A TO Z OF WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO.....

So, I've been away from the blog for at least a couple weeks. I 've been SO busy doing a million and one things and in fact I just got back to the US at around midnight last night. I finally have a moment to breathe so I figured I'd update this little blog of mine just in case I still have any followers:-/ I thought I'd try to make it fun by going through the alphabet and saying what I've been doing.....

A....Avatar. I was probably one of the last people to see this movie and I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi movies, but it was AWESOME (once I got used to nausea I was feeling from the 3-D)!! Two thumbs waaaay up!!

B....Bahamas. I just got back from my home town of Nassau, Bahamas last night. I had to speak at this Nutrition, Fitness & Sport Psychology seminar. It was a short trip but I had such a great time.

C....Congratulations to Chris Brown (not that Chris Brown - this one's from the Bahamas) on winning the men's 400m at the World Indoor Champs in Doha, Qatar last week. Congrats to Chandra Sturrup who at 38 yrs of age ran 7.16 in the 60m and finished 6th and big ups to David (Oliver) on his bronze and PR in the 60m hurdles. (Oh yeah, and that spread in Essence, Mr. Big Timer:-)

D....Dining out. I've been doing a whole lot of this. My new favorite spot is this Brazilian restaurant Bamboo, right here in Culver City.

E....Early bird. I've been getting up a lot earlier than when I was training. Didn't know that 7-8am was such a pleasant time of day.

F....Family. Just got to see my brother and parents last night and this morning. Can't say enough how important they are to me!

G....GOD is good!! He continues to bless me in so many ways and I am eternally thankful.

H....Haircut. I've been toying with the idea of getting a significant haircut....something above the shoulders, maybe even all the way to the "Halle Berry". Just can't decide exactly what to do:-/

I....I-pod. I FINALLY got the songs on my I-pod changed last week, which I hadn't done since 2008. Yeah, I know that's lame, but I don't know how to do it so I had to wait for someone to oblige me and now I'm in heaven:-)

J....Jogging. This is something I HAVEN'T been doing. I'm still in heavy physiotherapy sessions twice a week for 2 hrs and hopefully within the next couple weeks I will be able to start to jog....can't wait!

K....Karma. Is something I believe in. I think I've been putting a lot of good vibes out there so maybe that's why everything's been coming up roses lately.

L....LOVE. It is DEFINITELY in the air:-)

M....Making Moves. I'm supposed to have a meeting later this month with the pitching coach from the Los Angeles Angels about possibly doing some work with them in the areas of nutrition and stretching. Keep your fingers crossed!

N....Nervous. I'm a little bit nervous about the reality TV show that I'm going to be on that filmed in January for athletes learning how to be Sports Broadcasters. I've forgotten most of what I said and did and I'm gonna probably be mortified when it airs in June:-/

O....Outlawed! I am officially banned from buying any more shoes till June 1st. I've been on shoe buying binge lately and it has to stop! Now! (But my shoes are BAD! Not bad meaning bad, but bad meaning good!)

P....Personal Training. I've begun doing some personal training and so far it's been going well and I'm having fun putting all these years of working out to good use.

Q....Queen. Been feeling like and been treated like one lately:-)

R....Reunited. I reunited with two high school friends when I went home to Nassau that I hadn't seen in the past 20 years. It was SO great to see them. It was just like old times!

S....Speeches. I given two recently. One on Saturday in San Diego at The Live Well Project for 100 underprivileged girls. The second in The Bahamas at that Seminar on Monday.

T....Tattoos. I've been thinking about getting one for the past couple years. Something to do with the 5 Olympics I've competed in and the 5 rings. I just can't figure out where and exactly how it should look....

U....Urban Safari Design - The interior design company that I co-own with my business partner Peggy. We just finished another commercial project, a nutrition club. Pictures to come at a later date.

V.....Velvet track suit. It's a NO-NO!!! I just met a guy wearing a brown one the other day and I could barely focus on the conversation. SMH!

W....Why Did I Get Married Too. The upcoming sequel to the first Tyler Perry movie of the same name. Can't wait to see it:-)

X....X-cited about all the possibilities that lie ahead this year for me.

Y....Yesterday I started reading this book called Diamond Ruff that's going to be made into a Feature Film. Very interesting so far. Wonder how it's going to end??

