Lessons from My Father #1

      Being up in the air, flying, often provides me with the time and space to reflect and recover. Right now, I can't help thinking about my father and all of the sacrifices he made to raise me as a single parent. It had to be extremely difficult. As a 21 year-old woman without kids, I struggle to take care of myself at times. So I can only imagine the road blocks encountered as a middle-aged black man raising two little girls.

      I don't think I hate my mother, but at times like this, I feel insanely close. How could she leave my daddy as a single parent, and leave me and my sisters to fend for ourselves in the mysterious and confusing realm of womanhood?? Ugh, fuck her. Despite it all, my daddy made his situation work for him and it is from watching him succeed in his endeavors that I draw my strength for life.

      Things don't always go as planned, and they're constantly falling apart for me, but because my daddy pushed through, shouldn't I be able to? Aren't I my father's child? In my twenty-one years that I've had with my wonderful father, I've learned one major lesson that I feel hard pressed to share with the world. When my daddy passes (huge touchy subject), the thing that will remain at the forefront of my mind (besides my love for him) is this:

       Life is one tough cookie, and its always going to crumble. But that doesn't mean I have to crumble with it. It's all a series of of breakdowns and reconstructions so when your pieces fall apart, take some time to reflect, recover, and then get down to the task of reconstructing it all into something better. Besides, its YOUR life. Grab that shit by the horns and enjoy what is sure to be a long, bumpy, and VERY eventful ride.



"just when the caterpillar thought life was over, it became a butterfly."

XoXo,
T

Could Our Immune System Fight off HIV?

So, I just read this amazing article that explained that there may be a way that our bodies could fight off HIV without any help. According to some things Darwin studied awhile ago (you can tell I'm not a big science buff), there is a prehistoric gene in our DNA that produces a protein called retrocyclin which prevents HIV from entering our body. Sounds pretty cool, and it would be an amazing break-through if things really did work out that way. Imagine all of the people and children that could be helped by this. I get tears in my eyes Just thinking about it.

Read the full article here

A Poet Close to My Heart-- In Honor of National Poetry Month

This is a poem written a few years back, before this poet became hot on Milwaukee's streets. At the time, he was just a shy 19-year-old who used the pen and pad as his weapon against the world. Now, nearing 23, the pen and paper are still his weapon of choice, but he's turned it into something far greater. He shares his gift with the world. No longer able to bear the weight of lost souls on his shoulders alone, he stands on stages and rips mics to pieces as he spits lyrical bullets into the heart of the crowd. Many monikers, one man shooting for the goal to inspire and incite change. I offer a bit of the man I know and love with all of my heart through his poem:

