I had a very yummy brunch today with Miz Kiki and Red. Red is amazing. She had Baby Red 7 weeks ago and she is out and about quite a bit. I joked to her that, if I ever have a baby everybody is coming to me for the first three months. She makes it look so effortless even when I know it is not. She never complains. Ever. She almost makes me want a baby. Don’t get excited. I said almost. 

After lunch I convinced Miz Kiki to come run some errands with me. I like to go shopping, but the flip side of that is that I also have to return a lot of unsuitable stuff. Mostly because I like to try on clothes at home. I just pick up everything I want, buy it, but I only try it on at home. I like to try it on with stuff I already have and maybe even try it on more than once. Then once I decide what I like I take the rest back to the store because of this I rarely visit stores that do not have a liberal return policy. Anything under 14 days is ridiculous to me. One store I use to shop at had a no return policy. You could exchange it, or get a store credit within 14 days. Usually it was not a problem because the stuff was so cheap, but I bought a shirt there once and when I got it home I noticed it had a stain on it. Life got hectic (I had to fly overseas due to a family emergency), so when I got back I took it back. It may have been, at most, a week over the 14 days, probably less. Well, little Miss Manager gave me a lot of attitude. I explained my situation and why I had not brought it in earlier. She told me I would have to bring in my plane ticket before she’d give me a return. I just laughed in her face and told her she would be seeing me again AND returning my shirt. I wrote the company and explained the situation. I complained that after a family crisis it is ridiculous and inappropriate to be asked for a plane ticket as proof. Also, I suggested that they hire employees with empathy and people skills. I got a letter back with a coupon for a percentage off my next purchase and was told that I could definitely return my shirt at that location and the manager was aware I was coming in. You know I was a smug bitch when I returned that sucker. I called the store to make sure her ass was there when I showed up. I walked in, slammed down my letter and told her to make my return snappy since she had already wasted enough of my time. She was so sour. I told her to change her attitude before I wrote another letter. She must have thought I was some little teeny bopper she could tell off and that I would go home with my tail between my legs. In the words of Miss Knowles “You must not know about me”.

Do you return stuff often, or do you let it just languish in the back of your closet? Have you ever bought something, worn it and then returned it? Have you ever gotten static when trying to return something?

All returned out,
Miz JJ

The new Ji.ll Sco.tt CD is out today and although I got to hear a secret preview I can not wait to go buy the actual CD. I buy few CDs. There are a few artists I like to support and Ji.ll is one of them. I love her. Her interview in Essence in September was beautiful. Her marriage is ending, but she still has love and respect for him and their union. I remember hearing “He Loves Me (Lyzel in E Flat)” and just hoping I could find a dude who would make me want to write like that. I love how even if it is over she still has love for him. It is implied that he could not handle being Mr. J.ill Sc.ott, but she treated that very delicately. She is a classy lady in every sense of the word. I would describe very few artists that way. Best believe at lunch I will be out picking up that CD. Plus her music speaks to me like few other artists. “Golden” is my theme song. Nothing can get me down when I hear that song.

What artists do you support? Do you download most of your music? What is the last great CD you bought?

Loving music,
Miz JJ

I can not remember where I got this from. It was floating around and I answered the questions, but I have no clue who tagged me. As per usual I am not tagging anybody. Oh and welcome to my new spot!  

Accent – Canadian. Actually the one blogger that I met told me that I sounded just like a white girl. However, this persons judgement is a little suspect.

Drink – Alcohol…yes please.

Chore I Hate – All of them. I despise cleaning. Next promotion means a cleaning lady.

Pets – Ew. No. Stinky.

Essential Electronic – My computer or my ipod.

Perfume/Cologne- Prada. Everybody loves it when they smell it on me. It’s a light perfume it does not knock you over the head, but it so beautiful.

Gold or silver – I like them both, but lately I have been rocking the gold.

Insomnia – Not as often as before. If I am stressed out I can not sleep. My mind will be running to fast to allow for all that rest.

Job Title – Misinformation Giver. The fact that it is gramatically incorrect drives me nuts too.

Most Admired Trait – Loyalty. Not enough people have that trait let me tell ya.

Kids – We’ll see. I have to find a dude first. Ideally 2, but I think I could be happy with none.

Religion – I was raised Anglican/Protestant. I go to church, but my faith is definitely a work in progress.

Siblings – 1 brother. He’s a good big brother.

Time I wake up – 7:30 am lately. Preferred time would be closer to 9:00 am.

Unusual talent/skill – I have a photographic memory. When I read something I remember not only what I read, but where I read it on the page. That came in handy in school.

Vegetable I refuse to eat – Not a huge fan of beets or brussel sprouts.

Worst habit - Compulsive shopping. I am trying to save money for two big purchases, but I keep shopping. It is a sickness.

X-rays – If needed I say why not.

