Business hours

Sometimes a dating woman needs business hours.

Gentlemen callers used to be a little more respectful of when they called a lady. A phone call after 12 a.m. was a definite no-no (unless you were a booty call at which point respect is not a factor). Unfortunately, I’ve started to notice that guys are calling later and later and thinking it’s OK. Newsflash fellas: IT’S NOT! For that very reason a dating woman needs business hours for male callers.

Better, not bitter

Back in my dating prime I didn't take break-ups, disappearing acts or ending "friendships" too well. One minute you're all sprung, infatuated or in “like” with a person. The next they're saying you're unable to reciprocate what you expect in return or are too goofy for them. Even worse they might just disappear from the face of the Earth without even a messenger pigeon.

the letter

Dear Wesley,
Where's my letter?
Signed your friend,
Toni

Letter writing seems to be a dying art form these days. Facebook, Twitter and e-mail have done away with sending messages, except for the occasional Christmas card. Randomly I send letters or cards to folks whenever the mood strikes (usually at Easter and during the summer). In most cases, people either write me back or at least acknowledge receiving the correspondence. Such was not the case with a certain celebrity.

Green-I-am

Would you like green eggs and ham?

Green Eggs and Ham always was hilarious to me. Sam-I-am was just so persistent about getting the other character to eat the dish. The story was a good example of how we should be open to trying new things. Not to long ago I had my own green eggs and ham experience.

Hymnology 101

The leader always has this handy when lining a hymn.

Growing up a preacher’s child exposed me to a lot of church traditions throughout my childhood, such as hymn lining. Unfortunately future generations might miss out on it. A few months ago I watched a video about hymn lining becoming a disappearing tradition. Hymn lining is a form of call and response and dates back to slavery times within the black church. Typically a leader sings, or lines, the verses of a hymn in a suggested tune and the congregation repeats in kind. The leader chooses from a variety of meters to line the hymn to, such as common, short and long. Thus lined hymns might be sung in a different tune from how one normally hears it.

the pat down

Nothing to hide here

This time last week I was preparing to head to merrye olde England and gay Paree! Thursday at the butt crack of dawn (also known as 5:30 a.m.) I got up to shampoo and style my hair before we left. I knew we would be constantly on the go during the trip and didn’t want my hair to be a major concern. Also I didn’t want to give TSA a reason to pat down my hair. I’ve read horror stories about the experience. If celebrities have to go through pat downs, what hope would there be for me? Two-strand twists simply hanging down seemed like the best option to combat both problems. So I mixed up some curl-leeper (my fave product) and shea butter and twisted away. Typically twists are how I wear my hair during domestic travels. I never had a problem. Until this trip.

Bad children beware

Children are among my least favorite people. Actually, let me rephrase. BAD children are among my least favorite people. Too often I find myself surrounded by them. Many parents don't seem to think raising well-mannered children is a priority. Instead they let them run around like little heathens. Civilized society should not be forced to deal with their spawns of Satan. Perhaps that's why I was so sympathetic to the Dollar General employee who dispensed some old fashion discipline to a BAD child.

I'm a survivor

The roomie and I had a Scream marathon a few days ago. Between my screams every time Ghostface jumped out and ignored yells saying, “Call 9-1-1,” we discussed our survival plan for a similar situation. You’ve got to have a plan these days for everything. I’m still assembling my zombie apocalypse plan, but the one for a small town serial killer is ready to go and completely fool proof. We won’t be dying because of Ghostface anytime soon. Of course we initially wondered if I would make it to the end because the black person ALWAYS dies in horror movies/thrillers. Or do they? In recent years we’ve actually survived. Based on the movies I’ve seen, here are some of the actors who lived to fight another day:

Time to go: Part 2

Bad attitudes don't help bad situations. The assistant editor was thrown into a bad situation but part of the problem was his personality. He was a deplorable person, which he admitted. He once called a meeting with three of us reporters to say we are the worse staff members ever. Morale had already been low, and he made it worse by insinuating we all were about to be fired (did I mention this was on my birthday). Yet when you asked for specific details of what we did wrong he couldn’t pinpoint them (sounds familiar). Ultimately the assistant editor was the one let go, and a new editor came in. Finally I would have the leadership, consistency and training I craved. Or so I thought. I was wrong. I thought things would change, and they did in some areas, but they stayed the same in too many others.

the silver fox

She found her first gray hair too!

