Out past curfew

Yo, my nephew is the funniest. I don't even know if HE himself is funny, but some funny shit happens every damn time he comes around LOL.

He was down here with the midgets while I was gone this week (He's 20. Put your phones down LOL). He was taking the bus back upstate tonight and it was his first trip down by himself so I went with him to make sure he got on the bus alright. We get to the bus stop (for the bus into the city) and he's like "Auntie, you mind if I smoke my weed? I need to get right before I take this ride." Dude, you 20 and we outside, what Ima do? LOL So he pulls out this glass capsule looking thing that I guess was some kinda new-fangled pipe or something, had to be about four inches long (never seen anything like it before)... and he gets about 3 pulls off before the bus comes. I get on the bus first and he gets on behind me with his suitcase, which he leaves up front by the bus driver. I sit in the double seats about 4 rows back and he occupies the doubles right across from me. About 30 seconds later, I hear all this banter coming from the large group of folks in the back of the bus. I hear it but I aint really listening until I see my nephew's body shaking in laughter. I realize he is laughing at them so I tune in and hear that they are commenting on the pungent ass smell of weed that I hadn't even noticed until they pointed it out. But I will be DAMNED if that boy didn't smell like a pound of glaucoma rectification LOL. I said goooooot DAYUM! LOL The crew in the back is BUGGIN, and we both cracking up at the jokes too cause he really was about to get the whole damn bus high off a contact. Like LITERALLY. One dude comes up from the back like "dude, I wanna hug you right now. I been looking for the weed man to come through all damn day and his ass aint show up so I swear, if hugging you wouldnt be weird.... but it would be weird..... so I just wanna be close" LOL.....smh

Yo. These people was wilding out. I have no idea where they were coming from, deep like that on a Sunday night (there were probably bout 10 or 12 of em, only 4 dudes) but they was living way out loud tonight, jack LOL. Definitely the most interesting bus ride I have had in my almost 3 years of living out here.

Then we get to the terminal and we go to the Trailways station because even though my nephew already has his ticket, it doesn't say what gate he's supposed to go to. There is only one person working but there is only one person in the line so it was whatever. This older man gets in line behind us and sees me ask my nephew to see his ticket. He's like "Where you going? I can tell you what gate you suppose to be at." We look at each other and then I say "Rochester." Dude goes, "The 10:55? I mean 10:45? Yeah, that's gate 22. They boarding right now. What you wanna do is go right down this escalator and loop back thissaway. They boarding right now." Me and neph like how the fuck does he know that? WHY the fuck does he know that? LMAO! But sure enough, we go down the escalator and loop around to gate 22 and them muthafuckas was sure enough boarding the bus LOL.

I swear. NYC has some of the most random ass people in the world and all it takes is for you to be out past your curfew to experience some shit that'll make your day LOL. Im ready for life now LOL.....

Guess Who's Back?

The spot is on the mirror, not my suit LOL.....

So I just got back from Denver about 1am last night. Beautiful scenery; too bad all I got to see of it was during the ride to and from the airport. The mountains are BEAUTIFUL. The most beautiful I have ever seen, even from a distance. It was a dry 93 degrees when I got there and you could still see snow caps on the highest ones from afar. My shotty video wouldnt upload as a video (sorry)but it really was breathtaking…. Just not as much as the panic attack I had on the plane ride out there. We experienced the type of turbulence that falls just short of a class action suit but definitely makes one contemplate her mortality. My chest had been tight since I sat down – in the last fucken row of the plane – and when all the “shaken not stirred” began, it just got worse. Suddenly I couldn’t breathe and despite my efforts to calm myself, the tears could not be controlled. Just my luck, just at the worst of it the flight attendants received the order to return to their jump seats. Great. Now I cant even get any assistance. Luckily I was sitting with an old couple that comforted and took care of me until it all passed. They gave me one of the 800 bottles of water they came prepared with and rubbed my back until I came down from the ledge. I spent the next hour watching them sleep hand in hand and all I could think was how much I want to be them when Im their age. God bless em.

