Kelvin's Corner

...worth a 1000 words

Well I went to New York over the Memorial Day Weekend.....

...and as my photo blog clearly tells, a picture truly is worth a thousand words..LOL!!

Unlike my trip to Atlanta, I actually arrived...ON TIME, I think it had alot to do with it being Northwest and not GhettoTran..lol. When I got there, I met Yolanda and we headed to the hotel to drop the bags off and then it was off to Brooklyn to meet up with the rest of the group. We were having drinks and dinner at Night of the Cookers in what I am told, is the better part of Brooklyn..hhmmmm....never did make it to the grimy parts though I am sure I will cause I will be going back...*wink*

Finally got a chance to meet Xquizzyt1, Cee, Will, Edwige, Slow Metamorphosis, and Danja...everyone was real cool.

X, and I are officially Patron Swiggin' Padnas as witnessed in the shot below.

I think I had like 3 shots and X may have had 4, it kinda got fuzzy after those 3 that I remember and a few Heinekins, but it was all a great time and we had so many laughs that it was well worth the fuzzy memories..LOL

I had to get a shot of this because me just telling you about it would NOT do it justice. Now apparently there are quite a few resturants in NYC that don't have house bands or house pianos because dude told me he had to lug this big mufuga around EVERYWHERE...in an old white van like Omar used to drive on The Wire..LOL

...*blink, blink*...

ROFLMAO!!! Now is it just me or is this a bit impractical...hhhmmm I think its a bit impractical!! How about buying a Keyboard?? Maybe he is going for that "authentic" sound...LOL. So when I told him I had to get a pic of a Black Man rolling an entire ORGAN out of the FRONT door of this place at like 2:00 in the morning and there were witnesses....none of which are even tempted to call the police...Only in New York, baby, Only in New York......

and you know he had his own speaker for that real good Old Southern Baptist church feel for certain songs..Lol.

Now you know we shut the bar down and they had to damn near put our asses out the joint. So we all get outside and are shooting the shit and decide to take some group pics, when all of a sudden I turn around and what do I see..??? ONE HUGE ASS PILE OF TRASH, A-LOOKIN' AT ME!!!!! LMBAO!! Now this too is the norm in New York because when this great city was built, nobody thought to put in any ALLEYS!! I understand that space is tight, but that shit was crazy to me..*shrug*
I won't speak on that too much cause it must be a New York thing...lol I just know CHICAGO has alleys and that may be why we don't have as bad a rodent problem as NYC...LOL Its said that there are just as many rats as there are people, and I can understand how that could be true..

Got a chance to hang out in Harlem and Manhattan too, I took tons of pics and will be updating the photo blog with more pics too. I just wanted to post something now, but I shall be back later cause the San Antonio and Phoenix game is about to start....

Just as I thought

I knew it wouldn't be a sweep......
I knew it would be hard to win two in Miami....
It was a pressure situation for the Heat....
This makes the series more interesting.....

Last nights game was a comeback performance for Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat...He had a much better game this time and closed the night out, as would only be fitting, with fast break that led to a dunk.

Now the two teams travel back to The Palace for Game 3 this Saturday and the momentum seems to have shifted to the Heat. The Pistons did alright, they just had WAY too many turnovers and not enough conversions off second chance opportunities as evident mainly in the 3rd and 4th quarters. This cannot happen and the team still expects to win, especially on the road. I am sure Larry Brown will have the team review tape and see where the trouble areas were.

I had this long detailed entry in my head on the way to work, but don't think I am gonna type it...

Well its Thursday, I am at work, and have some stuff to wrap up before this long weekend starts for me...so until next time

Chicago Blogger BLOWOUT....34 days

I LOVE THIS GAME!!

I got two words for you all.....DEEEET-ROITTTTT... BASKETTTT-BALL!!!!

Yes you got it...Detroit is up 1-0 over Shaq and the Heat. Man, this series is gonna be soooo good, I can already tell by the game from last night.

Few highlights from the game that I just thought I would mention...

