15- Massage Shoppe

I will just get to the point on this one, because I am still a little ruffled by my un-relaxation massage.

On Sunday 10-24 I treated myself...............WELL, I attempted to treat myself to a relaxation massage because things have been so hectic for me lately. I mean, what better way to release tension from the past and be relaxed for things to come than a massage? I normally get a deep tissue massage, and they hurt a bit, but I didn't think there was much difference between that and a relaxation massage. Heck, I was SUPER relaxed after my last deep tissue, so I thought the relaxation might just be a deep tissue minus the "ouch".

Hmm, not so much. I don't know if it was the therapist or the type of massage I selected, but I really could have paid a friend to do what that person did. As a matter of fact, I probably could have done it to myself since I have such long arms (insert laughter). I felt exactly the same when I left as when I cam in, but with more shock added to it.

The website states:

• Ten Treatment Rooms Geared for Your Relaxation (Soft Music, Dim Lighting)
• Tranquility Room for before and after your Massage

HOWEVER, the "shoppe" is located on a busy street, so you can hear the cars pass by, AND the music was not so soft, AND there was no tranquility room that I can remember. What I do remember is being entertained while waiting for my massage by the two therapists yapping back and forth about one's brother trying to find a date and things to do in Tampa. I do realize that I may be on the same page as that brother, as we are both trying to explore Tampa, but for whatever reason, I was in no mood to jump in and start yapping. I think I was ruffled by the fact that they robbed my peace and tranquility! I wanted to relax and think about myself!

So finally, they remembered why they came to work that day and one called my name and showed me to my room. The table was hard and the towels were pretty rough, and the therapist couldn't stop talking about the ring I had on my finger..........and she even touched it! I normally am not bothered by the admiration of my very inexpensive fashion jewelry, especially when dim lights make my rings look like I'm married to P. Diddy or Dwayne Wade or someone like that. But, she really (insert your word of choice) me off because she was talking to me like I was her homegirl and I have never been one for getting "too comfortable" when there is a job to be done. Do you know what I mean?

Needless to say, I will be returning to my other massage studio within the next few weeks to get the relaxation I deserve.


I have been going back and forth with whether I will name the establishment, but I don't really think it matters. If you call me and ask me, I tell you LOL!

14- Denim and Pearls

On Sat. 10-23, I attended an event called "Denim and Pearls" sponsored by the Tampa Alumnae Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. This "elegantly casual" affair (as the flyer suggested) was packed with men and women from their 20's to 60's!

The first part of the event was held at the IMAX Theatre at Channelside (Downtown shopping/dining venue), and the second part was held at one of the restaurants below the IMAX. I didn't even catch the name of the restaurant because as the party moved from one place to the next, I just followed the crowd and the music!

Open bar + spoken word + smiles & hellos + a DJ from Atlanta + the electric slide = A GOOD TIME!

I have to say this is exactly what I have been looking for since I moved Tampa.........if you really know what I mean. As the DJ gave a "shout out" to those HBCU grads, mostly FAMU and Bethune Cookman, I really felt like I was in the right place.

The only downside was that we were supposed to receive complimentary movie passes for the IMAX, but I was told they had all been given out. Guess that goes to show how many people supported the event!

Nice job ladies....we had a great time.


*** I didn't take any pics at the event, but I am including these pics to show Channelside.

Cafe` Delta

October has always been an extremely busy month in my life. From midterms to homecomings to birthday parties, and the struggle to try to save money instead of spending it because I'm usually trying to travel for the holidays, I've always been a busy bee during this time.

Recently, I have found ways to spend money that I can justify to myself, and that's on some fun activities (including a cruise in January- YAY!). On Thursday, October 7th, I visited the campus of the Univ of Tampa for an "open-mic" type night hosted by the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. For a donation and a few bucks, I got a great show.

