There is a Method to the Madness...

I've been going through hell at my job lately...working long and grueling hours, pitching, writing, editing, proofing, creative concepting, brainstorming, writing reports, research, meetings after meetings...Just to give you an idea - one day I went into the office at 8:00 a.m. and didn't stop working until after MIDNIGHT...and let's not get started on the pay...


But anyway, I realized something...this job has given me the opportunity to learn so much than I could have ever imagined. I'm getting more experience than some people who've been in the business for 4 years. And I was able to break into the industry with NO direct experience in the field - NONE.

And to top it off...my work ethic and follow through is sick these days.
I don't mean to brag...but I am excellent with meeting client and company deliverables and multi-tasking, and bringing fresh and creative ideas to projects and proposals.

But most importantly, I've become an integral part of my team.

My job and clients depend on me everyday at work. I've been able to sharpen my strategic thinking skills (which is a must in this profession) and I've been able to develop and implement various types of marketing and public relations plans for my clients. And I've been able to deliver results.

Although sometimes I work a 75 hour work week with a salaried compensation package = translation: no overtime (unbelievable right???) I wouldn't trade this experience for anything in the world. But its been a hard and lonely path...it really has. I've faced alot of challenges...but I've been able to overcome them...

Ok, Ok, I'm getting to the point with this post now...

Years ago and to this day, My grandmother has given the same advice to those going through in our family "Child, God usually doesn't put too much on you if he know you can't bear it...but remember, when you're in what seems to be a storm, at the end...Jehovah will only give you double (blessing that is...) for you trouble."

And Lord did I get double for my 75 hour work weeks this January with no lunch breaks!!
After all the hard work and long hours...I've been given an opportunity through my job to meet:

Nikki Giovanni, "The Princess of Black Poetry"

Yes, that's right. Up front, close and personal.

I will be in the presence of a living legend. I'll be able to get a look at that "Thug Life" tattoo she has on her arm...which she had done to commemorate TuPac's death (interesting tidbit...right??) Well its confirmed People....I like so love my job today! LOL

Moving on...
This moment will be so important to me....I can remember the first time I was knowingly introduced to the words of Yolande Cornelia Giovanni, Jr. clear as day...

I was sitting underneath of the table in our kitchen (one of my favorite spots) at the age of 7 listening to the album Truth Is On Its Way (1971)...I can remember hearing the words of the poem Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why) fill the entire house and I would dance around, cornrows swinging and all with snaggle teeth looking a hott mess...

But anyway,

I remember the first time I really heard that poem, my imagination took me there...I too was on the Nile...imagining the glorious site of her Son giving her Rome for Mother's Day...

And then there was Nikki-Rosa - a poem that I would hear numerous times as a child and pre-teen while attending poetry readings, seminars and black power/African History lectures with my father.

But it was a poem that I would not connect with and understand until I became a woman.

I didn't get this poem until I started living this life as a black person, experiencing the struggles everyday at work, school, college and just life in general. I didn't get it until I was able to reflect...and we all know that reflection can only take place unless we live and grow.

Today, this is a poem that I read regularly. For some reason, it brings me comfort. Its framed in and hanging in my office.

Although the tone of the poem could be characterized as melancholy...There is something about it that's is proud.

There is something about it that causes ME to stand upright after reading it.

Some may not get it the way that I do. But that poem tells the story and plight of the Black Family in America in the 60's and 70's...the time of my parents.

Although they were poor and had to deal with racism, and discrimination, they were rich in love. Back then, Black Love, was Black Wealth...When my parents were raising us...Back then, Black Love meant something.

Asking what does it mean now is a whole other blog!!! LOL

At any rate...I'm just proud that Nikki will be able to autograph my Dad's vintage copy of Truth Is On Its Way and my store bought CD. LOL - Wow have times changed....

But what still remains is the legacy of her work...Who would have though that I'd be playing Nikki for my own child...who just happens to be 7?

I wonder what her reflections and memories of hearing Ego Tripping and Nikki Rosa mean for her?

Only time will tell.
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Ladies and Gentleman, I give you: Nikki Rosa by Nikki Giovanni

childhood remembrances are always a drag if you’re Black

you always remember things like living in Woodlawn with no inside toilet

and if you become famous or something

they never talk about how happy you were to have your mother all to yourself

and how good the water felt

when you got your bath from one of those big tubs

that folk in Chicago barbecue in

and somehow when you talk about home

it never gets across how much you understood

their feelings as the whole family attended meetings about Hollydale

and even though you remember

your biographers never understand your father’s pain

as he sells his stock and another dream goes

and though you’re poor it isn’t poverty that concerns you

and though they fight a lot it isn’t your father’s drinking that makes any difference

but only that everybody is together and you and your sister

have happy birthdays and very good Christmases

and I really hope no white person ever has cause to write about me

because they never understand that Black love is Black wealth

and they’ll probably talk about my hard childhood and

never understand that all the while I was quite happy