MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

The presents unwrapped. The stores are now closed. The fireplace is hot. The family is home.
The food is so delicious, decorated to a tee. It's a feeling that we ignore the other 363...
Two specials days out of the year where people come together to spread love and cheer.
But if for some reason, you missed out on this celebration, you're still NOT alone on this special occasion.

*From MY heart to YOURS,

Merry Christmas

Divided States of America

Here we are- almost two weeks after the RE-election of President Barack Obama. I'm not so shocked that he got the chance to "occupy" the office again, but I am more surprised that YA'LL ARE STILL ALIVE!
Hear me out. We have people running their husbands over because he did not vote. There are others who killed themselves and their family because Obama's reign continued. And NOW we have a motley of individuals (more specifically, STATES) that want to recede from the union because Obama won again.
LAUGH.OUT.LOUD <---spelled out for educational purposes.
Did you not know that having the majority of the electoral college and the country's citizens vote in his favor would result in his winning?
SHAKING.MY.HEAD<---once again for educational purposes.
I really pray that by the end of me writing this rant that I will have discovered this all to be a rumor. You can't host a true basketball game with only ONE player; it requires a TEAM. The same works in terms of running a successful country. People want to complain about the president having not lived up to one's expectations when 1) many of you didn't EXPECT him to win and 2) many of you EXPECTED him to fail and thus never showed support for him. How can a country thrive and progress when the citizen's can't even uphold the ideal of equality and loyalty? (Wishing bad upon your president- yes! YOUR president- has to be some kind of treason.) It's plenty of disloyal, lunatics out their who are probably at the top of the petition in trying to remove their respective states from the union. Have they never heard of the trite expression: "United we stand, divided we fall"? Well, I have and it reflects the state of our country IF we can indeed say that the last four years were a waste.
It's honestly simpler than people want to admit: Vote for the most reasonable candidate with EVERYone's genuine interest at heart. Now, coming from a female who is catching hell getting government assistance, I can understand the significance of getting help. The reality of it is that we all need it from time to time. Tax breaks (money saving antics) for multi-millionaires isn't the move. That one percent of elitists could pay my entire hometown's rent. HELP ME TO UNDERSTAND. Because politics is a dance, I often shy away but I'm almost positive that most of the campaigning is mudslinging and the words are pre-recorded. The one thing that I'd like to think was sincere is the effort to aid the people. What help do you think one can attain by relinquishing its title as a United STATE or how do you think that would help its citizens? I hardly see anything to it. But we'll definitely see....
***************************************to be continued*******************************

On "E"

slouching with a deathly lean at this computer...only drooping lids available to catch my thoughts...
I'm on "E"
My mind, soul, and body are all DRAINED from recent events.
I'm on "E"
smh...see...you'd never understand "E" if you've never tried.
It is Elegant, Elaborate, and even Exercised.
It is pushed and pulled, torn and tattered.
It is a representation of someone who sometimes didn't think she mattered.
I'm on "E"
inEvitable is "E" with an Entity of fear.
More concerned with the past that the future that is near.
More afraid of the present because there's no more time left to learn it.
More confused about the future when the destiny is far from earned yet.
I'm on "E"
....
but so are YOU
See...you glance from your screens and catch a glimpse of rEality.
You read the words and hear the verbs of a hidden life of fatalities.
Giggle hear. Laugh. Lest ye cheer
for the stumble you'd assume taken
But alas my dear. Step aside. Stand clear.
Let a stumble versus a fall not be mistaken.
You're so all on "E"
Let's break this down a bit.
Simplify the letter.
You're on "E"
yet "E" is ME
A woman simply striving to do better.
A woman with self-assigned duties
I've walked a path full of bridges-
some dangerous and others now burned
I've lived the life of a junkie who always seemed to yearn
until I got on "E"
I found myself engulfed in books.
My knees weakened at the altar
Shield the world's dirty looks
Felt a sharp shooting fear that made me run faster
but
I was on "E"
...
...
"E"
...
...
"E"
everything I wished for, everything I envisioned
everything I hope and prayed and set first on my mission
...
seems to be on "E", or missing
In hindsight, I shouldn't really look back
because therein lies my spine
my support
by which I stand
that constructs this wonderful being that is I
....sigh....
but I'm on "E"
Drained by my secrets, torn apart by lies
confused by the daggers that are thrown through one's eyes
no room for lonely cries
no time for asking why
JUST TIME TO STEP ASIDE
take a look at "E"
that's why I'm on it....

