T Diddy :: Your Friendly Black Dentist

People come and people go. That is one of the many truisms of life. I remember when I graduated from High School I had many friends vow to me that we will always be friends and stay in touch. As it turned out, I keep in contact with about only 5 on a frequent basis. 5 out of 50 is not good. One of the reasons that this takes place is because graduation is a fork in the road. I chose my path and others chooses there. My path led me to SCU. There I met new friends and grew as a person. College was a little different than high school. At SCU, I met many great people who were on my same page and were headed in the same direction - a direction that was not known, but it was the same direction. I can say that I my friends from Santa Clara are my boys and we will stay in touch for the remainder of out lives. However, the weird part is that again, there was a fork in the road at graduation. We all chose our paths and are all doing our thing. My friends and I are all across the nation from New York to San Jose. The difficult thing about the situation is that you never know when you will meet up again. It is especially difficult when you have a boy that you hang with move away. Last Monday, one of my boys left NYC to move back to Los Angeles for Law School. Most of me is extremely happy for him, but the little part of me that is sad that he left is taking over my sentiments. With his departure from NYC, NYC changed and it will never be the same. A lot of my experiences in NYC have been with him. We really took over the town for about 2 years. People come and go. That is just a fact of life. I understand this fact, but it is a fact that is hard to accept because I am about 15 months from my 30th birthday. Maybe it is time for me to choose a new path at the fork to see what is down that path. What it may hold, I have no idea, but I do know that the good people that come into your life and leave is a sad thing. Yes, it was great to have them in your life, but it is sad to have them leave.

There may not be a better city in the world to spend summertime than New York. The close proximity of the Big City makes it easy to have a good time any day of the week no matter where the fun may lead. There is Central Park. This is where all the city dwellers go to escape the never-ending yellow streak of swerving cabs to collect themselves and watch the fascinating people do what they do. There are also many different events or festivals. Lincoln Center has a music festival that they produce for the public. This show is free or you can pay $15 to get access to the dance floor. Well, there is no need for that as you can dance on the outside while still watching the band. One week, they had Afro-Cuban/Salsa mambo type music. You better believe I was out there looking at the mamis and dancing. Another week, they had a big band/swing. That was a perfect escape to relax after a nigh class until 10 pm. Central Park also has a summer stage, where various artists sing for free. There are movies in Bryant Park every Monday night at dusk. There is more singing and movies near the piers on the Westside. I can go on and on with all the great things that you can do in the city. If I were to go on and on, I would not serve justice because I could not list everything as you can easy take a subway to the Lower East Side and stumble upon an event. From 4th of July rooftop parties to Salsa Socials, NYC has the flavor that you are looking for. This summer I am taking advantage of the good weather and the fact that I am no longer working for the man to enjoy what the city offers.
To compliment the events, the culture of NYC is what makes it happen. This could not be pulled of in California. If you were to have a movie in the Park in Oakland, you would have Ant Banks roll up and start to cause trouble. It would not happen in San Jose because there would be a riot and the people would start breaking windows. NYC is the only city where you can go to an event by yourself and meet wonderful people without even thinking about it or trying to breakdown the large walls that people, particularly woman seem to put up.
As I sit back and enjoy the beautiful summer, I can only wonder where the future may lead. There has never been a more uncertain time in my life than now. For the first time in my life I do not know my where I will be living as I plan for the next stage of my life. I will love to stay in NYC, but I could easily wind up in the middle of a brutally cold Michigan winter as I study Dentistry. This kind of uncertainty could drive a person mad. However, the NYC summer is allowing me to cope and reduce my temptation to drive me crazy thinking about tomorrow. Instead, I am able to live in the moment and watch "All the President's Men" in the park while sipping on a cool ice tea.

As I age each day, I look forward to many things. However, one thing that I look forward to are friend's weddings. Weddings are a reunion of sorts where you get to see many old faces from the past as you celebrate the grand day of a common friend. It is a time where you look your best and exchange smiles over stories from each other lives since the last time you saw each other. It is a time to drink together as you burn up the dance floor. I really look forward to them. The problem with the weddings is that they seem to come in bunches. This means that it takes a lot of cash and time to attend. It is not that I am selfish with my time. That is far from the truth as I want to give the ultimate respect by attending the wedding. The problem lies in the fact that most of my close friend live in California and I live in New York. In order for me to go to weddings, I have to buy airplane tickets, rent a car, and maybe get a hotel. Going across the country to attend a wedding is very difficult. This would not be a problem if I was still working or making bank (this is black slang for money according to Monkey). The fact is that I am broke student trying to make the ends meet. I have not been this distitute since when I first started college in 1993. I feel bad that I cannot attend all the weddings that I am invited to. However, all I can do is try and if I cannot make it, then I hope that my friends will understand me situation and not hold it against me because I know that when I have a wedding, I would want them there. As I say, "Life, it goes and I go with life."

When I played football in high school, I had a crazy coach that was feared, but also respected. He always had crazy slogans and sayings to motivate us fresh young meat. One saying that I like to use from time to time is, "Grab the bull by the balls and squeeze!" This is applicable in many situations, but no more than my current situation. I am currently studying for the DAT. Not only do I have to review all of the sciences, cut I have to teach myself the 2nd half of organic chemistry. This past Monday I took hold of the balls. I will be gradually squeezing the rocky mountain oysters over the next 2 months. These balls will be ruptured after I take and kill the damn DAT. I am going to kill this damn test. I will make these schools realize that this man cannot be stopped.

New York City is known to turn people out. It does not matter if you are visiting or you move to the city. Visiting the city you it does turn you out, but you only get a taste of it. However, when you move here, it is a whole other story. I have seen the ultimate makeover or person being turned out ever. I am talking from the rutta to the tutta. If you do not believe me come to the lovely city and see for yourself. If you read the hair often, I am sure you know who I am talking about. Let me just say that I am going on the record on saying that my man is about to get more ass than Kobe Bryant.