Santa (i.e. my big brother Wayne) brought me 3 CDs for Christmas; Keyshia Cole, Jennifer Hudson and Jamie Foxx.  If you liked Whitney Houston back in the day, you'll probably like Jennifer's CD.  Personally, I have never been a fan of Whit's music so Jennifer will probably be permanently retired to my CD rack, but I'm not mad about giving her the dough.  The CD isn't bad.  It's just not my style.

After my brother had already sent our gifts, but I had not opened them, one of my blog buddies stated that Keyshia's CD was straight garbage (her words).  I was so disappointed, but of course I listened for myself on Christmas as beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Normally I don't support artists who can't really sing, but there is something about Keyshia's delivery that makes her truly horrible vocals work.  I never bought one of her CDs before, but other people keep buying them so I figured something must right.  Well if it worked before, it didn't work this time.  The CD is pretty bad and I am sorry that I gave her and the label my dough for that garbage which will encourage them to put out more of the same.  I hope it falls off the charts quickly due to word of mouth so that they get the message.

Now you'd think that I'd be pissed about 2 out of 3 CD purchases being bad, but I'm not.  First and most importantly, I don't normally get gifts so I am beyond grateful that my brother and sister-in-law hooked me up.  The three CDs will go down in history as the first in my CD collection that I didn't purchase myself and I will always cherish them.  Ironically, the only tape in my tape collection that I didn't purchase myself is Jamie Foxx's first album, Peep This, which is off the chain.  On top of the gift aspect, Jamie's new CD, Intuition, is more than good enough to make up for the other other two.

I am a huge Jamie music fan.  A friend of mine in Houston played the Peep This tape while I was at his house and I fell so in love with it that he said he just had to give it to me.  I begged him not to.  I wanted to purchase the tape myself so that Jamie could get another sale, but he insisted and assured me he would buy himself a new copy.  He wanted me to have it as a gift since I loved it so much.  After that I craved Jamie's singing and tried to get it any way I could since he didn't release anymore albums for 11 years. 

I brought in New Years 1995 at a Jamie Foxx show in Houston alone.  My boyfriend had to work that night and he picked me up after the show to hit the club, but at midnight I was with Jamie and pissed off beyond belief.  He had a keyboard on stage which got me excited, but my balloon was burst when he didn't sing one song from his album and only sang as a part of his comedy act.  I wanted to strangle his ass.  It was like a fabulous love making session where right at the moment of climax your partner collapses and starts snoring.  That is exactly how it felt.  That's how bad I wanted to hear Jamie really sing.  This was a couple of years before I would be able to get an occasional Jamie singing fix via The Jamie Foxx Show.

Unpredicatable came out and I didn't like any of the songs that were released.  I didn't hate them, but they weren't knocking my socks off.  I didn't buy the CD, but I did go to his concert.  I didn't think Jamie had enough material out to headline a concert at a large arena, but he was headlining none the less on the strength of his album sales and Ray fame.  I had great floor seats that were not right in front of the main stage, but there was another stage in front of me and I knew he would be there at some point which meant I had front row seats to part of the show.  Since he only had two albums out I knew he would have to sing songs from Peep This to fill out the show.  Low and behold the same thing happened as at the comedy show I attended all those years earlier.  Jamie didn't sing not one song from the Peep This album and he sang Ray Charles songs that I didn't enjoy one drop on the stage right in front of me.  Again, I wanted to kick his ass.

Still, I am a die hard Jamie music fan.  I know the boy has It.  I saw the adorable "Just Like Me" video on one of the blogs I frequent and I knew I was going to buy this CD.  That's the Jamie I know and love.  So when my brother called and asked me what my girls wanted for Christmas and told me to email him a list and include one for myself, Jamie was the first thing on my list.  I don't know if yall remember or know how excited I was about Lil Wayne's Carter III, but I'm there and more with Jamie's Intuition.

This CD is OFF THE CHAIN.  Dare I say it's even better than Peep This?  Yeah, I'm saying it.  Maybe it's because a lot of the music relates to what I am going through right now on top of it just being great music.  Great production, great singing, great lyrics, great delivery, great collaborations.  Just great.

I can listen to the whole CD without skipping a single song, but I do have my absolute favorites.  Just Like Me with T.I. is cute and catchy and makes me want to dance all girly and flirty.  I Don't Need It and Digital Girl with Kanye are my House joints.  I can always appreciate an artist who includes serious House joints on their CDs like Diana Ross.  Those songs turn me into a dancing fool and I have gotten some good ab and glute work in just from being compelled to dance my ass off everytime they come on.  She Got Her Own became one of my favorites when my boo revealed that it was his favorite song on the radio right now because it reminded him of me.  I never listen to the radio so I didn't hear it for the first time until I got the CD.  I love how he makes me play it over and over even though I pretend it's getting on my nerves.  Freak'in Me with Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry is ultra sexy.  Marsha's chorus is on some ole Foetry Say Yes shit.  You're gonna want to make love to that one.  I can't adequately express how sexy it is in this blog no matter how nasty I try to get.  She Got Her Own might be my fiance's song, but Overdose is that song that best fits the situation I'm in for me.  It has been added to my list of wedding songs.  If you're on that Chris Brown/Rihanna new love tip where you can't keep your hands off of each other and get antsy when you are apart, even if just in seperate rooms, let alone seperate buildings then you are going to be feeling Overdose.

