Well I've changed the name of this blog again to more correctly reflect my life. I'm hardly having adventures these days. Right now I spend more time with my bike than anyone else. There was also this strange incident where a random group of strangers called me Bicycle Girl. I resisted the name but now I'm stuck with it. It also allows me to refer to myself in the third person quite easily.

What has Bicycle Girl been up to?

She had a fabulous time in California.

Since my mother passed going home has been rather stressful. I am not able to go to the childhood home I grew up in and I don't feel like I'm going home anymore. Most of my family has moved to other parts of the city so their homes don't feel like home anymore. These aren't the homes that they lived in for the 17 years I grew up in Los Angeles. My dad's house kind of feels like home only because he hasn't really changed my grandmother's house since she passed nearly 15 years ago.

Sometimes I feel disconnected from my family because my path is totally different from those close in age to me. These are my 2nd cousins. I try not to look down at folks I just want them to do better. I don't want them to have kids and then depend on a welfare check to take care of them. When I hear folks saying things like "I think I should have another baby so that I don't have to work." That shit is not cute. I get disgusted and doesn't make me proud to be a Dones family member.

I want them to provide more for their kids than they had. Instead they are content on providing less for their kids than what they had themselves. I want them to get up everyday and go to work. I know no one wants to do that especially at a low paying minimum wage job but I know that children need to see their parents work. Your parents retired from jobs after work there for 20 to 30 years and you've never held a job for more than six months. For shame. I want them to choose good male role models for their children. Not just find a man they can hustle into paying their bills and buying them coach bags.

It also bothers me that my older family members who enable my cousins not to do better. I know they don't want their grandchildren to suffer but they are also making so that their children don't have to do better. I can see getting your children out a rough spot but paying others rent and mortgages has got to stop. I know parents can competely control their kids but don't make it easy for them not to be productive people. If you want to contribute, pay your daughters childcare so they can go to work. I could rock with that.

Can you see why I think welfare reform wasn't such a bad idea?

See but I don't want to look down on folks right? I don't want to be Bill Cosby with mine but it boogles my mind that my family is hustling backwards. I don't really want to agree with Juan Williams. But I am close enough to this to know this is about the choice to struggle. I'm not sure why they are in love with the struggle.

But Bicycle Girl what about your sister?

Well Bicycle Girl's sister fits in here to. The only difference is that I to my knowledge my mother didn't enable her. She did take care of her first child but soley because the child had special needs and wasn't going to live past age 5. The child is 23 now. It's one thing to have a wayward child. It's another thing to enable your child to be wayward. In fact I think my sister had an untreated mental illness. But that's another story altogether.

But Bicycle Girl aren't there any positives in your family?

Well of course. I'm hopeful for the kids under 10. They have really taken a liking to me. Everyone was surprised when Cousin Bougie joined the line dancing during the Christmas festivies. Well actually it was odd because we have never danced during the festivies. We used to sit around and talk and after aunt passed who used to hold the party people started playing games. We played family trivia and sang Christmas Carol's. This year they tried to get children to sing. We laughed as lil DeMaya told us that on the 8th Day of Christmas we get 2 cameras. I agree with her, maybe the song needs a little updating. After that someone got the genius idea to play some of the classic line dances that black people loved to do. There was shock when I go up there and joined in. They were even more shocked when I didn't need anyone to show me how to do them. What Cousin Bougie knows how to do the booty call? Yes I right foot stomped my way back into the family. Soon all the kids were just dancing away and Jada danced her heart out. She's needs to get into dance classes. She's destined to be the new little girl in the Missy Elliot videos. I'll put up the video of her dancing in another entry. Then there is Imani. Imani already has a job, she does commericials. At 6 she came up to me to tell me that she's was too nervous to dance. She was so sincere. They all made me smile a lot.

But Bicycle Girl this isn't what you set out to write is it?

No really I wanted to talk about how badly I want a Nintendo Wii. Nintendo is pretty smart. They make something a low price point, easy to use and fun. So I really want one and I can't have one because they are sold out. Gamestop and Walmart are running a hustle where you have to buy a bundle to get one. Umm no I'm not spending $600 just to get something that cost $250. But when I get one everyone is welcome to come over and play. I will whip your ass in boxing and I'm not too bad in Tennis either. I spanked my nephew's ass right before heading to the airport and well he really wasn't sad that I was leaving anymore. He was just like "Bye Auntie. Have safe Flight."