Huh? What?

So I went out with Big Red last night. I was running errands when he sent me a text:"Hey babe."

"My name is Lottie," I replied.

He texted: "I know babe. what ya doin'? wanna meet later?"

I couldn't help but smile: "sure," I replied.

He sent another text: "What do you want to do?"

I suggested we see a movie. I was in a shopping center that included a theater. I told him I could meet him at 9, around the time I had expected to finish my shopping. He agreed.

As the time got closer for us to meet, he sent me a text to let me know he was on his way.

Well, I had not eaten since early afternoon and was starving. Plus, I was tired after running around all day and didn't want to risk falling asleep in a movie. So I suggested we go to a nearby restaurant in the same shopping center instead of catching a movie.

He sent me a text indicating that it was okay.

I was still in the store when he text to tell me he had made it to the restaurant. It was four minutes until 9.

Wow, I thought. Big Red is punctual.

I met him at the restaurant. He was not hard to find. His car definitely stood out among the rest — LOL.

Now, since meeting we had never had a phone conversation. We had only text each other.

We were now sitting face to face and had to talk.

Well, I couldn't understand a damn word Big Red said. In fact, I kept repeating what he said to make sure that I had it right.

I was like: Huh? What?

I don't remember his words being so mumbled the first time I met him. When we met, we danced and he bought me a drink. Afterwards he walked me to my car and we talked a little bit. But I swear I could understand him.

But last night was a different story.

Where are you from? I asked. I had noticed an accent.

It seemed like a simple question. But I didn't get a straightforward answer: My father is African and my mother is from the Bahamas.

oh, okay, I said.

But you know I was in Haiti a lot, he said.

Haiti?

Yeah.

And sometimes Miami.

Huh?

My father owns funeral homes in Haiti and my mother lives in Miami now.

Oh, gotcha. Now where did he grow up?

Anyway, I kept straining to understand his words. I didn't have any alcohol. But I did have alcohol the night I met him: vodka and cranberry. Maybe he just sounded clearer when I was under the influence - LOL.

Anyway, after dinner Big Red wanted to go out. He was ready to party after being inside all day. But I was dead tired.

Maybe next time, I said.

He walked me to my car and we said our goodbyes.

When Big Red called me this afternoon, again I couldn't quite make out his words. He was just getting up (it was 2 pm) and wanted to know if we could get together sometime today.

Then it hit me. I realized who he sounded like: LIL WAYNE ! WEEZY !!!

In fact, he even looks a bit like Weezy, a spitting image: dark-complexion, short, extremely thin and long locs.

I'm dating Lil Wayne yall !!!!




thoughts?

Big Red

So last night I helped a friend celebrate her birthday by going Salsa dancing with her. I had a blast. I met a nice guy there who was showing me all the Salsa moves. We danced most of the evening.

When I was getting ready to leave, this gentleman offered to walk me to my car. It was late - about 11 pm - so I said okay.

As we were heading toward my car, he stopped and said, "This is my car."

Now, this was a really big RED vehicle with super big rims. But it wasn't just your ordinary red car. No, this was a BRIGHT CANDY APPLE red with BIG, extra shiny rims. I mean those rims were glistening. Imagine a Snoop Dog video or Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day." This car definitely could have been in a rap video.

He was smiling proudly.

I just said, "wow." I was sort of speechless.

"What kind of car is this?" I asked. (I'm not good with cars and couldn't really read the name on the back)

It's a Dodge Charger. He said, still smiling.

"oh, okay."

"I was hoping the car in front of me would move so he wouldn't hit it," he said.

"oh, okay," I said again.

He popped the trunk and had a box filled with bottles of oils.

"What kind of scents you like," he asked. "I got everything."

"wow," is all I could say - again. "I'm good. thanks."

So, I started walking toward my car. He insinuated that people "hated on" him because of his super duper car.

I just smiled.

He wants to go out on Friday. I really can't see him picking me up in BIG RED. Maybe I'll just meet him some place.

I know, I know. I shouldn't be so superficial and care about little petty things such as what kind of car someone drives. I mean, who am I to judge? I drive a 97 Honda Accord.

Single women often get criticized for dismissing good guys for the smallest things - like a BIG RED car. (Remember Michelle dated Barack even though he had a broke down station wagon-like car and now she's married to the President of the United States) Anyway, all that matters is that he was a nice guy and we had a good time dancing, right?

But just imagine me rolling up to your house in BIG RED. Would you be surprised? For some reason, I just can't stop laughing - LOL...


