Friends & Family Fridays: Hanging Out With My Mom & Blogging For Top

***So this is Friends & Family Friday!! This is my day to talk more about my friends and family (aside from sharing waaay too much about their love lives on my other blog, lol). My friends and family are lovely people, that much I know for sure. Have fun getting to know them through my eyes.***

So, I've been hanging out with my mom a lot this week. First was the baseball game on Sunday with my family & PT. Next was the Maxwell & Jill Scott concert on Tuesday. And Thursday night, we went to see Sex and the City 2 with two of my friends. I know some people who don't like kicking it with their parents, but I just don't get it. Mine are awesome and so much fun. My mom gets along great with my friends and we had a blast.

Anyone who reads my blog knows I mention my friends Top and Bad quite often. Top told me yesterday via instant messenger that I have been slipping on my blogging. I told her I had been super busy this week and she should stop being dramatic, lol. Then she told me she felt like she had just started watching a television show and two weeks in, they began to show replays! I laughed so hard at that and immediately felt obliged to have a post up for today.

I thought I'd write about the Sex and the City 2 movie since I went to see it with both family and friends and the movie is about Carrrie's family and friends. I don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, so don't worry, there won't be a single spoiler in this blog post.

I loved the Sex and the City television show because it was about single, fabulous women in the big city, working hard to achieve their goals in love, career, and life. The show started with Carrie as a sex columnist. We were so excited that she got ad space on the side of a bus, remember? She was also working on finding a passionate, all-consuming love that would make her want to give up being single. Miranda was working hard to earn the notice of the partners at her law firm. She was working on finding a man who just wouldn't be intimdated by her too much. Charlotte was used to having money, but was doing big things in the art world. Turns out she was looking for a man with the standing in life to allow her to be a housewife. She wouldn't wait to quit her job to become Dr. Mrs. Trey MacDougal (or however you spell it). Samantha was making a name for herself in PR and getting better at it every year. When she fell in love, it was on accident, and she was just looking for instant gratification, even if it came in a long-term package (get it? package? lol).

By the time the show ended, Carrie had become an acclaimed author and was with Mr. John Preston. Miranda had become partner and was married to a man she had a lovely child with. Charlotte was married to her second husband (a much better fit) and they had just been approved for adoption. Samantha had found a long-term instant gratification package and a way to spread her PR influence all the way the West Coast all in the form of one Smith Jerrod. Things were going well.

The first movie was all about these women seeing that working hard to get everything you wanted came with a price. Miranda was losing focus on what mattered and her husband cheated on her. Carrie let the wedding get "bigger than Big". Samantha let being Jerry's PR person take over who she was. And Charlotte let becoming a mother consume her as well. But they got through it.

So this new movie, what was left? Well, the women got everything they had all dreamed of, so what next? They had to learn that having everything they dreamed of wasn't what they dreamed it would be. And apparently, it's more interesting to find that out in Abu Dhabi. As over-the-top as the storylines, clothing, and dialogue might be, these stories are relatable because the things that happen to these four women happen to real women everyday, though maybe not on so grand a scale. I've even compared the major men in Carrie's life to major men in my own life. My story will end differently than hers though.

And I'm Top's Carrie, I just don't dress like her, lol. She's my... cross between Samantha and Miranda. She has Samantha's fearlessness mixed with Miranda's cynicism. She also has a bit of Carrie in her with her individualism. The one thing she's not is a Charlotte. I don't have any friends who would be a Charlotte. Charlotte kind of irritates me. But I'll stop there cause some people are die-hard Charlotte fans.

Friday Fill-Ins: #178

Happy Memorial Day weekend to all who celebrate it :-)

Click here for the main Friday Fill-Ins Page.

And...here we go!

1. Fresh fruit-- the best food to take on a picnic.

2. Summer Lovin', had me a blast, Summer Lovin', happened so fast.

3. Some people should never ever wear flip flops.

4. To love someone is to put them before you.

5. When you want to get away, don't pay Southwest for an expensive plane ticket and also pay to check a bag, just take a long hike.

