Me: “Bitch.”
Myself: “WHAT?! Even my mother isn’t allowed to call me that.”
I: “OMG, are you serious?! STFU. You’re both goddamn crazy and I have better things to be doing right now.”
kaithxbai 
I have to give up my fight. I have to put down my gloves. I have to leave my finger print this time. I have to face the truth.
So… For all of you that are listening. And talking.
I didn’t want to do this.
But I have found it absolutely necessary after doing my homework.
This post is Legal and My Right.
I am NOT “throwing a fit.” I am standing up for myself. In a “man’s world.”
Tomorrow would have been my last day at work with my former employer. I offered my two-weeks-notice on Friday, 8/26. I got an out of office reply and silence.
The following Monday, I went to work. I did my best. And I was asked to leave because, in my words, my position was deemed “unnecessary.”
So when the work doesn’t get done, please know that I offered to stay to help you (and our Client .. the only reason I came to play to start) through tomorrow.
I’m sorry.
But it wasn’t my fault.
.. Your move. Make it or don’t. But I’m here. I’m listening. I’m waiting. And I’ll put my gloves back on if you make me step back into the ring.
I’ve worked so hard
for my Good Name.
Who do you think you are
to spread Pain?
I am who I am.
There is no forgiveness.
If it weren’t for My Suffering
who would forget your Shamelessness?
I couldn’t help but laugh at one of my morning chores today.
Sorting through my mail from yesterday.
Junk in my .. er .. ON my counter.
My “junk mail,” as my 80′s mind wants to call it.
But, is it “junk” today? Or, is it just a reflection of who we are and what we want?
Long gone are the days of buying names of lists blindly and hoping you would buy our >insert product here<.
Now? .. We know you.
Be paranoid.
Sometimes, it’s a good thing.
We’re after you.
Who?
Advertisers.
Brands.
Marketers.
“The Man.”
And?
We’re getting SMARTER.
So lock your doors.
Hide yo’ children.
No body is safe from the message we want to speak.
#preach.
It’s an exceptionally sad world when I try to simply quote powerful POETRY (rap.. lyrics.. whatever.) And American paranoid society dictates that I agree to things I don’t believe in. .. Sue me for my interpretation of your art. Kanye. Or, just check out my “About’ page for my email address.
This is a song from my .. hood. .. youth. STFU and listen. Bolds are my own emphasis.
Kanye West – Murder to Excellence Lyrics
Verse I:
…
Too much enemy fire to catch a friendly
Strays from the same shade nigga, we on the same team
Giving you respect, I expect the same thing
All-black everything, nigga you know my fresh code
I’m out here fighting for you, don’t increase my stressload!
Niggas watching the throne, very happy to be
Power to the people, when you see me, see you
Verse II:
And I’m from the murder capital where they murder for capital
Heard about at least three killings this afternoon
Looking at the news like “damn! I was just with him after school”
No shop class but half the school got a tool
And “I could die any day”-type attitude
Plus his little brother got shot repping his avenue
It’s time for us to stop and redefine black power
41 souls murdered in fifty hours
Verse III:
Is it genocide?
Cause I can still hear his mama cry
Know the family traumatized
Shots left holes in his face about piranha-sized
The old pastor closed the cold casket
And said the church ain’t got enough room for all the tombs
It’s a war going on outside we ain’t safe from
I feel the pain in my city wherever I go
314 soldiers died in Iraq, 509 died in Chicago
Verse IV:
… real niggas just multiply
And they say by 21 I was supposed to die
So I’m out here celebrating my post-demise
If you put crabs in a barrel to insure your survival
You’re gon’ end up pulling down niggas that look just like you
What up, Blood? What up, cuz? It’s all black, I love us
…
It’s a celebration of black excellence, black tie, black Maybachs
…
Black excellence, opulence, decadence
Tuxes next to the president, I’m present
I dress in Dries and other boutique stores in Paris
In sheepskin coats, I silence the lambs
Do you know who I am, Clarice?
No cheap cologne whenever I “shh-shh”
Success never smelled so sweet
I stink of success, the new black elite
They say my Black Card bears the mark of the beast
I repeat: my religion is the beat
My verse is like church, my Jesus piece
Now please, domino, domino
Only spot a few blacks the higher I go
What’s up to Will? Shout out to O
That ain’t enough.. we gonna need a million more
“Kick in the door” Biggie flow
I’m all dressed up with nowhere to go
[Verse 4: Kanye]
Yeah it’s all messed up when it’s nowhere to go
So we won’t take the time out ’til we reach the T-O-P
From parolees to hold G’s, sold keys, low keys
We like the promised land of the OG’s
In the past if you picture events like a black tie
What the last thing you expect to see, black guys?
