Verily Verily I say unto you...

*laugh* I'm so lame, but every time I see Jesus say (you know the red print?) "I tell you the truth...." I fall out. Apparently, 'verily verily I say unto you' translates to 'I tell you the truth' and every time Jesus says it in the Bible (you know the red print?) I picture Him shaking His head and then looking the person He's speaking to directly in the eye and saying it. Boy that cracks me up...but anyhow that's not the purpose of my writing today.

I will NEVER a damn GIN get gas in the hood. Never. Never. Never. So yesterday, I'm riding in my car and notice that I'm two drops away from being on the side of the road. Now normally I wont get gas anywhere but BJ's (b/c it's quality gas for cheap - if there really IS such a thing) but when I started to weigh my options I decided that stopping for gas in the hood was a lot safer than being stranded on the side of the road in the hood. Don't get me wrong, I love my people, but you know how WE do. Thug mentality will be the death of us...but anyhow. So I stop at one Shell station owned by none other than Middle Easterners (is that racist?) and pull up to the pump. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't pay at the pump mean...you really wanna pay at the pump, pump the gas, and get the hell on about your business? I thought so...but that aint the case in the hood. NOOOOOOO...you have to succumb to THEIR rules and regulations in the hood. I inserted my card and removed it quickly as instructed and the machine prompts me for my pin. I hit NO b/c I didn't want to put my pin in, I wanted to process it as a credit transaction. How about the machine just froze. I mean wouldn't move, wouldn't work, wouldn't do anything put keep asking me for my pin. I hit cancel...and tried again. Same thing...I tried once again...same thing. I gave up...

THEN, I get to the next Shell station owned by none other than Middle Easterners (is that racist?) and I'm thinking, well this station is on the outskirts of the hood, so maybe I wont have as MANY issues. Boy was I wrong. I get to the pump, insert and remove my card quickly as instructed and this machine prompts me to see the cashier. I REALLY didn't want to go through all that b/c I was at the furthest pump from the door, but I thought to myself "maybe this is a safety precaution. Fraud IS on the rise." I go in...and the line is just ridiculous. There are about 5 people in the line I'm in playing the lotto and scratch offs which ticks me OFF so bad I can't stand it. Quite naturally I have to wait b/c after all...getting gas in the hood is a lot safer than being stranded in the hood. The next gas station is a couple miles down and I don't want to take the chance. When I get to the window the guy just looks at me and blinks. I'm like...*blink back* so we stand there having a blink conversation for a good thirty seconds before I realize that he doesn't speak a LICK of English. The other guy walks over behind him and asks if he can help me. Clearly perturbed I answer, "I'd just like to get some gas." He says "How much?" I say "I'd LIKE to fill up and typically that total varies from transaction to transaction." He says "Ok..." and proceeds to authorize ONE HUNDRED DAMN DOLLARS on my card. What in the hell!??!?! "I say, does it LOOK like it'll take $100 to fill up my car? Please cancel that transaction." I turn to leave and he says, "no wait, I do fifty." I'm like ok whatever...he then says "but you have to come back when you finish so I can make sure you no get more than fifty." I said, "well you can cancel this one too, I don't have time to go back and forth with you, I just want some damn gas." He says "ok ok ok...you no have to come back, just for you k?" I roll my eyes and go pump my damn gas...but get this, he stops the pump at $49.99 to make SURE I'm not going to steal any gas from his damn store. I just look at the window where he is (of course smiling and waving) and shake my head. THIS is why I will never get any gas in the hood again. It's just too much and I clearly am not built for all those shenanigans for a tank of damn gas. Of course it could have been worse...I could've been stranded in the hood, and that's not safe.