Rainy Day

Everyday is a struggle
And Each day brings another night that I hold tight to my expectations of someone else's life
I find myself hurting constantly on the phone like:
"You gotta be better than that
Why did you settle for that?"
Settlin for his half ass attempts at respecting you
But you don't even give yourself none when respect his due
Cause he a dog but you actually sit and watch his ass
Roamin from yo house to the grass of the neighbors
holdin his chew toys in between yo thighs lookin stupid cause he played you
You think you in charge of the game so you stay there
And even when I told you it was over you still aint care
"You gotta be better than that
Why did u settle for that?"
I saw my nigga really turn into a nigga one day because he couldn't control his demons
G's in the pockets of a street's version of a genius who's seen by the cops
And when the cuffs is too hard for him to handle I ask him
"Why did u settle for that?"
He admits that it was all about cash
and his "street smarts" didn't come equipped with the kit that gives him the ability
to think his plan out realistically and since he smoked more than a chimney
He couldn't even feel it the night he got stabbed more than a homicide victim
He aint never know that this would come
And now he can't even feel it when he shittin stuff
I know high school dropouts that could've been college graduates
But looked at the ACT and aint try to pass it so they sat on they ass with they minds movin backward
and I ask:
"Why do we settle for less?"
My mind constantly asks my heart this question
and it does nothin but beat back
My brain couldn't determine what the answer meant
So I sent a couple of prayers to heaven hopin that GOD would reply
but I never got one when I just looked into the skies waitin impatiently
so I began to find my mind that I had just about lost by this time
A friend asked me why I cared so much even though I'm never physically there
I said " Whether I know people or not, a stop can be given through prayer . . .
And I'm just tryin to help them get they lives right
They sit at home and I'm on the battlefield fightin for their benefit,
so I always just pick up my sword while I'm carryin my own cross and deal with it"
My friend said somethin about stress but by this time I had a feeling that I just had to rest and 
She told me to go and lay down and that it would be my best bet . . .
That night my mind asked my heart why did I care so much and my heart did nothin but beat back
but it stopped for a minute once I saw a flash
I cautiously stepped outside as if I didn't know what would happen next
as thunder rolled and rumbled through my chest
Rain began to drop to the concrete and GOD said:
"You've been holding in this pain all week"
My worrying about others had always been a secret
But GOD told me he brought me here for a reason
He told me their burdens would be blessings if they only believed in him 
And not to let it worry me, he said to release it
I told him I didn't want anyone else to see
And he said, "The only one that matters is me"
So I began to let my tears fill my eyes in the rain
I let each pain fade away
As GOD used the rain to cleanse my face
So that only he and I would know what had takin place
Not only was the storm a symbol of what the world was goin through
But GOD revealed to me that he was crying too
He used his tears to wash mines away
Told me about all of the lives at stake
And told me that all i need to do is pray
Then I admitted that I wasn't in my rightful place
And GOD used his power to let the wind gently lift my face as he whispered in my ear
"Nothing that u go through is a mistake, I'm using your life to save others,
so let my presence fill your body and spread my word"
I accepted his proposal and before he let me go he said, "remember everything that I just told u"
They say that men aint supposed to cry but if the world does then why can't I?
So to this day I use storms as a masquerade
And use God’s tears to wash my face
When pressures are too hard to take and all the ones I love are making life-threatening mistakes
I keep my head high as I walk and nod when I talk to GOD and we sob together
Cause we know it won’t be like this forever

More Poetry to Celebrate National Poetry Month

THIS IS ONE OF MY  MOST FAVORITE POEMS IN THE WORLD!!! Next to the things the man closest to me writes, I cherish this poem and listen to it a few times a week. It reminds me that everybody isn't just a carbon copy of what they see on tv and read about in magazine. Everybody doesn't want to be Barbie you know. . . 

The poem is titled "Barbie and Ken 101" by Rafael Casal who performed it on an episode of HBO's Def Poetry Jam

sometimes I feel like I'm sittin' in the back of Barbie and Ken 101
a class we're all in, but never seem to learn from
Some general ed requirement for
Students of American culture
one that convinces even the brightest
of young women that sex is survival of the thinnest
and I'm sick of this education that doesn't serve our best interests
my teacher has no face
she is every Revlon model women have ever chased
her lectures can be seen in the backs of  magazines, beauty adds and marketing campaigns,
shit
just turn on your tv
this just in, a skewed perspective for todays youth y'all ladies aint thin enough, fellas aint trim
enough, wanna be sexy?
Y'all don't go to the gym enough, cut to commercial, 

come on

just tune
just tune into their maintenance team, tell you you're ugly then tell you how to fix it with maybelline
please
They just moldin' Barbie to fit the new trend
next they're gonna have club hoppin' Barbie
With thongs as accessories
video hoe Barbie
abusive boyfriend sold separately
underaged Barbie
Kobe Bryant included
or 9/11 victim Barbie
and Ken is proud to get recruited
problem is all these teachings are womans decay
and my girlfriend' sitting up front and she's getting an A
this is where I start getting really pissed off ok
when the fuck did it become about
tuckin' in the gut I gotta get the bigger breast
shit I wanna fit a little better in a dress
so let me get a little skinny gotta fit into an itty bitty
size slimmer just to liven up the chest
please

teacher teacher I wanna give my oral presentation
cuz I have a problem with the class, and matter of fact, I have a damn problem with your
whole administration
you're the reason my girl won't sit across from me in restaurants
the reason that she thinks she's over fat in over ten spots
less gut less pudge less looks less real, more looks more love more Barbie
appeal?

