Joyful and Joyous Occasion

I've had about 24 hours to let it sink in that Barack Hussein Obama is now the President Elect of these United States of America. I've had my own private moments of reflection and I've witnessed others public thoughts as well as expressing mine on many online forums. I've heard of others overwhelming disappointment and I've reflected as long as I can before writing my entry in my blog.

The question most asked of me is did I vote for President Elect Obama because of his race. I'm disappointed when I am asked this question. I'm intelligent, well spoken, well read and I remind the questioner of these attributes when color comes up. I don't think in terms of color, until I'm reminded of the fact that my color doesn't represent the majority. This is different from my progenitors who could never imagine a life where their color wasn't the first and last thing a person thought of them. I'm rather taken aback that color or race would be my motivation to vote for someone. If that was the case, I wouldn't have participated in every voting opportunity since I was 18. NO I didn't vote for Obama because of his color. Especially since his heritage is multi-cultural and multi-racial. I however am proud of what he stands for, how he represents the Democratic party, and as I stood in my voting booth casting my early vote, I silently reflected on the sacrifices members of my family made so that I could stand there and have opportunity to vote for Obama. As I pressed the box in front of his name, I did so in memory of Everette and Wenonah!

Next question people ask me, as if we're playing 20 questions, what exactly does he stand for if it isn't for the plight of black people. What plight? But again I remind the person asking the question that Black people are the minority in this country. If not for the votes of Americans, of all colors, he wouldn't be President Elect. Whatever ceiling black people may have felt confined under, there is a crack where the chandelier is, its coming down on January 20, 2009. I've never been a Black person who thought I couldn't accomplish something, just because of the color of my skin, not going to start entertaining such a notion now.

Finally, I've heard he's unGodly. To which I hear crickets. I need definition of that one... to even properly address the claim. Here we have a lame duck in office who stole the election to get his seat and we're entertaining claims on the Godliness of someone. I see Obama as a God fearing Christian, one who is a family man, who loves his wife of 16 years, together they are raising 2 beautiful daughters who, by the way were conceived under the confines of marriage and who honors and esteems his family. Ungodly? Help me understand where the thought even came from.

I'm proud to be an American today. I'm proud to be a Black American today and I'm proud to claim Barack Obama as an able bodied representative to my political AND religious beliefs. May God bless him and his family. May God protect him and his family. Hide them under the shadow of His wing as we know there is a price on his head. May God grant him discernment and wisdom, prepare him mentally and physically for the task before him is my humble prayer.

Electa Grand Queen Contest

Sharing pictures of queen contest where I came in as 2nd Runner-Up

Dating in 2008

II'm really trying here to expand my horizons, be more amenable to meeting men and getting in the dating pool again. Wouldn't you know, the first date I have been on in YEARS turned out to be a flop. First the man (and I use that term only to acknowledge gender) seemed over anxious to meet. What is wrong with talking for a couple of weeks over the phone getting a general feel for the other person. This guy was just impatient, or desperate one... My next clue that I should probably back out came when he seemed to be offended that I wasn't interested in riding in his car. Call me paranoid if you want to, but I ride with very few people and a virtual stranger is definitely not among the few. He insisted we meet at a place I would know how to get to, (the big chicken for the Atlantan's reading this blog) and we could go from there to dine someplace. Uum. No... Just tell me where we are going to dine and what time, I'm a smart, intelligent, always on time, NOT directionally challenged woman. I'll find it.

Fast forward to date night, last night. We agreed to meet at 5:30pm. He calls at 4:30 to see if I had left yet. No, I hadn't. He asked me if I was sure I would make it on time. Yes, I'm sure I'll make it on time. 5:10 he calls back and asked me where I was, I replied that I was about 10 minutes away, and he said that was impossible with traffic. I informed him that I don't "do" traffic and that I would be there by the agreed upon time. All the time I'm getting pissed that he would doubt me, especially when he asked if was I sure I knew where the restaurant was. WTF? I'm not 16... nor prone to getting lost and again, definitely not late. I arrived at 5:20 and of course he was already there and waiting. Dinner was uneventful, conversation was easy I chalked up his insecurity of my ability to arrive on time with his bad experiences with women,or the myth that women can't drive and don't know their way places. I told him over dinner that I could give him the latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates to the restaurant if he wanted me to and lay it out on a grid and triangulate it with restaurants of similar cuisine. (Hey I'm a geocacher, what can I say and no I don't have a GPS mounted in my car.) Let me not belabor the point here, let me get to the good part, when the gender turned into an ass and has thus prompted this blog posting.

