Saturday, Aug. 06, 2016 - 2:30 a.m.

Sooooo....it's August the 6th.

I'm still single.

It's crazy that I'm still in this space and place. Like, how did this happen? I never thought I'd be 10 years on the other side of my dream life. 10 years on the other side of the age of 25 that I thought I'd be settled down and starting a family.

But God knows all about it all. I may wonder and may question but his plan for us all is amazing. I trust that. My human side is anxious to start a family. But I do have to trust God that he will give me all the desires of my heart if I just continue to put my faith in him. So that's what I will do.

I wanted to drop in and write about a few things:

1) Jamaica (Jamaica)

2 weeks ago, from a Wednesday through that Sunday, I went to Jamaica with Tae and Co. We had a great time. It was very restful, stress-free, full of food and drinks and fun. I had a great, great time. I am used to doing more but the pace was good for me.

We stayed at the villa that AReid's uncle owns. But chyle, everybody and they daddy (literally) also stayed at the villa. AReid, his best friend, AReid's daddy, the 3 staff people for the house. Everybody was there. It was kinda cray. Like, ummmm, can ya'll all go somewhere? Please?? LOL

There were people in and out of the house the entire time we were there, which I did not appreciate, but it kept things interesting, I guess. AReid being there completely shocked me. Especially his dad being there, because he never talks about his dad. I thought his dad was either dead or not in his life in any way, he never ever spoke about him. Every word is about his uncle. So I was shocked to see his dad.

But yeah, back to AReid: I had no idea he would be staying at the house. I was very uncomfortable with the idea but then, once I realized I had no choice, I had to just bite the bullet and deal with it. Eventually, I got to the point like, Iowncurr.

He said he'd never see us because he'd be gone all day, etc. But we saw him everyday, all day. The funniest thing was, after being teased about taking off his shirt, he finally did one night. I got to see a lil bit, although it wasn't enough to make me see him differently. AReid is AReid. He's not a man I'd be interested in for anything other than play, I don't think. And I'm not too confident in his play ability, either. I hate walking near him because he mostly walks ahead of you.

But it's all good. He's not an option. It was just entertaining to be in such close proximity for days. Oh, the possibilities the mind can conjure up. *sigh*

To have a record of our time in Jamaica though: We arrived on Wednesday, went by the store then went to the house, had dinner and the girls got in the pool (Virginia was visiting so I couldn't get in).

Thursday, we got up, had breakfast, then went to Negril. We went to Margaritaville first, then headed to Rick's. On the way there, we stopped and got a (very spicy) Jamaican patty. We got to enjoy Rick's for about 30 minutes before it started pouring, so not long after we arrived, we left to head back to the house. That night, we ate dinner and played Taboo and Jenga on the balcony. AReid came out and chatted a little bit.

Friday, we got up, Tae coached the cook through revising the grits and making the rest of breakfast (LOL). We discussed going to this mineral spring that AReid was heavily recommending but ended up deciding on the beach. We went to a local beach but only stayed about 2 hours before the rain came and we had to leave. Latavea wanted seafood, so Jermaine, our driver, took us to a seafood hut. Tae and Victoria got grilled conch, which tasted very good. Then we all headed back to the house to have leftovers for lunch. After lunch, we chilled and then got ready to go to Sumfest. We were going, then we weren't, then we ended up going. We had a good time at the concert because we got there early and got great seating. The drinks were shockingly cheap so we got nice and lit. LOL Tae was so lit that she fell in the house. I'm still laughing about that. But we had a great time at the concert.

Saturday, chilling at the house was the order of the day. We ganged up on the chef and cooked breakfast. We wanted the grits and everything else how we wanted them so we took care of that under the guise of wanting the cook to rest. LOL After breakfast, we went to get in the pool. We chilled in the pool, jamming to music and drinking for a few hours. Then, it was time for lunch - leftovers. Tae came across some frozen chicken, so we ended up getting that fried up for our dinner. We needed flour for the chicken and fries to go with it so I asked AReid to take us to the store. He did - I think he was happy to show off his Jamaican driving skills. LOL But it was all good. I was saying to myself, who would have thought that I would be in Jamaica, grocery shopping with AReid. Boy, I tell you. Life is sho'll nuff funny.

