Bah humbug

Oh yeah Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy “insert whatever holiday you celebrate here”.

I’m spending Christmas in NYC with my mom and cousins and am having a great time reconnecting with them all since they live in Europe and Miami. It is however hard for five women to get ready in a reasonable time with only one bathroom. It takes us FOREVER, to get out of the house. Since I’m time crazed and getting five different personalities to follow a schedule is like herding cats I had a little mini melt down as we started our 9 hour shopping marathon.

I’m anal regarding time and I know it, so I took a deep breath and decided to let things go as they are. So what we don’t make it to all the stores and sightseeing spots on our list. We’re enjoying the holiday season and all the NYC Christmas sights.

On our way home via subway we were serenaded by a man playing a sax. He came in to the subway car spouting all kinds of nonsense and then started playing his sax; he refused to stop until someone gave him some money. There were some kids on the train who were trying to shut him up and it just got funnier and funnier. What did I do? Filmed it of course. Only in NY!



Happy Holidays!

The Bible

I’ve never read the bible, and no one in my immediate family (parents, step mom or siblings) has a bible. The bible is a book I’ve seen in Church pews when I attended mass with my grandmother as a child and when I attend weddings but it’s never a book I’ve actually picked up and read. My parents grew up in the Catholic Church and my mom shockingly enough has never read the bible either. She studied the history of the catholic religion and the catechism as required in her catholic school but never actually read the bible from cover to cover. My step mom’s dad was a Methodist minister and none of her siblings participate in any form of organized religion.

I took an introductory religion class in college but it focused on the history and brief teachings of the world’s largest religions but never drilled down into the details. I was talking to my step mom not too long ago and mentioned how the bible is referenced in literature, movies, songs, and now that religion is a hot button issue on the political circuit I’m feeling that my overall education is lacking. I’d love to understand what the references mean even if I don’t agree with them, so I got online and purchased the bible experience. I’ve taken to listening to books on CD to help the commute go by faster so why not the bible on CD.

No worries Hostess, I won’t try to set up my own cult and force you guys into it. Similar to how Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Salinger are required reading to give kids a well rounded education of the classics, the bible, the Koran and other religious texts should be included to give kids a point of reference when passages from those texts are mentioned in every day literature.

Blast from the past

This morning I tuned into my favorite Caribbean radio station online and they played one of my favorite zouk tunes from the late 80's.



It immediately conjured up memories of a summer in Haiti, visiting family, spending time with my grandmother, mom, uncle, cousins and our trips to the beach. Listening to zouk and compass songs and having an amazing summer.

I haven’t been to Haiti since 2001 for my grandmother’s funeral and for me that’s such a long time. I used to travel there almost every other summer as a child and when I graduated from college and lived at home I went once or twice a year. For the last few years there hasn’t been a reason to go, the country was in turmoil, my cousins have all pretty much moved to the U.S. or Canada and life there wasn’t as carefree as I’d remembered as a child.
Christmas 2008 will be spent in Haiti, rediscovering some of my favorite beaches, reconnecting with family, listening and hopefully writing down some memorable family tales. It’ll be the year my cousin introduces his wife and kids to one half of his heritage. It’ll be the year I meet my uncle’s new wife and my new cousin through marriage. Although Christmas 2007 hasn’t passed yet I’m looking forward to next year where I’ll be frolicking on the beach in a bathing suit listening to some awesome tunes as the waves crash onto shore.

Following Up

Last week I exchanged emails with an old colleague who recently moved to Europe with her husband and kids. I met her when I first moved to D.C. and we worked for the same company. I haven’t seen her in a while and when I told her that I hosted my very first thanksgiving dinner she said “You go girl; I'm so proud of you. I remember when all you did was make chicken on your ge.orge for.man grill”. I chuckled because that’s all I did. Chicken and rice, or chicken and salad, that was it. I’ve always cooked, even in college but it was always chicken breaded and sautéed in a little oil and rice or corn or insert some random vegetable.