He (and I use the term loosely) informs me that he was going to the restroom. He gets up, and I see him talking to the waitress, I assumed he was asking for directions to the facilities but it turns out he was asking for separate checks. Yeah you read right, separate checks, as in he pays for his meal, I pay for mine! He comes back, the waitress comes back and hands us both our checks. Well before I knew it I had called him an ass. I did thank him though but it was definitely a back handed compliment. I thanked him that he proved my family right, they raised me right and to recognize an ass when I saw one. His behind came from a cave, from a family of asses and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree no wonder he's single. I paid my tab and left. My sister said I should have paid for his check and told him to take notes on how it is done.

The more I think about it though the madder I get. Is this the way dating is in 2008? Alright single people, let me hear from you. What motivates you to date? What motivates you to play the dating game? I hate more than anything to be considered dumb, and cannot stand to play games, is dating for me?

Hometown Pride

I get so tired of people giving my hometown of East St. Louis Illinois a bad time. True, we aren't Beverly Hills by any stretch of the imagination, but home is where the heart is and right now my heart is proud of a hometown hero, Dawn Harper! I just want to give her kudo's on my little corner of the 'net and wish her the best as she brings home the Gold in the 100M Hurdles from the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. You Go Girl!

Here is what the Olympic page says about her:
Track & Field
Born: May 13, 1984 East St. Louis, IL
Hometown: East St. Louis, IL
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Ht: 5'6"
Event(s): 100m hurdles
Olympic rookieDawn Harper will make her Olympic debut for the United States this summer in Beijing, where she will compete in the 100m hurdles. Harper, who is coached by Bob Kersee, competed in the 2004 Trials but was eliminated early.
Beijing bound...barelyHarper qualified for Beijing by placing third in the 100m with a time of 12.62 at Olympic Trials in Eugene. She crossed just .007 seconds in front of Nichole Denby for the final spot in the event. "I honestly did not know if I finished third or not," Harper told the Belleville News-Democrat. "I was able to get out of the (starting) blocks well, but then I hit the seventh and eighth hurdles and I saw my dream maybe ending. I just leaned at the finish line as far as I could."
Opposing interviewAfter losing out in her bid to defend her Olympic gold medal, Joanna Hayes surprisingly appeared at the post-race press conference and played the role of a reporter. Hayes picked up a microphone and asked Harper, Lolo Jones and Damu Cherry, "Do the three of you think you can go 1-2-3 at Olympics?" After each of them replied that they believed they could, Hayes said, "That's all I needed to hear," and wished them good luck before leaving.
Kersee connectionHarper is coached by Bob Kersee, the husband and former coach of six-time Olympic medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Joyner-Kersee, who, like Harper, hails from East St. Louis, has stated her intention to get to Beijing to root on Harper.

100 Things you might not know about me

I tink I will edit this post until I list 100 things you might not know about me. I got this idea from reading another blog and thought it was a great thing to do, not to mention the person whose idea I'm about to copy had so many things for which I could relate. Thanks for giving me a topic to discuss, I would love to hear feedback or read others lists of 100 obscure hings.

1. I'm from East St. Louis, Illinois
2. I graduated from high school when I was 15 years old
3. I am unable to birth children
4. I am a Coca-Cola classic addict and collector, and happy about it, no plans on giving it up, put a little Crown Royal in with it, and I'm just as happy as a pig in slop (I'm a country girl too)
5. I am quite opinionated, don't ask if you really don't want to know
6. I have 3 degrees, 4 if you count a funeral science degree
7. I love animals... they give you unconditional love
8. I found love once and lost, not interested in finding it again
9. I cannot draw a straight line, even with a ruler
10. I love to travel, I have incurable wanderlust

What is in it for me?

Is the title a selfish statement? Or is it something that you subconsciously practice, but feel there is a stigma attached to admitting it? I ask because I've been the strange one before, I freely think AROUND the box and its dawned on me that I do NOTHING without something being in it for me.

I don't think its a selfish statement.... for instance: I give because the bible commands me to do so. I will do anything for my fellow human being if its within my power to do so. If a person is on the street and says they are hungry, I'll go out of my way to buy them a meal and other examples such as this. What it is in it for me? The bible says "to whom much is given, much is required" or "you are your brother's keeper". The question then becomes, do you ask yourself what is in it for you or is the question unconscious.

Would you volunteer to help a friend who has no family and is struggling with cancer alone? Or would you wait to be asked, or do you have the demeanor whereby a person would even think to ask you? What would be in this gesture for you?

Would you open your home for a friend or family member to stay with you? What would you get out of it?

Just some things to muse over.

