M.I.A.

So for the past two weeks, I've pretty much been MIA, Missing In Action, so to speak. When I last updated my blog, I was about to embark on a new adventure - the filming of a TV show that I was lucky enough to be a part of. Essentially, it was a Reality/Documentary type show that will chronicle 12 professional athletes, both active and retired from the NFL, NBA, track and snowboarding, who are learning how to become sports broadcasters.

Some of the cast...George Foster (NFL), Freddie Jones (NFL), Otis Leverette (NFL), Me:-), Gary Payton (NBA), Josh Norman (NFL)

I've always had an interest in that field of work but I've never had an opportunity to "get my feet wet' or any sort of experience. I've always been the person on the opposite end of the microphone answering the questions so it was really interesting to get to see and learn firsthand how to do exactly what it is that reporters, announcers, commentators, news anchors, radio hosts and play-by-play media persons do.
On one of the sets...

To say it was a challenge would be a huge understatement! It was the same kind of exciting energy you feel when you're up for your first jump at a meet. When the producer counts down and that stage manager points at you to start reading your evening news from the teleprompter it was a huge rush. And I loved every minute of it!!! I can assure you that the news persons and analysts on TV make everything they do look WAY easier than it is and I'm sure they will be some laughs when you watch us in that learning process:-/

We were split into 3 teams of 4. My team consisted of myself, Josh Norman (NFL), Gary Payton (NBA) and Ray Crockett (NFL).
TEAM 2!!!! Ray Crockett, Josh Norman, myself and GP

There were three other track athletes on the show - Lolo Jones, Monica Cabbler and Maurice Greene. We had to compete in different challenges every day to earn "Broadcast Bucks" and then at the end of the competition, the winners were chosen. One of the great things about this experience is that we were all able to donate our winnings to the charity of our choice and so that was really fantastic.
Lolo Jones, Maurice Greene and myself

There was a great chemistry and comraderie between everyone but boys will boys and some days were definitely more draining and drama-filled than others but I guess that is to be expected when you have a room filled with such highly competitive people. The cameras were on us all the time when we were at the set, both during actual competitions and during breaks, lunch etc so the Lord only knows what will actually air when the show debuts in June because we all had our moments:-/

There were some CHARACTERS to be sure LOL and some fun times were had but I don't want to say too much more. The ending was interesting and I hope you will all tune in and watch. It is an experience that ranks really high up there for me and I am so thankful that I was chosen to be a part of the Media and Leadership Academy's season 1. I learned a lot and I know that I have much more to learn but one thing is for sure - some of the friendships that I made will most definitely last a lifetime.

A unique opportunity hasalready come up as a result of this show and the sky truly is now the limit!!!


Team 2 had to interview John Salley for our celebrity interview

Myself and Marcellus Wiley, one of our instructors (Former NFL player and current ESPN analyst)

Down at the Staples Center doing one of the challenges

Trisha Brynes (snowboarding), Otis and me

Down at Fox Sports Network (Prime Ticket) - who knows? Maybe I'll be working here one day!!!

THE SILVER LINING

Yesterday marked exactly five weeks since I had my surgery and if all goes according to plan, I should be getting my cast removed on Monday and getting a boot, which I will have to wear for another 6 weeks:-( To say that these weeks have not been trying and frustrating, at times humbling and other times aggravating, would be a great understatement. Anyone who knows me though knows that what I may lack in other areas, I definitely make up for in being able to make the best out of any situation. Maybe it's all my years of jumping and competing but I just seem to have an innate ability to not focus on the negatives and to just maintain a healthy optimism.

That ability has certainly been put to the test in these weeks. I did manage to still keep some portions of the schedule I had planned for myself prior to my injury and just refused to allow for too many moments of self-pity. For all the trouble it's been living in a 3 story apartment, having to go up and down the stairs every day, falling 3 times (twice very badly), I started thinking yesterday about all the blessings that I've also had during this time.

For obvious reasons, you are FORCED to just slow down figuratively and literally, and take a look at your life. I've been ripping and running for the better part of 15 plus years, never slowing down, never really looking around me to truly appreciate all that I've been blessed with. I began compiling in my mind all the things that I've come to realize and appreciate over the past 5 weeks. Here are my top 10 things, in no particular order:

1) Who knew that people were SO helpful?? Being on crutches has allowed me to see the best in people - I've had more doors opened for me, my gas pumped, errands ran, bags carried. If you think everyone around you is cynical, just break a leg or tear a tendon and get on some crutches, lol and you will see the true humanity of complete strangers.

