The Black Experience: Don't Name Fried Chicken Dishes After The President.

As someone who grew up in a predominately white community, gone to predominately white schools and had a predominately white friend base until the age of 18, I've sometimes found myself educating white people on certain aspects of being Black. Luckily for me, my friends weren't ignorant people. Growing up with the same group of girl friends, I never had times where I said to myself, "Omg..I'm the only Black person here"...that's why I love the girls I grew up with! Race was never a real issue and I'm thankful for that!

Since moving to NY, I've slowly become what my friend Rory refers to as, "A disgruntled New Yorker". I embrace it. My biggest pet peeve is the tourist fascination with Harlem. Yesterday at work, I was approached by a group of tourist who said to me "Hi...we are looking for somewhere to go on Sunday to hear a great Harlem Choir. We really want the Harlem Gospel experience. Do you know where we can go"....this is the look that automatically appeared on my face.

Before I could say what I was really thinking, what has been instilled in me since I was a child, the whole "Be nice to the white folks" mentality kicked in and I found myself giving them a list of church's to visit, including my own. As they cheerfully thanked me for not getting offended by them asking, I couldn't help but find myself just that...offended.

WHEN DID THE BLACK CHURCH BECOME A TOURIST ATTRACTION? Why are we being used as entertainment for White tourists? As my friend Rory put it, "That's all they think about us. And sadly, we have internalized it. Worshipping God is not "entertainment"; it's our duty as believers"....AMEN BROTHER RORY.

So fast forward to Sunday morning. I walk in church, ready to get my praise on, who do I see? The same group that approached me the day before, with a host of other tourist from Germany, Spain, France and the UK. Snappin' pictures of praise and worship, making video's on their cell phones....like they were at a concert. SMH.

After service, I decided to fill up on some good southern food...it's been a while since I've had some "down home cookin"...so I decided to stop by a local spot. Now, I knew it would be packed, because it's soul food, post Sunday service. What I didn't expect was a line of tourist wrapped around the block. As I stood in line for 50 MINUTES, I couldn't help but get frustrated. These tourists ride into Harlem by the bus load, sit in church, take pictures, eat some Soul Food, get back on the bus and ride off to their Midtown Hotels, happy they got a chance to be entertained by the good 'ol Black folks in Harlem...its so annoying, and what annoys me more, is how the community of Harlem PLAYS INTO IT. They allow these tourist to come in and occupy seats for entertainment purposes. UGH.

These are the things that were running through my head as I watched tourist after tourist after tourist be seated ahead of me. After I finally got inside, I said to myself, "Dear Lord, let this food be worth the wait and the price"....I'm happy to say that it was. It was VERY good. Either that or I was famished from my lengthy wait.


The only downside, the fried chicken entree so affectionately named "The President Barack Obama"...SERIOUSLY??? Don't name FRIED chicken dishes after our President. 

Black folks...we need to have a meeting.

 

Kool-Aid of the day....REALLY?!

New York...does a body good.

I've been living in the city for about 8 months now and a lot has changed. One of my favorite changes is my dress size! The picture below is the change from August-December...4 months after moving to NY. I hate the August picture so much...I took that picture they day I started considering have weight-loss surgery. Sad. But happily, by December, 4 months of no car and walking everywhere, things started to change...can you tell?

I can't even say that I've made any real effort to lose weight. The only thing I'm doing differently is walking and not driving. I also eat considerably less fast food than I did prior to moving here. Unlike where I'm from in NC, I don't drive past 8 McDonald's, 3 Chick-fil-A's, 2 Cook-Out's and a Hardee's on my way to work everyday like before.

I've never been one to really be able to see myself smaller. I don't usually notice I've lost weight unless someone tells me. I also don't believe any scale I step on if the the number is lower than I thought it would be...I automatically assume its a bad scale.

But the other day while trying on some clothes for the fun of it, I decided to try on one of Jessica Simpson's dresses. While Jessica's line does carry what they consider to be plus size options, the line starts at a 12 and stops at an 18. Four sizes. Don't even get me started on the fashion world and what they consider to be plus size. I assure you in reality, it's not a size 12. But anyway...

I picked up the largest size available, which is an 18. I figured it was worth a shot.

And guess what...

IT FIT! Ahh...sweet victory. I look forward to the day when her "Plus Size" line is too big, but I fear, with the set of hips I have, I'll probably always straddle the "plus size" fence.

I'm not where I want to be weight wise, but I'm making progress. As someone who's done weight loss in some very unhealthy ways, with long-term side effects I still fear haven't popped up yet, I'm glad this change has been made in a very natural way.

And I'm not gonna lie...I love trying clothes in smaller sizes! Some favorites:

Saturday's in the park with cute boys! (Make that one boy....I'm no harlot!)

I have a bucket list that is constantly growing. One thing that has been on my list the longest, is a picnic in Central Park.

Because I'm a new New Yorker, I long for what I call "Authentic New York Experiences"...a picnic in Central Park definitely qualifies.

I print my work schedule weekly and scan it like it's a lottery ticket, just hoping that I'll see a huge blank space next to a Saturday. It finally happened this week. Yesterday, by the grace of God, I had a Saturday off from my retail job, which usually takes up 9-10 hours of my Saturday, every week. With my new found and temporary weekend freedom, I knew I wanted to spend the day having a picnic. I also knew who I wanted to bring along for the fun!

A friend of mine introduced me to a friend of hers who happens to be cute and very great to hang out with. Our schedules are completely opposite so hanging out is a challenge, but luckily for me, and I'd like to think for him too, the stars aligned and he happened to have some free time Saturday as well.

