Minute to Win it!!!

For Valentine's Day I went Speed Dating!!! Here is how it all went down (play by play style):

4:45 -I'm completely dressed and my friend shows up in sweats after I said we needed to by on the metro by 5:15. I pretty much knew that was not going to happen

5:20 - We leave the house and suddenly are reminded that the beltway on Friday at 5pm is a parking lot. Our chances of ever being remotely on time are shot. And I am one of the few people who doesn't like to be late.

6:45 -We meet one more friend at the metro. The event starts at 7 and this friend is ALSO not dressed and her hair is not done. At this point I figure we are NEVER going to make it. And I need new friends who actually respect the clock.

7:15 - We show up to the event pretty sure that they are going to turn us away because we are so late. However, the event didn't even start! I should have known the moment that I stepped onto an HBCU things were going to be different. I had to throw away my experience at 2 white schools and "go with the flow"

8:00 - Let the dating begin!!!!!! I sit down in front of someone who's last name clearly started with a vowel and ended with a vowel, who kept trying to give me high-5s, I thought to myself "I could get up and run now and NOBODY would care. After that minute and 30secs of sheer awkwardness I made my rounds on 13 other dates.

3 dental students - one of which smelled like he did veterinary dentistry. I tried to figure out how you could go some place without showering. I mean this bamma still had scrubs on. JUST WRONG!!!!

3 more FOTB dudes who's last names begin and end with vowels. I couldn't even understand them. However one dude was hilarious. I sat down and said "Hola" he said "oh where are you from?" "NY" "No originally" "NY" "But you said your name was Ola" "No I said Hello" Ding time is up!!

Last dude of the evening takes the cake!!! I sit down and this bamma says "Are you Caribbean?" "no, why?" "Because you look Caribbean" "Why would you say that" (you should know now that though I have nothing against people from any island in the Caribbean I HATE when people assume I am from there!! Proud to be an American Negro!) "Because you have a SWEET GAP" "I'm sorry a what?!?!?"

YES A SWEET GAP!!!

Needless to say I walked away laughing!!!! I'm glad I went. I would do it again!

My life in 88 keys

So maybe you didn't know this about me but I have been playing the piano for 24 years. Yes 24 years.

(I wish I could play by ear but I am not cool enough for that but I can read music so that makes me slightly amazing right?!?)

Anyway a few weeks ago, when I realized that my life is crazy, I began thinking about how much God sustains me. Then I started thinking about what it means to be sustained. I admit that I didn't look in the dictionary or anything but I did look at a piano.

I can admit that I rarely used the pedal in the middle. It makes sense because it's an american pedal and I play music written by Europeans. But the pedal on the left and the pedal on the right define my life.

The pedal to the left, the soft pedal, pretty much acts like a mute. I love it's function and I love how it works. It shifts the hammers to the right so that they are not hitting the strings dead on and it makes the sound softer. Sometimes I feel like God is my soft pedal. He just shifts everything that I am going through over so that I am not feeling the direct blows of everything. I continue to press on.

But ahhh, the pedal on the right. The sustaining pedal. This pedal raises all the dampers off the strings so that they can continue to vibrate and sound after a note on the keyboard has been released.It allows certain notes to be connected together.

Right now I feel like God has hit the sustaining pedal on my life. Even though I feel like there is too much going on and I can't take it. He is allowing it to continue because it makes for an every sweeter harmony. He is holding it all together. He is essentially building the perfectly layered chord in my life.

God, work, ministry, education, love, social life, money, family.

At times I wish this were more like a scale with each note being played at a different time but this is more like a chord that can only be played using the sustaining pedal because these notes are all over the 88 keys of my life.

Gotta catch em all...

Honestly, if you didn't start singing along then I don't know what to say! The song cranks and the show was the business! (and I wasn't even allowed to watch it or play the video game because somebody mentioned witchcraft or something I don't know)

But for the past few weeks I have been thinking about the fact that God chose me. Like David in 1 Chronicles 14:2 I realized that the Lord established me. Established, confirmed, etc. Sometime before the foundations of the earth I God knew that I had "coogi head to toe" He had to choose me "so watch me hit em with the flex..." (I digress)

Anyways

When I began to think about what it means to be chosen by God

I couldn't get all deep with it like some people because we all know I am just not that deep. However, I got a picture of God carrying me in a poke-ball. If I had to pick

a pokemon to be, I would choose pikachu because he was so cute but could sting the crap out of you!

So here is why this image came to my mind: On the show Ash traveled around and was challenged to battles, he would take out his pokeball and yell "(random pokemon who has the ability to fight whatever pokemon) I CHOOSE YOU!!!" Ash clearly had knowledge of all of his Pokemon because how else would he know who he can rely on to fight the battle? He found the pokemon, trained them, and equipped them. Tell me that does NOT sound like God?!?!?

ok so maybe I just compared God to a 90s pop culture sensation and I'm ok with that!

wait maybe this was a little bit deep...

at any rate getting a tattoo of pickachu is now acceptable!!!!

