Life: The Juan Thomas Story

Series Finale

2011-09-01T02:57:00.001-04:00

“-30-”

A quick look at the lower right hand corner of my computer screen and I see today’s date: 9/1/2011. Today is September 1^st. This morning, at 12:01AM ET, my Internet fast expired. That written, I’m now free to surf the Internet freely for the first time since the late hours of June 19^th…some 73 days ago. For the first time in 2 ½ months, I get to log onto my social networking accounts at Facebook, Twitter, 20 Something Bloggers, Skype, and LinkedIn, and a few others I might end up deactivating completely. For the first time in 2 ½ months, I get to access the PlayStation Network and Netflix. For the first time in 2 ½ months, I finally get a chance to get back to doing something I’ve come to enjoy dearly over the past few years: blogging.

Today, the plan was to log onto Blogger for the first time since the early AM hours of June 18^th, when I revisited the Kaleidoscope poem with a different view of even that in which I wrote it 3 summers ago. All day long today, I was supposed to move blogs that I wrote and edited during the fast from my Microsoft Office Word draft folder to my Blogger dashboard, where I was to publish them in the order in which they were written. In all, 22 blogs, including 3 album reviews, were scheduled to be released today…each of them with an editor’s note that made mention that the blog was retroactive to the date I originally wrote it during the period of fasting from the Internet. As I sat back and edited each one of them, I was in awe of the way I put the words together to tell its story…a very rare moment as I’m usually brutally critical of my work to the point that I’m not really moved by the words I write. These blogs were to tell the story of my life during a time in which I literally cut myself off from the world with the longest, most unusual fast I’ve ever done. There was a blog about the contributing factors that led to my fast and the way I conducted my day-to-day during it…there was a blog about a vicious tornado of a different kind that lasted for 5 days, causing significant internal damage that I’m still recovering from even today…there was a blog—perhaps the most emotionally-charged work I’ve ever written—in which I nearly lost my faith during a state of emergency until a last-second phone call gave me a reason to increase it and showed me that what’s written in Ephesians 3:20 is real…there was a blog about me—a passionate competitor—conceding a fight I really didn’t want to concede...there was a blog about how I journeyed through the 5 stages of grief before I even knew what they were…there was a blog in which an impossible to solve algebraic equation revealed a lesson about the value of having a choice in any particular matter…there was a blog about me meeting a couple of the Tuskegee Airmen, one the highlight moments of my year thus far…there was a blog about me starting a very taxing weight training program and how my body has reacted to it…there was a blog about me getting entangled in the trap of offense after being baited by Satan…there were blogs about my debut trip to Dover, Delaware and my day of overlooking the Chesapeake Bay and shopping tax-free at Rehobeth Beach…there was a blog in which my loyalty to my longtime U.S. mobile phone—the Motorola RAZR V3—and my longtime U.S. area code of choice—Birmingham’s 205—ended as I joined Droid Nation with the acquisition of the HTC Sensation 4G and set my sights firmly on Portland by adopting its 503 area code as my own…there was a blog about the return of my inner thrill seeker after being dormant for nearly a decade. Those were just some of the blogs I had on deck to be released today. I could’ve probably set a Guinness world record for most blog postings by a single individual blogger in a day. Instead of dropping the first 22 blogs of what likely would’ve been my most active month of blogging ever, I sit here writing only one.

The words you’re reading in this post are the last you’ll ever read in this blog. This is the series finale…the final blog…the curtain call for Life: The Juan Thomas Story. This is the last chapter. There will be no tomorrow. There will be no new story next week. There will be no more peeks into the life of yours truly. There will be just what was written and published from that hot date in Jacksonville to the italicized “The End” of this one and everything in between. For me, this is potentially the end of my career as a blogger. Unless the Lord leads me differently, there will be no other blogs down the line nor will there be any guest contributions to other blogs. I must admit that it’s definitely a sad moment for me because there is still so much left to blog about…so much that will happen in the short-term and in the long-term that is worthy of blogging about. All of those potential blog posts will never see the eyes of others…only my eyes through my heavily fortified journal, Triumphs & Tribulations, and my thoughts through words unspoken.

Gone are the September 2011 blogs…the details of my trip to Asia with returns to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Seoul, and Hong Kong as well as my debuts in Macau, Shanghai, and Beijing… the blog I intended to write this coming Sunday evening (Japan time) in which I would recap my thoughts and feelings on stepping into the Yokota Base Exchange and buying something in what would be my first shopping experience at AAFES since levying the worldwide boycott against them almost 2 years ago…the blog about using my famed Suica card and the excitement of riding the trains again…the blog about how walking the waterfront promenade in Odaiba is far different and much more serene than walking the waterfront promenade at the National Harbor…the blog about returning to Tokyo Midtown and reuniting with all the attractions and shopping venues therein…the blog about me getting my usual seat while listening to some great music at Billboard Live Tokyo…the blog about me getting my eat on at the usual spots in the Greater Tokyo Area…the complete story behind The Juan Thomas “Getting Started” Scholarship and the introduction of the first recipient. Gone is the blog about my long-awaited return to the City of Angels at the end of this month and the re-emergence of the “California Soul” swagger I seem to have while hangin’ loose in the Golden State. Gone is the blog in which I detail my experience of going an entire year drinking only water as October 1^st looms large. Gone is the blog about the much anticipated phone call that I’m expecting at high noon Pacific time tomorrow and how I have to make a decision that carries major ramifications for me immediately going forward. Gone is the recap of life @ 26 with this year’s “season finale” blog and the look ahead @ 27 with this year’s “season premiere” blog. Gone is the “Best of 2011” series, which probably would’ve trumped by first 2 years of the series by a mile. Gone is everything planned so far in 2012…the blogs about attending my first BCS National Championship and NCAA Final Four games…the blogs about my midsummer excursion through Europe with my right-hand man…the blog about attending the 2012 Summer Olympics…the blogs about surprising both my mother and father on their 50^th birthdays. Gone are the blogs that would’ve come in time…the blog about the value of independence as I gain mine from “the company” on Independence Day 2013…the blog about me proposing in stunning fashion…the blog about my wedding day…the blog about me cutting the umbilical cord of my firstborn child…the blog about me building my first house…the blog in which I arrive at millionaire status. There’s just so much more to this story of mine that’ll be left untold. The truth of the matter is that I would love nothing more than to continue but the Lord has different plans. What started as a question of whether or not I should publish the highly controversial blog about that “tornado” I experienced in June ended with the Lord directing me to not publish any of the blogs I wrote during the fast…not only that, He put it in my heart to end the blog and look towards newer ventures.

That brings me to right now…the last paragraph. This is it. This is really the end of Life: The Juan Thomas Story. It’s been a great ride over these 4 ½ years. 218 blogs is the final stat line. I’ve blogged about my “springs of hope”. I’ve blogged about my “winters of despair”. I gave people and organizations their just due in some blogs and I bashed—directly and, in most cases, subliminally—people and organizations in other blogs. My entire experience of life in Japan is in this blog. Proof that it really snowed in Iraq is in this blog. The story of my penmanship and the proof I offered up with it is in this blog. The thrill of blessing others, the disgust of double standards, and the disappointment in how the 2008 Presidential election results came to be are all in this blog. I inquired about the definition of a thug in this blog. Dozens of quotes I intercepted from people around me are in this blog. 4 championship-winning poems are in this blog. My thoughts and opinions—regardless of how other people felt about them—are in this blog. Simply put, quite a piece of the last 4 ½ years of my life—the good, the bad, and the ugly—is in this blog. I’d like to close out this post, this blog, and possibly my blog career by thanking all of my followers…those here on Blogger, those on Google Reader, those on 20 Something Bloggers, those on my Twitter and Facebook feeds, and those in other places where my blog was accessible. I’d like to thank everybody who left a comment in any of the aforementioned forums or, in the case of Facebook, left a “Like”. I’d like to thank those who retweeted a post or two on Twitter. I’d like to thank those select few who gave me permission to use their likeness, their names, and their spoken words in this blog…if it ever becomes a best-selling novel, I suppose I owe you royalties. I’d like to thank everybody across the world that accessed the blog and made it a legitimate international read…according to my blog statistics, I’ve had at least one reader in 28 different countries around the world since its inception. I’d like to thank everybody who inspired me to write a particular blog about something in some form or fashion…without you, this story would’ve probably been over the moment I started writing it. Finally, I’d like to thank Blogger in conjunction with Google for affording me an outlet in which I could tell a story of life through the eyes of a guy who has always been seen as the “quiet, shy, reserved, and uninteresting” type. Even though I’m done contributing to this blog and perhaps any other blog, I’ll leave my Blogger account in active status, which leaves the blog open so that those who wish to read this blog in its entirety can do so. Who knows…perhaps this blog will move others to take the concept of grammar a lot more seriously…perhaps, something I’ve written will be a blessing to some as they learn from my life experiences, thoughts, and opinions. Only time will tell if that happens. Last words: it’s been really good…I enjoyed myself…so long.

The End

Elite In Alamo City

2011-06-16T23:53:00.000-04:00

I originally had this blog scheduled to be released on March 30 but I was a bit stunned at the unexpected happening down in San Antonio. Almost 3 months have passed and I’ve been able to move on from that disappointment—as I have others—and now I can write about it.

The move back to the United States afforded me the opportunity to once again become a spectator at live American sporting events. As such, it was probably no secret that I got right to it once I got back Stateside. There was an Atlanta Braves game in my Turner Field debut last summer. Nothing like watching America’s pastime live and in person. Back in my bucket list blog for the 2011 Juan Year, I listed seeing a basketball game at Madison Square Garden as one of the things I wanted to get done before September 30^th of this year. I got that chance in December when I saw my beloved Kansas Jayhawks take out Memphis in the Jimmy V Classic. That was a pretty grand moment for me. Back in late March, I added an even bigger moment in the books this year. I attended an Elite Eight game of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. And luckily for me, it happened to be my Kansas Jayhawks in action. Let me tell you all about it…

It all started back on February 25^th. I received an e-mail from the vendor of an information management system class I was taking for the job. The vendor had sent the e-mail to inform me that the class was being moved from Nellis AFB in North Las Vegas to Randolph AFB in suburban San Antonio. I was kinda disappointed because a week in Vegas presented an opportunity for me to accomplish a few things from my JY2011 bucket list and my more longer-termed bucket list. So as I was preparing for the trip out to Alamo City a few days out, it hit me. I was due to arrive in San Antonio on March 27^th…the day of the Southwest Regional Championship Game. The Southwest Regional was being hosted by the University of Texas @ San Antonio via the Alamodome. The top seed and favorite in the region was the team I had been cheering on since I was pooping in pampers 26 years ago: the Kansas Jayhawks. I immediately logged on to StubHub and saw that there were 1300 tickets for the game available. They were priced as low as $64 and as high as $311. I settled for an $84 ticket that gave me a really great sightline inside of the venue. I was excited when it got to me the next day via Express Mail. For me, it was simple. Watch Kansas take care of Richmond on the Friday before (March 25), get to San Antonio on the ensuing Sunday (March 27) around 2PM CT, and stop through the Alamodome to watch Kansas advance to the Final Four.

That Friday came and I was down in Tampa for the wedding of my co-best friend/accountant. I got a chance to see Kansas throttle Richmond in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. At the same time, I also saw North Carolina throttle Marquette. I immediately became nervous. Though North Carolina was the better team and should’ve won, I was pulling for Marquette to win the 1^st game of the East Regional and Kentucky to win the 2^nd game. That would set up a game between a 4-seeded Kentucky and an 11-seeded Marquette for a trip to the Final Four…a rematch that was 8 years in the making. That game would’ve certainly been in the 2PM ET time slot for the Sunday games. Kentucky handled business as expected but I was in a tough situation. With Kentucky and North Carolina being two of the most storied programs in all of college basketball, I knew that CBS would slot them for the 5PM ET time slot over a game between Kansas and VCU, who beat Florida State at the same time Kentucky picked off my alma mater. There was no option available for me to be in San Antonio before 2PM CT on Sunday, coming from Tampa. The only available option was a 6:45PM ET flight on Saturday night. That would be right in the heart of my friend’s wedding reception. It was a tough choice—and it would certainly go the other way if I had to do it again under the same conditions—but I elected for the Saturday flight, meaning I would skip my friend’s wedding reception. The determining factor was that I would still be able to see her walk down the aisle and still be able to get a picture with her. I discussed it with her and she gave me her blessing to go to the game. It was settled. I changed the plane ticket and I was set for the night flight to San Antonio.

That Saturday, I attended the wedding. I did everything I was supposed to do to get ahead of the time, which included: (1) checking in bags early and acquiring my ticket before the wedding and (2) filling up the rental car on gas before the wedding. With the wedding starting 30 minutes later than expected, I was a bit uneasy as I expected to be leaving for the airport at 5:15PM at the latest. The ceremony actually went pretty swiftly. It ended at 5:08PM…39 minutes after it started. I took the picture with my friend and made small talk for a few minutes. And then, that’s when business picked up for me. I had to be at the boarding gate by 6:15PM ET for the final boarding call. When I turned the ignition in the rental car, the clock read 5:17PM. In a twist of luck, Tampa International Airport was exactly 5.7 miles away from the venue of the wedding. I estimated 8 minutes to get there based on the 2 trial runs I did the night before. I arrived at the airport ahead of that pace and got to the rental car return area at 5:23PM. It took 3 minutes for the agent to check the car and process my final payment. From the rental car area, I entered into the departures hall and bypassed the American Airlines ticket counter, which had an extremely long line…even for a Saturday evening. I rushed through the airport in my white suit with the Nikon D90 (inside camera bag) in tow. I got to the TSA screening area at 5:34PM and there was about 140 people in line and only 2 screening machines. That was a bad combination for somebody who had to be at the gate in 40 minutes. The TSA agent called out for passengers with “priority tickets” to go to a side line. I took a look at my ticket and it was a “Priority Access” ticket. That stunned me because the ticket was purchased on the government’s dime and the government usually goes cheap. I got through TSA screening in only a minute and, amazingly, without any drama that would’ve resulted in me being possibly banned from flying for a year in the United States. I walked to the gate once I was through TSA screening. It took all of 5 minutes. In the entire process, I set a few personal records: getting from origin to boarding gate took 23 minutes (old record: 44 minutes), getting through the airport from entrance to boarding gate took 13 minutes (old record: 31 minutes), and getting through TSA screening took a minute (old record: 8 minutes). The amazing thing was that this all went down on a Saturday evening, a time slot I almost always avoid when flying and it beat out records I set getting through Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International early on a Wednesday morning in June 2008.

Anyway, with the drama of just getting there aside, I made it to the game and this is what that experience was like…

JAYHAWK ALUMNI ASSOCIATION. Before I made my way to the Alamodome, I partook in the pregame festivities—hosted by the Jayhawk Alumni Association—in the Historic Sunset Station @ St. Paul Square. There were at least a couple thousand Kansas fans there and they were all as eagerly excited as I was. It was like being at a Legion Field tailgate party before an Alabama game…that’s about as close as I can describe the atmosphere. They had a few big screen TVs out there and I got a chance to watch and relive through some of the footage of the greatest moments in Kansas men’s basketball history. There was the Jayhawk Trivia Challenge, where a few fans tested their knowledge of Kansas Jayhawks history. I was actually hoping I would’ve got picked because as a die-hard Kansas fan and a lover of all sports statistics, I’m willing to bet I would’ve been the high scorer. It was a fun time. I got some free food…really loved the BBQ burgers. I copped a few KU t-shirts and a foam finger. I wanted to get a picture with Big Jay but the line for that was entirely too long so I settled for a picture in front of an inflatable Kansas Jayhawk. As I mentioned a couple of sentences ago, it was a fun time. If they party hard like that before games on the road, I’m willing to bet the atmosphere before games at The Phog is a monster.

THE ALAMODOME. After hanging out with fellow Jayhawk fans at the pre-game festivities, I walked the 1 ½ blocks to the Alamodome. It was to be my debut in the venue. I took a few pictures outside to capture the moment. Once inside, I quickly learned that it was quite spacious in there. It actually made me wonder why the NFL hasn’t yet thought of San Antonio as a possible market for an NFL franchise. Anyway, the set-up for the game was just like the last time Kansas visited the Alamodome for an NCAA Tournament game…only without about the 30000 or so extra portable seats. The floor was quite glossy with the generic NCAA look. While I’m on it, let me drop my $.02 on that. I totally hate that black and blue default-like look the NCAA requires for all the courts before the Final Four. Part of the lore, the pageantry, and tradition of the tournament to me was the courts themselves. Each one had its own identity and it really felt like you were watching or attending an NCAA tournament game because of the logos and stuff. Enough about my soapbox. I had a seat that was 11 rows from the floor. At $84, you probably won’t get better than that for a Kansas game that deep into March. I had a great sightline, which was great for me and the Nikon D90.

FELLOW KANSAS FANS. The crowd was about 90% Kansas fans and 10% VCU fans. In fact, when I first entered into the arena portion of the venue, all I could see was a sea of red, white, and blue with a splash of yellow and black. That was to be expected with a #1 seed facing off against a #11 seed that many people felt shouldn’t have even made the tournament. I was seated amongst the Kansas fans, naturally. There were a couple of VCU fans a few seats down from me, right in the heart of all those KU fans. They seemed uneasy initially but Kansas fans are a class act and we actually interacted with those guys. I happened to be wearing the jersey of my favorite Jayhawks legend—Paul Pierce’s #34—and I drew some attention for that. I chatted it up with a few others about random Kansas history and even stunned a few with my vivid knowledge of how the Rock Chalk chant was born.

THE GAME. It goes without saying that Kansas was heavily favored to win the game. They were the #1 seed in the region and the #2 seed overall in the tournament. They were arguably the deepest team in the country and they had destroyed inferior competition—even competition better than VCU—all season. When the game got started, Kansas jumped out early 6-0. The Morris twins were doing damage. The crowd was rocking and from my seat, I saw all the VCU fans sitting down and pretty much being nonexistent. But the momentum turned and VCU went on an incredible run. They were hitting 3-pointers all over the place…contested, non-contested, shot-clocker buzzer beaters, you name it. They were playing far more aggressive than Kansas. They jumped out to a 41-27 lead at the break. It was the worst half of basketball for Kansas the entire season. They shot 31% from the field and missed more than half of their free throws. Even more, there was absolutely no contribution from the senior starters—Brady Morningstar and Tyrel Reed. The Morris twins and Tyshawn Taylor had decent first half collectively but beyond that, we got nothing. The killing part is that we had an advantage in most of the statistical categories but the bad shooting performance gave them a big-time advantage. With the team down 2 touchdowns at intermission, the fan next to me said that the season was over. I told him that Kansas could come back and I told him how. I explained to him that they had to split the 2^nd half into 5 4-minute periods and get to within a certain point total to come out victorious. I broke it down as follows: at 16:00, they had to be within 10; at 12:00, they had to be within 7; at 8:00, they had to be within 5; at 4:00, they had to be within 3; at 2:00, it should be tied and from that point, their depth combined with the momentum would carry them to victory. At the 16:00 timeout (15:43 on the actual game clock), Kansas was down 43-37. They had managed to go on a 10-2 run in just over 4 minutes. The crowd was getting back into it. They had actually closed to within 2 at 46-44 when VCU coach, Shaka Smart, got a technical foul going into a timeout. Tyrel Reed—the best free throw shooter on the team—missed both free throws. Even though there was still plenty of time left, I had a feeling that sequence would prove to be fatal if we were to go on to lose. At the 12:00 timeout (11:55 actual time), Kansas was down 6. That same fan turned to me and called me a genius. I downplayed it by saying I was just a student of the game from an analyst’s viewpoint. Shaka Smart must’ve ripped his team apart during that TV timeout because the rest of the way, they kept Kansas at bay as 6 was as close as they came. In the end, Kansas lost 71-61 and the small contingent of VCU fans erupted into celebration while I witnessed Kansas’ season ending for a 3^rd straight year in heartbreaking fashion against a team in which we should’ve clearly beaten. From my seat, I saw the Morris twins walking off and they had that same walk Paul Pierce, Drew Gooden, and Xavier Henry had after losing to Arizona (1997), Maryland (2002), and Northern Iowa (2010), respectively. I knew they were leaving early for the NBA. I stayed back and looked at the statistics on the scoreboard as well as the stats I wrote down and I shook my head in disappointed. Kansas dominated VCU on the glass, including a 19-9 offensive rebound advantage. But it was the shooting that undid the favored squad from Lawrence. They shot a season-low 35% from the field and were 2-21 from 3-point range, the worst since that 100-90 victory over Baylor during the championship season in which we didn’t make a single 3-pointer. The 13 missed free throws were crucial to the team’s demise but because the margin of defeat was so wide, the poor shooting was primarily the reason why Kansas lost. Oh…did I mention how we got killed 22-3 by their bench?

THE AFTERMATH. I stayed back and watched VCU celebrate going to their first Final Four while most of the Kansas fans filed out of the venue. I just sat there. Part of it was that I had come so far just to see them and actually missed out on a chance at some good quality soul food at my friend’s wedding in doing so. Part of it was that I was a fan of my team, win or lose. I just sat there…stunned. It felt like I was back at the BJCC Arena in March 1997. That’s when I sat in attendance to my first-ever Kansas game and watched Arizona upset a then 34-1 Kansas team on their way to the NCAA title. The 12-year-old version of myself cried as my mother consoled me. The version of myself 14 years later just sat there and took it all in…no tears, no words, nothing. I just sat there for like 10 minutes after the game was over. I finally made my way out of the venue almost like Chris Webber made his exit from the Staples Center court after Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals. Once outside, I encountered quite a few disappointed KU fans. Some were cursing, some were crying. There were even a couple who were tearing apart VCU memorabilia…something that struck me as odd considering they probably bought it with their own money just to destroy it. I kept it all together on the scene but once I got back to my rental car, that deep feeling of disappointment set in and it hung around for 6 days until I got that “welcome back” hug from the new special lady in my life at Reagan National Airport upon my arrival back from San Antonio.

While the game itself was disappointing to watch—even more so being that I saw it in person—I wasn’t completely devastated. The Darryl Dora game-winner that ruined my St. Valentine’s Day in 2005 was—and still is—by far the most devastating lost I’ve witnessed as a Kansas fan. Losing to VCU doesn’t even compare to losing the 2003 National Championship Game to a Carmelo Anthony-led Syracuse squad by 3 with 18 missed free throws. Heck, it was more devastating to have to sit back during the entire 2006-2007 season and not openly root for the Jayhawks because I lost a high stakes bet against a fellow member of a military sports forum. The VCU loss feels like the losses to Georgia Tech, UCLA, and Maryland—which ended our seasons deep in the NCAA Tournament—rather than those losses to underdogs Rhode Island, Bradley, and Bucknell. The only good thing I can take from it is that there’s always next year and with the exit of most of the key players, we’ll have a completely new team…just like we did in 2005-2006. That squad of freshmen went on to win a national championship as juniors. May be a good omen…after all, it’s been said that life is cyclical. Overall though, I enjoyed my first Elite Eight experience. I’ll definitely try to get back to another one. Probably not next year as I plan on seriously entertaining a trip to the London Olympics but maybe in 2013 since the West Regional Final will be in Los Angeles. I could easy fly out there, catch the game, and then roll on down to Atlanta for the Final Four the next week.

Love-Type Thing

2011-06-02T22:39:00.003-04:00

A new scribe inspired by a new venture in life

It’s an unexplainable attraction
Smiling unconsciously
Lovely feeling-type thing

It’s a beautiful song
Favorite memory
Wanting to introduce you to my mom-type thing

It’s a Def Poetry
Poets in motion
Freestyle battle
Rhythms and rhymes-type thing

It’s a conscious hip-hop
Throwback soul
Old school fairytale
My idea of real emotions-type thing

It’s a “You can lie in my arms”
“I just wanna kiss you”
“Baby I miss you”-type thing

It’s an “Girl, I’m really feeling you”
“I’m totally diggin’ you”
Looking in your eyes
Telling no lies
No need to wear a disguise-type thing

It’s a being free
Laughing at nothing
Just being me-type thing

It’s an “I know she understands me”
“No need to explain because she gets me”-type thing

It’s a complex simplicity
Overwhelmed with felicity
A beautiful one in a million-type thing

You don’t have to be a wiz
To know exactly what this is
It’s a love-type thing

Introducing The Gazelle

2011-05-30T21:32:00.006-04:00

“This is what you had…just newer, better, and more efficient” – Dad

It was back on January 17, 2011…Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I had just turned north off St. Patricks Drive unto Crain Highway (US-301 N). I was headed to Wal-Mart on Acton Lane, which was only a short 6-minute ride away. It was around 7PM. The outside temperature was in the low 20s and I felt a slight freezing rain as I had entered into the Midnight Blue Express minutes earlier. It all seemed relatively normal to me…so much so that I didn’t really think too much of anything as I was making the ride from my apartment to Wal-Mart. That all changed at the intersection of Crain Highway & Plaza Way. As I was proceeding north through Plaza Way, the worst possible thing that could happen to me in Maryland happened: an automobile accident. A Hondo Sienna coming south on Crain Highway—opposite direction of me—turned left on Plaza Way and hit me right between both of my driver side doors. As I was hovering around the 45 MPH speed limit at the moment of impact, the Grand Cherokee spun out. On instant impulse, I clinched the steering wheel and tried to maintain control of my vehicle. I don’t know how but I managed to keep the wheel as straight as I could. If it had turned all the way to the right, I would’ve been eaten by the traffic traveling the same direction as me at the same speed I was traveling. If it had turned all the way to the left, I would’ve surely flipped over the curbed median into traffic going into the opposite direction. Both instances would’ve probably resulted in serious injury or perhaps death. But in that moment of impact, I managed to keep it straight and all that happened was me riding over the median and coming to a stop in the turning lane. The ironic thing about the whole matter was that I was talking to my father on speakerphone about a first date I had went out on a few days earlier. To think that particular phone conversation with my father could’ve very well been my final conversation ever is still a chilling thought. After the dust settled and I told my father what happened, I rolled down my window to assess the damage. Initially, it didn’t look bad. I figured the Grand Cherokee was really as tough as advertised. The first sign of trouble was opening the door. I struggled trying to open the driver side door. That’s when I noticed the back driver door was literally off its hinges. I couldn’t even open it…from the inside or the outside. I knew right then and there that I was in for a serious repair job. Surprisingly, the Midnight Blue Express suffered the lesser damage of the vehicles involved. The Honda Sienna’s front end fell off. After handling the on-scene legal stuff, I headed home. I informed my supervisor and he told me to make sure I went to the hospital to get a precautionary check-up as soon as I could. The next morning, I took the Grand Cherokee to one of the USAA-suggested repair shops. On the initial look, the guy in the repair shop estimated it would be $3100 to repair. Given the vehicle’s value at the time—$4500 by Kelly Blue Book—I was concerned. He told me he would have to pull off the back driver door to see if there was any additional damage to give me a firm estimate. He told me that it didn’t look good though. I ended up getting a rental—a 2010 Mitsubishi Galant—from the nearby Enterprise Rent-A-Car. I stopped by later that day to get the firm estimate and my heart was broken. The back driver door took the brunt of the collision and there was extensive damage inside that one couldn’t see from just an outside look. The firm estimate ended up being $4852. The Midnight Blue Express was officially a total loss.

Losing the Midnight Blue Express was hard on me. I immediately sought to find a replacement. I figured I’d go after a used car in the 2007-2009 range. I initially looked at what they had here locally in the National Capital Region. After looking around and comparing the pricing against the KBB values, I realized that a trip down to Birmingham was necessary. I turned my attention to everything in the Greater Birmingham area. I made good use of that rental for a week before taking a flight down to Birmingham to get some new wheels. The night before I was to leave, I received a call from the USAA Total Loss Claims Department and they offered me a $6500 settlement. I accepted the settlement and made my way home. I arrived in Birmingham on a Sunday…6 days after the accident. I thought long and hard about whether to stay with a SUV or move back down to a sedan or something else. The final 4 in the price range I was willing to pay were: a 2009 Jeep Compass Sport, a 2008 Saturn Vue, and 2007 Nissan Altima, and a 2010 Nissan Cube. I test drove all four vehicles. I quickly eliminated the Altima from contention. After sitting up high in an SUV for the last 5 years, I wasn’t feeling the whole being back that low to the ground thing. I really liked the Cube as I had experience driving it in Tokyo. The only issue I had with it was the color. It was green and I didn’t want a green ride. The Vue tested out well and my stepmother—who owns the same year and model as the one I tested—gave me the thumbs up towards it. I would’ve taken it had the Jeep Compass not been as much of a steal as it was. I tested the Jeep Compass last, having to travel 30 miles outside of Birmingham to do so. It was a year younger than the Vue and had just under 10000 miles less. Not much of a separating factor considering one usually puts that much mileage on an automobile in a year. The Jeep was $2500 cheaper and it was still under warranty for 2 full years or 22000 miles, whichever came first. It was a no brainer. I was coming back to get that Jeep. I told the dealer to hold that I would be back in 2 days to get it.

That night, me and my father went through the game plan of how to negotiate the price down. The dealer—Med Center MAZDA, of all places—wanted $14599 for the Jeep, which had 14778 miles on it. You don’t get too much better than that price per mile ratio but I knew I could bring them down. Being that I was actually planning on purchasing a new vehicle later in the year to spare the significant beating the Midnight Blue Express was taking on a daily basis on Martin O’Malley’s ridiculously-maintained Maryland roads, I had the cash on hand to avoid financing even though USAA threw out a APR that made even my father jealous. Plus, I had the settlement money from USAA in the bank. It was settled. I was paying for the new Jeep upfront, exclusively out of my pocket in cash…Randy Moss style. My father gave it his seal of approval, citing it to be a major power play to my advantage. The next day—Wednesday—I made a trip downtown to the main Wells Fargo location to notify them in person that I was making a cash withdrawal in excess of $10000. Being that it was such a high-ticket cash withdrawal, I came armed with a lot of paperwork, including the price quoted to me by the dealer. Luckily for me, the banker who assisted me in opening a couple of savings accounts and CDs during the family reunion trip home last summer assisted me this time around. That put me at ease because of our history in dealing with my finances. I told her what I was intending to do. Something tells me that the fact that she had ALL of my financial history with Wells Fargo dating back to the days when I opened the account under the SouthTrust Bank umbrella—combined with me telling her I was buying an automobile with cash—seemed to ease her about my intentions. I could be wrong though. She could’ve very well checked that box on her computer screen that reads Suspicious Activity Report. If she did, I’ll deal with that another time and I’ll have no problem making the IRS look silly. I do know she did have to file the Currency Transaction Report though because the $13000 I was withdrawing exceeded the transaction threshold. All turned out good and she said the money would have to be ordered and that I could pick it up the next day. The next day, me and my father came back and got the money. We even had a security guard escort to the car. Once at Med Center MAZDA, I test drove it again with my dad in tow so that all of the technical and mechanical stuff I wasn’t all that verse on could get verified. The Jeep got his approval nod and I put on my poker face and dug in for hard negotiations. Since I came back, the dealer offered it for $14400. I wasn’t buying it. I went in for the kill immediately. I told him I’d pay $12000. He cringed but I told him that, at that price, I’d drive off the lot not too long after we were finished. His manager didn’t bite. He countered with $13500. He seemed firm on that figure. Even though I had it on me, I didn’t want to pay that price. So I pulled the final solution out of my @$$: the military card. I told the dealer that I was an active serviceman and that I had traveled almost 1000 miles just to come get this particular vehicle at a particular price. I told him that the most I could do is $12500. Anything above that and I had no choice but to walk away. It so happens that the manager was big military supporter and that proved to be the “game changer”. After the price was set at $12500 and all the additional numbers were computed, he asked me about financing options. Already knowing I had the cash on hand to pay for the Jeep and ride off with nothing owed, I listened to what he had to say. They offered me a good APR rate…not as good as the one USAA offered but it was good nonetheless. I politely passed on their financing option and told him I was paying in cash. Of course, that drew a few eyebrows. They did their due diligence and everything turned out green. I signed all the paperwork and sealed the deal with a handshake. The dealer said they would give it a nice wash and fill it up. While we waited, my dad and I talked about what just went down. He congratulated me and said “Son, I’m proud of you…you did your homework, you covered all the bases, and you got what you wanted at the price you wanted it”. After I had possession of the newly acquired 2009 Jeep Compass Sport, I took a couple of photos with my new ride. Me and my father stopped at the O’Charley’s right down the street from the dealership for lunch. While dining in, he asked what I would name the brand new vehicle. I told him that I didn’t have a name just yet. Quite frankly, it wasn’t like the other three vehicles I’ve owned lifetime. Those names—The Deuce (1994 MAZDA Protégé DX), The Red Fox (2001 Pontiac Grand Am SE), and the Midnight Blue Express (2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo)—all came easy. I ended up naming it the very next day. I went with The Gazelle. It just fit perfectly. The way it cruised on the open road reminded me of how I ran on open track…almost effortlessly, like a gazelle. Besides, it was all white with black trim just like my favorite pair of Adidas…the Gazelle.

