Thursday, May 26, 2005

I Need A Holiday!

Madonna wasn't kidding when she uttered those words on one of her first singles Holiday. I swear, the job's been kicking my butt lately and not taking no for an answer. It seems like every project was due yesterday and not completing one would jeopardize 'world peace' or something. Arrrrgh!

Thank goodness for Memorial Day weekend. I took off both Friday and Tuesday, even though it's near the end of the month. I'll actually log in from home later in the evening Friday anyway to get a change package approved that needs to go in before end of month so I'm covered anyway. I'm so dedicated. I so need a 20% raise...*LOL*.

I have to pack either tonight or tomorrow since I'll spend the holiday weekend at home in Detroit. I get to see my parents and sisters again. Also I get to enjoy time with the family cats, both of who hate my guts. Fun times indeed! There's a story behind how these latest feline fiends came into my family's life but I'll save that for another time.

I'm finally mailing off payments for the medical bills I incurred during my January emergency trip as well as follow up visits. I swear, the health care system in the U.S. is fucking bullshit! I guess the hospitals have to "make a buck" too but it's fucking ridiculous that I get like 10 separate bills for one visit. I'm grateful to have insurance but unfortunately even my insurance only covers so much. I have to pay over $1000 in medical bills for crap tests and doctors that didn't tell me shit. What a rip! I can't even imagine how much it'd be had I stayed longer than a day. Actually I can but I don't want to...*LOL*. I'm beginning to think I should move to Canada since their medical bills are pretty much covered for every citizen. I'm seriously considering it actually. I can deal with the cold. Hell I've lived in Michigan and Illinois for 31 1/2 of my 32 years...:-)

Anyway remember my faithful readers, I mean reader..*LOL*, remember to take a holiday from the craziness this world throws at you. We all need that time to rejuvenate a bit. Actually I can't wait till June 22nd, that's when I head down to Florida for a few days. Business for half a day, pleasure the rest. I just have to plan my iternary still.

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Sunday, May 22, 2005

Good Crash Course

Last night for the first time in nearly six months, I found time to go see a movie. Anticipating wanting to see one this weekend, I purchased a movie pass from my job for $5.50. It's definitely a good perk since the cost of seeing a movie these days is nearly $10. $9.75 to be exact. Total highway robbery.

So anyway I chose to see "Crash". There was a smorgasbord of top name actors and actresses in this flick. These include Sandra Bullock, Brendan Frasier, Don Cheadle, Jennifer Esposito, Larenz Tate, Thandie Newton, Terrence Howard and Matt Dillon. Basically the premise of the movie is how our daily interactions with other people in the course of the day or two leads to various other actions.

Dare I say it, even though the coincidential meetings of the numerous characters seemed a bit much, the movie managed to pull it off. It was interesting how you'd hate a character one minute but then feel sympathy based on their backstory.

***Warning, if you haven't seen the movie yet, don't read the next paragraph or so.

Case in point, Matt Dillon's character of the racist cop Ryan. You're really supposed to hate his racist ass. He pulls over a black couple (Thandie and Terrence) just because they drive a black Navigator, the same kind that was stolen from a well to do white couple (Sandra & Brendan) by two black guys (Larenz & Ludacris's character). Then RC Ryan proceeds to feel up a drunk and upset Christine (Thandie) while her husband Cameron (Terrence) can do nothing but helplessly watch for fear of them both being shot. We later get a backstory of how RC Ryan is the primary caretaker for his elderly father, who is sick with a possible urinary tract infection. Then in one of the movie's odd coincidences, RC Ryan has to rescue Christine from a car accident she later finds herself involved in. This supposedly turns RC Ryan around. It's a bit contrived, of course, but it oddly worked for me.

But perhaps the most emotional moment of the movie comes later. The story is of a Hispanic locksmith (can't remember the actor's name) who tries to helpfully tell an Iranian store owner that he needs to fix his door. The ISO thinks the locksmith is trying to rip him off so he ignores the advice and the locksmith wanting to avoid conflict decides not to charge the man for the new lock and tosses the receipt in the garbage. DUN DUN! Anyway the store gets broken into the next day and ISO blames locksmith and hunts him down. You guessed it, by the receipt that was thrown out the night before. So ISO confronts the locksmith at his home preparing to shoot him. Locksmith's little girl comes racing out towards her father and jumps to him just as ISO shoots his gun. It looks like he actually shot the little girl but miraculously she's not hurt. The ISO starts feeling remorse for his actions while the relieved father takes his daughter inside. There's more backstory into this but I won't get into all of it.

Suffice to say, I enjoyed this movie! It's a definite must see. I'd even go so far as to purchase it when it comes out on DVD. It was that good.

Anyway I definitely need to blog more often. I haven't really been in a blogging mood lately. But yes, I'm still alive. In case anyone cares...*LOL*. Till next time.

Saturday, May 07, 2005

The Real Deal

I got this flyer in the mail for a new restaurant that opened up not far from where I live. The cuisine was Caribbean and it promised to be an experience like the islands. I think you know where I'm going but allow me to continue taking you on the journey. Okay, right off the bat, no it was not an experience like the islands. I ordered what was called "Reggae Ribs", which was described as beef ribs, smothered in our signature tropical bbq sauce. Bibs included. I had as carry-out! So anyway I went to the Caribbean place and was surprised to see quite a crowd (a mostly Caucasian crowd but I do live in a far West Chicago suburb so that wasn't shocking) as I walked up to the place. So I walk in and was shocked to not see a black family owned business but rather Chinese folks running it with a Hispanic or two. Guess I should've been suspicious when one of the sides was an Asian salad. Heh. I quickly paid for my food and vacated the premises. As for the food itself, I think they messed up my order because I didn't get ribs but instead some tough sirloin. But it matters not because I'm not going to order anything from there again. I should've known better. If I want authentic Caribbean food, well as close to authentic as one can get in Chicago, I have to venture to the city! Disappointing indeed.

