Sekou Came Through!

Once again God "one up'd" me! I was searching for my connection to one SekouWrites and happened upon Sekou the writers. Earlier this year, I meet a fellow mom from my daughter's daycare, Xiomara Shepard. My daughter has an instant connection to her and I soon find out that she is pregnant. Well it turns out that she is also on a journey to become a writer. Well fate would have it that in early November she delivers a beautiful little boy and guess what his name is: Sekou!

His birth led me to pay her a visit and, upon walking into her historic Harlem home I instantly know that that card led me there. We spoke about how she feels that a major part of her has been lost for the past four years and it just so happens to be four years ago that I received the card. Without knowing, we had been on a parallel journey to uncover our purpose and Sekou came through to help us take our rightful place as Harlem writers. Turns out that her father's name was Sekou and her mom put me up on the famed Harlem writer Sekou Sundiata. A google search reveals that Sundiata passed away in 2007, the year that I received the card and began my journey.

Harlem could not be speaking any louder and we are truly grateful.

Zora Singing Folk Songs!

http://sadmen.tumblr.com/post/11661724749/zora-neale-hurston-sings-the-blues

"New" Zora Neale Hurston photo

Credit to:

http://minorjive.net/post/11354084760/complex-brown-osram-akoma-zora-neale

114th and Amsterdam!

St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital
Professor Derrick Bell
Harlem is grateful to be the home of your homecoming.

8 blocks away
Manifesting those same 80
The Muse is grateful to be a recipient of your life living.

Harlem Writes

When something stands out to me, I make a special point not to ignore it. In 2007 my husband was commissioned by Hennessy to paint an artistic interpretation of their tagline "Flaunt Your Taste." An exhibition was held in this beautiful loft in SoHo where i met a guy named Sekou. I do not remember our conversation, but that event solidified for me that I no longer wanted to be a lawyer. I decided that I was meant to be in the creative world where I felt much more comfortable.

Anyway, I got Sekou's card that night and it read "SekouWrites" in an interesting font and over the next four years his card would periodically pop up out of nowhere. At the time, I was living in Washington, DC. In 2009 I quit my law firm job and started my own creative arts agency and, in 2011 I move to Harlem where I am currently writing my first book.

Well, 'Lem would have it that I was reading through the last issue of Uptown Magazine and I see his byline. Duly noted. Fast forward less than a month and, lo and behold, SekouWrites pops up again. This time supporting me as I finally enter the Twitterverse by including me on his #FF list for the day! We are yet to connect, but I suspect when we do it will be purposeful. The spirits of the writers of the Harlem Renaissance have definitely spoken...stay tuned.

-The Muse

Me and Fortune are Friends

Living on 11 9 on the 10th anniversary of 9 11
Feels familiar
My RACs are one 9 and two 11s
even 911 is 11
been experiencing the 11:11 phenomenon
found it on google

8th anniversary of my beautiful union
32nd year of my blessed birth
A-MusE-N launching 10/10 on 1480
writing about 408, my childhood home
a childhood began on 8/8
how you like them odds?

#1 hustler, aka Mom, arrives on the 7th
beach bound the 11th
Battery Park, NYC, 1 West St., 26th floor in '01
DC in 2004, 7 years gone
Harlem, NYC '11
7-11, 7-11

Liking my chances of seeing many more 9/11s
48 to be exact
10 revelations of 8.

-The Muse

PSA: New York City Evacuation Map

'Lem be a Lady

Three people walk into a bar...No, this is not a set-up for some crude or racist joke, it is the start of my amazing Saturday night in Harlem! After a trying Friday, complete with one stressful dinner in which I made my first attempt to take both my 8 month old and my 2 year out to a nice restaurant with no help, a major leak in my building causing the fire department to come out, and thwarted plans for partying like a grownup, I needed some me time.

Dadurday was the perfect opportunity to explore and think and just see what the day brought. Well, I went down to Cedric to have an early dinner and think about my next destination and I met an interesting gentleman at the bar. I began talking to him and soon his female friend showed up and before you knew it, we were on our way to an amazing rooftop terrace. To make a long story short, we ended up spending the next 4 hours eating a lavish meal, drinking champagne and enjoying the most amazing 360 degree view of the city I have ever seen! Turns out he is a millionaire oil tycoon and she is an international woman of mystery!

