M.I.A.

The first 3 days, I could't walk on my own. I had to use the aide of crutches. Luckily I had some. But I asked my boy Merle to take me to the hospital since I couldn't put pressure on my ankle. What a friend, I can't thank him enough. Thanks dogg!!

So I went to the hospital and was seen by Dr. Neidal. He was cool with a British accent. Anyways, I took a blood pressure test and normally it's 140/74, but I was a 143/74 because I was in some pain. I knew I didn't break my left ankle because I could still move my toes, but there is this tremendous pain on the left side of my left ankle. I guess that's why I can't jump as high as I used to. Anyways, Dr. Neidal just checked where the pain was located at and told me to get an x-ray on the first floor...I was on the 6th. So I traveled all the way down to the x-ray room to get some pictures, then as quickly as I could, went all the way back up to the 6th floor and luckily I saw Dr. Neidal running around the rooms, otherwise, I would have waited another 10 minutes for him to come out and see me again.

So here's the news. Nothing was fractured, broken, etc. Thank God!! :) But I still had this excrutiating pain in my ankle. He told me to get off my feet for at least 2 weeks, so I'll be missing another week of work. But I have really been concentrating on school, which kind of worked out for the best. I didn't take any medications because I wanted to stay away from them actually.

Merle had to go somewhere else and asked me if I wanted to come along. I told him that I had to go into work today and tell them what happened. So I told him to drop me off. My girl came as soon as she got off school and drove me to The Home Depot. I was hoping to see Theresa the HR, but of course, she's never there. So I bumped into Alex and she was cool enough to understand the situation. I guess she thought that I broke my ankle because I had told her that it popped, but I also told her that I severly sprained my ankle. But I guess the whole "pop" thing just came out first. Anyway, I gave her my note and told her that I would be out for at least 2 weeks. I told her that if I'm able to come back sooner, then I would be able to, but she told me to get a note from the doctor's to have them clear me.

As of right now, my ankle is still tender, and I'm still feeling some pain when I apply pressure. When I'm at school, and trying to go up and down the stairs, I try not to bend my left foot and apply stress on it so that my foot will land flat on the steps. The situation is kind of bittersweet because I get to focus on school a bit more than stressing out from work, but I don't get paid. If I were to work now, I probably wouldn't be able to stand as much as I want to. And I would probably be cranky, and I wouldn't want that.

I have pretty much been at school or at home, resting my poor foot and trying to keep it elevated consistently. So there's my story. So to clear up all the misconfusion, I just had a severely sprained ankle. I've stayed away from work, and somehow I find out that everyone knows that I'm away from work, but think that I broke my ankle. It's like that Oreo commercial where those kids talk about that new Oreo cookie, but somehow, it ended up being about something else. It always ends up being misconstrued somehow.

REMEMBER SEPT 11, 2001. I can never forget that day. The agony, the pain, the anger, the retaliation. But will this war ever end? Will anyone ever win? Probably not. It's never ending. How can there be peace when there is violence? The world will never change.

UPDATE ON SNEAKERS:
So the bad news:
So about my Laser IV's...the dude scammed me and took my money. I was heated for a couple of days, but cooling down now. The serves me right to try and do this Money Order the second time. The third time is a charm right? wrong!! I'm not trying to do it. As far as Money Orders go, I WILL NEVER DO IT AGAIN!

BEWARE --- STAY AWAY FROM THIS DUDE ---> $$$JAbre_Omari$$$ <---

The good news is:
I traded a couple of my kicks...my Grape V's size 10.5 for the same shoe in size 11 and my graphite XIV's size 10.5 for Pacific VII's size 11.
I also picked up a pair of Nike Air Max 1 Viotechs. JARED'S GOING TO BE JEALOUS!! At least I hope so...lolz, i'm kidding!! :)

But that's that...the ups and downs of life.

Bye bye Jordan V Grapes



Bye bye Jordan XIV Graphites



Farewell.

Ulster, I'm still here dogg!! Aqua 8's??

Ouch!!!

I just got back from playing basketball...more like just ran up and down the courts a couple times before what I think may be a really really bad ankle sprain. I can only put some much pressure on it before I break down and crumble to the floor. And this was the first time I saw my boy Kevin who came down from Virginia for a couple of weeks. I don't know if I'll be able to work tomorrow, so I'm heading to the doctor's early in the morning to see what the deal is with this ankle. What luck I'm having today.

So this is what happened. I was defending my opponent before he was fouled by a teammate of mine and they both fell to the ground with my foot tangled in there. It was an excruciating pain that I instantly felt and quickly ran off the court and immediately tied my shoes as tight as possible. This is the worst I have ever felt towards my ankles. Usually, it's just a minor sprain, where the next day I would be able to play. I think I'll be out for a couple of weeks.

