Wow, today is July 1st. I can not believe we are half way through the year already. Time has seemed to fly by. I have got to get moving with the things that I have been putting off for far to long.
I have decided I was going back to school and thought I knew that I wanted to complete my bachelors in Business. Then I started to wonder, with the current economy how well would that work out for me. I am already enrolled in school, I just need to complete my financial aid info and pick some classes. However, the looming question of what I would do with a BA in Business has me second guessing my choice. I thought I would use my 13 plus years of travel experience and a BA in Business to get a position as head over the travel department of a major corporation. I really do love the travel industry and could see myself doing that.
Lately I have been thinking maybe I would change courses all together and go into the nursing field. Something dependable and steady, two words that do not apply to the travel industry. I have played with the idea for a few years, long enough that I would actually have my degree now if I had done it back then. Nothing too crazy for me, I'm thinking OB/GYN or Pediatrics. My BF does not see me as a nurse, she thinks I am too emotional and would not be able to detach myself from the situation. As you can see, I have a lot to think about.
Now, this is like the third time I have said I need to finish baby Hayley's blanket before she gets here. As I type this I am just hanging up with my baby sister(Hayley's mom). She was telling me the details of her doctors visit. As of today Ashley has not dilated at all. Her due date was already pushed back from June 23(don't quote me on that date) to the beginning of July. If she has not started to dilate by her July 8th appointment, she will be admitted and induced July 9th or 13th. Every time I blog about this blanket I thank my lucky stars that neither of my sisters read my blog. Well that may change and you all may witness me getting chewed out by Ashley. She is on bed rest and spends her time at home finding things to do. Let's hope for my sack she does not read my blog. Since I link my blog into my Facebook post, she may just get curious(bored) enough to read it.
If you have read my blog before then you know I take part in a quarterly reading challenge hosted by APOOO. The challenge is to read 13 books in a quarter based on a list you create at the beginning of the quarter. First quarter I read more than 13 books, I just did not stick to my list. This quarter I am proud to say that I completed the 13 books I committed to read and read a few more.
I guess I just love a challenge because I have taken on a new challenge, 30 books in 90 days. This runs from June 13-August 13 and since I just posted my list today I am a little behind. At last count I own over 160 books that I have not read, so any opportunity to challenge myself is a welcome way for me to get those books read. The number of books I own keeps growing because I have a problem with buying books. I have really been trying to work past this, but I have come to realize there are worse things to be addicted to. (Spoken like a true addict)
My list is just that, MY LIST. I do not create this list to impress anyone. I love all types of books. Give me an autobiography, some street lit, a little romance...it really does not matter. If it interest me, I read it. I am sharing my list here. Browse it, you may find a book that you forgot you wanted to read or an author you have yet to read. I encourage people to read, no matter what you read. Everything is not for everyone, I am open and enjoy suggestions. Feel free to leave a comment including a book you really enjoyed, I am always looking for books to add to my ever growing list.
30 books in 90 days
1. Fit To Be Tied by Mildred E Riley(review book)
2. Caliente by Various Authors(review book)
3. Cougar Tales by Various Authors(review book)
4. Carnivale Diabolique by Various Authors(review book)
5. Chaser by Miasha(review book)
6. Assata:An Autobiography by Assata Shakur(picked this up and had to put it down to finish my challenge)
7. Intimate Seduction by Brenda Jackson
8. Taste of Passion by Brenda Jackson
9. Riding the Storm by Brenda Jackson
10. Surrender by Brenda Jackson
11. True Love by Brenda Jackson
12. Secret Love by Brenda Jackson
13. Fire and Desire by Brenda Jackson
14. In Those Jeans by Chantel Joile
15. Something He Can Feel by Marissa Monteilh
16. He Loves Me He Loves Me Not by Tracy Darity
17. Basketball Jones by E Lynn Harris
18. Just Too Good To Be True by E Lynn Harris
19. Going Down South by Bonnie Glover
20. The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper
21. Single Husbands by Honey B
22. Sexcapades by Honey B
23. Bitch by Deja King
24. Bitch Reloaded by Deja King
25. The Bitch is Back by Deja King
26. Let's Get It On by Jill Nelson
27. Before I Forget By Leonard Pitts
28. Children of the Water by Carleen Brice
29. Rich Girls by Kendall Banks
30. We Take This Man by Candice Dow and Daaimah Poole
My personal memories and thoughts on Michael Jackson
A lot has gone on in the entertainment industry in the last week. The one thing that bothered me the most was the passing of Michael Jackson. You have to understand, growing up my best friend and I just knew that we were going to one day move to California and be with Michael Jackson. I owned all there was to own that pertained to Michael Jackson. My most prized item was a framed poster my parents got me for my birthday one year. That poster became the focal point of my bedroom. Like any true Michael Jackson fan I had the dolls, the biography, a picture book of his music videos and the trading cards. Any time Right On(wow that is a throwback magazine) had Michael anywhere in their pages I had that issue. I was very protective over my Off the Wall album(yes I said album) and the Thriller tape.