oh shit
fuck Barbie and Ken

fuck Barbie and Ken
they're the reason 15 year old girls arms are slit
the reason 12 year olds think skinny is a compliment
And it's too late

it is too late
I can't write my way through these bathroom doors
So I raise my hand in class cuz I can't take it any more
Teacher teacher your lectures are all backwards
You got mothers and daughters forgetting what matters
Cuz above hips, ass, lips, legs, and uggs
The most real ass shit is women who don't give a fuck
So screw all your teachings your lessons and plans
You skewed sick distant relative of the man
Your plan for brainwashin' my baby I reject
I'm walkin' out of your class

and I will proudly take

my F

Now ain't that some real shit?? Watch the video here

I'm Working on Building Suspense. . .

       Tara McKinley sat in an armchair in her favorite Starbucks looking over her final draft for her grad school application. In her left hand was an iced coffee, and in her right, a cigarette. And she frowned as she smoked it. She promised her dad that she would quit months ago. He was constantly worried about her. Would call her at a moment's notice to make sure she didn't have a cigarette in her hand. She eyed the cigarette, frowned harder, and then smashed it down in the ashtray. There wasn't any reason that she shouldn't be able to quit. It was just a little stick. A cool, ashy tasting, mental -cool- down inducing kind of stick. Her cigarettes kept her from falling into the clutches of insanity in a world where everything depended on her being sane.

       Just as she reached to grab the cigarette and re-light it, she heard a cheery voice behind her, stopping her dead in her tracks.

        "I thought we agreed the cancer sticks weren't a good look." Tara turned to face the voice, which belonged to Janelle Simmons, her younger sister. 

        "Nelle, I thought you'd never make it." She stood, leaving the cigarette in the ashtray, to hug her sister. They shared a brief embrace and Janelle took her seat in the chair across from Tara's. 

         They spent a few minutes just looking each other over, it had been awhile since their last encounter. The two were so identical in looks, people often mistook them for twins. With Janelle being only eighteen months younger, she and Tara had the exact same body type. Curvy and lean, with the right assets to pull all of the wrong men. Something they both had learned at a young age. Mocha skin with chocolate eyes, and they both possessed long, flowing, black hair that hung down their backs. Well at least they had. 

         Janelle trained her eyes on Tara's new haircut. It stopped right at her ears, flattened to her head in big, soft curls. It enhanced the look of her big, brown eyes, and made her look her age at 28. 

         "So you cut your hair," Janelle stated, leaving all emotion from her voice. She didn't want to sound as if she were passing any judgment. It had been too long since she'd last seen her sister, and she didn't want to send her running for the hills, yet.
         "Yes, I decided it was time for a big change." Tara closed her laptop and put it in her Coach handbag. A little treat to herself, costing her upwards of four hundred dollars. Tara shivered at the idea of looking at her credit card bill at the end of the month. She had been buying a lot of little treats for herself ever since she had found the panties. She shook the thoughts away before they could even begin to plague her mind and looked into her little sister's eyes.
         She wanted like hell to be able to just let her guard down and tell Janelle everything. They were sisters, and before last year, they had been the best of friends. She didn't know Janelle like she used to, and she didn't know how she would react to the news. But she needed to tell somebody before she drove herself crazy. Her little treats could only sustain her for so long.
         "So what made you pick up and decide to finally call me?" Tara chuckled. Leave it to Janelle to break the ice and clear the tension. "I mean, we haven't talked in almost a year, and the last time we did speak, I recall you saying you never wanted to see or hear from me again. So this must be pretty heavy." Tara sighed. She was right, if it weren't for this, she wouldn't have reached out to her. So she would just have to come out with it.
         She took a deep breath and braced herself before whispering, "I'm divorcing Marlon."

