My white neighbor who is sitting next to me at the pool just asked me, in a hushed tone, why I lay in the sun.

She thought I did it for vitamin D.

Apparently my role as the Back Ambassador to White people extends beyond the walls of the plantation.

Why is this fool at my pool in a hat, long jeans, sneakers and sipping coffee???

Last night the Crew and I met up at RA Sushi for their happy hour specials and trendy midtown scene.  Sister Safety and MiMi joined us because we had some celebrating to do.

Rehab got engaged!!!!!!

We are all so very excited for her!  She and her future husband actually dated briefly in high school and reconnected on, yep you guessed it, Facebook.  How awesome is that?!

I am looking forward to witnessing her stress out over planning her wedding.  *snicker*  And I am really looking for the first Crew Bachelorette Party!  It’s gonna be bananas!

Congratulations, Rehab!

So yesterday my coworker (the older white lady, not the older black one) called me over to her desk excitedly.  She wanted to show me a picture of a sambo statue in the paper.  She was so proud!  Apparently her daughter has the exact same statue at her house.

*disgusted sigh*

I looked at the statue and then looked at my coworker and told her I thought it was positively awful.  I told her it was racist and very offensive.  She told me she didn’t think there was anything wrong with it because the man in the paper that owned it was Black.

I explained to her that there was a big difference between a Black man owning it as a way to embrace his heritage, and her daughter owning it because she thought it was cute.  She then told me that it has been passed down through the family and her daughter does not keep it in plain sight.  She also told me that her two-year old grandson talks to it like it’s his little friend.

I have to tell you the whole thing incensed me.  I like my coworker and understand that she is a product of the South, but I get tired of always having to school her on diversity issues.  I get tired about having to translate urban language.  I get tired of having to educate her on the do’s and don’ts of things you can and should say to Black people, and people of other races for that matter.  Oriental, anyone?

As for her daughter, well, she is one of those Buckhead Betty’s.  Living in a million dollar home, no job AND a nanny.  With blonde-hair, blue-eyed children.  And her latino husband who, not surprisingly, has no ties with his heritage and speaks not one lick of spanish. 

Thinking about them owning that statue really pissed me off.

This is the part of the program where I instruct all you faithful readers to pop over to the Black Weblog Awards and vote for me* for BEST PERSONAL BLOG or BEST HUMOR BLOG.  Yeah, I’m going for a whole category this year.  Why stop with just one post?

I shall remind you on the regular and then continue to remind you if when I make it as a finalist.

To nominate me click here.

*Recognition is my motivation and since you aren’t paying me or sending me free shit, I suggest you vote for me.

How do you feel about these types of statues?

I am addicted to chocolate milk and kalamata olives.  Not at the same time, that would be gross.  But I manage to have both several times each week.  I’ve been on the milk tip most of the year.  The olives, just the last couple of weeks.  I wonder when I will tire of either.

________

I don’t want to see or talk to anyone Saturday or Sunday.  Well, except for church, and then it’s back on the couch.

________

I am fairly content at work these days.  But I would still like another job.

________

 I made it to second base at last night’s softball game!

________

It’s Friday!  I’m looking forward to seeing my besties tonight.  We’ve got some celebrating to do!  More on that later…

Recently, I received a letter from a reader inquiring if I had ever tried a particular dating site devoted to matching men with big and beautiful women.  I paused about three beats while trying to decide if I was going to be offended or not, but then looked down at my thighs and figured I was fooling no one.  Not even on the innanets!

Truth is, I’ve never heard of that particular site and it has never occured to me to list myself on sites such as that.  I’m not saying there is anything wrong with it.  I just never thought about it.  I mean, I guess there is nothing wrong with dating men that prefer larger women.  Is there?

I dunno.  I would never use the service of an interracial dating site, so isn’t this the same thing?  I think I would rather date a man that wasn’t concerned with how much I weighed as opposed to someone that preferred I weighed a lot.

*pause to pop over to da.ting cu.rves*

Okay, I’m back and I think that’s not for me.  A quick scan of the people using the service shows a woman whose screen name includes the word gordita and a man who admits to living with his parents.  But you can find that on any dating site.

I work with an Asian girl who tried a dating site for Asian women and non-Asian men.  She was a little weirded out by it and felt that the men who had a preference for Asian women were a little bit off.  Like they were waiting for her to say “me love you long time” and be at their beck and call.  She didn’t last long on that site.

What do you think, readers and lurkers (oh, I see you)?  Do you think there is anything wrong with dating sites devoted to a specific type of person, beit overweight, of a specific race or religion?

Have you or would you ever try one of them, if you were already doing online dating?

Last night I had the pleasure of spending some quality time with my MiMi.  It’s been a while since we hung out, and a night at the theatre was a great idea.  We headed to Little Five Points to attend the Horizon Theatre’s production of A Cool Drink of Water.

Hopes and dreams brew as a family searches for their “cool drink a water” in this provocative and contemporary twist on A Raisin in the Sun. Newly “retired” from his good job, Walt is dreaming new schemes. Wife Ruthie’s nest is almost empty, but wannabe rapper son Trane won’t move out and get a job. And Benita and Asa move back from Africa with baggage and secrets. Is that Mama Lee haunting the house? A powerful and funny update to a classic story.

We enjoyed the show immensely.  It helps if you are familiar with A Raisin in the Sun, but even if you are not you will certainly find yourself enjoying this show.  Although the underlying tone of the play is dramatic, it is filled with lots of laughs.  Knee slapping laughs.  The playwright is also the star and he does a wonderful job.  His facial expressions alone will have you laughing.  The rest of the cast does a great job as well.  My favorite character was Ruthie.  She’s hysterical.  I also enjoyed Asa because, well, he is quite easy on the eyes! 

I really liked the way they did the set.  The entire play is set in the house and it was easy to transition from room to room without being distracted.  I even appreciated attention to props like the skyy vodka and the french toast.

I’m not going to lie to you, our tickets were absolutely gratis.  However, this play is totally worth the price of a ticket.  It’s probably one of the best non-musicals I have seen in a couple of years.  I would definitely make an effort to check this out.

A Cool Drink of Water at The Horizon Theatre runs July 10 through August 23.

The other day, my local market was sampling these sausages.  I took one bite and added a package to my cart.

I’m constantly bored by chicken and avoid it at all costs, but this is a great way to add some variety to my meal rotation.  I’ve been bringing them in for lunch because they are fully cooked and easy to heat up in the microwave.  As suggested, I add a little apple juice before cooking to bring out the apple flavor.  I skip the bun and add a little dijon mustard and I am good to go!

I bet these would taste even better on the grill, so think about adding them to your next cookout.  The non-red meat eaters will surely be pleased.