Ish happens

I got up in one of those moments where it takes a minute to realize where you are. I look around and realize Im in my room in my apartment. Then the panic sets in as I know am suppose to be doing something right now instead of sleeping.
It comes: I should be at my cousin's babysitting her boyfriends son while they go out. I am scheduled to be there at 6:30pm. I look at my clock. It says 7:20. With the time being 10 minutes fast I am only a little late and jump up and grab my phone.
60 missed calls.
How can I have that many calls when I just went to sleep at 5:oopm?
I look at the time in the corner . . .7:15AM.
I have slept through the whole night.
I am completely not expecting this, though Im not completely shocked. I was running on fumes and my body always has a mind of its own . . . if its tired . . .it sleeps.
Still no excuse for not fulfilling my word to babysit so I call my cousin.
Tell her what has happened and on the verge of crying apologize profusely, though she says no biggie, reading her text message from last night it says"You're killing us Where are you?????. I'm trying not to get mad right now"
Then on the phone she asks, "So you slept 15 hours? that's not normal"
I tell her my life isnt normal.
Then after hanging up before I really start to cry . ..and to pack up my suitcase since I have to get to work and am leaving straight from work to the airport to fly home for my 9am dentist appointment for the first phase of a root canal since I have no insurance after June 30th when my mom's plan drops me.
I understood her frustration since I did agree to come for a few hours. But couldnt she understand how I could oversleep? How I was home earlier because we had stayed till 4am the night before watching the BET awards then getting stuff on the site? Didnt I IM her earlier sharing how after getting home early morning I slept for an hour and a half before getting up to get back in by 8am with the rest of the team to make sure everything was ready to go? Hadnt I agreed to babysit for no charge? Can't I get some credit?
I emailed [XREF http://jameil.blogspot.com/ "Jameil"] a little while back telling her how much I enjoyed her blog and how I was going to start being a little more honest in my own.
One thing I thank God for is the ability to get over things and not old grudges when I realize so many people aren't made that way. So yes, I have sooo so much to be thankful for, but dont think shit doesnt happen to me . . . .and if Im going to be a queen-to-be I gotta keep it real.
Yes, my graduation party was fabulous, but I sort of ommited how at home afterwards, when Im suppose to be getting ready to go party for real, my tooth ache starts again and family members tell me it will only get worse so I go to the emergency dental office of atlanta. pay $98 for them just to let me in and do one xray. then $315 for them to take 20 minutes to take the rest of the nerve out that was suppose to be fully taken out at the dental school of my alma mater.
Well, thankfully when I tried to call my mom at 7:20 this morning after apologizing to my cousin, an empty suitcase sits on my bed for this weekend's family reunion in charlotte and on the verge of a meltdown, I am still in work mode and put in a 9 first when trying to call on the house phone to Atlanta and the call doen't go through.
Thats all I need is to call her crying when Im already fighting so hard for them to view me as an "adult" and she constantly sending me those "be safe" emails some soccer mom in the mid-west forwards. My fave being the report from some jail where they gathered all the rapists and asked them what they look for in targets. There "easy to grab." preference for ponytails made me not want to wear them, not that Im a ponytail girl anyway.So instead of calling her I decided to tell you to get it off my chest.
Working 4am nights is not the norm at the job, and I enjoyed watching the awards at work and it was classic as I belted how Idris Elba could get it as our EIC rounds the corner;) Be sure to check the site and vote for best dressed. Well, wish me luck with this dentist appointment in the morning, and I promise to be honest . . .good and bad. Stuff happens to queens too:)
CJ

just do it

I have been super busy and hate I havent posting more ( I have tried on my lunchbreak at work but for some reason the pictures come up in html and I cant format them like I want to and I have gotten spoiled to posting with pics)
And now that I have the time to post
I dont know what to talk about.


I will say be sure to check out the Tameka Foster interview on Essence.com. It's juicy! Be sure to check out the style blog too that just kicked off. This week was another jam packed one for me. Monday Angie Stone called me pretty and talked a little about D'Angelo;)
Wednesday my amazing editor from last summer celebrated her birthday.






From Eritrea, it was so hot as the office crowned her Queen and I played "Queen to Be" from Coming to America that BB read interesting facts about the country. After work I rushed home and tried to get the place ready for my Black Girls Meet event with a few friends coming over to talk about life and books we're reading. The meatballs left over from my party and spaghetti were fun to eat as we all felt a little Living Single/ Sex and the City.



