NuBNPrince's Xanga

2 1/2 Months Later...

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 15:56:59 GMT

Yeah, yeah, I know... it's been forever. Probably, nobody will come to read this one. And I understand... I've taken too long to update this thing. But the past few weeks have been extremely busy and I haven't been able to sit myself down to do another Blog entry. Let's see if I can cover everything that's happened in this one...

I don't think I mentioned that I was losing my job. Yeah, it seems that the US Postal Service decided to phase out all of the contractors they'd hired to do IT support at their HQ location (the building where I work) and bring in all USPS employees for the positions. Ugh. The bad news - my contract with HP would end on May 31st - TWO DAYS BEFORE THE WEDDING. But the good new was, I was given the opportunity to apply for one of the open positions, and if accepted, I'd get a nice pay raise. But, if any of you are goverment employees, you know the pain I had to go through when I applied. Yep, I had to write KSA statements for the first time in my life. Those things were a PAIN! I actually had the opportunity to apply for 2 positions, but writing the KSA statements for my current job were so hard, I didn't have time to write the KSA statements for the second job application! But I got through the interview process with no problems, and I was offered the job. Had to do some hard negotiations for a good salary, but I was hired on May 29th and I am now a US Postal Service employee!

Along with the new job, I happened to get a pre-approval letter from a nearby Dodge dealership. Normally, I'd ignore them silly things, but (1) I've been gradually more and more interested in checking out the new Dodge Charger, and (2) D has been encouraging me to get rid of the Pathfinder. Not that it was running badly, but I was staring down the barrel of about $2000 in more maintenance repairs, including a new clutch. I decided to follow up with the Dodge dealership. D and I went on a Saturday afternoon after running some errands, and they let me test drive the Charger SXT and the Chrysler 300. I really did fall in love with how the Charger felt on the road. While I was making my decision, the salesman showed D a Lexus ES300 she fell in love with as well... so we worked out a deal and BOTH OF US got off that lot with new cars! She drove off the lot with her new Lexus ES300 on Saturday....

... and Sunday we came back and I picked up my new Dodge Charger SXT!

OK, the story y'all have been waiting for - the wedding. so, the last time I Blogged, I was about to sing the National Anthem at a Washington Nationals game (they got SPANKED by the Florida Marlins that night, by the way...) and we had just chosen a great bakery for the wedding cake. I finally got my groomsmen in line and they all got down to the place I'd selected to get fitted for their tuxedos. D and I finalized everything we needed to for the wedding plans. Everything was going wonderfully... and then the Wednesday before the wedding, the A/C in our house went out. I called a technician, but he couldn't come out until the day before the wedding. That pissed me off, because D and I both took that day off and we'd planned to spend most of that day getting favors put together (with the help of her Maid of Honor and my sister). Friday comes, we're putting together favors in a sauna-like climate inside our house... her mom and aunt arrived and they went off to the spa for the day, while my sister and her Maid of Honor came and helped me finish the favors... the A/C technician finally showed up at 1:45pm (mind you, the rehearsal was at 3:00pm!) and takes about 20-30 minutes fixing the outside A/C unit. D, her mom and aunt come back home, drop some stuff off, and head to the Mansion for the rehearsal. I quickly shower and dress, and get over there myself. I arrive 15 minutes late... but guess what? (1) the caterer/day-of coordinator can't come because she's preparing our food, and (2) my groomsmen are late too! Everyone except one of my groomsmen finally shows up (he had to work) and we got through the rehearsal quickly. We rolled out and went to a nearby church D rented out for the rehearsal dinner. D gave me some cufflinks from Tiffany... I couldn't believe it. I love them thangs.... ANYWAY... it was so cool seeing a lot of both our families together at the rehearsal dinner. We went home, and she left for her bachelorette party. I had to find another place to stay that night (we agreed not to see each other 24 hours prior to the wedding)... I was checking out cheap motels nearby, when my friend James just happened to call (he was on his way home from a gig at the Birchmere) and he offered to let me stay at his house for the night. Great friend, he is...

So, Saturday morning... I wake up, thank James and his wife, and roll out. I practically spent the ENTIRE day in my car... got some breakfast with my dad, D's dad, and my dad's family from Connecticut... took my dad & D's dad to pick up their tuxedos... ran some last-minute errands (like extra alcohol for the bartender at the wedding)... headed to the Mansion. My groomsmen and I got dressed, and we went downstairs for the ceremony! We walked out with our officiant, Pastor Morris Shearin of Isreal Baptist Church in DC. As I stood at the altar waiting for D, I began thinking about all our time together... meeting here on Xanga, dating, meeting her friends, meeting her parents, proposing, buying the house... I just couldn't believe we were finally here. And before I could realize I was about to miss it.... the harpist changed songs, and out came D with her father. She had warned me beforehand how much I'd like that dress... I absolutely loved it on her. The ceremony was amazing, without any hitches (except Pastor Shearin speaking a little slowly) and we were finally officially married! The reception was amazing - the food was better than I expected, the overall lighting was gorgeous, everybody had a great time... we just partied that night. To this day, D still says, "dude... our wedding was the BOMB!"... *L* I have to agree... it really was.

