Karma is a Bitch

"How people treat you is their karma. 

How you respond to it, is yours."

Do you agree?
I was thinking about this while I read an article interviewing author Jodi Picoult. She was reflecting on her own racism and telling a few stories of how black Americans seek to make the environment 'comfortable' for their white countrymen. One lady apparently carried a bottle of Voss water on the train to indicate to her fellow travelers that it was okay to sit next to her.

Frankly if it was me and no one wanted to sit next to me because of my very dark skin color, I would take it as a chance to spread myself out, put my bag on the bench next to me, extract a book, make myself comfortable, maybe put my feet up, and read for the rest of the journey. Because you know what? You not wanting to sit next to me is absolutely not my problem. And to make it my problem is to add stress to my life that I don't need.
Then she told this story about a black nurse. Some nazi wannabe had a baby born at the hospital where she works and when he saw the nurse working in the NICU he complained to the hospital admin that he did not want a black nurse touching his baby. Apparently, the hospital just made a note of it in his file...NO BLACK NURSE SHOULD TOUCH SO AND SO'S CHILD.

Question; does that mean that they had to take a look at their rotation to make sure there was always a white nurse on staff? Or were there times when that child was left unattended because there was no white nurse currently working? What about black doctors? Were they also exempt? What if the only pediatrician was a person of color? Would the hospital have hired a new one to cater to the skinhead's kid? Just how far would everyone bend over backward to accommodate this racism? Americans really blow my mind sometimes. Not to say that there is no bias or racism anywhere else on earth, but America is the only place where it is a semi-official policy. Where segregation is still very much publicly tolerated. Like if that happened here, everyone would look at you like you like you just lost your damned mind and go about their business as if you hadn't said anything.
It must be stressful to live in that kind of environment. All the more reason not to make other people's actions your problem. That nurse should look at being banned from touching that future nazi like a break from work.
"Oh, the time I would have spent looking after this child, let's see, I could apply for a Ph.D. program with the money I'm going to get from the discrimination lawsuit imma file. Get out of this bullshit ward and go work for Johns Hopkins or something. The CDC."
Because you can wallow in the unfairness of life or you can take that lemon and make lemonade like nobody's business.

Speaking of lemons, dude! Have you heard +Rihanna rap on the new N.E.R.D song? Straight fire. Is there nothing my president can't do? I am further inspired. Now if I can turn that inspiration to focus, I would be on fire myself. My cousin posted an excerpt from a self-development seminar she was attending stating that focus was about feelings.That hit me right in my solar plexus because I've had difficulty finding focus for my ghostwriting work. I realized it is because I've been bored by it. Ambivalent. And if my feelings don't change, my work will definitely suffer. I think with nostalgia how much I used to enjoy putting pen to paper...okay fingers to keyboard; and I wonder where I lost it. I still have it with my own work, but for other people, not so much. I probably need to get that back; like yesterday.
Knowing the problem is half the solution right?
My problems are not entertaining, are they?

Tyrese's are though. I used to follow him on Instagram long ago, but I stopped because he's an idiot. No seriously, I'm not trying to insult him. He's a legit idiot. An idiot with lots of talent but not much sense. Kind of an idiot savant. But this last week or three he's managed to get himself in all the blogs with his Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson/Baby Mama feud. I kind of felt like, second-hand embarrassment for him because chile...You have to have some sort of chill. Some self-awareness. Otherwise, it gets real painful outchea in these streets. I suspect that secondhand embarrassment is what made the Smiths (Will and Jada) raid their petty cash and send him 5million to stay off the gram. Because seriously...ouch.
I think back to all the franchises Tyrese has been in, and I wonder at him saying he's broke. I remember that he fucked up the joint album he was supposed to do with Ginuwine and Tank because he wanted more money than them. And ended up making no money. Meanwhile, he's broke, or so he says.
Make good decisions people.
Same thing with Mary J. Like thirty years of hits and she's on negative eleven million.
What the fuck?

Meanwhile, my president lost almost all her money when she was just barely out of her teens, worked hard to make it back tenfold, and successfully sued her management to get her original eleven million back. What does she have that they don't? Good management? An education? what? And can they possibly get it? Is it too late?
It's nice to see that other people's lives are a mess right? It makes you think that you're not doing so bad. I rather look at people like Rihanna and feel inspired to do better than look at Tyrese and wonder what went wrong. A man has talent, he has opportunity, what does he do with it?
I'd rather ask that question of myself.
What I am trying to do with it, is edutain y'all with stories.
This month, November is horror month.
Don't question it, just go with it.
Have you read In the Shadow of the Styx yet?