Needless to say, I did not have to pitch in on the bill and, as an added bonus, me and hubby were invited to an exclusive yacht party next Saturday night. Can you say "jackpot"!

Dopplegangers

So, be careful what you manifest is the lesson of the day. Because of my 'fro, people are always calling me Erykah Badu or some other hair icon. So, I said that that made me want to get famous so people can call Erykah my name. Imagine someone saying "Hey Muse" to Erykah Badu. I love the compliment, but who wants to be called by someone else's name.

Anyway, since I have moved to Harlem there are at least two women (powerful women at that) that are mistaken for me or who people say look like me. I need to hurry up and make my name, Muse, stick before I am the compared and not the compared to. Manifesting!

Helicopters Over Harlem

Three ghetto birds hunt by my rooftop
Humming, hovering, hawking

Wingless and wanting
They wait patiently for the worm

-The Muse

The Muse has got her Mojo!

One up!

When we first moved to our Harlem apartment, hubby asked me if there was a rooftop. Based on the issues we were having with the apartment, I assumed that we did not. Well fate would have it that we were sitting out on the stoop last night and began talking to one of our neighbors who said something about having a BBQ on the roof. What? There's a roof? We walk the 6 flights up, open the door and I see all of Harlem! I even see the Empire State building in the distance. But the best part, an amazing breeze that felt like God was blowing it himself. On the hottest night of the summer, and possibly historically, I sat on my rooftop and enjoyed a steady breeze, watched the stars and tracked the most illuminated half moon I've ever seen. And to think, this did not exist because I did not believe that it did...My Harlem!

Best Corner in Harlem!

Ok, so I have been here for almost 5 months now and I can officially say that I have landed in the best possible spot to watch the growth of My Harlem. Now all I need is a Busboys and Poets where Riley and I can go to write. Manifesting!

"Street Husband"

Ok, so they say every fabulous woman needs a gay husband and/or boyfriend. Well every fabulous urban woman, single or otherwise, needs a street husband and/or boyfriend. Nothing too intimate, just look out for your parallel parking, have a good chat every few weeks on the stoop, and generally acknowledge eachother everyday. Like I tell Ryan "safety first".

Anyway, my "street husband" is considered the Mayor of New York, so he says, but I know him as the mayor of my neighborhood. My car is well-protected nonetheless.

Putting the M in HarleM!

I've been Musing around town
Manifesting all over the place

Talking to Moms at the Monkeybars
Eating Moca on a weekly basis

Moseying down Malcolm, Martin, Frederick, and Adam
Mother Hale a cab, only 4 blocks can you take me both ways

Finding my HarleMusE!

Parking Wars

I have decided to test my great parking karma and not be like every other New Yorker with a car who is scared to move it once they get that great spot. I have decided that no matter what time I leave, no matter how long or short the trip, I will get a parking spot in front of my destination as well as in front of my building when I get back. So far so good! What's the point of having the car if I am too afraid to drive it? I got two kids, some forms of transportation are not going to work for me right now.

Only In America

Ok, so I grew up in South Central Los Angeles not too far from Reverend Price's megachurch, Crenshaw Christian Center. The name of the church refers to the infamous Crenshaw Blvd or "The Shaw". Anyway, I was driving home from dropping my sister at the bus station and what do I see right here in my Harlem neighborhood? Crenshaw Christian Center East! WTF, are churches franchising now? Only in America...lol.