If you've been craving that real R&B with great singing and great storytelling then you have to add Intuition to your collection.  Tell the bootleg man to take a hike this time around.  Clive Davis deserves to make his money back on this one.  If you just gotta support your local hustleman then get that Keyshia from his ass.

Darn, I have too many blogs to write.  Well actually, I could organize them a little.  I possibly had the best Christmas of my life, but it is still the holiday season so I can do the whole thing together after the New Year.  But I'm definately going to do a Jamie Foxx CD review blog probably tonight as that was what I was getting ready to do when I got a phone call where I heard the most heart warming story of good will and forgiveness of my life.  Seriously.  This holiday season gets better and better by the second.  For real.

I gotta give you a little background on how this thing started.  My friend, who is too technologically savvy for her own good, sent me an email a few days ago that had an audio file.  The file was a crystal clear irate phone conversation she had with her neighbor that she had somehow recorded for whatever reason.  She had been friendly with her neighbors and the relationship had started to deteriorate recently and she called to find out what the problem was.  A shouting match ensued and ended with the neighbor threatening to call the police, many of whom he was friends with.

Both of them wound up calling the police and when they arrived they blew off the whole thing saying that my friend's introduction of profanity into the conversation was probably what set the neighbor off, which was exactly what I thought as I listened to the message.  At first it sounded like she really wanted to find out what happened between them, but when she said, "Is someone fucking with me or what?" I said uh oh and that's when the neighbor went off which and definately went overboard.  But it really wasn't a situation for the police so I was more concerned with the crazy situation that had evolved with the neighbor than the police's inaction.

Skip forward to later in the night.  I get a hysterical phone call from my friend.  Now she's called me crying hysterically before because her computer broke so initially I wasn't alarmed, she's a crier, but when she told me what happened my blood boiled like I'm not sure I've ever experienced.  Someone had hung a noose on her door.  I think we both assumed it was the neighbor which then made the earlier situation seem even more sinister, at least in my mind.  Well her's too now that I think of it.

So of course my friend calls the police for the second time that day and that's when they definately messed up.  They didn't take her seriously, didn't take a report and told her that she needed to take the noose down as she could be fined for it and left.  Then they came back and took the noose down themselves and took it with them leaving my friend with no evidence.  I was livid.  Seeing spots and the whole nine.

I had to do something.  By this time my friend was petrified and thinking that her neighbor was really crazy and out to get her and the police wouldn't protect her and might even be in on it.  She was so fearful that she was looking to move immediately as she didn't feel safe.  I'm thinking, to hell with that bullshit.  I called the police myself to tell them I knew what was going on and it was unacceptable.  The officer I spoke to was appalled by what I told him and he sent the police to my friend's house again to make sure a report was taken.  I had also planned to call Al Sharpton, the local news and whoever else would listen in the morning.  My blood was boiling I tell you.  It's a miracle I didn't have a stroke.  That ended with my friend turning the officers away and scolding me for "sicking" them on her again so I let it drop.  The officer I spoke to even called me back to let me know he sent someone out with unsatisfactory results for both of us.

Hopefully, you remembered through that horrible reading that this is a good story.  The most amazing thing happened.  My friend encountered a real life hero and I feel blessed to even know someone who has had the opportunity to experience this amazing display of strength, wisdom and goodwill.  Again, I felt compelled to call the media to report this incredible woman.  I'd still like to if it wasn't for the shameful aspect.

A single mom who works two jobs to provide for her two adolescent sons was checking out her son's internet activity and read an email where her son boasted about him and his friends going around hanging nooses on the doors of black people in the neighborhood.  As outraged as I was hearing about the hideous noose incident coupled with my friend's reaction, I can't imagine how this mother felt.  I can just see her face turning red from the boiling blood and shame.

Today my friend gets a knock at the door and it's this mom and the noose hanger.  She tells my friend why she is there and my friend invites the mother and 15 year old son in for coffee.  The mother tells my friend about her noose adventures.  How she forced her son to tell her all the neighbors he insulted (insulted is not a strong enough word really) and what friends were involved.  She called all the parents and they all decided to make the kids go apologize to each victim.  The woman had been cursed out thoroughly by one of the neighbors and got doors slammed in her face, but still she kept going from house to house with her son.  Not only did she make him apologize, but his mom asked my friend to please tell her son how the noose hanging affected her.  To top it off he had to do chores for all the neighbors.  For instance, he'll be shoveling for one of the neighbors after the next snowfall.  He was forced to wash the dishes at my friend's house as she couldn't think of anything she needed him to do and the mom didn't want him getting off that easy.

