Sayonara Twenties!

Hey ya'll! I'm tired as hell but in lieu of the last evening of my twenties I felt I should post. I probably should say something about this last decade of my life. It was fun.....that's all I got right now. Onto the post.

So as ya'll know, I started the new gig yesterday. With most first days you get the introductions to the group (everyone is nice), the email showing your login/passwords to certain applications have been set up (some of them still don't work), and you start getting trained (not me, lol). I have a floating appointment with my counterpart in OH as soon as the IT people get me set-up in the one system that I really need. It's not their fault though, my boss (let's call him Ray cause he resembles the guy from "Everybody Loves Raymond", just a little younger) forgot to send in the request on my behalf so I have been getting paid to pretty much do nothing for the past two days. I told my cube neighbor that I am ready to get to work. He, let's call him E-40 (engineer 1), told me to not rush a thing cause he has a feeling that my azz is will be on the grind whenever they set me up. lol I think I'll take his advice and chill out as much as I can until then......just watch that ish will be working tomorrow. lol So the company I am contracted to work for is big however this department is not. By this being with the engineering group, there are A LOT of guys (black,white, other, & in-between) and just a handful of women. I actually think I made it a solid handful, lol. Hopefully work tomorrow will be a little more interesting and I won't spill hot water (with lemon *wink*) all over my pants........again. *sigh*

Z and I have been doing major cleaning around the crib. I'm talking "wipe me down" style....cabinets, floors, carpets, doors. ha ha That made me laugh, sorry. As I type this, he is currently cleaning the carpet....not vacumming......steam cleaning. With another doggie addition to the house, we felt it was needed and since we are going out of town this weekend we decided to go ahead and get it out the way. Speaking of this weekend, I decided to go to Memphis, blah. I was searching for tickets to stuff on ticketmaster and noticed Mr. B-u-d-d-y (Musiq) himself will in town so I figured...why not. I'm actually looking forward to it. I really hope that (1) he shows up and (2) he doesn't forget the lyrics to his songs like he did to the "Star Spangled Banner". lol

Well, I'm off to bed.....I think. Hope you guys had/are having a good evening.

Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend was all about relaxin and good eatin. We went out to eat @ The Butcher Shop (they are known for their steaks) Saturday evening. I had been before but Z had not been so off we went. I opted to try the salmon this go round instead of steak. The salmon itself was good but the hollandaise sauce that you could use to eat with it.....no so much. It tasted like melted butter with a little cream added to it. I have had the sauce before at Morton's (compliments of my big sis. I was a broke college student at the time and could not afford to eat there on my Wal-Mart paycheck) and lemme tell ya it tasted nothing like that. So anyway, I just ate my vegetables and sopped up the salmon with the brown rice and called it a day. To this day, the best salmon I have ever had was at Outback....I kid you not. The thing is huge (you really can't eat it all in one sitting unless you have gone all day without eating) and the sauce to accompany it is great!

So after that, we went to the "dollar movie". Actually it's only a dollar before 6. The after six price has increased from $1.50 to $1.75...bastards!! lol Z wanted to see "Fantastic Four:Rise of the Silver Surfer". Nothing like seeing a crappy movie at a cheap price....can't really complain about that right? Right! Yeah, that was until bey bey's kids, nieces, and nephews decided to come in. Oh lawd! Why?! From the time they walked through the door all you heard was talking. There was a couple sitting to the left of us. The guy kept telling the kids to shut the hell up! Of course they kept talking. I get up and go get Mr. Policeman and tell him he needs to get them to shut up or kick 'em out. So he comes in....stands there and "monitors" and then tells them to be quiet. They keep talkin but eventually get a little quieter. Mr. Policeman leaves and they start back up. I just about to turn around when Z turned around and was like "Look here. I don't know about ya'll but other people in here came to watch a movie. Ya'll need to take that sh*t up to the front row and get somewhere and be still or get the hell on." Don't ya'll know those chil'ren got quiet as a mouse? The man over to the left of us was crackin up laughing. I was kinda embarrased, then I was like....what for? ha ha. They left about 15 minutes after that....thank goodness. Not that the movie was all that good, but dagnabit we came to watch a movie not listen to them yip and yap about a whole bunch of nothing.

