I Love My City, But.....

.......this violence has GOT TO STOP!!!!


Yesterday morning I woke up feeling GRAND! This almost NEVER happens as I am the anti-morning person. Mornings don't really work well with me. No speaking. No conversing. Nothing. Not til at least 11am (it used to be noon; I've made progress). But yesterday, I woke up feeling like it was 3pm on a bright summer day. Last weekend was awesome, my birthday party was a huge success and I spent the rest of the weekend with friends and family. I really enjoyed myself. So, on Monday morning, I put some pep in my step, rocked on to my Pandora on my SlimBerry*, and headed to work with all smiles. I felt great!

As the day wore on though, I learned of the killing of 16 year old Derrion Albert that happened on my birthday last Thursday (I did not watch the video) and as I kept being informed of his truly horrific death, my mind took a flashback to 2008, where I lost two friends I'd known since before my high school years, one of which I was really close with. (I blogged on it here)

The more information I received, the more depressed I became. This is so much bigger than the single death of this young and innocent teen in Chicago. This, at least for me, was the straw that broke this camel's back.

I really can't take it anymore!

I woke up this morning feeling incredibly blah....a complete 180-turn from yesterday morning. No more pep. Pandora was on but...I wasn't feeling it really. I was just....blah. My heart was heavy and I felt weary. The crime here is getting worse and something MUST be done in my city!

On the whole, Chicago needs improvements across the board. The education system is lacking, there's money in the city, but it doesn't go to where it needs to go to help properly educate our youth...and pay those educators a more reasonable salary to aid in motivating said educators to...educate in the first. I know funds aren't as available given the size of the city and the amount of kids and teens that are in dire need of a proper education, but something has to give.

If education (what should be a child's primary focus in their 'growing years') were where it should be, I firmly believe that the violence in the city wouldn't be as high as it is right now. It's STAGGERING right now. In 2008, Chicago reached a whopping 538 senseless killings of persons under the age of 25 in ONE YEAR! (Sidenote: My friend Kermit being the 500th- Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr was at the funeral; I spoke with him briefly). Now that total is worse than that and it isn't even October yet?! There's a problem in the Chi water. A huge problem.

It goes without saying that Chicago is one of the most important, most talked about, most admired cities in the entire world. And because of that, we even have a bid for the Olympics in 2016 to be held here. This is an event that will literally cost millions on top of millions (if not billions) of dollars. Funds and donations have been put in play for the bid to be placed in Chicago for a LONG time. It's a truly exciting event but.....

....my mind just says, "what about the violence toll? What about these kids?"

Mayer Daly's mind is primarily on the Olympics. "We'll deal with the kids and the education system later. That issue will always be there" he says with his actions.

......Okay...but the kids may not always be here.

It's just a sad situation overall in my eyes. Priorities are once again shifted onto what can be "covered up" whilst maintaining the "image" that Chicago is of "Elite-status"--one of the best of the best-the creme de la crop. Top dog. Whatever.

It's all smoke and mirrors.

The reality of the situation is.....yes, Chicago is awesome, but underneath that awesomeness--underneath the ravishness of Navy Pier, Lake Shore Drive, Michigan Ave, Hyde Park, Bronzeville, the beaches, the museums, the art and the culture--lies a terrible underbelly of a different kinda "culture"--a rawness that reeks of hate and pisses ignorance which breeds fear within our kids who are afraid to go to school for fear of being killed en route due to the senseless killings taking the lives of their peers right before their eyes.

I'm moved to start a non-profit organization of some sort--an Afterschool Program for our youth here in the city. I was a mentor in grade school and college. I'm moved not solely by Derrion Albert's death, but by the consistency of the deaths here in my city as a whole.

Something really needs to change. I just hope that change can be sought before it's too late...




*SlimBerry is my BlackBerry Tour

Trey Day

Last Monday night, I attended Trey Songz' concert featuring Laura Izibor at the House of Bllues and was pleasantly surprised to say the least.

Unlike the fuckery that was Drake's concert a few weeks back, the Laura Izibor/Trey Songz combo was a complete difference, in only the most positive of ways. The concert started on time with Izibor opening the show and giving the crowd something to be excited about. I love her voice and compare her whole style to that of Alicia Keys. She plays the piano and has a very soulful/jazz-esque sound that I can appreciate. I was definitely pleased with the performance.

Towards the end of her number, she performed Mary J. Blige's, "Real Love", which drove the crowd INSANE! She is really talented and should NOT be slept on, people! Download her album which just dropped in May here.

