Well I went to the Mary J. Blige concert last night at Hi Fi Buys Amphitheater here in Atlanta. I must say...it was one of the best concerts I've seen ever!
I've been a Mary fan for years (it took me some time to get into her fan club but now I'm securely rooted in it) and I've never had the opportunity to make it to one of her concerts. Now I did have the great honor of seeing her and Jay-Z perform "Can't Knock the Hustle" during his Jay-Z and friends concert that was supposed to be the Jay-Z and R. Kelly concert. (I really hope I got the song name right. I suck at remembering song names). That was a GREAT performance and I love that song but it was still a very small dose of Mary. It has been really cool watching her grow and change over the years.
Last night's concert was like Mary full circle for me. Plus it was something that I really needed. It has been a long summer for me and I haven't been able to travel and really explore like I would have liked to but all of that was released last night. Mary took us all to church! She is definitely the voice of the people. Her ability to speak to her pain, triumphs, courage and faith is unbelieveable. She sounded wonderful and looked fab-u-lous!
I was transported out of my body as I swayed, sang and even teared up during the show. That was truly one of the first concerts I've ever attended where I was truly enveloped in the music. It truly led me back around to the reason why music has played such a major part in my life. Plus, Mary's music has been a big part of the back drop of my life. She sang all of my favorites plus some of my other not-so-favorite favorites. By the end of the night, I was on true sensory overload. As someone who is pretty laid back, that doesn't happen to me very often and it was a wonderful experience!
I don't know where Mary may be headed next on her tour but I would highly recommend that show to ANYONE. If you aren't a true Mary fan, you will be.
August 28, 2006
August 21, 2006
I give up...sorta
Well I did it. I gave in to the "man" and got a "real" job. I now work part time for SunTrust Bank. Mind you, this is a part time gig so I can still work on building my client base in public relations and working with my current clients on the management/business consulting side. But, this new part time gig serves a few purposes.
1. It gets my mom off of my back. She can stop making sideways comments about me not working and I get out of the house every day.
2. I get benefits. Benefits for an individual are quite expensive and it really helps to be able to defer that cost. Granted, my benefits don't become active until I've been with the company for four months, but I'm ok with that. At least I can look forward to having decent insurance coverage.
3. I get stability. Although this is a part time gig, I will be making a steady (albeit not that large) paycheck twice a month. As a Taurus who needs stability, this is just what I need to get my mind off of some of my stability woes and onto making myself the millionaire I am destined to become.
With all of those things said, it was the hardest thing in the world to actually take the job but I feel a lot more proactive doing so. Now I can really push for building. I just got a new client that proves to give me a lot more leverage in the Atlanta market, which is an excellent gateway to other markets (like New York for example). I also have another potentially huge client that's on deck so keep your fingers crossed for me. If all things go well, I am poised to be in a great position by the end of this year.
I'm very excited at this new possibility before me. I'm hoping that I will be able to start traveling between Atlanta and New York on a regular basis really soon. I've decided that it doesn't make sense to move to New York until I can fully support myself in the fabulous lifestyle that I strive to ultimately achieve.
1. It gets my mom off of my back. She can stop making sideways comments about me not working and I get out of the house every day.
2. I get benefits. Benefits for an individual are quite expensive and it really helps to be able to defer that cost. Granted, my benefits don't become active until I've been with the company for four months, but I'm ok with that. At least I can look forward to having decent insurance coverage.
3. I get stability. Although this is a part time gig, I will be making a steady (albeit not that large) paycheck twice a month. As a Taurus who needs stability, this is just what I need to get my mind off of some of my stability woes and onto making myself the millionaire I am destined to become.
With all of those things said, it was the hardest thing in the world to actually take the job but I feel a lot more proactive doing so. Now I can really push for building. I just got a new client that proves to give me a lot more leverage in the Atlanta market, which is an excellent gateway to other markets (like New York for example). I also have another potentially huge client that's on deck so keep your fingers crossed for me. If all things go well, I am poised to be in a great position by the end of this year.
