Back In Da Habit Again

Over the past few months I have definitly been lacking on my posts.

Mostly because I threw myself into a number of projects.

In the past week, there have been some starteling life changes that have forced me to reorganize my priorities and focus on personal and professional projects which have been on my Bucket List for quite some years now.

One of them being documenting the life of a Dowtown Cincinnati dweller in the midts of a complete urban make over.

The good news for those who follow this blog is that you will again get an insight of what is happening in Downtown Cincinnati that you would not otherwise read about from other traditional media.

Yeah there are other blogs that give their perspective on the change, but I feel that my take on things will come from a more organic place and show the real possiblities of the area both from a resident, a lover of urban design and as a gay African American man.

If there are questions that you want answerwed about area, feel free to drop you a line and I will do my best to give an unbiased answer.

Otherwise, I will continue to enjoy my cup of coffee from Coffee Emporium while reading the New York Times.

Taking Some Time For Me

Has it really been this long since I have blogged?

I guess that’s not a bad thing. Over the past several months, I had thrown myself into community initiatives and am now taking a little time for myself.

If you are one of the diligent readers of the sparsely commented-on blog, you know that I have a few different on-going life projects that I have been plugging away at over the past few years. After making my 2011 New Year Resolution, I vowed to finally take most of them off of my plate, and so far had done a pretty good job.

Now I am ready to make the final push to get it all completed, and the “it” that I am spaking of is finally completely at least one of the novels which I have been writing for the past 10 years. I was thinking about taking some time from work and taking some sort of self inflicted writing sabaticle, combining it with a mini-vacation; some place that I have been dying to go, but never seem to quite have to time do get away and do so.

Here are my top few choices:

Montreal, Canada - I have been to the gay Mecca once before and fell in love with its European appeal. Not only was I able to speak French without crossing any major ocean, but I was also able to use my Korean on a regular basis….who knew? There are a few beds & breakfasts there that would be perfect to stay, while completing my novel, and without breaking the bank. Toronto may be another place to look in to as well.

Barcelona, Spain – Never been, but I have a good friend that lives in this city and visits here in Cincinnati a few times a year. Most recently, he was here visiting family during the week of St. Patrick’s Day and emphatically kept taunting me with a free place to stay if I were able to flip the bill to make it across the Ocean. Bad thing is, I do not speak Spanish and never really enjoyed visiting a county which I was not fluent in the language. Spain still tops my list though.

The Netherlands - Similar circumstances as Spain, but I am sure that it would be a lot cheaper once I got there. In this county, I have two different set of friends who live in cities about 20mins from one another (by train…so cool) I would have inexpensive places to stay in two different great European cities.

Of course there are great hideaways here in the States, and even more here in Ohio, but even though Cincinnati is my love, the city is disappointing me right now. I may get over it once I take a little hiatus, but the sore spot that is sticking in my side is the amount of opposition to the city’s street car. I am sick and tired of living in such a conservative city, where even proven economic stimuli is considered too radical….but I digress…this post is about where I will be taking my next sabbatical.

I am sure that there will be more places meander on and off of the list as I do my research, but I would love to hear your thoughts about the cities that I have named so far.

What I'm Reading Now

by Paul Shipton

Never Another Brother 2 Luv

There really is something to say about he placement of your order when it comes to you and your siblings.

I see it exemplified more and more as I get older and I see my younger siblings grow up and become their own person, attempting to navigate the world.

I am the oldest of four boys and from what I can see so far, have definitely had more experience as far as seeing the world and growing up faster than the rest.

That's not to knock the accomplishments of my younger bro's.

The fourth and the last of my clan has exemplified the notion that the youngest gets to reap all of the benefits. He currently in his second year of college playing basketball for a private mid-western school and is the only one of us four who has made it two years in college....straight that is.

The other two have had their ups and downs...and since there is an even number of use, the two middle brothers have shared the auspice of being deemed "the middle child" and each one seem to personify the polar opposites of the definition.

Needless to say, I still love them...all their hard-handedness and and would never trade them for any other brother in the world...

But not entirly in a bad way.

Whenever you are told that you are not pulling your weight, its always a hard thing to swallow.

Whether that its in your personal or professional life, espesially when you thought you were doing an alright job.

But settling for just alright should not be what I am happy with, because it never was the case in the past.

Sometimes it does take a kick in the butt to jumpstart your creative juices to make you process at the best of your ability and exceed expectations.

Never the less, there is still a great big "Fuck You!" is needed to be said...but in keeping with my aforementioned diatribe, I am going to keep this one to myself and just think it instead.

The Start 2 A Busy Weekend

Although the holiday season does not officially begin until later on this week, preparation for the month long eating/shopping bonanza for me begins today.

A good college friend from NYC will be coming into town Tuesday evening and staying with me so most of today, I will be cleaning the apartment and looking for a new couch…good thing Design Within Reach’s semi-annual warehouse sale is going on today.

