Choosy Lover

When it comes to choosing a mate, I must say I'm a bit picky. I realize that no one is perfect. However, let's be real - everyone has their list of "I could never date a guy/girl who..." list.

I'm a firm believer that anytime someone begins a sentence with the words, "I would never..." they almost always end up doing exactly what they said they wouldn't. In the game of life you never know what card is going to be thrown your way. So while you think you would never fall in love with a stripper or a smoker or the mail man or your best guy/girl friend-- he or she might just be the person you end up with. Love sees no color or boundaries. Even though we all hold our set of rules close to our hearts and minds, love has its own rules. I've come to realize that maybe that special someone who is destined to be your soul mate, is in fact the one person who violates all your rules.

This poem is special to me, I hope you enjoy it.

You've violated all of my Rules...
Made them appear as the utterance of a fool.
Caught me off guard
Took my 'always a strike' pitch out of the yard.
Why have you come?
What will you do?
It is so amazingly good!
But can I really trust you?
I had set up a stair case that all were to climb,
You created your own just like mine.
With ease and confidence, you mocked my rubric's sense.
You make me do things I thought I would not.
You've come in my life and blown up the spot.
Yeah, you makin' it Hot.
You tryin' to put me outta my own kitchen?
I'd leave, but I'm just itchin' to understand,
to comprehend to contemplate
to maybe investigate the tools...
you used to violate all my rules.


~Stay Classy - Crossy~

Nothing like a Sunday

My everyday life is far from normal.

On any given day I can work 1st shift, 2nd shift, 3rd shift, weekends, holidays, the sun comes up when I go to work, and sometimes the sun comes up when I leave. Story of my life I guess.

One things for sure - my life is never boring, and every day seems to bring a different surprise.

As of late I've been living the good life...also known as "the day shift." You know what I mean, Monday thru Friday...9am - 5:30pm.

Working the good life schedule affords me the opportunity to have weekends off. What a blessing! It's funny because until now, I never knew what a weekend really felt like. See, it's one thing to have days off...but it's another thing to have a real weekend. Pick any two days of the week, and I guarantee you neither one of them really feels like a weekend. Sure you don't have to clock in...but alot of times those days become consumed with so much stuff -you don't get a chance to rest.

This past Sunday put a lot of things in perspective for me.

Sunday is a day to relax...and that's exactly what I did ALL day. It's a day that should only be saved for church, a lot of food, long conversations, sleep, and football. Seriously, it doesn't get quite better than that.

It's funny how Sunday feels so different from any other day. The weather was perfect, almost serene. It was warm, with a light breeze, the sun was barely peaking through the clouds, and my house smelled like cherry pie. [Ok, I didn't make the pie, but it was finga-lickin'-good!] I thought to myself, Man...there's nothing like a Sunday.

Now I know why people go for a Sunday drive. It's soothing. I actually drove around aimlessly with no music on for about 10 minutes with no destination. I let the windows down and couldn't help but notice how quiet it was. Is this what Sunday sounds like? Wow. Everything was vacant, parking lots were empty, and the only thing open was Walmart. Then I passed a gas station and it reminded me that it takes dang near $60 to fill my tank, so I took my tank home. Clearly I was dillusional, but I guess a rested mind can do that to you.

Just taking some time to appreciate the simple things.

Sunday.

T h a n k f u l

I couldn't think of a word more appropriate than, Thankful.

I'm thankful for the breath in my lungs.

I'm thankful for my friends and my family, who have called and shown comfort.

I thank God for allowing me to be a personal witness of His grace.

I am thankful.


Last Tuesday, my life actually flashed before my eyes.

I was rear ended on my way home from work. A car struck my vehicle as I was stopped, waiting for an opportunity to make a left turn. I was fortunate enough to walk away from the accident, but I suffered several injuries as a result.