I'm very excited at this new possibility before me. I'm hoping that I will be able to start traveling between Atlanta and New York on a regular basis really soon. I've decided that it doesn't make sense to move to New York until I can fully support myself in the fabulous lifestyle that I strive to ultimately achieve.
August 17, 2006
Time marches on
Today I was talking to one of my close friends and she mentioned a statistic that she'd seen somewhere. Apparently once a woman reaches the age of 27, her eggs begin to lose their freshness or something like that. Now before I wrote this, I did a little digging to see if I could find some kind of medical validation to that little factoid but to no avail. Mind you, I only took maybe 10 minutes to actually research it but in that short time frame, I didn't find anything to substantiate this factoid. That doesn't mean that it doesn't exist, I just couldn't find anything.
However, my research did show me that women are born with a set amount of eggs and as time passes, that number dwindles steadily. This fact did not make things any better. Regardless of how you look at it, women are working against a clock when it comes to the desire to be a mother. Add on to that the fact that as a woman ages, it becomes more and more risky for her to carry a baby to term, I can't help but have some empathy for those women on a mission.
Physiologically it is most advantageous for women and men to procreate while we are in our mid to late 20's because that's when we are physically best able to care for a child. The funny part comes when you consider the psycological and financial ramifications of doing that. Most people that I know who are still in their 20s are not psycologically able to fathom the thought of caring for another human being that's totally dependent on them. True enough plenty of those people have already taken the plunge but I often hear horror stories of demanding schedules and no longer having a life. It just makes me want to run out and make my own baby! (sarcasm, folks)
Then there are the finances. I personally am still working on getting myself to a place where I feel totally comfortable financially. By comfortable, I mean being able to maintain a certain type of lifestyle and allow myself indulgences like travel and the occasional extravagent purchase from time to time. Many of my peers aren't at that comfortable place on their own so I can only imagine if they had kids, who can really reduce that margin of comfort if it isn't really plush. Now I'm not talking bad about those people who do decide to procreate and make little ones because being a parent is one of the hardest and most rewarding things in the world but maybe we should do more to prepare ourselves for parenthood.
As a woman in her late 20s, I am constantly being bombarded with questions about why I haven't "settled down to start a family". And now there are medical facts out there to further substantiate the questioning. I refuse to give in to the pressure. Aside from the fact that I refuse to just settle for any man and become a veritable breeder of little humans, I am by no means ready to take on that responsibility. I shouldn't be judged because I'm not ready either. Besides since my eggs are in such short supply, I should really be selective about who I decide to let sperminate them. My eggs are a precious commodity and should be handled with care with no outside influence.
However, my research did show me that women are born with a set amount of eggs and as time passes, that number dwindles steadily. This fact did not make things any better. Regardless of how you look at it, women are working against a clock when it comes to the desire to be a mother. Add on to that the fact that as a woman ages, it becomes more and more risky for her to carry a baby to term, I can't help but have some empathy for those women on a mission.
Physiologically it is most advantageous for women and men to procreate while we are in our mid to late 20's because that's when we are physically best able to care for a child. The funny part comes when you consider the psycological and financial ramifications of doing that. Most people that I know who are still in their 20s are not psycologically able to fathom the thought of caring for another human being that's totally dependent on them. True enough plenty of those people have already taken the plunge but I often hear horror stories of demanding schedules and no longer having a life. It just makes me want to run out and make my own baby! (sarcasm, folks)
Then there are the finances. I personally am still working on getting myself to a place where I feel totally comfortable financially. By comfortable, I mean being able to maintain a certain type of lifestyle and allow myself indulgences like travel and the occasional extravagent purchase from time to time. Many of my peers aren't at that comfortable place on their own so I can only imagine if they had kids, who can really reduce that margin of comfort if it isn't really plush. Now I'm not talking bad about those people who do decide to procreate and make little ones because being a parent is one of the hardest and most rewarding things in the world but maybe we should do more to prepare ourselves for parenthood.