Thursday I reunited with my summer buddies. At a bar afterwards for drink it was an outer body experience as I realized how fortunate we were to all be back in the city working for magazines.
I finally got a honesty box on facebook after Yasmine's postreminded me people may not think of you what you think they do, and I guess id rather know since they feel that way regardless. So far i've gotten a few ego strokes, a marriage proposal, a request to see me in the buff and a message to "take the time to talk to the little people who may be more helpful for your success than you think" Well, I dont know what "little people" and dont network on the premise of using someone for personal gain.
Saturday I went to the NABJ region conference. Got all kinds of ideas after a session with this guy. Later I went to the "surprise" party of my old editor that she told me earlier in the week to be sure to go to. my mojo was ON;) I've been reading our office book club selection for the month "Weapons of Mass Seduction" and I feel like I should have read it years ago. Im already doing the S.E.L.L. and have seen results. Met a cool guy on the train and now have a spades date.
Well, let me go get some sleep. Busy week ahead.
CJ

TMI?

So, I was already going to write a post on how I probably put too many names and details in these posts when I was on facebook and saw a former friend I lived with had un-friended me.
I can't say Im disappointed. Just wish she would have said something to me. But I guess since I never shared how somethings bothered me by her I can't really be mad.
But what really reminded me the world is too small to think someone won't find this blog and the things I may have said (not that I say things I care if someone reads evidenced by the fact that I concsiously publish them) is that last night at the loooonnnnnggggg taxi stand line at the airport contact guy from the Hookah bar called and I panicked thinking he was calling to cuss me out after finding the blog where I posted his name AND picture while questioning his sexuality. I finally got the courage and listened to his message.
He was just calling to say hey and wanted to hang out.

So my weekend you ask?
Fabulous:) Flew home. Chilled with the fam. Had my graduation party and got some fabulous dresses ( and Jameil I got this tan with white polka dots one you gotta check out once I get it hemmed:) It was great to see friends and fam, some I hadnt seen in a long time. To the far left is my fabulous friend Reecy (who now goes by her first name Rachelle but still let's us call her Reecy;) Havent really seen her since 7th grade and thanks to facebook we have reunited with our buddy. Keith, came who gave me my first journalism job on our high school newspaper. My best buds celeste and amber (who we call Slick and Slide:) and Mophead Aaron who use to be a foot shorter than us all, got caught on speed bumps and eats food off the floor, who went and grew up on me and celeste. good times I tell you.
Sunday I heard a powerful sermon . . .he talked about Jabez and how he prayed with faith God would bless him with his desires and prayed only for room in his life to receive the blessing he knew was coming and to not blow it when he got it. good stuff.

Add a night here to my wish list.


Queen.

Mama's got a brand new bag!

Weekend wrap up.

Friday went to my first event as an employed member of the press. Last year Mimi Carey was Venus's "Legs of Goddess" and true to her diva style, unveiled 6 foot replica of her legs. This year the goddess was Rihanna. After waiting in this hot room with all these photographers blocking anyone from seeing out comes Rihanna. If you never have seen dozens of photographers all take pictures of the same thing at the same time its, its amazing . . .and the closes I hope to ever get to being struck by lightning. She was out for all of three minutes to be photgraphed, say three sentences and be out.
After going back to work and meeting this amazing family who just bought a house after following the mag's tips for a year, I headed to happy hour to meet the sister of a editor I admire, She interns at Black Enterprise, along with our former HU Undergraduate Trustee who knows everyone on campus so it quickly turned into a mini Howard event. Everybody shares friends and the degree of separation is really one . . .
I completely back out on two friends, but Im not in the same place I was last year. And shoot, after working the whole week Im tired on fridays.
Saturday . . .chill hard. Buy a waffle iron.
yesterday me and roomie went to church and it was great to be able to walk from my apartment to one of the most famous black baptist church.
After grabbing ox tails, greens and mac and cheese from the soul food buffet (its still weird to know its owned by asians but at least now black people work there), I head downtown to the pantene event featuring Mikki and celeb stylist Yusef.
The set up in a salon is nice and all these fly black women is always cool - though I think I detected a lot of false pretension in the air. maybe it was the quiche.
I think my cousin finally realizes Im not the pig tailed goofy girl with ice cream all on her shirt when I introduce her and her friend to Mikki.
Keeping that HU connection going, me and Rachel talk to her again after I luck up on a foot rub when the scheduled person wasnt around. We bring up Charm School and she asks who we think will win and I blurt Saaphyri. As she says a lot of people say that I notice this amazing emerald and green ring on her finger and just know it is from her recent euro travels. She confirms my suspicision. One day I tell you, one day.
After that I head to Loehmanns with the plan to get a dress for my church's graduation program on Sunday and lick my wounds after my mom crushed my feelings questioning if I were going to wear somethine "conservative" to church. If you dont know by now I want to scream at her . . .
I didnt grab any dresses but I did loose my mind in the shoe deparment (Christian Lacroix for $90!!!!) and the bags too . . .
Well, after racking up and feeling good with some fabulous finds I get to the register and they decline ALL my cards. This has never happened and Im too confused to be embarrased though I know through there eyes they see this all the time and my "I dont know whats happening" is probably heard by many who know exactly what has happened.
As my heart beats that someone has stolen my identity and maxed my cards, he tells me I can write a check. Well, that wasnt so simple as the manager had to come over, call my bank and read every detail from my check including the eye color of my first born. All's well that ends well. The check is approved. Though no one can answer why this store would take my good check but decline my debit card thats on the same account.
Well, I soon learned after donatingonly $20 to www.savedarfur.com my card had been red flagged and suspected of fraud . . . whew, I think I can only take that credit card decline stress once so next time Im writing a check to charity.

