I'm down to the last three pages in my journal, and I went digging around trying to find another one. That's when I realized I'd have to buy another journal . . . from somewhere else. For some of you, that's no big deal. But I've spent ten straight years buying journals from Border's, especially in the entrance way where the cookbooks used to be. Actually I think it may be longer than that but I'm counting from the time I worked at Border's Books, Music & Cafe on the Magnificent Mile my junior year of college. The discount didn't even matter. All of the access to books and seeing what everybody else was reading was what did it for me. Plus, there were a select few co-workers who I just loved to hang out with and still have fond memories of to this day.
1) Celebrating my great great aunt's 100th birthday: Although she has a habit of "I'm old. I'll say anything I want" and we both have very strong personalities, I love her. I asked for Feb. 8 off to make sure I was there the morning of her birthday. I can count on one hand the number of people that I'd go to breakfast with at 8 a.m. after being at work from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., but I was up. My mother and I took her to breakfast and then my great great aunt talked me into coming back for a senior citizen party she had at 3 p.m. By the time I went home, I was good and delirious, but it was worth it.
2) Talking my grandfather into coming to my great great aunt's party: Before he was married, he would hit up every "tavern" from Hawaii to Chicago. He'd traveled to so may locations around the world that his map of tacks were crammed together. But at 88, a party animal he is not. I can get him to go to China Hut and occasionally we'll go shopping, but he's not the type to be at big group events excluding his own family reunion. However, he said "yes" to coming with me to her 3 p.m. party. And let me tell you my grandfather is the best date ever! I was glued to his hip the entire time, and we were over on the side cracking jokes and having a good time eating chocolate cake and ice cream. My great great aunt did some mild flirting with him, too, and he threw it back at her. Those two! Wow!
I've got some family members who I think would be great if they ever stepped foot onstage at a comedy event. In the meantime, I enjoy spending time with them, especially my parents and my grandfather. I've got a couple buddies who keep me laughing, too.
Here are a few things that were said to make me laugh/smile on Valentine's Day and a couple of gifts, too.
1. My grandfather's latest creation: There is never a dull moment with this guy. You leave him alone long enough and he's going to do something strange. I just so happened to glance at his dining room table to see he'd done this only a few minutes after I walked out of the room.
2. My grandfather's V-day quote: "You can have your valentine as long as you'll still be my punkin." (That's just plain sweet! He calls me "Da Punkin" all the time since birth.)
3. My grandfather on why he won't snitch on our conversations: "Hey, when we talk, what you say is Vegas. Whatever's done in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas." (Gotta love Grandad for being the one I can vent to or get his opinion, except when it comes to relationships. He tries to play it way too safe with that. He'll listen but when it comes time for me to ask him what he thinks I should do, his usual response is: "You're not going to have me giving you bad advice. I need to hear his side, too. I don't know him. If he came in here and plunked me upside the head, I still wouldn't know we were talking about him." (BTW, I would strongly suggest not plunking my grandfather on the head. If you do, he will revert back to his war days and knock you halfway across the room. :-) And after he's done, turn around, CAUSE HERE I COME!)
Earlier today while doing laundry, I was thinking, "I'm falling behind on that blog idea 'What are you smiling about? I should do that today" and I was going to. But while I was talking to my mother via phone and checking my work e-mail (which two of my bosses have lectured me to stop doing but I like keeping up with the news), I paused and my voice almost cracked when I saw the news alert at 7:13 p.m. I told my mother Whitney Houston was dead. There was a long pause and a gasp before she said, "You're joking." Of course she knew I wasn't, but that's my mother's reaction to anything she doesn't want to believe. Both of us couldn't find much else to talk about after hearing that. That's the kind of impact Whitney Houston left on us and I'm sure many other fans. Twitter is going crazy talking about her. She's five trending topics in the U.S. right now. Someone said no one could do a tribute quite like Whitney, and I usually hate tributes because nobody sings as well as the real thing. However, I honestly think that Jennifer Hudson is the only person who could really nail it. Don't believe me? Watch Whitney Houston's reaction to watching Jennifer Hudson onstage. I love this video for two reasons. One: I wasn't a Jennifer Hudson fan when she was on "American Idol" but she sure as hell grew on me after "Spotlight." Two: I have always been a fan of Whitney Houston. Putting her in my top 30 favorite artists for Black Music Month is proof of that. Click here to read it. Click the "Read More" option (if you're looking at this blog in preview mode) to see the link to the J-Hud video and check out my favorite Whitney Houston song, too.
