Hip-hop school VI

The last post in the hip-hop school installment. We're calling this "The Aughts" because that's a much better name for the current decade than "The Ohs" or "The Zeros". Have we officially decided this one yet?

I suppose that maybe in five years I could finish this off, but who knows? I might be totally into country music by then. And, of course, pigs could fly out of my butt.

The list:

Dr. Dre feat. Eminem - Forgot About Dre
Nelly - Country Grammar - suddenly, every black person sounds like they're from St. Louis, saying "herrrr" and "therrrr"
Ludacris - Southern Hospitality
The Roots - Break You Off - one of the best BANDS out there - just happen to rap instead of sing
Eminem - Cleaning Out My Closet - his second best song off his best album
R. Kelly & Jay-Z - Get This Money - or Fiesta, if you like - pretty much interchangeable
Eminem - Lose Yourself - one of the greatest songs in the history of music; I will not debate this
50 Cent - In Da Club
Missy Elliott - Work It - best female rapper ever
Juvenile feat Lil' Wayne & Manny Fresh - Back That Azz Up
Jay-Z - 99 Problems
OutKast - Church - lesser known track from Speakerboxxx/The Love Below - you should own this album
OutKast - A Life in the Day of Benjamin Andre (Incomplete) - see above; this is why Andre 3000 is on almost every rapper's "top 5 MCs" list
Kanye West - All Falls Down - the future of hip-hop; I think it's a good thing, but not everyone agrees with me
J-Kwon - Tipsy - hot song from '04
Mike Jones - Still Tippin' - "chopped and screwed" hip-hop from Houston
Kanye West feat. Jamie Foxx - Gold Digger - how could this not be on here?


And now you know everything there is to know about hip-hop. Questions? Concerns? Comments? Hit me up.

blogs & bad movies

Back to my normal up-at-10am-sleep-at-2am routine. So sweet. I usually spend the last hour and a half before bed reading my favorite blogs and watching bad movies on one of the Showtime channels the hotel has so kindly provided us. (I would gladly trade the two Showtime channels for MTV and Comedy Central, but I digress.) Right now I'm watching some National Lampoon Canadian movie called Going The Distance...it's actually not that bad...let's call it a poor poor man's Animal House.

Melissa wrote a great post today. Check it out. My retrospective will come this weekend.

So apparently my readers think that the inner freak of my castmates will fly as the show progresses. Valid points, all, but I still think this group is surprisingly normal. Of course, I wasn't at rehearsal today, and I won't be there t'm'row. I'll make sure and update you as the process goes on.

I'm taking the Animal House thing back...the group has actually run into an old farmer who says, "You can stay at my house, but no one can mess with my daughter." Still, you know I have to see how it ends...

Some year-end hip-hop coming in your direction t'm'row...actually, later today.

aw, shucks

So I was all excited for the blogging possibilities with my new job. I figured that I'd definitely need to be anonymous so that I could dish all kinds of dirt about the people that I was working with.

The problem, however, is that all of my "co-workers" are nice, normal people. So far, it doesn't look like I'm going to have any salacious material to blog about. So you'll just have to settle for my normal lines of conversation: my so-called life, hip-hop, blackness, etc. Sorry.

Day 3 of living in a hotel...I have to admit that I still like it. The heater is flashing a picture of a wrench, meaning that it's broken, I guess (though the heat's still working), but otherwise everything is peachy keen.

I've got the day off t'm'row, and I'm determined to (1) go to the gym, and (2) explore Steak City. I'll try my best not to get into too much trouble.

iTunes...

...is a major weakness of mine. Fortunately my family and friends are feeding my habit by giving me iTunes gift cards for every special occasion. Birthdays, show openings/closings, etc.

I just downloaded, like, eight songs. SOMEBODY STOP ME!

And, just so you're clear on where I stand, the iPod is the greatest invention since fire.

Steak City!

Here we are, in the lovely midwest. Arrived in Steak City last night - much bigger than I expected. Is that just New York snobbery, or genuine surprise?

