Happenings On The Bayou.

This weekend was pretty great, I finally got to relax a little.

Well, what’s relaxing for me anyway.

Saturday, my son was in a parade (why we always throwing some sort of parade down here?) and I had so much fun.

His school’s band director  put together a parade to celebrate the life of MLK and invited all the bands in the city to participate.  Most of the bands did not (Mac35 couldn’t but, said they would next year….that’s for all my “roneagle readers” here) but, we had Joseph Clark , Warren Easton, Berhman middle school, a few dance teams…and of course, St. Aug.

The parade started at 9 a.m. from St. Aug on Tureaud St.  down to St.Bernard pass Claiborne to Rampart.  Then, we went all the way up Rampart to the Theatre of Performing Arts….

My daughter and I walked the entire route.

So did a lot of people…I mean a lot of people.

People who know this city knows that….that ain’t no short route!!

When I say we woke the city up….WE WOKE IT UP!

It was like a mini-mardi gras out there…everyone was dancing to the music the bands were playing.

Cars on the other side of the street, pulled over to watch  and dance.

They almost had a few wrecks because,a lot of people started “rubbernecking” to see/hear the bands that, they weren’t paying attention the car in front of them.

Needless, to say that, after all that walking…my legs were sore as heck.

But, it was so worth it.  The kids who performed has a wonderful time, the police got easy detail money for patrolling the route and the city got a taste of what Mardi Gras is going to be like in two weeks.

Most importantly, it was to celebrate the life of MLK.

It was a fun day.

Sunday was cardiac arrest day.

I almost had a heart attack watching that darned game…lol

Talk about a showdown…geez.

After taking a week off, I got another job.

I figured, I may as well take a week off to rest and recoup before I went on the grind again.

I think I’m going to like this one, it’s more of what I’m used to doing…keeping my license intact..lol

Parades roll in two weeks and…I ain’t ready.

Crowds are really not my thing and every year I have to prepare myself for the madness that is Mardi Gras.

I ain’t ready yet.

Not a good sign because…the crowds jumping all over you trying to catch beads and whatnot can really get to you if you’re not ready mentally.

I ain’t ready mentally.

I’m going to have to try really hard NOT to push some old lady off of me because she’s trying to catch some darned beads.

Here’s a carnival question…Why the old folks push you around for that stuff more than the young people?

I mean 70-year-old grandma will knock your  azz to the ground,push you with her hips out the way,elbow you in the ribs…anything, trying to catch a darn bead…it’s crazy…lol.

I’m addicted to Facebook…there, I said it.

Not all of facebook…just petville.

I can’t stop playing that darn game…I have like a gazillion neighbors so I can have my pet’s house all decked out.

(LadyLee, I can’t find you on facebook…I’mma email you.)

My husband is addicted too…he doesn’t think so though.

I clocked him once, he stayed on for 4hrs…playing games.

Yep, he’s addicted.

Well, that’s my weekend wrap up…what’s happening with y’all?

WE’RE SUPER BOWL BOUND BABY!!!!

New Orleans is rocking like it’s Mardi Gras times 1,000 right now.  Fireworks are going off, horns are blowing every where,Facebook and Twitter  are blowing up.

The French Quarters is so crowded (and loud), people are hugging and kissing strangers…lol. The city is in a daze over the win against the Vikings and all I can say is…..watch out Miami cuz, if you think you know how to party….you haven’t met New Orleans  peeps.

We put the “P” in party down here!

The Super Bowl is in the middle of Mardi Gras season…Feb.7th…the Who Dat Nation is going to blow the roof off of that city!

CONGRATULATIONS FELLAS!!!!!!

THE STATE IS SO VERY PROUD OF YOU!!!

WHO DAT!!

God Is True To His Word.

Today was one of those days where I just sat and thought about the splendor of God.  I mean he’s amazing all the time but sometimes….man, oh, man….

As everyone who visits here knows, I needed to get me a new car.  It broke down on Christmas Eve and that was all she wrote.

It’s my fault really because….I spoke it.

I just need my car to last until the end of the year..that’s what I had said, months before it died.

It died December 24th…the end of the year.

I also said that, I needed a new car so that I could commute back and forth to school.  I am continuing my nursing education and I go to SUBR ….that’s Southern U in Baton Rouge…yeah, Imma  Jaguar girl, and I believe in supporting HBCU’S.

When my car broke down, needless to say..I was pretty pissed.  I mean it was Christmas Eve and I hadn’t really saved any money towards getting a new car…did I say, hadn’t really?