As I watch the media coverage of his passing, I am amazed, no appalled, by the vultures who report the news. I listened to Nancy Grace one night question why none of his siblings are taking custody of the kids, but leaving it up to their 70 plus mother. How does this woman know what is going on in this family other than the reported facts that Katherine filed for custody? How do you not know that this is the family's way of immediately securing the children within their folds? I have heard Cher tell Larry King when she first met Michael he was a normal kid, but seeing him years later he was "weird". Hmmm, "people in glass houses", that is my only statement on that.
News coverage of Joe Jackson saddens me as well. How do you think that the red carpet of a show to honor your son is the proper place to promote your new ventures? Doctors, nurses and so called family friends are coming out of the wood works for their 15 minutes of fame to share their knowledge of Michael's "drug use". What does this do for you as a person? How does it really make you look, if in fact there was a problem and you turned a blind eye? Do people really think about how stupid they sound when they say certain things.
I read a comment on a blog that said, "the family is exploiting Michael by moving his body all around". I have a cousin who passed away while she was living in the Bronx. Her sister had a memorial in New York for her friends and family living there and then her body was moved to South Carolina, where her funeral was performed and she was laid to rest. Was that exploitation? NO! Do you mean to tell me that none of these people making these statements have never experienced or heard of someone who experienced such a thing? Exactly why is this exploitation? Because he is famous? The family is not getting paid to bury Michael, they are allowing his fans one last chance to "see" the star before he is laid to rest. I have not blogged back to any ignorant comments I have seen or heard. How does that saying go, "never argue with an idiot, people watching may not know which of you is the idiot".
No matter what side of the fence you are on as far as Michael Jackson is concerned, there is no arguing that this man was an Icon. He reinvented the concept of the music video with Thriller. He has sold more albums than any other recording star. He raised more money than any other entertainer with his USA for Africa campaign in addition to his other efforts. Allow the family to mourn his passing without all of the extra antics. Allow his children more positive moments surrounding their fathers passing. Allow his fans to mourn his passing without a bunch of extra crap.
Yesterday a friend shared a link to OK! magazines upcoming cover and their take on why they are using the picture of Michael on a stretcher, "bagged" to assist his breathing. In a nut shell their take is that they are allowing the fans a look at his last photo. I have no desire to support that nor do I want to be standing in the check out line with my 4 year old and have to explain that image to her. Who has ever wanted to remember anyone at their worse? Never have I wanted to recall the memory of my father in the hospital, unable to respond to us.
Wow, I really got more emotional in this blog than I intended to. I love comments! Please feel free to leave one about anything I blogged about. Shoot, leave a comment about whatever you want as long as it is respectful. I will delete anything that I deem inappropriate in a heartbeat. Until next time I close with a post I left on Facebook.
"The end is not as final as you think it is. Take a step back, look at your situation and know that although it is hard to see it now, there is a positive outcome. It really is a lot easier to be optimistic as opposed to pessimistic."
