I know..I know

2009 was a "YEAR" to reckon with. I had a lot going on along with much of 2010...but I will say this: God is good and what doesn't kill you definitely makes you stronger!

With that being said...let me start right where I am...October...two weddings and a carnival. I experienced the wedding of my long time friend, my sorority sister and the biggest Caribbean event to ever take place in South Florida. I hope you enjoy some of these shots as much as I did...

big shout out to Turks and Caicos....the little island that represents EVERY SINGLE YEAR!!!!

and no...i don't have my DLSR yet....*le sigh*

Footsteps on South Beach

Well folks, it took me long enough to put this together...I must admit..I'm going to have to do a part two for this. Anywho, Footsteps on South Beach is a culmination of photos from the differents areas that make up the South Beach experience. From "Lincoln Road Mall" to "Ocean Drive", I attempted to highlight the hot spots so to speak. All through my little digital camera. (SN: The DSLR is on its way...just a few more dollars to save...)

Enjoy

P.S, I love feedback!!!

The Day My Childhood Passed Away

I was at work on 6/25/09. It was an ordinary day. Emails, photoshop, meetings and css. I looked at my cellphone and right when I was about to check my facebook, my sorority sister sent a txt that said " Michael Jackson is dead!!". Now, naturally I did not believe her. I thought it was a hoax and sent her and the rest of my circle of Miami Zetas a txt that said...its not true. But then, my co-workers said "Mike had a heart attack!" it's on CNN. For a minute i just knew Mike was going to pull through it. Then another co-worker said in a loud voice, "TMZ.com says he's dead!". at this point, I did not want to hear anythign else or at least until CNN confirmed. I left the office with a few co-workers, some of whom agreed that they would wait until CNN confirmed. We left for the elevators, went down to the lobby only to be greated by the sad news on the CNN network.

I went home in shock. I was dazed to say the least. I sat on the edge of my bed watching CNN, MTV and BET in a trance. Was my Mike dead? Was my first crush gone? Did a part of my childhood pass away? This year, I went through ALOT of changes and this particular change was something I was not ready to deal with. Every pieace of my life, MJ was there. I even remember the first time my mother brought home the Thriller album (not the CD but the vinyl record). My brother and I ran to the record player and he played both sides twice that night. I remember as a little girl watching the Jackson 5 cartoons. My brother taped them all. I never got to a Mike concert but his videos that stopped ALL network programing were enough for me.

Michael, thank you for some of the best days of my life. Your music filled my childhood home with memories that I will never forget.

It hurts to look over my shoulder nowadays, because I know you won't be there.

..Don't Change For Me!!!

REWIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, let's re-wind a little bit. I went to Nikki Marina a few months back with one of my home girls from FAMU ( wsup Novia!!). She was in town for a friends birthday party. Now, I am not sure who this friend is but he managed to get some of the BEST independant male vocalists/song writers out today. The vibe was lovely I tell you. (At that time I was in the midst of home renovation and needed a break and wanted to spend time other than a dusty condo with dirty timbs and paint stained clothes.) PJ Morton was "laid out" on the floor singing..litteraly..Patti Labelle style!

Then as the evening progressed, I see this guy walk in while PJ was wrapping up his set. (I'm very observant) I ask my friend "who's that cat with the scarf on, is he another singer..he doesnt look like a local". She laughs, "Oh that's Eric Roberson." "Eric Roberson?" I said puzzled while looking at PJ sing his heart out "Yeah girl, Eric Roberson, I need to get you caught up on some artists."

At this point after seeing PJ roll around on the ground, the backup singers "sanging" like they are singing lead, I could not imagine the night getting any better. So when Eric walked up to the mic, my first thought was..."he better be good". After he sang "Don't Change For Me"... I saw that this man was better than good. His voice is very unique and so is his music. The brotha was soooo good that if he were to do a show in ATL, I would make a mini vacay and center activies (shoping, dining, chillin) around the show. South Florida does not have a neo-soul or live music scene and I knew he would not be back down here.


FAST FORWARD


So I'm on my way to met my jogging partners (my best friend is getting maried in Jamaica this summer...i need to get it together) and I'm listening to the end of the Michael Baisden show (I'm usually listening to NPR...)..and he says "South Florida, Eric Roberson performing this weekend at Soul in da City..check Hot 105 for more details!". I could not believe my ears. The same guy who sang like the rent was due is coming to Miami. No one of calibur comes to Miami. NO ONE! So after a three mile jog, I hoped on the computer and checked ticket prices and location. Josef Caleb Center, 25 bucks center seating, "Don't Change For Me" will be sung live, so there!


PLAY

When I got there, of course there was no more than about 100 people but it was small but powerful crowd. Some of Miami's best poets opened and a vocalist by the name of Jesse Boykins. (I will never view "pantyhose" in the same manner again) This guy was amazing. After hearing Jesse SANG all of his music and a 15 minute intermission, Eric came on stage and RIPPED UP THAT MICROPHONE like it was childs play.

Ya girl was singing along, on her feet despite the fact that the seats were tight..and I don't mean tight as in good. Then he proceeds to freestyle sing. He asks the audience for random words and makes a song with them ON THE SPOT. So you know me, I must be either seen or heard...I yell out the word "MORTGAGE". Of course I got the crazy look from him, but none the less, my word "Mortgage" ended up in a song.....(oh yeah, im such a new homeowner)..

along with the words, Kitchen Sink, Shady, Classes, Sunglasses and two other words I don't remember, the crowd gets loud after each word!