Z....Zero. The number of things I have to complain about right now! Life is good:-)


So that sums it up. What I've been up to in a nutshell. Busy as a bee, but lovin' every minute of it. Hope all is well with all of you!!

DO OR DON'T TELL??

Once again, I was listening to Michael Baisden and there was a discussion as to what you would do if your best friend was getting married and the day before the wedding you saw her maid of honor and her groom-to-be in the most compromising of positions, cheating with one another. Or vice versa if you were a guy and saw your boy's bride-to-be fooling around with his best man. What would you do?? Would you tell them or would you keep that information to yourself??

The whole discussion was prompted by the fact that a woman actually outed a maid of honor on the radio show. There were a lot of differing opinions. Some people said the caller was wrong for that. Some people said you should mind your own business. Some people said you should confront the other spouse-to-be and insist that they tell what happened.

This is a tough call to make, particularly if it happened the night before the wedding but if the shoe was on the other foot and my best friend had seen my husband-to-be getting it on with my maid of honor, I would DEFINITELY want them to tell me and so I would probably do the same. Difficult, awkward and uncomfortable as it may be, I would tell. Who'd wanna marry that sleaze bag anyway, lol? But different people respond to things differently and you never know, you might be putting your friendship at risk. However, I think it would be worse if I found out later that my best friend knew and decided to say nothing!

All I can say is, hope it's a choice I never have to make....

TELL ME WHY....

....my arms, traps, abs and left leg lol, look like I haven't stopped working out for not one day?

....a guy who you used to date several years ago, who has since become engaged and disengaged would have the nerve to be jealous and acting the fool?

....I will watch a golf tournament from start to finish if Tiger Woods is playing but won't even watch for 5 minutes if he's not?

....people who have nothing going on in their own lives do their best, to no avail, to try and mess up other peoples?

....two eyes, one nose and one mouth can looks so different on everyone? It's only 4 things people!

....the Lakers killed the Magic yesterday? Woohoo!!!!

....people walk their dogs in the little grass area in front of the apartment building and then don't pick up the doggy doo that's left behind? My rug and tennis shoes (now in the trash) are now having to pay the consequences:-(

....gas prices are slowly creeping back up?

....having a limp seems to be an open invitation for conversation lol?

....I feel compelled to have 20 pairs of brown/tan/bronze/copper shoes?

....I will totally cringe but continue watching a UFC fight?

....I have absolutely NO interest in playing video games?

....The Jonas Brothers are on Sports Center delivering the top 10 plays of the day? Why?

....I would give up a million dollars for the love of my life? Am I crazy? OK, now 10 million, I'm not so sure.....

....Eminem actually agreed to let Sasha Baren Cohen put his behind that close to his face?

....people always mix up Bahamas, Bermuda, Barbados - ok I know I come from a small country but they really are VERY different!

....BBM is so awesome! Have I mentioned that I love my blackberry before, lol? Those of us who have them know just what I'm talking about! It's just lovely:-)

.....it is possible to be so close with people who are NOTHING like you, both with men and women?

.....did I watch 3 out of 4 episodes this week of "I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!" I'm embarrassed even to admit it:-/

.....people are SO passionate about sports - catching or kicking a ball, jumping in sand, swinging a racket, running in circles - it's all pretty crazy when you think about it!

....love makes the world go 'round:-)

HEARD ON THE RADIO....

A couple days ago, I was listening to the Michael Baisden Talk Radio Show in the afternoon as I do most afternoons and he had a segment on Stupid Cheaters. I thoroughly enjoy listening to this show and usually find his commentary both enlightening and entertaining. Well this afternoon turned out to be no different as he had people calling in who had either been caught cheating themselves or were the persons who had caught someone else.

This lady called in and said that she had come home early one day after telling her husband that she wouldn't be home until 5pm. Her silly husband, thinking the coast was clear, had the indecency to bring a lady home and take her up to his bedroom that he sleeps in with his wife!

Suffice to say, she came home, caught him "mid activity" lol, so there was no denying it and this fool proceeded to pull the front of his t-shirt, that he still had on, over his head and pretend it wasn't him???!!!! She said he jumped up and ran around and left the poor other woman just lying there in the bed on her back. And if he couldn't be any dumber, she said as he was running away, she yelled out his name and he turned back around towards her in response to his name.