Not only that; local shops here in my neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine will be participating in the nationwide campaign to shop local. So to support my fellow local chop owners, I will be obliged to begin my Christmas shopping early.

The Holiday season is also the season for giving back, so in the middle of my shopping escapades, I will be stopping by the Butts Family Foundation’s 21st Annual “In The Garage Sale” on 13th street in OTR. It’s a great rummage sale put on each year where proceeds to help feed needy families for Thanksgiving.

Much to do and so little time to get it all done.

Moving N2 The Holidays With A Balanced Chai

The new job has been stressing me out, but its a good stress if you can believe that. You have to have a little bit of bad and good stress in your life to stay balanced.

I have been working out more to combat the effects of the little bad stress that I have, which has put me in a better mood than I have seen in quite some time.

And despite the stress, of work and the fact that single life is not all that its cracked up to be, I have been in better spirits that I have been in a long time. So much so, that I think I will break out of my usual grumpy Holiday mold and put up a real Christmas tree in the apartment this year, which I have only done once in all the years that I have lived out of my mother's house. I may even decorate it...just kidding.

Of course I will be stringing up pop-corn and purchasing new ornaments for the tree, complete with presents udder the tree. They will mostly be for me due to the fact that I generally never get X-mas presents from anyone else. I may even get a gift for my roommate and cats as well.

In addition to making this year's X-mas as FABULOUS as I feel, I will be reconnecting with the traveler in me ewhich I have let slip away. Though I know the necessity of saving money, life is WAY too short to just sit on your wallet like you are trying to hatch an egg.

Needless to say, with friends and family swarming into town for the Holiday season, and my renewed since of adventure, awesome pics are down to pike to make this blog pop!

Wow, where has the year gone?

I don’t know, but over the past week, it seems that I have finally gotten back on track with my life’s goals.

The summer has a way of knocking me off track of what I really want out of life. Not having a steady source of income is another way that your dreams can get off track.

Well the summer is gone, so more time indoors are soon to come. Also, I was offered a full-time and permanent position at the non-profit agency that I worked for all this summer. The pay is increased from what I was making so I can finally get back on track with my financial goals.

Last Monday I was offered the position and I treated myself to the good news to buying a gym membership, complete with a new workout plan.

Since my last day at my old position was Thursday, I took Friday off and formulated a one year personal financial plan. I know it sounds cheesy, but I figured if businesses can do it, why not do it for my personal finances.

Things seem to be back on track.

Neighborhood Quote Of The Week

You always make each day a special day. By just you're being you. There's only one person exactly like you in the whole world. And that's you yourself, and I like you. - Mr. Rodgers Television Show

Dawg Days of Summer R Here!

The first week of summer is almost over and boy has it ever been a hot one.
With the temperature consistently being in the 90’s with the heat index reaching the 100’s, the dog days of summer are definitely in full force.

And the city of Cincinnati has actually stepped up to the plate to help keep us cool.

There have consistently declared a heat advisory throughout the city and kept us informed as to notice heat stroke and heat exhausting and the difference between to two conditions.

In addition, there was a considerable donation to The City of Cincinnati for the specific reason to open a few community pools which were slated to be closed this summer. And if I am not mistaken, the pools are fostering longer hours than originally posted.

Good stuff!

The Queen City seems to be glowing brighter and brighter each year!

When Life Gives You Lemons...You Give Them Back

It is weeks like these which make you really question your purpose in the world.
No I am not depressed or anything, but that past few weeks has definitely tested my work ethic and self worth.

As stated in past posts, I left my job to do two things, help to take care of an ailing family member and to finally take the jump in to the world of self proprietorship and open my own businesses.

For whatever reason, the ending of the school year, the unseasonable beautiful weather, or the resurgence of people’s economic standpoints, customers are not flocking for my services which at the same rate which they were for the first few months of the year.

Needless to say, with concerns with money, things are beginning to become tight.

In situations like these, many fold under the pressure and begin to either steal or turn to other unfavorable things that get people “caught up”.

But I was not raised that way.

Ever since I could remember, when times were rough for my family, it made them work that much harder.

But I was not taught to work hard, but to work smart, but did not realize that was what my mother was trying to drill into my think skull all those years ago until I read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

The characters Hank Reardon, the embodiment of this virtue; Dagney Taggert, her independence of judgment gave her the ability to stand by the metal and her railroad in the face of virtually unanimous social opposition; and finally Francisco d'Anconia, whose ability to free those from the shackles of the self-sacrifice ethics, enabling them to recognize the virtue and necessity of self worth.

All of which who pushed themselves to herculean efforts in the ore mines, refusing to acknowledge pain and exhaustion as legitimate grounds to stop working to obtain success.

So today I listen to this book via iTunes, while I work and try to incorporate the virtues of the aforementioned, refusing not to fail in my endeavors.

