The Mediocrity of Holiday Weeks (A Food Post [Actually it's a Rant])

Gobble Gobble & what not!

I am heading to my grandmother's house in VA on Thursday. WOW it's Thanksgiving ALREADY!??!

While I am looking forward to being with family & sharing thanks & MOST importantly eating GOOD on Thursday... I would LIKE to eat good today, tomorrow & Wednesday. But that doesn't seem to be in the cards around these parts.

Normally, the food in the cafeteria in my building is pretty good... passable.... not a place for a hot date or anything, but it'll get you through the day with no regrets (if you know what I mean). They make baked chicken that is GREAT though. I don't know what they put on it or in it, but it's good stuff. I went up there today to gitmesummmm & lo & behold they had fried chicken, bbq chicken & jerk chicken. I didn't ask them for all that! So there go my plans of baked chicken & fried okra- the latter of which I didn't even look for because there was no baked chicken! I go over to the grill & they have one lil container of fries that I am almost certain had been sitting for a while and/or coughed on because the fries usually go QUICK! I saw that the dude was going to drop more fries so at first I was going to wait and maybe grab a burger & fries. Then I saw some lady touching all the bacon cheeseburgers. Sure they were wrapped, but the IDEA of some lady pawing my food before my very eyes & passing it up as if it wasn't good enough for HER- a food toucher- but it was ok for me, turned me all the way off. I wasn't in the mood for anything from the food stations where the food is cooked fresh. CORRECTION, I wasn't in the mood to wait at any of the food stations. And eating off the salad bar after 11:30 is a SURE way to catch foot & mouth disease or Swine flu!

I left the cafeteria & went to the by the pound place near my office. WHYDIDIDOTHAT!??! Everything in there was picked over. The turkey looked like vultures ate it. What was left of the bulgogi looked like it had been previously eaten. They had scooped the whole middle out of the mac & cheese. All the fruit looked sad & pale. By this time, I didn't even CARE if they had my fave sammige as the daily special because I had basically lost my appetite for ANYTHING they were serving.

from http://noshtalgia.blogspot.com/2007/11/may-i-please-have-your-turkey-carcass.html

Clearly these places were trying to use up all the food they had on hand between now & Wednesday because they essentially will be closed or on TRICKLE for 4 days. But why must I be the one to suffer!?!? huh? WHY ME!??! huh?  I realize this happens every year around this time, butI'msayin... I am irritable today & I want what I want. No place was able to give me that... & because of this, I am disappointed. I'm leaving early so I can eat a decent lunch & take a nap... cuz CLEARLY I am cranky & sleepy!

Steel Mag-NO-lias

I'm no dissenter!
I WANTED the Lifetime remake of Steel Magnolias to be GRRRRRREAT!
I mean look at this promo pic!

But as my sister stated, I should have known it was going to be poorly cast because Lifetime has Lindsay Blohan playing Lizzie T!

I love Queen Latifah, she's m'girl.... but she was no M'Lynn. And what episode of In Living Color did they drag her husband out of the background of??? Seriously, who WAS that dude? He was on my nerves! Like he got acting lessons from JJ Evans or something.

You know who would've made a GREAT M'Lynn? Phylicia Ayers Allen Rashad! But noooooo, she was cast as Clairee & barely there like I needed her to be. I mean she's Claire huxtable for goodness sake! She is THE ULTIMATE BLACK MOMMA! (sorry Flawduh Evans.)

I was OK with Truvy & Shelby & Anelle (was she SUPPOSED to be from New Yawk in this adaptation?). And goodness knows Alfre Woodard was just as Ouiser as Ouiser could get! But that Jackson? No indeed. I believed him more as a gangster on Sons of Anarchy (oh yes, I am all about the SAMCRO!) than he was a doting husband-to-be. I mean DUDE, where's your 'stache??? Seriously, that nude upper lip made me uneasy and queasy... canttrussit!

But I tell you what though... Lance Gross & that fine as wine Dr. Jay made that graveside scene worth watching two times, two tiiiiimes! Why didn't lance have a bigger role and that full facial hair the whole movie? And why wasn't Dr. Jay in every scene? He didn't have to speak, he could just be there in the background looking all Dr. Jay-ey. It certainly would have made the movie MUCH more pleasant to view!

I had a watch party with the girls for THIS!?!? We could've been watching Snapped & talking about boys & periods! or watching the original & not feeling all mehhhh. Like I said before, I don't automatically poo-poo a "Black movie" like some folks do & write it off immediately as foolishness or whatever other negative attributes people attach to them immediately. There are great black actors & films starring Black people(NOT ALEX CROSS!) but this was not one of them- no matter how badly I wanted it to be.

They should've renamed it Steel Buttercups, because it definitely built me up just to let me doooooown.

