Moore Than Alright

 

Dom and I had a great time attending Chante Moore's concert in Joliet's Rialto Square Theatre.   The inside of the theatre itself was very beautiful with interior architecture that reminds you of what you'd see in Italy or Spain.   We had good seats near the front of the stage which allowed me to take some great pictures.   Dom hadn't heard much about Chante before even though I have played some of her stuff here and there over the years.   But he was thoroughly impressed and enjoyed the performance.   

Chante puts on a great show and her band also did their thing as at various points in the show as she gave her bandmates a chance to shine.   Chante sang a lot of her hits from her first two CDs and others from her other CDs (8 in total).   She also sang a couple songs from her forthcoming album which will be her 9th.   She also has two additional albums that she did with her ex Kenny Lattimore.

There was one song I prayed that she wouldn't sing called Bitter off of what I call her "attempt at being more urban" project Exposed.   I winced everytime she sang the N-word in her recording of the song.    But Chante knows most of her audience and did sing it.   But instead of saying the offending word, she had the audience sing it.   I couldn't bring myself to sing that but I was singing along to everything else she performed.   She also did snippets of other artists songs like Tevin Campbell's Can We Talk, Quincy Jones In The Garden, and El Debarge's All This Love among other songs.   Overall we really did enjoy the show.

The journey getting there was interesting as well.   Since the show was in Joliet, which was about an hour and some change from us, we decided that we would eat something beforehand.    Dom of course had a hankering for Chinese so to appease him I tried to find some places along the way that served Chinese.   I looked primarily in Matteson, IL since our route was mostly along Lincoln Highway.   

I found a place but surprisingly Dom turned it down after not liking how the food looked in pics.   So we decided just to do a random stop (which I knew would mean a fast food place but it was alright).   Dom spied a Subway and we decided to stop there.

We ordered our subs, I did a 6-inch and the bread looked like it was smaller than that.   Dom opted for the foot-long.   We decided to eat inside the restaurant.   Fifteen minutes into eating this "homeless" guy came in begging for change.   Dom immediately went into attack mode but I foolishly thought I would give him a dollar.    I didn't have anything but a $5 but of course the guy was like I have change.   So he puts change on the table and after I give him the $5 he proceeds to take the change back and saying that he's homeless.  

All I could do was laugh and say 'ok, you got me' as he proceeded to walk away.   I resigned myself to being conned but treating it as my "good deed" for the day.   Dom did try to stop it but I had to be foolish.  I saw the Indian folks in the restaurant looking in at us from the back area.    They clearly had that character come in before.   We also couldn't help but notice they had a bunch of chairs strategically placed to block direct access to the restroom.  I'm sure they've had issues before with non-paying customers wanting to use the restroom.   Needless to say that is the experience of doing and patronizing business in the hood.  

It also reminded me of how blessed I am.  I don't know if I would survive out here in these streets hustling to try to make a buck.   I am blessed that I managed to hold a job and was able to save and find an affordable place to live.  Aside from my blood pressure, my health is fine.   My old car is still running fine.  I don't take any of that for granted.

As we drove on, I was annoyed as I saw other places that we could've stopped at to eat that would've been better.   But the Subway did provide sustenance so it was alright.

Parking itself was another issue.   It was mostly street parking with a few garages sprinkled in.   After circling the streets a couple times, I decided to park at the local casino Harrah's garage.   I did freak out when walking out of the garage as I saw a sign mentioning towing cars away that weren't patronizing the casino.   But Dom told me it'll be alright.   I did feel bad because Dom and I had to walk a few blocks to get to the theatre and Dom isn't able to walk as quickly.   I did wind up walking back to get my car (which thankfully was still safely parked in the garage) and resisted the temptation to go to the casino.   I then picked him up from outside the theatre.

We decided to visit the IKEA in Bolingbrook the next morning so we stayed at a local hotel in Bolingbrook for the night.    I got us a handicap room so we had a higher toilet seat and wider hallways to make it easier for him to navigate around.

The next morning I went to pick us up some continental breakfast to enjoy in the room.   I got us some Belgian waffles and a banana which tided us over till we left for IKEA which was 15 minutes away.

Dom saw a Michael's craft shop in the same area as IKEA so of course we had to stop there first.   Well Dom did and I was along for the ride...LOL.   We then made it to the IKEA just after 10am.   There weren't too many folks thankfully as we went through the aisles and ultimately spending just a little over $200 on various knick knacks and snacks.   We even stopped for some Swedish meatballs and mixed veggies for lunch in their cafeteria.

