The Mondays
I'm sitting in the bedroom of my Park Slope Brooklyn apartment on a cold rainy Monday night listening to the first track (Forgotten Signs) of my man J-Ideas' beat tape: Canadian Air Mass; after a long emotional day. As the tracks of this tape beat on my eardrums and fill my head with thoughts and reflections of the day, I begin to realize just how blessed and lucky I am.
I'm part of a team that is in hot pursuit of its goals and will stop at nothing to bring you good people who show an interest in us, the artists, good honest music. There's no pretense, no gimmicks or any of the watered down content you now hear on the radio. From the production to the writing and performing of the music, the whole process is a creation that, like a child, we nurture from conception to its release and flight of life into this world. Some of the rides are smooth and others are bumpy when you're with us, but like true artists, we invite you into our worlds with the hospitality of a Southern grandmother on a Sunday afternoon after church as the dinner is steaming on the table awaiting your consumption. Hold on there! You have to bless your food before you eat it... now, you may commence.
The day I had has me feeling so many things. I started this day feeling good waking up from a good night's sleep in my bed. I woke up on time and knew what I wanted to wear to work, so I picked out my gray sweater vest, pinstriped navy blue slacks, light blue button down shirt and red tie. You guess the color of the belt and shoes and I'll give you a shout out in my next post!
Even my breakfast tasted good this morning though all I ate were two delicious biscuits. For my friends in the UK, I'm talking about Southern style biscuits, not cookies. You know the ones that are layers of golden fluffy goodness, and I took my time and peeled each layer savoring each chew followed by a sip of ice cold water straight from the Brita pitcher. I know, you're probably thinking that's not much of a breakfast, but to me, it was perfect. It was blessed, yes, I still take time to bless my food as a 31 year old man who has not lived at home since he was 18. You see, I had something to eat. I was thankful for that because in this city there are so many who go days, weeks, months and years not having food to eat or shelter from the elements of the outside world. A lot of them are our veterans who go to fight our wars and protect our freedoms and have returned home misdiagnosed, misunderstood and mistreated by the country they proudly served. Some of these are drug addicts, some are down on their luck and others are making the choice to stay in the state of homelessness in a city of millions and no one knows their name.
I had a wonderful, I mean just an absolutely gripping exchange with a new friend of mine from my hometown of Paris, KY who I'm slowly but surely getting to better know thanks to the internet. I learned just how amazing of a person they are and how in the face of adversity they have laughed and yes, cried while slowly gaining the strength necessary to be where they are today. I have pure admiration for my new friend and for them, this morning, I was thankful.
Believe me when I tell you, I left my apartment on time, the subway came in a timely fashion, and even though it was crowded I had a great commute and it was a MONDAY!!! That hasn't happened to me in... well... a lot of Mondays. I got off at my stop, 42nd Street Bryant Park and walked to work head bopping, my step full of pep and humming the Boyz II Men track blaring through my beats audio headphones because I was feeling oh so good about the blessings that make up my life. Then, I arrived at work.
I don't like to work a 9-5. I think I may have stated this in previous posts, but I'll state it again so that when the record is shown there will be no mistaking my stance on sitting in a cubicle next to a woman who comes to work about once a week. On that day that she decides to grace us with her presence, she bombards me with stories of her cotton picking life in the backwoods of Virginia, smells that come from places I need not know, and the most ridiculous excuses as to why her present health (she needs to lose the weight of a 5th grade child), prevents her from being in good health. Remember, excuses, were on my pet peeves list. I know, I'm trying to shorten it. Bare with me. All that said, she wasn't at work today. I thought for sure this was going to be the Monday to change all coming Mondays. No longer would people be able to use the phrase, "I have a case of the Mondays" because my Monday was about to change all of that.
Then the Google talk argument with my best friend happened. A friend of mine in California decided that they would like to keep even more distance between us than the current 2,803 miles separating New York and Long Beach and an Eskimo had a nose bleed and anxiety attack in our office. That's the truth. Those three events hit me like repetitive body blows from Mike Tyson in his prime. I was knocked down and confused and couldn't quite catch my breath then I read my best friend's blog. The title of her latest entry was "Chill Out". I did that and slowly but surely the breath returned to my diaphragm and lungs, my lunch tasted delicious as it was prepared by the Eskimo whose nose had stopped bleeding. I let the ship sail in Long Beach and at the end of the day... my best friend and I made up with hugs and a couple of chuckles and I was informed that the Eskimo was home safe, eating, doing well and off to bed. Somewhere in between I had a delicious home cooked meal prepared by these very hands that are typing this sentence after a great workout. I do crossfit, tabatas and the 300 workout. I'm not a Spartan but if you close your eyes and use your imagination, I'm ripped just like one of the 300 warriors in the film... Keep them closed, it just takes time.
The beat tape made by J-Ideas has concluded and I sit here amazed that it is nearing Tuesday and I'm not singing to myself the classic song by The Bangles (written by Prince when he was dating the lead singer), "Manic Monday". I made it through without catching a case of the Mondays or the flu that seems to be going around NYC and I'm excited about the direction in which my life is heading. As I wrap up this post, I feel overjoyed that I have an Eskimo in my life, a kick ass best friend, faithful readers of this blog and a career of which I am proud. I may not be on TV or in blockbuster movies and I may not be coming through your speakers, but tonight, as I lay me down to sleep, looking out of my window into the black sky, I feel like a bright shining star.