Monday, May 02, 2005

Tele on Cellie

A week ago, I overheard some random people at my job, meaning people I don't work with directly or else I'd call them co-workers...heh, talking about telemarketers being able to solicit directly to cell phone numbers within 30 days. After overhearing the jokes of some folks liking it because their cells hardly ring, I became enraged. No, not because hardly nobody calls me currently and I look forward to the barrage of phone calls! But rather the thought of telemarketers blowing up my cell phone like they do my home phone is enough to make me throw my cell to the river.

Fortunately I'm a rational human being. Most of the time. But that's neither here or now. *LOL*. Since I was rational at the time, I decided to do some online research to confirm what I heard. Because you know, the Internet never lies!!! Plus I'd hate to waste money on throwing the phone only to find out it was false. Heh.

I came across this website after typing on (product placement)'s Search bar the words "Telemarketing on cell phones"

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/cell411.asp

Once you get past the annoying pop-up, unless your blocker doesn't need to be updated like mine does, the article itself is quite informative. It lists several letters stating the warning that in 30 days, telemarketers will be able to call you on your cells, unless you put your cell phone number on a "DO NOT CALL LIST". But wait a minute. Upon further reading, I discovered that apparently this was supposed to happen January 1st, 2005. Let's see, umm, it's May 2nd. My cell phone hasn't blown up anymore than usual. I'd say it's another one of those Internet Urban Legends.

The information following the letters of concern does in fact confirm that. But wait a minute. It's not over yet. Apparently there's going to be this Wireless 411 directory. But the link provided above seemed old, so I went searching for a more recent article and came across this one published on 04/30/2005 from the Tribune's technology section.:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-0504300099apr30,1,4286052.story?coll=chi-technology-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

The gist of the article (just because the link may prove to be dead after another week or so) is that there are plans still for the Wireless 411 directory, however, only T-Mobile is stupid enough to go forward with the idea. Cingular/AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint all oppose the measurement and aren't participating. So unless you're a T-Mobile customer (and even then you can opt-in...doing nothing means you won't get added, unlike those stupid Columbia House offers), this shouldn't have much impact. For now anyway!

That was a relief. That'll teach me to eavesdrop on "extra loud" conversations going on all around me.

Wasn't that an exciting read?

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Sunday, May 01, 2005

Yeah, It's Like That!

I think I'll talk a bit about music tonight. Unless anyone objects...uh, yeah!

Return of the Voice is the catchphrase being thrown around regarding Mariah Carey's Emancipation of Mimi, her second album off the label Island. I've had an opportunity to listen to her two singles, It's Like That, and We Belong Together, and I have to admit, both songs are pretty catchy. I went to Amazon.com to hear snippets from the rest of her album and I must say Mariah's back in a big way! I agree with the consensus that this is her best album since 1997's Butterfly. All I can say is that Mimi needs to stick around.

So what else has been churning on my CD player? I've been listening to Lalah Hathaway's self-titled album in the car for about a week. I purchased the CD recently after finding my old tape that I used to play growing up. I've been replaying in particular singles Sentimental and I'm Coming Back, the latter which was penned by another favorite artist of mine Gary Taylor.
Hathaway, of course, is the daughter of legendary Donnie Hathaway. She went a long, long time without releasing anything else. She lended her vocals for a joint album with Joe Sample in the late 90s. And just recently she released her second solo album titled Outrun the Sky. I listened to a snippet of tracks on Amazon.com and I like it. I'll definitely have to look into getting that one soon.

I mentioned Gary Taylor earlier. He's not really that well known but he's been in the business for over 20 years, releasing nine albums, seven of them on his own label Morning Crew. Most of his fans come through word of mouth. Usually what'll happen is someone will play his CD, the untrained ear will inquire about the CD, find out who that is, and voila another Gary Taylor fan. I made my older sis "Octavia" a fan this way. Gary has a website: http://www.morningcrew.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro&BypassCookie=true where you can listen to snippets from his numerous albums. If I had to pick favorite albums from Gary, two would pop up in mind, Square One, which introduced his talent to me, and Love Dance.

While I am mentioning websites, it would behoove me to mention the website of up and coming actor Mailon Rivera. Check out: http://www.mailonrivera.com It's actually because of Mailon I even have a blog. Okay, don't send rotten eggs to Mailon...*LOL*.

I first remember seeing Mailon on my favorite guilty pleasure TV show at the time called V.I.P. Don't even get me started on how much I miss that show, silly campiness and all. Anyway it wasn't until he had a role on the short-lived Second Time Around that I found more information about Mailon. Anyway his character on the show was the stereotypical gay guy. His character was quite discussed on another message board that I frequent and post at: http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com. TWoP, as it's usually called, dissects various TV shows left and right. It was what led me to Mailon's website. Mailon was cool enough to respond to my queries. I found out Mailon's led an interesting life and there was more to him then just some guest acting gigs. I read his blog messages with interest and eventually befriended Majick, Lady RM, and Strawberry, who along with me, plague Mailon's blog with numerous comments and was recently dubbed by him as teletubbies...:-)

Anyway that's all the plugging I'm doing for tonight. I need to go to bed. Until next time I blog....PEACE!