Somebody grab a bottle of Clairol ASAP! The gray is coming! Yes, yours truly found her first gray hair on Saturday. There had been a series of false alarms (mainly because a certain white cat is always in my bed which leads to white fur always in my hair), but this time it is official. My dad went gray in his early 30s and I have several other cousins who got silver locs at a young age. It wasn't much of a surprise that I've found gray already.

Time to go: Part 1

Most people ask if I left the news industry because I didn’t like being a reporter. I loved it. By no means was I a world class journalist. Sure I was a good reporter, but I wasn’t GREAT. Still I loved being a reporter. Yes, there was little pay, late hours and no appreciation, but that didn’t outweigh my love of writing, meeting new people and telling their story and just being out and about. The real reason I left was because I was scared of one day hating it.

what i want to be

I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up anymore. Maybe I never really had it figured out. That thought kind of scares me. Everyone always pointed to me as the person who had a definite career plan. The one thing I’ve always been gung-ho about is being a reporter. I wrote for my middle school and high school newspapers. I interned at newspapers during high school and college. And of course I worked as a reporter for several years post-college. But now I don’t.

word problems

Everything is better with friends.

I have a confession to make: I suck at word games. Yes, it is a sad but true fact. My word game skills are severely lacking, despite being a spelling bee champion, avid reader and former wordsmith. Scrabble is never a board game you will hear me suggest playing. The Upwords game I had as a child was enjoyed by all of my family members, except me. The knowledge of my poor word game skills should make me stay away from all of them, right? Wrong.

It’s feeding time

Public breastfeeding incidents have been in the news several times over the last few months with some sparking quite a bit of controversy. There was the professor who breastfed while teaching her class and received a reprimand. Beyonce fed Blue Ivy while out at lunch one day. Another story showcased military mothers breastfeeding in uniform. And who can forget the Time Magazine cover story featuring a 3-year-old being breastfed? Just the other day I read an article about three mothers who staged a “nurse-in” at their Delaware mall to spread awareness about a woman’s right to nurse in public. They were asked to leave by a state trooper and security guards.

this, that and the other

The other night I was perusing "Stuff Christians Like" by Jon Acuff and had a laugh fest for a good hour. It got me to thinking several question about this, that and the other regarding church and Christian life, such as:

the professional mourner

All these years I’ve been wasting my talents. I’ve officially found my niche in life – a professional mourner. You have the funeral, and I’ll bring the tears. To think I’ve missed out on this particular career path for so long.

Love, marriage and a baby carriage

Is there something in the water? Everyone seems to either be a) getting engaged, b) getting married or c) having a baby. I can't log on Facebook without seeing an announcement about a friend joining one of those categories. It's enough to drive a single girl crazy, and I am not liking that at all.

Can you testify?

It's a new year which means Writing Wednesday is back in full effect. I promise to do so much better than last year which featured numerous bouts of disappearing (blame it on my chronic sickness). One of my goals for this year is to be healthier. That should translate to writing regularly and not owing the Writing Wednesday Pot. Also I plan on writing an additional post at least a few times a month not on Writing Wednesday.

For 2013 I decided to take it back to the Old School for my New Year's Eve celebration. Instead of partying it up I went to Watch Night Service at church. A watch night service is a late-night Christian Church service held on New Year's Eve. Watch night service is especially important to the black community because many slaves were said to have gathered in churches on New Year's Eve,in 1862 to await the Emancipation Proclamation being enacted on Jan. 1, 1863.

The best birthday gift ever

An example of the journal

There's just something about a good gift that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Now I do so enjoy giving them, but I also enjoy receiving good gifts. I love it when friends and family pick out something that really shows a thorough understanding of my likes. A few years ago a friend made me a bootleg copy of Roller Coaster Tycoon (we were in high school and broke). The other year my Secret Santa bought me a Clawdeen Wolf Doll. The birthday gift I received last year was my absolute favorite.

I can't be bothered Pt. 2

My generation does not know how to date anymore. Text messages have replaced meaningful conversations. I don't know who thought that was a good idea. It is the absolute worse concept ever, yet none of the young (and old) people of today seem to understand that.