Blah.

I have like..four... poems I need to share with you.
There are a few general topics I'd like to discuss.
I've also started reading a new book-
[Something on the Side by Carl Weber].
I saw Madea Goes to Jail today.
... and I'm sick, as in I feel deathly ill, and hot tea is my new companion.

Therefore, details on everything will appear at a later date.
It's just been over a week, and I didn't want ya'll thinking I had given up on my blog.
I repeat: I have not given up, my immune system has just chosen to fail me as of late.

That's That,
B

Happy Valentine's Day

Love is the hardest battle to fight
when you're only weapon is
a broken heart
And ironically it's the same thing
you're fighting for.
-Megan Nicole

Aint That the Truth?
B

I Inspired Her to Write

So, the lady featured on the left is in my poetry collective (BABEL!), and she's participating in the 30day poem challenge-which consist of writing a poem a day, for 30 days. God bless her heart. I don't know if I could do it. Whatever the case, we were outside of our building yesterday just shooting the breeze while I was climbing all over stuff like a hethan, and I inspired her to write her latest poem. Isn't that nice? It feels good.

Weird to think my random impulses lead to poems. FYI, there are times when I get these urges. They can be as simple as stepping on someones foot to biting them or rubbing their eyelashes. Either way, I usually follow through with them. If I feel like it's going to invade a person's space in a major way (if a person is involved in the urge), than I ask first. If they so no, I tend to try and do it anyway. What can I say?

Anywho, this would explain why I was climbing on top of things outside yesterday. Just wanted to mention that. Here's her poem:

We are mid conversation outside of our dorm
She finished sharing an unfinished poem and begins explaining how she wants to end it but is unsure
in between her words, She begins to climb the narrow not so sturdy railing
I ask her
“Brandi” what are you doing?
She replies as if confused by me asking why she, mid sentence is on top of the black iron fence, balancing herself like tight rope
“I’m following my instinct”
And continues to explain the anticipated ending to her poem

How many 19 year olds still do this?
Say fuck it to the laws of gravity and sensibility and follow their impulse
We use to go up to the pretty girl in class and ask them to be our best friends cause our gut told us so
now, we barely makes eyes with strangers
where could our instinct have run off to?
I don’t remember dropping it anywhere
I guess i never got the note when it ran away from my stomach at midnight
Got intimidated by my mind
And thought it was no longer needed
Amongst this new found maturity
I guess I’ll have to ask you Brandi
How you
have managed
to hold on

Thanks Hannah Banana-
Let's Hope I Don't Lose It When I Turn 20,
B

How Will You Finish?

Ignore the corny music,
and try not to be one of the jerks who laughs at how he gets up.
You might miss the message.

In the words of Mary J. Blige, "It's up to us to choose whether we win or loose..

And I Choose to Win,"
B

Happiness is Mathematic

[[If you don't like the way that the life you live is changing-
isn't it just as obvious that you must live your life
to change the way you live?
Happiness is mathematic: that's ALL it is]]
-Talaam Acey

Yo, I'm in love with that quote. It's so simple, but it's so over looked and so true.

Though, it's barely February-I must say that 09' has conjured the most smiles out of me (in comparison to any other year). Really. And there's a high possibility that I'm wrong and this year is simply the year that I've decided to be more appreciative of every moment, but I'm loving it. All of it. I was going to post mad photos from the past few weeks and just highlight my life, but I opted against it. I'll give you this though:

Me, spitting "In Case You Were Wondering How to Love Me", last Thursday.

You know what? Let's just do a "Brandi's Life in 09' Catalog". It is my blog after all, why shouldn't I post pics of myself in all my glory (hehe). There's nothing remarkable about any of these photos. I'm just happy. I love the people they're taken with. Life is (almost) golden. There's always room for improvement. Scroll down now.

Me and Mr. Wilkins after Philalive. Love him.Me and Ari. Let me say that the smile on my face is similar to the one I used to make in 4th grade. She brings out my inner child, and it's so pleasant. We had an unplanned snowball battle (it was one on one and went beyond the term "fight") earlier this day that had me cracking up and left my backside soaking wet.Ellington's birthday party this weekend. It goes without saying that I love Zay. See that face? How could you deny him?

Last weekend was one of my (5) roommates birthday. I went through a lot in a short time to throw something together for her. Having her birthday/Dom's in the same week made me realize how important it is to let people know they're appreciated, because they both seemed so grateful for their gifts. Yay!

Fun in the snow with my roomies. This turned out to be more than we bargained for because random strangers began attacking us, but it was still "delightful".

How could you not appreciate this masterpiece of cheesecake? Yummy. We had actually went out for dessert. I don't think I've ever done that before. So, just going out to order sweets was a treat for me.