What an idiot, lol??!!! I could envision the whole thing in my head and I laughed SO hard as I pictured this mostly naked guy running around with his t-shirt over his head, trying to pretend he was someone else. LOL!!!!! Michael Baisden said that the difference between men and women cheaters is that men are messy and usually get caught because they slip up but women don't usually get caught until they are tired of the situation they're in and just don't care one way or the other so they just do whatever. Interesting....


*****GO LAKERS!!!!!! Last night, my Lakers won again and now the score in the series is Lakers 3, Nuggets 2. One more to go! Let's wrap this up in Denver!! Sorry Dave, I don't think you're gonna get your dream match-up of Magic/Nuggets, lol but u can go to the Lakers/Magic series and give me the play by play:-) I'm just playin' DO, just playin'........

EARTHQUAKE!!!!!

So last night at about 8:45pm, I was sitting upstairs watching TV with my roommate Erica when all of a sudden the entire room started shaking and trembling and if you live in LA, you know right away what is going on....and I thought "here we go again!!!!" EARTHQUAKE!!!! I've heard different reports about the magnitude of it - some say 4.7, some say 5.0. Either way, it wasn't any fun.

I grabbed on to the arms of the love seat I was sitting on and just prayed that the rattling would stop quickly and that nothing would fall on me. All I kept thinking, was great, if I need to run somewhere for cover or outside or something, I'm plum outta luck cause there's no running happening with this bum leg of mine:-(

Thankfully it lasted less than 10 seconds I think and I tried to regain my composure. No matter how many times you go through it, it's a little bit terrifying. The biggest one I've been in was 7.1 and TRUST ME when I say, I really thought I was gonna die or something, lol because, of course it was my very first earthquake experience! I thought a train was passing by, then I thought, ok the world is ending. I was "fresh of the boat" so to speak from The Bahamas, so I had no idea what the heck was going on and in retrospect, it was pretty funny because I just ran outside and just kept on running - I'm still not sure where I was headed, but I was gonna get there as fast as I could.

Anyway, alls well here in LA. There wasn't too much damage done apart from the windows shattering in several buildings. In the meantime, we resume our normal lives and hope and pray that THE BIG ONE, doesn't happen any time soon!


****On another note, my LAKERS handled their business last night!!!!!!Woohoo!!!!! Next up, the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals. Now, don't get me wrong, I know that Denver is a formidable opponent, but I think we're up for the challenge. Sorry D.O......the Nuggets are going DOWN, lol!!!!

My name is NOT Stella, LOL!

I don't know what to make of it but if I get one more 18-24 year old boy/man approach me and try to chat lyrics to me, I'm just gonna have to get a T-shirt made that reads in big bold letters "MY NAME IS NOT STELLA", lol!!! See...that's not me in this picture:)



I guess it's a compliment of sorts because apparently they think I'm a lot closer to their age than I am but it really and truly cracks me up because it seems that the older I get, the younger my would-be suitors are. The thing is I NEVER lie about my age and I always assume that once I break it down for one of these college kids/ recent graduates/ young men that their eyes will open up really wide, deer-in-the-headlights like, that they'll do a 180 and run for the hills, but time after time after time, that is not the case, lol. What's up with that?

So then my next response is either a) I'm not available and/or b) I could probably be your mother or at the very least your auntie. These responses don't seem to work either. They usual comeback is "I'd love for you to be my mama" or "I don't see no rings on your finger". Perhaps it's the environment I'm in, competing in track where there are lots of 20 somethings but this situation seems to occur even when I'm not at or around a track. I'd have to say within the past 2 weeks alone, no less than four 24 year old and unders have come at me and I've politely said thanks, but no thanks...

Now, clearly for those of you who know me, you know that I certainly have NO issue when it comes to dating younger guys;-), but c'mon - 18? 20? - give me a break. My name is NOT Stella and I am not trying to get my groove back!!

KINDA COOL.....

A friend of mine used this picture of me that I took when I was just fooling around and then sent it back looking like this. Kinda cool I think...

TOP 12 REASONS I LOVE MY BLACKBERRY

12. Voice Notes. I like the fact that you can record and send voice messages back and forth on blackberry messenger. I don't use it enough though!