My favorite meal – Probably a traditional trini Sunday dinner. Stew chicken, rice and peas, macaroni pie and callaloo and crab. Yummy. Or curry chicken with a nice fresh roti. Yummy. I love most Trini food.

Lates,
Miz JJ

Life has been crazy for a minute or so. I went to NYC over Labour Day. Rewind before I went to NYC I came down with a summer cold. BOO. Ok, then I went to NYC. It was fun, but crazy. I met new family members (e-mail me Dr. B), played juvé, stayed for the West Indian parade, shopped liked a crazy woman and caught another cold. I also lost my digital camera in NYC. With all my pics, including the ones I took of Flat Randy. Since I have been back work has been crazy busy. Stupid work. However, I did find one test pic on my computer that I took of Flat Randy on my balcony.

And with that his Canadian adventure is coming to an end. Poor guy. He did get to see a few sites though…I swear! There may be some hope that my camera with the additional pics is at some dudes house in Brooklyn, but I am not hopeful. And now he is off to go see Proactiff. Best of luck FR!

I’m out,
Miz JJ

P.S. If anyone can recommend a good digital camera under $300 that would be great. I want one that is small and takes excellent night photos.

I had a great trip home. It might have been too good. It was the first time I have been back and felt a pull to the west coast. What can I say? There is no living like west coast living. Something about the air out there just feels better. I love the weather (no humidity or harsh winters) and most of all I miss my family. I am missing so much. My niece is so tall. I swear next time I see her she will be taller than me! Here are some photos of Mama J’s.

This is the view from my Mama J’s balcony where I spent a lot of time reading. I finished Casanegra by Blair Underwood here. It was perfect light summer reading.

This is a pic of Mama J’s backyard. Her garden was in full effect. I also lay out in the sun here.

I also attended a wedding. The wedding was beautiful. I am really glad I made the trip out for my friend’s wedding. We lived together as university students and she is one of the best people I know. She is so much damn fun. I never met anyone who made everything we did fun. Where was the party? Where we were! Even if it was just the grocery store. When she was walking down the aisle everybody stood up and she said “Oh look…everyone is standing up for me!!” She has a child like sense of wonder and has never lost it. Congrats Mrs. M.

I also went for drinks with two girls I knew in high school. It was good. Maybe because my expectations were so low. Heh. No, I had fun and it was good to see people I grew up actually all grown up. As usual the Lil’ One is more mature than me. I am glad she set it up.

I have a few more trips planned including NYC over Labour Day and Florida for Miami Carnival. Should be interesting….

Still missing the west coast,
Miz JJ

P.S. I have been deliquent with Flat Randy. I was sick this past weekend and I am away next weekend. He is depressed. I am sending him to next location this week. Stay tuned for the few photos I managed to take and his next location.

Hey y’all,

I have been reading a lot of blogs and not posting a lot on my own blog. And that ain’t right. I titled this post individualism because a lot of what I have read lately has felt individualistic. I might even stretch it to say that people do not even realize their own standpoint. Standpoint theory is a theory I learned in university that I felt made a lot of sense and that I am going to completely mangle trying to explain and use throughout this post. Cut me some slack…it has been a few years since university and my having to prove my point using scholarly theory. Standpoint theory basically posits that your individual experiences, knowledge, and communication behaviors are shaped in large part by the social groups to which you belong. Inequities in different social groups create different standpoints (views of the world). Meaning the experience of a chinese woman is different from that of an indian man or a european woman. I always liked this theory. It sounds basic, but when you listen to other people you realize how little they step outside their own standpoint and look at the world from another view. Do not get it twisted. I am definitely not immune to only looking at things from my ’standpoint’, but it has been interesting reading blogs where people are unable/unwilling to understand things, if they have not experienced it themselves.

I even had this discussion with my good friend Polly. Polly is white and a in my opinion a social liberal. Meaning she abhors racism and feels that she is not, nor could she ever be a racist. I challenged her on this assumption and belief. I told her that racism is bigger than how she “feels” and that societal pressures affect almost everyone. That everyone has biases tht need to be acknowledged. I asked her to watch the documentary A Girl Like Me and to try the Implicit Association Test (a test is that by no means perfect). I did not do this to prove to her that she is subconsciously a racist, although she did come up with a slight bias towards white people, most North Americans do. My point was simply that she does not exist in a bubble. There are thousands of images thrown at her (and everybody else) everyday that denegrate people that are not white. That affects people and their views even if it subconsciously. It is shown in documentaries like A Girl Like Me (where even small children prefer the white dolls) and by taking Implicit Association Test (interesting Washington Post article on the test and some professors who were shocked by their own scores when taking the test). She may feel like a good social liberal who “does not see race”, but that may not be the entire story. I told her that in my opinion, to know your standpoint is powerful. It allows you to understand why you believe what you believe and it can sometimes open you up to viewing the world from a different perspective.

