The Return.

I’ve been staring at myself in the mirror for the past few weeks and I really don’t like what I see. Up until last August, I was doing well with my weight loss goals. I really didn’t like going to the gym, but I went. Between Kickboxing, Pilates and the bit of weight training I did, I was maintaining my body weight and was feeling pretty good about myself and good in general.

But towards the end of August, my world experienced a bit of a shift. I was laid off of my first post-college job with about a week’s notice. In addition to this, the weekend I lost my job, I was moving to a new apartment about 15 miles away from where I lived and was dealing with a super-stressful relationship/situation at the time. Once this “perfect storm” happened (in addition to having to conserve funds by any means necessary), I stopped going to the gym.

Fort Totten Station, Chapter 3 #XD30

5 P.M. ascends upon the District not too long after the meeting ends. Workers spill out of their buildings and onto the street to reach their next destination. It’s a bright and beautiful day filled with the sounds of various conversations mixed with birds chirping and the ever-present noise of Rush Hour. ____ and Jade walk down the sidewalk en route back to the subway station they emerged from nine and a half hours earlier. Jade has her usual post-work pep in her step, while he is obviously distracted by the day’s events.

Fort Totten Station, Chapter 2. #XD30

He continues to look down at his right hand, oscillating between feelings of panic and disbelief. “Wait. Where is my ring?” He looked down at his hand as if the Silver ring would magically appear. Jade snapped her fingers in front of his face, saying “Don’t trip. You probably left it at home on the sink.” The train pulled into L’Enfant Plaza and the pair disembarked. Jade updated him on their work projects as they ascended to street level and into their office building. He zoned in and out as his mind drifted to his ring. It was passed down to him from his Grandfather on his 18th birthday and he had rarely taken it off since that day.

Fort Totten Station, Chapter 1 #XD30

Fort Totten Metro Station

The bedside alarm jolted him awake. 5:45am, it flashed. He wiped his eyes as he sat up in a regular attempt to gather himself. Today was his first day back at the office since he fled DC two weeks ago on what he called “the vacation to end all vacations”. He glanced over at the silhouette laying next to him, buried under the comforter and breathing softly as if the alarm never sounded. He paused and smiled, remembering the night before. After taking in the moment and a deep breath,  he placed his feet on the floor and made his way to the bathroom to prepare for work.

Farewell.

Since December 1, 2011 I’ve been thinking about what I’ve wanted to do with this blog. I’ve oscillated between leaving the blog here as a bit of a reminder of my glory days and starting up posts again, but the same thing happens everytime I click the ‘New Post’ tab. I have the space and I have the ideas but nothing ends up on the screen. I’m not sure if my inability to write stems from a fear of judgement, writer’s block or any other issues that have been happening as of late, but I feel it’s time to close shop.

I started blogging on December 13, 2007,  and The Black Lounge has provided me the space to share my thoughts and ideas with everyone whether or not I knew them. I’ve had awesome experiences and conversations, come across blogs that I still read to this day and have even met a few people via blogging whom I consider to be friends. A few things have happened over the past week which have caused me to put  things in my life into perspective. With that perspective, I feel that it’s time to move on. I haven’t updated this blog in months, and in all honesty, I no longer feel comfortable sharing my thoughts here. Thanks to everyone for the years of support and for allowing me to share my thoughts.

It’s been real folks. Take Care.

-B.

2011: A Year in Music

2011 was a good year in music. I discovered a few new artists, spent most the time discovering new music via Pandora and Spotify and enjoyed what I’ve discovered. Since I’m a cool guy and all, I figured that I’d share (via my Last.fm page) the 10 artists I’ve listened to the most in 2011.

The Story.

This song has been in my head for the past few days as I’ve been thinking about a range of things. Just thought that I’d share it.