11. The memo pad. I like having the option to jot down notes and numbers and other information whenever I need to.

10. The calculator. I do the bills where I live and so I'm always adding, multiplying, dividing something between the three of us...

9. I use the alarm whenever I have to wake up early.

8. I like the fact that I don't have to scroll down the entire page to get to the top or bottom of any screen - I can just press T or B and presto!

7. I love how clear the images are on here. A picture on here is as clear as a picture I take with my digital camera. (I will have to say tho that it sucks that the Sprint World Blackberry, the 8830, which I have does not have a camera on it!) But when my friends send me pictures or I look up an image online, it's REALLY clear.

6. Being able to mapquest whenever I need to.

5. The game BrickBreaker. I used to be addicted to this game. I had to go cold turkey lol, in order to break the habit but I'm sure once I get back on the road traveling to meets again this summer, I'm gonna need BrickBreakers Anonymous, lol!

4. I can be in Glasgow, Beijing, Orlando, Australia or Timbuktu for that matter and still have service.

3. Being able to google something at the drop of dime

2. Getting my email when I'm on the go

1. BBM!! (Blackberry Messenger) - Where would I be without it? I get to talk to my favorite people all the time:)



****Big thanks to Dave and Joice who were instrumental in convincing me that I needed to get one. I was really reluctant at first - thank God I finally heeded their advice!****

HAVE YOU EVER.....?

...sung a solo in church , The Lord's Prayer to be exact, not all that long ago and almost passed out from nerves, lol?

...laughed so hard you peed your pants?

...had a bird crap on your head?

...had a complete stranger walk up to you in an airport, bend over and whisper in your ear, "I would lick you from head to toe!!!!" (-Insert stunned look of shock and awe!!)

...loved or missed someone so much that you cried?

...tripped on your own pant leg while crossing the street in Hollywood and fallen flat on your chest, dropping both the ice tea in your left hand and your purse in your right?

...driven a total of 24 hours from Austin,TX to San Jose, CA in one trip by yourself?

...bowled 264 in a game before? Don't hate the bowler, hate her game, lol!

...had your heart broken so badly you thought you'd never recover?

...installed your own ceiling fan?

...fallen asleep on a stranger's shoulder on a plane?

...chopped all your hair off - from past shoulder length to a couple of inches?

...sat in the 14th row at a Prince concert and swear on your life that he was singing directly to you?

...for that matter, have you ever not realized until you went to that Prince concert that you were so attracted to 5ft 3in men, who wear high heel boots, have hairy chests and have a better perm than you do?

...dated MacGyver, Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan...in your dreams?

...given someone your phone number and then 5 seconds later ask yourself, "Now why did I just do that?"

...competed as an equestrian?

...been stuck on an elevator for 2 hours with 7 Kenyans who just finished competing? All I can say is Lord have mercy!

Whose wacky life could this possibly be, lol?? Well, that would be me! I have done all of the above and it's certainly made for some interesting, funny and crazy times! Those of you who know me will probably laugh at some of the things that would only happen to Jackie!

TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS

Well the new year is still young and already I've hit the ground running. It's been a hectic couple of days. I was up in Oakland, CA yesterday at a recording studio, no not singing, LOL, but I was doing some editing and voiceovers for this motivational speech that I gave/recorded a couple years ago. A few things have changed in my life since then and so some changes had to be made. The CD will be sold at this business convention to be held later this month in Vegas for a health drink company that my brother is the doctor/medical consultant for. They sold really well last time round and it's "new and improved" and it's a completely different audience, so we're hoping that they'll do even better this year.

Additionally, a couple months ago when I gave a speech at the Stanford Olympians event that was held up there, Ted Robinson, the host that day and host of many sporting events on TV, thought that I did a pretty good job and suggested that I get in contact with his agent in New York who works with television commentators as well individuals who give speeches, whether they be motivational in nature or otherwise. So I've been in communication with that guy and am looking forward to what the possibilities might be in that regard this year.

I don't usually make New Years resolutions but this year I made two. I fulfilled one of them today, that being to get to church on time. I don't know what it is with me and church but for some reason, I can't ever seem to get there before 10:05 or 10:10am so I promised myself to do a better job of this this year because I have no good reason for being so consistently tardy. Today I was in my seat at 9:59am....still pushing it, lol, but I'm gonna do better. I have to. I want to.