        

    

Sometimes You Have to Ask Yourself: Who's Loving You?

Sometimes a good conversation, or even a bad conversation, can bring out the most astonishing of revelations. I never realized how headstrong I am. But talking to some of my friends has convinced me that my self-esteem is at an all-time high. I just spoke with a good friend of mine who recently broke up with her boyfriend of four years. She wrote a note on fb simply expressing how she was feeling about her entire situation (i.e. moving out of town, her job, friends, etc) not just the boy. One of her friends commented on the note and basically shit on her entire existence as a person. But what blew me away the most was my friend's reaction to the comment. She was so hurt and confused, and she made the note private. Already being confused by what's going on in her relationship or lack thereof, her mind is even more on the fence now because her friend gave her all this shit about the situation. I promptly explained to her that she couldn't allow what anybody felt, thought, or said about her to tear her down so easily. Life is hard enough without all the extra, so why would you allow someone to come in, take charge of your shit, and make things worse? Me, I'm not having it. After my freshman year of high school, I constructed a steel wall around my brain, so there's no way anybody could ever knock it down and force me to think or feel anything that isn't naturally Tia. You might call it stubborn, but I call it confident. I trust myself to know what's good for me at least. I spend 24 hours a day with myself, so I believe I know what to tweak and when to tweak it to make whatever I need to happen a reality. So I stand firm in whatever I believe, and unless I go looking for advice on any given situation, that firm foundation does not crack. Self-esteem is kind of like trust, in the sense that it is a foundation that needs to be continuously built upon until it can fully support one's sanity, which by the laws of nature, is already a fragile thing. I never go looking for acceptance; its not mandatory for my day-to-day survival. I'm going to grind and get mine whether you bitches like it or not, because at the end of the day, I have to be able to live with myself. When everything's all said and done, I'm the one who has to live with whatever decision was made, so Tia Love will be the only one making executive decisions where Tia Love is considered. Feel me?? No one can shatter my confidence, because it's damn near unbreakable. It took me years to build, and no sticks, stones, words or phrases are going to tear down the Great Wall of Tia. Thanks n God Bless :)

XoXo

Lupe (STEPPING LAS3R TOUR)

Sooooo last night, I saw the amazing man, Lupe Fiasco in concert at the Rave. The atmosphere was filled with smoke, I was fighting with my guy, and I was all by my lonesome, but none of that mattered once Lupe stepped on the fucking stage and did his fucking thing. Such an artist!!!!!  I managed to get a few video clips on my busted ass G1, they're okay quality, and if you want to hear better, turn the volume down a bit. Yeah, the clips are cool, but nothing is like being there in person. NOTHING BEATS THAT.

Shining Down

In Honor of National Poetry Month

To celebrate some of the most creative-minded people on this Earth, we offer up the beautifully sad month of April (sad because there's sooo much rain). "Poets paint their pictures on the canvass of the mind. . . " and their words often resonate deep within us, inciting a revolution against all that is not right in our world. When your soul hurts, sometimes all you have to do is grab a Chai Tea and sit back with a good book of poetry and I promise that glass will start to look a lot less empty.

Today I'm posting a poem by gay activist Andrea Gibson entitled "Say Yes." If you do not like this poem or it does not strike a tiny chord in your heart, then you are a conservative and in that case, suck my left nut.