This was taken on Sunday by the water. Only in Philly does it snow one week than become beautiful outside the next. The view out here was breathtaking and so serene. Here's another:

Ok, I'm done. I might start doing weekly "recaps" as told through pictures. I like the way it looks. It's a nice lil' recollection of history. Anywho, I'm saying/showing all of this to say that I truly agree with the idea of the quote mentioned in the beginning. Happiness is mathematic. It's common sense. K.I.S.S: Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Really though. I wish I could say that I made drastic changes in 09 and everything just hit me all at once, but all the changes that occurred were gradual, and I'm just now reaping the rewards from most of them. The reward? Happiness. Contentment. You couldn't imagine how great of a gain it is, and it's so simple. Change is the easiest solution yet the hardest thing to inact, but o' once the wheels get a'turning...

I'm in High Gear Homie
& Getting Damn Good at Math,
B

I Wish They Made This in Women's

"You remind me of love.
You remind me of a thousand failures,
and we've just met." -NoGuest.

Basically,
B

Random Madness

Don't ask me why, but I'm wide awake before my 810 class, and if I had any sense whatsoever I'd leave now and grab some food... you know what, that's what I'll do. Yeah. Ugh, f.y.i.-a new poem is in the making, and I miss my sister. I'll get back to what I intended to say later on. Today will be a tad hectic.

Life is Good,
B

Black Man.

Happy 21st son.
Any picture but this one just wouldn't do us justice.

[Don't we make beautiful victims?]

Call me whenever you open your gift.
& put them to good use.

I (still) Appreciate You,
B

This Post is Very Late

Why?
Because I thought to do it too late.
Typed it too late.
And posted it too late,

...but there was no way I could do my next post without acknowledging this young tender first :)

SO, Happy Belated birthday to this man. My college experience wouldn't be the same without you... even if you did punk out on this year's snowball fight. I wanna say "Rest in peace to Hazel O' zay zay," but I think you're the only one who'd understand so it feels inappropriate. Hehe

Mwuah,
B

The Complexities of Coloring

Today, I had some free time on my hands since I was done with classes at 230 and opted not to go to work. Did I mention that I picked up a second job? God is good. Anywho, I printed out a page from a coloring book and decided to color. I know that's more than a little bit random, but coloring is really relaxing for me, and I hadn't done it in a while.

Not to mention, there was this box of crayons in my closet waiting to be put to use. 64 crayons to be exact. So, I started coloring, and I remembered how much I used to love the color Robin's Egg Blue. I also used to love the color Cerulean, but I couldn't find it. Of course, when I did find it- it was deep down in the box from being used so many times/chopped really low.

I noticed that I've always had a fascination with words. I was so happy to see Tickle-me-Pink and Purple Mountain's Majesty. Like, how cool is that? Really. Alright. I digress. So, I'm coloring, and I'm having a hard time trying to determine what color to shade the lips of the little boy in my picture. I mean, I colored him brown, but I didn't want his lips to be the same shade of brown as his body. As a child, I would have made his lips red, and been just fine with that. It's weird to think reality has jaded my coloring experience. I ended up mixing brown and red.

For that matter, I was even bothered by the uneven shading of his hair. Then, I got to his outfit and (realistically) I only needed a few colors to complete it, but there were so many colors I just wanted to make use of. The process that once seemed so relaxing was now requiring so much thought. It's like, life takes away the ease/simplicity of the smallest things.

Granted, my coloring experience still turned out to be a grand one. The dog I colored ended up being purple, two shades of green, and two shades of pink, because after a while I said "To hell with conventional colors I know to be 'correct'. I want my dog to be this color." It made me happy. Plain and simple. I wasn't gusty enough to color outside the lines. I haven't lost all my coloring inhibitions, but sometimes you just have to do what works. The end result?
I've Still Got It :)
B

How Bout' Those Cowboys?

For the record, I didn't care about the Super Bowl. I mean, I had a handsome man on my couch who was watching it, and I care about him... but that's about the end of it. So, I fell asleep during the game. He just came in the room telling me that the Cardinals lost, and I wish I had got my lazy butt up ahead of time to tell you that I knew they would. Why? Because before the game even started, one of the players for the Cardinals was crying. Foreshadowing, much?

Yup. I knew it. Secondly, where did the Cardinals come from? I've been informed that they're the underdog, but I REALLY and TRULY never heard of them. I only know of Cardinals when it comes to baseball. I just found out there were Arizona Cardinals. I'm also just hearing that Steelers have had a pretty impressive SuperBowl record within the last 5 years. News to me, because I was like what do the Steelers have to do with any of this? How'd they get involved? I guess they're kind of a big deal.

The sad thing is, of all the sports I enjoy watching, football is at the top of the list. I'm a product of my environment. Nonetheless, me and the SuperBowl weren't hitting on anything. Yup.

And I'm Out,
B

Thought for the Day

"Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders and says, "Oh no, she's awake!"
Yessuh,
B