The other one, well I'll just keep that one to myself. No need to put all my business out there:)

Aside from that, I'm gonna be taking a trip and so I'll be gone for about a week and I'm not sure whether I'll be updating the blog while I'm gone but if I get a chance, I'll be sure to fill you in. Otherwise, I'll give you the rundown when I get back. Hope you all have been enjoying your New Year so far...

PS. - Sorry about the Dolphins DO:(

DRIVING WHILE "DISORIENTED"

No, I'm not referring to what probably first comes to your mind when I say driving while disoriented. I'm not talking about being intoxicated or anything of that nature.

Last week when I was at home, the athletes were given rental cars during our stay to get around. For the first several days, I refused to drive. Why, you might ask? Well the reason is pretty simple. In The Bahamas, we drive on the left hand side of the road and as a result of living in the US for quite some time now, this switching sides of the road can be an instant mind bender, to say the least!

Your brain is fighting you all the way, especially when it comes to making turns. Do I make a hard right? Do I a make a wide left? Then just to add insult to injury, most of the cars are also right hand drives, so the steering wheel is on the other side of the car. And then just to make sure you really get confused, the turn signal is on the right of the steering wheel and your windshield wipers are on your left hand side. Confused yet??? I can't tell you how many times I turned on the wipers when I was trying to make a turn!!

Trust me, every time I go home, I have to take a few days to get in sync with everything before I get on the road like a maniac and kill innocent bystanders, lol. This time was no different. You have completely different cues when you sit on the right. You have to judge the far left hood of your car in relation to the walls, people, the sidewalk, etc and some of our roads are extremely narrow. And why don't we have left on red? I'm still not sure I understand.

One last thing, unless you're from there, you'd never know this unwritten rule. Once the clock strikes midnight, you can pretty much ignore all the traffic lights. You're pretty much free to stop and go as you please!

Oh well, I managed to make it out unscathed although when I got back here to LA, I realized that my mind had already switched and I had to adjust all over again.

PS. OK mr. pitbull, maybe this little chihuahua, isn't the best driver in the world....I'll finally give you that:) But I bet you'd have trouble too...

DON'T JUDGE A BOOK.....

You know that saying "Don't Judge a Book By It's Cover", right? Well yesterday I had an experience that showed me just how true this can be. A good friend of mine, who I'll call Simeon (not his real name), called me up yesterday and asked me to come hang out with him for a couple hours. I had already come home from church and really had nothing planned so I said OK.

He told me were going to see a friend of his who owned a deli and that the guy was doing some refurbishing. So we drove over there and I met the guy who turned out to be in his late 30's I would say. He was clearly an intelligent man, black guy, fit looking, he had his 11yr old son with him and they had arrived in a pick up truck, albeit a nice one.

He had a French accent which was cool because I speak French and so we did a brief exchange in the language. Then he spoke to some of the workers who were inside the deli and switched smoothly over to Spanish and then back to English. Turns out he speaks five languages.

Anyway, so Simeon has known this guy for like 6yrs because the guy also owns a Mail Boxes etc. type business as well and Simeon rents a mailbox from him. So as he puts it, he only knew him and referred to him as the "stamp man", lol.

At some point, we ended up getting in the car to go to see this guy's "political advisor" over in Beverly Hills. I'm thinking, this guy is a blue collar guy, who owns a deli and mailbox place, what kind of advice could he possibly need and so I ask, "Why would you need a political advisor?"

He answers, "Because I'm running for the presidency of ...." Turns out this guy is about to run for and most likely will become President of a pretty well known country! I'm not saying the country name or anything because I'm not trying to put his business all out there. Not only that, he owns like 5 delis and 6 mail box stores and is a multi multi millionaire, lol!!!

I would've never guessed because even though he was clearly confident, he was quietly so...no swagger and self promotion there. So much so, that Simeon kept saying "Man why didn't you tell me all these years that you're not just the stamp guy?" to which he just replied, "there was no need to".

So the next time, you see some guy in blue jeans, with dirty hands painting the walls of some local deli down the street, be careful how you judge him. He just might be a nation's President or a King or a CEO or something. Remember the movie Coming to America, lol?? It reminded me of that!

