Been tagged by 13....

Five songs I'll always love:
1. a song for you - donny hathaway
2. when you call my name - frank mccomb
3. any luther song
4. diamonds and pearls - prince
5. all in love is fair - stevie wonder
*bonus Whatever, Whatever, Whatever - Jill Scott and Say Yes - Floetry..

Now - what was I doing ....10 years ago:
i was living in corvallis, oregon where the land scape was beautiful but i swear me and my (then) husband increased the black population by at least 20%. i worked for osu. i had written tens of poems but hadn't claimed "poet" at that time. so, i obviously, didn't know who i was then.

5 years ago: i was turning 30 and waking up! still married and had 2 kids by then. (so much changes in 5 years... wow!) i had a three-year-old and a one-year-old. i was overwhelmed. livin' pretty large but, like most corp. folks, creating big debt and unhappy. on one side of life, i had published a book, was on the writers league of texas board of directors, and was running several writing programs and projects/becoming "shia" again. on the other side, selling my daytime soul to my day job and living to pay bills. my marriage lost it's way. i cut my signature, VERY LONG at the time, hair all the way off and wore a fade for the first time ever. SO liberating! i remember that being a very painful/confusing/excitingly scary time because i knew change was going to come. i just wasn't sure when or how. but i knew it was necessary.

1 year ago: separated... moved out. i was empowered but scared. but i LOVED our new living (me and my children). wrote more. realized what was missing... loving ME! realized fun again. became the owner of "writer". oh! by now had written 4 screenplays, produced several short films and developed a gazillion treatments and film ideas. became screenwriter shia. owned the cave canem fellow and widely published poet shia. (shameless self promo) learned to love and nurture both. found passion. kept passion.

Yesterday: felt the pangs of merc in retrograde. tried to get settled into my new apartment but the raccoons wouldn't let me. drama, drama all day long. but i found breath in a bath and the return of my phone service. (what's a girl to do without a phone?)

Today: so far... caught up on my blog reading. managed urgent work issues. listened to thunder. wondered about how my children are. said a prayer for their safety. accepted a lunch date with my girl. sent a headshot to the printer for my L.A. trip tomorrow. got a note that my late time sheet may not get me paid til the 18th. (wha' ha' happent was... mymanagerisonvacationandmynextlevelmanagerwasoutyesterday
soididn'tsentittilthismorningandthenthefaxedfailed
andsoihadtosenditagainandbythetimeirealizedthefailureand
resentititeasafternooneasterntimeandtoolateforthem
toprocess...whew! i hope the rest of the day is better...
ok, before i finished this, they told me i'll get paid on friday... phew! (relief). now i am contemplating neo tonight. i need it.

Tomorrow: make sure all my stuff is together for my cali trip. exhale...

5 snacks I enjoy: dark chocolate, birthday cake, chocolate or yogurt covered pretzels, bon bons, almonds with some kind of salted seasoning or unsalted whole cashews.

5 bands I know the lyrics of most of their songs: stevie wonder, luther vandross, frank mccomb, old school new edition, all michael jackson up thru thriller

5 things I would do with $100,000,000:
1. donate 5% to charity preferably a cause for feeding children, AIDS, and all activists causes relating to black people.
2. whatever my children want and set up account to grow money for them
3. invest for myself
4. buy a home with hardwood floors, aa fire place, a courtyard, maybe a pool, and a custom writing room.
5. plan and pay for vacations for me and my children for the next 10 years

5 locations to run away to: bay area (cali); anywhere caribbean and black; paris; harlem, new york; and canada

5 things I wish I could wear: a bikini (confidently); my bare skin (confidently); a belly ring without being "skerred"; dread locs (some day); and long nails, cuz i like 'em.

5 Movies: momento; mahogany; monsoon wedding; sparkle; and boomarang.

5 biggest joys at the moment: my children; feeling connected to good people and good things which, for me, equals knowing there is a God; writing (any genre, including blogging); good food, good drinks, and good conversation with those aforementioned good people; and love... gotta have love.

5 toys: blog; words; my children; my laptop; and anything in my top bedroom drawer (oops)... ok, i'm kidding... i think...

I tag jameri, kelli, steph, natasha and ... can i tag amanda too?

abrazors y besos... shia