All of this to say I was really saddened by some stuff I read recently in blogland. People were saying some terrible things about someone who has gone through a public humiliation. I am sensitive to the issue (my own standpoint/bias) and I felt like I could barely even comment on the issue and people’s crazy responses. Man…I am all over the place with this post. I guess, my point is that people claim they have no biases, but they do. Or they believe that because they have not experienced something then it can not possibly be like that. I think maybe everyone needs to be more open. Perhaps your standpoint is clouding what you see.

Miz JJ

Well y’all I feel my blogging come to a slow close. They have blocked blogger at work. Well, they have blocked just about everything at work. You name it and it is blocked. It sucks! Not only can I not post on my blog at work I can not view other blogs at work. It is terrible. Right now I am trying to find a creative solution (some guy I work with said something about running off his own proxy server), but as of right now no blogger. *sigh*.

Blog free at work,
Miz JJ

P.S. I have been taking FR around. Pictures are coming soon. Well…soonish.

I feel like the title. I am uninspired to write and I am emotionally and physically exhausted. I had a great vacation and it was fun, but I am not ready to blog about it yet. Just too tired.

So here are some oldies for you to check out, if you are bored.

Miz JJ on strip clubs.

Miz JJ on marriage.

Miz JJ on sex and the age old “how many is too many” question.

Miz JJ on why celebrities should hire nannies.

smooches,
Miz JJ

P.S. About Flat Randy…Bloopty lost him, but then he was found. He is coming up this way soon (he may inspire me to blog). Once I get him and show him the town I will post the pics. Oh and I am going to put all the e-mail requests for him in a hat and draw a name. Seems to be the most fair way.

I am westward bound in just a few short hours. I can not wait! I am excited. I was telling Red how I was getting up in the middle of the night again, but I think it is because I am anxious. I am just so excited to get home.

In other news I believe that Bloopty is sending me Flat Randy. Who is Flat Randy you ask? That is an excellent question. This is Flat Randy.

There is a school in Arizona that did this project. Send Flat Randy around the world. Here we go….

Rules:

• You have to take a picture of Flat Randy and then send it to the any one of the bloggers on your blog roll. Preferably someone that you’re “friends” with because, of course, you’ll need their address.
• Do not draw/write or mutilate Flat Randy in any way…he is our little friend.
• Treat Randy as if he were a friend visiting you in your city/town/village… take him to a touristy place and take a picture of Randy or of you and Randy.
• Then post your picture.
• Once you have taken your pic of Flat Randy…then mail him off to the next person.
• See how far Flat Randy can reach.

So check back here for photos of Flat Randy. Heh. Oh and if you are interested in having Flat Randy next then send me an e-mail at abitofeverythingbymizjj@hotmail.com. I will mail him to you next!

Going west,
Miz JJ

Only 3 more sleeps until I get to go home. I can not wait. I am so excited to see Mama J. So excited. Mama J is just the bestest thing ever. I never thought I would be one of those people who became friends with their mom, but I have. Don’t get it twisted though, she is still the mom and one of the only human beings I truly fear as her cut eye is legendary. Yet, now we just talk all the time and I love it. Not to mention the shopping. I come by my love of shoes honestly. Mama J has an entire hall closet in our family home dedicated to her shoe collection, which is just overflow from her walk in closet. I just can’t wait to see her!

Because of the evil Crackbook I am in touch with a lot of people that I never use to be in touch with, however, because it is through Crackbook it is a shallow way of keeping in touch. Fine by me. In the last couple of years I have been cutting through the bullshit and I seriously am not interested in anyone, ANYONE I went to high school with except for the Lil’ One. I am over those people. Catching up with them on Crackbook is about as much time as I care to dedicate to those people. So, imagine my surprise when the Lil’ One sends out a message on Crackbook inviting some former high school friends out for drinks. I did not know how to voice my disinterest in having drinks with those people. I love the Lil’ One (she is another reason I am so excited to go home), but I am just surprised she even wants to have drinks with those people. When I was friends with them in high school she considered them snobs. Now, she feels like we have all grown and matured and that it is time for us all to be friends. Well, I am not feeling it. I do not really think those people have grown and matured. If anything it appears as though they have atrophied. I am already wondering, if faking sick will work. Kidding.

Today is my big brother’s birthday. He use to have this policy where he would not work on his birthday. I just called him up to wish him a happy birthday and I asked what he was doing. He laughed and told me working. He said when he went to go tell his boss that he wasn’t showing up, but then he realized there was nobody to tell that too. He is the boss. Silly dude. I am happy for him. He is really doing well. I make sure to tell him that too. It is important that he knows that the way he has changed his life matters. Sure he should have had his act together many, many years ago, but he is proof that if you want to change, you can.

Loving her family,
Miz JJ