1. The Breakfast Club: I have no idea why I looked up The Breakfast Club. I'm not from New York nor have I ever been to New York. I had never heard of Charlamagne The God, Angela Yee or DJ Envy, but I remembered this joke Charlamagne made on Twitter about how folks better not mess with Chris Brown at an awards show because he showed up in jean shorts. I thought that was kinda funny and from the amount of followers, I figured he was probably popular but I had no clue why. For whatever reason I still can't recall, I looked up The Breakfast Club on Power 105.1 Monday and I've been listening to this show at work everyday. They are hilarious, and I usually can't stand to hear people talk on the radio. I like these personalities though. 2. Hood State of the Union: I found out about this while listening to Charlamagne talk to T-Pain. He said something about T-Pain and Kevin Hart stealing an idea of his, and I looked him and Lil Duval. Although I didn't find the rap they were talking about, I did luck up on all of these ridiculous videos about their views on entertainment. I laughed through almost all of them.
Four years ago, I saw a hip-hop group perform all of these positive songs at the start of a football game. I hear hip-hop all the time and I don't always stop to watch everybody perform, but what caught my attention was the look of all of the guys was much edgier than the lyrics they were speaking. I ended up interviewing them because I wanted to know what made them go the route in music that they did when it seems like negative (read: ignorant as hell) music seems to pay more. All of them had some dark tales to tell, but one guy said he never got the love he's getting now until he started rapping about more positive topics. Now grandmothers can walk up and hug him and not just his guys. I liked that idea. But I did notice a pattern with all of them. Although the music was happier, they all looked aggressive. Like if a fight broke out, they'd be ready to tear some s**t up. Did that make me scared to interview them? Not at all. It's not the smartest decision to be the only woman in a basement studio full of guys, but similar to them, I've observed so much as a kid that it takes a little bit more to actually scare me. I'm easily disappointed and still haven't quite mastered my quick temper (I'm far better as a 30-year-old than I was as a teen and definitely in my early 20s). But scared? There are only two things that scare me, and neither of them are human. One of the two does breathe but neither is human.
Anyway, one question that I asked them at the end of the interview was very impromptu, and the reason I asked was because the guys looked so serious. I asked, "What makes you happy?" and then I smiled. And when I smiled, every last one of them smiled, too. And I don't mean polite tight smiles. I mean teeth-showing smiles right before they went into memories of what makes them genuinely happy. It was a great way to end an interview and before I left, a couple of them stopped me and said, "Wait a minute. We didn't hear what makes you smile?" A genuine smile is contagious. A good laugh is even better. I like to hear what makes people happy because we all have so much to complain about. I'm interested in what gets through the cracks and makes somebody laugh so hard her shoulders shake or what makes him laugh so hard that I can see where he had cavities.
When my maternal grandmother passed away in 1995 right before I graduated from elementary school, I took a sign from her doorway that said, "Keep smiling. It makes everyone wonder what you have been up to." She was always laughing about something, too.
I said I was done with "Five things I'm digging right now" blogs although that was fun to do in 2011. This time around though, I'm going to blog about five things that made me smile/laugh" and I'll call it "What are you smiling about?":
After hearing a slew of terrible hip-hop albums at the end of 2011, I came to the realization that maybe I'm getting too old for hip-hop. That, or I've turned into the "I remember when hip-hop" old head that I used to roll my eyes at. Either way it goes, I can't ignore the "bitches" and the "hoes" and the killing and threats in music. This is on top of the paranoia that everybody is out to kill you or the homage to haters and golddiggers. Does that pretty much cover almost all of the content coming from recent artists (outside of the ones going against the grain like Drake). After reviewing Royce Da 5'9 and Eminem's duo album and hearing a laundry list of insults to women, I said, "That's it. I'm done. I can't listen to this garbage anymore, and I'm definitely not buying it." I'm still trying to figure out why people turn a blind eye to Eminem's threats to women but Chris Brown is taking punches on every turn. Hell, at least Chris Brown apologized, Rihanna forgave him and was put on probation all while folks are just snapping their fingers to Eminem crooning about choking ladies. But nevertheless, lately hip-hop is pushing out some good stuff and making me rethink abandoning it.