I meant…I ain’t had no extra money for no down payment on no car!!

So, Navy Seal and I are sitting there waiting for a tow truck and the spirit tells me…

How are you going to get a new car, holding on to your old one?

Didn’t you say  that you need a new car to hit the road to go to back to school?

Now, I am thinking yeah, all of that is true but, you caught me flat-footed God…I have two tuition’s to pay, it’s the holiday season, the economy is bad and credit is hard to get today.

AND I AIN’T GOT NO DOWN PAYMENT FOR NO CAR!

So, I call in my dad and he lets me borrow his car for a hot minute..until I can find a car that I like…

but I STILL ain’t got no down payment for no car.

In the meantime, the spirit is telling me…

What in the world are you waiting on?

So, Saturday, I got up and decided that I was going to look for a car…even though I ain’t had no money for no down payment on no car.

Before I left my house, I said a little prayer that I always say…it’s more like a proclamation actually….

God, my journey on this earth is more about my walk with you than anything else.  Where I go…you go.

I drive to the Honda dealership and before I even walked in, I began to feel a little nervous (I hate having to haggle and daggle like you have to do with a car sales rep) and before I hit the door, I heard the spirit again…

If wherever you go, I go…  then, your footsteps hit holy ground, go inside and whatever you ask for…you’ll get.

So now, I’m feeling braver….a lot braver…

because I’m leaping out on faith…

because God is true to his word.

I finally  find the car that I want.

Now….it’s time for the showdown!!!

Mr. Hondaman shows me some figures and after we play around with them and get to something we can both live with, he asks, “ok, how much you gonna put down on it?”

Me: nothing

Hondaman: huh? Ya gotta try to put down something…the banks are going to want to have something down, you know with the economy and all.

Me: I don’t feel as if I have to put anything down, I’m a loyal customer and have been for 10 years..finance the entire amount.

Hondaman: I don’t think they are going to let it go through like that but, I’ll try.  Can you put something down if they ask?

Me: Not going to,I’ve been loyal to this dealership. You all have to show me you appreciate that.

*Hondaman  gets up, goes to his manager and then returns and sits down*

Hondaman:  You can have the car….WITH NO MONEY DOWN!

So, we get to how much interest they are going to charge me and I’m holding my breath because, I’m thinking..

Ok, this is where they’re going to try to stick me…

the interest comes in at 5%!

So, I have my new car and put NO MONEY DOWN on it…in this economy!

Wish I could say it was because of my good credit…but I can’t…cuz, it ain’t good.

It’s all God’s doing.

He told me he would do it…long before I hit the car lot.

Navy Seal was looking at me like, “I can’t believe you twerked that, like that!”

I believe it all.

I learned a long time ago that, God is true to his word….so, I listen.

During the Hurricane Katrina episode, we left at the 11th hour because, he told me to leave.

We had every intention of riding it out…let me repeat that one.

we had every intention of riding out Hurricane Katrina.

The exact words I got were…Get out and anything you want to keep, put it on the second floor.  WOW!

Wish I would have been more obedient about that second part.  I did not lose a lot of photos though because, I brought most of them upstairs. But, that’s another post.

I brought that up to say, since then, I REALLY listen to the spirit when it speaks to me.

I’ve had way too many coincidences for them to be coincidences.

Way too many.

God lives and he’s true to his word…most of the times, he’s just waiting for us to make a move.

I Quit My Job This Weekend.

Yes folks, you read it right….I quit my job this weekend.
Why is that you ask?
Because nursing believe it or not, is NOT about caring for patients…

it’s about hospitals,milking you for all you’re worth and trying NOT to get sued…

it’s about nursing homes looking the other way when it comes to abuse and asking nurses to jeopardize their license and let things illegal happen,

just to have a bed filled.

Those are games that, I just refuse to play.

Many nurses play those games though,

and lose their license.

They have yet to learn that, in this field, the name of the game is to protect your license, not your job.

This is nursing, you can always find another job but, what happens when your license is gone?

When I was a nurse at nursing home once, one of my patients was fed through a tube in her stomach,

well, her son would visit and pour any and everything down his mother’s tube..totally against the law because he was jeopardizing the patient AND the nurse on duty license.

The Director of Nursing knew about all of this because he had a medical bag full of shit in his mother’s room and what did she do?

NOTHING.