Your Friday Playlist

So yesterday my girl J and I played a little IM game that she heard about from Bomani Jones. It was pretty simple. One person named a song & artist & the other person named a song & artist that the first person's song reminded them of. Well, if you know anything about me... you know it got a little ummm.... INTERESTING!

J: It Should've Been You - Gwen Guthrie

Me: Watching You- Slave

J: There'll Never Be- Switch

Me (after trying NOT to say Throw Some D's on It & digging deeeeep down in the music): Got to Give it Up- Marvin Gaye

J: Don't Stop Til You Get Enough- Michael Jackson

Me: Can't Get Enough of Your Love- Barry White

J: Soul Makossa- Manu Dibango

Me: Everybody Have Fun Tonight- Wang Chung

J: Let's Dance- David Bowie

Me: She Blinded Me With Science

J: One Thing Leads to Another- The Fixx

Me: If You Love Somebody Set Them Free- Sting

J: Every Little Thing- The Police

Me: You Make My Dreams Come True- Hall & Oates

J: Shattered Dreams- Johnny Hates Jazz

Me: Human- The Human League

and this is where the game ended...
Listen to each song, in order... all the way through... And you'll see how we got from Gwen Guthrie to The Human League... or not!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

It's Alright

Today, I feel like May Boatwright the emotional sister in "The Secret Life of Bees". I have been walking around with my face like this:

Alllll morning... seriously.

I feel very deeply for this world & our future. I can't help it. But what am I going to do about it? SOMETHING! I spoke to my mom this morning & she reminded me that FEELING this way means there is a calling on my life that I cannot ignore. Instead of using these things to depress me I need to use them as motivation. I am determined to do so.

Gospel music is great & ministers to me, but sometimes a well-worded R&B song can give you that good old, everyday joe perspective. Enter Ledisi:

This life can make me so confused but it's alright
Living day by day I feel so used. That ain't right
I just wanna run and hide
But I don't have the time to cry and it's alright

I have things on the horizon that I have the tools to tackle. And I have to get to it & through it. There's no other option but for forward movement. If I'm crying, I'm not trying. (Ijust made that up, but I like it!) As cathartic as tears can be, they are all for nothing if you don't DO something. So, I'm doing it. (repeats it over & over to myself to defeat the evil Fear Dragon that is trying to devour my confidence, hope AND motivation... he so greedyyyyyy!)

I always say things about people that complain & don't do. I am going to do. I have no choice, I can't keep crying. That doesn't bring about results. Please don't worry about me ending it all like May (if that was even your concern), I just have to press on & on & on.

I know that as long as I am persuing that which God has for me to do...

Everything is everything... it's ALRIGHT!

picture of Ledisi is from: http://www.neosoulville.com/

To Whom Much is Given...

I know I haven't been writing in a while. And that is because every now & then I like to enjoy life without having to tell the world about it. So now that that is out of the way, let's get down to business...

Word on the street is Chris Brown's entourage got into a fight with Drake's entourage in the midst of an industry party in NYC. I tried not to think about it after I read an article on it from TMZ earlier today. But as I got sucked into reading another update by TMZ, I REALLY got bothered. I was so bothered, I took to the Twitta: "Anyone that still supports any of the bucket headed, poor excuses for men involved in that celebrity club fight... *sigh*" Someone replied that our 20s weren't our best and lesson learned. I couldn't help but to think who learned what lesson? Certainly not C. Breezy, who has been in trouble for his temper and penchant for putting his hands on folk in the past and in a VERY public way.  But lesson notwithstanding, these people are millionaires and/or people who have been blessed with an ability that few others have. They are at a party surrounded by fans & other famous people. So WHY are you fighting? I have gotten into a confrontation or 2 in the club in my 20s but NEVER a full out brawl and NEVER anything I initiated. Even at that age, I realized I had too much to lose. And I didn't have anything but a red leather couch, champagne-colored '99 Corolla and a craptastic job at a "news" outlet.  

So how is it people with SOMETHING more obvious to lose are coming to blows amongst a throng of people? The Bible (don't tune me out YET) says to whom much is given much is required. While my couch, car & job may not have been a big deal to Drake & nem, I valued what I had. So what is required of these talented & successful guys wrecking in the club? What do they require of themselves? What has to happen before they learn their lesson? How many episodes of Unsung do these younguns need to watch? How far into your 20s can you act a fool before you have to stop using that as an excuse/reason? (Juelz is going to be 30 next year) 

By the way, overall, my 20's were pretty good times! Kinda my best years up to that point. I just really would like these stars to require a bit more of themselves. And the people that consume their product should too. Before people go getting all huffy, I supported C. Breezy up until this. Now? notsomuch. But I'm just the girl on the red couch! *shrug*

Now Usually I Don't DO This... Think Like A Man

I didn't read the book. I don't watch Oprah. I don't listen to the Steve Harvey Morning Show. I find Terrence J BEYOND corny. And I have NEVER rooted for Gabrielle Union. Get allllllll that in ya spirit.... I'll give you a few seconds....

