Humidity, Porta potty’s, LCD Projector’s, and Gumbo

Saturday night I thought I was going to a regular old back yard barbeque until I found myself smack dab in front of a “door” girl. You know the girl who collects the money after security goes through your bag or gives you a pat down. I think it was the Hostess who first noticed that there was also a porta potty there near the “entrance”. I use the term “entrance” loosely because the party started in the alley way. (Note: DC is full of alleys and most houses/apts have alley’s behind or beside them).

I guess they needed the extra room since the evite had at least 500 invitees and when I checked the address right before going to the party almost 300 people RSVP’d yes. The party was outdoors but I swear I could feel the humidity engulf me when I joined the crowd at the bar. Yup in the alley they set up a Tiki style bar. Oh and on the back of the hosts’ building the fight was being projected by an LCD projector and on the side of the house next to their building the same fight was being projected by a 2nd LCD projector. Apparently that’s how they roll. I guess we’re going to have to scrounge one up for next year’s birthday beach bash.

When we got there the food was pretty much gone since we waited around for these late broads before heading out to the spot. After one of the hosts told a tale of being burned while making gumbo but we didn’t have any sympathy for him. There was a tale of gumbo but we didn’t see or taste any. No sympathy from me, for all I know the gumbo wasn’t real or it wasn’t good. Either way we went out for Ethiopian afterwards to feed our addictions.

Friends

You ever talk about the people whose blogs you read as “someone you know” because you don’t know what other category they’ll fit in and you don’t want to let on that you read blogs because the next question people will ask is “Do you have a blog and if so can I read it”? The Hostess and I read some of the same blogs and often when we’re with the crew we might mention something someone blogged about or a situation someone who blogs was in and I always feel a bit awkward when trying to explain the person I’m talking about.

It appears that Friends and Friendship is the topic du jour on blogs (the Hostess’) and on GMA. It’s made me reflect a bit about my own friendships and how they’ve evolved over the years as my friends and I grow older, relocated to different cities and are living our adult lives.

When I was a kid, my best friend was the daughter of one of my mom’s friends. Although she was 18 months older then me we played together and hung out from the moment I could walk until my freshman year in H.S when our friendship just drifted apart. I was the nerd, the goody two shoes who got good grades and didn’t do anything to get in trouble while she was the rebel, the one who hung out with boys from around the way (i.e; thugged out drug dealers). We started drifting apart when we were still in the same junior high but when she moved to H.S we stopped hanging out together period. My mom would always wonder what was wrong and why I never called Mickey and I didn’t know what to say. In reality Mickey stopped returning my phone calls, or when we chatted she made it obvious with her attitude that she didn’t have time for me. I was extremely hurt but realized that it was probably for the best because I didn’t care for the ghetto folks she started hanging around. A few years later I finally told my mom why Mickey and I were no longer friends. Mickey died in 2002 rather unexpectedly and I do regret not even at least trying to keep in touch when I returned to Brooklyn after college.

When I was in H.S and even college I spoke to my friends every day, several times a day. I remember my mom asking me in H.S if I didn’t see a friend at school because I was on the phone with them for 3 hours several times a week. I don’t even remember what was so important or what we even talked about for so long. Now I don’t expect to spend so much time with friends on the phone, we all have busy lives, work, relationships etc and all that takes up time. I have a few good friends some I’ll even consider best friends scattered around the country and at times I don’t talk to them for weeks and when I’m traveling it’s even longer then that. I don’t get upset when I haven’t heard from them for a while because I can always pick up the phone and call them. These are people that I know will do what they can if I need help. They also understand when I can’t accommodate their wants or needs and understand that I will when I can. I feel that friendships should be a give and take relationship and should also be easy. It shouldn’t be a burden but a blessing.

Good Times

This weekend I continued the birthday celebration our third annual Birthday Beach Weekend. We went to “ssshhhh” can’t disclose the location for fear of folks discovering it’s greatness and ruining it. You know how people do J. We had about 23 city people show up although the forecast called for thunder storms. Other then the wind messing up our tent set up and the monsoon that occurred in the middle of the night the weekend was a great success. For some reason it gets better and better every year. Next year we’re going all out two nights in a row!



