BrownSuga's Sweet Spot Repost: Are you ready for some Football?!?!?!?

Sorry so sorry so so sorry...no excuse...but here's a repost. Enjoy

Let me take you back…

The year was 1981. The month was January.

“Mrs. Suga, you can pick the date for your labor to be induced. Any day between the 21^st and the 31^st” The doctor said.

“Honey, what day do you want to do this?” My mom asked my dad.

“Any day you want, except the 25^th.” My dad replied.

“If it’s up to me lets do it as soon as possible, so I choose the 21^st.”

“Ok well then Mr. and Mrs. Suga we will see you at 7am on the 21^st.” The doctor said as my parents walked out of his office.

That Wednesday morning at 7am my beautiful mother began the process of bringing the cutest baby (me of course) into the world. At 10:48am the world became a little bit sweeter as I, Brownsuga, was born. When the doctor announced my gender, my name was determined (more about that in another blog).

In the Delaware County the year I was born, to celebrate the birth of a child, the hospital provided a very nice steak dinner to all new parents each Sunday. That year my mom ate her steak dinner with her sister.

Where was my dad?

He was at home watching the Superbowl; Philadelphia Eagles vs. Oakland Raiders.

And that began my love affair with the sport of football. Every year around my birthday the National Football League is preparing for the annual SuperBowl, the AFC vs. the NFC, and the best of the best. Most people’s favorite team originates with their hometown. And I am no different. I am a diehard Eagles fan.

Yes, yes I know. We’ve had a rough couple of years. The whole T.O. situation gave us some negative publicity but like any other TRUE fan of a team bad seasons don’t lessen my support. Want to see some real fans? Go to a Eagles game or a Chicago Bears game, or the Redskins, the Bills, the Steelers. I’ve noticed after living in both the north and the south, northern teams have more diehard lifetime fans when it comes to just about any sport. I lived in Atlanta for 8 years while in college and Falcons fans are the most fickle fans I’ve ever seen. If the Falcons are having a bad season, the seats are empty. They can’t GIVE tickets away. But no matter how many times the Eagles, Bears, Bills, or Redskins lose the stadium is packed.

One of my most missed memories is going to watch the Eagles play in Philly. It was always something all of my siblings enjoyed doing together. One day we will get the chance to do it again.

Tonight marks the first time, since Hurricane Katrina, that the New Orleans Saints played home game in the SuperDome. With rookie Reggie Bush (the only Bush New Orleans residents will EVER root for), the Saints are looking to teach the Falcons a lesson. And as the first half ends they are showing no mercy 17-3.

It Makes Me Feel All Warm Inside...

It's a song about a geek wanting to fall in love.

The lyrics involve the words TAB, Mountain Dew, and Fritos.

Someone took the time to sync it up with an ANIME.

If this isn't the most heart-warmingly geekiest thing you've ever seen...you have no heart and need to turn in your Geek Cred!

"Code Monkey" by Jonathan Coulter (scenes from "Black Heaven")

Everyone Should Have Their Price

I kicked back on the bed with a copy of People Magazine’s Style Watch magazine this past Sunday. I noticed a mini-pictorial spread called “I Really Love My…” where A-Listers are shown using their favorite fashion items over and over again.

Sienna Miller loves her trench coat…Gwen Stefani loves her ankle boots…Jennifer Lopez loves her $2,865 Zagliani purse…

Wait a tick. A PURSE FOR $2,865?!

Now this may be shallow coming from a girl who dropped $220 on a leather bag two weeks ago in Vegas (C’mon…it’s COACH and it was 60% OFF), but isn’t that perhaps a tad outrageous? What would possess ANYONE to purchase a purse for almost $3K? It was incredible to me...and I’ve been known to treat myself a time or two.

I tried to reason with myself that this was just another celeb with a skewed sense of spending. The world is full of these people! But even hours after reading about the bag, I needed to know what the big deal was. Seriously…what would possess a normal person to purchase this purse after they’ve seen J.Lo flaunt it around in public? My trust friend Google led me to the Saks Fifth Avenue website:

For the low low price of an arm and a leg...

EXCLUSIVELY ONLINE in the U.S. at saks.com. Gentle pleating adds textural interest to this generously sized frame bag, exquisitely crafted of metallic glazed python. Designed by dermatologist Mauro Orietti-Carella, the snakeskin has been injected with silicone for the most buttery-soft, luxurious feel.

