(Crappy) Life of a Pistons Fan

It is so frustrating being a Pistons fan these days. We lost yet again to Atlanta (in overtime) last time. Part of me is totally frustrated with the way we are playing. The other side of me wants us to lose as much as possible so we get a great draft pick. it is unfortunate that a true fan has to root against their favorite team winning now so that we can be better in the future...

I miss the good ol days...

I really miss the good ol' days. Back when I didn't have to worry about bills, my career, supporting a child (my beautiful 2 year old daughter, Amani), a love life, etc. I miss the times when the biggest repercussion of not fulfilling my responsibilities was getting my Playstation taken away! Those times when staying up late on the phone with friends was the ultimate feeling of freedom. Now, freedom comes at the opportunity cost of money to be made. SMH...

Even though I love being a Dad, I miss those times when all I had to think about was myself. When I could drop everything and take a cross country road trip. Playing basketball for hours every week is definitely something that my waistline misses. Knowing that there is another life that depends on me makes me reconsider how I spend my time, so much to the point that I struggle with guilt when I try to have fun.

I feel that having my daughter was ultimately a blessing. Before I had her, I honestly thought that I was immortal. I had so much unprotected sex to the point that I thought I carried a gene that made me immume to STDs and pregnancy(seriously!). When I got the call that Amani's mom was pregnant, I was shocked on so many levels. The biggest was that I realized that I was actually mortal. That I possessed the ability inside me to create life. That I wasn't some God from another planet that was exempt to the rules of common man. If I never had a daughter, I honestly could've ended up with some terrible disease (or worse) due to my immaturity. But, I digress...

The best solution would be to take some time to bring back the essence of what I enjoyed when I was younger. I think I will start by bring out that old Playstation that I used to get punished for using...

Ahh, the money to be made in the internet world...

I am the son of an entrepreneur. My father instilled in my at an early age the importance of being your own boss as the gateway to financial freedom. I always kept this in mind as it was paramount to my unhappiness in working at dead end jobs. College never ultimately made sense to me as being anything more as a vessel to make money to put towards my own business. I'm not even 30 yet I have created several business ventures from employment consulting to promotions. Some were more successful than others but the possibilities of success far outweighed my fear of failure.

I recently had an epiphany that the BIG money is on the internet AND I needed to get in on it. I used to feel that the internet was for geeks with a ton of computer science experience. I never knew how to code so I thought the internet just wasn't for me. That, or I needed to go to school and learn how to code(which would take years).

I read a great book called, "The Millionaire Fastlane" by MJ Demarco that inspired me to take action. I stumbled upon oDesk to outsource what I didn't know about coding elsewhere and begin the process on changing my life. The first step was this blog. If I could write about my business passions and (hopefully) make money from it then that would be the seed money to fund my long term internet business.

Working on the internet is immensely empowering. You are rewarded for the work that you put in and with that hard work (and dedication) you will see results. I strongly suggest for anyone that's working a crappy job, or don't see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, pursue your dreams via the internet. If it's a business that you think can work with a brick and mortal, fine tune it to work via the internet instead.

I look forward to going on this journey with you. Tell me what you think in the comments.

The Battle of Common vs. Drake

I am absolutely baffled(and disappointed) that two of the best rappers in the game right now are at odds. First, Common releases the song "Sweet" for his new album "The Dreamer The Believer" making claims that rappers who are singing on their songs are "sweet" and even "bitches". When Drake claimed in an interview that Common should address him directly(if that's who he was referring to), Common responded that if Drake felt like he was talking about him then he was. And then it all went downhill....

Drake responded with a subliminal diss on Rick Ross' "Stay Schemin'" track, uttering straight ether such as,"back when n*ggas would reach to grab their weapon, nowadays n*ggas reach just to sell their record" and "you and p*$$y identical/you like the finish line we can't wait to run into you". OUCH!

Days later Common hopped on the self made remix to the same song and had some direct words for Drake like, "You so black and white/tryin' to like a n*igga's life" and "you ain't wettin' nobody n*gga, you Canada Dry". He even went as far as to say "Make no mistake, I'm talking about Drake". This is now officially a beef.