Getting OUT the House: Breezing through the Season with Fun

#10ArtistsIWantToMeet

It’s definitely cooling down outside, but that’s no reason to stay cooped up inside. When the wind blows away any possibility of a picnics or the chilled air has the zoo animals in a frozen state, try finding a new way to create fun and memories. Dive into fun beyond eateries. Look beyond the movies. Why not try a concert or two this season and create a multilayered event.

Not sure where to go? Not sure who you want to see? Are you afraid that you don’t have the funds? No worries. You’re understandably cautious but that’s when we consult all possible outlets and sources. This is the information age with which we have more than enough search engines (at minimum) to help us find ticket sources and plenty of ways to save. The first step is to make a list of the top 10 artists that you’d like to meet. Find a good concert listing for your area. Check the prices. Mark the date. Start earning and saving. And GET THERE! There is oftentimes more than one opportunity to see an artist so this should be a slight load off of the overworked hearts of the blue collar or minimum waged worker; this is to say that if you have to miss ONE event, try another date.

Don’t let this season breeze by you without taking the opportunity to create new memories. For those who aren’t the typical concert-goer, GIVE IT A TRY. It’s a simple way to bring you a million steps closer to the artists that you “know” and love. To the concert “professional”, think of a way to customize your experience. Turn it into a picnic or maybe even a dance fest. Whatever your status, it’s all about who daring and creative you’re willing to be in order to add value to YOUR memory.

Click the following link to find a concert in YOUR area: 

http://concertful.com/search

Worthy Reads: WEEP NOT, CHILD

“Chasing the Promise:

Varying Perspectives of Hope in Weep Not, Child”

To have a dream, yet possess no drive is like an unseen shooting star; you will only be left with the mystery of “what if”. A land blackened with war oppression, and death, all that many of Africa’s people can do is dream Weep Not, Child is a novel that follows a common theme of fighting for and pursuing dreams versus accepting and following norms upon the colonization of Westerners. Three characters that offer varying perspectives of Africa’s ongoing fight to progress are Kamau, Mwihaki, and Njoroge.

“It’s strange how you do fear because your heart is already prepared to fear…” This ideal seems to hold true throughout the life of Kamau, one of Njoroge’s older brothers. He is knowledgeable of the opportunities that are available but is passive in wanting to chase them. Kamau makes the statement “You know…I cannot drop the apprenticeship. But I’m glad you’re going to school.” With the instability in air on account of the Mau Mau war, it is as if Kamau sees the significance of getting an education but cannot pull himself from knowing the significance of work and how its benefits are immediate. This is a dilemma that many minorities (especially, in smaller communities) tend to encounter regularly. They are often preached to about the importance of education, but because the daily struggles to which they are presented, they recognize the need to work and support self and family.

Contrary to the latter, however, there are people who seem to have life handed to them on a silver platter. The character that seems to represent this more fortunate group would be Mwihaki. She is the daughter of the man who owns the land on which Njorge and his family lives. Unlike Njorge, Mwihaki has siblings that have been educated and are current professionals; this sets the standard for her having to attend school as well. Her ability to attend school gives her high standing amongst the most common folk like Njoroge who “wanted to appear respectable and dignified in the eyes of Mwihaki.” She was admired respectfully so. She was the type of female who, having grown up with her brothers learned early on to hold her own; this was, perhaps, the root of her survival as she went through the various changes of life.

In Njoroge’s case, life had been presented to him in somewhat a narrowed scope. Work was mandatory, education was desirable, and misery was forever on the prowl. Nevertheless, he had always been “a visionary who console himself faced by the difficulties of the moment by a look at a better day to come.” From the moment his mother allowed him to enter school to truly experience a “well-rounded” life. Because he wasn’t as well off as Mwihaki, he was forced into situations where he had to prove himself worthy of equal treatment. But on the other hand, because he was given one more opportunity that his brother, Kamau, he was able to go out and see a world beyond the “misery” that he’d be engulfed in should he ever return home. He is an example of one who appreciates the simple things, like education, and makes the most of the dreams that many from similar situations will never be able to pursue.

