Lady Mika--The Locs Start HERE. (lol) Leaving the interwebs for a while.

When I read your boyfriend quotes/words I read with an accent in my head. lol.

By the way, you have a pretty smile. I like that pic...the smile and the hair!

Been meaning to stop through...nice avi! I wish I could play! :-)

Hey Mika! Loving that new avi- it's rockin! Had to go back in your thread to catch up a bit. I haven't gotten around much lately but I'm trying. The pic Lynnie found of you is SO cute... Showing the softer side of Mika. While I too will always dig the non-smiling photos it's refreshing to see you with a different look. Anyway, glad you are working on the hair budget thing. I too have tried SUCCESSFULLY to avoid buying products on line. However, I have found one set of products that I actually LIKE and maybe purchase some day. But first let me get that product budget jar going. Stealing some of your tips!

BajanPrincess82 wrote:When I read your boyfriend quotes/words I read with an accent in my head. lol.

By the way, you have a pretty smile. I like that pic...the smile and the hair!

Aww, thank you BajanPrincess!

TheRYL1 wrote:Been meaning to stop through...nice avi! I wish I could play! :-)

Thanks for coming through! Sure you can play! Once you get comfortable with it, it's actually a lot of fun! Been playing for a year and I love it.

poeticlyspkng wrote:Hey Mika! Loving that new avi- it's rockin! Had to go back in your thread to catch up a bit. I haven't gotten around much lately but I'm trying. The pic Lynnie found of you is SO cute... Showing the softer side of Mika. While I too will always dig the non-smiling photos it's refreshing to see you with a different look. Anyway, glad you are working on the hair budget thing. I too have tried SUCCESSFULLY to avoid buying products on line. However, I have found one set of products that I actually LIKE and maybe purchase some day. But first let me get that product budget jar going. Stealing some of your tips!

Thanks Poetic! Yes, Lynnie is the Pic Police on Facebook. I got busted BIG time!

Girl, I NEED that hair budget. Without it, I'd be DEAD broke. $40 is enough to get ONLY what I need and that's it. It also keeps me from ordering stuff online (shipping costs alone will easily break the budget), and going COO COO GO NUTS in a store. I've been good about NOT buying anything online. I DO like the Oyin products though and found out a shop in Manhattan is selling them. SO, no more shipping costs or waiting two weeks.

Hey now, don't take my tips...I need them for train fare!

BrownSkinDiva wrote:girl this avi is FIERCE i love it!! I wanted to stop by and show you some love hon Hope all is well!

'

Thanks for dropping in! I don't always have the time to get around to everyone, but I'll try to be better about that.

sweetdrk1 wrote:I saw that new avi and came running! You better work lady! I love the smile too! That puff looks fab! You been holding out! I want more hair pics please....let me find out I have come across the GWB to see you!

Come now...let's be reasonable. The TOLLS, the TRAFFIC, it's not worth the trip.

Hey LadyM...

Girl that avi is on point...just beautiful!! Wanted to stop by and thank you for showing a sister some love!! ((HUGS))

KNH

As I'm sitting here listening to Blue Oyster Cult (needs more cowbell.), I decided to drop in before dropping back OUT to taking care of things I wanted to accomplish today.

I kept my hair twisted for the weekend, and was grateful that I did. However, I went a bit crazy with the cleansing on Tuesday (my wash day) and now I'm paying for it. I'll baggy as I get ready for work tonight, and DC (for 20 minutes) in the morning when I get home. Skipped my shea butter run for today; I'll take care of it next month. I still have a pound left, and I mix only half at a time. I'll be fine for a little while longer. No new products to speak of--I'm sticking to staples for the winter. The only things I'm going to buy are "refills" of what I've been using thus far, and that's the Organix Coconut Milk Conditioner, Giovanni SAS conditioner, and oils. (All of which I can get at the drug store and/or GNC near my job or house.)

Saturday, a couple of people from the music school I attend are going to come over and rehearse for the school's open mic next Tuesday evening. It's Halloween-themed, so we're going to be doing..."Don't Fear The Reaper". I thought The Misfits would be more appropriate, but hey--I'm not complaining. Waiting on one of them to email me the tab he found for the song so I can get a head start.