Questions
Could I have avoided the accident if I left work 5 minutes later? What if I never stopped to fill my tank up at the gas station and just went straight home? All of these questions ran through my head. I felt as if it was somehow my fault, but it wasn't.

Answers
Over the past week I've been couped up in the house, several things have become apparent to me.

1) Tomorrow is not promised.
It's something we hear all the time...but it's important to keep in mind. I tend to think as a "glass is half-full" type of person so instead of thinking of it in a negative sense saying you won't be here tomorrow, I like to say LIVE FOR TODAY!

For the record, I've officially whipped out my list of goals for the year and I plan on really working to achieve each one. Sometimes I find myself to be a goal-aholic. It's a disease in which one thinks they can do everything they want to do at one time.

Survey says.........THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE.

So back to the drawing board I guess. Luckily I have time to make my goals really happen since I won't be going out or anything any time soon.

2) Friends are Forever.
Not to get all mushy or anything (not my style)...but I am very thankful to those who took the time to call, come by, reach out, give me a ride, cook, bake, smile, pray or just crack a joke to try to comfort me during this tough time. If it wasn't for you guys--I'd be a mess. It's not often that you do something for someone and they say thank you...so i'm saying:

THANKS GUYS! I'm cheesin! (All 62 teeth are blingin!)

It really means a lot to me because I live in CT and I don't have my closest friends and family here. For once, CT actually feels like a home away from home.


Thank you.

Sports Allegiance: Home or Away?

Living in New England has taught me alot about sports.

You're either a Red Sox fan or a Yankees' fan. There's no in between.

There are a number of people here who are Yankees' fans who aren't even from New York, Jersey or anywhere close for that matter.

This brought me to the thought:

Where do our sports allegiances derive from?

[Raising my hand] Um, is there like a rule I don't know about that says it's NOT okay to be a fan of a team in a town where you've NEVER lived? Does living in a state for more than a month constitute enough weight for an allegiance to be born?

Here's my outlook on the Big 3...plus one - NBA, NFL, MLB and College sports.

NBA

With professional basketball, I find that most people are fans of certain players, opposed to being a fan of a team. Prior to this years Celtics /Lakers matchup, not too many people cared about the NBA or it's players. Aside from David Stern enforcing a dress code for it's players, I believe the league just became too ghetto for season ticket holders to bare. There are also several states that don't have a professional NBA team like...Nevada, Montana, South Carolina and...oh, Connecticut. Several Connecticut natives tend to lean towards the Boston Celtics as "their team." As you can see, the NBA is an exception.

NFL

Who doesn't love the NFL? Seriously. There's nothing like curling up on your couch on a Sunday afternoon with some wings, soda, chips-n-dip and your laptop (for you fantasy football fiends). So who holds your NFL allegiance? My allegiance stems from my 5-year stint in Charlotte, North Carolina. I must say, I heart the Carolina Panthers. Prior to 2000, I was never a huge football fan due to how horrible my hometown Seattle Seahawks were...but it was just something about Carolina that won my loyalty. Depending on where your from, football fans are not always for the "home team." I think I've met more Washington Redskins fans in the New York area than I have in Washington D.C! Now that's real talk. I think the jury is out on this one. Some people say you have to be from the team's city that you root for, while others disagree. What do you think? This is also one sport where a lot of people have two teams they like: one being the dominant team, while the other is a closet favorite because of a particular player or coach.

MLB

America's favorite pastime....Baseball. It's about as American as apple pie...well, until steroids came along. But seriously, this is one sport where I think most people are fans of their home town team. It's true that players get traded often, but it's rare that people will switch their allegiance from team to team in MLB. While living in the south I noticed that baseball is not really that popular. Due to the lack of teams in those regions, there's no demand for baseball so there's no allegiance either. History is also a big factor in why people stay loyal to certain teams. You can't deny those who paved the way...for the A-Rod's and Jeter's of today.