As a woman in her late 20s, I am constantly being bombarded with questions about why I haven't "settled down to start a family". And now there are medical facts out there to further substantiate the questioning. I refuse to give in to the pressure. Aside from the fact that I refuse to just settle for any man and become a veritable breeder of little humans, I am by no means ready to take on that responsibility. I shouldn't be judged because I'm not ready either. Besides since my eggs are in such short supply, I should really be selective about who I decide to let sperminate them. My eggs are a precious commodity and should be handled with care with no outside influence.
August 13, 2006
When do you give up?
I tend to make it a point to surround myself with people that are sincere and real within their own skin. I think that everyone should focus on surrounding themselves by people who are supportive and genuinely care about their personal well being. I don't believe in letting people into my personal space that only seek to take and not give back. I call those people vampires. I may do a blog about that at a later time so I won't digress here.
Well over time I have worked to surround myself with people who fill me up with positivity just as much as I seek to do the same for them. Now in doing this, I tend to be really slow to let new people into my life fully. It typically takes a while before I allow someone to be close to me, especially intimately. I am a fiercely loyal person, a truly Taurean trait. When I decide that someone can be close to me, I will always have their back. Sometimes my mom says that I can be loyal to a fault and I suppose there is some truth to that.
As I have gotten older and more in tune to my own personal intuition, I am even more fiercely loyal, especially when I am drawn to someone in spite of myself (sometimes). If something tells me that this person is worth the extra effort, I have no problem putting it forth.
Right now I have someone in my life that I believe is worth the effort but in spite of all of my sincere efforts, I can't seem to properly convey that loyalty to this person. I have been a fierce supporter and loyal friend to this person but he constantly questions me at every step. I have never asked him for anything but his ability to allow himself to trust me. Now, I realize that trust comes in time, which is why I am understanding about his desire to question me at times. However, I am starting to grow weary of trying to show him that he can trust me and trust in me. I'm beginning to wonder if it will ever come to pass.
I like to believe that patience is an important virtue in life and I know that in strength lies the ability to be patient but sometimes I worry about this situation. Sometimes I get so frustrated with trying to do what my heart tells me that I wonder if it will ever end. I am waiting to see if something will tell me to walk away but it hasn't in spite of his apparent inability to see my sincerity.
I guess since I made it a point to listen more closely to my inner voice, I will continue to do what I've been doing and wait to see how things will ultimately turn out.
Well over time I have worked to surround myself with people who fill me up with positivity just as much as I seek to do the same for them. Now in doing this, I tend to be really slow to let new people into my life fully. It typically takes a while before I allow someone to be close to me, especially intimately. I am a fiercely loyal person, a truly Taurean trait. When I decide that someone can be close to me, I will always have their back. Sometimes my mom says that I can be loyal to a fault and I suppose there is some truth to that.
As I have gotten older and more in tune to my own personal intuition, I am even more fiercely loyal, especially when I am drawn to someone in spite of myself (sometimes). If something tells me that this person is worth the extra effort, I have no problem putting it forth.
Right now I have someone in my life that I believe is worth the effort but in spite of all of my sincere efforts, I can't seem to properly convey that loyalty to this person. I have been a fierce supporter and loyal friend to this person but he constantly questions me at every step. I have never asked him for anything but his ability to allow himself to trust me. Now, I realize that trust comes in time, which is why I am understanding about his desire to question me at times. However, I am starting to grow weary of trying to show him that he can trust me and trust in me. I'm beginning to wonder if it will ever come to pass.
I like to believe that patience is an important virtue in life and I know that in strength lies the ability to be patient but sometimes I worry about this situation. Sometimes I get so frustrated with trying to do what my heart tells me that I wonder if it will ever end. I am waiting to see if something will tell me to walk away but it hasn't in spite of his apparent inability to see my sincerity.