6. When I crave food, it's usually some sort of complex carb.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going out for my friend's birthday (again), tomorrow my plans include nothing so far and Sunday, I want to hear my mom give her speech; they actually announced it on the radio!

Working On My Hobbies Wednesday: Being A Tourist In My Own City

***I have some hobbies I'd like to get better acquainted with. I have some hobbies I'm interested in taking up. This day's post is dedicated to the adventure of developing hobbies so I stay a well-rounded person. What hobbies do you engage in?***

Chicago is one of the greatest cities in the world! There is so much to see and do. A lot of residents of this city don't see it all. They just stay in their neighborhood, content to do the same things over and over again. I've never been that way. If I had to stay in one place all the time, I'd lose my mind. My perfect world would have a combination of trying new things mixed with repeating old favorites a hundred times.

One of my favorite things to do in this city is go to movies and concerts. There is this thing called Movies in the Park that happens once a week all summer. It was one of my favorite things to do, but due to budget cuts, they aren't doing it this year. So indoor movies only this summer.

But concerts are still available. Those are indoors and outdoors. My favorite music is R&B and Neo Soul, so I get to go to all types of venues to see my artists perform. Tuesday night, my mother and I went to see Jill Scott & Maxwell at the United Center. It was such an awesome concert.

My mother and I waited too long to get our tickets. These two singers are very popular and so the only tickets left were in the nosebleed seats. We arrive at our destination for the concert and notice how tiny Jill Scott looks.

Just then, we get a call from a family friend who had tickets down on the first floor. We didn't even know she was going to the concert. She had to leave for a family emergency and offered to let us sit in her seat. We were like, "fuck yeah!" (well, we were more like, "sure, thanks!", but that's what I was thinking).

We enjoyed the next two and half hours of concert 50 feet from the stage. It was so exciting. The music was great, the crowd was great. There was a tall, dark, and handsome man next to me with whom I flirted all night. It was such a good time. I have seen Jill Scott in concert several times over the last 5 years and saw Maxwell last year with Top. This is the first time in a long while I went to a concert without her, and I missed her. My mother and I still had fun though. Top is going to the same concert when Jill and Maxwell go to NYC, and she's taking College Guy. I'll talk about that in an upcoming Tip Top Tuesday post.

What concerts have you been to lately?

How Facebook, Blogging, And Other Social Media Affects Your Relationship

I did a guest post today, so that will replace my normal Science & Medicine Monday post. Here it is. I've still put the majority of it below though. Enjoy.

Thanks so much to Sage and Shelle for letting me do this guest post for a blog they both write for! You can see it posted there! Below is most of it.

This blog post is going to be specifically about my current relationship (informed by past ones). I think that all this social media (or the lack of it) has been fantastically wonderful for my relationship. Fantastically wonderful might be over-reaching, but I stand by it.

The guy I'm currently seeing is different from previous guys. Some differences include: very busy; very involved in his career; divorced with a kid; slightly older. These things make it a bit difficult for me, as I am used to being is somewhat consuming relationships. This guy, we'll call him PT, doesn't have the time for (and probably doesn't want) a consuming relationship.

BLOGGING. There is a big adjustment factor there for me. When I want to see him or talk to him and he can't get back to me for hours or maybe even days, I begin to think mutinous thoughts. I think out entire monologues worth of rude voice mails designed to evoke unpleasant images. I plan (out loud) entire tomes of rude e-mails designed to express my frustrations like he's never heard before. But then I don't do it. I blog. I type out my frustrations, realize they sound bitter and sad, and fix them so they only sound a bit that way. It buys him some extra time to get un-busy without knowing I have an all-consuming person lurking underneath the surface. And I'm becoming less that way as I read back some older posts. All I can think is, "who is that person??" and "no wonder I'm not married yet!"" But blogging about the bad stuff makes blogging about the good stuff feel all the much better.

