lipsoflove

Hello. I'm a Dallas. A few of my posts are friends-only, so this entry is for anyone who may be interested in friending me on the ol' LJ, or wanting to get to know me better, or is wondering why I added them as a friend (I like to add people I've never met - it's like virtual penpal-ing. :). It has taken me two years to finish this list; apparently, it is hard to remember things about yourself once you pass number twenty. :)

To get to the point, here are a 100 things about me.
( 99 bottles of beer on the wall, plus one. )


Remember to love.

I just got a text from my friend Dusty that stated he is going to "crawl into whiskey soon." I love my friends.
He and I are hosting a St. Patty's Day party tomorrow night at his place. S'goona be kind of fantastic.

This week has been filled with nothing but work during the day and tennis late into the night (and early in the morning). Last week, however, was insanity times seventeen thousand.

Yes. Seventeen thousand.

It was our first full week after announcing the Symphony season, and the subsribers are the pickiest bunch of people that you ever don't want to meet.
I called last week The Perfect Storm. It was the first week of renewals, plus a full moon week, PLUS a huge sale happening down the hall in the box office that started on the day of the full moon, plus PLUS a huge concert over the weekend.
I am surprised no one died from exhaustion.

Then to top the week off, my brother came down to visit for the weekend with his girlfriend. I love my brother, and I love the fact that he came down to see how my world is now after so many years, but boy did he pick the worst weekend! I was exhausted and did not want to do anything but lay comatose in my bed for the entirety of Saturday and Sunday, but one of the last things I am is rude, and when people come down/over/up to The A, I want them to have a great time because I love the city and enjoy their company.

When he left on Monday afternoon, he sent me a text saying that he was proud of me and how well I have done for myself. It was truly a sweet message and definitely cherished because my family does not dole out compliments EVER.

===
I have to work late tonight, and then I am heading out for some Friday night dinner, which will be followed by more tennis and then blessed sleep.
That sexy mistress - I adore her so.

Remember to love.

Over the course of last week, there were lots of tiny YAY! nerdy things that happened for me.
Kevin Smith (Silent Bob, if you're nasty) has a pseudo-documentary, part-podcast TV show on AMC called Comic Book Men that comes on Sundays before or after The Walking Dead. There have been three or four episodes so far, and they are all silly and fun and a great way to end your weekend.

Well on Sunday night, I mentioned on Twitter how the show is getting funnier every week, and when I went into work the next morning, an email was sent to me that THE Kevin Smith favorited my tweet! I squee-ed at work and bounced around in my chair for like fifteen minutes. I love him and would marry him if he let me (and you know, did not have a wife and child), but oh well.

Also! My favorite author from back in the day, Sandra Brown, was having a book giveaway for some of her classics, and I won! When the package came in, not only did I get the book, but she sent me another one AND a few signed bookmarks and some of her specialty Kleenex that she had made to promote her book RAINWATER.
I love her, too. Obvs!

To end the week on a high-note, I got a monthly email from this online quiz site that I partake in. It's called Brainbashers, and they have a monthly Common Answers quiz that you can fill out. Around 1000-2500 people take the quiz every month, including groups and leagues, and it ranks you on how well you do. Well, I got 1st place from last month! 1st place out of 1400 people! I was stoked and did some more bouncing! I thought, "No one would even understand why the hell I am so happy, but oh man, I am a jolly butterfly right now!"

It was personally a good week for me.

===
Other random bits:
The next month or so (especially next week) is going to be the busiest time in our office, so I have been stocking up on a few things at home that are some of my favorite de-stressers. I have taught myself how to crochet again. (Thanks, YouTube!) I have a couple of coloring books lying around and have been coloring the hell out of some butterflies. I have also been stocking up on books that interest me (which isn't that hard to do since I'm an information junkie and love all kinds of knowledge - fictional or not).

Basically, I am just trying to do things I love because I feel like as we get older, time flies by faster, and life is just too freakin' short to be unhappy with what you are doing or NOT doing with your free time.

For some reason, this past Friday I started dancing while brushing my teeth, and didn't even realize it until after I was out of mirror range and wondered why. I looked down at my legs and they were in groove-mode. I thought, "Why am I so peppy this morning?"

My brain was like, "Duh, idiot, you are happy. Let it happen."

Okay then. Challenge accepted.
Remember to love.

Someone on Twitter said that this was one of the worst Black History months ever.

