Jrnl Entry No. 3.31.2003

Over the weekend, I was supposed to spend it with my girlfriend but what has been happening in the last month or so is that our weekend plans have been getting botched up into arguments and us not spending the time together. See about a month before that I went on an escapade. I wasn’t feeling Watrina at the time because it always seems as if I’m the one giving her all of the attention. I love her very much and would spend most if not all my time with her if I could. I’m always trying to be around her following her like a puppy dog, and she doesn’t mind so I guess you could say that is a good thing. She could tell me to buzz off so she could do her own thing with her friends, male or female, sexual, non-sexual, whatever. But she never complains about me being there. But on the other hand she never invites me there neither. I invite myself: go to her job and meet her and then maybe we’ll go out to eat; to spend the Saturday with her and her daughter if she is not gone with her father; to spend time or the night at my house, I always ask her for these things. She never does it on her own which makes me feel like she is not that concerned at all with spending quality time with me; she can take it or leave it, it doesn’t matter. So I said, “Fuck Watrina”! I’m not asking her shit: to spend time with her, to see her, to call her.

I was kicking it with my new buddy Metaphor “Simile” “MS” Kipperton, this rapper I met on the New York Music scene who I gave some beats to and because this girl from Youngstown Ohio where I went to college at, managed him before, paid for some of his studio time; through her, he connected with me. He is well known on the scene so he gets in all of the spots for free and most of the time, would get me in for free also, so it was all cool. We were goin’ out on Saturday night to ”CREAM”, Sunday nights to “CLUB NV” or “TIKI ROOM”, Monday nights to “LOTUS”, Tuesday nights to SESSA”. I was actually having fun, living, which ever since I got here to New York, I haven’t been living because I’ve been too broke, paying bills, or not knowing where to go in the first place.

At this point, I had stopped paying my car note, I didn’t pay half my rent for one month because my electricity was out and my landlord didn’t seem as if he was making a strong effort to get the lights back on through electrical work that he had to have done. I also stopped paying my credit card bill which was draining me of $200 a month. So I had a little money to spend. I bought me a Mitchell and Ness throw-back basketball jersey for $325.00 to have the look of the male music industry scene in at least one outfit.

I wasn’t paying Watrina too much attention. And she didn’t seem to be making a big fuss out of it until like three weeks in, after I didn’t go to her nieces birthday party that she thought I planned on attending to meet most of her whole family and plus she had a magic show by a guy that I hooked up with and my other friend Zero was there. I didn’t go. After that weekend, she started really trying to see me but I was still like no, because every time we see each other, I have to wait around for her to do something else. I wasn’t waiting anymore. If she wanted to see me, no waiting till 10 P.M. or 12 A.M. is what I was on.

After that tirade, we got back on schedule a little, except for that the two weekends after that, we planned on spending Saturday night together, but we never did. One night she claimed she went to the Bronx to party with her friends in a hole in a wall bar and didn’t have cab fare back to Queens. The next weekend, which was actually the Friday and Saturday before this day that I’m writing this; Friday she claimed she wanted to see her daughter before she would send her off the next day to her father for a day and half. So at 10 P.M. she went home and told me to call her in an hour. I went home and shaped my hair up because I had this party in mind we could go to of another music industry friend who was promoting the party and the tickets were $20.00. I called her at 11 P.M. and she was not ready, saying that her daughter wasn’t home when she got there so she didn’t want to leave yet. And she knows that at these parties and clubs in New York, that if you don’t get on line by 12 A.M., chances are you won’t get in till 2 A.M. or later and the parties are over at 4 A.M.

So this was another case where she would have me waiting around on her when she told me she would be ready. I told her to forget it I was going by myself because I knew she was not ready. She said she thought the night was about me and her not the party? Well it was until she mentioned that we could go out, and I got all excited about going out with her looking sexy and being there for this dude because he knows a few people in the music industry and he likes some of my beats and he may manage me as a producer. I never told her that is why I really wanted to go to the party. What I was gonna do was go and get the tickets and come back and pick her up but after I bitched at her about not being ready when she told me she would, which seems like a ritual with her, she said she was out of the mood. So I went alone.

I got there at 12:30 A.M. The guy didn’t arrive with the ticket until 1:30 A.M. and then he was trying to get rid of 8 tickets outside so we didn’t go into the party until 2:30 A.M., and it was cold out there and I didn’t have on a jacket so I was kind of glad she didn’t come. The party was crowded, especially in V.I.P. where we were standing. I really wasn’t feeling it. I just went to see who in the music industry I could meet, which I met no one. It’s kind of hard to meet people in the V.I.P. section flossing with bottles of champagne; at least that is what I think, so I didn’t talk to anyone.

The most I said to someone was to this lady goin’ in and out of the bathroom with this guy. I said to her, “you better stay outta the bathroom with that gentleman.” She laughed at me and told me, “nothing happened in there; I know him.” As if I cared if she knew him or not, like I was gonna spread rumors around the neighborhood the next day.

