Category: Reflections

Aside

Tying Up Loose Ends?

by Ranada ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

God does things in the most mysterious yet breathtaking ways. This post won’t be as long as it could be because I’m just not up to it physically or emotionally, but I had to log on and say that. Yesterday the phone rang, and my mom who was in the back of the house and I, who was in the front room, both let it ring. Well, thank goodness for an answering machine because I heard: “Yes, hello? This is David <last name here>, and I’m looking for Rickey Robinson, Mary Ann, or Ranada…” I didn’t hear the rest becaues as soon as I heard his last name, I was scrambling out of the blanket on the floor trying to get to the next room so I could pick the phone up before he hung up while yelling “MAMAAAAA, MAMA, it’s David!!!”

Remember when I’ve blogged about my aunt Vernita here and there? Well, David is her son and my cousin who used to come to town to visit growing up. I loved me some David. He was only a few months younger than I was (am), and I always looked forward to him coming to MS. When Vernita passed away, we never heard from or really, about, him again. We didn’t know where his dad moved him to, and we had no idea how to find him. Over the last couple of years (prolly longer than that), I’ve searched for him online, through good ole Facebook, even had a police friend run a search and nothing. Turns out he’s been looking for our contact info too, and persistence pays off because he was just trying another random number last night and of course it worked this time. I can’t begin to express how happy I am to know where he is and how he’s doing and how to keep in contact with him.

Today my granddaddy, P.H. Austin, passed away. He’s had Alzheimer’s and a couple of strokes. He’s been deteriorating lately, and my mom told me last week that she felt he was holding on for some reason. But of course, we didn’t really know why because he hasn’t been able to talk or communicate at all lately. Well, it seems as though maybe he was waiting for all his grandchildren to be accounted for. This morning my mom and I headed to the post office to send David some pics of his mom and to run a couple of other errands, and then we got the call. So just keep me and my family in your prayers. I’ll be on again sooner or later.

Almost Christmas

Almost Christmas

by Ranada ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Good news: I finally found my battery charger, so I’ll have my Buenos Aires pics uploaded today. (And no, the charger wasn’t anywhere weird–I’m just a bad searcher.)

Last night, I went to my __th Red Tie Soiree. Had a good time overall as usual, but I started thinking about just how removed I’ve become from my former “socialite” status. No regrets, but it was still interesting to walk in a place and not know half the people there. Much different from two years ago. Heck, maybe even last year. In any case, I looked and felt like hot stuff, and the girls looked fab as well. Some of us went out of tradition, and some went because one of our friends (it’s not public yet so I won’t say who) is moving to another state, probably before we’ll have a chance to see her again after the holidays. So exciting. I love new opportunities and chapter beginnings, especially for people who are open to them and primed and ready. I think she’ll thrive in her new setting. Congrats, you, if you read my blog!

Another thing that happened last night was a guy I dated (and I mean dated–as in we went out on dates, not we were in a relationship) a while back was there and acting really weird. Like exhibiting borderline “bitchassness”–it was quite bizarre, but interestingly not unexpected. LOL It was one of those things where he would see one of my friends, be really extra with them, hug them, and then turn around and walk the other way before the chance to acknowledge my presence appeared. At first, I was just going to hug him to show him there are no hard feelings (that end was a bizarro, strange, weird, unexplained deal but it is what it is, yanno #movingon), but he made it so obvious that he didn’t want to even speak that I didn’t make him suffer through the experience of actually having a brief, friendly convo with me. I will say that that whole thing made me grateful that it never went beyond going out every now and then. Sometimes when things don’t work out and you don’t really know why, you just have to remember that God knows what He’s doing. Last night drove that point home.

Which is a great thing because sometimes you need those reminders that God makes no mistakes. I’m going through an (totally unrelated and different) experience now that I don’t really understand or comprehend well, but I’m trying to keep my focus a song that I used to sing in the choir when I growing up: He knows just how much we can bear. It gets rough, but I know (and sometimes I have to settle for hoping I know) that in the end, things work together for the good.

So enough of that. I’ve been having some food issues lately which is not cool because y’all know I love to eat and it’s the friggin holidays!! So I’ve found a couple of recipes that I plan to try if I have the energy. So I’ll share them if I try them and if they turn out yummy. I will say that all those reports you read about the importance of breakfast and water. HEED THAT. Make it a habit, if it’s not already, asap so that you never have to learn the hard way how important they are!

Well, I got thangs to do before I can head home to spend quality time with my family. So I’ll be back with the BA pics later on, and I may post a couple more times. But until then, I hope all you have productive, positive weeks!!

