Back to Africa??? What is That About?

I haven't thought about this in a while, but I was watching something on tv the other day with flashbacks from the 60s showing white people carrying signs saying "Back to Africa" on them. For the life of me, I've NEVER understood that whole back to Africa "campaign" if you will. My whole thing is, aren't white people the ones who brought Africans to America in the first place? So how are you gonna be mad about us being here if it's your fault we're here? The Africans were minding their own business when Mr. Slave Master decided to show up and rip them out of their home. Did they ask to come here? Nope. Not even a little bit.

Then, generations later we have Mr. Slave Master's descendants telling Black people to go back to Africa. I'm pretty sure that my entire family of Black folks was born right here in America, as was I, so how are we gonna go back to a place we've never been? If you have a problem with me being here, blame your ancestors. It's like, us being here was okay for all those years you were getting over on us and forcing us into free labor but once we got our freedom our presence was suddenly a problem. Oh well, not our fault so get over it.

Anyway, that's all I really have to say on the subject. It's just something that always bothered me because if you really think about it, it makes no sense.

That's all for now....

Blackface for Halloween???

So just now (literally a few minutes ago) I was browsing another blog showing celebrities in their Halloween costumes and one person was dressed as be Jay-Z. Now, in all honesty, I've never heard the name of the person before so I don't know the his nationality but the blogger pointed out that this man was in blackface for the occasion. In that case, it's likely this person is white or possibly Hispanic. And sorry, I don't remember his name nor do I care enough to look it up. The writer of the blog gave a side eye for being in blackface. In the comments section of the blog some posters stated that no one had a problem when a black athlete was Justin Timberlake for Halloween and painted his face white and that black people were "too sensitive" which lead me to write this post.

If blacks in this country didn't have the history that we have, I could totally understand such a statement, but we do so I can't. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but back in the day white people would dress in blackface basically to make fun of blacks for minstrel shows and what not. They would either portray a black person as being a complete fool or some savage beast. Birth of a Nation anyone? So yes, because of this I can totally understand why black people would be sensitive when it comes to white people dressing in blackface, even if it is just for Halloween. I'm sure the intention isn't to be hurtful and it's all in good fun but, still. Something about it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Why not have me and a white friend dress up as slave and master? Okay, maybe that's extreme but you get the point.

Personally, I'm only slightly offended. Like, if I saw that in real life I would definitely give that person the ultimate side eye and curse them under my breath, but it wouldn't ruin my night. In a similar situation, while I was out with my friend over the weekend (an Asian girl if it matters), she pointed out that she didn't like one girl's Native American costume because she didn't feel that people should dress up as someone's nationality for Halloween. To be honest, I never thought that deeply about it but I can see where she's coming from. I know it's not exactly the same but like I said, similar.

Anyway, what do you think? Are some black people just being too sensitive? Are others not being sensitive enough? Maybe they're reading too much into it and making a big deal out of nothing. Or maybe they're not making a big enough deal out of it. I suppose it's something you can look at both ways.

My Favorite TV Couples

Out of sheer boredom I started running down some of my favorite tv couples in my head and I thought "Hey, this might make a cool blog post!" So here I am. I've watched a lot of shows and liked a lot of couples over the years so obviously I can't name ALL the ones I really loved. These are just the first ones that came to mind, in no particular order. Enjoy!

First up, again in no particular order, is one of my all time favorite couples: Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becky from Full House, played by John Stamos and Lori Loughlin. I really don't have much to say about this couple. From the moment they graced my screen I loved them and knew they should be together. I honestly don't know anyone who wasn't a fan of Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becky.

Next up is Angela and Shawn from Boy Meets World. Now I'm sure a majority of people would argue that Cory and Topanga were the "it" couple for that show which would be true, however they weren't it for me. Sure the Cory and Topanga story was cute and what not but I much preferred Angela and Shawn's romance. If I remember correctly they didn't end up together in the end but who cares. It was fun while it lasted. They'll always be my favorite Boy Meets World couple.

Again, I'm sure lots of people probably preferred Buffy and Angel together but not I. I have a thing for bad boys, sue me. I thought Buffy and Spike were hot together and I loved them as a couple. I mean, what's not to love right? Not much else to say about them.

Another one of my all time favorite tv couples is Dwayne and Whitley from A Different World. They had their ups and downs but it all worked out for them in the end. Who can forget that infamous wedding when Dwayne showed up and claimed his woman before she married Byron? Although I must admit, I kinda liked Whitley and Byron together but it just wasn't meant to be.

Next on my list are Sean and Emma from Degrassi: The Next Generation. Sadly Sean and Emma didn't end up together. And I still don't get that bootleg marriage to Spinner but whatever. Theirs was a rocky romance with many ups and downs but I guess that's to be expected in middle school. Anyway, I enjoyed it while it lasted.

Next up is Martin and Gina from Martin. I think everyone has said they wanted that Martin/Gina love at some point in their lives. Break-ups, make-ups, Gina killing "my mama bird", they went through it all and were able to work it out in the end. Like Dwayne and Whitley earlier, Martin and Gina were definitely one of those opposites attract couples.

Now for one of my favorite soap opera couples ever to exist, Robin and Stone from General hospital. Their tragic love story was one of the best. Squeaky clean Robin falling for wrong side of the tracks Stone driving her overprotective uncle crazy in the process. Then finding out that Stone has been diagnosed with AIDS and has only months to live. Then on top of that finding out that little Robin has contracted HIV. Oh the humanity!!! But seriously, it was an amazing love story and Stones death scene still chokes me up. Must see TV indeed.

Jessie and Katie from the regrettably short lived Once and Again. Does anyone besides me even remember this show? Lol, either way, it was one of my favorites and my first time seeing Evan Rachel Wood who I love. This was also the first time I actually noticed Mischa Barton. And let's not forget that a young Shane West was also in the show, but I digress. Jessie and Katie were the first same sex couple that I remember seeing on tv. They were young and their romance was sweet and pure. I really don't have much more to say other than that.

Next on my list is Overton and Sinclair from Living Single (sorry I couldn't find a picture of the two of them alone). I loved them because they were both weird and a little slow but it worked somehow. They were just so cute and goofy together. Nothing more to say about them.