2) I've met some REALLY outstanding people recently, just because I've been able to take the time to do a few more things socially - Events or outings I would have never gone to had I been on my usual busy/hectic training and travel schedule.

3) I've been reading some really good books.

4) I've had the chance to see my parents and my brother far more often than I normally would be able to just because I've had the time to.

5) I'm pretty sure I've caught up on all my beauty rest:-). When you train as hard as we do and travel all the time, your body just is completely over-extended and often exhausted and I am definitely rested lol.

6) I've been able to communicate/stay in touch with my friends a lot more frequently. Instead of just thinking I should call or talk to someone, I've just done it!

7) I think because I've been a pretty healthy person, I've taken for granted the fact that my body functions properly, arms, legs, mind, everything - when you're incapacitated yourself, you actually tend to realize just how many other people are in your same predicament, if not worse. The other day when I wasn't feeling too good because I had fallen, I saw this guy go by on crutches as well and was about to tell myself, yep there's another one just like me....and then I looked more closely and saw that he only had one leg! Whatever I was feeling vanished in an instant because the truth is, in a matter of weeks, I will be able to walk again. Not so for this guy. So....GET OVER IT Jackie!!

8) I've actually learned how to ask for help. I'm still working on this one. I like to be independent and feel that I get things done myself. Plus I hate bothering people, but I've become aware that there are simply times in your life when you just need help. Plain and simple. There are no awards being handed out for taking 30 minutes to get my laundry basket up the stairs myself to the laundry room when I could just as easily ask my roommate for help, particularly when she's told me to ask her for help whenever I need it. (Learned that one the hard way:-/)

9) I don't have to be going at 100miles an hour to be productive. I'm involved in some relatively new work and I've realized that I can be effective right here from my bed. Just have to think outside the box a little and that in and of itself is rewarding and beneficial in the long run.

10) I HAVE GREAT FRIENDS! They have been here for me in every way - in thought, in words and in deeds. And I have really seen that now more clearly than ever.

While I wouldn't want to have to go through this experience again....I have to admit that this cloud has had the most beautiful silver lining and I can't really ask for much more than that!!

HALLOWEEN '09

I haven't blogged very much lately because I've been pretty busy. Busy trying to get my leg better, busy with my friends, and just busy with the business of life. But last night me and my girls Erica and Peggy took some time out to go to a Halloween party at my boy Marcellus Wiley's house.

At first I could not figure out what to go as, given my crutches and cast. Should I just wear a costume and just hope people could look beyond the visual of me crutching around or should I try to actually incorporate the crutches into my costume in some kind of way. I couldn't think of anything myself so I asked for suggestions on Facebook and a relatively new friend of mine, MarcAnthony, came up with the winning idea. He suggested I go as a "sexy":-/ wounded soldier. What a great idea!!!

I had a camouflage jacket and mini skirt in my closet that I would never wear together in the real world lol, I had a pair of brown Puma boots that I've had for over a year but could never quite figure out why or when to wear them, I had the perfect cap and I had this belt that I'd bought in Germany years ago but hardly ever wore either. Add an ace wrap on my forearm and a bandage to my cheek, along with my cast and crutches and Voila!!.....Wounded soldier! Thanks MarcAnthony!!

Erica went as a sexy doctor and Peggy informed us that she was a fairy princess from the land of Mermaidia.....lol, whatever works right?? We got there at around 10:30 or so and let me tell you Marcellus went 100% full throttle with the Halloween thing. His house was fully decorated, lots of food, lots of drinks, good music and then of course there were the costumes. What can I say about the costumes???? I saw a little of everything pretty much - from scary, to sexy, to scandalous:-/, to clever, to funny, to "no you did NOT"!!!!

I only had one drink of the "witches brew". I figured since I already have a penchant for falling (I've fallen 3 times since I've been on these crutches) when I'm completely sober, I better not get inebriated. My costume turned out to be a hit, I'm happy to report. Everyone kept asking me if I was really injured or not. "Are you hurt for real? Cause if not, man you sure went all out!" I think I heard that at least 50 times, no exaggeration.

We ended up having a really good time and finally left at around 2 something in the morning and the party was still going full force and the host himself was in rare form:-) My poor left leg was exhausted though from all that standing around. Thank goodness for that extra hour of sleep this morning so I could make it to church on time and give thanks to the Man above for the fact that I only have one more week and one day in the cast before I get switched to a boot. Woohoo!!!

