shouts to the family!
Just wanted to give a shoutout to my family who I now know read regularly and have spread it amongst themselves unbeknownst to me! lol. HEY EVERYBODY! *waves at the camera* Anyway, my little cousin sent me the greatest email ever and that's the kinda' thing I live for. Letting me know that I'm a positive force, an inspiration, and a cool kid. It made my heart smile. I honestly don't mind anyone reading my blog, for if I did it'd be set to private ...after all this is a blog not a DIARY! I keep the two very seperate. I'll admit there are a few statements that will make me blush when I think about cousin Dolly or Peter reading with their cup of coffee but then again I only publish things I don't mind the WORLD WIDE web reading. Ce' la vie. So since I've been informed that my blog is the hot topic of the family I figured I'd give them a shoutout!

For those who haven't been keeping up with the life of Yasmine (the daughter of Ed) via "google" or our annual Christmas cards here's my rundown:

*I'm not pregnant (and I don't have any kids)

*I'm a Senior at Howard U.

*Easiest way to reach me is by email/phone/ or at Aunt *my aunt...your cousin* Wendy's

*I pledged Delta (sorry, I know most you guys are Aka's)

*I dont plan on getting married any time soon however if you're in the area next May come to my graduation and you can get free autographs (before I blow up!)

Anyway, I thought the email Serena (Nita's daughter) sent me was hilarious, sweet, a bit unnerving, and overall awesome. Glad to know my family's reading! lol.

PS: my reviews are way UP in the honesty box!

Now Playing: Family Reunion

THE HONESTY BOX!

So about this "Honesty Box" phenom that has hit the world wide pages of Facebook. So far my appeal rate is 60/40. Sixty percent of people love me to pieces and the other forty percent are haters. Well, you can't please all the people, all the time now can you? In some ways I feel like the Honesty Box has taken the responsibility away from people. It's like you can just say whatever you feel without the repercussions of a reaction [unless of course like me you tell an old partner their stamina, or lack thereof, threw their entire stroke game off and they knew it was you so they wrote something smart in your box too]. After that incident I vowed to just be a positive force in the Honesty Box world, if I'd be ashame to admit to my remarks then I won't make them. Simple as pie.

The Honesty Box has begun to turn some wheels in my brain though...like, "what if I'm not really as cute/fly/smart/perfect as I think I am?" This is not just a personal thought though, it's more like we all pretty much think we're young, attractive, well liked and represented forces in our environments... but what if that wasn't so. It had me thinking, maybe people don't like me for my looks. Am I one of those people who when asked about people answer, "well, she's a really sweet girl." Actually they probably don't say that either because from what I'm seeing I'm not all that sweet. [ I take that back one person encouraged me to "STAY SWEET"]

The Honesty Box hasn't crushed my esteem but moreso made me be a realist in terms of coming to grips with how people truly view me and for that, I thank the makers of the Honesty Box. However, I do want to say one thing.... Fuck haters...GET MONEY! lmao.

What are your views?

Now Playing: Mo' Money More Problems - Notorious BIG

So one my coolest guy friends came out to me yesterday.

I've got to admit I never saw it coming in a million gazillion years. It happened all so casually that I didn't even catch it. This is how it happened..
We had been having a usual comedic conversation when I asked him about his love life [which any one of my friends can tell you is so classic of me] and I said, "how are the girls in your life?" He replied "there are no girls, nor do I think there will be in the future." Now I almost didn't catch that last part as I only half way listen to him when he speaks...you have to understand our relationship to get that one...
So of course being the journalist that I am, I inquired further about what the hell that meant. And he just came out and said it ..."Yasmine, I'm gay."

WOAH! It hit me like a load of bricks...completely side swiped me...caught me completely off guard. What was I to say or do?

This all had to be a joke. So for the first hour I insisted that he's playing a really big prank [which would not be unlike him] and that I'm going to kill him for making me believe that this was his big, well not so big...pretty random and matter of factly, "coming out" conversation. When he first began giving me the discretion speech I really was still trying wrap my mind about what he was saying and what this meant for him, for me, for us. I never imagined him to ever be interested in something like Interactive Male.
As selfish as this sounds, part of me was really upset and hurt. Why? I'm still trying to figure it out ...ever since our conversation yesterday his sexual preference has been heavy on my heart. I have a good number of other gay friends. It's never been a big deal but mostly because I knew they were gay from the start. This friend...we've had sooo many long talks, intimate, soul searching...and over a year later I'm just finding out. A part of me is a bit upset because he's yet another super eligible black man that bit the dust. No woman will ever have the fortune of having a great guy like him as a husband or using his impeccable genes (unless they reproduce in some type of weird scientific way) I think I'm upset also because he just couldn't fight the stereotype...a good looking, style savvy, black man can't not be gay! Sometimes I feel like its an epidemic! In a way I'm super let down and that's why I believe I've been feeling a bit heartbroken.
When I think about it, I'm so shocked only because we were so close and it's kind of like an impressionistic painting. Just dots up close but when you step away from the situation you can see the whole picture.
We were always flirting friends and while I never wanted to see him naked, I did sometimes wonder how the act sex would affect the relationship [does that make sense? that I didnt want to have sex but wondered what it would bring?]. In some ways I thought of him as asexual but I guess I never believed him to be homosexual.
Now, while I do have hidden selfish feelings about my friends sexuality, I also am happy and honored that he shared himself with me in this manner. I feel great that he trusted me enough to tell me his feelings and somethings that he's never told a soul. I couldn't imagine going through life living a lie and I'm happy he's finally beginning to loosen his belt. I know that if he had a choice he wouldn't be gay and that's why I couldn't bring myself to let him know how I was truly feeling. I didn't want to turn his self-accepting victory and triumph into all about me and my fear of being a single woman forever plight.
Toward the end of our conversation I asked him, "so what, are you going to be my new gay best friend?" and he replied "I've always been your gay best friend."
I don't think I could have said it better, he's always been my gay best friend. I just never knew he was gay!



Now Playing: My Funny Valentine - Chaka Khan

Home Sweet Home?

Forgive me for my absense I've been doing absolutely nothing blogworthy since I last wrote. However, some rising thoughts have caused me to question my place in this place called "home". I really think age, time, and distance is not so slowly but surely pushing me out of my position in my home in Atlanta. When I came home after freshman year it was like nothing changed, I just had a new network of college friends. After sophomore year I didn't come home but for a few weeks and not too much had changed except that my mother had given away all of my beloved childhood furniture and repainted my room from fushia to sea foam green! Now, 2 weeks after the end of my junior year - it's like I never even lived here...all my high school memorabilia (megaphone, cheerleading uniforms, pom poms etc) are all in the closet of the newly deemed "guest room". New more vogue and mature mahogany furniture fill the space giving it a serene, luxurious getaway feel. I'm not mad at my momma but dang, why couldn't I get the vanity when I was actually here to enjoy it?!

In a heated discsusion my mother blurted out that she wished I'd "hurry up and get back to DC" - that's when I finally realized that this house is no longer my home! While it's nice to visit the parental units its clear that my life is now resides in Washington, DC. It is a bit sad but ultimately true. I don't even have a 404 number...its 202?! Though I must admit, ATLANTA is the shit these days! (see photos [top to bottom]: 1. me and my linesister, K. Champagne 2. Crazy people of Sole Munki 3. My homeslice Z and her friend, Brian)

In other news I'll be in LA at the BET Awards later this month so if you're going to be there too holla' at a player! I feel like hustle is back on...this is gonna' look great on my resume!

Now Playing: I Did You Wrong- Mims