Anyways, I'm using crutches now because I don't want to apply pressure, even though I should so that it won't get worse. But I could definitely feel my ankles swelling up. I hope this doesn't ruin my interview on Sunday. Well, the good thing is, I got to see my boy Kevin before he returns to Virginia.

Oh yeah, Happy Birthday Ton-Ton. Turned 15 today.

Kobe in Manila, Philippines

Bryant welcomed into Manila fold at start of Asian tour
By PAUL ALEXANDER, Associated Press Writer
September 5, 2007

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- More than 7,000 miles from home, fans were chanting his name, and Kobe Bryant was loving it.

No controversy. No tough questions.

In the basketball-loving Philippines, no one was going to ruffle a charismatic icon visiting to promote the sport, encourage kids to pursue their dreams and maybe sell a few pairs of his new line of shoes.

"I love Manila," a beaming Bryant told a crowd that started gathering at 6 a.m. outside a store in Manila, nine hours before he appeared. "The energy here is off the charts."

Bryant, fresh off a gold medal at the FIBA Americas championship, kicked off his five-stop Asian tour Wednesday.

A lot has happened to Bryant since his first trip to Manila a decade ago -- three NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers and a rape case that was eventually dismissed but left many wondering about his image.

The Manila public provided an answer. He was even touted as a role model for children, a tag that he didn't try to avoid.

"The important thing to remember when people talk about role models, they assume role models are perfect," Bryant said. "Nobody's perfect."

The key, he said, is not to repeat mistakes and to try to give back to the community.

Bryant was still basking in the success of the U.S. basketball team, which drew favorable comparisons with the first two NBA teams at the Olympics.

"When you have an opportunity to play for your country, it's even more special," he said. "The whole country gets behind you."

Bryant said he has taken off 20 pounds since the end of the NBA season, partly by watching his diet for the first time.

"My primary focus this summer was defense," he said. "I had to guard smaller, quicker players. I wanted to get back some of the agility I had in 2000" without losing strength.

What has he been eating?

"Grass," Bryant joked, before saying he had to give up fast food and some of his decadent favorites -- apple pie with ice cream, chocolate cake and sugar cookies.

"I can feel the results already," he said.

The Nike store, in Manila's Fort Bonifacio area, was festooned with a poster promoting Bryant's new shoe, the Kobe II.

At about $150, the shoes represent about six weeks' pay for the average Filipino. But the mostly middle- to upper-class crowd waved his jerseys and raised the old model shoe when he came out of the store. Arms went up as one, cell phones snapping photos.

Construction workers at two adjacent buildings stopped what they were doing and gathered on the roofs or clung to scaffolding as supervisors tried to get them back on the job.

Bryant, who later gave a basketball clinic, laughed as the crowd chanted his name, then "MVP." He appeared most touched when schoolchildren gave him a framed collection of crayon drawings they had done of him.

"Keep your dreams alive," Bryant said. "Keep going after it."



Them Filipino's love Kobe...at least in the Philippines.

Here's a picture of asia exclusives released. Hoping that my connect can come through with a pair for me.

Not Getting What I Rightfully Deserve...So I'm Making Them Pay

Who am I talking about? The Home Depot that is. They know I should be getting paid at the minimum of $12 an hour. And yes, I'm still bitter that I'm making $0.20 under $10. So I went out searching for a job on none other than craigslist, and I stumbled upon a job that'll look good on my resume. And boy, was I lucky to find such a job. What is it? It's a position as a Personal Fitness Trainer!! Yessir, something in my field, and away from the heat, the annoyance of rude and stupid customers, and doing something that I have passion for...and that's working to help improve a person's health. We take working out the body for granted. You may say that you're skinny now, but once you get older, that metabolism level decreases and the pounds add on. So if you're looking for a personal trainer, here I am. Soon to be trained, soon to be certified.

I'll definitely be making more than what I'm making at The Home Depot. And if they ask me to stay...are you kidding me? I'm definitely saying goodbye to the orange aprons, there's no doubt in my mind about that. I hate leaving the store with the scent of lumber on my clothes. I hate the management, but I love the employees there. Cool as Fuck might I add, but the management don't understand how hard you work. They don't acknowledge and tell you, "hey, you're doing a really good job." Nothing is ever like that. But don't get me wrong, not all of management are dicks. Just the occasional "Red Face" Stu and "The Smart Ass, Always about Rules and Justifying with the Law, More Black than White Motherfucker" Wayne, "Lazy Ass Bitch That Doesn't Do Anything for Employees" Theresa, and "Doesn't Care About Employees, Only Himself" Donovan. Others that I didn't mention, the other 3 are straight chill.

It's time for me to move on from the madness, and move on with better and bigger opportunities. I have to be aggressive and playing it safe is not the way to go. From this current job, I have learned to be firm with what I want, otherwise, I'm not going to get it. So I'm going to make it clear for them that I want to get paid this much money. I fucked up the first time, and I'm not going to fuck up again.



R.I.P. 2006-2007 The Home Depot