SOMEBODY HAS TO SAY IT.....so I might as well

Why is it that they continue to add more and more Awards shows when the ones they already have aren't that good. The Emmy's were pretty bad the other night...

For all the McCain/Palin supporters out there, (even though being non-American, I have no vote) do you REALLY think Palin could run this country in the event that she was called upon to do so??? Just the thought makes me nervous...

As big of a reality TV fan as I am, there really are too many on air right now. It's getting out of control if you ask me. Paris Hilton's New Best Friend, really???? And some of these new Game Shows, please??

Why is it that the no one likes or cares about my sport of track and field outside of every four years at the Olympics. It's still us, the same people, doing what we do year in and year out. Please show us a little love on the odd years too...

Why can't men and women think just alike? I swear it would make life a whole lot easier, lol!

If you haven't tried the Mango Strawberry Fruitista drink from Taco Bell, you are seriously missing out...

Why is Roger Clemens so surprised and distraught that they didn't invite him to the celebrations at Yankee stadium the other night? Really though, he was sitting waiting for an invite?...you've gotta be kidding!

Why is OJ such an idiot?

Between the Scion and the El Camino from back in the day, let's just say I'd rather walk thank you very much...

For the first time in my life, I've been trying to PUT ON weight, yes that's right put on about 5 or 7 pounds that I lost while I was sick in Beijing and nothing's happening!!! I'm eating ice cream, pizza, whatever and nada! All of my life, I've had to watch what I eat cause I had TOO much JITT (junk in the....) and now there's no junk to be found for miles, LOL!!!! Somebody please tell me the formula to get it back...

You know it's a sad day when I'm overjoyed that gas is UNDER $4.00/gallon. There was a time when I trained in Austin, TX around 1999/2000 when I paid 89 cents a gallon. I would've never dreamed in a million years....

How come millions of dollars are being spent every day and yet there are no new cures being found for old diseases or illnesses? When's the last time you heard someone say, we've finally found the cure for X,Y,Z!!! Cancer, AIDS, spinal injury, alzheimers, blindness....just one, please?? Can we just cure one?

I swear if Bill Clinton was to run for President again, he'd probably win!

Why am I attracted to L'il Wayne? There's really no good justification. I know, I should really keep it to myself, lol. He's probably 4ft 8 and 130lbs...

Is it me, or do some people singing karaoke get a little identity crisis every once in a while mid song and think that they REALLY are Mariah, Celine, Aretha...

And last but not least, now that Clay Aiken has OFFICIALLY come out as being gay, who amongst us didn't actually know this already? Is this really news to anyone?

EYE CANDY

A few days before I left for Beijing, another one of my readers, Marcus, sent me an e-mail offering me one of his t-shirts. I was more than honored by his offer and he sent me one. I've looked at his website enterprise before and really like the t-shirts he has there for sale at MLDtees.

Unfortunately, it didn't arrive in time for my departure, but nonetheless, once I got back it was here. It's a picture of an eye with the word candy written next to it - you know, eye candy, get it? I think it's pretty cute. So if you like it, check him out over there. He has lots of different colors and styles and slogans for men and women. I wore mine the other day when I went to visit my parents.



On another note, I don't seem to be able to do anything but sleep! Something is definitely wrong with me. I would have thought that by now, that the jet lag would have worn off but I guess that 16hr time difference is no joke. I fell asleep the other day when I was up in Bakersfield and my brother took my camera and snapped a couple pictures of me. I decided to show you cause I wanted you to see how I'm spending my days (excuse the nostril shots:) I'm pretty much a professional right now at it. I can fall asleep at the drop of a dime, just ask my roommate Erica. I wonder if they pay people for this talent.....cause I would make a killing, lol!!!

GO LAKERS!!!

In spite of what can only be described as one of the worst meltdowns in NBA playoffs history, I'm still cheering for The Lakers. I've been a Laker fan for over 15 years. From the days growing up in The Bahamas when we only had one TV channel and on that channel we had no choice but to watch Laker games because that's what they showed!!

The reason for that was because Mychal Thompson, a Bahamian, played for the Lakers back then and then years later, another Bahamian, Rick Fox also played for them and so pretty much every Bahamian you meet will inherently be a Laker fan. Plus who didn't love Magic and Kareem and Worthy?