Why not just tell him I want more time and see if he can fix it? Because I want to do things different with this guy. I don't want to demand more from him than he can give. And he's only been divorced for about two years. I think he could use a break from someone fussing at him and pointing out his flaws for a while. So, blogging helps me to be a better half of the relationship and gives him more time to do him.

FACEBOOK. I had a Facebook account, he didn't. This was great! I didn't have to see pictures of him with his ex, all hugged up and super happy. I know I can't be alone in loathing that first glance at the Facebook page of the new man in your life. And because he didn't have an account, I didn't have to worry about the content on mine. There's nothing too bad on my page, but there were a couple of things I was glad to not try to pre-emptively explain. You know, why I'm sitting on that guy's lap and the picture is dated a month after we started dating. It's easily enough explained, the picture is older than that, but the person just now posted it, and besides that guy is just a friend. I've heard stories of these convos way too often to want to engage in them. It's the same with MySpace. He doesn't have a MySpace account either.

SKYPE. Best. Invention. Ever. I figured it would suck to date someone who lived in a different city than myself. But PT suggested Skype as a way for us to still see each other. The hopeless romantic in me immediately began envisioning internet "dates" where we make the same meal and sit down and eat together, drinking wine and talking. Or when we just have Skype up and are talking and also doing other things, just to feel like we're in the same place. It hasn't nearly lived up to those sky-high standards, but it's been a useful tool to actually see his face and spend some time learning his reactions. It was nice to know what he looked like when he got sleepy, turned on, amused, and distracted. I learned all of this before we had even been on a proper date because we met right before I went back to my town for a month and a half.

OTHERS. Even though it's not officially social media, instant messaging, texting, voice mail, and e-mailing is the saving grace of our relationship. Seriously. It has allowed us time to get to know each other. My favorite is when he instant messages me from work whenever he sits in on a class. It's an interesting running commentary. If only his students could see what he was typing. And we text when we're busy just to say hi. And I have a very intimate relationship with his voice mail. Interestingly, I've never checked to be sure that he actually checks his voicemail? That could come in handy in case I ever do leave a mutinous voice mail one day...

Stream of Consciousness Saturday: A Review Of The Movie The Losers

***Stream of Consciousness Saturday is my day to talk about random things that I want to blog about. I pick a topic and just start typing. It's good for me to let my mind wander (and it helps my typing skills to keep up with my brain, lol). Enjoy my random topics. If you want to hear my thoughts on a topic, suggest next weeks SOCS!***

This is a movie I did not want to see. I saw the trailer and decided it had too much violence and not enough plot. I loved every single main character in the movie and knew they'd each be believable in their roles. And still I had no desire to pay money to see this movie.
 
This is a big deal coming from me. I spend damn near $100 a month on average seeing movies (don't get me started on the hundreds I spent going to see he Dark Knight ten times). So to not want to see a movie, I must be convinced it's going to be a special kind of suck. But I was cajoled into seeing it by Bad when we decided to go to the movies and it was the only one we could agree on. I only agreed because he promised me the violence wasn't so bad and that the movie did indeed have a plot.
 

That being said, I really loved this movie!! Seriously, it was awesome. It was very violent, but no blood. Don't ask me why it's okay for someone to bleed profusely in my emergency room, but not on the big screen, I don't know. But I can deal with all types violence if there's no blood.

 
And the movie had a real plot! With an evil CIA mastermind effectively ending the main characters' lives as they knew it, they set off on a journey with the mysterious woman, played by Zoe Saldana, to right all the wrongs.
 
There were a few predictable parts. SPOILER ALERT. Such as, duh of course she's the bad guy's daughter. She looks just like him!
 
I found myself imagining I was her and deciding which of the men I was going to sleep with. How does one choose between Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, and Chris Evans? I wouldn't have been able to.
 
 

My Favorite Things About The Losers: 1) It didn't get too campy as movies based on comic books can end up (Spider Man trilogy, I'm looking at you) 2) Columbus Short's comedic timing is improving, making him even more attractive. What woman doesn't love funny? 3) The fight scenes were exciting and hot! Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Zoe Saldana burning down a building will turn anyone, and I mean anyone on.