Let me know your thoughts.

Choices

My dad is retired so he loves to call me and chit chat. We talk about everything from politics to sports to history to dating. Last week we were having one of our friendly conversations about relationships and my dad stated that women had all the power in a relationship. They make all the choices, he said. Oh, here we go, I thought. (He loves to get me riled up)

I disagreed. Why do you think I'm not married? I asked.

"That's your choice," he said.

Are you serious? My choice is to be married but no one has chosen me, I argued.

My dad wasn't hearing it. He said a man presents himself before a woman, and a woman decides whether or not she wants to deal with that man. She may decide she's not interested in him romantically. She may decide she only wants to be friends. She may decide that she doesn't want to be bothered at all. But ultimately, my dad said, the woman makes the choice.

hmmm.

It reminded me of a conversation I had with my male co-worker after I had seen For Colored Girls. After telling him about the movie, he said, "Wow. These women made some bad choices."

I had never thought about that before.

I must admit that over the past few years, I've met a lot of good guys. But for whatever reason I didn't like them. Instead, I CHOSE losers. Yep, I've made some really bad choices. I guess I'm like the lady in green.

What do you guys think?
Do you believe the woman has the power in a relationship?
What about when the woman is the pursuer? Doesn't the man make the choice about whether or not he wants to be with her?
Have you made any bad choices?

Is Chivalry Dead?

I was listening to the Big Tigger Morning Show this morning and their twitter question of the day was: Things Men Don't Do Anymore.

Of course, the show received a lot of responses from their female listeners. One woman tweeted that men don't know about intimacy anymore - touching, kissing, hugging. They just want to "get it in" she noted. Another woman tweeted that men no longer commit and along the same lines, another listener wrote that men don't do relationships anymore — interesting. Please click here to read the rest of the twitter responses. Some are hilarious.

Tigger's co-host, Danella pointed out that men don't "court" women anymore.

She noted that gone are the days when you meet a guy, have a conversation with him on the phone, set up a date, he comes to pick you up for the date, you have a good time, he takes you home and you say good night.

Ms. Danella said guys don't want to call anymore, either. It's all about texting: "Can you meet me here?" And that's another thing, she said. What happened to the days when men would actually come pick you up for a date instead of you just "meeting" them out somewhere?

I'm with you Ms. Danella. But it's hard for men to court when they receive so many mix messages.

For example: I used to allow guys to come pick me up for a date. They would knock on my door, walk me to the car and open the car door for me. I never saw anything wrong with it. But listening to my friends who are concerned for my safety, now I often suggest that I meet a guy in a mutual place — a restaurant, movie theater. I understand the whole point of not wanting a stranger to know where you live - especially in these dangerous times when you really don't know what type of person you're dealing with initially. I think the online dating thing is a prime example of when you should meet someone in a public place. So today, I get in my car and drive.

But how do we expect men to court us if we don't even allow them to come pick us up for a date?

Last week, I had a date and agreed to meet the person at the event. My sister said, "He's not coming to pick you up? That's not a date." - LOL. (I'm not in Mississippi anymore Stephanie.)

Anyway, I'm getting off the topic. The question of the day is: What don't men do anymore?

Let me know your thoughts.

photo by Katie Tegtmeyer.

Sexual Healing

Yesterday, I wrote a post about how my doctor believed I was stressed and recommended a number of remedies such as yoga, breathing exercises and a Gratitude Journal.

Ironically, in yesterday's USAToday, there was an article about how people who are married or in committed relationships are "less susceptible to the effects of stress." In the article titled Like marriage, committed relationships may protect against stress, the author points to a recent study that found "the romantic bond of being in a committed relationship alters hormones that can buffer against stress."

Researchers in the piece also noted that "single people were more susceptible to psychological stress than those who are married or in a relationship."

wow.

Maybe the answer to my problem is love. I think Marvin Gaye had a point - lol.


What do you guys think of this study?
Do you believe single people are more susceptible to stress than those who are married or in a committed relationship? Why or Why not?
Let me know your thoughts.

photo by ku'uipo.

Doctor's Orders

So I went to the doctor today. My blood pressure was up and so was my weight. I panicked.

"Am I going to have to take blood pressure medicine?" I asked. "Do I need to go to a nutritionist or dietician to help me with my weight?"

She dismissed my concerns. Let me show you some numbers, she said. This is considered high blood pressure. You're not there. Okay, I said, feeling a little better. And this is the BMI for your height.

