welcome back chrisette!

i am a *huge* chrisette michele fan. . .unlike my closet beyonce fanhood, i am proud to admit that i love chrisette. she is so intelligent, her voice is amazing, she has this 'spunk' and she's so cute without trying too hard. i am still in awe from seeing her in dc last year around this time. because we are bff (okay, we're just myspace friends, but still) she sent me a message when she released her new single. it's called epiphany--i love it and can't wait for the new album. she writes:

i'm so so so excited to share with you some new music! this new album took NO TIME to record. it seems like every word that i sang was already on the tip of my tounge before i even got to the studio. one song i dreamt, came to the studio the producer had music that already went with it and then my new friend, writer filled in the blanks like only he and i can! it was just so fateful.
God is always providing!

so.... my new single is called "Epiphany". i asked Neyo to play an instrumental role in my new work. i wanted him to listen to my voice and then cater to its uniqueness, listen to my thoughts and then write with them in mind. he'd sit and write right in front of me, asking "do you like this? do you like that?". i couldnt believe how kind he was, he's written for every one and lil ol me gets this precious treatment. a blessing.


you know that i wrote my last album save the chorus on 2 songs and i was VERY afraid of giving some one else the pen and pad...but when i did, magic happened. Claude Kelly and Neyo (and of course me...) brought it and its a great urban creation. i wanted a lil bit more bass heavy-ness, a lil more pain and honesty, i wanted to be vulnerable and show that i've been hurt... i even shed a tear or two (okay, that was when i sang right after my teeth were pulled :) but really, its a beautiful me, i know you will relate because, everyones been hurt b4 and we ALL have been in need of a healing. Amen? i want you to walk away from these records knowing who you are and aware that no one can keep you locked in something that you dont deserve. Lets end ridiculous relationships, become our own best friends and work on cultivating a great relationship with our maker... He'll lead us to the manor woman of our dreams! yes?

so...get your first taste! Epiphany!


ps...
remember last year how hard you all worked with me. you called your radio stations, you brought a cd for you and yo auntie and yo sister! you created something special. you supported what you believed in. i want you to know that i appreciate you...thats why when ever you see me i love on you, i sign what ever you ask, i come to your parties, i write back when ever i can... its because you've been so gracious and kind to me and because its my heart to lavish you with music for your lives stories.


lets do it again! lets do it bigger. the record label has promised their support! i'm rallying up my troops. i need you to call in the single... push it to the top with me.


i love you... please enjoy... Epiphany. (written by Neyo, produced by Chuck Harmony...sang by yours trully...Chrisette Michele :)

God bless you all, keep me in your prayers, as i'll continue to keep you in mine.
ooomwah!

-chrisette michele

obama-rama

k. so. . .we have a black president :)
i am so excited to finally be proud of my president, to finally feel defensive if someone says something bad about him, and to trust that he is and will be doing the right things for this country. never since i've been able to vote have i been able to say that.
however, i do have some things that i want to get out:

• if you've read my previous entries, you know that i don't believe that barack being president means that any black person can be president--there was a special alignment of personal and political factors that made this moment.
  
• i don't think dr. king's dream has been realized--i think the swearing in and its proximity to the holiday was begging for people to draw that conclusion. . .but after all is said and done, there's still a lot of work to do
• i am a closet beyonce fan--this couple that i love being serenaded by beyonce for their first dance was almost more than i could bear. lol
• i didn't love either of michelle's inauguration day ensembles--i don't care how much her sleeves were lined in the toledo outifit, she was COLD and if you're going to sacrifice your warmth to be cute, it needs to be extra cute--i don't think this outfit was worth the sacrifice. i saw the sketches tracy reese submitted, besides the fact that her outfit was purple, it also incorporated a real coat--i vote for tracy. lol. the jason wu dress was okay. . .i'm not a big fan of 3-d things on dresses. it looked really pretty from a distance and the white was beautiful on her, but i was disappointed :( however, i was not disappointed in her hair--it was definitely on point. hey hair!
• i was sad that i didn't get tickets to any of the official balls or to the swearing in. anything else was just a party, i hated that people were charging so much for parties in the name of the inauguration as if spending $500 to get in was okay because obama was about to be president--the same promoters try to throw the same expensive parties whenever they know a whole bunch of black people will be in town. if you want to party go 'head, i'm not judging, but don't try to use obama to justify spending that amount of money in a recession--if he's not going to be there, it's not an 'obama party' and you're not really spending your money for him. lol. donate that to the dnc!
  
