities, transportation, flights etc. In a word, it’s been an overwhelming experience which is probably why I so enjoyed the distractions of this past weekend.

Hanging out with K and T is always a fun experience and this past Friday was no different. During this outing, we visited Café Habana in Nolita. I especially liked my snapper dish as the smoky flavor reminded me of the shellfish that I grew up eating on my home island. From there we made our way to Emack and Bolio’s Emack and Bolio’s so that we could have something sweet to “cleanse our palates.” The ‘chocolate eruption’ ice cream flavor was tempting but I went with the mango instead. We capped the evening off with a movie at The Angelika and while The Brothers Bloom is not something that I'd had any intention of seeing, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I highly recommend it for a good laugh and intelligent story line.

The rainy weather on Saturday thwarted my plans and made staying in seem an attractive prospect but I made up for it with my trip to City Island with family the next day. It had been a long while since I’d been there so I was once again surprised at the small town feel of it. It seems that every time I venture outside the slice of New York that I’m familiar with I’m surprised, happily so, that these places exist so close by. It was definitely a nice pace from the rat race that is city life. But, the weekend is over now and my vacation is even closer at hand so it’s back to the rat race, the mental lists and last-minute planning.

Natasha = Prostitute

I recently learned that the name “Natasha” is not so desirable in some parts of the world as it is in Russia and in some areas in the U.S. In fact, as my Turkish friend reported to me, it is down-right undesirable in his home country. There, 'natasha' is a common slang word that refers to prostitutes of Slavic descent. Thankfully, he doesn’t hold this against me and does not think badly about me, despite my name:) I didn’t catch the history of why my name was selected to refer to women who came over from Russia etc to (unwillingly) ply their trade but I am endeavoring to make the effort to find out. I was so surprised by this discovery that I ran some internet searches and found that yes, ‘natasha’ and its meaning is in fact documented in a dictionary somewhere. I shared this information with my younger brother and he—who is probably much more well-read than I am—reminded me that he had already told me about ‘the natashas’ and the Eastern European sex trade years ago (apparently I was not listening). He also told me about a book on the subject, The Natashas, that he had read and found to be very informative. Looks like I’ll be adding this to my reading list and making a note to change my name when I visit Turkey.

Break-Up Songs

I have been listening to a lot of break-up songs lately. I guess I like the drama of it all. The complacency of something steady can be nice but there is just something about those words that speak of rollercoaster emotions and love gone bad that keeps drawing me back to listen once again. Songs like “Epiphany” and “Blame It On Me” by Chrisette Michele, LeToya Luckett’s “Not Anymore”, Maxwell’s “Pretty Wings”, good old Carl Thomas' "Emotional", and the old standard from Gladys Knight and the Pips, “Neither One Of Us.” I could come up with an extensive list but I'll stop here. It probably would make more sense for me to ‘feel’ these songs so deeply if I were actually contemplating a break-up. But I’m not, not at all. In fact, I don’t have anything going on that is serious enough to even warrant a break-up. Maybe this is just what good music is all about: songs that make you think and feel even if you’re not currently experiencing the same things.

Blogs Need Love Too

This post is dedicated to the “friends” (and I use this term loosely) who have yet to show my blog some love, consistent love. It’s been around for two months now and I’m still hearing excuses about computer problems, losing the link, not having access to the site at work, too much work. All BS! I’m not writing a book here! It only takes a quick few minutes to see what the heck is on my mind on any given day. I’d pay your blog the same courtesy, if you had one. And yes, there are some days when I have nothing I really want to talk about and I throw something up anyway. I’ll excuse you on those occasions but can you at least meet me halfway and at least skim a few posts so that when I ask if you’ve checked out my blog yet I won’t have to think along these lines? I’m really thinking about cutting you all off completely but I don’t think you’d notice even that. I know my blog is not for everyone and yes you might even find it boring but when I told you that I was going to do this and then sent you the link didn’t you think I would want your support? I mean, I read it but do I have to be the only one? I thought we were better than that. All these years you’ve known me, I’ve kept in touch with you through time and space and still you disappoint me this way. I really have to start shifting my priorities because obviously, my blog isn’t anywhere on your list. I realize that I am coming off as whiny but you have driven me to this point. And yes, I do realize that my plan to shame you into showing the blog some love is pointless since you don’t read it and won’t know I posted this but I will make sure you get this note. Happy Friday!

Me, Controlling? I Think Not!