Did a little more research. The silicon injected into the python skin? It’s actually BOTOX. That stopped me dead in my tracks. I thought you injected Botox into living things so they would had that dead look…I mean paralyze the wrinkles? Am I missing something here?

Look…I like nice things too. I do spend – hopefully wisely – on items that make me happy. I figure that if I’m going to spend the money, I should get some quality out of it. I consider my “luxury” purchases investments, not splurges. I figure they will get their fair share of use over a certain length of time.

But $2,865.00? For a dead snake with handles on it? I just don’t know. I have similar issues with Katie Holmes wearing a $4000 pair of shoes whose style can be purchased at Payless for about $20. At what point does the price of luxury become ridiculous? And I don’t begrudge J.Lo for having a purse that expensive because let’s face it – she makes more in one day that I hope to SEE in a year.

What worries me is the fact that there will be people in my own financial situation – comfortable and making it – who will see this purse as the ultimate buy. And then go out and buy it!

As me and my friends hit our 30s, some of us have figured how to get most of what we want while remembering that we have a future to save for. However, there are still a few of our friends who are thousands in debt because they want to keep up with the A-List. The never really learned to ask themselves the question “What’s my price?” or “Where do I stop?”

Or when they have asked “What’s my price,” they discovered it’s apparently two Bulova watches for $1,700. That’s okay…I didn’t need to pay rent anyway this month. Their price was a car that cost more than they made in a year. Eating is pretty overrated…but come hear the stereo system! Amazingly, one former co-workers price was a $5000 state-of-the-art gaming computer. Sure I make $7.50 an hour and the electricity got turned off, but check out these Halo graphics!

There’s got to be a point in time where people have to say “stop” or “no” to themselves. Are we such a have NOW society, that we are willing to push aside all manners of dollars and cents? Whatever happened to earning and working our way up to things?

It’s not like these our price stays stagnant. As you move up the ladder – so does your price point. Lenny isn’t a rich man. But he’s not buying his jeans from Walmart anymore when he likes the fit of Gap or Haggar. Everything in due time, right?

I have miles to go before I graduate, if ever, to Botox-treated snake skin purses (thankfully). It took two laps around the Vegas Coach outlet and a 10-minute deconstruction of pros and cons with my husband before I swiped my debit card for that $220 purse. I can’t believe how much of a tightwad I can be even when purchasing a luxury item, LOL! However, if someone wants to halvesies with me for the multi-course prix fixe dinner at Michael Mina’s at the Bellagio…get in touch with me!

What? Everyone has their price!

A Verbal “Butter Face”

When I was younger, I remember this book I used to check out from the school library. It was an illustrated fairy tale and I probably checked it out once or twice a year because I loved the illustrations in the book.

The story was about two sisters and their dealings with a fairy traveling the countryside incognito to test the morality of human beings (Because if you’re a fairy…what else are you going to do?). Disguised as a decrepit old woman, the fairy asked each girl separately for a drink of water from a well nearby. The first daughter gladly drew a bucket of water for the Old Lady/Pretty Fairy. For the girl’s kindness, the Old Lady/Pretty Fairy bestowed upon her the coolest gift of speech EVER: Jewels and flowers poured from her mouth whenever the girl spoke.

Her sister on the other hand, was not so fortunate – and deservedly so. She spurned the request of the fairy for a drink of water. To be fair, the Old Lady/Pretty Fairy was now disguised as Pretty Lady/Pretty Fairy…however, kindness is kindness, right? The fairy was disappointed and angry, so this sister was cursed with toads and vipers coming out of her mouth with the words she spoke.

In the end, the nice sister married a Prince and the mean sister was SOL and died alone in the forest.

Like I said – what really got me was the illustrations in this book. Since the girls in the story were sisters, they were drawn very alike. There were differences in hair color and facial features…but you could tell they were related. And unlike most versions of this fairy tale, neither sister was referred to as being prettier than the other. Both girls were what an 8-year old would consider “pretty.”

…until the toads and vipers came along.

