Thursday, July 25, 2013

Random Observations

Hey Beautiful People,
Sisters 4 Life!!!
Although it's been 2 weeks since I returned from The Essence Festival... I have to give you my own personal annoying experience on United Airlines!!! I just can't let it go. I need people to be aware of stupid shit people do on the plane. If this is you...Get It Together!!

#1 - Your seat is way in the back...Don't get up and stand in the aisle once the plane stops and block everyone...where are you going...nowhere...sit down until it's your turn. Have some consideration.

#2 - Don't try and leave the plane before other people who are seated in front of you...that is so annoying...once again sit your ass down and wait your turn. Use your common sense.

Consistently NOT following instructions!

#3 - Taking the seatbelt off while the plane is still moving, Really? You must not care about your safety!

#4 - There are pictures on the overhead compartment on how to stow your bag, to make it easy for you...and the passengers still can't get it right!

The United Airlines flight attendants were useless. There were passengers struggling to put their bags in the overhead bin.  The already existing bags weren't stowed correctly and they didn't even bother to correct them in an effort to fix the problem. Only towards the end did they start helping the passengers. I was extremely disappointed with their lack of customer service.

#5 - Major Pet Peeve - Why you All up in MY space. If I can feel you on my backpack...you just might catch an elbow playing me too close!

#6 - Last but not Least - Asking other passengers to switch seats because you messed up your own seat assignment (not my damn problem).

Like my twin sister says - I need my own private jet because I really don't like People...
No really I don't...Lol, too many people and not enough Common Sense!


On a more positive note I am happy to report that I had a Great 1st Week at my New Job!! Unfortunately, I have the hardest time getting up in the morning...yeah, yeah you already know why...

but I can't complain because I finally got My Life Back and just in time to Celebrate my girl Jackie's "Star" Birthday Friday night @ La Vida Lounge in Hollywood.

Sidebar - Jackie is the one who gave me the nickname "Glamour Girl" when I first started working for LA County and its stuck with me ever since!!!

Truth be told I was debating (with myself, of course) about whether I wanted to go or not...I'm getting old you guys, Lol. I always make big plans to go out and but when it gets down to it I get lazy and I don't want to go through the "glam gyrl process". But I'm so glad I pulled it together because Jackie always has THE BEST Birthday Parties and so I knew deep down I couldn't miss it! As quickly as I talked myself out of going, I talked myself back into going. Helloooo...I don't work nights or weekends anymore and I had a dress in the closet waiting to be worn! There was no reason for me not to go!

Although I was having a Great time with the Birthday Girl & Friends..."Bi*!€h Don't Kill My Vibe" is what I wanted to Yell across the Club when I saw another female (that I happened to know) with my exact same dress on. Now don't get me wrong I am fully aware that this may happen sometimes so I have no problem about being a good sport. Because I knew the girl, I went up to her and tapped her to get her attention, but she reacted like I was the plague and literally ran in the opposite Direction! Really??? Whether we are side by side or located in two different areas in the Club, "we still have on the same dress " and people have already noticed and will point it out to you! All I know is that I bet not run into her ass in the future...I will act like I don't know her...and then watch her face crack!! I can be an Asshole sometimes I just never get the chance to, that often and so I'm looking forward to it! (insert evil laugh, Lol)

Friday night was Fun but Saturday I had to prepare for Sunday's JazzFest West Music Festival. Togo's lunch boxes - check, El Pollo Loco chicken -check, pasta, Hawaiian bread, salad, dessert and fruit - check and Stella Rosa Red Wine and Moscato hidden at the bottom of the cooler - check! The weather was great, no scorching sun or rain. I actually got up at 7am because I went to bed early the night before (you should be proud of me, lol). We arrived to the Festival early and got a great seat right in the middle of all the excitement. I hung with family and friends and had a great relaxing time at the jazz festival.
 
My #1 partner in crime Timi was at the Jazz Festival and as we were conversing she made a very good observation. Timi asked me, "How many guys have tried to talk to you at the festival today?" I told her "not one...but zero"!!! She explained that not one thing had changed about me since we returned from New Orleans...my hair (curly weave :) was the same, I had on a cute dress and my personality is always a friendly demeanor. There were several opportunities when we would pass in front of a group of men and there was no backwards glance, no greeting, nothing! It didn't even occur to me until she said something. See this is the shit I'm talking about when living in L.A.  You would have thought this would have been the perfect opportunity for me to meet someone...but no such luck. I don't get it!!! This is why I always look forward to going to the Essence Festival so much...the men out there show nothin but love for the women!! I really think I need to contemplate moving!!!