After sitting and talking with the mom my friend thought it was important to show the young man that his apology was very much appreciated and not in vain so she held her hand out to shake.  Instead the child reached for my friend and hugged her and cried like a baby.  I know that a healing occured.  I don't know if the child was a racist.  Kids do some crazy things for no other reason than they are kids.  Especially in packs.  It really could have just been a prank, but if he had any preconceived notions about black folks deserving to have nooses hanging on their doors they were smashed by my friend being receptive to the incredible mother and her wayward son and being forgiving despite how traumatized she was by the noose incident.

I have never seen anything like this and I am so glad my friend called and shared this incredible story with me.  It topped off an already beyond fabulous Christmas for me and my family.  I so want this mother to have some kind of recognition for going above and beyond, but for the fact that there are many people who would not get past the noose hanging and further humiliate the son who has already done all that he needs to do to make up for his mistake.  It couldn't have been easy to watch his mother have doors slammed in her face and be cursed out because of his actions.  I forgive him for making my blood boil and I don't have a problem being happy for his unfair advantage of having a mom that is going to make him into an exceptional man by any means necessary. 

My friend, an Obama fanatic, wondered if the mom was an Obama supporter as this is just the kind of message he has been trying to get to people.  We have got to become more aware of our fellow man and how we can help others; even if just to brighten someone's day.  But she said with actions like that, whether the mom voted for Obama or not, she is an Obama girl as her actions were Obama-like.   I so agree.  What a warrior woman.

Us black single moms sometimes think we are at the top of the heap when it comes to warrior status, but know that single custodial parents of any race, gender or even income level are the true hustlers of this world.  We all juggle like nobody's business, bringing home the bacon and frying it.  Well the queen has been crowned people.  Know this.  This woman is the undisputed 2008 Single Mom of The Year.

I'm going to start blogging on other things, I promise, but I just gotta do this one real quick.  They have this great new show on BET and I'll be blogging on that tonight after it goes off.  Or maybe tomorrow, but it's coming.  The show has inspired me to write and I already did a blog on it on another page from last week.  I think I'll post that one here after I get done with this one.  (I have already posted it before this one)

First let me say it's kinda crazy for me to be posting this blog when no formal announcement has been made.  There is a chance that some family members and even one of the members of the wedding party will find out about this through this blog, which is stupid.  It's just that I don't want to make a formal announcement until Christmas, but I have already discussed it with my baby brother and my maid of honor has gotten the blow by blow from day one and she is the first one I called after my sweetie bought the ring.

Anyway, I mentioned me and my boo have been discussing marraige.  Well we have not stopped.  It's real and I've started planning.  I can't go into hock for a wedding.  I just don't believe in it.  So I picked out inexpensive bridesmaids dresses and have a budget of $500 for my dress and have several options I am considering.  My hope is that I can put the dress on layaway.  Yeah, that's right, I don't have $500 to spare.  I never do and I hate credit.  When I get things in my house I want them to be mine.  I've bought every stitch of furniture I own in cash.  I paid cash for my car and I have been doing so for 15 years.  So please believe no part of my wedding will be paid for with credit.  It will consist of whatever we can afford from now until around this time next year.  We don't have an exact date, but I'm thinking August or September at the latest.  I want it to be in a warm month that is not during the rainy season.  We'll nail it down soon.

A couple of weeks ago I was at the mall and decided to check out some wedding bands.  I told the sales clerk that I was not interested in an engagement ring as we could not afford the size diamond I would appreciate.  I didn't want to get a tiny ring just to have one when I knew I wouldn't like it.  I told her I'd rather get some really cool and unusual wedding bands.  My step mom had a big fat wedding band that was like an inch wide and no engagement ring and I always thought that was so dope and modern and differant.  Of course she tried to talk me into the engagement ring and told me about their store credit.  I expressed to her that I was not interested in credit.  Then she suggested layaway so I decided to take a look even though I knew there still wouldn't be anything we could afford in the 6 months you are given to pay off the layaway.  Well low and behold I found an absolutely gorgeous one carat ring on sale for $1000.  Later I showed it to my boo in the catalog the woman gave me and told him about the layaway plan and he said he would get it.

