A chief event of life is the day in which we have encountered a mind that startled us.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

No thank you, I'll pass...

I’m not a roaring feminist nor am I in the business of bashing males. In this post I’m not nagging, just sharing a conglomerate of pet peeves with people with penises. We’ll call it vaginal venting for now. Don’t worry men, the ladies will get a similar post when I can be honest enough with myself to admit that I will fall into all of the categories I list. Listing my pet peeves will restrict me a little bit and I don’t want to go off in a tangent so numbered list in 5, 4, 3, 2…

1. Being nosy- My issue with this trait is simply that it is the arch nemeses of most of my traits (courtesy of only child syndrome). I like my privacy but have no problem letting you in. It just has to be on my terms. Call it selfish or even anal retentive for all you Freudians. Whatever, I don’t mind. I also like giving people the liberty to invite me to information about them. Feeling entitled to info and taking away that liberty just makes it seem as if you don’t trust them or think they’re incapable of sharing themselves with you. Where’s the fun or security in stumbling across things about someone? I feel if they want you to know they’ll tell you and if it’s something that could potentially cause a problem you’ll find out in due time. Faults tell on themselves, you don’t have to look for them. With that being said, mind your business. I’m a little more lenient with this in women only because most of the women I know are nosy so it is no shock to me. Nosy men are a new-age invention. I don’t remember growing up with or around any of those. Maybe they were undercover or evolved into nosy men as a result of life experience. All I know is it’s not attractive. Stop it.  


2. Overly emotional- According to you [men], isn’t that our job? Why would you feel the need to be the very thing that supposedly makes us so complex? Do me a favor and be simple, I like you that way. Balance it out, don’t make it more weighted on one end. That’s how domestic disputes start and I don’t have time to get into it with you. Slapbox, no…Xbox, yes. We can virtually fight and take it out on the controller. Okay?


3. (last but not least) Abandoning issues at hand- Not to be confused with abandonment issues, although they are not too far off. That’s a whole different blog. If I ask you a question, answer it. It doesn’t even have to be an extra intelligent, grandiose answer just acknowledge it. You know what the most awesome response is when you feel cornered and don’t want to say something to spark even more mess? “Tell you what, I need some time to think about it so I can give you the best answer from all possible outcomes.” Someone said it to me and it blew my mind. In that response, you acknowledged my feelings and took on the task to delve into those feelings to see it from my point of view. I’d be too flattered to carry on in disagreement. I’d be baffled, probably still a little rattled but I’d have to respect it. No matter what you do PLEASE don’t abruptly end the conversation. You just pressed pause on that emotion only for it to be played later, it doesn’t help anything. You might as well address it now so it won’t come back seven times stronger later. Issues like to play peek-a-boo. They go away for a little while, sometimes long enough for you to really think they’re gone for good. Then they do a swift roundhouse Chuck Norris kick to your face! Not really but they do love to resurface and do it with reckless abandon. So tip your hat to your issues, let them know you know they are there…or something.

Addiction Anonymous...

If you want to know what makes someone tick, don’t ask them what their favorite things are. Watch them and see what they are addicted to. Things can be “favorited” by choice but addictions are inclinations and needs that cannot be adjusted with a simple change of mind. Here are mine…

1. Dance Central (Xbox Kinect)- I don’t mind going to the gym but I DO mind when my hindparts are the motivation for someone else’s workout [ugh]. So to avoid that I shake what my Mama gave me at home. It’s a good way to keep fit and have fun. Usually when we have company, we’ll feed them and then coerce them into playing. Watching people dance on a full stomach is the funniest thing.


2. Vanilla Coke- *shakes head* I don’t even like soda! Somehow this seductive concoction has me craving it day and night. I’ll finish one then walk past the fridge scolding myself for what I’m about to do…GET ANOTHER ONE! Let’s see, I’ve had 6 in the past 3 days so that’s a 2 can a day habit. Not cute.


3. Ham & Cheese Croissants (Au Bon Pain)- I mean really, who can turn down meat wrapped in a buttery bun? [pause] You know what I mean.


4. Single Ladies on VH1- I swore I wouldn’t watch it, laughed at my friends for being so hyped to rush home and watch it. Now I find myself being the focal point of my ridicule. My reality tv hobby is enough and now I had to go and find a “real” tv show to latch on to. Shame on me. Kudos to Queen Latifah though, looks like she’s got another good show under her belt.


5. CT from Real World- He scares me but I can’t help but watch him. You never know what he’s going to do next. He could care less what you think and will let you know. Yikes, he kind of sounds like the male equivalent of me. So I’m addicted to my male self?! ARGH! Creepy. What makes it worse is that we have the same initials.