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NOW, with all that said. I liked Think Like a Man! Pick ya jaws up! I was pretty sure that all the punchlines had been ruined by the commercials, but it hadn't. I was afraid that the characters in the movie were going to be stereotypical like Pyler Terry, but they weren't. I was fairly certain I was going to roll my eyes & suck my teeth & sigh loudly, and I DID, but it wasn't for very long. It kept my attention, it got me a lil emotionally invested & MOST of it was familiar (not the same as predictable).

I don't want to go into detail or spoil anything, but let me make some points.

Who Cares About Women's Healthcare- A Personal Testimony

picture from: www.ppaction.org/

Right around the time of my last blog, I had one of two medical procedures that I had been waiting to have for about 2 years. Due to the crappiness that is MDIPA, I had been suffering regularly and missing work often because they decided that my issue was JUST pain. Someone at a desk somewhere- who had never met or spoken with me and who after denying my surgical procedure the FIRST of SEVERAL times WOULDN'T speak to me- decided that my issue was JUST pain.

Luckily, both my primary care physician AND my specialist were both CARING professionals. They came up with an "in the meantime" plan of action while still fighting my former "healthcare insurance". My specialist was convinced that MDIPA had "something against me" as they were very adamant in not covering the procedure. Instead, they suggested he give me a drug  that would essentially morph me into a 50 year old woman. The side effects would have robbed me of my youth & my beauty, it seems. That may seem vain, but the medication would have only been temporary and may not have made my issue better. I had to really sit with this for a while. By the time I had decided to go with it, the healthcare company had stopped covering the medication and would no longer allow my doctor to administer it.

My specialist came up with a third idea, which kinda reeked havoc on me emotionally and physically, but I had to trade off one issue that was making me sick often for some others that made me sick SOMETIMES. I powered through it for a few months & finally made it back around to OPEN SEASON! That lovely time of year when employees can change their healthcare provider. I sat down on the FIRST day of Open Season and went through all of the plans, using 2 separate online tools and finally settled on one. Then, my countdown began- 2 months to go. I called my specialist and made an appointment for the new year & informed them I had switched insurance as of January 1. By the beginning of February, I was scheduled for both procedures.

As the outpatient surgery drew close, I began to get nervous not just because I was going under the knife; but also because the last time I was scheduled for this procedure, MDIPA denied me the DAY before the procedure. I was so paranoid this would happen again, I called the doctor's office AND the hospital.

Finally in mid-February, I had my second procedure. Two weeks later, I went to my specialist and he hugged me and said "Thank God we were able to help you!" He told me that I was tough & that I was progressing well. As I was going through this, I realized there were several women I know that had been through this same procedure. I found strength in that.

Right around this time, the attack on Women's Healthcare was emerging. A bunch of self-righteous dirty old men telling women what was they had to do for/to/with their reproductive system. The idiocy of it all is that birth control isn't JUST about controlling birth. It helps women in many other ways, including me. *Deep dramatic sigh* It helped to keep my illnessES from worsening and it helped with some of the pain I had been dealing with regularly. I HATE to think how things would have turned out if my crappy health insurance didn't cover my medication & how much it would have cost me. I never really told anyone other than a few people EVERYTHING that was going on or how severely I was affected. I don't think many people could truly understand, but I know for a fact these blow-hard geezers with their shameful private lives have NO business interfering with women's healthcare just to appear to be a certain type of person in the public eye. Convincing the less-informed to vote against their own best interests. Introducing bills through agricultural committees in their state legislature to attempt to stealthily attack their own daughters' and granddaughters' health & reproduction.

Birth control saved me. That and God's grace have brought me through an ordeal that could have affected me for the rest of my life. As I sit here with tears in my eyes, like a punk, I am so grateful to God for what has transpired in my life in the past 2 months. Caring healthcare providers changed me for the better. Don't let uncaring politicians change your life for the worse.

I encourage all women to pay attention to their bodies and their local politics & to VOTE! Don't let these uterine terrorists destroy you from the inside!

Ok I may be being a little dramatic, but seriously, tell these crazy old men to get their FAKE beliefs out of your private parts!

Picture from: http://www.fmnewschicago.com

HUG LIFE!!!

Yesterday, the blogs were astir with "news" of Rihanna's knuckle tatt that says "THUG LIFE" and Smiley Walrus' pics drinking a HUGE alcoholic beverage & pretending to lick her boyfriend's birthday cake which was shaped like a male member. We discussed both of these things among my email crew & some people boiled it down to the children being the breadwinners & thereby having no REAL parental guidance.

