Random Ramblings Volume 10

I started having a new pain in my left leg on Saturday. Usually my pain is associated with my knee cap. It either shifts out of place or pops every time I sit down or stand up but now, I get a sharp pain on the lower left side just below the back of my knee. It makes me feel like my leg is going to give way and I either have to stop walking for a minute or sit down right away because I feel like I might fall. I don’t know what’s going on. This leg has never been the same since I hurt it in Chicago last month. I’m worried.

Why is it people say they wanna do business but are ‘half assed’ when it comes to following through?

If you say you’re going to do something, do it! I know procrastination is a bitch but when you’re trying to establish your name/business venture, you need to step your game up!

I’m stronger and more confident because of you but right now, I don’t feel the same way when it comes to our friendship. Not sure what’s going on but I’m apprehensive when I think about bringing it up. I feel tension and awkwardness but not sure what to do. Give it time? Let it go? Bring it up and deal with it? Am I looking too much into it? Regardless, I hope that things get better.

I’ve gotten rid of a lot my shyness but a number of times over the last couple of months made me realize that I still have a long way to go.

It’s hard to be excited about things in my life without someone to share it with.

I wish I had more friends in the city to chill with. Most of my friends are in the US…hmmm, time for a change of scenery?

Now that I’m a little more stable, would a change of scenery be possible? Let’s say in about 2 years or so…hmmm, I wonder.

I still want to be a part of the blog but too much was expected. Can’t you see that? There were a bunch of writers and now you’re down to 1 other than yourself. I felt like I’d be a good addition and actually enjoyed working on it but, the way you dealt with a situation caused me not to come back so I found someone else to give information to. I’d come back if you asked me to and the terms were different, but do you even realize that? Did you ever wonder why I didn’t come back? Business doesn’t always have to be so ‘cut throat’, you may push away people that care for you or someone with whom you can build with.

Today I was outside on my break and someone walked by, smiling. “Good morning! You’re beautiful. You’ve got a gorgeous face!” I just blushed and shyly said thank you. Wow, that was sooo random. I was feeling really blah today but I couldn’t help but smile. I don’t feel I look the greatest today either. Guess it’s the new coat I just bought that I wore today. Lol.

Heartfelt condolences go out to my friend Trifon and his family. He just lost his mom on Sunday. She was a kind and wonderful lady. RIP FC.

Little Brother Show Oct 19 @ Mod Club

My cousin, Jojo and I went to check out my boys, Phonte and Pooh not long ago. Darien wasn’t with them this time around so it was strange not to him on stage but they put on a great show nonetheless! We got there a bit early and manage to get right in front, to the right side of the stage. Because of the position we were standing, I didn’t take much video. I took a bit but I just felt that the angle that I was filming wasn’t great, I did take a bunch of pics though!
When we arrived, my boy DJ Wristpect was DJing on stage. It was the release of his newest mixtape, Bridging The Gap Vol. 3: Toronto To North Carolina which is hosted by Tay and Pooh and features a number of tracks from artists from the cities mentioned in the title. I helped by getting a voice drop from Darien for him to include on it. It’s a wicked cd and I was happy to help out! It was the first time I got to see Wristpect spin and he is wicked!! The opening act was pretty good to but I can’t remember their names!! While we waited for LB to come on, I happened to look up to the window of the green room which was diagonal to us and saw people up there. Then I noticed someone standing there waving furiously. I realized it was Pooh and waved back. Then they were called onstage and he came right over to me to say hi. When Tay noticed me, he just winked and smiled at me. At one point, I put my camera down on the stage because I was frustrated that I couldn’t take video. Tay saw it there, got my attention, pointed to my cam then pointed to himself and proceeded to pose for me which had people laughing! The boys always put on a great show and this time wasn’t any different!
After the show, I finally was able to meet to Big Dho who is LB’s manager and the guy behind the HOJ/JL. I’ve been in contact with him the last little so it was cool to talk to him in person. I saw Pooh briefly while he was on his way backstage and gave him a hug before making my way to the merchandise table. Phonte just released The Foreign Exchange album (the tracks playing on my mp3 player here are from the CD) and I had tried to get it in stores but couldn’t find it anywhere. Luckily, they were selling it there cuz I wanted Tay to sign it. There were still a few fans around Tay when he asked out loud, “Anyone else got anything for me to sign?” That’s when I called out to him and handed the cd over. He had a big smile on his face and said, “Hmmm, now what do I write on THIS cd?” We laughed and I went over to tell him that as long as he didn’t write ‘U Hate Me’ on it, I was cool. He looked at me, screw faced and said, “Why would I write that?” I told him that he wrote that on my Get Back shirt back when I was in Charlotte and he denied it. We playfully argued about it and I told him I wish I had my shirt to show him. “I wish you had that shit here too cuz I know I didn’t write that!” he told me. For the record, he did and I plan to email a picture of it to him! He ended up writing, ‘Thanks for the love, Phonte…I don’t hate you ’ and said, “See! I even put a smiley face on that shit!” He is just something else. After I took some pics with him, I looked around for Pooh and couldn’t find him for a bit. I went to take a pic with Dho and then spotted him. I gave him a big hug and I took a pic with him too. We left shortly after that. While we stood outside for a bit as I got my stuff together, LB’s DJ, Flash came out and said hi. I was surprised that he remembered me because the first time I spoke to him was at last show when I asked him to find Darien for me. I got a pic with him as well just as Pooh and everyone else were leaving. We stood around talking for a bit then finally left.
While Jojo and I drove home, I realized that I’ve seen LB a total of 6 times! I can’t get enough of these guys! If they ever come to your city, make sure to check them out! My boys will not disappoint!