Anyway, here are just a few pics from our night of fun! If you click on them, you can see everything a little more clearly/in detail.

Me, Erica (Dr. Chocolate Love) and Peggy


Erica and Peggy


I thought this guy's costume was pretty clever - he was a "Cereal Killer", get it? LOL...


A pic from the room where people were dancing


Me and Cedric the Entertainer

IT'S ONLY SKIN DEEP!

While I was away, I had a pretty interesting conversation with my girls Kinta and Latika, the essence of which was as follows....For the life of me, I have never understood people who brag or boast or place such a heavy emphasis on how they look, most specifically, on how pretty or handsome they are. To me, it's actually a sign of insecurity or shallowness or the fact that something else is missing.

Cause let's be real, no one who is pretty or beautiful or fine had very much of anything to do with that fact. OK, so maybe you wash your face every night and drink lots of water so your skin is nice or you wear sunblock or you know how to apply makeup really well, but when it comes down to the raw basics, I'm gonna say you were just lucky! I say if you wanna brag or boast something, or thank somebody maybe you should thank your parents for having such great genes.

Thank God too, for genetic symmetry and for Him seeing fit to bless you with it. Beauty is not like a sport where you have to work really hard day in and day out to accomplish a goal; it's not an instrument where you have to practice consistently to be proficient at it; it's not a language that you studied really hard at in order to be fluent; it's not a degree that you worked for and so therefore proudly get to put those letters either before or after your name.It's not even like your body where you can actually really workout and sculpt it to achieve the look you want. Beauty is none of those things! You can't/don't earn it. And it is fleeting.

There will come a day when this crutch, so superficial and temporary, will fade and what will be left? I say work on the inside and that beauty which lasts forever. Give me an average looking person with a heart of gold any day over a stunner with that snob, better than thou attitude.

If you hang your hat on your looks and ride that so hard to the deficit of things that really matter in your life, it's really only a matter of time before the ugliness that narcicissm inherently fosters will show itself. And that is definitely NOT a good look. Now if you happen to have both, looks and character/personality, then more power to you. Who doesn't want to look the best they can? But it just shouldn't be THE feather in your cap. Your looks should not define who you are as a person cause guess what?.....it's only skin deep!

PS. After a conversation I just had, let me clarify myself lol. I think there's nothing wrong with being confident about your appearance and putting time and effort into making sure you present yourself well. It matters for sure. I'm just saying, if you are confident or proud of your looks, there's no need to brag about it or to feel that anyone else is less than you because of it. It should speak silently for itself.


****I had a WONDERFUL trip!!!! There's really nothing better than getting to spend time with your friends and people who you love and care about. Everyone took such great care of the cripple, lol, and I am so grateful. From great food (bacon wrapped scallops, wow!!!), great conversations, some much needed QT, a great movie (you gotta see Law Abiding Citizen!!!), and just great hospitality all around and lovely homes, I couldn't have asked for more. Thanks everyone:-)****

GOSPEL SINGING + JAPANESE CHOIR= ????

So yesterday I was feeling well enough to head out to church and since my girl Joice is in town visiting and doing her best "nurse Maduaka" impersonation:-), I really wanted to take her to my church so she could see where I spend my Sunday mornings and so I could go to the House of The Lord myself and give thanks to Him for bringing me through my surgery safe and sound. It was a bit of struggle - picture wearing heels on my left leg, a super heavy/thick temporary cast/splint on my right leg, trying to keep my purse on my shoulder and not look too crazy while crutching down the aisle to my seat:-( but it was definitely worth it!

It was a great service as usual at First AME Los Angeles but we had a special treat by a 100 Voice choir from Tokyo, Japan. Who knew they got down like that in Tokyo?? They sang two songs and I THOROUGHLY enjoyed their performances, so much so that I stood up on my crutches throughout their songs just so that I could see better and fully appreciated their talent.

I just checked on Youtube and luckily someone has posted some personal video clips of them singing yesterday. It's not the best quality but I just wanted to give you an idea of what they sounded and looked like. Try to watch it all the way through so you can see them work.it.out. lol! I'm sure it will bring a smile to your face because they were fantastic. Enjoy!

BLOGGER FAMILY

I wrote a blog with this exact same title last year some time when I wrote about my friend Jewells. Initially, she was someone I only knew through commenting on one another's blogs, but last year when she was coming down to Orlando for a visit, we finally met and we have since become really good friends who chat frequently, laugh a lot and advise and counsel.