Sunday we just hung out around the house. Z put some steaks on the grill and I made some squash with mushrooms in olive oil like they had at the restaurant the evening before (minus the zucchini). After that it was time for football and I retired to the bedroom to watch my shows.
I missed the "Big Love" season finale cause we only have one box in the house.....I ordered another one Friday for the bedroom. Thank goodness for repeats as well because I will be watching it from the comforts of my bed this evening.

I've been thinking about what I wanna do for my birthday. I know I don't want a party...strange I know but it's just not my thing. I want to go out of town for the weekend but have planned NOTHING. We tossed around some places that we could maybe drive to Friday and stay the weekend (even though my b-day is technically Thursday). I considered St. Louis since my big sis is there (and currently my mom is too visitin)and take in some of the sights but I have seen them all. Plus going to St. Louis is not really getting away to me since I have family that lives there. I don't know we'll see but I do know I will be doing something....I just don't know what that is yet. I'll probably surf the web today and see if there's anything interesting going on in the surrounding areas since I don't start work until tomorrow.

How about ya'll? How was your weekend? I guess I could just go to your blogs and see for myself huh? lol

Have a good day!

Staccato

I got new tires yesterday. I didn't take too long. I payed more than I wanted to. I got the "good" tires. I also got the wheels aligned and the oil changed. My hubcap was loose but they broke it. They tried to put it on me. He says that it was already somewhat loose. Yeah but it was on there. I got sassy. My new one will be in today. They are paying for it. I like my new tires. The ride is much smoother. The new rubber smell is stinkin up the garage.

My next car will have alloy rims. Factory rims. Not 28" rims from Leroy's dubb shop. I can't stand those things. They are so not my style. It's okay if the alloy rims are shiny though. As long as they come with the car. I saw a Nissan Murano. They had shiny alloy rims. I liked it. I do not like hubcaps. I have gone through a lot of them. They suck!

I bought a box of Chocolate Chex. I like trying different cereals. I like Chex. I do NOT like them with cocoa sprinkled on. It's gross. Do not buy them. They are in the garbage. I bought a box of regular Chex yesterday.

I got a birthday card yesterday. It was from my mom. She also included a gift in paper form. :-) I will be 30 one week from today. I'm not too freaked out. I do feel different though. Like I'm actually really grown. ha ha Okay, not really. I'm taking it better than my friend. She turned 30 in March. She just about died. Her words not mine. She looks good to have had a near death experience.

I start a new job Tuesday. I have not worked for 4 months. I was doing contract work for a consulting company. It paid really well. I miss that money. The new job is with the same consulting firm. My interview lasted 20 minutes. I kinda knew I would get it. I used to work with the guy who was last in the position. Networking does work. I need to call to thank him. It doesn't pay quite as much. Oh well. Such is life. It's still money. I am still applying and interviewing for other jobs. I don't like working on contract. I want a permanent position.

Hot water + lemon juice (from real lemons)=good stuff. For your body anyway. I used to do it religiously when I worked. I got lazy. I started back a month ago. I am less bloated. Lemons+baking soda=good stuff. For your face. It "tingles" but it works. I can always tell a difference in my skin instantly. I only do it sporadically. Citric fruits make skin sensitive to the sun. Be sure to wait a couple of hours if you do it during the day before going outside. I like to do it at night. They have a lot of other uses. Google it if you're bored today. lol

That's all for now. I hope you all have a good day.

Gone but Never Forgotten

It has been exactly one year today that my family lost its matriach, my Grandmother Virgie. She was a mother to 3, grandmother to 3, great grandmother to 4, and a friend to many. She was known by many names but only one describes her for me.....my grandmama. Throughout her life, she had to face many obstacles but always did it with a smile. She always told me growing up, smile even when you don't want to but more importantly smile because you should want to. That didn't make sense to me as a kid but I've grown older and have since had many life lessons.....I now know exactly what she meant. That small bit of advice has served me well.

I will never forget the walks to the doughnut shop with just she and I when she came to visit us during the summer, I will never forget the visits with her and us taking the bus around Memphis because she couldn't drive (I always thought that was the coolest thing), I will never forget the little notes of encouragement she sent to me while I was away in college (and the $5 she sent with them to buy me lunch), I will never forget the random 2 minute phone calls she made just to let me know that everything would be okay. To this day I still think we had a connection beyond just the surface because without fail, everytime I was feeling down she would call to lift my spirits. I will never forget the time we had together in this life.

