Latest Posts
Death of the Underdog…
(originally posted 8/29/12)
I grew up on movies like The Sound of Music, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Wizard of Oz, Miracle on 34th Street and Grease. My TV shows consisted of The Little Rascals, Mr. Ed, Good Times, Adam’s Family, Silver Spoons, I Dream of Jeanie, All in the Family, The Jefferson’s, Punky Brewster, Family Ties, I Love Lucy, Bewitched, The Muensters, Different Strokes and the Cosby Show. REAL TV in an era where parents were just discovering the art of television as a babysitter.
I grew up Climbing Trees, Riding Bikes, making Snow Angel’s, and had scabby knees. Playing Double Dutch, Hop Scotch, Hide and Seek, Red Light Green Light and Freeze Tag. In an era when children could talk to their neighbors, go into their houses… and return home in time for dinner untouched… and safe.
Every morning before school my mom would hand me two things, my lunchbox and my coffee, (heavy on the milk and sugar). We sat down together for breakfast and dinner as a family every morning, every night. In an era when children could walk a few blocks to school alone… and return home in the afternoon unhurt and ready to play.
I made mud pies, camped under a sheet in my bedroom, played games like Uno, Connect Four and Operation. I had a Cabbage Patch Kid, a Barbie collection, a stack of coloring books, and wore candy jewelry. I used to wake with the sun on Saturday mornings for cartoons. Cartoons on EVERY channel! ALL DAY… in a time when TV Stations competed for parental approval and the love… of children. Do you remember Kids Incorporated… and After School Specials? I left my house in the early afternoon and played outside with my mom’s voice ringing through my head, ”Be home before the sun goes down.”
I was a Latchkey Kid… Thunder Cats, Heathcliff, Woody Wood Pecker, Scooby Doo, The Jetson’s, Garfield, Josie and the Pussy Cats, Goldie Gold, Richie Rich, Voltron, Transformers, The Snorks, Popeye, CARE BEARS! Spiderman and His Amazing Friends (Fire Star…. Mmmnnnn…) The SMURFS! Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Amelia Bedilia, ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN! Do you remember Encyclopedia Brown?!!!
Today I live in an era where it’s hit or miss when you turn on the TV. Shows like the ‘Secret Life of an American Teenager’ are being watched by little girls learning how to be promiscuous and compare sexual partners. People are getting naked now at 7 PM, on Reality TV… pretty much right after the news and shows like Jersey Shore glorify low self esteem and bad behavior. In a time when a child can see you reading a book and ask in amazement…”you’re reading… for FUN?!” Come on people… really? When did we start living for Shock Value and stop caring about the MESSAGE?
I had a truly awesome childhood. Family Value’s… FRIENDSHIP… love of self… respect for others… and the Encouragement… of IMAGINATION! If it all starts at home… what are we giving our children now? I grew up in a time when telling a story mattered, when entertainment was less important or impressive than the LESSON or the MORAL of the story.
I was taught by my Television Baby Sitter and my neighborhood what it was to CHEER for an underdog…
I was taught by family and circumstance what it felt like to BE an underdog…
What the f*ck happened?
– Nova
Get over yourself…
(originally posted 4/11/11)
Why do so many women think the one they are with will change into the one they SHOULD be with? Why do they give constant attention, excuses and chances to people who do them dirty, treat them like crap, use, abuse and cheat on them?
Almost every woman has a list of qualities they would like or may even NEED in a partner… YET the people they end up with are NOTHING like this list. I understand thinking you want one thing and then realizing you want something else… but who wakes up suddenly realizing they like getting punched in the face, cheated on, disrespected or ignored?
We spend so much time complaining about the ones we CHOOSE to be with… under some misguided idea that if its worth having its worth working for. First these people ARE NOT worth having and second when its real love doesn’t hurt.
So many of you b*tch and moan about “I just want a girl who is…”
REAL
KEEPS SHYT 100
HONEST
MATURE
GOT HER ‘ISH’ TOGETHER
Blah… blah… blah….
The sad reality is most people can’t handle this type of woman. Here is some truth for you:
Any woman that is REAL has responsibilities and obligations. What this means people is there will be occasions when spending time with you…. or stroking your ego will have to take a back burner to: going to work, changing the baby or driving her Mama to the bank.