I can’t remember when my interest in cooking meals for variety and flavor instead of just cooking for subsistence happened. I just know that for the last few years I’ve started buying cookbooks and dropping hints to my parents that a gift certificate from William Son.oma would make my birthday/Christmas extra special.

Gone are the days of grilled chicken on the GF grill, tonight I made Mediterranean style chicken breasts stuffed with feta and olive tapenade with a side spinach salad.

Here are some pictures from my Thanksgiving dinner table.

Scared Sh*tless

I wasn’t 100% sure I was going to blog about this but after reading the Hostess’ blog today and also hearing the news of Sean Taylor’s passing after being shot by an intruder I figured why not share. Some of you guys know I live in a transitioning neighborhood. In DC that means the haves and the have not live side by side in the same neighborhood. There’s a half way house for women 2 blocks away, ray ray and ‘em down the street, grand parents, single women, men and young upwardly mobile couples all in the mix. I’m a city girl born and raised in Brooklyn so I am always careful about my surroundings and make sure I’m secure in my car and in my home as best as I can be and make sure I have gotten to know my neighbors on all sides of me. Not just because I live in a major city with a crime issue but because safety should be everyone’s number 1 concern even in middle America and even in the ‘burbs. Hell there are gangs fighting in Gaithersburg, MD and people go missing and are attacked everywhere in this country from the hood to classy and rich neighborhoods.

As I sat on my couch watching an episode of the 1st 48, for which I blame the Hostess for introducing me to, and talking to a friend at about 11:20 PM someone rang my door bell. No one I mean no one just rings my door bell that late at nigh so I knew it wasn’t someone I knew but then when the hard knock on the door followed I thought maybe it was a neighbor, as I walked toward the door I called out and asked who it was. The person responded and said their name, which I didn’t know and said they had ID. Since that meant nothing to me I responded that they should go away and I didn’t care. The person then proceeded to put their hand through the mail slot to show me their ID and I could tell that they were trying to look through the slot. I went red and was pissed and scared all at once. I started yelling and said I was calling the cops which I immediately did. My friend on my cell phone and 911 on my landline. I’m grateful the dispatcher waited on the phone with me until they showed up because I was shacking with anger and a bit scared hell I’d been watching the 1st 48 which is about solving murders.

The person who I believe was a female was long gone by the time the police showed up and unfortunately I didn’t actually look outside because I was busy dialing 911 and didn’t want to get near the door or window in case. I made my statement and will be following up with my neighborhood list serve, the police list serve for my area and at the next community meeting. The person probably just wanted money but showing up on my doorstep at 11:20 PM and sticking your hand into my mail slot puts me in attack mode and the only way I know how is to make sure my house is secure and my alarm is on at all times and by making a big stink about this and alerting the powers that be (neighborhood commissioners and police) that more patrols are needed

Thanksgiving is here!

I'm hosting my very first Thanksgiving and right now the house smells fabulous.

I made some pumpkin muffins for tomorrow's breakfast, boiled the water with the brining seasoning for my turkey and am getting ready to bake Monica's southern comfort cake. Later this afternoon before the 'rents get here I'll make the cranberry sauce.

I decided to take Tuesday and Wednesday off just to relax and get some stuff done around the house and thought it would be great to have my dad and step mom come up instead of me going down to NC, I figured we'd eat at my aunts house or my step mom's cousin's place. Little did I know they thought I was inviting them up to eat at my house. lol! After the slight panic I came up with a game plan and so far so good. The rest of the menu:

Green beans and almond slices
Garlic and Chive Mashed Potatoes
Macaroni and Cheese
Stuffing

I can't wait until tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Some of My Favorite Things

I've been meaning to blog about something for a while now but I've been busy with life, work, school, and just general chillin'.

Over the last few weeks I've been on a quest to fill up my wine fridge with delicious wine and also make sure I have enough so I don't show up empty handed when I'm invited to gatherings or dinner parties. To do that, I've had to drink lots and lots of it. It's a tough job but I'm up for the challenge. I made my choices first based on my instant attraction to the label, followed by the description of the wine and what the vendor thought it would pair well with in regards to food. Cool, funky labels seem to draw me in as I'm browsing through wine aisles.

