The Raheem DeVaughn & Jill Scott show

Long time no see. Last night my coworker (Jackie) and I went to an amazin concert up in LA. In fact, it's my all time favorite concert. EVAH! It featured Jill Scott and a cool cat from DC, Raheem DeVaughn.

Raheem opened for Jill, and even though he did his thang (he was REALLY good!) I was kinda upset cuz he only got about 45 minutes, but Jill got 2 hours! She was worth it, though. Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed her. And overall the concert was more than entertainment... it was like a religious experience.

But I wish Raheem coulda got more time! Suckas cut him short. Shoot.

I told Raheem that, too. See, unbeknownst to us, while Jill Scott was performin Raheem was out in the lobby chattin & chillin w/ folks. We found out cuz Jackie hadta go to the bathroom. And when she came back she was like, Girl, Raheem is out there!

I was like, is a lotta folks out there?

She was like, no, girl!

I was like, I'm goin out there.

She was like, I'm goin w/ you!

So Jackie and I hurried out there and only two folks were talkin to him at the time (I thought he was gonna be swarmed).

So when he finished chattin w/ them, I couldn't stop smilin at him. I mean, I was cheesin EXTRA hard! I couldn't stop myself. I was like:

Me: I'm from DC, too!
Ra: That's what's up!
Me: Yeah, that's what's up.

:-D

Me: Can I get me a hug?
Ra: Oh, fa sho!

Got me a GREAT big ole hug!

Then some other fans started chattin w/ him. His boy turned to me and was like, why don't you take a picture w/ him.

I was like, can we take pictures w/ him?

He was like, Yeah!

I looked at Raheem and was like, Can I get a picture witchu?

The result is the picture which is on the upper left side of this blog post. Oh and when the dude snapped it I was like: DC IN DA HOUSE! LOL!

His boy was like, why don't you get him to autograph it.

I was like, I aint got no pen. You gotta pen?

He was like, you goin' need a marker. Raheem gotta marker.

I hesitated, but his boy was like, Go 'head.

You think he goin' sign it for me?

Oh, he'll sign it for you!

So I turned to Raheem - he was half listenin to us, chattin w/ some other fans.

So I went back over to him and asked him if he'd autograph it. He asked me how to spell my name. I told him how to spell it. While he was signin it I told him he shoulda got more time. He was like, maybe next time!

I was like, you a Taurus, aint you?
Ra: Yup.
Me: I knew it! I heard you mention that in one of your songs!
Ra: What sign're you?
Me: I'ma Virgo.
I forgot his exact comment but it made me smile

:-D

Then some other folks came up and Jackie and I went back into the amphitheater. We clapped and sang along w/ Jill, but I had our picture in a death grip. LOL!

After it was over we poured into the lobby and I spotted Raheem! He was still out there. I smiled at him and waved. He smiled right back

It was a FANTASTIC night!


Mariama

My birthday trip to DC

I had a great time in DC, despite the oppressive heat. And it's funny cuz everyone said that while I was there - that it was actually cooler then than it had been recently. I was like, huh? Cooler? Once you figured in the humidity it felt like it was 120 degrees. How on earth could THAT be cooler?

Livin out here for the past seven years, I forgot just how freakin hot & swampy DC gets in the summer. And it's like the heat has been stickin around longer and longer lately. Back in the day, by Labor Day there was a hint of chill in the air, and we hadta take jackets w/ us to school. Not anymore. We didn't even need a jacket at night. Global warmin, indeed.

This time around I managed to see several of my cousins, my uncle, my aunt. One of my cousins threw a cookout and we had a ball!

I also got to see one of my best friends since 7th grade. She made it over to the house the day before I left. She still looks the same. It was great seein her.

I didn't get a chance to see my Grandmother, though. I wanted to but since I didn't have a rental car, I was at the mercy of other drivers in the house, and somehow we never made it down there. She was really lookin forward to seein me, and I her. I'll have to muster up enough courage to give her a call and apologize.

The day I left my folks made me some seafood. Fried soft-shell crab, shrimp, fish - but cuz I wasn't that hungry I just at the softshell crab (Mmmmm) and the shrimp. A coupla days earlier they made some deeeeeeelicious fried Channel Bass. Mmmmm, that's some good fish.

I got absolutely NO writin done while I was there. First off, it was too freakin hot to do much except sit around and practice shallow breathin, and also I was barely able to get online. See, my lil bookie (my nephew) couldn't remember the security key which I needed to get online usin my laptop (wireless signal). So I hadta resort to usin some neighbor's signal, which barely registered one bar. So it was rare that my lil laptop was able to get online. So there was no way I was able to finish writin our horror piece (it's currently stored online). Guess it's just as well, cuz the heat was so oppresive that God only knows what I woulda added to the script. LOL!