I was many a time a spoiled brat, but she was always a wonderful grandmama. She had a long life, at 90 she left us to go on for her soul to finally rest. I miss her but I am not sad because I knew she was not happy with the state Alzheimer's had placed her in. I saw it everytime I looked into her eyes. With each visit, the warmth and brightness that I had come to expect had been replaced with something else I wasn't used to. I'm glad her suffering is now over and that her spirit is free. She is gone but never forgotten.

I love you Grandmama!

Adventures in Bowling and Late Night Eating

If you got a chance to read my post Saturday then you know that I went bowling that night. Pulling into the parking lot, we didn't think we would even be able to get a lane because the parking lot was almost full. Most of the crowd was because of a few birthday parties that were in the process of wrapping up. After waiting about 10 minutes we got a lane and got ta bowlin. I started off strong and had high hopes of showing Z up, ha! My hopes faired a lot better than my bowling arm cause this was the worst I've ever bowled, lol. I didn't get over 100 even with knocking a couple of strikes within one game. I think my highest score was 95, ha ha ha. 8 games and 3 balls later and I was dunzo! My fingers were were hurtin, my back was hurtin, and I was almost certain that my thighs would soon be giving me something to talk about shortly after so I called it quits. Z bowled a few more games by himself and then we were done.....and hungry.

It was close to midnight by the time we left so we headed to pretty much the only place that's open if you have the munchies.....Taco Hell. Normally that place is bumper to bumper with people, but we got in and out the drive through pretty quick. I should have known something was up then. So we get home and while I'm poppin a couple of Excedrin in my mouth I hear Z say that our order was not right. Say what?! I get on the phone, call the people to let them know I am the way back up there and grab the bag, receipt, my purse and leave. I get there and there is a truck right by the door to the dining room. He sees me and asks if they messed my order up too, I just shake my head and kind of smile while I grab for the door. Tell me why this thing is locked? I saw this lady in there cleaning up and she came over to open the door and said "Oh I bet we mixed your food up with his". ya think??!! So I walk over to the counter, she takes the bag , and goes to the back. I'm thinking that she is going to help re-do my order. She comes back with the bag and the receipt in her hand talking about, "She said since the dining room is closed you will have to get back in the drive through for us to fix it".

Now up until that point, I was trying to remain calm because I know me and when I get pissed it is not pretty. So after hearing her say that I haul off and ask " Who is she, cause she needs to come here so we can have a talk". She says it's her manager and then walks the hell off and continues cleaning. Seriously....for real.....okay. Then I notice that her husband/boyfriend/whatever are sitting in the dining room waiting on her to finish so they can all go home. After I stood there for about 5 seconds, I screamed out "HELLOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" and the lady working the drive-thru came over. I said now look I don't know which one of ya'll is the manager right now and personally at this point I really don't care all I know is that this one back here is telling me that I need to get back in the drive through for YOU to fix YOU'RE mistake and ma'am I just have to let you know that.ain't.gonna.happen. She starts apologizing and telling me that they have a new person and he had made a mistake. I said that's fine shit happens but whichever one of ya'll is the manager needs to talk with this one cause her people skills suck. She asked if we were charged the right price and all that jazz and took the bag back for them to re-make. You better believe that I watched them like a hawk as they made it too. lol I didn't eat half of it when I got home though, I had suddenly lost my appetite....go figure.

Online & random stuff

So I'm surfin the web today and find this little diddy:

My first iPhone Bill!

Add to My Profile More Videos

Just in case you can't view it, I will sum it up for ya.

So this chicka gets an iphone, which I think are severely overated but hey what do I know. So she receives her first bill (since she had to change service providers) and it comes in a box. ha ha! So while the music that the company now uses for most of it's ads plays in the background she flips through all the pages of her bill.......300 pages worth. All I can say is this chick must either own a business or can't keep her ass off the phone cause that's a lot of calls. So she makes the announcement that her bill was 300 pages long and then a message appears to "Use e-billing, save a forest". lol I mean did she really expect for her bill to show up in an envelope with all those minutes of usage? Maybe she did. It really wasn't strange to me as I used to have to keep up with invoicing for a company Iworked for and the bills came in those boxes all.the.time. I used to groan everytime I saw them because I would have to sort through each line of service to make sure they weren't being "abused" (per mgmts. request cause I really could have cared less).....all 30 of them. Yuck!