Any woman that ‘keeps shyt 100’ will eventually say things YOU… will not want to hear. She speaks her mind… you will not agree on EVERYTHING.
Any woman that is honest? AGAIN…. Will eventually say things YOU DO NOT WANT TO HEAR. The truth can hurt. It’s your job to grow a pair and be willing and able to listen.
Any woman that is mature, just IS!!!! She is serious when she needs to be and knows there is a fine line between being classy and over the top. She is always respectful and able to admit when YOU ARE RIGHT, (rare though it may be :-p) She is not INSANE and fully capable of owning her sense of self. She has a life SEPARATE from YOU!!!! The ‘WE’ thing in a relationship is necessary but both parties need to acknowledge the ‘ME’ thing is in equal measure.
Any woman that ‘has her shyt together’ understands the value of having her own. Knows what a ‘bill’ is and actually PAYS them. She respects the fact that YOU have your own, and works with you to build a strong foundation for being TOGETHER.
I think I’m on a bit of a rant… (takes a deep breath). I guess my point is this… The useless women walking this Earth don’t have a hard time reeling you in. They don’t have to work hard to get you to pay attention. They don’t have to do much of anything to get you committed. SMH…
Stop making quality women pay for the mistakes of the useless women YOU picked.
Stop complaining about the abuse you sign up for and allow.
Stop making quality women jump through hoops to prove themselves to you.
Don’t ask for things you are incapable if giving. You want a quality woman? Make sure YOU deserve her first.
Letter from my Babe…
So my babe wrote ME a love letter…. imagine that (the sky must be falling lol)!!!
VERY RARELY… have I experienced consideration from a lover like this… on this level. As a woman I have secretly yearned for it.. craved it.
I give it in abundance…
Shout it from the rooftops…
Let the world know…
NOVA
IS
IN
LOVE
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There were loves in the past where… I’d been loved and loved well…
J… you love me WELL.
I love you Baby… and I prayed for you too :-*
————————————————————————
Nova,
God said that we aren’t meant to be alone. He gave Eve to Adam, Jesus to the world, and you to me.
I have not been this happy in awhile, and when I was, it didn’t last very long.
Before you, I was happy. I found joy in life alone. Appreciated myself, strength and weaknesses, But when you came along, my happiness intensified. There became a sense of security, in the person God created me to be.
During the time I was single, I prepared myself for you. I put all my trust in God, that in him I would become a woman of strength, courage, faith, humility, wisdom, grace, mercy, and love.
And your love for me is confirmation that God can take mess and make it beautiful.
God saw the best in me… and you brought it out.
Sincerely in love,
J
The Fetish…
When I was 22 I met a man. He worked in my office building. He was a little older, reminded me of Mekhi Phifer and very intense. He was rough around the edges, what one would call ‘aggressive, or hood’… VERY HOOD. We used to meet up for random hot and sweaty rendezvous… and he had a fetish…. the man liked feet… he REALLY liked feet.
Speaking as someone who tends to accommodate their lovers I indulged him… I mean… all I had to do was hold my foot up half the time… he did the rest. Thinking back on it now it was actually an ideal situation. Think about it… an as yet Undiscovered Lesbian that didn’t enjoy sex with men. This required no real participation on my part… I could either lay there or stand there… doing nothing. I’m being honest… I was relieved.
This was not a nice man. I fooled around with him at a time in my life when I had yet to set standards for myself. I had no real requirements for anyone I dealt with. I just floated around like a social butterfly treating romantic prospects well with no expectation other than they would just naturally fall in line and do the same. Imagine my surprise when he didn’t fall in line. He was rude, rarely showed up when and where he was supposed to, and disrespectful. I think he’s the reason I developed such an issue with being disrespected.
This dramatic non relationship based solely on getting naked was on again off again for about six years. During that six year period I discovered he had a girlfriend (which he lied about of course), so we were off again. His ‘baby mama’ called me twice… which was funny only because she would call when we were ‘off again’, just MESSY. I actually dated other people and tried to be friendly with him. Bear in mind this was a man who would call me all kinds of ‘b*tches’… cuss me out like I was some hood rat on the street. I would do what women do… defend myself and stand up to him; he wasn’t my man, my boyfriend, my anything so why bother?
