Recap.... It's been a while

Ok, I'm not even sure where I should start with this blog and honestly, not sure if it matters. Its been so long since I've written that I'm sure people don't even check my blog anymore!! But here goes....

Some of you know that I was an asst coach for the Episcopal Women's Varsity Basketball team this year (which is part of my excuse as to why I haven't been blogging... not a lot of time). Coaching these girls was a lot of fun even though we weren't the most talented team. They were a G.R.E.A.T (gritty, respectful, enthusiastic, accountable, team oriented...our team acronym for the season) bunch of girls who worked hard and made me proud to be a part of that team. My schedule was pretty much insane during the season. We would practice at 330 or 530 so on the days we had early practice I was up before the sun and into work by 6! Any of you who know me, know that's a miracle for me!! :) Not to mention two games a week and other activities involved with the team. Our season ended in a heartbreaker... we lost by 1 point to a team that had beaten us previously pretty soundly twice. We really could've won, we just couldn't pull it off in the end. But the girls played their hearts out and obviously we showed tons of imporvement from the previous times we played Bullis. All in all, I really had a great experience and loved working with Danielle, head coach, my good friend from playing AAU bball as well as the players!

Another new thing in my life is this class that I've been taking. It's called Bikram Yoga and it is incredible! They heat the room to anywhere from 115-120 degrees and you practice yoga for 90 mins. I thought preseason at Western was hard (it was) but doing yoga in a 120 degree room is CRUCIAL!! But it is awesome... I love it and it's really doing a lot for me I can already tell and I've only been doing it for about 2 weeks!

Lastly but not least....I GOT A NEW CAR!! WoootWooot! I got a 2004 Infiniti G35 four door sedan!

Yes, I know I'm breaking every Scott tradition that I was brought up on by 1. getting a new car before the one I currently own is still running 2. getting a car that is not more than a decade old and 3. getting a luxuray car!!! But I love it! It's so cute and fun to drive.... AND... IT HAS A SUNROOF!!! I had to laugh b/c when I talked to Dad about getting a new car he said, don't get one with a sunroof. I said, why? He said b/c their nothing but a problem waiting to happen... I had to laugh b/c I thought to myself, the only sunroof dad has had in his cars is the 1970something volkswagon van, which you had to open manually like you use to roll up a window before power windows! I was like "Dad, of course that caused problems! It was like a hole in the roof, not a sunroof!!" Well dad, sorry I got the sunroof but once you ride in this car, you will agree that the sunroof is well worth the risk ;)

Well, at this point those are the major new things going on in my life! Hopefully I can get better at doing this more often but we'll see. Until next time.... loving life! :)

We are His BELOVED

Watch the whole thing!!!! It's really powerful :)

Soulja Boy

This is the new dance craze these days. I love the boy in the front and the girl in the middle! I'm sure it was an interesting conversation when these kids got home from BALLET class. I can see it now: Mom, "So what did you learn in class today, son?" Little Boy, "The Soulja Boy!!!!"...... And this is the Soulja Boy. Watch and enjoy!!!

Armed Forces Championship

I'm at the Men's Basketball Armed Forces Championship in Cherry Point, NC this week. For the ice breaker they had a guy come and perform a writing that he had put together... As I sat there and listened to this man chills ran over my body... I was thinking to myself, "this guy is good, he should perform at a coffee house or something. Well, look what I found today. He's on youtube and has been on Good Morning America and everything for this poem. Do I know talent or what!? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BETZxl_itYg (by the way, if anyone knows how to put the video embeded in this blog let me know). I hope you all enjoy and realize that we should be thankful for the freedoms we have in this country! :)