So now that you know the story behind this new vehicle of mine, let me dish out some of the particulars. Among the functional and safety features are: (1) advanced multi-stage front air bags, (2) side curtain front and rear air bags, (3) an electronic stability program, (4) electronic roll mitigation, (5) brake assist, (6) a power accessory delay, and (7) a continuous variable transaxle with AutoStick Automatic Transmission. With all of that, I feel completely safe in the Compass. The air bags pretty much cover every body that could possibly be a passenger. The ESP will work wonders in inclement weather…should I need it. The ERM pretty much will prevent me from rolling over. The transmission is bit on the sophisticated side but now that I have the hang of it, I could honestly say it’s pretty cool. Among the interior features are: (1) an incredibly efficient HVAC system, (2) AM/FM stereo radio with an in-dash CD player and auxiliary for MP3 capability, (3) a full-length floor console with sliding armrest, (4) a tilt steering column, (5) front and rear dome lamps, (6) stain-repellant premium cloth bucket seats, (7) a front-passenger fold-flat seat back, (8) rear 60/40 reclining back seats. I absolutely love the inside lighting. While I loved the Midnight Blue Express, the inside lighting left a lot to be desired. I have better inside lighting in the Compass than I do inside of my apartment. That says a lot. On the outside, a couple of features of note are: (1) the fog lamps and (2) the advanced halogen headlamps. I totally dig the outside lighting. The headlamps allow me to see about a ¼ mile farther than I could in the old Jeep. The fog lamps: all I have to say about those is that limited visibility is a thing of the past. Oh yeah, there are the optional features which include: (1) a 115V auxiliary power outlet and (2) a removable and rechargeable LED flashlight that doubles up as the rear light. I absolutely love those features. I get to plug my notebook and my phone directly into a 2-prong power outlet rather than the conventional 12V power outlet and I have a sleek little flashlight with some pop to it.

I’ve had the Jeep Compass for 4 months now and I’m riding really good in it. The driving experience is much more relaxed. It’s smooth…actually, it’s silky smooth. Overall gas mileage—26.4 MPG—has been spectacular and it’s been unbelievable on the open road at 30.3 MPG. I loved the Midnight Blue Express. We traveled the American roads for 77124 miles over 5 years. It’ll be missed but my father was right…the Compass is newer, better, and more efficient. It may be the start of a long and special relationship.

These Last 4 Months

2011-05-30T14:29:00.007-04:00

“God will remove the wrong things, the wrong relationships from us so that He can show us those hidden gems that He has planned for us” – Adrian Mask

About a week and half ago, I posted this on my Facebook status page. It was about me realizing that I had managed to smile more over the course of the last 4 months than at any period combined over the 4 years prior. You know, there’s this saying that was made popular by a Janet Jackson song back in 1986. It goes something to the effect of “funny how time flies when you’re having fun”. Well, that saying has been the story of my life for the last 4 months. And it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise to those in my inner circle or even those I work with. This has all coincided with the arrival of a brand new dating situation.

Let’s talk about it…

It started back on a late Wednesday morning in mid-January. I happened to be zoned out at my desk, focused on finishing a project and preparing for an upcoming briefing presentation. You could tell that I was deep into it by the chaos on my desk. My tunnel vision-like focus was interrupted by our “cool regardless of what’s happening” civilian. She wanted me to show one of the rotating interns from the PALACE Acquire Program all of what we did in the CES Customer Service Office and how it tied into the grand scheme of the entire organization. Still in my tunnel vision-like focus, I agreed having not even taken a stare. So when I did break loose from my work a few seconds later, I was stunned. It wasn’t your average moment of being stunned that’s usually accompanied by a “wow” or a Joey Lawrence-like “whoa”. This was that rare moment of being stunned where, for just a few odd seconds, you feel something like a shockwave traveling down your entire nervous system from your brain to your superficial peroneal nerve, usually resulting in symptoms that are consistent with being nervous..most notably, being speechless. Notice the italicized word “rare”. This very thing has happened to me once before hence the vivid description of the moment of being stunned.

OK, enough with the scientific stuff…on to the rest of the story. When I rose my head from my work, in front of my desk stood my aforementioned co-worker and to her immediately left was the trigger of the aforementioned shockwave. It was an instant attraction. All in that moment of being stunned, which lasted no more than 5 seconds but felt more like 5 minutes, I noticed all of the following: she looked quite warm in her red pea coat, she had a pretty smile, and she was—at most—5’3” in height. My co-worker broke the silence by introducing her. She extended her hand for the typical handshake and said “hi”. I responded with “Hey, how’s it going. I’m Sergeant Thomas”. I immediately got to showing her what we did in CES Customer Service. Over a span of about 20 minutes, I broke down our entire operation to the rotating intern. It was supposed to be a 30-minute block but I wasn’t much for fluffing around that day. So, with 10 minutes to spare before she and the other intern headed off for lunch, we engaged in some light conversation…me, her, and the other 2 people who worked on my side of the office. She asked all of us about our opinions on working for the 11^th Civil Engineering Squadron amongst other things about our professional day-to-day. Somewhere in there, one of the others said that I was definitely the right person to run her through our operation because of my experience. That prompted her to ask my age, to which I responded that I was 26. She seemed a bit surprised…perhaps, she thought I was younger. She went on to tell us a little more about herself: she was 22, from Houston, a 2010 graduate with a degree in community planning from Alabama A&M University, and a mother to a 1-year-old son. The mention of her son prompted a conversational shift as the other 2 people in the office started talking about their kids. Apparently, she noticed I didn’t have anything to contribute and she asked if I had any kids. She happened to be staring straight at me when I replied that I didn’t have any. Her next line to me is a candidate for the “Best Out of the Blue Moment” when I write The Best of 2011 blog series in December. She said, “You have some nice cuticles”. With the most dumbfounded look on my face, I asked what was a cuticle. That drew a laugh but it also presented a candidate for the “Best Learning Experience” for the aforementioned blog series. We all talked for a few minutes more before she and the other intern broke for lunch. When she was long clear of our office, one of the other 2 people hinted that she was flirting with me. The other person agreed with one of those “Oooooo Thomas, somebody likes you”. I downplayed it with 2 given reasons: (1) I figured she was just being comfortable with people around her age as the people in the office she was interning out of were significantly older and (2) I was still kinda hurt from what had happened in Atlanta 3 ½ weeks earlier, which leads into the following…

[SIDEBAR] 3 ½ weeks before me and intern met, I flew into Atlanta with a “Road to October 24”-like swagger…and for good reason, too. I had a very hot date on the schedule and it was my intent to settle the matter on a years-long chase. The date went exceedingly well...so much so that it spawned 2 of the best 31 moments of 2010 and was actually in the conversation for 2 others. The other thing I ventured into the ATL to do: let’s just say it was the “real” Best Moment of Disappointment last year. In that moment, as she returned the diamond key necklace to me and gave her reason for doing so, I realized for the very first time that in all my years of chasing her, it was never a matter of it being “the wrong time” for us but rather she was “the wrong one” for me. That was a particularly heartbreaking revelation…so much so that I have yet to write about it in Triumphs & Tribulations XI or even subliminally in this blog. Heck, it left a sour taste in my mouth as I was heading home for my first Christmas in Birmingham since 2006. Those around me noticed a stock market crash-like drop in my interactions with them and figured something went awry in Atlanta. I remember having a conversation with my accountant/co-best friend about the whole situation and that I would just kick back and focus 100% on me for a while. I specifically said, “I’m done looking”. In effect, I was setting the stage for what was to be an extended period of keeping a dating life at bay. Already unhappy with having been sent to DC a half-year earlier and now dealing with yet another failed dating/relationship situation, I turned my attention exclusively to those “fork in the road” options. Either somebody out there must’ve been really interceding on my behalf or the Lord really showed Himself to me because I quickly ended up veering off that course. [/SIDEBAR]

Back to the story. The alleged flirtations from the intern quickly became an office topic. Everybody in the office was coaxing me to ask her out, saying that she seemed like a cool person. My supervisor was like “Dude, it’s just one date…just go out, have fun, and take your mind off what happened down in Georgia”. After a couple of days of dealing with that, I gave in to the “peer pressure”. I figured I had absolutely nothing to lose so I decided to ask her out. We ended up going out to eat at The Cheesecake Factory in Arlington, Virginia. For a Wednesday night in mid-January, it was quite busy in that joint. We had a 20-minute wait, which allowed for additional icebreaking that wasn’t done in the 30-minute ride over from the Maryland side of the NCR. It was great conversation that didn’t let up once we were seated. We talked about our respective upbringings, our Christian faiths, our respective levels of education, our opinions of life in Alabama and in the NCR, and our takes on working for a civil engineering organization at Andrews Air Force Base. It was such great conversation that neither of us really paid attention to the fact that it took close to 40 minutes for us to get our food. She captured my full attention that night. I found myself drowning in her alluring eyes, her dazzling smile, and the eloquence of her words. She took particular interest in my various travels around the world and mentioned that she had a desire to travel extensively throughout the world. That drew a smile from me, which prompted a comment from her about my dimples. We pretty much talked the whole time away in The Cheesecake Factory…so much so that I had to box virtually my entire meal as I hadn’t really dug into it. We rode back to Maryland, taking note of some of the DC monuments along the way. I walked her to her doorstep, where we both exchanged pleasantries about the dinner date. That’s when she reached out, hugged me and told me to text her when I arrived safely at my home. Now, I’ve been hugged on almost every date I’ve went out on. I would even venture to say that it’s probably a normal way to finish a date. But this hug felt different. It felt like a new hope for something special in a future time was being passed on from her to me. I remember ending my night with these exact words in my January 12^th entry into Triumphs & Tribulations XI: “That hug felt like more than just a hug”. And here I am, 4 months later, I still feel the same way.

These last 4 months have been such a whirlwind for me. Me and her have enjoyed some great times…easily the best times I’ve spent since moving here last year. We ended up going ice skating on our 2^nd date the ensuing weekend, where we tried the whole holding hands while skating routine. That ended up in both of us falling to the ice in a moment of hilarity. We’ve did the typical movie date where we both laughed time away at Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman in No Strings Attached. We watched Super Bowl XLV together at her apartment. She rooted for the Steelers only because I was rolling with the Packers that night. We’ve let out the kid in ourselves at Chuckie Cheese. We’ve sat next to each other at church, listening to a pastor’s sermon with her holding the Bible and me taking notes…just like I explained it in this blog post 2 years back. We’ve gone to the UniverSoul Circus. We’ve been on day trips—to the National Aquarium in Baltimore and to Sesame Place outside of Philadelphia—where we ended up having more fun than the intended target: her son. Speaking of him, I’ve had just as much fun kicking and interacting with him as I do with her. It’s just been a great situation.

What has really made these last 4 months special is the small moments…the things that I’ve noticed that she or even an outsider looking in haven’t probably noticed. I think back to the day after the accident that resulted in the loss of the Midnight Blue Express. When I told her about it, she offered to drive all the way from her apartment to my apartment just to give me a ride to work. For somebody who lives only 5 minutes away from the office complex we work at to travel 25 miles both directions in the nation’s 2^nd worst traffic just to make sure I got to work means a lot to me. I did well for my week in the rental but knowing such an awesome offer stood out there for the taking is truly amazing. I can’t discount the time she cooked breakfast…at my place. Or the time she took it upon herself to wash my dishes after I invited her over for dinner. When was the last time that happened for me: how about never. She’s stopped through my office on divers occasions to bring me some form of food…the first of which sparked a 30-minute conversation in which everybody else in the office took playful stabs at my new dating situation. With her on-time instant messages, she’s often been the calming voice of reason when the nuances of the job have pissed me off to the highest level of pisstivity. These are just a quick breeze through some of those small moments. I could probably dedicate an entire blog post on the small moments alone…it’s been that many.

Over these last 4 months, I’ve undergone a significant change within myself. Through this incredible woman, I feel as if I’ve become a better version of myself. That chip on my shoulder I usually go to work with—“the outsider’s edge”, as I call it—has rapidly deteriorated and I’ve become more integrated with the rest of those in my office rather than the odd man out. She’s perhaps the principal cause in this rejuvenation of my relationship with God. I can’t remember a time where I’ve been so wired in, so focused on doing the Lord’s business and going about things in ways more pleasing unto God. I’ve started giving even more than I normally do because the generosity of her heart has lit a fire in mine. I’ve never felt as healthy at any point since I tore my Achilles several years back. You could even say that she may be the motivation behind me relapsing into my poetic addiction as evidenced by the 34 new poems I’ve written in the last 23 days. It’s just been a beautiful thing since it started back in January. When I sit back and really think about it, I can’t help but to give thanks unto the Lord. It could’ve easily turned out differently had I not decided to break away from my work that day in January.

That Wedding Down Tampa Way

2011-04-13T23:36:00.004-04:00

“She’s all yours now Jerrod” – The Reverend Terry Smith

It was way back in late November 2009. I was looking to purchase a gift for a certain somebody. Because this gift was to be in the form of a dress, I sought out the advice of a few trusted female friends…one of them being my longtime co-best friend and accountant. In the e-mail conversation, I recall her writing that things must be serious if I’m buying her a dress. I replied that the dress was only a Christmas gift but the fact that I turned down a royal flush of overseas assignments all for the purpose of returning back to the States to be in better geographical position to aggressively pursue her heart with the ultimate intent to ask for her hand in marriage…that’s serious. We shared a few LOLs about that and she even replied that I’d probably walk down that aisle before she did…a possible hint of frustration at not being married herself. Oh, what a difference time makes. 500 days have passed since that electronic conversation. For me, that pursuit ended in crushing fashion and those marriage intentions fluttered away into the mid-December skies during that trip down to Atlanta a few months back. But for my co-best friend…well, let me tell you how that went down from my vantage point.

Way back in the middle of last spring, I was at home in Birmingham. It was only my 4^th day back after my Tokyo departure and I was kicking back in my father’s new recliner, marveling at commercials…you’d understand why if you watched Armed Forces Network TV for 3 years. My RAZR starts vibrating on the coffee table and I pick it up and see it’s a text message from my co-best friend and accountant. It reads “he proposed”. My reaction is almost the same as Macaulay Culkin’s character in Home Alone when he puts the after shave on his face. Nothing negative about it or anything of the sort…that was just my initial reaction. So I immediately call her up and I ask for all the juicy details. She sounded like she was obviously nervous and she acknowledged that it was overwhelming. I joked with her that it was about time they finally got to this point. If memory serves me right, I think they got together the day after we met...way back in 2005, when I was registering as a flag football coach at the Boys & Girls Club of Valdosta. On a more serious note, I told her that I very happy for her and that I wouldn’t miss her walking down the aisle and getting a picture with her in her wedding dress for nothing.

When I found a wedding invitation from her and her then-fiancé back in early January, I put the wheels in motion to prepare for my visit down to Tampa for the late March wedding date. While I quickly managed to secure a non-stop flight from Reagan National down to Tampa International and lodging at nearby MacDill AFB, I was slow in returning the actual RSVP card. I ended up doing so via e-mail, which drew a chuckle from her because everybody else seemingly did the same.

Moving along, that time finally came and I broke free for the trip down to Tampa in conjunction with some government business I had on the docket in San Antonio afterwards. After getting myself settled down in Tampa, I stopped by the wedding rehearsal dinner. That’s when I met the groom for the first time in live person. It’s still quite surprising to me that having known her for so long—and for nearly the entire duration of their time together—that I would finally meet him on her last day as a single woman. Anyway, he immediately knew who I was. It was one of those “reputation precedes you” type deals, which is often the case with me considering I kind of have this unique talent. Me and him talked for a good while about a few things such as sports, Japan, and a book that I started on back in 2008 before shelving it. I asked him was he really ready for the ensuing day. He replied that he was as ready as he could be and there was really no turning back. He said it with sincerity, which meant that me objecting to the whole union between them was not required. OK…I’m just kidding right there. I’d never do such a thing. There was also an older guy who was a third party to the conversation. He was a really kind and mild-mannered guy…quite unassuming, actually. I figured he was the groom’s father or uncle or a mentor or the like. I was surprised when we did finally introduce ourselves to one another that he was actually the marriage officiant. It was a bit of a “whoa” moment for me because in all of the weddings I’ve been to, I’ve always been able to easily spot out the person who would preside over the ceremony. So maybe 30-40 minutes after I arrived at the rehearsal—which was actually winding down by the time I arrived—here comes the bride-to-be with one of her friends. I could tell by the way she was walking in those heels—faster than most people run, by the way—that she had been in Bridezilla mode. She acknowledged that to an extent too. But really, who can blame her? As she sat down and ate some of the food, me and her started talking about her “grand moment” the day after. She told me she wasn’t nervous but that she was ready to get the whole thing over with. And right on cue, her sister and brother drop in. There was no need for her to introduce me. I knew of her sister from the hundreds of comments on Facebook and she was indeed as hilarious in real-life as she is on the world’s top social networking site. Likewise, there was no need to introduce me to her brother. They virtually looked like twins. I had a good time passing time with all of them for like a good 90 minutes or so. They were all going out on the town and they even asked if I was tagging along but I declined. I kinda wanted to get a picture of Tampa under the night’s sky in addition to getting in an early night’s sleep, considering I had a pressure-intense day ahead of me.

The next morning, after I enjoyed the best morning run ever with the Bayshore Boulevard scene in the backdrop, I kicked back and wrote in Triumphs & Tribulations XI. It was weird because it wasn’t the typical journal entry that I write but rather thoughts on my longtime friend getting married, a sincere prayer for her future as well as the future of her husband and daughter, some recollections of my favorite moments we shared as single friends, and a few “thank yous”. Truth be told, I may just give her a copy of that entry, which in itself would be a first, last, and only occurrence.

Anyway, with the wedding being scheduled for 4PM and my flight to San Antonio via Dallas-Fort Worth being scheduled for 6:45PM, I was on a tight clock…hence, the reason for the early night. I started getting myself ready around noon. For the occasion, I brought out the 3-piece white suit from my Soprano suit collection. It being the best suit in my rotation—and perhaps the most flashy, too—I really try to limit the occasions in which I wear it. This wedding marked only the 3^rd time I’ve worn it since acquiring it from That Suit Place in Birmingham a couple of summers back. I brought several shirt and tie options along for the trip but I felt most comfortable with the crimson shirt and tie. I complemented the ensemble with a pair of white Stacy Adams dress shoes that I scored in New York City back in December. I was shocked at how well put-together the look was that I just stared at myself in the mirror for a good 3-4 minutes. After I was set, I headed to the airport to drop off my luggage and check in for my flight later that evening. That was a move to eliminate having to deal with the long lines on Saturday evening check-ins as well as to buy me a good 30 extra minutes of staying at the wedding.

After the airport business was done, I made my way to the venue. Once inside, I was amazed at how good everything looked. The director really did a great job, considering that everything looked only a third of the way complete when I left the night before. I got there around 3:25PM and I was one of the first people there. That signaled to me that this shindig was gonna be a little behind schedule…not exactly the most comfortable of situations for a guy who had to leave at 5:15PM at the absolute latest to ensure he could get to the airport, return a rental car, get through TSA, and on to the gate before a 6:15PM boarding call. To alleviate my nerves, I walked outside the venue to get some air and several of the wedding party was out there waiting. Apparently, there was an unavoidable issue with one of the other members of the party. A few of the bride’s friends that I knew filed in and I chose to sit with them and talk. We took a few pictures beforehand and started talking about whether or not the wedding would start before I had to bolt. As the clock drew farther and farther past 4PM, the more unsettled I became and they joked with me about it. There was no doubt that I was worried but underneath that worry was another part of me. It was that part of myself that wrote that heartfelt entry earlier in the day. It was a part of myself that, months earlier, had promised a friend that he wouldn’t miss her walking down the aisle and getting the picture with her in her wedding dress for nothing. That part of me reigned supreme and I committed myself to staying and making good on my words, even if it meant I could miss my flight. It’s a good thing it happened that way, too.

The pre-nuptial music started playing at 4:29PM and a shocking silence overcame the entire venue as the wedding party made their respective entrances. Following a lighting of candles, the entrances of grandparents, the bride’s mother, and the groom’s parents were first up. The officiant made his way down in one of the baddest white suits ever…with the matching Holy Bible in hand. The groom and his best man made their way in afterwards followed by the bridesmaids in their light purple almost silverish dresses and the groomsmen in their grayish-silver suits. The maid of honor waltzed down in a silverish dress that was slightly darker than that of the bridesmaids. I thought it was cute when the flower girl—my friend’s 2-year-old daughter—and her assistant walked down place flowers in the aisle in their white dresses. The flower girl was obviously rattled given the look on her face. I’m willing to bet when she practiced the whole putting flowers down the aisle thing, she didn’t count on such a large crowd of people being there. Accompanied by her father, who was sporting a grayish-silver suit with a white hat to match, the bride made her entrance. She was wearing the prettiest white dress I’ve ever seen with white heels, silver dangling earrings, and a diamond tiara to match. With everyone in the venue on their feet for her entrance, they made their way to the altar. It was a slow, steady walk and I could see a few tears rolling down her cheek. She was choked up and I couldn’t really blame her with it being one of the biggest moments in her life. Amazingly, she kept it all together and didn’t really mess up what was a heck of a makeup job. Once she got to the altar, business picked up. The officiant read all the familiar lines but I was particularly intrigued by the whole “is there anyone present who sees it fit that these two do not marry”. I was intrigued because he moseyed around the bride and groom towards the top step of the altar and looked out on the crowd…kind of like a sheriff scouting a scene from a vantage point. I had never saw anything like that before at a wedding. Usually, the officiant just stands in the same spot before the bride and groom and waits for somebody to say something but The Reverend Terry Smith…he had a different approach and I totally dug it. There were no objections and business pressed on. And that’s when it happened. A pinging noise that sounded like a small metallic object hitting the floor. It was accentuated by the fact that the whole joint was silent because everybody was listening to the officiant. The maid of honor dropped the ring. That had to be embarrassing. The ring was picked up and the show pressed on. The groom said “I do” and the bride said “I do”. They exchanged rings, stepped down from the altar, lit a unity candle together and returned up the steps hand-in-hand. The officiant told the groom that she was all his now and followed it up with “you may now kiss your bride”. They kissed. It was beautiful. Just looking at that one highlight moment, I began to get all teary-eyed. I tried to keep it together and get snapshots of them walking down the aisle during their exit from the ceremony but I could barely see through the viewfinder of the Nikon D90 because of the tears. Now I know why people say it’s hard even as a spectator not to be emotional at weddings.

As I made my exit, the bride and groom were outside taking pictures with everybody and getting their congratulatory wishes. I shook hands with the groom and wished him well. Then I made my way over to my co-best friend and accountant. She had a certain gleam all over her. We hugged and I told her the entire ceremony was beautiful. As promised, I took a picture with her in her wedding dress. She joked about me being next to walk down the aisle. I jokingly replied that it was probably unlikely being that I’d be in the sky by the time Mr. Jones tossed that garter at the reception. I wished her well and hugged her once more before making my exit.

Looking back on the whole event, I must say that it was quite an enjoyable experience. In hindsight, I should’ve just missed the flight to stay for the reception and ate the cost of flying out the next afternoon but it was what it was. She understood and there aren’t any hard feelings about it. I did keep my word, too. The whole wedding thing put me in an emotional tailspin. I didn’t think I was going to cry. I was sitting down at the table with her other friends and they all seemed more likely than me to cry and here I am, all teary-eyed and stuff. But I guess that’s how it goes when it’s somebody who you’ve grown with and have a special relationship with walking down that aisle towards a new life. I never saw this coming way back when we were early 20-somethings crossing paths in Valdosta. She probably didn’t either. I guess it’s true that we all grow up and do grown up stuff someday. Anyway, I wish them the best in their new life and I hope to make it back down to Tampa for their 25^th wedding anniversary party so I can tell them all about this blog post.

Letter to Japan

2011-03-15T18:52:00.001-04:00

Dear Citizens of Japan—

This is a letter that I never imagined myself having to write. This past Friday, I was awakened by the sound of my e-mail notification alerts blasting off on my notebook computer as well as my iPod Touch in addition to the T-Mobile jingle on my cell phone indicating that I had new text messages. It was somewhere in between 3:30AM and 4AM ET. After waking to see what all the fuss was about, my heart sunk instantly upon looking at the words of the first text message: 8.9 quake n tsunami n JPN…ur peeps ok? Without hesitation, I grabbed my notebook and dashed to the living room. Once I turned on the TV, I was at a loss for words. All I saw on live TV was a wave of water taking out miles and miles of farmland, with cars, houses, and likely hundreds—if not thousands—of lives with it. The BBC shot said “Live in Sendai, Japan”. That’s the Miyagi Prefecture…only a short drive away from a travel associate in nearby Natori. I also saw on the rolling bottom line that there was significant damage in Tokyo. Immediately, I got to calling my friends over there. I tried the cell phones but got no answer…just the busy tone. I tried calling my friends on base through Allied Telesis. No answer…busy circuits. I was finally able to get through to one of my co-best friends and she assured me that everybody in our crew was OK. I sent out a Facebook message to all parties too. Everybody sent me one back, saying they were well. With my people in Tokyo alive and well—albeit shaken up—I turned my attention back up north to my friend in Natori. I tried the home phone, the cell phone, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and e-mail…even tried to get to her via her blog. No immediate answer. My concern grew and I was uneasy for what turned out to be 37 hours on the edge, wondering her fate, until she e-mailed me on Saturday night to inform me that she was “alive and well and most likely homeless”. For me, that turned out to be a bit of good fortune. But for thousands of others, it’s a completely different story. Over 3300+ officially confirmed dead, 2000+ injured, and a hair under 10000 missing and/or unaccounted for. Those are numbers you don’t want to see.

Knowing Japan sits directly on top of a piece of at least 4 different tectonic plates, I feared this would one day happen. The recent earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand—the 2^nd in less than 5 months—made me kinda nervous because it signaled that the massive Pacific Plate was aggressively active. When I saw that this past Friday’s earthquake had an epicenter just outside of Sendai, I pulled out my textbook and notes from Introductory to Geology—a class I took in 2003 as a collegiate freshman—and quickly saw that the entire region along the Northeast Japanese coastline formed a boundary between the Okhotsk Plate and the Pacific Plate. More importantly, it was a subduction zone, meaning one plate (Pacific) moves underneath the other (Okhotsk) at a trench (Japan Trench). The likely result would be megathrust earthquakes…or “game changers” as my then-college professor called them because the moment magnitude scales often exceeded 8.0. My final paper for the class was an analysis of the most severe earthquakes ever recorded and I concluded that the strongest of earthquakes would generally occur along plate boundaries in relatively straight subduction zones. The geography of the subduction zone running along the northeast coast of Japan isn’t straight, meaning this particular earthquake is a scientific phenomenon as similar subduction zones have never produced an earthquake in excess of 8.3. My text and notes suggested bad things happen with these types of earthquakes and judging by what I was seeing online and on live TV, it wasn’t a far off suggestion. The way the ensuing tsunami ripped through the coastal countryside was disheartening to watch. I saw hundreds of cars, homes, businesses, trees, and landmarks all wiped out by open water, traveling three times the max speed of the Shinkansen. Then, there were the aftershocks. My friends said they just kept coming and they did. Violent ones at that…in excess of 5.0 on the scale. When I checked this morning, the unofficial count was 131 in 4 days. That concerned me because of the chapter that followed earthquakes in that geology textbook…volcanoes. All the seismic activity with the “game changer” and its accompanying aftershocks created a great deal of energy underneath and a volcano’s eruption seemed almost imminent. Again, the text was right and there was an eruption…not a serious one like Mount St. Helens or the one in Iceland a few months back but something to be concerned about. With the Pacific Plate still being so active—or should I write stubborn—it’s likely that the seismic activity hasn’t finished its course yet. There may have been some shifting of the plates that border the massive plate, which could trigger earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes in nearly 20 nations that border the Pacific Ocean. I’m hoping that doesn’t happen.

Just the night before—local time here at my DC area residence—we had a tornado and several severe thunderstorms impact the area. It brought to my memory one of the most frightening experiences of my life: the April 8, 1998 F5 tornado that ripped through parts of Birmingham and nearly all of the western portion of Jefferson County, Alabama. A much younger version of myself—half my current age—remembers Birmingham’s sister city, Hitachi, sending in supplies and non-perishables to those affected. It was a noble gesture and now that I look back on it in the present, I have an even bigger appreciation for the kindness of the Japanese people.

For 3 years, I took residence in Japan as part of my service to the United States Air Force at Yokota Air Base in Fussa, Tokyo. The days I spent there are considered “the best stretch of years in my life” to this point. I met thousands of Japanese people and befriended scores of them. I had the privilege of working alongside a very professional and very upbeat crew of Japanese national employees. One of my most fond memories of my time in Japan was the kind spirits of the people. On the few occasions I found myself lost in the streets of Tokyo, there was a never a hesitation to put me back on the right track…often walking with me to the nearest train station. There was always a smile and a “you speak good Japanese” whenever I made my attempts to place orders in the language of the land. There was always great dialogue when I would sit on the trains and enjoy conversation with strangers wanting to know more about what America is like. The people—and the many sights and attractions—made Japan my “home sweet home”. I have nothing but love for the island nation and everything it represents. That written, I would like to repay your kindness with an act of my own. With so much destruction and devastation left behind in the wake of this catastrophe, relief efforts are paramount to helping your nation get back on its feet. To that end, I will personally donate my April 1, 2011 pay in its entirety to the Red Cross to assist in the relief efforts of those affected by this earthquake and tsunami. Additionally, I’m issuing a challenge to all Life: The Juan Thomas Story followers and readers of this posting specifically to contribute a heartfelt comment or any words of encouragement to the Japanese people via this posting. I will, in turn, contribute $1USD per comment for all comments received until I depart Los Angeles International Airport for a month-long stay in Tokyo in August. Once settled in Tokyo, I will hop on the Toei Ōedo Line all the way to Daimon Station to personally deliver it to the Japanese Red Cross Society National Headquarters.

I would like to close this letter with my well wishes on a speedy recovery from this unfortunate disaster. I will be praying for the people and the economy as you move forward. Every time I rise before the sun, I will take a moment and render a salute to the sun in the form of a Japanese custom—the peace sign—as a show of my respects to the lives lost in this tragedy. I’ll leave off by bringing to the forefront of your thoughts the national motto: Hakkō ichiu. Translated in English, it means “all the world under one roof”. Though you may feel all alone with the pain and suffering from this earthquake and tsunami, do know that the entire world has its eyes on you and I’m absolutely sure that at least one person in every country spread out across the globe is praying for “good ol’ Nihon”. God bless.

