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I recently took a trip to Cancun, Mexico with 3 of my best friends. The trip had its ups and downs but overall I had a great time. We went parasailing,

We also rode on the Subsea Explorer and I saw a mermaid.

Yes they do exist! Lol. I even rode on a jet ski.

It took us out to the boat to parasail. Fun, fun, fun.

I don’t travel much and have not been outside the USA since it was mandatory to have a passport. Usually I drive to my destination because I don’t like to limit what I can bring. And if I purchase something, I don’t want to worry about having enough room in my suitcase to bring it back. Or the issue with the weight of your suitcase. Plus oddly enough, I actually like driving. I am celebrating my birthday in Atlanta, Georgia this year and I could have caught a flight, but I’m driving. I can listen to all my jams, think about life and do some serious praying. And not praying that the plane doesn’t crash. Lol.

I have already highlighted some of the ups of my trip. I would like to bring attention to the downs of my trip right now. Nothing serious but some things that I learned and mistakes I won’t make again. First, we will go back to the luggage issue. Now I had never been to Mexico so I wasn’t sure of what to pack and I definitely overpacked. We did not have any set plans for the trip so I felt like I needed to be prepared for all possibilities. That was my thinking when I packed my suitcase. Still no excuse for the amount of clothes I put in there. Lol. I need to start learning how to pack for flights because I plan on taking more trips outside the US. What I should have packed was swimsuits, a few sundress and some shoes. That’s all I used besides sun hats, which my friends grew to hate because I didn’t take them off. I have a bad reaction to the sun and I was not about to look ugly on this trip or when I got back home. I get extreme heat rash. One thing that was an up, I got mild heat rash only on my arms and shoulders. Also, I did prepare by going to my doctor before the trip. She provided me with a Medrol dose pack if I did have a bad reaction and some cream to clear up the rash. That was the first time I did that. I usually wing it and suffer the consequences until I get home, then get a steroid shot to clear it up. Smart Ebony. Lol

Second, I did not exchange my US money for Mexican pesos. Big mistake. Now I personally didn’t buy anything and that was the reason why. I found that the different places we went processed the exchange rate at whatever the hell rate they wanted to. I’m pretty sure that I was going to get ripped off because I know that my friends did. I think Monica paid $9 for an ice cream cone. And honestly, I don’t need anything else crowding up my house. The one thing that I didn’t purchase that I wanted was a magnet. Any country whose currency value is less than the American dollar, needs to be exchanged. They had a place in the airport where you can exchange money once you get to Mexico. Then on your way out there is another location where you can change it back. I truly recommend this, especially if you plan on purchasing items and eating at other locations than your hotel. Our trip was all inclusive. The only money I used was to tip.

Third downer, keep all the papers that are given to you in the process of going through customs. We were not told this. They just rushed us through. Since there was a language barrier, not a lot of talking. I always keep any papers or receipts from travel until I get home. My lovely friend Monica threw a paper away or misplaced a paper that was essential for the return trip. The replacement cost was $30. I don’t have that kind of money to pay for something that was initially free. Especially when those words could be on the form or communicated. Don’t throw any papers away people.

Now the fourth thing I am adding is a request from Monica and I know Selena will back her up. The women at the resort were not the friendliest. I can even go as far as to say that they were downright mean and rude. Once we checked in and looked at our rooms, we were less than impressed. The ladies went to the check-in desk to request other rooms. There was an up charge of $40 a night but the room would not be available until the next day. Ok, so they took forever getting the rooms ready the next day so the ladies requested their money back. Let’s just say after much arguing and going back and forth, they finally got it back on our way out of the door. The women at the check-in did not want to give them the money back. They used their ever fluctuating exchange rate and reduced the money down to like $15 dollars a day. Naw I’m going to need my full $40 a day back. That was a mess.

One more up. The men on the other hand were fabulous. They were attentive and had my mimosas ready. Lol. Anytime that we went on excursions, the men were sensitive to my limitations and helped in anyway that they could. Wait, I do want to give credit to the women who gave the water aerobics class. They were also awesome. The ladies tweaked the class to allow me to really enjoy myself.

My friends were not impressed with Cancun. Besides the sweltering heat which is not good for MS, I had a good time. I would go back. My excursions would be snorkeling and taking the tour where you drive your own boat. And of course I would change my money over to pesos. I still need my magnet. Lol. For those who travel, what are some of your tips? Are there any destinations that you would recommend? And what are some of the things that you learned through experiences? Leave a comment in the box. Now I thought I set it up to get an email when someone leaves a comment. Let’s just say I obviously don’t know what I’m doing. I will work to figure it out. But as soon as I see your comment, I will definitely reply. As always you can email me at elsims27@yahoo.com.

Now I know that I just did a post about people being too damn sensitive and I am not backtracking on that. But have you seen the Dove ad? Even though I initially had not seen the full ad, I wasn’t offended. After seeing the full ad, I understood it a little better. I was however a little surprised. I was surprised that no one in their marketing team had notice the obvious racial undertones. I was surprised that they decided to play it. And surprised that people who saw it did not understand why some black people were offended. The ad was in poor taste. I have to believe that there is not a single person of color working in their marketing department.

As a brown skinned black woman, I understand why people were offended. Growing up most of my friends were light skinned and I wanted to be too. I have never told them this story so I know that they will be surprised when they read this. My mother and brother were lighter skinned as well. I told my mom that I wished I was light skinned. She sat me down and straighten me out. The things she said to me that day has allowed me to love the skin that I am in everyday from then on. She told me I was beautiful and I believed her. She encouraged me to love myself for who I was. Now when I see ads that look like they are saying my black isn’t beautiful, I know that it is. I am not defined by society’s narrow view of beautiful. I am defined by my own view.