So here goes, some of my favorite things (wines):

The first one is called a cupcake chardonnay, the name alone resonated with me but the buttery and creamy flavors of the wine has me buying a bottle every time I pass a world market.

Now this Sauvignon Blanc I picked up at Costco and although pricier then a table wine it's absolutely delicious. Crisp and light, this New Zealand white is really refreshing.

If you don't like sweet wines but wanted to try a Riesling this dry one is delicious. I actually like sweet wines but tried it because the label in the store said it worked well with spicy Asian food and I was preparing a spicy Asian style fish stew that night. It's really good although the Hostess thought it was just ok.

This label caught my eye and when I realized it was a Riesling I had to pick it up. I found it at wholefood for only $8 and it's a great wine.

This isn't a wine but I thought I'd add it to my favorite things because it's a beer that needs a corkscrew to open. A delicious Raspberry flavored Belgian Beer, which btw, is now all the rage in my hood. They add Raspberry flavor after the initial fermentation or something like that. The end result is a delicious bev-raj that is way better then the flavored malt liquor stuff they make for women to drink.

Out of Control

I just watched a clean house marathon and am thankful for the common sense god gave me to keep my house uncluttered. I know I’m being judgmental but the people on these shows need some serious psychological help. Serious help that only a mental professional can give them. They also need style help, mirrored walls? On purpose? Don’t get me wrong I collect stuff, clothes especially but twice a year I go through my closet and just get rid of stuff I haven’t worn in a year.

I have that “you just never know” feeling about some of my stuff but my house is about a 1,000 square feet and I just can’t afford to keep everything. If something is coming in, something has to come out otherwise it’ll have that stuffed look. Stuffed isn’t cute nor does it make any sense.

I just did a complete reorganization of my home office/guest room and threw out a bunch of papers and stuff I’d collected since 1999, when I moved to DC. If I hadn’t looked at it since I moved into my house in 2003 it was out the door. Clearly I didn’t need it. Some of the “stuff” I couldn’t part with because of the "you never know" element I placed into small storage tins that fit on my book shelf so they’re tucked away until I need it, if ever.

I have to fight the pack rat feeling because my parents struggle with it as well and that’s one habit of their’s that I do NOT want. So I will continue to fight the urge to keep stuff and make sure my house is clutter free.

The Staple

There’s nothing worse then trying to figure out what to cook for dinner when your fridge and pantry are pretty empty. I had two pieces of tilapia defrosting in the fridge but couldn’t figure out exactly what I wanted to do with them. I then remembered that there was a can of light coconut milk in the pantry and I’d purchased some green and red Thai curry paste a while ago. Some green curry, fresh chopped ginger, garlic, brown sugar, a splash of fish sauce and a bit of chicken stock. 20 minutes later a green fish curry over rice. Yummy!

I’ve decided to always have fresh ginger and coconut milk on hand just in case I need to make an Asian influenced dish.

ROFLMAO!

That’s what I did this past weekend when I watched season 3 of the office. I LOVE that show! It’s ridiculous, outrageous and un PC but so damm funny! I watched the original British version on DVD last year and started watching the American version earlier this year.

I actually made a habit of watching an episode every morning before I headed to a work site back in March and had to deal with “le menteur” from my previous post. That was really the only way I could deal with that muhhhfking liar.

So now I’ve caught up to the episodes I missed from this season and am clamoring for more! More office please!

Too Nice

Sometimes I’m too nice and wish I could tell people exactly how I really feel. So in typical blogger fashion I’m letting some of it out. The names and language has been changed to protect innocent and not so innocent.

Au Menteur : Mais sa va pas ou quoi. Tu pense que je vois pas ce que tu fait ? Ferme ta Guelle et va te faire. Si je pouvais je te dirais la vérité que tu est rien et un jour le monde va le savoir.