He has been talking about my Christmas gift for about a week and he wanted me to pick it out.  I told him I would rather be surprised and I would love whatever he gave me because I ususally get nothing.  Obviously that wasn't good enough for him because today he informed me that he got a loan from his boss (drat!) for my gift and he wanted to take me to get it.  He said even though I would know what it was I wouldn't get to have it until Christmas.  I protested a little, but in the end I went along. When we passed the jewelry store where I looked at rings I took him in there to see it in person and he said he would put it on layaway after the holidays and we moved on.  He asked me how I felt about tennis bracelets and I told him they got on my nerves as I had one and it always snagged on my clothes and would rip my stockings while I was driving on the way to work.  So he said he's glad I came because that's what he wanted to get me.

So we go to a couple of jewelry stores and he asks me if I see anything I like.  I'm not into jewelry right now and there was nothing I could think of that I wanted so I just asked the clerk what my birthstone was so I could maybe find some cheap earrings or something.  I felt pretty guilty about the fact  that he got a loan for my gift.  She shows me the case with various pieces with my birthstone and I see The Ring.  It is so gorgeous and I know that since the solitaire is my birthstone we won't have to go into hock for it.  I fell in love with it and I told him to forget about the diamond ring, this is IT.  The price was more than I expected, but he didn't bat an eye.  To top it off, a large portion of the loan doesn't turn out to be wasteful Christmas spending and it will be paid back in two huge payroll deductions.  My baby's gonna be broke for the next month, but we can live with that.  He paid his bills for the month and gave me grocery money so he doesn't have to starve to death or hear me complain about his greedy butt eating up all my dang food.  That man can eat for real.

I can't believe this is happening to me.  I really can't.  I know we are moving kinda fast with the engagement, but I'm taking my lead from a former coworker who lost a ton of weight and decided she was ready to find a husband.  Just like that.  She signed up for several internet dating sites and started dating immediately.  She'd go on one date and know that the man wasn't for her and that would be all the consideration the man would get.  Non Christians were not an option for her.  By week two of dating she met the man that she would marry.  By their second week of dating they knew they wanted to get married and within 3 months of meeting they got married.  That was 3 years ago and they are still going strong.

We are not moving as fast as my former coworker and her husband on the engagement or the wedding and I take comfort in that because I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop with this man.  Like there is no way God would hook me up in the man department like this.  But the fact is I prayed for this.  I had to get over the silly shame of asking God for a husband and I just asked for it.  I didn't ask for a man like I've done in the past, I asked for a husband specifically.  I know how He works and I know He answers prayers and tends to go overboard with His blessings.  He has been performing miracles in my life from day one and I'm starting to accept that maybe He's doing it again.  Boy do I love me some Him for having my back at all times.

Anywho, here is my beautiful, affordable engagement ring.  I think it is so cool and unusual and I will cherish it forever because my baby truly went out of his way to get it just to make me happy.  I can't have it until Christmas which is already driving me crazy, but that gives us time to nail down a date. 

I wrote this blog a week ago on another page, but since I know I want to write about this show every week on this page I decided to repost it here just in case folks have not seen the show yet.

Alas, TV has finally inspired me to write again.  Anyone who checks out our page from time to time knows that I have had the same song, Welcome to MySpace by B.R.U.T.H.A., as the profile song for several months and I don't have any plans to change it in the near future.  It's so appropriate for the page. 

I was introduced to B.R.U.T.H.A. about 8 months ago when my favorite blog, Sandra Rose posted a story on a reality show that was supposedly only going to come on Peachtree TV in Atlanta.  She posted some of the tracks from the group Brutha that the show is based on and I loved the Jermaine Dupri produced music.  I went out on the internet to search for a page for the group and the only thing that came up was the B.R.U.T.H.A. who sings our profile song.  I found it pretty amazing that there were two phenomenal brother groups out of Atlanta with such similar names.  I now know that Brutha is based out of LA.

Without any warning a Brutha special came .. the season premiere of Keyshia Cole's reality show on BET.  I was really excited to finally get to see them after all those months.  I admit I had an almost voyeuristic attraction to the show because Jay-Z predecessor, the late Def Jam executive vice president Shakir Stewart, played a prominent part in the show.  I found myself searching for warning signs that he was on the brink of suicide and didn't really focus on the Harrell brothers.  If the show got any marketing I didn't see it.  I don't even remember seeing BET advertising the series during the special and in fact I sent an email to Sandra Rose asking her if she knew if the show was going to be a series.

I like Keyshia's show, but I tend to miss it because I can't remember when it comes on.  Having this page has helped motivate me to organize my TV viewing.  If I see a preview for a show I like I put a recurring appointment in my Outlook calendar so I can get a reminder to watch it and that is what I have done with Keyshia's show.  Last night during her show I finally saw a preview for Brothers to Brutha which will in fact be a series and premiered last night.

I have to apologize to Sandra.  I got on her her for ripping Day 26, as she always does, calling them a fake, manufactured group.  She says Brutha is an example of a real group.  After watching the show, I must say she was right, but if I recall correctly I did acknowledge that there is a differant dynamic when a group is a family that has been performing together their whole lives.  Under the lifelong tutelage of a Joe Jackson style father, the boys have definately mastered their instruments.  But later for all that.  The show was OFF THE CHAIN.