Now let’s look at society’s view to get down to the bottom of this. Even though America is a melting pot of all colors, races and nationalities, society has continued to hold tight its standard ideal of beauty. If you are white, slim and usually blond, you are in the money. Yes it seems as if bigger butts and curves are in, but this is so new and has the possibility to go out of style as trendy clothes and shoes do. Women of color have had curves and bigger butts before they were trendy. And it was not accepted. We are rarely even thought of as beautiful outside our own race. And face challenges within our own race for our darker skin. So when you see an ad where a black woman takes off her shirt and becomes a white woman, it can be a little offensive. In Dove’s defensive, the white woman became another nationality as well. Not sure which and I don’t want to assume her race. So with that you know the message wasn’t meant as racist but was still riding a fine line as inappropriate.

Here are a couple of other instances where black woman or darker skinned black woman are not accepted. A beautiful black woman was featured in an Old Navy ad with an attractive white man and the shit hit the fan. Old Navy got so many complaints that the ad was pulled and that interracial combination has not been seen since. The combination they stick with now is a black woman with a group of other people or by herself. They rarely even show black women with black men. America is not the only country that has a problem with brown skin. There was a young lady, Nayara Justino, who won the crown for Globeleza carnival queen in 2013. The first brown skin black woman since they started the competition in 1993. Yep, same thing. People were so upset with her skin tone that they took her title from her without any explanation or justification. She was replaced with a standard of beauty light skinned woman. Now the television network, Globo, who created the competition said it was not the case, so what was? There are many more instances that I can name but it would take all day and some.

If you are a black woman who did not have a mom like mines or was bullied for your skin tone, these obvious prejudices would be hurtful. To watch ads and rarely see yourself represented, it can be a challenge. To see yourself represented in a way that is questionably, it can be offensive. To attend an event and have a white woman say to you that you are pretty as if she was surprised, you would be a little mad. Damn right I am! Lol. I actually was surprised that she was surprised. I can only assume her circle of people doesn’t include many black people.

I have never been, nor will I ever be the standard of beauty in America. Does this make me not beautiful, hell naw! Fuck their standards. I know that I am beautiful. Do you? If you would like to share your challenges, your hurts or anything else that you would like to add, please leave a comment. Or as always you can email me at elsims27@yahoo.com. To leave a comment, click on the title and a comment box will appear at the end of the post.

I have had Netflix for over a year now. I can say that there isn’t many shows/series that I have watched from beginning to end. And there is only one that I have watched multiple times, Futurama. I LOVE this show. Like LOVE this show. Every time that I watch it I realize how childish I really am. I giggle at the same thing no matter how many times I have seen it before. I also see things that I missed. It has so many hidden references to what was going on in the world at the time. And there is definitely blatant references as well. The only thing I don’t love is that Netflix is now only showing seasons 7 through 10.

For those who don’t know what Futurama is, here is a break down. It is a cartoon that originated on Fox Network. It is a show about a guy by the name of Phillip J. Fry who was cryogenically frozen right at the year 2000. He thaws out and wakes up in the year 3000. The world has seriously changed. He searches for any relatives that he has in the future and finds one, Hubert Farnsworth. In his search he befriends a robot named Bender Bending Rodriguez in a suicide booth. And he makes this young lady, Turanga Leela, lose her job. These three are the main characters. Once he finds his nephew, he meets some other colorful characters who are the supporting cast. It includes a lobster, Zoidberg, a Jamaican accountant, Hermes, a slutty intern, Amy and a janitor, Scruffy. The first show ends with him becoming a delivery boy just like he was in the year 2000. The one thing he didn’t want to be. Futurama follows them delivering packages/items and not delivering anything. It shows them living out their day to day lives.

My favorite character in the show is Bender the robot. He has the best lines out of anyone. He is an ass and a selfish jerk. He is extremely insensitive unless it concerns him. He says it exactly how it is. He cheats, lies and steals. One episode, he stole Fry’s kidney to sell on the black market. He is the absolute worse. But I love him. I love his honesty when he says how he truly feels. I love his zingers when they are totally unexpected. I love his confidence…arrogance is probably the better word. I love how he thinks everything should be about him. He truly is such an ass. What I love most about him is he makes me laugh and laugh and laugh. And that is why we watch television right? To be entertained. He definitely entertains me.

Futurama showed on Fox from the years 1999 to 2003. The show was canceled on Fox and was then picked up on Comedy Central 5 years later. In between those seasons it ran reruns of the show on Cartoon Network. It aired on Comedy Central from 2008 to 2013. This show has a serious fan following. And has won many awards. If they brought this show back right now, it would be a success. I of course would watch it. I was so sad to read that Netflix was taking off all the episodes and mini movies that were originally owned by Fox. That was a whole six seasons. And I didn’t find out until the week before. I tried to binge watch as many shows as I could. Was even tempted to cancel my plans to truly watch the first 6 seasons. Hell, take off work. Lol. Ok just kidding there. Futurama, I feel had the longevity of the Simpsons. It definitely is a little more crass and they say a few cuss words. I don’t think it was a show that kids should have been watching. So the move to Comedy Central was a good one.

I literally watch this show about 3-4 times per week. I fall asleep to Futurama. And yes I know it is not recommended to sleep with the tv on. One day I’ll get there. I have not found a show that I like more than Futurama except the Big Bang Theory. I have watched countless repeats of that show as well. The only problem is that it is not on Netflix. If you have never watched Futurama, I strongly recommend it. If you have, tell me why you like it or why you don’t like it. Your favorite characters and if you have a favorite episode. You can leave a comment below or email me at elsims27@yahoo.com. To leave a comment click on the title and it will present a box at the end of my post.