Chicken Ramen⏤Vol 9
Chicken Ramen⏤Vol 9
A Christmas Shopping Trip, notes from '99 and a grandfather f*cker.
Heeeeyyy friends! How was your Thanksgiving? Did you miss me? It’s been three weeks since we last had lunch with each other. I was going to bother you a little on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but I was enjoying the unplugged time. Granted we are (or we should be) spending most of our time at home, you can still feel “ON” in the comfort of your home. However, I did lock myself in our guest room to finish my 70+ page eBook on building a brand on Insta. So I wasn’t completely unplugged, but you get what I am saying.
This past weekend, Ju and I made homemade ramen, #whew was that thang GOODT! It was prepared in less than an hour and perfect for these cooling temps outside. Check out the below recipe. We got our noodles from Costco! And I learned how to do soft-boiled eggs for the first time from this recipe.
https://www.forkknifeswoon.com/simple-homemade-chicken-ramen/
OK, let’s chit chat. Here are today’s topics:
Unsolved Mysteries
Journaling
A dating story
Tweets of the week
Unsolved Mysteries, Season 2, Ep. 3
I love a good murder mystery. We watch Forensic Files often and I usually holler “the husband did it” within the first few minutes of the episode. Unsolved Mysteries was a random find one day shortly after season one aired and I finished the entire season within a few short nights. I don’t know why I watch these shows at night, lol.
So of course when season two aired I jumped on the first opportunity. I floating through the season gasping and such like I normally do, but when episode three began I perked up. I had a feeling this was going to be a good episode, a great case.
Lester Eubanks is a convicted murderer who escaped from prison in 1973. He was in prison and was on death row for murdering a 14-year-old Black girl as she was walking to a laundromat in Mansfield, OH. I’m not going to re-cap the horrific gruesome details that this evil person did to this beautiful little girl, that isn’t the part that got me with this episode. If you watch or listen to murder mysteries a lot, nothing really phases you because you begin to realize that people are really fucking crazy in this world.
What got me was that not only did this man swerve his death date on more than one occasion (I think 3 times), but when his time was up again, America wanted to get all nice and shit and abolished the death penalty. Anywhoo...this MF was able to receive good behavior standings and was granted a CHRISTMAS SHOPPING TRIP in December of 1973. Now, what in the world does an inmate have to buy for Christmas?
Apparently, the prison Lester was in had some dumb program that allowed inmates to go to public shopping areas to have UNSUPERVISED shopping trips for up to 2 hours as a reward for good behavior. Lester was supposed to report back to a meeting spot at 2pm but that fool ain’t show up. Of course he didn’t. Why would he?
And the kicker is this dude is still on the run. He been running since 1973! What makes this story even wilder is that this man was famous while he was incarcerated. He won several awards for his paintings and was recognized by many for his art and accomplishments. The fact that this man just got away with so much and was glorified even after he did want he did, had me so shook. I started looking out my windows to see if he might be walking around the neighborhood, lol.
Since this episode aired, there have been several tips sent into the FBI, buddy still out here. I’m on the lookout, are you? Lol
Yup, he’s Black. Threw me for a loop espcially since the justice system likes to give us the harshes penalties know to man. But also not surprising, because if anyone can swerve the law, it will be us. Not funny, but also funny. They need to find this MF.
Do you Journal?
Journaling has been a part of my life since 1999, or at least that is the earliest journal entries I can locate. For the majority of ‘99 I was 13. Which means I can recall and revisit memories from 20+ years ago. Somewhere during the week of September 20-26 of 99, I snuck and signed up for AOL. And on September 21, 1999, I wore a white square neck puffy short sleeve shirt with khaki petal pushers to school. OMG, y’all remember those? I have a few updated versus of these in my closet now. Sorry fellas, this might not ring a bell.
I also have several notes from my high school days. Do kids even pass notes anymore? I guess text messaging took place of notes in class.
I love revisiting memories from the discovery part of my life. When I was trying to discover who I am, what I like, and don’t like. Re-reading some of my goals as a 14-year-old is drastically different than the goals I set for myself at the age of 23. Different when I hit 30 and has changed yet again 3 weeks before 35.
My journals keep me accountable and they push me for more. It also reminds me of what I want and deserve out of life.
Now let me clear one thing up, there are gaps. I have a few years where I only have one entry and a year or two when I have zero. But I never went more than two years without writing. And within the last 10 years, I have written every year.
When people learn that I have been writing since ‘99, questions I always get is “why journal, what to journal, and where”? Well, let’s start with WHY someone should journal or write down thoughts.
You get to document your life. Good, bad, or indifferent, your life is your life and you only get one shot at it. You will make some amazing choices and you will also make some shitty ones. But every single one counts. And how good would it feel to look back and see how you have progressed.
The small special moments are hard to remember over time. There are certain moments that are hard for me to recall until I get a memory trigger and that usually comes from a journal entry or when I revisit my memory boxes. Just because something is not monumental does not mean it is not valuable.
It is stress-relieving and therapeutic. Your journal will never judge you. Now you might judge you, but your journal will never. There are things to this day that only my journal knows about. Somethings in life are meant to kept private and not shared with the world or others, but they still need to be shared. So why not paint a picture for your future self to reflect back on.
There are so many other reasons why you should journal, but those are my three. If you journal, what is your ‘why’?
