The pressure of survival in the big city will make you lose sight of your dream...hang in there. - De La Vega

It's taken me a while but I've finally lost my 'writer's procrastination' and suddenly after months of silence the characters in my head have started speaking again, all vying for room in the que of my creative space so whenever i'm writing it pours out like rain onto the page. For a while it was as though I didn't have the patience to write anything more than journal entries. I'd sit in front of the laptop, curser blinking, page blank. For the first three months of the year I rarely found the energy to even pick up the lap top. I was much more inclined to pick up my coloring books and color for hours as I sat on my sofa and simultaneously watched reruns of Flavor of Love and Project Runway. Don't laugh, there's something very therapudic about coloring. Ask my cousin Lawanna or her granddaughter Zaria, they'll tell you.

I slid back into writing as easily and effortlessly as I left it. One night I reached for my coloring box and a character from the new book I'm working on said 'not tonight...it's my turn'. I obliged and a month down the line I'm still in this mode. It's a wonderful feeling to be back. New York City has away of putting and then keeping you on the grind for extended periods of time and unfortunately when you put all your energy towards capitalistic gain you most often sacrifice any creative outlets that could use the energy. As it now seems the universe is pulling for me to write, my circumstances are becoming ever more conducive to a creative frame of mind. Thank goodness!


On another note... Isn't it nice when you run into people you haven't seen in ages. A friend of mine who has written numerous books including the one to the right was recently in Harlem and I had the pleasure of giving him a surprise visit. It's been years since I've seen or talked to him and so I briefly thought that he could have possibly forgotten me. Gladly, I was wrong. Our reunion was full of big smiles, tight hugs and keep in touches. Michael Eric Dyson is one of those rare individuals who has the ability to remain relevant to both young and old, educated and not. He's truly anointed with the gift of speak! I've yet to read his book but plan on taking it with me to Aruba to read as I lay out on it's beautiful beaches!

I Feel Like....

Strange dreams of you it seems,
Leaves me finding beauty in the smallest of things...

Succumbing to My Reality

Yesterday, on my way from the doctors office at 35th and Park I walked right past one of the many Sean Bell demonstrations going on in the city. At first I was confused as to what was going on but I soon saw the many "stop the violence" and "no justice, no peace" signs and knew exactly what was going on. I wanted to go over and join them or see things up close and personal at the very least but my lunch hour had already been taken and I couldn't account for taking any longer. The revolutionist in me had to bow to its capitalist side and I hopped in a cab and got back to work. So sad but true.

*photo courtesey of bossip.com

They Say Hind Sight Is 20/20

My mama used to always say 'you never know what'll happen in the next twenty minutes'. This always came on the heels of a negative occurrence and it was her kind and gentle way of saying "that's life, kiddo. Deal with it!". Hind sight is 20/20 and now I know precisely what she meant. Life in all its inevitable-ness is filled with interruptions and complications and the grand benefit to all of this change is simply that...meaning whatever you're experiencing always remember that yes, this too, shall pass. Good for us that the change could just as easily be good for us as it can be bad. It's was Barack Obama calls the audacity of hope. Something my mama was filled to the brim with.

So the other day one of my best sweety pies on the planet, Corren, came by the office around quitting time and we both walked in the same direction...she to her friend who owns a recording studio and me to get my nails done. After small talk I was invited to the studio after my appointment and since it was in such close proximity to where I was going anyway I obliged. Once I get there it wasn't twenty minutes before I see an old friend. One who i was not neccessarily estranged from but one I definitely wasn't on constant speaking terms with. Long story short, my mama's words popped right into my head. For what its worth, I didn't mind seeing him but I was completely fine not seeing him. Since we never really figured out exactly what our connection entailed we somehow scraped past having too, leaving, what they call, an 800 pound gorrilla in the room whenever we linked. Eventually the gorilla just got too damn big for us to occupy the same time space continuum and our time together became more effort than either of us afforded to it. Waking up that day, seeing him was pretty much one of the last things I'd expected to do...but damn if it didn't feel nice. You never know what'll happen in the next twenty minutes...true indeed!


On another note, I came across this crazy video of this chick going hard on some random old lady on the train. It's rather sad to watch but it's like they say... the same things that make you laugh can make you cry.


Also, last night Barack Obama won the North Carolina Primaries! A perverbial fire has been set under my political enthusiasm and I'm greatly interested in finding out how all of this will play out.

On another note, my heart and prayers go out to all the people of Myanmar who fell victim to the Cyclone that has reaped unimaginable loss!