Well, I was over the BMI for my height, but nothing she thought I should be seriously concerned about. Lose 10 pounds and you'll be within your range for your height.

Then she looked at me eye to eye: Tell me, what's up? she asked.

I was near tears. I told her how I haven't been able to find a job in two years. I told her how I live in a really bad neighborhood but couldn't move because of the market. I explained how I needed a lot of work done on my car but couldn't afford a new one. I also told her that I had a hard time sleeping. I would wake up at 3 am every morning. And I expressed my frustration with not being able to lose weight no matter how much I exercised. (I didn't tell her that sometimes I felt bad because I didn't have a love life.)

"It's all stress-related," she said.

Huh?

The increase in your blood pressure, your weight gain, it's all stress-related, she explained.

First of all, you look great, she said.

I smiled. "Thanks," I said. I was feeling better already - lol.

I see you just had a birthday. How was it?

"It was great," I said. "I went to New York and had brunch with a few friends."

And do you have nice neighbors?

I thought about it. "Actually, I do."

Did you graduate in May? That's a big accomplishment. You should be proud of yourself.

"I am," I said, then smiled.

Have you heard of Gratitude Journals, she asked. I want you to start one. Each night I want you to write down two things you are grateful for - just two. We've already listed four just sitting in this office.

She was right. Okay, I said.

Now get up on the table and let's check your blood pressure again.

And just like that, my pressure was down. Wow. She's good, I thought.

This is what I want you to do, she said. And she wrote out my prescription:
1) Each night write down 2 things you are grateful for.
2) Do soft breathing exercises 10 minutes before going to bed.
3) Do YOGA twice a week.
4) Cut out the McDonald's sweet tea (that's 500 calories of pure sugar).
5) Make sure you get 1000mf of Calcium and 1000 units of Vitamin D every day.

If you do those things, she said, your stress level will go down. You'll also see your blood pressure decrease and you'll begin to lose weight again.

The doctor didn't put me on a diet or give me any medication. But she was concerned about my stress. I think stress is a disease unto itself. I believe it leads to many other things like high blood pressure, strokes, heart attacks. As a result, she is trying to provide me with preventive measures.

I get it: She wants me to focus on the positive and not so much about the things that are going wrong in my life.

"I want to see you in 6 months," she said.

I was smiling when I left the doctor's office. I felt a lot better than when I first arrived.

What are your thoughts about stress?
Do you believe that stress can manifest itself in other, harmful ways like acne or stomachaches, migraines or major weight gain?
What do you do to de-stress?
Do you exercise? sip tea? go to yoga? meditate? listen to music? go for a long walk?

Let me know your thoughts.

photo by Rev. Xanatos Satanicos Bombastico (ClintJCL).

Housewives Update

I watched the latest episode of the Atlanta Housewives on Hulu. It was cool.
So, let's dish:

First of all, Kandi knows Kim can't sing. Why did she give her that song with all those notes? Was she trying to be funny? Did yall hear Kim? I was screaming! But we know that all Kandi has to do is put a funky beat to it and it will be a hit. Also, Lawrence, Sheree's hairstylist, sounds way better than Kim. Girlfriend can really sing. I was totally feeling the "Closet Freak" song. Will he sell as many records as Kim's "Tardy for the Party?"

Bryson is getting on my nerves. But I guess I got to give the young fella some slack. He's only 20. Do you think he's motivated? He does have a famous mom who can provide him with resources and connections - that makes a big difference. Maybe he just needs to meet the right person and he'll be on his way. I like what Peter was telling him. I think Peter be a good role model, a good mentor for Bryce. Right now he seems to lack initiative.

The actor Leon and also father of model Cynthia Bailey's daughter, sounded so good — ooooh,weeee. His voice is like butter ! I didn't have to look at the computer. I just wanted to hear him talk.

I don't get it. Why does Kim have an assistant? Does she work?

I have to admire Sheree. She sticks to her standards. If you don't have money, she's really not interested. That's why she's getting rid of the Doc. He had the nerve to stay at a Holiday Inn. In her words - "Who stays at Holiday Inn?" I love it !

Leave Phaedra alone. People have their babies early all the time. (lol)

Okay, NeNe and Greg. They are struggling right now. NeNe is all about confrontation. She says what she feels when she feels like it. She doesn't hold anything back. And when she wants to tell you about yourself, she really likes putting her finger in your face. She did it with Dwight and on this episode, her husband - who looked like he wanted to..I don't know. Maybe she should confront him behind closed doors and not in front of company.

Alright, what do you think of the latest episode?