The neighborHOOD

so once i landed back in Chicago. I stayed where my heart is. Back in my mom's house in Markham. a suburb a little distance away from the home i made for myself in Hyde Park. I got to see the neighborhood... reminisce on what made it liveable when i was young, escapable when i was older, and saw too many ppl from my "youth." I hadn't realized it had been that many years since i've really seen anyone here. Im tellin you... as soon as 18 hit... I was out. Came back a couple years later, but never really stayed in the neighborhood. So... for some of the ppl that I spent time with during my stay... they hadn't seen me in 8 years! I realized... I. am. Not. "Hood." and i'm having my own debates of if that's a good or a bad thing. Leaning more towards the good... but it feels like i'm turning my nose up at my past. hate that... but the codes i've switched between for the steps i've taken since... there are no "look backs"

irony at gate 7

i'm standing at the gate... the one that... a little shy of 2 years ago. i told my mom that I was going to move to LA. argued up and down that this is where i was going to go. fighting a few tears from anger mixed with the scary of the proclamation. Here i am after what's short of a year at the same gate... returning to Chicago. ahhh... Alanis. "Isn't Ironic..."

So I watched Hancock the Other Day

with my LA-ex.
He'd better understand that I still love him- especially the way he provides perspective of things to me. We noticed and thought maybe...

"Our strengths and superpowers, all that makes us the great that we are... may be better celebrated and utilized when we're farther away from one another"

so... let's pray one of us doesn't get shot in the next 2 days, cuz then we'll have our 2000 mile shields and armor back in place.

Chicago HERE. I. Come.

UpDates of Le List

alrighty... the Pod came Last Tuesday and went this past Friday... that helped me...
finish all my laundry and pack ALL of My Stuff!

Made it to the Post office and...
Changed my mailing address!

Did all the work I needed to do in terms of job hunting and started the ball rolling on the to do's in the event that doesn't happen so...
I have interviews to attend! and checks being created... i think.

went to the movies and...
stayed awake during hangover! good movie, haven't made it back yet though for Transformers and Harry Potter'll be released in Chicago shortly after my landing so that's on the list!

did some OCD research on the puppy i want... I think I am goin for the Boston Terrier...a Red one or one of the other random colors that have been bred. Found a few breeders right in Chicago too! yaye for no plane travel fees!!!

had and entire Beach weekend...
even visited a dog beach with the Reason's lil shiba inu puppy... the puppy isn't ready for the ocean. he's barely ready for the water sprayed by the groomer. poor puppy.

no Mikee or Mike time because my time's been filled with all those things and spending time with the Reason I came to LA in the first place...

funny how i'm livin here like i like the place, when i'm headin out... Wednesday morning... HA!

ForADarkGirl... a Rant. a Rave.

So Summer brings the bronzed... red... rich tone of my skin out for the world to see. i guess a few tank tops and strapless maxi dresses also add to the sight to be seen, but lately... LATELY... at leasta few times a year i get the same crap: "You are pretty for a dark girl" chocolate skin... thang... queen... beauty... etc etc etc. SHUT UP. Celebrate my pretty for the sake that it's just THAT. For waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many years, I've dealt with this... For the most recent years I've just learned to love EVERY part of myself. For ppl to only acknowledge this layer of me... IRKS me. done with the rant.

I LOVE MY
heart.
mind.
spirit and energy.
hair and its ways. my crooked middle finger
my hands. my back side. the perks and the eventual sags.
my voice, especially when i curse.
my style and everyone's interpretations of it.
my Skin.
AND YAYE FOR SUN GIVING ME THE ADDITIONAL GLOW!!!!

yes... that was the RAVE.

HomeIn2Days!

The To Do List

Get a Job

Change My Address

Pack ALL My Stuff

Do Laundry

See hangover and NOT fall asleep

Eat a Meal with Mikee. Celebrate Mike's Birthday no matter how far past his birthday it is.

Hang with other LA friends, invite em all to Chicago

Find a Boston Terrier or...Bugg Breeder

See Transformers 2 and Harry Potter

Be on the Beaches of Cali as many times as possible before... July 8th

Enjoy LA like a resident cuz that time is dwindling down

Send messages of Love to those I love... Show em better too

Give these Doc Boards back now that I'm done

Multitaskin a way too much at the moment... BUT i just wanted to say I'm alive and doing things.

Be back when I've crossed a few things off the above!

Chance Meetings

Meeting a Cycling Group that loved the photos I captured of their ride.
An amazing woman in marketing that just thought I looked familiar because she saw me once or twice in Chicago
A wise woman from Atlanta that put it all in perspective
A man that challenged who I am in relationships
A group of women that have molded my definition of friendship
A group of men that have also molded how I feel about platonic friendships between women and men
Co Workers that have become women I hope remain my mentors and friends
A Cohort that continues to inspire me and my practices in education
California Family and Children that I will carry with me as I continue to move on
Those that I've adopted as muses... as my inspiration
California and its experiences... they were all met for a reason
I am empowered, positive and ready for the next leg(s) of my journey... care to be a chance meeting and tag along?