Anyway, it's nice to be doing what I love in a real city for a change (hence why I'm calling it Steak CITY, to illustrate the difference). I have to go down to the hotel lobby in 45 minutes, where I will meet the rest of the cast and start working! Good times.

Have to mention the digs - I really think, at this point, that I would be happy living anywhere, after being on the road for 2 months. But I'm pretty happy with the set-up here. The hotel is nothing special - just one of the typical extended-stay hotel rooms with kitchenette and desk - but it's MINE. And no one can come in and mess with my stuff! Except the housekeepers. Negatives? The biggest one is that I don't get MTV. How will I be able to keep up with "The Gauntlet"? A sickness, I know...

While I am excited about being in one place for a while, I always think staying in a hotel room by yourself is a little bit depressing, especially if you don't know your surroundings (like me). Sometimes it feels like your world is you and the television. I'm going to have to fight that by going out into the community and making friends. Hopefully there will be some fun people in my cast to play with. And I think I may have a visitor or two while I'm here.

Off to prep for work. It's like the first day of school! I'm actually excited...

Merry Christmas!

...or Happy Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Festivus!

In the "back room" at my childhood home (awwww...). The fam is downstairs listening to music on the kickin' stereo system my brother bought for my parents (with the monetary support of his fiancee and yours truly) and eating. We have so much food here that some of it is actually sitting in the garage. Ridiculous. Meanwhile I'm up here furiously unpacking and repacking, trying to get my life together; I'm going to be in Steak City in 48 hours, and working in about 60.

Despite my massive to-do list, it's so good to be home. I love my parents, and, perhaps more importantly, I really like them. And vice versa. I don't get home all that often anymore, and I haven't seen them too much over the past couple of years (because of the distance from here to Sleepy Hamlet), so that makes the holidays that much more special.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. Next entry will be from the hotel room I'll be calling home for the next eight weeks...no more mobile blogging, at least for now. Love to all...

good-bye, big city

Saw Memoirs of a Geisha today...good times. Good thing I enjoyed it, too, since I walked thirty blocks to get there. Thank God the transit strike is over...oh wait...I'm leaving the city t'm'row to go home for Xmas.

So my NYC vacation has come to an end. Home to Mom & Pop for a few days, and then off to Steak City to do my 1st union gig. Not the most restful vacation ever, but it was cool. I got to see a lot of old friends, and I decided that I'm not over the city yet. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to come back here for the summer. More on that in another post.

Six hours in a car t'm'row...wish me luck...

Hip-hop school V

This class deals with hip-hop in the late '90s. If I were a hip-hop professor, this would probably be the time I specialized in. I've probably got more CDs from this period than from any other. (Two words: Columbia House.) But there was also a lot going on musically. As a result, this class has more songs than any other - 24, to be exact. When doing class for the guys I split this lesson in two. You, my dear readers, get everything together. Here we go:

Busta Rhymes - Woo Hah!
Jay-Z feat. Foxy Brown - Ain't No Nigga
The Fugees - Fu-Gee-La
LL Cool J - Loungin (Who Do Ya Luv)
Crucial Conflict - Hay - not one of my favorite songs, but it was on top of the charts for weeks
Lost Boyz - Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz
OutKast - Elevators (Me And You) - their best song, in my opinion
The Roots - What They Do - brilliant video
Nas - Street Dreams
Lil' Kim feat. Lil' Cease & Notorious B.I.G. - Crush On You (Remix)
Lil' Kim feat. Angie Martinez, Left Eye, Da Brat & Missy Elliott - Not Tonight (Remix) - a who's who of female rappers
Puff Daddy & The Family feat. Mase - Can't Nobody Hold Me Down - kind of sacrilege to remake "The Message", but this was Diddy's coming-out as a rapper
Puff Daddy & The Family feat. Notorious B.I.G., Lil' Kim & The L.O.X. - It's All About The Benjamins (Remix)
Mase - Feel So Good
Jay-Z - Hard Knock Life (The Ghetto Anthem) - someone's gotta fill the void left by 2Pac & Biggie, and this is the man who stepped up
Lauryn Hill - Lost Ones
DMX - Get At Me Dog
OutKast - Rosa Parks - the group starts to be embraced by the mainstream
Missy Elliott - The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) - may be the greatest female rapper of all time - her first hit
Black Star - Definition
Big Punisher - Still Not A Player
Will Smith - Gettin' Jiggy Wit It - yes, the Fresh Prince made the cut, 'cause it's a great song
Ja Rule - Holla Holla - DMX lite, but a good song; before he got on the duet tip
Mos Def - Umi Says - from Black On Both Sides, which could be the most underrated album of the decade

