Episode 3 - Got my hair done

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Worthless. Absolutely worthless. I should have shot some video of the hairdresser burning my scalp or trying to comb out my wet and tangled hair. Heck, it would have been more interesting if I had shot video of her trying to convince me to NOT cut my hair.

Tunnel Vision

Tunnel Vision
Originally uploaded by Shavonne

I took a trip to the Apple store to play around with the new Macs. I always take a picture with one of the computers to commemorate the occasion.

Episode 2 - Hair

A while back I wrote a post about cutting my hair off and starting over. Well, I've decided to scratch the whole idea and cut my hair off in stages. One reason is because I can't find a hair stylist I trust enough to wack my locks off and two, I'm just plain scared.

BTW, if there is someone out there in Southern California who can do my hair, please, PLEASE contact me.

Life in the AV

Before I left Afghanistan, I said to a friend "My friends are probably up to the same stuff they were up to when I left." It turned out to be true.

I've been home for over two weeks now and back to the life I had been hoping to escape by now. Why did I come back?

I discovered that one friend is living in a women's shelter because her husband has been using her head as a punching bag. WTF?! I've met the guy and hung out with them several times and I never got the impression he was a woman beater! What a gross misjudgment on my part. They've filed for divorce. I have no idea how to get in touch with her. I just hope she and her 1-year-old son are okay.

My other friend, what can I say, she's been doing the same thing for like the last ten years. She just had another baby, her third baby with a guy who's not only shown her he doesn't want to be with her, but verbally said this to her almost ten years ago! I wish I could say she's finally seen the light but I can't. This would be one of dozens of times she's called it quits with this guy. It's a situation much like Kim Porter and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs.

I was very disappointed when she told me the news. All I could do was congratulate her. There was no point in asking her what she was thinking at the time. I already know.

I'm sad to say that I miss Afghanistan. It's been a long time since I was around people my age who weren't saddled down with responsibilities, mostly because they couldn't bring their families to Afghanistan.

The biggest bunch of POPPYCOCK I've read in a long time.

One reason I stopped thinking of black men as natural mates (for myself and other black women in general).

It's also another reason why I'm not Christian (or Muslim). A real man will never have to beat his woman into submission.

My New Website

I bought iLife '08 and installed it. I tested out the iWeb application and redesigned my blog. I'm not sure I want to host my website with dot Mac. Many of the features I'm used to with Wordpress/Dot5hosting I'm not getting with dot Mac. One feature I like about my blog now is that I can edit comments and leave a response to a particular comment in the same comment box but in a different color. Also, comments count towards disk space. After a while, I will have to go through my comments and delete them and that sounds like too much work. Before I lost the content of my blog a few months ago, I had over 500 comments. I couldn't image deleting them all.

Here is the URL for the dot Mac website I created. It's for a limited time only and won't be available 56 days from the date of this post. Tell me what you think.

http://web.mac.com/shavonne_natasha

Journey Home

I lucked out when I landed in Bagram. I was able to get myself book for a flight out that night.

Manas, Kyrgyzstan - I don't know what to say about the place. It doesn't appear to be dangerous because folks stationed there can leave the base. It is in a tax-free zone so that's a plus. The chow hall is definitely better than ISAF.

The camp is also five times bigger than ISAF and there doesn't seem to be as many people. That's all I can say about the place. I meant to get a picture of a mountain peak I saw when I was there but I didn't feel like getting out my camera.

Incirlik, Turkey - It was hot! Around 97 Degrees Fahrenheit and it was humid. I sat in the terminal waiting to reboard the aircraft. It wasn't that bad because they had free wireless internet there.

Baltimore, Maryland-I arrived BWI around 2300 hours on September 1st. The USO was closed so the airport staff allowed myself and other service members to rest in the observation lounge. I was great as they had cushioned benches and I was able to get some much needed rest.

I called my mom to let her know I was on US soil. She was happy to hear that. I can't wait to get home so I can rest. I don't really miss home as much as I hate being in the Army. I don't think anything could surpass my desire to be done with my military commitment.

I've noticed the children around me. They are so cute. I dont' know if it's the fact that I haven't seen small children in a while or what. I still don't want any at the moment.

There's this guy sitting across from me reading a book. He has earbuds in his ear. I wonder if he owns a Mac. That would make him extra hot if he does. I wonder how old he is.

I didn't accomplish much after finally arriving at CRC on Sunday, September 2nd. I turned in my weapon to the armory then went to billeting to get my room and linen. After that, I went to my room and took a very long shower then washed the dirty clothing that had built up since my departure from ISAF.

The following morning (Monday) I got up early to see where I was supposed to report to. I didn't get much help. One person on the staff said I probably wouldn't get any direction as to what I would be doing and where I would be going until after Labor Day. Huh?

I eventually ran into one of the officers I traveled from Germany with. He told me where to go so I could get my outprocessing started. That helped a lot. I guess everyone was assuming I was with the large group of soldiers coming from Iraq.

I didn't take any pictures of my journey home. There really wasn't much to take pictures of anyway as I don't like to have myself photographed in uniform. Sorry. It's my policy.
Friday, September 7, 2007

I'm finally home. It's great to be back. I slept most of the day away. That was the first thing I wanted to do when I got back now that I no longer have to sleep in a twin-size bed in a room with two other people.