A male friend told me that I was controlling, that I want to be the one in control especially as it relates to my relationships with the opposite sex. I usually dismiss him when he makes stupid comments like that but since he’s known me for many years and is my go-to for a male perspective, I humored him, heard him out, and asked for clarification. In a nutshell, he said that I always like things to be on my terms, to go where I want to go when I want to go and do what I want to do. When I asked for a basis for his assessment, he informed me that it was due to a combination of information that I shared with him and his experience in the role of my friend. His problem is that he thinks he knows me better than I know myself and I also know that his reasons are purely selfish ones. I’m more than happy to go with the flow from time to time, to let someone else take control. I want to be able to sit back and have someone else exert some energy to get things going- as long as I don’t have to wait too long for that to happen. If I like your idea better than mine I will acknowledge that and act accordingly. If I think my idea is better then it will take a lot to get me to budge but ultimately, I’m not one to cut off my nose to spite my face. I’m nothing if not agreeable! Do I like having my way sometimes? Yes, but things don’t have to go my way for me to be okay with them. And really, who doesn’t like having their way once in a while? Maybe he just used the wrong term because that doesn’t necessarily make me controlling but in any case, “S”, you can just take your stupid opinion and shove it!

"N" Word What?

This little guy is schooling grown folks on why the "n" word should be eliminated from our vocabulary. Love it!

Over My Limit But Under Control

I have never been drunk a day in my life. I’ve been pleasantly buzzed and a little bit tipsy on several occasions but never drunk. I am happy that I can continue to make that claim but it was a near thing, and at a work related event no less.

Last night, the law librarians association of which I am a member held its annual meeting at a wonderful locale (river view, park vistas). Very nice! As a committee co-chair, I had responsibilities to fulfill beyond the usual socializing/networking. But I didn’t allow myself to think about them when I grabbed my first glass of red wine off the tray of a passing server as soon as I arrived and proceeded to smash a cream-filled appetizer into my jacket. Or when I spilled my nearly empty second glass on my hand and on the floor a mere minute before I saw my co-chair walking to the front of the room and realized that our names had just been called. That’s right, we were expected to speak to a room filled with close to 200 of our peers and I was a mess! But thankfully, I didn’t realize it at the time. I just knew that I was ready for anything and that whatever was coming out of my mouth seemed to make sense to the crowd I was facing despite the jumble in my head. I'm sure that we could have improved on execution but it looks like we got effort covered.

There is something to be said about the power of alcohol. I can give a good speech if I really know my topic and practice ahead of time but knowing that doesn’t make me like doing it any more. While last night’s audience was much larger than any other that I’ve faced in the past, the speech was also the shortest that I’ve ever been expected to give. Basically, I didn’t have to memorize anything- just make sure I mention a few things. But after a couple glasses of wine, the warmth in my tummy was spreading all over and it all seemed like it would be a piece of cake. I was buzzed. And with my third glass, lots of giggling, flirting, and declarations about having had too much to drink, I realized that I was moving towards tipsy. One more and I would have been drunk but the sensible part of my brain refrained and got me on my way home. Nobody wants to see a drunken me, least of all me!

Lebron the Brat?

I usually don't concern myself with the antics of professional athletes but I'm annoyed on Lebron's behalf re this article. The writer essentially describes Lebron James as a spoiled brat after he walked off the court without congratulating his opponents after his team was kicked out of the NBA finals over the weekend. Instead, Lebron kept his head down, got dressed in a corner in the locker room and silently waited for the team bus to leave the arena. Obviously, he was devastated by the loss. Could he have put forth a better attitude? Certainly. But I understand why he kept to himself. I understand the pain he must have felt after he had given his all and it still wasn't enough. For a guy who has consistently and singlehandedly carried his team on his shoulders, I understand how it would seem that he was the one most affected by the loss. Camaraderie goes out the window when you look around and see that you're all alone--in good and bad times, but especially the bad. I'm not surprised that he chose to internalize alot of what he was feeling. So I say to Lebron, if you want to be a brat, I don't blame you. Now. When he finally gets some help and he's still a brat, then I'll be more than happy to call him on it.

Another Article Criticizing Obama Politics

In light of GM's intent to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (a temporary measure), this article criticizing President Obama's politics seems relevant. How will Obama manage this process? Not only will there be more job loss but another $30 billion of U.S. federal funds will be infused into the failing company. I'm finding it hard to see a win for the people. There has been calls for Obama to take a more hands-on approach in managing this and other failed enterprises that the government now has a stake in but is this really where we want our president to focus his attention? Granted, our failing economy is perhaps our greatest trouble spot at the moment but there has to be a better way to turn the economy around rather than sinking money into big businesses that continue to let go of their most important resources, their workers. Something has got to give, and soon.