Stumped

I’ve wanted to write a blog for a little while now, but haven’t had the time and now that I have a few minutes to spare, I can’t think of anything to write. A couple of ideas have crossed my mind when I’m drifting to sleep or when I’m unable to write them down, yet I now find my mind blank where this matter is concerned. I’ve started and stopped one idea after another and nothing seems to take. I mulled over writing random thoughts about dudes like:

• Some dude fell asleep at the wheel and rolled back into my brother’s car last night while he was waiting at a stop light; it seemed that no amount of honking my brother did could wake the guy. Dude got out of the car and had the nerve to ask him “What happened?” *blank stare* While my brother was looking at the car, the dude hopped back in his old school O.J. Simpson Bronco and sped off before my brother could get his information (I think the randomness of it all impaired my brother’s judgment which is why he didn’t immediately write down dude’s plates). At any rate, I have no clue why dude thought he’d be able to successfully outrun a fairly new Infiniti in an old, beat up Bronco. I mean, come on, guy. That must’ve been some nap he had. So anyway, my brother chased him down and got his plates in case there was any damage to his car (he couldn’t really tell because it was too dark), which fortunately, there wasn’t. Folks are a mess.

• Some dude jumped over the table and socked Leona Lewis at her book signing at some store in London for no apparent reason. What the heck has gotten into folks these days? Of all people to attack, Leona Lewis? Really?

• Some dude of a particular persuasion was walking around in a T-Shirt, shorts, and sandals like it’s nothing. It was like 32 degrees and windy at the time! I tell ya.

• Some dude … eh, I’m over it.

Then I started writing about this, that, and the other: I thought about just posting the lyrics to Jill Scott’s “Crown Royal” just because it’s a great two second song that I wish was longer. Come on now, you can’t say that you heard this song and didn’t instantly love it …

Your hands on my hips pull me right back to you

I catch that thrust, give it right back to you
You're in so deep, I'm breathing for you

You grab my braids arch my back high for you

Your diesel engine, I'm squirting mad oil
Down on the floor ‘til my speaker starts to boil
I flip s**t, quick slip, hip dip, and I'm twisted
In your hands and your lips and your tongue tricks
And you're so thick and you're so thick and you're so

Crown Royal on ice, Crown Royal on ice (On Ice)
Crown Royal on ice, Crown Royal on ice (On Ice)

Ah yeah, great song. If you haven’t actually heard her sing it –live or at least on the album-you’re trippin’. But anyway, I didn’t want to post a blog of song lyrics; maybe one of these days I will, but not today.

I thought that I’d write about that place where my mind always seems to rest as of late. The place it immediately drifts to when I’m not studying or at work or talking to someone (or even when I am) or doing something else. The place it’s been resting for a while now. I considered writing about that, but quickly realized that I didn’t want to go there today either. So I scrolled through a few of my older blogs and noticed that it’d been a while since I last wrote a “Things That Irk Me” and I thought about doing another one of those. That idea was nixed when I soon realized that there aren’t too many things that have irked me lately; I’ve eliminated most of the people and things from my life that inspired those blogs, and though there are things that bother me still, most of them would be redundant.

So I’m sitting here with an urge to write, but am at a loss as to what about …

Refresher -Year One

In a day or so or maybe later today, I’ll be posting my blog about my third year in Pittsburgh. So that you know what the past couple of years were like, I figured I’d refresh you on years one and two:

My Year in the Hole: Year One, September 2007

September 13^th marked the one year "anniversary" of my leaving California for a world virtually unknown to me …

Fall 2006 –First Impressions:

I've learned the true definition of a Steelers fan: One who would literally die for the Pittsburgh Steelers and that 99.99% of all Pittsburgher's are Steelers fans who considers the mere mention of another team to be pure blasphemy –you'd dare not wear another teams insignia; that the same people that have yet to learn that the earth is in fact round, can tell you that Franco Harris, Lynn Swan, Terry Bradshaw (in two different Super Bowls), and Hines Ward were the MVP's in Super Bowls IX, X, XIII, XIV, and XL; that tailgating does not begin one, two, three or more hours before a particular game, but that it begins 20 minutes after the last game of the previous season; that even when the 2006 MLB All-Star Game was in Pittsburgh, the only sports memorabilia of any kind to be found anywhere, were Steelers items; that it is in fact possible to bleed black and gold -I've seen it ... on two separate occasions; that during football season, and every other day of the year for that matter, I often feel unworthy of declaring myself a "Steelers fan;" that if Jerome Bettis says anything –at all, it's as if his words were taken directly from the Bible; that …

For the fist time that I could remember, I actually had to wear some sort of jacket once October hit. I was so used to it still being a "warm" 80^o at that time of the year. Ha. I guess that's why so many of my family and friends in Cali do not own any form of outerwear –it's simply not needed.

Fact –unable to be disputed: That in the fall, day or night, but especially at night, the Pittsburgh Skyline is, by far, one of the most breathtaking visions I have ever seen. Ever. Period.

Fall! Oh my gosh! A stunning rainbow of leaves on the trees … on the ground … on my car! I actually have to wear a jacket! And those Steelers games –sixth row! Pshhh, just plain tight!!! Oh my gosh, I'm glad that I moved out here! …

Winter 2006/ 2007 –What the Hell?:

Everyone in Pittsburgh smokes. EVERYONE. Okay, save 3% of the city's population. In restaurants, right outside of all buildings, walking around –I thought smoking was banned in and around most places! I guess that's a Cali thing. Beats me. I swear they'd sell the "world's best: cigs and coffee" as a special at diners if it were possible.

I am now willing to state under oath that fall, winter, spring, and summer are actually seasons and that there are really places in which temperatures do in fact fall below 60^o on a winter night. I never thought the day would come when I could honestly say that for a good part of the year, I was looking forward to the temperature rising back up to 10^o, but after a few occasions of 10 below with a wind chill of 15 below, I've learned that you never know until you know. What I'll never understand, is how in below zero weather, everyone STILL smokes! That, I just don't get. I mean, the cold makes it hard enough to breathe anyway, is the added smoke in the lungs really that necessary? Geeze, my asthmatic behind cain't hardly breathe on a nice sunny day as is. I don't know. I'll get a headache thinking about this anymore, so let me move on …

Fact –still unable to be disputed: That in the winter, day or night, but especially at night, the Pittsburgh Skyline is, by far, one of the most breathtaking visions I have ever seen. Ever.

Ugh, this darn snow! Bare trees. Bare … everything! Cold ass weather. Dang depressing is what it is. Why. the. hell did I move to frikkin Pittsburgh, Pensyl-damn-vania?! Geeze, I couldn't just visit, could I? Ol' non-thinkin', spontaneous ass …

Spring 2007 –Epiphany:

After months of studying, I finally learned that a parkway is not a freeway. It's a parkway.

A parkway is not a freeway.
A parkway is not a freeway.
A parkway is not a freeway.
A park…

Whoever said that phones could in any way suffice for having an actual sit-down conversation with someone is CRAZY!! No way in hell that my talking to my twin every day makes up for seeing him even once a month. NO WAY. There's no way that talking to my cousins once a day, week, or month makes up for our monthly bowling and Denny's sessions. No way. There's no way that chatting with my sister and friends, whenever we're able to "catch" one another, is the same as hanging out and talking or chillin' 'til all hours of the night. No.way.

From the time I first returned (after six plus years) to Pittsburgh in June of '06, before my actual move here, I found it wonderfully rare to instantly become "best friends" with someone I hadn't seen in thirteen years and never even really knew then. I find it a blessing still, to be able to be stuck in a beautiful but foreign land with them for ten consecutive days for the full 24 hours of each day and be able to emerge with my sanity intact; to be ready to do it all over again at a moments (and few months pays) notice; to come back closer than ever; to be able to have a cousin that's more like a sister.