Suffice to say, the game tonight wore me out. First I was overly excited because the lead was so large. I mean who could ever expect that a 24 point lead is not going to be enough. We have Kobe, Vujacic, Odom, Fisher. Isn't 24 enough??? So then once the lead started to dwindle, I think I wore myself out running up and down this apartment. I basically did a 2nd workout. So now I'm tired and drained and really need to go to sleep. I need to rest up 'cause now we have a whole lot of work to do come Sunday. It's going to be an uphill battle but I'm keeping the faith!!

I know a lot of people don't like them but I'm sorry I'm a Laker for life. GO LAKERS!!!

When the boys are away....

So this weekend, most of the guys in the group are on the road, traveling somewhere around the world. David and Joel are in Berlin, Aub was in Belgrade and now he is in Zaragoza, Spain and so a couple of the ladies in my training group, Anne and Moushami and myself thought it would be a good time to have a night on the town. I haven't been to a club in quite a while and in spite of some forewarning about what to expect, I decided that it was about time.

First I couldn't decide what top to wear. I had on a grey blouse at first, but so many times when I wear this type of top, the questions about do you run track and why my arms look the way they do are more than I care to answer so at the last minute I decided to change.

I know my arms are still out in this top too but somehow it looks different and maybe because it has bright colors, your eyes tend to be drawn to that instead. Anyway, Moushami came over and we left from here. I wasn't sure what to expect.

We ended up having a pretty good time. The music was pretty good and I hadn't danced in a while so that alone made the night fun. It's always interesting for me to go out and people watch. The outfits, the interactions, the moves that guys try to make and what alcohol does to some people is all the entertainment I need.

We stayed for quite a while and to be honest I don't know what time we made it home but suffice to say, it was all I could to fall into my bed and surprise, surprise I woke up with a headache this morning. I've spent the entire day on the couch watching TV. There were two different track meets airing today, one from New York from last night where the men's 100m world record was set by Usain Bolt of Jamaica in 9.72 seconds!! The other was the meet in Berlin where Dave ended up winning the hurdles, again. He sure is having an outstanding season thus far. Congrats to them both!

Anyway, that's it for my weekend. Training resumes tomorrow and life goes back to normal but it sure was fun to get out and "let my hair down" for a change!

IF YOU REALLY KNEW ME....

If you really knew me, you would know....

....that I am afraid of any kind of bug or reptile

....that I took 8 years of piano and play pretty well

.....that I speak French

.....that I cried the last time I went on one of those freefall rides at Great America (tears actually fell, yes lame I know)

....that my favorite type of movies are Romantic Comedies

....that I often will go to the bookstore to read magazines instead of buying them

....that my father has a name that I have never heard before....Nymphas - and his middle name is Raguel. He is neither Greek nor Spanish - go figure, LOL!!. And to think he wanted my mother to name my brother after him. Thank goodness she said no!!

....that the older I get, the less I like to fly. Yes, I'm the girl grabbing the armrests when there is any sign of turbulence.

....that I was once contacted by ABC to be The Bachelorette - the one woman picking from 25 men. I politely declined.

....that I was contacted two weeks ago by NBC to be an American Gladiator. Also declined. There is a sporting event coming up in a few months that might be slightly more important:) But you never know about next year, especially after I was told about the huge 6 figure salary that they pay!!

....that I have a high game in bowling of 264

....that Im afraid to be upside down

....that I can sew - pretty much anything - pants, button-up shirt, skirt, curtains, dresses

....that I've only ever had 2 speeding tickets and the first one was for going 38mph in a 30mph zone -oh you know I was hot!!!

....that I sang The Lord's Prayer as a solo once at my dad's church about 5 years ago. Can you say nervous????

....that I can bench press about 200 lbs.

....that I don't have any tattoos

....that I like a guy with a fresh haircut and that I like a guy with nice teeth and I LOVE a guy who smells good....ahhh, excuse me while I daydream for a moment...

where was I??? oh yeah...

