"It's a different world" then when I grew up....

I dedicate this post to all the TV shows I watched growing up. More importantly it's for the black shows I watched when growing up. I look at TV these days and wonder why we have to single Girlfriends instead of Hillman students, why when kids move to Cali to live with a rich uncle we have to specify that the mother is a crack head (Bernie Mack Show) instead of the family just wanted to put the kid in a better situation and raise him right TOGETHER (Fresh Prince of Bel Air), how come the only boy in a family raised by succesful parents can't end up successful by overcoming (Theo and his learning disability on Cosby Show) instead of being an idiot with no hope that falls victim to his own stupidity (Junior and his idiocricy on My Wife and Kids)???
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that TV these days is trash...not at all. I'm just noticing that there is a little bit of a shift in a negative direction within the little bit of quality TV we have left. And we all know how the snowball affect works! I just want us to get back to Quality in our TV shows...we already have too few on television as it is. What bothers me the most (personally) is the thing that inspired me to write this one. I was in Circuit City about a week ago and this teenager of 17 years old was working there and I asked if he could tell me when the second season of "A Different World" (my favorite show of all time) was coming out on DVD and the kid had no earthly idea what "A Different World" was. I was floored!!!! I mean he had NO IDEA even after I tried to describe it and explain the correlation with The Cosby Show.












It kind of bothered me because that show was one of the few that actually made a point to be socially conscious and always paint a good picture of black people or give a good message. It made me think about what kids take from TV these days. I know what I took back in the day....I am an engineer today because I wanted to be like Dwayne Wayne...No Bull! (My mom and sister can vouch for that) I just hope that the TV of today doesn't fail at providing those same types of images I had to look up to. That breif moment in Circuit City gave me some perspective.

Let me know what you think....

Can I get the white-collar with the blue trim???

I have been dying to write this post for about a week and a half now because of other blogs as well as a few conversations I have had or remembered recently.
So ladies I have to know, if you had to choose a blue-collar work with his hands type of dude....















Or the white-collar clean cut business minded type of dude.....

















Which would you prefer??????

See I am in the corporate world (if you hadn't noticed from my blog picture) and am around a lot of sista's in the corporate world that are in their 20's just as I am. So naturally I have had multiple conversations with groups of men and women about the topic of relationships and the opposite sex (on or down time of course...LOL) and I have found that the corporate woman tends to lean towards an attraction to a blue collar man. Now I am not saying that this is for EVERYONE but it seems to be more frequent then I would have expected. Is it because you like a rugged looking man, or a man that works with his hands? It really puzzles me at times because some of my friends tell me that the clean cut corporate dudes really don't do it for them but I keep thinking about hearing women say "I love a brother in a suit/uniform". I guess that's only nice if it's not an everyday thing huh ladies? LOL. Afer some thought about it I starting thinking that maybe it was due to the lack of corporate brothas versus the blue-collar brothas and that makes a lot of sense. It's sort of like the radio....you hate the music they play but eventually it's all you hear and then you find yourself liking the same mess that turned you off because it's all you have to chosse from (not to belittle the blue-collared man at all). LOL.

I mean I have literally had arguments with a female friend about why she works in a corporate world and are close friends with a lot of corporate dudes but can't date one. Up until recently discovering that I am "corporate hood" (LMAO) I was actually kind of offended because the logic just wasn't there for me. One reason that I was given for the attraction to blue-collar brothas was due to them being more well-rounded...of course this lead to a 3-way back and forth that was pretty funny. Just read how the conversation went with me and two female friends (for these purposes they are "R" & "L")....

Me: So you could NEVER see yourself dating a corporate brotha?!?

R: Naaaaah! I just don't think it's for me.

L: LOL! I feel you

Me: "L" we have already went down this conversation before let's not go there again please. (@ "R") So why not?

R: It's just something about a blue-collar man! Mmmmm!!!

L: LMAO!!!!

Me: WTH!!! So what's wrong with a corporate man? I mean you are a corporate woman.

R: I know but that's how I know how ya'll are. Ya'll just aren't the same. I get bored with a corporate dude...ya'll aint no fun.

L: Here we go (shaking her head...LMAO). You done done it now "R"!

Me (that last comment strucka chord): What the h#ll you mean WE are boring? Corporate dudes and blue-collar dudes all put on their pants one leg at a time....maybe you are the boring one and you just need to find someone to help you with that no matter where he's from.

