A New Chapter

...And then all of a sudden I realized….”What a perfect vacation.” Not because everything that happened on the trip was perfect. But because everything that happened on the trip wasn’t perfect. I was ready…I was prepared for the perfect vacation. In my mind I had the perfect vacation all planned out. How it should go and exactly what should happen. And I was disappointed when I got here and realized that the vacation wouldn’t go as I had planned. It was troubling. And comforting. And confusing at times. And fun. And lonely. And exciting. It was everything that I needed it to be. It was perfect. The good. The bad and the ugly…perfect. It was my life. It was my career. It was my relationships. I don’t think I’ll use the phrase, “nothing’s perfect” anymore. This trip has given me a newfound sense of hope. Things are perfect. Perfectly designed for our imperfect selves. To make us better…to make us whole. And now that I (in spite of my imperfect self) have chosen to open myself up to perfection, I am closing this chapter in my blog and starting a new one. I'm not saying this is goodbye. Just....see you later.

Yaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy!

Well we did it ladies and gentlemen. I would have posted Baccalaureate Pics (1 Day to Go!) but I decided not to. After three years, we deserved to celebrate for both days. The “Crew” is graduating…from a lot of things. As we took the last step out of the doors of the university chapel, we said goodbye to peers and professors, papers and exams, sleepless nights, long hours and endless readings. But our hello’s will be even better than our goodbyes. “Hello world. Have we met?”

Countdown to Graduation: 2 Days to Go!

With only 2 days left till graduation, there were only 8 hours left until Jack Bauer stopped the President from making a big mistake and sending fighter planes to the three countries they thought financed the nuclear bomb in America…but in all actuality, IT WAS A SET UP. Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn….

Countdown to Graduation: 3 Days to Go!

Dear Former and Soon to be Bridesmaids,
You are invited to the first annual (well not really annual, -first- by itself sounds boring) TOO SINGLE CREW BRIDESMAIDS PARTY. (For those of you who do not know who the Too Single Crew is, we are made up of Khristi, Kim, Jessie and Ashlee plus 3 more people who none of you know.) Have you been a bridesmaid one too many times? Ever been on the blunt end of somebody else's bridezilla? Have you walked down one too many aisles watching somebody else's man standing at the altar? Then this is the party for you. The only requirement is that you wear a bridesmaid dress either previously worn- or for those of you lucky summer bridesmaids- one sitting in your closet waiting to get its $120's worth for the few hours that you'll wear it. Now, you don't have to get hair and makeup done unless you choose to do so. You can come normal- it's all about the dress. You can even come in your sneakers, although, the satin pink shoes you brought that your bride said you could wear more than once but you couldn't find anything to match it, would be well worth wearing the second time around. (Now bridesmaids remember, this is a celebration. This isn't the ex-wives club as many of you are happily involved.) There will be wine and horderves, maybe some little goodies and a movie! Now one of you has already inquired if you could bring a date- the answer is No. (-: Please RSVP by Sunday, May 11th. Thank you kindly!

Countdown to Graduation: 4 Days to Go!

4 days till graduation. What a better place for seminarians to go but Tini Tuesday’s at Delta’s! Partying like it’s 1999’s Too Single Style! Ashlee proved once again that after two drinks she can still be the loudest person in the room. Kim needed to release a little negative energy so she took a quick bathroom break and did a little Tai-Chi. We gained a newfound respect for Jessie who ordered salmon cakes and grits with collards and sweet potatoes on the side. And one day before my perm, my green hat stayed on the entire night covering the afro I had underneath, but I let the perm hang out a little down under. AND, the entire meal was on the house! It pays to be Too Single in the City….

Countdown to Graduation: 5 Days to Go!

Two Words: Jack Bower, our new TV husband…well he’s not exactly marriage material, so, our new TV Man. We discovered today that TV men are perfect. They’re heroic. They’re super intelligent. They’re sexy. They’re violent (that one is Ashlee’s comment…she’s not well) They’re strong. They’re commanding. They’re committed (this is TV remember…they commit for the hour or so we watch them on the screen). They’re authoritative. They’re reassuring. They’re everything! Anyway…
12 uninterrupted (except for sleep and food) hours of watching Jack Bauer save the world! Well…Los Angeles…but Los Angeles is the world in TV Land!

Perhaps we all need to be reminded

"I'm starting with the man in the mirror

I'm asking him to change his ways

And no message could have been any clearer

If you wanna make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself, and then make a change"

Michael Jackson

60 Things You Possibly Didn't Know About Me: Shaun's Idea

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now?
Library books about the Dead Sea Scrolls. A Notebook. A scarf. I’m not sure what else- that may be all.