Shakir was still there, but the boys took over.  I don't know who produces this show, but they have decided to be extremely raw and real with it and I love it.  They dealt with all kinds of issues head on.  Anthony has a drinking problem that they put front and center.  When he drinks he teases Grady about his manhood to which Grady responds violently every single time.  I can totally relate.  I too come from a family where the men have resorted to violence against one another during conflicts.  I mean these guys were throwing down.  Of course Grady's reaction and overall demeanor might lead one to believe that maybe he is gay, which makes it that much more crazy that drunken Anthony would tease him about it on TV.

When the family tries to talk to Anthony about the excessive drinking he calls out a woman who is either an aunt or one of the mothers on her daily weed smoking.  It's real like that.  The boys all have the same father, but there are two mothers among them and probably more as there are 13 siblings in all.  The combined family seems to be very close and the father is involved in all of their lives.  They have not mentioned that he is deceased, but he has not been on the show so far.  I really want to see him.

If you like that raw uncut television you have to check out this show.  It's not for the faint of heart.  Previews from next week shows that more fighting is in store and after watching one show I'm thinking that Anthony will be the troublesome Bobby Brown of the group and they are going to have long term problems with him if he doesn't get that drinking in check.  I pray I'm wrong, because I really like him and I want to see these guys make it.  BET got it right with Keyshia Cole and Brutha so I had to spread the word.  I'll definately be blogging on Brothers to Brutha weekly on my personal page.  This page can't be about them.  So check out the show on BET Wednesdays at 10:30 eastern.

Update:  I forgot to mention that while the vocal ability of Day 26 and Brutha is undeniable, I have not fallen in love with their music.  I like it, but I don't love it.  On the other hand, I am madly and deeply in love with the music of B.R.U.T.H.A. How fortunate to accidently discover them by way of the entertaining, talented, adorable and really real Brutha.  And most important of all I am so sorry that Shake decided to leave a mere week and a half before he got a chance to see the show and witness whether or not it and the boys album would be successful.  R.I.P. bruh.

Shakir "Shake" Stewart 1974 - 2008

Check out the Harrell brothers covering Jodeci's Love U 4 Life.

I've always thought of myself as a really great catch.  Unfortunately, I have learned that I have turned into quite the bitch in my old age.  I don't know if crass is the right word, but I am honest to a fault.  Anyone who knows me well knows I am not down for lying.  Why should I?  It's not my fault if you can't handle the truth or you want to judge me for my reality.  I'm not going to paint some fake picture or hide my faults to satisfy you.  It is what it is man.  Too bad that attitude gets me in trouble.

I recognized long ago that my honesty is offensive much of the time.  I just haven't figured out how to be tactful when the truth is hurtful or the person I am being honest with is sensitive.  This is a major issue of mine that often causes friction with family, friends, coworkers and managers.  You know how it is.  Most of us are totally rational people, but we all have issues that make people wonder if we have a mental defect.

As you know, I have this wonderful new man.  Of course he has his own issues, but they are mostly hurtful to him and only effect me indirectly.  He is nothing but good to me.  I'm messing it up.  Sorta kinda.  I actually learned yesterday that the bitchiness is working for me right now.  My apparent dissatisfaction in his eyes makes him fearful of losing me and he works that much harder to keep me.  I'm definately going to have to find a way to balance that.

What I realize I have been doing is knitpicking him to death.  I complain about things that he does that I don't like and I disagree with him at times when I really should just shut the hell up.  I notice it's a problem, but I still keep doing it.  It's a mental defect.  Today I was downright hurtful to him and when I tried to clean it up I was more hurtful.  Then I felt bad and fearful and he wound up having to reassure me that everthing was ok.  Aint that some shit?

The thing I was complaining about was legit, but how do you say it tactfully?  Seriously, you tell me.  My boo boo is 41 years old yet his wardrobe consists of jeans, sweats, sneakers and worst of all, jerseys.  That's it.  The closest thing he has to a pair of shoes are his work boots.  He does not own  a suit or even a pair of slacks.  Initially I didn't have a problem with that because I knew that the minute we started mingling our funds I was going to start buying him clothes.

Well the fund mingling has begun and I was planning on picking him up a few items.  The thing is, if there is one thing that we have in common it's that brutal honesty thing.  So I was concerned that if I bought something he didn't like he just straight up wouldn't wear it.  I'm cool with the sweats and look forward to picking out some fly warm-ups for him.  The same goes for the jeans.  I don't even care if he wants to keep wearing them on his ass.  I'll gladly buy him big ass jeans and never mention the current tighter jean trend.  But not only will I never buy him a jersey, but most of the ones he has need to go.  Come on now, you know they are out of style and none of them are appropriate for winter.  Yesterday he wore a thin Panthers jersey with no t-shirt underneath.