Speaking of moving...I've been in contact with my new friend in Germany! Now seeing that we are both Essence veterans you would think that we both are aware of the cardinal rule to the Essence Festival...and that is, once we leave New Orleans there is no more contact with one another. I really did not think that I would talk to him again because he's a continent away, LOL. You never have any high expectations coming away from the Essence Festival because everyone is coming out to do one thing...and that's to have a good time. We are all from different states, we exchange numbers, meet up at the local parties, get to know each other, have a great time and then part our separate ways. Unless there was some kind of love connection...what happens in Essence normally stays in Essence. But surprisingly I got a text message from him which has led to a few email exchanges...Whaaat?? I'm not going to get my hopes up but my younger cousin Jazmine did ask "what's wrong with going to London?" Hmmmm, I do have my passport!!! Baby steps...lets see how the email exchanges go!
In the meantime...since no one has put a ring on it,
it looks like the Adventures of SingleNFabulous Must Go On!
More Jazz Festivals and Fun Events Coming Up!
Stay Tuned Fab Followers...Smooches!!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Turnt Up at the Essence Music Festival


Hey Beautiful People,

Get comfortable this Blog is going to be straight Comedy!
The 19th Annual Essence Music Festival in New Orleans
from the SingleNFabulous perspective!
(smiley face with a wink)

I don't even know where to start...let me stop lying...YES I DO....it all began on Thursday morning, 4th of July, 2013


First of all, my ass over slept, smh...my flight was leaving at 9:30am and I was supposed to be up at 6:30am. Needless to say that didn't happen (you guys know I don't do mornings)!  My twin sis had to wake me up to get my butt to LAX right on time! I got through TSA without any issues and I arrived at my departure gate with plenty of time to spare to get coffee and a cinnamon roll.

New Orleans ain't ready for US!
My partner in crime this year to accompany me in my Essence Music Festival shenanigans was "the one and only Timika!" I roll with a small clique because I just find it's much easier to manage and for the most part two people are more likely to be on the same page versus multiple people, personalities and opinions. Did I mention I dont like a whole lot of people lol, yeah thats just ME!

Okay, let me get the formalities out of the way - Overall the weather was warm and humid (not too hot) with random bursts of thunderstorms...don't ask...it's New Orleans which is notorious for unpredictable weather! Thank goodness I checked the forecast before I left LA and was semi-prepared and packed my mini-size umbrella. It didn't help that I left it in the hotel room on the first night it rained, Lol.

Every day I was meeting someone new...which was the best part of the trip. I had my Foxy "Sandy" Brown Curly Weave in and I couldn't keep 'em off me, LMAO. Truthfully I don't know what color my damn hair is as my hair stylist refuses to tell me, well...she may have hinted at it being honey blonde...but idk. I just know she makes me look HOTT every time I walk out the shop!

I splurged a little and got some eyelash extensions at this beauty spa in the South Bay Area specifically for this trip and they came out pretty cool as they looked really natural. It was a good investment and much better than going to the Nail shop and dealing with those amateurs!

My daytime outfits were on point. At first I thought I over-packed but I wore all my dresses and then thought that I should've had 1 or 2 more back-up outfits in case of a wardrobe malfunction...but everything worked itself out. Except, I didn't get to rock my night time Thick Chick clubbin outfits like I thought I would (sad face).

Thursday evening we arrived in New Orleans with no problem. We saw Mary Mary with their husbands and Chef Roble in the airport waiting on car service (must be nice)! We rode the Airport Shuttle to the Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel and quickly checked into our room. I think this hotel is a pretty cool spot for the festival as it sits on the corner of Bourbon and Canal. The "front door" gives you access to the various shopping stores on Canal Street (Footlocker, Nine West Outlet, CVS etc.) and you can visit the lounge bars in the other hotels on the block. The "side door" gives you access to Bourbon Street and all the ratchet activities for the night. Once you go down Bourbon Street be prepared as you are entering the "dark side," Lol (that's a good thing)!

@The Infamous Razzoo's
The Essence Music Festival Adventures of SingleNFabulous went from Thursday to Monday so naturally we walked Bourbon Street and visited the infamous Razzoo Club and Patio several times!
What I can tell you is this...when going to these two places make sure you go early (once at night and once in the daytime) before everyone comes into town on Friday or Saturday. I had fun but as more people came to town the crazier it got and the harder it was to function at either one of these two hot spots! Me and Timi had to check to see if we were pregnant (after being felt up so many times) LOL. We had to squeeze through a sea of men from the front entrance of the club to reach the back patio. Now don't get me wrong it was to be expected but as mentioned before it becomes more and more difficult to have a good time when there are extremely too many people in one spot!
Weekend Highlights 

Its mandatory that you mix and mingle at the W Hotel in their upstairs bar & lounge. All you need is a DJ on the 1s and 2s and an abundance of handsome men buying drinks! You can go to the W in the daytime or at night time and they will always get it crackin!