I went through my closet to find something to wear. Let's just say that the first thing I'm going to do tomorrow is go shopping for some new threads.

.Mac

Apple is really making it difficult to see the $99/year price for a .Mac account unreasonable. I paid $98 for two-year web hosting with Dot5Hosting and that was the cheapest I could find on the net.

My contract with Dot5Hosting is up in May of next year. I'm seriously considering switching to a .Mac account though I'll be paying twice as much for hosting my website. The features of .Mac combined with iLife '08 can't be beat. At the moment, I'm storing my pictures at Flickr and Photobucket (I rarely use photobucket) and storing my videos at Blip.tv and Youtube. With a .Mac account, I could eliminate all the different websites I use to store my videos and photos. Plus, uploading videos and pictures to my blog will be a snap. No more copying and pasting code! I can't wait until next year.

Blogs I Like to Read

I used to link to blogs I enjoyed reading but then I lost my blog because of a Wordpress upgrade. I've had every intention of linking to those blogs again but lacked the desire to do so because of the slow internet connection. :angry:

Miraculously, I now have the desire to post the links with a short description of what the blog is about. (This has more to do with the fact that I have more time to spend on my computer now that I'm about to leave Afghanistan.)

Black Female Interracial Marriage: e-Zine on Black Women and Interracial Marriage Options. This is one of my favorite blogs. If I only have time to read one blog, this is the one I'll read. I came across this blog over a year ago and I've been hooked since. If you're a black woman (bw) who's interested in broadening your dating options (other than going lesbian), Evia, the blog's author, has a lot of advice to give. Check out the archives, pictures, and links in her side bar especially the link "The Reward for BW's Loyalty." It kind of wakes you up don't you think?

Black Women's IR Circle. Halima Anderson is a published author with a non-fiction book, "Supposing I Wanted to Date a White Guy?" This blog is also about bw's dating options. Halima is a wonderful writer with plenty of essays to read from. As soon as she gets the e-book up for sale I'll be sure to buy it.

Sweet Potato Pie. This is a fitness and health blog for black women. I just discovered this blog today via Evia's blog and I think it's a wonderful idea. Fitness and health should be a top priority amongst all women. Check out the blog and make a commitment to yourself to stay physically fit.

I actually like exercising but I hate dealing with the hair afterwards. Too bad there isn't a blog to address this issue.

I have many more blogs I enjoy reading and I will be sure to feature them and provide links in the future. In the meantime, check out this blogs and the blogs these bloggers link to.

BTW, I haven't forgotten about posting another vlog. I'm working on it. I haven't found any music to put to it. If I don't find any music, I'll just post without it.

Setting an example

“I am fortunate to have been raised by my father, married to my mother, raising kids together and setting strong moral and ethical standards." - Diva, Musings of a Diva

I've been bombarded lately with people who have no regard for setting any kind of example for their children. I met a man today who didn't like wearing protection when he had sex with his girlfriend then accused her of trying to trap him when she ended up pregnant. This man is previously divorced with two children. One of my roommates plans on getting pregnant a year from now and doesn't care that she isn't married. By the way, she wasn't married when she had her first kid either but that's another story.

Diva's quote reminded of a post I had written ages ago about wanting to set an example and stop with the nonsense of having children without marriage and committment. Yes, it can and has been done, but in my opinion it is wrong for so many reasons. Here is that post:

I used to have a membership with match.com. I don't know why I joined, oh wait I do, my friend joined and told me it's a great way to meet men from outside the Antelope Valley. So I gave it a try.

I got plenty of responses but I think it had something to do with my screen name and picture.

One guy in particular could not fathom that I could be single and really wanted to know how/why I've remained single for so long. So I told him the truth:

Why am I still single? I don’t really have an answer to that. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s because I’m a Davis. My grandmother died recently, and at her funeral I saw family that I hadn’t seen in a while. The one thing I noticed is that all the women related to me by blood, were single. Though my grandmother was married for over 50 years, she and my grandfather were separated for like 49 of those years (grandpa was a rolling stone). He was around long enough to make a baby (six babies), and then he’d split.

My mom and her two sisters, all single. All of my female cousins (with the exception of one who’s last name was changed when she was a child) are single. And I’m still single.

I don’t know if there’s really a curse, but after four generations, it seems the need for a man has been bred out of us or something.

Then there’s the fact that I haven’t met a guy that could make me happier than I’ve managed to make myself. I hope this has answered your question.

I never heard from him again. (I can't believe I'm cracking up right now. It really isn't funny.) When I think about the women in my family, it's very tragic. To think the actions of one lousy man could effect my mom and her sisters, me and my cousins, and even my cousins children to the point that we can't trust men.

My grandmother raised six children by herself. My mom and her sisters, never actually said it, but I know they thought it when they were with the fathers of their children...

Let's just skip the life together.
You're going to leave me anyway.
Give me your sperm. Thanks!
Now be on your way.

That's the real issue with the Davis women. They've never seen a proper male/female relationship. They've never seen a marriage were there was devotion between a man and woman and a commitment to not only raising a family but keeping it together and functional. That's why I'm still single.

See what I mean? My maternal grandmother and grandfather set a horrible example for three generations after. There is nothing normal about this. That four line poem brings me to tears but it sums up my family accurately.