So I start off by saying, "Are the clothes in your closet the only ones you have?"  I asked because he has a big plastic container in his closet, the contents of which I have never seen.  He said yes.  I said, "So you only wear jersey's and t-shirts?"  He said, "yup."  I asked why and he said because they are comfortable.  I told him they are out of style and asked why he doesn't wear button downs and had yet another argument for his answer.  In the end he became somber and I became fearful not only that I was pushing him away, but that I couldn't get him out of those damn jerseys.

There's a good chance this is the one and I don't want to blow it.  He has already brought up the "m" word several times.  The first time he mentioned it I said it's too soon to determine if we are all that to each other.  Once out of the clear blue sky he said he wants to marry me but needs to get his money right like he is really thinking about it.  Last night, again out of the blue, he blurted, "When are we getting married?"  I told him, this time next year to which he replied, "ok."  We discussed the engagement ring.  I think we were serious.  For now he is putting up with my crap and still wants me, but how long can I expect him to hang in there when I keep cutting him down?  He tells me I am the first woman to give him a run for his money rather than break my neck to impress him, but the novelty will probably disappear at some point.  Won't it?  Or do men prefer for a woman to be a bitch and my past trend of being a submissive super woman for my man is the reason I never got the ring before?

Regardless if my ball busting is what keeps him in hot pursuit, I don't want to be this way.  How the hell do I turn this behavior around?  And how do I sprinkle sugar on a sour subject?  Help!!!

Our guy did it.  We couldn't have selected a better choice as the first African American President of the United States of America.  Children of all races and genders now know that they can be anything they want to be in America.  The ceiling has been shattered.

I'm speechless really, but I had to post some kind of blog.  I'm just happy yall.  For the first time in 8 years my candidate has won the presidential election.  Regarless of the race factor, I'm just happy we got those daggone Republicans out of the top seat.  George Bush really did a number on us and if Barack can even begin to repair his damage he will have done a great job.

Unlike many people I already felt strongly that we would see a black president in my lifetime.  I have to give Colin Powell a shout out for that.  He is the one who first got me to thinking it was coming.  His absolutely excellent service to this country was the first display of black presidential conduct that I had ever seen.  I hold General Powell in the same regard as President Elect Obama.  They are two examples of what our children can be with proper guidance.

Anyway, we have experienced a historical moment together.  We get to feel the pride that our parents and grandparents felt during the Dr. King era.  I know this election is not all about Barack's blackness, but for African American's we get a little extra joy out of this thing and I just thank God my children and I were here to see it.

I just want to add that I really missed Tim Russert last night.  R.I.P. my dude.  I'm so sorry you weren't here for this.

I wasn't sure how to blog on the election.  I'm really excited.  I have caught myself smiling randomly throughout the day over the historic nature of the election.  I knew this day was coming in my lifetime, but I'm still overjoyed that it is here.

Anyway, I don't have anything to say about the election just yet.  I voted early and canvassed for Barack today.  I'm not ready to camp out on CNN yet, but I flick to it from time to time and boy did they pull out all the stops this time out.

So far I've seen a hologram of the White House in the studio and just now they had a hologram of an anchor.  She appears to be in the studio, but she is actually in Chicago in a tent.  The holographic anchor appears with a glow around her so it's not difficult to tell that something is strange.  It's really cool.

They have just let people into the park where Obama's party is being held.  I'm so jealous of them.  I wish I could be there!  That's ok, I'll be with them in spirit and cheering my butt off from the living room.

Well, that's all for now.  I just wanted to report on CNN's cool new technology.  I wish Tim Russert was here for this.

The Bird is a little giddy right now.  A little over a year ago I shared with you guys that I had fallen for a guy back home.  Even though it didn't work out (which I also shared) I had no regrets.  I had not experienced those emotions for many many years and it was nice for the brief period that it lasted.

Since then I have been really open to and wanting love and not ashamed of that fact.  I think I told you that too.  No more of that tough girl, "I don't need no man" crap.  Actually, I don't know if I have ever said I don't need a man, because the fact is I have always preferred being in a relationshp to being single.  It's just that I wasn't meeting anyone where there was mutual chemistry or who was worthy of all this totally outstanding loving and I wasn't pressed about that.  All that changed after the episode last year and suddenly I was pressed.

Over the past year I've gone out clubbing a couple of times hoping to meet as many dates as possible to improve my chances of meeting the guy I gelled with and I started flirting more when I saw guys that I found attractive while running errands.  Nothing too extreme.  Just smiling more and saying, "hi how are you doing," as an invitation to start conversation.  And of course making sure I looked casually cute whenever I was running to the grocery store, video store, gas station, etc.  The club thing is never a good idea for me.  In 22 years of partying, I have never had a lasting relationship with a man that I met at a club and at my age I'm not interested in dating men that still go clubbing anyway.