Strike! (and a couple of other things)

DH tagged me the other day - first time it's ever happened to me - and I decided to post my response over at my other blog. After all, Infinite Monkeys is billed as "a place for everybody". So head over there if you want to find out what makes me weird.

Day 1 of MTA Transit Strike '05. Fortunately I'm staying at my brother's place in 2NY, so I'm safely out of the fray. The pictures that we're seeing on the news are crazy - traffic is as bad as I've ever seen it. I was supposed to meet up with some friends tonight, but I don't think that's going to happen.

This is the third major event that New York's been hit with in the last five years (9/11 - obviously on a bigger scale - and the blackout of '03 being the others), and each time I've been amazed at how New Yorkers have behaved. Specifically, everyone stays fairly calm and pulls together to make the best of a bad situation. Not only are people calm, but they actually seem to be in a good mood!

This is really different from the New York I grew up knowing. Much of my family is from this area, and I remember hearing all sorts of horror stories about the city growing up from them. And, if you've ever read any of the many books written about the city in the '70s, you know that the city was on shaky ground in many ways. Anyway, that's probably why I half-expect the city to explode and descend into anarchy every time something major happens.

Hip Hop School update coming soon - I'm trying to keep them as separate posts, for the most part...

try velcro!

Now, I'm not an angry guy, but I'm sitting here in my brother's living room, and for the past half hour all I have heard is this constant POUNDING from downstairs - first on the front door, now all over the place, and IT'S DRIVING ME FUCKING CRAZY! WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU PEOPLE? Jeez Louise...

I feel slightly better now. Thank you.

Another fun story, inspired from Melissa's post (and her reader's comments) about weird people doing weird things today: I went to the local pharmacy this afternoon to get a prescription refilled. When I returned to pick up said medicine there was a very old man at the front counter (who I later noticed took about 4-inch steps when he finally started walking) arguing with one of the cashiers. The conversation went something like this (picking up in the middle):

OLD MAN: But these laces are fifty inches!

CASHIER: (frustrated) I'm sorry, but we don't carry 50 inch shoelaces. These laces are 72 inches.

OLD MAN: No, I bought 50 inches! The girl said 50!

CASHIER: Sir, I sold you these laces, and I never said they were 50 inches.

OLD MAN: Well, where did the 50 come from?

CASHIER: I don't know. We only sell two kinds of shoelaces, and they're both 72 inches. These are the ones I sold you, the brown ones, and they're 72 inches.

OLD MAN: Well, how am I supposed to get 50 inch laces?

HELPFUL WOMAN IN LINE NEXT TO OLD MAN: You may just have to cut them down to 50 inches. You could try that.

OLD MAN (to HELPFUL WOMAN): How'm'I going to cut them down to 50 inches? How'm'I supposed to do that? Look at me? I want 50 inches.

(HELPFUL WOMAN looks slightly hurt, shrugs, pays for her merchandise and leaves)

CASHIER: (annoyed) We don't have 50 inches. These are the only brown laces we have, and they're 72.

OLD MAN: But these ones I brought in here are 50 inches!

CASHIER: No, they're not. They're the same as these laces, and they're 72 inches.

OLD MAN: (rebellious) Well, what am I supposed to do?

CASHIER: (visibly annoyed; she'd probably say something really rude if he wasn't ancient) Well, you could do what the lady suggested. You could cut them down to 50 inches yourself.