I stayed till the party ended. I didn’t try to talk to any women because I wasn’t there for that. Talking to women is a job, and when I got my baby Watrina at home who seems, at times, to really care about me, and other times not, I don’t need to work to talk to other bitches, especially if they ain’t that cute and classy to begin with; which there wasn’t one woman who really caught my eye for me to say anything to.

I got home at 5 A.M. I wakes up at 8 A.M. to wash my clothes and my car, and take a shower to take Watrina’s daughter Queen to dance class at Alvin Alley. I was gonna wait for dance class to be over, and Queen’s father was getting her from there, and I was gonna spend the whole day and night with Watrina. When I went to pick her up, she claims she was ready but she took 10 minutes to get down stairs, which also seems like a ritual when it comes to me and she knows I hate that. I called her 8:30 A.M. and she said she would be ready at 9:45 A.M. But when the time came I was still washing my clothes and my car so I told her I’d be there at 10 A.M. I left my house at like 10:07 A.M. get to her house at 10:11 A.M. and she didn’t get downstairs till like 10:20 A.M. I thought she left and got a cab, which would have made me more heated because at times, she isn’t ready for her daughter’s 10:30 A.M. dance class and we don’t leave until 10:40 A.M., but she couldn’t wait on me? But she did wait on me and when she finally came to the door, I says in a comical way, “I was just getting ready to be like forget you, and leave.” She didn’t smile or nothing, just looked at me like I was stupid and got in the car. She continued to have this stupid look on her face as if she had an attitude with me but wasn’t gonna discuss it with me. So I say to her, “I don’t like your attitude.” I didn’t drive off either, so she says, “what, you want me to get out and take a cab?” I didn’t say nothing but again, “I don’t like your attitude.” She got out the car and took her daughter to take a cab, and I left.

I was ready for a joyous day with her and she gets into my car with a gas face. I just drove off and went home and went to sleep. Around 1 P.M. I woke up and got dressed, went and got my coat out the cleaners, and put my suit, which Watrina made for me, into the cleaners. I drove back home and was gonna go upstairs but I just sat in the car because I really didn’t want to do that. After 5 minutes or so of sitting there thinking where I could go, it hit me to go to Barnes and Nobles on 66^th street in Manhattan and read Russel Simmon’s book “LIFE and DEF”. So I drove to the train station, put on my jacket and took the train there. I got the book and sat down and started reading it. I sat there for like two hours steady reading. It was an interesting read because I am a Hip Hop Head who loves Russel Simmons.

After about two hours, I purchased the book and went over to Tower Records to buy Norah Jones’ “Come Away With Me” and 50 Cent’s “Get Rich or Die tryin’” albums. I already heard the 50 album because it was Hip Hop. But Norah Jones won like 10 Grammys for this album and she and 50 had been battling for the number one Billboard top 200 chart spot ever since the Grammys were televised. I knew of Norah Jones’ hit single and I liked it, hoped the whole album would sound like that. I saw the price was $12.77 and 50 was $13.99 so I bought both of them. I really didn’t want to buy 50 since I already had a good bootleg CD copy at home. But I figured, if I’m gonna buy Norah and support her and I don’t even know what this album is, what type of music it is or nothing; I better get 50, the hottest Hip Hop album out of a New York MC since Biggie Smalls “Ready To Die.”

After I left the record store, I went to Houston’s maybe hoping to see Watrina there since she said she wanted to go there; maybe catch her with a date or something because the last like 5 weekends had not been spent with me, and the night before she was acting very suspicious about her phone and me using it and maybe checking her voicemail messages. I got to Houston’s and didn’t see Watrina. I ordered dinner, during with the appetizer I started reading Russel’s book some more, and then after dinner, waiting on them to take my plate and bring my check, I read some more. I left the restaurant and went home and put the Norah Jones album in and started to read some more.

It was like 10 P.M. The Norah Jones album was light blues, and the whole album was like that single, “Don’t Know Why.” The music was light and her light voice over the light melodies and drums was a very relaxing listen. I didn’t hear the words, just the music and her voice. I’ve listened to the album like 8 times and I still don’t know half of what she is saying on none of the songs. But I could see why America is going crazy over that album. First, it’s the music and her voice. Second, if you listen closely to the lyrics, it’s blues-like and I heard a few of the lyrics and I understand why people are crazy for it. I know music of all genres, trust me, and she deserves every one of those Grammys she got.

So at this point around 10:45 P.M., I called Watrina for the third time of the day to smooth things over to see if she would come to my house for the night. She didn’t answer her cell phone. I figured because she was mad at me and also she was going out by herself, with girlfriends or a male. She didn’t call me back neither.

After realizing that I’d read over half of Russel’s book, I put it down, shut my ringer off my phone and went to bed because I was tired from only getting like 4 hours of sleep that whole night and day before. The Russel book told the story I already knew about starting Def Jam, RUN DMC, PHAT FARM, DEF COMEDY JAM, ending the distribution deal with Sony, signing with Polygram, Lyor Cohen, Russel’s model dating. What I didn’t know was that he took drugs like he did. He gave a few business pointers, life pointers, race pointers, etc.