I know people shouldn't wait for a new year to have goals, but why not use it as a little push to get the show on the road? So here are my seven new years resolutions for 2012.
1) Stop checking work e-mail from home: Unless it's something personal or for fun, I'm going to stop working from home. I've had two bosses plus my boss's boss tell me to enjoy the weekend. I'm a bit of a workaholic (and get it from my mother), but I'm going to make a point to enjoy myself 100% off the clock.
2) Eat out at fast food restaurants less: Vegetarian or not, I eat too many fatty, greasy foods (like French Fries) from fast food places. My wallet and my body will thank me. My goal is to only eat out twice per month. That's reasonable and realistic instead of once or twice a week like I've been doing.
The reason I liked doing the " Five things I'm digging right now" was because it forced me to find the "bright side" of something. I need to do that more often and thought that was a cool way of doing it (original idea courtesy of Andy Cohen). So in the same spirit of it and since I'm done with that for 2011, I'm going to do a list of 365 things I've been digging all year. They're not in order, just the first things that pop into my head that I liked the entire year. (I started today as of 2:30 p.m. I finished on 12/31/11 at 10:38 p.m., in between running errands. HAPPY (almost) NEW YEAR!) BOOKS1. "The John Carlos Story" by John Carlos 2. "Is Marriage for White People? How the African American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone" by Ralph Richard Banks3. "The Vampire Diaries" (Stefan's Diaries only)4. "There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in The Other America" by Alex Kotlowitz 5. "The Conversation" by Hill Harper6. "Michelle Obama: The First Lady in Photographs" by Deborah Willis and Emily Bernard7. "Change for a Twenty" (I genuinely enjoy my own books)8. "Round Trip" (I've said repeatedly it's better than "Change for a Twenty")9. "Love Your Life" by The Oprah MagazineCHICAGO (SURROUNDING AREA)1. Looking out the window on the #147 CTA bus at Lake Michigan 2. Walking the four-mile trail at Skokie Northshore Channel3. Walking the two-mile trail at Lincolnwood Channel Runne Park4. Quench! restaurant on 79th (Pretty inside with a seating area)5. Chi Tung6. Chicago Public Library7. The New 400 Theater8. RCN (cable)EYE CANDY1. Ian Somerhalder2. Taylor Lautner (Facial hair compliments him; his athleticism makes him breathtaking) 3. Idris Elba (No matter how many times " Daddy's Little Girls" comes on, I watch it) 4. T.I.5. Chris Brown (He's growing up to be really handsome)6. Morris Chestnut7. Justin Timberlake 8. Brad Paisley (Dated a guy who looked exactly like a light-skinned black version of him; started heavily listening to country music from November to December)9. Paul Walker10. Alex Meraz (very good-looking in person)11. Ian Ziering (Didn't pay much attention to him on "90210" but when I saw him at Comic Con last year I was so surprised at how gorgeous he is. Age has done him well!)12. Trey Songz (Super friendly and as attractive in person as he is on his videos) 13. Joseph Morgan (Klaus from "The Vampire Diaries")14. The guy who lost his balance on the Red Line and fell on me (woke me RIGHT up, and his outfit was impeccable; I couldn't stop checking him out)15. Drake16. Richard Gere (He looks better with age, don't know how he does it)17. Tone Kapone (Don't listen to the radio much but I saw him at the 2012 Real Men Cook and the Sprite StepOff a couple years ago. He's really cute and I never knew what he looked like before.)18. Q-Tip19. Evan Ross20. Obie Trice (He's underrated in the hip-hop game and my gawd, THOSE LIPS! Every video I see with him in it, I look at his lips 75% of the time. He's kiss-worthy.)FASHION1. Multi-colored shell bracelet from Queen Ka'ahumanu Center in Maui 2. Ralph Lauren Polo Jeans Co. orange fleece3. Light yellow zip-up sweater4. Gray suede/sweater heel boots5. Brown suede/sweater heel boots6. Black sweater flat boots7. Black cape with gray lining8. Baby blue top with brown afro woman silhouette9. Multi-brown shades wooden bracelet from Maui10. Black hematite bracelet from The African Store (located in Ford City) 11. Kohl's shopping (When there's a coupon, I never leave empty handed.) 