OLD MAN: How'm'I supposed to do that? I want 50 inch laces!

CASHIER: We don't have 50 inch laces. We only have 72.

OLD MAN: Well, what are you gonna do about it?

GUY BEHIND ME: (in a slightly homicidal tone) Give him his money back. Please. Give him his money back so that we can all go on with our lives.


They gave him a store credit. Thank God. You gotta love New Yorkers.

More exciting posts coming soon. DH tagged me, so I've got to respond. And there's more Hip Hop School on the way, too...

at long last...it's time for class!

I've promised and promised, and you've patiently waited. And now, at long last, here is the resumption of the ever-popular Hip Hop School. And, to celebrate, I'm making this the first ever Fish & Greens entry with a picture - how's that for festive?

For some background on how this originated, read this entry from March (I admit, I updated it a little bit). If you want to get up to speed, look at Lesson 1 - The '80s; Lesson 2 - The Early '90s (East Coast); and Lesson 4 - Biggie & 2Pac.

Today we're going to look at Lesson 3 - The Early '90s (West Coast). I admit that I am not the foremost expert on West Coast rap, being from the East Coast myself, but, as Jay-Z says, "I know a lil' bit." As with the earlier lists, this is skewed to my taste; for example, while E-40 is a very popular rapper who has been around a long time, I really don't care for him, so he's not on my list. But you should probably check him out anyway. Onto the list...drumroll, please...

Warren G - Regulate - I love Nate Dogg
N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton
Dr. Dre f/Snoop Dogg - Wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')
Rappin' 4-Tay - Playaz Club
Digital Underground - Doowutchyalike
Dr. Dre f/Snoop Dogg - Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang - if you're serious about this class, you should really buy "The Chronic"
N.W.A. - Fuck Tha Police
Too $hort - I'm A Player
Dr. Dre f/RBX and Snoop Dogg - Let Me Ride
Ice Cube - It Was a Good Day
Snoop Dogg - Murder Was The Case


I'm a big believer that N.W.A. were the ones who really got West Coast hip hop off the ground, and that's why so many of these songs are from members of that group. Feel free to add more songs to the list...

ex tour '05

As a general rule, I've decided not to blog much about my dating life. There's a whole list of reasons why I've decided to do this, but that's another post for another day. However, I can't resist writing about this little aspect of my trip to the city:

The main reason why I came here for two weeks (instead of visiting Mom and Dad, getting completely rested up and spending no money) was to see my old friends. And, for some reason, a lot of my friends I've seen this week have been ex-girlfriends. I think the count is up to three already (it would have been four, but one of them cancelled on me).

It's always interesting to see someone that you used to date. I always find myself asking two questions: why did I go out with you in the first place? and would I ever go out with you again? Those aren't necessarily negative questions, either. Sometimes I end up totally clicking with someone and wondering why I ever broke up with them in the first place. Of course, I can also totally have a great time with someone and walk away saying, "That's why things never worked out, and that's why nothing will ever happen again."

When I tell people that I'm seeing so-and-so, who I dated for two months in the summer of '01, or whatever, people always say, "How can you be friends with so many of your exes?" And I don't really have a good answer for that. Sure, I go through periods of time, especially when I break up with someone, when we're not really talking. But we always seem to end up reconnecting. I guess I value being friends with the women I date first - after all, if you don't like someone, why would you want to make out with them?

Off to see The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe - one of my favorite books from my childhood. And I'm only going to pay $6, which is a steal in this town...

homeless!

Sitting at my brother's house, not really doing anything...this is turning out to be one of those "rest days" that I sorely needed. I think I'm having dinner with a friend in the city tonight, so I will have to get fully dressed. But that doesn't have to happen for a couple of hours.

So I'm technically homeless right now, and I'm starting to feel the strain a little bit. I'm really itching for a place to call my own. It's obviously kind of pointless right now, since I'm going to be moving from city to city for the next few months, but I kind of wish I had a spot where I could just sit and relax and not worry about anybody messing with my stuff. That's one of the reasons I'm looking forward to going to Steak City...my own place!