My Least Favorite Things About Bounty Hunter: 1) The evil person was just too evil. It doesn't make sense that people would get involved with him. Throwing people off buildings should be a good enough reason to cut ties, that's all I'm saying. 2) The trailer for the movie was just awful. It didn't fit the movie. It billed it as a plotless action movie when it should've been billed as a lesser known (by the general public) comic book come to life with sexy people you can't tear your eyes away from. There's no need for such talented people to not gain a bigger audience. I blame the trailer. 3) Idris Elba's character disappointed me. I just... I know the character had to be that way, but it doesn't change my emotional response to Idris Elba being that way.

Final Rank: 5/5 This movie had everything in it that I was looking for. I thoroughly enjoyed every part of it: the characters, the settings, the plot, and the acting. Plus, it helps that I like movies that: blow things up; are comic books come to life; have lots of sexy people in it; have a villain that is over the top; have a plot that is reasonable even when far-fetched. If you've considered this movie but decided against it, please ignore the trailer and go see it anyway.

Friends & Family Fridays: Turning Teenage Girls Into Good Friends

***So this is Friends & Family Friday!! This is my day to talk more about my friends and family (aside from sharing waaay too much about their love lives on my other blog, lol). My friends and family are lovely people, that much I know for sure. Have fun getting to know them through my eyes.***

Well, that's normally what today is. Today is actually going to be about friends in general. I've been posting about my hobbies/passion lately, and one of them in mentoring. I do a lot of this at my church. I'm glad to be of help where I am needed because my church is in need of young women my age to stand up and be a good example. Also, I'm happy they still think I'm a good example even though I left school. Moving on...

I was invited, along with other women of various ages of post-high-school-ness (I was the oldest), to a meeting at my church tonight. All the girls at the meeting are between the ages of 11-17. And they are mostly all friends with each other. We were basically invited for an intervention. I really don't remember going through anything like what they were going through at that age. Don't get me wrong, I had my own issues including horrible taste in men, questionable taste in new friends I made in high school, and a snobbish know-it-all chip on my shoulder.

But these girls are something entirely different. They are a different breed of teenage girl than I was. Most of them come from household with lots of family members helping raise them (it takes a village and all that). Most of them are on track to go to college if they choose. But that still doesn't stop them from making bad decisions and mistakes. I'm not going to go into details, but almost every single girl had a specific and unique issue we talked about as a group to help avoid repeat mistakes. Stuff about boys, disrespecting elders, fighting at school, getting along with other females, and getting along with parents were all covered.

I feel like the discussions went well. I just wanted them to understand that it's better to pause first when you get mad rather than do something you'll definitely regret later. I wanted them to understand that no boy is worth risking your health, your parent's trust, or your future on. And I really wanted them to understand that if you're going to do the teenager "make-your-own-mistakes" thing to stop getting caught! I also may have given a slightly too frank discussion about sex education. I just want them to be prepared and safe and make wise decisions. And I can't have it on my conscience that I had an opportunity to inform them and didn't take it. I also hope that the explicit discussions of how things can go wrong will make them be more active thinkers about the choices they make.

 The only thing we didn't cover was getting along with other females. I figure that's a discussion for a larger group. I believe that will go better if they see women of many different generations who have proof that you can be real friends with a woman. This is probably one of those things that will be better learned by example. If at the end of the day these girls grow into women who make good friends and make good choices, I will feel like I've won a million bucks.

Friday Fill-Ins: #177

And...here we go!

Friday Fill-Ins Blog






1. Memories of childhood growing up with my friends never fails to make me smile.

2. I'm looking forward to this baseball game on Sunday. I hope PT and my parents get along well.

3. The whir of my loud ass laptop is what I'm listening to right now. Don't want to wake up anyone in the house with my loud music. Goodness I need to go back to Rockford where I don't have to worry about others in my household cause there is nobody but me and Belle.