The guys I met who were my age or older were so blah that they turned me into a cougar.  I didn't feel like I was compatible with them because I still like to have fun and act silly.  They were just too sophisticated and serious for my taste.  No kind of swagger to speak of.  Call it immature or whatever, but that is who I am.  But I tried the cougar thing and I don't have much in common with young dudes either outside of the laughter and spontaneity.  I just kept my options open and tried to at least enjoy more frequent dating even though I never went out with anyone that I was really interested in.

You know where I'm going with this right?  Yup, you got it, Bird done got herself a man. I saw him at the convenience store and he was a cutie to the extreme so I flirted my butt off (more than "how are you doing?  More like, "where you from?") and thank God he asked for the digits after a little conversation about us both having lived in Michigan.  I am currently in the throws of a whirlwind romance and you know how much fun those are.  Who knows what's to come, but I don't feel like worrying about that.  Right now I have this cutielicious man who is my age, but is still VERY boyish and fun and completely crazy about some Bird. 

I really love myself and think I am gorgeous, but I'm not crazy enough to think everyone would agree with my self assessment.  My boo thinks I'm the most exotic creature he has ever seen and is constantly staring at me and marvelling at what he calls my smooth caramel skin: rubbing, kissing, biting it and shit.  Mmmm  He can't keep his hands off of me and holds my hand and hugs me publicly on a daily basis.  He is the most affectionate man I have met since high school without a doubt.  He appreciates my tomboy side just as much as my girly side, if not more, so I can feel sexy decked out in sweats and sneakers with him. And I don't mean those cute JLo types.  I'm a real tomboy.  Baggy sweats for me and a sneaker collection that rivals any man's to match.  He makes me feel sexy at all times.  Anyway, by the third date we both agreed we didn't want to see other people and committed to an exclusive relationship.  Quick huh?  Oh well, works for me.

We had our first argument last night.  Afterward, with him still seething, I said, "I guess I should leave," and he said, "I don't give a fuck what you do."  (he still thinks the argument is my fault and in fact has determined that I am crazy, but I promise it was his fault) So I went to the kitchen to wash my dishes (I had brought dinner to him) and while I was at the sink here he comes hugging me from behind like a big baby.  Yummy!  Argument squashed.  Issue squashed actually.

So there you have it.  The Bird is officially off the market for the first time in 6 years and I'm just totally beside myself.  I had to tell someone.

I wrote this blog yesterday, but I forgot to copy it for my other blog and stupidly pressed the back button and lost it.  Now that Ron Paul has validated my view on this bailout crap I decided I'd take the time to write it again.

The failure of these greedy financial institutions is a necessary market correction.  If this bailout goes through we will be propping up a system that shouldn't be allowed to continue anyway at the expense of taxpayers (us) who are already suffering.  This day was going to have to come and we need to let it pass not prolong it with this ridiculous bailout.

I flick between CNN and Today in the morning and one of them had the nerve to show a stressed out developer who couldn't continue to build because his credit had been cut off.  They showed us several abandoned incomplete houses.  Guess what Mr. Developer Man?  This shit is largely your fault!  Who gives a shit about your unfinished projects that you obviously couldn't afford to build and had they been finished you'd put them on the market at prices so high that no one could afford to buy them.  Go to hell and hopefully you're flat broke when you get there.

Why am I so angry you ask?  I come from a charming New Jersey shore town.  Our beach front has been decimated by eminent domain.  Working class people who owned homes within three blocks of the beach had their perfectly sound homes forcibly ripped from them and destroyed so that greedy developers and the greedy mayor of Long Branch could build legions of high priced condos and trendy businesses with prohibitive prices that insured the locals couldn't even afford to go to the boardwalk that used to cater to everyone and employ many local youth during the summer.  The new development hasn't replaced those jobs.

This financial institution meltdown might help the few remaining homeowners who formed an alliance and have been fighting the developers and the city all they way to the Supreme Court for several years now.  Lets see if those developers can afford those legal fees without these stupid ass banks backing them ignorant to the fact that there are not enough people who can even afford to buy that many 2 million dollar and above condos. 

Some of the commentators are saying that us common folks seem to think that the crisis won't effect us, but we fail to realize that many companies won't be able to make payroll without their credit lines.  WTF!?!?!?  If your company has to rely on credit to meet payroll then you need to shut it down.  Why would a bank extend credit to a company that is not profitable enough to even make payroll?