Anyway, all of this got me to thinking. Why don't I use e-billing? I should but I don't. Why not you ask? Hell, if I know cause I never even open the paper billing until I get ready to file off bills I've paid and attach my pymt confirmations with them. So then I notice on the website that I can actually save $5/month by using e-billing. For real? Why am I just now noticing this and why haven't I signed up? I don't know but I'm gonna, but first I need to make sure it doesn't bind me to a contract. You may think that would be silly but my current service provider does slick ish like that....trust. By the way, I'm still with Spr.in.t and I still plan on changing but in the meantime I will see if I can take advantage of that bit of savings.

Well that's all for me right now. Z and I are going bowling this evening. We are leaving in 15 minutes, I was supposed to start getting ready 15 minutes ago......good thing I already showered. It's kinda early but we are leaving then to see if we can make it to the alley to try and get a lane for the all you can bowl from 9-12. I don't know how well that's going to pan out with me lasting through 3 solid hours of bowling but I'll be sure to let you know. lol Ok, I now have 11 minutes to get ready....shit.

Have a good evening ya'll!

Nothing Much......

....going on here. Just the same ole same ole. Translation, I have nothing to blog about. I will however share a couple of vid's I saw courtesy of YouTube.

This first one is funny. It showcases some church folks gettin bout it. It gets really interesting at around the 48 second mark. Hey, at least they took it outside. lol lol



This other clip is of some judge in Atlanta going off in the courtroom during the sentencing of a child molester. Here's the gotcha though....he doesn't give the tongue lashing to chester chester, he saves it for the mom. Take a listen and you'll see why. We need more judges like this in our life.



That's all I have for now. Here's hoping you guys are having a great day!!

I love Jill Scott!!!

Here's the vid from her latest joint "Hate on Me". Cornell West and Tavis Smiley even make a small cameo in it...hilarious. Great video, great song! Check it out while you can before the mean people tell YouTube to take it down.

For Real??!!!

I've been reading this site for a few months now. If you are not familiar with it, the site was created by some guy named Frank to allow people to anonymously send in secrets via postcard to post on the internet. He normally posts new secrets each Sunday. I've seen some pretty interesting things and will find myself saying "daaaaammmmmnnnn" or "for real???" when I read some of them. lol The things some of these people have done or been through are just that shocking at times(some of them make me crack up laughing).

So today, the site has a mini-movie up. It's pretty much just video of the postcards with music and the Frank dude talking a bit. What got me was the very first secret in the vid. I won't ruin the experience for you guys but I will say that my mouth dropped wide open......for real for real! I would love to have a convo with this person just to find out why. Now one that just struck me as wierd is around the 2:44 mark. This person....ok, I'll let ya'll watch but all I know is that they need to quit that with a quickness! lol I guess it's better than going Freddy Krueger on them but still......

Anywho....I went to check out the Bourne Ultimatum last night. This was a really great movie and Matt Damon is as sessy as eva!!! The fight scenes with one of the "assets"/assasins had me on the edge of my seat....for real for real! I wish this movie series could go on forever like James Bond but from what I've heard/read this is it.....bummer. Soooo, like I said....good flick, go check it out! Here's a preview to the movie. Please excuse that little voice you hear within the clip that keeps sayin "Matt Damon". lol Someone embedded one of the voices from "Team America: World Police" into the clip. It's quite funny to me as that part of the (Team America) movie always makes me crack up laughing.




Late post addition:
I was just reading CreoleInDC's post about her encounter with a gas station attendant. I cracked up laughing. Not at her experience but because it made me think about my experience I had Friday morning. I stopped by a gas station that morning to grab a bottle of grapefruit juice because my throat was feeling a bit parched.

I walk in the store and speak to the guy behind the counter.

Me: good morning
Him: jibberish
**I just smiled and kept moving. I was trying to get in, find my drank, and get out. lol**
Him: (at the counter) jibberish
**His accent (he was hispanic) was so thick and he was talking so fast I didn't understand him.**
Me: Come again?
Him: You're beautiful, you have a nice car, and you have no ring on....what happened?
Me: Thank you, thank you, you're way too nosey, I have a boyfriend, now how much is my drink?
Him: Oh okay....nevermind.