I'm part of a team that is in hot pursuit of its goals and will stop at nothing to bring you good people who show an interest in us, the artists, good honest music. There's no pretense, no gimmicks or any of the watered down content you now hear on the radio. From the production to the writing and performing of the music, the whole process is a creation that, like a child, we nurture from conception to its release and flight of life into this world. Some of the rides are smooth and others are bumpy when you're with us, but like true artists, we invite you into our worlds with the hospitality of a Southern grandmother on a Sunday afternoon after church as the dinner is steaming on the table awaiting your consumption. Hold on there! You have to bless your food before you eat it... now, you may commence.
The day I had has me feeling so many things. I started this day feeling good waking up from a good night's sleep in my bed. I woke up on time and knew what I wanted to wear to work, so I picked out my gray sweater vest, pinstriped navy blue slacks, light blue button down shirt and red tie. You guess the color of the belt and shoes and I'll give you a shout out in my next post!
 |
| Click the picture to learn how to make these from scratch! |
Even my breakfast tasted good this morning though all I ate were two delicious biscuits. For my friends in the UK, I'm talking about Southern style biscuits, not cookies. You know the ones that are layers of golden fluffy goodness, and I took my time and peeled each layer savoring each chew followed by a sip of ice cold water straight from the Brita pitcher. I know, you're probably thinking that's not much of a breakfast, but to me, it was perfect. It was blessed, yes, I still take time to bless my food as a 31 year old man who has not lived at home since he was 18. You see, I had something to eat. I was thankful for that because in this city there are so many who go days, weeks, months and years not having food to eat or shelter from the elements of the outside world. A lot of them are our veterans who go to fight our wars and protect our freedoms and have returned home misdiagnosed, misunderstood and mistreated by the country they proudly served. Some of these are drug addicts, some are down on their luck and others are making the choice to stay in the state of homelessness in a city of millions and no one knows their name.
I had a wonderful, I mean just an absolutely gripping exchange with a new friend of mine from my hometown of Paris, KY who I'm slowly but surely getting to better know thanks to the internet. I learned just how amazing of a person they are and how in the face of adversity they have laughed and yes, cried while slowly gaining the strength necessary to be where they are today. I have pure admiration for my new friend and for them, this morning, I was thankful.
Believe me when I tell you, I left my apartment on time, the subway came in a timely fashion, and even though it was crowded I had a great commute and it was a MONDAY!!! That hasn't happened to me in... well... a lot of Mondays. I got off at my stop, 42nd Street Bryant Park and walked to work head bopping, my step full of pep and humming the Boyz II Men track blaring through my beats audio headphones because I was feeling oh so good about the blessings that make up my life. Then, I arrived at work.
I don't like to work a 9-5. I think I may have stated this in previous posts, but I'll state it again so that when the record is shown there will be no mistaking my stance on sitting in a cubicle next to a woman who comes to work about once a week. On that day that she decides to grace us with her presence, she bombards me with stories of her cotton picking life in the backwoods of Virginia, smells that come from places I need not know, and the most ridiculous excuses as to why her present health (she needs to lose the weight of a 5th grade child), prevents her from being in good health. Remember, excuses, were on my pet peeves list. I know, I'm trying to shorten it. Bare with me. All that said, she wasn't at work today. I thought for sure this was going to be the Monday to change all coming Mondays. No longer would people be able to use the phrase, "I have a case of the Mondays" because my Monday was about to change all of that.
Then the Google talk argument with my best friend happened. A friend of mine in California decided that they would like to keep even more distance between us than the current 2,803 miles separating New York and Long Beach and an Eskimo had a nose bleed and anxiety attack in our office. That's the truth. Those three events hit me like repetitive body blows from Mike Tyson in his prime. I was knocked down and confused and couldn't quite catch my breath then I read my best friend's blog. The title of her latest entry was "Chill Out". I did that and slowly but surely the breath returned to my diaphragm and lungs, my lunch tasted delicious as it was prepared by the Eskimo whose nose had stopped bleeding. I let the ship sail in Long Beach and at the end of the day... my best friend and I made up with hugs and a couple of chuckles and I was informed that the Eskimo was home safe, eating, doing well and off to bed. Somewhere in between I had a delicious home cooked meal prepared by these very hands that are typing this sentence after a great workout. I do crossfit, tabatas and the 300 workout. I'm not a Spartan but if you close your eyes and use your imagination, I'm ripped just like one of the 300 warriors in the film... Keep them closed, it just takes time.
The beat tape made by J-Ideas has concluded and I sit here amazed that it is nearing Tuesday and I'm not singing to myself the classic song by The Bangles (written by Prince when he was dating the lead singer), "Manic Monday". I made it through without catching a case of the Mondays or the flu that seems to be going around NYC and I'm excited about the direction in which my life is heading. As I wrap up this post, I feel overjoyed that I have an Eskimo in my life, a kick ass best friend, faithful readers of this blog and a career of which I am proud. I may not be on TV or in blockbuster movies and I may not be coming through your speakers, but tonight, as I lay me down to sleep, looking out of my window into the black sky, I feel like a bright shining star.
Comments
Post a Comment