A couple weeks ago, another blog friend and family member, Kinta, messaged me on Facebook to let me know that she and her sister would be coming to LA for a few days for some fun, shopping and relaxation and that perhaps if time and schedules permitted, we should get together. It's been a pretty hectic week for me and I have a lot going on, but I definitely wanted to make the time to meet them both. Kinta has been a very supportive and consistent blog friend and has often commented on my blog, Dave's blog and Brianna's. Sometimes you can get a such a positive vibe from a person without ever even speaking to them, where you just get that feeling in your core that you are dealing with a good, sweet spirit. Such is the case with Kinta.

Anyway, last night after a VERY long day for me, I agreed to meet them both at the Xbar at the Hyatt Regency where they were staying. It was a really cool spot and we enjoyed great conversation, food and music and it felt as if we'd known each other for ages. She was how I imagined her to be....genuine and funny. She and her sister have such a great relationship and friendship and I was glad to share the time that I did with them.

We covered everything from The Housewives of ATL, to relationships, to track, to work and just had a good ol' time. I will be doing some traveling in the next few weeks coming up and one of the places I will be spending a few days is Atlanta and so we will definitely be getting together again. Once again, I just have to say how this blog has given me way more than I could have ever expected and I am grateful for that.

Here's a picture from our evening together last night.

FABULOUS FIGHT NIGHT!

So I am a huge fight fan. In fact, one of the things on my bucket list is to go to Vegas for a big fight and watch it live and in person and I am determined to make this happen. I had been looking forward to this Mayweather/Marquez fight for some time now and earlier in the week I was really trying to figure out where in the heck I was gonna watch the fight.

As luck would have it, my friend Marcellus Wiley text me on Thursday to invite me to his house for a fight party that he was having at his new home in Chatsworth. Perfect! I invited my BFF Peggy to go with me and my girl Monica, who as it turned out was already invited herself. She was also invited to another fight party but a) I didn't hear whose party she said it was when we were on the phone and b) I figured we'd go to Marcellus house first anyway.

The night started outed innocently enough. The three of us trekked over to his house and to say that we were impressed with his home would be a huge understatement!! The house was beautiful and grand and I guess that's how the ballers do it:-)...I'm guessing 8 to 10,000 sq. ft. Who knows? There were so many TVs too, lol. He told me there were over 20 TVs in the house and they weren't just put up for the fight. Anyway, we made ourselves comfortable, ate some food and had a drink. Cool. Let's sit and watch the undercards and get ready for the main event.

At some point before the main fight did get underway, Monica gets a call and her friend is telling her to come to watch the fight at the other person's house and she seriously wants to go. I look at her incredulously saying that I actually want to SEE the fight and that I don't really care where we are. I'm thinking can't we go to this other place AFTER the fight? Plus I'm not dressed to go anywhere else...I'm just wearing a T-shirt and jeans (albeit cute skinny jeans and silver wedges:-). Peggy is indifferent but I can tell Monica really wants to go so somewhat begrudginly I agree to leave....

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that her friend was at Eddie Murphy's house. Somehow Monica knows everyone it seems and she tells me that she's been there before when he had another fight party and that it was fabulous. Since I'm a slow driver:-(, I let her drive my car and we drive like bats outta hell to get there in time.

It's amazing what perspective can do. I thought Marcellus' home was so gigantic, to the point where I was saying I didn't think I could live there and then we arrived at Mr. Murphy's house!!!!!! GOOD LORD!!! I can't even guess the square footage but I can say that it looked like a resort lol. There were easily over 200 people there, TVs set up around the pool, the tennis court was tented and a huge viewing screen in there. Add waiters, food, open bars, a DJ and dance floor set up like a boxing ring and you can begin to get an idea of the scope of what I'm talking about.

The list of attendees included everyone from Magic Johnson, to Sugar Ray Leonard to Martin Lawrence to Eddie himself, John Singleton (who knew he was SO short), Arsenio and trust me the list goes on and on and on. Monica knows everyone but Peggy and I felt like we had our necks on a swivel lol. But we kept our cool and just enjoyed the ambience, the food, the fun. Why did I run into my boy Chris and his wife. He said to me "Hey, what are you doing here? I'm supposed to be your only celebrity friend". LOL!!