We met around 11:30am and headed into the park. I had initially wanted to picnic in Central Parks Sheep Meadow, but I also have a mediocre sense of direction, so I got a little lost, but lucky for us, there are plenty of other grassy areas perfect for blanket spreading, so we ended up under a tree across from Wollman Rink which ended up being even better because they played classic rock music over the loud speakers...I mean seriously, everybody knows Bon Jovi makes for the perfect picnic ambiance! Lol!

We had a great time talking and eating...and blowing bubbles. Well at least I had fun blowing bubbles...lol. I find it extremely therapeutic. It's also cheaper than a massage, even though I must admit, one sure would be nice!

Yesterday was a good day... a much needed good day! The sun was shining...birds were chirping, one of which hung out with us for a few minutes.

Check out the photo's below if you wanna see what we ate and a close up of our bird friend, I'll call him Jacob, like the bird on Under The Umbrella Tree...even though Jacob was a blue bird...but anyway...lol. Enjoy! :-)

Ham and Turkey Sandwich's with Swiss, American Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Mustard and Miracle Whip 

Hummus and Parmesan Pita Chips

Strawberry Short Cake: Fresh Strawberries,  Ententanmens Butter Cake and Whipped Cream

Jacob! (Photo taken by Dion aka My cute picnic sharing friend!)

The Land of Oz...Dr. Oz.

So what happens when you write a letter to the Dr. Oz show? Sometimes it means that you get booked to be a guest! That's what happened to me at least!

I was invited to be a guest on the Dr. Oz show last week. It wasn't quite an "Oprah" moment...but it was pretty darn close. I got a taste of what it would be like and I LOVE IT! Maybe one day I'll get my own Talk Show...for some reason, a lot of my friends and family think I'd be good at it.

Anywho...

I had a GREAT time being on the show. My job mainly consisted of tasting different foods and visually expressing how yummy they were. Wasn't much talking involved, but I did get a chance to throw in a few lines here and there.

It was cool to see how TV works...I'd love to be a producer for a talk show. I have no idea how one gets into that field, but if I did, I'd be in tomorrow. I'm confident I could rock that!

So let me take you through it:

They sent a car to pick me up, which I thought was super cool! I later found out that I was the only guest they did that for. I don't know why, but I'm not complaining!

Upon arrival to the studio in Rock Center, I met this guy, who escorted me into the building

After a few other guests arrived, who were taping other segments, we went upstairs and got our vistors passes,

Rode the elevator up to the studio,

And got settled in our dressing rooms.

Various producers came in, took notes on our wardrobe options, chose our final looks ( I brought more options than anyone lol ) and ushered us into hair and make-up.

After getting the final okay from wardrobe and getting mic'd up, it was time to wait on my segment.

Once I taped, I hopped in my awaiting car with my driver and headed back to reality!

Don't call it a comeback!

I'M FINALLY BACK!!!

OMG...after weeks of no access to anything associated with my Gmail account, I was finally able to get google to reset my account. Now that I've finally regained control of my blog, it's time for an update!

I am no longer a 2 job gal...I now have three! LOL. Hey...you do what you have to, right!? I spend about 6 out of 7 days a week working at least one of the the three, but I'm thankful, I've been able to pay my rent the past 3 months and other bills without any help from my parents, which means, things are no longer just looking up, they are actually moving up! Here's to it staying that way! Or better yet, here's to it getting even better!

I'm still loving the city, even though it doesn't always love me back. I can't see myself living anywhere else in the near future. I'll put it this way...I won't even consider considering moving out of NYC until I'm living here as fabulously as I've dreamed of. So however long that takes!

Out with the old, in the new...year!

I haven't written in a while, mostly because not much has changed until recently.

I really wanted to celebrate the New Year in Times Square with all the crazies, but my work schedule didn't permit. I actually ended up doing something much cooler and much more "New York". I sat on the ledge of the Brooklyn Bridge and screamed like a banshee with other locals! You can see everything from up there. The fireworks from Jersey and Times Square!

It was nice to do something fun and random! (Check out my social shenanigans page for pics!)

I've officially been in the city for a little over 5 months now and I've lost about 25 pounds. No real effort to do so though. I honestly thing its the difference in walking everywhere and not having a car. Whatever I eat, I burn off walking to work, at work, and home from work. I've never walked this much in my life. I actually prefer it!

On the job front, I'm slowly making my way out of retail and into a professional career. I recently got very close to have a great job but after 4 rounds of interviews, they decided they were no longer interested. I wish I knew what changed. Everyone was so excited and thought I was a great fit, then all of a sudden everybody got quiet. Next thing I know, I'm getting a voicemail with a simple rejection. No explanation. I maintained true to myself throughout the process and was consistent in my interview skills...no idea what happend, but I think it was for the best. It leaves the door open for something better and more my speed. On the bright side, I was offered a part-time teaching position so if I play my cards right, it will lead to more class assignments and it may even help me land a administrative positon with the school, so I'm excited about that!

I was also able to take in some culture, which is rare for me because weekends off from my retail job are a thing of the past. You can read more about that on my Social Shenanigans page.

That's all for now...

First Holiday Season in NYC!

Well...both Thanksgiving and Christmas have come and gone and I celebrated both alone in the City. First time with no family for the Holidays and I must admit, it wasn't that bad! My job in retail kept me pretty busy and by the time it was all over, I realized it was just that, over.

Christmas in NYC is very magical...lots of cool free stuff to do and see. New Years is coming up and the jury is still out on what I'm going to do...whether it's the cliche route with Times Square or something else.

A few pictures of my first Christmas in the City!

Radio City Music Hall

Rock Center Area

Al Roker at the Tree Lighting in Rock Center

Bryant Park Ice Skating

Tree at Rock Center