La fille : Tu sait pourquoi rien ne marche pas pour toi ? C’est parce que tu est méchante et dieu va pas te bénir avec du bonheur a cause de ta mechanste. Parfois tu me dégoute.

Le Ga : Pour quoi tu chante pas ? Femme la ce bonheur mwen, ce miracle mwen, vie mwen. Mwen tombe pu li.

La Copine: Reste ou tu est. Ca vaut pas la peine de venir parce que j’ai vraiment pas envie de te voir. Je suis fatigue et franchement je préfère m’asseoir sur le divan et rien faire pour tout le weekend.

La collègue : Tu a toujours des excuse. Arrêt ca n’aide pas ta cause. Je m’en fous si tu dois aller nourrir tes enfants. Il ya du travaille à faire et chaque fois qu’il ya quelque chose tu me donne une excuse. Frankly my dear I don’t give a damm.

My Pumpkin

Someone stole my pumpkin and they also stole my neighbor's pumpkin. I jumped on the Halloween/Fall bandwagon early despite the heat and purchased a nice pumpkin at Whole Paycheck for only $5. That's a great price in my opinion but someone stole my pumpkin so either I'm going to have to buy another one or just go without this year. I HATE RAY RAY and 'em, seriously hate them and hope they rot like my pumpkin would have, had it NOT been stolen from my front stoop.

I didn't exactly see the ray rays steal my pumpkin but I'm really wondering who else could it be. That's what Rays Rays do, they steal, loiter, sell and do drugs so I'm blaming the missing pumpkin on them. Maybe the kids who walk down the block on their way to school did it. Lil' Hoodlums throwing checker wrappers on the street and just generally being lil' ray rays. I hate 'em too.

Bitter? Yes I am. I hate when people steal my stuff.

I Love Hip Hop

There I was having a sip of wine, doing some homework and chatting with Diva in Demand on IM when she mentioned the Hip Hop Honors on VH1. I’d actually turned the TV off to focus on some homework and job related emails I but turned the TV back on and got sucked into this tribute. It suddenly hit me that I LOVE HIP HOP!!!!!!

I think I forgot how much I love it because what’s on the radio today isn’t what I grew up listening to in the 80’s and 90’s. I found that hip hop had lost it’s way except for a few who managed to keep the flame of what I consider real hip hop simmering. This special on Vh1 reminded me how great hip hop was back in the day. Why is it that all the good stuff is the old stuff?

It’s almost midnight and I’m way behind on what I wanted to get done tonight but that’s ok because I’m rediscovering how much I hip hop tonight.

The Case for a Tic Tac

Last week I went to a panel discussion and reception hosted by one of our client organizations. While on the drive to the meeting I popped in a piece of gum just to make sure my breath was minty fresh. Last thing you want to do is chew gum when meeting with a client so I tossed it out.

Unfortunately after mingling and talking to various people for about 30 minutes straight and not being able to move toward the drink table I realized that I was in need of a mint. Talking to clients/colleagues and sucking on a mint is almost as bad as chewing gum so that option was out.

If only I’d had a tic tac, not just because they’re a low caloric treat but because they’re small enough no one will notice that you have a few in your mouth as you mingle and talk business.

Note to self – pick up some tic tacs before the next client meeting.

What to Say?

I haven’t updated the blog in a long time and although I have a bunch of topics swirling in my head putting them down on the computer has been a little bit hard for me.

Let’s see I’m back from my work trip to Africa and I’ve decided to make it my mission to get back to West Africa as soon as I can. Despite the 12 hour work days I had the best time. There’s just something about Mali and Senegal (where I ended up for a long weekend) that has me wanting more experiences. Hopefully next time I’m there I’ll be traveling with someone who I can do some traveling with. The one regret I have is that I spent a month in Mali and only headed outside of the capital once. As a woman I don’t travel alone to remote locations in foreign countries EVER. I hate that I had to limit myself and missed out on a chance to travel to Dogon Country and Timbuktu but I’m just a stickler for personal safety and I’m not that type of person who straps on a back pack and goes on an adventure alone. Next time though I’ll be better organized and hopefully will have someone I can tag as a traveling partner.