Don't get me wrong, I miss my twin, my other siblings, parents, and numerous other west coast relatives and friends so much more than words can ever convey, but I'm beyond glad to have at least one person where I am now that is like all of them rolled into one. Well, except for the twin –he's in a category all his own.

Fact –even still unable to be disputed: That in the spring, day or night, but especially at night, the Pittsburgh Skyline is, by far, one of the most breathtaking visions I have ever seen. Period.

Ahhh, goodness, flowers! Still snowing for whatever reason, but it's nice to see nature coming back to life. My allergies are KICKING MY ASS! Eh, comes with the territory, I guess. The snow's gone! It's starting to warm up! It's a clear 70^o today –dangit I want to go to the beach! I've never missed the beach so much in my life! I don't know what was wrong with me –only going a few times a year. Ha, the things you take for granted ...

Summer 2007 –Lessons Learned:

It's crazy to me how alike my Pittsburgh relatives and I are (well, some of them, anyway) and how similar my mom is to her sister, whom she didn't really grow up with and seldom sees now. Genetics are just crazy to me. Plain crazy.

Okay, Pittsburgh to New York City is NOT as close as I once thought. Well, okay, that's the wrong thing to say. Let me rephrase; the drive from Pittsburgh to New York City (and back) is in no way comparable to the drive from Los Angeles to oh say, Sacramento/San Francisco/whatever. I mean, good gracious, time-wise? Sure, they're about the same. But the scenic route or lack of any kind of decent scenery makes the drive to NYC seem so much longer than it actually is. Granted my NASCAR driver of a cousin does make for excellent company on any road-trip, but WOWSERS. I guess I won't be driving to Connecticut anytime soon. Geeze, I don't even want to imagine that drive. Sorry, Sleaze. Hmm, perhaps a fall drive would be better –I've got to think about that one.

All summer long, I was trying to figure out which of the four seasons was the worst one. Well actually, which of the three seasons: winter, spring, and summer were worse –fall is hands down the best. Now, one would think that winter, with all of it's snow and black ice and sub-zero days would be the worse, but uhhh, I'm not so sure. This spring, my allergies were at an all-time … horrible. And this summer, what with the 90^o and 90% humidity with an instant thunderstorm thrown in the mix days, my asthma killed me. I tell ya, I've never used my inhaler so much in my life! I mean, common sense says to "wear a jacket if it's raining," especially since umbrellas don't always work with that "sideways" rain. But when it's that dang hot and humid, what do you do?! Wear a jacket and just be remarkably hot? Stay inside? I don't know. So yeah, I'm still trying to figure out what was worse: Icy roads, a depressing landscape, and stupid cold weather, but no allergy or breathing issues? Dry roads, blooming flowers and trees, and suitable temperatures, but ultra bad allergies? Or the ultra clear skies and warm weather, but hardly being able to breathe? I don't know. I just don't know. Screw it –I'll just call it a three-way tie.

My whirlwind week home for the annual family beach trip (and because it'd been forever since my last visit) was GREAT! Exhausting, but great. I can't tell you how refreshing it was to see people with natural tans. I'd almost forgotten what they looked like. I'm so used to seeing so many spray-on, salon going orange folks out here, that the permanently tanned Californians were, simply put, visually pleasant. Orange/Oompa-Loompa-ness? No, thank you. I'll just be pasty-pale until my return to the west coast…

Fact –bona fide: That in the summer, day or night, but especially at night, the Pittsburgh Skyline is, by far, one of the most breathtaking visions I have ever seen. Come out here and try to say otherwise. Humph, not possible.

