The Weekend Six.

So, every time I get ready to write something, or I start in on something, I get distracted, and by the time I get back to it, I've either lost my train of thought, or it's somewhat irrelevant. So, I had to come up with a way to cover all the things I wanted to post about, without letting them get too far out of my mind.

And from that, The Weekend Six was born...a healthy mix of personal news, social commentary, random thoughts, and important info, all wrapped into one. Why six? Well, if you've been paying attention, you'll realize why the number six is important to me. There's gonna be something for everyone and no one at the same time. Let's get started, shall we?

1. Why is Blake Griffin such a beast?

Proof here:



And here:



First, I gotta give the kid props for staying in school for more than one year...that NBA money is tempting. He's showing, night in and night out, that he's definitely close to being ready for the grown man's game. Almost guaranteed double-double? Yep. Constant double and triple teams? Yep. Coaches sending in goons to take him out? Oh, yeah. He's ready for prime time...now, let's see what he does against Tyler Hansbrough.

*Update" - Not well. UNC gets the W, which does my bracket justice. Hopefully, they'll end up in opposite brackets next year.

2. No More Tom Joyner In Chicago?

I was on my home from Targe', and I hear the news that Steve Harvey is moving to V103 in the morning slot, replacing one of the most famous and well-respected DJs in the city of Chicago.

You can get Joyner's take on the situation here.

Now, I'm not a hater of Steve Harvey in the least, but Tom Joyner's been a part of Chicago all of my life, and he's always done an excellent job of being a beacon for the Black community. Thankfully, national syndication keeps his show online, but it's still going to be weird not hearing "It's Your World" or J. Anthony Brown acting a grown fool in the AM. I am, however, looking forward to finding out how well Tony Sculfield works in the hot spot. And whatever happened to Howard McGee?...

3. It Takes A Special Man And Woman To Be Friends.

Before I get into this, I preface it by saying that I am, by no means, an authority on this subject. In fact, I might be at the bottom of the list of people to accept advice from.

Now...this stems from a conversation I had with a female friend on Friday evening. We were going back and forth about details for plans, and I said something that could very well have been taken as innuendo, but had no intention of being so. But, since the conversation was happening via text, it was easily lost in translation, and she felt inclined to remind me that "there is boundaries." Never mind the grammatical error...

Usually, if I'm going to head down that flirty/double meaning road with someone, I'm going to laugh about it...I was pretty serious about what I was getting at. And I CANNOT stand when people take what I've said, and form their POV, without some form of clarification. Now, for back story's sake, it's someone I met for dating purposes, and it didn't work out, but...we haven't physically been in the same place in seven months, we've dated other people, and there's been no mention of the original reason for us meeting since. Why would I be inclined to hit on someone, when there hasn't even been a real effort to hang out as friends?

"Oh, but you always slide in slick lines," she says. Well, I do admit that it's something that I do with female friends, but only when I'm assured that they're comfortable with jabbing back and forth about different things, and understanding that things are, well, understood. I've known you for almost a year, I barely see you, and you STILL think I'm trying to hook up with you? Maybe I missed the memo. What are *you* thinking? Note to the masses: texting = fail. I'm not a phone call person, but I'm definitely starting to realize that it's a better option, and not utilizing it says a lot more than people think. Pick up the phone in the future, mmmkay?

4. Newsflash: The Job Market Is ROUGH.

This is coming straight from the Department of Redundancy Department, but Wednesday afternoon really made me want to drive this point home. I went down to apply for the new hotel opening downtown in a couple months, and the line from the building they were hosting this "job fair" was, I kid you not, up the block...around the corner...halfway down the block...up the back alley...and all the way back down the other side of the alley.

There were people from all walks of life: couples wanting to start something new together, multiple generations looking to support each other, seasoned professionals either looking for something new, or looking to save the things they still have. There was a woman in front of me who does payroll-type deals...usually a solid career, but she was at the point where she was struggling to pay her bills through unemployment, and needed to find a job to keep her place. I took pictures of the scene (which I'll have to upload later), did what I had to do, and finished my day.

But yeah...upwards of 3,000 people, and 300 jobs. You know that it's a sad state of affairs, but you don't really take it in until you witness live and direct.

5. Two More Months To Go.

I'm itching to get back to school, and it's right around the corner. I don't care that it's summer session, I just want to go. I'm sure I'll have to work like a Hebrew slave until then to make sure it's paid, but it's a price to pay.

I think about the relationships that have been either permanently damaged, or completely lost, by the fact that I've yet to finish my post-secondary endeavours. Not because I haven't finished, per se, but because there's this idea that I'm too smart not to have a degree in something. I could really go into how much it pisses me off that no one seems to care about what *MY* take on things were at the time I left school, what I feel about the entire realm in general, and all that falls in between. But...it really doesn't matter at this point. To them, it was, "You should be doing this. I don't want to look bad. We can't be around each other anymore."

It's sad that you have to lose so much to regain yourself...I guess it happens that way, though. However, I've come to terms with with the fact that if I'm going to get through life, I can do it my way, but I'm going to have to give the "company response" to anyone who asks about this particular subject. I'm not against asking for advice or assistance, but I expect absolutely nothing.

And while it's fresh in my mind...English/Journalism/Computer Science/Information Technology, with emphases in writing and web design. PC maintenance and repair by request (hardware and software). Developing and expanding "The Life And Times Of...", including audio and video updates, and eventually connecting with more commercial sites. Being a positive male role model for the little dude.

That...is what I'm doing with my life. I'm not really inclined to document every little step I make, which takes Twitter completely out of the equation. But if we talk (or talked) fairly regularly, and you can't seem to recall things we talked about less than a week ago, that's a problem. If you're curious about anything, you know how to reach me. If you couldn't care less...it was nice knowing you.

6. Today...I Walk Alone.

The drama that unfolded in Point #3 made this decision a lot easier for me. I'm putting in a "relationship freeze" until I finish school. Not just in the dating sense, but in the most basic of basics. In the last year or so, I've let a lot of people into my life that, for lack of a better way to put it, have patronized me cause I happen to be nice to them.

While it may seem like a bit of an outlandish option to some, there are times of leniency to be had with this. Mostly, it's an effective way of establishing friends from people you happen to talk to every once in a while. That, and I'm a sucker for social experiments. It's like watching rats in a maze!

So, to paraphrase for the week:

- Blake Griffin = beast. But experience counts.
- No Tom Joyner? Bad news.
- Hmm...a few can go here. A few to consider: Nothing can substitute for the human voice. Ask, don't assume. Keep your ego in check.
- Hopefully, the economy is at its worst.
- School needs to come, and fast.
- Nothing wrong with a little personal time.

Get it? Got it? Good. Until next week, everyone.