Re-Post: It's Goin' Down!!

Last night I was out with my girlfriend at a bar and many were watching the Lakers Vs. Celtics Game 5 via the Bar's Direct TV service. Well at 1 point it began to drizzle outside and as any Direct TV user probably knows that's all it takes for the thing to freeze up or go out. So as the game froze up you were able to immediately hear most of the conversations throughout the bar since there was no volume on the TV. So my girl and I kind of zeroed in on some of the conversations. The one that caught our attention the most was between 2 different groups, some Lakers/Kobe fans and some Celtics fans that had began to "trash" talk amongst each other about the game and their teams.

Now the 2 groups of individuals were all black men. And as we all know when black men discuss sports and their favorite teams they tend to get very passionate and sometimes even loud. So as we were being nosy and observing this conversation we immediately noticed how uncomfortable the majority of the white people in the bar got. Many of them looked nervous as if something was about to jump off between these 2 groups. However, we of course knew that they were just having a discussion and of course they weren't about to fight, pull out guns or anything like that. At least based on the conversation at hand we knew that nothing was going to happen. But we also know which words and phrases to listen for to indicate to us if something was about to go down. Eventually the Direct TV came back on and with the volume and everyone went back to watching the game and rooting for their team. And as we suspected it was all Love in the end, even after the Lakers lost.

However, this situation just reminded me of this blog I wrote so I thought I'd repost it!

Oh and Ironically, the "best friend" that was mentioned in the blog below from November of 2008 is now my girlfriend that I was with last night. Go figure. lol.

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I consider myself to be a very observant individual. Some may call it nosey but trust me it's really not. But whenever I'm out in public or an unfamiliar environment, I'm very aware of my surroundings. I don't try to do it on purpose but I guess I'm just a naturally suspicious and skeptical person. Therefore, if I walk into a public place it won't take long for me to scan the room. Within maybe a few seconds I can inconspicuously survey the scene with ease. I know it probably sounds a little weird, and perhaps I should have be in the FBI or CIA. Lol.

Well the reason that I am this way is not because I am scared, paranoid, on drugs, or anything like that. Honestly I think that I'm this way because I always want to be prepared in case something jumps off. Not that I always expect or think that something is going to happen, but just in case something goes down I prefer to be prepared. For example, here's a true story:



So my best friend and I went out to eat at a Buffalo Wild Wings a few weeks ago and ordered some wings to go (They always give us more wings when we order to go. Gotta love boneless Thursdays. lol). So they took our order and told us it will be up in about 15 minutes. So, her and I sit down and talked while we waited. As we talked I noticed there were 2 guys and a girl sitting across from us. Then next to us was a guy and his girl. Then a final guy walked up and he and one of the guys across from us shook hands and said what's up etc. Then the guy that walked up noticed the guy on my right and apparently he knew him too. So he also shook up with him and said what's up, etc. Then he said to the guy on my right "Hey you know so and so right?" Pointing to and talking about the guy across from us.

Now all of this took place in a matter of maybe a minute at most. All the time my best friend is telling me about her day at work. I am listening to her and still paying attention to what's going on right in front of us. Well as she's digging deeper into the events of her day, I heard something that took my complete attention away from anything she was saying. Before the guy on my right could answer the question that was posed to him, [if he knew the other guy across from us] he was interrupted. I heard the guy across from us say "Yeah I know that Bitch Ass Nigga!!"

First of all neither of these men were black so that's an automatic attention getter (but that's another story and blog). So like a dog hearing a dog whistle my ears perked up and I was no longer listening to a word my best friend was saying. Yet she apparently didn't hear what was said, since she continued to talk and go on about her day. However, at that point I was completely focused on what was being said by these 2 guys. Next thing I heard was the guy across from us say "I oughta whoop yo ass!!" The guy to my right played it off and was laughing at the other guy. However, The guy across from me didn't find it funny at all and the next thing you know he's standing up as his girl is trying to calm him and get him to sit down.

At this point my best friend said something and I guess she noticed I wasn't even paying attention to what she was saying. She says "Are you even listening to me?" I replied "uh huh yeah," all the while watching the activities transpire in front of us. She then replies "no you're not," then she noticed the guy across from us standing up. Well from here the guy on the right's girl left out and went to get the manager. Right before the manager came the other guys voluntarily left out of the restaurant. So my best friend goes "that's why you weren't paying attention." I told her yeah "I noticed it about to go down before it happen."

So, the moral of that story is this: A peaceful quiet moment can turn into something no one expected in a matter of seconds or minutes. Then the eye witnesses will be saying "I don't know what happen all of a sudden I saw someone get hit or I heard a shot." Now I'm not saying that everyone should be like me and all extra observant and what not. However, there some key indicators that you should be aware of that will let you know when something is about to go down. Below I've compiled a short list of some of those things.

"Bitch Ass Nigga" - Just like with my story above if you hear someone getting called a bitch ass nigga you better believe that there will be some sort of retaliation. Usually this term is directed at another man (usually black) and no man will tolerate being called a bitch. Let alone a bitch ass nigga. That's just over kill. Also, another variation of the usage of this term could be "Shut yo bitch ass up!!"