As far as the YouTube madness of late is concerned...I'm just going to shake my head, and walk away. The drama is unnecessary, and I refuse to entertain it.

And that's about it. Off I go to get isht done. Have a great afternoon everyone!

Hey LadyM...

How's Gypsy doing? How did the open mic turn out? I agree with you on that YouTube madness....all I can say is women. Where there are two or three together there is a possibility that this will happen.

I don't do females well...I am the only girl, so I relate to men better and I so keep it real. I'm sure a little to real for most.

Anywho...just wanted to stop by and say hi!!

knock, knock

Hello all!

I know it's been a while, and I've been sporadic with appearances. But things have picked up--in a GOOD way! So unfortunately I haven't had much time to update here. (I do keep up on my cellphone though--Mobile internet and a little wifi go a long way.) Let me share what's been going on!

Went to a friend's concert in early October (pics on Facebook), and had a ball. I was even caught ON VIDEO! This is all despite being sick as a dog for a week (thanks Boyfriend! ) and STILL being sick by the time this show came around. Not to mention the fact the train system likes to take a hot steaming crap every weekend and screw up service EVERYWHERE. A 30-40 minute train ride took TWO AND A HALF HOURS. Thankfully, my friend's band was headlining and therefore went last so I didn't miss anything. A few people I'm cool with at the guitar school had a show in Brooklyn also. Been practicing a lot, working on some original stuff. Can't seem to find anyone who's SERIOUS about forming a band though. I hope to get this rolling sometime by the middle of next year. Or at least JOIN one. I (still) can't play like Hendrix, but I'm not a slouch either.

I have a few art projects in the works, one of which is a collaborative piece with the Boyfriend. As far as galleries or shows are concerned, those are still up in the air. For my own work, I'll have to look to these artsy fartsy galleries and hang my artwork next to hipsters who have NO REAL PASSION for the craft. I'm not even going to get into that rant. But basically, once I get my own pieces finished, it's fishing for showings and galleries.

Now for a brief sour note:

As for my mother, what minor relationship I had left with her as ran its course. She's too willful, too MANIPULATIVE and a COMPULSIVE LIAR. Her latest stunt involves RUNNING OFF TO THE BRONX to some friend of hers, LYING on my stepfather saying he assaulted her (resulting in an order of protection against him), LYING ON ME that I never helped her AT ALL (which is BS) and having the nerve to call me after TWO MONTHS of no contact to demand that I deliver her clothes to her. I DON'T THINK SO. The entire fiasco with her--that's lasted THE ENTIRE YEAR--has resulted in ME, YET AGAIN, carrying said fiasco and NO ONE wanting to help out. These people seriously think that I don't do SHIT with my life, that I have all the time in the world to chase behind a woman who just uses everyone and treats everyone like crap! I work a job that has me AT work damn near SIX DAYS A WEEK with ONE day off. That one day off is the ONLY DAY I get to do everything I couldn't do BECAUSE I WAS AT WORK. I'm involved in a lot of projects outside work, and I lose 80% of my salary every month to BILLS. I RARELY buy or do anything for myself BECAUSE I'M BROKE. I'm trying to get myself back into college next year and I have to do battle with the Feds for financial aid that they refuse to give me BECAUSE I'm still in debt with them. DOES IT SOUND LIKE I'M SITTING ON MY HANDS EVERYDAY??

Look, to cut this rant short, mother and I are DONE. That's it. I'm FINISHED. I don't have the time, patience or money in a day to contend with her fuckery. She's used and manipulated me and everyone around her for the last SIX YEARS, and I'm TOO THROUGH. Whoever she's with had BETTER NOT call me AGAIN. They took her on, now they're ON THEIR OWN.

Moving on!

The Boyfriend PASSED the test with the Ironworker's Union. He's also been through an interview and now he's waiting for word on whether they'll take him or not. In the meantime, he's been looking at other positions elsewhere. As for me, when I finally kill this debt with LIU (which will happen a lot sooner than I planned) I'm going to look into starting my own business. What I'm going to be selling or doing, I don't know. But when it makes itself feasible, I'll come to a decision.