The Tuesday after the wedding, D & I flew to New Orleans (with a layover in Atlanta). We arrived in an extremely hot New Orleans, took a cab to our hotel, and settled in. I cannot believe how gorgeous this hotel was - now I understand why she wanted to stay there so badly. The decor was amazing, the customer service was above top-notch... I could go on and on about The W. We went out to dinner - dammit, I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant we strolled to in the French Quarter for dinner! They had French-fried eggplant sticks that I swear were so good, I could almost give up French Fries for them! We strolled back to the hotel and had some drinks at the bar. When we got back to our room, the hotel had complimentary champagne & chocolate-dipped strawberries in our room for us.

Wednesday, we went to Court of Two Sisters for brunch - excellent brunch - strolled Bourbon Street (I had an official Bourbon Street Hurricane ) and then went down to the Waterfront to catch a riverboat cruise. We got to see one of the levees that broke when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. We had dinner that evening at a great Italian restaurant in the French Quarter, and then went to Cafe Du Monde for coffee & beignets... AWESOME! We picked up some beignet mix and a can of coffee to take home... went back to the hotel and chilled for the night.

Thursday, we got up and had breakfast and waited for time to get onto the cruise ship (that's right folks... our New Orleans adventure was not over.... we were setting sail on a 4-day Carnival cruise to Cozumel, Mexico!). We were sitting around watching TV so long, we even had lunch. Finally, we took a cab to the dock and boarded the cruise ship. Because of the cabin upgrade we selected, we did the VIP boarding, which took all of 15 minutes! They took us into a little room, checked us in, gave us our onboard ID cards, walked us onboard, and we were in our cabin suite within about 15 minutes! I could not believe it. So... we chilled in the room for a couple of hours, and then roamed to the main outside deck where they were giving a mandatory safety briefing before we set sail. It took FOREVER for them to get this thing going... but it took only 10 minutes to complete. Once it was done, we were ROLLIN'! Denise and I roamed up to the top outside deck, got a couple of drinks, and laid out. Then, we got some dinner from the casual dining buffet, ordered a small cake & champagne for ourselves for Friday, and chilled in our room. Our Hall Steward found out late that it was our honeymoon, so she folded some bath towels into little swans and laid out some rose petals on the bed. It was really cool...

Friday, we got up early (well, 7am.... late for us, since I normally get up at 4am for work, and she normally gets up at 5am) and went to breakfast at the casual buffet. We roamed the ship, checking out everything we possibly could. We drank... ate... shopped... watched movies in our cabin... we got our cake & champagne and ate that... we got dressed up and went to the formal Captain's dinner, checked out the Karaoke bar and the nightclub on the ship, then turned in early.

Saturday, the ship docked in Cozumel at 8:00am. We got breakfast, got off the ship, checked in with our shore excursion manager, did some duty-free shopping at the dock, then headed out to Playa Mia. It's one of many water resorts there where they have all these different water activities. Denise snorkeled and parasailed by herself, and we ate ourselves silly. Just before we left, we booked a waverunner for a few minutes and hit the water together. I was driving that thing like a champion until I took one bad turn and we fell into the water. We were able to swim back to the wave runner but I couldn't pull myself onto it. An attendant came up on another wave runner and helped us get back on. We still had BIG FUN... We got back to the ship, rested (I had a migraine at this point), roamed the ship a little bit, tried to participate in the Newlywed Game but I made us late (I was ironing a shirt)... but boy am I glad I made us late, cuz all the husbands danced in nothing but their boxer shorts at the end of the game... *ROFL* and one husband was a retired Baptist minister...we all died laughing... after that, we went back to our cabin and turned in.

Sunday, we got up, had breakfast, found a group of folks having Praise & Worship in one room and sang with them, hooked up with some other folks who were having a small worship service and heard a great sermon... had lunch... roamed the ship some more... watched movies in our cabin... went to a comedy show but we couldn't stay for the whole thing because the room was too cold. We went back to our cabin, packed, and turned in around midnight.

Monday, we got up, had breakfast in the formal dining room, watched Open Season in our cabin while waiting to get off the ship. FYI - for any of you going on a Carnival cruise anytime soon... if they give you the option to choose SELF-ASSIST DEBARKATION or GENERAL DEBARKATION... choose SELF-ASSIST. For the SELF-ASSIST DEBARKATION, you have to carry all your luggage off all the way... but you get off first, and they do it floor by floor. After that's finished, GENERAL DEBARKATION begins, and it's just a general cattle call for anybody left onboard. All in all, it took about an hour to get off, but it was still a pain. We got onto our first flight (New Orleans to Atlanta), which was OK... not too rough. We had dinner at Friday's at the Atlanta airport, then got on the flight from Atlanta to BWI... WORST FLIGHT I'VE EVER BEEN ON (turbulence-wise). We landed in BWI about 8:15pm, drove to D's friend's house in Severn to pick up the cat, drove home, unpacked a little bit, and turned in.

So now we're back home, settling into the house again... which is a MESS from all the stuff we had to bring home from the wedding... plus, the gifts we unwrappred, and our luggage. I'm happy to say that as of today, we've completely unpacked, gotten the wedding gifts sorted, almost completely cleaned up the living room, D finished painting the master bedroom and we picked up some dressers from Ikea for the master bedroom, and we've been just chillin' and enjoying married life!