All of a sudden, the mean sister was “ugly” to me. The words and sentiments she said to the fairy were caustic and disrespectful. So it’s no wonder that she received the unattractive gift. To me, ugly was ugly regardless of your looks. Humans aren’t perfect, and heaven knows we don’t always say nice things, but learning to pick WHEN and WHAT you should talk about was a sin in my eyes after this story.

That visual has stuck with me since then. I have met lots of people over my lifetime, and I’ve come to identify WHAT and HOW people say things with their overall attractiveness. And you know what? There are some FUGLY people out there!!!

It’s the whole complete package ideal again. Sure you can be pretty to look at, but no matter what others will tell you, what comes out of your mouth from your brain counts for a lot too. I believe instinctually, humans look for like mindedness. Or at the very least – they look for someone who isn’t going to ruin their mood every time they open their mouth.

I recently caught a few minutes of VH1’s “reality” show America’s Most Smartest Model. In this show, physically gorgeous men and women compete for a prize through challenges hosted by television’s smartest man, Ben Stein. The underlying theme of the show is to see if they can dispel the myth that models are more than a pretty face. In one of the games, the models must perform a runway walk while spitting out words based on the topic that is handed out by Stein. He would ask them to name words to describe certain things or list of people/places/events regarding a topic. One model hit the top of the runway and was told to name off current world leaders. She was perfect: Skinny, but not unhealthy. Her eyes were like anything I’d seen before. Girl looked like she could work it. Yet, when she opened her mouth and asked, “Does that include the President of the United States?” she might as well have been the homely, geeky girl that everyone ignored in school.

All of a sudden, she wasn’t worth the time.

I don’t think we take the time to consider what comes out of our mouths anymore because we don’t realize how it makes us look. Perhaps the human ego overrides that logic. We feed off of our own success so much that we start believing our own press? Take Ann Coulter for example. How can someone that pretty feel that it’s right to say some of the stuff she says? Just because you can say hurtful, spiteful, racist, ultra-conservative statements doesn’t mean you should – never mind writing books about it!

And how about Kanye West? Musically – he’s freakin’ BRILLIANT. There are not many people out there who can do what he does with a beat. And he’s a bright guy. But no one can seem to get his point because they can’t get past the fact that what he says in public makes him sound like a whiny punk bitch! We know you’re brilliant, but complaining that you get shafted every year during awards season and storming off from events pissed off at imaginary snubs isn’t going to win you any friends, baby!

Even at the work place I find myself frowning internally at some of the things that are said or how information regarding co-workers is handled. Sure – we don’t have to get along with everyone and we are entitled to our own opinions. But I can no longer look you in the face when you go around stating your blunt opinion about others by laughing and making fun of them behind their back in the cafeteria. I can also not keep you in the same credibility as I used to when you take pot shots at someone’s errors when you put that person in that situation in the first place.

I get so frustrated. I can speak very honestly and bluntly, but I like to think that I only do it when I need to. Not to satisfy some childish urge to be right or be heard. Why don’t people get it?

When all is said and done, it is really true: Your words are your honor. At the very least, they’re an impression of who you are. And we would probably be better served as a society if we kept an eye on what we say. Because do you really want to have to constantly explain the vermin running out or your mouth?

Odds and Ends

Ah...e-mail forwards! Sure they're a pain in the ass most of the time...but every once in awhile, you get something that just makes you laugh.

And this particular list had me on the floor of my cubicle laughing after lunch today.

Let's file this under "Things That Make You Go Hmm..."

Thoughts for Those Who Take Life Way Too Seriously:

• Save the whales. Collect the whole set.
• A day without sunshine is like ---- night.
• On the other hand, you have different fingers.
• He who laughs last, thinks slowest.
• The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.
• Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.
• A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
• Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
• If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.
• How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.
• OK, so what's the speed of dark?
• When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
• Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
• Every one has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.
• How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?
• Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
• What happens if you get scared half to death, twice?
• I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.
• Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?
• Inside every older person is a younger person wondering, "What the heck happened?"
• Just remember - if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.
• Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
• Life isn't like a box of chocolates, it's more like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, might burn your butt tomorrow.

If the Shoe Fits, I Don't Care if It's a High Heel

My co-workers and I sat around the cafeteria last week and as CNN rolled in the background, the talk turned to next year’s election. I munched on my eggs over medium and potatoes and just listened. This out-of-the-box MGF Gal learned a long time ago that politics and people’s feelings just don’t mix. People just HAVE to take sides and can’t fathom why I don’t and will pretty much argue both sides.