If there was a blemish on the weekend it would have to be the fly that kept creeping into my boy’s truck on the way home. I haven’t thought about it until recently but what is the purpose of a fly? Besides flying by your ear and causing folks to start flinging their arms all over the place what is their purpose?

Hustle and Struggle

Hustle and Struggle that’s what I heard for five minutes as I tried to contort my body into a position designed to work my ab muscles. Damm it hurt so bad! Have you ever tried doing sit ups or ab exercises when you’re out of shape in that area? It feels like someone is trying to rip your guts out. Power through the trainer yelled out. I’m seriously trying really hard, no pain no gain right.

I’m on a mission to get this 32 year old body back into shape. I don’t want to be that chick; you know the one who let herself go after she turned 30. I want to be in shape and get my metabolism back on track so I’m not huffing and puffing after climbing a few flight of stairs. I want to get myself together so I feel confident and can stop cursing myself in the mirror because my clothes are tight.

My goal is to loose 20 pounds in 3 months, can I do it? I believe I can, if I put my mind to it and not use my constant business traveling as an excuse to not exercise or eat well. The only depressing thought is that I’ll need to do this for the rest of my life.

Celebrating!

Yesterday (July 16th) was my birthday so I spent the weekend celebrating and just enjoying myself. I got lots of well wishes and calls from friends and family and they all reminded me that there are people out there that love and care for me. Next weekend the crew and I are heading to the beach to go camping. It's funny to imagine a bunch of city/suburban dwellers descending on a national park to go camping and fishing but we clearly love it since we keep going back.

It's amazing but no matter how old I get (32 this time) I still feel like a little kid when I get presents and am treated to Happy Birthday wishes. Although I don't expect gifts from anyone other then my parents, it's still nice when I receive them. One down note is that I didn't receive that talking Geico Gecko I asked for. It would have been great for us to chat about pie and chips all evening.

Waving to EJ the DJ Happy Birthday!

It's Official!

I got promoted....yippeee!

After being on an airplane every month (except for December and March) over the last 12 months, I'm getting official recognition. I've also moved up to a deluxe (not so much and I'm still sharing) office with a view of traffic on Rt 7 in VA .

Romance

I just finished watching Bride and Prejudice for the 100th time I think. I watched my netflix copy of Pride and Prejudice last night and then had to whip out my copy of the Bride and Prejudice movie, much better. I think it’s once of the best movies out there. What more can one want, there’s love, romance, conflict, fights, song and dance. The best of what Bollywood has to offer.

So instead of crunching numbers and trying to get profitability get well plan in place for work I’m sitting here dancing along to one of the most romantic movies ever. Hell this has made me miss my dose of Law & Order for the evening so you know something’s up. Maybe I’ll watch it again.

I heart Romance

Grimace / Vegas

Grimace

I woke up this morning and snarled. I was up when I didn’t want to be and the first thing I thought of was that my internet wasn’t working at home after I’d spent 2 hours on the phone with the router people, my car was in dire need of an oil change, my house was a mess, I need to buy new blinds, and the seal on my back door is cracked so every time it rains heavily water leaks into the kitchen. I learned all of this when I returned home from Vegas on Tuesday.

Just bitching and moaning to myself, I turned on the news and realized that today was the first anniversary of the London bombings and stopped. This time last year I was happy go lucky excited to be back in London on my way to the Tate Modern to see the Freida Kahlo exhibit, wondering why there were so many sirens going off near me. The news coverage reminded me that I should be thankful, I have my health, my family is well and I need to stop and just power through life’s little inconveniences.

______________________________________

Vegas Recap

Vegas was great! But not so crazy that I can’t talk about it. I actually went to visit a friend that moved there about 2 ½ years ago. I’ve wanted to get out there to visit for a while so I just made it happen last weekend. We went out my first night there but I was so jetlagged and exhausted from my work trip overseas that my girl and I pretty much hung out and chilled the rest of the weekend. It was great, seeing what people who live in Vegas really do. Funny thing is that they do the same stuff we do. We hung out at her condo complex pool, went out for breakfast, went to her friend’s BBQ, went sightseeing on the strip, and went to a movie at one of the “locals” casino.