Multiple People Running - If you see one or two people running it doesn't really mean much, perhaps they're trying to catch a bus or something. But when you see a group of people running (I'd say 3-5 or more) then something has either already went down or is about to go down. So if you see a group of people running, trust me you'll be better off if you just run with the crowd. You don't want to be the person caught not running or trying to be curious as to what is going on. If you remember Cedric The Entertainer illustrated this point in the movie "Kings of Comedy." Check out the clip below.

"Who the F**k you think you talking to?" - If you hear someone ask this question it will usually be in a very loud octave. Therefore, you won't be able to miss hearing it. But the biggest clue as to whether or not something is going to go down is based on the response to this question. However, once that question is even posed you should be aware that the odds have increased for something to go down. If the person wants to avoid confrontation they simply won't answer the question. But the likelihood of someone just shutting up is slim to none. If they really want to throw salt in the wound they can respond "I'm talking to you, you bitch ass nigga!!" LoL.

"On My Momma...___" - You can fill in the blank here, but pretty much once someone puts something on their momma they're not playing. So whatever they say after putting it on their momma I would venture to say that they are serious about doing. For instance, if someone says "On My Momma it's about to be on up in here." Well you can pretty much trust and believe it's about to be on. That should be your cue to move around. Also, if you hear someone talk about some one's momma that's also another clue as to what will be taking place next.

"I'm going to the car we'll see when I get back" - If an argument has just ensued and for some reason someone feels compelled to go to the car, you may not want to be around when they get back. This also applies to someone saying they are about to "pop the trunk." Trust me they aren't going to the car to feed the meter or check on the air pressure of the spare tire. They're going to get some sort of weapon most likely a gun. For an example, check out the video from the movie "White Men Can't Jump" below. The scene occurs at about 2 Minutes in if you just want to skip right to the part I'm talking about.

"You gone Let him get away with that??!!" - Where there's an argument or fight there is usually someone there to instigate. What may be harmless or not close to escalating to more than a verbal disagreement can always turn into much more when an instigator is present. So you should always listen for someone in the crowd instigating. Once the instigator speaks their piece you may want to take that as a sign to vacate. Take my opening example, what if the guy's girl didn't go get the manager? What if instead she said "You gone let him call you a "Bitch Ass Nigga?" Well if that had happened I doubt he would have laughed it off as he did. I'm pretty sure that he would have felt obligated to respond to the nonsense that was being directed towards him. The instigator has the ability to put an indirect attack on someone's manhood, increasing the chances a fight even more. Other examples of the instigator at work are "If that was me I'd Whoop his ass," or "He must think you a punk (and or a bitch ass nigga)." Notice the multiple people smiling in the background of the image to the left. Any of them could be the suspected instigator in this fight.

Now keep in mind that these are simply precursors indicating that something may possibly be about to go down. The reaction and or response to the above items will most likely be the main indicator. I'm sure that there are probably many other things that would qualify to appear on this list. However, these are the main ones I came up with. Feel free to add your own to the list. But in conclusion just be more aware and on the look out. Because like Young Joc you never know when "It's Goin' Down!!"

--C-Recks--

Inconvenient Convenience

If you're alive today then there's a 99% chance you have either sent or received a text message before. Now I will admit that I love and enjoy the convenience of being able to text as opposed to making a call. Plus since a young kid I've never been that much of a phone person. I was talking to my son (4yrs. old about to be 5) on the phone the other day and after the usual how are you, how was your day, what are you up to I over hear him whisper to his mom "Mom I don't have anything else to talk about." But I can feel him I'd rather be playing than have a long conversation with my dad too. But I'm sure if his spelling game was a little more advanced he'd probably say just text me daddy. LoL.

Well although a text message can have plenty of advantages and they usually outweigh the disadvantages, there are some things that can still bother you about texting. Maybe it's not necessarily the text message itself but there are certain things associated with text messaging that can be erking to some. Or maybe it has more to do with the person that you're texting on the other end. I've just come up with some things that I'm sure we all have experienced pertaining to the text message and well you can decide how you feel in particular about each item.

Text Forwards

I wrote an entire blog about text forwards you can read it yourself. So no need to elaborate too much more on it. But it's a big pet peeve of mines so it tops this list. Just know that if you forward me a text 9/10 you won't get it back. LoL.

Response Time

Is there a protocol as for how soon one should respond to a text message? Now I normally don't read rules and instructions. I usually just take things out of the box and figure out how they work on my own. So is there something is the manual for the phone that states one must respond to a text message in a certain amount of time? I'm sure we've all gotten that text from whoever stating or asking something. Well perhaps you were busy at the time, sleeping or just didn't want to respond right away. But the next thing you know you're getting a call with someone asking "why didn't you reply back to my text?" Now let's not confuse this person with a serial dialer as my brother mentioned in an earlier blog. To be honest I've done this one myself. Then after I call I tend to ask myself if it was this important shouldn't I have just called in the first place? LoL.