Sincerely and Best Regards…

Juan

On Second Thought...

2011-03-13T06:33:00.000-04:00

“You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what’s burning inside you” – Arthur Polotnik

It’s been 73 days since I last contributed to this blog with the final installment of “The Best of 2010” series. The last time this blog has experienced such an extensive lapse between posts was back in 2007 when I broke a nearly 4-month writing silence with the “Offended” blog during my time in Iraq. The last time words were flowing through this blog was back on New Year’s Eve and I left off announcing that this year would be my last as a blogger. I wanted to focus more on the more personal, more uncensored, more unforgiving side of my writing in Triumphs & Tribulations, the personal journal of my life experiences since October 2000. Back in January, I told one of my co-best friends—a fellow writer—about my intentions to give it up and she told me that “once a writer, always a writer”. I shrugged it off but in the months afterwards, I’ve realized that writing is one of the most important things in my life. This blog has given me an opportunity to do something I love...write. And not only to write on GP but to give myself and potential readers a story with a vivid picture of what I’m thinking, which I’ve done for almost 4 years now. Writing allows me to use the vast vocabulary I’ve acquired over the years. It allows me to put things in a deeper perspective than I could as a speaker…and almost always with unmistakable intent. It’s the source of many of my moments of peace. It’s me…through and through. That’s why I’m retracting my December announcement to retire from blogging at some point this year. Life: The Juan Thomas Story will live on for the immediate future and it’ll live on until I lose that hunger to litter sheets of loose leaf paper or blank Microsoft Word and Notepad screens with words.

The Best of 2010: Part VI

2010-12-31T10:35:00.001-05:00

Well…here I am. I’ve arrived at that last blog posting in 2010. For 5 days, I’ve gone through 25 of the best random moments and instances in 2010. Before I close the door on this year and welcome in a new year filled with moments and instances that could end of being the “Best of 2011”, I present Part VI…

BEST INSIGHT OR AHA! MOMENT. Last year, it was God sparing me from serious injury and perhaps even a fatal end that stole the show here. This year, there were plenty of moments where insight was gained and I ended up saying “aha”. I think about my going away at the end of my time in Tokyo. Who knew some kid that arrived 3 years earlier as a bitter, heartbroken 22-year-old would have such a lasting impact on many of the people I met there. There was that last fleeting moment, on the Narita Express, looking at the Tokyo skyline for a final time. It was at that point that I realized that my time in the Land of the Rising Sun was the best in my life so far. But for the “Best Insight or Aha! Moment” in 2010, I look at my love life and how badly it has deteriorated over the years. A year ago, I wrote about the uneasiness of being single and how it could be possible that the same fate that fell on millions of slaves in the 1700s will fall on me…you know, the “one day, this will happen” and it never does deal. I thought that coming back to the United States to steal her heart away was the answer and for a while it was. But the ebb tide continued and this time out, I may finally know why. It’s quite possible that my lifestyle—that of a person who lives on the edge, always on the go, suitcase to suitcase and hotel to hotel at times, never standing still—is the reason why the chances to court somebody’s grown daughter have passed me by. About a week ago, my father told me that every woman “wants something consistent and stable that won’t change”. He said that despite all that I could offer and all that I bring to the table, my life as a “free spirit” doesn’t assure any woman that. My hunger for something bigger and better than what I had growing up has fueled this constant movement in my life. And while it has paid off well for me academically, professionally, and financially, it has crushed me in the area of love. Is it something I’ll change? Most definitely not. Not saying that I am unwilling to surrender the fast-paced life I live for something a bit more settled and even-keel. I’m saying that it’s not my decision. I only go as the Lord leads me and I’ll continue to do so. In due time, I’m certain He will make it known what path I am to take permanently…whether it’s to continue on what I’m doing now or to throw it all away for something different. Either way, I’m preparing myself for it. Nevertheless, I finally got the insight into why it’s been a struggle in maintaining a solid dating situation or exclusive relationship. Though it hurts, it’s always better to know than to not know.

BEST SOCIAL NETWORKING MOMENT. So back in January, a massive earthquake rocked Haiti. I was saddened by the whole matter and decided to do something. I wrote a letter to the citizens of Haiti expressing my condolences for what they were going through. Thoughts of the country being the poorest in all of the West crossed my mind. I decided that I would donate $100 USD to the Red Cross in support of the relief efforts. I additionally decided that I would donate $1 for every comment received to the blog posting via Blogger and for every comment and/or “like” on my Facebook feed. I thought it would ignite a massive response. I ended up with just one comment to that blog post to go along with 3 comments and 37 “likes” on my Facebook feed. That’s only $41. I was expecting something like $200 or more in total extra donations on behalf of my readers. I happened to look at my Twitter page in late February, after about a month away, and I was quite surprised. One of the readers of my blog actually sent a shout-out to it on their Twitter and the result was a flood of Twitter messages from people all over the place commending me for my effort. Though it wasn’t along the lines I expressed in the blog, I counted all of those messages as comments and it was 38 of them. That brought the number up to $79 and I ended up tripling that, adding an additional $13 to make it an even $250. My total donation at the time was $350…most of which was made possible because the people who responded felt the same way I did about it. I’m still open to continuing that donation. As long as this blog stays intact—more on that pretty soon—the whole comment thing applies. Looking back on it, that was a great moment in social networking. It made me feel good about my intentions of giving back in even bigger and better ways pretty shortly here.

BEST OUT OF THE BLUE MOMENT. The chest bump from the FSS director during my Airman of the Year steal was definitely out of the blue. That cat damn near knocked me down with the force of it. I’m still surprised at how happy he was for me—a Civil Engineer Squadron troop—even though I beat out his best Airman at the MSG level a few weeks earlier. The trip to Philadelphia on Labor Day for the purpose of getting a cheesesteak was out of the blue as well. The thought was only conceived a few hours before I rolled out. But the best in terms of “out of the blue” moments was the Montreal trip. I was really going through it at the time. I needed to get away. Back, when I was in Tokyo, I’d get away by getting on the trains and getting lost in the city or hopping a flight to Los Angeles or Portland for the weekend. The same could work here in the United States and it did. I decided to go somewhere where nobody could easily find me and where nobody knew who the heck I was. I went to Montreal and I left everything that could trace me behind…the passport notwithstanding. Those days I spent in God’s presence totally removed from the distractions of life reignited me. I’m going to have to start doing that more often.

BEST LAUGH. In 2010, I had a lot of chances to laugh. There was the trip to Philadelphia on Labor Day where I gained the nickname as “The Smashin’ Smasher” after basically swallowing a huge slice of cheese pizza in a matter of about 30 seconds. I thought it was hilarious at how everybody reacted when they saw that the last person to get a slice of pizza was the first person with an empty plate. There was the “Complex Rock Tour” during the Blue Man Group performance in April. When I look at the pictures from that night, I still find myself laughing at that. The look on my little cool fry Alisha’s face while 2 of my friends tried to navigate a rowboat during a Showa Park visit in March still looms out there. She had that “I don’t think they know what they’re doing” look on her face as the rowboat kept going in circles in the middle of the lake. Of course, there was the 2010 Best Quote winner and her infamous “I went to a HSBC for college” moment. Now you know why I was stunned she dropped the top quote of the year. Seeing Donna Miller fall at the Midtown Saturday Night event was so funny, I could breathe at church the next day. I think the fact that she is almost 6 feet tall made it even more funny…it was like timber dropping in a forest. But the best laugh I enjoyed this year was actually the first laughing moment I enjoyed this year. Way back on New Year’s Day, we had a game night to celebrate the birthday of one of my church buddies and we had an intense game of Guesstures going on. It was men vs. women and we were dominating as usual. Chauvonne Wrenn—AKA The Praying Lady’s Daughter—came up to try to close the gap. After setting the women up perfectly with the first word, she bombed the last 3…none more than the last one. The word was “banjo” and I’m almost positive that the degree of difficulty was easy on that one. Instead of giving the movement for a banjo, she gave the movements of a bongo which is what all the women said. She thought they had it right but realized it was wrong. With time left before the card dropped, she could’ve started doing the banjo movement to make up for it but she started doing the bongo movement again. When the card dropped and it was revealed that the word was “banjo”, we all laughed at her. I even recorded it and you could hear one of the other women saying “banjo” in one of those huh voices.

BEST ADVERTISEMENT. One of the things I was looking forward to doing at 25 was acquiring a mortgage. Even though I technically have a house all paid for in Birmingham according to my father’s will, I wanted to get my own. Besides, I expect my old man to live at least another 60-70 years. I was looking at either a condo or a house. Suffice to say, it never manifested because of the move to DC. I’d never acquire a mortgage anywhere close to the nation’s capital. That didn’t stop me from testing out the market to get a sneak preview of what to expect somewhere down the line. Back in August, I ventured down into Downtown DC to check out the condominiums in the city. I was checking out this one particular condo a few blocks away from DC’s Union Station. It was small and overpriced—not surprising as most everything in this area is—and I was really uninterested the moment I stepped foot in it and saw the size. The real estate agent sucked and that made it even worse. The next day, I found myself in Ellicott City, Maryland…a place that I considered as my top location for residence in this area until the Capital Beltway traffic told me otherwise. I met with this really quirky real estate agent to check out this one particular house. It was a really nice place of residence. It was a duplex-type home of 2215 square feet, complete with 4 bedrooms and 3 full bathrooms. It had 3 floor levels, a deck, and a really nice and green backyard complete with a few shade trees and a view of the Patapsco River. There was a potential great room space on the 2^nd level and a potential “man cave” space on the 3^rd level. The floors were fantastic…the wood finish on the 1^st level and the carpets on the upper levels were amazingly detailed. It was a foreclosed property so the asking price—$250K—was significantly lower than the home’s actual value, which the agent put at around $420K. He noted that the home had been on the market for 2 years. I showed incredible interest in the home and given the money I stacked away from 3 years in Japan combined with trust fund my grandmother set up when I was a pipsqueak, I knew I had no problems dropping 10% upfront. I stunned the agent when I put those accounting classes I took in undergrad to use and started doing calculations. The numbers worked for me but the truth is I wasn’t gonna buy the home. I knew that but he didn’t. I finished off the look by saying “if it was up to me, I’d sign right now but I’m merely the buyer and not the keeper of the house”. I hinted at having a significant other’s approval and blessing before I made a decision. I told him that I’d discuss it for a couple of days, call him back, and set up a look with the keeper of the house tagging along. I suppose he didn’t want to possibly lose out on a commission with a 3^rd party taking a look because he hinted at us working out something at $225K and throwing in a lot of incentives and stuff. It was a good sell job and if I was serious, I probably would’ve honestly considered it. But I wasn’t and I ended it with “let me think about it and call you back”. I never called back.

BEST THING TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2011. Ahhh…the final paragraph of 2010. I have plenty to look forward to in 2011. I look forward to stepping up my physical fitness. Adding muscle and more weight to this frame that has consistently hovered between 154 and 163 is something I’m seriously doing in 2010. Being a step faster and jumping a few inches higher is in the cards. I had plans of a showcase night in the Summer of 2011 and it seemed I’d have it when I went to bed shortly after that date in Atlanta 2 weeks ago. But wild cards are wild cards and that didn’t work out the way I envisioned it would. Moving away from DC in one way or another is something I’m looking forward to in 2011. I swear once I pack up and leave this place, I’ll never ever come back. Starting my scholarship program is another one. Mark that one down as one of the highly anticipated moments in 2011. But the “Best Thing to Look Forward to in 2011” is retirement. Yeah…you read that right. I’m looking forward to retiring from my career as a blogger. It’s been a fun ride writing Life: The Juan Thomas Story but I’m giving it up for good. I’m still unsettled if I’ll end it in the October 23^rd slot reserved for the “season finale” of my birth year or on December 31^st as the last thing I write in 2011 but I do know for sure that there will be a blog posting entitled “Series Finale”. I want to focus more on an even longer story that I’ve been writing since 2000…Triumphs & Tribulations. When I started this blog 3 years ago with a review of my first—and only—trip to Carabba’s, I only intended to maybe tell of a few minute moments in my life and to release some of my poetry. But it’s been deeper than that and it’s been enjoyable nonetheless. But I feel as if I’m not able to express myself completely in Life: The Juan Thomas Story. Being that it’s a longtime personal journal, I’ve always been raw, explicit, and unforgiving in Triumphs & Tribulations. That’s a luxury I’ve had to mask in this blog and lately, it has revealed itself to be too much to continue to do. That written, once I write the “Series Finale” blog, I’ll coast off into the sunset. I promise I won’t come back with a new blog and it’s a likely chance that I won’t even contribute to somebody else’s blog as a guest writer either. Though my words will end with the last punctuation mark in that particular posting, the blog will continue to exist. I’ll leave it open for 6 months after my last posting to allow the public to read the entire story from beginning to end. After that, it’s off to the annals of cyber history for this blog.

The Best of 2010: Part V

2010-12-30T22:22:00.004-05:00

With New Year’s Eve being just hours away, I’m in the stretch run of my Best of 2010 series. With 4 of the 6 installments in the books, the realization that the 2010 calendar year is closing out has really set in. Nevertheless, here’s Part V…

BEST UNEXPECTED MOMENT. Life presented its unexpected moments in 2010 and I’ll write this much…they were enough for me to say “are you f***in’ serious” on a few occasions. Even just this morning, when I running the 2-mile trail from St. Patrick’s Drive to Middletown Road along Smallwood Drive West, a deer shot out of the woods and nearly destroyed me. If not for my peripheral vision, my strong reflex reaction time, and maybe the fact that I’m still recovering physically from the broken toe suffered in September, I would’ve been road kill. In terms of unexpected moments in 2010, there was the stealing of my wallet during the Hong Kong trip…no doubt a totally unexpected and shocking moment considering it’s quite a common practice in Asian culture to not take something that doesn’t belong to you. There was the increased attention and popularity boost that came with being plastered on the front of the base newspaper after winning Airman of the Year. My special valentine’s reaction to what I got her this year was an unexpected moment. Of course, I can’t forget what happened at AMC Hoffman Center 22 when I went to see For Colored Girls the first time. I didn’t expect to see 2 chicks coming to blows in the seats when I paid that $11 at the ticket office. But the best of the unexpected moments in 2010 was getting the assignment here…to Andrews AFB and the National Capital Region area. When the assignments list came out in January, there were a few good options for me. There was the LA assignment…perhaps the most coveted slot in the career field because it’s a 1-man show and it happens to be in the City of Angels. Assignments that would’ve kept me out West in Arizona (Luke AFB in Phoenix) or Colorado (Buckley AFB in Aurora) were on there. But on that list as well were the Minot AFB and the Cannon AFB assignments, also known as “the black holes”. The Andrews assignment, universally known as “the death penalty of assignments for all 3E6X1s” was on there too. The way “the company” says that the assignment game works is that you pick your top choices and if you qualify for them, it’s almost certain that you’ll get them…especially if you’re returning back from overseas to a continental United States assignment. Notice the italics on the word “says”. For me, I figured I had one of those assignments in the West locked up. After all, it was the commander of my losing unit who gave me his word that he’d make sure I was in position to get to the West and here I am staring at assignments in 2 of the top 10 cities I’d relocate to in America and the suburb of a 3^rd. I put Los Angeles AFB as my top choice followed by Buckley AFB and Luke AFB, respectively. I even put the “black holes” on there just in case I somehow didn’t get any of the first 3 choices…and to avoid going to DC at all costs. As fate would probably have it, much like I’m probably the first person in the history of the Air Force to decline the assignment to Guam, I’m probably the first person in the history of the Air Force that didn’t get the Minot assignment while it was listed on my “preference sheet”. I got passed over all 5 choices and ended up with an assignment that I didn’t even put on the sheet. Talk about unexpected. Even nearly a year later, I’m still pissed about that.

BEST DOMINATING PERFORMANCE. Back in September, I opened my apartment to guests for the first time as I hosted a game night. In addition to watching the 2010 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic, we played board games. I introduced my guests—which consisted of my neighbors and a couple of acquaintances from the Adams Morgan and U Street scenes—to the game of Sequence before I proceeded to thrash them in it. We played men vs. women in Guesstures and in a stunning twist of fate from my Tokyo days, I actually led all men in scoring as we easily beat the women. But the most dominating performance that night—and of the year—happened when my neighbor’s wife saw my diamond edition Scrabble board and decided to challenge me one-on-one. That is what I call the equivalent of suicide. While she went for big points with big words, I attacked the corners with the 2-letter and 3-letter words. She challenged me on the word “atma” and ended up losing a turn for it. I proceeded to pour it on. I showed no mercy. All the guys and gals in attendance were just astonished at the words I was putting together. One of them was like “man, you pulling words out of your @$$ that defy English rules”. When the onslaught was done, I ended up winning by 312 points, adding a 14^th straight win to a now 17-game win streak.

BEST HIGHLIGHT MOMENT. Picking a highlight moment in 2010 is probably one of the easiest of the 31 randoms I’ll cover in The Best of 2010 series. Though that date in Atlanta nearly 2 weeks back applied heavy pressure, nothing tops the signature moment of my military career thus far. Just over a year ago, I was selected as the 2009 374^th CES Airman of the Year…the first operations manager to come away with that honor. Winning at the CES level made me a heavy favorite to win at the 374^th Mission Support Group level. Sure enough, at that breakfast in mid-January, I came away with that award. Coming off a hated Silver Flag exercise in the Middle of Nowhere, Okinawa, I arrived at the Yokota Enlisted Club for the Yokota Air Base Annual Awards Banquet. Just being there was an honor for me. Going through the medallion ceremony and the cordon was awesome enough. The Samurai Airman of the Year Award—the best airman assigned to any of the 374^th Airlift Wing organizations—was the last recognition to be called and when that time came and my name was called, I immediately rose up and walked through a gauntlet of high fives, handshakes, and pats on the back. I even got a chest bump from the Force Support Squadron director. As I was walking towards the stage, my reflex reaction was a quick point to the sky in honor of my grandmother as she is the reason why I even came into the Air Force. Once onstage, I shook hands with the command chief master sergeant and got the mandatory photo op with the installation commander with my prize. That prize, by the way, was a 25-pound cast bronze trophy. I call it the Heisman Trophy of Annual Awards. It was indeed a proud moment for me. I wish my late grandmother, my parents, or even my first supervisor could’ve been there to see it.

BEST LEARNING EXPERIENCE. 2010 was a learning experience for sure. I made mention in the “Season Finale” blog that 1^st time failures aren’t all that bad. I learned to ensure that I keep on the path that God has for me and not to put my future in the hands of any human. The best of the learning experiences though was the one I learned in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. I learned to not take anything or any place for granted. For 3 years, I lived in Tokyo and there were plenty of times I lost items or left items behind only for them to be returned to me the way I lost them. I quickly learned that was the way of life in Asia. I let my guard down in Victoria Park while playing basketball and my wallet was stolen. The thief went into the Eddie Bauer travel bag I got last year as a Christmas gift and took the wallet…leaving my iPod Touch and my Bose noise-cancelling headphones. I wasn’t really concerned about the cash, which totaled out to be $300USD, $3120HKD, and ¥15000. I planned to spend all of that anyway. What concerned me was the lost of all my cards and my IDs. The good thing is that I retained my passport. Thanks to my mother and one of my travel associates in Milan, I was able to secure enough money to get back to Tokyo. I’ll return to Hong Kong in August and that moment last April will no doubt be at the forefront of my thoughts as I navigate through the city.

BEST GIFT. I got some nice gifts in 2010. In honor of me winning Airman of the Year, the Japanese Welfare Association hooked me up with a T-shirt, a himitsu-bako (Japanese puzzle box), and an @$$load of coupons for use all over the installation. I was really excited to get that T-shirt as I had been asking my co-worker—who is the Facility Manager for their headquarters facility—for one since I saw them at an event on the base. One of my travel associates got me a Nikon lens for my birthday. My accountant got me the biggest income tax return in my career as taxpayer. One of my co-best friends hooked me up with a new sweater for Christmas, adding to my GQ swag. The best gift I received in 2010, however, was the last one I got upon leaving Tokyo. The night before my exit, my friends hosted a going-away party for me. I got a lot of nice, parting gifts that night but nothing beats the poster they gave me. Everybody signed it with a personal message and the kids left a handprint. It had me kinda teary-eyed. I’ll probably get it encased pretty shortly and it’ll be one of those lasting memories that’ll live on and on from one of the best times of my life.

The Best of 2010: Part IV

2010-12-29T19:00:00.000-05:00

With the new calendar year looming near, I’m halfway through the Best of 2010 series. Check out the first three installments here, here, and here. And after that, come on back and read Part IV, which starts now…

BEST PLACE. There were a few spots that I mellowed out in over the course of this calendar year that were awesome experiences. Atlantic Station in Midtown Atlanta is one of them. I made 3 stops there during this year. It’s always a lively scene there…fantastic for people watching, which is a very underrated sociological concept. The National Harbor, here in the DC area, is also another great spot. For me, it’s the closest thing I’ll probably get to Odaiba on this side of the country. Of course, I can’t forget about Shinjuku Station. It’s the world’s busiest train station…literally. I got proof. Whether it’s dashing from the JR platforms all the way downstairs to the Toei platforms in a 3-minute window or trying all the food or just losing a tail in the thousands of people there at any given second, it’s always a great time in that train station. The Best Place in 2010 is a familiar spot, though…not just to me but to this blog and more specifically, to this category. I look no further than last year’s winner, Tokyo Midtown. You thought I was kidding when I wrote that no other place I’ve been to is in its league, didn’t you? Something about stepping into the stores, the venues, and the museums in that place just sends shockwaves through me. I’m almost always guaranteed to have a great time down there and this year was no different. In addition to the usuals—the Suntory Museum of Art, the Midtown Design Hub, the 21_21, Tsutaya, and Billboard Live—there was the Midtown Saturday Night event. Of course, I can’t forget the shopping. A good quarter of my newer GQ look came off the shelves of Tokyo Midtown stores.

BEST NEW FOOD. I certainly wasn’t shy about trying new food in 2010. I spend about 5% of the Hong Kong trip eating food from a variety of cuisines. You had those awesome buffalo wings out of Dan Ryan’s in Tsim Sha Tsui. I dabbled a bit on the Cantonese side with roasted goose and plum sauce at Yung Kee in Central. It was surprisingly fantastic. Caprice was as good as advertised. Everybody should try the baked ziti from The Spaghetti House. Back in Tokyo, there was the first ever kebab I had from Star Kebab on my last trip to Akihabara. You know I was fuming over that…3 years there and I find out about that place on my last weekend in town. Even being back in the United States put me on to some new food like my mother’s mozzarella macaroni and cheese. OK, it’s not exactly new but she only makes it twice a year—Mother’s Day and Christmas Day—and before this year, I hadn’t been home for either day since 2006. The Best New Food, though, takes me to my Philadelphia debut back on Labor Day. Me and one of my really good church friends drove up to Philly for the purpose of getting a Philadelphia cheesesteak. We left DC around 7AM to ensure we were there way before 10AM and in line at Jim’s Steaks on South Street. Man, I was so green in ordering in my first ever Philadelphia cheesesteak. My dude had to school me. Nevertheless, it was great. I was sold on first bite.

BEST CHANGE MADE TO RESIDENCE. A funny thing happened in 2010: I moved. To further elaborate, I moved across the Pacific Ocean. Due to the Air Force’s controversial rule on shipping household items from overseas back to the United States—800-pound limit for unaccompanied, 8000-pound limit for those with a family in tow—I had to sell or give away 75% of my the stuff that made my residence in Tokyo my residence in Tokyo. I had to start completely over from scratch once I got here in the DC suburbs. Not a big problem though. I took the opportunity to work on the Pearl District Project, a home furnishing project I intended to work on upon my proposed move to Portland’s Pearl District last year but instead applied to my move to DC. Of all the stuff I purchased from IKEA, Crate & Barrel, Pier 1 Imports, Pottery Barn, Linens ‘n Things, Lowe’s, Amazon.com, Target, Best Buy, and Bed Bath & Beyond, I’d have to go with the Klippan loveseat as the Best Change Made to Residence. For me, it was the closest thing to the Memphis sofa I gave up upon moving to Tokyo in 2007. I got it with the black cover to start off but I got 3 other cover colors to choose—the white and blue covers, which I purchased from IKEA and a red cover, which I created myself by dying a white cover and using a neat washing machine trick. I change it up depending on the season and the ambience I want in my spot.

BEST RUSH. It was a tough call picking the Best Rush in 2010. It was really a toss-up of 3 different moments that had 3 different unique meanings to me. There was the rush I felt in seeing my name on the list for promotion to staff sergeant. I tried to play it cool but show me a person who plays it cool when they get a promotion and you probably have a sellout on your hands. I was bouncing off the walls in excitement. There was First Fridays back in Tokyo. On 4 occasions in 2010, I hopped on that 6:27PM Chūō Line Special Rapid out of Fussa—the Friday Night Express, as I called it—and made my way into the city for some kind of fun. Whether it was mellowing out in a jazz lounge in Shibuya, hitting up the First Friday sales at Roppongi Hills, taking in the sights on the Shinjuku Southern Terrace, or just about anything else I did on a First Friday in Tokyo, it was always great fun. But the Best Rush in 2010 was much anticipated…months before it actually happened. It was that date down in Atlanta a week and a half back. The instant rush of excitement that overcame me when she opened the door just before we headed over to the Fox Theatre was one of those moments I don’t feel too often.

BEST MOMENT OF DISAPPOINTMENT. I know it’s kinda weird for one to have a disappointment moment that they would glamorized by deeming it the “best”. Well, I guess you can call me weird. For the most part, 2010 hasn’t had too many disappointments but the few that I have had left wounds…some of which I’m still recovering from at this very moment. Of course, there is a moment of disappointment that shines well above any of the others but I would prefer to not highlight that one. Heck, I haven’t even talked about it or written about it in Triumphs & Tribulations. So I’ll go with the runner-up here, which would be getting the assignment to Andrews Air Force Base just outside of DC. I was so crushed by it that I didn’t eat for a couple of days. I was throwing more stuff around than Kelis in the “Caught Out There” video. I was pissed at my previous commander because that dude gave me his word that if I stayed an extra year in Tokyo, he’d make sure I got an assignment back to the Western United States upon my return. After all the work I did for that organization in 2009, to get burned by him the way that I got burned didn’t sit too well with me. Not only did “the company” send me to a side of the country I didn’t want to come back to, they sent me to the “death penalty of assignments”. I swore revenge and I may get my chance in June by exposing a culture of wrongdoers during highly-visible Unit Compliance Inspection.

The Best of 2010: Part III

2010-12-28T20:34:00.003-05:00

Thus far, I’ve wrote about 10 of 31 random things in 2010. Check them out here. That written, here’s Part III…

BEST NEW DRINK. Yeah, I started the water-only challenge back in October so it’s been pretty much Aquafina, Dasani, and Target’s Market Fresh since but I was introduced to a new drink in 2010. During the Hong Kong trip in April, I stopped through the local 7-Eleven to grab something to drink. I wasn’t particularly thrilled that the only bottled water selections they had consisted of Evian, Perrier, and San Pellegrino. Those are 3 of the most disgusting brands of water on the market. The CEOs of each company should be fired for producing such an inferior product. So, with bottled water not being an option, I tried one of the soft drinks they had in there: Schweppes Cream Soda. That turned out to be a great decision. It had been years since I had cream soda of any kind or brand. I have to go back to my Faygo drinking days to put a finger on the last time I had cream soda. Anyway, the drink was quite delicious. Every sip was so soothing that I felt relaxed after drinking a bottle of the soft drink every time. It was $5.50 for a can and $7.25 for the bottle…in Hong Kong dollars, that is. In my time in Asia and stopping through the many 7-Eleven stores in the region, I noticed there aren’t any slushie machines. But they make up for it with some of the best soft drinks out there.

BEST PHOTO TAKEN. This year was my first full calendar year with the Nikon D90 and I really took to getting familiar with it. In all, I’ve taken 1123 pictures since January 1^st. 892 of them were before I made my exit from Tokyo. Plenty of those 1123 pictures are good enough to take top bill but for me, it all goes back to that film noir session in Week 3 of the photojournalism class. The assigned model—Nazareth was her name—was stretched out on the studio couch just smiling while everybody was shooting. I made a few light adjustments and moved one of the slave flashes to create a desired effect. Then, I took a long look and just like that, I imagined the picture I wanted in my head. I had her lay out sideways on the couch and told her to give me her best seductive look while playing with her hair. The result was the picture seen below. The lighting was perfect. Her hair was positioned the right way…that made a world of difference, I’ll write that much. To me, it was the eyes that really made the picture though. That picture even looked good in black and white.

BEST SHOPPING EXPERIENCE. I didn’t have any unique shopping experiences in 2010 like I did in 2009 when Cool Man Bob stole the show. To this day, that’s one of the greatest moments in the history of all my travels. The best shopping experience for me in 2010 was last month…shortly before Thanksgiving. Given the fantastic financial year I had last year, I figured I’d spoil myself for a change. So I made the 1-minute drive from my apartment to Jared: The Galleria of Jewelry. It was a bit of a different flow for me considering the only jewelry I really wear is the earrings I’ve sported as a result of that lost bet a few years back. But after reading P. Jones’ blog about a few everyday items every man should have, I decided it would be worth it for me to invest in a quality watch. I entered the jewelry store with intentions to spend. It was some nice watches in there. The Citizen Timepiece collection was pretty good. I really liked the TAG Heuer collection but it was well established that if I was going to pay 4 figures for a single item of jewelry, it would definitely be an engagement ring not a watch. Even though I tried on about 20 different watches—all of which felt good on my left wrist—I settled on getting a Movado. The timepiece was a nice simple number from the Masino collection. The blue dial is what really lured me towards it but it didn’t hurt that it was so well configured with the stainless steel case and bracelet. The associate that was assisting me noted that the watch complemented my skin complexion. That drew a smile and an appearance of my dimples. As I was about to make the purchase, something else caught my eye…the Open Hearts Collection by Jane Seymour. There was this one particular necklace that captured my full attention…so much so that the associate said “awww…you see something for your sweetheart”. It was a diamond key necklace. I don’t know if it was the whole “key to my heart” factor or the black diamonds that really stole the show of the necklace but I knew I wasn’t leaving without it. I was only in there for 20 minutes—give or take—and I left out with a watch made for a man’s man, a necklace that would certain send a loud statement to a certain somebody, and a cute little teddy bear for my sister’s collection. It was a pretty good shopping experience.