6. Stethoscopes- I FINALLY got into nursing school [HALLELUJAH!] and as a result I’ve been making it a point of motivation in everything I do. I sketch stethoscopes EVERYWHERE, on my work notes, napkins, my crossword puzzles, they are even the featured clipart on the left side of my checks. If you turn away from me too long I’ll draw one on the back of your neck. Washable ink though, no worries. Once I master the caduceus I’ll switch to that and vandalize everything.


7. Crossword puzzles- They’re like push-ups for the mind. There are numerous mental and optical benefits that they have but I didn’t fall in love with them for that. My grandmother always did them. I wanted to do everything she did because it looked so flawless like she was born doing it. She showed me how to do them and when I was old enough to do them on my own I’d keep one near me. There was something therapeutic about them. It now makes sense that when angered or sad and I couldn’t find the words to say I’d complete a word search. I make sense to myself more and more each day. Go me!


8. My new last name, THOMPSON!- I get giggly when I sign it. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family and Amos will always be a part of me. Amos (AH-MOS) in origin is Spanish/Latin, the suffix for “we”. That’s mild enough. Yet, Amos when normally pronounced is pronounced as the Hebrew (AY-MUS) which means “heavy-laden, burdened, or encumbered”. I am a believer that what a thing/person is called gives light to their character and purpose. Even though bubbly in nature, I can honestly say that my joyous appearance was forced and deep down I was just as heavy laden as my name. No fault of anyone, I just have a terrible habit of taking on other people’s problems as my own. It gets tiresome afterwhile [Matthew 11:28 has been my saving grace]. So, I changed my last name with no reservation when I got married. I was determined to take on a new focus in life and felt that a new name would help. Thompson actually is just an Old English variation of a title, “Thom’s son”. I’m not sure who Thom or his son is but I rock with the name.


9. Hugs- They are more sanitary than shaking hands unless the person you want to hug has some nasty flesh-eating disease. Kidding! I feel like hugs are the one chance you get at transferring your love to another person. Nothing freaky. Just a sweet platonic love, the love of Jesus Christ, Buddha, Justin Beiber…whatever you believe in.They are tricky things though. You can’t hug everyone because just as easily as you pass on your love you can pick up someone’s hate and ill feelings. Hug with caution.


10. (A standard number to conclude so I’ll stop here) Jesse Boykins III- If you know me I’ve thrown a song or two from him your way, if you’ve lived with me you can probably quote his lyrics. Marvin Gaye is my all-time favorite artist. Since he went home with the Lord and can’t make anymore music I have to keep what he left on repeat. Jesse’s conscious lyrics, layered harmonies, and ethereal instrumentals have been the closest thing to Marvin. That’s not the only reason I love him, just the thing that initially drew me to him when I heard “Itis”. He has a way of referencing love and lovemaking without making it so blatant. Everything in our world is in your face, sometimes I like my music to make me work so I can read in between the lines and interpret for myself. I would take euphemisms and innuendo over direct references to someone trying to “beat it up” anyday. I call it “court me music”, not that buy you a drink and do you up and down stuff. Not my style. Ask my husband. ;^)

The End…until something else tickles my fancy. Buh bye.

"Analog girl in a digital world"- E. Badu

Facebook, myspace, and *cough* tumblr only force me to be socially lethargic. What else could you expect from a technologically obese world though? Maybe I should go on a digital diet.

I have noticed my WPM increase dramatically and I appreciate the sexy resume upgrade but I have to be cognizant not to forget the quality of good ol’ human interaction. 

It saddens me that I’ll subconsciously trade colloquialisms like “Call you later!” for “Inbox me!”. My mini-feed and dashboard will replace my coveted morning Politico and The Washington Post. Before you know it, I’ll forget how to acknowledge an acquaintance with a pleasant greeting but be sure to text a smiley face later when I get off the elevator so they won’t think I was dissing them. 

I should pass out a hug per email or something. That should burn off some cyber carbs right? 

lostinmyescape:

MeLo-X - Mirrors in My Mind

Parallel Landfills

Just something I wrote after a weighted phone convo. It has been trapped in my blackberry long enough…

They come to dump their junk, their unwanted things. The mess that has piled up in their space has become overwhelming and unwelcome so they drop it off here. I retain it all until it spills over only to make more room for more mess. The clutter starts to run over into each other and has no breathing room. A stench forms that sticks in the air. It travels, it doesn’t dissipate for miles, choking everyone it meets. Did they not know that there was stuff here already? Pre-existing piles of tattered trash that were waiting to be compacted or better yet burned. They don’t care, they tell me secrets, they vent to release their woes but they don’t know where it truly goes. It goes through my ears only to lay and gather in my mind. Their breakthrough, my burden. Their spring cleaning has only littered my temple. God please teach them to recycle and turn their own trash to treasure. I’m filled to capacity. *exhale*

vintageblackglamour:

A 1970s Kotex advertisement.