4. Potato salad must have lots of veggies in it!

5. Vitner's crunchy hot curls (that's what we call them in the hood) was the best thing I ate today.

6. Today was the day I got my new blog template!!! Thanks so much Kaye!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hanging out with my mom at my cousin's baby shower and describing the engagement ring I helped pick out, tomorrow my plans include coming up with an awesome science project for our mentor program's upcoming lock-in and Sunday, I want to have the best time ever at that baseball game!

TMI Thursday: I Shouldn't Mix Acquaintances Without Alcohol Involved

***Alright, folks, you know the rules. Join us all in humiliating the crap out of yourself every Thursday by sharing some completely tasteless, wholly unclassy, “how many readers can I estrange THIS week??” TMI story about your life. Or hell, about someone else’s!

This week's TMI is about last night. It's more embarrassing than a TMI kind of thing. I went bowling with my daddy and some men from our church on Tuesday. I learned a lot because one of the men is a bowling coach. I wanted to go again to see if the consistency I learned could carry over without his tips after every roll.

I invited a number of people I hang out with to go. It ended up that just three of my girls from church were able to go. And of course Bad. But as a best friend, he was on the automatic list if he didn't have anything to do at the time. I told him to bring some of his boys because I thought it might be a better if he weren't the only guy there. Big mistake.

I normally only hang around these girls at church or at someone's house, or when we're all out together going somewhere. I normally only hang around these guys at a bar or a club or somewhere there is lots of alcohol. I had no idea how horribly they'd mix.

My girls were sooooos stand off-ish. The guys were a bit over the top. The one guy I was most worried about because his social skills are a bit... lacking... actually pulled Bad to the side to ask what was wrong with my friends and why were they so mean!

One girl was bowling badly and got into a bad mood. Another was so rude: she told them a name that wasn't hers; she kept physically pushing one away; by the end of the night she had stopped talking to them altogether. The third was trying to make the most of it (Libra!), but then she started flirting with my designated flirt person (I love his hair, neat and well-kept dreadlocks, what can I say?).

Those guys kept trying to strike up conversation. But they're not the most charming men. That type of behavior works in a club when everyone's been drinking. But when my girls are sober and looking for intelligent conversation, it just didn't work. So Bad and I did what we always do when the crowd around us isn't jelling: we just laughed and joked and tried to pretend it wasn't happening.

I can't imagine what'll happen the next time I suggest to either of them that we hang out with some of my people of the opposite sex. They'll probably be like, "Hell naw!"

I forget that my close friends can mix with any group. Lesson learned I guess. My hang-out group is not the same as my close friends. And next time, sneak a flask into the bowling alley. I'm just kidding. Sort of.

UPDATE: I meant to put this is for Kerri & Shaun, just keep forgetting. Here is my cat Belle.

Working On My Hobbies Wednesday: Giving Back To My Community

I have some hobbies I'd like to get better acquainted with. I have some hobbies I'm interested in taking up. This day's post is dedicated to the adventure of developing hobbies so I stay a well-rounded person. What hobbies do you engage in?

Today's hobby is volunteering by mentoring. It's something I've always been interested in. As soon as I was old enough (and experienced enough) to do it, I did. I've been involved with programs at school where you mentor the next year/school group down, and I loved it.
 

Then my mother and a group of women at church decided to start a mentoring program for the young ladies. I was really excited about that because I would finally get a more hands-on experience. I now mentor a sophomore in high school. She was in 8th grade when we started. It's so great to see her blossoming into a young lady. She's so smart and funny (and dramatic). I've been encouraging her to break out of the box and try something new even if she knows she won't like it (she's a Pisces). It's been such a rewarding experience for me, and hopefully I've helped her as well.

 

We have such amazing times together. Just hanging out, texting, having a meal, whatever. I even took her driving when she had her driver's permit. In the winter, while it was snowing. Lol, it was crazy, but a great experience for he since she's gonna be an Illinois resident for quite a while.