I have a few problems with the situation. There are rumors swirling that the real beef stems from Drake dating Common's ex-girlfriend, tennis star, Serena Williams. If that is indeed true, men should never take it to the booth over a woman that neither can claim (no ring on the finger). The other elephant in the room is that Common has just released an album within the past few weeks (with slow sales) so a rap battle with the biggest rapper out right now would do great to get the streets buzzing about his album. Common, you are an all-time great and doing well in the acting world. You don't need to stoop to these lows at this point in your career!

Ultimately, I just hope that both sides can squash this beef before any further damage is done. As a fan of both artists, I believe that they should be making music WITH each other and not ABOUT each other. Tell me what you think in the comments...

Should you help the homeless?

This afternoon I was in Subway on the westside of Detroit today waiting in line to order a sub. This middle-aged guy that looks relatively healthy comes in and makes eye contact with me. Soon as I look away, he says,"big dog". I already knew that he wanted to ask me for change. I ignored him considering I'm not a "big dog". Besides, I don't know you!

He then goes over to this guy that's sitting down and eating his sandwich. He says some inaudible words to him and then proceeds to walk back over to the garbage can that he was leaning on beforehand. He then says to me,"Hey guy, you think you could throw me a little something?". I say back to him, "I'll see what I have once I pay for my food". Now, mind you, this guy isn't courteous(quite the contrary), friendly, nor respectable bum I've come across by any means. In fact, he appears to be a bit too entitled(especially for a bum, fiend, etc.).

After I pay for my food(a yummy footlong Turkey Breast sub with lots of Chipotle Southwest Sauce) I turn around and don't see the guy. As I'm about to walk out, I noticed that he's sitting at the table next to the door. He says,"You got anything for me". I reach in my pocket and give him 12 cents. He looks at the change in his hand and scoffs at it. I say, "You're welcome" and walk out the store.

This bothers me on so many levels:

1) You are a grown man with the ability to walk and talk with no issues. Why aren't you out looking for work instead of begging for change in fast-food restaurants?

2) If you are going to beg for change, why are you coming at people from a humble angle instead of feeling like you deserve MY money?

3) If someone is gracious enough to give you ANYTHING, you should be eternally grateful, not on such a high horse that you can't even say THANK YOU!

It amazes me the nerve that people have these days. I try to stay humble and give to those that are less fortunate, but more often than not I run across these entitled bums that feel like the world (me) owes them something. SMH!

Higher Education For Felons

I think that more needs to be done to educate felons as opposed to just letting them loose on society. I'm looking at the news and am noticing an alarming trend. All that ends up happening is that they end up going right back to prison due to a lack of opportunity. This post is random but that's how I feel...

Fascination with the Limelight

My girlfriend got ahold to the concept that I am finally taking blogging seriously. She is a professional freelance writer with a BS in Journalism from Wayne State University. I guess the blogging bug is infectious because she took the reins of my blog and made a post on it before I did. Tell me what you think, guys...

Ok, so are you one of the millions of self-professed, or not, people that stalk your favorite stars to make you feel better or worse about your life? It's ok, you can be cynical and say, "Well, that's why stars are stars. They want us to stalk their lives." Ok, so what if your current crush or most viewed YouTube obsession was thrust into the limelight unintentionally, or much to their chagrin.

I mean if you look at it, reality television is merely an attempt to make you think your reality is pale in comparison to those who sign contracts to superimpose their reality with produced fights and false alliances, though if you look at Nelsen ratings or Tweeter trending topics, we're totally glued in.

Hi, my name is Zimbria Bibb and I'm a reality television addict. I have set numerous recordings on my DVR for the various housewives or significant other franchises. Let's be clear: half of these women have never become the Mrs. to the men they've been linked to. Whatever your reason for watching, or not, why are we fascinated? I think there's some personalization in this business. There's a character for all different types of personalities in society. There's the siren, the rebel, the friend/confidant and the victim. Sad reality is though, these characters are either "really" produced courtesy of the network's minions, or complete exaggerations of the character a.k.a. reality star.

So after you plug into someone else's reality, at the end of the marathon, how has it improved your reality? I mean someone else's otherwise scripted life may or may not help you in your day-to-day relationships.