house crazy...

So I haven't even moved in to the new house yet... Hopefully by the end of the long weekend it will be ready for me to move into.... that is, if my doors show up... I can't wait for the guy to call me back so I can act ignorant...

I know I've officially lost my mind.... I was at Home Depot and as I was walking around i passed "tulip bulbs" that you are supposed to plant in the ground before the winter starts and they bloom the following year....

yeah, a nigga bought tulips for his front yard yo... I'm going to plant them shits too... .... and plan to have people over next year right when they bloom just for the moment when that one person says, "Nice tulips!!! Did you plant them yourself??" I can say:

"Well, yes, i planted the bulbs last year in the fall, because as you know you must plant tulips before the ground freezes and allow them to marinate in the ground all winter long, and they just recently began to come up. ... blah blah blah..." I'll get some more info from the internet next year that I'll spout as my own personal horticulturalist knowledge...

I don't even have a proper kitchen yet and I'm worried about what my tulips are going to look like next year... I gotta get some sort of priority system going on here...

~C

Late night salt quantities

i have a penchant for McDonalds' french fries. it's the only thing I ever get from their menu... well occassionally I've purchased one of their salads which actually aren't that bad.

Is it me? or does the late night staff at most fast food establishments smother the food in all the "extra shit" moreso than the normal work day folks? I had a theory come to me last night that there may be a correlation between the economic status of people with their food eating habits which directly results in the late night staff (arguably the least desirable work shift) imposing poor eating habits on their customers. This directly relates to the fact that late at night the fries have LOTS of salt on them, the sandwiches have LOTS of mayonnaise, ketchup, etc...

Since the late night staff could be of a low economic status, with arguably poorer eating habits than their daytime counterparts, this directly results in late night salt quantities being larger than the salt quantities they would normally put on the fries during the day. Poor eating habits in poor communities stretches back to at least the slavery days when we were only allowed to have the most fattening and unwanted portions of the pig to eat and these habits have persisted with us over time and we can't quite seem to shake them.

It reminds of an article I recently read about how a current student decided to do the "black doll test" from the 1950's in 2006 and the results were basically the same. Why is that over 50 years later little black kids would still choose to play with the white doll because it is "good" and refuse to play with the black doll because it is "bad"? How does self-degredation impose itself into children at such a young age??? Likewise, poor eating habits in low economic communities is a problem which directly results in the high rates of cholesterol, diabetes, and heart disease among minority communities...

As many of you know, it is damn expensive to eat healthy!! i tried to do my normal grocery shopping at whole foods / fresh fields (their all the same right?) once and i thought I was going to have to bag groceries for a few weeks to help pay for it all!! Now that I know where the DC farmer's market is, I go and get all my fresh fruit and vegetables there. I haven't tried out the butcher over there yet, but I plan too soon.. It's gotta be the best kept secret in DC. This is where many of the chefs in the city go and get their fresh produce for the day and it is completely open to the public.... better brush up on your spanish before you go though...

um.... and buy the new Amel Larrieux album. it's incredible..

~C

magazine stand locations

Has anyone who lives in DC ever noticed that the english speaking newspapers are located next the entrance of the train stations..

... and the Spanish language newspapers are always located next to bus stops?

Coincidence??

i don't think so..

~C

funeral virgins

I met a 29 year old chic who said she had never been to a funeral before??

Is it just me or is that odd as shit?? Me, being the conclusion jumping prick that I am, assumed that she has never learned how to deal with grief in her life. She's known people who have passed away, but she has just chosen not to go in fear of what it would be like... Now, I think it's sort of a mental obstacle that it is going to be this huge emotional thing, which funerals usually are, but still.

Different people deal with loss differently and you never know how you yourself are really going to act until you are in the moment. Its never the same, but I think what IS the same is no matter who the person is, if they were really close, you always need to hit that point where you have to get it all out. I mean you can hold it in and play it cool for the people, but eventually, it all comes out and there is nothing you can do about it.

When my grandfather passed, I was cool for all of the days leading up to the funeral, throughout the funeral too.. I almost started to feel guilty because I hadn't really got my cry on yet... During the drive to the cemetery, it was the same thing... all the way through the ceremony at the gravesite I was good. As soon as it was over and they started lowering his casket into the ground.... I lost it.

Then there is my Uncle, who at my Aunt's wake, snuck away for a bit because the riverboat casino was within walking distance of the funeral hall. Everyone was wondering where is my uncle??!!! About an hour later, he just rolls up smelling like an ashtray like nothing ever happened. My cousin came in too and just said he needed some fresh air.. saw the casino and decided to pop in and play the slots for a few... but hey, this is how he dealt with grief...

I told her she should just pick one out of the paper and go so she can pop her funeral cherry on someone that she isn't close too, so she can at least do a little hands-on research on what its like you know? I just told her, no matter what, funerals suck and there is no way around it, but in the end, when you can look back at those moments and feel like life shouldn't even go on, you know you made it through those rough times and are okay which makes it easier to go to the next funeral.

My dad cut the preacher off at his father's funeral. As soon as the preacher started going into his message on redemption and how the rest of us need to get saved, he looked at the preacher, was nodding his head and started tapping his watch telling my man to "Wrap it up B!" That's kinda gangsta, but I feel him, he just wanted to get it over with.

~C

BECAUSE IT'S MY BLOG!

... that's why...

Two things...

First,

... notice how no crime was committed and the entire focus of the news has been shifted from Israel's destruction of Lebanon to "radical islamic terrorists" from Pakistan who were planning to blow up innocent americans..