Last Post on Buenos Aires (For Now)

Last Post on Buenos Aires (For Now)

by Ranada ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

So I went through the awesome and the great. Earlier this week, I posted on my work blog the ugly. Check it out here. That part was rather crazy. If you want to know more about Argentina and black folk, google Domingo Sarmiento. It’s just so weird to see other people who have noticeable hues have such color issues. Not surprised, but wasn’t really all that prepared. I just wish American black people had a place they could really go and not stand out like a sore thumb. But AT LEAST, we didn’t have to go through what I went through in friggin Strasbourg, France. Now in the words of Kanye–THAT ish was cra’y! So as my mom reminds me often these days, the Buenos Aires trip could have been better in terms of the way some (not all) people treat black folk, but it DEFINITELY could have been worse. So that definitely didn’t overshadow the awesomes and greats.

I feel like I’ve left out a lot about the trip, but I can’t quite come up with what else I have left to say. Maybe it’ll come to me in my dreams (I really do dream about what to write sometimes, lol). And in case you’re wondering, no, I still haven’t found my battery charger (and to be honest, I keep forgetting to look) so the pics are still forthcoming. I’ll get them out before the end of the year, LOL.

In terms of travel, another country conquered and another continent visited! I have three more continents to go (Africa, Asia, and Australia), and of course there are still countries in Europe, S. America, and our very own N. America that I’d like to eventually get to. I think I’ve gotten a good number under my belt by 30 though, right? 🙂 I love to explore and experience new places and observe cultures in person. It’s just so much to glean from stepping outside of your norm and seeing how other people live life and handle issues. And of course seeing how all people are similar on the other side of that coin. I love traveling. ❤

I’ll be back later. I hope everyone is ready for the weekend, baby!!

Adventures and All the beef you can imagine

Adventures and All the beef you can imagine

by Ranada ♥ 4 Comments

I’m back! So last time I talked about the awesome. Here’s some of the great.

1. Remember the adventures due to rain I told you about? Well… After a full day of exploration, the gang decided to take the route home that would take us through a historical celebration. That’s actually when we took the best pics of the Pink Palace and the oldest church in Buenos Aires and the like.

Almost as soon as we got off the subway, the music stopped and people started packing up their instruments and stage way early (according to a random, they had just started). Did we take that as a sign? No… LOL. We took more pics, we talked to a guy who was walking one of the sweetest dogs ever, we basically snubbed our noses at the sprinkles. Then the sprinkles turned into slightly larger than tiny drops, so we started walking to the condo. Halfway there, the drops turned into a full out rain storm. We had no umbrellas, no ponchos, or anything. It is funny now. It was slightly funny then, but we were cold and wet. And my feet weren’t covered so I felt icky icky. We took streets where we saw awnings so that we could dash from awning to awning, walking with our backs almost to the wall like we were spying, lol. We took a break in a bakery and got a couple treats. Then back to the mad dash. When we saw there wouldn’t be an awning for awhile, we would take a break under the last one, then ask each other were we ready to run. By the time we got to the condo, we were drenched. And of course, Nervous Nelly (me) got to the door and started shaking so it took me longer than usual to unlock it. We all immediately took showers. Then we watched a DVD. (Well, the DVD watched me and everyone else watched it.) It was a wet adventure that really made for a memory.

2. The next morning, we headed to the zoo. That was one of the activities I was most looking forward to. We hopped on the train, got to the stop, walked over to the entrance, and crickets. All gates locked. No one in sight. Then a family walks up and they were looking like we were. Utterly confused and pretty disappointed. So what’s going on? Our resident Spanish interpreter Kendra read the sign about the hours (maybe we were just early??), and nope, sure enough, it should be open that day of the week at that time. So she kept reading and learned that the zoo has a right to close the day of based on weather condition. That damn rain storm last night!!! It was bright and sunny that day, but they had decided not to take the chance, I guess. Sigh… It was ok because we used that time to venture out to another part of town we hadn’t yet been to (with a superb mall where we got some super shopping done) and maybe wouldn’t have otherwise. And I still got to go to the zoo later that week on Thanksgiving. 🙂

3. The outdoor markets are just great. I loved being outside and seeing people peddle their (very lovely) wares. We got to go to two different markets on Sunday, both with their own personalities and both with plenty of characters. People like to bargain. And people like to pretend they’re bargaining, lol. Paula went back and forth with a guy flirting with Kendra about a pair of earrings and how much he’d take from her since she was out of pesos. I think she ended up getting her way with the rest of the pesos she had and like 5 American dollars. That scene could have been in a sitcom.