I must say I was more than happy.

$25 for good seat tickets

$15 for a DVD/CD set after the show

seeing, getting an autograph and taking a picture with a great artist

PRICELESS!!!!

Wow!

Ok,

I am a creative by all means. I will tell you what a photo feels like and the message it is trying to put across.

I was reading some entries on another site I am apart of and a person posted this






not only was I captured by the photo, but by the music. The funny thing is, the photo looks like it was taken on a cold day..kinda looks like a wedding is going to take place. But the crazy thing is, this cold weather photo kicks off the "cool" in the music...but the warmth in the lyrics combined with the lows and mids of the tune slighty cooled off by the breathy melody make me think of a snowy evening.

I should be the video director of this.

The Most Incredible Day Part 1

Sup!

So basically I finally had time to put up my Inauguration Pictures...after three months of non stop life. *lol* People, when I tell you I had to pull a rabbit out of a hat to make this trip happen, I'm telling you, Bugs Bunny himself was not to thrilled about me yanking him out of his house by the ears. Anyway, this was history and I needed to be there. I have a ton of pics but, I have to make this thread short because....it almost 12am, it's after daylight saving time, I just moved several boxes into my new home, I have yet to relax after 8hrs of meetings...a workout session and a trip to Home Depot

Yeah...I'm fried...

let's do this.



So on Monday my travel group with consisted of friends from college ( FAMU), went on the national mall to "scope" out the territory. On our way to Union Station, we run into this guy....









and while running into that guy, we ran into this...



and this..




so we finally get to union station (after buying concert...oops i mean Inauguration Day t-shirts lolol), we run into this...





and after eating Chicago deep dish pizza from Uno's...we run into...




protesters.


This group was protesting the war and ole' girl was laid out on the cold dirty marble floor at Union Station...


so after wading through throngs of countless people, its practically night outside and that's when EVERYBODY came to the Washington Mall..




the news bureaus were in full effect!




Let me tell you, I love crowds and everything but crowds plus cold frozen feet and hands did not make for a warm feeling. I kept thinking about the word "History" and that brought the warm weather dweller back to reality cause a sista kept blackin' out due to the how harsh that cold was...Chicago truly had nothing on that D.C. hawk!! Did you say 23 but felt like 3!! Yeah..


but when I got back to the hotel that night...I made one of these..








living in Florida, I never seen snow. I made a sand angel before but...it just wasn't the same!


I will tell you this...on the day that Tuesday when I woke at 4am, there were a dozen thoughts going through my mind. I thought about my parents, I thought about my college experience. I thought about the 70's, the 60's and every history book I picked up. I will honestly say, I felt a sense of urgency to get on that mall and experience that "once in a lifetime" moment.


at this point, ya girl was in tears. I remembered every piece of black history I learned, through every movie, every book, every article. Every single thing came full circle to that very moment when I saw Barak walk down the stairs to enter into the cold D.C. winter wind to accept his position as 44th president. (I have video of crowd reaction....that will come later)...and I'm glad I shared it with.....



you guessed it...

Most Incredible Weekend Pt. 2

What it do?

I'm sure you are wondering where is pt. 1, but that's Inauguration Weekend and those pictures have yet to be edited and uploaded. Check back in a few days.

Anywho...

I have a bit of a story to tell you. Without giving away certain intricate details about myself. So, I managed to scrounge up two tickets Kaplan's 2009 Winter Commencement.




I am very intrigued about online education especially when there is a commencement involved. Most importantly, commencements with celebrity key notes speakers who have some-kind-of sense. Kaplan was graced with the honor of having John Legend as the speaker. Now before you say..."John Legend? Is'nt he a singer?" Yes, he is. But, he has his B.A. Degree in English from the Univesity of Pennsylvania ...Summa Cum Laude!

thank you very much...

So yes, this qualifies him to join the ranks of celebrity key note speakers.



What did he talk about you ask? Fufilling your dreams. Yes, you to can earn a degree when the odds are stacked up against you. You can do whatever you set your mind to, even if it means leaving a very succesful job at a top notch consulting firm in Boston to become a grammy wining musician. That was the "wow" moment. And the fact that, he's been through rigors of a university education. He went to talk about his life and his foundation and what we can do to make our dreams and other's dreams come true. John, I must say, if yo uare indeed reading (which I know you are not), you did a great job being that this was your first time giving a key note address.

Now with that being said, some collegues of mine arranged a VIP ticket for me to meet (or shall I say, beg nicely for a picture and an autograph without getting pushed away by security) Mr. Legend. Now, this is year has been many firsts for me: A presidential innauguration, standing in near freezing weather with strangers, participating is a step show (ever seen Stop The Yard?), etc. But, I never thought I would be in a VIP section. Any you know what, it was all I thought it would be.



Elegant ambiance (very important), flickering candles, high end seafood repleate with mimosa's, fresh juice, cappuchino machine, desert shots and designer water (you know the kind that costs 5 bucks a pop at your local health food store). Now, I wanted to calm hungry down but as soon as I could say is that jumbo shrimp, in walked Mr Legend himself...dressed in a white blazer.

Coincidentally..I was dressed in white blazer too.........




See folks, dreams do come true, especially when they are about 5'8, well learned and multi-talented.

I will honestly say, this was a good weekend. My first online university commencement, first time being in VIP annnnd wearing the same outfit as a celebrity...ON THE SAME DAY! (I did meet Mr. Legend a few years back but this is my first picture with him...)