Weep Not, Child reiterates the idea that western culture tends to take for granted the amenities that are readily available to us. Not many people have the simple freedom of being able to pursue their dreams and alter their fate. Whether it be outta of social constrictions or individual fear, this novel has shown that it is not enough to just desire a better lifestyle, but one must be able to defy and fight the odds. Lastly, it proves that, contrary to what the media may oftentimes portray, Africa may be a troubled land but the drive of its people are continuously rising and thus, the future of Africa is continuously brightening.

JOIN THE LEAGUE! : BCS presents The 2013 Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl

Beasts with speed. Agile giants. Pirates of precision. Get a dose of true athleticism as the Bowl Championship Series gathers the nation’s top performing collegiate football teams to fight for the championship title. Follow the links below to learn how you can get in on the action and feel the adrenaline for yourself!

BCS Tickets

Orange Bowl Tickets

Rose Bowl Tickets

Generation X-tinguished

Self-absorbed, lazy, overly-pop-culture-influenced...I shake my head at the fact that this is PROBABLY the best way to describe the "youth" of the day. Let's face it! What was once seen as the fight to make a living has now become a simple fight to make life BEYOND easy.

Or maybe that's just what the OLDER heads would say. Think about it. Once upon a time, women were known to not only take care of the children, but when the situation called for it (which was OFTEN), you could find them bent over with the baby curdled in their bosom picking peas and corn only to head right in to the house to start cleaning and washing and supporting the husband in the most direct and indirect days.

And oh, let us not forget our men. they were the ones out all day. Entrusted with the financial well-being and safety of the family. The hours with him being away from the house was ALL the comfort the woman needed, that was ALL he needed to do motivate the woman to do what she needed to do.

but nooooooow....

smh. He has to be pulling six plus figures and affiliate with the "best" (which varied by definition according to location). She has to have more of a child-like submission to his existence. Therefore, he's trying to bypass the typical American way of maneuvering through a 9 to 5; he's chasing the get-rich-quick schemes (too many examples to name). And Miss Lady spends her hours at home primping and pampering herself; transforming herself into human bait for the next "baller" that can guarantee her a maid, pretty hair-dos, and shopping sprees.

Normally, I would call it just being motivated and, in some cases, creative. But lately it's become an epidemic to where even pursuing a HIGH SCHOOL education is taboo. Generation X is not the type that really wants to WORK then PLAY, but we seek to PLAY to get PAID.

*Random Fact: An Asian man sue his wife for being ugly and WON!!! (refer to Worldstar HipHop)*

Now, on to the next issue. Suppose these SCHEMES and TRAPS land you in the position in which you want to be: with the baller or with the Barbie. What happens next? You have to maintain this lifestyle, but what's often happening is that we've catapulted off of a trend, and like these trends, our success stories become a thing of the past. It's okay to Live for the MOMENT, but many of us know not how to Invest in the FUTURE.

So guess what baby girl, ManMan is out of a job and unless one of you get to pushing papers or a broom, YOU'LL BE OUT OF YOUR LI'L MANSION. Or, see sir how your HoneyBooBoo's habits have become a "bill beyond your means", she's not going to look so BEAUTIFUL after those thousand dollar spa treatments ceased like your pocket money. Nine times out of ten, you'll be on to the next one. 

Generation X marries more out of CONVENIENCE than our grandparents did. I know all too well of people who are disgustedly divorced or miserably married. I guess that would explain why it's become "okay" to do deal with people in this order:

Sex, Learn, Move with, Baby, Marry, and Dismiss...

Once upon a time, this was considered taboo even in the "non-Christian's" eyes. We have the nerve to wonder why there are so many BASTARD children in the world. What's worse is that we have trouble admitting to the bastards. (It sounds worse than it really is, but still).

With a world of children who hardly gets the chance to know one or both of their parents, how can they progress. No one can move forward without knowing where they stand or from whence they came.

It would be nice to think of us as a generation of individualists, but truth be told, many of us are even too lazy to DREAM let alone PURSUE that dream.

"A man with no dream is one who simply sleeps, and sleep is just one heartbeat away from death." ~English Walker

All I'm saying is that I wish our youth had more VIRTUES in their hearts that VALUE on their minds. I wish love could be more sincere. I wish we could be ourselves without relying on the ever-changing fads of pop culture for approval. Without acknowledging and appreciating ourselves, we will surely diminish by mind, spirit, and soon body.