I got up the next day and put the Norah Jones album on again and cleaned up my apartment. I still had my phone ringer off because I was mad that Watrina hadn’t spent the night with me. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. Eventually around 1 P.M. I turned my ringer on and went about my daily business. I went back to sleep, I got up and got dressed, did some push-ups and sit-ups. I started to cook some steak and potatoes and green beans for myself. I also started to read the Russel book some more.

Now this whole day I was contemplating just breaking up with Watrina because it’s been three years and we have been going through this shit the whole time. It’s really getting tired and old, and I just want to stop the relationship because it seems like all we do, every other weekend is be mad about something. Finally after finishing the book, finishing eating, I decided to call Watrina to talk to her and smooth over this rough edge of a weekend we had. All day I had been thinking about not calling her at all but I broke down.

See what I mean, I’m always the one, making all the effort to call, to spend time together, etc. I called her and asked her, “what are you thinking about me right now?” She had nothing to say. I was looking for her to say, that either she loved and missed me or she wants to break up. She said nothing. So we started going into the weekend issue and she had a little sass and chutzpah in her voice and speech. Let me tell you, “if a bitch is being hard with you and edgy, and unsympathetic, it says that she is tired of the situation or that she is tired of the situation and on top of that, she is fucking someone else.”

Watrina hasn’t spent really good quality time with me in a month and the last two weekends, she has disappeared on me. At the end of the conversation, because she didn’t say that she wanted to break up, I said, “forget it, drop it. I want to see you.” She said she had to braid her daughter’s hair and she would call me back and didn’t know if she would see me or not. An hour and a half later, after she was in the bed half sleep, she called me. She tells me that she is not coming over because she should have been over last night; like that was all my fault. I called her three times during the day and she never answered her phone and didn’t call me later that night. So I bid her a good night and hung up the phone on her ear slightly. I tried to call her back 10 minutes later to tell her I was trying to smooth things over and she was playing games of you-did, who-did. I called her like 7 times and she didn’t pick up the phone, playing games, but of course she is gonna tell me that she was sound asleep in 10 minutes after getting off the phone with me knowing that I was angry at her for not wanting to come over. So I left her a message that, “this relationship is over! What is wrong with trying to smooth things over by spending some time together and forgetting about Friday and Saturday, and you fucked that up on Sunday. Fuck You! I’m going out to find me another bitch to fuck since you don’t want to come over.”

I went to the TIKI ROOM and chilled; met Metphor and Zero there. I was pollyin’ about music, not concerned about bitches. I met this guy who I’d been looking at for a month now who looks like he is in the music industry. Turns out he is down with DJ CLUE and Dessert Storm and works in the Sony building down the block from where I work. I met this female “Combination” whom I’d seen around at Justin’s Restaurant on Tuesday Industry Nights, and other places like two years prior, and Metaphor said she was a rapper. I met this other guy whose face I always recognize. He managed Uncle Sam, a fallen-off R&B Singer, and a few other groups or singers who have all fallen off. I left around 2:45 A.M. drunk off Hennessy and Grand Marnier.

My mind was still made up that I’d broken up with Watrina. I called her when I woke up at 7:30 A.M. to tell her that I’m bringing her leather she bought to make me a leather suit, and her mother’s plate. She tells me to bring it later. I told her I was bringing it now. She asked, “is it that serious?” I said “Yeah, it’s that serious!” She obviously hadn’t gotten my message. When I got to her house I asked had she gotten it. She said yes, not to argue in front of her father. I told her to her face, “this relationship is over, it’s no good.” She nodded her head, handed me the stuff she’d bought for my daughter from the GAP and I left. It was over in my mind. When I got to work, she called at 10 A.M. telling me that she is coming over my house tonight, so I’m just gonna have to let her in because she is gonna be there. I told her, “don’t come and I’m not saying it’s alright because I’m not gonna do like you, always say something and then don’t do it or be late doing it.” She hung up because she was entering the train station. She called me later saying, “we shouldn’t break up. We have a nice family, and we get along together.” All of which is true, even the part about us not breaking up. I love what we have, truly, but it seems that she doesn’t love it as much as I do, or maybe I don’t love as much as I say I do because we keep having these bullshit arguments, I’m tired of them and I want out! She wants to take some time apart but still be together. I don’t believe in that shit because if you need time apart, stay apart, which we can’t seem to make it together, so maybe we should be apart.

Jrnl Entry No. 12.30.2002

So the year is over. My relationship with Watrina is about to be over. We lasted a year and eight months. I guess that is good for her being a – year old who said she didn’t want to be in a relationship anyway. I really dove in with her though. She was my girl. I took her to meet my whole family. I took her on a trip to Florida to meet my cousin/brother Romeo and his wife and kids. Nothing all that bad happened in our relationship except that she talked to a lot of guys claiming that they were friends. I don’t really think that she was fucking any of them, but I’m a realist who will never eliminate the possibility. I’ve been fucking with Carol Ann ever since I met Watrina so whatever she has done to betray me, I’ve done much worse. I was fucking Coffee for about six months of the time. I fucked Sausha a few times in Warren and she even came and stayed a week with me while Watrina was in Jamaica. I fucked three little neighborhood girls on sort of a steady basis for like three months. I fucked Haitie whom I met taking deposits to the bank for my job.