The hotel was 4-starrish but beneath par in comparison to my last summit experience at The Island in Newport Beach, California. The organizational skills of the hotel (and my event coordinator) were even farther beneath par. The hotel double-booked a couple of conferences leaving us at least 4 rooms short for the executives we had coming. Of course that meant some of the staff had to triple and quadruple up to free rooms for them and yours truly was one of the casualties. I was not a happy camper. Me and my original roommate did get our room back the second night though, but the bad taste had already been left; an appropriate phrase since the food there was highly unimpressive.

I managed to get out of there last night early enough to attempt an earlier flight but apparently both earlier flights were delayed past my own flight’s departure. Not a big deal; I like airports. It’s the best place on earth to people-watch. Too bad my phone was dead when the most interesting subjects were passing by. I would have loved to get some photos because no one would ever believe me without them LOL. But I had enough time to have the most God-awful chicken tenders I’ve ever had in my life and consume enough alcohol to guarantee I’d sleep at least part of the flight. Unfortunately the worst turbulence occurred early and I was wide awake for it, with the help of the worst animated flick United could have ever chosen to air on flight. I don’t even remember what it was called but I need to write a sternly worded letter to Pixar; note to self.

There were moments though. There were conversations with executives making more money than I could ever hope to see in my lifetime that set my sights on so much more than I could ever imagine. There were moments sitting outside the hotel golf course with a moon so orange it looked like a CG effect and out in back with green for acres and a breeze crafted by God himself. Aggravation and shortcomings aside, there was beauty to be found, as there always is, if you’re looking.

I canceled my Fourth of July trip upstate to focus on more priority things; one to DC sometime next month to check on a friend that hasn’t been doing so well and another to Charlotte Labor Day weekend to witness the nuptials of a longtime friend who never thought she would see the day. I contemplated whether or not I would go for a while but then I realized that this was, for her, a moment; one that I needed to be a part of. ..a moment that signified change beyond expectation, which I have become all too familiar with on both the good and bad ends. Change is still on the horizon for me and every day I wake up and squint in the glare of the unwelcome sun in my early morning face I feel it nearing. It has yet to make itself known but it’s coming, so I wait – coffee in hand and song in heart. No idea where it came from or why the sensation is so strong, but for the first time in a long time, I can honestly say I am in a happy place. What woman in their right mind questions that?

Hey now!

Dang, its been a month since my last post??? My bad. Hadnt realized. Honestly, its not that nothing has been going on, its more like... so much has been going on that I havent really been able to organize my thoughts. My mom had her 60th birthday, which also brought forth a reunion with my sister who I hadnt seen in about 5 or 6 years, then my mom completed her Associate's degree after 35 years of taking a class when she could, had a rough spurt at work, my teenage son lost his mind and then my cousin died. All that along with dealing with these lame ass dudes trying to stress me out (I aint having it) and it really just aint been conducive to writing. Most of those things have worked themselves out, or are starting to, but I think it was a conversation I had with someone tonight that sort of cleared the muck for me to be able to come back in here. I wont bore you with the details, but lets just say things are back in perspective.

I start my last class on Tuesday. I will officially have completed my Masters studies on July 22nd. After the comprehensive exam, I will be able to officially say Im done and start making moves to work where I wanna be, for the money I deserve. Thank you, Jesus.

Got some prospects on the dating front but really not sure Im even looking for a relationship at this point. Its.... well.... summer LOL. And I've slipped right back into pimp mode (how I do) and Im comfortable with that. Somebody will have to be pretty amazing to change that right now. So expect some rather colorful stories to come across your screen over the next couple of months. Just a heads up LOL.

Right now Im gearing up for some travel - Denver in a couple of weeks, for work, and a wedding in Charlotte this Labor Day weekend. Planning an actual vacation somewhere in between but havent decided where yet. I will be going somewhere though. Probably a shitload of stories on deck for that week also.

All in all, things are good. A hiccup here and there, but you know... I stay swinging. Yall hang in there and I will try to do better keeping up with this blog. I was up at 4a.m. again this weekend so I know some shit is on the horizon. Stay tuned...