Anyway, as you all know the fight went as predicted. Money Mayweather won in a unanimous decision. I didn't really want to be the chick walking around taking pictures so I'm sorry I only took two. One of the three of us ladies and one when we had moved out by the pool and I could take a photo of the back of the house from where I was sitting. The whole house couldn't even fit in the lens so picture what you see times 3 or 4....SMH....

Once again, I had an awesome night, spent time with my girls, met some super cool people and had some good food and drinks. Sometimes you have the most fun when you least expect it....I had a ball!





Monica just sent me this pic so I figured I'd add it...

HE IS........

Every once in a while you meet someone and you end up going on the "ride of your life"! The TRUTH is I'm a pretty lucky girl:-)

LOVE THIS SONG!!!

MINI VACAY

I''ve had a really good weekend, if I do say so myself. Saturday was busy but my evening sure was nice. Shout out to the big O/MCO;-)

Today in LA, after going to church, my roommate Erica and I went to Palos Verdes for the day. Erica's boss Chad has a brother named Ethan Moreau who plays professional ice hockey for the Edmonton Oilers. Actually he's the team captain, "eh"?. (Joke for all the Canadians out there lol)


He and his family are spending the off-season/summer at a resort in Palos Verdes and so he invited Erica and I to come and spend the day. We went there at around 2pm and didn't leave till about 10:30pm. We had such a beautiful day. You would think that being from The Bahamas I would have spent many days laying around poolside or at the beach but today was actually the very first time in my life that I just put on a swimsuit and just laid out on a lounge chair.
I've never been a fan of just sitting in the blazing sun, never seen the point really. Just sweat to death and burn your skin? Why, lol? The weather today was PERFECT though - not too hot, not too humid - just nice and warm and pleasant and I actually enjoyed it.

Erica, myself and Ornella, Ethan's wife sat around eating and having drinks and just having good ol' girl talk. We actually didn't even go in the pool.

Later on when it was getting a little cooler, we moved nearer the fire pit and had some more good conversation with Ethan.

After a quick shower, we all headed for dinner within the resort compound. This place was fantastic, completely self-contained. This was the view from their suite.


We had a lovely meal, with some great people and I swear it almost felt to me like I was away on vacation somewhere. It didn't feel like LA at all to be honest. It's always interesting to me to talk with professional athletes from other sports just to see what their life and sport is really like. It's gonna be great to go to some Oilers/Kings games next season!


After dinner, we bid our goodbyes and drove back down the mountain....to reality:-( "Vacation" over. It sure was a fun day and I'm pretty tired but I had an awesome time, made some good friends and got a chance to see how the other half lives, even if only for one afternoon:-)

PRO BONO

I don't know exactly when it all started or how it all happened but over the past several years I have somehow become the unofficial "official" writer for many of my friends. You name it, I've written it. Speeches, long and short. Some to be delivered in front of a small audience, maybe 20 or 30 people, some in front of huge assemblies, councils or boards numbering in the hundreds. Letters - applications to graduate school, grant proposals, grant requests, cover letters and personal letters. Resumes. Welcome addresses. Press releases. All totaled, I'm sure I've done this no less than 20-25 different times for other people. And that's a safe estimate. It's not a big deal really and I'm generally happy to help my friends out. I've never asked anyone for compensation, however it seems that most often, my friends come to me with deadlines impending and a "Can I get that by tomorrow, please?"

I don't remember telling anyone though that this was my passion, my delight, that it was fulfilling for me. I also definitely don't go around telling people that I'm available to do this either. I don't even generally share that I wrote something for someone less there be any fallout because of it or less it should give someone the idea that they should ask me too, lol.

Of late however, things have been getting a little bit out of control. Requests for this letter and that resume and that cover letter just keep coming in. Are my friends telling one another that I'm the go-to "ghost" writer? But these friends are in different places, from Fayetteville, to Tallahassee to the Bahamas to California so I'm not sure what's the deal. Maybe I need to start charging people and then they won't be so quick to bombard me with every little thing, lol.

The other day a friend of mine asked me to write her two paragraphs to welcome everyone to an outdoor event.....I was like, are you sure you can't do that yourself?? I knew she could and so I actually, surprisingly said sorry, no. That I didn't have the time. After all it was Wednesday evening when I got her email and she needed it first thing Friday morning. I think it was only the second time I've said no to someone who's asked me to write something for them, but I felt slightly that she was taking a little bit of an advantage of me. I haven't heard from her since but I'm sure she got through it OK, especially because I've written a couple welcome speeches for her before! I'm figuring she could just do a little cut and paste and be just fine. Don't you think so?

