Giving Thanks part 1 & 2

Part 1 - "Get Back to me, Get Back to mines, Get Back to fam, Get Back to..."

Everybody loves the holiday seasons and I am not different. Thanksgiving probably being my favorite holiday next Christmas (spiritual meaning, gifts like a birthday and food like Thanksgiving...nothing beats that one). For me the holiday season normally means travel and since I am so family oriented I try not to miss any holidays with them...if I can help it. Luckily the drive down to NC to be with my mom and my sister isn't all that bad. I like to drive and as long as I have 15-20 of my favorite CDs with me for the ride it's normally a great 6.5 hour trip (yeah that's an oxymoron if I have ever heard one...LOL). The best part about the ride is I get a chance to sing and not worry about anybody hearing how bad I sound. LOL. Getting out of the car and finally arriving to my moms place to stretch my legs is pretty damn nice too...walking has never felt so good :-) For some reason this year my mother was completley opposed to taking any pictures and instead decided to take a lot of pics of me and my sister so I figured I'd share a couple...

(Give em one with the smile and then straighten it up...LOL. My sister is one of my best friends and we act silly together all the time.)

Truth be told, the ride down to NC wasnt close to being the hardest part about Thanksgiving this year. This year my church is fasting right now and my fast consists of beef and pork, pork being a huge part Thanksgiving in my family. Man that sh*t was torture! And why did my mom pull out a beef pot roast the day after and tell me she WAS planning to make that for me during my trip....Aint that some %$&#!!!! LMAO. You can't really feel me if you don't do Honeybaked ham every year or used to get a potroast to take back to college with you every other time you visited home. LOL (yeah I was a lil spoiled with that one..wouldn't share it with the homies neither. LOL).

Part 2 - "I ain't the livest kat in NC, b*tch I'm the livest n*gga PERIOD!":

Visiting the part of NC where I went to highschool is sort of interesting for me now. Being away I forget just how different the environment down there can be compared to the environment in the DMV (DC, Maryland, north Virginia) but spending 4 and a half days down there reminds just how much I am NOT missing. LOL. It's funny just how different these two worlds can be. For example, I have heard people say that MD is a football state...in the words of Dave Chappelle "naah nigga, uhn uuuuhh!" LOL. Hickory NC reminds me just what a true football community is...fanatical!!! I went to a highschool football playoff game during my visit and it's like going to a college. That's how strong the energy is at these games...unless your school sucks of course. Think I'm BSing...my highschool had stadium lights my freshman year, my college didn't have stadium lights the entire time I was there. LOL. Unfortunately my highschool lost in overtime but that comes with the territory...the thing that trips me out is how many people that went to highschool with me were actually in attendance. But I guess when you think about it...they ain't got sh*t else to do around there. LOL.

Another thing that makes me realize the huge difference in area is the amount of stares that I get. Not that I think I am anything special to look at but I can't help but notice all the head turns I get...and not just from women it's from everyone in general.

I mean you look at this picture and in DC I am just another person in the crowd, right? Well in NC this stands out for some reason but to be honest I think what really stands out is the hair.

If you live in or frequent the Metro area then you might notice that A LOT of folks have natural hair and it's a regular thing for dudes to have locs or other types of long hair styles. Sh*t my hair isn't even really that long in comparison. But in NC they look at me like WTF! LOL. It's pretty funny cause back in college they did the same thing when I would come back sporting Cornrows or even with the 'fro out. Different strokes for different folks I guess...If I have on one of them hoodies with the gold skulls all over it and a removable goldplated cubic zirconia mouthpiece I would fit right in. Just another indication that Hickory isn't and really hasn't ever been the place for me. Love to visit the fam but other than that...I'll pass. LOL. Of course if my sister can't come home to DC for the Christmas holiday I will probably end up right back there.

Streak Ending Game

Yep, I'm a Skins fan...been that way since I was three years old and they drafted Darryl Green. So as a fan I make a point to try to catch at least one home game at Fed Ex Field every season and this year has been no different. Actually that's a lie, it has been different but only because I have been doing big this year kicking out that doe to see multiple games this season.

Up until this past Sunday I had been to two games (and had to turn down one because of the cost) and every game I had been to was a win. So when the third opportunity arose I quickly took advantage of it. I should have known from the break that this time would be different because I had those nose-bleed seats in the 400 section. This was also the first division game (Philly) I had seen so that was a big difference also. The crazy part is that this game where we lost was probably the most entertainingly ignorant game I have been too. First I went with a Philly fan and he kept telling me how violent some Philly fans are...and they made sure to prove him right thru the entire game. In a section to the right of us some Eagles fans get escorted out early in the game. Just after halftime some Philly fans get escorted out from a section to the left of us. And near the end of the game when all hope was looking lost about 4 sections below me a fight breaks out only this time it's Redskin against Redskin. This big 300 lb black man tried to choke the life out of a pair of skinny white dudes sitting in front of him...Well at least one of them dudes has a pair of fingerprints across his adam's apple right now. Seeing as how the big dude had a choke hold and the lil dude only had leverage you can imagine his reaction...yep he pulled his big ass right out of his row and they began to roll down three rows toward the ledge. Yeah the stopped...in part from the other skinny white guy grabbing his friend as he commenced to throw some Shaquille Oneal Style haymakers on the back of the assailants head...

The fight at the game was almost exactly like that...Ofcourse homeboy at the game was actually landing his haymakers and it was stadium seats instead of the hardwood. Shaq really didn't want it with Brad Miller did he? LOL!!!

On top of all that entertainment I provided entertainment to everyone in my row also. Halfway thru the first quarter the seats started to fill and wouldn't it be my luck that I have to sit next to the 6'2" 350 lb dude in the Burgundy Russell Athletic sweatsuit. And when I say he sat next to me I am highly over exxagerating because the brotha definitely shared 1/4 of my seat with me. Dude was so close that when he coughed (which he did A LOT) I felt it all in my right side. I swear I could feel that brothas heart beating. My man's sweat suit smelled like Frito Lays cornchips and mothballs and he had a Jerry curl that needed to be washed BADLY...I'm talking a scent that was very familiar to hallway piss and boiled hotdogs. The odor was just light enough to only hit me when the breeze turned the right way (which is often when you are 20 flights in the air). Man that scent reminded me of my grandmothers apartment building in the summer. LOL.

Quit an eventful game and worst of all we let go of a lead in the 4th quarter yet again...man it's hard to be a Redskin fan.