Say Yes

when two violins are placed in a room
if a chord on one violin is struck
the other violin will sound the note
if this is your definition of hope
this is for you
the ones who know how powerful we are
who know we can sound the music in the people around us
simply by playing our own strings
for the ones who sing life into broken wings
open their chests and offer their breath
as wind on a still day when nothing seems to be moving
spare those intent on proving god is dead
for you when your fingers are red
from clutching your heart
so it will beat faster
for the time you mastered the art of giving yourself for the sake of someone else
for the ones who have felt what it is to crush the lies
and lift truth so high the steeples bow to the sky
this is for you
this is also for the people who wake early to watch flowers bloom
who notice the moon at noon on a day when the world
has slapped them in the face with its lack of light
for the mothers who feed their children first
and thirst for nothing when they’re full

this is for women
and for the men who taught me only women bleed with the moon
but there are men who cry when women bleed
men who bleed from women’s wounds
and this is for that moon
on the nights she seems hung by a noose
for the people who cut her loose
and for the people still waiting for the rope to burn
about to learn they have scissors in their hands

this is for the man who showed me
the hardest thing about having nothing
is having nothing to give
who said the only reason to live is to give ourselves away
so this is for the day we’ll quit or jobs and work for something real
we’ll feel for sunshine in the shadows
look for sunrays in the shade
this is for the people who rattle the cage that slave wage built
and for the ones who didn’t know the filth until tonight
but right now are beginning songs that sound something like
people turning their porch lights on and calling the homeless back home

this is for all the shit we own
and for the day we’ll learn how much we have
when we learn to give that shit away
this is for doubt becoming faith
for falling from grace and climbing back up
for trading our silver platters for something that matters
like the gold that shines from our hands when we hold each other

this is for the grandmother who walked a thousand miles on broken glass
to find that single patch of grass to plant a family tree
where the fruit would grow to laugh
for the ones who know the math of war
has always been subtraction
so they live like an action of addition
for you when you give like every star is wishing on you
and for the people still wishing on stars
this is for you too

this is for the times you went through hell so someone else wouldn’t have to
for the time you taught a 14 year old girl she was powerful
this is for the time you taught a 14 year old boy he was beautiful
for the radical anarchist asking a republican to dance
cause what’s the chance of everyone moving from right to left
if the only moves they see are NBC and CBS
this is for the no becoming yes
for scars becoming breath
for saying i love you to people who will never say it to us
for scraping away the rust and remembering how to shine
for the dime you gave away when you didn’t have a penny
for the many beautiful things we do
for every song we’ve ever sung
for refusing to believe in miracles
because miracles are the impossible coming true
and everything is possible

this is for the possibility that guides us
and for the possibilities still waiting to sing
and spread their wings inside us
cause tonight saturn is on his knees
proposing with all of his ten thousand rings
that whatever song we’ve been singing we sing even more
the world needs us right now more than it ever has before
pull all your strings
play every chord
if you’re writing letters to the prisoners
start tearing down the bars
if you’re handing out flashlights in the dark
start handing our stars
never go a second hushing the percussion of your heart
play loud
play like you know the clouds have left too many people cold and broken
and you’re their last chance for sun
play like there’s no time for hoping brighter days will come
play like the apocalypse is only 4…3…2
but you have a drum in your chest that could save us
you have a song like a breath that could raise us
like the sunrise into a dark sky that cries to be blue
play like you know we won’t survive if you don’t
but we will if you do
play like saturn is on his knees
proposing with all of his ten thousand rings
that we give every single breath
this is for saying-yes

this is for saying-yes

Dear Bitch

I dedicate this letter to every woman in my life who's ever tried to have some semblance of control over my life; every woman who thought she was making moves where I'm concerned; every woman who tried her hardest to derail my train of success and leaving me hanging in the cusp of failure. This is for you. Ooh, don't you feel special? Something just for your eyes. I'm here to help you realize and get through that thick ass head of yours that you are not important beyond your purpose for breathing. Your sole reason for existence is to make me appreciate the ones I love. Conniving, thriving, sneaky, under-handed broads like you hate to see anybody smile and be happy. Hate to see success be a reached. Hate to see love. Will do anything to ensure that we all take that long, winding road to the fiery pits of Dante's inferno. NEWSFLASH BITCH: I don't live my life to please you, nor am I concerned with however you feel about me. Love me or hate me,  I promise its never going to make or break me. You trying to take me down just shows that I'm doing something right. Because of course, you're not doing anything until you're being hated for it. So continue your timeless tirade of attempting to shoot my dreams down, and watch me go against the odds, beat them, and do it all with my shades on, stylish shoes on my feet, and a gorgeous smile on my face. Tata bitch.