G'Day Folks,

Lady Doss

*Laugh*

There are some crazy ass people in Atlanta Georgia. I tell you the truth. For example, today as I was walking to my building from the train station. I noticed a (what appeared to be) sane man saluting the flag pole outside my building. Before I could do a double take, this fool put his hand across his heart and recited the pledge of allegiance. I mean full out...I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG and so on. (at the top of his lungs mind you) It gets better...he THEN gets on his knees (praying position) and says "God Bless America, Amen"...gets up...and walks off like that shit he just did is normal. I was like...dumbfounded. I really couldn't believe I'd witnessed that. Which reminds me...

Why do we (I'll include myself in this too) talk to infants and expect them to say something back to us? For example, as I was coming down the escalator from the cafe (oh and I have a story about that one too) a father was going up taking his daughter to the child care center. If you don't know by now, I'm hella observant and pick up on just about everything that's going on around me...anyway. So he's on the escalator and he says "Morgan do you want to see your friends? huh? huh? Say pretty girl?" (all the while the child is looking at him like "idiot...I MAY JUST want to see them but I can't TELL you about it...I mean I AM like 8 months old, right?)Of course the kid doesn't speak back so he says "Tell daddy yes..." I'm thinking, what if she doesn't want to see them right now, does she say yes anyway to shut daddy up? I mean I do it too (although I vowed I'd never do that as a parent, go figure) but why? Are we trying to teach our children to talk? If so, do we really want them to speak in high pitched 'baby' voices? I think not...I may need to work on that, lol.

OH about the cafe...you know I always have a funny (or not so funny) story about the cafe. So one morning I go in...and it's around ehhhh 9:40ish. Breakfast is normally served until 10 so I was like yeah they still have plenty of food left, etc. I get to the grille to order my usual cheese grits and bacon but before I can speak, the lil gay guy (not that it's relevant) blurts out "I'm closed and I aint cooking nothin else." My face typically tells the story of what my mind is thinking so...quite naturally...well you know, my face told the story. I look around to see if maybe he's talking to...I dunno, the person behind me but in my search I find that no one is standing there but me. I chuckle and say, good b/c I didn't need you to cook nothin else anyway. I'd like three pieces of limp bacon please and thank you. He looks like I just asked him to have sex with a woman or something and huffs like the bacon he picked up weighs 100 pounds each. He fixes my plate but I guess something inside of him felt like I needed education on what he does for a living bc/ he proceeds to tell me that "they never give me enough time to prep for lunch, so I'm just going to stop cooking at 9:30 every morning." I'm like oh...and I walk off with my bacon. Apparently, that whole 9:30 thing didn't work out too well b/c since then he's been cooking a whole lot of somethin after 9:30. *shrug*

Last thing...what's with all of these consistent inconsistencies? (What is the plural of inconsistency anyway? cys? cies? or is it even a word?)

Anyhow...that's not important. What I wanna know is why some shit just makes NO sense whatsoever. For example...as I said before, I get cheese grits, three strips of limp bacon, and a coffee EVERY morning but somehow I pay a different price every morning. I mean really? Shouldn't it be $3.09 every day? That really baffles me...no really, it does. Or how about the Coach/Louis/Prada 'bags' on the shoulders of one using an EBT card to pay for groceries. Fake or not... the purpose of buying that bag is to give the allusion that one can afford those things, right? Who in their right mind would believe a story like that? Which reminds me...don't carry a $3000.00 (or $30.00 , that depends on where you shop) Louis Vuitton bag looking like the textbook definition of mess. Look and dress the part of someone carrying a $3000.00 bag? mmkay?

Oh and if you don't know what that is...well yanno, don't carry the bag.

G'Day Folks!

Lady Doss

Happy New YearS <--ugh

If I hear one more person wish me a "happy new yearS" I just might scream. Why do people say that? When I hear it I want to ask..."Happy New Year's what? Day? Night? Week?" I mean really...I was on the train this morning when I heard the conductor (is that what MARTA calls them?) say "Good morning and Happy New YearS (while stressing the hell outta that S) your time is...." I was like Jesus be grammar class. It's always bothered me when folks say things like "I'm going to Burger KingS" or "Girl yeah I shop at KrogerS." Like do people not understand that adding an 's' to a proper noun makes it possessive? (with the apostrophe of course) I learned this in like 3rd grade, but maybe it was exclusive to my school or something, ionno.