So trust, if Watrina did fuck Thurston who she went on a trip to Vegas with; if she fucked Lamont who used to call her every day; if she did fuck Catcher whom I’d catch looking at her ass on our meetings together because she was his fashion label consultant; if she’s went out with the last guy she gave her number to on the street (the 908 guy); if she fucked the guy she met at her job and told me that she thought he was gay, and the next thing I know he was on her cell phone leaving her a message; if so, I’ve did all the same, so oh well. I haven’t spoken to her in two days. She hasn’t called me and I haven’t called her. If she doesn’t call me by 12 A.M. tomorrow night, I’m calling her the next day and I will say, “this relationship is officially over.” I met this — year old teacher at the Supper Club on Saturday night. So now I have a woman who is older than I am and I will see the difference in the relationship.

I threw all of myself at Watrina and she didn’t do the same. She’s just now starting to show me that she loves me, but this not calling me is not cool. We’ve had two arguments in the last two weeks that have resulted in us not speaking. This last one I thought was cool because I left a message on her phone that it was O.K. I’d make an adjustment in my attitude and we’d move on, but she never responded. Watrina has a bright future ahead of her from what I can tell. She gonna make lots of money and be well off. With a good responsible man by her side, won’t be no stopping her. I thought that man could be me but it’s not looking like that will be the case. My prediction is that she will be pregnant within a year of us breaking up, and trying to make a relationship work with that guy. Good luck to her.

I’m a little scared by our break up but not broken down. I’m not old enough to be trying to save a bitch as if my life depended on it. I still got years left in me before I get to that point. I’ve taken Watrina back at my angriest points and settled and called her on many occasions and apologized to her for the simplest of things and taken her back when she was on my last nerve. BUT THIS IS IT! She has never apologized for nothing that she has done or made me upset about. I’M DONE!

I was out last night with my man Aderale who popped into town for the New Year I guess. He showed up here Saturday night unannounced, which is not bad. I ain’t on that shit really, but maybe he should have called because he traveled here five or six hours. What if I already had visitors or I was out of town. I guess he was just bored and wanted to do something and didn’t care if I was here or not, he just would have went somewhere else I guess. We went to the TIKI ROOM on 22^nd St in Manhattan last night. I was politickin’ in there about my music pretty well I thought. I met this producer YOGI who produced one of my favorite Hip Hop albums, “CRU, Da Dirty 30”. Yogi gave me his number so I’ma try to get in the studio with him and check what he is doing and learn the business from him if he lets me. I got a few other numbers of rappers to send my beat CD to for a listen. I saw Pocahanas from Makin The Band. I didn’t know her but Aderale did. I never saw the show. I got her manager contact to get some beats to her. She raps and sings.

I’m not getting down on myself about this music shit. I have a whole new attitude about it. I wasn’t even excited about getting Yogi’s number or whoever else’s I got last night. If it happens it will happen if it is meant to be. That is how Watrina viewed our relationship and now it is about to be over. She never took it too serious I guess all that much so I’m gone. 2003, single to find a new bitch. I met this girl Julia last night from London. I like the look of her. I gave her my number because she said that she didn’t have a phone yet because she and friends moved here. I hope she calls me.

I’m going in debt by going out like I’ve been. As of now, I’m $100 in the hole. I’ll take it out of my rent money since my landlord hasn’t fixed my electrical outlets or hasn’t had them looked at by an electrician. I’m trying to get in contact with this guy who does photo shoots of nude guys for gay magazines. He says he’ll pay $250 per session that he uses you for. Maybe I can make a lot of extra money that way. I seem to have a nice body. I have heard too many times that I have a long big dick so that must be true; so maybe this, taking nude pictures for a gay magazines, will pay off if a big way. If not, I’ll probably just end up disgracing myself. But I need more money and I can’t think of any other way to make a quick $250. It is the only option I have so I’m taking it. I got to do what I have to do to survive and live how I want to live.

I haven’t talked to my daughter in two weeks. Her mom took her down south or somewhere for Christmas and didn’t bother to call and tell me. Maybe she is mad because I keep half the child support sometimes when I need it. I do that because she gets my tax return money. I mean hell, I need some relief from somewhere. Who’s gonna pay me back for when she was being unreasonable and not letting me see my daughter? She’ll eventually get all the money paid back to her somehow.

My finances are getting so fucked up. I had to pay $802.00 to get this lady’s hood fixed after Watrina tried to throw her daughter’s bike at me and missed and the bike landed on the hood of my neighbor’s car, and then she took the bike and broke out my rear car window. In all I paid out $1,300 which came from not paying my car note which is already on my credit report as being late because I don’t pay the extra $55 a month for an insurance fee after I dropped my full coverage insurance because I couldn’t afford it two years ago.

FUCK IT, is what they say, because you only live once right? That is why I fuck the way I do because it is or was my only source of entertainment. With hardly no money to go out and Watrina not being there half the time for me, it left a lot of time to fuck other bitches who wanted some. I mean “I ain’t married right?” Isn’t that the statement to shove off the guilt of cheating on someone? SO FUCK IT! I just hope this behavior doesn’t carry over into when I do get married because that will be trouble.

