Now I think it’s time for a slight change. I love being that go-with-the-flow type of guy, but I think I need a bit more structure to decide which flow I should go with. (Btw I’m reading a book called Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (P.S.) it’s pretty awesome you should check it out.)

Enter school. At school there’s clear goals and objectives that each student must achieve to get to the next level. Feedback is ever present and each time you overcome a challenge (like midterms) there is a sense of accomplishment (well for some of us lol). Using the structure of school as an example, I’m going to create a curriculum to organize my goals and objectives with built in feedback mechanisms and a set of mini challenges to overcome along the way.

What do you all think about this idea? Anyone want to try it with me?

By the way, my curriculum is called “Mega Internet Super Star”.

Related posts:

1. Reyshizz on Relationships (Part 2)

What is a relationship?

Traditionally when people talk about being in a relationship, they are referring to boy + girl exclusively dating one another. But in general a relationship can be any interaction between people, whether long lasting or fleeting. For now, let’s talk about the former.

What are the rules?

Once a boy and girl get into a traditional relationship there are rules and roles each party is supposed to abide by according to their society, religion, or tradition. Issues such as, “No sex before marriage” or “Who pays at dinner” and a variety of other topics are stated and answered by the society, religion or tradition the person has grown up in. I think the most controversial amongst them all is the debate between monogamy and polygamy.

Monogamy vs. Polygamy

In the US a majority of society believes that there should be only be one man and one woman in a relationship or marriage (monogamy). In other places and religions it is common for a person to have more than one partner in either a marriage or relationship (polygamy). [Side note: If there’s one man and many women it’s called polygyny. If there’s one woman and many men it’s called polyandry.]

Most women would ring a guys neck if he tried to introduce another woman in a traditional relationship, and vice verca. So this usually doesn’t happen. What is more common is that one party goes outside of the relationship to experience intimacy with another person without the other party knowing. What’s even more common is the the other party finding out and wanting to ring a couple of neck for the sneaking around that has been going on. Why? Because the rules of the land state that there only be one man and one woman in a relationship. If this rule is broken, the other party should feel hurt, sad, angry, seek vengeance, get a divorce etc. Even in polygamous relationships, where this behavior is (somewhat) accepted, it can still lead to conflict amongst all the people involved. (Have you seen Big Love? I wouldn’t want that guy’s life either)

This issue is one of the many issues that people are faced with when they are involved in a traditional relationship.

What is the solution?

As mentioned earlier there is a different type of relationship; the interactions you have on a day-to-day with your friends, family, co-workers, and/or strangers on the train. In essence we’re in relationships with everyone and everything around us, but we tend to make titles that, most often, restrict the level of interaction that can be experienced. Those titles are more often than not the cause of the conflict that occurs between people. Why isn’t it okay to love and learn from everyone we come across in our journey in life? I’m not saying that I am for polygamy. I’m saying that we can benefit from all the relationships in our lives if we stopped wasting time labeling and started spending time building upon those connections.

Okay, let’s be practical. Let’s say you want what society wants you to want (i.e., wife/husband, kids and a mortgage). You want the fairy tale “happily ever after” storybook ending. You want one person that you can come home to every day that will be there for you and walk with you in the journey of life. I am not saying that you cannot have that one person… What I’m saying is that if someone else comes along, we should not shut them out before sharing each others company and life experiences. You can take that to mean what ever you want, but the fact is we miss out on the jewels that “God/Jesus/The Higher Being/The Universe” sends to us in the form of each other when we close doors one another, in the form of labeling.

Alright, now I think I’m tired of talking typing. All in all, you will do what you will and so will I. It is all Good because it is done with His grace and He can do no Wrong.

Related posts:

1. reyshizz on Relationships
2. Jay-Z’s Six Point Best Life Diagnostic
3. I Don’t Write My Rhymes…

Back in March 2010, I decided to do a Hip-hop Tribute. The idea was simple: write and record a track a day AND, on top of that, I would use instrumentals of tracks that were made from 1979 to 2009. The plan was 31 tracks in 31 days. Due to a minor hiccup, it ended up being 31 Tracks in 29 days. I’m just glad to say that I pulled it off.