More Fairey 2 See

Now that the weather is gotten a bit warmer, I decided that it was finally time to stop driving my gas eating car the few blocks to the gym or to Coffee Emporium and finally purchase the bicycle which I have been vowing to do for years.

In doing so, I have so much more time to take in parts of the city which I would normally miss because my eyes were always on the road.

I found two more Shepard Fairey murals.

Alley next to Arnold's Bar

The corner of Walnut St. and 6th St.

Gone But Not Forgotten

No I have not forgotten about the Nasty Nati.

Currently, I am sitting on the beach on the Northern Coast of The Dominican Republic, taking in the sun and chillin' like a villin (no pun intended).

Not only is this time on the beach being used for a much needed vacation from opening my company BookMark! Online, but it also is giving me some time to write down on paper the stories which have been swimming in my head for the past few months.

In attempts to keep you wanting more, pictures of the vacation/sabbatical will be posted upon my return to Cincy next week. Needless to say that they will be well worth the wait...cheers!

A Weekend For Champions

First and foremost, after using the methods that I learned in the book "The Gabriel Method", I have lost 6lbs in the past seven days.

I can honestly say it was because of the things that I learned in this book for two reasons; (1) I ate way too much food over the past week to loose it because of exercising and (2), it has been more than a year since I have been down to this weight, despite the intense workouts and dieting.

That being said, I celebrated a little too much.

Friday night, I attended and private party and then went on to, should I even say, a straight club. I have to say, for the past decade, I have avoided straight establishments because I did not want to change the way that I acted to appease other people. Friday, I felt every so comfortable in the presence of straights…in fact, they were sexier their gay counterparts. I was amazed of the swagger and fashion sense that they exuded.

Red and I hosted a small party on Saturday evening that ended very well (wink wink).

Sunday I ventured to a straight bar to watch the Bengals whoop up on some Browns. I did not go just because it was a straight bar, but to meet up with a Bret, a straight acting guy who I have been chatting with for about a year now, but have never had the courage to meet up with him BECAUSE he only goes to straight bars.

It was so much fun to actually watch a football game with other people who are involved with the game. So much better then hanging out at one of the cities gay establishments where there may be only two other people on a Sunday afternoon and you have to bend the server’s arm to get them to even turn on the game.

No big plans this weekend, but I will be working a boat load of over time in order to be prepared for Xmas shopping. Also there has been this cute guy checking me out at the gym. I wonder what will come about that.

The Power of 7-4-0

While I was in San Francisco a few weeks ago, the style and vice of the city took hold of me in a way that only Rembrandt could describe in one of his paintings. OK….that may be a little dramatic, but I feel safe that you get what I am trying to describe.

During this time, ancient mantras and centuries old though processes exposed them selves to me and I began to take a novice interests, especially of the teaching of Buddha. This passing interest (which has not totally left my mind) opened my mind to the significance of “happenings” such as dreams and numbers.

Just after this realization and on the way back to the dumpy Mid-west, the numbers 7-4-0 kept appearing to me, and not in combination with other numbers and in this particular sequence. For example, 740 was the number of the cab that I took home from the airport. $7.40 was the exact amount that I paid for lunch and 740 was the number that I pulled with I was in line at the deli.

Before I make in predisposed sayings about what this sequence of numbers means and before I let you know how I have incorporated this into my life, I am going to do a little bit of research before I speak out of my ass…as I have done time and time again in the past.
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Stop and smell the flowers

Taken in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco Oct 2009

"Hello" by Sam Francis (1923-1994)

"Boy Party" by Jess (Burgess Franklin Collins)

It was my favorite painting in the Contemporary Collection at de Young museum in San Francisco.

Happy Birthday Wishes

Well...another year down and some would say another year wiser.

Though today is actually the day I turn the big three-one, yesterday some of my co-workers pitched in to purchase a gift certificate to my favorite coffee shop, Coffee Emporium and even decorated my cubicle withe flare.

RedBox vs. Netflix: The Next Big Showdown

Over the past few months I have been seeing these red boxes popping up in local grocery stores around the Greater Cincinnati area.

In what seemed to be a systematic ploy to get me to begin using them, several of my friends and coworkers have admiting to poppin' in a buck for a movie as opposed to traveling down the street to BlockBusuter, Hollywood Video or their local branch of the public library for their movie selections.

A dollar does sound tempting for one nights' cinematic satisfaction, but the rub comes when it is time to return the film.

I have never been the best at returning things on time. Library books and movies have always been my biggest vice, which is why Netflix is so convenient.

No late fees and can return them when you want.

In fact, I have two films from the postal based movie company which I have been hording for the past few weeks and one that I have had for several months....pathetic, I know.

Though this is a great idea and I feel that it will do well, I am not sure that we will be seeing his little red boxes in t Pendleton area any time soon.