I hope this music shit or something comes through for me with a nice size check in the next year or two because I sure need it. If not, I guess I’ll live like most, with fucked up credit and no money, moving from job to job for a higher salary of thousands, of which I’ll only receive a few hundred because of taxes.

I tell you, life is bullshit. They say even with all the money problems solved, you still have problems, so when does it ever end; when you are dead? Makes you almost want to kill yourself to think about it. Fuck that, I got to have a win situation in life somewhere in the future. Everybody lives for a better future. I live for a better financial future, a better relationship future, to accomplish my music dreams in the future.

What am I living for today when I think about it? I guess I’m living to get home and relax. I’m living to get home and cook me a chicken dinner. I’m livin to get to Justin’s tonight to maybe meet more music people or meet a nice young lady. I’m living for Watrina to call me and ask what is wrong and how can she fix it. I’m living for the next time, which may be tonight, to talk to my daughter on the telephone. That is about all I can think of. But living for those things, am I happy?

I guess they all will make me happy, but I don’t feel they will make me as happy as being in the studio with Yogi recording a Black Rob song for Bad Boy Entertainment, or being a mid to big name producer in the studio with my second greatest rapper of all time as of now, NAS. KRSONE holds the crown for his 15 years of rockin’ his genre and generation. Tupac and BIGGIE haven’t gotten that time in so they don’t get a crown. I’ve already discussed that issue so it’s dead just like they are.

I have an open mind about the future at times, but most of the time I am pessimistic about it. I’m pessimistic about life: my wife will cheat on me and me probably on her; a divorce is possible if I get married; I may not make it in music; I may not get anywhere in this accounting career of mine neither; I don’t see a prosperous future with minor or major riches. I don’t know man I don’t know, but I’ma KIM (Keep It Movin) That I all any man can do. KEEP IT MOVIN!

Jrnl Enry No. 4.3.2001

I can’t get no love in New York City I just simply talk to young ladies and that’s it. I don’t know if it’s because it’s in a bar scene or what.

I talked to Kelly and Amber at Justin’s last Tuesday night. I noticed Amber the moment she walked by me. Her face, the face of a beautiful black woman, had me as soon as I layed eyes on her. Notice, I said face. A beautiful calm face she had. Her hair, dark black; lips, full and wide; she had the face of a woman I wanted to love, to be my wife. Her face told me, “I may have graduated from college. I definitely have a job. I am too beautiful not to have a boyfriend so don’t even ask the question. Though I understand the plight of the ghetto and black people, and I love my black peoples; especially those who are from the ghetto and act like it (forgive them, for they know not what they do). I choose to carry myself in a classier manner. But I am black, will never forget where I came from, where I have been, and I know where I am going.” Her face told me all of this.

Her face, not her ass, not her tidies, but her face; her face even told me that her favorite movie was The Color Purple. Knawl, she told that on this night that I am writing this. I thought she was such a beautiful young lady that once I got the chance to speak with her and her friend, and I asked her name, I stored it into my hard drive memory along with her beautiful face.

Amber is the name. I saw Amber and her friend on this night after I had spoken with them last week. Amber’s friend recognized me and waved and I smiled and waved back. They started walking toward my way with Amber in the lead position. She looked right through me as if I wasn’t there. I spoke, “how are you doin’ Amber?” I shook her hand. Her friend remarks, “that’s good, now what’s my name?” I shrugged my shoulders with a smile on my face to let her know that I couldn’t remember her name. I did remember her telling me that she graduated from Duke, which I mentioned to her a little later in another conversation.

I got out of both of them that they have boyfriends. I asked Amber in a desperate move to try and expand our conversation, “so Amber, if you didn’t have a boyfriend I’d be the perfect gentleman for you right?” She said, “I don’t know because I don’t know anything about you.” I told her to ask me something, which she asked what was my favorite movie? I told her I couldn’t name a favorite movie but I like drama. She told me her favorite movie was The Color Purple. I told her that was a good one. I then asked why did she liked that movie so much? She either didn’t hear me or ignored the question, as her friend Kelly and she began to make motions toward the other side of the room or just the hell away from me.

Now here it is, me, I have met a beautiful young lady, a college graduate, a third grade teacher who teaches in Harlem, who is from New Jersey, who’s name is Amber. But yee who has said you can’t meet a beautiful intelligent, bride to be at a bar, oh, yee are so wrong. Amber has damn near everything I am looking for. For who has ever said you can’t meet a beautiful intelligent young man at a bar, yee are also to the left, the opposite of right. But if you ask Amber who or what has she met in me, she would tell you that she doesn’t recall who I am, or that she doesn’t know anything but a guy from Justin’s.

This leaves me the question of, “what are black women looking for?” I know I was looking good on both Tuesday nights that I saw and spoke with Amber. I looked in the mirror on both nights before I left my apartment, and said to myself, “Damn, I am fine, just look at me, WHAT!” My voice elevating in highness as I got near the end of the statement. My friend Burton would be able to imitate what I am talking about if you read this to him.