 

I'm looking to expand my mentoring. I've been dying to get involved with Big Brother Big Sister. And now that I may become a permanent Chicago resident (at least for the foreseeable future), I'll finally get the stability I need to be involved. I'm so excited.

In My 20s Tuesday + Post-It Notes

In My 20s Tuesday is all about things that should matter (maybe) to someone in their 20s. It's about life as we head into real adulthood. It's about laying the groundwork for a life: starting a career, setting up a home, starting a life with someone, etc. It's about things that will affect our lives down the road: politics, current events, pop culture, etc. Well, it's not about all those things at once (that'd be near impossible, lol). But hopefully it will reach someone in their 20s who's looking for someone to feel them and what they're going through. Here goes!

 

 

This post idea came up in a very roundabout way. My car radio has been off forever because I left the lights on and had to get a jump and Honda has this security thing where the radio won't work if the power is cut. I've been far too lazy about getting it fixed. But while losing my mind in traffic today I finally called the 800 number to get the code to turn it back on.
 

Joyously happy to have radio and CD abilities in my car again, I put in my India.Arie CD Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics and enjoyed her music. Even though I put the album on my iTunes, I mostly only listen to it on CD in my car. As I was singing along, this song same on with the line "it heals me just to hear you say 'I love you' ".

 

Then it hit me. It's been a long time since anyone has told me they loved me and meant romantic love. PT hasn't said it and I'm quite sure doesn't feel it (that works cause I don't love him yet either). This guy I dated off an on after the Ex never said it. The Ex went out of his way to make sure I knew he didn't love me. An ex from high school who popped up a couple years ago still never said it. My rebound guy from Light sure as hell wouldn't have gone there. The last person to tell me they loved me was Light. We broke up in 2006.

 

It's been four fucking years since anyone has been in love with me. I truly understand why that scorned woman bitterness creeps up along the edges occasionally. I try my darnedest not to be, but it's hard. I'm a Libra for Christ's sake! We love to be in love and I've been very deprived for years now. I'm too young for this shit!

 

Okay, rant over. But seriously, doesn't that suck? Someone my age who's enjoying life in her mid 20s shouldn't be love deprived. I'm certainly not man deprived. I must be doing something wrong. I can clearly pinpoint what that wrong thing was with a couple of the men. At certain times, I wasn't looking for love, at least not from them. But since that's what I want now, I need to figure out how to balance being open to that with letting it happen naturally.

 

The last thing I want it to give a Carrie-style speech to PT like the one Carrie gave to the Russian at the end of the Sex and the City television show. That would suck, and be so out of character for me, lol.

Science & Medicine Monday: Some People Are Starting To See It Isn't The End Of The World If I'm Not A Doctor

This blog post is dedicated to Science & Medicine. That may include important medical and/or scientific knowledge and developments. It may just be about my life on the path to becoming a research scientist. Whatever it entails, I hope it's not too dull, lol. If you have any medical questions or suggestions of what to write about, let me know and I'll do it in an upcoming Science & Medicine Monday posting!

Church yesterday was quite interesting. I've always thought of my church as kind of gossip-y. But a good number of people asked me how school was going. And so, I had to tell a good number of people that I had withdrawn from medical school and had plans to become a research scientist instead.

My hiding out in Children's Church by volunteering there was of some use because at least I didn't have to deal with talking with everyone until after church was over. The church people I had to tell all had similar reactions: slight disappointment followed very quickly by support. And they also almost all had a bit of spite towards people who had reacted so poorly that I found myself bracing for a negative reaction. I might as well have said, "I'm not going to be a medical doctor. It's not because I can't, it's because I won't" Then turned around and bent over to wait for what would happen next.

I haven't become gun-shy about telling people, I've just become more weary about it. But I really appreciated the outpouring of support from some people.

As far as my church goes, there are now two distinct groups of people who know for a fact I'm no longer in medical school: those who were told by me and my brother and those who were told by my parents. The ones who were told by me and my brother all have reasonable questions including: Why? How? When? What next? Those who were told by my parents don't have questions, they just have judgements.