Dangit! I'm missing everything back in Cali! Mom's graduation … niece's graduation … cousin's wedding … Awww, I'm depressed. I am NOT missing the beach trip though! Not a chance in hell I am missing that. Ugh, why am I out here?! Cain't dang breathe …

Fall 2007 –Full Circle:

As I stated earlier, I have officially been in Pittsburgh for a full year now. Some days I regret my decision to leave. Some days I'm glad I left while I had the freedom to do so. Some days I find myself yearning to see and talk to my twin in person. Some days the phone is just fine. Some days I miss summer year-round. Some days I enjoy falling leaves, a fresh snowfall, new growth, and even humidity.

I've gotten to know so many details about my mother's side of the family and where she came from and I feel that as a result, in a sense, I've gotten to know my mother. I've met a multitude of cousins that I never even knew existed and as one of my brother's puts it: "It's like [I] have twice as many relatives now" and though I rarely talk to most of them for various reasons, it's still nice to know that they're out there and that I now know what they look and sound like –even if I never see them again …

If nothing else, I can say that my time here is "an experience:" All four seasons –that alone was worth the move; a new "best friend;" finally, truly appreciating where I came from –my family that I didn't fully cherish and their eternal support, my smoggy and grossly congested, yet magnificent, natural surroundings, and my life in general …

Fact –a year later: That in the fall, day or night …

The next time I decide to up and do anything even remotely this darn random again, Bisha better do her job …

Old Folks and Babies

• I still can’t figure out how elderly people and babies live in Pittsburgh, well, cold weather in general, I guess. I just don’t get it. All winter long, especially on the too frequent occasions that I have to step outside of my apartment, I’m trying to figure out how people get used to the madness that is this weather. I can’t imagine having to bundle up a little kid in 16 layers of clothes just to run to the grocery store. And those poor kids, they’re the ones that get to peel off that stuff when they get to school or wherever. Sucks for them. But then I think about retired folks or those who are past their prime and I think about how much I’d hate to have to take my slower self outside for any reason. Then last night, as my car was sliding around all over the place and my brakes were of no use as I drove home from work in beyond stupid weather, I realized that it sucks for people in the middle too (not babies and the elderly). I mean, we’re the ones that do a good deal of the driving and running of errands and whatnot. Nonsense.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know; people who grow up in snow or stupid cold weather are used to it. When peeling off layers of clothes is all they know as a kid, it’s just another part of life when they’re a teenager and adult. I guess they get used to carrying a ridiculously large bundle of a kid whenever they have them. I guess they get used to carrying their slightly frail body outside in their later years.

Whatever, this shit is for the birds. What’s that mean? No clue, really. Something my cousin said once (and many times since) that just … made sense.

Anyway, I can’t figure out how anyone ever gets used to this madness –babies, elderly, and folks in the middle.

Though it was nice for classes to be canceled today, this shit is for the birds.

• On another note, my frail twin, Superran, ran a dang half marathon last weekend. He ran the entire thing because it was 'easier to run than walk'. I need to get on his workout status. I keep meaning to ask if his roommate ran the entire thing too; though I assume his hyper go lucky ass did.

• I am so very happy that I have another place to stay the next time I’m back home. Shout out to G.G. for finding Bisha’s spot!

• I absolutely love my Management Sales and Strategies course. At least I do at the present time. Yesterday: personality analysis. Next week: analyzing high and low self-esteem. Great stuff. I had so many epiphanies about certain people while in class yesterday. It was ridiculously wonderful. I’m beginning to understand why some people are always such assholes/b!tches –and not in a ‘haha funny’ way. As of now though, those people still get on my last frikkin nerve. But yup, lovin’ the class.

• What is the deal with all these guys with the name ‘Eric/Erik’? My dad, brother, my sister’s guy, my cousin’s guy, the homie’s unofficial guy. The list goes on and on. Are there no other names out there?

• I got a text the other day that cracked me the hell up: “In 2008, if you have sent me chain texts, prayers, or promises, NONE OF THAT SHIT WORKED. In 2009 please send cash, food stamps, and gas cards.” Funniest text I’d gotten in a long while.