But Amber ignored my subtle and polite advances to let her know that I was a little passed liking what I know about her, and a little behind loving what I know about her. Could it be this problem that black women in New York City seem to have with young black men in New York City that caused her to casually ignore me and my advances. She knows nothing about me; nothing about what I ain’t, and nothing about what I is. She doesn’t know that I – old, that I am also a college graduate with his bachelor’s degree in Accounting. She doesn’t know that I work in Brooklyn, and that I make a decent salary. I got health, dental, and vision benefits, two weeks paid vacation and five sick days. She doesn’t know that I’m secretly on the lookout for a wife and not just a fuck or two. She doesn’t know that I am from Ohio, and not one of these New York Niggaz that women seem to write off automatically as bullshit. She doesn’t know that investing in order to have a secure financial future is on my brain almost constantly. And last but now least, she doesn’t know my name.

I think I’ll answer my own question as to why she doesn’t know these things about me. “….., she is just not interested in you for one, for two, she told you she has a boyfriend.” I could accept either one of those on a particular night from a particular woman. But this seems to be the case with every black woman I see as beautiful and worthy enough for me to try and converse with them. This leads me to the question of what do black women want from black men in New York City.

I find that it is a shame on these black women’s part that I am a single, black, intelligent young man without an intelligent black woman by my side planning our futures together. Black women complain about the lack of intelligent, good looking black males. Well Amber you had one right in front of your face begging you to try and get to know him because he thinks you are so beautiful. By the time you read this, if you ever read this and you want to “RECOGNIZE” that I’m “SAM SNEED!” Guess what, TOO LATE! But you don’t care cause like you said your man works late at JP Morgan.

Jrnl Entry No. 2.23.2000

So I goes to Justin’s last night. I didn’t have any trouble getting in or nothing like that. I walked in and walked to the bar and ordered a Guiness Stout at $7 a bottle. They were playing D’angelo’s new album “VooDoo.” I was just standing around peeping the scene for a while. I seen this girl who looked like an enterprising young lady. She had on a business suit with a nice pair of shoes in my book. “I like a woman who spend a little cash for her shoes..” (Jay Z “What girls/guy like”) She had long hair or long weave, whatever the case it looked nice. She was skinny from what I could tell so I wasn’t lusting after her. She just looked like somebody who knew somebody who could probably help me break into the Hip Hop Music production arena. She was talking with different people every time I saw her. This one guy came up to her and her friends and he never left, and he was talking to her mainly. After a while I left or just stopped looking at them.

I was standing on the beam in the middle of the floor and I seen this beautiful girl. She reminded me of Lynette Treason from college. She had that dark brown complexion, she was slim from what I could tell on her figure, and she opened up her coat so I could tell she had a little body. After standing there for a few minutes wondering how should I approach her, I finally says, “fuck it,” and I goes over to her. I was staring at her and she gave me a couple of glances back. I went over to her and asked my usual polite, “how you doin’?’ She started smiling so I figured it was on. I started smiling back, but then after I started smiling she said “I’m here with someone.” I said O.K. and left and went and stood back where I was.

Oh did I mention that when I walked in the place Black Rob was one of the first faces I saw. He was drinking a bottle of something. He didn’t seem to have a friendly face so I didn’t start talking to him. I just stood there by him for a while. At one point I did say to him “how you feeling tonight god?” He had his attention focused on the coat check lady, and I guess he didn’t hear me. I didn’t attempt to speak again. I walked across the room a couple of times but I didn’t feel comfortable on that side with really nowhere to stand so I returned back to my beam by the bar.

I was just standing there trying to see if there was anyone I was interested in talking to. There was this one woman or young lady. She was light skinned, short, nice ass that I liked. She looked mature which is what I am looking for. I thought about talking to her, but she was talking to some older men. It wasn’t really buggin’ me to go and say something to her anyway, so I let that go. After two beers, I went back over to the other side. I heard this guy spittin’ rhymes to this other guy. I figured I’d camp out and wait for him to finish talking to the dude, and I would then talk to the rapper, and I would catch the other guy later and talk to him also to ask him who he was that this guy was rhyming to him. They were takin’ too long so while I was standing there, I noticed this fine honey standing over on the wall with space enough for me to go and holla at her.

I waited a few for these guys to stop talking. Then I saw the honey walk across the room in my direction so I was scopin’ her. When she returned to the wall, I seen a guy who was standing a few feet away from her on the same wall looking at her, but he didn’t say nothing to her. So then I walks over and ask him, “why ain’t you talking to this honey standing right directly next to you?” He says something like he was waiting for me to do it, so I said hey, and stepped over there. I said my usual “how you doin” and what not. It was a pretty dry introduction, but sometimes those are the ones that land you into some pussy. I asked her name and she told me and didn’t say anything else. So I just stood there for a moment and then I started kickin’ it to her about Tuesday nights at Justin’s. She took the conversation over from there telling me that there used to be a DJ but Puff didn’t have a cabaret license for that so couldn’t have a DJ.

