Only in New York City

Time for another edition of "Only in New York City...."

Only in New York City would the bus driver on your express in to the city get pulled over for almost taking a cop out.

Because I'm living at home in New Jersey I will take the 165 Express bus in to the city. But it is anything but an express ride. The schedule says it should take 30 minutes but it can take anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes to get in to the city on the bus.

I normally catch the bus outside of the Hackensack police station where my Mom drops me off when she gets off of work. She thinks that is the "safest" stop because it's right by the cops. Well for some reason a cop car is always illgally parked outside the station and usually near the bus stop where the bus needs to pull in to pick up passengers. So once again a cop was parking illegally near the bus stop and the bus driver damn near took the cop and his car door off. It wasn't totally the bus driver's fault. But the cop calls all his cop buddies and there is a cop pow wow in front of the station. They hold up the bus and everyone on it and give the driver a ticket. So of course my express bus was even later than normal.

Only in New York City would Starbucks run out of the strawberry stuff for my strawberries and cream frappaccino.

As most of y'all know I'm not a coffee drinker. But there are two drinks I will get at Starbucks...a chai tea latte or strawberrry and cream frappaccino. Well I have been having a strawberry and cream frappaccino craving and every Starbucks I went to was out of the strawberry stuff so I had to order something else...but I still had the craving. I went to the Starbucks on 43rd and 9th...they were out...the Starbucks on 42nd and 8th...they were out...the Starbucks on 38th and 7th...they were out...I finally found my drink at the Starbucks on 39th and 8th.

Only in New York City would I be able to walk to four Starbucks in search of my Strawberries and Cream Frappaccino.

Yes I have become a Starbucks addict. And there are so many of them that I was able to purposely walk a route where I knew I would pass at least 3 of them. The fourth one turned out to be a charm. But just goes to show it's a damn shamw how many Starbucks are in NYC and what a craving will drive a person to do. I wonder if there are more Starbucks in NYC than there are in Seattle.

Only in New York City can someone charge $1275 for a 450 sq ft, 1 bedroom apartment.

My apartment hunt continues. I have put in an application at one place but as I wait for them to process my stuff (which it has officially been a week) I'm still looking at other places. When I call or email someone from Craig's List I always ask the square footage of the apartment because I'm not going to waste my time seeing an apt that I know will not even fit my bedroom set. So I responded to one ad and the guy wanted $1275 for a 450 sq ft, 1 bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. I think he was charging so much because of the location. It's in a new building in an up and coming part of Brooklyn near a new Target and all kinds of shopping places. But I'm not going to pay that much to live in Brooklyn when I can pay the same amount for a bigger spot in Jersey City. Equal distance if you ask me....but not equal cost.

Tune in for the next edition of "Only in New York City..."

The Flavor of Carolina

Now y'all know I watch a lot of TV. And I just love VH1's Celebreality. So there is this show called Flavor of Love where ladies compete to win the love of Flavor Flav of Public Enemy. Well there is one contestant who I just knew I knew. Every time I watch the show I say to myself I know she went to Carolina. And come to find out, she did.

Her name is Courtney Jackson aka Ghetto Courtney. Supposedly she is trying to be a comedianne out in L.A. Back when I knew her at Carolina she used to do my cornrows for me every now and then in her dorm room in Cobb. She is the most normal/down to earth contestant on the show. Well her and Hoops. But she hasn't mentioned her N.C. connection at all. But you can tell she is from the south when she talks.

To her credit she was the most down to earth at UNC too...not fake like most chicks. I don't know why she is competing for the love of Flavor Flav but to each his or her own. I wish her luck though because I think Flavor could use a level-headed down to Earth female in his life to balance out all his crazy antics.

What Kind of Girl Are You?

I usually don't like taking quizzes because well, I just think they are stupid. I used to get all hyped about the quizzes in Seventeen and Teen magazine I was growing up. And they would do those special issues with EXTRA QUIZZES...lol. But this one was sent to me today and since I was waiting for the final Knicks gamer to come in I decided to try it. And it hit the nail on the head.

What kind of girl is Mia?

You are a Tomboy Girl!
Instead of flirting, you tend to pal around with the guys you crush on. And why not? You can hold your own in sports, video games, and gross out contests. Just make sure and suprise them with a touch of girlishness every once and a while. Then you'll be treated like the hottie you are - not like one of the guys.

You can try this quiz for yourself at http://ynr.blogthings.com/whatkindofgirlareyouquiz/

Only in New York City

I hope this will be the first of many "Only in New York City...." posts.

Only in New York City would two women get in to a fight in the line at the post office.

I was just at the post office. Why did 2 women get in to a fight right behind me. Why does the craziest shit happen wherever I am when I'm in the city? An asian woman stepped on a jamaican woman's foot...and she didn't say excuse me or sorry...so the jamaican woman said you stepped on my foot...the asian woman immediately gets loud and says no i didn't...so the black woman stepped on her foot to teach her a lesson and let her know how it felt...she said whether you knew you did it or not all you had to say was excuse me...than she starts ranting about how asian people are so rude...and always say they didn't do anything instead of saying i'm sorry or excuse me...and she said she was fed up with it...so finger in face pointing and shoving ensued...and i'm standing in front of the jamaican woman like how does shit like this always happen when i'm around? So a post office official calls the police and the women continue to bicker under their breath.

