Morgan Stanley

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=ah8eYB6gH1.k&refer=home

Rivva's got game.

This girl is going on 31 dates in 31 days and she will be on good morning america at the end, she's picking on of the guys for her 2nd date on Valentine's day. here's how my boy rivva did.

There was a heightened energy on the streets the day before Martin Luther King, Jr. day and just two days before Barack Obama would be sworn in as our first black president. We thought it was appropriate timing that we were taking in Harlem's history.
I'd been so excited for this particular date, and I wasn't embarrassed to share my enthusiasm with my friends. I had already decided I was halfway in love with Ryan based on the clever quips from our email exchanges alone. He is smart. Funny. Cute. Kind.
And, he had charmed me even more with a really great date idea that I was hoping to do.
Even though Harlem is my home, I haven't taken the time to see many of its fantastic sites or hear its glorious choirs. So Ryan and I had planned to take in some Harlem gospel music.
Fate would change our plans.
I had worked late into the night, not arriving home until 4am. I don't even remember falling asleep, much less my alarm going off four hours later.Ryan called me at 8:30 to let me know some last-minute business kept him at work until 6am.
We decided to start our day later than planned and prayed that somehow we would find good church music, somehow.
I believe in miracles.
Our self-guided tour began on 125th Street. I walked beside him as he bounced along, showing how his hip hop moves would help him fit in with the locals. We passed a woman giggling in favor of Ryan's skills.
It is impossible to be bored around him.
This was a new adventure for Ryan. He moved to the city three months ago from an all-white town of 13,000 people in Michigan. He was excited to be in the mix of an environment so different from his own and wanted to see everything.

I pointed out the Apollo Theater and we headed over. It was locked. Fearless Ryan happily asked the cops standing outside if they could break us in. My charismatic companion was quickly making new friends.
Ryan announced to Harlem that "he had arrived" as we headed across the street. A vendor stepped in our way. "Do you like jazz?" He quickly tried to sell us a cd, which he would sell to Ryan for $15.
"I'm sorry, we have a budget of just $31 today." Ryan was very diligent with our budget."Ten dollars then!" says the determined salesman.
Ryan wasn't swayed and we headed inside.
During the Winter months, The Studio Museum is free admission on Sundays. This was a must-see on our list.
It was quiet before we arrived.
There was an exhibit for Barkley L. Hendricks, an African-American painter who had a flair for life-sized portraits in the seventies. My favorite was the self-portraits of Hendricks in a superman shirt. Without any pants. I snickered like I was back in junior high.
We headed back outside and enjoyed the vibe of the neighborhood, hoping that we would be blessed enough to find a local nighttime church service.