BEST CAR RIDE. Being back in the United States full time meant that I lost the Tokyo rail system. That’s a big disappointment…no lie, it is. But it also meant that I am back on the open road with the Midnight Blue Express. I have close to 125000 miles on the Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo that I acquired in 2006. When I first set eyes on it, it only had 52000 miles on it. So one could say that I’ve been hitting the road hard in the Jeep over the years…which includes the 3 years it set idle for the most part while I was living in Tokyo. It’s something about being on the interstate in the Jeep that makes me feel great. I think back to the many drives between Valdosta and Jacksonville or the ride on I-20 West going from Atlanta to Birmingham…last year’s best car ride. This year, it was a tough call for the best car ride. There was the ride up to Philadelphia with one of my Tokyo-based friends to get a Philadelphia cheesesteak on Labor Day. We rolled up there with a couple of his college buddies and I’ll tell you the truth…I never laughed so much and had so much fun while driving in my 10-year career as a licensed driver. That ride is good enough for #2. The Best Car Ride happened during my first drive down from the nation’s capital to my stomping grounds in Birmingham for a family reunion back in August. After spending much of the day on I-81—which is by far the most boring stretch of interstate in the history of the Interstate Highway System—I was glad to get to a different interstate in Tennessee. Once I got into Chattanooga, I merged off I-75 unto I-24 West. The sun was setting against the late summer sky, creating a wonderful scene. Then, I saw it: the I-59 South sign. It was a left hand merge shortly after I crossed the Georgia-Tennessee state line, which I made without even dropping speed. Once on I-59, I knew it was all roads to Birmingham. I crossed over into Alabama and threw up a deuce—a show of loyalty to my home state when I’m crossing its border on the road—and pushed my speed up to 84 MPH…a cruising speed I maintained for about 50 miles. With the night’s sky serving as the backdrop in my windshield view, it was an easy drive. For some odd reason, the roads between the Alabama-Georgia state line and Attalla happen to be the best in the state. I was cruising so comfortably that I had to open the window to get a wind rush to avoid dozing off. I hit some construction in Attalla and dropped down to 55 MPH but once I was through that 8-mile stretch, it was back up to 80 MPH all the way through Etowah and St. Clair Counties. Once I passed Argo and entered into Jefferson County, I stuck out my tongue because I knew I was only minutes away from the crib. I saw The Pinnacle on my left and the I-459 interchange in front of me and it was on. I got off at the Roebuck Parkway exit and it was a wrap. A couple more lights and I was pulling into the driveway of my father’s house. That was a good drive. I’ll probably make that drive once more over my stay in the National Capital Region.

BEST NEW PERSON. I met quite a few new people in 2010. There was my new work crew, which in itself is like a melting pot of personalities. You got Mario, who’s like the calm after the storm. Without him in the office, I probably would’ve went crazy by now. You got Martin, who increased my vocabulary by 15 new words that aren’t even in Webster’s Dictionary yet…the most notable of them being “cocksmoke”. There’s Green-Graham...the queen of declining work requests. You got Tinesha, who’s always cool regardless of what’s happening. Can’t forget about Thyese…she just tells it like it is. Then you have the Queen Bee, Mrs. Yorio. She keeps us in line. Outside of the n00bs I met in the office, I gained something like an adversary in the form of Lee from over at the Office of Special Investigations. She was the one who gave me the nickname that’ll probably stick for the rest of my stay…she called me the “Customer Service Nazi”, a possible play on the “Soup Nazi” character from Seinfeld. Back in the spring, I met Mrs. George, who happens to be the mother of a woman I kinda hold really close to my heart. I’ve met a few mothers in my day but none of them had me on edge like she did. A simple comment on a mutual friend’s picture is how Marquita Finley happened into my world. She’s cool peeps…a fellow computer nerd and a college football fan. All of these people—even Lee—are worthy of being the Best New Person but it’s a title that none of them will get this year. The Best New Person in 2010 happens to be the a person who can barely walk…Sara Lawson. Back in February, I was chillin’ out at my co-best friend’s house and playing with all the kids. There was the usual group of kids climbing all over me like I was a jungle gym or something. It really wasn’t a big deal because you know Juan loves the kids…though there was that one time, I took a shot straight to the head from one of them and felt kinda woozy for a couple days. Anyway, there was this new kid joining the human jungle gym. She climbed up and fell down flat on her face and started crying. I was like “Yo, who is this new kid” and everybody was like “that’s Sara”. One of my friend’s wife was her babysitter. Anyway, when she fell, she didn’t stop crying. The other adults tried picking her up to calm her and she started crying even worse. So I took my stab at it and she stopped crying. Everybody that was there would swear that I was putting my future skills as a father on display but I think it was the smell of the Johnson’s Bedtime Lotion, which I use on my somewhat sensitive skin, that did the trick. According to the bottle, it has all kinds of ingredients that calm crying kids down. From that moment up until I left, every time she cried, they’d send her to me and she’d all of a sudden, she was a calm customer. To be honest, I actually liked the kid. She was probably the fastest crawler I’ve ever met and she was never too far away from her trademark pacifier. I remember when I was saying my final goodbyes in the bank parking lot before I headed to Fussa Station for my flight home, she was grabbing on to my pants leg. Gotta love kids…they make you smile every time.

Fork In The Road

2010-12-28T07:30:00.002-05:00

“Don’t it feel good to have choices?” – Robert Hinderman

5 months ago, I had what I described in my journal as “a sneak preview to one of the most important days of my life”. On that particular day this past July, I had a scheduled AM test date for promotion to staff sergeant—which was actually pushed back to August 2^nd due to reasons beyond my control—and a PM phone consultation with an enrollment advisor at the University of British Columbia. For me, it was clear…a path that had run parallel for the last 6 years was soon to be separated by what I felt was the best course of action for myself. I called it a “fork in the road”. Less than a month later, I was selected for promotion to a new grade. With the military side of the deal secured, the focus turned towards academics. Originally scheduled for an early December test date, I made a bold move and took the Graduate Record Examination in mid-November instead. Despite the fact my score from 4 years ago was still valid—and good enough to get into most schools in North America—I took a big-time risk in retaking the test in an effort to get a more top-level score. While I didn’t quite make the 700 Verbal, 700 Quantitative, 5.0 Analytical Writing score I hoped to make, I did come close enough for me to be really comfortable with my chances going forward.

A couple of weeks ago, I scheduled an interview with UBC to give my chances of getting into their research program a major boost…if for nothing else, a chance for the admissions department to see that I’m a complete student and quintessential fit for them, not just some paper champ with a good academic record. I set it up for December 21^st. I jumped at the chance to be one of the first to interview so that my performance could set the standard and force all other interviewees to outdo me rather than me having to go out of my element and outdo their performance by interviewing late…that’s a piece of wisdom I picked up in a random conversation on the train with a Japanese human resources officer the same night I recorded this video. A day after setting up that interview, I had an e-mail exchange with one of my Air Force mentors and somewhere in there, he made mention of me pursuing a commission—something everybody and their mother has tried to convince me to do since it was figured out early in my time as a senior airman that I wasn’t your average Joe Blow enlisted guy. The way he put it, “the company” needed more minority officers and people at the top who champion for change. He wrote that I’d be a greater asset to the Air Force from the officer side as opposed to the enlisted side. I told him that I was comfortable on the enlisted side and that, if I elected to continue on pass this current contract, I would probably look at enlisted special duty assignments but I did give him my word that I’d talk to the military personnel flight about my options for commission.

In the midst of this proverbial “fork in the road” stood a unique wild card: love. The chase after a certain somebody’s heart has weighed heavily on my mind since that walk home in the rain last year. It was her that proved to be the deciding factor in the move back to the United States which, in effect, set the stage for this “fork in the road”. In essence, she holds the key to my heart and that’s something I just don’t leisurely give away. A future with her far outweighs the opportunity to travel the world and make a lot of money that the Air Force has afforded me over my career. A future with her far outweighs the chance to make a global impact that this research program at UBC would afford me. A future with her makes that “next practical step” I alluded to 2 years ago well within reach, opening the door wide open for that simple kind of love life I once vividly described. As I wrote in Triumphs & Tribulations XI 3 weeks back, the ballet date in Atlanta wasn’t “just your average night out”…it had major implications and I felt I had just “a small window of opportunity…a fleeting chance” to walk away with something that has twice before escaped my grasp.

True to my word, I did talk to the military personnel flight about my commissioning opportunities last Monday. I didn’t come away impressed but I did come away with knowledge of a very rare opportunity that only a handful in the history of “the company” have taken advantage of. That opportunity would be the opportunity to retrain out of a critically-manned career field for which I’m being currently paid a selective reenlistment bonus to another more critically-manned career field for which I would be paid an equal or greater selective reenlistment bonus. That creates an interesting dynamic on the fork that leads to an extended stay in the Air Force. Over the last year and some change, I’ve really become more and more uncomfortable with the direction that my career field—operations management—is taking Air Force-wide. Add in the lack of appreciation for the work done in this career field and the fact that “the company” has slammed the door on letting anybody out of it anytime soon and you have a reason why I’m sort of leaning towards the fork that leads to Vancouver. The opportunity to retrain out—without extending my current contract—is a very attractive option and increases my market value in the civilian work force because I stand the chance at acquiring a new skill and experience at such a high level. Not to be outdone, however, is my interview with the University of British Columbia a week ago today. Even though I was in a really pissy mood over what happened a couple of days before, I managed to put that aside for an hour and the result was an interview session for the ages…one that might have me writing a “Destination: Vancouver” blog in a couple of months. I felt like I was in a zone…like I had something to prove. Maybe it was that knack I have to showing up big in clutch situations…maybe it was more of a mental thing of trying to bounce back from what happened 2 days earlier. Regardless of what spawned what may be my “Best Unexpected Moment” in 2010, I thank God for it.

Back to Mr. Hinderman’s quote for a second. It does feel good to have choices. It’s just a matter of making the choice that has more value to you over time. For me, the most value over time laid with the wild card. But living up to the true form of its definition, that seems like a very lost cause at this juncture. Unfortunate—for me, especially—but it was well worth the effort and I’d do it a 1000 times over if I had to. With the “fork in the road” now clearly being a choice of 2 paths, I stand to make the “most important choice” of my life so far in March...the month of my eligibility to retrain out of my current career field and the month of the final admissions decision from UBC. It’ll be a choice that affects my short-term and long-term futures, my relationship with my family and each of my co-best friends, my financial outlook, my plan of home ownership, and quite possibly my allegiance to the United States of America. Now, it becomes a pros vs. cons situation. I look back over my career in the Air Force and I’m well satisfied with what I’ve accomplished. I had the chance to see the world…31 different countries, 3 continents. I won Airman of the Year. I was part of an Air Force Outstanding Unit on 4 occasions. I actually went to war. I wrote the book on a program that oversaw $2 billion in government assets. I shot an M-4 and an M-16…and got paid to do it. I met 5 of my 7 co-best friends because of the Air Force. These, among other things, are what I’ve accomplished as a serviceman. I could give it up and at the end of the day, I can still say that I experienced more than what the recruiter told me I would. I look back over my career as a student and I’m equally satisfied. I got a chance to be a student at The Ohio State University. I made the Dean’s List. I went 5 straight semesters with a 4.0 GPA. I created a geological event in Introduction to Geology. I joined Upsilon Pi Epsilon. I wrote a 10000-word paper. I significantly improved my writing skills and became a great public speaker. I earned 2 associate’s degrees. I earned a bachelor’s degree…a year ahead of schedule. I became the very first person in my family to earn a master’s degree. These, among other things, are what I’ve accomplished as a student. I could give it up and at the end of the day, I can still look back and say that I got the best education I could possibly get for myself. But even more than the accomplishments as a serviceman or as a student, I look back to that kid who didn’t have the best of things afforded to him young…the same kid whose hunger for something bigger and something better has fueled his quest to create a legacy that even the great-great grandmother he never met—the one who immigrated from Africa almost 100 years ago—would be proud of.

The Best of 2010: Part II

2010-12-27T19:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I dropped Part I of my “Best of 2010” series, which takes a look at 31 of the best random things over the course this outgoing calendar year from my perspective. Without further ado, here’s Part II…

BEST CONFERENCE OR WORKSHOP. 2010 will go down as the year I got really familiar with conferences and workshops. I’ve attended 17 total conferences and workshops this year so far. Notice the italicized so far…who knows what conference or workshop I may find myself sitting in attendance to by year’s end. The conference I attended in October at the Verizon Center is of particular interest because I got a chance to meet Dan Rather. That was the same conference where Zig Ziglar really showed his age when he kept referring to the importance of having “the home court advantage” in your marriage. Mind you, this was a business conference. The best of the bunch though was a 4-week workshop that I attended back in March. It was a photojournalism class at the Yokota Air Base Arts & Crafts Center. I figured it would do me some good since I was still pretty green in terms of operating my 2010 Juan Year highlight purchase: the Nikon D90. I was envious of the photo my right hand man took of me as I was making my exit from a week in Seoul last year and I wanted to be able to capture still moments like that. The 4-week workshop was a fantastic experience as I wrote earlier this year in the photography extraordinaire blog. In the first session, the instructor told the class to take our cameras off “Auto”. We did and my camera—not to mention my photography experience—hasn’t looked back. I learned about the different kinds of lights and why exposure is so important. I learned how to tell a story through the DMOP concept of photography –as in (1) detail, (2) medium, (3) overall, and (4) portrait personality—and framing. My favorite part of the workshop was when we learned film noir. It was during that session that we used all the different kinds of equipment the professionals use. Oh yeah, did I mention we had a real life model? I felt like I was one of those control freak photographers…telling her to move left or put her hand there or turn your hair this way. She complied and it was all good. I met a few fellow photography novices in the workshop and I still keep it close with them. Since attending that workshop, my skills as a photographer have exponentially gotten better. Perhaps I may end up going to school for it.

BEST BLOG FIND OF THE YEAR. Last year, I had a runaway winner in this category. The twin blog feature from Russell & Asia Nichols stole the show in terms of content, readability, and of course…it’s captivating interest. It’s highly recommended to any young married couple or any single person on the brink of marriage…or just anybody period for that matter. 2010 introduced me to a few new bloggers and they all had stories to tell…stories that kept me interested. There was my dude, P. Jones, down in Atlanta, with Back to Basics: The Modern Gentleman. It was in reading his blog and actually getting to know him a little bit that my style changed up a little bit. I kinda moved away from the jeans and T-shirt to a more GQ swagger…even in my casual gear. Then, there was my Toronto-based cool fry, LaMoi and her blog, Heart of Sass. You can tell she’s all poetic and s***. I thought my life was drama-filled with constant moments of heartbreak but it’s nothing compared to Life After the Verdict. While not necessarily a new find, Angelina’s Unintended Consequences was a really good read for me. But the best find in 2010 takes me to the Far East with The Meaty’s. It’s a look into the life of a stay-at-home mother—and military spouse—through pictures and videos courtesy of the Nikon D90. The writer is actually a classmate of mine from the photojournalism workshop and, just like me, she’s still adjusting to life with the D90. It’s a good read and I might even start a similar blog one day…when I start my own family.

BEST MOMENT OF PEACE. This was a tough pick last year because the choices were so many. But in 2010, it was really easy to determine my best moment of peace. I look no further than the ride home on the Ōme Line Special Rapid…particularly the night trains. So often over the course of my time in Tokyo, I ended my day at Tokyo Station because I was assured of 2 things: (1) a guaranteed seat as all Ōme Line Special Rapids originated out of Tokyo Station and (2) no transfers between Tokyo and Fussa. It was always a quiet ride even though capacity can be as much as 500 in a single car—that’s as much as 5000 people in a 10-car train if you’re counting at home. The most peaceful moment of that ride and the particular point where I’m almost always at peace is the 10 minutes between Mitaka Station and Kokubunji Station. It’s the quietest section between 2 points that you’ll ever experience in your life. Even with those trains at full capacity, nobody says a word. Sure you might hear the occasional baby crying and maybe even somebody’s growling stomach but for the most part, it’s pretty silent up until the train is about a half-mile out of Kokubunji. That’s when “the voice” starts making announcements. During those rides on the Special Rapid, I was usually kicking back listening to one of my playlists on my iPod Touch or penning away on some rhyme in my notepad.

BEST CHALLENGE. At the outset of the 2011 Juan Year, I issued a challenge to myself: go a full year drinking only water. Being that I don’t drink alcohol and that I’ve long phased soft drinks out of my life (Fanta Melon, notwithstanding), I didn’t see too much of a big threat. It just meant that I had to go without apple juice, orange juice, thirst quenchers like PowerAde and Gatorade, and of course, Great Value Fruit Punch. You should’ve saw me in the last week of the 2010 Juan Year…particularly September 30^th. I was gulping down Mott’s Apple Juice, Sunny Delight, PowerAde, and GVFP all day. But once the calendar moved into October, my refrigerator became a haven for bottled water. I’m just under 3 months into this challenge and it’s been great. Going all water has helped me from a health standpoint as I stayed the course with it even when I had a 102.2°F fever. The water—and the suggested rest—helped me defeat the combative affliction. It has fueled my fitness pursuits as I continue to bounce back from the broken toe suffered in September. It hasn’t been without challenge though. Many people have tried to derail me on this odd quest. My co-workers tried at the Cheesecake Factory a month ago. Restaurants I have dined in at tried by adding lemons to the water, which is a violation of the challenge. Last week was perhaps the toughest challenge until the Summer of 2011. After drinking some particularly bland water at Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro, I was almost tempted to order some fruit juice to eliminate the taste but I stayed with my challenge and reaffirmed myself that I won’t be denied. The biggest challenge still remains: the return trip to Tokyo, home of Fanta Melon.

BEST NEW ALBUM. Late last year, Sade released “Soldier of Love” ahead of the much anticipated album of the same name. As I started January 1^st, I just knew to myself that the group’s first release in 10 years would be my “Best Album” in 2010. Boy, was I wrong. I’ve purchased 16 albums so far in 2010—still deciding if I really want to acquire the original motion picture soundtrack from Tron: Legacy—and they’ve all been impressive. Of course, you have Sade’s Soldier of Love. I was really diggin’ “The Moon & The Sky”. It’s the deepest song on the album. Eric Bolvin’s Workin’ It was pretty good. I really liked the “Rocket Love” remake on that one. Leela James tore it up on My Soul and Ledisi did the damn thing on Turn Me Loose. Hil St. Soul returned to my Windows Media Player with SOULidified. I was really diggin’ that “Can We Spend Some Time” off that joint. The Sell Out (Macy Gray), A Woman in Love (Maysa), Blu Transition (Conya Doss), Transatlantic R.P.M. (Incognito), and Classique (Will Downing) all were new pickups in 2010. I even went way back in the time machine and copped Billy Lawrence’s One Might Say off the strength of “Forgive Me Baby”. There were 3 n00bs in there this year: Gaelle and her 2004 debut, Transient, Melanie Fiona’s The Bridge, and the very jazzy flutist Althea René and her debut No Restrictions. For the best album in 2010 though, it was the return of an old favorite that stole the show: YahZarah AKA Purple St. James. I saw her latest release—The Ballad of Purple St. James—in Barnes & Noble during a stopover in Birmingham back in May and I wasted no time in acquiring it...mainly due to the leftover hype from Blackstar in 2003. The album is receiving great rotational play from me right now. My co-favorite tracks on the album are “Come Back As a Flower” and “Love, Come Save the Day” although “Why Dontcha Call Me No More”, “Shadow”, and “Cry Over You” receive a lot of attention in the Windows Media Player. I’ll likely do an album review on her in 2011…after all, she represents what I expected out of Kelis until she decided to go stat quo with Tasty.

Hot Date in ATL

2010-12-27T18:34:00.004-05:00

Last year, as I was proceeding to coat check to gather my items and exit the New National Theatre, Tokyo, I told myself in my mind that the next time I sat in attendance to The Nutcracker, it would be a on a date. More specifically, with a certain somebody. So when she surprised me with a text while I was mellowing out, doing my Zen thing at my old vantage point at Stratford Road in Birmingham, I wasted no time in asking her. I suggested seeing it live at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She countered with the Fox Theatre. Honestly, it could’ve been anywhere in the world. With or without the extra loot from the promotion to staff sergeant, my pockets were deep enough to fly into any city to see this ballet. We eventually settled on the Fox Theatre and it wasn’t a case of the historic venue outdoing the marvelous backdrop in the nation’s capital that the Kennedy Center afforded…it was a ticket availability thing. I purchased the tickets in September and all I had to do was wait on time.

Time slowly passed by but when it came, I was in full gear. After dropping down out of the sky last Friday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on the tail end of a road trip the day before the date, I was in heavy anticipation of this occasion. Unsettled about what to wear, I brought 2 suits with me: (1) the tan suit that I wore amongst Tokyo’s elite last year and (2) a recently acquired Joseph Abbroud suit…a black number from Nordstrom that I was looking to debut in Atlanta. A not-so-funny thing happened en route to Atlanta though: my garment bag got ripped and the cut was deep enough to rip the bag and the left sleeve of my brand new suit. The lady in the alterations shop across the street from my hotel said the earliest she could have it ready would be the ensuing Monday…2 days too late for me. The rip wouldn’t have been noticeable had I gone with a black shirt underneath but I had 2 qualms with that: (1) I preferred to go with the white shirt—also making a debut—I had tailor-made in Hong Kong and my best tie to complement and the bigger issue of (2) it being a ballet not a funeral…wearing all black wouldn’t be a great look. I settled for my tan suit though I would’ve went with a tuxedo had she elected to go formal.

After spending most of Friday sleeping, I woke up on Saturday and did my 3-mile run on a special route—from the Georgian Terrace Hotel to Centennial Olympic Park and back—before getting myself ready to hang out with her during the day. A trip to the Georgia Aquarium, lunch at Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro, some mild shopping in Atlantic Station, and—for the nerd in the both of us—a trip to Borders to look at books took up most of Saturday morning and afternoon. After looking at books and stuff, we parted ways to get ready for the real reason I made the trip to Atlanta. With 3 ½ hours between the time we split and the curtain drop, I put on my “Easy Listening” playlist on my iPod Touch and took a nice, peaceful nap that lasted all of 2 hours. As I got myself dressed, I started feeling all nervous and right on cue, those familiar butterflies that only appear when she’s around checked in. All of a sudden, the confluence of nerves and the 77°F room temperature had my forehead glistening a little bit. Nothing that a nice, cold bottle of water couldn’t handle though. After calming down, I made my final preps, grabbed the tickets out of my camera bag—or “man purse”, according to a select person—and proceeded down to her door. A deep breath and a knock on the door and it was game on. She opened the door and I was immediately “just a bit taken” like Mike Shorey in that Fabolous “Baby” video. I’ve knocked on the doors of a few women in such situations and the woman has opened the door with the “hot” look or the “shock” look. This particular moment, however, gave way to a new look: the “tongue drop”. I don’t know if it was the way the hallway light shined on her or if it was just a matter of me seeing her for the first time in such a fancy look but I was no doubt amazed…to say the least. She had it going on…with her black skirt that glistened in the light and her really nice black blouse with the white flower on it and her red heels and her red shawl or wrappy thingy and of course that little purse she was sporting. The amazing thing, however, was that it was a “pure” look. She sported no makeup and no jewelry yet she still looked like a star. I cursed in my mind because my black suit would’ve been a great complement to what she was wearing.

We made our way to the Fox Theatre—conveniently located directly across the street from the hotel—and once on the red carpet that led to the entrance door, I felt like I was having a Hollywood moment. Here I am, in town for a hot-ticket event with spotlights all around in one of my best suits with the finest lady between the Alabama border and Savannah Beach in tow. That's some Academy Awards show stuff right there. Once inside, we found our seats, which were 6 rows back from the front, and in fantastic view of everything happening on stage. Great seats they were but I kinda regretted not going for a balcony seat, which would’ve given me a chance to see the chamber orchestra…more specifically, the timpani and the glockenspiel. Yeah, I know…I’m weird. Nevertheless, I was pleased. I was captivated by the venue. The architecture was phenomenal. The ceiling looked as if it wasn’t there…it had an effect of a clear night. For a hot second, I thought we were in an amphitheatre. As more people continued to file in, I noticed something that I didn’t particularly see in my Nutcracker debut the year before: people with food, drinks, and other refreshments in the auditorium. Maybe it’s me but I swore that was part of the purpose for intermissions. Anyway, once the performance started, I was intrigued by the skill sets of the Atlanta Ballet Company. They must have spent countless hours daily for months on end preparing for this. They seemed so fluid, so natural in their movements. Even the minor characters moved in high precision…well enough for me to consistently scan left to right to check out everybody. The first act lasted 48 minutes and ended with fake snow falling from the ceiling unto the audience. I thought that was pretty cool. After a 22-minute intermission, the 2^nd act started and it was much of the same as the 2^nd act in the performance I saw in Tokyo…only with a more traditional take. When my eyes weren’t fixated on the action happening on stage, they were stealing glances at my date. When it all wrapped up, everybody took their bows and we made our way to the exit.

It was roughly a little before 10PM and we settled on eating at Livingston Restaurant + Bar, which was located downstairs in the hotel. We probably could’ve went to somewhere more posh in nature—ala any number of the Buckhead spots—but it was late and the odds were pretty high we’d both be well sleep within the next couple of hours. For the better part of 2 hours, we ate and talked and laughed. For me, everything was so different. It wasn’t like that late afternoon get together at Applebee’s a year and a half ago, where I had to constantly turn away to avoid being taken captive by her eyes. It wasn’t like the trip to Valdosta this past Mother’s Day Weekend, where I was so rattled and so unnerved by her mother that I avoided stealing looks at her altogether. This night, I was cooler than January 11, 2008 in Iraq. My cool, calm, and collected demeanor—the Pacific personality, as one of my traveling associates calls it—took over for the most part. I was very much attentive and very much in tune to the whole scenario. I cracked a few jokes and made her smile and chuckle…even a couple of times at her own expense. I answered a couple of the questions she had. Like a gentleman is supposed to, I kept my eyes up and in the process, I was able to steal away glances at her eyes and her smile. One could say that I was in full “sweetheart swagger” mode. I was cool on the outside but it wasn’t all Antarctica on the inside. When I tell you my heart was pounding, I really mean it. If there was ever a chance for me to faint, this was probably it. The dinner ended with us having a playful spat over who’d pay the bill. I could’ve conceded due to the agreement in principle we had back in October on the game between Florida and Alabama…a game that really turned ugly and won me a free dinner at the restaurant of my choice for this very date. But Grandma once told me “whomever asks for the date pays for the date and even if you don’t ask, you still make your best effort to pay anyway”. You know how that goes. I asked for the date.

After dinner, I walked her to her room and we talked for a minute…literally. We embraced in a hug that was so electric, it would’ve made Louie the Lightning Bug jealous. I could’ve stamped an exclamation point on the night by stealing a kiss—which probably would’ve been earned anyway—but I didn’t and I probably assured myself of not completing a bucket list item. Not that it really matters to me, anyway…the occasion, itself, was enough. It was one of the best nights for me in a long time and arguably, the best date I’ve ever been on.

The Best of 2010: Part I

2010-12-26T16:00:00.000-05:00

Christmas 2010 is in the books and the 2010 calendar year has reached its 52^nd and final week. With 2011 on the immediate horizon, it’s time to reveal the best of this outgoing calendar year for me. Just like last year’s series, it’ll be 5 blogs of 5 random things with a 6^th blog on New Year’s Eve featuring 6 random things that highlighted in 2010. That written, here is Part I…

BEST TRIP. The unexpected move to the national’s capital and the high volume of work that comes with working in such an area really affected my travel plans in 2010. I didn’t get a chance to go to many of the places I had looked forward to going but I did get in a few trips. There was the Hong Kong trip, which will certainly find itself in a “Best of 2010” category in the coming days. There was my debut in Miami…definitely not a place I’d settle or visit for any longer than 3 days. Of course, you had the summer and winter trips to Atlanta, the homecoming trip to Birmingham, and the very intriguing trip to Valdosta on Mother’s Day Weekend. But the best of the trips was a trip that wasn’t supposed to happen. It was my getaway trip to Montreal back in June. Life in the National Capital Region was driving me crazy so I took advantage of some PCS downtime and bolted north of the border. I only took cash, clothes, and a passport…no check cards, no phones, no computers, no PDA devices. Montreal was beautiful in the summer. It was quiet and serene. I went to spend some alone time with the Lord and all the public places in which I just mellowed out and spent time with Him were amongst the more beautiful and picturesque that I’ve ever seen. I can’t wait to get back for my official visit…perhaps as early as next year.

BEST RESTAURANT MOMENT. For those that know me, they know I love to eat. I credit my high metabolism to that. Otherwise, I’d probably be somewhere in the zip code of 280-285 pounds with all the stuff I eat. Those who know me also know I love dining it at different restaurants whether it’s here in America or anywhere in my travels abroad. In 2010, I went to some fine restaurants and had a number of great restaurant moments. There was my last time at Barbacoa Grill back in April. It was a celebration of me and many of my friends and acquaintances from Tokyo were on hand for it. I can still taste the pineapple from that night. There was my debut at The Cheesecake Factory last month with my office and how I damn near ate everything on the menu…to everybody’s surprise. During the Hong Kong trip, I dined in at a restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel called Caprice. It was the first Michelin 3-star experience and I must say that it was worth every bit of the $1188 I paid for it…in Hong Kong dollars that is. The Sunday dinner in January at the Oregon Grill & Bar was fantastic. With the spectacular view from the 42^nd floor of the Shiodome City Center and the awesome service me and my crew got, it was easily the frontrunner for this category for almost all of the year. But the crown of Best Restaurant Moment in 2010 came late and it goes to the moment I experienced in Livingston Restaurant + Bar last Saturday night on the tail end of my date in Atlanta. While it didn’t have the glamour scene of the Oregon Grill & Bar, the excitement of Barbacoa Grill, or the exceptional food quality of Caprice, it had something neither of those came close to having: a very beautiful woman sitting across from me eating in a rather intimate setting. For 2 hours, it was like a scene out of a really good love story. We talked and ate. We shared laughs at each other’s expense and at the expense of the obviously drunk group of couples at the table next to ours. I constantly stole glances at her alluring eyes, her dazzling smile, and even the way she held and sipped away at that glass of Riesling. My heart was beating so fast inside that I could’ve literally had a Mark Dantonio-like heart attack from the excitement. It was a great moment all around…not just a restaurant moment. We even had a playful fight over who was going to pay the tab. Guess who won?

BEST QUOTE. It’s amazing how much wisdom or change can happen in the form of a passing quote. That was the case this year. With just under a week remaining before 2011 debuts, I’ve added 172 quotes to my ever-growing list. But no quote captured me more than the response of one of my really good friends from Tokyo, Aryn Mask. A mutual friend of ours wrote on their Facebook about something that didn’t go as planned and wrote “that’s how the cookie crumbles”. Aryn’s response stunned, enlightened, and motivated me simultaneously. Her response was “but even if it’s crumbled, you can still eat it”. I’ve probably heard the “that’s how the cookie crumbles” line at least 1000 times lifetime…even used it a good two dozen times myself minimum. But that was the first time I’ve ever heard anything about still eating a crumbled cookie in that context. And looking at it more closely, she’s right: a crumbled cookie is still a cookie and it can still be eaten. Moreover, it’ll still have the same taste. I should probably ask her to be sure but I would venture to say that her meaning in that quote was that while things don’t necessarily go as planned sometimes, they almost always end up on track in the end. Nobody really wants to eat a crumbled cookie. Heck, I’ve thrown many of them away. But if you really look at it, there is really no difference between a well put together cookie and a crumbled cookie. They both will taste the same and they’ll make your taste buds feel good. I mentioned how I was stunned by this quote. If you’ve heard some of the strange and hilarious things Aryn has said in the 2+ years I’ve known her, then you’d probably stunned too. But then again, she is the daughter of last year’s Best New Person. I guess the apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree.

BEST BOOK. I’ve read quite a few books in 2010 because of the challenge I placed on myself in last year's season premiere and again in this year's season premiere. Of all the books I read, none captured me more than The Conversation by Hill Harper. I purchased it in late October 2009 alongside the Nikon ML-L3 Wireless Remote because their total price together spared me shipping charges on Amazon.com. The book sat on my shelf in Tokyo until I decided to pull it out for the Silver Flag trip at the end of January this year. The entire bus ride from Yokota Air Base to Haneda International Airport, I read the book. The entire plane ride from Tokyo to Okinawa, I read the book. The entire plane ride back to Tokyo, I read the book. It was good stuff…I’ll write that much. The book opened my eyes to a lot of pros and cons that happen in relationships and exposed a few areas where even I am flawed. I really like how Harper—a single, unmarried man—sought out other people from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds to share their experiences on relationships. Front to back, it was a great book. I might even read it again pretty soon here.

