The Keystone Cops were known for bumbling everything related to policework. EVERY.THING.

If I didn’t know better, I’d say I’ve stumbled on to the 2008 version of “The Keystone Cops”…only they’ve switched industries, branched out so to speak.

Still messing stuff up. Royally.

Personally? I fail to find the humor. And I refuse to play their “straight man”.

These folks truly make my teeth itch. I promise you that.

Ha. And I used to think a certain cable company was my “Keystone Cops”. Ahhhh, but they have been replaced. LOL

I’ve been told that I scared the little rep I spoke with last week. *shrug*

You tell me: you have services that are supposed to start on 10/1. You call in September to ask what’s up. They respond. AFTER 10/1. THEN try to tell you they have to take ‘extra steps’ and do things ‘manually’ because YOU didn’t meet the deadline. AND get this, YOU will need to pay for the month you should have had services but didn’t because if they change your start date to 11/1 THEY have to pay a fine.

All I said was, “Wake me up when you get to the part that you think has meaning to me. You know, that part where I’m actually liable to take action. The reality of the situation. You know.”

Chile please.

I am NOT the one.

And trust me when I tell you that TODAY? TODAY is NOT the day.

:::: going off to sip some pineapple ginger tea and let some smooth jazz wash over me::::

Yesterday…..

Started slow. Unsteady.

Over the weekend, interspersed with some fun times with friends, I found myself praying for other friends whose families are deailing with illnesses and losses. Add in the prayers for Jennifer Hudson & her family. “Bittersweet” would be definitely describe my weekend, though I would have liked a little more “sweet”, a little less “bitter”.

Yesterday.

Overslept. Had to literally talk myself into going to work. Get to work and my pc is dead… 2.5 hours later, I can finally get to work. Get stuck on a couple of tasks. Hear the news about Hudson’s 7yr old nephew. At the point, I wanted to just get in my car, drive to my brother’s and hug my nieces/nephews tight.

There were a few more bumps throughout the course of the day.

5pm finally came and I dragged myself home. I turn on the news and hear about the foiled assassination plot against Sen. Obama.

My heart, soul, and mind could take no more of this today.

I shut off the tv, radio and my PC. Unplugged phones, turned off the cell.

Washed off the remnants of the day with a relaxing shower, ate a light supper and curled up in my bed to sleep off all the nonsense.

Yesterday.

Was much too heavy a day to bear. Almost.

Yesterday…..

I prayed long and hard.

I awoke to find my prayers answered….

Today is here.

Today.

Embrace it. Call up a friend. Hug your spouse/significant other. Play a silly game with your child. Volunteer your time to help someone else. Laugh more. Help somebody. Sing. Dance. Laugh some more. Enjoy everything about your life.

LIVE. In these precious moments that have arrived at YOUR doorsteps this day.
LIVE FULLY IN EACH & EVERY ONE OF THEM.

Today.

It matters.

And so do you.

Live Deliciously,
~*~ MsJayy ~*~

Oh.My.Goodness.

Traffic in downtown Richmond is ALWAYS “interesting”.

But today?

Whew!

Barack Obama is appearing at the Richmond Coliseum today. In a few minutes actually. The festivities will begin.

Today was so NOT the day for anyone to be late getting to work because getting through all that stuff is NOT going to be fun or easy.

Thankfully (yes, I’m being selfish. Sue me.) the deck I park in is for monthly parking only.

Folks slept outside over night and all that “Prince-concert-esque” stuff.

Me? Somebody decided to reschedule a meeting I coordinated from 1:30 this afternoon to ____. Guess what time? You got it - 10am. *SIGH*

No worries. I’ve seen Mr. Obama before. Would’ve been nice to soak up all that energy and excitement. Instead, I’ll be discussing invoices and customized billing.

Be still my heart!

Happy Barack-Day Richmond!!

Off to make it do…what it do….

~*~ MsJayy ~*~

Been a minute since I dropped anything poetic on the page so…here’s a little something for your reading pleasure. I like where it started but not sure about where (how) it ended. LOL So, this little goodie goes back to the lab for refinement.

I’m pushing myself to make MAJOR headway on some projects across all areas of my life. Right now, I’m culling through my poetry crate for candidates for poetry collection #2. I’m excited about that project ’cause it’s gonna have a little twist to it (I hope…*fingers laced in prayer*). It’s not the collection I thought was gonna be next but then, I’m not in charge. I serve at the whim of my muse and she’s a fickle somebody from time to time. LOL

And…I’m determined to make MAJOR headway on novel #1 (which, coincidentally, IS NOT the novel folks thought I was working on. Sowwrreee! Again, blame it on the Muse. I do. LOL) I’m 14K words into it. Only 64K to go. Ha! Might be easier to get there from here if I could (would) simply nail down the actual storyline. Good plan, huh?