I cracked up laughing when I got in the car. People never ceased to amaze me.

Hope you guys are having a great weekend!

How Ya Like Me Now?

I decided to switch it up a little in my space. I stayed with the green theme because that is my current favorite color. However, I could no long deal with exorcist neon green....it was irkin the devil outta me. Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. Isn't that the purpose of exorcisms? Ne-who, I like this template a little better. It's kinda boring but I'll keep around for awhile until I get sick of it. I call myself checkin everything out to make sure all the lil bells and whistles were back working, sooooooo if you guys experience any malfunctions let ya girl know and will get on it.

It's going to be over 100 degrees here for the rest of the week. I wish I had one of those remotes Adam Sandler has in the movie "Click" so I could fast forward past this heatwave.

Ace Boon Koon

I was talking to a friend via instant messenger today when she brought up an old friend of mine. The friend on im told me she had seen my old friend at a sorority convention in Louisiana this past weekend. I asked her did they get a chance to catch up....long story short, she told me they spoke and that was that. I wasn't really surprised.

See this old friend and I go waaaaaayyyyy back to preschool age. I considered her to be one of my best friends for real. Our friendship really blossomed when we went off to college. We were one of just a handful of black folks from our class that decided to go to college in the central AR area. Throughout the years we had each others backs and went through a lot, many things that still make me giggle to this day. During this time we also had our share of "friendly" arguments but we eventually always talked it out and kept it movin.

Fastforward to fall 2004. We were about to leave for our annual treck to Nashville for TSU's homecoming to hang out with our other childhood friend. Now up until this time we had never discussed who was driving. I knew I had some things that I needed to get fixed up on my car and mentioned it to her previously when we were discussing the trip. I just assumed that she would be driving since her car was newer (she had just gotten it that year). So I call to see if she would be ready to go at the time we had discussed and to figure out who was gonna drive. She lets me know that she needs to get her tires rotated and oil changed and didn't want to drive. So I'm thinking hmmm, okay I've told her about the issues with my vehicle and she knew I didn't want to drive but she waits until the night of to tell me that she didn't want to either. *sigh* So I got mad. It really pissed me off! I wasn't mad at the fact she wanted didn't want to drive her vehicle, I was po'd that she knew it and had not voiced her concerns prior to that date. Hell, we could have rented a car. It would have been really cheap between the two of us (I had coupons for days to this one car rental place). Granted we were both at fault for not getting that particular detail of the trip clarified but honestly I didn't think it would be that big of an issue. My bad. So anyway, I proceed to go off.....she goes off and we...rather she is not going anymore. Fine by me. My dumb azz packs up my car, yes the same one that needed repairing (shut up :-), and ball out. Needless to say this argument was all over some silly stuff and we both knew it was much bigger than who was driving. I think there were just some things that we needed to get off our chest that we had been holding back for awhile and this just happened to be the straw that broke the camels back.

Fastfoward a couple months ahead again for me. It's Christmas Eve, I'm in my car stuck in traffic (due to icy road conditions) headed towards Memphis when I receive a call on my cell. Guess who? Yeeeeep, it's her. I chose not to answer as I really didn't have anything to say. I wasn't in the mood. The only thing I was concentrating on was getting off the interstate and to my grandmothers house. She leaves a voicemail that she was just calling to see what I was doing. I never called her back. The next month I get a call from my friend (the I was chatting on the im with today) that my old friend had a stroke. What?! I was in my car driving with my boyfriend when she told me. I couldn't talk, I just started to cry. I didn't sleep at all that night, I was just up. I knew whatever it was that I was upset about no longer mattered and was not important. The next day after work, I went to see her and everyday while she was in the hospital. When she was in rehab about 30 minutes away, I went to sit with her in the evenings after work to help her shower (she told me that she wasn't comfortable with the nursing staff helping her cause she "didn't know them folks" lol), to cry with her, laugh with her, and talk with her. She gets out of rehab and moves back into her apartment and things between she and I are basically back to normal.

Fastforward (again) with me to fall 2006. It's that time of year again to head out to Nashville. We make it this time and we all have a ball. Soon after, contact from my hommie dwindles(from the end of October up through like January, I had like two phone convos with her). If you know me and my close friends, we call each other at least once or twice/week. Most times we don't talk about ish but it's just what we do. :-) So one day I call and leave a voicemail for her to give me a ring because I was concerned that she was upset with me about something. She returns my call and says only that she's been busy. I know there's more to it, I can hear it in her voice....I ask if she is sure. "yep". Hmmm, alright. So we talk a bit more then end the call. I haven't picked up the phone since.....neither has she.