12. NY & CO shopping (Sale or not, I never leave empty handed.) FOOD1. Archer Farms salt and vinegar chips2. Thai tofu fried rice from China Hut3. Kona Hawaiian Blend Micro-Roasted Coffee (drank it every morning) 4. Gardein stuffed turk'y5. Gardein Mandarin orange crispy chick'n6. Chocolate martinis at Olive Garden7. Salad dressing from Olive Garden8. Mushroom ravioli from Olive Garden9. Fresh bread from Olive Garden10. Water with a splash of lemon juice11. Avocado slices with tomato slices12. Tortilla chips13. Granola, fruit and yogurt plate from IHOP14. Hot water cornbread15. Black eyed peas (vegetarian)16. Collard greens (vegetarian)17. Macaroni and cheese (my mother's)18. Dried apricots19. Archer Farms dark chocolate cocoa mix20. Open Nature's Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Heaven (granola mix)21. Green tea22. Brown tea with lemon juice and honey23. Grapefruit juice24. Grapefruits25. Red apples26. Strawberries27. Bananas28. Strawberry banana smoothies29. McDonald's iced coffee (light ice, light sugar)30. McDonald's Filet o' Fish (the only fish I can handle eating for Omega 3)31. Starbucks hot chocolate32. Argo Tea iced coffee33. Corn on the cob34. Mashed potatoes from Ruby Tuesday's35. Simply Asia Spring Noodles bowl36. Watermelon37. Green grapes38. Red grapesFRAGRANCES1. Fergie's "Outspoken"2. Lady Speed Stick "Fresh Infusions"3. Cool Water4. Victoria's Secret "Heavenly" (original fragrance) HAIR1. Vitale Olive Oil relaxer2. Parnevu leave-in conditioner3. Silk wrap caps4. Pantene shampoo for women of color5. Pantene conditioner for women of color6. Distinctly Basics by Rachel Rose black ponytail holders7. My haircut from Donte's on 9/17/2011 (thanks Francine!) HEALTH1. Doing Beyonce's "Let's Move" routine for 30 days2. Swimming laps in the Maui Seaside Hotel pool3. Renewing my membership and working out at Bally Total Fitness (now L.A. Fitness)4. The results from my yearly physical (everything is tip-top, minus weight)5. Logging at least four workouts per week on TeamBeachBody6. Julie's Health Club blogs7. Chicago Tribune's Health page 8. LA Times Booster Shots 9. Updating @BlackHealthNews on Twitter 10. "Mistletoe may help kiss away some ills" article (fascinating because I only knot about it for kissing) 11. "Muscling past myths" (It forces me to get up more at work)HOME APPLIANCES1. Breville BEW600XL Hot Wok 2. Brother MFC-440CN multi-printer3. Insignia 26" LCD TV 720P4. Full-size bed5. All 18 pillows on my bed6. Labrador Retriever comforter with pillows on my bedHOME DECOR1. Looking at Halloween decorations2. Black couple embracing and kissing (painting above my bed)3. Ebony cover of Marvin Gaye about "black cool"4. N'Digo cover of Pres. Barack Obama (Nov. 13-2008)5. Mos Def photograph of him sticking out his tongue while in a car driver's seat6. Wall photograph jewelry boxMEMORIES 1. Watching my 99-year-old Aunt Marguerite open her Christmas photo calendar 2. Solo travel to Maui to do what I wanted to do 100% of the time 3. Spa day in Maui (pedicure, manicure, head/back/shoulder/foot massage) 4. Going to Chi Tung with Grandad 5. Getting the surprise fruit basket on Christmas Eve delivered from my godfather 6. Having my mother home this Christmas, healthy and happy 7. Posing for photograph on the porch with Faith nuzzling my chin 8. Posing for photograph on the porch with Faith "smiling" and leaning by my face 9. Crying laughing about the health club story with Darcel 10. Kendell calling me up at work to invite me to his high school graduation 11. Watching Kendell walk across the stage for graduation (super proud of him) 12. Hanging with Mom, Dad and Grandad