After her infomercial about the restaurant, I started asking her the usual questions: age, occupation, residence, etc. She said that she worked and lived with her parents, but her real interest lye in starting up a Women’s Sports Magazine. I thought that was interesting. That is what I like about N.Y. is that I run into people who want to enterprise and start something of their own. I don’t want to start shit, but just work for them when they get their shit. I told her that I wanted to be a Hip Hop producer and asked her advice on how I should go about doing that. She just told me to start talking to people like in the restaurant because you never know who was in there. I asked her if she thought it would be a good idea to talk to people who already made it who were in there like Black Rob and Little Cease. She said that was a good idea. She made me feel good and confident to talk to someone. She was about to leave so I asked her since I had seen this ring on her finger, “friendship ring” she says. I asked her did she need another friend, and she said no. And come to find out, her twin sister was sitting right next to her. I told her that since she didn’t want to talk to me to tell her sister what a nice guy I was, and tell her to talk to me. I mean they were twins, same everything; what would I be missing if I talked to her sister? I was joking of course and she started laughing. While talking to her I spotted this bangin young lady. She had on one of them colorful knit skirts that I like, and it was knee length. She had a feathered like short haircut, ass was busting out the back of the skirt, and she had on some leather boots that came above her cav, below the knee. She had a cute little face.

So after the twins leave, this girl and her friend were standing right in front of me and the girl I liked was writing something down. So me, feeling the alcohol, I started like peeping over to see what she was writing. The first time I did it she didn’t get bitchy or nothing so I did it again. She looked at me and looked at her friend and laughed, and then her friend put her hand up in Martin “Dis” fashion, and put it in my face, touching my face. I figured they were safe to talk to once this guy they were talking to left. He didn’t leave soon enough, so I went over by the door where Little Cease and his entourage were standing trying to get up the nerve to say something to him. At one point I reached over and gave him a pound and said whats up. He was constantly talking to his man though so I couldn’t break and talk to him.

Meanwhile I spot the guy who was rhyming earlier. I walks up to him and start telling him that I heard him rhyming to the guy earlier, and told him I was a producer trying to break into the industry, and asked if he needed some beats. He started talking to me and asked for my number. I handed him a tape. He told me his name was Camilion. He said he’d give my tape a listen and he would definitely give me a call. He spit some shit in my ear to the Tribe ”Stressed Out” beat that was playing. I was feelin’ him a whole lot better than I am feeling Ricardo. He sounded nice and had skills with his words like an MC supposed to. After I talked to him I was definitely ready to shout at Little Cease, but just as I was looking over there, he was headed for the door. I walked to the back one more time and then left.

When I get outside I notice that the side of the street where I had parked my car was all clear. There was nothing over there but a garbage truck. My car had been towed. When I first pulled up, I pulled behind another car so I assumed it was safe to park over there. I starts walking up the street to read a sign which would tell the violation I committed for my car to be towed. At the corner of the street I see a sign that says, “Night Regulation: No Parking from 11 P.M to 6 A.M.” Where my car was parked I didn’t see any such sign, and I didn’t worry about it because usually all the signs say that you can’t park from 7A.M. to 7P.M. So from there I goes to a pay phone and calls the operator, and asks her for a number to call to get my car back. The operator had no clue and told me to call information. I called information and they gave me a number to call. I called the number and it said to call back during opening hours 8A.M. to 7P.M.

From there I walked down the street to catch the train. It’s a good thing I learned to ride the subway and learned how to read a subway map. If you ever come to N.Y. to stay or for a few weeks, you must learn the subway system if nothing else. With some simple instructions from a friend and a little experience of taking the wrong trains a couple of times, you’ll be a pro in no time. It’s a pretty basic system to learn. About two blocks away was the subway station with the train that I could take all the way to my neighborhood in Queens. I goes down the stairs and the attendant tells me that the train is only running to Brooklyn from that stop and not in the opposite direction to Queens. I didn’t panic, I just walked a couple more blocks to another station, but that station was closed. From there I figured I better walk all the way down about 12 blocks to the 34^th street station at Herold Square. 34^th street is a major stop, and the train had to be running from there. I asked the attendant was it. She said it was but you had to go down on the Brooklyn side to catch both trains: the one to Brooklyn and the one to Queens.

I catches the train home. I got home at three O’clock and went to bed. I had to get up at six to walk to the train station or catch the bus to the train station. I was prepared to walk, but when I walked outside my apartment, the bus was right there waiting to get on schedule so I hopped on it. I got on my beautiful N Train to go to work. I was gonna transfer to the G Train at Queensboro Plaza but I decided to stay on the N which was going to the same place, but I thought the G would have been faster. I got off the train at 7:30 A.M. as close to my job as the train would take me. My job is out on the water by the Brooklyn Bridge on the pier “pier 3”. I started walking and got to work at 7:50 A.M. My beautiful N Train is what I call it because it takes you to all the main points in the city: Times Square, 34^th St, the Village, my job and home.