Getting back to the friend on the im. I met her through my old buddy. I was interested to see if they caught up only because I knew that she (my old friend) was no longer speaking to her either. One day last year I asked my old friend why she no longer kept in contact her. She told me it was because she asked her not to call me when she had her stroke (she wanted to be the one to call and tell me) and she did it anyway. I can understand that and respect it but by the same token, it's not like she called me up to gossip.....it was a serious situation and she felt, even with us being on the outs, I should know asap. She (old friend) also told me that when we saw her at an event last summer that she didn't even speak to her. I just cracked up laughing and asked her what did she expect. I mean damn, you had pretty much cut her off soooooo what did you think would happen? lol

I've had a lot of mixed emotions about it all. I have questioned myself about my role in all of this.

Was I really a good friend? Hell, I thought so.
Was I truly being understanding with the situation regarding her health? I hope so.

Could I have been a better friend? Probably.
Were there things I could have/should have done differently? Maybe

Who really knows. I'm sure she has her reasons, I'm also sure I will probably never know why. Maybe we will reconnect at a later date but it's just not in the cards right now. I wish her all the best.

Playing Catch-Up

I have a few things to blog about this morning some of which include things I totally forgot to blog about in the past few weeks. Sue me, I'm gettin old. :-)

My youngest nephew's birthday was this past weekend. He is now 2 years old.


Let me tell ya'll, this boy can eat! When I went to see he and his brother while they were visiting my mom he kept me laughing. He would go in the kitchen, pull out the chair, sit down and wait while my mom prepared their meals or just randomly go and open the fridge and stand looking at it like he was deciding what he was going to eat next. lol He's funny but he's is also a sweet little boy that I love.

In other news, I got a new puppy! Allow me to introduce Emma.....


We have had her for about a month now. Emma is a rat terrier, according to the people we got her from even though people often mistake her for a jack russell. She was all of 2 lbs. when we brought her home and we have fattened her up to a whopping 3 lbs. The people we got her from and the vet both said that they doubt she will get over 10 lbs. She is doing fairly well with house training. She knows that she should go to the door and wait to do #2 but we still have to watch her like a hawk for #1. She has yet to gain mind control over that.

She loves playing (ie getting on his nerves) with her brother, Cochise. Luckily, I was able to catch them during one of their calmer moments to capture this Kodak moment. Please don't think his size intimidates her one bit. Ha! You know they say little dogs think their big and she is no exception.


And here is Shorty, my neighbors dog that I walk with Cochise. I tried my best to get them to look at me but as you can plainly see, that didn't work out to well.



Last but certainly not least, my best friend had her 1st born a week ago....a healthy, bouncing baby boy. No pics of the baby. They haven't uploaded any to email out and I can't remember the name of the hospital he was born at to go and snag one. lol I do have a pic of him in my cell phone but my current cell phone provider requires that I spend an extra $5/month to be able to forward picture mail.....it's not that serious.

As far as the weekend goes, not much to tell....as usual. I followed LadyNay's lead and bleached the kitchen down and cleaned up the rest of the house....watched a couple of old school movies, "Uptown Saturday Night" & "Cotton Comes to Harlem"....funny stuff and did a little grocery and "me" shopping. All in all, it was just a regular relaxing weekend.

Just Thinking.....

So the tragedy of the bridge collapse in Minnesota has got me thinking....what if? Throughout my life their are four bridges that I have crossed countless times which have always been a constant in my life. The Memphis-Arkansas Memorial Bridge (the old Bridge), the Hernando De Soto Bridge (the new bridge;both of these cross over the Mississippi River connecting AR to TN), the I-430 bridge (in Little Rock), and the I-30 bridge (also in Little Rock; both of these cross over the Arkansas River).