the hippie hustler

4. Leaving the markets, Paula spotted an ice cream stand. So we headed there, and I sat at a nearby table while everyone looked at the sign trying to figure out what the many flavors could be. Then I spied that this was not your average ice cream stand. There was also a restaurant inside and there was a couple eating at the next table, and I SPY chicken fingers!!!!!!!!!!!!! By Sunday, I was so tired of beef (gasp!) I didn’t know what to do. I am a beef eater, and I like an occasional steak. BUT GEEZ LOUISE. I had to have those chicken fingers. I don’t think anyone had even planned on eating for another couple of hours, but they were sports. Since we were there and since I was ordering anyway, we went ahead and ate. My ma and I ended up splitting a three course meal for 60 pesos (the chicken fingers by themselves would have been 30 so why not??). Sirobe got her normal cheese dish. Paula got that too. And Kendra got chicken fingers by themselves (hers looked different from mine–still not completely sure why). But they were a #win. I don’t really even remember the rest of the meal. I savored those chicken fingers.

5. Paula and American Airlines had a bad relationship throughout this trip so she had to leave early. 😦 BUT we couldn’t let her leave without seeing some tango! So we headed over to the La Boca area (which has a very rich history!) and had lunch. There’s a strip of restaurants there where they have tango in front of each to lure people to come in and eat. I think we picked the best one. We got tango, we got flamenco, we got this guy who had these balls on strings and kept backing up until I thought he was going to hit me with them, then he turned around and grinned. Jokester! That was a good lunch too. I think we all enjoyed our choices. (I didn’t have to eat beef there either, LOL!)

La Boca
Flamenco!

Ok, I have to run. I’ll be back to sprinkle in some pics. And I haven’t forgotten about the pics for the last post–I haven’t yet found my battery charger so I can’t upload my pics yet!!

Bringing in 30 Fabulously

Bringing in 30 Fabulously

by Ranada ♥ 1 Comment

Last week, I traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina for my 30th birthday vacation. It was great to leave rainy gloomy cool Atlanta to see sunshine (and a little bit of rain which led to two adventures…). And it was great to unleash the explorer in me for a week. And by explorer, I really mean explorer. I went to this Spanish-speaking country without knowing a lick of Spanish (I always studied French). Well, let’s not say a lick. I knew the numbers 1-5 because of Sesame Street and I knew gracias means thank you. Oh, and I knew how to say I don’t speak Spanish. Good start, right? By Thanksgiving, I had a few things under my belt, including numbers up to 12, please, and how to communicate with the taxi drivers. I actually kinda want to learn a lil Spanish now.

So I think I’m going to do 2-3 posts since we did a lot in those 7 days.

Let’s start with the absolutely awesome.

1. It was soooooooooooooooooooooo great to have my mom around for an extended period of time. Since we don’t live in the same place I don’t get to see her as much as I’d like to, and sometimes you just need your mom around, yanno? Plus, it was cool to have her with me on a non-Thanksgiving focused birthday (lol), so why not let it be the big 3-0.?? It was cool to be able to tell her thanks for doing all the work 30 years before since she usually is the one that reminds me of that fact.

2. I am super uber mucho grateful for friends that enjoy traveling to new places for celebrations! My birthday was so special with those gals in the mix. So many laughs and experiences to share.

3. Our condo was the bomb.com. It was spacious, it was cozy, and it was in a pretty cool part of town (San Telmo). We had a rooftop patio, we had an ice cream shop right on the corner, and when we were coming back from a long, hard day of shopping in Palermo Soho’s weekend market, we walked right into a huge outdoor market right in our neighborhood! It was very cool.

And one of the best things about the condo was the house manager Ruben. He has to be the best, most versatile, nicest “den mother” you can have, especially in a foreign country. Ruben took great care of us. He a cell phone waiting on us with his phone number in it that we could take with us in case we had issues while we were out (of course the week was half gone before we started remembering to take it). And I arranged almost all of our “official” activities through him, and they were all great and a couple even had surprises built in.

4. As a show of my appreciation, one of the things I arranged for my traveling companions was a surprise traditional Argentinian asado (barbecue!) to take advantage of the pizza grill (that’s what we called it–I don’t know what the actual name of it is) in the condo. Ruben came over and prepared a 4-course meal (pics coming soon) for us. First, there was a cheese dish that you scooped out with a fork. Then we had pork sausage. Then we had steak and salad. Then Ruben surprised me with a cake! 🙂