The curtain closed for about 30 minutes and Trey Songz appeared on the scene. His promptness won cool points with me instantly and I wished I could just sit back and enjoy the show versus standing shoulder to shoulder with the other concertgoers. However, I wasn't complaining.

Onstage, Songz sang songs from his latest album, "Ready" which drops in August as well as select songs from his last work, "Trey Day". While singing, I was hoping against hope that he'd sing, "Role Play", which is by and large one of my favorite songs on the album. It just does hard to me. However...he never sang it. Instead, he sang other bangers like, "Missing You", "Sex For Yo Stereo", "Can't Help But Wait", and one of my favorites....."Last Time".

He even took it back and sang a hit song from his very first album, "Gotta Go" to which case he belted it out as if it was his first performance while the concertgoers crooned along with him. It was an awesome night.

What made it even more awesome was his stage presence. One thing that he did that blew me away (besides him making eye contact with me on more than one occasion-I think it was cuz height-wise I stood out from most of the girls) was his ummm "oral-sex face". He did an oral impersonation that left me stunned. I almost had to slap myself to get back on track with the concert...cuz my mind had definitely drifted lol. He also got offstage and performed in the crowd. This was short-lived, however as he was nearly raped by the females within reach and had to be pulled back onstage. Some of the women were so thirsty you could see the sand fall out of their mouths. It was ridiculous.

I will say that I completely underestimated Trey before this concert. I considered him a mildly talented singer with way too much physical appeal, which landed him "passes" in the industry. After last night's show though, my mind has changed. The kid* is an entertainer. And not only that...he's a really talented entertainer. I'm glad I was wrong, otherwise I'd have been upset that I paid for the ticket to see him.**

Other points of the night:

- A downfall of the concert was undoubtedly the "all ages welcome" for admission into the concert. With this, there were kids (literally) of all ages (literally), including a newborn child wrapped in a blanket with its mother enjoying the concert. Couldn't find a babysitter? Smh

- The attire of the concertgoers seemingly everywhere. Monday marked the first day of summer and it was HOT in Chicago (like 88 degrees outside). With that said, there were people everywhere in theee skimpiest of clothing and also the most out of date of styles. I hate trend followers and "trend-only" styles because well...they die fast. I prefer a timeless style. However, that wasn't the worst of it though. Three girls who came to the concert together were dressed from head to toe like Rihanna's clone. (By "head to toe", I mean from the hair to the makeup to the clothing to the shoes and even to the tattoos and "swag". It was weird as Hell, not to mention Rih Rih's current hair is just NOT hot. Ugh!) But anyway...

- Women fighting (literally) over things that Trey threw out to the audience. One incident was near me. He threw his sweaty towel. The towel touched my hand and some girl jumped all over my poor arm. I was rocking my specs and those few off, almost to the ground. I immediately tried to keep my distance and said girl as well as two others proceeded to fight over the towel. Security came to briefly break it up. It wasn't that serious. They can keep his sweaty towel! lol

- Women literally throwing their pantiies on the stage. Seriously. I swear I thought that the whole panty-throwing was a myth until last night. Damn, Trey...smh.

All in all though, I really enjoyed the concert. And I will be getting "Ready" when it drops (pause). Next concert is Lupe Fiasco's (yall know that's one of my FAVORITE artists, hands down!!!) at the Chicago Theatre.....but *sigh* I may not go. I've got broke friends :(. We'll see though, so stay tuned!

I've got videos and pics from Monday night stored into my phone but...they aren't the best so I won't be posting those up.

*- Trey is a year older than me. I just like to say "kid" here and there.
**- I wasn't going to go, but my homegirl is a Stan so I obliged and went. And loved the show. I'm glad I went.

A Day in the Life...Good Samaritan/Bad Samaritan

I send Pillow* a text. It reads: "Guess who didn't know it'd rain today so she subsequently got "stuck in the rain" downtown AND fell in the rain on BOTH knees in one of her good suits?"

Rushing to work is the worst when you've gotta take two trains and walk a collective 4 blocks to get there on time. Add a downpour to that sans an umbrella and you've got yourself an even more pressing ordeal. Thank goodness for Good Samaritans.

The other day was something else. Coming out of the train station which took me from my suburb and into the heart of downtown, I really did not expect to see rain. I mean...there was no rain en route. (Or maybe I just wasnt really paying too much attention :shrugs:). As I creep out of the terminal and throw on my hooded springcoat to face the outside world which looked bleek, black, and bland, I'm interrupted by a, "let me know when you're ready". I look at the woman who is apparently talking to me.

"Oh go ahead," I respond. I think I am in her way of passing so she could exit the terminal.

