"The Secret Relationship"

Every Sunday from 8am - 10am they have a show on the local "Contemporary Urban" station here called "Express Yourself." This show has me laughing and cursing at the same time every week and ends up leaving me even more aggravated with society than I usually already was. (Luckily, I only catch it on my way to mass and am able to put my mind at ease once I get there.) The topics are some of the oddest things I have ever heard and the people who call in...at least 70% of them are surviving on street smarts alone. Last week's topic was "The Secret Relationship of the Black Woman and a White Woman"...as if to suggest that there is something unknown going on that could be the only explanation why the two would ever be friends. 99% of the callers agreed and basically said that there is a hidden agenda in any relationship of the sort and that the other is using the other to get what the other has. Most of the callers even believed that such a relationship isn’t genuine. WTF??? That’s insane. Needless to say, I had to turn the crap off because it was bothering me so much. At that point I thought, “You mean to tell me that ALL of the relationships I have ever had with white people aren’t real???” Come on, now…… It was disturbing to realize that there are SO MANY ignorant people out there, (even in our own city,) who just have no clue. None of those folks had probably EVER had any friends of the opposite race. But, I, on the contrary, have had many. 75% of my friends are white… (But according to the callers, those relationships aren’t real…) For as much as I was peeved, I can’t knock them for their ignorance. If anything, their only fault was that they were speaking on an issue they knew nothing about. (How could they say with all certainty that (basically) white people and black people cannot truly be friends, when they had never had a friendship of the like?)

I was totally disgusted. And as disgusted as I was, I did not have the energy to call in (nor thought it was worth my time) to bring a different perspective into the mix.

I actually felt sorry for them, amidst my frustration, because they have such a narrow minded view of the world. I think having relationships with people from various races and backgrounds has made me the open-minded person I am today. As I tell most people, “Call me colorblind.” If you are cool, you’re cool… If you’re not, you’re not. It’s that simple. I don’t care what you look like.

It’s so very unfortunate.

Cheers to all of my friends for recognizing that our differences are what make us such great companions!

The "Monthiversary..."

I now know (for a fact) that I am not the only one in the world who celebrates or acknowledges the "monthiversary." I did a search on google and it came up with 13,100, of which I would imagine more than half of those instances are contained in blogs. I wonder if people realize that monthiversary isn't even a word...(not to my surprise, but I looked it up on Merriam-Webster Online) It doesn't even show up on Wikipedia's site. Too funny. Yet, thousands of us continue to use this phrase throughout our lives. I actually did find an entry on Urban Dictionary.com, (a site that allows you to add your own words,) defining it as follows :

Monthiversary:

Similar to anniversary, but occuring every month. For people who are
overzealous about a new relationship.

MONTHIVERSARY
http://www.urbandictionary.com/

Another thing that most people don't realize is that no one should even have to use the word "monthiversary." I'm sure most assume that it would be incorrect to use anniversary to represent something that reoccurs on a monthly basis, based on is etymology: (Middle English anniversarie, from Medieval Latin anniversarium, from Latin, neuter of anniversarius returning annually, from annus year + versus, past participle of vertere to turn.

But according to Merriam-Webster's definition of anniversary:

1 : the annual recurrence of a date marking a notable event; broadly : a date that follows such an event by a specified period of time measured in units other than years

How about that????

Well, I like the definition from the Urban Dictionary for the most part...less the "new" relationship part. When I was married to my ex-husband we acknowledged every monthiversary (from the time we met) until our separation...8 years later.

Personally, I think it's corny... But at the same time, I appreciate the value of the phrase. These days folks don't stay together very long, and every moment is precious. I simply love recognizing the time spent being in love.

Well the point of all this crap was to explain why I would make a mention of the fact that yesterday was my and Leonard's 1 year and 8 monthiversary. :) It's going to be 2 years before we know it! It honestly doesn't even seem like it's been that long. You know what they say, "Time files when you having fun!"

I geuninely am the happiest I've ever been in my adult life and I look forward to celebrating many many more turning of the months and the years with him...

A bunny...

This bunny was in my back yard a few nights ago... I was out there without my dog and it did not move a "hare." I decided to run in the house and take a picture of it to see if it would come out. Obviously not the best quality, but I wanted to capture it because I thought it odd for it to stay so long without running away.

I used to love rabbits when I was younger...and got caught up in the Beatrix Potter stories of Peter Rabbit for a time. I would love to visit the Lake District in England some day where she retired and was the setting for most of her stories.

It made me feel young again for a split second to stand and stare at the rabbit, who truly had a "cotton tail."

"She's on her 'thing'..."

...was the phrase used by my boyfriend's cousin to convey that his girlfriend was on her period. I just had to chuckle to myself. And it wasn't necessarily because he said it, but it was the way he said it and the fact he ended up clarifying himself after. They both originally came over together and they realized they forgot something...but he came back without her. So the point was to explain that she wasn't coming over because she didn't feel well, was bloated and just believed she looked like crap, etc. Cousin then added, "I understand she doesn't feel well. I just don't want to deal with it, so I told her to stay home." I remember thinking to myself... "She needs to get over it. It's nothing new. Life continues..."

Well, here I am, 2 days later...on my "thing." And I feel like crap. Oh, don't get me wrong, I still look good... :) After work yesterday, Leonard and I got in a screaming match...basically had a classic "Nothing Fight" (as Dane Cook would say.) And today I just want to go home and go to bed. And I'm hungry....

Thought this was appropriate:

Not too good with "see ya laters"...

So my sister and her kids went back to Alaska yesterday after being here for a month. To my surprise, (actually not total,) I didn't cry! Things were so hectic when they were here that, (awful to say but--) I was kind of ready for them to go back home. Normally, the routine is, we get to the airport, take pictures and then we wait for them to get through screening...and by the time I get to my car I'm teary-eyed and then damn near bahling before I even get out on the street. Yesterday... Nothing.

UNTIL - I looked at the pictures I took of my sister and her children waving, and I got a little sad. And after speaking with my sister today, I kind of miss her. Weird huh? Oh, well... It was time.

Until next visit...