Six years ago I came into my own. Took a really long hard look at myself and decided to change my life. One of those changes… I no longer dealt with men. There was never any compulsion to do so. It was never important, and I really didn’t care one way or another… at least not until my first REAL encounter with a woman, it was a revelation.
The best way I can describe it… my coming out… “That moment my face broke the surface and I took my first real breath… finally realizing I’d lived my whole life under water.”
Six years ago I walked away I walked away from men and everything a straight life had to offer. I didn’t want it… any of it… least of all HIM. There was so much going on in my life at the time he was the least of my worries. I genuinely had a problem with myself. I was mean (evil really) and more about dwelling on a problem than about fixing one. I was a product of my environment. The reflection of a mother that hated men and had a distrustful outlook on life, the mirror image of an older sister hell bent on overcompensating for EVERYTHING in her life… and the essence of an absentee father that was street smart, mean, calculating and self-absorbed.
I wanted a better life than the one I was living. A better life than the ones collectively we (the above mentioned) had. I had always heard… “If you want better… you DO better” so I woke up one morning… and DID better. I analyzed everything I wanted out of life and came up with a way to get them:
Respect – give it to get it
Honesty – give it to get it
Loyalty – give it to get it
Love – give it to get it
The foundation of the person I wanted to be was summed up in just a few words…“treat others… the way YOU wish to be treated.” So I took those first few steps… and became someone else, the person I always wanted to be… a much closer version to the person God NEEDED me to be. It’s still a process… a daily struggle… I’m not the best I can be but my spirit is at peace because in the end… I know I’ll get there.
A year later when I was still trying to be friendly with the Mekhi Phifer look alike… I told him I was over being someone’s ‘option, alternative, fun’. You know just a warm body… with no real attachments. I had a lot to offer and for the first time in my life I was WILLING to go the distance with someone. I deserved so much more then I had been accepting. He hemmed and hawed and in the end all attempts at friendship went out the window. After that it was ‘block, delete, move on’. He’s been steadily emailing me over these past few years, messages ranging from playful to downright threatening, and what is the point of that?
I moved on with my life… met some amazing women along the way. Some beautiful spirits… some… well… let’s just say… not so much. Either way I was HAPPY, happier than I’d ever been. I didn’t CHOOSE for women to make me happy… they just do. Realizing it… acknowledging it… was just ONE step of many to get me to the woman I am today. Smarter, Better… STRONGER. I am defined by my God, and through the reflection of his image I am a beautiful spirit. I still stumble and fall, and when I make bad choices… they are REALLY BAD CHOICES. I bend… but I don’t break because I am loved and I love in return. When someone treats you well THEY are a blessing. Now today… the woman I am…in my relationships… whether they are friendship, family, or a love… I try to be a blessing.
Imagine my aggravation last year when I started getting voice messages at work from Phifer. The receptionist telling me ‘he’s here to see you’ and the building security (he was friendly with) telling me he was looking for me. “I’m not here for him, I’ll NEVER be here for him” was always my answer. I ran into him on the street once. “I’ll buy you lunch…” he said while I made my exit. “No thank you. Not interested I’ve moved on.” A year… of on again off again pop up visits and random phone messages at work, just MESSY.
Today took the cake though… that expression “God protects Fools and Babies” is the truth. I sent off a long azz text message to a friend and noticed the time… 10:42 a.m., and I hadn’t had breakfast yet. So I ran out trying to beat the clock for something to eat. By the time I got downstairs the little shop there was no longer serving breakfast. So I decided to skip it and head out for some chocolate (don’t judge me lol) from the Japanese Chocolate place by my job… THE BEST CHOCOLATE EVER (sigh… sorry lol). Of course I got side tracked by the skin and body care shop instead and went in, asked a bunch of questions and ending up making a purchase. Since I spent my chocolate money on skin care I decided to head back to the office till the little shop was serving lunch.
I walked into the building, pressed the button for my floor and waited. When the elevator doors opened I was responding to a text, which is why I didn’t notice him at first. I just started walking toward the doors. As I looked up he grabbed me around the waist “Hey!” he said as he pushed me back into the elevator. In the amount of time it took me to look up and see his face AND push him away from me the doors closed. He pushed the top floor button and sooooo it started.
Me: What do you want? I have to get back to work.
Him: Oh you will, but I’m gonna talk to you first.
