I'm not going to bore you folks with stories about waking up, going to work, going to sleep etc etc. What I am going to address is a little activity called the "staycation." Haters all around the hood are hating on it, but I'ma be real with you guys: if you can't have fun on a staycation, then you just are a boring person. If you need to go to Saint-Tropez to feel alive, if you can't do it right here in the U S and A, then you really need to find yourself.
Let me back up a few years to back when I was about twelve...
1999 Victorville, CA: I was just a youth living in suburban america and the things I wanted to do were: 1) stay up late 2) eat pizza 3) hang out with my friends 4) play video games 5) listen to rap music and 6) watch sports. I wanted my parents to get off my back and let me do these things because they were fun and I found enjoyment in them. I guess parents don't want their kids to be too indulgent in these activities because of the degenerative habits that may come as a result. And, I suppose that there is always the "wanting more" aspect of these activities as a child. I vowed one day that when I grew up I was going to do the above 1-6 whenever and however much I wanted...
Present day Venice, CA: Got a job, got a crib, have a few friends with similar interests. Have time off work so I did so (an aside was balling out on the ocean view room and spending quality time with the girlfriend) and have made it a point to do 1-6 as much as possible. Is {wine tasting, saint-tropez, mountain escape, paris} a fun/beautiful/rewarding time? Absolutely. But given lack of traveling companion can I get equal or more fun right here in my living room/square mile where I live? Most definitely yes. Lets take day 1 staycation (heretofore "D1S"): A couple friends came over circa 12:00PM, video games were played, sports were watched, basketball was played, beach was swam, rap music (check), bbq (a more sophisticated palate than I had when 12) was consumed. D2S involved waking up an hour or so after I typically do and leisurely going to the local place for breakfast and then working on fitness a bit and then straight chillin' at the beach. Throw in some sports later that night and playing video games and you see where this is going...
Point is: the things you enjoyed as a kid are the things that probably you will still find enjoyment in, and possibly by its nature will be both feasible and quite easy to accomplish and find fulfillment from. The one thing that ironically has changed is the influence that the media has on me. We had politicians concerned that the youth would be unduly influenced by the words coming from rap music lyrics and that emulation would ensue causing the proliferation of drugs, gangs, and violence. This probably did happen. Though I thought I was completely immune from it as I never thought nor considered a life like what I saw in so called "gangster rap" videos. That being said, what Lil' John and co. did to the game has surely had undue influence on my life as an adult. I just realized it in the last few weeks and it needs further thought to really understand why Bands A Make Her Dance has had a demonstrable impact on my life decisions. Hopefully I will wrap my mind around it and address why I was so strong for most of my life to not fall victim to the glorifying of all things heathen that I heard about in music until guys like this jewish kid from canada came onto the scene and it made me appreciate some of the most basic needs in life... I will address this at a later date..
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