I need topic starters

OK... I know I said I was going to write every day for the next 21 days to start the habit, but I have to be up front with everybody. I'm don't have topics to write about every day. For the past 3 days, I've contemplated what to write about, and nothing seemed intriguing enough for me to sit down and discuss here. So in an effort to write something, I thought I would write with a request. You give me topics to discuss, any topic to discuss, and I'll do it.

Some things like what did I eat today= boring. I'm looking for more stimulating conversation, and moreover, I'm looking for conversation on a two way street. I see that people are reading my fledgling blog, but very few comments. Hearing from you will inspire me to keep this up, and get better with it.

Anyone care to help me out with a few topic starters?

What a difference a year makes

Life changes so much but have you ever stepped back to take notice? So many things have happened in the past 365 days and oddly I marked the time in a rather unique way, the growth of the hair on my Maltese. I'll start by showing her picture 1 year ago today. She had to undergo a near scalping, due to my mismanagement of her care on a week long, 1500 mile car trip. Cocoa's long hair required daily care so I was heart sick when her groomer said he couldn't save her beautiful hair after we found other more interesting things to do besides brushing hair.

In the next 365 days, a lot more things have changed besides the loss of hair. I've acquired so much. I gained a home, I've gained friendships, I've seen the renewing of life through a person receiving a liver transplant, the birth of nephews and neices etc. I've lost loved ones who even in their departure saw fit to bless others with their organs. I've been a shoulder to cry on, and through friends, I've had a shoulder to lean on too.

I've learned that love is an action verb. I've learned that its great to tell someone you love them, but the greatest gift of love is to show it. I've learned more and more just how much value complete honesty has on me as an individual. I understand that not everyone is capable of disclosing the truth, but as you are able, one should strive to.

A black man is the presumptive nominee of the Democratic party... In my life time! I think of my great grandparents who raised me, the stories they told of sit-ins, marches and other acts they took so that I and those who come after could be seen as equal. How I wish their life would have extended so that they could be alive to see 2008.

In conclusion, there is a gospel song that is ringing in my ears today. The lyrics in part, read: When I turn around, and I think things over, all of my good days outweigh my bad days, I won't complain! My what a difference 365 days makes.

Here is a picture of my baby Cocoa today!

The Jump Off

Alright lets have a candid conversation if we can. Lets talk about the jump off. You know, the woman a man has, or the womEn a man has, he goes to get his needs satisfied. She's not a steady woman, she doesn't get anything out of the deal and if she says she does, she's fooling no one but herself. The question then becomes, does she know she's a jump off and if so why is she so accepting?

Or.... Lets get down to it.

Does the man know, she knows she is the jump off? Or is he actually her jump off? How would man take it? Does he even care? Usually men think that they have a harem of women at the ready, just call up a chick, if he has to take her to dinner once, ok. But before 2 weeks is up, or whatever other arbitrary time he's set he's going to tap that booty. What happens when he finds out he's just another stallion in the stable?

Time to fess up ladies... do you have a stable? Are you opposed to having one? Do your men know? How do you think they would feel if they knew?
Men, how do you feel as the jump off? What? You didn't know?

Welcome My newest Nephew

My brother's wife had baby Jonathan on Independence day! Help me welcome him to the world! I think this is a very fitting blog entry!

Jonathan, named after his father, was born at 6:38PM, weighing 8 pounds 7ounces, and 20 inches long. Just in time to enjoy the fireworks.

Bad Hair Day- or in this case, Bad Hair Week

Life gets in the way when one ties to write a blog everyday. I see 4 days have slipped by without an entry from me and I really don't know how that happened. I have observed writing is easier when I've been in the routine of going to work and then writing when I get home in the evening. When I don't go to work, the routine is less regimented and therefore I haven't set aside a proper time to write here. Working on it..... all I can say, working on it!

Lets talk about bad hair for minute... In 13 years of going to the same beautician (stylist) I can honestly say I've never had a bad hair style. But then credit goes to her, not me, because I'm not capable of doing it on my own. I've never sat in her chair and had an idea of how my hair should be, I place myself in he complete control so the ONE time I've had a coherent thought, it turns out to be a flop. So what do I do now? I'm sitting here and one side says do it myself... the other side says, its not so bad... So what would you do?