Highly Annoyed

I’m typing this while I wait for my flight from Vienna to depart to D.C. I’m annoyed because the ground crew folks were trying to “check” my carryon suitcase. The plane is full they said, it’s too heavy and too big. Fuck you ground crew dude I bought this suitcase because it could go on board with me. Well I didn’t tell him that but I did tell him if I didn’t need the items inside I would have checked it and told him to go get other suitcases then come back to me.. He didn’t like that and I don’t give a fuck. Great, the flight is full that means you’ve made some money today, congratulations. When I boarded the plane so did a bunch of people with carryon’s the size of mine. Now how pissed would I have been if I’d listened to the rat bastard. If the airlines didn’t have a habit of loosing luggage I wouldn’t have to carry stuff on board with me aside for my purse and laptop but you can’t trust these fuckers to actually have your suitcase at the destination especially when you’re switching airplanes.

One of my assets or faults is that when I put my mind to something especially when I’ve paid for something I don’t like to hear no or you can’t. I paid $2,650 for this roundtrip ticket, sure it’s not my money but whatever the amount paid should mean something. 1) That I could take a carryon that was within the carryon weight limit 2) I can get a glass of wine on the plane without having to pay for it. Now that I’m on this rant I CANNOT believe how cheap airlines have become now. If you’re on a flight within the U.S. you have to pay for your meal if you’re in economy. Gas prices have gone up but so have ticket prices so I don’t understand how they’ve gone barebones, I might as well take greyhound (ok maybe not). In fact I think I’m going to write a letter on their website to complain about the cheapness. I love giving feedback. Can’t you tell I hate airports? I like getting to my destination but I hate airports and I hate airlines. Cheap bastards!

Oh and I start the process all over again tomorrow when I get on a flight to Vegas.

Belgrade Rocks!

I went to Belgrade last weekend to hang out with some friends and partied like a Rock Star! Still relatively cheap by U.S. standards, Belgrade is Eastern European’s official partayyy city. I’d been there, two years ago during the late fall and had a good time but this time I wasn’t ready for how vibrant and crazy it can be during the summer. I woke up on Saturday morning at 4:00 to catch a 6 AM flight got there at 7AM, ate breakfast and immediately began walking around with one of my co workers. Took a 15 minute nap, went for Sushi at a restaurant owned by the son of one of Serbia’s most notorious war criminals, then hung out at one of the gazillion out door café’s to watch a world cup game. Got together with the team from my company for dinner then off to experience some of the city’s night life.

First stop, this really cool outdoor café then off to one of the many nightclubs that are located on a barge along the Danube River. I’d heard about them but this was crazy, several barges were completely renovated into techno/house clubs complete with crazy light shows. I’m not overly fond of house or techno but I busted out my circa mid 1990 house moves from when I actually liked listening to that type of music. I’m dancing along with the crowd and suddenly look up and realize the sun came up and it’s freaking 5:30 AM and I’d been up for over 24 hours.

I get back to the apartment try to sleep, wake up around 11:30 and head out for lunch, more hanging out and sightseeing. I had to get to the airport by 8:30PM and wanted to maximize my time in Belgrade so I powered through with lots of cappuccino’s and red bulls. It’s Wednesday and I’m still tired from the weekend. I’ve looked at my calendar in an attempt to figure out when I’ll be able to sleep in and not worry about being somewhere and have scheduled 10 hours or more of uninterrupted sleep time for Saturday, July 8th.

Are They Talking About Me?

So I’m sitting here in our project office doing what I do and there’s chit chatter all around me but I don’t understand what anyone is saying. My vocabulary in Macedonian consists of maybe 10 words, Hello, Good Morning, Good Evening, Thanks, Please, Check Please, Waiter, Water, Left, Right, Straight, Holiday Inn, I am an American, I don’t speak Macedonian, I am fine, how are you, Good, Yes, No. Ok maybe more then 10 words but you get my drift. I don’t speak the language and I’m not expected to.