College Sports

If you live in North Carolina for more than a week it's inevitable that you'll be asked the question: Are you a Carolina fan or a Duke fan? For the record, I bleed Carolina blue. It's so necessary. I'm not gonna go into the top ten reasons why I hate Duke...I'll save that for another blog. Instead I'd like to focus on the amount of people who cheer for a school they never attended. Sports fans are attracted to dynasties and rivalries. College sports is one place where you'll find alot of that. However there are always those teams like CAA's George Mason who slip through the cracks and make us all believe that the unexpected can happen. It's Cinderella teams like GMason that make sports fun. Who are your favorite college teams for each sport? Are they the same for each sport? Isn't it interesting how people can be say... a UConn basketball fan, but a Notre Dame football fan?

My overall opinion is...be a fan of what ever team you want. I am.

Stay Classy!

An Historic Feat

Change is coming to Washington!

Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic nomination, making him the first African-American presidential candidate of a major party.

Some people received the news by text message, some updated their facebook/myspace status messages. Others simply watched CNN in awe. It's a day, none of us will forget. Now Obama hasn't been voted as President yet, but the taste of the possibility, is sweeter than my mama's sweet potato pie!

There's something about Barack that makes you admire him, listen, think, and immerse yourself in the movement. He's charming, sincere, articulate, and intelligent. His wife is a modern day Claire Huxtible....gorgeous, supportive, and extremely smart. What a pair?!

Obama has survived countless attacks, but his resolve remains unshaken. His resume has been challenged, yet his words and actions back it up. He is everything you see in front of you, nothing more and nothing less.

Barack is a symbol of hope and an advocate of change.

He is our democratic presidential nominee.

And he's Black....but he represents us all.

It's an historical feat that in my 25-years on this planet, I never thought I'd see. The Obama campaign is not just a presidential race, it's a movement that has changed the way we look at politics forever.

Change in '08....Barack the Vote!

The Perfect Paragon

Recently I was posed the question,"How important is winning an NBA title without Shaq to Kobe's career?"

I thought to myself, extremely important.

Kobe Bryant is one of the most dissected athletes in the NBA. So that means his game and personal life must be flawless. He has to be the regular season MVP, hold the NBA title, pass the ball, be the Finals MVP, and win the Gold at the Olympics to be considered great. That's quite a load to haul. But not one too heavy for Kobe Bean.

So what does it take to be the GREATEST in the NBA?

I thought you'd never ask ;)

Here is my formula for what I like to call: The Perfect Paragon. It's made up of 3 important parts:

1. Skill


2. Athleticism


3. Passion

Several players in the NBA will never be GREAT because they have not achieved a balance of all three parts. I'm sure you can think of a laundry list of players...

But let's take a look at the New Jersey Nets' Vince Carter.

Now while I'm a huge Tarheels fan, I have to admit that Carter has not matured into a GREAT player. However, he's definitely in my Top 5 for all-time best slam dunks! I will never forget his dunk in the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest...but my admiration for Carter stops there. He has definitely achieved great skill and athleticism........but he lacks the passion.

In a recent interview, NBA Analyst Stephen A. Smith asked Kobe Bryant what his secret was to leading the Lakers to the NBA finals. While Kobe shyed away from the question by saying he wouldn't reveal the secret; I knew what it was: Passion. Passion is not just a simple emotion. It's a reaction to an external force. Bryant has always exuded passion in his love for the game, but it wasn't until now that Bryant was able to affect the actions of others with his passion. For years people have compared the likes of Bryant and the legendary Michael Jordan. It's a winless battle. At this point, I feel Bryant has already distinguished himself as his own man...not a boy in the shadow of a giant.

Bryant has led his young team to the NBA finals through not only his passion for the game, but his passion to win as a team, and his passion in making the players around him better. It is for this reason, Kobe Bean is a giant. His skill is unparalleled. His athleticism is unmatched. But the passion he's instilled in his team cannot be shaken.

Kobe Bryant = The Perfect Paragon