Rasheed Wallace was in a zone last night...stepped his game up from the 3 point line and was playing like the Sheed of his early Portland days. My man was 4 for 5 from 3 point land and ended the night with 20 points. Domination and motivation, is all I can really say about his performance from last night. In addition to being the leading scorer, he was also the emotion that the Pistons needed in Game 1 considering it was in Miami.

Chauncey had a great night as well and was keeping Damon Jones fairly quiet. His leadership at the running the guard was phenomenal last night and I like the part where at the half when Michelle Tafoya asked how they were able to keep Dwayne Wade quiet, he says that Larry Brown kept switching up his defense of Wade so he couldn't get used to one particular style of play...and it must have worked because as hot as Wade in the previous two series, he was only 7 for 25 shooting and scored only 16 points..to me thats just damn good coaching.

Speaking of Dwayne Wade, I have to respect his game. I mean his regular season numbers are impressive as well as his playoff numbers, but last night was just a bad night for him. He simply could not get it going and it seemed the frustration was obvious. Shaq was in and out of the game and Stan Van Gundy did something that had not been done all season when he let Shaq and Alonzo play together in the fourth quarter...I was even shocked by this, considering all the 3 point threats that Detroit has. Why have your two big men in at the same time when the offense can run circles around you in transition?!?!...*shrug* Maybe thats just me....

Tayshaun Prince is living proof that defense wins championships...this man is amazing, for real and alot of cats don't give him his due props. He had a good game too last night and was the main reason why Dwayne Wade couldn't get off. They called a goal tending against him when he CLEARLY pinned Wade's one layup on a fast break to the glass. It was so evident in the instant replay, but what can you do, the refs can't get all of them right....

Well I am looking forward to Game 2 Wednesday night, and in the meantime, I will be checking out the second game of the Western Conference tonight...

Countdown to Chicago Blogger BLOWOUT!!....36 days

...Tag I'm IT

Now I got tagged by Dee with this 10 Things I Love and since it is Monday and I stayed out kinda late last night this was the perfect answer to a post today..LOL

Here it goes... And in no particular order....

10. My mama's cooking

9.  Heinekins

8.  Summertime in Chicago

7.  Traveling

6.  A good joke

5.  Writing

4.  Making money

3.  Deja

2.  Good music

1. ME!!!

Now I am passing this list on and tagging....ummm lemme see....

Nikki

Golden

Xquizzyt1

Happy Monday!!

Friday's Ghetto Non-Fiction

Let me tell you all one little thing....Living in the hood can be taxing at times...LOL

The reason I say this is because only in the hood can you go into the local branch of a very popular bank and experience the headache that I did on yesterday...

Now the work that was being done in my basement was completed on this past Monday and the time came to pay the contractors. So on my way home Tuesday I stop by Washington Mutual to withdraw the money to pay them off. I go into the bank and walk up to the teller and make my attempt at what I think is going to be a simple transaction, only to find out that the insurance check that I deposited on 5/9/2005 had still not posted to my account...

*crickets*........

I am standing there looking at the teller like what the hell do you mean it hasn't posted, I have been writing checks and spending money off this deposit since I made it on 5/9/2005...

So she goes back and evidently the check I deposited was a two-party check and needed the other parties (the contractor) signature...ok, honest mistake on my part, I didn't pay attention to the payee line on the front of the check. I just signed it and made the deposit. But this only gets deeper....I ask the teller why wasn't I notified that there was a problem with the deposit, and she is just standing there looking stupid. I am like you all couldn't pick up the phone and call me? Hell even drop a letter in the mail and it would have prevented me from spending money that they had holds on...Still got that stupid look on her face and she goes to get the branch manager. Now when this dude comes over, I ask him the same thing and he gives me some bullshit ass answer that I am not satisfied with and I tell them that I don't expect to be charged all those returned check fees that will no doubtedly occur once those checks hit. Then he has the nerve to tell me that he mailed the check back to me the next day...now mind you all this happened two weeks ago and to this day, I still have no check. He assured me that I wouldn't be cahrged those fees. I took his card and left the bank. As soon as I hopped in the car, I am on the phone with Allstate to see if I can just get a replacement check issued and to see if they can just cancel the old one out. And who would have thought that I would get better customer service out of an insurance company than I would out of a bank?? Not me, not in a million years......