I’m used to being in spaces where the people around me are talking in a language I don’t understand. I’m used to feeling illiterate because the signs around me aren’t even in a Latin alphabet and maybe that’s why I can tune people out so well even when I’m home and everyone around me is speaking in a language I can understand.

Maybe this is also why I don’t understand why people complain about going to the nail salon or whatever place operated by foreigners and feel that they’re being talked about. (Side Note: Which they probably are lol, especially those with crusty feet). One can argue that they’re in the US and need to speak English, yet no where else in the world am I or others expected to speak in the local language when we’re with other Americans or English speakers. Maybe other countries are more tolerant because their languages aren’t spoken by gazillions of people.

I’m not sure where I’m going with this, except to say we as Americans need to be more tolerant of other languages especially if the people talking aren’t addressing you.

Can't Imagine

On Thursday night my girl Vicki called me up and after listening to me bitch and moan for a minute or two about my blue tooth thingy not working, told me her mother passed away that afternoon. My heart just fell and I could feel the tears starting to flow. It was expected but you can you really prepare yourself? Her mom had breast cancer a few years ago and was in remission until about two months ago when they discovered that the cancer had returned and spread so quickly that there was little the doctors could do but send her home and make her as comfortable as possible.

The minute I got off the phone with my girl, I called my mom to tell her and also say “I love you Ma!”. I can’t imagine what it’s like to loose a parent. I know eventually that everyone passes but sometimes I selfishly think I’d prefer to go before my mom. What would I do without her, who would I have 100% and unconditionally in my corner if I didn’t have her. My mom is my rock and although she’s 250 miles away I know I can reach out and give her a call or get in my car and 4 hours later I’d be at her doorstep.

It’s been just my mom and I, the dynamic duo for so long, us against the world surviving together since my parent’s divorce over 24 years ago. Sure we have little squabbles, and that probably isn’t the right word but after 32 years I’m sure I’ve driven her crazy (my teenage years) as she’s driven me a bit crazy as mom’s do occasionally, but life without her? I can’t even imagine.

Skopje, Macedonia

I'm here for the next two weeks.



I have lots of blog topics floating around in my head but I'm jetlagged and crunching on a presentation due to our client on Wednesday. Until then, DobroVece

My Musical List

So many people in the blog world do a top 10 of their favorite, rappers, groups, songs and I figured it was time that I got on that bandwagon and present my own list. Although 99% of the people reading this won’t know who I’m talking about, this is my top list.

In my opinion the best French Hip Hop group out today is Saian Supa Crew. They had a concert at SOB’s in NYC last night and I missed it and am pissed! I didn’t think they would ever get to the U.S because really we’re not ready. Other then an occasional reggaeton song we don’t play any foreign language music on the airwaves on a regular basis. Saian Supa Crew is true hip hop, as I would define it as I compare them to some of the today’s hip hop artists here in the U.S and in France. None of that bling bling I drive whatever newest car is out there with rims for Saian it’s more social consciousness that drives some of their songs. They’ve got an American hip hop, funk, African, Caribbean vibe going and since I love all those things I’m loving Saian’s music. If you click on their name it will take you to their website and you’ll get a sample of the greatness.

Now on to the best of Zouk, the one and only Kassav’. They put Zouk music on the map (well the global map minus the U.S.) whenever you ask someone around the world who listens to Zouk which group started it all they’ll tell you Kassav’. I’ve been listening to them before I even consciously realized what music was and how much it would mean to me. Kassav’ is Zouk, so much so that they sell out the Zenith in Paris that makes Madison Square Garden look small whenever they perform. Once I reach big baller status, I’ll fly out there next time they have a concert. Lol!

