So much music to listen to ...

My music pile is stacking up.


Here's what's on the list:


Mary J. Blige "Growing Pains"

• You can't go wrong w/Mary ... love that "Just Fine" cut

Keyshia Cole "Just Like You"

• I like a few of her tracks; most are too mellow for my liking, but it's worth a listen

Kanye West "Graduation"

• Obviously, I was not quick to jump on this one, but after hearing several songs that I like, I've caved it; it's in my system and ready for action ... crazy thing is I have two different mixtapes of this disk

The Dream "Love/Hate"

• I am totally on the fence w/this one; the radio has been saturated w/"Shawty is a 10" (which by the way is not the version that is on the unedited disk)

Need to get:


Lupe Fiasco "The Cool"

• I will certainly be spending my next dime on this here disk. I was a huge fan of "Food & Liquor"; the vibe on this one has been all good too - word is the message is in the music

Wu Tang Clan "The 8 Diagrams"

• Unbeknownst to many, I am a fan of the Wu! Talent lurks in many places ...

Alicia Keys "As I Am"

• I've heard that this one falls a bit flat; need to hear it for myself because I really like "Like You'll Never See Me Again" and "No One"; again, slow jams, but I mellow out every now and then

Saul Williams "The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust"

• That title spells intrigue, right? I've known him for his poetry and I was quite keen on 04's "Saul Williams" So count me in on this one

Weekly Gratitude

I spent this week being thankful and grateful for my family and friends.

My fam is always there - enough said

My friends - they are awesome. A couple of them have sent some cute and brief emails to make me smile; another friend sent me a care package - just because. Yet another friend I called and ranted for nearly an hour and she listened, adviced and followed up to see how I was doing. It's the little things that matter and make me happy.

So much reading to do ...

I was working on a reading list because there are so many books that I want to read now. Actually since there are so many, I've considered some e-Books, but I have not gotten that far just yet. I'm hoping to get one in the next few weeks though.

So here is my short reading list:

"Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

• I'd like to read this one prior to the seeing the movie

"Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert

• Seeking as much positivity in life as I can muster up

"The Abstinent Teacher" by Tom Perrotta

• I read a review about this one in USA Today; the library has lots but the reserve list is uge so I wait

"Basic Black" by Cathie Black

• She was on Oprah and I enjoyed the interview; I've read other good reviews about the book and I need to read it for myself

There are other books on my list too:

"Give It Up ... My Year of Learning to Live with Less"

• I'm planning on doing this in baby steps - for at least three to four months: reduce shopping to once a month; wash clothes once a month; reduce miscellaneous spending, etc. (this is a work in progress)

"Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs"

"How Starbucks Saved my Life"

"Five Wishes"

"How to Win Friends and Influence People"

"Slam"

Good stuff. Check them out first hand or get to giving some as gifts!

The Grammy Nominations

I love awards season ... a chance to see all my pop culture heroes get their kudos! Just a quick post about the Grammy nominations:

• Alice Smith: I had this cd in my office for well over six months, then I tried to give it away to the students and they overlooked it, I listened to it again, thought that it was okay and ended up giving it to my sister who fell in love, love, love with it! She went to see her perform recently and said the live performance was quite nice. Alice reminds me (just a bit) of Macy Gray.

• Amy Winehouse: Tough time recently for this brit, but she's got the talent. I first became aware of her through ?uestlove of The Roots - he wrote about her in his blog. I got wise, purchased a copy via the interweb and gave it to my sis last Christmas - I enjoyed this one quite a bit myself. A few weeks after Christmas when I asked my sis if she had listened to it, she said no ... but she finally got around to it and shared the love w/her friends and co-workers. She is now a bonafide Amy Winehouse fan.

More to come later ... enjoy the list:

50th Annual Grammy Awards Nominations List

Personal Challenges

There are some difficulties in my life that are consuming a good amount of my positive energy. I'm mentally working overtime trying to eradicate the negative activity.

I've started to meditate - something I've been wanting to do for some time. I am already very conscious of my breathing so that helps. I meditating for at least five minutes, but no more than eight.

My current focus/chant is:
May everyone be happy, May everyone be free from misery.

But I think I am going to move along to:
Who am I? And where am I going?

Rollerblading

Okay ... so, a few weeks ago I visited the Skates.com webbie and ordered some rollerblades. They are really nice skates. Oh, they were $50 including shipping - hard to pass up, huh? I've ventured out on them only a couple of times - due to weather constraints.

There is, however, a really nice track that I've been using. It has the beveled edges which I thought would be cool, but it's a bit tricky to maneuver (I think that it would be cool on a bike though).

I've only fallen down a few times and not hard falls. I have all of the cautious gear too - helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist guards.

I've watched some videos online with tips about stopping and controlling your speed.

I'm thinking about getting a helmet camera ... but why? I mean really.