And here I sit... staring down the barrel of a VERY BIG DECISION. I just found out that if I act on this quickly, my new employer will pay for me to go back to college to get my degree. I mean.... f'n WOW. Not assist me (as in, I pay first, then file with them for reimbursement).... nah... I submit a request for the money for tuition & books, they pay the college for me... and I do my thing. Now... just gotta choose a school... and get myself psyched up to do this. My last 2 college experiences weren't so good... so I'm a little apprehensive at trying again. Can I really do this? Is God pointing me down that road? Did He position me where I am at thsi very moment for this? Would I fail again? A lot of questions to ponder. I'm currently reviewing a couple of online programs - specifically University of MD University College and http://wgu.edu... their online programs for Bachelor's degrees in my field are very good.

So pray for me as I make this decision...

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 20:27:43 GMT

Has it been almost a month AGAIN since my last Blog update? Wow... it only seems like... 2 weeks ago... *LOL* I know, bad joke.

The wedding plans are coming along nicely. D & I found an awesome baker in Annapolis, thanks to a recommendation from our wonderful caterer, Cheryl Lewis... I totally threw off my diet tasting cakes from these folks... *LOL* but we had fun doing it! D is working her tail off on the invitations, and they look awesome. I swear, this woman is gifted in so many ways. She amazes me with something new every day. Everybody keeps asking us, "Are you excited?" or "You counting down the days?" They're sweet & endearing questions, but they're getting a tad... well, I don't want to jinx it so I won't say. *LOL*

Anyway... I just wanted to see how it would feel blogging from my VIP Suite at RFK Stadium yep... I was asked to sing the National Anthem tonight to kick off the Nationals / Marlins game tonight. So, I'm here in my VIP Suite, alone, waiting for the game to begin. My family is joining me - they're on their way. D couldn't come - she had to do some Pastoral Care visits tonight. All in all, I can't wait to hug her after this is all over. I admit - it's about 90 minutes until I do my thing, and I'm a little nervous, but I'm OK for right now. The stadium is empty and both teams are warming up. The Nats are on the field, doing batting and fielding practice. The Marlins are in front of the visitors' dugout doing stretches. I've got my HP notebook computer from work, connected to the Nats' corporate (unsecured *snicker*) wireless router in the stadium. I've sat elsewhere in the stadium and I couldn't connect to it... so it's wierd that I can connect to it here. But, hey... maybe it only reaches this side of the stadium... *shrug* They even had some sodas & water in a refrigerator in the box, so my folks can save a little money here... *LOL* They even have a couple of cans of Pepsi for my mother! *LOL* We did soud check about 30 minutes ago and I actually got through the entire Anthem without slipping up on the words! I feel more confident about doing the song later before the game. If there's any way video of this is ou there, I'm gonna post it here. And if anybody sees the game locally and can record the pre-game highlights (which may include my singing), please record it and contact me!

Alright.. I gotta try to find something to do to entertain myself forf another hour or so...

A New Addition to the Family!

Tue, 13 Feb 2007 16:52:33 GMT

That's right, folks... those of you who read D's last Blog entry know that we were looking for a cat... well, we brought home a little bundle of... well, I reserve the word 'joy', because this little lady has become quite rambunctious on us... but here she is!

Nola Darling

Here she is, sitting on D's lap, the day we brought her home. She was so sweet and craving attention and love that first day. However... the zealous goofball has come out of her and she wants to play and scratch now. She's a ball of laughs, but when you're ready for the game to end, SHE IS NOT. *LOL* But it's cool... she warms up the home and makes the beginning of every day rather interesting.

I actually went ahead and joined a new gym. I bought LL Cool J's Platinum Workout for some tips to incorporate into my regimen to make a permanent lifestyle change, and to lose some much needed poundage for the upcoming wedding.

My church's Men's Ministry is doing something new for 2007. We're calling it IRONMEN - a new development of our ministry designed to uplift & encourage our men seeking to change their lives and study God's word. We held our first IRONMEN meeting last Saturday and had a great discussion. We're all starting what we call the IRONMEN Boot Camp. For the next 8 weeks, I must run/jog/walk 3 miles per week, and I have to read the entire book of Proverbs. We even paired up - each of us has an "Iron Sharpeneth Iron" partner. I got partnered up with Neal - he's a very cool guy, and easy to talk to. He's already even called me twice to try to schedule us getting together to do our 3 miles for this week. And he's been helping me get out some other issues I've been having as well... it's great to be able to converse with another Black man who is as excited about his walk with God as I am about mine. We have to finish by the end of April... so I'm all geared up.

OK... last note... Ash Wednesday is coming up FAST. I have decided something I never thought I'd say I'd try... I'm going to change my diet for Lent. I'm going to switch to an entirely Vegan diet for lent - no meat, no dairy products... NOTHING. This is an extra challenge to myself. D was great with it when she did it last year, so I want to challenge myself this year. I'll keep y'all posted.

That's all for now... gotta finish sipping this vanilla chai and get ready for this meeting at work... *groan*

Breaking the Silence...

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 13:54:36 GMT

Well... I see I've got lots of dust to clear on this here Blog... doggone Xanga didn't even contact me to tell me I'd lost my Premium upgrade... that's alright, my Premium page will be back shortly. For now, I'll just update with what's gone on since my last update, and what's coming soon.