Why? Because he’s not working on her license..it’s falls on the nurse on duty AND it’s a bed filled.

A resident was sitting in a wheelchair and the nursing assistant went to put his sock on.

She raised his leg so high that, she actually flipped him backwards in the chair.

He hit his back and head so hard, it sounded like a bowling ball hitting the floor…he ended up with a fractured spine.

He died a week later.

They blamed the accident on….the chair.

That assistant is still working there.

Why? Because they sweep things under the rug.

I’ve been a nurse a long time and I worked in the long-term aspect of it for about 10 years and the neglect and abuse was so rampant that,

I just couldn’t take it anymore.

For the longest time, I was like…who the hell really cares about these people.

I got my answer…..no one really.

Family members would put their loved one there thinking it’s safe but, in all actuality,

elder abuse is rampant.

Patients money gets stolen, their jewelry as well.

And when you’re someone like me, who refuses to play the game.

You have to move on because, sadly, it doesn’t change.

Yall remember the post where the nurse got the beatdown by the CNA right?

Well,at this facility, a nurse actually charted that, a patient was having trouble breathing…

and that nurse did not call the doctor to get an order to send the poor patient to the hospital.

And that nurse is still working there.

Clearly medical negligence at hand here.

But, that nurse is white…

something else that happens in this field.

A black nurse will get reported to boards for something trivial, and a white nurse could be stealing narcotics and simply be “asked” to resign.

Yeah, that’s rampant in this field also.

It’s amazing the things that go on in buildings… behind closed doors.

And I know it’s not just this profession that it happens in but, the difference is….

you’re dealing with someone’s life here.

It’s sad when you have to actually tell someone that, you’re a nurse for them to be on their P’s and Q’s regarding your loved one in a hospital…

had to pull that one too many damned times.

It makes no sense to me.

So, yeah….I quit my job…

wasn’t the first time,

sure it won’t be the last.

Because, my integrity is not up for sale.

A Letter To David.

I know we don’t talk too often, you being being busy and me being busy too.

But, I just wanted to tell you that, I love you.

It’s just that simple….you’re my big brother and I love you.

You have no idea of how many happy memories I have because of you.

Every time I hear a song by the Commodores, War, EW&F or any song from the 70’s….

I hear you…

beating on your drum set.

You can play your ass off…..you always could.

I was always so proud of that…how well you can play

and how well known you are for it.

I learned how to do the bump because, you taught me.

I was 11, you were 22.

I learned a lot of dances because of you…

I also learned that, I had a big brother who had my back

because, you always did.

So, I just wanted to say…I love you.

You know us…we don’t say that too often ’round here.

I’m trying to become better with that because,

I really do have some awesome brothers.

I really do have an awesome family.

It’s time we all realize that, we’re a pretty special group….

my 6 brothers and me.

Love,
Ali

I Hate Teenagers!!!

Last night, I was getting my blog ready so that I could post it this morning. Well Purpleknight walks over and is leaning over my shoulder to see what I’m doing..

Why is it that teens can get all up in YOUR business, but ask them something about theirs…you get attitude city!

Anyhoo, I was looking at some clips and when my son saw this one, he laughed soooo hard, for sooo long that, he actually fell out of the bed…on his head!

To all you oldschool peeps like me he says, … we can never laugh at them again, nor talk about how they dress, or dance again because, after watching this…he’s seen it all!

I can’t lie though, if the clothes and some of the moves on this clip don’t make you laugh…you’re just having a bad day. Check out the guy at 1:10..what the heck is that “giddy up” move?

*sigh* I just hate teenagers.

Soul Train Saturday

When we (most of the peeps who read my blog) were young, Soul Train used to come on every Saturday morning.

At our house, the ritual was…

get up,

make your bed (in that order)…

eat all the cereal up

watch cartoons…

and then…The Sooouullll Train.

My mom was a late riser so, that schedule was just fine for our house.

Soul Train was where we would see our favorite artists perform…

The O’Jays…Al “grits” Green,Teddy P., Marvin Gaye,The Jackson 5…and the list goes on.

I remember always being happy when Soul Train was on television.  Maybe, it’s because I was young and had no worries…yeah, that’s probably it.

Nevertheless, I’ve been watching old episode of “the train” on Youtube and  I still get those really happy feelings watching those episodes so, I’ve decided that,

every saturday will be my “Soul Train Saturday.”

Take a look.

Ok, MJ could work the heck out of the robot huh?  I never could do the robot THAT well…

and I can dance!!