Whitney Houston, Don Cornelius, Etta James (even though she died near the end of January I will still count her because hello?! she's a legend). It is sad, but at no point did I think about color when they died; I thought about memories.

The night Whitney died, my brother sent me a text that read, "Remember how we used to watch The Bodyguard all the time?" It unlocked a box in my brain because ohmahgod we did! SO MANY TIMES. When we were younger, my mom had this massive bag of videotapes in her closet of totally random movies either bought or recorded from the televison, and one of them was The Bodyguard. The movie was great (or as great as an early 90s romance with music can be), and it probably wasn't G-rated, but we were bored kids, and I thought I was a superstar, so...


Not only was that movie a bonding experience in my childhood, so was The Preacher's Wife. That particular movie isn't as well known as Bodyguard, but it made a lasting impression on me. Not only do I adore the little Christmas film that deals with love, family, and faith, but the soundtrack is beautiful. Back in the day, my mom used to drive my grandmother to her night job, and my sister and I had to ride along because we weren't considered old enough to stay home. Every night (every night) that we drove my grandmother to her job, we listened to the Preacher's Wife soundtrack. On repeat. To and from. In the end, I did not mind so much because all of the songs were great, but I am kind of surprised that none of us went insane from the repetition of it all.

As far as Don Cornelius goess, who hasn't watched Soultrain and NOT danced about like a kid on acid when the Soultrain Line happened or when a great jamming song was played? There were a few years while I was a young teenager when my cousin and I were in love with the R&B band Dru Hill. When they were the feature artist on Soultrain, we thought we had gone to heaven and danced and screamed every time they appeared on screen. We also both received one of their CDs for Christmas and tried our best to listen to all the songs together synced up with our individual CD players while we danced like banchees in the front yard and sang like we were on Star Search.

These stars were more than legends; they brought families together. They shall forever be missed.

Remember to love.

Poor Bum; he is such a problem-fixer. When a situation appears that he cannot offer a solution to, he gets the most confused and baffled look on his face. It is quite funny and adorable.

Had dinner with him last night, which is always a hoot and a half. We talked about all things love-related: his upcoming wedding, my lack thereof. I told him about the Josh Conclusion^TM, and he immediately informed me that The Ex-Boy must be cowardly and apparently has mental issues. Ha! I think that is a great way to make a friend feel better. "He's obviously got emotional issues, so I'm glad that's over for you." I love it.

He soooo wants to help fix my singledom problem. This is basically how our conversation went.

Him: Maybe you should try online dating.
Me: Tried it for a year and a half. Hated it.
Him: Well, maybe you should get out of this pattern of dating friendly people. Find someone who is mean. You ask, "Hey, how's it going?" and they respond with, "Fuck off."
Me: I cannot make myself like someone who is an ass.
Him: Or you should start physically abusing people.
Me: What?!
Him: If they stay through the abuse, you'll know that they really want to be with you.
Me: .... You are so weird.

I really do have oddball friends.

===
For the past week or so, I have been exhausted. Usually throughout the work week I am tired because my sleeping patterns are for shit, but this is on a whole other level. Before I even reach home, I am ready to wrap up in my blankets and pass out. When my alarm goes off in the morning, getting out of bed feels like the worse thing to do. I have nodded off at work today about ten times. I was telling my co-worker that I think its from all of my outings last week added to the fact that I did not truly have a weekend (went out one day for socializing and had to work a reception thingie for the other).

In the end though, I think it is because I have not had a recuperating day. I can be a social animal, but what really keeps me going is having a day or two to myself in which I see no one and just stay in bed. My bedroom truly is my refuge. I draw comfort and peace, but also a calming energy that will get me ready for the next round of being out in the world. I have not had a break from being out and about for a few weeks now, and my body is telling me it needs a resting break.
Actually, my body is fine; it's the mind that wants peace. You know how it is though; when the mind is worn down, the body begins to show signs of it.

I would say this weekend is Me Time, but there are two birthday parties that I want to attend - to celebrate friendship and all, which is one of my favorite pastimes. Yet, we shall see. The last thing I want to see at a party is someone who is crabby and doesn't want to be there. I hate those kind of people; just stay home instead! We will understand. However, what I would hate more is if that person were me.

Remember to love.

I went to Hudson's after work yesterday for Trivia Night. The status quo is unchanged - I still suck at trivia. :) I think my team came in last for both games! However, we totally won in the Team Name category (which was just made up by me). For the first game, our team name was 'Bueller? ... Bueller?... Bueller?'. For the second game, I named us 'M.I.A.'s Middle Finger Halftime Show'.