Now for hair--the part I'm SURE everyone was waiting for. No, I don't have any pics because really and truly, I haven't had the time to take any. BUT, I've been keeping my hair twisted lately for days at a time. The last few days I've been wearing WNGs because the weather was decent and I got lazy. I've brought back the ORS Replenishing conditioner into the routine, and mix it with coconut oil, honey, castor oil, and rosemary essential oil as a DC. I still use the Giovanni SAS, but as a leave-in. I also STILL use the aloe gro spray mix--one of these days when I'm NOT all over the place, I'll take a pic and do a comparison from when I FIRST started using it to NOW. I've also decided that YES, I WILL get locs but AFTER I get through at least a QUARTER of that giant 80oz tub of gel. I don't know when that'll be, but when it happens, I'll let everyone know.

And since I've spent more time on the internet than I originally intended, I need to get my day started! I'll make the rounds with everyone hopefully over the next few days. Until then, have a great week.

Great update!! I will be back for pics. I sent a prayer up that he gets the job!

Thanks for the update. Now next time come with pics!

So what kind of locs do you plan to get?

I'm with Lynnie. What type of locs do you plan on getting?!

1) Without knowing one thing about you, is your BF Australian? New Zealander? I was giggling when I read what you think he will say, it was super cute.

2) Big tub of EcoStyler. I didn't know they had a pink one though.

3) Oil mix sounds wonderful, I Lovelovelove Rosemary and Cinnamon.

4) Yay for funds saving the day! I really should do something similar for "jic" scenarios, but with my car being a jerkoff, and other lovely school bills and insurance I haven't been able to. Notyay.

5) Love the head wrap.

6) Adore the Puff.

7) Congrats on your boyfriend passing, and sorry to hear about your mother, but it's good you've ended that relationship, it obviously wasn't healthy. I hope things turn around for you, and maybe you'll come up with that million dollar idea for your business.

Well, I guess that's all the bullet points I can think of to make...Have a good one Mika.

sweetdrk1 wrote:Great update!! I will be back for pics. I sent a prayer up that he gets the job!

Aww, thanks Sweet!

Lynnieluve wrote:Thanks for the update. Now next time come with pics!

So what kind of locs do you plan to get?

PaganWifey wrote:I'm with Lynnie. What type of locs do you plan on getting?!

I'll get cultivated locs, pencil circumference (or about that). I'd like Sisterlocks, but they're expensive to get AND maintain. At least with cultivated locs, I can maintain them on my own whether or not I have the money for maintenance.

Treece wrote:1) Without knowing one thing about you, is your BF Australian? New Zealander? I was giggling when I read what you think he will say, it was super cute.

2) Big tub of EcoStyler. I didn't know they had a pink one though.

3) Oil mix sounds wonderful, I Lovelovelove Rosemary and Cinnamon.

4) Yay for funds saving the day! I really should do something similar for "jic" scenarios, but with my car being a jerkoff, and other lovely school bills and insurance I haven't been able to. Notyay.

5) Love the head wrap.

6) Adore the Puff.

7) Congrats on your boyfriend passing, and sorry to hear about your mother, but it's good you've ended that relationship, it obviously wasn't healthy. I hope things turn around for you, and maybe you'll come up with that million dollar idea for your business.

Well, I guess that's all the bullet points I can think of to make...Have a good one Mika.

1) The boyfriend is British and SUPER Cockney about it. Think Syd Vicious of Sex Pistols fame, but BALD.

2) I guess a lot of places don't carry the pink EcoStyler. It's pretty easy to get here in NYC--99.9% of beauty supply stores and drug stores have it here. I use it because it has tea tree, eucalypus and chamomile in it, and the hold isn't as intense as the clear.

3) I love essential oils too! Rosemary is awesome! Also good is Lavender, Clary Sage and Sweet Orange (for the scent).

4) Girl, my bills are MURDER. I'm in debt with both the Feds AND a university I dropped out of. I had a snafu with a payment to the university where I paid twice by accident. Now my bank account is in the negatives and I have to restore it with MY OWN money because I LET them keep the payment to cut my balance down further. I'm broke like a mofo.

5) Love the head wrap.

6) Adore the Puff.

Thank you!

7) Thank you and yes, that was a relationship that NEEDED to end. It's unfortunate that I've got NO family at all to look to, but honestly, I have ENOUGH good people in my life that I don't need them. I have an idea of what I'm going to do, but I'm waiting a few months before I settle on anything.