BEST NIGHT OUT. Being that I thirst for the bright lights of the big city, nights out are a common thing for me. One could say it comes with the territory. I had quite a few amazing nights out in 2010 and I still could have one or maybe even two more before 2011 checks in. One of the best nights out I’ve had in a long, long time happened last week in Atlanta. I flew down for a date with the Cocoa Goddess and we ended up going to see The Nutcracker at the Fox Theatre after which, we had that really good dinner I alluded to just a few moments ago. For those who know me well, they’d easy say me stepping out in one of my best suits for a marquee ballet in a big-time venue with a woman that makes all the Victoria’s Secret models look B-list would be a sure bet for “Best Night Out”. In a different year, they’d be 100% right but not in 2010. Barely—just barely—winning out this year is that night out on the town in mid-January: Midtown Saturday Night. Me and my crew back in Tokyo bundled up, hopped the trains, and rolled out to Roppongi’s premiere venue for ice skating under the stars. It was a night that was full of laughs, shocking moments, and memories that’ll forever be etched in the history books. Before we even got to the Volkswagen skating rink, the night was almost killed by what would’ve been a catastrophic event: the crew getting separated from Juan on the trains. In a timely show of strength, I held the doors open to the Toei Oedo Line train…quite a feat considering that when doors close on trains in Tokyo, they really close. After eating at TGI Friday’s, we got to skating. On the ice, I felt like a superstar…gliding in stride, the wind carrying my scarf as if I was in flight. Despite the fact that I hadn’t made an appearance on the ice in 5 years, I felt no rust and didn’t fall. The same couldn’t be said of one of the new people I met last year. She fell flat on her face and created what might be the “Best Laugh” for this year. We were out there skating for a little over an hour before the cold really kicked in. We took plenty of pictures, including a group picture that commemorated the occasion. The train ride home from Tokyo Station…it was the quietest one in the history of our outings as a group. It shouldn’t come as a surprise because everybody was just about sleep.

The Madison Square Garden Experience

2010-12-26T12:51:00.005-05:00

In last year’s season premiere, I ran down a list of things I wanted to accomplish at the age of 25. One of those things involved my travel plans, which were unfortunately scrapped because “the company” decided to throw a wrench in my flow. One of the places I was looking forward to traveling to was Indianapolis, Indiana. I’ve been there on a few occasions and it’s not that spectacular of a place…at least not in eyes of a guy who gets excited about big cities. It was my intent to be in town for the 2010 Men’s Final Four. Knowing that my beloved Kansas Jayhawks would be starting the season in the #1 spot, returning all the starters from a team that went to the Sweet 16 a year earlier and experienced leaders from a title team the year before that. They coasted through the regular season, suffering hiccups at Tennessee and at Oklahoma State. But in the end, they brought home another Big 12 Tournament title, a #1 seed, and what looked like a sure path to Indianapolis. I had them going all the way in all my brackets. But then, it happened. Some children of the corn from Northern Iowa shocked them much the same that Bradley and Bucknell did years ago and just like that, Kansas was done and so to was my bracket and my proposed trip to Indy.

Back during my month of blogging in October, I wrote a blog about 25 things I wanted to accomplish in the 2011 Juan Year. One of them happened to be my attendance to a basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York City. I pretty much decided I’d have 3 shots at it. The first shot would be when my Portland Trailblazers faced off the New York Knicks. That didn’t go too well. That ticket was way too hot and I happened to be on telephone standby for my job the night of that game. The 2^nd opportunity would be the Jimmy V Classic, which was a doubleheader of games—Kansas vs. Memphis and Syracuse vs. Michigan State. I wanted a courtside ticket so I could increase my chances of being on ESPN and they were a very pedestrian $113 on Ticketmaster. Too bad the computers at work are so f***in’ slow. The site timed out as I was trying to purchase and by the time I was able to get everything in order, all the courtside seats were gone. Once again, “the company” messing with my flow. All wasn’t lost, however. I managed to scoop a $50 ticket and it happened to be a good seat…just above the floor level. And just like that, I was set to see a game at MSG but not just any game…a Kansas Jayhawks game. If it would’ve come down to it, I would’ve purchased a ticket to 2011 Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament to ensure I’d sit in attendance to a basketball game at the “world’s most famous arena”.

With the ticket to the game on ice, I had to figure out how I’d get to New York City. Driving was totally out of the question. The roads get horrifically worse the farther north you drive up I-95…something I found out during the Labor Day trip to Philadelphia. Another reason why driving was out of the equation was that it’s an uncomfortable drive at any time. Whether it’s the traffic during the day along the Northeast Corridor or the suspect driving skills people tend to display at night, it wasn’t a situation I was comfortable with. Taking the MegaBus was the most likely option for me and it looked good until I had that bad experience that thwarted my attempt to see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The driver never showed up. And given how critical I am of customer service in America, you had to figure I wouldn’t take a chance on them doing the same on December 7^th. I ended up going with the 3^rd option: Amtrak. The plan was to take the Acela Express from BWI Airport Station to New York’s Penn Station—which happened to be directly underneath Madison Square Garden—but Amtrak was wanting $130 each way. Hell naw, I ain’t paying that price! That’s $260 roundtrip…more than 5 tickets to the Jimmy V Classic. By comparison, I took the Acela Express last year from DC’s Union Station to New York’s Penn Station for last year’s New York City debut and it only cost me $89.10. I bought that ticket on much shorter notice and DC Union Station is like a 30-minute ride farther from New York Penn Station than BWI Airport Station. I ended up taking to Northeast Regional. They wanted $69 both ways for that but my travel agent came through and got that cut to $78 roundtrip. With the event ticket and the transportation ticket in hand, all I was waiting on was time.

December 7^th came and I made the drive from my apartment in Waldorf, Maryland all the way to BWI Airport Station in Linthicum. I left in around noon as to avoid the heavy traffic in the area. Once I got on the train, I took a window seat in the snack car because I wanted to work on a special poem that I would be considering presenting on a special occasion only a matter of days later. The train ride was 3 hours long and we made stops at Baltimore Penn, Aberdeen, Wilmington, Philadelphia 30^th Street, Trenton, Metropark, and Newark Penn Stations before arriving at New York Penn Station. The entire trip up, I looked out the window on occasion and I was totally heartbroken by the urban decay I saw as I passed through the major cities along the Northeast Corridor. The hundreds of buildings the train passed looked worse than the ruins in Athens, Greece. There was graffiti everywhere. As we were passing through Baltimore, I saw a drug deal going down live. It was like something I saw on The Wire. It was alarming to me to see all of what I saw during the ride because I didn’t see any of that driving on I-95, which brought the thought of “a city’s best being close to the major roads” to my mind. I certainly didn’t see so much widespread destruction and urban decay in Tokyo. It kinda reaffirmed what a good friend in Tokyo once told me…that America is slowly destroying itself.

Anyway, I arrived in New York around 3PM and I was supposed to have a late lunch with my St. Lucian friend up there but she was incredibly late so it ended up being a 5PM dinner. We went to Ruby Tuesday down in Times Square, where I had the most disgusting water I’ve ever had in my career of dining in…made me question the water quality in New York City and bolt to the nearest Duane Reade for an Aquafina. Me and her hung out for a few around Penn Station and in Borders before I decided to make my long-awaited debut into The Garden. We exchanged goodbyes and that was that.

Once I walked into that place, it was a different world. Found my seat—which turned out to be even better than the picture of it on Ticketmaster—and took in the scene. It was much bigger in person than it seemed to be on television or in books and magazines. I just took it all in. I looked at all the banners from the Knicks, the Rangers, the Liberty, and the St. John’s Red Storm. I looked at that famous court. I looked at all the signage. It was spectacular. The game atmosphere was incredible. I was surrounded by Michigan State, Syracuse, and Memphis fans but I had quite a few Kansas teammates around me too. We all talked trash about the other teams and praised our own. Seeing the Jayhawks in live person was no different than me seeing them on ESPN. I was fired up. I was yelling at the top of my lungs when they made good plays and I was pissed when they committed careless turnovers. They were obviously better than Memphis, talent-wise and athletically, but they allowed the young Tigers to stay in the game because of their mistakes. They cleaned it up in the 2^nd half and came away with an 81-68 win. The best part about the win was that I actually got a chance to take part in the Kansas tradition of the “Rock Chalk Chant” as victory was well in hand. It was definitely a special moment for me. I stay around for the first 17 minutes of the Michigan State-Syracuse game but I had to make my way out of the arena and downstairs to the platforms. It was a long ride home to Maryland but it was sweetened by the experience of seeing a game in Madison Square Garden. More than that, I knocked out a bucket list item and that’s always a good thing.

Album Review: Maysa

2010-12-04T14:08:00.002-05:00

Not too long after I had returned to Tokyo after my deployment to Iraq and the night before a stunning blizzard, I ventured down to Shinjuku to do some high end shopping in Takashimaya Times Square. For those of you who’ve never been there, the elevators on the Shinjuku Southern Terrace side offer fantastic views as they go up. As I was riding in said elevator on this particular night, I recall the music inside of the elevator. Instead of your usual classical music or jazz standards, it was stuff with lyrics and what not. Well, as I traveled up to the 6^th floor, this one song came on that electrified me. The beat caught me off guard with the way the strings, the bongos, and the tambourine introduced the track. The drums kicked in and I was sold. Then, the voice overcame me. All I heard was “I can’t be afraid/It’s mind over matter” and I immediately knew who was singing. It was Maysa and I remembered her from all of those days of riding shotgun with my father, listening to Incognito amongst other smooth jazz artists. I was almost tempted to stay on the elevator for the whole song but I had to stay focused on the mission at hand: spending some deployment money. When I got back home, I ended up searching for the track on Google using her name and the words that started that track. That’s how I ended up coming across the name of the track, which was “Got To Be Strong”. It was off her 2000 release, All My Life. Listening to the whole track got me amped up. It had a Sade kind of feel to it. I sampled a few other tracks off the album and ended up making the purchase. The album has been one of my go-to albums in terms of setting a particular mood or atmosphere.

Largely unknown to the casual jazz fan, she’s been long on my radar. Her voice—as I heard so often on Incognito joints in the 90s—is instantly recognizable and is rarely mistaken for anybody else’s. Hence, I was able to immediately figure out who was singing back on that February night in 2008. In my opinion, the thing that separates Maysa from a lot of female singers—regardless of genre—is that she possess the ability to know just where to take a track and what to do to unearth the very essence of it and drive it home. Whether it be jazz, soul, funk, or rhythm and blues, she’s comfortable in just about any musical context and it definitely shows in the product she puts forth. In some circles, she has drawn comparisons to luminaries such as Sarah, Ella, Billie, Betty, and Dinah. For those of you not well versed as to who that Fab 5 of musical talent may be, perhaps you know them as Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Betty Carter, and Dinah Washington. She has 8 solo albums to date for your listening pleasure: Maysa (1995), All My Life (2000), Out of the Blue (2002), Smooth Sailing (2004), Sweet Classic Soul (2006), Feel the Fire (2007), Metamorphosis (2008), and A Woman in Love (2010). Released in 2000 on the N2K Encoded Music imprint—an pioneering online venture by GRP Records—All My Life sort of reintroduced Maysa to the scene as it had been 5 years since her self-titled debut dropped and she had left Incognito 4 years earlier to pursue a full-time solo career. On the performance side of the album, Maysa obviously serves as the primary artist. As expected with such a deep tie to Incognito, she enlisted the help of several current and former members. Ed Jones was on the sax, Thomas Dyani-Akuru on the percussions, Matt Coleman and Winston Rollins brought their trombones, Simon Cotsworth contributed with the recorder, and Julian Crampton with the bass. Graham Harvey did his thing with the Fender Rhodes piano and you had to know that Gary Sanctuary was going to be involved if string work was needed. Sarah Brown contributed with some background vocals. And of course, Jean-Paul Maunick contributed his legendary guitar. You had to figure she’d at least get “Bluey” on the joint. On the technical side, “Bluey” contributed to a large percentage of the production and he actually executively produced the album. Simon Cotsworth—as with most Incognito albums—did the engineering.

The album kicks off with “Got To Be Strong”, which happens to be my favorite track on the album. It’s in both the “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Easy Listening” playlists on my iPod Touch. In terms of instruments, Incognito fans could easily see the footprints that Harvey, Sanctuary, and “Bluey” left on this one. The way Maysa’s voice ranges hauntingly and sensually throughout the track, the untrained listener would swear they were listening to Sade Adu. It’s a track about a woman telling a guy that their time is just about done and that she has to be strong and let him go. That first verse was one of the best breakup verses I’ve heard in the 26+ years I’ve been breathing and listening to music: “I can’t be afraid/It’s mind over matter/I can’t live a lie anymore/Conquer my fear/And write this letter/Gotta let you know how I feel/But how do I tell you this love is over/That I don’t mean to hurt you/Leave you without shelter/We can’t go on/The flame is gone”. If some chick said that to me, I couldn’t even be mad because it’s just so well put together. Next up is “Mirrors”. It’s one of those tracks that’s so good, you can’t explain it in words. Let me give it a try though. It’s somewhat of a duet…between a human and an instrument. It’s Maysa and her scats sizing it up with a vibraphone. Maysa’s vocal edge literally plays a cat and mouse game with the vibraphone as her sound provides tonal blends and muted hamornies that the tonal textures of the vibraphone can’t produce. This technique is very Sarah Vaughan-like as I heard back on Quincy Jones’ Back on the Block. The few lyrics in this track reminded me of myself as I walked throughout the streets of Tokyo. Track 3 is actually a cover of a track that Gil Scott-Heron made famous a decade before my time. The way Maysa blows on this one will take you back to those mid-to-late 70s dance floors or at least have you shaking your groove thing. The track, itself, is a social commentary on alcohol abuse and the lyrics are almost exclusively the same as the famed spoken word artist wrote them nearly 40 years ago. The lyrics really tell a good story—from a few different vantage points—about how alcoholism can have a negative effect on lives. In the cleanup spot is “Aria de la Mia Vita”. Lyrically, I couldn’t tell you what was going on with this track but it’s not about the lyrics so it doesn’t matter anyway. This track is an opera piece—or an aria, for those who dabble into different genres of music like myself—and it showcases the wide ranges of Maysa’s talent. In my history of listening to music, I can’t recall a moment like this one…a smooth jazz and soul singer breaking out the classical vocal soloist inside of her on an opera piece. Track 5 is the title track, “All My Life”, and it happens to be another favorite of mine. You have to appreciate the way Graham Harvey drove this track with the Fender Rhodes piano. The opening 5 seconds of the track lured me in and it’s been a part of my “Get With Me” music playlist ever since. It’s a track about a woman preparing herself for a love that she’s never seen before. I was totally diggin’ that 1^st verse: “The morning sun is rising again/Another lonely night without your touch/And though I’ve never seen/Your sweet face/It doesn’t matter/I need you oh so much”. But the highlight of the track for me is the bridge portion, when she says “I’ve been preparing a house of love”. It’s amazing how that sounds harmonically and melodically. I can just listen to that part over and over and over again. A track that has really grown on me as I’ve been listening to the album for this review is “Pressure”. It’s a track about the pressure that people feel today. This kind of track is a really good, simple track that anybody can be cool with. I like the jazzy, club-ready energy the track provides courtesy of those trombones. I was diggin’ the lyrics, too: “The road is long/Many turns along the way/We lose control/Of the things we do and say/Oooohhhh/I can’t stop what’s going on” and “The world demands/So much everyday/We do our best/But sometimes it’s never enough/Oooohhhh/I can’t stop what’s going on”. They seemed fitting for the track. Track 7 is “Sunshine”, a track about a woman telling a guy that he is her sunshine. I like the catchy, slow-burn funk number with the instruments in this track. You listen to this track long enough, you’ll be victim to involuntary head bobs. Up next is “Blue Light”. It’s a track where a woman is telling a man to hurry along and come back to her to make things right. Listening to this track, I can feel this deep sense of sensuality. But peep these lyrics: “Turn down the light/Get it on/Why don’t you take me/In your arm/Come on/And put that blue light on”. Maybe it’s me but those lyrics and the way she sings them sounds very Marvin Gaye-ish…enough to land a spot in the “Midnight Moods” playlist. Track 9—“Shadows & The Light”—is a bit of a different type of track. Of all the Incognito albums I’ve listened to and the respective Maysa albums I’ve listened to, I haven’t heard anything quite like it. One could say it’s something of an experiment. It features Ed Jones’ saxophone and Bluey’s guitar with Maysa’s voice coming in and out, creating a unique track where all 3 have seemingly equal time to showcase their talent. I was really diggin’ the calypso-influenced groove of the beat, which was perhaps a homage to Bluey’s heritage. Up next is “Hooked on Your Love”. It’s a track about a woman who is literally mesmerized by a guy’s love to the point that she is “hooked”. Former Incognito singer, Sarah Brown, lent her voice as the background singer on this one and the clear 80s dance beat brought a few Chaka Khan songs to mind. I used some of the lyrics out of this track in a poem I wrote: “You’re always on my mind/I think about you all the time/The pleasure of your love, baby/Wreaks havoc on my mind, baby”. Hey, don’t judge me…it fit well into that poem. The ultimate smooth jazz fan in me loves Track 11, “Earth Child”. It’s somewhat of a metaphoric track that describes what is an “earth child”. The way all the instruments blend in with each other from the recorder, the Fender Rhodes piano, the guitar, and the percussions just makes me smirk every time I listen to it. The lyrics were rather deep but Maysa had me in a slight daze when she said “Your smooth-skinned complexions/Like the richness of the soil/So organic and natural/Unspoiled”. I don’t know about you but that has a much more deeper meaning to me that what is seen on the surface. In the 12-spot is “Compliments”. It’s a track that features nothing but chord sequences. In fact, it kinda reminds me of those Steely Dan hits of the late 70s and early 80s. The track ranges between pop, soul, funk, and jazz. It’s kinda ironic that the chorus says “at a steady flow rotating at the right tempo” because this track surely does. Track 13 is “Closure”, a track that features a warm, jazzy chord progression dominated by the different ranges of the trumpet. It’s a track about a woman pretty much closing the chapter on a period of love in her life. I like the chorus in this track. It had a early 90s kind of feel to it in both lyrics and tone: “You would see a ray of light/And I would see the sun/Couldn’t see the possibilities/Don’t lay this trip on me/There’s nothing more to give/Love has gone/Time to say goodbye/Don’t count on probabilities/Can’t be no you and me”. The album closes out with a remix of “The Bottle”. It’s pretty much the same lyrics with a few added ad libs but the beat is more of an 80s dance club-like sound.

Top to bottom, I love this album. Up until I acquired A Woman In Love in February of this year, it was my co-favorite Maysa album along with Feel The Fire. Regardless, it’s a great album to listen to and mellow out to. Definitely grab this for your repertoire. And if you’re not a Maysa fan or have never heard her sound, this album could be a great starter for you. You’ll be a Maysa and Incognito fan in no time.

Ebb Tide

2010-10-31T18:59:00.001-04:00

“I’m about to board in about 10 minutes. Meet me at the airport around 10PM.” – AnJuan Thomas

There was once upon a time where I looked forward to Halloween. Back in my youth, I usually spent them with my family trick-or-treating along Idlewild Circle on Birmingham’s Southside. We pulled in major candy back then. Then, there were the Halloweens of my teenage years, when I actually went to parties and stuff. Then, there was Halloween 2002: that particular year, I stayed up all night with my then-main squeeze watching movies that scared the hell out of me. Halloween was always a good day. That is, until Halloween became one of the worst days of my life and started one of the most difficult times I’ve ever lived through.

I remember it well…even more vividly than what I wrote in Triumphs & Tribulations IV. It was October 31, 2003. I was a week into my 20^th year of life having just turned 19 the week before. The day started fantastic for me. In the AM, I took my course final for the Air Force Civil Engineering Operations Management Course and scored a 96, ensuring my status as the Distinguished Graduate. After our little informal graduation ceremony, I finished up the final items on my outprocessing and cleaned my dormitory room. For lunch, I just kicked back on the steps that led to the entrance of the dormitory and traded text messages with my one-time lead lady. She happened to be heavy on my mind…I was missing her badly. Perhaps, it was that Saturday we kicked it at the State Fair of Texas and the Amel Larrieux concert that had me all googly-eyed. The plan for me was to fly out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport non-stop to Birmingham later that evening, where my father would pick me up. But, as I damn near burned my ear talking on the phone to her during that shuttle bus ride from Wichita Falls to Dallas, I realized just how much I missed her while I was away at basic military training and technical school. It may be weird to write this but it was like I was falling in love with her all over again…even though we were long at the point of exchanging 143s. I waited in the airport for like 2 ½ hours for my 8PM flight and I spent most of that time either texting her or just talking to her directly. 7:20PM came and my boarding time neared. It was at that point where I couldn’t take it anymore. I missed her more than I did when I took that college trip to Oregon in 2002. She was the first face I wanted to see upon my return to Birmingham. So I told her to meet me at the airport. She told me that she’d be waiting for me at luggage pickup. I told her I loved her. She told me she loved me too and gave me a kiss over the phone. That kissing sound—“mwah”—was the last time I heard her voice. I called my father as I was getting ready to board to tell him that she was picking me up and that I’d see him later. A little under 2 hours later, I landed in Birmingham not knowing that the course of my entire life had changed. My lady got blindsided by a seriously impaired driver as she was on my way to pick me up. When I got to luggage pickup, I expected her to be there to meet me. She wasn’t. I called her cell phone on numerous occasions and got nothing but voicemail. I figured she had probably taken one of her power naps. I mean, it had happened before. After all of my attempts, I called my father to pick me up. When I got home and started to get myself comfortable and all, I got a frantic call from her mother. She was nearly hysterical. She said Valorie had been in a serious car accident and that she was driving in from Lithia Springs, Georgia. I called up her roommate from UAB and she confirmed this and added that it didn’t look good at all. When I finally got to the hospital and met with her mother and her roommate, I found out more details...like the what, when, and where of what happened. Immediately, my heart felt like it dropped. The accident happened just past the Tallapoosa Street exit in the northbound lanes of I-20/59. She was less than a mile from the airport exit. She was on her way to pick me up. As she was fighting for life, I was consumed with guilt. Even though I was 20000 feet in the sky as all of that unfolded, I felt totally responsible. If I wasn’t in such a frenzied rush to see her…to hug her…to smile at her when she gave me that weird look with her eyes, she wouldn’t have been in that position. When the doctors confirmed all of our worst fears, I couldn’t handle it. I kinda felt like Vin Diesel’s character in A Man Apart when he lost his wife…only without the vengeance factor. I remember a particular entry in Triumphs & Tribulations where I asked all of those “if” questions. If I wouldn’t have opted to take the cheaper, later flight home, would the conditions for catastrophe still exist? If I wouldn’t have spent almost 2 hours on the phone during the bus ride down from Wichita Falls, would she have sent me into that “gotta see her right now” mode? If I would’ve told her to just meet me at my home instead of the airport, does she take 1^st Avenue North instead of the interstate? If I would’ve stayed an extra day in Texas like my classmates, would she have gone to a Halloween party with her friends instead? If I hadn’t been mad about her not being ready when I picked her up for a date months earlier, does she leave Rast Hall before 10PM?

The effects of her death immediately sent me in a downward spiral. Some days I woke up, I just didn’t feel I was in it all the way. I created plenty distance between myself and others…something that puzzled my colleagues at my first duty station. I was less focused on the job…all the relative ease I had doing everything in training was much more difficult in actual practice. There were many nights I cried myself to sleep over what happened. My late grandmother often provided a voice of reason and assurance to me during those times. She always had the right thing to say when it seemed like the bottom would fall out from up under me. I tried my best to move on past it but that proved to be more of a source of pain. For me, the most painful part of it was that I actually felt deep in my heart that she was the one…the woman I was supposed to marry. From the time her voice soothed the piercing pain in my shoulder during my college tour in Oregon to the times she brought me dinner at Domino’s Pizza to the Cahaba River to that final “mwah”, my feelings were strong towards her. Yeah, I was a fresh 19 but this wasn’t your ordinary puppy love. It was something far more special. I wasn’t all financially savvy then as I am now but I had managed to sock away $800 that I was going to use to purchase an engagement ring. It wasn’t going to be the flashy, eye-turner I envisioned in many of my dreams but it would’ve shown her that I was in it for the long haul…even at our young ages with me being 19 and her being 21. Plenty of proposal scenarios ran through my mind like “The View @ Stratford Road”, the entrance at Rast Hall, and the Two North Twentieth marquee sign instantly came to mind. But I decided on Thanksgiving dinner to be my moment…and on her home field in Lithia Springs, too. Unfortunately for me, that opportunity never came and that $800 has gained quite a bit of interest in that special account.

In the years since that fateful night 7 years ago, I’ve experienced somewhat of a meteoric rise in almost every area of my life. I was able to get a multiple degrees in a really short time span. I was able to travel to places, do things, and experience cultures no one in my bloodlines have ever gotten a chance to. I was able to recover from my young financial mistakes to build some kind of respectable net worth. I’ve collected quite a few big name awards, ribbons, and other marks of accomplishment. I learned the basics of Catalan Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese. I developed a much better relationship with the Lord. But notice that italicized keyword…almost. For as much as it’s been a meteoric rise in most facets of my life, it’s been a devastating decline in the love and relationships department. From a couple of years worth of bad dating situations to the drama that came along with dating outside the race to abortion to the “you’re a great guy but…” to that chick I should’ve never ever messed with, I’ve seen it all in the last 7 years. And as much as I’ve achieved since this date 7 years back, the fact that I still have had so much imbalance in an area of my life that was at that time the most concrete of any area in my life is a sour spot for me. Hopefully, that changes in this 27^th year of life or sometime in a very near future. Lately, I’ve had patches of dreams that would suggest so. As I write on the topic in Triumphs & Tribulations, my hands get kind of fidgety. I guess we’ll see what happens. But until then, I continue to look back on a particular 482 days as a Camelot period for me—when everything was pretty much even keel—and compare it to today, where life has taken on a pattern that’s consistent with the tidal phenomenon of oceanography: flood tide (rising) in most areas and ebb tide (receding) in relationships…no equilibrium balance.

Change Agent

2010-10-30T22:04:00.001-04:00

“You should run for mayor and make Birmingham grow to your level” – Keisha Quarles

That’s what the sister of one of my travel associates said to me while we were eating at Atlantic Station back in August. She asked why a Southern-bred guy such as myself thirsted for the lifestyle of the cities on the western half of the continent and of the cities around the world. I told her that I felt I outgrew life in the South and that my own hometown of Birmingham left a sour taste in my mouth in regards to ever building a sustainable future for myself in the region. She said that a new school cat like me should show up the old blood and run for mayor, bring the city to new standards.

That got me to thinking. I could make a serious run at the top office in the biggest city in the State of Alabama. My father has always said it would take a young person who’s seen what the world has to offer outside of Birmingham to save Birmingham. I fit that mold, so to speak. I wasted no time in bolting for life in the Midwest after declining the opportunity to go to one of the state’s top 3 schools in favor for The Ohio State University. I’ve had a chance to live in the American West, where modern technology isn’t a novelty but a way of life. I’ve had a chance to set foot in over two dozen different countries around the world. I’ve been to many of the biggest cities in the world. And in all of that, I’ve seen how much better those regions, countries, and cities have made life for themselves and I often find myself wondering why Birmingham hasn’t taken a serious approach to bringing itself in line with today’s model of modern cities. I’m always disappointed to see Birmingham fall far behind Atlanta, Nashville, Jacksonville, Orlando, Miami, Tampa, Columbia, and Chattanooga in terms of overall attractiveness. Sometimes, I wonder how much better off the city would’ve been if they had elected Emory Anthony to unseat Arrington in the 90s. That said, running for Mayor of Birmingham…it sounds good but I would never do it. The changes I’d make for the city would probably be frowned upon because of the costs involved. I can almost guarantee you that most of the citizens would look at the front-end of what I’m doing and not towards the future. So, unless I become some kind of overnight billionaire on a level with Oprah, Bill Gates, or Carlos Slim, it’s a good chance I won’t be making any runs at mayor. But for the purpose of this blog, let’s say that I was a young, successful business magnate. Let’s say that at my current age—26 years, 6 days—I’m the head of a globally-recognized, Birmingham-based company called JuanCorp and my net worth was like $50 billion…in other words, I got quite a few commas on the balance statement. Knowing me, I’m not much of a flasher type so I could probably live life like a rock star on a quarter of a billion. The rest of it—after tithes and offerings and making sure the family is set up for generations to come—I’d use it to be an agent of change. I would launch a massive campaign for the mayor’s seat in Birmingham to rescue the city from the mess that guys like Richard Arrington, William Bell, Bernard Kincaid, and Larry Langford burdened it with. And let’s say I win in a landslide at the polls over current incumbent, William Bell, whom I have no good feelings towards as a leader. In fact, I consider him to be even worse than Herbert Hoover in terms of American politics and that cat sat back and did nothing when the Great Depression kicked off. At my inauguration, after the necessary swearing in and stuff, I’d make a promise to the citizens of Birmingham that I would do absolutely all that I can do within my power to make life better for them by tackling the 11 distinct factors that encompass quality of life: (1) political and social environment, (2) medical and health considerations, (3) public services and transportation, (4) consumer goods, (5) economy, (6) schools, (7) socio-cultural environment, (8) natural environment, (9) recreation, (10) housing, and (11) diversity. I would give them my pledge to build a real international airport that is on par with the likes of Incheon, Dallas-Fort Worth, Narita, and Zürich Kloten. I’d pledge to build a state of the art sports and entertainment complex that would make Jerry’s World out in Arlington, Texas look like a small playground. I would pledge to improve the infrastructure and reduce the tax liability on Birmingham residents. Most of all, I’ll promise the citizens that I’ll serve them at a maximum salary of $1 a year and that I expect to taxed at the highest rate possible on that $1.

So my agenda as Mayor of Birmingham would be something like this…

THE MEETINGS: PART I. On my official first day on the job—after breakfast, of course—I won’t hesitate in setting up a few meetings. There are a few select people that I’ll call on the carpet. First amongst them is the Chief of Police. I want to start by saying that I have nothing but respect for the guy. In addition to being in law enforcement for almost as long as I’ve been breathing, he’s attained the rank of colonel in the Army Reserves and he’s a Christian. That’s good stuff but anybody will tell you, I’m all about statistics. I can easily look past the fluff and get to the meat when it comes to numbers. I’m tired of seeing Birmingham as a mainstay in the Top 10 of most dangerous American cities in a number of nationally-recognized polls and surveys. I was embarrassed when my Japanese co-workers back in Tokyo labeled Birmingham a dangerous city as a result of the city’s frequent appearances on The First 48. I’m disappointed that 13 people I’ve either personally known or went to school with have been killed in Birmingham city streets since 2001. I’m outraged when I see more police officers at local high school football games than I see on patrol in some of the city’s most high-profile crime areas. I want the citizens of Birmingham to live in a city where they don’t have to worry about murder, rape, burglary, robbery, aggravated assault and motor vehicle theft. I want people to feel safe as I did in the major Asian cities, which all had at least 15 times the population. To achieve that, I need somebody at the top of my police department who doesn’t take any flack. Is the current chief that somebody? I don’t know but the meeting will be the start of a probationary period for him. If I don’t see a major decrease in crime citywide within 180 days of the meeting, I’m going to fire him. I’ll personally begin a national search for a new chief because the local pipeline over the years has left the impression that those coming through the ranks in the Birmingham Police Department don’t have what it takes to make the city one of the safest in the world, not only America. I want somebody who’ll come in and revolutionize the way in which the force police the streets. I want somebody who’s mere presence at the top of my department will be so intimidating that potential criminals will second guess themselves before committing a crime. I want somebody who will epitomize that old saying of “protect and serve”. I’ll go after the best America has to offer, even if it means taking them away from another city. Heck, I’ll even dip into the American armed forces pool for one of their gems…notably a certain Army Ranger First Sergeant I met back in Tokyo. And I’ll be willing to pay top dollar out of my own funds for it.