Queen

I'm Settled.

So, I kinda fell off the blogging after I was doing so good. Life sort of gets in the way of doing stuff sometime. Fortunately for me I'm getting feeling back in my body.
I don't know if it was a deep rooted fear of growing up I didnt know I had or shell shock from so much happening at one time but right before graduation my life speed up times a million and Im just now catching up.
I look at pictures from graduation and am just now starting to grasp that I was in that crowd, that was me.
I was so overwhelmed I was underwhelmed by it all.
Feeling so much I got numb and I didnt like that - I dont like that. I wish I could do it over and really feel it, really live in the moment. Oh well, that's what dvds are for.
Speaking of dvds ( not really but I want to segment to my move), I bought tons of them when I stopped at Target last weekend in DC after getting all my stuff out of storage and loading it in the Uhaul. It wasnt nearly as bad as I dreaded to drive the uhaul from DC to NY - though Uhaul makes a killing not giving you enough miles to actually get where you tell them you're going.
I made it unpacked half my stuff Sunday with the help of Tifany (yes, with one F). But with my desktop, tv and other heavy stuff still to be unloaded and tired on a memorial day weekend I hatched a plan to find two young but big boys the next day and pay them a few dollars to move the rest. That wasnt as easy as I thought and very weird, but I did get the nerve to ask elijah if he would help. From Senegal, he was happy to help, didnt charge me, but did get my number the next day and calls me REPEATEDLY. Still nothing is free . . .. this other guy helped too and in 15 minutes they had gotten the rest of my stuff out. Best $40 I ever spent.
So though I have lost my few and faithful who actually read my ramblings, I promise I've been very busy. Last week I posted my first articles on the site! They were interviews with your favorite Charm School girls: Darra Like Dat and Goldie. I also caught up with our own Dean Mikki who was en route to Europe.
With this weekend my first one with all my stuff here and after a short but full week at work I did what anyone with a little sense would do - I unpacked all my crap, washed clothes and took advantage of some down time! Well, at least during the day. Saturday night me, the roomie and her cool ass friend went hookah bar hopping. it was as fun as it sounds:) The first spot had tents over the tables so you really felt like you were in the middle east with this belly dancer moving throughout the place. The second spot had more of a lounge feel with everyone laid out on their couches and mellow music playing. We get there and this big guy with a conk-like 'do and color contacts shows us where to sit and suggest this fruity hookah flavor that is pretty good. He tells us his name, but with a few drinks we cant remember.
We think it sounded like chemo, but know that cant be right, so amongst ourselves we refer to him as Shamu. I dont know, I just have this thing against color contacts. So we continue to chill and me and roomie go to Shamu's couch when he calls us over. We ask his name again and he says Kimo (pronounced chemo like we thought) He offers to do a shot gun with her from his Cognac flavored leaves - us being at the only place in NY he says that soaks their leaves in alcohol.
She agrees to the shotgun. She takes his smoke, chills for a sec and proceeds to get up and leave me there not knowing I thought he saw this as his opportunity.
He wastes no time. "why don't you slide over some." Im thinking, this is Shamu with the conk who's obviously suspect with these colored contacts. be cool.
he then offers me a Shot gun to which I reply I dont know how to do. He has all the faith I can do it and three times later I realized this has nothing to do with smoke.
He then compliments me on my shoes. Something a straight guy would do if you're looking good in heels I guess.
He then asks me where I got them from. Something a straight guy would never do.
I tell him this spot in Georgetown. He then asks if I like to shop in SoHo. I say yeah. He tells me he does security for "this store called Nicole Miller"
im like, "I know Nicole Miller. She's kind of a big deal:) I love her dresses! One of my fave dresses is from there."
He then asked what does it look like. I raise my eyebrow and say you wouldnt know if I told you. he says just try me. So I say how its mustard (though I gave him the benefit of the doubt he doesnt use the word mustard for color and said yellow:) I say how it has puffy sleeves and before I can say anymore he goes, "from last season right?" And all I can do is scrunch my eyebrows and say yeah. Why does the security guard know my dress? he asks me to do more shot guns and for my number like nothing ever happened. When did guys start knowing clothes had seasons???

Well, after that crazy and fun night I got up and got the place ready for my first guests. I hosted a birthday brunch for my friend Latoya and it was fabulous. KLA got me my first housewarming gift, a cute little cactus I named Lorelei.

So, I've come to grips with me being a grown woman and it can be kinda fabulous if you want, right? I promise not pull to a badgirl and stick to blogging on the regular. Or blog dean Shani O will revoke my membership . . .

CJ