....that I've been a bridesmaid 4 times

....that I look horrible in anything strapless

....that I have a house in Austin, TX

....that I graduated high school at 16 and scored 1250 on my SAT

.....that I am a closet dancer - I know how to do most of all the latest dances but I wouldn't dare do them in public:(

....that I was the National Spelling Bee champion

....that I can do the splits, only with my right leg in front though

....that I am the "official white man magnet"!! They will find me through a crowd, LOL! And yes, I've been an equal opportunity employer:)

....that I sleep without a pillow

....that when I'm upset or tired or around other Caribbean people, my accent tends to be really strong

....that I've travelled to more than 50 countries

....and oh yeah - I ran that relay this past weekend and surprise, surprise, it actually was pretty painless!! I didn't fall or make a fool of myself but that whole starting from the blocks thing, yeah that needs a bit of work!

What are 2 things about you that people might not know???

THRILLER

Since this is the 25th Anniversary of Michael Jackson's Thriller, I thought it would be appropriate to post this video. I think it is one of the MOST HILARIOUS videos I have ever seen. Even if you have seen it already, I think it's worth watching again. For some reason, these inmates at The Cebu Detention Center in Cebu, Phillipines were made to perform the entire dance routine part of the Thriller video! All 1500+ of them in their orange inmate attire. They even dressed one of the inmates up as a girl for the female role - he doesn't make a very pretty girl, unfortunately. Anyway, they do a pretty good job but the thought of them having to practice the routine over and over to perfection is enough to make me laugh out loud for real!! Watch and enjoy!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hMnk7lh9M3o

LAUGH OUT LOUD!!!

So one of my all time favourite things to do is to go to comedy clubs. I had never been to one before I moved to LA and I had never thought that they would be all that entertaining anyway. I always figured, how funny can they be? That was until I went to my first show a couple years ago.

One day when I was at the track working out, I met a guy named Chris Spencer who as it turned out was the host at the very well known Laugh Factory on Sunset Blvd. He hosted a weekly show on Sunday nights called Chocolate Sundaes. He invited me to come to see one of the shows and eventually I finally went. Who knew?? I laughed my head off. I remember laughing so hard till my stomach and my head hurt. It hurt so good!! Since then I have been back many times and I have gone to several other clubs around Los Angeles. I think I like the atmosphere at a comedy club. It's different from a night club in that you don't have to deal with all game playing but you can still mingle a little, have a drink if you want and know that you're gonna have a pretty good time.

My friend Chris has sinced moved on from hosting at The Laugh Factory and now hosts at a place called The Savoy in Inglewood on Tuesday nights. He has invited me to stop by for quite some time now but because it's on a week day, it's kinda hard to go to a 9pm show, knowing that I have to workout the following morning.

Well tonight I finally decided to go...and boy did I have a great time. I had been a little apprehensive at first because I am not too familiar with Inglewood. I only know of it from rap songs but once I got there, I realised that I didn't have anything to worry about. The place was packed and I couldn't find a good table so I just hung out a little till I saw Chris and he got me a reserved table that was still available.

The show was fantastic. I'm not sure how many comics came up but everyone was really good.. The lineup included Joe Torry and Sheryl Underwood (the lady with the purse), but I would have to say that this guy that I had never seen before named Tony Roberts was the best of the bunch. I mean this guy had us all laughing sooo hard that my stomach literally ached and at times I could barely catch my breath. I would definitely go to see a show with just him by himself. He was that good!!!

Turns out it was the actress Regina King's birthday and so she was there with a few friends including Vanessa Bell Calloway and Theo Huxtable - what's his name?? - Malcolm Jamaal Warner. He cut those dreads off so he looked a lot better. I ran into a friend of mine there too. I saw him walking up to the table but I wasn't really paying attention. It wasn't until he got closer that I realised that it was him, Kenny Lofton. I met him a couple years ago actually at The Laugh Factory. He is as much a fan of comedy as I am. He ended up sitting with me. It was great to see him and to catch up and I look forward to seeing him again pretty soon.

I just got in so I better get to bed soon 'cause I have a jump session tomorrow that I need to "lick for six" (that's Jamaican for go well, ace, kill!) Training has been going pretty well and with my first competition coming up at the end of next week in Glasgow, Scotland, I need to have my A-game ready. In the meantime, I'm going to bed with a smile on my face because I had such a good time tonight. Laughter is good for the soul, they say and I would add that it's good for the heart and mind as well.