Off to the kitchen, in search of sugar (it'll be good to start working out regularly again, too...)

another night...

...another party. Tonight I hung out with my old friends Bright Eyes and L. Britt - good times. Went back to the old stomping grounds - can't believe I've been away from NYC almost as long as I lived there. Weird. I was trying to explain to L. Britt why this place doesn't feel like home anymore, but I couldn't quite do it - I still can't. I love New York so much, but it's really hard being here when you don't have a "home" to go to.

I've been on vacation for a couple of days and I'm already tired. I keep running to and fro, seeing old friends. And it's great to catch up with people, but I also really need this time to refuel. Here's hoping I can sneak in a couple of restful days...

arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggghhhhhh

Writing this at a coffee shop down the street from my brother's place. I'm writing from a coffee shop because said shop is the nearest warm location to the train station. And why am I in need of a warm location? Because I missed the Metro-North train bythismuch (about 20 seconds, to be exact), and now my evening plans are in ruins.

Where did I lose those precious twenty seconds? Was it navigating through the snow? Waiting for a traffic signal? Dodging that dude on a bike? Answering my cell phone while walking down the street? Catching that last play of the Chiefs-Cowboys game? Trying to update my iPod? Going to the bathroom before I left so I wouldn't have to go on the train or in the subway? Talking to my brother and his fiancee? I wish I knew where that time went. Then I would have something (or someone) to be mad at. As it is, I can only be pissed at myself.

Oh yeah, almost forgot. I'm in New York. Yay. Actually, my brother lives in one of the urban suburbs just north of the city (we'll call it North New York, or 2NY for short). Said suburb is apparently getting very trendy...lots of fancy buildings going up all over the place. I stayed here last night, and now I'm headed to visit my dear friend in Brooklyn (though I'm picking her up at her place of employment in Manhattan). So in a little over an hour, I'll be back on my island...

Happy Sunday to all. I know it was for me (until this incident) because the Steelers won...

In the airport...

...paying once again for wi-fi. I think I may be addicted to the internet...why else would I pay so much money for such a short period of time?

Wi-fi is also one of the two things I'm pissed off about. This wi-fi connection won't let me access iTunes, and I have about 10 songs that I really wanted to download and listen to on this flight. Maybe I'll be able to get on it in Cincinnati (my 3-hour layover - good times).

The other thing I'm annoyed about...I spilled coffee all over my clean white t-shirt while getting out of the Smooth Ride this morning. And since my extremely trendy hoodie has a cheap busted zipper, I can't hide the stain. Now hundreds of people are going to think I'm a slob.

Now boarding one of those stupid regional jets...

one more thing...

Yeah, yeah, I know...three posts in one day. The world must be coming to an end.

I was doing some much needed clean-up work on the ol' blog, and I realized how many times I've promised to put up the next installments in my hip-hop class. And yet...they never made it. Now, I know that the general public is clammoring for a drink from my refreshing well of musical knowledge, so I pledge to you, my trusty readers, that while on vacation in NYC, I will post all parts of the class that was Hip Hop School.

I'm going to aim for one a day next week (I think the pad I'm crashing at will have internet access), so, starting Monday, look for hip hop goodness from me, K Lance.

And maybe, just maybe, if you're good...I'll have another surprise for you...

we're done!

The tour is finally over. We are done. Good times. Thanks to all the kids that listened, the people that put us up, and the teachers who helped organize things for us.

And, by the way, I felt no sadness at all. Just a tremendous amount of relief.

So now my two week vacation starts. I'm going to spend most of it in NYC, reconnecting with my old peeps and trying not to spend too much money. So, if you're in the area, and you wanna grab a frosty beverage, give me a holla...

I'll probably check back in on Monday...have a good weekend!

the end (for reals)

Just hit me that I'm going to be unemployed starting at noon on Friday. It's only for three weeks; don't worry, I'll be fine. It's not the unemployment that bothers me; it's that I'm leaving my company. Even though I'm in Kansas, I was still connected to Sleepy Hamlet, and now that last string is being severed. It's kind of like throwing away that last trinket your ex gave you. You know it's time, but it still kind of stings a little bit.