DJ Wristpect on the 1s & 2s!!




Rapper Big Pooh + Phonte = Little Brother




Phonte posing for me!! LOL




My 2 fave shots of Pooh from the show



My 2 fave shots of Phonte from the show



DJ Flash



With Big Dho



“Hmmm, now what do I write on THIS cd?” Phonte



Tay and I buggin' each other about the 'U Hate Me" on my Get Back Shirt



My signed Foreign Exchange CD



Me & Tay - I had no idea he was smiling that big when we took this! LoL



Me huggin' on Poohbie!!!



With DJ Flash

I'm feeling generous so I thought I'd give you a link to download the DJ Wristpect Bridging The Gap Vol. 3 Toronto To North Carolina. Click here to get it and to get a complete track listing!
Also DJ Wristpect posted his LIVE set @ the Little Brother show which is OFF THE CHAIN...oh and by the way, you'll hear my name shouted out a few times too!! Get that & the complete track listing here .

My Kind Of Town…Chicago Is

I’m a little mad at myself because I wanted to write sooner but things have been so crazy! I’ve been so busy @ work, home and with the music promo, I haven’t had the chance to do anything else!
Boogi, Jojo and I took a road trip to Chi Town on an extended Thanksgiving long weekend. We were there for 5 days. I had a decently good time. That may not sound very convincing but there were some hang ups here and there. It all began with trouble with the car rental. Eventually, the car thing turned out okay and it’s too much to get into about the other stuff. I will say that I was in pain for at least half of the trip. People that know me are aware that I have bad knees. We did A LOT of walking which wasn’t too bad. I’m proud to say that I did fairly well and wasn’t out of breath. I tried to keep up as much as I could but was slow & had to stop periodically because of soreness. I felt really upset because I constantly felt that I was holding everyone back. I ended up with a total of 5 blisters on my feet from all the walking. Jojo also had badly swollen feet. Unfortunately, I injured my left knee pretty badly while I was there too. My knee cap shifted out of place and normally, I’m able to massage it back into place but for some reason, it wouldn’t do it right away. It felt like it was rubbing bone on bone as I walked and I was in extreme pain. Eventually it did move to a more comfortable position but the pain never went away. By the time I got home late Monday night, it was so swollen that I could barely pull my jeans off my leg. To this day, I’m still not the same and I’m limping significantly. Enough about all that…
Chicago was simply beautiful. We lucked out because we had great weather. It was like summer and at times, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky! We did tons of sight seeing. We saw the John Hancock Building, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium and we also went to the Freedom Museum which we found while going along the Magnificent Mile. Jojo loves this restaurant called The Cheesecake Factory and I always wanted to try it so we went there our first night. The food was amazing! We were so full that we didn’t have room for cake so we went back our last night in the city. We took a boat cruise on the Saturday that went into Lake Michigan and the river ran through the heart of the city. I was in awe at the architecture. We also went to Millennium Park which is where Kanye filmed his video for Home Coming. We saw The Bean (I know there’s a proper name for it but that’s what everyone calls it!) which was one of my favorite things. Overall, my most favorite was the aquarium. It was the first time I’d been in one and I loved it! They’re building an oceanarium there too and it opens July 2009. I want to go back to see it! I took some video and made it into a mini movie...added music, credits etc...I'll post at the end of this entry.
Another highlight was finally meeting my boy, Rosean. He and I met something like 10 years ago through the internet. We’ve become very close over the years and I consider him one of my closest male friends. I was a little nervous and shy about it but as soon as we met, I was comfortable. It didn’t feel like it was the first time meeting. We all went to a famous pizza place called Giordano’s. We had the famous Chicago deep dish pizza and oh my goodness, it was soooo good! He and I spent most of Sunday together which was fun. Ro was sweet enough to take me around shopping. I was miserable leading up to that day, with the pain and what not so he offered to take me for the day. He helped me lift my spirits and I really appreciate him for it. Ro, I heart you! Hopefully we’ll see each other again soon!
Here's a few pics:

This is a shot from the John Hancock Building



A few shots from the Shedd Aquarium:

Seahorse



Turtle



Fish from the Coral Reef



Shot of some of the beautiful buildings



Day & Night shot of my fave thing in Chicago: Cloud Gate but everyone calls it THE BEAN!!!!!





Rosean & I



Me in front of the Oprah Show Studios



Here's the video I made (Don't forget to pause the mp3 player on the top right b4 pressing play!):