Last but not least, probably my all time favorite tv couple EVER, Joey and Pacey from Dawson's Creek. I seriously can not tell you how much I adore this couple. Like, it's kind of disgusting how much I love them. Dawson who? From that first episode of season 3 where you saw a little glimpse of something to the very end, they were just everything. Dawson never compared to Pacey as far as I'm concerned. I truly loved everything about Pacey and Joey (except for that nasty Promicide episode in season 4 that I refuse to watch to this day). I also wasn't a fan of the way Joey dropped Pacey for Eddie in season 6 but luckily it all worked out in the end and I got my happy ending.

Who are some of your favorites?

What's the Deal with the Pledge of Allegiance?

The other day I posted on Twitter about how my mom refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance in school when she was a kid because she didn't think it was true. She was a black girl growing up in the 50s and 60s so I completely understand why she would feel that way. Anyway, it inspired me to make a little blog post about the subject so here I am. You're welcome *in my Sadie from Awkward voice*. Now here's how the pledge reads today:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Apparently the pledge was originally written in 1892 and formally adopted by Congress in 1942. FYI, it's been modified four times before being finalized with the version we hear today. Quite frankly that's about as much of a history lesson as I feel like giving so if you want more info, Google it. Now right off the bat, as a black woman, I can see the obvious problems with this pledge. It's a damn lie. But before we get into that, let's talk about the "under God" part of our little pledge. Whatever happened to separation of church and state? I mean, is that something they just made up in the history books? Clearly the two things have not been separated. In fact, it seems the government has a really bad habit of getting involved in religious matters or involving religion as a way to justify things but let's not go there.

Now for the biggest lie ever in existence, "with liberty and justice for all." Please, don't make me laugh. Liberty and justice for ALL is practically nonexistent in America and especially during the 40s when the pledge was adopted. Let's be real. It all started with the Native Americans. Sure, they'd like us to believe the pilgrims and Native Americans were all buddy buddy but we know that's not really the case. We've all seen Pocahontas right? Okay, bad example but you get what I'm saying. Anyway, to make a long story short I can totally understand why someone would be against reciting the pledge because it really doesn't ring true. Just my opinion.

What do you think?

Stuff I Like: Gloves

In particular these leopard print gloves I recently saw on the H&M website. I really wish they would hurry up and start selling online in the US because I would've snatched these up with the quickness. I seriously doubt the store in my local mall would have these available.

Gloves - from H&M

http://www.hm.com/us/s/01KLVV

Imitation leather gloves with faux fur uppers. Lined.

www.hm.com

Review: The MTV VMAs

I really don't have much to say about the VMAs so I'm gonna try to make this as brief as possible. There was a lot of good and bad with this year's show, mostly bad. From the ridiculous wardrobe choices to the decision not to have a host, there was a lot going on. As far as the actual awards I really didn't pay much attention because MTV is such a joke that there's really no point in taking them seriously. I mean, they don't even play music videos anymore so who would take them seriously? Also, these days most awards shows are more of a popularity contest rather than an accurate judgment of talent. But I digress.

Let me start with the stuff I hated. Nicki Minaj's outfit, Katy Perry's multiple outfits and whatever it is that Lady Gaga did. That performance was mediocre at best and I feel like she kept up the whole dude act for entirely too long. One segment would have been more than enough. Also, I didn't find Kevin Hart to be that funny as the non-host of the evening and the dry audience didn't help matters.

About those so called "tributes" to Amy Winehouse and Britney Spears? Stop. Seriously, MTV just needs to stop. The Amy tribute was lame and very forgettable. But Britney? The fact that MTV turned Britney's moment into her pimping Beyonce was just ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, I love Bey but I don't think she should have had to combine her vanguard award win with announcing Bey's performance. I also felt that Gaga in drag took away from her moment as well. It was all so unnecessary.

Now for the performances. Gaga opening was, meh. Adele was nice and simple but I kind of wish she sang a different song but whatever. The Jay-Z and Kanye performance looked like someone just ran up to them in the audience and asked them to jump on stage real quick. Clearly it was thrown together last minute. One of the highlights for me was Jessie J rocking out in the chair with a cast on. She has a great voice and hopefully will get more recognition soon. I also love that she sang Firework better than Katy Perry ever did. That random new rock group performance? Whatever. The Britney dancers were cool and Bruno Mars was decent but nothing to get excited about. Lil' Wayne closing the show was disappointing at best. Those zebra print jeggings hanging off his ass while he ran around the stage looking crazy was just outrageous. Have SEVERAL seats sir. Chris Brown was just.....I mean, the dancing was good but the LEAST he could have done was pretend to sing in the microphone.

In my opinion, the best performance/moment of the night was Beyonce. For starters, Love on Top is one of my favorite songs from '4' so I was already happy when she started singing that. The performance wasn't too over the top and crazy, it was just enough. And of course showing off her baby bump and the end was cute then Jay and Kanye's reactions in the audience made it even better. LOVED the sexual chocolate microphone drop by the way.

Other than that, I really don't have much to say about the show. Overall, it was decent enough for what it was and as usual the Twitter commentary was more entertaining than the actual show.

2 Weeks in Europe Taught Me...

Here's a list of things, in no particular order, that I learned while in Europe this summer:

• NYC drivers are nothing compared to drivers in Italy....those people are INSANE
• Olive oil and bread is the best pre-dinner snack EVER
• Bread for breakfast every day is enough to make you crazy
• I need to learn another language (I can't tell you how difficult it was to communicate in countries where most people don't speak English....especially in Italy)
• Romanians are known to be pickpockets (who knew?)
• Old Gypsy ladies go HARD trying to get your money
• People with body odor shouldn't even be allowed on the subway platform much less on the actual subway, or Metro if you like.
• Snails are surprisingly tasty
• Currency conversion is the devil
• What looks like a sidewalk is actually a street; learned that the hard way....smh
• Starbucks is literally EVERYWHERE
• Europe has a totally different breed of homeless people (we saw a man with no arms O_O)

I'm sure there's lots of other things that I just can't think of at the moment. I may add to this in the future.