"Oh I'll just wait. I've got an umbrella and I notice you don't. You going this way?" she motions straight ahead.

I pause for a half second to very quickly survey her. It is not advised to talk to random strangers, much less accept any offers of good will they may bestow. But it was raining, she offered her umbrella, and I hate getting my hair wet. I weighed out the pros and cons within that .5 second and oblige. She seemed harmless.

And my hair stayed dry all the way until..........BAM!

I fell. On BOTH knees. In one of my good suits, no less.

Now I'm 5'9", so my depth perception is typically "lower" than most people. All of a sudden, I'm on the ground, looking up and I have no clue how I got there. Now embarrassed (because I'm just too tall to be falling at random), I get up quickly and try to walk it off as if it didn't happen. Good Samaritan asks if I'm okay, while I laugh and say, "this isn't my day. I don't fall. Ever" and keep walking, still trying to ignore what just happened. Shortly after, we part ways and I thank her for being so nice.

I was on the way to an important meeting on the North side. I was incredibly early because I had no clue how long it'd take me to get from Point A to B and then finally to C (C being my final destination). Getting off of the El train I took once departing from Point B and the Good Samaritan, I spot a cab that could take me to my meeting.

I'm excited. It's raining out and even though I'm about 2 blocks away, this is two CITY blocks...which means the blocks are much longer....and must I remind you that it's RAINING! In my mind, me + walking in a downpour = no bueno.

Me: *shouting because it's raining* Good morning! I'm going to [gives address].

Bad Samaritan: *also shouting through the downpour* Okay. That's just about 2 blocks up that way *he points in the direction*

Me: Okay. It's raining. And I've got a meeting. Can you take me?

Bad Samaritan: No.

Me: *super shocked I got denied a ride by a cabdriver* Really?! Like--for real?

Bad Samaritan: Have a good day *speeds off*

Me: *now to myself like a crazy person* I mean did he just deny me a ride? Really?! It's raining!

I should have gotten his cab number. I wasnt even thinking about it at the time because that kind of stuff just has never happened to me before. I could see if it was a beautiful day outside...but it was POURING. Needless to say, I ended up walking the 2 blocks up the road and getting to my meeting extremely soaked. Thanks, Bad Samaritan. Thanks.

Lucky for me though, I got to the meeting painfully early so by the time it had started, I didn't look so terrible. (It was pure talent with the comb on my part however, because my hair was done for when I got to my destination!)


*- TLOML

Drake- Not the Best I Ever Had

So last Friday, Drake came to Chicago's House of Blues and performed a few tracks from his So Far Gone mixtape. Six words to sum up the concert:

What a Friday night that was....

The concert was scheduled to start at 11:30pm/midnight*. However, the lengthy line of fans and concert goers that circled around the perimeter of the House of Blues did not budge until well after 12:15. Luckily, my buzz was still quite intact and the ultra-comfy heels I wore were still supporting my feet and providing comfort. Once inside, I met up with some other friends, chatted a bit while the 900 fans collaborated in the standing room and collectively awaited a what then seemed to be a "oh there's just a few technical difficulties/Drake will be out really soon, so no need to worry" ordeal.

But then....time marched on.

And on.

I noticed my buzz dying down and my feet hurting just a tad, so I helped myself to a drink to get back into my groove. At around 1:30am, I took a seat, sipped my vodka/cranberry juice mixture, and a random girl came up to the group of us and said, "Drake ain't comin; I'm leaving". We shrugged. I looked at my phone and noticed the time and said, "Dang, he really might not show up".

At around 2am, I excused myself to make my way back to my original group, who were positioned perfectly in the front row/center of the standing room. On the way to them, I run into an ex-boo's roommate (we'll call this ex-boo "Big" and the roommate "Ck"). Ck and I chat very briefly and for a millisecond Big is mentioned.** Immediately, the curtain finally opens. "Drake is coming on!!!" shouts fans everywhere.

But alas........no Drake.

Instead came flooding random act after random act of Chicago's Wackest Artists (henceforth known as the CWA crew). One of the performers was a Latino rapper who's entire theme was, "the game needs to change". He came onstage complete with a three-piece suit and was determined to set his message.

Then....the unthinkable erupted. Out popped four women dressed in midrifts and thongs. They did a choreographed number which included a series of spins (professional turns), leaps, and.........booty drops and splits. *sigh* I thought he said the game needed a CHANGE!

Everyone in the audience was agape. Stunned, shocked, and quite annoyed. When the Latino artists' dancers appeared, I instantly let out a very loud, "SERIOUSLY, FAM?!?!" for all those around me (including those onstage as I was pretty close to the stage) to hear. I was irritable and all that I kept wondering was, "Where the Hell is Drake?!"