Well anyway, they agreed to overnight me a new check and I got it yesterday so I was able to pay the guys off, but all this headache and running around because this...Branch Manager couldn't notify me that there was a problem with the deposit I made....TWO WEEKS AGO....*smh* I tell you what though, I have a couple of checks out there that I am waiting to come thru and clear and I am gonna just shutdown my account there and go elsewhere to do my business, because I have had nothing but problems since I started banking with them....

Anybody here ever deal with Citibank?....lol

Countdown to Chicago Blogger BLOWOUT....39 days!!!

...Matter of time...

See, I knew it was only gonna be a matter of time before someone came here and felt like they were gonna tell me what to write about and what not to voice my opinion about.....

What the hell am I talking about you may ask? Well over the last  two days my blog topics just happen to center around the Down Low people out there...and wouldn't you know it...some PERSON came by here and tried to check me in my comments section....now this person isn't someone that I have ever spoke to nor have I seen them in my comments section...hell, judging by the name, I can't tell if it is a he or a she. Here is what was left in my comments section from my post about Down Low Men:

                            "until you have lived the life of a dl or gay man or woman (because its not just men)( shock and awe, again) or been a partner of those people you will NEVER know how any of this feels.

Stop judging and saying how disgusting things are. Be apart of the solution. The DL situation is just one of the many problems that are killing the blacks."

--anfanee

...now you tell me, can you tell who this person is? I am truly hoping that they come back thru here calling themselves "regulating" in the Corner....hell this is my spot and all who read my page know....I will not and do not bite my tounge...if the shit is on my mind, then I am gonna let it be known...dumbass motherfucker.....

And don't get it twisted, I am not saying that everyone should agree with what I write, because we are all entitled to our opinion...and as I clearly stated in my response to that comment yesterday...

                         "Anfanee: I am in no way judging DL men/women...and I clearly stated that in my posting....I am simply giving my opinion on the situation...and we all know the old adage about opinions....

"They are like assholes...everybody has one"

And if you are not a passer-by or lurker of my page, then you would know that I am an advocate for self improving within the Black community...I have preached about it on several of my previous posts...."

--Kelvin

Anyway, I thought and thought about how I should respond to this comment in this post today and didn't really come up with a retaliation so to say..this shit is just coming to me as I type...I have seen this on many other people's blogs where some passer-by or fucking lurker decides they wanna come out from under their rock and leave some bitch ass comment like that...hell if you don't like what I have to say then you can politely click the little X in the upper right hand corner of your screen ( or left corner if you are on a Mac)...or simply stay the hell off my page because just as my banner uptop clearly states...Just when you thought it was safe...

Coming up in here trying to tell ME what the fuck to write....man I tell you some folks are just unbelievable...LOL...Last time I checked, it was my credit card info that was on file with TypePad and I am the one paying said bill to maintain this site so unless you decide you wanna sponsor this page only then can you have some control over what the hell gets posted here...

I could not believe this person decided they wanted to say that I am judging DL men/women...and that if I am not part of the solution, then I am only contributing to the problem...I think that's the shit that pissed me off the most...all my faithful readers already know that I on too many occassions to recall have tried to promote uplifting within the Black community, hell I have even outlined the steps that I feel would jump start the process.

Let me stop cause I am getting pissed off all over again and  refuse to let that ignorant lurker/passer-by ruin my damn day....

Kelvin.Out

Hump Day

The basement is finally done....Thank the Lord...LOL I get home yesterday afternoon and the guys were wrapping it all up...the walls, the floors, the painting was all done...and it looks really nice. I was very impressed with the job they did and there is actually talk of me having my ceramic in the kitchen redone in the near future...gotta see what the bank account has to say about that one though..LOL I am gonna take some pics this evening and post them for you guys.