XoXo,

the one u love 2 hate

Letter to that Little Girl #1

I wish someone had been there to cradle you from the cruel, harsh realities of this world. I wish the look of innocence that comes with blissful ignorance would've never left your eyes. I wish you would never have to go through a terrible, back-breaking, soul-shattering experience. My only hope for you is that you would've been sheltered from the storm. But it takes for the rain to pour, the lightening to light up the skies, and the thunder to roar in protest, for you to become a woman. Adversity is the best kind of professor, and without it, you wouldn't grow to be the amazing woman I am today. See, you've got the makings of an extraordinary kind of woman. If only you could learn to love yourself. Mom's not around, and its painful, I know. But eventually you've got to drop that dead weight from your mind. It's holding you back from so many different opportunities to love and be loved and return. You are worth it. You're worth love and companionship, and you are a wonderful daughter. Despite the loss of what you desired most in life, you will go on. Because life goes on. You live, you learn, and then you move on Baby girl. Because life is way too short to spend your time worried with the inconsequential. Love yourself. Be you. And never ever give up your passion for writing. It just may become your crutch in life :) Tata til later, i love you. 

From the Girl Who Loves you Most

Letter to the Gangbangers---A TRUE WAKEUP CALL

This shit. . . outrageous. I don't often allow racism to hit me where it hurts, but this was like a cold slap in the face. And the worst part is, what can we really do to combat such a huge problem? Too many people in the streets simply don't care enough about their fellow man, let alone their entire race/community to put down the guns and pick up a book. WAKE UP PEOPLE!! This shit has been going on for decades. Why assist in our own genocide? Why should we let this be the only mark we leave on Earth when we have so much more to offer? We come from Kings, Queens, pyramids, and original intelligence. So why the fuck are we stuck killing each other like its the national fucking past time??? Get a grip on actual reality and step your fucking game up. Let this be the wake up call you need to stop killing your brothers and sisters and start being more productive in our society. You're doing nothing but making life that much easier for the people who would love to see you perish, in case you seriously couldn't read this letter.

Food for Thought

"if death meant just leaving the stage long enough to change costume and come back as a new character. . . .would you slow down or speed up?" --Chuck Palahniuk  

 

 

I Love My Big Sister

Ahhhhhhhh extreme irritation setting in. Just going through the daily motions of my life, can sometimes be exhausting and a little over-exhilarating. I've been working non-stop, 9-9 everyday for the last three weeks. Making money is something I enjoy doing, but its not my main goal in life. I see happiness in love. The love between husband and wife, mother and children, father and daughter, siblings, and friends. These are the things that intrigue me. This is what I look forward to in the future and what I ultimately want in this life.

Yesterday, I went to the Bar with my 25-year-old sister for the first time since I've turned 21. We were in the bar for about thirty minutes and fifteen of those minutes were spent standing at the bar getting something to drink. So when we finally sat down, my sister was complaining that it was hot and she was feeling suffocated. So, she takes off her jacket and tells me we're going to go outside for some fresh air. I set my drink down, tell the man sitting next to me to watch it, and as soon as I turn around, I see my sister stumbling in her heels and she just faints to the floor. Falls right on her face. Just out cold. And I am mortified.

Shit! I can't believe this just happened. What am I supposed to do? I think I just might faint right along with her. 

These are all of the things that ran through my head in the few seconds it took for me to rush over to her. She had told me about a few times that she had fainted before after feeling hot, so I didn't yell for anybody to call the ambulance. No, I smacked and pushed her for a few seconds until she came to. She was very disoriented and it was completely terrifying to watch my BIG sister, depend so heavily on someone else for support.