I guess since I made it a point to listen more closely to my inner voice, I will continue to do what I've been doing and wait to see how things will ultimately turn out.
August 12, 2006
One of my many theories...
Well since you're checking out my blogspace, I figure I can start running my theories by you. I have tons of them. I am a consummate observer of the world. As I've gotten older, I have made it a point to tune in more to my intuition and that little voice in my head. Well I've noticed a pretty common phenomenon that makes me further understand why many people think that men and women can't be "just friends".
Ok, I'm sure everyone has either had one or been one. You meet someone who's very cool. You two get along very well. This person can be only mildly attractive or out right gorgeous. The relationship may or may not start off as a romantic one but it eventually turns into a friendship.
Now initially you may think that this is cool. You met a cool person that turned into a good friend. Wrong!
What you have done is fed into a very common phenomenon. Instead of having friends, guys have "fan clubs" and ladies have "dicks in a glass". Basically what this amounts to is someone who you keep in your life that can turn into a romantic situation at any time. All it takes is for you to make the suggestion and your friend turns into more than a friend. I call them fan club members for guys because they tend to be your biggest cheerleader. All they want is for you to be happy (even if it's not with them) because they care so much. I call them dicks in a glass for women because it's like an emergency boyfriend. All you have to do is break the glass and you have a man.
Now there is nothing wrong with this type of friend but they must be recognized for what they are. They also must be recognized because if you have decided that they will never become a significant other, they will always pose and issue when you do get into a relationship with someone else. Your boyfriend/girlfriend will sense the vibe and immediately dislike the person and unfortunately you may have to decrease your interaction with this person in order to keep your relationship going in a positive direction. The problem comes when you are determined to keep this "friend" in your life despite of any other relationship you may attempt to have. Another problem is when people have multiple people in this position. If you meet someone who is cool that you don't want to date, you are not obligated to make them your friend. Some people don't need to be major fixtures in your life.
Now I have nothing against fan club members or dicks in a glass but you don't need a brood of them around you. Evaluate your male/female relationships and determine who is a true blue friend and who's a fan club/dick in a glass. Then keep those people in mind when you meet "the one" and want to have a relationship. You may have to cut them off or reduce your contact with them.
Ok, I'm sure everyone has either had one or been one. You meet someone who's very cool. You two get along very well. This person can be only mildly attractive or out right gorgeous. The relationship may or may not start off as a romantic one but it eventually turns into a friendship.
Now initially you may think that this is cool. You met a cool person that turned into a good friend. Wrong!
What you have done is fed into a very common phenomenon. Instead of having friends, guys have "fan clubs" and ladies have "dicks in a glass". Basically what this amounts to is someone who you keep in your life that can turn into a romantic situation at any time. All it takes is for you to make the suggestion and your friend turns into more than a friend. I call them fan club members for guys because they tend to be your biggest cheerleader. All they want is for you to be happy (even if it's not with them) because they care so much. I call them dicks in a glass for women because it's like an emergency boyfriend. All you have to do is break the glass and you have a man.
Now there is nothing wrong with this type of friend but they must be recognized for what they are. They also must be recognized because if you have decided that they will never become a significant other, they will always pose and issue when you do get into a relationship with someone else. Your boyfriend/girlfriend will sense the vibe and immediately dislike the person and unfortunately you may have to decrease your interaction with this person in order to keep your relationship going in a positive direction. The problem comes when you are determined to keep this "friend" in your life despite of any other relationship you may attempt to have. Another problem is when people have multiple people in this position. If you meet someone who is cool that you don't want to date, you are not obligated to make them your friend. Some people don't need to be major fixtures in your life.
Now I have nothing against fan club members or dicks in a glass but you don't need a brood of them around you. Evaluate your male/female relationships and determine who is a true blue friend and who's a fan club/dick in a glass. Then keep those people in mind when you meet "the one" and want to have a relationship. You may have to cut them off or reduce your contact with them.
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