I'm not usually a fan of spoken word and poetry, so I was happy to see that the performers brought more to the event than those men-bashing, self-proclaiming poets that I run away from! As each performer was announced to come to the front, an artist made a drawing of each of the performers in her own unique way. As far as the performers go: some fraternity guys did a rendition of one of their organization's songs, one guy played the guitar and sang, there was a dance performance, a rap performance, an "I hate BET" poem, and much more. My favorite was the guy who read a children's book and made us participate by saying "choo choo" and chugging our arms like we were train conductors. It was silly, but fun.

There were, however, two poems that did some male-bashing and talk of the "other woman". I hate that stuff!  I don't want to hear about how you are better than the other woman because he's still with you.....blah blah... It's really annoying!

On the sunny side of things, two singers sung inspirational songs about strength and beauty. I thought these songs were very fitting to the environment we were in. It's highly important, this day in age, to remind ourselves about the importance of inner beauty and the power in loving oneself. Yes, easier said than done, but I'm sure the message through those songs was received by someone who needed it that night.

It was a very chilly night for Tampa...heck I even had a scarf on, so you would think the packed house and free hot chocolate is what kept me warm. But, I would have to say the warmth of the spirits in the crowd and the postitiveness in the performances (minus the male-bashing) is what blanketed the room and reminded me that amidst all the negativity in our world, there is beautiful energy that can still bring people together.

Great job Delta Sigma Theta!

12- One Nation Rally

Ahhh! Washington D.C.!!!!

Through the One Nation Working Together organization, I marched on Washington for true hope and change. I went to DC last Friday with 3 friends and we had both an amazing and sleepless time. I was trying to finish my darn shoe project before I left, so by the time I went to bed early Sat morning, I had been up 22 hours straight. I wasn't a morning person at all on this trip!

We arrived Friday night around 11pm and hopped in a cab to NW DC to Howard Univ. to see if anything was going on. Nope- nothing! It was about 56 degrees and we came with our Tampa gear on. My 3 friends are sorority sisters, so the Howard visit meant a bit more since their sorority was founded on the campus.  At least they got to get the pictures they wanted out of that late night adventure.

Going to bed at 4am Saturday morning was followed 4 1/2 hours later by us waking up to go to the mall to buy boots, scarves, and coats! Well worth it. We were warm for the rest of the trip! Sleepy, but warm.

After the mall trip, we packed up and headed on the Metro into the city. At first, we got on the right train but headed in the wrong direction!  After the Washington Monument disappeared from our view, we kinda figured it out. We had to transfer to two different trains, and each transfer was accompanied by greater hoards of people. I won't say how I almost got into it with a lady with her double stroller because that would take away from the bigger picture, which is the March itself.

The purpose of the March was to promote a message of hope, not hate as we approach midterm elections. It has been said that these elections are more important than the Presidential election. This rally allowed people to speak out for jobs, justice, and education for all. It was really motivating to see like-minded people being focused on working together to push our country forward into the right direction.

We can all admit that we need change, but we cannot get this change if we do not get up, get out, and do something about it.

Please understand the issues and get out and vote. For more info, try this link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_elections,_2010
or
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,2023181,00.html

If those don't work, just google or wiki!


********

I have to say that although this event was not in Tampa (which was the point of this blog), I learned about this event through Tampa connections, and everything I've learned from this trip is being used to support my community service efforts in Tampa. 

********

Here are just a few of the tons of pics I took! Gotta love my new camera! Woo hoo!

11- Garage Sale (9-25)

Going to this garage sale made me come to realize that I am officially a morning person! My twin used to think that I would need to be on medication or something to get me out of bed in the mornings.  But you know what, at that point in time I really had nothing to get up for (don't stretch this saying too far). I didn't have a job that required me to get up early and I really had nothing going on. Why not sleep in?! Interestingly enough, at that point in time, I also felt very "here and there" and I really didn't have a focus. That was right after I graduated college and I really didn't know what to do with myself. I was happy and having fun, but I always felt something was missing.