at Real Men Cook for Father's Day 13. Going to the midnight release of " Twilight: Breaking Dawn" with my mom 14. Walking Faith (I do it 99% of the time when I'm at my parents' house) 15. Cracking jokes and chatting about entertainment with Yonnie and Kendell 16. Seeing what's new and strange in the world of Crosley (sp?) 17. Chit-chatting with Mom in Olive Garden18. Hanging with Mom at Ruby Tuesday's and checking out our forgetful waiter19. Photograph of my mother and my godfather trying to look hip-hop (LMAO)20. Close-up photograph of Grandad and I at Real Men Cook21. Photograph of my mother and I on my 29th birthday with her leaning on me22. Seeing my op/ed tattoo piece on page 2 of the Chicago Tribune23. Posing for a bunch of family photos with my brother, mother, grandfather and father on Thanksgiving 201124. Getting a 365-day dog calendar from my mother, who knows I really want a dog25. Mild flirting at the health club (may not amount to anything but it was inspiration to work out when I first joined)26. Clearing snow away with a bucket because I don't own a shovel (my grandfather loves this story)27. Working from home for two days after Feb. 2, 2011 snowstorm28. My grandfather and father dancing in front of a crowd at Real Men Cook 201129. Fifth tattoo, fourth cover-up, love my roses (thanks Bobby Sax!)30. Dragging Fernie around to take the holiday photo for the Chicago Tribune31. Xephon adding me as a Facebook friend (very flattered by that)32. Dad calling me up to tell me how he wouldn't participate in Earth Hour33. Me taking Dad's call (#32) as an invitation to bumrush their house and unplug everything; he and I talked for an hour and a half in the dark34. Going through my letter box, reading all the letters and cards I got from family and friends while I was in collegeMOVIES1. "Hachi"2. "Eight Below"3. "No Strings Attached"4. "Friends With Benefits"5. "Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned"6. "Tongue Untied" Wanda Sykes comedy7. "Higher Learning"8. " Daddy's Little Girls" 9. "Something New"10. "10 Things I Hate About You"11. "New Moon"12. "Twilight"13: "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"14. "Sleepers"15. "The Client"16. "Runaway Bride"17. "Iron Man"18. "Iron Man 2"19. "Transformers"20. "Jumping the Broom"21. "Never Say Never" (The shoveling scene is my favorite; Justin Bieber is eye candy but I just felt too much like a cougar putting him there until he's legal)22. "Happy New Year, Charlie Brown"23. "Losers"24. "Gran Torino"25. "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest" MUSIC ( singles and artists) 1. " Prototype" by Andre 3000 2. " Cockiness" by Rihanna 3. Rihanna's " Loud" CD 4. " The Noose" by Tech N9Ne 5. The " 99 Problems" remix in the movie " No Strings Attached" 6. Mos Def (everything) 7. " In the Morning" by Drake and J. Cole 8. " Can't Get Enough" by J. Cole 9. " 5 o' clock" by T-Pain 10. " Nuthin'" by T-Pain 11. " Default Picture" by T-Pain 12. " Momma Told Me" by Crystal Waters 13. "Pretty Little Heart" by Robin Thicke14. "Sexy and I Know It" by LMFAO15. "Birthday Cake" by Rihanna16. "Take Care" by Drake17. "Stay" by Tyrese18. "Syllables" by Eminem, Jay-Z, 50 Cent19. Obie Trice (everything) 20. Crystal Waters (everything) 21. Chris Brown (everything) 22. Rihanna (everything) 23. "Love Calls" by Kem24. "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Kem25. "I Like It" by Debarge family 26. "Perfect Day" by Jim Jones27. "Should've Kissed You" by Chris Brown28. "Dancing in the Dark" by Dev29. "Otis" by Jay-Z and Kanye West30. "Marry You" by Bruno Mars31. "Someone to Love Me" by Mary J. Blige, Diddy32. "All This Love" by Debarge33. "Love Me in a Special Way" by Debarge34. "Say Something" by Timbaland35. Drake (everything)36. "Complicated" by Robin Thicke37. "Lost Without You" by Robin Thicke38. "Pretty Young Thing" by Michael Jackson39. "Strangers in Moscow" by Michael Jackson40. "I'm Only Human" by Luther Vandross41. "Love Her