Rockin our All White Gear!
We then made our way to the 15th Annual All White Party at Metropolitan Nightclub "Cause We Like to Partaaaaaaaaaaaay!" Just our luck...we met some cool women that got us past the wait in line and went straight to the upstairs VIP section. General Admission was a zoo but it was still FUN to socialize with everyone. The comedian Kevin Hart made an appearance to get the party Turnt Up!(he's the little man in the middle with a black shirt and sunglasses on - right below, lol). It was a very big venue and able to accommodate a lot of people. If you got there too late you were "assed out" - No Entry for You!
 
Kevin Hart in the Building!
After shutting down the white party we finally made it to our Friday Night Concert at the Mercedes Benz Louisiana Superdome. The artist line-up was great and consisted of Brandy, LL Cool J, Jill Scott and Maxwell. We were on CP time and the impromptu rainstorm earlier in the day prevented us from arriving on time to see Brandy perform. I've seen Jill Scott and Maxwell in concert several times. I really just wanted to see LL Cool J since he is a Rap ICON and I've never seen him in concert before. I was very happy when I found out one of my favorite soul singer's Anthony David was performing in one of the Super Lounges so I was able to get away and groove with him in between the main stage acts.

Concert Floor Seats @ The Superdome
Essence is always packed with so many cool people from The East Coast, West Coast, Dirty South and Midwest. I had plenty of girl friends that were going to be in New Orleans doing their thing and I knew we were bound to run into each other. Shout out - Although I didn't get to see my friend April and her husband (and we were staying in the same hotel)...I did run into my girl Kashawndra and her friends at Mother's restaurant! I also ran into my friend Tamanika in front of the Astor Crowne on the last day of activities.



Oh I almost forgot....me and Timi made a new friend...Miss Jamala from Oakland. We met her by accident while waiting on a taxi and ended up hanging out together. You know I dont like random people lmao, but she was a cool girl so I guess it was meant to be! I have to say that girl is a "pro" at taking "selfies" with her camera phone, Lol.
 
Me and Jamala

 The BEST part of the trip -
(in my Salt n Pepa voice)
"What's my weakness?... MEN!"
 
For whatever reason we met a lot of guys hailing from the East Coast and they were real Cool ! However, the one downfall was that they were very "clingy". Okay let me break it down...
At the Essence Festival EVERYONE is Single, Lol. But you have to be careful because men have their own agenda and women have theirs too. Unfortunately there are several "married men" and "single desperate men" looking to hook up!! Then you have my dilemma...the single men looking to "wife you up after meeting you in one night" Really??
This is the Essence Festival!!!!!

The main purpose is to meet new people and have a good time...not to make any "love connections" unless they live in the same area as you or you are willing to commit to a long distance relationship. I just kept attracting the clingy men that wanted to kick it "alllllll the tiiiiiiiiiiime" and of course those were the ones I wasn't interested in. I had to tell them "Sheda is a Free Agent" and then try to figure out who was worthy of my time! Believe me this only happens at Essence...me being torn between so many men. Now I'm not complaining...I'm just saying (smiley face)! Consequently...I can't get not one man to fight over my time or affection in L.A., that's a damn shame!

HOWEVER, there was this one guy I saw "sitting alone" in IHOP who was simply Gorgeous...he had so much New York Swag I just couldn't resist. He was at least 6 feet tall, ripped arms, New York Knicks hat on with a basketball Jersey reppin Brooklyn. I just had to meet him!! Timi had my back and we were formulating a plan on how she was going to approach him so she could introduce me to him...because I couldn't bring myself to do it on my own. Timi was ready to make it happen but in just a short amount of time his food came to the table and I just knew it would be rude to try and talk to him at that point. So of course I became discouraged ...but I just couldnt let it go. So I had to get creative and I decided to take matters into my own hands. I asked the hostess for a pen and paper and wrote him a note explaining that I didn't want to be rude and interrupt his breakfast but if he was interested in hanging out during the Essence Festival weekend I gave him my phone number and told him to call me. I went to his table, introduced myself, slid the piece of paper to him, he greeted me and I left. It was out of my hands at that point.