R: I wouldn't expect you to understand cause you are a corporate dude.

L: (Wide-eyed look on her face staring at me now...LOL.)

Me: Well maybe you can explain to me the difference cause you really aren't saying anything right now. What's so special and different about a blue-collar dude?

R: I don't know, they just don't seem so uptight.

Me: I'M UPTIGHT?!!!???!!!? ME????? ( I said it like that cause all I do is crack jokes)

R: Well they are more creative and open to new stuff, corporate dudes always do the same plain stuff.

Me: Creative like they write, and are really into music and art, and do stuff like hit poetry spots right? Yeah that's me!!!

L: Yeah that is him all day "R". (she has kicked it with me a lil bit...LOL)

R: And I like a brotha who can just chill and relax...knows how to dress down. Ain't nothing like a dude with a wife beater and Tims (or some nonsense she said).

L: Dane doesn't wear anything but T-shirts and sneakers or Tims when he isn't at work "R" (all her cosigning stemmed from another conversation when we had this same argument)

Me: Thank You!!!

R: Well you are just different!!!

L: I tried to tell him!

Me: LMMFAO!!!! (it was comical to me after that one)

So needless to say I feel the argument they put up was some BS but then again I may be different. I have always been that dude that people couldn't label...."you aren't a kappa or a Que or an Alpha"....I have always been that dude that was "A nice guy with an edge"....And now I am "Corporate Hood" (according to a forward I got that says "if the maintanence crew, cleaning crew, and security staff at your job know you by name and have tried to ask you on a date you are Corporate Hood." LMAO. Definitely me!!!). But I am sure that I'm not the only corporate dude like me (especially since I kick it with a few of them) and I'm sure that every lady can't have this messed up perception of a corporate man....right? So maybe I should be asking where a perception like this one can come from?

I guess for now I just gotta be content being the best of both worlds (LOL)....a white collar with the blue trim for me please. Thanks!!!

Welcome to the Association!

Home Owners Association that is....
Yep folks I am the newest member of the club and now a proud owner of my very own townhome. I actually closed on my house last week on Monday but didn't really get into the mix of it until late last week so I felt it was about time to start sharing the pleasures and pains I have been experiencing...LOL.
I have been living with family for the last 2.5 years stacking money just waiting for the day to give it all away with a signature....LMAO! (No seriuosly that's what I did). "Momma's oldest baby done grow'd up" and now I can look forward being independent (and broke) for the rest of my natural life. It's such a inspirational feeling...inspires me to keep up the good work at my job, inspires me to take care of my property, inspires me to find a woman with money, and inspires me to write a blog.....LOL. But seriously it is definitely a good experience and just in one week I am learning a lot. Fact #1: The responsiblities of home ownership NEVER end. There is always something! People have been hammering that point into my head for a week and now that I have started to make a list of what I would like to fix up in the house I can see just how true it is.
Fact #2: Painting is not something that comes natural to all people...LOL. You'd think you just tell someone to use the roller and go up and down it would be simple.....NO SIR! Don't get it twisted, I was thankful for all the help and some people did a great job (shout out to my man Bone) but a couple of them walls in my house that just got painted either had additional work after the first paint job or NEED additional work now. In fact I'm concluding my painting tonight.
Fact #3: Everyone is trying to stick you when you own a home. If you have the skills to fix things your self PLEASE DO! The cost of labor to take care of a lot of things that people commonly repair in their homes is outlandish!

Those are just a few things I have picked up so far...gotta be a fast learner with this stuff.

But even with all that I am really glad to have made this step and ready to take on the responsibilities ahead. Just seeing how everyone is ready to support me in my move puts me in the right mindset...

Settlement on your first house: 38 signatures, 21 initials
Painting party this past weekend: 1 mom, 1 sister, 4 cousins, 2 Aunts, 3 friends, and a set of grandparents
Making a single mother know she did a job well done without words: priceless!

I'm tearing up.....(LOL!)

Friends & Lovers

This post is all about relationships with the opposite sex. No not just my outlook on women, I'm interested to know how people feel about having friends of the opposite sex that aren't love/sexual interests.
When I was a young man of 18 - 20 the concept of a woman being just my friend with no intimate interests was not only laughable but unbelievable. I didn't think it was realistic and I had disbelief in anyone who tried to convince me otherwise. I mean I was really serious about it too...LOL. (Just ask some ex-girlfriends/love interests). Wasn't until late in life and a couple of heartbreaks that I found myself able to open up to women and honestly build friendships. But in doing so you always run the risk of crossing a line or fearing that the other person may want to cross a line.