Well, see…what had happened was….I wrote a poem a few years back. From that poem came the germ of a story idea. I jotted it down and kept it moving. Last year, I wrote a poem that begged to become a full-fledged story (even though the prospect scared me). Then the idea hit me to marry to the two poems into the basis for my storyline. Cool! So, I knew how the story would begin and wrote what I’m calling the prologue (for now). I know how the story ends (also, for now).

What’s tripping me up? ALL THE STUFF THE HAPPENS BETWEEN THE PROLOGUE AND THE END.

Bwwwwaaaaaahhhhhhaaaaa!

Oh. Am I the only one that finds that funny?

Sorry.

Antywho…I’m gonna work it out. The goal for the end of the year is to have the bones of the novel down, the bulk of the manuscript. I can always do “the tighten up” later.

That’s the plan Man.

Off to lay the smackdown on some folk for whom half-stepping is a way of life. Ha. Not on my watch. ‘Specially where my money is concerned.

Smooches!
*~* MsJayy *~*

When it became apparent to me that I was NOT going to win the lottery (Ha! Don’t act like the thought has never crossed YOUR mind) and that I needed to return to Corporate America forthwith, I looked for jobs that offered flexible schedules.

You know…four day work week. Work from home..at LEAST 2 days a week…or 5. LOL That kind of thing. Had I stayed with my former employer, I was moving to a four-day workweek. Had I still been there today, I would be working from home three days a week. I think.

I say “I think” because, while it was a very real option (and many of my former coworkers are making the most of it), I have to be honest. Four day work weeks would have been tough. Ten hour days.

Even deeper than that? I really wonder if I’m focused enough, disciplined enough to work from home. Sure, I’ve worked from home here and there - stealing away from the activity of the office to concentrate on a specific assignment.

But…could I do that on a regular basis? *Sigh*

This topic came back to the forefront because a friend passed on two telecommuting opportunity. One for a local company; the other for a company in ATL. I like the ATL company - the industry, the company, the benefits…everything but the nuts and bolts of the particular position they’re offering. LOL Minor detail, huh? Oh, and the money. It’s as if they want a fine surgeon but want to pay you what the person who cuts the edges off bread would make. Yeah. EXACTLY.

I wonder. Is working from home FOR me? It’s not for everybody. Lots of “career gurus” warn that it makes you “invisible” in some ways…that whole “out of sight, out of mind” theory. That might be true to some degree BUT…it also depends on how visible a person WANTS to be and, in this day and age where more offices span cities/states/countries, that theory only holds so much water. The friend who passed on the two job possibilities says I’m definitely focused/disciplined enough - for the right kind of work. *shrug*

I don’t think flexible schedules (not “THAT” kind of flexibility) are offered where I’m working now although I do think that working from home here and there is acceptable. Well, were I a permanent employee that is. Time will tell…..I’m willing to give it a try.

Don’t mind me…just thinking out loud.

*~* MsJayy *~*

** When was the last time you had a day off? When was the last time you NEEDED one? LOL For me, it was Labor Day but I’m really feeling like I need one – SOON. I think I’ll take next Friday. That should tide me over until Thanksgiving. (I hope!) Contemplating taking one day a month (unless there’s a company holiday that month). Sure, I’m giving up 8 hours of pay but the trade off in terms of my mental health is more than worth it. Ahhhhh, I feel better already. LOL **

As usual, Monday morning came MUCH too soon. That’s ok – Monday has a job to do and so do I.

I was determined to be on time for work today (“on time” in my world is at least 10 minutes BEFORE clock-in time) so…I need to leave my house by 7:30 at the very latest. I look up and the clock is about to strike 7:25 so I rush downstairs and snatch some stuff out the fridge cause I told myself that if it wasn’t in the bag by 7:30, I was leaving it. Whatever “it” might be…which today turned out to be a bottle of water. And my shoes. No, I’m not barefoot. LOL The shoes I have on will do quite nicely – they just aren’t the ones I had intended to keep on all day.

I’m on call this week and I pray things run smoothly. And with the exception of me having forgotten the control line to one of the jobs I need to run, I’d say we’re off to a very good start.