Here are the words if you have a hard time understanding it all:
She called... Blacks, Whites...wait African Americans and Caucasians, Asians, excuse me. Vietnamese, Philipenes, Koreans and Jamaicans or Haitans, waitin' Hispanics y'all. Please be paitent Mexican, Puerto Ricans, Venezualean, Cuban, Dominican, Panamanian Democrats I beg your pardon, you partied with the late, great Reagan? Republican, Independent, Christian, Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, 7th Day Adventist, 5 Percenters, Hindu, Sunii Muslim, Brothers and Sisters who never seen the New York city skyline when the twin towers still existed. But still She called. From the bowels of Ground Zero she sent this 911 distress signal. Because She was in desperate need of a hero, and didn't have time to decipher what to call 'em, so she called 'em all Her children. The children of the stars and bars who needed to know nothing more than the fact that she called. The fact that someone attempted to harm us this daughter who covered us all with her loving arms. And now these arms are sprawled across New York City streets. A smoke filled lung, a silt covered faced, and a solitary tear poured out of her cheek. Her singed garments carpets Pennsylvania Avenue and the Pentagon was under her feet. As she began to talk, she began to cough up small particles of debris and said, "I am America, and I'm calling on the land of the free." So they answered. All personal differences set to the side because right now there was no time to decide which state building the Confederate flag should fly over, and which trimester the embryo is considered alive, or on our monetary units, and which God we should confide. You see, someone attempted to choke the voice of the one who gave us the right for choice, and now she was callin. And somebody had to answer. Who was going to answer? So they did. Stern faces and chisled chins. Devoted women and disciplined men, who rose from the ashes like a pheonix and said "don't worry, we'll stand in your defense." They tightened up their bootlaces and said goodbye to loved ones, family and friends. They tried to bombard them with the "hold on", "wait-a-minute's", and "what-if's". And "Daddy, where you goin?". And, "Mommy, why you leavin?". And they merely kissed them on their foreheads and said "Don't worry, I have my reasons. You see, to this country I pledged my allegience to defend it against all enemies foreign and domestic. So as long as I'm breathin, I'll run though hell-fire, meet the enemy on the front lines, look him directly in his face, stare directly in his eyes and scream, "I AM AMERICA! WE WILL NOT BE TERRORIZED! WE WILL NOT BE TERRORIZED! I REFUSE TO BE AFRAID! I'LL FIGHT YOU ANY COUNTRY, ANY CONTINENT, ANY TERRAIN. I'LL FIGHT TO MY LAST BREATH!" And if by chance death is my fate, pin my medals upon my chest, and throw Old Glory on my grave. But, don't y'all cry for me. You see, my Father's prepared a place. I'll be a part of his Holy army standing a watch at the Pearly Gates. Because freedom was never free. POW's, and fallen soldiers all paid the ultimate sacrafice along side veterans who put themselves in harms way. Risking their lives and limbs just to hold up democracy's weight, but still standing on them broken appendages anytime the National Anthem was played. You see, these were the brave warriors that gave me the right to say that I'm Black. Or white. Or African American or Caucasian, I'm Asian, excuse me. I'm Vietnamese, Philipene, Korean, or Jamaican. I'm Haitan, Hispanic Y'all, Please be paitent. I'm Mexican, Puerto Rican, Venezualean, Cuban, Dominican, Panamanian, Democrat I beg your pardon, you see I partied with the late, great Reagan. I'm Republican, Independent, Christian, Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, 7th Day Adventist, 5 Percenters, Hindu, Sunii Muslim, Brothers and Sisters We're just Americans. So with that I say "Thank You" to the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, for preserving my rights to live and die for this life and paying the ultimate price for me to be...FREE!

Deep Thoughts...

"For so long i chased fantasy he was too fast.... and i found love when i embraced reality."

(the original quote says "she" instead of "he" but I changed it for sake of my blog. And I don't know who wrote it, so don't ask... )
This quote or poem really hit me when I read it b/c it's so true not only of our culture today but of myself as well. I think in some way or another single people (and a lot of couples as well) have an "idea" of what love is supposed to look, feel and be like. Whether those ideas came from movies, tv shows or idolizing some couple you once saw that "looked" so happy, they are there and there's no denying them. We have expectations of love and if we don't realize that our love checklist might not be realistic we may chase this fantasy called love the rest of our lives. Obviously there are some must-haves that you should hold firm to. But maybe he won't have "a body like Arnold, with a Denzel face," those of you who know Salt 'n' Peppa from the 90's should appreciate that last line! lol. or maybe he isn't a handy man or maybe she can't cook... but she tries and that's what love is about. Love is embedded in reality, which is never perfect, but if guided through God's love, a million times better than all of our expectations... or fantasies. Not one of us will ever be able to love someone enough to make them whole or make them complete. We were made for more, more than any human relationship could ever give us but our worldly imposed expectations are what lead us to chasing these fantasies. Not until we "ebrace reality" will we find love and realize the depths of it's character and the power that comes from it's commitment. ps- I haven't blogged in forever, I know... Been busy, tired and just not motivated. Write about it all later! :)

"Joe," my backpack... NY cont'd....

