Bits & Bobbles of My Birthday

People always manage to spell my name wrong, even it's spelled out for them!

(Throwback birthday pic)

My First Time

Source

I remember most of the details so vividly.

My first experience with snow was the blizzard of '96 (January 6th).
I was 7 years old.
I had only emigrated to the U.S. from Jamaica, 6 months before.
It stood above my knees.... or was it at my hips?
I have never seen nor experienced anything like it.
My sister was cruel enough to push me into it while walking to school.
Yet, I thought it was the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

Beneath the Winter Snow

A few photos showcasing all the snow we got in Connectict.

Question 1

What questions should I be asking myself?
"At first I thought asking yourself what you should be asking yourself was redundant. It isn't. Without this question, you wouldn't ask any others, so it gets top billing. It creates an alert, thoughtful mind state, ideal for ferreting out the information you most need in every situation. Ask it frequently." [Source]

• How do you feel about life?
• Are you content with the current path you're on?
• Why are you so lazy sometimes?
• Why are you often angry? Miserable? Such a loner?
• What are you going to do with a Master's in Biomedical Sciences?
• Why don't you just tell them that you really and truly do hate school and there's a really good chance that you will not pursue your PhD?
• What would REALLY make you happy?
• Are you sure that you want to marry him?
• What will it take to be "ready" for marriage?
• Will I just know?
  
• Are you sure about anything at all?
• How can you improve your relationships?
• Where do you see yourself 3 years from now?
  
• How can you find the answers to these questions?
• Why... have you put your Lord God on the back-burner?
  

20 Questions

[borrowed from Oprah]

No, not the cheesy game that many of us are familiar with. A suggested list of 20 questions every woman should ask herself. I was perusing through Oprah's site and stumbled upon this little article. I thought it would be a fun little activity for me to take part in for 2 reasons:

1. I often run low on blog topics until I spontaneously think of one
2. More seriously, I HATE being asked questions. I feel as though I never have an answer. Whenever I'm asked a question, it is as if my mind is scrambled and I can't think anymore. Actually, that IS what happens usually. I begin thinking in questions like "why did this person just ask me that?"... "How do I go about answering it?"... "Why haven't you answered the question yet, Jhan???" "What are they thinking as you're thinking?"... and the list of questions in my mind go on and on until it's all a scrambled mess and I end up forgetting the initial question.

I need to get over the fear of being questioned, so I am going to take this on as a blogging task similar to this one. Most of the questions seem very valuable in terms of helping me evaluate where I am in life currently and where I see myself in the future (this is actually a 3rd reason). So, let's get started.... in the next post, of course. ツ

Strong Arms, Sexy Back

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I have a minor (lies!... more like major) obsession with dresses. My favorite these days include one shouldered and open back dresses. One shouldered dresses show off the perfect amount of skin, a strong shoulder and a sleek neckline. But, if you want to show a little more.. you can go for an open back look. I absolutely adore the open-back dresses and you can read why here. Here are a few of my current faves:

The Strong Arm:

1) Nude One Shoulder Lace Dress; 2) Jay Godfrey 'Kimiko' Tiered One Shoulder Dress; 3) One Shoulder Frill Dress

The Sexy Back:

1) Black Satin Paperbag Mini Dress by Babooshka; 2) Crazy Love Gold Dress; 3) Lark & Wolff by Stephen Alan Knit Stripe Open Back Dress

Twenty-three

"Amazing still it seems
I'll be 23
I won't always love what I'll never have
I won't always live in my regrets"
~Jimmy Eat World-- "23"~

-- The first two photos above are from my 2oth birthday in 2008. The second, from my 21st (2009) and the last is from my 22nd birthday last year. It seems like it was not too long ago that I attended college, celebrated EVERY single birthday of my 4 years of college with my friends and had little to worry about except doing well in school... Time sure does fly. I'll be 23 years old, a week from now. I guess I'm just nervous because it will be a completely different stage in my life *deep heavy sigh*... Life's still good! ツ

Video of the Day

--I remember hearing this song for the first time fall semester 2009. Leona Lewis was well known for other songs about love including her hits Bleeding Love and Better in Time so I expected nothing less with this video of the day feature. When this video was released and I viewed it, I seriously cried. Not so much a bawl my eyes out type thing, but more of a "Omg, that was so sad...". That's all I'm going to say about it. Watch it and let me know what you thought of the ending.

Happy by Leona Lewis

What did you think about the video? Was it an unexpected reaction? Have you ever been in a situation like this?