I did manage to make it to Dakar, Senegal to visit a friend for a long weekend. It was a great weekend and I was able to visit Goree Island and hang with some of her family and friends. My last vacation was to also visit a friend and while I loved the sightseeing aspect of my trips I also loved interacting with the family and friends.

On an extremely sad note one of my colleagues is dying. He’s been diagnosed with a degenerating lung condition and there’s no cure. He goes into the hospital later on next week to do a biopsy to figure out if there’s a way to make him more comfortable. They’re also unsure of how long he’ll have to live. It can be just a few months or up to 2 years. I’ve also had another colleague die in the last year of cancer so we’re all really weirded out about this.

Flash Back....

I’m sitting here writing my report and watching some video channel out of France that pretty much plays hip hop, R&B and African jams all day long. Their “Legend” hour is on and they played this little number.



Talk about blast from the past. At first I figured this song came out when I was in 8th grade but then looked it up and realized I was actually already in 11th grade when this one came out. Either way I immediately thought of Sunday afternoons when my mom would once in a while head over to Tower Records on Broadway and buy tapes. I remember having this tape and think I may have thrown it out along with the other fifty-eleven tapes I had under my bed collecting dust.

Oh now they're playing Vogue! I loved, loved this song.


I remember during the Pajama Jam my senior year this song came on and this guy I had a crush on danced the entire video voguing moves and all. I mean the ENTIRE thing. The following year I heard he came out. Like duh I should have figured that out when he did the entire Vogue
routine.

Ok now they're playing "Hey Mr. DJ". I can no longer concentrate on work. I'm off to begin the dance off in front of the mirror in my hotel room.



Hope everyone is having a fab Labor Day Weekend!

The Gringo

Shortly after I posted about my lack of friends I was invited on a short sightseeing tour by the director of the office I’m consulting for. Last Saturday I woke up at about the crack of dawn (7 am) and headed out to a small town/village about an hour away from the capital Bamako.

The Malian landscape is absolutely beautiful and I was just amazed by such rich colors in the scenery we passed. We decided to hire a guide and hike up some pretty interesting rock formations which was a first for me. The extent of my outdoor activities consist of the annual camping trip I take with some friends but hiking isn’t part of our activities. Despite my initial reservation, I took to it with gusto and think I may need to find some friends interested in hiking when I get back to D.C.

Unfortunately I solidified my gringo status when the New Yorker in me decided that my purse couldn’t possibly remain in the car even though there wasn’t another person around for miles. So I proceed to hike around for about an hour and half with my coach purse slung over my shoulder and my large water bottle in hand. WHO DOES THAT?!?! Apparently I do and yup I’d do it again or leave my purse at the hotel.

I took pictures but was a little uneasy at taking pictures of random people without asking first. So I have far more scenery shots then I do people shots but hopefully I can fix that next weekend. This last week was a series of exhausting 12 hour plus work days so I decided to relax and chill out this weekend. I adventured out to the National Museum, had some lunch, did some touring around and then settled down by the pool. I didn’t have any friends to hang out with this weekend but I needed some quality alone time so I didn’t mind too much. Hopefully I’ll get someone to take me shopping for souvenirs next weekend.

[I've added most of the pictures I've taken to my FlickR page. Click on the collage on the side to check those and other pictures I've taken on various trips. If it doesn't work just refresh the blogger page]

MYSPACE is the DEBIL!

I didn’t jump on the My Space bandwagon when it first started because I figured it was something that the “kids” did online. I believe by the time I even realized there was a My space or a Face book I was fully hooked and addicted to blogging and I can only have one internet based distraction at a time. I have my space biases and think folks 30 and younger shouldn’t be on it (not sure where I got that age from) but in any case I do feel it’s for the ‘youngins and at the ripe young/older age of 33 that doesn’t mean me.