Anyhow, I am redoing my house for 2008. I've changed the color of the bathroom downstairs and working on the two upstairs. I've put up a border and mural in Alex's (<-- notice the apostrophe) room and as soon as I finish his room I'm starting on Sydnee's (<--notice the apostrophe). I think I want to redo our bedroom too, but I haven't decided on what scheme I want to follow. I'm sure there are bigger decisions in life that need to be made, so I wont toil over that one for too long. I mean, there IS an election coming up.

Speaking of which, can I just say that I'm tired of hearing about the IOWA primary? (Or primaryS - spelled incorrectly on purpose) I know the importance b/c it sets the proverbial tone for the upcoming Presidential election, but I mean really? They were on Good Morning America talking about the amount of mail and phone calls these people are getting, and I can promise you...I'd be ticked the hell off if it were me. I mean, campaigning is one thing, but don't overwhelm people with materials and phone calls while they are trying to prepare dinner. That makes ME not want to vote for anyone other than myself (which is what I did in the last Presidential election). I surely didn't want Bush to return...and I wasn't too fond of Kerry either. However, being that I do have the right to vote and people died for me to have that right...I politely wrote myself in as a candidate. Apparently, I was the only one that thought I'd make a helluva President. LOL I digress...

Anyway folks, I need to start 2008 off right...and that means I need to pretend like I'm working!

G'day folks!!!

Lady Doss

P.S. In no way am I the end all be all of the English language. LOL

So it's 2008...

Yeah we made it...I vowed I wouldn't compose some silly note or e-mail reflecting on 2007 and welcoming 2008 but I'm awake and hey why not write? right? lol

So, I can't say that 2007 was a year of strife or that I was put through a lot of hell or whatnot, but it was a year of completion. I did some research and it made total sense. In the Bible three is often interpreted as being spiritually complete (the so-called Trinity, three Patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, etc). Four represents physical completion (four sides of a square room, four corners, four directions). Using this reasoning, combinations of three and four represent total completion. This would include twelve—three times four—(tribes of Israel, apostles) and seven—three plus four—(days of week). I went on to meditate on scripture surrounding this number and my theory and I found two scriptures that I will stand on to jump right into 2008...which for me...is the year of new beginnings. Those scriptures are:

Psalm 12:6—" The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times."
Proverbs 9:1—"Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars."
I believe that those two scriptures describe exactly what happened in my life in 2007. I began to really recognize the word of God as bond (you know like...word is bond son? yeah that, lol) and I used that wisdom to build my house (figuratively since I pray that the house I live in was built with more than 7 pillars, lol).

I have always been taught that, at least in Christianity, 8 signifies a new beginning. This is illustrated by the facts that God designed the eighth day to begin a new week, circumcision took place on the eighth day, and there were eight people on Noah's Ark. If I remember correctly, it also signifies grace. To me...that's all I need for 2008. His Grace...that's why I chose just that (sort of) for my license plate. It says "Gra8ful" Why? because that's what I am...Grateful for His Grace. Notice the 8 in there too...to signify I'm also grateful for a new beginning. I wont go into explicit detail but there are some things that I needed to be freed from and God did just that.

With that being said...if I offended you in 2007, I apologize; however I can't take back what I said. If I hurt you in 2007, I apologize; but I can't take back what I did. If I befriended you in 2007, thank you for being a friend. If I cut ties with you in 2007, apparently there was something missing between the two of us. If I said something that you thought was rude or unnecessary...it probably needed to be said, but I will apologize for the delivery. If this apology isn't enough for you...I don't know what else to tell you. :)

Happy New Year people! I pray that your 2008 is filled with new opportunities and that you not only recognize them...you SEIZE them!

Love,

The one...the only...Lady Doss

-P.S. "Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you."--Carl Sandburg

Remember for 2008...don't spend major time...with minor people.