Me: There’s nothing for us to talk about.
Him: Yes there is. Hear me out.
(Elevator doors open… I exit with him right behind me)
Me: I’m going back to work.
Him: No you’re not. Not until you hear me out. You owe me that much.
(He grabs the arm of my jean jacket and starts walking toward the back staircase… you know the one I’m talking about… the ‘in case of emergency or fire’ stairwell. SMH, and I have no interest in being dragged anywhere so I stop walking. He then starts pushing me from behind)
Me: Seriously?
Him: Seriously.
Me: Stop pushing me.
Him: Alright, alright… but you’re gonna talk to me.
(Now we are in the stairwell and I move away from him)
Me: What is this? I have to get back to work.
Him: You had time to go shopping, so you have time to talk to me.
(As he puts his phone on the window sill)
Me: What do you want?
Him: So you have your whole office thinking you’re gay now?!
Me: I am gay
Him: That’s what’s up. I still want the pussy though.
Me: Well that ain’t happening
Him: So what… my d*ck wasn’t good enough for you?
Me: It was never about that
Him: Ok whatever, you’re gonna give me some today though
(He reaches into his pocket and pulls out one of those travel size bottles of lotion)
Me: Man, listen… I’m happy, I have a girlfriend now… I am GOOD. I’m not entertaining you or this foolishness. I’m going back to work.
(And this fool goes blocks the door and goes into a 3 minute barrage about how I ‘played him’. When I answered each of his ridiculous claims, pointing out he treated me like shit and I allowed it, he was no show no go for the better part of my knowing him and he was an just an overall azzhole he had an answer or rather an EXCUSE for everything.
Him: You know I had to move, you know my mom’s lost her apartment, you know my daughter was sick, my ex is crazy, my baby mom’s is nosey (blah blah blah)
Me: That’s all well and good. Ancient history, I’ve moved on… you’ve moved on… going back to work now.
Him: You ain’t going anywhere till I get mine. Let me see them.
(My toes in case you were lost btw)
Me: Your what…? Nothing over here belongs to you.
(And so I tried moving past him. Bear in mind he’s bigger, taller and stronger than me so that was an exercise in futility. All it accomplished was a lot of me being shoved around and getting pissed off.)
Get out of my way.
(This fool unzips his pants and puts his fingers in my face)
Him: Stop playing with me! I’ve waited four years for you. You’re giving me some.
(I assessed him and assessed the situation… and chose to take the alternative route. I went down the stairs with him hot on my heels… jabbering some more about me playing him. He follows me this way down two flights of stairs as I look for a floor that allows re-entry into the building. All the while he’s going on and on about what I owe him… just plain CRAZY. On the third flight he grabs my arm)
Me: STOP TOUCHING ME.
Him: You fucking owe me this! I waited 4 years for you.
Me: I don’t owe you anything. This is over.
Him: So what you wanted a relationship? Well I’m here now.
Me: Are you SERIOUS! I don’t want ANYTHING from you.
(As I try stepping around him. At this point we are on the middle landing between stairs and he puts his hand on my chest and pushes me into the wall.
Him: Give me this and I’ll go away. I won’t come back.
(I push him back (almost down the stairs which in hindsight is funny as hell but at the time not so much) *shrugs*)
Me: I’m not giving you shit.
Him: Why you being such a b*tch! I’m not playing with you.
(By this time he has me hemmed up against the wall again with his hands all in my face (new for me). I’d never had a man come at me like that before. I’d rather not ever again, I don’t mind telling you. I’d never been in this type of situation before. So I did what I always do. I started thinking. CLEARLY I’m not getting out of this… and CLEARLY he’s not going away. Soooooo… just deal with it.)
Me: Get out of my face.
Him: You’re gonna give them (toes again) to me
(More hands in the face… he’s past the point of aggressive and I’m past the point of pissed off. So I dropped the mini shopping bag I only just realized was in my hand this whole time.)
Me: Get out my face.
Him: Give them to me and I’ll go away. I’ll never come back I promise. (toes again)
Me: I’m not giving you shit.
Him: I’m not playing with you. You ain’t leaving till you give them to me.
Me: So this is how you want it? I’m not giving you shit. You’re going to have to take it. So come on… TRY TAKING IT.