Four months and five days since my last update... and A LOT has happened... with my upcoming marriage to D, settling into our house, me growing as a person, a Christian, a recording artist... OK. Here's a few bullet points to quickly get you back on track with us:

My Redskins tanked this season... 5-11. *smh* Since we're well into the pre-season, I would have thought that there would have been some major player moves already. But... guess we'll have to wait until the week after the Super Bowl. That's when I'll be on Redskins watch to see who they drop and who they pick up in free agency.
D got herself a brand-spanking new job last month, and she is settling well into her new job, and this semester at school... but because of her hectic schedule, I hardly see her during the week. It's a bit trying on me... but I fill my time with Scrubs re-runs and working out.

In my last Blog entry I mentioned some things D and I did to the house - getting the utilities activated & instaled, buying some furniture and light fixtures, and some other things we were planning. Well, since then... we got the futon for the office, so it looks complete... we got the entire living room & dining area painted... I have so far replaced one wall switch with a dimmer switch (the one for the office)... we finally got the ceramic tile in the foyer finished (I had to hire an outside contractor... I'll tell you about that ordeal in a moment)... we got a great queen-sized bed and dresser for the guest room... and we completed the TV stand/entertainment center in the living room (thanks to my future mother-in-law). We still have to paint the office, paint the hallway leading up from the second level to the third level, finish painting the master bedroom, have a contractor inspect the deck for code violations and install joist hangers, install a ceiling medallion I bought above the chandeleir in the dining room, seal the grout and install trim around the floor in the foyer, and clean out the garage. And we still have plans for pets - a cat (black domestic short-hair or Tuxedo) and a dog (Jack Russell Terrier or Beagle).

OK... so this ceramic floor... *smh* it turned out to be a much bigger headache than I thought it would be. It began to take on a feel like trying to get into the music industry - everything you complete, the next step seems to be 2 times harder. We got up the original flooring (three layers of linoleum sheet flooring... YUCK!) and cleaned up the floor. I mapped out the floor for a diagonal pattern and began laying tiles. I noticed they weren't turned properly, and would end up being uneven against the main wall between the foyer and the garage, so I ripped up the 8 tiles I started with and began laying them again. I got all the tiles in the middle of the floor laid. I suddenly realized how difficult it would be to cut tiles for the pieces that needed to be laid around the perimeter. I rented a wet saw from Home Depot, but got it home and suddenly realized they rented me the wrong one. I took it back and got the right one, but then I couldn't get it to work right. I finally hired a contractor. His team came, and they couldn't get the wet saw to work either. *smh* I took it back to Home Depot and they noticed one of the rails wasn't working right, so they replaced it again. Finally, the contractor's team got to work. They began at 5:00pm and finished at 11:00pm the same day. A few days later, my father and I laid grout down between the tiles. The next day, I cleaned up the floor to remove the excess grout. So that's been the ongoing process. The floor looks great now, but I haven't sealed the grout and there are now stains in one or two spots that I'll have to clean up with a grout saw.

The holidays were great. D's parents came up and went with us to my family's Thanksgiving dinner, and had a wonderful time. My family is a trip... *LOL* anyway... then, we had our housewarming party, and her mom and aunt came up for that. And then for Christmas, D and I went to her parents' house in Suffolk, VA to spend the holiday with them. All in all, just absolutely wonderful holidays for me.

My Christmas haul - a 30 GB video iPod, a black 4-button single-breast suit, 1 lavender dress shirt from K&G, 5 ties, 1 pair of sweatpants, 2 fleece quarter-zip sweatshirts, a chronometer and lock for my bicycle, a mug warmer for my office, 3 dress shirts (2 blue, 1 white) from Land's End, a dresser valet, pajama pants, and some "interesting" things for the house (inside joke between me and D). No, nothing dirty... GET YOUR MINDS OUT OF THE GUTTER... it's just... my mom tends to find these wierd things for me and my sister. She got me a popcorn popper too, but she got me this thing that looks like an 18-inch tall replica of a taco stand. It actually holds tortillas in one compartment and meat sauce or whatever in the other... it's called a Fiesta Station. And since my mom found it in her heart to give it to us, I'm going to find a doggone use for it! Hmmm... maybe I'll put black beans in one of the hot compartments, tofu sauteed with onions and peppers in the other hot compartment... and all the rest of the standard taco fixins up top... hmmm... see, I be thinkin'... *LOL* And her mom gave us the money to complete our entertainment center! So... we went from this to THIS...

New Years'... D and I decided to just have a romantic dinner for 2 at Clyde's in Chinatown. Absolutely great dinner... and we both ended up ordering the same thing! *LOL* I'll tell you what, though... as the midnight hour approached, the waitstaff began to hand out noisemakers and party hats. And from 11:15 until midnight, folks cranked them noisemakers like there was no tomorrow! It was cute for about 20 seconds... but began to get really annoying around 11:29pm. I'm just sitting there like, CAN YOU FOOLS WAIT A FEW MINUTES?!?!? *LOL* Anyway... midnight came... we kissed right at midnight... finished our dinner, went home, and went to sleep. (Hey... I'm an old man... I need my sleep.)

Is that everything? Yeah... I believe so. OK... so... D's birthday is tomorrow. I'm looking forward to giving her the gifts I got for her, and a bunch of us are going to dinner at Bucca di Beppo this Saturday. This is gonna be cool!

I've got a show coming up on February 21st. Got the band and background singers all ready and rearing to go. If anybody's interested and you'll be in the DC area on that day, come on down to Cada Vez nightclub on the U Street corridor (in NW Washington, DC).

