Forest Hills: No Coloreds Allowed?

By no means do I think Forest Hills is the most racist place in Queens--or New York for that matter.

However, since I work there and take public transportation, I have the misfortune of dealing with a lot of stupid people in that area.

Today is just one example.  I had to take the bus but made a quick run to a hardware store that is right next to the stop.  I noticed three women were waiting for the bus. 

After handling my business, I walked over and sat on the bench.  An older woman was at the other end, and the other two ladies were standing up. 

I hadn't been on the bench for more than five seconds when one of the standing women went after her purse like it had caught fire! 

The bag was on the seat, closer to the older woman than to me, so I had assumed it belonged to the old lady.  Clearly, I was mistaken.

So, I looked at that woman dead in her eyes and gave her a blank expression.  Still agitated, she cradled the purse as though it held the meaning of life. 


I'm not sure if she felt exposed by her own abrupt reaction or the knowing look in my eyes.  "Oh.  I just wanted to make space," she said.


I keep looking.  Silent.


"I figure someone might want to sit there."


I respond: "Oh? Really?"


Who did she need to make space for?  Why wasn't she concerned about her bag prior to my sitting down?  Why did she retrieve that bag fast enough to get whiplash?  The older white lady who shared her skin tone was no threat but the young black female was?


I don't even have enough fingers for the ridiculous behavior I've encountered in Forest Freakin Hills!  The last event before this was the woman who reacted as though she was about to get hit by a bus as I passed her on the sidewalk a few days ago.

What had her eyes bulging and her chest thumping?  My hair was in an Afro.

How can I be certain of this?  As her face became all contorted, her shocked eyes were burning holes through my hair!

I made sure to smile at her, hoping she would be more offended. 

Believe it or not, I actually thought about living in that city for a little bit.  I was told the pre-war buildings were bigger and cheaper than my current apartment.

I changed my mind when I couldn't get a cab in the neighborhood.  In the morning, there are cabbies of color galore.  i don't know where they were one afternoon, last May.  I spent 45 minutes trying to hail on-duty and empty cabs to take me to the airport.  Not one bit.  Finally, I was picked up by someone I knew who just happened to be in the area.  Had he not been there, I would've missed my flight to my brother's graduation.

The clincher here is that Queens is the most diverse county in the whole entire United States.  That's a huge part of why I moved here.  I might as well have stayed in the south.

Beauty is Not a Walking Bag of Bones

I find it either pitiful or sad how obsessed some people are with being a bag of bones!  Maybe it's a little bit of both. 

I support health consciousness, but what some people consider conscious may actually be an obsession.

If you're watching every single calorie, are depriving yourself of nourishment, and are overly preoccupied with food, you probably have an eating disorder.  That is sad.  Not knowing it is even sadder.

Over a billion people on this planet live on less than $1.25.  These people struggle to eat and meet their basic needs. 

Knowing this makes me ask "What the hell is going on here?"  It's pitiful that while some people are struggling to survive, the people who can't even tell the difference between needs and wants are acting like food is the enemy.

Is a lot of the bobble head obsession derived from some false perception of beauty?  Do people starve themselves because they think that somehow being skinnier is going to make them more beautiful?

I'm conflicted because one part of me thinks: You can loose or gain weight, but ugly is forever.

The other part of me wants to be more understanding.

Perhaps this whole eating disorder thing is not for me to understand.  I just can't relate.

We were given a book in my middle school sex education class that showed how people have different body types.  Some are more athletic (me!), others are more thin, some are more stocky (big-boned), etc.  There was also a section that showed the development of the body from childhood through adulthood.  I remember thinking "I can't wait get to the point where my body 'curves' out."

I used to play sports and loved to run.  Needless to say, there was no curving out for me.  When I developed asthma and became less active, I finally got my little lovehandles that I wanted.

Unfortunately, I'm at the point that I actually have to work out to improve my long-term health.  I realize I've dreaded exercise because it won't take long for me to lose the little pooch that's giving me my slight figure 8.


Still, no matter how my body looks, I'll love it.

Ultimately, I believe God created me and he makes no mistakes.  Perhaps this is the reason I can't relate to those who desire the emmeciated look.  I wonder, "What could possibly be so wrong that you would brutalize your body?"

Why I Hate My Neighbors

I must admit.  I'm not a good cohabitator.  If I were an animal, I'd be a hermit crab.  I don't suffer fools--at all.

I've been living in my NYC matchbox apartment (paying luxury rent) going on four years now.  At the start of year two, my upstairs neighbors moved in.  Needless to say, the relative tranquility that made my husband and I forget about the cost of our rent left us at the moment of their arrival.

Loud from the start, these people behave as though they are living in their own world, separate from all other beings with the ability to hear.  The thumping, the bass, the video games, the TV shows, the stereo!  I don't want to harm those people but I'd like to murder their electronics!  I want to take a hammer to it all!

Building management doesn't care 'cause they get the rent once a month.  311 is a joke, and my husband tells me 911 is for gunshot wounds or something.

At one point, Tylenol and ear plugs became my best friends!  I was a prisoner of these people!  If they were awake, I was awake.  Since they never seemed to sleep, I was ALWAYS awake!

The guy whose name is on the lease told management it was just him and his girlfriend living up there, and I was out of my mind.  Yes, I was out of my mind!  I was out of my mind because I never had one moment of quiet, I had an unending headache, and couldn't sleep! 

Then, God sent me some justice!  I pipe broke in their apartment!  It wasn't the broken pipe, but what it led to that cleared everything up.   Both the super and idiot apartment manager went up there.  What did they discover?  There were 13 people living up there!!!  13 people in a one bedroom apartment!

I knew some foolishness was going on up there!   "Take that," I thought!  "Finally!  These people are gonna be gone!  Oh, sweet tranquility will come back to me!" The guy on the lease had to get all those people out of there. 

I felt so vindicated...but not for long.

The stupid apartment manager renewed his lease!  I should add that manager to my list, 'cause I hate him too!

Living next to these people continues to be an irritating misadventure.   

New York City has a noise ordinance.  I wish they'd enforce it.

Oprah Just Gave 300 Women (and a Few Guys) Better "O" Faces Than Their "Mates" Can

When I was in college, I used to dream of being part of Oprah's audience on her "My Favorite Things" shows.  How did those people get so lucky?  I wanted a car and some free food too!  I wanted a nice, new TV and stereo thingamajigs!  Why not me, Oprah?  Why not me?

Truth be told, I never tried too seriously to get in the audience.  Tickets to the show may be free, but getting there on my broke, college kid finances was not happening.

After watching the video below, I was back to:  Why not me Oprah?  Why not me?

Watch the "O" faces these people make anticipating Oprah's surprise for them on her first show of her 25th and last season. 


Catch the video after the jump--before O's people get it pulled!

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE!!!

Hey, dude! It's not over!  The first rule of soccer:  ALWAYS KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE BALL!



Talk about premature elation!

Thanks to Respect the Intelect for this vid!