We then made our way back home but not before I made a quick stop at a Sunrise Health store in Lansing, IL to get Ice Cream For Bears, a natural brand of ice cream that is only sold in a few select stores.    Then we made it home.   

Thankfully I have a day off from work for the Memorial holiday so that gives me one more day to relax before getting back to the work grind.

Future Mini E

 Sometimes I find myself reflecting on my life and I feel sad.   Don't get me wrong.   I have lived a great life with a mostly good career, decent finances, plenty of travel and adventures, and I did later find love with Dom.   But the one thing I did not have were children of my own.   A part of me wanted to experience the ups and downs of fatherhood and hope that I did things right with my kids.   Dom and I actually expressed how we wished we had met 20 years or so back.   He himself wanted to have a family but didn't have anyone to have it with.   But would we have been right for each other that time?    We'll never know.   But I do feel that we were meant to be in each other's lives one way or another.  I shudder to think how our lives would've been had we not met.

2002 was around the time I began thinking of kids.   Part of that was my guilt of being the only son and not having a male child to carry on the family name.   But at that time too I was just beginning to figure things out about my sexuality.   I remember doing research on different surrogacy programs and hearing about one in India that for $20K upfront and an additional $20K afterwards, provided an Indian surrogate who would carry your baby in her womb and then after the baby is born, you would have to go through the process of bringing your child back into U.S. soil.     One of the interesting (and prejudicial after I gave it more thought) options they had was that for an extra fee, you could opt for a Caucasian lady surrogate.   Heaven forbid a white person wants to have a Indian lady carrying their fetus.

The cost pretty much stopped me from going that route.   Plus I didn't have a partner at that time so I would have been the sole parent.   Had I still lived in the Detroit area, I may have thought about a bit more as I would've had my family nearby (though I'm sure my parents especially would have a thing to say about that option...*LOL*).  As an aside, I confirmed last year that my current company offers money assistance for surrogacy support if a person wants to have a child.    If only that was a thing 23 years ago when I looked at the surrogacy program.    Who knows if I would've had an adult child now?   Obviously now I'm past the point where I want to have the responsibility of caring for a child.   If I were to start now, my future E would be born in February 2026 and by the time they turned 18, I would be 71 or 72 years old (God willing).

The second time I recalled wanting to have a child was when I was dating Rock back in 2006.   Rock and I of course had other issues but I did discuss the possibility with him.   Rock was in his early 40's and in his mind he thought it was too late to entertain the thought of having kids.   That probably was a good thing too since we wound up breaking up in 2008.

I didn't give up on the dream entirely after that hoping that perhaps in a couple years I would find a like minded individual.   That never did happen.   I met Dom in September 2014 and when we discussed kids he told me that he was not looking to start a family as he was too old (early 50's...where I am now).   I decided that I may not find the right person and just see where things took us.   Almost eleven years later, it took us to living together (2016) and marriage (2022).

I don't regret it though once in a blue moon, I think of what could've been.   Once my sisters and I leave this world, our specific branch will officially end.    But obviously it won't be completely gone as my parents' siblings had kids who had their own kids (and I'm sure some of those kids may have a kid...LOL).   So barring the end of the world, the family name will live on.

But it got me thinking that I wanted to reach out to Sally and no_the_game (who I haven't chatted with in a while) to see if I could gift the children in their lives with a small investment in some stocks or ETFs that will hopefully appreciate in price by the time they grow up.    Sally is the proud grand-aunt of three beautiful grand-nieces and no_the_game has a handsome son that's about to turn 11.   It would just be a way of leaving a small legacy and perhaps by the time they're adults, the shares could turn into a car fund or help pay for groceries.   I would not expect anything in return.   But I think it would be a nice thing to do.   I'll have to save up some cash but I think it'll be a good thing.

To my future Mini E, I'm sorry that I didn't get to meet you in this lifetime.    But perhaps as Erykah Badu would say, maybe I'll see you Next Lifetime.

Wisdom Recovery

I don't have much of an update today.

I made it through the oral surgery and I officially have my remaining wisdom teeth removed.   Dom took me on the 5th and thankfully everything went well without a hitch.    One of the positives is that I no longer have the bad taste in my mouth with the cavities.   I took off this week from work to recover from the procedure and am currently on my last day.