After sleeping all day at work, I took the train to Time Square and walked to go and get my car. It cost $150 to get out. I got it and went home. If I ever meet Puff, and we have some kind of relationship, I’ll tell him reimburse me for my expenses that night:$21 I spent on beers that night; $150 it took me to get my car; $55 for the ticket I had to pay; $7.50 for the train and bus fair to get home that night and to work the next day, and the $35 I spent on dinner when I went to eat at his restaurant when I was first moving and spending a lot of money. On a normal day, I would never spend $35 on dinner for one, not at this point in time in my finances

IF YOU’VE EVER MOVED TO A NEW CITY, WHAT ADJUSTMENTS: SOCIAL, TRANSPORTATION, DRESS CODE, YOU NOTICED WERE DIFFERENT THAN YOUR ORIGINAL PLACE OF ORIGIN?

Jrnl Entry No. 2.22.2000

I went over to Elaine’s house last night to pick up some grease that she makes. I got over there and sat for a while. She is ugly man. I had been figured this out when I first met her for an outing at the LaBar Bat. After that outing, we really didn’t talk anymore. She does have some nice tidies though, but she doesn’t look clean. She has this dirty look about her. I really can’t see myself reaching over and kissing her.

Well my car has gotten its second official nasty scratch, and it is on the hood. A truck must have backed into my car and its bumper got my hood. I had a little luck getting some phone numbers on Saturday night but so far they have not been anything but the same ole bullshit. The one girl who is a school teacher, we sat in the club in the booth and talked with her and her friend all night, she hasn’t been home the two times I called her. I left my name and number on her answering machine but she hasn’t called back. Another girl who does accounts payable work and has two kidz, she actually called me Sunday to my surprise. I called her Monday, and we established that I was going to visit her. When she told me to call back, she had left and I waited a little while for her to call me back but she never did so I went to Elaine’s house.

So the women here are still bullshit. Nothing is happening for me here in this city. All I see is a bunch of ass, most of it Rican and white which I know I can’t have, and when I go and meet black women, they don’t respond to me. I really got no place else to go though, but I’m about fed up with this shit. But fuck it though, things will get better somehow.

I’m going to some shit tonight that Elaine was telling me about. I guess it’s an after work spot, free from six until. From there I’m going to go over by Justin’s for some industry networking party that Elaine was telling me about. Hopefully, I’ll meet someone to talk for real about my music at Justin’s. I probably won’t be able to get in or some shit, or it will cost too much. I’m gonna go though to see how it goes down. I hope I run into Puffy so that maybe I can get an accounting job with him, and maybe that would make my life happier for the moment.

And I don’t know why but when Thursday night comes around, I get happy. I’m free for the weekend to do what I wanna. So maybe like in that stupid movie “Office Space”, each day at work is like the worst day of my life. When the weekend approaches, I get happy because I don’t have to go to work for two days. Friday is like a day I just wait for work to end so it’s really not a bad day at work. I don’t even take a nap at lunchtime on Friday.

I heard a couple of beats that Elaine’s cousin did for someone, and the one was kind of wack. He has the same beat machine as I do. Ensoniq ASR 10. This leads me to think that maybe I have what it takes to become a producer in this town because the amateurs are really amateurs. Lark has some good shit and some bad shit coming out of his MPC 2000. Kenneth and them were telling me about a guy they met who has an ASR 10 and they said his shit didn’t sound all that. He was telling them that the ASR 10 was a limited machine. No its not, and in fact it’s probably one of the most complete beat machines that are out there. I can do everything but put different effects on the eight different tracks that are available on board. I program a sequence to do whatever I want it to: stop on a certain beat, take out an instrument, etc. Maybe he hasn’t put the extra money in his to purchase extra memory like I did. Without the extra memory, yes you are very limited. You can only use a certain number of tracks before all of the memory is used up, and you can only program a certain number of sequences. Maybe I ought to keep that as my secret to give me an edge in the game; unless someone asks because they’ve read and know about it, don’t tell em’. Sometimes you got to keep shit to yourself to have that competitive edge you know.

I think that Lauren will be my forever lover, and one day we will get married probably when her kidz are grown and we are like in our 40s. I have been thinking about that ass lately and I want some. I tried calling her last night but she didn’t pick up the phone. My dick instantly gets hard when I see that little big ass of hers switching around. She turns me on like that. But I don’t know if right now I can get over how she was treating me because she had her man Jamelle. She was dogging me to the fullest. One moment she’d be nice and let me fuck a couple of times. The next moment she’d have some attitude and we’d argue and I’d end up leaving her house. We had great times together though.

She came to my house to see me in N.Y. about a month after Sausha and I broke up, and it didn’t feel all that good to have her there. She was trying to get me to fuck her all night and day like I used to but I just wasn’t feeling it like that. She was there from Friday night to Monday morning, and we had sex Friday night and Saturday morning; Saturday night and I think Sunday morning but I’m not sure. She was getting on my nerves. Sunday night she put on some little lingerie thing and I didn’t even make an attempt to fuck. But I’m thinking about her now though.

I am just not motivated to work. I take too long to do my task. It takes me two to three days to review the accounts of three yards, and Dawn just told me that she reviews six or seven in I don’t know how long. And maybe I’ll always be this way or maybe not. Maybe something is just missing in my life and my work life. And NO it is not god.