Taylor Swift, love songs, and Christmas

So this weekend my friends had a wonderfully amazing xmas party. Small guest list. Big laughs.

It felt great to not be the funny person for the evening. I mean I was in the presence of some real comedians! But the best part of the night was when I got Taylor Swift'd!!! My bro stands up and wants to make a speech and gives this toast:

I would like to thank my sister Shaderi for texting me and telling me about this party. If it wasn't for her I wouldn't even know about it. I mean she made me check my email and I really want to thank her for telling me about this. BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT MY TOAST IS ABOUT!!!!!!!! I really wanna thank...

At this point it doesn't even matter about what else he said because I was given a moment and then it was RIPPED away from me!! Everything inside of me DIED! "i'm gonna let you finish but..." it was kanye and taylor xmas 2010 I promise you!!!!

On to the next part of my weekend LOVE SONGS!!

I have been making my own dj mix/glee mash-up of these 2 songs!!! Enjoy.

Well hope you enjoyed the songs!!! Merry Christmas!!!!!

I would skate but I hate the 80s

It looked like Rainbow bright, legwarmers, and oversized off the shoulder sweatshirts EXPLODED this past saturday/sunday. It was big, loud, and wrong... but it was for a good cause!

I honestly feel like 80s parties (and the Jersey Shore) are the only place where you are allowed to be a fashion DON'T and I don't think its acceptable.

I think its just because I just dont embrace the 80s as an entire decade. I disagree with everything that it stands for. But I think I'm the only person in the WORLD who has a problem with this!!! I must be the only person who does not believe that Lycra and hairspray should be allowed back in the ozone layer.

Yet in spite of my loathe of the entire 80's (Reagan, AIDS, feathered bangs, and stirrup pants) MY DJ had a very successful party to raise money and awareness of what is still going on in Haiti.

Everyone had a blast and I would say that it was all around great! The only reason I didn't skate... I just don't like the 80's. It's nothing personal, I just like the 90's better!!!! I mean I was able to sing a long to maybe 4 or 5 songs all night. I think my parents just skipped that entire decade of music too. (I still don't know who or what Billy Ocean is despite the fact that it was an entire episode of Everybody Hates Chris)

Maybe we can have a 90's party next year!!!!!

I'm just not that into you... today

So this weekend I had a totally ran-dumb movie night where some pretty cool people showed up at my house and we watched a few movies (because what ELSE happens at a movie night?!?)

Well this was the first time that I watched "he's just not that into you" mainly because when it came out I thought to myself "eehhh the book was cute but not cute enough for me to want to see the movie" So I let three years go by before I even think about the book or the movie again. (someone else brought it up actually and I remembered reading the book)

If you want to ask me "WHY IN THE WORLD DID YOU READ THE BOOK?" that is a perfectly valid question that has a perfectly respectable answer:

Because I was bored one day and my roommate left it out on the coffee table in college!! I was 21 and the book had NOTHING to do with the readings for my comparative history:US v. South Africa, slavery vs apartheid class! It was better than watching CTV!

Any of those reasons will do. Trust me!

So anyway we watch this movie and I started to think about how I could have starred in this film... and had several roles!!! Kinda like Eddie Murphy in the Nutty Professor!!

First there was chic who fell in love with every dude that spoke to her... CHECK

Then there was the chic who myspace stalked "researched" ppl and stuff... CHECK

Then there was the chic who's best friend came out and said "I LOVE YOU"... CHECK

Then there was the dude who fell for the girl he was stringing along forever... CHECK

Has the movie taught me anything I didn't know... HECK NO!!!! But the commentary from the guys in the room was very insightful.

Now, I am slightly inclined to believe that because they sat in my living room, offered commentary, laughed, joked, and gave me a hug goodbye... they still aren't that into me... TODAY!!!

tomorrow I may interpret all of that for interest...

I'm Moving on

"Who draws are these? you know I wear a size four-or!!!" Before I type the entire silkk the shocker verse (because I still know all of the words. And because I definitely was in love with him in middle school... even started a group called the No Limit Playettes!!!)
Let's go back to 1998 for a minute...


I realized that it's time for me to make the transition in my life!! I'm moving... AGAIN!!!

But this time I am excited!! I am leaving the Loudness of all things langley park and hitting up the more quiet columbia/elkridge area..

"Shaderi that is much further away from your job isn't it?"

Yes it is but again a lot of things are in transition for me now and I will just keep it at that!!!

I'm excited and I cant wait for you guys to see the new place!!!