• along the same lines (and i'm going to step on some toes here--sorry, not judging, just stating my opinion) i am really happy that so many people went out on the mall to be part of the crowds bc the pictures were amazing. all those people in that freezing cold for my president. however, i don't like the idea of people thinking that just bc they were out there they were the ones who 'witnessed history' or were 'a part of history'. yes, the energy was amazing and i ventured out to be in it, but anyone who watched it 'witnessed history'--which was a lot of people around the world. if you were out there, especially without a ticket, you may or may not have had a good view of a jumbotron (which was just a tv outside. . .with limited sound, so you didn't even get to hear history), you might have been as far back as the washington monument--which might as well have been in a different city than the capitol building on that day, and you also had to stand out in the cold for hours, which means you probably missed the coverage of the rest of the historical day leading up to the ceremony. all this to say, that if you went out to be in the energy and just be a part of the crowd, that's great and that's what you could expect to do. but every time i see a shirt or something that says 'i witnessed history', i cringe a little--whether you watched it on an inside tv or an outside tv, you witnessed history, if you watched it outside, you didn't even get to hear the power in president obama's voice as he delivered his 'vows' or the way he sounded like he really meant what he was saying when he gave his speech (of course there's youtube, but that actual moment only happens once). for me, that would have lessened the experience. i realize this may not be true for everyone, so like i said, i'm glad people made the sacrifice and went out there if that's what they wanted to do. and yes, i will still tell my kids i was there--closer to the capitol building than most of the people who watched it outside ;)
  
• also (lol. i decided that last bullet point was getting kinda long), as far as 'being a part of history' goes, i was talking to one of my friends (q.d.) who was one of the people who helped make this a reality--she knocked on doors, several times over--in the cold, in different states, etc--i did my share and worked as an 'organizer' for the campaign in nc during primary season and donated money after primary season, but from my work i definitely respected the people like her, who really worked--for free-- to make this possible, bc the work wasn't glamorous and didn't show instant results. those people were part of history. i know that a lot of people did work like that and so there was definitely some overlap between the people who were out on the mall and the people who did the grassroots work--but i wonder about those people who say 'it was worth it to stand out in the cold to be a part of history and see him take the oath' or made it seem like it was so important for them to be out there, who never went out and campaigned, who were passive observers/supporters and now that it's time to celebrate want to talk about their 'sacrifice' of standing out in the cold to be part of the moment. in my opinion, if no one had gone out there on the mall, president obama would still be president obama, but if the grassroots volunteers hadn't been out in full force during the 2 years before, the same thing cannot be said. it is definitely food for thought that so many people can go out in the cold to celebrate but wouldn't go out in the warm to campaign. this moment didn't just come into being on january 20--it was a long time in the making and it's great that people voted for my president and went to watch him take the oath, but i've just been wondering what they were doing when others were working to make it possible for him to even be on the ballot. like, can you say you 'earned' your place in this history--not by standing outside waiting for him to get sworn in wearing the stuff you bought from the street vendors with his name on it, but by actually being a part of the movement? for qd and i, we felt like we were a part of history even before the morning of january 20--it was like we just wanted to enjoy the energy of the celebration and watch the fruits of our (and so many other people's) labor no more sacrifices necessary :) (lol. it was definitely cold walking up there tho!) i'm not saying this moment doesn't belong to all of us who hoped for it and are happy at its arrival, i'm just saying it would be even sweeter if all of us had put that same energy into ensuring that it came.
  
• on a lighter note, there were sooo many heartwarming moments among my first family--my heart melted when i saw malia taking pics of her dad or when she gave him her approval of his speech. sasha was cute as ever, the excitement overwhelmed her and she definitely fell asleep watching the parade, but i just love her. malia is michelle's mini-me--they have the same eyebrows and even the same little waddle when they walk. and sasha looks like barack did when he was a little chubby boy in hawaii. and they were the cutest little things in their custom made jcrew coats--they are such better role models than the bush girls, and they're only 7 and 10!! i could talk about their family alllll day. i know they are an inspiration to so many and i feel like i know them!

anyway, my president has already shown that he plans to run things. he is SO smooth. he has already made so many people interested in politics who were never interested before and inspired so many people on a personal level. i am so looking forward to his *8* years in the white house and what he can do to and for this country. like my godfather cornel west said, i hope he will be a thermostat and not just a thermometer--a thermometer only reads the temperature and reflects it; a thermostat controls the climate. if he can stay true to himself and his family, we are going to be in for an excellent climate here in the us! ready??

viva mexico!