Finally, at around 2:45am, one of the hosts closes the curtain and says, "Y'all ready for Drake?" I understand that this was a method of amping the crowd, but at almost 3am, it was no longer necessary. Of course we were ready for Drake...especially after seeing and having to listen to those extremely subpar artists!

The curtain stayed closed until about 3:15am. Suddenly, the music came on and Drake had FINALLY made an appearance. I wasn't able to do a video myself because right before he came onstage, my phone's battery had died out completely *sad face*. When he came, he carried on as if we hadn't been waiting for him for the past 4 hours. He gave a really good show and I was really into it (especially when he performed, "Best I Ever Had" and "Say What's Real") until.....

...a fight broke out right in the middle of Best I Ever Had. And the performance was briefly aborted.

Here is the clip:




[sidebar]
Looking at the clip at around the 4:00 mark, you'll see one of my homies that came to the concert with us--Mikey. He has on all black and when the commotion erupted with the fight, he acted as if he was one of the members of Drake's entourage to make sure everything was copacetic. LOL How he got onstage is completely beyond me. We were wondering where he was all night! Also-you see Lupe Fiasco onstage holding Drake? Man I wish he had performed. He is one of my favorite artists HANDS DOWN!!!
[end sidebar]



The concert ended shortly afterwards. A disappointed Drake said he only had one more song left to perform but in my eyes, he couldn't have been finished performing, for it was only 4am. Now 4am is a late time...however, considering he had just gotten onstage at 3:15, I trusted he wouldn't be finished until around 5am. I was a little bummed about the ending of the concert, but glad nonetheless. I was tired/sleepy as Hell*** and my buzz had completely worn off, never to be seen again. So I was bittersweet.

Once we exited the House of Blues, there were cops and ambulances all over, someone had been shot, and it was just an all-around mess dressed in true Chicago fashion. I can't say that I was disappoined at the overall turnout, but as I said in the beginning of this blog:

What a Friday night that was...

*- It was scheduled so late (most likely) because Keyshia Cole had a concert at the Chicago Theatre (about ten minutes away) that same night that started at 8. Since Keyshia is a bit more 'official' than Drake, guess who wins?
**- The "Big" fiasco may possibly may be a more developed story for you readers. I know, I know...shocker, right? lol
***-I did not get home until after 6am on Saturday morning, not to mention I had not been sleeping whatsoever since the beginning of the week. My Insomnia had DEFINITELY kicked into a very high gear last week. It was insane!

Terrible (Negative) Twos...and Counting...

I really shouldn’t be surprised, but I am.

I’m a small (read: muy slim) chick. Because of that, I am always colder than everyone around me and I get cold much quicker than anyone else as well. So when I walked to my car this morning to have it warm up for a few minutes before I head out for work and walk back in the house only to find that my hands were practically frost-bitten through my insulated gloves, I thought it was just me...because it usually is. It wasn’t until I looked at the television before leaving work (GMA is what’s poppin in the mornings!) and find that at the time, it was twelve degrees. Twelve degrees is cold as (can I say “Hell” even though Hell is supposed to be um….Hot?)…IJS…Twelve degrees makes me wish I had hair now…

I digress…

It’s colder than it’s EVER been here in Chicago. How cold, you ask? I just looked at the Weather Bug thingy on my computer and……..it’s now negative two degrees outside. Negative two. Like two degrees below freezing.

I told y’all here that I hated winter, didn’t I? It’s really not the business.

As if that’s not bad enough, I was talking to a homie earlier who told me that he heard that it’s supposed to get to negative thirty out here. My thoughts?

How in the Hell is that even possible? Like is that even livable? I’m just saying…..negative thirty is worse than the Arctic, isn’t it? Can polar bears thrive through that comfortably? What about the Eskimos? Even still…..here in Chicago, there are no Eskimos, polar bears, or igloos in sight, meaning…….we don’t do that kind of cold. And apparently we haven’t since……..1996.

Sigh

It’s times like these where I really wish I forsaw myself moving to another, more warmer climate soon, instead of understanding and taking grip to the reality that I’ll be in Chicago for just a bit longer.

I love my city. Believe me, I do. But this cold stuff? This freezing stuff? This weeeeelllll below livable temperatures stuff? It’s not even for the birds. It’s for some other sucka. A sucka called an Eskimo. And we Chicaoans aint suckas.

Beat it, Cold. SCRAM!!!!!

(rant over)