Nowadays, I find myself getting up at 6am...... on the weekends! Can you believe it?  I have completed all of my "to-dos" by the time the mall opens!

 There's nothing like coming back to my crib from my morning power walk to a cup of vanilla coffee, my classic rock station, and school work (yes, the nerd in me reigns supreme).

But, I digress - back to the garage sale.

My coworker is putting down some new carpet and buying some new furniture for her home, so it was natural to go with that "out with the old, in with the new" spirit of having a garage sale! She had some great furniture and smaller items to sell. Two other co-workers helped by working the sale, but I was busy shopping. I only left with one thing, but I tried for more. I scored a leather ottoman for 5 bucks! Can't beat that!

I was there about 2 hours and she ended up doing very well. I have to say that it was pretty entertaining watching 5 people try to get a bunk bed set (with mattresses) into two minivans. They made it fit somehow!

10- Tampa Bay Rowdies Game

Oh back on Friday Sept. 24th I went to a minor league soccer game here in Tampa at Steinbrenner Field. I guess you can call the team "minor league"... I mean, it's not baseball or anything.
My bff works for the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies and I got the chance to sit behind the scenes. I actually didn't even make it out of the box office to watch the game, but more about the game in a moment. She worked the will call window which kept me very entertained. Most people were family members who kinda felt a little privileged (As if this were a Yankees game or something). It was pretty busy, but all those fans and family couldn't fill up half of the stadium. I hear that it used to be packed in the summer, but I had to remind them that football season is in and even on Friday nights, high school football is the entertainment of choice in the South.
The will call window was pretty uneventful until right before halftime when a group of drunk college boys came up the window. One guy came up to the window like he was the "big shot", telling his friends he had tickets reserved for them. They stood behind him and let him do his thing.....you know, pick up the soccer tickets........"really" I say to myself?  My bff wanted to mess with his ego a bit and joked like she didn't have the tickets. That didn't go so well! He started cursing with his slurred drunk language and his friends had to get him to calm down. Even when she told him those were his tickets, he couldn't understand what she was saying. Her coworker who was working a couple windows down leaped out of his seat and yelled at the guy for cursing at her like that. He is an older gentleman who is super sweet- put that guy in his place real quick!!

After that fun mess, we hung out a bit more.

About the game- when halftime approached, we saw a lot of people leaving. It was most likely because the team had scored nothing against their opponent, Minnesota. As we walked the stadium, it was pretty sad. I really couldn't stand to stay, so we left to grab a bite on Davis Island.

I hope drunk guy had a blast and enjoyed all the festivities!

(Say no to alcohol people if it affects you like it did that guy- trust me, it's not super sexy)


(See pic below) I was told that the fans got to vote on the mascot some time ago, and the sock mascot won. Pretty cheesy, and I have a hard time believing that the people who voted were over the age of 10!

Maybe next season the team will come around and really kick something with those cleats. But until then, football is in effect and basketball is on the horizon.  Go Falcons! Go Celtics! I heart Rondo!

9- Passport Time!

I am definitely including my adventure to the passport office in my 30 things because I have been trying to get my passport for 5 years now. I guess I never had a reason to have one, really. I always felt kinda "behind the times" because the only country I have visited is Mexico, but I have to remember that I haven't had any money to go anywhere! Paying for school pretty much soaks up all my change. I try not to beat myself up about not having taken a trip across the world yet- heck, I still have time.

So, I am no making a bigger effort to travel abroad. I love to travel, whether it's on my own or with my friends and family. What better time for me to get that darn passport?

Besides the passport lady not believing that my birth certificate was certified, thus keeping it to send in to be verified, AND me having to ask my mom to go get me a couple copies from the records place in OKC in case someone further questioned my certificate's validity......the process was very smooth!

We'll see what I have in my hands in about 4 weeks LOL!


FYI- My top 5 cities/countries (in no particular order) to visit are:
1. Tokyo
2. Thailand
3. South Africa
4. Brazil
5. Germany

Wanna go? Let me know!