And it opened my eyes. I've always considered me and my older sister to be close. I tell her everything, even the things that I promise myself I'm not going to tell her. And she chastises me as if I were her child. But I know its all out of love. Growing up with no mother, taught us to depend on each other for that woman-to-woman companionship. So even when we go weeks without speaking to each other and seeing each other, when we do finally find ourselves together, its like no time was spent apart. But I took this all for granted.

My sister has always been a loner. But I don't think she should live a life of solitude if she's going to be randomly fainting every time her body gets too hot. I love her, and although I was always aware of this fact, I didn't know how much she meant to me until I thought she was a goner. I don't want to get all cheesy and emotional on this post. I've been doing ENOUGH of that for the last three months. I guess what I'm trying to say is: don't take anything for granted. life is way too short, this shit could literally end at any given moment. so live like you'll die tomorrow, love like you've never been hurt, and never EVER take your big sister for granted.

That is all.

XoXo,
Tia

Why Would You Ever???

So apparently, Russia is considering suspending all U.S. adoptions of Russian children and judging by what I just read, I can definitely see why. This woman, who is a Tennessee native, put her recently adopted 7-year-old grandson on a plane back to Moscow ALONE. The adoptive mother sent a NOTE, citing that the boy was violent and had severe psychological problems. What the fuck did she expect? Not to say that are children are temperamental and have these issues, but the boy was adopted. And not only did she decide to snatch his newfound family from him, this idiot put the boy on a plane ALONE that flew half way around the world. Its tragic enough that these kids don't have their birth parents, but then you put him through something traumatic like that? Russia would be well within its right to suspend American adoptions.

Get the full story here

May 20, 2010

Its getting close to that time of year. Almost five years ago, I fell in love with the marvelous, one and only, Haz3. We shared our first kiss on May 20, 2005 and I haven't looked back since. No other man compares, although he likes to have these minute arguments about men and women that don't matter. I know I'm young, I'm always well aware of my age. But when I feel, whatever it is that I feel, I feel hard. So, my feelings for him have kind of been unchanging in the last five years. Of course, there have been times where I didn't like him very much, but the love has always remained. Besides, its just not possible to like somebody all the time. In my opinion at least. Anywho, last year on May 20, we went to Discovery World, which is like this big sciency place for kids (no judgment passed please) and then we spent the night @ a suite. It was so romantic and so sweet. And I won't ever forget it. He paid for everything. So this year, I want to take him to Navy Pier in Chicago. I'm not sure if I want to stay the weekend in the city though because their hotels are expensive. Do you think we should just go to Chicago for the day, and then come home and get a room here? I really honestly don't care what we do. I just want to be with him, next to him, kissing him, and loving him. 05-20-05 is forever. . . as I like to say.. . .

XoXo,
Tia

In the Mood

This song reminds me so much of me and my ex. . . kinda freaky. But. . . I'm young. So bare with me :) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iRFvxpGE-M

Hedonism. . . My New Venture

        I visited one of my known loves, Alyssa V. today, also known as vobi1kanobi on twitter if you want to follow her. Talking with my friends always brings certain parts of my psyche to the forefront. Like, I've been through so much these past few months. Break-ups, miscarriages, failures in school and work. . . and things are just now starting to pick up.

         Anyway, Alyssa wants to go to Jamaica in January. Her and her family just went for Easter, and after I told her I've never been out of the country. She INSISTED that we take this trip. And I'm all down. We looked at this resort called Hedonism II where all types of hedonistic shit takes place (go figure). I'm sorry ready to grab my passport, bikini, and flip flops and do once in a lifetime things. Anybody care to join???

         By the way, if I'm going to be walking around in a nude hotel, I believe a strict diet and bikini waxing are definitely in order. Don't you?

WV vs Duke

A known skeptic of athletes and their emotional intentions, especially those in the spotlight, this video clip struck my heart chords strong. I feel bad for Dasean Butler. . .

Dasean Butler's career ended by knee injury

Lunch with my Love