Accidental Texts

I was recently got a text from my son's mother and she was telling me how excited my son was to wear the costume I bought him for Halloween. So, I replied back and then I got another text from her that said "I love you too and have a wonderful day." Well it was obvious that this was clearly not for me. However, once you press send on that text message it's over. As much as you hope and wish you could get it back it's definitely too late. But lucky for her I knew that it was sent to the wrong person. A different kind of ex may have taken that text the wrong way. I've made the mistake of texting the wrong person as well. My mom and brother have similar names; in fact, there is only 1 letter different in their names. Not to mention their phone numbers have the same first 5 numbers. So there have been many of times I've accidently text my mom instead of my brother. Although my mom is really cool, I'm glad those accidental texts [meant for my brother] weren't anything too vulgar like they can be at times. LoL.

Text Assumptions

Have you ever gotten this text? "I'll just hit you later you seem busy." If I'm texting you back and we're texting back and forth how can I seem busy? Now if this other person is your spouse or better half that can just sense things about you I can understand such a response. But to just make such an assumption based on reading a text message is to me without merit. The same goes with this one. "You seem upset or mad." How? Did the words come across your phone screen differently than I texted? The problem with reading words is that the reader gets to intepret (whether out loud or in their head) how the words are spoken. No different than when you're reading a book or even this blog. You [the reader] get to choose the tone of what you're reading. The same goes for a text message. And often the reader can make an assumption which can be so off the mark. And you know what they say about when you assume.

Text Arguments

I know that everyone reading has probably had an argument by text. I personally hate arguing at all, let alone via text. Now it could start from something like mentioned above where a wrong assumption is made based on a text message. The next thing you know someone is typing in all CAPITAL LETTERS. And you know what that means, yep they're now yelling at you. And dont forget the exclamation marks!!!!!!! That's showing them you really mean business. Oh wait what about the little mean smiley faces >:-O Is that the yelling one? Well my problem with text arguing is that when I do it I think to myself what am I doing and why don't I just pick up the phone and say what I need to say? But unfortunately once you've started a text argument it's like a 12 round boxing match and you just don't want to throw in the towel. However, there can be an advantage to arguments by text. For instance, you can think more about what you want to say and strategically choose your words. Whether they be the perfect upper cut, a little jab here and there, or even dancing around the ring like Ali trying to avoid further confrontation. Where as in a face to face or even phone argument at times you speak the first thing that comes to mind which usually adds fuel to the fire of an argument. But don't take too long to respond. As stated with response time either the person you're arguing with will think you're ignoring them or even that they won the argument. You may get a text stating "Nothing to say huh? Thought so!!"

Drunk Texting

Now this is definitely one of those times where you probably wish your phone wasn't so technologically advanced and that had an old school brick cell phone. Drinking and texting is definitely not as dangerous as drinking and driving but the results can also be tragic in nature. Have you ever had a little bit too much to drink then sent a text that said something you shouldn't have said to someone you know damn well you shouldn't have even been texting? Well usually when it happens just like most things you do while intoxicated you don't realize what has taken place until the next morning. As soon as you start to reading those texts from that individual the you scratch your head wondering what they're talking about. That is until you open the sent folder and see exactly what you were texting. In response to your discovery you'll usually let out an "Oh S**t!!" and then try to figure out how you'll clean this one up.

Recently Google unveiled "Mail Goggles" which actually helps to prevent drunk e-mailing. When activated Google will require the e-mailer to solve a series of math questions in order to determine that they're in the right mind state to send that e-mail. Once you complete the questions the e-mail will be sent. However, if you can not solve the simple to complex math questions (as previously determined by the user) the e-mail will not be sent. Hopefully for all of us drunk texters out there they'll eventually install a technology such as this in cell phones.

Text Abbreviations

Now luckily I've been able to keep up with some of the younger generation and their text talk as I like to call it. But sometimes even I'm stumped. I mean I can recognize the basics such as LOL (Laugh Out Loud), TTYL (Talk to you later), LMAO (Laughing My ass off), LMAFO (Laughing my f**king ass off), IDK (I don't know), BF (Boyfriend), GF (Girlfriend), BFF (Best friend forever), OMG (Oh My God), BRB (Be Right Back), JK (Just Kidding), BTW (By the Way), Etc. But then again there are some abbreviations that I would never be able to figure out. For instance, FIIK (F**K If I know), I would have never gotten that one. Or FEITCTAJ (F**k 'em if they can't take a joke), which I should know since my grandfather always says this. Also, GTFO (Get The F**k Out) and SWL (Screaming With Laughter). Basically the list goes on. Whatever happen to regular English? Now you have to be able to speak text talk. If you want to brush up on your text talk skills there's a whole list of abbreviations you can check out here. I just wouldn't try to impress your friends with any of those abbreviations unless they've also studied this list. Or you'll probably get a text response back like "WTF" (What the F**k?)

Well regardless of what I like and don't like about texting I won't lie and say I would want to give it up as a feature on my cell phone. Like I said there are much more benefits than there are negative things associated with the text message. In fact, I just ordered the new G-1 (to the left) phone from T-Mobile last week. It should arrive in another week or so. So basically you know that the text messages won't be stopping anytime soon.

So as Lil' Wayne said "Unless ya Feel a lil desperate send a nigga a text message."

--C-Recks--