THE MEETINGS: PART II. Second up on the carpet is the Public Works Director. Me and that cat are going to have a nice little heart-to-heart about the lack of quality work his guys are putting forth in my city. The streets in Birmingham are a mess. Until I drove in Washington, D.C. for the first time, I didn’t think there were any worse streets in all of America. My most recent trip home, I recall sections of asphalt missing in the streets…downtown streets at that. I saw no construction signs, no safety cones. It was as if the city just left it as it was. I saw trash all over the place…garbage cans in downtown parks overfilled, curbs littered with paper and other trash, cigarette butts everywhere. Don’t get me started on the water piping in the city. I’ll cover that a little bit later but rest assured that he’ll know my frustration about it. Birmingham is too small a city—in my opinion—to be as nasty as it is in terms of public infrastructure and services offered through public works. That’s why I’m firing that cat and I’ll look to replace him through yet another national search. Under the new director, I’ll look to bring the Parks & Recreation Board under them because that area of government has long failed the city as well.

THE MEETINGS: PART III. The last of the people to step on the carpet is the Birmingham City Schools Superintendent. If anybody knows me, they know the high value I put on education. That said, Dr. Craig Witherspoon is going to get it from me big time. Since he moseyed himself down from the boondocks of North Carolina, I feel that the students of the city schools have not gotten better leadership and direction. He’s the Michelle Rhee of Birmingham City Schools and that’s the nice version of what I think. Under this cat’s watch, more and more kids continue to leave the district for the county and private schools in search of better education. More teachers are leaving. The curriculum is not on par with the national standard. Test scores suck and drop-outs are on the rise. That alone will get him a pink slip from me. But, the last straw with me is that Eric Bledsoe thing. When you use public money to hire an independent investigative agency to uncover irregularities in a student’s progress in school and that agency finds clear evidence that misconduct by your teachers has occurred and you choose to let it slide and the result is some kid (1) going to college on a full-ride scholarship and (2) becoming an NBA lottery pick after one year in college, that’s a really sore spot for me. I’m all about athletics, no doubt, but when athletics compromise academics, I have a problem with that. For that reason, I’d give Dr. Witherspoon two options. Option 1 is that I fire him on the spot and use my standing as a globally-recognized business magnate to ensure he doesn’t come close to being in such a position again for the sake of the kids. Option 2 is to force his resignation and have him explain why in front of local city, state, regional, and national media. He embarrassed the city and he brought discredit to the district. It pains me to log on to ESPN.com and see them plastering articles like this, suggesting lack of institutional control within a school district…one that I happen to be a product of. That’s personal to me and I want him to personally know how I felt about it. If he elects to take Option 2, I’ll offer him a golden parachute out of my own funds but I’ll still ensure he doesn’t sniff another superintendent job ever again. I’d personally go on an international search for a new superintendent candidate, not restricting myself to those in the United States. But before I even start that international search, I’d first offer the job to my mother in Tokyo. There is nobody I trust more with the education of today’s youth than her. I already know what to expect when it comes to her and education. I know she’ll motivate the teachers to give a more concerted effort to instructing the kids. Under her leadership, I know that the students with excel not only in the classrooms but in their communities as well. Her approachable personality and mothering spirit as a Christian and an educator is what Birmingham’s kids need…heck, it’s what Birmingham’s teachers and its parents need. In addition to bringing in a new superintendent, I’ll commit $2 billion out of my own funds over my term of 4 years to vastly improving all facets of education for the city’s students.

THE AIRPORT. With the exception of the most recent time, in which I drove from Southern Maryland to Birmingham, the last 6 times I’ve ventured into Birmingham have been via the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. After passing through many of the real international airports around the country and around the world, I’m disappointed in Birmingham’s facility. I’m feel that it really leaves a lot to be desired. Heck, I can’t believe the FAA really allows it to call itself an international airport. The only international flights coming in and going out are the ones operated by the 117^th Air Refueling Wing of the Air National Guard. One of the first major things I’d do as mayor is to build a state-of-the-art international airport. I’d buy a lot of the land along I-459 in the eastern part of Jefferson County—near Trussville and Irondale—for the purpose of a $2 billion facility. It would be a completely privately-financed project, which should ease resistance from the citizens of Birmingham and the neighboring communities. I’d use Seoul’s Incheon International Airport as the model for the structure and Tokyo’s Narita International Airport as the model for the interior design. I’d name it Sallie Mae Thomas International Airport of Birmingham after my late grandmother. I know that’ll probably draw a lot of criticism from the civil rights community because I’d strip Fred Shuttlesworth name off the airport. I never really liked that cat anyway so I don’t really care. But, just in case hissy fits are thrown, I got that covered. Inside the airport, I’d have a museum dedicated to him and other civil rights leaders of the day for passenger enjoyment while they wait on flights. Additionally, I’ll commit 0.5% of the income the facility brings in over the first 5 years to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. I plan to have my airport service every continent in the world—including Antarctica if I can strike a deal with their government. The airport, itself, will be uniquely configured. It will feature 9 terminals: one for each region of the United States and Canada collectively, one each for Europe, South America, and Asia, a shared terminal for Oceania, Africa, and Antarctica—if applicable—and a special terminal for the Air National Guard, special dignitaries, and other important chartered flights. To get in between the terminals, I’ll have a people mover system that circles the airport clockwise and counterclockwise. It’ll run every 3 minutes with 1-minute intervals during peak hours. It’ll feature an expansive duty-free mall that rivals Narita Nakamise. One of the biggest things for me in any airport experience is security and screening. You all know my feelings towards those buster brown top-flight security guards otherwise known as the Transportation Security Administration. I’ll go for a private contract with my security and screening process and I’ll model my security and screening process after those at Incheon, which still ranks as the airport with the best screening experience in my book. My central focus with security and screening will be customer service. When I flew through airports abroad, the staffs were nice and pleasant…always addressed me politely, always showed courtesy, always made me feel privileged to have them checking my stuff. Here, in the States, cats are rude as hell and I’m the last person you want to get out of line with because I don’t hold punches when it comes to bad customer service experiences. I’ve had my battles with the TSA—even had them call backup on me a couple of times—but I assure you that the attitudes they carry in the nation’s airports won’t have a presence in Sallie Mae. All my security and screening personnel will undergo extensive customer relations training and they’ll be held to a standard that I’ll personally write myself. I’ll even go through the process periodically to ensure compliance. I’ll hope to strike a deal with Southwest Airlines to retain Birmingham as a focus city even though a major international airport would be against the grain of its business model. Additionally, I’ll look to American Airlines to bring Birmingham on as one of its hubs. True to my word, I would not allow Delta Airlines to operate in or out of my airport unless it was an in-flight emergency in which they couldn’t make it to Huntsville or Montgomery. Yeah, it’s that personal with me and Delta. Additionally, there will not be any presence of McDonalds in my airport…not a store, not even signage. I’ll have a CoCo Ichibanya in that joint though. Above all with the international airport, I want to provide the ultimate experience for the customer. And for that reason, I’ll make a few additions that are probably unheard of in the United States. I’ll have a performance venue built in the airport in which I’ll look to bring in some kind of entertainment—such as concerts and theatrical performances—that will be free of charge to those with valid airline tickets. I’ll ease the burden of passengers towing luggage with an in-town luggage check-in option similar to that in Hong Kong, where passengers can check their luggage in at a rail terminal—I’ll discuss this shortly—downtown as early as a day before and as late as 2 hours prior to their flight. Oh yeah, I almost forgot…they’ll be free Wi-Fi and the signal strength will be so strong that you’ll be able to get a signal as far away as ¼ mile away from the airport.

THE SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX. Before I dive into my plans for sports and entertainment in the city, let me give you a quick history and geography lesson. Birmingham is often referred to as the Sports Capital of the South. I wouldn’t agree with that…not even necessarily. If you ask me, Birmingham has all but lost its luster as a major sports city in the last 20 years. The Southeastern Conference’s headquarters is downtown but yet the SEC Championship Game (Atlanta), the Men’s and Women’s SEC Tournament (Atlanta, Nashville), and the SEC Baseball Tournament (Hoover, Alabama) are played in other cities. The city’s minor league baseball team—the Birmingham Barons—plays in Hoover. The city recently lost the AHSAA Super 6 Football Championships to Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium and Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium, respectively. Legion Field has become an afterthought as a football stadium as capacity has been reduced and the lack of high-profile games has disappeared. With a new international airport built off of I-459, they’ll be a void where the current airport is. That’s where I’ll finance the building of a sports and entertainment complex. It’ll be inside of the city limits so all of that it being a Birmingham team but playing in another city crap wouldn’t exist. The current airport location is perfect because it wouldn’t require an encroachment on the citizens of Fountains Heights and Norwood as the current administration plans to knock down the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center and expand for a domed stadium. Enough about that…on to the complex. I’ll start with the sports side. I’ll have a multipurpose stadium built for both forms of football—association and American gridiron. It’ll be an 85000-seat facility modeled after Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. Until I acquire a sponsor, I’ll call it Juan Thomas Stadium. Yeah, it’s kinda generic but I don’t expect it to have that name for long. Just like that terrific venue in Munich, it’ll light up during night games. The stadium will feature 5000 seats for premium customers, handicapped patrons, and the press. The seats, themselves, will be actual seats not the benches you see in most stadiums of large capacity. The playing surface will be an extremely well-maintained and manicured natural grass surface because I want the stadium to eventually host a FIFA World Cup Final. Perhaps, one day, I’ll look at an artificial surface but only when FIFA Recommended 2-star artificial pitch surfaces becomes standard. For the most part, the stadium will be designed so that no fan will be rained on as the opening will allow God’s sunshine to shine on the field only. But, it’ll have a retractable roof. I’m sure the UAB Blazers will move over from Legion Field. I’m almost sure that the Super 6 and the SEC Championship Game will return to the city. I’ll use the stadium to revamp the Labor Day Classic and Magic City Classic games, making them high-profile, nationally-televised games. I’ll hope to host a Bowl Championship Series game, a Super Bowl, and a Men’s Final Four. I’ll also build a multipurpose arena that will be able to support basketball, hockey, and arena football. It’ll be a 22000-seat facility modeled after Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio—a place that I sat in attendance at a couple of times. Until I acquire a sponsor, I’ll call it The Arena at Birmingham. The arena will have many of the features consistent with today’s modern indoor sports arenas in addition to a few wrinkles to enhance the customer experience. I’m sure the UAB Blazers won’t mind having 14000 more fans in attendance for their biggest games as a supplement to their on-campus arena. I’m sure I can convince some hockey franchise to bring their team to my arena…maybe even get the Birmingham Bulls back. No doubt, I’ll be able to host the AHSAA Boys’ and Girls’ Final Four. I’ll also lobby to bring back the Men’s and Women’s SEC Tournament on an alternating basis in addition to early-round NCAA Tournament games. I’ll build an open-air retro-modern baseball stadium. It’ll be 35000-seat facility modeled after Target Field in Minneapolis. Until I acquire a sponsor, I’ll call it The Ballpark at Birmingham. I’ll make sure that the stadium has a great view of the Birmingham skyline and Vulcan in its outfield backdrop. I’m sure the Barons would love to come back and play in the city and the SEC Baseball Tournament should follow them. I’ll look to bring the AHSAA Boys Baseball Tournament to the venue though I’m not opposed to it staying in Montgomery. I’ll look to eventually host an MLB All-Star Game and World Baseball Classic game. In addition to the 3 major sporting venues, I’ll build an Olympic-certified aquatics center, a ATP and WTA-certified tennis center, and a USATF-certified athletics facility with the capability of supporting both indoor and outdoor track and field courtesy of a retractable roof. All facilities will built with LEED certification in mind. On to the entertainment side. When I was in Chicago last year, I was thoroughly impressed with the McCormick Place. So much so that I would build my own state-of-the-art convention center. It’s unfortunate that Birmingham isn’t located on a waterfront because I would have it designed with the Vancouver Convention Centre or the AsiaWorld-Expo in mind. Anyway, the convention center will consist of 5 interconnected facilities and I’ll design it with Chiba’s Makuhari Messe in mind. One of those 5 facilities will be a performing arts venue and another will house a large auditorium. The other 3 facilities will support various conventions and like events. I’m hoping for at least 2.5 million square feet of space, depending on the amount of space the sports facilities occupy. I’ll call it the Greater Birmingham Area Exhibition & Convention Center. The facility will host commencement ceremonies, concerts, major conventions, and other performance arts events. In addition to the convention center, I’ll look to build facilities that will host residency shows for Cirque du Soleil and Blue Man Group, respectively. Also, in the sports and entertainment complex, I want to create a new smooth jazz and soul music district, where local club owners that play exclusively into that genre can relocate to the area. I’ll use the model employed the South Philadelphia Sports Complex to address parking but I’ll modernize it with parking decks. Additionally, the rail system I’m covering shortly will have a major presence in the area. I’m looking at about $2.5 billion for the entire complex.

THE RAIL SYSTEM. If you read my blogs over the 3+ years I’ve written, you know how I love the rails…none more than those in Tokyo. But before I dive into my plan to bring Alabama its first public rail system, I gotta drop my thoughts on what’s in place right now. That would be the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority and their 38-route bus system. Don’t get me wrong…I grew up with the BJCTA back when it was MAX, as in Metro Area Express. The thing is the system operates exclusively within Birmingham’s city limits with the exception of the 10 routes that travel a little bit outside of Birmingham into Center Point, Homewood, Bessemer, and Mountain Brook. In addition to that, the fleet—all of which is just under 10 years old since they did away with the fleet from the late 80s—is in bad condition. When I went home for a family reunion back in August, I saw buses operating that were so damaged…like bumpers falling off, really noticeable dents, and cracked windows. I saw buses that looked like they haven’t been washed in over a year. It extended past the buses. The bus stops themselves were horribly maintained. Glass busted out, benches severely bent, signage faded out. It’s just bad. That’s why I’ll address it in delicate detail. The rail system—which I will call the Metropolitan Area Railway System or MARS for short—will service the entire Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman Combined Statistical Area. Of course, it’ll be modeled after the East Japan Railways system that services the Greater Tokyo Area. I’m looking at 20 different lines that service the entire area. Additionally, there will be an exclusive line—the Sallie Mae Lynx—that provides service to the international airport. I’ll also have a line that circles Downtown Birmingham in the exact way the Yamanote Line circles Tokyo. It’ll eliminate the need for the DART routes. The entire system will run 20 hours a day—5AM to 1AM—with the other 4 hours reserved for various maintenance functions. The entire system will be above-surface for the most part with a few stations being exceptions…the international airport and the sports & entertainment complex being amongst them. There will be none of that 3^rd rail crap that you see in other American rail systems. My system will be exclusively overhead. The trains themselves will be just like the JR East trains. I’ll make sure that they are well conditioned for any kind of natural disaster or unique weather pattern that can be thrown at it. The rails themselves would be unprecedented for American culture. They would be so well-maintained that there would be little to no screeching of the wheels and in the event of snow or ice, the rails would heat up to keep service going. The onboard experience will be a replica of what JR East offers with the only exception being the announcements spoken in Spanish and English. The stations will be on par with what’s in Tokyo. The jewel of my stations will be Central Station in Downtown Birmingham. That’ll be my Shinjuku Station for sure. Speaking of Central Station, I’ll introduce an in-town luggage check-in feature for those boarding the Sallie Mae Lynx there. That way, once they get to the airport, the only thing they have to do is go through security to get their carry-on items checked. I’ll work out a contract with some small, unknown convenience store chain and make them a star like Lawson by having a location at every station. I’ll introduce my own version of the Suica and call it The J Card, after yours truly. The pricing will be based on distance with the highest possible price being $20, which would cover travel from the northernmost station in Cullman County to the southernmost station in Chilton County. With the rail system’s introduction, there lies an opportunity for anybody in the combined statistical area to work in Birmingham. It also presents the BJCTA with an opportunity to expand their services to areas not serviced by the rails…perhaps into the other counties. I’m looking to drop $20 billion on the rail system.

PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE. I mentioned earlier that the street conditions in Birmingham were horrible. Well, it extends past the streets. All of the utility piping is aging…leaky water pipes, rusted sewage pipes, natural gas and steam piping concerns. The drinking water in the city is susceptible to constant threat with the Shepherd Bend Mine and other drilling and mining efforts near the water sources that feed into the city. Wastewater and solid waste have long been a problem. As with the rest of America, the cities bridges and overpasses are in poor condition. The cities power grids have had a history of failing and leaving citizens without power for days on end. I know all about that after my entire block went without power for 4 days back in 2001. As mayor, I’ll commit $20 billion of my own money to improving the public infrastructure within Birmingham’s city limits. I’ll start with the roads. I read that 14000 people a year die on American roads because of poor conditions and maintenance of the road surfaces. Motorists riding on Birmingham’s streets won’t have to worry about that as $8 billion of that public infrastructure donation will go towards repaving and remarking every street and every alleyway in the city limits. That includes maintenance on all interstate road that rides through Birmingham exclusively. The disclaimer here would be that parking lots would be the responsibility of the respective owning organization or business as they do not fall under public works. My thing with the roads is that I don’t want any driver in my city to have to worry about any of the following: (1) potholes, (2) patched roadway, (3) rolling over manhole covers as if they were potholes, and (4) poor markings. I’ll also address the issue with poor lighting from the street lights with that $8 billion. From that donation, $1 billion would go towards renovating or possibly rebuilding every bridge and overpass in the city. The utility piping has long been a problem in the city and potable drinking water is a concern of mine whenever I’m at home. That’s why $5 billion of the donation will go towards the revitalization of the utility piping system, which would vastly improve all pipe systems associated with water, sewage, natural gas, and steam. I don’t want what happened out in San Bruno, California to happen in Birmingham if I can help it. With the improvement of the utility piping system, wastewater and solid waste systems should be improved as well. To that effect, $500 million would be contributed to that effort. One thing of note is that once the first $1 is committed to improving the sewage pipes, I’m eliminating that ridiculous sewer tax that the citizens of the city pay. $500 million of that donation will be committed towards the overhauling improvement of the city’s public parks and recreation facilities. The driving motivation in that is I want the botanical gardens in my city to look as beautiful as the one in Montreal and I want my zoo to be as great as the one in San Diego. On the electricity side, I’ll work with Alabama Power to come up with a way to eliminate the frequent occurrence of power outages when severe weather or natural disasters affect the area. I’m not going for that “it can’t be prevented” answer because I lived through a super typhoon, 3 earthquakes, a volcano eruption, 38 total days of snow, and an average February temperature of 31°F during my 3 years in Tokyo and not once did power go out. The final $5 billion of that donation goes toward improving the electrical power transmissions within the city limits. This is a big item for me as it would be very important to the railway electrification system that my trains will run on. I’ll bring in a couple of guys I worked with in Tokyo to coordinate and oversee how electricity is running through my city.

THE MONEY SIDE. With every level of government, money is always an issue. It’s the biggest hindrance to getting things done. That’s why I’m eliminating it for the most part by committing my own wealth to changing the city. There will be little affect on the taxpayers. Speaking of the taxpayers, I got them in mind. That 10% sales tax: that s*** is outta here. I’m moving aggressively to lower the sales tax. It’ll be 5% on all common consumer goods and 8% on alcohol and tobacco goods. I already mentioned wiping out the sewer tax. That controversial occupancy tax…yeah, that’s gone too. I’ll also look to tie the hands of the gas companies by pushing a law on how much they can tax in my city. I will add a new tax, however. I’ll add an annual road tax on all residents with registered vehicles. That money will go straight to the maintenance and upkeep of the roads long after I’ve moved on and long after the $8 billion repavement job has worn off. Because most of the improvements to the city would be privately financed, Birmingham should save a lot of public money over my term. The money the city saves from not having to pay for everything else that’ll bring it to modern standards could be used to upgrade the municipal facilities. Overall, my thing is to leave the next person with a big bank of funds to keep the city afloat and moving up in the ranks of American cities.

In addition to all of the aforementioned changes, I’ll also look to pass a few laws while I’m in office. Chief amongst them is a law on gun control and tougher penalties for violators…even first time offenders. I want to introduce a law where parents and legal guardians could be fined or otherwise penalized for their kids dropping out of school. A big one for me is to attack the leniency on alcohol sales. Under my watch, 12AM is the absolute latest time on a Monday through Saturday that you can buy alcohol. I’ll grant entertainment clubs and restaurants an exemption until 1AM. There will be absolutely no alcohol sales anywhere on Sunday or Christmas Day and no sales after sundown on Independence Day and Halloween. Additionally, alcohol can’t be sold before 12PM and on Election Day, no earlier than 7:01PM. Other than that, it’s business as usual.

My purpose for changing Birmingham is not an immediate cause. It’s more or so for the future of Birmingham. One of the most heartbreaking moments of my time in Tokyo was seeing the issue of The Japan Times with a picture of Birmingham citizens being sprayed by hoses. If there was ever a “pissed the f*** off moment” for me, that was it. For so long, the city has carried the black eye of the civil rights movement because of what Bull Connor did in unleashing the dogs and the fire hoses on African American protesters back in the ‘60s. I want to change that. I’ll make Birmingham such an attractive city that people from all over the country will want to move there. I’ll make it attractive to professional sports franchises, the International Olympic Committee, and FIFA. I’ll make it known on a first-name basis like Tokyo, London, New York, Rome, and Los Angeles. I’ll make it such an attractive and well-known city that newspapers don’t refer to it as “Birmingham, Ala” but as “BIRMINGHAM”. I’ll make it an attractive location for businesses to plant their international headquarters and flagship stores like Hong Kong and Singapore. I’ll bring at least 100 thousand new jobs to the city with my plan of change, boosting the economy and significantly reducing the unemployment rate. I’ll bring the city to a new level…one where the city can truly live up to its nickname as “The Magic City”.

My question, however, is would you vote for me as mayor of your city given all of the above.

Album Review: Lalah Hathaway

2010-10-29T22:52:00.003-04:00

It was back in February of last year that I was in the Yokota BX with one of my co-best friends picking up a few things for one of our infamous Sunday night fellowships. While he was looking for whatever it was he was seeking out, I checked out the music section. And to my surprise, I happened upon a CD with a picture of Lalah Hathaway on it. Being that I’m a fan of Donny’s daughter, I was familiar with her previous works and the album covers for them. Initially, I thought it was her EP, Night & Day, which was only released in Japan but when I pulled the CD from the stack, I saw it was new music to me. The name of the album was Self Portrait. I scanned it under the music player and started jamming to the first 30 or so seconds of every track. That is, until I got to the 7^th track. I was really diggin’ the beat and the lyrics. That whole “one mile to go, no more dirt road” thing got me. I ended up purchasing the album and it just barely lost out to Conya Doss’ still… as the Best Album of 2009 in my end of year blog.

After spending the vast majority of her career with Virgin, Lalah signed with Stax Records in 2007 and went to work immediately on Self Portrait. Released in June 2008 as her 5^th album, it featured performances from Rahsaan Patterson and Andre Edwards on vocals. Michael Ripoll contributed his acoustic guitar. That’s a name you need to know, by the way. The dude is something like a “go-to man” when you need a live acoustic guitarist. I was kinda shocked to see Paula Gallitano in there on the keys. Brandon Fields did his thing on the sax while Lee Thornburg enlightened me with the trumpet. A shoutout to Marcus Miller on the bass and to Lenny Castro on the cymbals. She even got Sandra St. Victor—the frontwoman of The Family Stand—to co-write on a track. On the production side, Lalah actually co-produced the album but it had the handprints of Rex Rideout all over it. Also contributing to the production was Kenneth Crouch and Terrance Martin.

The album kicks off with the very radio-friendly “Let Go”, which was co-written by vastly underrated soul man, Rahsaan Patterson, and included production work from Rex Rideout. It’s a rangy mid-tempo jam that’ll definitely have to nodding your head, which makes it one of the few of its kind to make my iPod Touch’s “Heartbreak Hotel” playlist. It’s the perfect jam for a get together of soul music fans and it makes a nice jam to actually skate to, as evidenced by the music video. It’s a track in which a woman is basically telling some cat that she’s pink slippin’ him and realizing that she has to let go what’s not working in that particular relationship to make room for the next one. I really like how she put it together with “So to keep it real and true/I’m a do what I’m a do/Best do the same thing too/Right now it’s time to move on/I can’t get used to being/A pawn in your love game/You won’t have me again”. Up next is “Breathe”, a nice mellow jam over an acoustic guitar beat. It’s a track that encourages the listener that while everybody has their own respective problems, there is an end of the road for them. I really like 1^st bridge of the track, when she says “Global melancholy smears a stain across the sky/Somewhere right now someone’s crying/And I just don’t know why” and how it ties into the chorus: “But I gotta believe/That this ain’t the end of the road/It’s all a bad dream/Until you believe/And you gotta know/The story is still to be told/Just breathe/Remember to breathe”. Track 3 is “On Your Own”. It’s one of those really down tempo tracks. It’s a track about realizing that there’s a whole lot in life out there after a past heartbreak. I really like the horns on the track. In the cleanup spot is “For Always”. On another one of those Rex Rideout killer beats, Lalah does her thing on a track about staying committed in a relationship situation…even when the world around you is against you. The track has a spot on the “Easy Listening” playlist on my iPod Touch. I like how she puts it when she says “All my friends are telling me/You’re doing me wrong/They don’t know how I feel/They can’t sing my song/Makes no difference to me/What people say/I’m a do my own thing”. That’s something that can be said of all relationships. Up next is Track 5—“That Was Then”—and it happens to be a favorite on the album and another entry on my “Easy Listening” playlist. It’s one of those tracks with a really mellow beat that’ll make you reminisce about a younger version of yourself, especially with the way Lalah plays with the lyrics. I totally dig how her voice ranged on the 2^nd verse but the chorus—“ It was like a lifetime passed right through my fingers/So long ago/So much that I didn’t know/Kind of like a light shined down and showed me how/How to move on/That was then and this is now”—that made the track a star with me. One of the more underrated and unnoticed tracks on the album is “Learning To Swim”. It’s a really slow song and the way it flows kinda takes you back to some of her old stuff. It’s a track about a woman who is struggling with the concept of giving a 2^nd chance to a guy who she can’t obviously live without. In the 7 spot is “1 Mile”, which happens to be my favorite track on the album and a mainstay in my “Heartbreak Hotel” playlist. Featuring Andre “Bokie” Edwards—a cat that sounds a lot like Andre 3000—it’s a track about a bad breakup. The way Edwards comes in with his rhyme at the end reminds me of how Teedra Moses and Jadakiss went at it in on “You’ll Never Find (A Better Woman)” in 2004. I was diggin’ that 2^nd verse: “Thank you for the wake-up call/Even though I gave my all/Hate to see it end this way/Better off by myself so it’s OK/No need to explain/It’s simple and plain to see/All the wrong you did to me”. It reminded me of what I went through with a woman from my past. Up next is “Little Girl”. Immediately upon hearing it the first time, I declared it my 2^nd favorite track. It’s a story about Lalah growing up as a little girl after the death of her father. The way she expresses her point of being “just a little girl in a big world, hiding in the shadow of the light” reminded me of how Dwele and his brother put their upbringing out there after he lost his father in “Some Kinda”. When I listen to the track a few times, I wonder how cool it would be if she had the chance to do a duet with her father or even do a cover of one of his jams. In the pitcher’s spot is “What Comes Around”. It has one of those old school beats that reminds you of those 70s jams that you’d play at a prom or a class reunion for a final dance. The track, itself, is about a woman telling a guy who has seemingly wronged those who have crossed his path that he’ll reap what he sows. More than the throwback beat, I liked how she ended the 2^nd verse with “And I wish you love and life my friend/Because I know in the end that” and rolled it right into the chorus: “What goes around, comes around/And will come back to you/And how you treat your sister friend/Will pay you back in full/And for every seed that you must sow/I just thought that you should know”. Track 10 is “Naked Truth”. It’s a track with a wicked beat…a mix of new school and old school. The track is like a back and forth duet with Lalah and Kenneth Crouch basically telling each other that the naked truth is that they’re better with each other. “UDO”—short for Unidentified Divine Object—is Track 11. Perhaps a play on the UFO concept, it does have a rather spacy concept to it in beat and in lyrics. The album closes out with “Tragic Inevitability”. I like how the track opens with the cymbals and the bongos over the keyboard. That’s an old school technique that many of your younger cats—or in this case, younger cougars—don’t use in their music. It’s a homage to a time when music was pure. The track, itself, really emphasizes the various ranges of Lalah’s voice as it is a story about how we can’t escape fate when it has our number. She even says so in the chorus: “If we are truly fashioned by fate/And we are modeled by destiny/Then surely we must concede/To this tragic inevitability”. It’s one of those tracks that’ll make you think if you have any tragic inevitability situations in your life.

I almost had the opportunity to see Lalah perform at the Billboard Live Tokyo but a rare illness relegated me to the bed for a few days and I missed that opportunity. She remains one of the top artists I want to see live. Anyway, the album is hot. It was my top find in 2009 until I met that Canadian chick in Chicago. That changed the course of history. Go out and get this album. If you’re a real soul fan, you gotta have it in your library.

12 Stones

2010-10-28T22:05:00.000-04:00

A poem I wrote on the plane ride from Seattle to Tokyo during my maiden voyage to the Land of the Rising Sun. Though not as deep and lyrically profound as some of my performance-quality works, it’s one of my personal favorites.

12 stones…all to represent the power of His might
12 stones…because He is the one who fought my good fight
12 stones…smack dab in the midst of where the river should be
12 stones…so I won’t forget how He walked across dry land with me
12 stones…not so neatly aligned in a row
12 stones…forming a path that the generations of even my children will also come to know
12 stones…read it for yourself in Joshua 4:20-24

Life-Altering Event

2010-10-27T21:02:00.000-04:00

“Life is the sum of all your choices” – Albert Camus

Last night, a travel associate of mine was telling me how she feels like her decision to leave the United States permanently so many years ago altered her life. She dished out the pros about it, which included financial security, a chance to see the world, and a strong sense of culture from an international standpoint…not to mention she met her husband. The con, and she only cited one, was the strained relationship with her mother as a result of her move. She called her move across the pond a life-altering event. She asked if I had experienced something similar with the way I left Birmingham not too long after high school graduation. I didn’t necessarily have an answer for her.

The question dominated my thoughts at work today though. All day long, I kept asking myself: what is my life-altering event? What is it that I did that changed the course of my life? What is it that happened to me that caused me to veer off the path I was headed? How did I get to where I am today?

It didn’t take me long to find my life-altering event. As I was writing in Triumphs & Tribulations XI earlier, I queried all entries I’ve written lifetime on October 27^th. Only one other time in the history of the longtime journal have I ever written on this day: October 27, 2002. It was way back in Triumphs & Tribulations III that I wrote about a conversation I had with my late grandmother about my future after high school. Reading that entry immediately brought 4 other events to my remembrance and interestingly enough, they are all interconnected.

Five moments that shaped me into who I am today, where I am today, what I do today, and how I go about my day-to-day:

· The conversation with my late grandmother about my future after high school (October 2002)

· The stunning death of my first love on the night I came back home from Air Force basic training and technical school (October 2003)

· The tryst in Jacksonville (April 2006)

· The abortion (February 2007)

· The move to Japan (May 2007)

The word choice is defined as “the act of choosing” or “the power, right, or liberty to choose”. That definition is why Camus’ quote is so profound despite being simplistic in nature. It’s amazing how one’s life—from the most mundane of moments to the most extraordinary of events—is all about the choices they make. I read that without even knowing it, we make at least 1000 different choices a day. The constant in choices is that in the majority of situations, we make our own choices and by virtue of that, we set events into motion in our lives. Think cause and effect. Or think of Newton’s line, “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”.