Stuff I Like: Commercials

Yes, I like commercials. Many of them are quite amusing and memorable. One that stands out in recent history is of the course the Betty White Snickers commercial. Good stuff. But now there's another commercial I really like. It's the newest Summer's Eve commercial. Have you seen it? It starts off talking about some mysterious thing that has all this power and is probably the most powerful thing in the world. In the end the powerful thing is revealed to be the vagina. Then it ends with 'Hail to the V' which I think is hilarious however according to YouTube comments some feminists disagree. Go figure. Anyway, check it out if you haven't already.

Where Are All the Black TV Dramas?

A reasonable question don't you think?

Recently I was thinking about TV shows, black shows in particular and it dawned on me that there really aren't many successful, long running Black TV dramas. Sure there's plenty of other television dramas that feature one or two black characters as a part of the primary cast but it's not really the same. Then you look at the other side at comedies. There's been a TON of black comedies. Quick, name all the black COMEDIES you can think of! GO!

• Martin
• The Cosby Show
• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
• The Jeffersons
• Good Times
• Family Matters
• The Jamie Foxx Show
• Sister, Sister
• The Hugleys
•  My Wife and Kids
• Everybody Hates Chris
• Sanford and Son
• Eve
• Girlfriends
• The Game
• Those Tyler Perry shows
• Half & Half

I could go on forever baby! (dig the Home Alone 2 reference). Now let's try the same thing with black television DRAMAS.

• Lincoln Heights
• Umm.....
• Hmm....
• *Crickets*

Now if you're anything like me, the only relatively recent black tv drama you could think of is Lincoln Heights. Even that took me a good 10 minutes to remember. So I ask, where are all the black television dramas? Why aren't there more of them? Is it that "the man" is only willing to accept us if we're shucking and jiving and making him laugh? Is there really no genuine interest in this particular type of television series? What's the problem? Do you know, because I just don't get it.

After doing admittedly MINIMAL research on black television dramas of the past I was able to find a pretty decent list of them on Wikipedia. Two problems with that. One, most of the shows I've never heard of in my life and some I would consider comedies rather than dramas. Two, it's Wikipedia. Need I say more?

Some of the shows I found included Lincoln Heights that I mentioned before and also the show Roc but I remember that being a comedy. The reasoning was that at some point the show started taking a more serious turn so it was considered a drama but I disagree. Also included was In the Heat of the Night which my mom used to watch but the only people I remember are Carol O'Connor as the sheriff, a black cop named Vergil and that skinny black lady who was on In Living Color. There's also Hawthorne with Jada Pinkett-Smith which I totally forgot about even though I watch it religiously. Other more familiar shows listed were New York Undercover, Oz, Noah's Arc, Soul Food and, get this, Moesha. Really though?! Moesha was NOT a drama series! But like I said, this is Wikipedia we're talking about. The other shows I mentioned I never really watched myself so I'm not sure about the casts. Except for Soul Food which is obvious because it's based on the movie. See their complete list here.

What do you think of their list? How many black dramas have you even heard of? Any thoughts on why there aren't more and they're not more popular?

Dump Your Friends???

This post was inspired by a rerun of Girlfriends I was watching the other day. In the episode Maya told the girls that she couldn't hang with them anymore because her husband Darnell told/asked her not to. It made me wonder if most people would actually stop being friends with someone just because your significant other told you not to. At this point, I don't think I would drop my friends just because some guy told  me to. Like, who the hell are you to tell me who my friends should be?

I think some of it depends on the nature of your relationship. For example, there's a big difference between a boyfriend/girlfriend making such a request compared to a husband/wife. I think most people would me more likely to agree to drop their friends if a spouse was asking instead of just a bf/gf. And I suppose it would also be dependent on the reasoning behind the request. Even still, I'm not sure if I could do it. I mean, they're MY friends, it's not like you have to be around them all the time.

On the other hand, if we're talking about opposite sex friends that might be a different story. Sure, she might JUST be a friend that you've lived next door to since kindergarten but I'll be damned if y'all are gonna be having private dinners that I don't know about. It's difficult because I believe that females can be JUST FRIENDS with guys but I'm not sure that guys can do the same with females. If that makes any sense. I don't know, I suppose it's a sticky situation all around.

Personally, I've been on the opposite side of this situation. There was one point when my friend's (now ex) boyfriend decided he was no longer a fan of mine and every time she and I would hang out it was always a problem. Before I get into details let me give a bit of back story: The whole problem started with the Myspace top 8 (stupid I know). My friend had me at #1 then put her bf at #1 when they started going out. I made a JOKE on her page saying something along the lines of "how dare you replace me with that man...lol" or something to that affect. I was obviously joking but he didn't take it that way. He claimed that I was disrespecting their relationship and that he didn't like me anymore. Boo freaking hoo! According to my friend from that point on whenever she told him she was hanging out with me there would always be a face or a disappointed sigh. Spare me. The real crazy part is that he was actually trying to get his sister to fight me at one point. Are you fucking kidding?! She and I were at a diner one night after partying when he called and he asked her would it be wrong if he told his sister to come down there. Really sir? -_-

The thing is, aside from his bipolar mood swings, I NEVER had a problem with him.When he wasn't having a mood swing he was cool people, so for him to just flip flop over a joke about a Myspace top 8 is just outrageous. As far as I know he never actually told her to stop being friends with me but you get the idea. In any case, I'm pretty sure I would never drop my friends for a boyfriend. Husband? I'd consider it but I don't know.

What do you think?

Movie Review: Final Destination 5

****Spoilers may be mentioned****


Overall I thought the movie was good enough for what it was but nothing special. I thought the ending was a good way to tie this last movie in with the rest of the films. My main complaint with the film were the special effects. I just felt that the effects they used to enhance the 3D were just extra, cheesy, corny and cartoonish. For example, when the bridge collapses and the girl falls on the sail boat and her guts are removed by the pole to be shoved in your face. To me it just looked fake as hell. Almost laughable.

Another thing that was unrealistically laughable was when the girl's eye popped out after she fell through the window. I mean, really? Her eye just happens to roll right out of her head like that? Please. Then they add to the stupidity buy having the eyeball get run over by a car. Pathetic. I honestly couldn't even believe they went there. I'm sure there were other ridiculous moments that annoyed me but those two are the ones that really stood out. Also, I wonder if it's really possible for that whole body bend and break to happen to a gymnast. Ew.