Deeply Wailing; Deeply Waaaiiiilliingg

The grim reaper has been busy as fuck this week. It's not okay anymore. The Angel of Death has to be stopped. Like seriously, someone get him. Sam? Dean? Where are you when we need you?

My Brother's Keeper: Supernatural season 10 finale

First of all, I was taking a break from my phone, deciding to read a story and not religiously check my messages and such when +Prince Rogers Nelson died.

Yeah.
Prince is dead.
Now if you had asked me last week how I would feel if Prince died I would have said, "Eh, it would be a loss; like Michael you know? In that abstract way that the maker of great music is gone. A tragedy but at least we'll always have the music."
It wasn't like that.

It was more like an elephant sat on my chest and refused to leave. My heart was heavy and I watched CNN until 3am and cried. All these days later, it's still not okay in spite of all the other people who have died as well. What makes it worse is that living with a sixteen year old; he doesn't really appreciate the enormity of my loss. He's so okay with Prince being dead that I want to smack him upside the head. I'm still in mourning. I am not responsible for my words.

Prince Nelson Rogers

For me, that was the big loss of the week, but the very next day, my brother in law lost his cousin to leukaemia. He was a nice guy; the nicest. The morning after my dad's death, he was right there with us in the hospital. He was very supportive of his family, and by extension, of us and I know that wherever he's gone, it's a good place. Because he was good people.
The next day after that, guess who died, while on stage. Yes. +PAPA WEMBA. I liked that man and his techno soukous. So danceable. My sister reminded me of a concert we went to when he was here in Kenya too many years ago to count. He just collapsed on stage and died. In umm that movie where +Brad Pitt was one of three brothers who slept with his brother's wife while he was away at war...can't remember what it was called but it was horrible; it left me with a bad taste in my mouth. (the story that is). well anyway, at the end, Brad Pitt's character died in the wilderness while fighting with a bear (but not like Leo did) and the narrator who was a native American said 'It was a good death' and that's how it ended. Ever since then, I've been using that expression in my mind if a death doesn't feel so traumatic or tragic. Like my dad's death was a 'good death' because he died on his terms, said goodbye to almost all his family, he was ready. I think Papa Wemba's death too, was a good death. He died doing what he loved. He was happy. Then he lay down and died.

Papa Wemba

Also shuffling off this mortal coil this week was former first lady of Kenya Lucy Kibaki. Now all I can really remember about this...er lady was her tendency to be mad as the hatter. However since all the best people are bonkers anyway, that's a good thing right? I see people really trying to come up with words to describe her on twitter and it really makes me tired. Why can't we just be real about who people were just because they're dead? I was just having this argument today with my son about eulogising me (way way way in the future) as perfect when we both know I'm far from that.

Lucy Kibaki

You didn't think I was gonna just go without talking about #Lemonade did you? I mean I'm no fan of +Beyoncé but I do enjoy the occasional non-shrill song from her. I'm not anti (no pun intended) just her whole Ms. Perfect thing turns me off. Well anyway, so Lemonade...while people were freaking out about Jay-Z maybe possibly cheating on his wife, I'm wondering what 'good hair' looks like to someone like Beyonce. 

Beyonce

I mean obviously it's some caucasian looking shit or something like that judging by the light skin worship that seems to permeate any hint of praise given to her or any celebrity really. "Good Hair" was supposed to be something that gave black people an advantage over their darker skinned, nappy haired counterparts. But that was supposed to be during slavery. Two hundred years ago. How are still here? And by 'we' I mean 'you' because I've never really been indoctrinated into the good hair-bad hair paradigm. Have I? Someone who's known me since I was young should say, not me. The other thing that bothered me is the response by various men to this album. 

The anger.

Men were taking it all extremely personally. You'd think Beyonce was singing to them. And I had to ask myself, 'Self? Why are they so angry?' And I replied to myself, 'Because...I got nothin'
Why are you so mad anyway? Do you even have a reason?

Well anyway, seeing as I'm still in mourning, I'll let you guys opine your opinions if you wish. Goodnight.