Growing up I would often go visit both of my grandmothers and other relatives in Memphis. As a child, I would always know which grandmothers house we were going to first by the bridge that my mom took. New bridge=Grandmama Virgie (my mom's mother) and the old bridge=Grandmama Ella(my dad's mother). I always hated going over the old bridge, not because I didn't want to see my grandmother but because I didn't trust that one. Through my eyes as a child, it always just seemed old, rusty, and unsafe. I think part of that stemmed from hearing it being referred to as the old bridge. I would always beg my mom to take the new one and drive the long way around to Grandmama E's house. She would just tell me to be quiet. lol The new bridge just seemed better and more trustworthy than the old one.

I'm older now and realize that there is really not much difference between the two other than the physical appearance. The old bridge has been around since 1949 with a 112 clearance below to the river. The new bridge has been around since 1973 with a 109 clearance below. Yeah there is about a quarter of a century difference between when the two were built but in my mind now they are both just old. Take a look.

Here's the new bridge. Look at all that damn water below. That thing you see floating by in the water is one of several barges that passes through Memphis on a daily basis.


Here's the old bridge



I couldn't find any pics of the bridges in Little Rock I normally cross but here's one of the Little Rock skyline that shows a smaller bridge that connects Little Rock to North Little Rock.


With all of what has happened, the first thought through my mind was that it could happen to me. Scary thought. I can't swim and don't deal well plummeting at fast rates of speed, especially at a time that would involve falling to my untimely demise. Is this going to stop me from using them? Nope, not at all, however I will continue to go across them at high rate of speed.

My wish for the families directly affected and the city of Minneapolis/St.Paul is healing. Time will truly be their best friend during this difficult situation.

Not So Smooth Criminal

I swear I'm surrounded by rebels against the law. First, the AI reject (see below) and now this (and lawd knows who else). One of my old co-workers sent me an email today about a case of identity theft that happened to one of her friends.

A couple a weeks ago, the friend noticed a charge on her bank account from Jacque Pennae'(that's JC Penney for all you civilized folks)to the tune of about $300 that neither she or her hubby made. So they call the store, but only found out that it was an online purchase and it would take about 24 hours for them to find out more info. The next day comes and they still don't find out much but the case is turned over to the Loss Prevention Department. That same day, her co-worker noticed a charge to the tune of about $200 from an online perfume company. So the co-worker calls the company and they discover the charge is fradulent and cancel the order. The next day, JC Penney calls the friend and tells them that the order is being shipped to the home address of the owner of a local italian restaurant. The friend has not been to this restaurant in years. So she and the co-worker go through the process of elimination based on the restaurants they've frequented. They come to the conclusion that the cc#'s were obtained from a certain mexican spot only because they know the owner of the italian restaurant also owns the mexican spot and his daughter runs the place.

So the police and their bank gets involved. They give 5-0 the okay to go with the FedEx delivery person and arrest who receives the goods. That planned backfires as the only people home are the babysitter and a little kid. So the police goes to the italian restaurant, to try and locate the owner.

Sidebar:I have passed this restaurant a number of times and have never gone in. Why? Cause it looks like a roach or rat would instantly go to war with my big toe the minute I walked in. It looks just that yucky from the outside. I've often heard that the food is good, too bad I will never know cause ya girl ain't settin foot inside of that place.

Back to the story. So 5-0 is at the italian restaurant questioning people. This place is owned and operated by hispanics. How about every single last worker in there starts acting like they can't speaka no englaise?! lol lol lol Come on now. Ya'll are making this money, have been running this restaurant for years, and noone speaks a lick. I don't believe it, ya'll need more people...STAT!!! So the police give them a couple of days to provide a confession. Think they didn't?! The next day, the NIECE of the owner comes forward and admits to stealing the card numbers from the mexican spot. Ain't that a blip! The niece. So now, she is potentially going to ruin her families business all because she didn't want to save up her tips to buy the stuff with her own do-rei-me. Girl please....LOCK HER UP!

With all that said, just be careful. I don't know what is up with this "what's mine is yours" mentality with identity theft. All I know is, they better not step to this, cause I will shank a bitch over my money.

All this thievery has made me think of something I heard on the Steve Harvey morning show today. They were discussing a story about a lady that had reported her pool stolen. It was one of those big "pop-up" pools. According to the woman, there wasn't even a trace of the water they would have had to let out of the pool to steal it. Steve said he thinks she's lying and is just trying to get a new pool. lol So now the lady said in order to safeguard her remaining valuables in her yard, she has chained everything in her backyard to her house.......including her grill. SHUT UP! lol lol lol

Alright, I'm done. Have a good one.