Step 2 – Review and Critique

After the Hip-hop Tribute I had 31 new tracks to add to my collection. The question, “What do I do wth all these tracks?”, quickly presented itself to me. The first thing I could think of was posting all the tracks here on my blog. And I did, starting with this one. Once that was done, I listened to the tracks over and over then realized a couple of things…

1. It’s hard to digest 31 songs
2. I don’t like all the songs I did
3. Although the tracks were recorded in chronolgical order, I didn’t like listening to it in that order.

Step 3 – Make Decision and Put it All Together

With those three realizations I’ve decided to be selective with the tracks I put on the mixtape and reorder the track list so that it flows better. In doing so, I’ll come out with a cohesive product with only the cream of the crop. There’s nothing like being on the train nodding to your own shit.

(btw… I will be releasing the mixtape Hip-Hop Tribute soon so stay tuned)

Related posts:

1. Successful ’09 (Track 31 of 31HHT)
2. Hip-hop Tribute [Mixtape]
3. 20 Week Countdown to the Release of Life on Rap

On Friday night (Saturday morning) around 1:30am I walked to the spot where I normally park my and to my surprise it wasn’t there. I looked left I looked right, and nothing. I stood in the spot were my car was parked and search the area for some evidence of a break in, I found nothing. My friend, Jose, lives in the area so I called him and told him the situation. He came around and took me to the precinct to file a report.

We got to the precinct and saw what you would usually see in precincts in the hood, cops who are desensitized to the never ending crimes that take place in the inner city. They looked bored and uninterested in all that I had to say. I calmly walked in and told them I wanted to file a police report for a stolen car. The officer on the other side of the over-sized counter told me to have a seat and someone will be right with you.

Thirty minutes later an office came to where I was sitting and asked a bunch of questions about my car, like “Does it have any distinguishing features?” I chuckled and replied, “Is dirt a distinguishing feature?” We all laughed and she continued to ask more questions. At the end of the questioning she proceeded write the report while I waited. I thought getting my car stolen was bad, but waiting for someone to write a report about it is worst. She took about 45 minutes and when she was done all I got was a blue card with an address on it to where I can pick up the report. I’m like, wow thanks… I wish I had a car to get there. Going to the precinct was a waste of time. I suggest if anyone gets their car stolen late at night, get a ride home and deal w/ it in the morning. It’s not worth the wait.

Now what?… it’s time for a new (used) car… any suggestions?

Related posts:

1. Reyshizz has a Crush

When I was younger, I used to run with my head down. While playing football, as I would run, I’d keep an eye on the ground to see the shadows of an opponent before they can catch up to me. I wasn’t always the fastest so doing this allowed me time to maneuver in ways to escape a tackle. Now that I’m older I feel that I am still running with my head down but now there’s no apparent benefit.

When it comes to building this brand for myself, I make moves without considering it for too long. I think about my options for a couple of moments then make a decision and stick to it (rinse and repeat). All the while I’m not really paying attention to what is going on around me. I ignore all stats, praises, and criticism. I listen to a very select few but at the end of it all I do what I want.

I kinda want to change that. I want to know what other people in my lane (indie/hip-hop/rapper/blogger) are doing to get their names out there. I’m actually in “head down” mode as we speak, on a new mission. I’m in week 6 of the my 12 week project, again ignoring the outside world and running as fast as I can. Let’s see what happens at the end of 12.

The one thing I NEED TO REMEMBER is that the journey is infinitely more valuable than the destination. I actually have that in a verse. I play it sometimes to remind myself to calm down. See the lyrics and track below

i already know,
where i’ve been and where i’m going,
is the same place so,
no reason to chase no mo’,
i just focus on the journey,
death the final destination,
as you rush to get no where,
i’m enjoying the wonder years,
yea…

Amazing ft. Drew << click to play song

Related posts:

1. Weekly Recap – Moving Fast
2. Weekly Recap – Staying Focused
3. 15 Minutes of Free Writing