Am I the only one that feels this way? Haven't you had the friend of the opposite sex that hits you with that one flirtatious comment from left field at the opportune time and then try to laugh it off. Have you never noticed how attractive one of your friends was and wondered just for a second what it would be like to date them? Have you found yourself trying to hook someone up all the time because YOU think they are such a great person or maybe you got jealous because your friend tried to holla at someone you didn't like that much. And God forbid you try to be friends with an ex and all the feelings aren't resolved (who hasn't been there!! LOL). Sticky situations like those make me wonder was I that wrong in the past.

On the other hand, it's really frustrating when you are just friends and it's understood between the both of you and everyone else tries to say you should be together or there is something more there. I get that from time to time too. My cousin tried to hit me with that one just this weekend saying that a girl who is just a friend and is going through her own relationship stuff gave me "a look"...WTF?!? He does it pretty often though so maybe he just thinks very highly about my ability to attract women...LMAO! There are times where you just don't see the signs being thrown by a friend, and they say that your wife/husband should be your best friend. Oh and don't forget that all men want nothing from women but sex (LOL) and that women only keep male friends around as emergency backups incase it doesn't work out with the current guy (LMAO). I guess there are plenty of different ways you can look at it.

I'm just wondering is there a black and white answer for determining whether a man and woman are just friends....











Or if they are just love interests...




















Or am I and a million other people just fooling ourselves into thinking that we don't live in this huge grey area where it is usually both circumstances?

Let me know what you think...

My Halloween Experience...

I really don't like halloween but it really doesn't have anything to do with the holiday itself although a lot of folks don't mess with it due to it's origins. I was really a big fan of the holiday as a kid. I loved the candy, costumes, and special episodes of the Simpon's and Roseanne. The reason I don't like halloween is because it's the day my grandfather passed away when I was 14. On top of that it was the same year that I had moved to NC (just a few weeks earlier) so that chapter in my life put a bad taste in my mouth for both NC and the holiday. Now as I have gotten older I have let go of those feelings but I have never really gotten back into halloween especially since I hear such crazy stories about the origins nowadays.



But last night I couldn't help but reminisce about back in the day as I drove home. My biggest memory of the holiday was when I was 11 and 12 and all the guys around my age would get together (dressed in costumes of course) and went trick or treating (yes we were big as hell but who cares). The special part about this was that there were 2 brothers (Sergio and Lionel) that lived on my street that were between 17- 20 that would dress up like Freddie (glove and all) and Jason (actual goalie mask) and they spent the entire night trying to scare us to death. Chasing us thru the neighborhoods and even into our houses (to the point of reaching in the door before we slammed it but never coming in). Now I know it sounds crazy but it was THE BEST, probably because we knew who they really were. LOL










(You know, Jason was slow as hell and Freddie cracked jokes...how did we ever fear them as kids....LOL. Sergio and Lionel were a lot more scary.)









So once I got into the house and got online I read JAC and Mike's blogs about the holiday and went from laughter to deep thought about the holiday. Man I hadn't given halloween that much thought in a long time. LOL. And I came in this morning and read TC's blog and in that blog she puts up the question on whether or not we should allow our kids to celebrate the holiday.

Now this one really had me thrown for a loop because after the time spent remembering how much fun it used to be for me I really would like for my kids to have those experiences but at the same time I don't want them picking up the wrong things by celebrating the holiday also. Is this another one of those parenting things? I always seem to go back to that so I need to know if I'm the only one thinking this way. I mean if you take the time to explain things to your child and teach them the proper way to deal with what they encounter in life do you still have to shelter them? (Bet some of ya'll didn't expect it to take this turn). It's really a matter of knowing your kids and how impressionable they are but I just don't know if I can see myself preventing them from having fun with their friends....of course unless it's a halloween like last night when the opening night of the NBA begins and the Lakers are on. LOL.

Yes I am a Lakers fan (shout out to Mike for being a hater...LMAO) but that is a totally different blog that I'm pretty sure is coming soon since the season has started.
LOL