As far as the characters, the chubby guy with the glasses, Isaac I think, was THE most annoying piece of shit ever. And I just REFUSE to believe that a guy who looks and acts like him would be able to bag all the women he was claiming to bag throughout the movie. Also, I instantly hated the main girl Molly. I don't know why but there was just something about her I hated on sight. The boss was also annoying but the rest of the characters were okay. Sad that the one guy went a little crazy at the end but whatever. Of course a bright spot was once again seeing "Candy Man" being all creepy. He's probably the best character in the entire Final Destination franchise.

Anyway, the movie was decent but if I had to do it again I'd probably wait for it to come on TV instead of actually paying to see it.

Delayed Reaction/Review: Beyonce '4'

I know the '4' album came out a while ago but I just couldn't focus on posting a review of it. In fact, I never even thought of posting a review until recently. Naturally I had to buy the deluxe edition that was being sold exclusively at Target. Before I was able to make it to the store I was seeing horror stories on the internet about Target stores being sold out of '4' within minutes. I was all prepared to go to all three Target stores that I know of nearby but was pleasantly surprised to find it in stock at the first one I went to...yay!

Now on to the point of this post....

I have to say that '4' is probably my favorite solo album that Beyonce has come out with. I instantly liked 1+1, Best Thing I Never Had, End of Time, I Care, Run the World (Girls) Countdown, Party and Start Over. It took me a few times listening but I really grew to like I Miss You, Love on Top and I Was Here too. I don't know why but something about Love On Top gives me an early Michael Jackson/Jackson 5 feel. It reminds me a bit of ABC for some reason. Anyway, the only song I really have no problem skipping over is Rather Die Young. It's okay but certainly not my favorite song on the album.

As far as the bonus songs, I instantly liked Schoolin' Life and eventually grew to really like Dance for You. I didn't like Dance for You at first because it's like 6 minutes long and my attention span just isn't that long but now it's one of my favorites. I don't like Lay Up Under Me at all. I don't even remember how the song goes because I've only listened to it one time. Also, I really don't like any of the Run the World remixes featured on the album. They're pointless, the original is way better.

Now if I had to pick a favorite song it would probably be End of Time but the song I sing at the top of my lungs when I'm alone in the car is I Care...lol. That's all for now.

Newly Discovered Music: Jhene Aiko

Okay, so Jhene Aiko may not be new to some people but she's new to me. Shout out to one of my friends/twitter peeps for putting me on to her mixtape. Now some of you may remember Jhene simply as the cousin of Lil Fizz from B2K (I know that's all I remember her as). I honestly never heard any of her music before but after recently listening to her mixtape I decided to write a brief review.

The name of the mixtape is Sailing Soul(s). Not sure why the other 's' is in parentheses but whatever. Overall it's not a bad tape. My main issue is that all the songs are slow or mid-tempo and I like to have a least a couple of more uptempo songs. My favorite song of hers is 'Stranger' because it's pretty much the story of my life as far as guys and relationships but I also like 'Popular', 'My Mine' and 'Hoe.' I really like her voice and her song lyrics are definitely on point.

You can download the mixtape here.

Open Relationships: Yay or Nay?

The other day over on Necole Bitchie's blog there was a big discussion about open relationships after she posted something about Jill Scott's and Chilli's thoughts on the subject. There were several other celebrities whose opinions were listed as well as a number of readers. This made me start to think about my feelings on the subject. To be honest, I have no desire to ever be in an open relationship, especially if that relationship is an actual marriage. I just don't see the point in being with someone with the understanding that stepping out of the relationship is okay.

I suppose the arguments in favor of open relationships can be viewed as relevant but I still disagree. One argument in favor of open relationships mentioned that even if you're with one person you can still be attracted to someone else, which I agree with. Just because you're committed to and in love with one person doesn't automatically make you dead to the rest of the world. However, that doesn't mean that you should act on it.

I personally feel that there's no point in having an open relationship, marriage in particular. I mean, what's the point of getting married if you're still gonna see/hook-up/sleep with other people outside the relationship. You may as well not even get married. I guess the big difference is that your partner knows what's going on but still. That wouldn't give me much comfort. It sounds like dating to me. There's a few people you like, maybe one more than others, but you're keeping your options open. To me that's not what a relationship is about. I feel like if you're gonna marry someone that person should be enough. Period. Sure you'll always find other people attractive and there's nothing wrong with that, but have some self control. Is it really THAT difficult? I don't think so.

Anyway, that's just my two cents. Do what you want, it's your life.

That's all for now.

He Doesn't Want a Relationship....

So recently I met this guy who I'll refer to as 'New Boy'. We've been talking and texting pretty much every day since we met which is a big change from 'old dude' but we won't talk about him right now. After basically being strung along and played by Old Dude for the last couple of years, meeting someone new was a nice surprise. So far he seems like a genuinely nice guy and he's very easy to talk to. The one slight downside is that he has a kid which is new for me but let's not get carried away.

My real issue is that once we started talking about relationships and why neither of us are currently in relationships, he flat out said "I'm not in a relationship because I choose not to be; I don't want one right now." Le fucking sigh. That was disappointing to hear but I know enough to know that there's nothing I can do to change it. It's possible that he could change his mind during the course of our.....whatever it is......but I won't hold my breath. It's unfortunate because I DO want a relationship for the first time in a long time. Up until now I've been fine doing the single thing and being free but now I want something more. I think I'm going through a quarter life crisis.

Most people I know around my age (25) are engaged, married, having babies or at the very least are in long term committed relationships. I feel like I'm missing something but who knows. Anyway, for the time being I don't mind just casually "dating" this guy without it being anything serious. It just means that I can remain open to other people who may come into my life. If I find someone else I like then even better. There's no reason for me to close myself off to the possibilities.

That's all for now....

Updated: My Top 20 Travel Destinations

I'm sitting here bored as all hell so I decided to post a list of the top 20 places I want to travel to before I die. Originally it was gonna be 10 but there are too many and I keep adding more. In actuality it could easily be a top 50 but I'm trying to narrow it down. I'm fortunate enough to be able to cross some of them out but I'd love to go back. Here we go.....