Can't Hustle a Hustler

This past week has been my official rite of passage into the depths of what it means to be a New Yorker. After a month of trying to be nice and understanding about the problems with my new apartment, I finally snapped! My generally sweet nature crashed head on into my motherly instinct and it was on. I woke up to feed my baby at around 2:30am and could not get the sound of my 2 year old daughter sneezing 10x in a row after sitting on my bed where there is a draft from the concealed broken window. By 5:30am, I had written a 3 page letter to management and was up exchanging profanities with my father-in-law who had been waiting for me to get pissed off. Well, in the morning my husband told me not to be angry, just hit them where it hurts...the pocket. I sent a copy of the letter to my broker just to keep her in the loop of what was going on with this place she put me in and waited a day to see what she could do. Her customer service manager said that this was between me and the landlord/management. Well, I delivered the letter at 9am and by noon everything on my list was approved to be fixed with firm dates set in place and management agreed to waive the rent.

Well, fate would have it that the way I wrote the letter my argument was that we should not have to pay for March because the apartment was not in move-in condition. The manager was confused by this because she said that we had not paid March's rent. WTF! I sent the broker over the equivalent of 3 month's rent. Security, first month and brokers fee. Come to find out that the agent whose listing this was brokered a deal with management for us to only pay the equivalent of two rent payments, but failed to pass this deal on to us. Essentially, he was pocketing a month's worth of rent. Now, I'm not going to knock his hustle, but let's just say, you can't hustle a hustler. Since he was busted, the management called and got him to send over that additional payment, but I reached out to my agent's customer service manager who had forsaken me when I needed help and informed him that I wanted the benefit of this "bargain" that was made on my behalf, unbeknownst to me. Needless to say, the listing agent was trying to change the story, his manager was feeding me some bs, and my broker was caught in the middle. At this point though, I was out for blood, so I put on my dusty lawyer hat and mashed my proverbial foot on their necks. This was on Thursday. By Friday the workers were in my apartment making the first of the many needed repairs/renovations and I was not in a position to deal with the situation further and by yesterday my general good nature had returned. I wrote the agent, my broker and their customer service manager a short email saying: "For the sake of my good karma and because [my broker] was a godsend when I needed help, I am letting this go.  Have a great weekend!".

4 blocks

My favorite part of My Harlem so far is that everything I need is within walking distance. My latest challenge is creating structure and learning in my 2 year old's life until she starts school in September. In record time I found out that I would not be able to get Ryan into school until she is potty trained (we are close) and even then there are no openings at any school I would actually trust with her education until the new school year. This set me on my mission to fill her schedule with education, exercise and interaction. This last week I found that everything I need is within 4 blocks. Ryan is now going to the Little Gym once a week, Kumon twice a week, Saturday storytelling at PAL, soccer and playtime at Morningside Park and there is even a wine bar that has a kiddie happy hour once a month. Add in our lesson and music time and I think we are good to go.

Settling In

I am officially moved in and more excited than ever about my journey. I have already fallen in love with my neighborhood and, despite most of my friends preferring Brooklyn, I know Harlem is the place for me. It has made me appreciate things that I would never have before, like brisk morning walks (to move my car due to alternate side parking), step aerobics (to get to my walk up apartment), and karaoke (that I hear clearly from the restaurant lounge on the bottom floor of my building). I have taken up my favorite pasttime from my NYU days, my spin on people watching: i smile at and say hello to every single person I pass on the street and see how many people completely ignore me. It definitely takes people off guard...lol.

I can't wait to have my place completed and a routine in place so that I can fully explore Harlem. I look forward to sharing my journey with you.

Prelude to a Kiss

I am in the middle of my long kiss goodbye to DC and trying not to cheapen the moment with my butterflies in the stomach anticipation of that first kiss with my new love Harlem. Ironically, I had never felt a strong connection to Harlem until my girl Felicia posted a Facebook status update saying that there was an apartment available. I had not solidified my plans to move to NYC, so I was not telling anyone, but I felt like it was a sign. In law school Felicia had this amazing Harlem apartment and if this was the same one, I would love to raise my little family there while we get our footing in the Big Apple. It was not that apartment and I did not end up with the apartment she was talking about, but thinking about the possibility got me dreaming up my whole life in NYC and as a writer, how great is it to be part of the new renaissance taking place in the exact place where the last one took place. So I will be on W 119th and St. Nicholas and I plan to make my mark!

I'm still trying to figure out what this blog will be, but I am so excited about this journey.