Now the top Haitian bands I grew up listening to from the moment I could even understand what music was. When I reached an age where I could make choices I stopped listening to them as much and because of school discovered American music, R&B, Hip Hop, Rock etc, (Damm I loved the 80s), but I as I got older and reconnected with my roots I went back to listening to the greatest Haitian band of all time, Tabou Combo. Another great Haitian Kompa (type of music) star is Sweet Mickey, I saw him the one and only time I went to Carnival in Haiti and he was off the hook crazy. I’ve also seen him in concert here in D.C. and he rocked the house despite being an hour and a half late. Emeline Michel is my favorite female Haitian artist and I’ve been lucky enough to see her perform twice here in D.C. such a spectacular voice.

There are lots more but I’m done for now.

Trying to Mack

My siblings spent the weekend with me before departing for a summer in Guatemala. Side Note: Lucky Bastards. On Saturday a friend of mine dropped by and hung out with us for a while. I warned my siblings, their cousin and our aunt that my girl was a bit crazy but she was lovable. She gets to my house and is her usual hilarious self. Before she got there I warned her NOT to flirt with my little brother. I know he’s 23, grown, although not a “grown ass man” and can take care of himself but he’s still my little brother.

As the night progresses my brother, sister, friend and I move from outside to the living room to play cranium. Everyone else left and we’re sipping on some wine and trying to figure out between the four of us how to play the game. Throughout the night my girl and my brother are flirting and after repeated “please people” I don’t want to hear this shyt they ignore me and we continue to play Cranium.

Honestly, I was disgusted and although I knew nothing would come of it because my brother is broker then broke, hasn’t finished college and my high maintenance 31 year old girl who only pays attention to dudes who make more then six figures wasn’t going to step to him but damm I don’t want to see my little brother trying to get his mack on with one of my friends. NOT ACCEPTABLE so I did what any big sister would do in that situation, I cock blocked. Yup I did, when it was time for my girl to leave we both ended up walking her to her car.

After we got back into the house, my brother fell into bed in the guest room and was like “she’s hot, I like her”, my reply “yeah she is, but not for you, now go to bed, I'm turning off the lights".

Lazy Sunday Afternoons

I treasure “me” time because I often go without it. There’s always something to do, places to be and obligations to fulfill. Once in a while I long for the weekends or even a day here or there where I can veg out and recharge my batteries. Today was that day. I had to drive my siblings to the airport at 7:00 AM this morning, returned by 7:30 and got back into bed where I dozed on and off until about 11:00. Playing in the background was the sound of various Food Network hosts, telling me how easy it was to make whatever it was that they’re whipping up on screen.

When I can, I spend my Sunday mornings/afternoons watching the Food network, my newest obsession. It’s amazing as I look back over the last few years and realize how much my cooking style has changed, evolved and how much interest I’ve taken into trying new recipes. I’ve always loved having small dinner parties and entertaining but I usually stuck to the usual, some sort of chicken and rice dish, salad, and/or fondue. Now that I’m an avid Real Simple and Food Network junky I’m always itching to try something new and interesting. I’ve gotten so into it that when my mom took me to a fancy restaurant last weekend, I just went on and on about how the chef “plated” the food and how the colors worked so well in the Seared Center-Cut Tuna loin with Ginger Piperade and Parsley Wasabi Sauce. The Wasabi sauce looked great among the other colors of the dish but didn’t have much taste. Clearly, I can be a guest chef on the next Top Chef contest. Lol!

Now, whenever I walk into a bookstore, my first stop is always the cookbook section. My evolving interest in cooking isn’t a new career interest but is definitely a hobby I intend to pursue with great interest.

I Won!

My first ebay item…and I’m extremely giddy. I’m not exactly sure if I actually need a new pair of cropped jeans but I have a new pair of cropped jeans from Banana. I’m also bidding on a dress but I have another day and a half to see if I’ll win that one. Let’s hope it’s it’s actually what I bid on when I get my shipment. Either way I’m pretty excited and feel like I’ve “done” something. Maybe that’s how ebay has become so successful. Tapping into the competitive and entrepreneurial nature of some folks.

A friend of mine buys and sells things on ebay on what I swear is a weekly basis. She’s always sending me links of things she thinks she needs and I could never understand the phenomenon. Now that I’ve actually won an item I think I might start looking in my closet for things I would normally have sent to the Salvation Army but can now sell on ebay!