1. Spain!!!! (I've been to Madrid and Barcelona but would LOVE to go to Ibiza...and back to Madrid)
2. Greece
3. Italy (Went to Assisi, Florence, and Rome but would love Venice (April 2016 and Milan)
4. Egypt
5. France (visited Cannes, Nice and Monaco but I'd like to do traditional Paris...Finally made it to Paris in 2016)
6. England
7. Amsterdam
8. Puerto Rico (I went to PR in March 2012 and had an AMAZING time!)
9. Australia (thanks to my Australian "hubby" from spring break last year)
10. Mexico (Memorial Day Weekend 2017 in Cancun)
11. Morocco
12. Israel
13. Portugal
14. South Africa
15. Vegas (I've been DYING to go forever - Finally made it for a bachelorette party this past June)
16. Canada
17. US Virgin Islands
18. India
19. California (I've oddly never been to the West Coast...Made it to LA in 2017 but I'd love to go back to San Francisco and maybe San Diego one day)
20. Germany (Does a layover in Germany count? Didn't seem like a friendly place tbh)

There's plenty more places I'd love to go but for now these are the main ones. Happy travels!

Random Thoughts on Surrogacy

I don't know why but earlier today I just randomly started thinking about surrogacy. I'm mostly thinking about whether it's a good idea or not verses other methods of conceiving kids or even adoption. There's good and bad with everything I suppose but I never thought much about the problems with surrogacy. Not saying for everyone but for myself, there are some issues I would seriously have to consider before going down that road if the time came.

The Good: The potential couple could have their own biological child without worrying about being the next Jon and Kate. Unless I'm wrong and please correct me if I am. It's my understanding that in most cases you can take your own fertilized egg and implant it into a woman so she gives birth to YOUR biological child. Correct? I'm sure there's more good than this but I'm drawing a blank right now.

The Bad: If I were to ever consider using a surrogate, my biggest fear would be that she would grow attached to the baby and want to keep it after it's born. I would imagine there are laws to address such things but I don't know for sure. I'm mean legally the person who gives birth to the child is the mother right? Anyone remember that episode of Law & Order: SVU with the fertility clinic? The biological mom took the birth mom to trial for custody of her child because of a mess up at the fertility clinic they both went too. Messy, messy.

The other "bad" that I was thinking of today is the behavior of the surrogate mom. You assume that's she's taking care of her body and not doing anything that would potentially harm the baby but there's no way of knowing for sure. It's not like you can be with the surrogate 24/7 and monitor her activities, meals, etc. I'd probably be freaking out everyday wondering if she was treating this baby as if it were her own and being extra careful. But as I said, there's no way to know for sure.

That's all I have to say really. Like I said this just randomly popped into my head. That's all for now.

My EF College Break Experience

The purpose of this blog is simply to share my experience touring with the company EF College Break. Before and even after I signed up for my EF tour I did a lot of research and read a ton of customer reviews to get an idea of how legit they are and make sure it wasn't a scam. There were a number of things that I found questionable before the tour which had me a little hesitant. For example, it seemed as if most of the positive reviews for the company were from people who worked for them or had something to gain by promoting them (for example, campus managers for the company get a free trip if they get a certain number of people to sign up and use their promo code). However, I was reassured when I found out by pure chance that a good friend of mine had traveled with EF in high school and had a very good experience. After that I wasn't really worried about it being a scam job anymore.

Now on to what I did and didn't like while on the tour......

They have what they call 'optional excursions' during the tour. In lieu of free time you pay an extra fee to do something extra in the different countries (ie: Flamenco dancing, wine tasting, Monte Carlo night, a trip to Toledo, etc). My problem was that about 3 days before I was set to depart I got a call from EF saying 3 of the optionals I signed up for had been canceled....womp, womp. Naturally they were the ones I was most looking forward too--Rome cooking class, a side trip to Salamanca and a visit to the Monte-Carlo casino in Monaco. It pissed me off but hey, stuff happens. At the time I didn't know why but for two of the excursions not enough people had signed up and the Grand Prix was going on in Monaco at the time we were in France so the streets were blocked and the bus wouldn't have been able to drive us there.

The main thing I disliked on tour was the bus rides in between cities and countries. We had 8 and 10 hour days riding this big coach bus from Madrid to Barcelona to Cannes, etc. All together we spent over a day of our 15 day tour traveling. If I'm not mistaken there were two 10 hour days and two 8 hour days. 3-4 days if you count flying there and flying home. A lot of us felt it wasn't really fair to have travel time included as part of the days of our tour. The traveling also cut a lot of our time in certain cities like Cannes and Florence. We spent about 10 hours driving to France so it was evening when we got there (around 6-7p), then we had an outing the next day until 4p and the day after we were on the road again to Italy. The same thing happened in Florence. We were only there for two days and the majority of one was spent riding the bus there. I really felt cheated out of my time there (on the up side that's the perfect excuse to go back).

Another thing I didn't like was that I felt like I HAD to tip the bus driver and tour director. It's not that I really minded tipping them but I didn't like being told how much I should tip. We were told to tip the driver about 3-5 Euro per day of driving (at the end of the tour from France to Italy we had the same driver for everything). Then we were told to tip the tour director about 8-10 Euro per day of the tour. For 15 days that's 150 Euro. Umm, NOT gonna happen. As awesome as our tour director was (Marcello if you happen to go on an EF tour), there's no way I was giving him that much money.

Those are really the only negatives I have about EF and the tour itself. Overall I had a great time and would travel with them again. I'd also recommend them to others because the prices are pretty reasonable for what you get compared to other companies or planning a trip on your own (believe me I looked for cheaper before making a final decision). I felt there was a really good balance between the structured outings to museums, sites, etc and free time to do whatever you wanted. Honestly, you can do whatever you want on the tour just as long as you make it to the bus on time to go to the next city. Our tour director warned that in the past he's had to leave people behind who didn't make it to the bus on time. Can't say I blame him. There's no reason to throw the entire group off schedule just because a few people can't get out of bed.