Only in New York City would a guy try to hit on you through the window of a Starbucks as you are enjoying your Chai Tea Latte.

So this guy walks by the glass window as I'm sitting at the counter enjoying my overpriced tea and people watching. He stops at the window and mouths the words. "You have the most beautiful smile." I keep smiling and say thank you and try to look busy. He comes in to the Starbucks and starts dropping his game on me. His game was so lame I couldn't help but laugh the entire time he was talking to me. Here's a sample from the wordsmith: "In the mean time, in between time, why don't you give me a call." He also kept asking me my name. "If I keep asking your name it's because I don't want to forget it." Dude was lame from the moment he said my eyes were beautiful. And where do I start...the shades at night...the fur coat...the crooked teeth...the breath wreaking of Hennessey. His name was Cedric and I think pimp Cedric was trying to pimp me but little did he know that Mia is a pimp. Game recognize game.

My way or the highway

One thing I have learned is everyone has a method to their madness especially in how they do their job. One of my co-workers does it one way, another co-worker does it another way but I hope they both realize that when I take the full lead I'm going to do it the way I want to do it and if anyone doesn't like it...too bad...do it themselves than. I'm going to set up my work flow the best way that works for me.

In search of home

First I have to thank Chartruese and Unk T for the MTA cards. They came in quite handy when my mom and I were apt hunting in NYC. In one day I rode the 2,3,4 and C. We were all over NYC from Harlem to Brooklyn.

Next I have to thank my mom for going all over New Jersey and NYC with me this past weekend in search for a new dwelling. If I wasn't searching for myself I don't think I would have the patience for all the treking I had my momma doing.

Day 1 of house hunting I found some really nice spots in Jersey City and West New York and I found some rat holes. More nice spots than rat holes. Day 2 it freaking snowed and iced over so my mom and I had to leave out extra early to deal with all the ice every where we walked. Again I found some nice spots and some rat holes but I can't say there is any place that I saw that I feel 100% about.

There was one place that was absolutely immaculate but the landlord wants $1700 or $1800 depending on which floor of the unit I pick. Please believe the place was worth every penny of the money he is asking for. In fact it is really worth more. Any realtor or broker would tell him to charge $2100-$2200. I just don't know if I can justify spending that much money on a place that I will hardly be at although I would like to have a home that I'm proud of and would be proud for anyone to see.

I just want to get that feeling I got when I got my first apartment in Atlanta. I looked at over 50 places before I found the apartment I chose and I knew it was the one for me as soon as I walked in to it. It just felt right, it felt like home. So I need to call and email some people today and say thanks but no thanks and others I need to hold on to because I don't think at the price point I'm looking at they will be snatched up right away.

Shish Kebob

Nothing symbolizes New York City more for me than the shish kebob.

The shish kebob is pieces of seasoned meat on a skewer. Every time I come to New York City I just have to get me one. So day two of my return to the Big City I just had to get me one. And man it was soooo good.

New York, New York

I made it, in one piece, thanks to Trinidad Brotha who flew down to help me drive up. He helped me pack, pack the car and drive. We even made a pit stop in Chapel Hill so I could show him the campus and eat at Time Out...the greasiest fried chicken on the planet.

And he had fun hanging out with me and my friends for a few days before I departed. He even got to meet my cousins. All I can say is God Bless him if he could endure all that...lol.

Today is my first day of work and so far, so good. Too early to judge or to complain. But living at home...I don't know about that. Luckily Trinidad Brotha has offered me his air mattress if it gets to be too much at home.

Is that your final answer?

After weeks of debating what to do I decided to do a fast with some of my family members. Despite everything going on my mind became clear. I'm going to NYC and The New York Times on the Web. I know this is like dejavu given that I already said I was going to NYC but there were some distractions thrown at me and I became unsure of what I really wanted to do. But NYC is my final answer and the movers are here as I type.

I am thankful for the opportunities that have been given to me. I still LOVE radio but if that is in my plan God will make it happen no matter where I am at. I know I got some things to take care of at home and despite the fact that EVERYONE knows home is the last place I want to be God clearly has something more in store for me.

Thanks to everyone for your love and support in what was a very confusing time for me. I may be moving but I'm not gone forever. I'll be back in February to go on the Diva Dating ski trip. It's not too late to sign up. And beyond that I don't know but that's okay because I know I can always call Atlanta home.

Where I'm At

Wish I had more definitive news to tell y'all. But as of right now I still have a second interview with Sandy Springs BUT it is now a phone interview. So technically I can be in NYC and start at NYT and still do the second interview. I just don't know y'all. I'm seriously in need of advice and prayers.

As far as my weekend I had a blast...thanks so much to my Trinidad Brotha for hanging out with me and putting up with me although I think I left his home better than when I first arrived. This was definetely one of the best New Year's weekends I ever had and he helped me to get the year off to a good start.

New Year's Eve recap

This was one of the best New Year's Eve's I can remember! Trinidad Brotha got the hook up. He got us two tickets to the ESPN2 party at the Hard Rock Cafe right in the middle of Times Square. Unlimited free food and drinks. Now that is how you are supposed to bring in the new year. The first time in a long time I had someone to kiss at the stroke of midnight although Trinidad Brotha is like a brother to me so my stroke of midnight was a tad bit incestuous. But it was all in celebration of the holiday.