For me, it goes back to that conversation with my grandmother. Had that conversation never taken place, I could only imagine what my life would be right now. Instead of honoring her wish to be the first male in her bloodline to serve in the American armed forces, I probably would’ve ended up choosing Georgia Tech as my college choice over Alabama, Kansas, Oregon, and my eventual choice the Ohio State because it afforded the best opportunity for my then-lady to transfer schools. I would’ve never even thought about the Air Force and there wouldn’t have been any reason for me to call her to pick me up at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International that night and she wouldn’t have gotten blindsided by a drunk driver. I wouldn’t have even thought about dating another woman, much less becoming intimately involved with one. Therefore, there’s no way I’m in Jacksonville with a woman who was all kinds of bad for me from the start. The abortion wouldn’t have happened because me and said woman would’ve never met. I wouldn’t have put so much of my future at stake that a move to Japan would be the most logical way out for me.

As much as I wonder how much my life would be different, I’m happy with my life right now and it’s really because of those same 5 events. I could honestly say that had my grandmother and I not had that conversation, I would’ve never joined the Air Force. I wouldn’t have done great things so early in my adult life. I wouldn’t have grown into this traveling aficionado I’ve seemed to have become. The death of my first love resulted in me having a slight problem with necrophobia—a fear of losing close friends and family. That resulted in me not deciding to stay abroad more than that one year I spent in Spain. I ended up in Valdosta, where I met 3 of my co-best friends. Had I not hooked up with the ex-girlfriend in Jacksonville, I probably would’ve continued a bad string of dating the wrong women for me. My experience with her changed not only how I deal with women but which women I choose to deal with. Had the abortion never happened, I probably would’ve never gained such an affection for kids. If anybody knows me, they know I love the kids and the kids love me. That unfortunate event opened up the softest of spots in my heart for kids and it’s one that’ll probably never harden. Also, that abortion brought me even closer to God and my renewed relationship with Him has made all the difference in my life since. The move to Japan changed my outlook on life and served as the scene for most of the major success in my life. Had I never moved to Japan, I’m nowhere as efficient and effective as I am today. Oh yeah, I don’t meet 2 of my co-best friends nor am I a Sequence juggernaut.

So as much as the conversation with my grandmother altered my life path, I can’t say that it negatively impacted it. Despite the fact that I suffered some major losses and many growing pains, I’m happy with who I am today. I’m happy with where I am today…well, from a whole person concept not the whole living in DC part. Life really is the sum of all your choices and for me, those choices have produced mixed results but in those mixed results, I’ve made the best of what was afforded me.

The Bucket List: Long Term Version

2010-10-26T23:54:00.002-04:00

Earlier this month, I mentioned that I would unveiling a couple of bucket lists of things I wanted to accomplish. Last week, I revealed the 25 things I wanted to accomplish in the 2011 Juan Year. With this blog entry, I’ll introduce the 75 things I want to do over the next 75 months—or 6 years, 3 months for those of you who were wondering. Here goes…

1. Bowl a game of 220 or better. In my career as a casual bowler, I’ve never had better than 141 and that was the game of my life so far.

2. Learn archery. This item will be more than just learning a new skill. It has a lot of physical benefits as well. Archery has been proven to improve upper body strength in addition to coordination and balance. It’ll also help me mentally because it requires having a free mind from distractions and an increased focus on the target.

3. Learn to say "hello, my name is Juan" in the native tongue of every European nation. I’m sure to impress a few of the locals and maybe a few expatriates in doing so.

4. Join the church choir. I’m nowhere close to being vocally inclined but it felt good being on the stage with the rest of the church choir singing before an audience. Besides, I don’t think God will penalize me for trying.

5. Enroll in a music appreciation class. I’m a fan, obviously. So why not take a class to learn more.

6. Host a radio show. I’m thinking it’ll be more of an online thing but I’m gonna try to do it. I’ll have topics and music and even a special guest or two. It’ll be part of the Just Juan brand.

7. Perform the Argentine Tango with a native Latin American woman. This would probably be a landmark moment for me. I’m thinking it’ll happen during my South American trip in 2014. If it happens earlier, I wouldn’t be disappointed.

8. Perform the Foxtrot and the Waltz on a date. It’s been said that every woman loves a guy who can dance. I’m sure I can impress somebody’s grown daughter with my skill set on the dance floor…as long as she respects the lead and follow rule.

9. Go sky diving. I’ve always wanted to do it. And considering I know a lot more about parachutes—courtesy of one of my good friends—I don’t have an uneasiness about it anymore. I’ll record it for a keepsake moment.

10. Go white water rafting. I’ve always wanted to see what the craze is all about. It’s high risk with the rocks and the drops and stuff. That’s why I’ll stick with one of the lower grades. I just want to complete a bucket list item, not die.

11. Ride in a hot air balloon. You can see a lot of nature’s wonders from up high in a hot air balloon. I just want the experience of pulling the burner and watching the heat from the fire push the balloon along.

12. Take a canopy tour. Not since the obstacle course during Warrior Week @ Basic Military Training have I experienced anything close to traversing between points on a zip line. Dude, it’ll a rush no doubt being high up and only a zip line and a harness separating me from a freefall. Talk about high risk.

13. Visit the Grand Canyon. It’s one of the best natural wonders in the world. The closest I’ve ever got to it was during my trip to Tempe for the 2004 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. A return trip to Arizona is in the cards for me and a trip to the Grand Canyon is as good as a mandatory.

14. Visit the Great Barrier Reef. No doubt about it, if I’m to be the photography extraordinaire I’ve made myself out to be, I gotta get a shot of this marvelous sight.

15. Visit Cuba. It’ll probably require me becoming a citizen of Canada to complete but that’s not a big deal…I’m actually leaning that way at the moment anyway.

16. Visit Acropolis of Athens. You don’t just pass up a chance to see one of the most universally-recognized attractions in Greece.

17. Visit The Kremlin. You know I’m going during my trip to Moscow. A fortified palace of sorts. A UNESCO World Heritage Site. Yeah, I’m there.

18. Visit Christ the Redeemer. Definitely a mandatory attraction during my trip to Rio de Janeiro for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. It’ll definitely be one of my more proud moments as a Christian.

19. Visit The Louvre. I had a blast there 7 years back but I was young in my thinking. A return is almost mandatory.

20. Visit Niagara Falls. If anything, to take a picture.

21. Attend Mardi Gras. Not that I want to indulge in what happens down there in New Orleans, I just want to get a taste of the atmosphere.

22. Attend the Toronto International Film Festival. I’m a lover of films so it’s no doubt that I’ll land myself in Toronto to attend one. Hey…why not see the hottest film on the block before 99% of the rest of the world does.

23. Take a picture on the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s a mandatory during my Pacific Coast Trip, which rides through San Francisco. If I get the picture during the proposed trip in the spring, I’ll end up knocking out a bucket list item off the 2011 Juan Year list, too.

24. Buy an apple in Pike Place Market. Pretty simple, huh?

25. Incite a peaceful protest. Everybody has a cause they’re passionate about. I’m no different.

26. Visit Disney World. Every kid should experience the thrill of going to Disney World. I didn’t get a chance to in my youth. I’ll look to go to “the happiest place on Earth”. Who knows...I might have a kid by the time it happens. That’ll make it that much better.

27. Get slimed in Universal Studios Florida. I’ve always thought it would be cool to get slimed at Nickelodeon Studios in my youth. Even though they shut that place down, I can still get slimed. That’ll be a YouTube moment.

28. Take a picture of Hong Kong from Victoria Peak. During my April trip to Hong Kong, the fog and the horrible pollution killed my chances of capturing that mandatory photo I wanted to get. I’ll make a return to Hong Kong and I’ll be damned if I leave without my picture.

29. Wave a flag at an international sporting event. A true fan waves the flag on the biggest stage.

30. Learn to play poker. I’m not that big of a card player but I have a lethal poker face, especially when my alter ego was reigning supreme in my life. Why not learn to play the game?

31. Make a stained glass window. It’ll make a cool arts and crafts project.

32. Take up gourmet cooking. I’m really embracing this cooking thing. Gourmet cooking is a lot different from the simplistic stuff I do right now but I know it’ll taste a whole lot better.

33. Take up knitting. Maybe I can knit my own scarves and hats. That’ll definitely enhance my winter swagger.

34. Read every book by Charles Dickens. That’s my favorite all-time author. I’ve read all the majors but I’ll read them again and add the lesser knowns too. Heck, I may even buy them all to add to my library.

35. Watch every movie that has won the Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Award since 1984. It’s better than watching the watered-down stuff that the theatres are showing these days.

36. Become a better public speaker by joining Toastmasters International. Something I pride myself on is my ability to write well. My ability to write well has translated into me speaking well. I want to become an even better speaker. Eventually, I want to give a oratory address that will move people. Joining Toastmasters will put me in position. After all, their motto is “Become the Speaker & Leader You Want To Be”.

37. Become a notary public. It’ll probably be the closest to public office that I’ll get…and I get a cool stamp for being one, too.

38. Make a 700 Verbal, 700 Quantitative, 5.0 Analytical Writing on the GRE. It’s hard business trying to get those marks on the individual sections alone. I’m going for the collective effort. When I make it, I’m good to go for just about any school in the world.

39. Get an acceptance letter from New York University. I don’t have any plans of attending NYU now but not everybody can say they got an official acceptance letter from the spot.

40. Take a picture with a current or former President of the United States. Hopefully, I won’t get creamed by Secret Service.

41. Meet Teedra Moses. I’ve been feeling her 2004 debut, Complex Simplicity, since the first time I heard it. I’d love to meet the woman behind the very much underrated album.

42. Meet a MVP from either of the following: Super Bowl, NBA Finals, World Series, BCS National Championship Game or Men’s Final Four. It would be extra cool to have an opportunity to converse with the guy about one of the biggest moments in his athletic career.

43. Meet all my Facebook friends. It’ll certainly make a great social networking moment…and I can prove that I’m not just some random cat that collects friends.

44. Make the front page of the newspaper. I’ve been in the newspaper plenty of times…just not on the front. Being on the front page of the newspaper—local or national—is like legendary stuff. Everybody who knows you will probably keep that paper as a keepsake and you’ll have something to tell your grandkids. Hopefully, they won’t get me in under the fold.

45. Be one of CNN's Heroes. I always said I wanted to make a difference on a global level.

46. Sponsor an international scholarship. I recently wrote that I would be sponsoring a scholarship…something small really. One day, I hope to extend that contribution to an international audience. Every child in the world, regardless of where they are, deserves a chance at a good education.

47. Get an article published in a newspaper or magazine. You think they’re ready for me?

48. Win NaNoWriMo. 1667 words a day for 30 days? That’s it? Well, go ahead and give me my award because 50000 words ain’t nothing to me.

49. Write a travel book. Frommer isn’t the only cat with stories to tell about traveling experiences.

50. Audition for a role in a movie. That’s how Rob Brown got his start in Finding Forrester. Maybe that’ll be in the cards for me. Who am I kidding? I’m a horrible actor but that won’t stop me from auditioning.

51. Audition to be an extra in a film. Everybody loves to see their name in the credits. That’s why you see a lot of people stay back at the end of movies.

52. Audition for a commercial. If Southpole is looking for somebody to rock their gear in commercials, they need to holla at the dude. I’m a loyal customer.

53. Audition for the lead part in my community theatre's next play. I may be a horrible actor but I tend to thrive when pushed into the spotlight. It’ll be cool and it’ll be a good community service contribution.

54. Drive a Lamborghini or Ferrari. I’m not flashy enough to ever own one of these joints but I hope to sure test drive one.

55. Leave a valuable contribution in my area of expertise. Before I close the curtain on my Air Force career, I’ll try to do something groundbreaking in the 3E6X1 career field. Maybe it’ll get my name in the Professional Development Guide.

56. Become a freelance writer. I’ve done it for fun all these years. Why not get paid to do it?

57. Invest in the stock market. Life is sometimes a game of risks. As is the stock market. But recently, I’ve picked up some tidbits on how to play the system to my advantage. That said, I think I’ll set up a portfolio.

58. Open a Swiss bank account. I already have an offshore account somewhere in Asia. Shhh…the IRS may be reading. It’s a lot of prestige in having a Swiss bank account. It’ll give me a reason to fly into Zürich Kloten Airport.

59. Create a trust fund for my child. I want my kid to have all the things I didn’t get a chance to have. I want my kid to live without the financial struggles I lived with early on.

60. Find the love of my life. She’s out there…someone way better than even the first love.

61. Propose in stunning fashion. I already know where I’m going to propose to the future lead lady of my life…and I don’t have a future lead lady of my life yet. Kinda weird, huh? This place is where it all started for me. I promise you she’ll cry.

62. Get married. It’s a prerequisite for a couple of other bucket list items. And I get to kiss somebody’s grown daughter in front of everybody.

63. Have a child. I want a daughter and we’ll try until I get one. Just kidding…or am I? Seriously, children are a blessing from the Lord and I would love nothing more than to have a healthy, happy child to raise towards being a productive citizen of society.

64. See a koala bear. Since those days of watching Noozles, I’ve been fascinated by koala bears. Hopefully, I’ll see one on the Oceania trip.

65. Visit the San Diego Zoo. I heard it’s the best one in the world…and it has a panda.

66. Take up tai chi. I took a free class on the beach in Hong Kong. It was fun and actually spiritually relaxing. I should do it more.

67. Go to the Olympics. Doesn’t matter if it’s the Summer Games or the Winter Games, I’m going to an Olympics in the next 6. All roads point to London in 2012 for me.

68. Attend a FIFA World Cup Final. I get my 2^nd crack at it in 2014 in Brazil. It’s the only chance I’ll have to complete this bucket list item.

69. Attend the BCS National Championship Game. A college football freak like me has to have this on their bucket list.

70. Attend a Kansas game at Phog Allen Fieldhouse. 16300 crazy fans rooting for the best team in America. Yep, I’m there. Rock Chalk Jayhawk…Go K-U.

71. Attend a Packers game at Lambeau Field. It’s like the cathedral for American gridiron football. I need to get an end zone ticket so I can take in the tradition of the players jumping in the stands.

72. Attend a match at Wimbledon. Dude, it’s like the greatest event in tennis. Hopefully, I’m there when Venus Williams and Rafael Nadal are still good.

73. Go to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I just wanna see the Charlie Brown balloon.

74. Go to a St. Patrick's Day Parade in Chicago. I just want to see the Chicago River in green form.

75. Complete this bucket list by January 25, 2017. That’s 75 months away from today.

Album Review: Gerald Levert

2010-10-25T23:53:00.003-04:00

Ahhh…it was in October of 2002. I had just picked up my right hand man from the Southside of Birmingham and we were cruising on I-20 East/I-59 North towards Huffman High. It was a little after 6AM and we were en route to meet the rest of the students in Mr. Zeigler’s Economics 12 and Honors Economics 12 classes for the trip to Atlanta. My dude was like, “Man, check out this new Gerald Levert” as he put it in my CD player, which was connected to The Deuce’s stereo system via an adapter. Man, those were the days. Anyway, back to it. I was feeling the album and all. We got to the 4^th track, “Funny”, and I knew right then and there, it was going to be a new addition to my then-growing Windows Media Player library. I ended up copping a burned copy from my dude a couple of days later and the album—The G Spot—has still gotten considerable play from me…even some 8 years later.

Released on the Elektra Records imprint in October 2002, The G Spot is one of those seductive albums that just gets you in a grooving type mood. With the model in the same pose flipped on the cover art, I’m reminded of those great vinyl covers that make up my father’s collection from the 70s and early 80s. Gerald did his thing on the vocals, of course. There were a couple of guest artists. Mystikal lent his services for a track and Roy Ayers blessed the album with his scats and ad libs…not to mention that vibraphone. Randall Bowland certainly did his thing on the guitar, keyboards, and synthesizer. He managed to get both Emma Kummrow and Igor Szwec in there on the violin. Paris Bowens II, who had extensive work on Vivian Green’s debut, A Love Story, contributed on the Fender Rhodes piano. Oops…can’t forget about Edwin Nicholas on the drums. That cat worked with them all from Teddy Pendergrass to Barry White to Joe. Bowland contributed with a lot of the production as did Niles McKinney. Shoutout to Carlos “Storm” Martinez for some of the engineering and mastering work. In fact, he Bowland, and McKinney were in the only video this album produced.

The opening track kicks off with “Too Much Room” and that screeching sound guest rapper, Mystikal, seems to make in a number of his tracks over a beat that’ll definitely have you moving and shaking on the dance floor. It’s definitely a club jam. It’s a track about a guy dancing with a woman in the club. I like how Gerald smashed the first verse: “I’m on fire/When you’re moving that thing at me/Got me burnin’/I need your body up close to me/My emotions/Got me feelin’ real freakily/Don’t be nervous/I’m gonna whoop you like it’s suppose to be”. Track 2 is “Since You Ain’t Around”. It’s a track about a guy dealing with losing his woman. I really like the ad libs that the track opens with and how Gerald just puts his feelings out there for a woman who has made an exit from his life. It’s a track I’m sure a number of men can relate to…especially myself. Up next is “Wilding Me Out”, one of my favorites on the album. It’s a track about how a woman enters a guy’s life and just shakes everything up to the point that he stalks her sometimes. He got me on the 2^nd verse: “Calling your house, hanging up/Doing all that crazy stuff/Girl, I followed you home/Just to see if you’re alone, baby/Ain’t that crazy baby/Got me calling all your so-called friends/Seeing what you did last night again/I can’t sleep, I can’t eat/You done beat me at my own game, baby/Yes you did/I guess it’s true cause I’d be your fool/If you asked me to”. I can remember actually living part of that verse as a much younger version of myself. “Funny”—is clearly my favorite track on the album. I don’t think I go a week without playing it whether it’s on my Windows Media Player or on my iPod Touch. It’s a track about a guy who’s kinda having a bad day until the phone rings and a chick from his past is on the other line. The 2^nd verse absolutely kills it for me: “Girl, tell me how is your family/I can’t believe/That you thought of me...baby yeah/Baby, my heart is beating fast/You don’t know how/Much I missed our past...hmmm yeah/Seen a friend of mine a month or so/She said you’re doing well/You’ve got it going on/Then the phone rings/And an angel sings/Hello/Hello”. The music video for the track is one of the reasons why I don’t cake on the phone anymore. Whether it’s driving, watching television, or even writing, I seemed to always be distracted and I’d hate to end up like the cat in the video did. Gerald returns to his crooning persona with “The Top of My Head”. Diehard fans will catch on to that as soon as the groovy beat and the ad libs kick in. This is a first-class midnight track and it’s wickedly effective in setting a mood…so much so that I made it ineligible from ever getting on the “Midnight Moods” playlist on my iPod Touch. On the track, Gerald says “Ain’t trying to give you no old corny lies/Just wanna do what it takes to make you mine/Baby, I’m in the mood and I wanna groove with you/One time/Two times/Three times, baby/Till I hear you say/Ooo baby/please don’t stop it now/Say ooo baby/You could turn this @$$ around/Ooo sugar/I wanna make it good/Now come here sugar/And all of this is off the top of my head”. C’mon…for real?!? You can probably sweet talk some hot fox with those words and have a career night. Track 6 is the title track, “The G Spot”. Just like the aforementioned track, it’s a midnight track but with a different style. The track pretty much tells the tell of some bedroom activity between a guy and his lady. Gerald refers to the bedroom as “the lair” and talks about rubbing shoulders, kissing necks, and rolling his tongue down some chick’s back. Ummm…yeah, he’s a freak. My 2^nd favorite track on the album is “Oh What A Night”, which features the guest vocals of Roy Ayers. It’s another midnight track. This time, it tells the story of a guy who is so overwhelmed after being dominated sexually by a woman that he doesn’t want her to go to work the next day. At least, that’s what I got out of the lyrics: “Do you have to go/Girl, I need you so/Cause baby if you leave/I’ll be incomplete/But baby if you stay/Make it your whole work day/Cause all work and no play/It won't satisfy/Me and your needs/I’ll get down on my knees/Baby please, baby please”. I like how Ayers comes through with his ad libs much like he did in Eric Benét’s “When You Think of Me”. 8^th on the track list is “Closure”. It’s a slowed down track about a guy needing to see an ex-flame one more time for closure. I really like the chorus: “Can’t get you out of my system/Out of my head/Out of my future/Out of my bed/I hear your name/ I see your face/I lose all composure/I need to see you one more time/I need closure”. I’m sure everybody has felt this way in a time of heartbreak at some point in their life. Track 9—“Raindrops”—has a little bit of sentimental value to me. It’s a track about a guy on his way to a meeting or something and as he’s leaving to go to said meeting, it starts raining and he sees this oh my God fine woman in the rain. This track actually reminds me of how I met that first love. Gerald has his moment in the rain, I had mine inside of Domino’s Pizza. The sentimental value of the track is that I always tend to think about that one particular kiss the said first love planted on me in the rain. It happened to be pouring down raining during one of our dates and I didn’t bring an umbrella. All I had was my yellow windbreaker, which I sported in the summer for some odd reason. She was sleeveless in her tank top shirt. I gave her the windbreaker, told her to stand under the tarp, and I made a dash for The Deuce. Ummm…yeah, how about she didn’t listen and ran after me. Something about me being “such a romantic”. And then, she kissed me. It was an electric moment for me…didn’t even feel the rain falling down on me. Anyway, back to the album. The 10^th track is “Your Smile”. It’s a bit of a throwback track. It kinda reminds me of a couple of tracks off of Hi-Five’s Greatest Hits. It’s basically a track about a guy who tells a woman that her smile pretty much has him under wraps. It’s the smile version of Glenn Lewis’ “Beautiful Eyes” if you ask me. One of the tracks that has really came into favor with me over the years is “Backbone”. It’s a track about a guy who’s down on himself but he has a really good woman as his backbone. I like the late 70s beat driven by the bass but it’s a particular verse that lured me in on this one: “My little boy birthday is coming/And he want that PlayStation 2/What am I gonna tell him/Gotta save cause the rent is due/The rent is due/You say you’ll get another job/But I won’t put you through that/Just hold me close tonight/Say everything will be alright/I just need to know/I need to know you got my back”. Seriously, I need a woman like that. “Catchin’ Feelings” is the next track and it’s pretty much a track about a guy developing an affection for a woman but she’s committed to her current man…even though she’s not entirely happy with him. The album closes out with “All That Matters”, a track that has a Chicago step type of feel. It’s a track about a guy that tells a woman that it’s her—and not the material things—that matters to him. It’s a cool jam to groove on the dance floor to. You’d probably be best served to kiss your girl when you’re dancing to this.

This is a really good album. It’s one that every guy should keep in his repertoire…right next to Dru Hill’s Enter The Dru just in case you have a lady over and you want to set a tone. It’s one the ladies should keep too when you’re having those days where you just need to hear a man’s crooning voice for reassurance. Definitely go pick up this joint. Actually, go pick up any Gerald Levert joint. You can’t go wrong.

Season Premiere

2010-10-24T18:49:00.001-04:00

“One to grow on” – Shemeaka Rease

I was watching Game 6 of the 2010 National League Championship Series last night and Brian Wilson’s 9^th inning save had me—and probably all of San Francisco and Philadelphia—on such an edge that I didn’t realize that the game had ended a little bit before midnight. In fact, after watching the postgame celebration and some of the college football highlights, I took a glance at the time on my computer screen and it read 12:17AM. It was birthday. I had a rather cheesy smile on my face because I had finally reached the best day of the year. But it was late so I shut it down. 8 ½ hours later, I woke up and got myself ready for church this morning. As I was getting dressed, I pumped myself up with my “pump up track”, Canton Jones’ “What You Want”.

Continuing a longstanding tradition stretching back 18 years, I didn’t go to work or school today. It wouldn’t have mattered as today is a Sunday…the first such Sunday birthday for me since 2004. I had planned on being in New York City to celebrate but good ol’ American pride threw a wrench in those plans. I ventured into Baltimore to spend the day yesterday, getting back in time to watch the last of yet another top-ranked college football team going down on the road with ESPN College GameDay on the scene…not to forget the aforementioned NLCS game. I went to church this morning and the sermon was just what I needed. The service ended with the pastor and first lady calling up anybody who was celebrating a birthday today and guess who was the only one…yep, it was I. There I was, standing in front of the entire church—one I’ve only been a member of for a month—and everybody came over to give hugs and well wishes. Good stuff. The mail doesn’t come on Sunday so I figure tomorrow and probably all next week, I’ll be getting cards, gifts, and other birthday-related goodies from my peeps all over the globe.

Anyway, let me get down to my goals and expectations for my year at 26…

BACK TO THE GRIND. Point blank, I’m going back to school. I’m going after another degree. I admit, it’s kinda like a bad habit…chasing degrees the way I have. I took a little break after getting my master’s degree a couple of years back and it helped as I was able to focus more on promotion in the military. But, with that out of the way and combined with the fact that I have more market value as a civilian in the private sector, I’m going back on my grind. It starts with the GRE. I took it 4 years ago, fresh off of receiving that bachelor’s degree and I did pretty good but I want a better score…a more top-level score. For the past couple of months, I’ve been preparing myself for my December test date. Hopefully, I can get what I want out of that. The prize should I get the score I’m seeking: admission to the University of British Columbia. I’m looking to get into one of their research programs and if I’m able to get in it, you can bet your @$$ that I’m back to my vintage self. I’ll have more on this in a forthcoming blog.

BACK TO THE ROAD. Something that I’ve noticed in my time back in America is that America really discourages travel. Case in point would be the fact that a one-way flight from Dulles to LAX 8 weeks out would’ve cost me $677. By comparison, I purchased a roundtrip ticket from Narita to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson last October for $622…on 5 days notice. Even with the best travel agent in the business, the price of flying from an American airport to another airport—whether American or internationally—is a ripoff. I’m not discouraged though. Nothing will keep me from exploring the world outside of my window and nothing will keep me from pissing off the Transportation Security Administration every chance I get. I’ll definitely be getting back to doing what I do best…traveling. December should be an active month for me. I’ll be in New York for the Jimmy V Classic…gotta see my Kansas Jayhawks in Madison Square Garden. I have to make a mid-December weekend trip down to Atlanta as I’m going to see The Nutcracker with a co-best friend at the Fox Theatre. Of course, I’ll be making the trip home to Birmingham a week later for my first Christmas at home since 2006. I may be heading out to Colorado to catch some snow in the Rockies in March in addition to attending the wedding of my co-best friend and accountant. I’ll look to swing the Pacific Coast trip in the spring or maybe early in the summer. I’ll be returning home to Tokyo in the late summer and it’s conceivable that I may tag a debut trip to Singapore or a redemption trip to Hong Kong with it. I really want to catch the Toronto International Film Festival next September so I’ll look to do the 6-city Canadian trip around that event. I hope to close out my 27^th year of life on the road so I may be cruising somewhere. Oh yeah, I almost forgot—I’m being sarcastic, by the way—about the Northeast Corridor. I’ll try to get up to Boston, Philadelphia, and all the other cities in the region before it’s all said and done. If I don’t collect at least 3 non-US passport stamps while I’m 26, I’ll consider the year a disappointment as far as my traveling goes.

BACK TO THE BOOKS: PART II. I challenged myself to read 70 books last year. I ended up reading 72 when time expired on October 23^rd. This year, I’m going back at it. Unlike last year’s 70-book challenge, I’m going for 62 this year. I am kinda preparing myself for the Graduate Record Examination, where my goal is 700 verbal, 700 quantitative, 5.0 analytical writing. That’s not an easy score to make so I figure I’ll probably lose about 8 books worth of reading while preparing for the test. Once mid-December comes around, I’ll get into my serious reading. I must throw in the lone exception to this challenge. If I get accepted into the research program I’m applying to, I’ll drop the book count down to 50. When I’m on the grind, I’m on the grind. The first book up in the queue this year will be a joint I picked up a few days ago by Dr. Myles Munroe called Waiting and Dating.

SET-UP YEAR. Last year, the goal was to acquire new wheels to complement the Midnight Blue Express and to buy my first home. Needless to say, the move to DC messed that up for me. I had plans of buying a nice condo in Portland and sprucing it up a little bit with a style that was uniquely me. I really wanted to get a new ride because I wanted to avoid putting a lot of miles—not to mention wear and tear—on the Jeep. I might still go after those goals this year at 26 and if I do, it’ll be more of an instance of me being tremendously blessed to do so than me just wanting it now. The move back to the United States has changed my perspective on acquiring both. It is pretty likely that I’ll just sit on the funds I’ve saved up for both and look to the future. It’s very possible that I’ll return to life outside of the United States once I’m done here in the nation’s capital and if that’s the case, good luck trying to get me back. I wouldn’t be against buying a house and a car in a different country. There were some great condos along Coal Harbour and False Creek in Vancouver. I really liked the retro feel to the houses and condos I saw in that getaway trip to Montreal. I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to moving back to Tokyo, even though it means a smaller space. Europe isn’t a bad choice either. It’s plenty of beautiful places out there with great markets. That said, I think I’m gonna hold off and just set up for another year.

INTRODUCING THE JUST JUAN BRAND. In back-to-back years, I kinda put the Juan Thomas Online project on the backburner. It is my hope that I can actually bring it to fruition this year. This time around, however, in addition to trying to bring forth the website, I’ll work to bring forth my own brand…the Just Juan brand. Part of that brand will include my penmanship, which I’ll look to put on full display for the world to see. My cool, calm, and collected demeanor under pressure will be a part of that brand as will my contributions to society through my giving…none bigger than the scholarship I’ll sponsor. According to what I’ve read about brands, every good brand has a unique logo. That should be relatively easy for me to put together. More on this in a later blog.

THE GOOD THING. I mentioned in yesterday’s season finale that things didn’t work out as I envisioned them in last year’s season premiere. I’ll admit that I was I was very disappointed because I truly believed God had spoken to me and that it was a sure thing. The key thing for me, however, is that I’m not discouraged. There’s a big time difference between the two. Disappointment says “God, I believed You and You didn’t do it this time” whereas discouragement says “God, I believed You and You didn’t do it and I’ll never believe You again”. Just like I did 2 years back, I’ll just pray more in this area of life. I won’t push the issue or try to force something that’s not there. I’ll get back to embracing my singleness and doing me until God invades my dreams, my thoughts, and my actions to tell me to pursue somebody’s grown daughter. It’s not like I’ve been all that bad off not being a serious relationship situation or a marriage. I actually maintained a better GPA—3.8 with no woman in the picture vs. a 3.4 when in a relationship or dating situation. I’m more free to live on the go without having to really take in account how somebody else may feel about it. I’ll just wait my time on this one and let the Lord work His magic and place whomever it is He has out there in my path on his own clock. It’ll be interesting to see what I have to write about in this area of life in 365 days.

I’m really excited for life as a 26-year-old. I’m going to enjoy it for all it’s worth because I can see 30 in my windshield fast approaching. I’m ready to tackle new challenges and cover ground that was once uncovered. This year I spend @ 26…I’m proclaiming it “The Year of Juan”. A little of that has to do with me bringing my brand online but a lot of it has to do with me just being me. A few years back, I wrote an entry in Triumphs & Tribulations VIII that read as follows: My world. My way. My time. I’m taking that approach with me at 26. We’ll see how it all unravels. I’m sure I’ll have quite the story to tell when I convene for the season finale next October.