What’s the life expectancy for black guys?
The system’s working effectively, that’s why!
I’ll be a real man and take care of your son
Every problem you had before this day is now done
New crib, watch a movie cause ain’t nothin on the news but the blues
Hit the mall, pick up some Gucci, now ain’t nothing new but your shoes
Sunday morning, praise the Lord
You’re the girl that Jesus had been saving me for
So let’s savor this moment and take it to the floor
Black excellence, truly yours
I’ve been reading “a lot” from a little book named “Heart,” given to me by my favorite advertising agency (as far as those I’ve worked with, anyway), Barkley.
Every day, as I brush my teeth in the morning, I open the book to any random page, and read both sides.
Each page hits straight to .. well .. my heart.
Today’s Reading:
Left Page: “The outward work can never be small if the inward one is great, and the outward work can never be great if the inward is small or of little worth. There is your life and there alone you live and your work lives.” – Meister Eckhart
Right Page: “Quality is not just a chart, or a standard, or a specification – it’s a state of mind, a commitment, a responsibility, a spirit. It’s a way of doing, being and living.” – Don Galer
Welcome back to work, y’all. Make it a productive and fabulous day.
An Old Friend (AOF), 8/31: “Everything good kiddo?”
Me: “Why do you ask?”
AOF: “gee I WONDER”
Me: “lol. Because I lack a filter? .. But try?”
AOF: “lol.. just lookin out for ya babe .. as always”
Me: “It’s been a rough few months. .. But then I’ll add my filter back on, because right now it’s a fight I’m trying to avoid rather than face. … Although I’m smart enough to be prepping myself for the worst.”
AOF: “if ya need to yell, im always here.. …”
.. And then the conversation went entirely “agency/media/digital/dork” .. So I will save you from all of that.
And just say, “I am who I am. And I am not afraid of (most) things.”
I will challenge you directly. And I will apologize if I am wrong.
I am an anomaly. Or, as I prefer to say “a conundrum of contradictions.”
This blog needs a little refresh. Like, something positive.
So, Happy Labor Day, America!! If you have the day off, enjoy the irony and the day. Go do something that you WANT, not necessarily HAVE to do.
But please remember to be EXTRA kind to those folks who are still working. And know that they would trade you places today, to be with their friends/family/reading a book/at home watching tv/whatever it is they like to do.
And for everyone, working today or not: Choose a moment to enjoy the day. And enjoy that moment to the best of your abilities.
For some, every day is a struggle. Today, choose to at least find one minute of rest, and be thankful of what you have and who you are.
Just came to a realization, of sorts.
Perhaps the biggest problem in this country isn’t Laziness, Greed nor Ignorance.
Rather, I am now suspecting a new culprit: Censorship.
Yes, I realize you may think that I am “extreme” or “have no filter.” But I don’t just think twice before I speak.
I take a big breath, think my thoughts through a final time, SUCK IT UP, and say what I believe you need to hear. NOT necessarily even CLOSE to what you WANT to hear.
Yes, Clients. This applies to my conversation with you, too.
Take me or leave me.
ps. This also means my random compliments are sincere. You’re welcome. “Honesty is such a lonely word.” – Billy Joel
I see it all the time and am sick of passively watching without saying what (unfortunately) needs to be said:
Too many parents in the United States apparently just don’t care enough to teach their kids the simplest of things.
Like, brushing their teeth, according to my friend Karina. She might be a saint, but obviously doesn’t appreciate having to do a lazy parent’s job, in addition to her responsibilities as a daycare provider:
The only thing I could ask for different is that the parents would have the kids brush their teeth BEFORE they get here in the morning….. Stink stinky
Or paying close attention/guarding them around a new person/dog/cat/animal/spirit… Let alone teaching them how to behave around a creature that is different than them, as my friend and colleague “B’” has said for years.
If we cannot teach our children the simplest of tasks, who are we to point fingers at the government for cutting back on education spending? Who are we to yell at a teacher for doing their jobs, just because we think we “know” a better way? Who are we to blame our neighbors for owning a dog and keeping it in their own yard, just because it bit your child who got in its face when you stopped paying attention?
Unless you have proven that you are fully capable, all-knowing and omnipotent, quit making excuses, start looking in the mirror and listen.
Get off your lazy ass and teach your kids right from wrong.
No one else is going to do it for you.
It’s your child.
It’s YOUR responsibility.
If you don’t, you are only creating more problems.
More of YOU.
Yeah. That’s right. I called you a problem. Got somethin’ to say about it, Lazy American?
Take. Responsibility. For. Yourselves. First.
Then, come and bitch at me for speaking my mind. Which, if you remember, is my Constitutional Right.