5. My birthday dinner was grand. We went to the Piazzola Tango for tango lessons and a dinner and show. The tango lessons were very fun to me. Our whole group participated during the teaching but I was the only one who participated during the practice, lol. Partially because if you didn’t have a partner already, you had to wait for the male instructor to come around and scoop you up. But I’m always ready for the challenge. And my little swingee dress was perfect for practicing! (More pictures coming soon–so please come back and check!) The dinner was cool. The wine was free flowing, and we actually had as much water as we wanted (first time the whole week we could get water and soda refills!! lol!)! More empanadas (my mom became an empanada aficionado during the week, but I don’t have to ever eat another one) for the appetizer–the other choices were ceasar salad which I wanted until I saw “fowl bits” in the description :-/ and pumpkin soup, which I just wasn’t willing to try on my bday (What?? I was being adventurous all week!). Then we had steak (what else????) and potatoes for the entree. Half of us got the flan for dessert (which was ok but kinda not great) and the other half got some dish that had a scoop of ice cream and some kind of hard cake (they ate the ice cream). But the tango show… the tango show was amazing. It was much longer and way more involved than what I expected, which was just a couple doing some moves for a few minutes. This was a full performance! The orchestra was wonderful (y’all know I love live music and string instruments and I finally got to see accordions in person!). The dancing was amazing and the singing was cool (the singers were very very dramatic–probably more dramatic than the dancers, lol). Then after the show, our waitress brought our table champagne and a REAL dessert. It was a chocolate cake with this really delicious creamy icing. We devoured that thing (and yes, I have before and after pics). Ruben was the bomb for that surprise because before I was a smidge disappointed with my dessert. But the finale was right on point.

Ok, so I’ll be back with added pics and another post with more great moments of the trip! Hope everything had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Last Post before 30

Last Post before 30

by Ranada ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I’m closing out my 30th year of living on this here earth, and I’ve learned a lot. Or maybe I should say relearned alot.

I’ve relearned that:

I can’t control anyone or anything except my own actions.

Perspective is the key to a sound mind. There’s a positive way to look at nearly anything. You have to allow yourself to see it from that vantage point.

No matter what life brings, God sends the help you need.

I will always be a busy body. It’s in my DNA.

You have to listen to your body. Even if you have to pull an all-nighter, you need to cancel whatever you had planned the next day. If your body is tired, let it rest.

The reason for the Sabbath is because God doesn’t want us running ourselves ragged. Productivity depends on balance.

Sour patch kids are still some of the best candy ever put on the shelf.

You can plan all that you wanna, but you have to be flexible because back to my first point, you can’t control anyone or anything but your own actions.

But planning is still important. You need to dream then wake up and starting putting feet those ideas. Nothing is impossible unless you don’t believe you can do it. And once you believe, then you need to put one foot in front of the other.

It’s a great thing to give to others, but you have to remember to refuel on a regular basis. Taking care of self is not selfish–you can’t give someone a ride if your car  has no gas.

I learned a lot more, but those are the ones that were on the tips of my fingers to share. Thanks for visiting my lil space on the net and always coming back for me. The road to 30 was bumpy yet exciting, and I’m so looking forward to forging my way through my 30s. Happy birthday to me!!

And Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Listen to the Signs

Listen to the Signs

by Ranada ♥ 1 Comment

Generally, when I take lunch, if I don’t have errands to run, I use that hour as a time to completely get away. I go somewhere that I likely won’t run into anyone I have to make polite convo with and I read or I write or I doodle, whatever I feel like for that hour. Well, today, I walked over to Arby’s for a Jr. Roast Beef sammich and those yum yum curly fries and curled up in my chair with the latest book I’m reading A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe (I was reading The Complete Collection of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and grew a bit tired after seeing I’m only 2% in and I’ve already read the first story and am almost done with the second story. This is a long series, so I’ll be reading that as I read everything else on my list–The New Jim Crow is next.).

Anyhow, I looked out the window and who do I see coming up the stairs but Mr. Rundles–my line sister’s dad who lives not too far from where I live and who has fed me alot over the years (what? I love to eat delish food!!) but we’ve kinda been disconnected since Jenn moved to NC. So we chatted briefly then parted to have our peaceful lunches. Ending about the same time, he offered me a ride back to work. We were talking along the way about this dreadful housing market, and he mentioned a couple of options for refi that I hadn’t considered. I had automatically assumed that I wasn’t even eligible since I’ve never been late or missed a payment and because for most programs, particularly that eye-roll inducing NACA who were extremely rude to me, I have too much income despite the fact that my house has depreciated way more than I want to talk about because it’s sickening. Talk about a tap on the shoulder from God! I jumped on the internet to check things out and it looks like Mr. Rundles was on to something. I’m looking forward to calling and finding out more.

I love when people are put in my path and it’s quite obvious that I was supposed to see them and talk to them and LISTEN to them. And I love when I am reminded that I have support all around even if I don’t see them as much as I did long ago. I told Mr. Rundles that I’ll call soon so I can come by and get some of that great food that used to be a regular treat. Yay for great parents who love their children’s friends. 🙂