This leads me to wonder what the hell my parents have been telling people. But I guess it's more their problem than mine. My father called me a drop out again today. I didn't even bother to correct him. I just walked away.

It's just so weird to have this dichotomy in our relationship right now. Part of the time we're a normal parents-daughter group with an affable and easy relationship. The other part is tension-filled with the bitterness about not understanding the other's side constantly growing.

The way I see it, they didn't get over my brother not finishing college until he became a minister and went to seminary school. So I don't expect they'll really get over this until I either give them grandchildren or get a PhD, whichever comes first.

Killing Two Birds With One Stone

So, I think I mention it often enough, but for anybody new to this blog, I've recently withdrawn from medical school because I no longer want to be a doctor. It wasn't a matter of I couldn't do it. It was a matter of I didn't want to do it anymore. I've decided I'm going to try and be a research scientist in clinical medicine. It's one thing I picked up in medical school that I want to hold onto.

That being said, people in my life have had mixed reactions to this. Today is Sunday and that means I'm going to church to hear, for the third week in a row from people who are just finding out what I've done, how disappointed they are in me. People who became so emotionally invested in my future they can't even bother to ask how I feel about it or what my plans are for my future or why I even made the decision. It's funny to me because I didn't realize people were so invested. Where were the signs of this investment? I didn't get any help with tuition, I didn't get any care packages stuffed with cookies and sweet notes, and I didn't get anything else one could imagine except people prematurely calling me doctor. I guess I showed them...

So, how am I killing two birds with one stone? It unfortunately doesn't involve causing these people who don't seem to be concerned for me bodily harm. Nope, I'm instead making myself more productive whilst avoiding my fellow church members.

A close family friend who runs the Children's Church has asked me to become a full-time volunteer. I'm more than happy to oblige because I get to do more volunteering and helping out, which I love. And I get to avoid the main church sanctuary. I don't know if she'll want me there every week, but I know at least tomorrow, I'll have a reprieve from hearing what a disappointment I am.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday: Barbie Dolls

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is my day to talk about random things that I want to blog about. I pick a topic and just start typing. It's good for me to let my mind wander (and it helps my typing skills to keep up with my brain, lol). Enjoy my random topics. If you want to hear my thoughts on a topic, suggest next weeks SOCS!

Barbie dolls are something every girl I knew growing up had. Even the really poor girls who didn't have grandmothers to buy for them managed to pick one up at a birthday party door prize. But Barbie was so different when I was a child. She had an RV, a Red Corvette (with seatbelts), a horse, and her dream house only had about 6 rooms, but it did have an elevator (cue oohs and ahhs)!!

Over the years, that chick has come up. Ken stopped looking less sexually ambiguous. She got a job (several jobs actually, but more on that later). She got younger siblings. She got more car options. She got a freaking plane!! Her horse got a stable. Her dreamhouse had ten rooms and a pool. She really became quite something.

I first noticed my bitter response when walking through Kay-Bee toys and seeing all the wonderful Barbie options that weren't even available to me as a child. I wasn't just rueful, I was outright hostile. Certainly hostile enough to use words like, "I can't believe this bitch has all this stuff. Barbie has a beach house!! In my day she had a damn RV! What the hell?!" Or something like that. The point was there were small children around and I still said it. Can you tell I was bothered by this...? Moving on.

Barbie's new job opportunities went far and above her options in the 80s. No more Flight Attendant Barbie. Now we had doctor Barbie, Lawyer Barbie, Fashion Designer Barbie, Pet Doctor Barbie. And many more, those were just my favorites. She was doing big things for women!

About the only thing I'm glad stayed the same about Barbie is her Holiday wear. I'm so into traditional American holidays, it's not even funny. And since my mother still collects Barbies, I get to spend a part of each December hunting down the rare African-American Holiday Barbie for that year. And there have been some fabulous dolls believe me.