Thanks for stopping by!

dmn and i thought i had drama! my life is like a day of shoppin on rodeo drive compared to u! wow u got a lot goin on! giiiiiirl when u said 80% goin to bills i was just calculating my own! i get paid on friday but really i dont i have credit cards with a $900 balance and i REALLY wanna knock it out with at least 2 checks but i know thats NOT gonna happen wit holidays rolling around so im just crossing my fingers til tax time. Matter of fact, Dec. 31st im going to the post office just to ride wit my postman back to MY mailbox for my w-2's. i normally wait to file til April 15th to have some funds for the summer but uh...i need that thang like...NOW!!

hang in there girl. i had the biggest cheese on my face to see u wanna start ur own band esp wit u rockin out on ur avi, lol. cool. and artwork? amazing!!

Hey Myka. Hang in there girl. I can relate to mother issues although mine are a little different. With some folks you just have to cut the cord for your own sanity- until things change. And we know that nothing changes if nothing changes.

Girl, can't wait to hear that you're rocking it out with your own band. I've always wanted to do something like that and its never too late. Make that dream happen!

NubieNatty wrote: dmn and i thought i had drama! my life is like a day of shoppin on rodeo drive compared to u! wow u got a lot goin on! giiiiiirl when u said 80% goin to bills i was just calculating my own! i get paid on friday but really i dont i have credit cards with a $900 balance and i REALLY wanna knock it out with at least 2 checks but i know thats NOT gonna happen wit holidays rolling around so im just crossing my fingers til tax time. Matter of fact, Dec. 31st im going to the post office just to ride wit my postman back to MY mailbox for my w-2's. i normally wait to file til April 15th to have some funds for the summer but uh...i need that thang like...NOW!!

hang in there girl. i had the biggest cheese on my face to see u wanna start ur own band esp wit u rockin out on ur avi, lol. cool. and artwork? amazing!!

People don't believe me when I say I spend that much money on bills, until I do the math in front of them. It works itself out most of the time, because my work schedule always seems to land on a major holiday meaning I get paid overtime. I plan on filing early too. I need Long Island University off my back so I can get the college ball rolling again with the local community college (and pay out of pocket until I get my loans in check).

Yep, the creativity doesn't stop in my house. I have my boyfriend to thank for that. And as cheesy as it's going to sound, if it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't A) have natural hair, B) play guitar at all, C) pursue my artwork and D) meet all you lovely sisters on here!

poeticlyspkng wrote:Hey Myka. Hang in there girl. I can relate to mother issues although mine are a little different. With some folks you just have to cut the cord for your own sanity- until things change. And we know that nothing changes if nothing changes.

Girl, can't wait to hear that you're rocking it out with your own band. I've always wanted to do something like that and its never too late. Make that dream happen!

I've been cutting so many cords I think I put the phone company to shame--and they cut cords FOR A LIVING! But you're absolutely right. They only know INsanity, and what's really sad (even pathetic) is that they KNOW they bring that insanity ON THEMSELVES. I cannot and will not be around people like that. I'm entitled to my serenity AND sanity, and if I have to deny genetic affiliations to GET my serenity and sanity, so be it.

I'm actually going to talk to a couple of people (another guitarist, a bassist and a drummer) to see if they're interested. I've played in a (school) band before, so it's nothing new to me. I just want other people who listen to the same music as I do to play with.

Thanks for dropping by! Your avatar looks great!

Hello Lady Mika!

It's been a minute mama. Sorry to hear about your Mom but it seems like it's for the best. I think that Serenity and Sanity definitely trump genetics. It's great that you have your BF to support and encourage you. Love Love Love your avi. Hope you can get the band (back) together!

I am happy for you! I read you were engaged.

Take care lady!

ChrsLvsBks wrote:I am happy for you! I read you were engaged.

Take care lady!

Ditto!

ChrsLvsBks wrote:I am happy for you! I read you were engaged.

Take care lady!

Engaged!!! That is wonderful.....can we get an update???

Congrats on the engagement...

Hey Mika,

Congratulations on your engagement! I saw you mentioned that in another thread. Love the new avi!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Engaged... Wow!