If anyone knows me and my packing habits, you know that I am NOT a light packer. You have to have options in my opinion. I mean, what if someone in Central Park noticed my athletic prowess (chuckle) as I walked by their practice and I asked if I would join them in their game later that night b/c they needed big boomer and I only had my open toed shoes or flip flops?!?! Disaster I tell you!! So I tend to 'over pack' and take home a few bags of mostly unused clothes and shoes... in order to be prepared of course :) So I decided to pack light and only take my backpack for my two and a half day trip. That's an attainable goal right? It was!! My poor backpack was busting at the seams and when I got off the bus and hit the streets of Manhattan I started to feel like I had someone hanging on my back. Not only was this backpack way heavier than really should be possible, it stuck out about 3 feet past my back side. Needless to say, moving through the over capacitated streets of New York is not an easy feat for one person alone.... But I was walking for two. "Joe," (yes, we decided he was so big he needed a name) was constantly getting in the way and knocking into unsuspecting people as they passed on the street. It was Joe's first experience in NY and he experienced it all... he took the train, walked downtown, rode in a taxi and got the full deli experience. We were quite the group of tourists and looked the part. But we didn't care, it was a blast. And for the most part, I had enough options to make it through the weekend, kind of :)

NY cont'd... Is it the person or location?

Okay so you've all been anxiously awaiting to hear about my trip to NY. Just calm down! This girl is busy and I can't really expect the government to pay me to blog so I have to do it in my spare time, what is that, when I'm not working. I'm going to blog a few different times about my trip being that we packed so many different things into a little over 48 hours....

The trip started off at Dupont Circle where I waited to catch the bus up to the City that NEVER sleeps! I was way excited to get away for the weekend and to see Carrie and Carrie (McKee and Nygard) as well as an old college aquaintance (now friend), Katie. Yes, you just read that correctly. It was Katie, Carrie, Carrie and Katie. But let me tell my first adventure before I even stepped foot on the bus to head north. I was handing my ticket to the trip coordinator in order to get on the bus and all of the sudden I was doing a 360 and almost fell over. I look up to see what gust of wind could've been so strong to spin "Joe" (my backpack received a name b/c it was so heavy it was almost like carrying someone on my back) and me completely around and stumbling back a few steps before being able to catch my balance. But I see no hurricane, tropical storm, tornado or even a slight breeze. But what I do see is some woman storming off shaking her head. I can only imagine what was going through this 5'5'' woman's mind as she pushed me, and Joe, out of her way. What would give such a small woman (I'm using the term woman loosely by the way) the idea that she was justified? I'm gonna have to go with the fact that I must have looked like her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend that he just went back to b/c of her anger issues. That's the only thing I could come up with. It's either that or she was apparently having a really bad day and the two steps it would've taken her to walk around Joe and I just caused her way to much effort. The thing is, I DIDN'T EVEN SEE HER COMING.... I didn't even get a chance to get out of her way. There was no "excuse me miss" or "can I get by" or heck, even a "move!" would've been better than being made a tackling dummy. After I realized what had happened AND that she wasn't sorry, I thought to myself "I thought New Yorkers were supposed to be the rude ones. If it gets worse than that, I think I may just take the Metro back to Vienna."

Thankfully, it didn't get any worse. In fact, it got better. Being the tourists that we were, it was quite an adventure to get uptown, to downtown over to the Eastside and Westside. But the Carries were very good for the most part in figuring out what train we needed to take and how to get around... and when all else failed, we'd ask somebody. To our surprise, New Yorkers are very nice. The seem to be very proud to be from NY and were more than willing to help you take delight in their amazing city. I suppose that everyone in NY isn't like that, but as far as I'm concerned New Yorkers are A-OK in my book. Even a couple drag queens helped me find my way back to the Upper Westside after a long day of walking around in Chinatown. I got the full New York experience! I wonder if people were nice to us b/c we always had our map out and it was painfully obvious we were trying to make our way in this big city of theirs!! Either way, I don't care. They were helpful and nice and not once did I feel nervous when we weren't sure of our direction. Thank you New York, we enjoyed you and your residents!

More to come.... :)