I wonder if I'm going to be sad at all t'm'row, or if I'll just be relieved to begin my three week vacation. (Probably the latter; that's how I felt after my last show.) I'll let you know...

snow days - not just for kids anymore!

Woke up this morning at 7:50 (which is pretty late for a weekday) and saw that I had a message on my celly. It was the teacher from today's school - no class today! Too much snow. So I went back to bed. I ended up getting almost ten hours of much needed sleep, then got up, ate breakfast, read an old Rolling Stone, went to the post office, watched Pardon The Interruption. Good times.

Now I'm sitting around waiting for prime-time television to start. T'm'row is the last day of tour, and I've got to say that I'm pretty excited. It also marks the end of my association with my company in Sleepy Hamlet . Feels kind of like graduating from college - I'm entering the big bad world - so cold! so scary! I'm on my own!

One of the friends of the people that we're staying with made us our favorite desserts - apple pie for me, chocolate cake for Raf. SO GOOD. I've been trying to be good while I've been here - working out on the treadmill, eating the right things - but I have a feeling that it's going to be tough going when I get to the city. Going to have to go back on the "Judge Judy" workout plan (which I really should post one of these days - it's great!) when I get to Steak City.

Typing all that about the desserts made me hungry. Time for a slice of pie...

cold!

This tour has suffered through almost every type of weather known to man. Yesterday morning Rafael and I went out to the car at 7:30am. Temperature, according to the Ford Explorer: 4. That's four degrees. F, not C. I was outside for maybe 30 seconds, and my legs were stinging from the cold.

This morning, when we went to the car - same time - it was a tad warmer: 7 degrees. However, it's not getting any warmer as the day goes on - I believe we're currently at 9. And the forecast says that we're supposed to get 6-8 inches of snow by t'm'row morning. There's about an inch on the ground already. I did plan ahead this time; pulled out the thermals! So at least I'm warmer...although my leg hair is going to hurt later.

So we've had rain, hail, snow (and blizzard!), wind, thunder & lightning, and extreme cold. The only thing we're missing is locusts.

All right, enough fooling around on the computer. I've got to try and head back to the high school. Thank God for 4-wheel drive. By the way, I've been meaning to point your attention to the Blogs I Like section - I've added a couple more that you should peruse.

tired musings

Have I mentioned that I'm ready for a vacation yet? Well, I am.

Don't know if I said anything about this previously, but my Turkey Day trip to New England meant that I missed my class reunion back in the 'burgh. Last night they posted some pictures from said reunion - it's amazing how some people change completely, and how other look exactly how they looked in HS. (I'm probably in the latter group; I've just filled out a little.) Everyone looked like they were having a great time, and part of me really wishes I could have been there. However, at the moment that this reunion was taking place, I was sitting around a table with my entire family, and that hasn't happened in almost a year. And we had one of the best conversations we've ever had. I wouldn't give up that moment for anything. I suppose you could say that everything works out.

My reunion feelings strike me as particularly interesting, since I'm currently working in high schools. I look around the room and wonder where all of these kids are going to end up. Am I preparing the next Tom Hanks? Will one of these kids grow up to be President? Or maybe there's someone in this group is going to eventually commit murder, or die tragically, or save someone's life. Sometimes I think I need to turn my brain off.

Debating whether or not to work out, or just get dinner. Topeka is home to every chain restaurant in America, I swear. Question: am I weird for not wanting to eat at Hooters? I definitely have a weakness for pretty women, but I just feel kind of dirty going in there to eat/pick up food. Does that make any sense?

(Damn, someone needs a lot of affirmation today...)

"freshen up the wig" part 2

Ain't nobody dope as me, I'm just so fresh so clean (so fresh and so clean clean!)

