Spring Siesta

Spring break use to be about maximizing time out of school with parties, drinking and socializing. Back when MTV was cool, I couldn't wait to watch all the festivities like Rock 'n' Jock. In undergraduate, spring break was automatically vacay time in Florida. That was then and this is now. Now I'm in the midst of my plaguing  "25C" (quarter-life crisis) and my enthusiasm for spring break has been infected. As I left campus the other night and realized that my spring break had officially started, all I could look forward to was being able to get in bed before 11pm for an entire week. It was a SAD conversation on the elevator. Listening to young, talented, and completely drained women (no men made this ride) speaking of their exhilaration for some R & R and that doesn't stand for Remy & Rosé.

What have we done? Is grad school that tiring or are we just lame? Have I allowed myself to get that run-down and "old" that early bedtimes now excite me? Quite frankly...yes, yes and YES!

Sleep is an amazing thing (especially for people with FM) and I welcome it in its longevity. The thought of being in bed, watching my full DVR and having the option of slumber before Oprah re-airs at 1:07am brings joy to my soul.

Give me a break. It could be worse. I could be savoring the week for ironing and color-coding my closet.

Imported from Detroit: Enough Said

Chrysler inspires and defends Detroiters all over the nation with Superbowl ad...



Never ashamed. There is no place like home. #detroitstandup

Black History Month

I get high blood pressure every February when big corporations and news conglomerates adhere to their social responsibility duties and run Black History Month (BHM) campaigns. My problem with this is the topics and people they choose to cover.

I can already see a month full of BHM specials on MLK, Malcolm X, Oprah, LeBron James,Lil Someone and of course the Obamas. But what about other history makers? Ones that our children don't read about online everyday or follow their tweets, history makers that don't have Facebook fan pages.

I'm a girl who has always loved the arts so here are some people/things to Google:

Douglas Turner Ward - A Day of Absence
Aida Overton Walker
Freedom's Journal
Lorraine Hansberry
Nikki Giovanni (because I recently saw her speak and she is amazing
Black Arts Movement
Veronica Webb (Wanted to be her growing up)
Mildred Taylor (fave writer as a youth)


And here is a NPR story that I recently read, Black Models Celebrated as Runway Revolutionaries

Act of kindness for the ladies

I stepped out of class for a restroom break and as I approached the toilet (sorry, is there a more lady-like term?) there was a make-up bag on the hand rail. I assumed some chick had forgotten her collection of Revlon, but to my surprise it was an "aunt flow" kit. There it was packed with all the essentials, different brands, sizes and forms.

If this was intentional, I applaud the good samaritan who has pity for all of us who never has a quarter on hand when the need is there.

Kudos to her.

Material Status

Unlike Madonna, I've never really been a "material girl." Let me be clear (in my President Obama voice)...I LOVE clothes, shoes, purses and other useless material items but I'm not big on brand names. I could care less if it's Juicy Couture, Gucci or Mossimo. I shop for quality, comfort and a bargain. But ladies and gents there is one brand that I feel like I need to purchase in order to reach a certain status level. This may be completely due to my 248 upbringing and I think I notice it more since my trekking around 202. The point is I haven't "made it" yet and I won't until I purchase a damn Northface.

Back in the day it was Starter jackets that gave you status but I have no clue how much those cost. I'm willing to bet it is no where near the hundreds that a Northface costs.

I am happy to report that my 5-year-old niece, K-Geezy, has reached this level thanks to the bargain I found at TJ Maxx over the holidays (but her size is always cheaper - she had an advantage).

I start my second job next week and you better believe I'm saving my pennies in order to be suited in Northface come next winter. What's your status?

Love and Other Drugs

SPOILER ALERT:
Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway got me to thinking the other night when I saw Love and Other Drugs. By the way it was cute flick - your ordinary romantic comedy (with a whole lot of intercourse - long way from Princess Diaries for Anne). Moving on, it got me to thinking about when you spill the beans about having a chronic health condition in a courting situation.

Unfortunately for Anne's character he learned by being sneaky and a peeping tom, but how soon is too soon to disclose your health issues?

I'm not talking cancer or AIDs, but maybe Lupus, Parkinson's, Multiple Sclerosis or in my case Fibromyalgia. Something that effects your daily living, but it isn't necessarily noticeable. I've taken the don't tell at all, don't tell until we are official, don't tell until he can't fathom why I can't get out of bed approaches and I still don't know when the time is right. It isn't exactly the easiest condition/ailment to explain.

So that was the first thing the movie got me thinking about. Second, I was scared shytless by her defense mechanism. I could totally see myself in her because at times it's much easier to do shyt to make them leave you alone then to allow them in and take the chance of them resenting you for becoming your care taker.

Love and drugs, I can't live with or without them.

Save the Best for Last

I'm such a hopeless romantic and this episode of A Different World gets me every time. (Don't mind that the sound doesn't match the video...you get the point). Now, I would like to think that when I walk down the aisle that I won't be hoping another man is coming to interrupt, but Dwayne's appeal goes from 0 to 60 in about .03 seconds when he says those two words, "Will you..."