My lil bookie is drivin by himself now! He got his license in June and he's been drivin everywhere since. I wanted to take some pics of him drivin, but he didn't want to. He's actin all shy in front of the camera now, but when he was a lil kid you couldn't keep him away from the camera. Heck, he even asked if he could be in the pic w/ me - the pic that I took for my license. I thought that was so cute. Now he acts like he doesn't like takin pics. The joys of teenagehood.

Been chattin w/ this cool cat that I'm diggin. He's from Atlanta but he lives out here in Cali now. Been out here as long as I have. He's handsome, charmin, intelligent (he recently obtained his doctorate). Coinkeedeenkally, he was home in ATL durin the same time that I was home in DC. More than once, I wondered how long it'd take to drive from ATL to DC :-)

We spoke almost every night. Incidentally, he's the inspiration for my puttin up the video, "Bed", by J. Holiday. And also Raheem DeVaughn's poetic stuff. In short, he's fire.

Here's a link to some pics durin my trip.

http://tinyurl.com/2ph5cy

Mariama

Mish Mash

I FINALLY got a chance to get caught up on the HBO series, ENTOURAGE. I only have one word for it - brilliant. It's simply brilliant. Actually, I shouldn't say I got caught up on it, cuz I've only seen up to part 1 of Season 3. I haven't seen the rest, and I won't watch the most recent episodes that're airin on HBO, cuz I don't wanna watch 'em outta order. So I'ma wait til they release part 3 (in October, I believe). So it looks like I'll always be a lil bit behind the current season. But behind it or not, I'm just thrilled that I'm finally able to catch it.

I'm back in the swing of things on eHarmony. Currently e-chattin w/ several guys - and for the first time ever, I'm actually gonna date more than one guy at a time. See, in the past I'd weed out all but one and focus my time and energy on him, but not this time around. This time I'm actually gonna use the site for what it's there for - to date a variety of folks until things progress to the point where you think he's the one.

So instead of closin out matches, I'm gonna keep 'em open and actively date the ones I think would be potentially good mates. I know it's gonna be awkward at first, cuz like I said, I've never dated more than one guy at a time, but I'm sure I'll be able to pull this off, especially considerin they're guys and most likely they will be openly datin multiple girls as well.

In between episodes of ENTOURAGE and DISTURBIA, I managed to get some writin done this weekend. Still not finished w/ my short story - gotta polish the endin - but I managed to get some stuff done on the low-budget horror piece that E and I are finishin up. Things would be so much easier if I hit the lottery and could devote virtually all the time that I now spend at work - if I could then spend that time writin. That'd be sawweeeeet! Iain and I would have our scripts done in no time.

But as it stands, we've got ideas just sittin there waitin for us to develop, cuz we got full time jobs which eat up lots and lotsa time (and energy).

Don't get me wrong, we're doin OK, but I'd like for us to be doin better, in terms of the number of stuff we complete in a year… Although technically, he hasn't even been gone 2 months yet - and we're 3/4 done w/ the horror piece, and - like I said earlier, we've got 11 other projects we came up w/ while he was out, and of course we're anxious to get to 'em, one of which is an animated piece that we're downright giddy about. Plus there's the erotic noir. So we're doin okay. We just need more time.

And still we march on.

Down At The Beach

At least once a week I go down to the beach and walk for an hour. Before I started walkin home from work back in April (about a 30 minute walk) I used to go down there more often. But since I started walkin home I get my exercise that way, and now I usually only go down to the beach once or twice a week.

I strap my iPod to my arm and walk at a brisk pace. I had intended on joggin, but I thought that might be too hard on my knees, so I walk instead. I dig the ambience down there, plus I love the way the ocean breeze feels on my skin. It's like a gentle kiss.So I went down there yesterday mornin. It wasn't that crowded, thankfully, and it wasn't too hot... that is, until I noticed my temperature start to rise.

I looked up from the ocean view and that's when I saw 'em. A group of men in shorts and tee shirts joggin toward me. Big strappin men. Some were young bucs, others were seasoned vets. I knew who they were before they even spoke.

Firemen.

(MMMMMMMMmmmmmm)

It was about seven of 'em, and all of 'em were fine. I had my iPod strapped to my left arm so I knew I wouldn't be able to engage them in a convo. That is, unless I was really obvious and pushed pause, which I didn't wanna do. So I didn't wanna say too much, cuz I wouldn't be able to hear their response that well. So I simply said, "Firemen! My God! I love me some firemen."

Sike. LOL! I didn't say that. I wanted to say it, but I choked. I blinked, then smiled. They smiled, and a chorus of "Good morning"s followed, in various tones of bass and tenor.