Exercising

I've finally reached the stage in my life that I've come to value exercise. I've become more sedentary the older I've become and the metabolism isn't what she used to be. I've also become addicted to Coca Cola (the specific brand) and literally every time I drink one, I gain ounces. Instead of graciously filling up my womanly figure, the womanly figure is almost butterball like and totally unacceptable.
I first noticed the unseemliness of my hourglass figure when I took up caching. Its not so bad in urban settings, but get in the woods and this body doesn't really want to cooperate. I have yet to pass out, or just flat out stop, but I'd be less than honest if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind a time or two. My caching bud then decided that we should participate in The Great Urban Race and while I had a great time, in order to win, you have to run from location to location and running isn't in my sight at this moment. So I've known for some time that I have to take drastic changes, but I hate to exercise. I hate to sweat! For years I've said the only exercise I'm willingly interested in participating in will be sex and now that I'm not even getting that... I've had to reconsider my position. (Pun totally intended.)
Meanwhile, it seems the world around me is becoming obsessed with diet and exercise. I've always maintained the position of live life to the fullest, enjoy every minute of it, eat what you want, drink what you want and be merry. I've also maintained I have to die of something, and die I shall so.... While I'm not changing position necessarily, I'm willing to change a partner or two. I've resigned myself to one coke a day and I've been at it for three weeks now. I've signed myself up for the Biggest Loser - NSBC (my church team) and so I have teammates who are counting on me. I have noticed some change with the deletion of 2 or 3 cokes a day, so I've decided to try to exercise more. I've starting a walking program at home. So many physicians have recommended http://www.lesliesansone.com/ to my friends, I obtained a DVD and have, for the past two days, embarked upon a walking journey.
Now to be honest, I really didn't think I'd sweat just from walking in place basically. Let me be the first to tell you, that yes I do get a workout from following the DVD. It might be slow but slow and steady will win the race, I'm sure. It was because of my exercise routine last night, 3 miles of strenuous walking, I failed to have the required energy to write a blog last night. I was bathed, powdered, fed and asleep at 8:30pm last evening. Using this DVD is another of my 21 day habit forming changes. Doing something is better than the nothing I'd previously committed to.
Now truth be told, if I get some of my womanly figure back, I can get someone to accomplish my sex only exercise plan LOLOLOL. A girl can hope, can't she?

Bull Riding

Funny title I know, but just bear with me. I am always a student, I enjoy learning new things so I seek those things which I might not normally expose myself to. Though I hadn't expected to learn something new and different today, after a long weekend, I availed myself to meeting with a friend for dinner. After dinner we retired to my house and as a person with manners should do, I offered the remote to my guest. Imagine my shock when the picture came to rest upon the Professional Bull Riding circuit. I was stunned even further when my guest was knowledgeable about the goings on of riding a bull. Bring out the feathers, you could have knocked me over with one as curiosity got the better of me and I asked questions on the intricacies of the sport. My guest was knowledgeable enough to answer them with shocking clarity. How many of you know how long a rider must remain on the bull? How many of you know that a rider can only have one hand on the bull? What makes the bull buck? Did you know there are professional women bull riders? I must admit bull riding would have never been on my radar screen, I would have never stopped my surfing on the sports channel and spent ANY amount of time watching but its good to learn new things and for that it turned into an enjoyable evening. By the time all of my questions were answered, I even managed to turn the conversation toward a statement full of double entendre and received hearty laughter from my teacher.

Even a topic such as bull riding can be found to be interesting, what information have you found intriguing that you normally have not given second thought to? Or do you quickly file the information you learn into the "useless information" file.

Title not necessary

This is just a place holder. 11:30pm on Saturday night... I want his dated for today. I'll write more about the goings on of today, tomorrow. I have a lot to say about today, but I'm too sleepy to do so. Maybe if I wake up early, I will write this blog then, and then write Sunday's blog after church.

10:35pm on Sunday and I'm not going to edit this post, nor add to it, as I was just too sleepy on the day to give this too much thought. I will say though as a topic to discuss with others, anybody wanna guess about a "shim"? Anybody care to hear the story of the shim? Let me hear from you.

Just in the nick of ime

The clock says 11:42pm. I'm writing a blog. I'm the type of person who means what I say and says what I mean. I meant my commitment to getting into the habit of writing this blog so even though I'm tired, I wanted to write something.

I've had a busy day. I completed the quilt for Vacation Bible School. (Pictures later) That of course meant that I rose this morning as if I was going to work, and I've been working up and until I had to leave to go to church. I even had to go out to the fabric store to pick up more supplies, but again. I'm committed to doing what I say I'm going to do. In the midst, I managed to even wash all of my dirty clothes, my normal last Friday of the month chore! I'm a creature of habit.

This is going to be short, I'm sleepy and I have a busy day tomorrow... ooh and by the way, I know the time difference of whn I'm writing the blog and the time it displays, but I want to be true to myself, and keep my word. This blog counts for Friday!