Didn't do too much on last night. Decided that I would try to clean up and situate the new basement a little bit. So I did that and watched the end of the Detroit vs. Indiana game...and let me tell you what an ass whipping that was...the team that showed up for games two and three...*shrug*...but the team that showed up last night handed out a spanking like they are known for...I guess the fact that they are World Champions finally kicked in and they stepped up their game. Following that, the Seattle vs. San Antonio game came on and I watched poor Ray Allen do his best to try to give Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobli a run for it, but it was just Ginobli's night...it seemed like everything he put up went in...from the 3-point line he was a threat, driving the lane he was a threat, running the break he was a threat...he was in his zone...as the score reflected...I am really waiting on this Detroit vs. Miami series to see how my boy Dwayne Wade does against the Piston defense...it should be a good series that goes at least 7...the only concern I have is that Detroit will be exhausted by the time the play them...Miami swept Washington and have had like a week to rest up...and this is all without Shaq...I still think its gonna be a good series anyway.

Well not alot to ramble about today...hell its Hump Day....and I am just waiting on the weekend..*wink*

Countdown to the Chicago Blogger BLOWOUT...41 days...

...Since I Started it....

After going back and reading some of the comments from yesterday's post about Mr. Kel.ly, I commented on Kajuana's comment by saying that I thought more women would be looking forward to the next installment of this little mini-series that he is doing. Apparently Kel.ly is losing alot of his female fanbase and rightly so, I think, after the accusations and the video tape but I digress...

And since I brought up this cat's name on yesterday also, J.L. King, I figured I would talk about that whole DL brother thing a little bit. Now I am not one to sit back and cast judgement on anyone, but I have to say this....

THAT IS SOME BOGUS SHIT!!.........

How are you gonna do your wife/woman like that? This is the woman that carried your seed...the woman that is supposed to your "better half"....and the list goes on...so my problem is not that you are gay, but that you are trying to live two seperate lives?!?!?...and not to mention the amount of harm you are putting those who love you in... And while I was in a Border's a few weeks ago, I see he has a new book out...Coming Up From the Down Low and as the title so clearly states..he did "Come Up" when he brought this to the forefront...as well as being a missionary for the cause, he was able to lace his pockets quite nicely I am sure from his book sales...Truthfully I have not read either book and only saw the interview he did on Op.rah..and I can still remember the responses from the mainly female audience...the blank stares, the dropped jaws, I mean you could actually see the wheels turning in some of these womens' heads..as they pondered the unanimous thought...."Is my man giving me signs that I have just ignored?"...

Like I mentioned before, I have nothing against gay men and I feel like I am secure enough in my own manhood to not be homophobic in any way. There are several gay men at my job and I have never had any problems with them. They all are decent guys, they just happen to be gay. My whole concern is the fact that these down low men are virtually gambling with other peoples lives and doing so willingly...

I commend this man for his efforts and  for putting alot of women up on game that they otherwise would have never known about. He let it be known that alot of the men that are living this life, are doing it strictly for the sex...the orgasm to put it bluntly...and I am thinking to myself if that is the case isn't the end result going to be the same?? Whether it be with your girl or with your man...the end result is a nut?!? C'mon seriously...man the fuck up and do the right thing...tell your girl and let her make the decision whether to stay or go... Maybe that's just me...and the way I think....I wanna know what you all feel about this...

...What do you think?

On the ride to work this morning I am listening to the radio, and those Chicagoans reading this can attest, apparently the new buzz is this whole R. Kel.ly "Trapped In the Closet" series he is releasing this summer....

*Crickets*.......

Well obviously this is going to be a 5 part series and from what I can tell the ongoing theme is going to be cheating couples and down low brothers. Now for those of you who have no idea of what I am talking about and have not heard the songs yet, Kel.ly is telling a story of leaving the club with some random woman and waking up in her bed the next morning. Once he realizes what has happened he is frantically trying to get his clothes on and make it out of the house when all of sudden the husband shows up and he is forced to hide out in the closet....the husband comes upstairs and detects something in the air that's not right. He questions his wife and she starts fumbling and stuttering so he checks the closet and ...that's how the song ends....Now on Part II which I heard recently also is just a continuation of Part I and the man confronts Kel.ly..there are words exchanged and the husband tells the both of them that they have a suprise as he tells whoever dropped him off to come back to the house and it winds up that the husband is a DL brother.....