Anyway, I wrote another resume today and I was happy to do it, but maybe I'm gonna have to make this a side gig or something. I'm not sure. I guess I'll just see how it goes and whether or not pro bono is still the way to go....I'm sure when all is said and done the answer is still gonna be yes.

MOVIE/WEEKEND REVIEW

This has turned out to be a pretty great weekend for me all around filled with fun and friends!

I just got back from church and it was awesome as usual. Pastor John and the Unity Choir held it down at First AME Church today!! The choir sang one of my favorite gospel songs right now Back II Eden by Donald Lawrence. LOVE IT!



Last night I went to see "The Hangover" a Las Vegas-set comedy centered around three groomsmen who lose their about-to-be-wed buddy during their drunken misadventures. They then had to retrace their steps in order to find him. Let me just say it was HILARIOUS!!! I laughed so hard at times, my head and stomach hurt, lol!! Those of you who recommended it to me, thank you. I am yet to hear a bad review so if any of you are in the need for a good laugh then do yourself a favor and go check it out. I think the funniest part might have been when the credits were going up.

Here's a classic pic from the movie when the guys were on an elevator headed out to try to find out where their boy was.


The guy on the left of this picture, "fat Jesus" lol, pretty much stole the show! If ever there was a movie that exemplified the saying "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", then this would be it!!! Again, two thumbs way up!

Shout out to my girl Kelli White who came in town for the weekend. We've been friends for a long time now, and seen each other through a lot of ups and downs. Although we keep in touch, I hadn't seen her for quite some time.



We hit up The Comedy Union (thanks Chris), had lunch at Rush in Culver City, went shoe shopping (I actually didn't but anything - yeah, surprising I know), went to The Grove, The Beverly Center, and then breakfast this morning at this cute spot in Marina Del Ray. She was college roommates with Erica and so the three of us had a great time catching up!

Shout out to my girl Grace Usphaw, fellow long jumper, but she competes for the US and is several time US champion. She's getting ready for the upcoming US Nationals in Eugene (which I'm now pretty sure I'm going to) but she was in town for a couple days so I managed to catch up with her too on Friday morning.


This is a picture of us in Beijing last year in the Olympic Village.

Shout out to my new business partners-to-be. I would have never met these guy had I not gotten injured. I swear the Lord blesses you when you least expect it and everything happens for a reason! A lot of things are falling in place and I am very excited about what the future has in store for us. Sky's the limit! I spent the morning on Saturday day down in Newport Beach with them. More on that later though.

And last but not least, shout out to D.O., for kicking the weekend off to such a great start! I'm still smiling:-)

How did I manage to fit so much into these few days??? I think I need a rest but alas, that's not gonna happen cause I'm gearing up for my LAKERS to end this series TONIGHT!!! It's not gonna be easy and I concede we may end up back here in LA but sorry, Magic we don't wanna drag out the inevitable! Might as well make it Lakers in 5 baby!!! Woohoo!!

FUN-FILLED NIGHT

Yesterday turned out to be a pretty great day all around. First of all my LAKERS won!!! Way to go!!!! Let's make this series short and sweet....I know, I know, easier said than done but a girl can wish right??

I've been toying around with the idea of wearing bangs again. It's a "luxury" I can't usually indulge in, simple as it may sound, because I'm usually training and sweating and those two things don't go well with a black woman's hair and bangs. They end up getting sweated out from day one and just sticking onto your forehead...not a good look. Now that I have some time off, albeit involuntary, and sweat isn't oozing from my pores on a daily basis, I decided to try it again. I soon found out that my bangs had grown a little too long for me to see properly

and so I had to kinda part them in the middle and sweep them to the sides. The decisions us girls have to make, lol.


Anyway, so last night, my boy Chris Spencer (who I'm sure without him I'd have NO social life) shot me a text and invited me to meet him and his good friend Boris Kodjoe at this club in Studio City. Now for those of you who don't know, Mr. Kodjoe is an actor and he's pretty darned easy on the eyes:-)
Plus since I don't know the last time I actually went to a real club that wasn't a comedy club and since I figured I'd enjoy the "view" lol, I said I'm in. I called up my girls from Great Britain, Joice's homies Tasha D. and Emma and asked them to join me.