Our turn onto 116th street led us toward the Harlem Market. I took some pictures while Ryan was stopped by another guy hungry for a sale. The man wrapped a black-roped bracelet onto Ryan's wrist and declared, "25 dollars! That's from an elephant!"
"Elephant tusks?" Ryan quizzed.
"Yes! Fifteen dollars!"
I was surprised that Ryan - a natural salesman - had not quickly picked up the New Yorker's knack for saying "no."
We finally made our way out of the market when we spotted the mecca to our miracle across the street.
"Let's do it," he guided.
We weaved our way through the crowds and into a church where we were welcomed by smiling faces. It was obvious we were visitors, but Ryan acted as if we belonged there.
"Is there another service?" he asked.
The bishop opened his arms to us. "There's a service at 6:00!"
I watched as Ryan quickly won the bishop over. He then reached into his wallet and handed the bishop his business card. The bishop raised his eyebrow at me. "Is he making a sales pitch to me?"
"No," Ryan said. I work for this company and I'd like to give you a complimentary gift for your hospitality.
I told you. Natural salesman.
But I was also quickly learning: also a naturally good guy.
We had time to kill so we walked up to Marcus Garvey Park.
I asked what he did for Christmas and he mentioned that since the homeless shelters already had volunteers he did what he thought was the next best thing. He invited a homeless guy into his home, offered him a shower, some new clothes, and took the guy out for a meal.
The cynic in me wanted to think, "Is this guy for real?"
But he is.
Ryan is the real deal.
I found that out as we walked into the park and up Mount Morris. Ryan made sure I didn't slip on the snow. He told me about his family, their trials, and a life-changing car accident he had when he was younger. It's apparent that Ryan enjoys every moment in life and takes the small things into account.
As we headed back down the hill there was an empty black plastic bag sitting on the ground. A typical prop to Harlem's scenery.
Ryan picked the bag up and dropped it off into the next garbage can we passed.
That's just the kind of gesture in his nature. And it became exceedingly apparent as we were sitting back in the church.
Everyone just flocked to him. Yes, I'm sure that the fact that we were the only white people there had something to do with it. But Ryan just gives off a certain vibe that allows you to feel fully comfortable with who you are. He is a celebration of life in human form.
The beginning of the service was a series of singing, praising "Hallelujah", and hearing people stand and share their testimonies. One after another, congregational members stood and talked about how they loved the Lord and knew that God was good. They spoke of their challenges, their never-ending faith, and their gratitude for the community.
And then Ryan stood up.
"I had to work until 6am and I wasn't able to make it to church this morning. We just found this service because we were walking by tonight. And I just wanted to say that I have never felt more welcomed in a church than I have this one. So thank you."
Everyone clapped and cheered, "Welcome!" as if he were a superstar.
I was so honored to be next to this man.
He danced and sang his tone-deaf heart out. He clapped off beat. He shouted "Amen!" and "Hallelujah" with everyone around us. I thanked God and clenched my heart feeling the love and joy around me.
And I no longer felt out of place.
We weren't part of the minority.
We belonged there. We were part of Harlem.
Hallelujah.

Obama...

Once in a lifetime it seems like one candidate can transcend party lines, and that man is Obama. Even during this run, these debates, the election, this man seems different. Now on the eve of his inauguration there's been in a buzz in the air for the last week. So many of my peers have actually went to DC to be a part of history, to party with history. All the stars performing, everyone caring. It seems like Obama is taking the apathy away from our generation, making us care about politics, about what goes on this nation, about what goes on in the world. And for this, whether you're a republican or democrat, you have to be thankful to this man.

Hawaii.

I recently got back from Hawaii. I booked a trip a long time ago to ensure that I'd visit my mom more often. Jon met me out there, he lived with me in Hawaii for awhile in the summer of 2003. This time was much different. We were 19 then, now we were 26 and 25. Going back to Oahu, I didn't realize how beautiful it actually was, especially in winter. Driving the entire island and visiting northshore was definitely one of my favorite activities. We met people from japan, chicago, the island itself, and australia. My favorite thing was the nightlife, tons of tourists, and people who were on vacation looking for a great time. When I worked at Planet Hollywood I befriended Bill, who is now the assistant manager there. It was real cool having friends who still lived on the island. A cold front hit Michigan the week I left, temperature in michigan was around 0 degrees and snow, while in Hawaii it was 80 and sunny. I couldn't have picked a better week. Hawaii was different in a lot of aspects, downtown Waikiki has gotten much nicer. When I lived there everywhere was packed all the time. I could tell tourism was down 10 fold, some beaches we visited had no one there besides us, many of the restaraunts weren't even half filled. I liked it much more this way, it felt more uninhabited.

Timing, fate, destiny, and friends...