Now my question to you all is....with all the legal problems that Kel.ly is having right now, do you think he should have tackled this particular subject at this point in his career and yes I know Kel.ly can take something as simple as making some good ass Kool-Aid and turn it into a Number #1 on the charts, but this?....now?....I just don't know....so what do you guys think?

...Ghetto Blessings...Part I

Okay....so like I mentioned earlier, the basement rehab project is in full swing I am feel like a kid during Christmas time. I was thinking about this while I was at my desk today...I got to thinking about this sick feeling I got in the pit of my stomach that dreadful Friday morning I went downstairs to do laundry...and as I sit here typing this and smiling...funny how a sick feeling can all of a sudden transform into overwhelming elation in a matter of a few weeks...(not to mention a nice little check from Allstate..lol)

This just further lets me know that everything in this universe is all intertwined in some way...I just think about how it all unfolded...from me having to call two plumbers before I found Robert, the guy that did the plumbing work, and both of them telling me they would have to call me back and me knowing me as well as I do...found that totally unacceptable so I kept it moving in the Yellow Pages...then the chance encounter I had with Charles at the carwash...

*A little background info on Charles...very professional, stand-up guy...met him at the car wash I sometimes frequent and he happened to be also getting his car done ...I sparked up just some general convo about how I was sick when that new body Maxima came out and I had just got my Altima the prior year...I told him how much I liked the car and yada, yada, yada...so we get to talking and I find out he is a general contractor that has his own business. He whipped out his portfolio and his credentials which included his VALID contractors license and photos of various projects he had worked on ...I am immediately impressed by this and TRULY am a practitioner of what I have preached on here so many times about reinvesting back into our own community, so we exchange business cards and he called me like a day or two later and wanted to come by to take some measurements and write up an estimate for me...and wouldn't you know I had been trying to find someone that did professional work on the Southside?..once again...intertwined..lol...so anyway he came by the house and brought the wife..( I am assuming she handles the financial portions of the business and he handles the labor ) They were very amicable people and kept complimenting me on the house and whatnot...so when they were done, we faxed the estimate to Allstate and the rest is history..*

..so like I was saying, the way that all these events transpired is just amazing to me and I sometimes wonder if this was a ghetto blessing in disguise...hell I know it was a ghetto blessing...how else can one explain this??

So I decided to show you all some photos of the work that has been done so far and put up a link over there to the right that has photos of the tear-out and the new drywall that went up...even though they just started yesterday, I spoke to him this morning when I first got to work and told him that I was really impressed by the fact that not only did they get alot done yesterday, they even had the decency to clean up after themselves..

**Tangent Alert**
...I am a neat freak...I know I may not have mentioned this before, but I hate clutter and just unnecessary mess...that shit will irk me to DEATH**

..so when I go downstairs yesterday and see all the progress made and a nice little pile of trash that they swept up and had in the corner...I almost passed the hell out..LOL So if any of you in the Chicagoland area need a good general contractor let me know and I will forward you his info...all this giving back...its gotta start somewhere and what better venue than the Blog world, right? *wink*

Now the second half of my Ghetto Blessings came during my trip home over this past weekend...I bumped into one of my old high school friends and he had a number for a long lost cousin, Sonya, that I have here in Chicago...so when I made it back in town, I called her up and I thought the girl was gonna have a heart attack when I told her who I was..LMBAO!! Come to find out she only lives like 10 minutes away from me!!..C'mon now say it with me...I-n-t-e-r-t-w-i-n-e-d !!! It was so good to hear her voice and she was like I had to come by and see her...RIGHT THEN!!...so I went and we sat on the front porch and reminisced a little bit..but I told her I would be back because it was half-time and the second half of the San Antonio and Dallas game was about to start and we could really catch up this weekend so her and Fallon ( her little sister) are gonna stop by this weekend...ya'll don't know how good it did my heart to see her again after all these years...seriously!!
Countdown to the Chicago Blogger BLOWOUT...48 days!!!