And I said, (Thank you, God!) "Good mornin," right back. As I passed 'em I saw LBFD on their shirts. I knew it. Long Beach Fire Department.

Mmmmmm.

Later durin my walk - my radar was on again. Cuz I turned around and damn if one of those cuties wasn't joggin right behind me, smilin. He waved, and I smiled right back. But he was joggin and I was walkin, so he passed me and that was that. I wanted to run after him and strike up a convo, like, "So you're a fireman, huh?" But I didn't.

Maybe if I see 'em down there this Sunday - and you can bet my ass will be down there on Sunday - I'll work up the nerve. Cuz God knows I love me some firemen.

Mariama

We're Quarterfinalists

Just got an email today. One of the screenplay contests that I entered Iain's and my script (s) in has just announced that one or more of the scripts that I entered has advanced to the Quarterfinalist round. 3411 scripts were entered, so that's a pretty big pool. Only thing is - you're gonna love this - I don't remember which 2 scripts I entered.

D'oh!

I narrowed it down to 3 possible scripts, but I don't remember which 2 of those 3 I entered. See, I entered tons of contests, castin the net far and wide. But due to my limited cashflow, I mixed and matched which scripts I sent where. So I don't remember which ones I sent to 'em (there were sooooo many contests). AND I don't know whether one or both scripts advanced. The email didn't specify. It just said one or more of the scripts you entered. Lovely.

It's funny, cuz Terry always says to send your stuff out and then forget about it. He always warns against ridin the emotional rollercoaster. But I never ever woulda thought I'd actually forget which scripts I entered.

Anyway, the semis will be announced on July 30th, so wish us luck!

Meanwhile I havta finish my short story for the anthology, and I also havta get back to work on Iain's and my low budget horror piece. We're aaaaallllllmost done w/ the first draft. Yay!

Mariama

Shame The Devil

I finished the first draft of my short story which I wrote for the Retreat Anthology http://retreatanthology.blogspot.com/

I wrote it in longhand in one of the moleskins I just bought. I prefer writin in longhand. I mean, in addition to its bein more convenient, it's also easier on my fightin off carpal tunnel syndrome right wrist.

My piece is a fantasy short, and it's still in rough shape. But that's okay, because rewritin is infinitely easier (to me) than writin that first draft. Writin the first draft is a summmmmbitch.

To ease the flow, I usually write to music. With my iPod strapped to my left arm, I wrote away to a playlist which I created specifically for this story. I used Guns N Roses Greatest Hits, 2 songs by Metallica (Enter Sandman and Unforgiven), and Linkin Park's Meteora. I set the playlist on repeat and wrote away. Last night I finshed the first draft.

I'm currently calling it Shame The Devil.

And in other news I switched my eharmony settin and asked 'em not to send me anymore matches right now. I'm gonna focus on my writing for a bit, before really diving back in the pool.

Oh and I also bought my ticket for my trip back to DC. Whenever I'm able, I like to spend my birthday w/ my twin sister, since it's her birthday, too So the first week of September, I'll be home w/ my fam. I haven't seen 'em since April, when I went back for my Momz birthday. So it's time.

Mariama

Premonitions

I'm officially single again. Yup, the guy that I was seein - we recently broke up. It wasn't an angry or fiery kinda break up. It was pretty calm. He's just not ready to commit the way I want him to. He admits he's bein selfish, but at the same time he isn't ready or willin to change his behavior. So we're just gonna be friends. I'm glad we're still gonna be friends, cuz I do consider him a friend, albeit a selfish one :-P

I would say it took me by surprise, except the night before we broke up I had the oddest dream. I dreamt I was back on eHarmony and out on a date w/ one of the prospects. The guy I was with was diggin me, but I wasn't digging him. I felt repulsed, and guilty - like I was cheating on my then b/f.

I woke up and was like, wtf? Later that day we broke up.

What's really weird is I rejoined eharmony and one of the matches looked *exactly* like the dude in my dream. I was hesitant to respond to his request to communicate, but I did anyway. I don't think I'll pursue that one much longer though, not based on how I felt in my dream.

As one of my girlfriends just reminded me, dating can be scary. And dangerous. I've seen (and avidly watch) those forensic shows, where tons of women innocently go out w/ guys, only to be discovered a coupla days later - hacked to death in their homes… or not discovered at all. No doubt that weights on my mind, as I venture back into the land of the dating.

I'll try to be cognizant of the warnin signs, especially their eyes. One thing I've noticed about those murderers from the forensics shows is their eyes don't lie. They may seem charmin, handsome, suave, caring, considerate, etc. But they *all* had eyes that were ... dead. No warmth, no humanity. Just coldness. Evil. So I'll be sure to pay special attention to their eyes. And also to my dreams.