Parking deck was E-M-P-T-Y. So empty that I thought maybe the City is closed for Columbus Day. Even though 5 minutes before I left the house, I heard the radio person say it was business as usual. (And despite having checked twice before leaving work on Friday. What? I need a day off dammit! LOL)

Ended up sharing the elevator with my boss’ boss. Nice guy. I appear to be the first person in the office. Cool. I can do some thangs while no one’s here…like update my blog. And more importantly, create a list of things I need to talk to my manager about. I’m still feeling my way around and it’s…let’s just call it…”interesting”. As I was gently and quickly mulling over some work stuff the other day, I had an epiphany (not a new one but certainly one that I needed at the moment AND one that I’d pushed to the background). I realized that in a lot of my self-talk where this job is concerned, I found myself saying, “This isn’t what I’m used to.” True enough. It’s not however, the question is: “IS THIS SOMETHING I WANT TO GET USED TO?” Ahhhhhhh…..now that gives me something concrete to work with and a different angle from which to approach it. I’m gonna have to sit with that thought over the course of the week.

FavCuz#1 called me Friday after work. I’d already made plans not to plan anything…unless something absolutely amazing came up. Um. It didn’t. LOL Her offer (rather her plea) was for me to hang out with her and a friend who is…well…a bit of a downer. All.THE.DAYUM.TIME. Yes, ALL.THE.DAYUM.TIME. No thanks. I pass. I like this friend and normally his being “Donnie Downer” (“Debbie Downer” big brother) doesn’t phase me. But you know what? I wasn’t feeling it. Not a good use of my time at all. And why oh why on earth would I willingly subject myself to that? Thanks but um…no thanks. I’m putting my life on “ENERGY SAVER” mode - cutting off all which drains me. Die you “ENERGY VAMPIRES”! DIE!!

So…over the last few months I started reading blogs via Google Reader. Good way to be sure I don’t miss any of them. I have my daily reads and then my day-by-day. For example, Thursday are my “Money” days so all blogs related to finance are read that day; Tuesday is “9-2-5″; Monday is “FLUFF” (what? It’s Monday. I wanna keep it light.) Sounds like a good way to distribute my reading and ensure that I don’t spend goo-gobs of my time surfing the net. If I stick to it. *sigh* Yes, I have defeated the purpose of my own system. Yet again. And so today, my challenge is to read ONLY those blogs tagged as “daily” or “Monday”. Second challenge is to remind myself to go to the actual blog and leave a comment. *sigh* Sorry ya’ll. I’m trying.

Enough rambling…time to go call the chick at my consulting company. She has chewed up an extra frame of time in her ‘grace period’ in terms of responding to a question re: my health coverage. In the process, she has also chewed up my last good nerb. Oh well, as the ol’ skool rap song goes, “Ya brought it on ya self. Ya brought it on ya self!”

Happy Monday!

*~* MsJayy *~*

What’s up? I am enjoying the remnants of a beautiful Sunday – warm weather, sunny, peaceful. Decided I’d share a few thoughts before I go clang round in the kitchen preparing Sunday dinner.

In my quest to simplify my life, to declutter in every way possible, I found myself sifting through paper this weekend. Lots of paper. LOTS. Wading through that sea of paper, I came across some old journals and some notes that will eventually become part of one of my non-fiction works. Actually, this particular tidbit is something I shared with a group that invited me to speak a few years ago.

Whose permission do you need in order to step completely, boldly, comfortably, truthfully, authentically, unapologetically, joyfully into who you truly are, the person you were designed to be? Not just the “framework” of that person, the skeleton…the shadow but the fully fleshed out, actual flesh and bones, living, breathing, doing, BEING…your BEAUTIFULLY HUMAN SELF?

I remember that speech. Why? Because as I was saying those words, encouraging OTHER people to ask those questions of themselves, I had a “fall-down-on-the-altar” moment. For real. Got to the end of that last sentence, last my words….dropped my head forward, shook it left to right, raised my right hand. Yes.I.Did.

Looking back, I see a chain of events that, in the moment seemed like a menagerie of things, a string of random events. But there weren’t; they were orchestrated to inspire movement on my part. In 20 years of working, I had never received a negative review. Ever. Until THAT year. Some other stuff happened on the workfront, including a layoff that shocked folks (rumor has it that I was to have been a part of THAT particular layoff but someone intervened on my behalf…I mean, that’s what the rumor was. *shrug*) A messy relationship that started too quickly and ended much too slowly. Then came a retreat at a beautiful house in Virginia Beach that really left me feeling so alive, energized, hungry for more. And determined to publish my first book. There were other things that became bricks in my path to destiny but these I remember with the most clarity.

So here I sit. Wondering. Not about whose permission I need to live fully & completely out loud and on purpose. But how I reconnect to that passion, that energy, that sense of being awake on every level.

I find myself leaning closer into the mirror, hoping for a glimpse of THAT me. I light candles throughout the house in her favorite scents hoping to entice her to come for visit, and stay awhile. I write her love letters in my journal in shades of purple ink, curly calligraphy-styled letters where I bear my heart and soul to her, extending an open-ended invitation to her.