So what to journal? Here are some ideas:
Affirmations and future talk. I love to write journal entries in future tense thanking God and the universe for all that has been giving to me even when I do not have it. Naming things as they are before they even appear. That way, when it does appear, it seems very familiar. I now realize why I felt like I knew Julian when his profile popped up on my Tinder feed early on a Saturday morning. I had been writing down what I wanted in a life partner. So when he appeared, that familiar feeling was cast down on me and I had no idea why. Now I know.
Major life moments. This one might sound simple, but most people forget to recount their BIG day, whatever that might be—promotion at work, new business, engagement, pregnancy, a once in a lifetime vacation, etc. But don’t forget about those painful moments that still matter. It’s apart of your story, and sometimes the best way to get through it is to write it down.
Random thoughts. I love journaling random thoughts. How delicious a meal was or a great find I found while thrifting and how that made me feel. Or when I song comes on, the nostalgia that I get when I hear it. Sometimes a visual trigger will appear in your life that will make you see something so clear that happened 15+ years ago and you completely forgot about it. Write that DOWN!
Prayers. I started a prayer journal about 2 years ago and I write down specific prayers. Things I am asking of God or leaning on God for. Things that seem impossible to me, but simple to him. Ever since I started this, let me tell you about the blessings….OK!
Relationships. Why would a person want to recount previous relationships and situations, especially if they are painful and hurtful? Well, it teaches you something. It teaches you what you deserve and reminds you of what you don’t want out of life. It reminds you of how you acted in a situation and what the result of that was. Or how you let something slide 1, 2, and maybe 3 times and nothing changed. We don’t remember every single detail of our lives, but we happen to remember the painful ones more often than the beautiful ones. So when you have that amazing first-date, write that down. What made it different than others? When you spent hours talking on the phone and you haven’t done that in years, write that down. And when you finally muster the guts to cut someone off, document that too!
So where to journal? Should it be handwritten or electronically? It’s up to you. But if you are just starting off, I would suggest that you start with writing because it becomes a little more personal since we thumb it out every single day between social media, group chats, and emails. This helps build muscle memory and helps prevent distractions while in the moment.
My first journal was my freshman year of high school agenda. I would write down what I wore to school every single day when I was hanging out with my friends, crushes I had and so much more. I then actually moved to type my journal on WordPerfect and I saved it to a floppy drive that I have to this day, but I can’t open the file because 1) the disk needs to be formatted without the data being deleted, and who know how to do that and 2) It needs to be opened in WordPerfect I guess. So one of these days I will take that disk to a computer store and see who can help me.
However, technology is so bomb that I started using the DayOne journaling app (available on desktop & mobile) and it was the best decision I was forced into about 8 years ago. See, I had someone invade my privacy and read my journal. Remember those things only my journal knew, well turns out someone else knows because my journal was read. Anywhoo, that very next day I turned electronic and I haven’t looked back. Now I get notifications on the days I have written in the past, and I always take a few minutes to reflect on my previous words.
Not only can I journal my words, but I also upload pictures, videos, and voice notes to this journal app. Things I want to save and be reminded of later in life. I had a really good idea for a 40th birthday party one day, so I jotted it down in my journal. That way, I can be reminded of this idea year over year.
Listen I could go on and on, but my journal has been speaking life into me all 2020, and I hope this has inspired at least one person to pick up the pen (or thumb) and start documenting life, for you. Not for the world.
If you have more journaling questions, let me know!
A Dating Story
Since we are on the theme of journaling, because of how much I have documented, I got the idea to write an essay book of the most hilarious dating experiences that I have had. I’m looking for honest feedback here! If you saw the below chapters in a book, would you be inclined to read? Chapters are in no particular order, and I have kept a few a secret *wink*.
Houstons in Memphis
I See Dead People
My Love and Hip Hop Moment
The Broke Capricorn
The One I called Gay on Our Date
Boiled Chicken and 4 Egg Whites
I have about 12-13 stories of just some wild experiences meeting and dating people when I was between the ages of 28-33.
So what y’all think? Would you purchase and read a book like that? Would you purchase an eBook or paperback? I appreciate all feedback. I have already written half of my first chapter and I can’t stop myself from laughing.
Real Housewives
Between Atlanta, Potomac, and now Salt Lake City, this franchise sucked me in. The drama is so needed during this quarantine season. But I am not here to talk about the series, I just want to share some of my favorite Twitter moments from these three shows. Because Real Housewives is not the same without Twitter.
I just don’t get why Ashley is staying with this old man when he clearly likes other women and men, can’t keep it in his pants, and is a public embarrassment.
Jamal lives in Gizelle phone and that is exactly where he wants to stay. If this man really wanted to do right by Gizelle, he would leave her alone, in my opinion.
Folks getting on Mo, but she is coming to the reunion PACKED with receipts!
This ain’t funny, but it is hilarious. Why does Riley face look exactly like this!
This is true! I miss the OG’s! It’s going to be a little different on RHOA now. I hope Nene comes back. Her petty is unmatched.
I am just getting into #RHOSLC, but this storyline right here, with Mary (black hat) marrying her Step-grandfather because it was in her grandmother’s will is WILD!
Well, folks! That is all I got for you. I hope you were inspired and laughed with me for lunch today. See you on the 21st. Don’t forget to like, share, and comment! Your support is best!
P.S. a bish got a website now…mondaylunch.co! It just points to the landing page of the newsletter, but still, BOMB!