Sorry this is kinda long but whatever. That's all for now. (Edited to add the video I made of my tour)

Disclaimer: This video was made prior to me having an iPhone and new digital camera....lol

Eurotrips and Such: Italy

The last stop on my little Eurotrip/tour was Italy. We went to Assisi, Pisa (where of course I did the cheesy tourist shot of myself holding up the leaning tower), Florence, a little town called San Gimignano for a wine tasting, the Vatican and ended things in Rome. Rome of course was the place with the crappiest hotel service known to man but I'll get into that later.

Pardon my tour director's feet....

To be honest, Italy was a bit of a let down for me. It's not that I didn't enjoy it but it just wasn't as enjoyable as I was expecting. For one thing, I had better Italian food in Spain than I did there which was really surprising. Also, I really enjoyed Florence but we didn't get to spend much time there. Only about a day and a half really, but on the plus side I learned how to tell real from fake leather (FYI: Florence is probably most known for their leather goods so it's a big deal and there's leather shops every 2 feet). Other than all the leather stuff I honestly don't remember what there was to see in Florence because we were there for such a short time. It was all a blur and the rain didn't help. I tried going to the Pantheon but I think it was closed. Unfortunate since we walked all the way there in the rain.On the other hand, there were some really nice views, especially at night by the water so that was cool. Other than that I really don't have much to say about Florence.

And then there was Rome. Of course we saw all of the traditional stuff: Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Roman ruins, Circus Maximus (or what's left of it), the Spanish Steps and the Vatican which I know is technically another city but you get the idea. The Spanish steps at night were pretty cool because it was just a bunch of people out walking around having a good time and some playing guitar and singing songs. Trevi Fountain was also pretty cool to see at night but it's ridiculously crowded. I was most excited about seeing the Colosseum thanks to four years of Latin in high school. My teacher would be so proud. The ruins were actually pretty lame because it's basically a bunch of beat down rocks but hearing the history behind them was VERY cool.

The Colosseum

Trevi Fountain

While we were in Rome there was a huge parade going on and I have absolutely no idea what it was about but it had the streets shut down for hours. I also heard that the Today Show was at the Vatican the day we were there which is part of the reason we had to push back our time to visit. By the way, if you ever go to the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel, make reservations and arrive EARLY. The line to get inside was literally around the block. I think our tour director said something about it being a wait of an hour or more. I wouldn't be surprised if the wait to get in was a good 3-4 hours. No joke. Then they don't restrict the number of people they allow inside so it's VERY crowded and can be VERY hot. Some people in my group almost passed out so be sure to bring water if you go inside.

Now for the the worst hotel of life: Hotel San Guisto in Rome. Why do I hate it so much you ask? How about because our door wouldn't lock from the outside and the staff were completely rude and unhelpful in trying to fix it.When my roommate first got the key and went to our room she said there was someone in there trying to fix the door but they left. Then she went to the front desk but they weren't helpful. After that I went and some guy came up and did some little "trick" and the door locked from the outside. It only took about 10 minutes. I'm sorry but it should NOT take 10 minutes to lock or unlock a door from the outside. That's just ridiculous. Then they tried to make us seem like idiots for not catching on to the little trick of locking the door. I feel that they should have just given us a new room with a working door because it was unsafe to have our belongings in there when we were unable to lock the door. Of course that was too much to ask. It was just really frustrating to have to go through this entire process just to leave then go back into our room. I would NEVER stay there again and I would tell anyone else to avoid that place as well. Bastards.

That's all for now, hope I didn't forget anything. Happy travels!

Eurotrips and Such: France

Before I get started, I forgot to add in the 'Spain' post that I had to travel solo....in a way. 2 of my friends were supposed to go on this trip with me but one told me at the last minute she wasn't able to go because of financial issues and the other I haven't even heard from.

Now that we've got that out of the way, let me tell you about my time in France....

First off, we weren't there long enough which is the perfect excuse to go back someday. Half the time was spent on a bus driving from Spain to France so we didn't get there until around 7pm. Then the next day we had a day trip to a perfume factory and got back around 4pm but had to leave the next morning. Anyway, I really enjoyed what little time I spent in France. We didn't go the traditional route which is Paris, Eiffel Tower, etc. We were in the south of France in Cannes (you know, the place with the huge film festival) then spent a brief moment in Nice followed by a morning pit stop in Monaco on the way to Italy.

I wasn't there for long so I couldn't do much and therefore there's not much for me to talk about in this post. I will say that the beach (which was across the street from our hotel) was beautiful with CLEAN and clear water. Emphasis on the clean which is rare in American beaches. I tried French food and yes I mean snails. It wasn't the usual escargot because they didn't have it at this particular restaurant but it was some other snail. The waiter said the difference is that the snails we had live in a different part of the ocean or something like that. They were actually pretty good but fishy smelling so try to just eat it without smelling too hard.

In my opinion, one of the best parts of France (and the entire trip) was the hotel we stayed in. It was awesome because the rooms were really like little apartments. There was a kitchen area with a table & chairs, stove, sink, refrigerator, and the cabinets had full sets of dishes with silverware and everything. We were in a quad so there was one room with a big bed, another with bunk beds and a pull out couch. And the bathroom was clean which is always good. The pool at the hotel was also beautiful but we opted for the beach. If you ever go to Cannes be sure to stay at the Pierre & Vacances Cannes Beach @ 11, av Pierre Semard, Cannes la Bocca.


That's really all I have to say about France. I mean, it's the freaking French Riviera, what more do you want! Next up: Tales from Italy!

Eurotrips and Such: Spain

So as I said in my preview post, I recently returned from 2 weeks of touring in Europe. I went with a tour group of about 40 people to Spain, France and Italy. I haven't decided yet if I want to give the name of the tour group I went with. I'll know by the end of this post. I'm not sure how to go about this so I think I'll break it down by country and give you my highs and lows.

 Spain:
This was by far my favorite part of the trip which is good because that's what I was most looking forward to. We went to Madrid, Barcelona and a little town called Zaragoza. To be honest I thought I would like Barcelona the best but it was somewhat disappointing (largely because of the hotel location). Madrid however was a very pleasant surprise. The good thing about Madrid was that our hotel was in a very good location with tons of little shops and restaurants all around. It was also walking distance to a lot of things like the Prado and Reina Sofia Museums. In fact, the Reina Sofia was located directly behind our hotel, all you had to do is walk out the back entrance and there it was.