Season Finale

2010-10-23T21:22:00.002-04:00

“This one’s special” – AnJuan Thomas

Alas, I’ve arrived at the final day of my 26^th year of life. In less than 24 hours, I’ll be bringing in my 27^th year of existence with my 26^th birthday. My year at 25 wasn’t as spectacular as my year at 24 was but it was still a good year. I learned a lot and achieved a lot at 25. Let me not waste any time with the breakdown…

First up are the goals I set forth in last year’s season premiere…

ALWAYS A STUDENT. It’s been almost 2 years since I was last in a position to where I was taking mad notes, studying relentlessly, and stat padding the ol’ GPA. Last winter, I seriously contemplated applying to either New York University or the Georgia Institute of Technology but decided against it at the time. Both schools aren’t really that much of a fit for me in the grand scheme of things. Great schools for academics but in the “whole person concept”, they don’t mesh well with me. I thought about applying to The Arts Institute of Northern Virginia to beef up my photography skills but I wasn’t all that motivated for it. Finally, while researching for an upcoming trip to Vancouver, I came across the city’s flagship university: the University of British Columbia. It’s one of the best research universities in the world and after a phone consultation with one of its enrollment advisors, it looks like I’ll be making a serious push towards going international for my next degree. Although I could qualify with my current GRE score, which is still good for another year, I’m retaking the killer test in hopes of making a supremely better mark across the board.

THE 70-BOOK CHALLENGE. This was one of my big challenges at 25…to read 70 books. After going through my years at 23 and 24 reading a combined 11 books, I decided it was time to get back to the basics. I ended up accomplishing this goal with not that much difficulty. In fact, I finished the last book 8 weeks ago and actually had enough time to finish 2 more, bringing the final total to 72 books. The best book of the bunch was Hill Harper’s The Conversation. That was some deep stuff he wrote about relationships between black men and black women. It really opened my eyes up to a lot of deficiencies I see in society today. More than that, it’s a candidate for Best Book when I write the Best of 2010 series in December.

THE RETURN HOME. I returned home to the United States full-time in May and I’ve been miserable for it since. The decision to turn down my choice of assignments to South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Germany has definitely bitten me in the @$$ since returning. No doubt that this is the same country I left 3 ½ years ago…I’m just not the same person that left 3 ½ years ago. This nation has very serious social issues that have created a resentful divide amongst its citizens. And it stretches past just racism and prejudice. It’s a demographic thing and I’m none too fond of being boxed in. Combine that with general rudeness, lack of self control, and a disregard for adequate work ethic and you got a recipe for ruin. I’m happy to be closer to family and I do have 5 of my 7 co-best friends here but if I said I wasn’t disappointed to be back, I’d be lying.

TRAVEL PLANS. The year I spent at 25 wasn’t short on road trips either. Right out of the box, I made that weekend trip to Atlanta to support a friend of mine as the students she sponsors were performing The Nightmare Before Christmas on Halloween night. 14063 miles in 72 hours ain’t no joke. You gotta have some serious mettle to do that and still function as if it didn’t happen. That got my Best Out of the Blue Moment last year. I was finally able to get to Seoul, South Korea last November and my right-hand man played an excellent host. I’ll definitely be making a return trip back there…if for no other reason than to fly into Incheon International Airport. I was also able to make it to Hong Kong shortly before I returned to the States. Let’s just say that I learned a lot from that particular trip. When I say “the company” worked me over really good in this year at 25, I mean it. I left Tokyo without a chance to go to the Sapporo Snow Festival because they decided to send me away to play war games in the middle of nowhere down at Okinawa. I also missed out on a chance to go to Singapore because of military politics. Nothing hurt my travel plans more than the move to Washington, DC. The West Coast trip had to be rescheduled because of the move. I wasn’t able to get a flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles in time to see Ohio State back in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1997. That disappointed me. The Kansas Jayhawks got picked off in the 2^nd round of the NCAA Tournament by a hot shooter named Ali and some cat with serious pork chop sideburns named Lucas O’Rear. That shelved the plans to be in Indianapolis for the Final Four. Those Alabama-Penn State tickets were a bit more pricier and hard to come than I imagined. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. The work volume here in the nation’s capital was too high for me to get away. The biggest disappointment for me is striking out all 4 times I tried to get tickets to the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final. 4 times I entered the lottery and 4 times, I came up empty. I could’ve went to any of the other games but you only get one chance to go to the first World Cup Final in Africa and I didn’t. I did get a chance to go to Philadelphia though and I’m actually in Baltimore right now bringing in my birthday. So, the Northeast Corridor part of the travel plans kinda went well but that was to be expected…after all, I live in the Northeast Corridor. I did skate away to Chicago for Independence Day Weekend and I’m still madly in love with that city and I also took a mind-clearing retreat to Montreal in June, though I won’t really count that as my debut. I’ll look to do better next year.

HIGH-PROFILE ACQUISITIONS. If you don’t think a single person’s broken word doesn’t matter, then keep living. Because I was given the word of somebody I trusted that I’d get an assignment in the American West, I had major plans of acquiring a few high-profile items. Chief amongst them were a new automobile and a condo. But the move to the nation’s capital changed everything for me. No way would I buy a new car in the National Capital Region. All things concerning automobiles are skewed to the right here. Thefts, insurance, traffic volume, and maintenance costs are all higher than the national average. And don’t get me started on the worst roads in the country. I’ll have to wait until I move again before I look at purchasing a new automobile and it’s a likely possibility that I’ll be moving to a city where I won’t be needing one as my heart is moving more towards taking my residency abroad permanently. In the same token, no way would I ever take a mortgage in the National Capital Region. It’s way too overpriced for way too little. The apartment I live in is 724 square feet and I’m paying $1425 a month in rent, no utilities included. By comparison, when I lived in the 972-square foot loft apartment in Valdosta, I paid $535 a month and that included water, sewer, trash, and electricity. The condos in the DC area are extremely small. The biggest one I’ve seen to date within the price range I was willing to go for is 700 square feet and they wanted $300K for it. The condos that fit more of my size requirement—1300 square feet and above—were in the $750K to $1 million range. No way am I paying upwards of a quarter million big ones over 20-30 years for a small space in an area of America I really don’t like. I’ll have to wait until I move again to think of taking on a mortgage but things may be different if I decide to take my show back abroad. The year @ 25 wasn’t without high-profile acquisitions though the main two fell through. I acquired a new camera in November of last year. I graduated from the days of the old point-and-shoot cameras to the sophisticated digital single-lens reflex camera with the acquisition of the Nikon D90. I had to deal with some bad business in getting it but I finally got it and not long after that, I gave away the old Sony CyberShot.

JUAN THOMAS ONLINE. Another year, another breakdown in this department. I blame myself here for lack of focus. If I would’ve found an opening for a good 2-3 weeks, I could’ve had the site up and running. But, as it stands, I was always preoccupied. So Juan Thomas Online goes another year on the “things to do” list.

PHILANTHROPY. With the increase in my finances, I sought out to be of more service with my money. And not only that, with my time and abilities. I made some really good donations at age 25. I donated to improving the efforts of things I’m interested in as well as international relief efforts. The happiness I got from blessing others with my time, money, and talents has been a moving force of change in my life. I mentioned that I might start my own philanthropy last year and after that huge donation I made to Christian school at my old church the day before I left Tokyo, it became clear to me what area I was going to focus it. I made the declaration at the outset of this Juan Year that I’d sponsor a scholarship and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

THE GOOD THING. Remember 2 years ago—in this very blog—I wrote about being in constant prayer to God that I’d meet or be reintroduced to the woman I’d one day marry? Remember the uneasiness I felt last summer at a game night in Tokyo? Remember that long walk home from Fussa Station last year? Remember in last year’s season finale, I wrote that God had pretty much answered that prayer? Remember the “sweetheart swagger” on St. Valentine’s Day earlier this year? Well, to sum all that up, it looked like I was well on the fast track to establishing something special…even hinted at it possibly being a charm. And I gave it an honest try but it just wasn’t there. That entire chemical compound thing changed once I got back on U.S. soil. I blame myself for that though. It’s very much possible that I misread God in all of my excitement at the aspect of something new. Being that I once told myself—and a few select friends—that marriage was my next logical step definitely factored into that. In discussing this with one of my co-best friends a few months back, she gave me some Scriptural context on the matter and that was an absolute blessing to me. For me, personally, I think it ties into still being part sore about the “almost could’ve been” many years ago and how things have rollercoaster like in that department ever since. Being around all those married couples in Tokyo probably didn’t help it either. Though my interactions with them showed me a glimpse into my future—in terms of how to conduct myself in marriage—it probably would’ve served me better to have not been in such close company. I would probably say the biggest thing in all of this was me going against the grain of my own words. Almost 2 years ago, in the “Good Thing” blog, I wrote that “the key for me is to find somebody who has the attributes to “complement” me, not so much just a woman who can “complete” me”. Those were my words and I didn’t follow them as closely as I should’ve. I’m human and it’s a lesson learned though. I’ll do better. That isn’t to say that the woman I thought was the one isn’t the one. She could very well be. It could just be a matter of timing or it could be that I got something going on in my world that’s blocking that from coming to fruition. Or it could be that she got things going on. It’s even conceivable that God didn’t even answer that prayer last year and that it’s still very much on the table. I’ve always been told not my time but His time. After all, He has answered a prayer later than I expected before but right on time. On another personal note, with tomorrow being my birthday, I’ll enter another year unmarried. A little under 7 years ago, I started a special savings account with $800 that I had spent the better part of a year accumulating to buy an engagement ring for the “first love”. That fell through because of catastrophe and I decided to commit that money to a marriage fund, per se. The idea for me then was to start with that $800 and contribute $500 annually every time October 24^th came around and I was still unmarried. I never imagined—not even in my wildest dreams—that I’d still have that account on my books at this point. Tomorrow is the 7^th such October 24^th since I wrote that in Triumphs & Tribulations IV and according to formula for compound interest I learned 5 years ago in Financial Management, that $800 initial principal combined with an annual addition of $500 per year for 7 years with an annual percentage yield of 0.05% equals to $4309.01. That doesn’t include the large contribution I added in September. It’s no wonder I wrote that I can actually afford to marry somebody’s grown daughter earlier this month. I could just wipe out that account and use the money elsewhere but I really don’t like to renege on my word and just like I still maintain pierced ears as a result of a lost bet on the 2004 NBA Finals, I’ll still maintain this account…even though it’s really starting to piss me off that it’s still active. I’ll try for something better at 26 in this area of life and hopefully, when I sit down at this computer screen tomorrow, I’ll know what.

So that’s all for the goals of last year. Here’s what happened this year…

RAW DEAL. I made it no secret that I felt the assignment to the National Capital Region was a raw deal for me. I still feel that way. I was given the word of a commanding officer that if I stayed back in Japan one additional year that he would assure me that I’d get an assignment in the American West, where it would be more advantageous for me going forward with my future plans. Needless to say that cat f***ed me over pretty good. So now I’m here, in the Washington, DC suburbs, and I’m not feelin’ it at all. Right now, I’m being a gentleman about it but trust and believe, it’s only a matter of time before “the company” feels my pain. A deal was broken and I don’t take too kind to people flaking out on me.

SWAN SONG. My last few months in Tokyo were amongst the best that I spent there. I got a chance to do a lot of things and meet a lot of people. At one point, it was a lot of uncertainty over whether I’d even come back to Tokyo when I left for good but that’s all out of the window. I will be back…no doubt. That’s my home. A few highlight moments from my last few months in Tokyo will last a lifetime with me. The Midtown Saturday Night event is one of them. That was a great night and it was actually the last time my entire crew from church was together as many of us ventured off into different paths just a couple of weeks later. The final men’s outing with me, my co-best friend, and 2 other friends was a big thing. It was the last time all 4 of us gathered and it was definitely a night to remember. My going away party was a special moment. It’s one that brought me to tears—and actually still brings me to tears when I think of it—because I never realized my impact on those I came into contact with in Tokyo until that moment. Most important of those fleeting moments in Tokyo was the boarding call for my flight home. Even though I flew Business Class, I was one of the last ones to board. I wanted to soak up every last moment I could of life in Tokyo.

THE BEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR. In November last year, I was able to secure a ticket to The Nutcracker at the New National Theatre, Tokyo for the Christmas Eve show. It was the culmination of what turned out to be a very active December for me. I was decked out in one of my best suits for the occasion and once I stepped into Japan's first and foremost national center for the performing arts, I felt excitement of a different kind overwhelm me. I was amongst some of the richest people in Tokyo. The facility, itself, was one of the best entertainment venues I’ve ever been in. I had a balcony seat in the 2^nd level. Unlike such a seat in an American opera hall, it was stunningly close to the action. I had a great view of the stage and the chamber orchestra—not to be confused with symphony orchestra as there were 50 musicians doing their thing—not to mention all the VIPs in the first level. The performance was spectacular. It was no doubt that when I left that place, I had a winner for my 2009 Best Night Out.

AIRMAN OF THE YEAR. Last October, the facility management program that I had come in and overhauled a year earlier got a big time boost in profile. During an operational readiness exercise, I received an e-mail from the 374^th Mission Support Group commander. It was directly to me…no middleman, no courtesy copies. According to the traffic in the e-mail, my name was thrown out there as the subject matter expert on all matters dealing with facility management. The man had a question and he wanted an answer directly from the source, not a middleman. I gave him that answer but I made sure my chain of command was in the loop. My profile increased in the eyes of my senior leadership and combined with my performance as the senior operations manager in the operational readiness inspection, contributing my unit’s excellent rating. When the 374^th Civil Engineer Squadron’s senior noncommissioned officers convened, I ended up being the choice for the 2009 374^th CES Airman of the Year. Winning in my squadron made me the clear favorite for the group, which turned out to be the case. From there, it culminated in the greatest night of my military career when I took home the Samurai Airman of the Year Award. That was a big moment for me to walk across that stage and get that 25-pound trophy. It’s sitting at home in Birmingham alongside all of those 2^nd place trophies I’ve collected lifetime.

NEW TALENT. A captivating photo taken by my co-best friend and future best man got me interested in being a better photographer. After all, I did acquire a fantastic camera in the Nikon D90. So I registered for a photography class. For 4 weeks, I learned the basics of picture-taking and my knowledge increased tremendously. I gained a bit of a natural eye for candid moments though my niche is really in stealing scenic shots. The class opened me up to a different style of picture taking—the manual mode of photography—and I haven’t looked back since. I detailed my experience in the class in this blog back in April.

FAMILY REUNION. In August, I ventured down from my residence in Southern Maryland to Birmingham for a family reunion. It was the first one I had attended in 15 years. I was quite the attraction, too. There were a lot of people excited to see me and a lot more waiting to get pictures of me in a rare appearance. It was a fantastic time I spent with my family. I got a chance to rekindle some old relationships and to forge new ones. I won an award for traveling the farthest…by a mere 7 miles over a cousin from Detroit. I can’t wait for the next one.

PROMOTION. Aside from winning Airman of the Year, the other marquee moment in my military career went down on August 20^th. That was the day the 2010 E5 Promotion List was released and my name was on it. I was finally promoted to the rank of staff sergeant. For me, it’ll be the final rank I make in the military but it’s still a good moment for me.

LESSONS LEARNED. At 25, I learned that 1^st time failures aren’t that bad after all. I won Airman of the Year after being buried at the bottom of the depth chart for the first half of my career. I got a chance to see The Nutcracker after missing out the first couple of times. I got promoted to staff after years of being snubbed the system. I got a chance to reunited with my folks after many years away. The year I spent at 25 was my most successful year financially after years of battling myself and the economy. I also learned how to just take it easy at 25. For so much of my adult life, I’ve grinded—whether it be in school or at work—and never took the time to enjoy myself. That changed big time at 25. I never turned down a moment to live on the loose end of life. And for me, it made all the difference. It took a lot of the pressure I put on myself off of me and allowed me to just go out and conduct business as usual in a much more cooler and calmer tone.

The year at 25 was pretty good but it was only for a limited time. Now I’m on the cusp of life in my 27^th year as I’m a few hours away from turning 26 years old. I have a lot of expectations in the upcoming year and I’ll cover some of them in tomorrow’s season premiere but for tonight, I’ll celebrate another great year of life as I close out 25.

Family Reunion

2010-10-22T22:36:00.002-04:00

Families are like fudge…mostly sweet with a few nuts.

Back in May, while I was spending a month at home in Birmingham before making my way to the National Capital Region, my father mentioned that his side of the family would be having a family reunion in August 2010. He suggested that I be there. Initially, I was like “no”. After all, I had skipped every family reunion since 1995, which came out to 6 total reunions missed. But then I thought about it. That Chicago trip from last year came to mind and how I didn’t recognize my aunt until she walked up to me. That changed my stance towards attending and I told my father I would drive down from DC for the reunion.

In August, I made the trip from my place of residence in the Maryland suburbs of DC all the way down to Birmingham. I probably should’ve taken the flying option because that drive was one of the most boring drives in the history of mankind. Once I got past all of the Capital Beltway foolishness, I hopped on I-66 West all the way to Frederick County, Virginia where it dead ended into I-81 South. Traveling on I-81 in Virginia is the equivalent of the death penalty. It’s the most boring stretch of driving in my 10-year career as a licensed driver. It felt like I was in Virginia forever. I tried to maintain a cruising speed of 77 MPH but a combination of trucks and steep hills made that difficult. When I saw that “Welcome to Tennessee” sign, I kinda sighed in relief. I spent 5 hours and 17 minutes on I-81 in Virginia. Combined with the 57 minutes I spent on I-66 and the 24 minutes I spent on the Virginia side of the Capital Beltway, that ended up being 6 hours and 38 minutes of travel time in Virginia alone. It was a good thing I filled up during that long ride on I-81 in Virginia because I wasn’t planning on making any stops in Tennessee. I raced through the I-81 South part of Tennessee, hopped on I-40 West and proceeded to I-75 South. Once I got into Chattanooga, I made the dash for I-24 West. As the sun was setting, I crossed over into Georgia and a couple of minutes later, I turned unto I-59 South. Once on I-59, it was a straight shot to Birmingham. I crossed into Alabama, chucked a deuce and pushed my speed to 84 MPH until I had to drop to 55 MPH because of the construction in Attalla. Once I got through that, it was back up to 80 MPH as I raced through Etowah and Saint Clair Counties. Once I saw that sign for Jefferson County, I stuck out my tongue. Once I passed the Pinnacle in Trussville, it was on. 6 minutes later, I was getting off the interstate and 4 minutes after that, I was parking in the driveway of my father’s house. My drive was complete at 10 hours, 32 minutes.

My father was hosting the first night of the reunion so when I walked into his house, everybody was like “oh my God”. One of my relatives was like “You must be AnJuan”. I nodded my head in response but the bigger thing was the look of confusion on my face. I didn’t recognize most of the people. There were about 40 people there and I honestly recognized 6. That’s 15%...not a good look at a family reunion. We socialized for a few hours, deep into the night. Everybody was asking me about my travels and my military experience and taking pictures of me and stuff. One of my aunts—whom I didn’t even know she was an aunt—took about 10 straight pictures of me. When asked why, she responded “the last time I saw him, he was 6 years old playing in Lake Michigan back in Gary…who knows when the next time I’ll see him comes around”. Dude, that made me feel old as hell. That summer vacation to Gary was back in 1991 and here it is, the Summer of 2010, and she’s just now seeing me again. It was fun times at the first night. Even though the drive down took a lot out of me—especially considering I made my lone stop in Virginia for gas—I still had a good time.

The 2^nd day was quite a treat. My uncle hosted at his palatial spot just outside of the city limits. It was a good 60 folks there…not counting all the little kids. For the 2^nd day in a row, I was quite the attraction. I found myself posing for everybody’s camera. I got a lot of “oh you’re AnJuan” and a lot of “nice to finally put a face with all the stories we’ve heard”. The percentages worked out a bit better for me on the 2^nd day. Out of the 60 adults there, I knew 34 including all the people I met the night before. A 57% clip is a whole lot better than 15% when it comes to knowing your own family. Anyway, my prize for finally coming out of hibernation and showing my face at a family reunion was being selected as the person to give the invocation. That was a big moment for me…standing in front of people whom I haven’t seen in more than half my life. Before I prayed, I gave an introduction of myself and an apology for skipping out on previous family reunions. We had a special candle lighting ceremony for my paternal grandparents, whom passed on to a better life in 1993 and 1994, respectively. During the speech on their lives, I felt kinda sad. In my youth, I was very close to my paternal grandmother. I loved it when my father took me over to her house and let me stay the night. She was fantastic peeps, man. She made French fries from potatoes and they were always the best. My late paternal grandfather was as cool as the other side of the pillow. He had like 20 cars. I remember when I was 6, 7, and 8 years old how I used to sit in his 70s model rides and act like I was driving. I was always able to bribe him into giving me 25 cents to get 5 pieces of candy from the candy lady. Thinking about my late paternal grandparents got me to thinking about those days in the early 90s. We had contests and a lot of good fellowship on the 2^nd day. I brought Sequence with me and ended up dominating my whole family. We had a lot of great food. I had about 4 burgers, 3 hot links, some macaroni and cheese, and God knows how much chicken. After taking a lot more pictures and exchanging phone numbers and stuff, we acknowledged all the new couples and babies. After that, it was awards. My father won an award for his contribution to bringing the event back to Birmingham for the first time in a lot of years. I won an award, too: family member who traveled the farthest. I was shocked. I thought it was some kind of mistake…like perhaps they calculated me coming from Tokyo and not Waldorf, Maryland because I just figured that coming from Gary, Indiana was a lot farther than coming from Waldorf, Maryland. Well, as it turned out, we had a family member come from Detroit and even in that, my trip from the National Capital Region was 7 miles longer. How about that?

Not a whole lot happened on the 3^rd and final day. We went to view the resting places of my grandparents and went to church, as it was a Sunday. We said goodbyes and exchanged hugs. Everybody made me promise that I’ll show up for the next one, which my father hinted at possibly being next year. I’m thinking more of 2012 though which means I’ll have something to add to what will be a summer on the road for me. The early indication is that the next one will be in either Chicago or Louisville. I guess we’ll see.

The absolute best thing about family reunions are the old pictures. Did they ever bring out the oldies? They had a lot of pictures of the younger version of myself…including my baby picture. They showed how I grew through the years too. Looking at it, I must say that it was pretty amazing. Here are a few of those pictures…

Album Review: Angela Johnson

2010-10-21T19:07:00.003-04:00

It was way back in October 2006…a couple of days shy of my 22^nd birthday. I was walking through the electronics section of the Target on Monument Road in Jacksonville. As I was walking by the aisle that had all the iPods and MP3 players, I heard a snippet from a track that had a really good melody. I quickly located which device was playing the track and I saw the from the artist information on the device’s screen that the name of the track was “You’re Here With Me” by Angela Johnson from her Got To Let It Go album. I listened to that 30-second snippet for a good 2-3 minutes before I proceeded to rejoin my then-girlfriend to continue with shopping. It was one of the many tracks I downloaded a few days later as I buried myself underneath all the music in my Windows Media Player as I tried to shake off the beginning of what turned out to be 4 months of breakup-to-makeup with my then-lead lady. Eventually, I ended up acquiring the entire album out of Waldenbooks in the CNN Center as I was making my exit to Tokyo almost 3 years ago. It was actually the last purchase I made on Continental U.S. soil until I returned the following year. Up until the deployment to Iraq several months into my move to Tokyo, the album got some moderate rotational play from me but quickly fell off my map. “You’re Here With Me” has been a mainstay in my iPod Touch music playlists but I haven’t really listened to it all that much. That changed when I was on the way to see my final concert at the Billboard Live Tokyo. I had just got on the Toei Ōedo Line @ Shinjuku Station en route for Roppongi Station and I was rocking out to the tunes from my “Get With Me” playlist on my iPod Touch. If memory serves correctly, and it usually does, the train had just passed the midway point between the 2 stations—Kokuritsu-Kyōgijō Station—when “You’re Here With Me” started playing. It was probably the first time I actually listened to the it since last summer as I usually skipped it. This time, however, the lyrics drew me in. They instantly took me back to that rainy night last August and the subject of my heart…the one whom was my exclusive valentine a few months back. The lyrics brought back to the forefront of my thoughts a life-changing decision—or error in judgment—I made 4 years back…something I blogged about shortly after my return to the United States. After checking out The Brand New Heavies in concert, I was listening to that track on repeat for half the ride home. Now, that track and most of the entire album is back in my rotational play.

Most mainstream R&B and soul fans have never heard of Angela Johnson. Actually, most mainstream music fans period have never heard of Angela Johnson. Her music style is different of that which resonates deep on the airwaves of today. Her sound is more of a throwback of the music that was all razzle dazzle a decade before even my time. A native of Utica, New York and a product of the SUNY education system, Johnson is actually one of the soul genre’s best assets. Her talents extend far past her voice. She has proven herself to be quite the consummate recording artist with multi-faceted skills that have garnered her a reputation as both a great vocalist and a great producer deep inside of the industry, continuing a legacy of great female musician-producers whom we haven’t seen since those pioneering days of Patricia Rushen and Angela Winbush. She’s worked with crème de la crème of soul ranging from Rahsaan Patterson and Eric Roberson to Maysa and Julie Dexter. She’s even contributed to some of Conya Doss’ stuff. Some of her most impressive production credits—to me—include her work on Seek’s Journey Into Day and the one joint she did called “No Shame” off a 2005 release, I Remember, by a deep underground soul artist named Laurneá. To date, she has 4 releases: 2003’s They Don’t Know, 2008’s A Woman’s Touch, 2010’s It’s Personal and of course, the subject of this review.

Speaking of the subject of this review, Got To Let It Go was released on the imprint of the Brooklyn-based independent Purpose Records in the Summer of 2005. The album doesn’t feature a lot of star power and name production credits but they do bolster some of the industry’s best-kept secrets. That starts with Tricia Angus on background vocals. She’ll be a household name shortly. Don’t forget where you heard the name first. Being that she has an affinity for instruments, it’s no secret that Angela herself contributed to performance credits outside of vocals as she did her thing on the keys and on the violin. Justin Wallace contributed on the bass with Matt Shulman doing his thing on the trumpet. I can’t forget Trevor Holder on the drums. I’m diggin’ that cat…heard him on a Lisala jam called “Tell Me Something Good”. She managed to secure the services of one of the best on the flute and sax in Jacques Schwarz-Bart…affectionately known as Brother Jacques for all those D’Angelo fans out there. For the most part, Angela handled the composition, engineering, and production of the album. I told you the chick is talented. She had some help though. “Super Hiro” AKA Hiroyuki Sanada did some engineering and mastering on the album. That’s good stuff right there because I saw him in Tokyo a couple of times, including the time I saw Angela at the Cotton Club.

Anyway, the album begins with “On My Way”, a track with a 70s like sound. It’s your typical track in which a woman gives a guy an ultimatum. Angela makes it clear when she says “Give me a reason to stay/Or I’ll be on my way”. Next up is “Anything”, a track about a woman sensing that something is wrong with her man. In the track, Angela says that he can depend on her every time he calls on her name. Aside from that beat that had me jamming out a little bit, I was feeling the lyrics: “Anything I will do/I’ll make it right for you/It don’t matter how or small/I’ll fight your battle too”. Third up is “I’ll Always”. Surprisingly, it’s one of my favorite tracks on the album. It’s a track about a woman breaking it off with a side deal after getting back with her man. I was really feeling the horns and the drum play…kinda had mid 80s feel to it. What makes it a favorite is the chorus, which I—and probably hundreds of thousands of other guys worldwide—can relate to. That chick said “I’ll always love you/You gave me just what I needed/But my heart just wasn’t in it/You know that I’ll always love you/Not in the same way you feel/No, I can’t go on pretending this is real”. That’s just crucial. Track 4 is the title track—“Got to Let It Go”—and it’s a really good track. I like the way that Angela lays out the lyrics over the keys. The track is about letting go the hurt for peace of mind. It’s definitely a track for those feeling kinda down. “All I Need” is a track that always get me moving. It’s a track about a guy who makes a woman feel so good that he’s literally all she needs. If the lyrics don’t get you dancing, the funky beat with the bongos and the bass from Justin Wallace will. My 2^nd favorite track on the album is “Let’s Get Together”. Featuring the guest vocals of Jeremy James, it’s a duet about a couple that have been longtime friends who have been there for each other and the opportunity to be more presents itself. Hmmm…kinda seems like my life a little bit. Jeremy James provides a perfect complement to Angela’s voice and the track has an old school R&B feel reminiscent of Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell's "You're All I Need to Get By", James Ingram & Patti Austin's "Baby Come to Me", and Donny Hathaway & Roberta Flack's "The Closer I Get to You" or more recently, Anthony David & India.Arie's "Words", especially when you consider lyrics like "I don't wanna be just friends/We can be lovers/You and I were meant to be/Let's get together". Of course, my favorite track is Lucky Track 7…”You’re Here With Me”. Aside from the assortment of instruments on the track, which include the flute, the piano, the keys, the bongos, and the drums, I love the lyrics. That first verse gets me all the time: “It’s been you/Always coming to my rescue/The one who stood beside and saw me through/You showed me love of a different kind/But it took me so long to realize/You’re the one for me/It never crossed my mind/You’re all I need/When I look into your eyes, it’s a new world I see/A place for us to run away to/Where I can feel so free/I think I’m gonna stay”. Track 8 is “Early Bird” featuring Tricia Angus. It has one of those beats that just screams out “midnight track” at you the way the horns, drums, and keyboards are blended together. This track really shows Angela’s versatility as the instrument play is almost exclusively her but it really puts Angus out there with the vocals. The girl can blow for real…you gotta check out those scats. In fact, I’d love to see her in a scat-singing contest with Ledisi. “Tell Me” has a beat that’s straight out of the late 70s and early 80s. I swear I thought I was listening to Tammi Terrell or Angela Winbush. It’s a track about a woman who finds out she’s sharing the man she loves with another woman, who happens to be his wife. Track 10 is “Where’s The Love?” and it has one of those 80s beat that reminds me of the days guys wore the high fades and women wore the tights with the jackets that had shoulder pads. It’s a track where Angela asks her guy where’s the love he promised her. In fact, she asks “Why you treatin’ me like a one-way street”. One of the more underrated tracks on the album is “Home Away From Home”. It’s a track about a woman’s love for her man. She describes her love for him as her sanity when he’s away from her for long stretches of time. That’s the kind of love I want right there…especially in the business I’m in today. The album closes out with “Whatever It Takes”. First off, the track has that straight up 80s feel to it. The way Justin Wallace does his thing on the bass and the way Brother Jacques kills it on the sax, you’d literally think you were at a dance party in 1987, with the disco ball shining over the floor and all the guys grabbing their ladies and having a good time. I can’t forget about the horns and the bongos…they really drove the track too. As far as the track, it’s a track about having confidence and doing whatever it takes to make you happy.

End to end, Got To Let It Go is a pretty good album and it really shows that Angela Johnson is as good as the more mainstream soul artists like a Jill Scott or an Erykah Badu. This is one to have in your repertoire.

Translation

2010-10-20T22:43:00.002-04:00

Feeding off the first two testers from a proposed book of love poems, here’s a third one. Though it was a birthday poem for the special lady’s 21st, it signaled to her that I was dead serious in my feelings and in our future.

How do I say that you're always on my mind?
How do I say that you're not just wasting time?
How do I say that you're all I want and need?
How do I say that my soul is what you feed?
How do I tell you about all these feelings that I feel?
About the things I think and things I dream
And how you make them seem so real
About the way you make me smile
How you fuel my burning desires
How I know you're the real thing
So...how do I say all this and more?
In French, plain and simple...
It's mon ami tu j'adore
In Spanish, still very simple...
Mi amigo mi amor
But in translation, how do I say I love you?