Real.

November has been one hell of a month. After my birthday, shit things got real. Not necessarily real bad, but just real. Real emotions, real world happenings, just a lot of realness.

Days after I celebrated my birthday, I started to feel ill, so I had to make a pit stop at the doctors office before I hopped a flight out of town for the weekend to meet (in real life) a kinda new friend. It was definitely a good weekend. An adventure so to speak, but one I'm selfishly keeping the details of to myself. I enjoyed myself though...

Upon my return to Houston, the work week commenced and I barely had time to think amongst the stacks of petitions, and files needing review....and the emails to respond to, and the questions to answer....the calls to return. The lovely life of an attorney. I'm typically really busy during the week, but I found the time to squeeze in a couple of dinner dates & happy hours with friends before the week ended.

But before my week was over, I heard the tragic news that one of my friends had been killed during a shooting incident at Florida State University.

I was in shock, and disbelief to hear the news. Especially knowing my friend the way I did, and then reading the details of what occurred...I just couldn't believe that he would have been involved in a mass shooting which would end with his life being taken by the police. He was a great guy, and it hurt me so to learn that he was battling so many internal demons and mental health issues. Life can be stressful, and people look at attorneys and expect us to have all the answers, all the money and all the confidence in the world. That is not the case. We all need to take care of ourselves, and mental health care is one important piece of that equation. Real life happens to everyone. We cannot judge him for his actions, we can only wish that he had received the proper treatment he needed to avoid this breakdown. Regardless, I hope he is finally at peace. And Myron, you will definitely be missed.

After all of that, I strategically planned to have a weekend with no plans, but that did not work. The weather saved me though, so a lot of plans fell through since the weather was so bad. By Sunday, it had cleared up & I not only discovered a new favorite brunch location, but also got the chance to catch up with my bestie over some delightful apple mint hookah.... Brunch at Phil & Derek's was beyond good. A reservation is necessary, but the food is worth it. We had round after round of bottom-less mimosas & stuffed ourselves with creole cuisine and other brunch staples... We had some fun taking photos outside, but ended up parting ways...which is how I ended up out on my second adventure that Sunday..
I always enjoy the conversations and positive energy that is exchanged whenever we have our random Sunday adventures.

The thrill of the weekend quickly wore off, and then it was off to Dallas for two days for work. I enjoyed my time up there, but having to get back home the night before Thanksgiving was tiring.

Regardless, I was up and at it for the holiday & enjoyed celebrating with family and friends. There was only one moment of drama, but that was drank away laughed off and we ended up having a great time after all.

There was no black Friday shopping for me, as I decided to not participate in light of all the unrest involving race relations in our country. I could do an entire post dedicated to the events that have been occurring in Ferguson, Missouri... but instead of doing that, I'm shifting my focus towards figuring out a way I can actively play a role in educating and empowering our community so things like this don't have to continue to happen. The whole thing is fucked up. And excuse the profanity, but I'm just keeping it real.

On Saturday, I was delightfully lazy, but I did manage to watch my alma mater (The Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) win the 40th Annual Bayou Classic to secure a spot in the SWAC Championship game this upcoming Saturday in Houston. I feel like that was a lot in one sentence.

I love all HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) but especially my own. (Southern and Texas Southern) I believe they are 100% necessary and all the way important. In light of the way our country is handling race relations, I think it is important to keep these institutions competitive and supported.... A lot of great people have come out of these schools..... and now I'm getting off topic, but again..that's some real ish.

Moving along..... I've spent this last day of November, really focusing on December. Making plans, organizing my agenda and basically setting my sights on conquering 2015.

I'm so filled with gratitude for it all. As I said below in my previous post, life is so precious and it should never ever be taken for granted. So much can happen in such a short amount of time, that we really have to take advantage of every single moment we have on this planet. Nothing is promised, and life is too short to focus on the unimportant things. I say live it up while we can, because otherwise we are just wasting space and opportunities.
This month had it's fair share of ups and downs, but I am grateful for them all.

November, it's been real. On to December.