All I'm saying is, be aware, and don't take everything the media feeds us as the most important thing or the only thing going on right now.

Second, with all these new restrictions for what you can and can't carry, they need to just go on ahead and make everyone fly naked, it would just make things so much easier and MAYBE, just maybe, the US would start to look at sex and the beauty of the human body as being such a tabu subject in ways that our European counterparts of gotten over many years ago...

~C

what's up peoples??

So the house is mine and I've been frantically trying to get work done so I can get out of my apartment and into the house before I have to pay rent and a mortgage at the same time....

I've been taking pictures along the way... So I'm preparing for a big mega update soon. I had a demolition party to have all of my friends come and work for free.... only one person showed up.... nice friends huh? And he only showed up because he wants to rent my basement from me...

I haven't even moved in yet and my nephew who is finishing up his probation wants to move in with me too... says he needs to get away from the current environment and I support that...

then he called back and said he wants to bring his girl...

then he called back and said he wants to bring his dog too......

so I'm not even in my house yet and I've already got 3 roommates and a dog planning on moving in with me.....

~C

riding the train..

My good friend had his Audi S4 jacked from his driveway the other day. I know the feeling I had back in Chicago when you go to your car to find your window smashed and all your shit inside rumaged through. The feeling of violation is one that is difficult to describe... sitting in the driver's seat, knowing some stranger was sitting there a few hours prior going through all your shit.

but I can't imagine walking out and just realizing that my car is GONE!! I guess it kinda spares you the feeling of seeing your shit all fucked up and actually having to experience the violation. With the car just gone, you just have memories to rely on. I'm not saying you'd be any less mad, but it might be a little easier to swallow.... well, probably not, if i had an S4...

Well at least he has a sense of humor about the whole thing and his new lifestyle of riding the train in New York. This is a little story I received from him the other day:

~C

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So i was getting on the 'F' train destined for home after an extremely long day of work. I found a seat, and prepared for my long, boring 1 hr commute home. however, the very next stop my entertainment for the trip home boarded. it made the trip go by in a matter of minutes, as i just kept noticing things about this guy that cracked me up.

I want you to picture isaac hayes minus about 20 years. isaac is wearing a tan mesh cowboy hat. he's wearing silver duane wayne dark glasses without the flip up option, an off white linen shirt with white embroidery down either side of the buttons, and white linen pants. i couldn't see his shoes because a woman who was about 14 months pregant was sitting in between him and me with her belly blocking my view.

before i go on, you should know that there seems to be a bit of a commuter culture on the subway in NYC. the ritual once you get on, is you get settled, wait a few minutes apparently pondering the genre of music you are into, then pull out your mp3 and enjoy the tunes. the other option is that you can pull out whatever book you're into and get to reading. the final option is you let you're head hang and catch whatever uncomfortable z's you can grab.

however, isaac surprised me with his own little twist. he placed the headphones in his ear and then pulled out a CASSETTE PLAYER!!! not just any cassette player, he pulled out a COBY. if memory serves me correctly, i owned 2 or 3 coby's in the 1980's to tie me over in between losing good walkmen. you would get a good 2 weeks out of it before it's appetite for magnetic tape would begin and make meals out of your mc-lyte, troop, and erik b tape recordings.

I didn't know if i should get up and point and laugh, or marvel at this man's engineering skills at keeping this disposable magnetic device operational for so long. being that isaac didn't exactly look the part of master engineer, i figure he must've lost it shortly after buying it and found it 2-3 days ago while unpacking boxes or some shit, but that theory was quickly put to rest, because numbers for the fm tuner were worn off, and the decorative paint schemes were worn down. this recorder had been putting in time.

i remember buying my coby's for about 19.99 at cvs (1988 dollars). with inflation and depreciation, i estimate the worth of this device at $0.73. in fact, the 2 AA batteries to run it cost 5 times more than the damn device. He must've supercharged the amp in that thing or somethin, 'cause this cat was bobbin his head off, i thought he was gonna sprain something! you gotta admire this guy's "'i don\t give a fuck attitude" because the whole time he had is coby cassette player in his hand proudly displaying the brand name, he could have easily put it in his pocket, but hell no...... not isaac.

i was gonna ask him what he was listening to, but you never know what people are carrying under thier shirt on the nyc subway. i was sure this dude was listening to some shit at half speed or something, then it happened. i realized it was an original coby when this cat pushed eject and flipped the tape over...... no autoreverse!!! that's just like the coby's i've owned. if you wanted autoreverse you had to at least purchase a jvc. coby new it's place, they new their niche. no frills music playing until you get the shit you really want. then 5 minutes later, the coby showed its age. i did notice that isaacs love for the dubbed tape (memorex green label) waned once he flipped to the other side. but after those five minutes, isaac flipped the tape again!! the side wasn't done, this cat don't have no reverse!! sure enough, on the re-flip isaac's head starts bobbin like a transvestite prostitute at a rest stop!

at this point, i can't handle the comedy any longer, i glance down at his bag and actually laugh out loud. his bag reads, "Smart Choice: cutting edge technology, improving your business". it looked like one of those free promotional tote bags, but even so, i doubt smart choice lived up to thier name giving this cat the ability to promote thier product.

then at roosevelt avenue the show ends, but not before (as if he was reading my mind) he pauses at the double doors of the subway train

.......and does a spin in place, i kid you not.

with that last burst of fancy footwork i did finally notice his shoes, black fake alligator skin. i was hopiing for some pink felt or some shit. oh well, how much comedy can one man stand in one sitting anyway.

an absolutely true story. when i was watching it, i was like, yo, i gotta tell curt this shit. aight man, i'm out.