It's been Wayy too Long

My Return to the blog, please excuse my absence.




As Always,

Pax, Amor et Musica

Ebony Eyes Weekly Wrap Up Vol. 3

Apologies for the lapse in postings...I had to get some things in order..



- Mr. Jackson

Clean Up on Aisle 7

I have fallen off slightly. Not in the sense of my work ethic...although excessive sunlight, humidity, and torrential downpours do not entice me to write a thesis or research climate change in St. Louis anymore than a syllabus from my professor would.But, I have been going through some situations in my life, personal and my professional (which is still in its prepubescent stage) that have caused me to PAUSE....and take stock of my surroundings. Summer has been over for awhile in my neck of the woods, simply because I ceased having fun, when I was not working. Which, happened to be a majority of the summer. That was phase 1. Childish to say the least. I would sit on my couch, and pout, eat cartons of Breyers Strawberry Ice Cream, Movie Theatre Butter Popcorn, Flavor Blasted Goldfish, and drink herbal tea, all while watching 24 on the Tivo. Pathetic. In between these pouting sessions, workouts, errands, and small excursions would be intermittently scattered, but nothing seemed to break my emotional funk. But..after months of prayer, pouting and Nola telling me to man up..Marshalls called me. I did that job application the second week June. But they called. And I ceased being Jonathan "unemployed and senile" Jackson and became Mr. Giftware and Domestics. I am currently working towards a 75 cent pay raise, if my 45 day review is acceptable to my manager.
But...to what end was this post written? What possible point could he have by just giving a cluttered narrative about how boring and mundane his summer was? Simply put, to show growth, even of the most minuscule kind, is a necessity to furthering ones progression into the next phase of life. Boys II Men, i think not. We've been that. Men to Scholars, I accept that moniker with open arms.

" But the grace of God I am what I am..." I Corinthians 15:10

- Mr. Jackson


p.s. For all your home decor needs..i.e.soap dispensers, wicker baskets, salt shakers, duvet covers and Lacoste towels...visit your local TJX Corporation Affiliate. We put people first.

You're the reason everybody fired up this evening...

Another summer draws to a close, this one being a little more special that the rest.

Fresh outta high school, college just literally around the corner, the other 4our are about to disperse to each of their prestigious institutions…

A summer of working in deutsche bank London and afribank west Africa in lagos; one of good times, bad times, being far away and being close by…

As I leave lagos for pastures anew its time to say farewell to (as Mr Punch put it) my childhood summer… wouldn’t have gotten this far without u boys…

You amazing…

no matter what, that cant be taken away from you 4our...

-GB

a summer farewell

*written on my new bb 8520

This summer was supposed to be the culmination of my chtdhood; those years in which I
reveled in the notion that a second chance always awaited me, demonstrations of
irresponsibility and vice were common, and I felt entitled to treatment and luxuries which
I had not earned. I fell back on my natural ability far too often; only more frequently did I use my words and
Position to offend.

That was my childhood. And quite frankly I'm proud of it.

But at the same time, I've learned from it-grown from it (or out of it). This summer has been without a doubt the launching pad
From which I begin my ascent to that perch I've had my eye on for 4 years now. This summer, I've realized
That my life, my legacy, truly begins. In three months alone, the stakes have been higher than ever before, the reults likewise.
Effort and innovation will determine my outcome.

Effort. And Innovation.

Farewell childhood - farewell summer.

Ebony Eyes: Weekly Wrap Up: Vol.2

As promised...





" I just wanna take care of my family, got no respect for you if you not trying to do the right thing" - Jagged Edge

Ebony Eyes: Weekly Wrap-Up

Part of the reason the 5ive was such a successful tandem during our years at Saint Paul’s, was our ability to pick up the slack for one another. Sometimes we dropped the ball, other times it was impossible to handle all of our business without dropping another important component to what we knew would sustain our drive towards excellence. This is a situation involving the latter scenario, and I am the Clean-Up Man. Welcome to Weekly Wrap-Up. A sprinkling of opinion, satire, spirituality, pain, stress, success, disappointment; in short, whatever God put into my life and had me deal with this current week. In about 3 to 4 minutes.

"It's my destiny to use what God made best in me" - Serani

- Mr. Jackson

London Slide Show

Just something I threw together...



- Mr. Jackson

Rosary Beads

haha..you must have forgot. I do this blog thing.

Jet-lag is finally wearing off. I have finished unpacking. Gifts are being mailed to the appropriate relatives and friends. In short, I am home. Happy, satisfied, and actually rather displaced. You see, London, was fabulous for me. It was not even the sight seeing, meeting new people, the food, etc. I needed to leave NH to remember how big the world is. Too often we get caught up thinking that one city has it all. I have met people who have never left the borough of Brooklyn. When I inquired why, they simply replied, "For what reason? Everything I want is right here." Small mind small world. But allow me to step off my soap box. I went to LONDON. The city with the double decker buses, people with funny accents, and more West Indians than you can throw a bowl of saltfish at. It was 8 days to remember.

Day 1:
Well, after a 6 hour trans-atlantic flight into Heathrow, which included but was not limited too: a screaming infant, a very rude flight attendent with a cockney accent, and an entire pack of flavor blasted goldfish, I touched down. Gbolawoyi and his dear uncle gave me a tour of the city, to which I ooohed and awwed, fighting the drowsiness as best I could. We got to the flat, I said hello to Mr. Ajayi Sr., and attached myself to a bed. I' m sure you can imagine the rest.









Day 2:
These stupid little plugs to my left. Today, was in essence, learning how to walk on the other side of the road. I'm all for different things, I love new environments, but wow was I out of my element. We went to train station, and Gbola gave me an Oyster card, and explained, (in great detail to his credit) how one navigates the Underground and the bus system in Metro London. I see your lips moving but I ain't heard much (c) Lil' Wayne... Everything was moving so fast, I was looking on the wrong side of the road, and almost got hit by many a Benzo. Fortunately, they recognize a foreigner when they see one. You know the look, the confused stare, oversized backpack, glazed eyes darting back and forth, constant fiddling with a map, awkward pacing like they want to ask you a question but don't, really forcing the issue of appearing comfortable... I was that guy.

Day 3:

We really hit the ground running today. My, oh my. A brief side note before I continue:

I figured out why adjusting is so difficult.You see, someone can come to America, not knowing a soul, and quite possibly walk into a big city, and find a bistro, or outdoor shop, where there native language is quite possibly spoken. The same can be said for other great cities around the world. But somewhere, ingrained inside of my cultural identity, is this idea, that, wherever I go, there will be something to remind me of home. It could candy, an advertisement, a gum wrapper, but I discovered this weird longing to be reminded that I was not far from home. FALSE. Even the Skittles tasted different.

more to come soonish...


-Mr. Jackson