Loungin
In 5-10 min. flat I received a text message from him (damn I'm good, Lol). I found out he was in the service and stationed in Germany. He was on vacation and meeting his boys at the Essence Festival who were flying in later on that night. In addition, he expressed interest in meeting up later to hang out with me. Long story short I had several different opportunities to hang out with him over the weekend...no clingy shit...just a real cool vibe. I learned all kinds of interesting things about him. He's a younga man (early 30's), he has a great personality, a good sense of humor, a good paying job/career in the service, he loves R&B and Hip Hop music and he's just a well-rounded person with a 6 pack of ABS to die for...and how do I know this you ask??...He had his shirt off when we were sitting by the hotel pool having a conversation (get your mind out of the gutta, lmao)!!! Oh did I mention he was WHITE!!!!! Yeah pick your jaw up off the floor...that was one Fine Ass white boy!

I tell you Fab Followers I don't discriminate I just need my MATE to be my best friend and It's All Good. Too bad this one has to go back to Germany. I feel like playing my favorite song (on repeat) "You Can't Win" by Michael Jackson off The Wiz Soundtrack (sad face).  I met plenty of guys this past weekend but this was the only one that I made a cool connection with and of course he has to be stationed in another country... talk about Long Distance!

Well Essence was FUN but it's over now and I must return to the Real World!
I had a great time, enjoyed great company, ate some great food and partied my bougie butt off !!! If you haven't attended the Essence Music Festival
you need to plan to go at least once...Mandatory!!

I can honestly say this experience alone gives me Faith that there are A few good men leftbut is possible my soul mate may not reside in Cali...
Looks like I need to get out and travel some more.
Timika says we need to go to Aruba nextSounds like a Plan!!!

Stay Tuned...The Adventures of SingleNFabulous must continue since there were
No Love Connections in New Orleans (sad face)!
Smooches

 

 

Thursday, July 4, 2013

The Pursuit of Happyness


Hi Beautiful People,
 
If you've seen the movie then you know I purposefully spelled Happyness wrong in the title, I just thought it was fitting for the topic at hand!
 
It's Official...I Quit My Job!
I was so Over It !

Me and my Twin Sis at the Playboy Jazz Festival
 
It finally came time for me to move on to bigger and better things! After testing out a new position at my job and things not working out in "my best interest" I came to the conclusion that this was not the position for me. I weighed the pros and cons and came to  the conclusion that the new position did not contribute to my plan towards my career in the future.
 
I decided I could no longer continue to let anyone else make decisions regarding MY future! So I resigned from my job and "stepped out on faith". It was very hard and I went through a range of emotions - from fear of what was to come...to anxiety on what I would do next. I already had 1 job lined up but then I received a call from another job, right on time!
 
I ultimately concluded that I just couldn't continue to sacrifice my personal life and my personal goals to satisfy "a county entity" that just views me as "expendable".  So the next step was for me to either "make moves" or stay stagnant in my career. I choose to take back control and only sacrifice what is "necessary" until I reach my ultimate goal. So in the end, I got my life back - I get to spend time with my family during daylight hours (no more team Edward, lol) and I get creative control of my schedule and most importantly I'm Happy!When I left it felt like a weight had been lifted. I FEEL so much BETTER! I can't wait to start my new career adventure in the next couple of weeks...to be continued.

I've received a lot of positive responses from my co-workers at my job and after 8 years of dedication I hope I have inspired others to pursue their passion and not let any JOB take away their HAPPYNESS...it's not Worth It!

If you can't tell I LOVE my new yellow snakeskin Cape!!
 
It's unfortunate but I have been reduced to taking pictures of myself in the mirror as no one is as enthusiastic as I am to take a picture of ME to help me out with my Blog (namely my sister Keesha, LOL). I had to put her on Blast...she's so tired of me asking...but that's okay I'm going to have to get more creative with my Photo Ops!
 
Seeing that I have nothing else better to do...because I'm in-between Jobs, LOL. I've attended the Playboy Jazz Festival, hung out at the Citadel Outlets, went to the LA LIVE BET Experience and anything else I could possibly think of since I now have all this free time on my hands. I think I may have had 1 day where I was at home "doing nothing". I'm Baaaaaack...my social life is back in full swing and I can't wait to take advantage of all the upcoming summer activities!


Well it's that time again and I'm preparing to go to the Essence Festival in New Orleans, as this is what I LOVE to do every other year!

Dresses - Check
Sandals - Check
Sunglasses - Check
Hotel & Airfare - Check
Curly Weave - Double Check
About to get into some Shenanigans - Hell Yeah!!

 
 
 
The Adventures of SingleNFabulous are about to get Turnt Up in
New Orleans 
on 4th of July Weekend!!

Stay Tuned...Smooches!!