I am so dorky-cool, it is unreal at times.

Last week I celebrated my work one year anniversary. Can you believe it has been a year since I started working at the Symphony?! (Well you probably can, but I can't.) I still feel like a newbie, but that does not surprise me because I didn't feel experienced at the Shakes until my third season, so I guess we are on par with my crazy mentality. :)

The place and the people here are great. I love how accessible the place is, how everyone is professional but extra friendly, and many will drop what they are doing to lend a hand. I am still learning a lot which is nice because that means I and my skills are continually growing. I meet random co-workers at times (I'm guessing it takes a few years to know everyone or where everything is because we work in a campus of buildings) that are very open to conversation and are always willing to smile. Whenever I fancy, I get to go to beautiful symphonies and plays and peruse art. There is a monthly ginormous Donut Day here for the whole campus, which I just love and think is adorable.
My office is about to head into our busiest time of the year, but I am very grateful that I get to work in a place that I am enamored with, that I truly believe in, and would support no matter what.

The arts are important, and this is where I want to be.

Remember to love.

Time for a happy news update! I partly apologize for the TL;DR previous post; thank goodness for LJ cuts! I say "partly" because I just needed to get the whole story out and be done with it, so a lengthy entry was required. Also it is my journal, and if you have been virtually friending me for awhile, you know that I am verbose, love adjectives and parentheses.

So let us talk about this new year!
I had an amazing New Year's Eve party at my friend and co-host's, Dusty, house. Lots of wonderful people came, and tons of hugging, drinks, and happiness were had. I have told several people this, but Dusty and I are the most compatible co-hosts ever. We think on the same wave-length about how a party should go, and everything came together between us perfectly with insanely little effort. I love throwing get-togethers; they are exhausting as hell (because I am anal about planning for every possible outcome), but a great feeling always arises when I get to see many of the people I adore in one room enjoying each other's company.

Besides the party, I cannot truly recall if I did anything else note-worthy in January, except watching the Australian Open for two weeks. (Nadal didn't win it, but he got to the finals and played beautifully. He is going to be a force to reckon with this tennis season.) I did not do much else besides mentally and financially recover from the holiday season. It was a good one (besides the thing), but it wore me out.

Now that month is gone, and February is about to hit us in the face with how fast it can pass us by. I have done some fun things and have lots more planned for this one. This past weekend I went to The Vortex (nommm, but more on that later) with some friends, went shoe shopping (which was DESPERATELY needed), and saw Beauty and the Beast 3D. The rest of the month consists of seeing a few more movies, some play-watching, with a few friend hangouts in between.

My overall resolution for the year is to make this year better than the last. Personally this entails - as I commented on a fellow LJ-er's post - being happy. What will make me happy this year is exploring Atlanta's culture more and often, which is something I have wanted to do since coming here for college but did not have the time or money to make it happen. I dipped my hand into this last year but did not explore as much as I would have liked, so now is the time to do it.

I mentioned this in a previous entry, but once when Alybaster and I were out with Timothy playing catch-up, he was telling me that I, along with any and all young artistic types, should leave the city ASAP because the art scene was about to go up in flames financially. This may be true, even though I think culture (especially the arts) thrive the best during despondent times. "However," I told him, "I am going to stay and enjoy the burn."

Atlanta isn't really known for its cultural scene, but I have never lived in other cities and had time to enjoy the compare and contrast. I like it here, and I finally get to poke my head in and see what this thriving metropolis can offer. Also, I think part of Timothy's speech was from his weariness of it all; he has been here for a long time and worked behind the scenes in this industry for way longer than I've known him, and he just needed to get out. (He is up north now, and I hope he can find the happiness that he wants even though I miss him like crazy.) I am his opposite - like a new kid at camp. Everything seems very cool, and I can't wait to experience it all.

So part of that happiness resolution brings me back to The Vortex. It is a deliciously famous Americana hamburger joint with a crazed and hipster-like atmosphere. It took me seven years to finally get to the place (there was a curse I swear), and the few times I have been there since I always wonder why I do not go more often. Well this year, I am ending that conundrum by going at least once a month. The menu there is beyond extensive, and the goal is to try a different appetizer and burger every time I go. I messed up in January, so this month I am going twice to make up for it. Last Friday was my first hit at the bucket. :)

All in all, it is small things like that that will up-tick the happiness count. Other things include: getting a membership to the HIGH museum (I work literally right next to it and don't go nearly enough), subscribing to a few theater companies, walking throughout Midtown and trying different restaurants - and like The Vortex - going to them more than once in a millennium. I want to visit parks more, watch a lot more movies in theaters, travel down to Decatur more often to enjoy its square, visit all of those fairs and festivals that I get excited about. Buy tickets to shows and small concerts that strike my fancy.