While I absolutely agree with that, I also think it comes down to human contact. Why is Rihanna acting so aggressive & angry? Why is Smiley Walrus taking pics doing wild & inappropriate things? They need more hugs! Such a simple concept. When is the last time YOU hugged someone?

I don't mean that Christian side hug.

from: http://sarcasticbite.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Side-Hug.jpg

Or the awkward, not really touching, back pat.

from: http://cobblog.cord.edu/wp-content/uploads/DSCN6411.jpg

I mean a full-on, nonsexual, heartfelt hug!

from: http://www.recover-from-grief.com/images/comforting.jpg

The kind of hug that fills whatever void you are feeling inside. The kind of hugs that brings tears to your eyes even when you don't know WHY you are crying. The kind of hug that you get just because!

I said yesterday that I want to get "HUG LIFE" tattooed on the insides of my arms (one word per arm) so when I spread my arms akimbo I can tell people to: "Bring it in!" Getting a hug when you sell a million records, or sign a new endorsement deal, or get a huge royalties check (is there a such thing? lol) is not the same as getting a hug when you are standing at the stove, or walking out of the living room, or watching the morning news. Sometimes when you are having what seems to be the worst day ever, a hug makes EVERYTHING alright!

Too often, these days, fame & money win out over common sense & self-respect. Like I have said before MONEY over ERRYTHANG! is the motto for too many people. One of my mottoes is: HUGS over ERRYTHANG! (Another one is: Bacon Makes Everything Better! but that's neither here nor there.) Hug more. HUG more. Hug MORE. HUG MORE. Famous people need real hugs too. Not from people they pay to tell them yes, or people that obsess over them night and day and finally get a chance to meet them, or people that they make money for but from people that TRULY have their best interest at heart. Or someone who truly knows & understands the power of human contact.

Have you hugged someone today?? No? Make sure you do!

Has anyone hugged YOU today?? No? BRING IT IN!

YES I really took the time to DRAW you a hug! Now, take dat take dat!

REAL Reality TV

As much as I would LOVE to say I don't watch reality tv, the truth is I do!

But I try to watch Reality TV with some redeeming qualities. Hoarders & Hoarding: Buried Alive help kpeople pick up the mess that has become their life & start a new. Or at least gives them a chance to do so. Intervention is the same way.

Storage Wars fascinates me! They picked such interesting people for the show. Dave Hester is the west coast version of someone I know- a lil jerk who thinks he's a BIG jerk cuz he's standing on his wallet. Darrell is just one of those people you hate to love. Barry is so eccentric & nutty you can't help but to like him. And for some Reason I feel like Brandy & Jarrod are my friends & I root for them everytime! I also find myself CONVINCED that they set some of these lockers up for filming because there is NO WAY  a locker full of college furniture (i.e.; futons & bean bags & the like) has a working antique phonograph in it. Yet I watch it faithfully. Storage Wars Texas is a cheap knockoff that I cannot bring myself to watch.

Near & dear to my heart are the competition shows that require the participants to have an actual talent. I'm not talkin American Idol or Dancing with the B-List. I mean Project Runway, The Voice, Top Chef, Face Off. THESE are the shows that really find myself emotionally invested in- yelling at the screen & talking to people about the contestants like they are indeed my best good friends. 

Project Runway All Stars came on last night and I was really excited to see what everyone was up to. THe host is lackluster & the judges are MEH! But how can you not love the southern lady AND gentleman that is Anthony. Or the damsel in distress with a mustache that is Austin Scarlett. Or the many faces of Mondo- who last night was dressed like a crazy cat lady meemaw in the work room

 & and  an organ grinder's monkey at the runway show... GOTTA LOVE IT!

The Voice comes on after the Super Bowl in February & I am holding my breath in anticipation. For once I felt like there was a singing show that was about real talent & not who would sell the most bubblegum pop records or whatever standards (or lack there of) people use to vote on those other singing shows. 

And anyone who knows me knows that I love Top Chef because I love food! nuff said!

And I absolutely cannot WAIT to see what FaceOff has in store for me this season! Last season was AMAAAAAAAAAAAZING! The fact that they can take a PERSON & turn it into anything a bird, a rock, a living room chair... ANYTHING in a matter of a day or two is real talent & creativity.

Now on the flip side... I hang my head in shame as I admit I watch Real Housewives of Atlanta AND Braxton Family Values.... for NO other reason than to feel better about myself because I'm not as crazy as ANY of these chicks. So thank you Tamar for making me feel good about me. Thank you Sheree for helping me keep my priorities in order because yours are EXTRA out of wack! I slaute thee!