Sunday, we all headed out. I stayed behind with AReid and his best friend since we were all on the same flight. I was concerned because their seats were a row behind me and I knew I'd need a seatbelt extender. But thankfully, their seats had been changed. All was well. I coulda just been on my own because I wasn't with them much in the airport. But I did end up one of the first on the plane by following their lead, so it was all good.

2) Maxwell

Hot105 did a HotLive with Maxwell this afternoon. It was so surreal. This is an artist that I have followed and loved from the inception of his career. His older music is so engrained in my psyche, that it's scary. Particularly, his Embrya album. It wasn't until this afternoon that I recalled writing this loooong letter to him back when I was in high school that I never sent on my Brother word processor (lol). I don't remember what I said but I know I wrote it and I know Shawner found and read it when I gave the word processor to her. It was probably me, professing my love to him or something. But anywhoo.

So to be in the same room with him today was so amazing. And I got to ask him a question, which I felt great about, although he never really answered it. LOL He was rambling. But I was the last question. And then when my mom and I took our picture with him, I thanked him for Embrya. And he bent his head to the side of mine and said "thank you for appreciating my music" in his deep-thinking voice. Then, he gave me a kiss on the cheek and grabbed my hand before I walked away. There was so much going on with us having to get out the way for the next picture takers that I didn't really realize what was happening. Maybe he wanted me to walk away with that as a truly special memory. And I appreciate that. But it got lost in all the goings-on. It didn't hit me until I went to go retrieve our belongings from the chairs and, as I was asking Avi to pass me our waters, I was like, "Wait. Maxwell kissed me on the cheek. And held my hand!" LOLOL

Life is so interesting.

I didn't want to forget about Maxwell, so I had to write it down here.

3) DClark

I just remembered this from today: So I was heading to a pre-submittal meeting across the street today. I was hustling, trying to get there as quickly as possible because I was running late. As I was passing DClark's building, I said, "let me flip my hair, in case he's watching from the conference room." I'd said it as a joke to myself (you can't see the street below from his conference room)....

Before I forget, I've got to note that he is now either engaged or married. He's wearing a wedding band. Gotta make sure that's noted. So, yeah.

Back to the story: I'd said the hair flip thing as a joke to myself and continued right along my way. I made it to the room and was concerned that upon approaching the room, I didn't see people everywhere. I'd expected to see a room full, so I was thinking maybe the meeting had been cancelled. But I heard voices so I figured it was going on, just not well-attended. I walked into the room and saw my coworker, Sandra, at the podium, speaking to the crowd. I said, "good morning", then headed to take a seat. Imagine my surprise when, as I made my way to a seat, I looked up and saw DClark on the meeting panel. Couldn't believe it.

It was yet another reminder of God's humor. He loves to keep me entertained, I tell you! LOL

In another life, I'd probably enjoy the idea of a steamy hot temporary trial-run/dating scenario with a single DClark. But that's only in another life. This life is already decided.

4) Sanibel

We went to Sanibel for Dee's bday last weekend. Just 1.5 days. It was very nice. I was happy to not have to drive at all. Ren did all the driving, which I don't think she expected. But oh, well. I wasn't the only one that could drive, although she wanted me to. I was tired and up to chilling hard, so that's what I did.

We drove up Saturday morning, went to breakfast, the beach, a dolphin cruise, dinner and then talked in the hotel room before going to sleep. The next morning we got up, had breakfast, got in the pool, got showered up and headed back home. Very chill, very non-stressful, very relaxed time. I got an amaaaaazing suntan! Very happy about it, can't stop looking at it! :-) I needed that time away, even though I had just come back from Jamaica the week before.

It brought me a tad bit of satisfaction to tell AReid I had been right back out on the move, too. :-P He was surprised, saying we're constantly going places. Get like me, boo!

5) Nada

I guess this goes back up to the first point. Still single. Still alone. Still childless. 35. Headed towards 36 like a mack truck. Chyle, I don't know. I'm not giving up hope. But geez. Like, how does this happen? *sigh*

I sincerely trust that God has an amazing plan for my life. My life has already been amazing. I realized tonight that I've been to 5 of the 7 continents. Just today, Maxwell kissed my cheek, touched my hand and thanked me for being a fan! LOL I've been to two countries in two months. I went on a girls getaway a week ago. Like, I'm good. Life is good. I just have to hang on in there until God is ready to fulfill some of these long-standing dreams I have - a loving partner, children, a home for my family. It's coming. I just gotta hang on in there. :-)

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