Manayunk Spunk

I spent my last Saturday in Philly on a date with my beau. This will be my last time home until April or the end of the semester. We went to Frak's for (mediocre) cheesesteaks in Manayunk. We then walked down Main street to visit Benjamin Lovell Shoes. This was my first job. I worked as a stock girl. Tasks included receiving new shoes, printing labels for them, stocking them on the shelves, and trying on the gorgeous red patent leather Stuart Weitzman pumps. (Ok, the latter wasn’t really in my job description, but I couldn’t help trying on some of the shoes that were in stock). Anyhoo, I visited the store to say hi to my old manager/supervisor, but left with the words that she no longer works there. :-\

[Source]

My beau and I then stopped on a side street to talk for a little bit and it was hard to concentrate b/c I was so in love with the scenery. I honestly could not wait for us to finish talking so that I could snap some pics. The view included parts of the Schuylkill River and expressway, old train tracks, and the backs of some of the businesses on Main Street.

I think Brunette Blogger was right when she described the symptoms of the blogging flu. Numbers 2 and 3 are my main symptoms. It states:

• "#2. You know you've caught the blogging flu when you start converting everything about your live into a a post. "Oh this shopping trip would make a great new post for my blog!" or "I could definitely use this topic to write about"."
• "#3. Your camera is working overtime and EVERYTHING is interesting enough for you to snap pictures of. This includes your lunch, your dinner, a pretty dessert, flowers, bugs, patterns, the sky, …"

Have you ever caught the 'blogging flu'? What symptoms do you exhibit?

Video of the Day

Source

-- I've resisted posting this video long enough. I love Adele. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to her first album, 19, and now that 21 will be released within the next month, I hope it is just as good. I can't wait until it is released. Both albums are named after the age at which she wrote the songs. This should be enjoyable. Amazon's pre-order price is $9.99 and I'm totally going to purchase it! That is all...

'Rolling In the Deep' by Adele

Schedule

--It looks pretty bare right now, but that's because I have yet to determine times for my independent study on vaccines and I still don't have times for my online class.

Video of the Day

"Dada" by Layori

-- I honestly have no idea what she's saying b/c I don't speak Nigerian, but I think this is a beautiful video (visually) and the singer has a nice voice.

What do you think about this video?

22

[Source]

I will be 23 years old in 23 days (as of January 6, 2010) and I am thinking, what have I accomplished thus far?
-- I've graduated grade school and high school at the top of my class.
-- I've graduated college... not in the same position as the other schools, but it's still an accomplishment nonetheless.
-- I've been accepted to graduate school, with hopes of having a career in the biotech/pharmaceutical research field.
-- I've gained friendships that I'm sure will last for a lifetime.
-- I've found love that I've never had before.
-- I've strengthened my relationship with God.
-- I've matured in a number of ways.
-- I've learned some things about myself from either life experiences or from my friends themselves.
-- I'm stronger, although I will still bawl my eyes out if something upsetting enough gets to me.
-- I am more opinionated (I used to just go with the flow just to make others happy).
-- I would say that I am a bit wiser (it comes with age ツ).


I am sure there are many other things that I have learned and gained in my 23 years of life, which fail to come to mind right now. All in all, I'm grateful for every bit of my life. There was a time when I hated life and everything that it entailed. The hurt. The pain. Anger. Bitterness. And every other unhappy synonym related to the previously listed words.

Now, I have a different outlook on life. There's a lot to live for. Just as there is a lot to die for. You live for family, friends, those moments that make you smile, memories, the possible future you may have, the life you may touch, the life you might create, and most importantly, for the one who gave us life in the first place, Jesus Christ.

I'm looking forward to 22 more years of life. ツ

A Picture Per Hour

I love getting post ideas from blogs that I read. This "A Picture per Hour" post was inspired by her blog. I planned to document yesterday, Tuesday, January 4, 2011, in photos. I didn't quite take pics after a certain hour, as we were at the movies, but I think what I captured is a good start to what I'm hoping will be a great blogging feature. I also took way more than one photo per hour. I could not resist.

8am: Driving by the piers on Columbus Blvd in South Philly

9am: Having a delicious cup of Hot Chocolate at Benna's cafe on 8th Street

10am: Still waiting for Malinda's car to be inspected... Taking photos of the cute little cafe.







11am: Car is ready!







12pm: We found parking downtown.













12pm (cont.): Lashanda joined us as we looked over the city of Philadelphia from the 33rd floor of the Loew's hotel.










1pm: Roamed around the Olde City area











2pm: We ended the afternoon walking around town and then stopped at the Ritz East to watch "Black Swan".