I promise I will do what it takes to keep her safe, happy, connected, strong….beautiful. That I won’t let her hide behind ANYTHING or ANYONE ever again. That I will never deny the truth and beauty of who she is.

She’s apprehensive. I know. She needs me to show her, to marry my words with my actions. To commit. Today. To commit. Tomorrow. And the next day, and the next, and the next.

And so I begin today. To treat her kind, to feed her well, to indulge in some of her favorite pastimes - a walk in the park, a mug of tea, a long overdue date with the treadmill and some weight machines, a good movie.

She’s apprehensive. I know. But inside my spirit? I feel her smile. And I like it.

She needs me to marry my words with my actions. Everyday. To push through whatever gets in the way. I know.

I can do this. I WILL do this.

And…I don’t need anyone’s permission…other than hers.

Living & loving life,
*~* MsJayy *~*

Seriously?

From the New York Post:: “In an upstate New York county, hundreds of voters have been sent absentee ballots in which they could vote for “Barack Osama.” The absentee ballots sent to voters in Rensselaer County identified the two presidential candidates as “Barack Osama” and “John McCain.” In the United States, the best-known person named Osama is Osama bin Laden, leader of the al-Qaida terrorist group. Commissioners for the Rensselaer County Board of Elections say they regret the error but do not acknowledge in a statement exactly what the error is.”

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…. It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.

~*~ Melodie Beattie ~*~

To say that there is a lot going on lately would be an understatement of colossal proportions. Take the following ingredients (the election craziness, gas prices, the mortgage fiasco, the war, the economy, AIG Spa Days, etc). Stir in whatever unique items exist in your personal life. Place all the ingredients in the blender of life. Hit the switch for high-speed blending. Climb into that mix yourself.

Quite a picture, huh? LOL

Even without the swirl of the first set of ingredients, life can prove challenging to us on a day-to-day basis. I had a mini-convo with my girl Princess Dominique about blogging and how it seems like folks aren’t as active (posting or commenting) as they used to be. I’m sure some of it is the “normal” ebb and flow of life but the rest of it? *shrug*

From my perspective, I needed to slow down in some ways, to step back a minute and focus on what I was doing (and more importantly what I WASN’T doing) and why. I felt myself either standing still in the midst of my own life, like an extra on stage who’s forgotten their lines. Or either I became this human stationary bike – pedaling for all I was worth and not moving an inch. LOL

So the other evening as I was having my therapy session cleaning house, I put on some of my favorite tunes, lit up some candles and just let my mind roam freely. I found myself making deposit after deposit in my “gratitude bank”. By the time I had lain me down to sleep and prayed the Lord my soul to keep, my heart was full, my spirit was free and my mind was at rest.

Today as I sit calmly while the world swirls around me, I smile from the inside because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that no matter what my life looks like to whomever may be peeping into it, I am truly blessed beyond measure.

And so, today I pause for the cause of gratitude. Today’s list includes:

1. Life lessons that take my breath away in all the right ways. They aren’t always easy lessons, and they certainly aren’t always pretty but they serve to make me better and I am more than alright with that.

2. My coworkers. I really like working with this group. The work itself? Eh.

3. My “After-the-rain” scented candle. Yum-meeeee

4. Long soaks in a warm bath full with all the accoutrements (good music, delicious bath products, a chilled glass of wine). It’s at times like these that I remind myself, “Stress can’t float”. LOL

5. Friends who happen to call, email, or visit “just because”. And “just because” happens to be just as I am thinking of reaching out to them or the moment when I need a smile, a hug, a “wassup”, a ear, a shoulder, etc. I am so incredibly blessed to have the friends I do.

6. Knowing better. Scratch that. Make it DOING BETTER. Knowing better is good; actually DOING what you KNOW is GREAT.

7. The weekend BABY! LOL Now, I’m always grateful for the weekend but this weekend, I have a to-do list of stuff to get through and I am challenging myself to do more than simply put a dent in it. The goal is to complete each & every item. Realistically? I will push myself (HARD) to do what I can. And then? I’ll just pray over the rest. ROFL

As always, the list of things I’m grateful for could go on but you get the idea. My 401(K) and other investments may have taken a beating but there is never a shortage in my life of things that can generate deposits to my “gratitude bank”.

Bottom line? As noisy, chaotic, out of alignment, stressed, etc. as our lives can get on a day-to-day basis, there is something beautiful, something joyful, something worth celebrating. Find that something – no matter how small you think it is. Hold on to it as you swim your way out of the sea of chaos.

Embrace your blessings!
*~* MsJayy *~*