And for those of you not in the know about my mindset: I argue all sides because I hate ill-informed people. Opinions are only valid if you know the whole story in my book. You can’t go foaming at the mouth without facts in my presence. I will go Devil’s Advocate on your ass…

Anyway…

They’re chatting, I’m eating. They get on the topic of Democratic hopeful, Hillary Clinton. On my 1 to 10 scale of polarizing figures, she rates a healthy 7 to 7.5 in my books. You can’t be married to a man who had one of the most sensational and successful presidential tenures in recent history as well as move to another state so you can be their junior senator right after hubby’s term is up, without ruffling some feathers! They discuss the merits (or demerits) of her candidacy when someone announces, “I don’t know why…she doesn’t have a chance! We’re never going to elect a woman president because they’ll just screw everything up!”

Oh man…wrong thing to say to me when I haven’t had my coffee! GAME. ON. I looked up across the table and said, “Now, why do you think that?”

It was explained to me that women are petty and jealous by nature. So how can we trust them with the welfare of the country? My first thought: Way to set us back a few decades there, my sistah! Without really calculating the risks, I offered, “Well, the Philippines thought it was a good idea twice to have a woman president. Margaret Thatcher was a pretty ballsy when she ran Great Britain. And Benazir Bhuto is making a third run at leadership in Pakistan…”

That stopped the topic and we moved on, my reputation as a “know it all” undoubtedly strengthened. Now, my point wasn’t to embarrass my co-worker. That would be too easy. However, I was taken aback by the bluntness of her statement. It was pure shock. First, that’s a pretty broad generalization with ZERO evidence to support it. Second, the fact that it was another female spitting this out probably shook me out of my political dead zone.

If history and current society HAS shown us something, it is that women are capable of handling power and running countries and/or political machines. Women in power is nothing new. Queen Elizabeth I helmed the largest empire after Rome. Some people would call Indira Ghandi a ball-breaker…but not a coward. And so afraid Egyptian men were of Queen Hatshepsut’s success, they actually erased her from certain parts of their history.

With a historic track record like this – I still get blown away by people who say that women can’t handle the top job in the U.S. I’m not exactly sure what the problem is. As advanced and “forward-thinking” as we claim to be, we still struggle with issues of gender roles where our less than prosperous counterparts seem to have gotten over it. Something about the prospect of our president having a matching set of chromosomes sets us on edge!

So what’s our issue? Some would question the fact that women are unproven in political power. But as the October 15, 2007 edition of Newsweek pointed out, women leaders in the U.S. are proving they are a force to be reckoned with. There are currently 9 female state governors, the most ever in U.S. history serving simultaneously. The House leadership in Congress falls to Lisa Pelosi. But yet with all this popularity and success, we’re STILL worried that a woman will end up blowing us all sky high as the President!

That’s what the rest of the world seems to be okay with it. And it’s not like these women have a different set of problems to deal with. Nope, their country’s problems are usually BIGGER. Poverty, illness, bad economies, war…they do it all while ensuring an entire nation of people feels cared for. We have all the money in the world and we freak out because we think our leaders shouldn’t wear skirts?

It all just goes to show you how screwed up we are with our priorities. Why can’t we just vote for the best person? As it stands, you not only have to worry being a Red or Blue state person, but now you have to think about if you’re a Blue or Pink elector. Like we don’t have any other things to worry about in the voting booth!

There are a lot of factors to consider. I don’t KNOW if Hillary Clinton will win the presidency in 2008. I know right now, my personal opinion is that she isn’t the best woman OR man for the job. But it’s a long time until November ’08 and that can change. And that’s the thing – there’s another THIRTEEN MONTHS of campaigning to do. So why am I going to waste time worrying about GENDER when I need to know about ISSUES?

I’m going to vote for the person that gives me the best answers to my concerns about the things that matter to me. I want to know alternatives to the disaster that is No Child Left Behind. I want to know what the exit strategy is out of Iraq and how do we protect ourselves from Iran. I want to know how a candidate intends to fix our PROBLEMS AT HOME, before we go out and fix everyone else’s problems.

Answer these questions and it won’t matter if you’re doing it wearing a Bill Blass coat and tie or a Chanel skirt suit.