Like She's Leavin'" by Brad Paisley42. "Somethin' 'Bout a Truck" by Kip Moore43. Afroflow (everything)44. "Woo" by Erykah Badu45. "Bag Lady" by Erykah Badu (Dr. Dre remix)46. Big Daddy Kane (everything) 47. "Got My Country On" by Chris Cagle 48. "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin49. "Like We Never Said Goodbye" by Clay Walker50. "Better Than I Used to Be" by Tim McGraw51. "Radio" by Musiq Soulchild52. "Smack That" by Akon 53. "Back to Life" by Andrea Lewis54. "Run the World" by Beyonce55. "Motivation" by Kelly Rowland56. "Deuces" by Chris Brown57. "Look at Me Now" by Chris Brown58. "Fallin' Down" by Chris Brown59. "Cruisin'" by D'Angelo60. "Sergeant Louise" by Donnell Jones61. "Marvin's Room" by Drake62. "Doing it Wrong" by Drake63. "Show Me a Good Time" by Drake64. "Find Your Love" by Drake65. "Mahogany" by Eric B. and Rakim66. "Head to Toe" by Eric Roberson67. "Softest Lips" by Eric Roberson68. "U R the One" by Mos Def69. "The Panties" by Mos Def70. "Kiss Me on My Neck" by Erykah Badu71. "I Want You" by Erykah Badu72. "Collard Greens and Cornbread" by Fantasia73. "1, 2, 3" by Field Mob74. "Best Night of My Life" by Jamie Foxx75. "Yep Dat's Me" by Jamie Foxx76. "She Got Her Own" by Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo77. Andre 3000 (everything)78. "Raindrops" by Jeremih79. "Leavin'" by Jesse McCartney80. "Ordinary People" by John Legend81. "I Ain't Going Out" by Jon B.82. "Pretty Girl" by Jon B.83. "What Goes Around Comes Around" by Justin Timberlake84. "Runaway" by Kanye West85. "Where Would I Be" by Kindred Family86. "Paris Tokyo" by Lupe Fiasco87. "The Show Goes On" by Lupe Fiasco88. "Human Nature" by Michael Jackson89. "Butterflies" by Michael Jackson90. "Smile" by Justin BieberNEWS1. Reading Clarence Page's column " Page's Page" 2. Reading Jon Yates' "What's Your Problem?"OBJECTS1. My birthday card from Dad, who wrote his own entries on the inside about the truth and myths of being 302. Mumble stuffed penguin (from "Happy Feet 2")3. Charlie Brown musical stuffed decoration4. Elementary school graduation photos of Xakir (super handsome nephew!) PEOPLE/ MANNERISMS1. People who hold doors for the people behind them2. Women who think nothing of complimenting other women (no cattiness)3. Men who know "hello/how are you?" go much further than pick-up lines4. People who try to learn how to pronounce my name and don't give me unsolicited nicknames 5. People who say "let's go to lunch" and follow through with their plans to do soPOLITICS1. The troops coming home from Iraq2. First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign3. The Obamas' new family photoSKIN CARE1. Aloe vera (everything from first-aid products to lotion)2. Cocoa butter (everything from lotion to soap)3. Vaseline cocoa butter lotion4. Vaseline cocoa butter petroleum jelly5. Suave cocoa butter with shea6. Palmer's cocoa butter formula with Vitamin ETECHNOLOGY1. AmazonBasics 3-Button USB Wired Mouse 2. Smoke Silicone Skin case for my mp3 player3. Insignia Pilot mp3 player4. Kevin Hart's YouTube Channel5. Following @OchoCinco on Twitter 6. TiVo7. TiVo's website to record stuff when I'm not at homeTELEVISION1. " Whitney" 2. "The Vampire Diaries"3. Timbaland special on E! Entertainment4. Kathy Griffin's reenactment of her dog eating a used condom (hilarious!)5. BET Hip Hop performance with Heavy D doing "Nuttin' But Love"6. Somaya and X.O. scenes on "Love & Hip-Hop"7. Open mic night with Kyle doing scat music on "Living Single"8. Rudy meeting Stanley on "The Cosby Show"9. "The New Adventures of Old Christine"10. The "you lost to a girl" scene in "The New Adventures of Old Christine"TRAVEL1. Maui Mall (walked over there every day for five days) 2. Maui Seaside Hotel 3. West Maui Mountains4. Riding the Sugar Cane Train in Maui5. Writing for Chicago Tribune's Taking Off blog6. O'Hare Airport (never appreciated how great it is until I compared it to LAX)7. Maroon blankets that American Airlines give you for