Emma, me - wearing flat shoes:-(, and Tash

Tasha D. is the Olympic bronze medalist from Beijing in the women's 400m hurdles and Emma runs on Great Britain's 4X100m relay team. My ladies showed up and we headed out. We got to the club and not that much was happening but I'm a glass half full kinda girl so I knew we'd have fun regardless. Chris and Boris showed up shortly after us and Chris took us over to the VIP area. Trust me, that status was not reserved for us ladies lol but for Boris. We soon found out why because we had a first hand view of exactly how CRAZY, WILD and DESPERATE some chicks can be when it comes to a good looking male celebrity. All I can say is OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!! Between the one girl who sneaked into the area and started doing some dirty dirty dancing and some of the things he told us some of the women who were approaching him when he briefly ventured out into the general area were saying and trying to do, I was in shock and awe. I was appalled really! I would write what they were saying but since this is a 'G' rated blog, I'll let you let your minds run wild and I'm sure it still won't top some of the things these women and I use that word loosely, were bold enough to say. Now I'm accustomed to being around a good looking guy:-) but this was just outta control!!!

We ended up having a really good time though and laughed the night away and apparently there are a whole lotta dances u can do as long as u have one good leg, lol. Also, turns out Boris went to see the same Dr in Toronto that I saw when he injured his leg playing basketball a few years ago. At closing time, we all headed to Jerry's Deli and sat there and chopped it up for another hour or so. The conversation with the boys was REALLY spicy and interesting, lol but mum's the word:-) By the time we were done, it was about 3am and we decided that we should finally head home. I think I laughed so much, my stomach and head hurt but I had such an awesome evening, I made a new friend and I really just enjoyed myself.


OK Chris....so what are you gonna invite me to next and how are you gonna top this????

THIS ROLLER COASTER WE CALL LIFE

Where shall I begin?

So I traveled this past Thursday to Greensboro, NC to compete in my first competition of the outdoor season. It was the perfect scenario really. I love the track at NC A&T. (I'm still trying to figure out how come such an awesome track is at this school.) I love competing there and I was looking forward to seeing everyone again. They all came in on Friday morning and I definitely got to spend some QT:-)

Well, apart from one or two things, that's about where everything began unraveling. First of all, my luggage got lost. Now every professional track and field athlete knows better than to not put their competition clothes and spikes in their hand luggage but for some reason, I forgot. Never even crossed my mind to be honest. The only thing in my backpack were some flip flops, my laptop and a toiletry bag.

Suffice to say, one trip to the airport later ($30 in a cab each way), one trip to the mall to buy replacement tennis shoes, one trip to Walgreens to buy replacement undies:( and several phone calls to Northwest, my bag never showed up until Saturday night, after the meet. Of course it would.

Turns out that my teammate from The Bahamas, Chandra Sturrup was coming to the meet so I asked her to bring me some Bahamas team uniform clothing which she did, plus a pair of long jump spikes, since we wear the same size. Having gotten everything sorted out, I headed out to the track feeling pretty excited.

Warmup went well and I got on to the runway to do some run-throughs to get ready for the start of the competition. On my second run-up, I hit the foul board which was not securely in place and it moved significantly, twisting my foot into a very awkward position, throwing me into the sand. I wasn't sure what had happened. I know that my calf was hurting and that the board had thrown me way off balance. Before I knew it, the athletic trainers were at the pit helping me out of the sand and my day effectively was OVER!

I was checked out by a doctor who confirmed the trainer's suspicion that I had torn or partially torn my Achilles tendon. She put me in a temporary cast and gave me some crutches and that was that. I cried my eyes out for at least an hour and as you can imagine, I was/am DEVASTATED!!! The prognosis for this type of injury is not good at all and takes months to heal. In cases of complete tears, surgery is the only option, so I guess we'll see....

Surprisingly, it doesn't hurt at all which is kinda weird because Achilles tears are supposed to be very painful, especially if it is a complete tear so I'm not sure what is going on. I flew back to LA yesterday and with the crutches, etc that was an ordeal in and of itself and I am going to get an MRI either today or tomorrow. My two immediate major obstacles are a) I live in a 3 story apt. and my bedroom is on the ground floor and the kitchen and living room are on the second floor. That should be loads of fun, crutching it up and down the stairs every day....NOT, lol! and b)I'm not sure if I can drive. Now that would really be a problem if I can't. I'm gonna test that out today.