(heart beating fast… I stood my ground. If this retarded azz Mekhi Phifer look alike m*tha f*cka was feeling froggy… I SWEAR TO GOD he was going down those stairs face first. The really sad part is the way he looked at me. Like I was beneath HIM, and a bell went off in my head… *ding ding ding* how many women would just give him what he wanted just to get him to leave them alone? It is just TOES after all. Well I wasn’t going to be one of them. FUCK OUTTA HERE!!!!)
Him: Fine. Man F*ck you!
(He then turns around and heads back up the stairs, presumably to get his phone… cussing me out the whole time. I go down another flight of stairs, to the tune of “bird… b*tch… ho…” blah blah blah then there it is… RE-ENTRY into the building!! Hallelujah (yup… I told you God protects fools and babies… today I was definitely nobody’s baby). I walked onto the floor, headed for the elevators and made my way back to my office.
Overall the entire encounter probably lasted between 15 to 25 minutes. Enough time for some seriously bad ‘Ju Ju’ to have gone down. I always say I’m a lover… not a fighter, but here is a simple truth for you. Slapping him, punching him… hitting him in anyway NEVER even occurred to me. I was going to take that fool straight doors several flights of hundred year old concrete steps… even if I had to go with him. How is that for self-preservation? I’d rather harm myself then let him get what he wanted out of me. Something tells me there might be something seriously wrong with that.
I feel at a loss… very weirded out. That foundation on which I’ve tried to build…“treat others… the way YOU wish to be treated” how the f*ck does it apply here? A person will justify anything to excuse their behavior. The thing that creeps me out is he really felt he was RIGHT… and when a person feels they are right… there really is no stopping them. I got a view of that up close and personal. I guess that’s how racists, pedophiles, murders and rapists justify the things they do so they can sleep at night.
*sigh* I’m going to Church… I am defined by my God, and through the reflection of his image I am a beautiful spirit. I will always stumble and fall. I’ll make REALLY BAD CHOICES. I will bend… and not break because I love and I am loved in return. When someone treats me well THEY are a blessing. I knew that already, but today I guess it was reinforced… so the woman I will be…in my relationships… whether they are friendships, family, or a love… I will try to be a blessing.
I’ll try to be a blessing.
– Nova
LMMFAO!!!
YES!!! To those that NEVER shut the fuck up about what EVERYONE ELSE is doing!!
You know who you are!
:-*
– Nova
I live…
It’s been an interesting year for me… full of joys, hurts, laughter and tears. It’s so easy for us to fall into patterns and habits that keep us stagnant… our minds numb… our bodies immobile. No personal growth, no spiritual growth no mental advancement. Just the endless drone of a life unfulfilled.
Five years ago I looked in the mirror and didn’t like the person staring back at me. So I changed my life, became quieter, kinder, more considerate of others and a peace maker. Where in the past I was ready willing and able to help MY PEOPLE I was now ready, willing, and able to help anyone. I left my predisposition for violent tendencies in the dust… I worked on ceasing my strong propensity to REACT in a major way… and I decided to… just BE HAPPY.
Interesting… when folks ask, “Is the glass half empty or half full?” MY answer is always “Depends on whether you’re thirsty or not.” Some brand my lack of that CLASSIC ‘half full’ answer as PESSIMISM.
When I assess a situation and give a REALISTIC perspective… one derived from taking into consideration: the people, the behaviors, the patterns and the histories involved… the lack of a HOPEFUL warm and fuzzy response (given the afore-mentioned parameters) gets me labeled NEGATIVE.
Actually taking time to THINK about life, a future, and a plan… has people thinking I am not spontaneous and ‘too serious’.
Stepping out on faith in my world is a communion with my God and Myself… He knows my heart, he lives in my spirit and he knows the outcome of all things. I am aware blessings come on God’s time… I pray for the wisdom to see them… I pray for the strength to meet the challenges they may pose and I pray for the good sense to appreciate them. Sometimes when we pray… the best answer God gives us is… “NO!”… hard to swallow and harder to understand… but still a blessing in its own right.
There will always be someone judging you. Whether you drink, smoke, or sex your life away… whether you are a size zero or a size 32… whether you are black, white, yellow or red… male or female… gay, bi, bi-curious, or straight… none of it matters… none of it validates you. There will ALWAYS be an empty person who has chosen to sit on a high horse they have built for themselves… that will pass precious time (they will never get back) on all of those IRRELEVANT judgments of YOU.