Yet some folks I know don’t feel the same because in the last month I’ve had 3 different friends who are over 30 bitch and moan to me about something some dude they liked/used to date/are dating did on my space. It’s either some picture they saw of dude and another chick, or some chick’s comments or something someone commented on their page that made them realize that they were really not in town when they said they were etc, etc, etc. At first I was actively listening to their story and injecting some tidbits when needed. However the moment they mentioned my space and the dude in one sentence I became distracted.

I’ve been sent my space pages of random people before by some of these friends so I could “see” what they were talking about. To me it was a bit like stalking and although I will refresh a blog page fifty eleven times (CreoleinDC’s) to see what’s been updated or what new comments have been posted on a controversial topic (Hostess) I don’t see that as stalking. Now going to someone’s my space page fifty eleven times in a day, clicking links to other people’s my space page who happen to leave provocative comments is stalking to me. In fact it seems like one big soap opera mess to me.

Making Friends

So far I’ve seen the inside of my hotel room and the inside of my client’s office. I did manage to take a walk yesterday to the ATM, saw scenery I thought would be cool to take, and ripped my pants in the process of trying to take a picture. I have like 2 casual (chilling pants with me for the month) uhhh! The office driver has offered to take them to the local tailor to get them fixed and for that I’m grateful. I’m also grateful I got a tetanus shot before I came and my skin didn’t get pierced when I climbed over the iron gate.

Whenever I travel for work I’m usually either going to a project office where there are local staff and foreign staff working or I’m traveling with 3 or 4 other consultants for a specific assignment. I’m generally never the only consultant on an assignment where we don’t have a project office which is the situation I’m in now. For me that has meant a lot of nights ordering room service which I’m not used to at all. When I’m traveling I usually have dinner with my teammates at least several times a week and if we’re new to a particular country we make plans to go sightseeing together on the weekend.

This trip is a bit different as I’m alone really and although the client is here they haven’t offered to meet up for dinner and/or offered to take me sightseeing. That’s fine because they live here and have their own lives going on and honestly they hired me to do a job, they don’t need to play Julie cruise director and I hate feeling like I’m imposing or forcing myself on people. So now I’m on a mission to make some friends because at this pace, I’m going to finish up all the casual reading material I brought with me way before my departure date.

So I’m on a mission to make friends, which I’m finding is pretty hard and awkward for me. I’m not one of those people who just randomly strike up a conversation with strangers. I often wonder how people come off a plane with a new best friend. I sit down, dig out my reading materials and put on the headphones.

So now I just have to work on getting out of my comfort zone because this traveling alone stuff is so not what I’m used to.

Languages

In the last month or so I started working on an assignment at work that required me to use my French language skills. A bit rusty, I’ve been trying to practice speaking a bit more with my parents and other francophone friends. I started thinking about language and how we learn it and realized that I never consciously learned French the way I learned Italian or Spanish in H.S. I guess it was similar to when most toddlers start comprehending and speaking I always remember speaking and understanding French. In fact when my mom often reminds me that although, I was born and raised in NYC, French was actually my first language. That’s what my parents spoke and since they were at that time firmly entrenched in a Haitian enclave of friends and neighbors that’s all I heard around me. According to my mom I didn’t start really speaking English until I went to pre-K when I was four. Go figure, I remember learning how to read and write English and French in school but comprehension was always there. Similar to Haitian-Creole which I always remember understanding without any difficulty. I was never formally thought Creole (Kreyol) but similar to French it was spoken around me since infancy and I guess I just absorbed the language in that part of my brain.

I’m heading to Bamako, Mali now via Paris and although I haven’t spoken French on a regular basis since my trip to Brussels last Christmas it’s all flooding back in. Wish me luck as for the first time in my career I’m actually going to be conducting meetings in French. Gasp! I’ve only had to speak to friends and family in French since I graduated from college so we’ll see how forgiving these clients are at my accent and grammatical mistakes.

This is my first trip to sub-Saharan Africa so I’m sure I’ll have plenty of stuff to blog about over the next month.