Where the row boating took place at Retiro Park.

We were also very close to Retiro Park where we had a fun and interesting day of row boating, the mafia and bunnies. A crazy combination I know, maybe I should explain. The row boating is pretty self explanatory, you pay a few Euros and rent a boat for 45 minutes, nothing complicated. After the boats we went walking around the park and ran into an older (maybe 30s-40s) Spanish guy named 'Carlos' with a rabbit on a leash. Her name was Lolita. He pretty much showed/followed us around the park for the next few hours. The most interesting thing is that he barely spoke any English and we barely spoke any Spanish which was actually kinda fun. The good news is that he showed us a cheap place to eat and we found our way to another part of the park with a little lake with swans, turtles, frogs and a waterfall. While there we asked for a picture and he said he couldn't because he was in the mafia. Red flag much? Not that we ditched him right away. We saw some other tourists and offered to take pictures of them when they told us to ditch Carlos because he was probably a pick-pocket. Soon after that we ditched him when he told us to follow him through the park somewhere and we walked in the other direction. All in all, it was a good day.

Lolita

Barcelona was cool but I honestly liked Madrid better. For starters, we got upgraded to a 4 star hotel in BCN which sounds like a good thing but it turned out not to be. The only REALLY good thing about that hotel was that the breakfast was more like what we have in American hotels, ie. eggs, fruit, meats, etc. The other hotel breakfasts mainly consisted of bread in the form of croissants and pastries. My main issue is that this hotel was far away from everything, which was really annoying considering that our previous hotel was walking distance to everything thing. As if the 10 mile trek up the hill to the hotel wasn't bad enough, there was absolutely nothing fun or even remotely interesting to do nearby. Correction: There was ONE really good Italian restaurant down the hill with the best pizza I've ever had in my life. Otherwise that place was a bust.Other than that, La Rambla/Las Ramblas/La Ramblas or however you say it is a pretty cool little area. Lot's of shops, restaurants and bars. It's really busy and always full of people. I think the most interesting part was the big food market La Boqueria (I think). There's all kinds of animal parts, fruits and other food for sale in there. I recommend trying the coconut smoothie. Very good.

Smoothies in the food market, they have all kinds of flavors.

Of course no visit to Spain is complete without a little Sangria.....

Not sure why the pic came out weird after I rotated it...whatever.

If you're planning a trip to Spain, here are the places I recommend:

Madrid
-Retiro Park
-Royal Palace
-Gran Via
-Debod Temple
-Hotel Mediodia (nice central location in my opinion)
-Plaza Mayor

Barcelona
-La Ramblas
-The beach (obviously)
-La Boqueria

That's all for now, the next post will be about my brief encounter in France.

(ps: Hold tight to your purse, pick pockets are rampant in Spain and it's ALWAYS crowded as hell)

Preview Post: Back from Europe

I just got back from a 2 week tour of Europe so naturally I have to blog all about it. This is just a little pre-post before I get to the nitty gritty of my trip. I'll get into details about where I went, what I saw, what I thought was worth my cash and things I could have done without. You know, the good, bad and ugly of it all.

There's also the shitty hotel we stayed at in Rome but that alone could be an entire post. And yes, I WILL give the full name and address of the hotel and advise others NOT to waste their money there....bastards.

I also have a list of things I'm gonna include in a future post tentatively titled 'Things Europe Taught Me.' And of course I'll add some cool pictures and give a little dirt about some of the drama on the tour. The drunken hoe bag throwing herself-----well, I'll wait to tell you that later.

That's all for now. I'll be back soon!

I Just Called to Say I Hate You???

People are confusing. I mean I really just don't get humans sometimes because they do some of the most backwards stuff I've ever scene. It's a pretty frequent occurrence lately on nearly every blog/youtube/message board/etc. that I've seen. People commenting things they hate. Really? Why?

I can't for the life of me understand why someone would comment about a person that they claim to hate so much. For example, why take the time to search a Beyonce video on youtube, watch the video, and then leave a comment about how much you hate Beyonce? I just don't see the point. If you hate someone so much then why spend time looking for information about them just to leave a negative comment about the person? It's pretty backwards if you ask me.

Most recently I was on the Joshua Jackson message board on IMDB and there were at least 3 different people who started threads about how much they can't stand the guy. Again I ask, why? You hate him so much that you searched his name, clicked on his message board link and started a thread about him? Hmm, I sense some undercover love. I will NEVER understand why people spend so much time and energy on things and people that they claim to hate. Weirdos.

That's all for now. Deuces!

My First Solo Mission???

My birthday is coming up in a few weeks (YAY!) and I really want to do something other than the usual. The usual being going to the local bar/nightclub that I've been to a million times already. After thinking on it a bit I decided that I really, REALLY want to go to Miami for by birthday. It's perfect because it's on a Thursday and I don't have class Friday so I could catch an early flight and spend the weekend.

Now the problem is finding people, or at least one person, to go with. A lot of people I know went to Miami over the last couple of weeks for spring break so that pretty much counts them out. If I had known I was gonna be sitting around my house unable to work because my manager never returned my calls I would have gone too but that's another story. I'm trying to get my friend to go because her birthday is the day after mine but I don't know if it's gonna happen.

All this is making me wonder if I should just go on my own. As scary of a thought as that is, I really want to go so I should. Why should a lack of a travel buddy stop me from doing what I want to do and going where I want to go? Especially on my birthday which should be all about me anyway. My main issue with going solo is that I'm worried I'll spend the whole trip by myself which is the last thing I want. My naturally quiet nature has me seriously doubting whether I'll be able to make friends to hang out and party with while I'm there.

If I go I plan on staying in this hostel I stayed at last year for spring break because it's a more social setting so that should make it easier to meet people. Plus there was a ton of people there who traveled alone so we'd be in the same boat. Right? Anyway, I guess I still have a little time to decide for sure.

I'm really not sure that I'm ready to (literally) fly solo but maybe it would be good for me to just jump in with both feet. You never know until you try right?