You know, do joyful things instead of just talking about it.
LIVE LIFE.
BE HAPPY.

And as always, remeber to love.

I started this post during the Christmas holiday (so as an FYI, all references to any day or date mentioned is from over a month ago). It has been nagging at me to finish it, but you must understand - emotions truly can get in the way of writing, and sometimes processing takes me longer than most.

"I just wanted to make sure that we are on the same page in regards to our expectations in this relationship."

No professing of love will ever follow that statement.

( This is The Conclusion. )

Remember to love.

Two whole weeks without me posting after babbling for a whole month straight? How ever did you cope, lovely reader? Any of you going through withdrawal yet? I am!

Lots to talk about, so let me just get right down to the nasty. :)

( This is THE LUST. )

( This is THE CABLE. )

( This is THE BED. )

( This is THE BOY. )

Phew. Okay. Was that enough of a Dallas' hit for you to tide you over until next time? :)

Remember to love.

And we have reached the end! The post for Day 30, lovely readers, is here! In your face! Being read right now by your own eyes!
Thank you, NaBloPoMo for existing and allowing me to have a reason to babble once a day for a month straight. I shall be back soon to slay you once more.

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People have been especially nice to me today. It started before I went to bed in the wee hours this morning. Online, in person - just really particularly sweet. Not sure why, and I am not going to examine it too much. I am going to take it on good faith that this month is going to be very beautiful as far as good things are concerned. I truly believe that, too, because I feel very different today. Can you feel that the energy around you is not the same? There have been slight butterflies in my stomach all day - like something good is coming my way and I am anticipating it. However, I have no idea what this something is.

Part of it is I am just excited about the plans that I have lined up for this month. Lots of social YAY is going to occur. For example, tonight I am going to a Christmas concert at the Symphony. The orchestral chamber chorus is performing Handel's Messiah and the orchestra is playing Bach: Magnificat. It is going to be yummy.

This is completely unrelated, but I was telling someone about a recent book purchase I made. The book is titled Destiny's Song, and it is a romance novel. Its writing-worthiness is nothing to write home about; however, it is a very important book to me. It was the first book that I read that made me realize love was what I was searching for all along.

At the beginning of my eighth grade year, I was reading tons of teen and YA books, but as time went on, I was not as satisfied with them as I had once been. One Saturday morning, I was aimlessly walking around our local library and being dissatisfied with every book I picked as my next potential book-of-the-week. As I literally sighed and walked away from the "Teen" shelf, there was this book laying askew in a magazine rack against a half wall. On the cover was a gorgeous black man holding a woman. It was Destiny's Song.

I picked it out of the magazine rack intending to take it up to the librarian's counter to be re-shelved when I turned it over and read the back cover. The story was set in Atlanta, where I had just spent the majority of the summer. I decided to give it a shot and check it out. It was a sweet story about a famous singer on break from tour meeting a girl who was visiting an old ex-boyfriend, now friend. When I look back on it now with what I know, the story was not extraordinarily special, but I read it all in a day and a half. I remember feeling more complete after finishing it than I felt with any other book since Huck Finn.

The next weekend, I went back to the library, walked up to the first worker I found, pushed the book out in front of me and asked feelingly, "Where did this come from?"

The librarian took the book, looked at the spine, and replied, "Oh, yes - the romance section. I'll take you there."

I remember walking up to this huge wall of shelves and seeing the same 'R' plastered on all those books that also marked Destiny's Song's spine. I was so overwhelmed, I felt a bit dizzy.

You know how some people remember vividly the moment they knew that they wanted to be a singer, or a writer, or a ballerina? It was in that moment at the library that I knew I had somehow found a calling of mine.

Love was going to be in my life forever.
That book is coming to me this weekend after last reading it almost thirteen and a half years ago. I wonder if the feeling, once I read the last sentence on the last page, will be just as intense as it was back then.

I have a sense that it will be. Everything feels different this month.
Something amazing is coming.
_{(crosses fingers & knocks on wood)}

Remember to love.