I hate when people say "everything happens for a reason" as if to say we are victims, that we are helpless, that this world is not up to us, that our world is not up to us. They find comfort in the thought that there's a GOOD reason for everything. It reminds me of when people use relgion as a crutch. Now I'm christian don't get me wrong, but many people use their religion as something that it's just not. That's a whole other topic. Now when someone becomes fat, did that happen for a reason? Probably lack of exercise and poor diet, or maybe some chemical malfunction their body. Yes, that was a reason, but not a good reason... Oh me and so and so broke up everything happens for a reason, oh and then he cheated on me, everything happens for a reason, oh but then i got pregnant so we decided to give it a shot, everything happens for a reason, oh and now he's in prison, but i met a new guy i've yet to breat it to him, everything happens for a reason, that is insane. reasons break up=didn't get a long, cheated on you=poor morals character, pregnancy=sperm did it's job, prison=who knows, let's be optimistic wrong place wrong time... moving on. Now on to fate, fate's a much tougher topic for me. How could you argue that it was Martin Luther's fate to fight for civil rights, or Mother Teresa's fate to help the world, or Ghandi's fate to lead his people. Some may agree or disagree that it was their fate, but beyond that, one may argue that they still had to perform the necessary actions on their part to fulfill it. Napoleon Hill would say it was their blue flame that made them achieve these heights, "The Secret" would claim it was through the "law of attraction" or the power of positive thinking, Calvin Coolidge was state it was their perseverance, Calvinists would believe they were pre-destined to do this. I do believe in fate to some extent, the same way I believe in religion. I believe God acts as an absentee landlord, as stated in "The Devil's Advocate". He's there, but he doesn't control you, you have free will, he knows what you do, he knows what you're going to do, but he doesn't interfere in your life, because the minute he does, it's like touching a butterflies wings, once we touch them they will never be able to fly again, so goes freewill. Fate, I believe will only bring you so far, it is up to you to do the rest. And it's much more your belief of fate, or the actions you do, rather your determination to follow what you believe in, or as Napoleon Hill would say your blue flame. Timing i do believe is everything, if not everything 95% crucial to our lives. Not to say that it always works for you, it could work against you, either way it changes your life dramatically, it alters your whole journey. Missing that car wreck by 5 seconds, coming in third, graduating in a specific year. A job offer, an engagement, a decision, time plays a key role in all of these. Where are you at in your life? Where is your partner at? Are you ready for it? Did somebody else get their first? For me it was deciding at the last minute to go into the james madison college at MSU, meeting jt, panda, and rivva... now if i lived on another floor i'm sure i'd have made different friends, but because of this i'm friends with them. A random walk home from a party, and meeting will playing with the night owl, deciding to rush the fraternity my sophomore year and being in m2's pledge class, getting home 2o minutes later and the girls smoked all the weed, then getting drug tested the very next week for my internship, that would've been my first time smoking it, glad i never did. Becoming an RA my junior year, instead of moving off campus. my job offer from merrill right before the recession, bank of america buying us soon after, starting at EJ when i did, in a good market, i couldn't imagine starting in a market like we have now. As with me, as with anybody I think timing is everything. But also reaction, how you react to things. It's not your act, it's your reaction that defines who you are. A perfect movie, a case in point, would be "Butterfly Effect." I heard "Sliding Doors" had the same theme, but it wasn't that good. I'll have to watch it one day. Lest me digress...

Where did December go?

Can't believe it's been a full month since I last posted, blogged. A lot has happened since then. Where does life go? I mean really, this is getting ridiculous. Well I turned 26 and welcomed it with about 35 of my closest friends. Will even came in from Cali for it. The usuals were all there m2, jt, panda, beata, j-lye, jack white, jamieson, the crazies, and a couple randoms of course, here's some pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2610419&l=cf073&id=2312645
The holidays were good, went home in an absolute blizzard the night before christmas eve, saw the sorgi's, saw the dakota crew, saw the clayton's, and on christmas eve i took my dad out to his favorite restaurant before I headed back to g-rap. On Christmas I cleaned up and knocked out some of my to do list. Friday Rt came in from Boston and a bunch of guys from Harper's as well as Schleef and Boldt hit up the town. NYE was another "best night of my life" type of night. We went to Hub 51 on Nikki's recommendation and it ended up being the perfect spot. Black tie affair, dance floor, sushi, flagrant finger foods, and top shelf open bar. Another crew event, Jt, Panda, Caleb, Tyler, M2, Jamieson, and all our dates. Here's some pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2622053&l=e47b9&id=2312645
Chi-town trips are always ridiculously fun. now i'm at chili's at the airport on my layover to hawaii, i tried to order a chicken caesar, they're out of romain so i went with the bacon bbq ranch burger and a side of fries, ahhh. such is life.