Deuces!

Time to Get Serious: Workout & Study Plan

I'm one of those people who keeps saying how much I need to start working out/going to the gym/etc but never actually get around to it. Or if I do get around to it it only lasts for a few weeks max. Eventually I'd really like to be one of those people who actually enjoys working out and looks forward to it. I really want to get into a regular workout routine now because I have a few trips coming up this summer and I want to be beach ready. My hope is that once I get into a routine I'll really stick with it this time.

There's a couple of routines I have in mind that seem like they could be fun, hold my interest, and not kill me. The first one is the Bar Method (or some variation). I kept seeing people on twitter talking about it so I did a little research and it looks like something I would enjoy. The other is Booty Ballet. Again, something I saw on twitter...lol. Then the most recent one I found is called Socasize, which looks the most fun. It's basically turning Soca dance moves into a workout. It's still pretty new but there is a DVD that you can order on the website.

Then there's the studying thing. I'll be done with nursing school pretty soon which means I'm gonna have to take the NCLEX to get my license. I really need to study and be prepared because I do NOT want to fail this test. They recommend doing 5000 practice questions prior to actually sitting for the exam. So crazy but it can only help right? The problem is that I have a really short attention span when studying and I get distracted really easily. Anyway, the point is that I need to come up with some kind of plan to get this stuff started so here's what I'm thinking:

Start Small - I'm gonna start working out and studying in small increments. I saw a video online called '8 minute Abs' so that might be a good place to start. Then for test questions maybe I'll start doing 10-15 a day then slowly build as the weeks progress.

Discipline - Another problem of mine is that I get lazy about tasks and I'll make up excuses not to do them or put them off. I could probably get a lot more done if I stopped that.

Don't Procrastinate - A HUGE problem I have is procrastination. It's like I'm physically incapable of not putting things off to the last minute. Something I really need to work on.

Stick With It - I really need to try to stick to the plan and goals that I set for myself. I usually start off strong but end up back in the same boat.

Wow, this post is a little on the long side...oh well! Anyway, this is the plan so hopefully I can stick to it this time. Wish me luck!

Music Review: Dawn Richard - A Tell Tale Heart

If you follow Dawn Richard on twitter (formerly of Danity Kane, currently of Dirty Money) you know that she dropped a new mixtape a few days ago. To be honest, I think Dawn is too talented to basically be Diddy's background singer and she was much better as a part of DK than DM but whatever. I'm really glad she's finally putting out some solo music. I truly believe in the Bad Boy curse so I hope she can get from under that man's thumb and make her own way.

Anyway, now on to the mixtape. Overall I really like it. It's something I could blast all the way through in the car but if I'm listening on my iPod I'll probably skip over a few songs, if that makes sense (it probably doesn't but just pretend it does). There's 15 tracks on the mixtape and I really like over half of them which is rare for me. I'm not gonna go into a lot of detail about every single song, you can listen for yourself. For now I'll just list some of my favorites:

#3 - Biggest Fan
#5 - My Myself and Y
#7 - I Know (featuring Kalenna)
#8 - Let Love In
#10 - Superhero
#11 - Runway
#12 - These Tears
#13 - Vibrate

Download it for yourself @ www.dawnrichardblog.com 

~Kat Approved~  

About Grad School......

So, after much deliberation about whether or not I wanted to attend grad school I've decided that yes, I do. It's taken me a while to get here but I realized that as much as I hate the thought of even more school, I REALLY want to get my master's and be a nurse practitioner. Yay me! I'm graduating in May and I'm really not trying to start school up again this fall so I'm gonna take at least a year off before I jump back into the trenches.

After I finally decided that I actually wanted to go to grad school, I had to decide exactly what I want to specialize in which was yet another challenge. At first I wanted to do family health, then for about 5 minutes I thought I wanted to do pediatrics but that must have been a momentary psychotic lapse. I have a job in peds now and I like it but I really don't think I'd want to make that my life's work. It's cool but I'm not really passionate about it. Finally I realized that what I really want to do is women's health. It's perfect because it incorporates by favorite patient population: adolescent girls, women and their babies. I really want to focus on maternity, pre & postpartum and sexual/reproductive health. But I'm also interested in possibly working with domestic abuse victims. Either way women's health is my best bet. Not quite as broad as family health but it's more focused on what I really want to do.

Now the only problem is figuring out where I want to apply....decisions, decisions

Newly Discovered Music: Jessie J & DEV

Thanks to Vevo I've found some new music that I'm kinda digging right now. There are two songs I found, one by a girl called Jessie J and the other by a girl called Dev. Honestly, after watching both of their videos back to back I noticed that they are very similar artists. Some of their song lyrics are almost identical even. I really don't have any background info on either of them but I'm pretty sure that Dev is the female singing the chorus on that 'Like a G6' song. A lot of people think it's Kesha I heard.

I said this the other day on Twitter but to me Jessie J seems like a mix of Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Lily Allen. I don't know if anyone else would agree but they're who I thought of when I saw her video. Both girls have this sort of "tough girl" badass thing going on. Or at least it seems like that's what they're going for. Anyway, judge for yourself.

Stuff I Like: Tattoos

I've been wanting a new tattoo for a while now (currently I have 2) so I thought I'd make this little post about tattoos. I like guys with tattoos but not too many because then it just looks crazy. I also think that there are certain places where tattoos just aren't appealing. The MOST unattractive place for a tattoo in my opinion is the face (see Gucci Mane).

Anyway, right now there are two tattoos that I'm thinking about getting. One of them is a quote: How beautiful it is and how easily it can be broken. The only thing I need to figure out for that is the exact placement I want and what kind of font. The other I want on the back of my neck and it's kind of a mixture of different sized stars and maybe hearts but I can't settle on a design yet so I'm waiting. As soon as I get everything figured out I'll be all good.

Here's a few pictures of the tattoos I'm considering:

This is actually the first tattoo I saw that made me want to get a neck tat but I would have to switch the butterfly with something else because I already have a butterfly tattoo on my shoulder.

I considered something like this too but I'm not sure if I'd want something that big (notice it's the quote I want too).

I'll let you know when I decide....