I've challenged myself to maintain a completely Vegan diet for Lent. *nervous*

I've actually started working on my second album! Two producers have submitted tracks to me, and they all sound awesome! I'd like to give a projected release date of May 2008, but I just don't know yet. Gotta see how Not The Last Gentleman will do this year. I'm tentatively naming this album Balladry. It may even feature some collaborations.

Wedding plans are going nicely. We got our marriage license! And we're currently trying to plan our honeymoon (or the possibility of one *LOL*). We also got some of the materials for our invitations... it's gonna be fun getting those together.

Also, I'm picked up LL Cool J's Platinum Workout, and I'm going to give it a serious try. I mean... I'm getting a write-in journal, I'm going to keep an Excel spreadsheet of EVERYTHING I eat, and keep up the food journal I used to have at sparkpeople.com, I'm going to photograph and weigh myself every week, and I'm going to keep a separate Blog on a different Blog site for it. For those of you who want to keep up, contact me via e-mail (nubnprince524@yahoo.com) and I'll tell you how to access it.

Hope all is well with everybody... I've been trying to keep up with everybody's Blogs...

After All is Said & Done...

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 11:59:21 GMT

... WTH does that mean, you say? Well... for those of you who have kept up with my wonderful fiancée's Xanga blog, you know. For those of you who don't...

I'M A HOMEOWNER NOW!

Yep... I still can't believe it. By the grace of God, D & I have moved into our house. We're still settling in, but it's great. We've done A LOT so far...

We've gotten the home phone, cable, utilities, & Verizon FiOS service activated and changed over to our names... we bought a TV stand from Ikea for the living room, which we'll slowly but surely add to... we bought two desks & a smaller TV stand from Ikea for the office and set them up... we bought some replacement ceiling light fixtures for some ceiling lights in the hallways & stairways... the house is really beginning to come together. I can't wait until we're really settled in and we actually have some folks over. And I REALLY can't wait until I can really cook in our kitchen. I think our next small-scale cosmetic goals will be to replace the ceiling fans in the bedrooms and the lighting fixture over the dining room table, and to paint all the rooms (the only colors we've decided on so far are the living room, office, and guest bedroom). After that, we'll most likely move on to getting a futon, desk chairs & a floor mat for the office; getting a dresser for the master bedroom; removing the crappy shelving in the master bedroom closets and replacing it with something more sturdy; replacing the range hood in the kitchen with an over-the-range microwave; and getting the other 3 pieces for the entertainment center from Ikea for the living room, Then, we can move onto the big stuff - changing the flooring in the foyer / kitchen / bathrooms (thanks Mom!), buying a bed for the guest bedroom, buying a large-screen LCD tv for the living room, etc. Oh! And don't let me forget that I have to get to Home Depot and get support hangers for the deck joists and install them! Sheesh... so much to being a homeowner.

The Black Family Reunion... ugh... great festival, bad coordination. If you went to the festival as a patron, there was a lot to do, so I'd be surprised if you said you didn't have a good time. As a performer, however... the be treated the way they treated me... I just don't know what to say. All the misinformation beforehand, the miscommunication the day of, etc. All I can do now is look forward to this Saturday's performance at the Festival on H Street and hope it's better-organized.

What in the blue hell is happening to my Redskins? Where is Saunders' high-powered offense that is supposed to complement Antwaan Randle El, Brandon Lloyd, and Santana Moss? What is happening to the defensive secondary? I understand they're getting used to a new (and extremely extensive) offensive playbook. 0-4 in the preseason doesn't mean anything. But a 19-16 loss at home to the Vikings and an abysmal 27-10 loss to the Cowboys on the road? Maybe it's just one of those seasons... *sigh* Cowboy fans... go ahead and get your little snide comments in, because I know you want to.. *LOL*

Yesterday was a trying day for me. I stayed home for the FiOS install. After seeing D off yesterday morning, I napped until the Verizon installer came to do the FiOS install. He did his thing and was done in about 2 hours. After he finishes, I decide to finish my laundry and install the last hallway light fixture (we bought 4 and D helped me replace 3 already). It took me 45 minutes of flipping switches on the breaker to figure out that the hallway light fixture on the top floor is wired to the same breaker as the furnace... UGH! I walk all the way up to the 3rd floor, get the old fixture off, attempt to install the frame for the new fixture but I just can't reach it. So I walk all the way to the 1st floor to get the ladder, bring it all the way up to the 3rd floor, and finish installing the frame, bulb & cover for the light. I walk all the way to the 1st floor, put the ladder away, and decide to finish setting up stuff in the office. But lo and behold... D's computer won't turn on! My computer comes on fine but hers won't. And, the TV (plugged into the same wall receptacle) won't turn on either! So I first check the breaker to make sure all switches are in the ON position. Never mind that they're labeled WRONG... ugh... but ANYWAY... I find the breaker switch for the outlets in the room and turn it off and on multiple times, and the wall receptacle that my computer is plugged into is fine but the other one is still dead. By this time, I'm highly frustrated and I don't know what to do. I called my best friend Chris and explain the problem. After having me test the breaker switch and checking both outlets on the receptacle, he asked me if I had any GFCI receptacles in the house. I remembered that there were two on the second level - one in the kitchen, one in the guest bathroom. I checked the one in the guest bathroom, and sure enough, the RESET button was protruding. I pressed it, went back downstairs, checked D's computer... it worked fine.