Cell Phone Technology

Alright, another confession. I'm a techie geek. All things technology I absorb like a sponge. (Consider this a warning, my blogs might be top heavy in this category) So I'm always interested in reading (and probably purchasing) new gadgets which will make my life so much easier. I've been a fan of Palm (www.palm.com) for years. I love the versatility of either using my creativity and tech savvy to create a functional program based on my personal need or using the creativity of others who have already invented the wheel so to speak, to come up with what I need. There are very few open source products on the market so I jump on them when I can. I started with Palm when it was THE handheld Personal Digital Assistant. The device large and clunky, the screen dimmed as only a true monochrome device can be. It weighed a ton, but it kept my contacts and appointment secure and at a fingers reach. I moved up to the Handspring Visor when they moved to 256 True Color brightness and I was the cats meow. I vacillated for a few years between my beloved music phone Nokia before finally taking the plunge with the Treo 650. Whatever was I waiting for? the functionality of a phone and the convenience of having an all in one device sent shivers through my spine.

Now another generation has come, the Centro. This time I didn't hesitate, I was there the DAY my cell phone carrier offered the Centro and I've been taken to heights of ecstasy previously unknown. Every day, I see new opportunity to make the Centro a more important part of my life than it has been. There are programs available that have helped me take Geocaching paperless, soon I hope to take it wireless as well. I have programs that help me manage ringtones -everybody can have their own sound, their picture will display when they call, and I can listen to the ENTIRE song when I get ready! Love it, I tell you, just love it. But one thing... I've literally spent all of this morning, putting my contacts into proper categories. I didn't know I had so many friends, family, business contacts and... I'm about to say it... nuisances! Yup I said it.

So here is where you can help me, surely I'm not the only person with problem people in their contact list! You know the folks that you want to know when they are calling so you don't have to answer? Come on, everybody has one or two folks who fit in the category. They can leave a message, you'll deal with them when YOU want to. People (or businesses) who call you but you have too much invested in your phone number to go out and get a different one. What group would you categorize these people in? It might be rude to name a category "Pest", or "People I don't wanna be bothered with" etc. I know I can give them a morphed acronym but really.... shouldn't I just spell out the category for what it is?

One other thing: any Centro users reading this blog, be sure to pipe in with the latest "gotta have it" programs you've discovered! A Techie Geek such as myself can never explore too much.

The mindless things I think about from day to day.... I'll talk about the Jawbone on a different day.

Lazy days of summer and its just starting!

I have cage fever. I go to work every day, have work to do, but outside in the sunshine is so much more fulfilling at this moment. Sad but true. I'm sure others feel the same way I do about it, so I'm interested in hearing what you do to combat the lazy days of summer. I need suggestions.

To finish a thought from a previous blog, Cacheing....I did attain my 200th cache, but I should probably mention that its hot as hades outside in Hotlanta so this isn't the best time to get aquainted with nature. I will recommend the Camelbak (www.camelbak.com) though. Last year I was green to the heat and humidity of the forest and if it wasn't for my sheer excitement over caching I would have been perfectly happy just fainting. Carrying water bottles was heavy, and cumbersome and going down a hill was a lot easier than coming up and something about tilting my head back to get the last precious drops of water while walking up the hill produced vertigo. I splurged, bought a backpack and a bladder (yeah that is what it is called) and it has made all the difference.

My last comment of the day, they say that doing anything repeatedly over 21 days forms a habit. As this is my 3rd entry... the 3rd time is the charm. Consider this day 1 on my 21 days to making blogging a habit. I'm even going to add my blogger address to my signature, with readership comes encouragement to continue. LOL.

I'm a little slow

But I've learned that slow and steady win the race. Its been a little over a month since I posted a one line blog, but today I managed to update my profile. I even added a picture. I've also determined that most people's blogs have a theme, and I've not decided on what is appropriate as my interests are quite varied.

Does anybody geocache? I'm striving to reach 200 today. I'm at 190 and a geocaching friend and I are striking out to finish a series today, and I have just got to find 9 more. There is a list that ranks cachers starting at 200. I really want to be on the list. Is it really important? Probably not in the whole scheme of things, but its a goal, and I want to achieve it. I've saved in my GPS 220 caches. Regardless of what my friend and I find today, I'll find a few more to make sure I can attain my goal to get on this list.

200 Is a goal for several reasons. I started caching on July 31, 2007. I found 100 in 6 months, I would like to find 200 by my anniversary. Then my goal will change to increase the level of difficulty of my finds. If I increase my Terrain rating I hope that it will increase my stamina and help me loose a few pounds. More about that later.

Well I'll report back, hopefully this evening, on my quest for 200. I would love to hear from fellow cachers world wide.

Everybody does this

So I think I'll try it. First things first. Figuring out how this setting works.