Like Ron Paul said and I said in my lost blog yesterday, let this failure occur.  It is a necessary market correction.  Real estate has gotten too expensive in our country.  I hear people saying people shouldn't be buying houses they can't afford.  The fact is, you need to make a lot of money to afford any house in this country.  That's the problem.  I take that back.  Houses are pretty cheap in crime-ridden, impoverished neighborhoods.  Want one?  Gentrification is a whole other topic.  If taxpayers bail out the financial industry, the price of homes will stay out of our price range.  If we let them fail and they finally stop letting people take on mortgages they can't afford houses won't sell for a while.  Guess what will happen then?  Prices will finally come back down to being in line with salaries.

Student loans are being denied in record numbers.  If admissions, no, when admissions drop drastically because the fast majority of families can't afford college on their own, tuition will finally come back down to being more in line with salaries.  I was researching colleges at one point and found that something like 80% of students at many schools depended on student loans for their education.  That is ridiculous.  And we wonder why we are falling behind Asian countries in terms of intellectual property.  We wonder why American companies have to recruit talent from abroad.

ALL of America is drowning in debt.  We thought it was just us commoners and now we learn that it's businesses too.  Let the buck stop here.  Don't believe the hype.  Bailing out the financial industry will hurt us in the long run and before long tax payers will have lost most, if not all of that 700 billion and we'll be right back where we are today except even deeper in debt because WE now own all those properties that no one can afford even though WE won't be able to live in those abandoned properties because WE can't afford it.

I was so happy to hear that constituents are flooding their congress people with calls and emails begging them to shoot down this proposal.  I hadn't done it myself, but as soon as I get done with this blog, I'm going to and hope some of you will as well.  I know you might not like that your credit limits are being decreased by this crisis, but like developers, you shouldn't be buying crap you can't afford.  Our greed and lust for material things has played a major part in this mess.  Stop trying to keep up with the Jones's,  Despite their appearance of wealth, they are actually broke too.

I enjoyed the debate.  I think both candidates represented themselves well, but I doubt either won over new voters.  That will have to do for now. 

Of course I agreed with some of what John McCain said.  Namely I think his Iraq plan is more sound than Barack's and I think he is the more qualified military leader.  That's my problem with McCain.  As important as the military is to me I can't support a candidate where the only thing we have in common is the military. 

Something that stood out for me and I don't think McCain took enough heat for is his stance on Pakistan.  I had no idea we had given them billions and billions of dollars during Bush's regime and they have not done their part in fighting terrorism and in fact have continued to be a safe haven for terrorists.  I can't believe McCain sat there and said we need to keep paying them for absolutely nothing.  They must have something that America wants.  I know we wanted them to privatize their banking industry, but why?  They are not a wealthy nation by any stretch and since their banking industry was privatized the country has experienced out of control inflation when they already had a 7.5% unemployment rate and much of the population is severely under employed.  The bottom line is stop giving them money for nothing while our school system falls apart among many other more important things here at home!

I also didn't like that Barack seems to be flinching on his willingness to sit down with leaders that don't bow down to America.  That point is one of the things that won me over to his side.  I truly believe he is our best chance for world peace.  I hope he was back peddling on that only because he thought that was what people wanted to hear.  I don't want some member of his cabinet meeting with Ahmadinejad, I want Barack to meet with him.  Just like we think he is a monster he thinks we're the monsters and goodness knows he thinks Israel is chock full of the offspring of satan.  How do we determine which one of us is wrong?  The fact is Israel took Palestine's land and they can't get over it.  That is a fact.  Is cutting off the "displaced" people and everyone who supports them the right way to bring peace?

Contrary to how he is portrayed in America, Ahmadinejad doesn't strike me as an irrational dummy.  He's highly educated and I don't see any reason for us not to hear what he has to say in a real meeting rather than allowing inflammatory sound bites justify us treating him as some sort of criminal.  As a matter of fact Ahmadinejad is not even our top priority.  We barely ever mention Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who is the actual leader of Iran.  Now that is a fella who is set in his anti American, anti Israel ways, but we still need to talk to him.  We can give them the silent treatment for a thousand more years and I doubt it will ever lead to them bowing down to America.  It's time for us to approach them like equals and it's way past time for us to view them as equals.  We are not better than anyone.  Cultural differances should not make us mortal enemies with anyone.

In closing, this debate was pretty good and somewhat enlightening for me, but I look forward to future debates where the candidates can address the education crisis in this country.  Right now Barack is talking a lot about college, but I need to hear more about lower education.  We are having a tough time getting children to graduate high school let alone going to college.  Teachers are underpaid and underperforming big time as a result.  Schools are terribly underfunded in general.  I admit I have not heard what Sen. McCain has to say on this huge issue, nor have I sought out his stance on it, so I'm really relying on the debate to see where he stands on that issue.

The debate I'm most looking forward to is this coming Thursday's Biden/Palin showdown.  I'm expecting it to be hysterical.  I know McCain is terrified.  Hopefully Biden won't shame her so bad that people feel sorry for her. I can't wait!