What a day... and after all that, I played Madden NFL 2007 on my PC... Redskins vs. Cowboys... THREE TIMES... beat them the first time, 37-32... other two games, they wiped the floor with me. *smh*

Not a very cool end to a trying day... but at least I got some cleaning done in the kitchen... and seeing D when she came home...

I'm Still Here...!

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 15:48:01 GMT

Sorry it's been so long since my last post, for those who have been keeping up. But there's A LOT to update, so bear with me:

The BACKGROUND VOCALIST audition? It went well. I actually found out the very next day (through backwards rumors and a radio announcement) that I didn't make it. One of the judges happened to be on MySpace and he and I talked a little bit about what happened. I feel better about the experience, though.
A couple of weeks ago, I auditioned for Tom Joyner's Big Break. That was a wierd audition. They held the auditions at Zanzibar nightclub. First, they tell folks that they're only taking the first 30 people who get into the club, and auditions begin at 5:30. OK, no problem... I figured folks would like up early. I get there at 3:30, and sure enough, there were 8 people in line already. So, I got in line and waited. Met some nice folks. Of course, the line grew to greater than 30. They let the first 30 people sign a form with their name, giving them a place in line, and swore they'd stick to that list. When they finally begin letting people in, the line got all out of whack and folks who didn't even sign that list got to audition. *hands in air* The audition: perform for 30 seconds in front of the Wednesday Happy Hour crowd. WTF!?!?! Oh, well... exposure is exposure. I did my own "You Make My Day". I didn't make it. The folks who did? Ehhh... this one Asian guy who did a phenomenal rendition of Luther Vandross' "Superstar", this one dude who did some Doug E. Fresh-style DJ beatbox (but nowhere near as good), this one girl who did a Patti LaBelle tune, and these two groups that did some classic R&B tunes. Not a bad group of finalists... but I'd question what they were looking for. There was a female R&B singer and a pair of hand dancers who really deserved to make the finals. Oh, well...
I just got back from an awesome wedding in Chesapeake, VA. The bride looked phenonemal in her original dress, the couple did their first dance to "Ownlee Ewe" by Kwame, and they served Jamaican food & drinks at the reception! Not to mention, there were individual cupcakes for each person at each table... and somehow, there was a carrot muffin at my chair! God was smiling on me at that moment...
My sister has finally moved into her new house. This place is great, and the upgrades they're doing to it will make it even more wonderful. They've got a very spacious backyard with a little pond, they did the bomb hook-up in my nephew's bedroom (he's got his own basketball court, complete with a patch of hardwood floor), and the kitchen upgrades are just beautiful. I can't wait until they finally settle in.
I got booked to perform at two big street festivals in DC in September! I couldn't believe the news. Although, neither festival will allow me to bring my band for either performance... so we'll have to see how that goes. I have a 30-minute slot set for September 10th at 2:00pm for the Black Family Reunion, and I have a tentative 15-minute slot for the H Street Festival on September 23rd. And I'm going to get together with my musical director & PR firm to plan my own show this fall. Stay tuned for that.

Also, there's one REALLY REALLY BIG thing on the horizon that my fiancee & I are hoping will go through within the next 48 hours, but I keep jinxing it so I'm not going to speak on it until everything is finalized. So stay tuned for that too!

My First Background Vocalist Audition

Thu, 27 Jul 2006 11:03:36 GMT

Yesterday I got word from W. Ellington Felton that Raheem DeVaughn was holding auditions for background vocalists at Mirrors nightclub last night.

It was rather interesting... :)

First... I got there at 9pm and there were already about 40 people there, in a lounge, chillin'. I walked to the bar and added my name to the sign-in sheet. Two names above mine, I see "Lanette Stamper"... so I look around, and boom - right next to me, there she was. We started talking... then one of Raheem DeVaughn's assistants came in and told us the logistics of the audition. They were looking for 2 background vocalists. We'd each get 1-2 minutes to audition a song of our choice, and we could sing either 'a cappella' or with an instrumental track. So, while I was waiting for them to call my name, Lanette and I talked. We talked so much, we didn't notice an hour go by before they got to us. We got in line... the auditions were closed so I didn't hear her audition.

When I walked in, there were 4 judges (including Raheem's musical director), and Jeannie Jones. I got up on stage, sang about 30 seconds of "Superstar" before they stopped me. They asked me if I knew any of Raheem's songs... I balked a bit because I did but just couldn't recall any of his stuff at that moment. I just did the one hook that I knew... "Girl, every word in this song's gonna be about you..." I did it twice before they stopped me and thanked me. They asked me to stay for Round 2.

So I went upstairs... met a few cool folks, a couple of folks were congratulating me on how well my audition went and how good I sounded. Round 2 began and they brought us all in. They broke us up into 3 groups (Soprano, Alto, Tenor) to see how we sounded harmonizing on the hook for "You". Raheem's musical director made a comment that it wasn't good that none of us knew any of Raheem's material, and that in the future, we should learn an artist's material if we're auditioning as a background singer for that artist. He also explained that of the folks they were evaluating from Round 2, five people would be selected (we'd hear the "yes" or "no" no later than next week) to rehearse with Raheem & his band next week or the week afterward. Of those five, two would be selected to tour with Raheem and his band, and they could need to leave as soon as two weeks from now.