I thankfully haven't had a lot of pain.  I'm just trying to take it easy and I've been watching many Youtube videos on how to survive wisdom tooth extraction surgery and have been trying to follow the rules as far as steps to a quick recovery.

So that means I've been eating lots of soft foods like soup, applesauce, cottage cheese, and ice cream.   I just introduced some slightly more solid foods like peanut butter and jelly to my diet.    My plan is to ease my way back into solid foods by next week.

The time off gave me some time to write to Mitch as well.   I received a letter in the mail from him yesterday expressing concern since I hadn't written him since last August.   I didn't realize it was that much time but I do remember that he called me on my birthday.    Then my intentions were that I would write him but then life was life-ing.   So time went by.   

I'm glad that I was able to write him.   I just need to mail off the letter which I plan to do sometime this weekend.

I also had a chance to play with my stocks, hoping to get rich.   That didn't happen but I did sell one of my stocks for a 30% gain and put a portion of that towards more Blackberry stock.   LOL I swear I hope that one pays off someday.   They did recently announce that they are looking to buyback shares which will hopefully help the price go up some.

I also will work from home on Monday as well before easing my way back to my schedule which involves me walking to and from the train station.   I want to make sure my body is ready for me to resume physical activity again.

So much fun.   At least I should be ready for my concert in two more weeks.   

Sashay Chante!

 

Chante Moore - As If We Never Met

VERSE 1:
The world going by my window
Doesn't mean nothing to me
Why do I feel the way I do
Why am I still so lost in you, I wonder

VERSE 2:
Watching you sleep each morning
Brushing the hair from your eyes
Why do we give ourselves away
Till only emptiness remains

REFRAIN:
Was there a reason you came and changed my life
Cause it won't change back
I'm trying to forget
But I can't act as if we never met

VERSE 3:
The world going by my window
Doesn't mean nothing to me
Why do I feel the way I do
Darling, I'm still so lost in you

REPEAT REFRAIN

I was listening to an early Chante Moore single titled As If We Never Met while trying to minimize work distractions.   Chante's voice was so pure and earnest as she processes losing a love and wanting to forget him and the pain his leaving her has caused but realizing he made an impact of her life and isn't someone she can just forget.  The song stirred emotions in me as I listened repeatedly to it.   It made me think of past loves that still stay on the mind long after they're gone.   It's such a beautiful song by a beautiful lady who has been sharing her talent since 1992.    It's not the first time I've mentioned Chante in my blogs.   I did a review of her 2008 album Love This Woman and expressed my continued love of Chante in a brief snippet.

I still remember walking over to a local record store not far from the college I attended classes in and buying her CD.   It took me awhile to figure out who Chante was when they played her songs on the radio.   I always seemed to miss the mention of her name.  This was before the internet took off so it wasn't like I could just do a Google search.   I still remember my excitement when I finally heard her name.  I couldn't get to a record store fast enough.

I'm excited about the upcoming concert on May 23rd at Rialto Square Theatre to see Miss Chante perform.   It'll be my first time seeing her perform in concert since Tasha and I went to a Luther Vandross concert in the mid-90's at Fisher Theatre in Detroit when Chante was his opening act.  I went for Chante, Tasha went for Luther.   This time of course, Chante is the headliner.   I've been listening to Chante's songs in preparation for the show.

I'm trying to decide whether Dom and I should stay overnight in Illinois.    We had talked about going the next morning to the Japanese market Mitsuwa in another part of town.   Dom changed his mind though wanting us to get home.   However we were also talking about going to Ikea which we haven't been to in almost a decade.   I've been wanting to go there to get a dresser and small computer desk for the spare bedroom/future home office.

But first I have to get through my oral surgery to remove my remaining wisdom teeth coming up on Cinco De Mayo.   I sent the remaining payment for the procedure two weeks back.   I'm still annoyed about paying for that upfront but am hopeful I'll get reimbursed from the insurance company within a couple weeks.   I took a week off from work to recover from the procedure.   I'm hoping everything goes well and I'll be recovered by the time the concert date arrives.   I've been drinking pineapple juice which is supposed to help with pain.   Dom will be my designated driver to the procedure.  I need to give him the address to the location.   Maybe we can do a practice run this weekend (if I can get him out of the house).    He tends to hibernate a lot these days.