I will say that my friends so far have stepped all the way up and have shown me a whole lotta love and care and concern. I know I always talk about the importance of friendship on this blog and for sure right now, I'm definitely going to need them to get through this. I'm not depressed or anything (I've told myself that that is not allowed) and I'm trying my best to keep my chin up somehow. I'm sure I'm gonna have my moments and I'm not sure how much blogging I will be doing, although it might be therapeutic in some sort of way. Please keep me in your thoughts and pray to God for my heart, my mind and my recovery.

BLOGGER FAMILY

For the past 3 days, my good friend Julia has been in town visiting from South Carolina. I met Julia because of this blog. Her blogger name is Jewells and I'm sure some of you know who I'm talking about.
Initially, we just commented on one another's blogs but last year when I was down in Orlando, she happened to have to come there and so we finally met in person. She met the whole crew down there and since then we've become and remained pretty good friends.

So when she told me that she had to come out here to LA for a conference, I was happy about that and suggested to her that she stay with me, which she agreed to. She got in on Saturday and since then we've hit everything up from the PAC-10 Championship basketball game on Saturday afternoon, to Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles that night. On Sunday we went to Venice Beach, which somehow I've managed to never visit even though I've been here in LA for a few years now. I'll definitely go back. We had a great time there. Then we went to my favorite Cuban restaurant, Versailles and I killed the oxtail once again.

Yesterday, we had a low key evening but since she's a makeup artist and since I have no skills when it comes to putting on eye shadow, we decided to play around and let her work her magic on me. I really liked how it looked and I swear one of these days, I'm gonna learn how to do it. If you click on the pictures you can really get a better view of her handy work.




The funniest part of the evening came when I decided to try on a couple outfits because tonight I am attending a roast/toast for comedian/actor John Witherspoon - you know the "Bang, Bang, Bang" guy. As you can see from the pictures, I had some "problems" getting the dress that I had tried on off. Maybe I should have taken off my t-shirt and sweats, I don't know but between the one leg of tights and shoes and getting stuck with my arms over my head, we both almost died of laughter and Jules decided to take a couple pictures of me in my predicament, lol. And then to add insult to injury, after all that, neither the dress nor the tights are a go....







Anyway, she came with me to practice today and then I took her to the airport right after. It was great having her here and I thoroughly enjoyed her company. Hopefully we'll have the chance to get together again soon:)

YEAR IN REVIEW

2008 started out for me with such high hopes and expectations. It was after all going to be my fifth and final time going to the Olympics and I just knew that I was going to improve upon my best ever finish at the Games (6th in 2000). I just knew it. Everything started out great. My preparation was thorough. I worked as hard as I could. I relocated. Had the coach I wanted. The training partners I wanted. I was faster, fitter, leaner. I watched video. I revisited old workouts that worked. I eliminated things that didn't. My diet was on point. Basically, I did my best to dot all my I's and cross all my T's... or so I thought.

In the end, it wasn't enough!! I would have never dreamed in a million years that a) my jumping technique would fail me so horribly and b) that I would get so miserably sick in Beijing in the 4 days that led up to my competition start date. Let me just tell you that those two things are an awful combination. And my results there showed it.

Suffice to say I was devastated, and you would think that in light of this, I would deem 2008 a complete failure. But as I've written before, thanks to my coach last year, Brooks Johnson, I was able to put it all in perspective rather quickly, surprisingly, pick myself up and really focus on all the GREAT things that I have accomplished over the years.

And that has motivated me even more for this upcoming track season! My training has been going SO WELL! I'm almost afraid to say it. I can't wait to see Brooks very soon and show him the progress I've made. I have a renewed motivation and desire and will to silence the naysayers and prove something to myself. And only to myself. I have nothing to prove to anyone else anymore. Been there, done that!

In the end, 2008 showed me just how strong I am in character. Additionally, it was a year that was great for completely non-sport related reasons. Some friends triumphed and I basked in their glory as if they were my own. Other friends struggled, but their struggles brought us closer as we sought to console one another. I got to see my parents a lot more because of their move to Bakersfield and in light of their imminent move again back to the Bahamas in July of next year, having them so close by has been great. Urban Safari Design, my interior design company is doing pretty well. Those persons who care about me continue to show me that they do. You can't put a price on that. No medal compares to that. My blogging family showed me love. Thanks so much! Others showed me that they could care less about me and I guess it's better to know who you really matter to and focus your energies there. Still, it makes me sad though, truth be told. Nevertheless, I have lived and laughed and loved and cried and laughed some more and my good days have far outweighed my bad.

I can't wait to see what 2009 has in store for me!! God's richest blessings to everyone!