flying to Hawaii8. American Airlines for giving me an extra 2 days free of charge after late flight9. Yotel's Times Square in-airport cabins for overnight sleeping (cool idea, haven't used them but would have that time I had to sleep overnight in LAX, click here for more)10. Celebrity travel with Sinbad11. Celebrity travel with Larenz Tate12. Updating the Trib's Hawaii travel story galleryTURN-ONS (physical)1. Goatees 2. Caesar haircuts3. Khakis/jeans that are loose but sit on the waist4. Shades of smooth brown complexions (from buttercup to dark chocolate)5. Clean fingernails6. Direct eye contact7. Carefree, white teeth smiles8. Slim-to-medium muscular build9. Tall in height (although I've dated guys between 5'8 and 5'11 who were just as attractive)11. Holding a bookTURN-ONS (mental)1. Bookworms 2. Voters (in all elections, not just presidential) 3. Direct requests for dates (no b.s.-ing around) 4. Making money only in a legal way5. Paying bills on time6. Having your own place, with your name on the lease/mortgageWEBSITES:1. SoulVegFolk.com2. BlackMusicTube.com3. TeamBeachBody.com4. AOL's Listening Party5. AOL Radio6. Chicago Tribune7. Luis Gomez's "About Last Night"8. Twitter9. Jaehakim.comWORK1. Meeting the MoD team (some of the Breaking News team are very entertaining to work with)2. Working with Colin (He's one of the coolest bosses I've ever had; he means business but he "gets" my personality)3. Keeping in touch with my old bosses Sonja and Ruth (two other bosses I have nothing but good things to say about and still touch bases with to this day)4. Going to lunch with Darcel (great person to vent and laugh with) 5. Going to lunch with Fernie (she's always got jokes) 6. Argo Tea Iced Coffee from Charlie to thank me for training him (nice surprise)7. Training Charlie and Lauren when they were new (MoD team members both really cool people)8. Trading dog stories with Molly (both of us are hardcore dog lovers)9. Working with Danielle G. (She's always helpful since the day I started)10. Working with Mike Z. (If I need a photo, he's got it. One of my favorite folks at the Trib for being so easy to work with.)11. Chatting with Pam (Easy to work with, even easier to chat about everything from family to why we hate pants with words on the butt)12. Creating and updating the "Relationship & Sex News Gallery" (Interesting and educational topic that people need to be informed about, especially STIs/STDs)13. Working with Gilda Squire of Gilda Squire Media Relations again. She is one of the most professional publicists I've met, and I've worked with quite a few publicists.YOUTUBE VIDEOS1. "Puppy Christmas" 2. The last two boys on "I Told My Kids I Ate All Their Halloween Candy"3. Halloween light show to "Party Rock"4. "Rethink Breast Cancer presents 'Your Man Reminder'"5. Ian Somerhalder with Aisha Tyler on "The Late Late Show"6. Tahj Mowry singing John Legend's "Ordinary People"7. Tahj Mowry singing Michael Jackson's "Human Nature"
All right, this is my last "Five things I"m digging right now" for 2011 and for good. It's been fun doing these, but I want a new series in the new year. Anyway, here are five things I'm digging right now. 1. BlackMusicTube: I have no idea why I'm just now finding out about this site, but I was trying to find out where to listen to Tyrese's new CD "Open Invitation" after it didn't download correctly on my mp3 player. This site is even better than listening to AOL's Listening Party because there are more CDs to choose from, and I don't have to blow my money on stuff I don't like without listening to it.2. T-Pain's "Revolver" CD: This is the first CD I've enjoyed straight through from him. I usually just like the singles, but he did a really great job on this one. I still remember seeing him live in concert a couple years ago. I became an all-around fan of his as soon as I saw him live in action and stood up the entire time he was onstage.
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