There were only 5 guys in the group I was brought in with, so I felt a little good about that. I let 4 of the guys go ahead of me, and listened to them attempt to harmonize so I could take notes in my head. Three of them kept adding too much vibrato to blend with the other two voices they were singing with, and one dude kept speeding the song up and making the two girls harmonizing with him speed up... I saw one of the judges staring at him and clapping the beat out with this flustered look on his face, as if to say, "Dude... GET IT TOGETHER..." *LOL* Then, I got up there with two girls. We started harmonizing, and I totally eliminated any vibrato (which is what a singer is supposed to do when harmonizing with other voices) so I could blend. We repeated the hook about 4 times, when the judge next to Raheem's musical director began saying to us "OK, now give me some soul!" So, I began adding vibrato back in slowly to give him what he wanted... and the two girls singing with me followed suit. They stopped us and thanked us. They asked one of the guys to stick around but me and the other 3 guys were excused. On my way offstage, Jeannie Jones stopped me and told me how much she enjoyed my audition, and that her casting company may have some other opportunities coming up. I gave her a business card, went to my car, came back in and gave her a CD. During my second trip back inside, I saw that the guy they asked to stick around was merely singing the hook to "You" by himself, which I'd already demonstrated that I could do, so I didn't feel bad about not being asked to stay longer.

That was it. A couple of independent scouts were there - including another artist who is opening up for Lil' Wayne soon. So... we'll see how it goes.

Monday, July 24, 2006

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 13:03:28 GMT

OK... got a lot to update y'all on, so be prepared for a long entry today.

First... she and I went to Artscape this past Friday and saw Fertile Ground and Teena Marie. I swear, she's turned me into a Fertile Ground fan... but their sound is so unique and cool. It's like... Sunday-afternoon-drive-on-a-sunny-day-music... and their lead singer has such a phenomenal voice it's uncanny. But Teena Marie... I admit, I was not ready to be rocked & funked like that... Teena really brought the party with her. I love how spirital she was - when she first got out of her limo, she stopped for a moment to wave at fans, and then while waving at fans, she pointed to God. She even gave God much glory & praise verbally during her show. I was totally blown away... a wonderful Friday evening date with the lady I love.

Yesterday at church, I had to lead Praise & Worship since it was 4th Sunday - the Sunday of each month when the men are responsible for all the music - and I must say I felt good about my ministry. The spirit was definitely moving. I felt a different spirit and did one of the selections during Praise & Worship, so we had to do a switch at the end but it ended up working out for the better - it was probably just God saying "Nah, y'all need to do these songs in this order because that's how I like to hear them...". He's just that kind of God, and He deserves His praise.

Yesterday was my family reunion cookout - see, on even-numbered years we just have a big cookout at Rock Creek Park, but on odd-numbered years we actually go on a trip together as a family (some of our past destinations include Atlanta, Detroit, South Carolina, and Orlando). Big fun! First off, I wish I knew why this happened to me, but the second I got a little food in my mouth, I was off to the races! I must have eaten my weight in hamburgers, hot dogs, macaroni & cheese, cornbread, and fried turkey. I also played two-hand touch football with some of the kids... but after a couple of plays, they were all like "We're hot! We need something to drink!"... theypunked out on me. I soooo could have kept going... I had all this energy. My nephew was being goofy and enjoyed himself so much, although there was a moment there where he almost ran into the street and I took off after him, and cut my hand in the process (trying to stop myself by grabbing a wooden sign post). And get this - we played musical chairs. For the adult group, it came down to my Aunt Shirley and my mother's Aunt Leola. When the music stopped, they both sat down together and it looked like they had a tie, so they went again. This time, when the music stopped, my Aunt Shirley pulled the chair out from underneath my mom's Aunt Leola, making her fall right on her butt on the ground! We all felt so bad for Aunt Leola, but it was so funny because of how Aunt Shirley did it and then strolled off, talking about how "my daddy taught her to fight for everything I wanted... " *LOL* It was just a mess... *LOL* but no hard feelings.

During the cookout, she and I got the call from our realtor - the seller of the house we're going for has accepted our terms! We's fin to be homeowners, dawg! I cannot believe it. I mean... this house is gorgeous! It's a three-story townhome in Upper Marlboro with 2 bedrooms & 2 full baths on the top level, a nicely-sized kitchen & living area with 1/2 bathroom & deck out back, and a 1-car garage & den downstair that we plan on using as an office. If all goes well, we move in at the end of August! Since the listing is still up, here are some pictures:

The view when you first walk in...

The den on the first level (which we'll use as an office)

The view of the foyer from the den...

Two pictures of the living area on the second level...

Two pictures of the kitchen...

The deck (with access from the living area on the second level)

I'm really excited about this new chapter of my life... and beginning it with her. My parents are really excited, and so is her mom. I wish we were already moved in and settled! *LOL* I've even gone and done research on broadband Internet access costs at the house... I want that Verizon FiOS service! Hmm... maybe I'll go to IKEA's website and start planning on furniture for the office... *LOL*

Is It Time To Say Goodbye To My Car?

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 12:02:47 GMT

Well, friends... my 95 Pathy SE and I have been through a lot. I bought her used in '98... she was the only black Pathy on the lot with manual transmission, and she only had 28k miles on her. I've driven her to NYC, Detroit, Cleveland, Raleigh, Norfolk, Richmond, and Philly. She's hauled stuff for friends I've helped move.