2. Do you prefer to call or text?
I think it depend on the person. (-:

3. What is your favorite season??
Summer

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today
Ummm, it’s only early afternoon and I haven’t been in contact with that many people, but lemme see…
My boss, My Pastor and Jessie

5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning?
I was laying in the bed mad because I was wide awake.

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago.
I was talking with my co-workers about how Princeton Seminary hasn’t been the same since last years class graduated.

7. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas and Thanksgiving

8. Have you ever been to a strip club?
lol. No

9. Do you like Chinese food??
It’s alright. My brother eats it so much that he’s made me dislike it.

10. What is the best ice cream flavor?
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

11. What was the last thing you had to drink?
Sprite

12. What are you wearing right now?
Slacks, a retro pink baby tee from thrift and a blazer.

13. What was the last thing you ate?
an absolutely horrible chicken salad from Wendy’s

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
No, but I’m en route to changing my entire wardrobe after graduation

15. Do you like coffee?
Yes, but can do without it.

16. What's the last sporting event you watched?
The NCAA girls national basketball championship.

17. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Africa then Jerusalem

18. Who is the last person you sent a comment/message on myspace?
I hate myspace

19. Ever go camping?
With the girlscouts to Camp Hoover. (and I have the scar on my eye socket to prove it)

20. Do you have a tan?
I'm Black

21. Have you ever lost anything down a toilet?
Not that I can recall.

22. What is your guilty pleasure?
General Hospital...well that's getting boring...if it's on i watch it but....i'd have to go with Sex and the City...shhhh, don't tell anyone. ("I have zee sex, you have zee sex, we all have zee sex!" - You're a SATC junkie if you know what season and episode that one is from.")

23. Do you use smiley faces on the computer a lot?
Sure do. d-:

24. Do you drink your soda from a straw?
No

25. What did your last voice message say?
"Hey Khristi, it’s Khalid. Can you write me a recommendation? And is it possible for me to have it by tomorrow?” (oh the joys of working with teenagers)

26. Are you someone's best friend?
Yes and I’ll be on the road to go see her tonight.

27. What are you doing tomorrow?
Hitting the town with Ebonee. Cheesecake factory and Malcolm X. The way we used to do it back in the day.

28. Where is your mom right now?
At work.

29. Look to your left, what do you see?
The company phone and desk.

30. What color is your watch?
Don’t have one. I should get one of those.

31. What do you think of when you think of Australia?
Isn’t Heath Ledger from there?

32. Ever ridden on a roller coaster?
Yep, but I prefer not to.

33. What is your birthstone?
Garnet.

34. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru?
Hit the drive through. If I wanted to walk in I’d go to Friday’s.

35. Do you have any friends on myspace that you actually hate?
Yes. Myspace itself.

36. Do you have a dog?
I did. His name was Brandy. He died my senior year in college the night before my macroeconomics final.

37. Do you want to be with someone right now?
I don’t think it matters.

38. Does that person want to be with you right now?
I’ll have to go with “no” on that one.

39. Any plans today?
Work. Then I have to go to work. Then after that I have to go to work. Then after that I’m going to leave New Jersey again. I look forward to that.

40. How many states have you lived in?
Three- NJ, PA and VA.

41. Ever go to college?
Temple University

42. Where are you right now?
Work

43. Biggest annoyance in your life right now?
The school work that I have to finish has been a THORN IN MY SIDE. (i'm hoping all other annoyances will fade slowly with that because believe me...there are many.)

44. Last song purchased?
Wow. I really don’t remember that. Probably the Keisha Cole CD.
sigh- tough times, tough times

45. Last movie you saw?
Stranger than Fiction

46. Are you allergic to anything?
Horses, Cats and Cashews. (strange huh?)

47. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
In the summer it will be my flip flops. I’m so excited!

48. Are you jealous of anyone?
Nope.

49. Are you married?
I’m discovering that I may not be applicable to this question.

50. Is anyone jealous of you?
I don’t think so. But they wouldn’t tell me anyway.

51. What time is IT?
2:20pm. One hour till I head to the detention center. ugh

52. Do any of your friends have children?
No.

53. Do you eat healthy?
I try to.

54. What do you usually do during the day?
Prepare myself to do schoolwork (I may do it, I may not) Prepare myself to go to class (I may go, I may not) Prepare myself to go to work (I may go, I may not) As of May 5th that will all change.

55. Do you hate anyone right now?
No. I tried to, but I knew I was lying when I said it.

56. Do you use the word 'hello' daily?
When I pick up the phone

57. How many kids do you want when your older?
Well hypothetically speaking I’d like 3 or 4. I want to adopt and have my own.

58. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
27, I can’t believe it don’t depress me.

59. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
Yep and it’s expensive and boring. But I went when I was in high school.

60. How did you get one of your scars?
I was at Camp Hoover with the Girl Scouts and a branch snapped back in my eye and the twig got caught. I rubbed it out for 20 minutes and it scarred it. Why me?????

The "Too Single" Crew: Having a Private Party

I’m having a private party. Ain’t no body here but me, my angels, and my guitar singin’ baby look how far we’ve come here. I’m havin’ a private party. Learning how to love me. Celebrating the woman I’ve become.

Ebonee’s having a private party aint nobody there but her, her theater and her stage, reciting, “Baby look how far we’ve come.” Ebonee wants a normal life and is beginning to regret the day she told God that she wanted to be different, set apart, called, chosen…you know…all the things we say in the beginning of our walk before all hell breaks loose. She has decided that the play called her life is a one woman show. She’s the cast, she’s the set, she’s the script, and it is written, directed and produced by God. Her and God however, evidently, are having some disagreements.

I tried to call my mother, but she didn’t get where I was going. I called my boyfriend and he said, "Call me back a little later baby." I hung up the phone, I felt so alone. Started to feel a little pity.That’s when I realized that I Gotta find the joy inside of me.

Ashlee’s having a private party aint nobody there but her, her dancewear and her shoes dancing, “Baby look how far we’ve come.” Ashlee’s life can’t fall apart because too many people’s lives around her are. She’s decided to wait until the coast is clear before having any breakdowns or unwarranted trysts that may cause her to stumble. Too many bodies on top of one another is too much of a mess to clean up. Unnecessary stress, she is avoiding at all costs. She is even boycotting working for a season just to keep the peace. While Jessie says “If time is my vessel, then learning to love might be my way back to sea,” Ashlee says, “If time is my vessel, then learning to relax and doing absolutely nothing is my way back to sea.”

I’m gonna take off all my clothes. Look at myself in the mirror. We’re gonna have a conversation. We’re gonna heal the disconnection. I don’t remember when it started. But this is where it’s gonna end. My body is beautiful and sacred. And I’m gonna celebrate it.

Jessie’s having a private party aint nobody there but her, her keypad and her blog, typing, “Baby look how far we’ve come.”

“I always think THIS time. THIS time the guy is going to fight for me. THIS time... THIS guy will realize this won't be all there is to it. But so far I have always been wrong. So far in my life guys have always lacked courage or will or SOMEthing. Or maybe the fault is mine and I just can't admit until much later if something was not right. I am willing to be wrong. But the only option that I know by now FINALLY THIS time is that, fight or no, I am worth fighting for.”

All my life I’ve been looking for somebody else to make me whole. But I had to learn the hard way. True love began with me. This is not ego or vanity, I’m just celebrating me.

Latosha’s having a private party aint nobody there but her, her paint brush and her pad, painting, “Baby look how far we’ve come.” Latosha has taken her private party to a whole other level. She has not only cut off all the negative people in her life, but she’s also cut off the cable television in her house. Latosha has decided that she is her own therapist and has found a newfound creator on the inside of her in painting. She’s even gone as far as to hang her masterpieces all over her apartment in all sorts of fancy frames. Latosha doesn’t need a therapist and she sure as h*ll doesn’t need to go out purchasing any expensive paintings to decorate her apartment. Move over Maslow. Move over Van Gough.

Sometimes I’m alone but never lonely. That’s what I’ve come to realize. I’ve learned to love the quiet moments. The Sunday mornings of life. Where I can reach deep down inside. Or out into the universe. I can laugh until I cry, Or I can cry away the hurt.

Khristi’s having a private party, aint nobody there but her, blank pages and her pen, writing, “Baby look how far we’ve come.” Khristi wonders why she can create a work of art on stage, but fails to do so in her own life. Could this be the test of a true artist? Suffering from an extreme case of writers block, Khristi’s afraid that there are some things happening in her life that she just can’t seem to rewrite. Perhaps it’s time to end this chapter and start a new one. Perhaps some chapters are better left unwritten.

Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday. Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday.

Kim’s having a private party. Aint nobody there but her, ambition and her dreams, preaching, “Baby look how far we’ve come.” Kim has decided that the 60’s may be the decade for her. It appears as though in 2008, men in their 30's are still "finding themselves." Hey, what’s 10, 15 years difference? May save her a boat load of heartache in the long run. Doesn’t matter anyway. Like Tosha, Kim has been doing some drawing of her own. Kim drew her entire life on a sheet of poster board and crayons and has done everything but find a frame. Oh but when she does…these stick figures and boxed houses will tell her story. Who needs a preacher to prophesy when you can draw your own life? Poster Board anyone?