Last night my mother asked me… “If you looked back on this year… would you be satisfied? Did you appreciate your blessings? Were you good to people? Were you good to the ones you love best? Has this been time well spent? Are you at peace with the woman you’ve become? Are you proud of the life you have built? Are you at peace with the life you have lived?
My answer to Dear old MOM…
2013? Hmmm… the places I’ve been:
- Winston-Salem NC
- Ashville NC
- Atlantic City NJ
- Philadelphia PA
- Cleveland OH
- Aruba
- Grand Cayman
- Limon Costa Rica
- Cartagena Columbia
- Panama
My Personal Failures:
- I’ve been lied to
- Had my heart broken
- Been disrespected
- Set up for humiliation
- Experienced the death of important friendships
- Learned the terms ‘FRIEND’ and ‘LOVE’ can be made profane
My Personal Successes:
- I’ve lost 64 lbs. (and still going)
- Gone Parasailing
- Gone White Water Rafting
- Signed up for my course study (classes start in November) to become a Certified:
- Life Coach
- Business Coach
- Relationship/Bereavement Coach
- Made great new friends
- Gotten a promotion at work
- Re-launched my blog
- Participated in the NYC AIDS WALK
- Fallen in love
The things I’ve planned:
- Sky Diving
- Kayaking
- River Tubing
- Zip Lining
- Re-Launch of my online magazine
- Finish the BOOK I’m writing
- Work with Habitat for Humanity
- Finish Credit Repair
- Move (hopefully buying a house looking into it now)
- Become Certified Life Coach
- Go to London, Paris, Amsterdam
- Sign up for culinary courses
Seriously? I’ve come a long way from the person I was and I struggle to be the woman God intended. I struggle… every day. I’ve mourned my losses… I grieve… and I hold my blessings close… saturate myself in them and appreciate them.
Perfection is DIVINE. I am a reflection of my God… flawed, gifted, and beautiful… and Baby… I’LL NEVER BE PERFECT.
We only have one life to live… this is mine.
– Nova
Word Play …
Last night I whispered sweet nothings to my babe… and she whispered back.
An ever changing love letter… we recite every night.
She comes for me in the dark… and I come for her in the light…
We move and flow… in a constant state of word play…
That has us cumming… over… and over… and over… again.
If ‘love is a battlefield’…
We are an army of untrained and unarmored misfits.
Not qualified to fight in this war.
This morning she whispered sweet nothings to me… and I whispered back.
An ever changing love letter… we recite… every day.
I come for her in the day… and she comes for me in the night…
We flow and move… in a constant state of word play…
That has us cumming… over… and over… and over… again.
If ‘love is a battlefield’…
We are an army of untrained and unarmored misfits.
Not qualified to fight in this war.
Last night I whispered sweet nothings to my babe… and she whispered back.
This morning she whispered sweet nothings to me… and I whispered back.
An ever changing love letter… we recite… every day…
We recite… every night.
She comes for me in the dark… and I come for her in the light…
I come for her in the day… and she comes for me in the night…
We move and flow… in a constant state of word play…
That has us cumming… over… and over… and over… again.
In Love.
– Nova
Take it and RUN…
Tragedy comes in many forms…
There is no greater tragedy than a love ‘unrealized’…
That love that was poetry… and real…
“Yeah… I could have been happy”.
Choose to be happy.
When God hands you a ‘blessing’… do you accept it?
Appreciate it?
Or… do you think You know better than Creation?
Of course…
Your choices are your own…
Do you choose chaos?
Or to be blessed?
Choose to be blessed.
Sadness comes in many forms…
There is no greater sadness than a love ‘abused’ …
That love that was epic and true…
“Yeah… we could have been happy”
Take the plunge and love her…
Love her well.
When God hands you a ‘blessing’… TAKE IT and RUN!
Accepting His gifts is a part of life.
You don’t KNOW better than Creation…
You ARE creation…
God’s personal canvas…
His unfinished art…
And he waits for you to complete yourself…
With LOVE….
Your choices are your own…
Do you choose expectation?
Or do you choose love?
Choose LOVE.
– Nova