I've never had any serious breakdowns, except for stuff that you'd expect to happen due to normal wear and tear. The clutch died on me at about 105k miles and I had to replace it. A belt wore down and broke on the way to work once... I had the truck towed to a shop and they replaced the proper belts and got me on my way within an hour. Other than those two items, the only other things I've ever had to replace on the truck are rotors & calipers (you know how it is when you get lazy when you need new brake pads).

But fast forward to July 2006... she's got 181k miles on her now, and I haven't kept up with maintaining her like I should. Problems have been mounting, one by one, and I haven't had the money to address them. I'm wondering if I should say goodbye, or start taking care of the problems one-by-one until she's at nominal performance again. Here's a complete list of issues:

- exhaust system leak at one of the y-pipes directly underneath the gearshift (recommendation from mechanic: replace entire exhaust system except for muffler & tailpipe)

- possible freon leak in A/C system

- brake fluid leak at left front tire... possibly either brake fluid hose or caliper; I have to carry a bottle of brake fluid with me and refill the master cylinder every few days, when the ABS and BRAKE lights come on

- cabin light flickers when all doors are closed

- rear right passenger seat belt is broken

- water drips onto the floor from behind the dashboard whenever I turn the car sharply to the left while in motion

- driver door must be slammed to close properly; one of the bolts that holds the door at the proper angle is broken

- the doggone step rails rusted and I had to remove them. What's worse, when I removed them, the mounts near the rear tires had rusted so badly that I couldn't even unscrew the bols there - I just had to yank the step rails off with my bare hands and some pliers. There is a sharp edge there, and anyone who sits in the rear right seat is prone to getting a pretty bad scrape on their leg when exiting the truck.

Every time a new issue pops up, I feel like this:

With a laundry list of issues like this, I'm just blown away as to what to do. And on top of all this, she really needs new tires and brake pads too.

If you were in my situation... would you go for a new car or attack the problems with the current car, one-by-one?

JULY 4TH COOKOUT / MY SISTER, THE GOOCH

Wed, 05 Jul 2006 16:04:05 GMT

Alrighty... the aftermath from my family's July 4th Cookout... '

But it's all good! I got some good things to write about... and uh... some BAD things. *LOL*

So, we got the festivities kicked off around 1:00pm. Family and friends flowed in, food & drinks were enjoyed, my uncle threw down on the grill & couldn't keep up with demand because the food was so good. He had the hamburgers, turkey burgers, & hot dogs coming off like hotcakes. My cousins were partaking of the liquor and enjoying themselves. My cousin David came down from NYC with his wife and new daughter. Sweetie pie & I snuck off to the kitchen to hook up some Boca Burgers & Smart Dogs (my first time trying Smart Dogs... they're actually quite good!) for ourselves. Since I consider myself a 'Flexinarian' (according to Cooking Light magazine, one who follows a vegetarian eating regimen but allows meat into his diet no more than 4 times per week), you know I had to try everything... *LOL* My mom even had the snow cone machine out, so we were hooking up snow cones for the kids! The rain did make its way to our house around 6:30pm but we got everything packed up and into the house, set the dinner out (ribs, BBQ chicken, seafood salad, cornbread, corn, cabbage, desserts, etc.), blessed the food, and everybody chilled & ate inside. Then, the storm cleared, the sun came back out, and we were able to go back outside!

(this, ladies & gentlemen, is when the Gooch emerged)

My cousin brought a new lady-friend with him to the cookout, and she brought her daughter's friend with her. First of all, the 'friend' sat by herself the entire day, chatting on her cell phone. Then, when the storm hit and we all went inside and ate, she still sat by herself with her food and didn't talk to anybody. When folks started packing up plates, she made sure to pack herself THREE plates of food. Then, when the storm cleared and everybody went back outside, my mom asked everybody to go outside so the inside could be clear of traffic for the purpose of beginning the clean-up. Everybody went outside except the 'friend'. She sat in her chair and just continued to run her mouth on her cell phone. My mom turned to her and said, "Excuse me, I'm asking everybody to go outside... could you go outside?"... and the girl ignored my mother. Mom raised her voice and asked the girl again to leave, and she ignored her again. And that's when my sister got into it. She stood over the girl and let her know where she was and demanded she get up and leave. GET THIS - when the girl gets up, she reaches back behind the chair she was sitting in and UNPLUGS HER CELL PHONE CHARGER FROM THE WALL! On her way out the door she even said something smart about my sister under her breath to whoever she was talking to on the phone, and that's all my sister needed to go off on the girl. As the girl walked outside, my sister walked out right behind her almost ready to swing on her because the girl had blatantly disrespected her (and our mother) in our mother's own house. My dad and I had to step outside and stand between them. My mom and sister are both letting the girl have it, demanding that she leave. After everything settled, my cousin's date demanded that the girl come back into the house and apologize to my mother. She walks in, cell phone still stuck to her ear, and she looks at my mom and says "Sorry" rather half-assed, and turns and goes back outside. My cousin's date finally took her home and came back later.

So, yeah... we had a little drama... but it was handled & contained. And yes, my sister has officially earned herself the title of "The Gooch" for how she handled the situation. She put it down! *LOL*

Dammit... I wish I had pictures...