- OutKast

The wig is fresh. Went to the barber on Saturday afternoon - not only did I get my hair cut at a reasonable price, but I'm now all caught up on MTV's Making The Band. Apparently I was the only one in Topeka who didn't know what was going on. Go figure.

Warning: I'm feeling kind of scatter-shot tonight, so this will probably be a notes-style post. You have been warned...

Yesterday I went to the Chiefs-Broncos tilt at Arrowhead Stadium in KC. Great crowd, great atmosphere, but lousy result, 'cause the Chiefs won and the Steelers needed them to lose.

Got back in the saddle today...went to a school named after Narnia stuff. The entire school is going to see The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe on Friday, which I thought was kinda cute and a touch creepy. Only four days left of tour. Thank God.

Speaking of tour, I'm really getting tired of going to bed early and getting up even earlier. I'm a 10am-2am kind of guy, and having to get up early for school (plus all the time changes I've been going through lately) are kind of messing with me. I really need a three week vacation to catch up on sleep, but that's never going to happen. Gotta keep sayin' my new mantra: 4 days left. 4 days left. 4 days left...

The weather here in Kansas is, to put it bluntly, miserable. The temperature outside right now is 15, but with the wind chill it's a cool -4. T'm'row: high 20, low 9. Wednesday: high 17, low 4. I can't tell you how much I miss the Left Coast right now...

Been struggling with the title/purpose of this blog lately. I really enjoy posting, but I'm not sure that my reasons for writing are clear to the masses. Maybe I need to not worry about what other people think and keep plugging away. After all, a blog is basically an online journal, right? And, last I checked, you're reallly supposed to journal for yourself. Getting feedback from others (which I love, by the way, and I thank you for reading) is a bonus.

5 days until my triumphant return to NYC...

"freshen up the wig" part I

So...I don't know if non-black people are aware of this, but cutting our hair is a bit different than other people's hair. And, as a general rule, most black folk prefer to have another black person cut our hair, you know, since they deal with it themselves every day.

I haven't had my hair cut in over a month, and it's kind of getting unruly, so I decided that I was going to look for a barber in Topeka. (By the way, I don't think I've mentioned this before, but Kansas is WAY more diverse than I thought it would be - props to Kansans.) I met a black teacher at the school I was at today, and she gave me the address of a barber who was open late on Fridays. I was very excited.

I drove all the way over to the barber shop, which is on the opposite side of town from my temporary domicile, parked the Smooth Ride I'm driving, and strolled in the shop...where I was informed by the barber that he was booked solid for the next week. He pointed me across the way to another barber shop, which (1) looked WAY sketchier, and (2) was closed. I called the number on the sign and, as the message stsrted playing, realized that it was someone's pager or cell phone, so I didn't leave a message. Ten minutes later I received the following phone call, with loud rap music playing in the background:

Hello?

This *&%#$@&*. Who this?

Uh, this is K-Lance.

You call me?

(Realizing who this probably is)

Yeah...I need to get my hair cut.

Well, I'm done for the night, son.

Okay...are you open tomorrow?

Yeah. But don't hit me up until 12 or so, 'cause I got to take care of someone before then.

Okay. Hey, are...

CLICK.


So I guess I'm getting my hair cut t'm'row.

I kind of want to go out tonight, but I know ABSOLUTELY NO ONE in this town, other than my partner. And all of the people I met this week were either 18 (or younger), or too old to go to bars. So I guess I'm going to sit in this nice house and read some old Rolling Stones. If you're in the area and want to entertain me, or know of anything fun to do around here, please let me know...

sibling rivalry

My friend Stef has been blogging for a few months now - she took a break in October, but she's got some good stuff. But now Stef is annoyed...because her older sister, Annie, has started her own blog. Her first entry is one of the best reasons for starting a blog that I've ever heard...I laughed my ass off.

So this is what you have to do. First, read Annie's blog (it just started last week, so it won't take you very long). Then, go check out Stef's blog and leave her a comment so that she doesn't feel unloved. Once you read this post of hers, you'll understand.

Always trying to hook y'all up with The New Hotness...