Ching Ching!

So what are YOU?

I took a work sanctioned training course last week and learned that I’m an ESTJ based on the My.er’s Brig.gs personality test for organizations. I’m a logical, analytical, decisive, and tough minded individual. I enjoy working with others to organize details and operations, am task focused, and responsible. I can’t say I learned a great deal about myself in that class but I can say I finally have a set of letters I can associate with my behavior and it spells A.N.A.L. lol!

The older I get, the more I learn about myself and the more I reflect on the type of individual I’ve become and what I like about myself and what I need to work on. Although this course was focused on the “work” me I have to admit I found the whole concept of this personality test and it’s results fascinating. I’m not sure I agree 100% with my ESTJ classification because I scored a “slight and moderate” in each category but I do think the Extraversion, Sensing, Thinking and Judging characteristics aren’t too far off the mark.

A Sad Note

I had such a fabulous weekend and what I felt sad about isn’t so much at the fore front of my mind anymore. I haven’t forgotten what happened but I’m no longer amazed by it and just realize that my idea of friendship is quite different then someone else’s. Before I begin I have to say there are always two sides to a story and this is my side.

Some of you who read this blog knew I was having an open house BBQ this past weekend to finally celebrate the grand opening of the patio chez Honest. A good friend of mine decided that she was going to come up from N.C. for the w/e and hang out, only problem was that I’d already booked my guest room she couldn’t stay with me as she normally does. I knew she had friends and family in the area so I wasn’t too worried and suggested that she should ask one of them to stay over. She’d expressed concern about drinking and driving and I offered up my room for the night of the bbq/party. I can’t mix her with a lot of people so her staying for the entire weekend wasn’t an option. The day before the party she changed her RSVP to maybe and IM’d me that although she was indeed coming up to DC she wasn’t sure if she would be able to make my party because she hadn’t set her plans for Saturday afternoon yet. I was a bit confused because I thought her plans for Saturday afternoon included my shin ding but realized that what she was telling me was that she was coming to my party if she didn’t find anything better to do. This from a former roommate, a friend I let stay on my couch of my studio apartment for over a month while she was doing an internship in D.C, this from a friend I’d been there for since 1996.

A mutual friend came to my party and mentioned seeing her for cocktails earlier that afternoon and mentioned that she was indeed coming to the party. The next morning I wake up and noticed that I have three missed calls from her which started at about 1:00 AM. We’d been partying since 4 PM and since we’re old now and the last person left my house at midnight I was knocked out and didn’t hear my phone ring. I called her back the next day and she sounded nonchalant and was shocked when I told her the party ended at midnight. When I told her I couldn’t believe she didn’t come to my party she gave me the excuse that she thought it wouldn’t end until 2 or so because the last time she hung out with some of the people that attended my party we left their house at 2AM (that was New Years and we didn’t get there until 11:30), she also used the excuse that my 30th birthday party ended late as well (btw she wasn’t there and just assumed it ended late). After I repeated several times that I couldn’t believe that she didn’t come to my party she kept saying she thought it was going to end after 1 or so and that she had dinner plans and then went to a movie. At first I found it extremely hard to believe that she came all the way up to D.C. and decided to wait until after midnight to show up to a BBQ that started at 4 of her supposed road dawg. It’s not worth analyzing but I did wonder for a second why she’d go through such lengths? To prove a point? To teach me a lesson? I have no clue but what I do know is that despite the obvious attempt at a snub I had a “perfect” weekend and a drama free one.

A Day Off

Where do I start? I had such a fabulous weekend and was finally able to fully enjoy my backyard. My weekend consisted of hosting O and XXXXXX, BBQ’s, lying by the pool, Margaritas, Strippers, grilled corn and amazing guacamole. By the way I make amazing guacamole and good kebabs. I had such a fun filled weekend that I can’t believe my day off is over in a few hours and I have to get back to work. Unfortunately there was a sad note to the weekend but I don’t want to ruin this wonderful weekend and will blog about it later this week.