Happy New Year!
so. this year i spent new year's eve with my bf. . .in cabo! it was a really nice trip. despite all my nervousness surrounding that much uninterrupted couple time (besides my commitmentphobia, there is definitely room to be nervous at the idea of being able to hear when someone is using the bathroom for four days and five nights--i don't care how much you love them). but we did good. it's funny bc everyone wants to hear all the details of your trip--but there really weren't many details. we chilled out a lot, ate, drank (yay for all-inclusives with macro-bars in the rooms(to call it a mini bar would be unfair)), and just enjoyed the city and being away. it was pretty funny to see the mexicans' reactions to us (there were VERY few black people vacationing there), we were like mini-celebs. we even had a guy ask if we would pose for a picture with his kids!
even though nothing happened to write home about, i did think of a few things to write here about :)
what i loved:

• almost a whole week of no one asking me what i do for a living. so many foreigners (canadians included) can have a whole conversation with you without asking what you do, even once. we ran into a family from chicago/tennesee on a cruise we went on. after a minute of polite convo, i excused myself for a few minutes, but left the bf--they asked him what he does for a living! 2 minutes in!! i wasn't there for that, but as SOON as we came back into the us, the customs officer (30 sec convo) asked what we did. why??
• the international black people nod/smile! wherever you go, you can tell a good black american by the way they acknowledge you in public. the few we did see tended to nod back. there was even a guy who looked like he could be black who nodded (he revealed himself as not black when he called the bf 'bro' (with that strong 'o' they use). . .lol. the bf had a lot of white frat boy family down there). of course there were the ones who avoided all eye contact, which was fine with me bc i could give them dirty looks without them seeing :)
• the bracelets from the resort. i have always hated these things bc i didn't like being 'branded' and they usually mess up my tan. but they really helped in mexico as we were wandering around 'adventuring' and riding the bus. people saw them and knew where we were staying. . .and that we were on the wrong bus. lol. and they were really helpful in redirecting us.
  
• the people. mexicans get a bad rap in america, but they are such happy people! the hotel staff was always SO friendly and helpful. just genuinely cheerful. the mexican kids were all happy and content and polite--i never saw one of them throw a temper tantrum or be nuisances to other people.
• the food. besides it being free and all you could eat allll the time, it was so fresh. everything just tasted better. i even tasted guacamole for the first time in my life bc the avocado in my sushi was so good (i was, however, skeptical about even initially trying 'mexican sushi' lol. but hey, it's vacation, right? i even drank a corona!). and omg the ice cream at the hotel. . .heavenly.
• being 'disconnected'. when i'm at home, i have heart palpitations if i lose my phone for a second or if it's not working. i don't know what to do with myself if my internet isn't working, etc. . .so i really thought it would be a struggle to get there and enjoy myself without thinking about what i was possibly missing. but it wasn't. as a matter of fact, it was really pleasant to just focus on what and who was around you and not what you could reach through the use of technology. (but of course i had no problem plugging myself back in once we got back).
  

what i did not love:

• that the tsa thinks the world is a safer place if me and lolo are without my 6.8 oz special edition nivea cream :(
• the fact that the exchange rate was somewhere between 12.50 and 13. . .umm, how am i supposed to divide that??
• the other kids. it is hard to tell canadian white people from american white people without listening to them talk, but o-m-g their kids were the surliest, brattiest, ungrateful, most annoying somebodies. after restraining myself from knocking over a 'tyler' for stomping his little crocs through my sand-writing (without so much as a word from his mother), i had to find a happy place in my mind to keep from scowling at every one of them i saw for the rest of the trip. woosah!
  
• the time difference. it wasn't *that* big, but going backwards is always a little jarring. i am just recovering
• the day of traveling. it was literally a day! we got on the shuttle at 5:30 am to go to the airport (2 hours early for the mexican 'customs search'--which involves petite people unzipping your haphazardly packed bag and unproductively semi-rummaging through your stuff) and got back to my place around 8.
• these 2 girls who did the day of traveling with us. o-m-g. they were talking a mile a minute beginning at 5:30 am! everyone else in the shuttle was trying to sleep and be quiet. . .and they were talking! about nothing! we got a little break on the flight from cabo to dallas. then we found out they were going to dc too!! while we were waiting, i sneaked a peak of their tickets and was unreasonably excited when i saw that they were sitting faaar away from us--or so i thought. one of them was, but one of them was sitting directly in front of us. so of course one moved up. nothing more perfect to end a vacation. . .except the rain and cold when we got back. sigh.

anyway, enough complaining. it was a great trip and i'm ready to do it again!