Cocaine Bear and other Tings
Sat down to write something profound, wound up somewhere else...
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I feel like I haven’t had a moment to breathe in like three weeks. I sat down to write something profound and deep. “That’s what the people want, right?” Maybe. I don’t know, but I don’t have profound and deep in me right now. I have had roughly 3 hours of non-consecutive sleep the last two weeks and I have acted like it all them damn days too. Zombie mode activated. Shenanigans all around.
I got into some things. Some I enjoyed. Some I didn’t have no business doing. Let’s talk about it...well, some of it.
Oh, wait, hold on. Lost my train of thought, my watch just notified me that Meta sent me a big ass check for $113.71.
Ballin’!
We fly high, no lie, you know it!!!
I really don’t know what I am going to do with all these monies. I don’t even know what I got it for, lol. Surely, it’s a reel or something? I barely do them. I mean these social platforms are trending towards video and my writing ass is gettin’ left behind. Guess that’s why I like it here.
I’m probably gonna DoorDash some ice cream for movie night. The fancy kind…Dairy Queen. Cause y’know, Meta done paid ya girl the big bucks. Speaking of movie night, it’s Cocaine Bear. I have been wanting to see this since I heard there was a bear high off cocaine and this wasn’t just some Z-list movie on Tubi…that was based on true events.
Like, how did I not hear about a bear high off cocaine?
[insert post break so that I can actually watch the film]
Okay…I’m back.
This film was violent as hell, and I found it highly entertaining. There’s literally no way this could be real. It was just too damn weird. That bear was addicted to cocaine at first snort and spent the whole movie looking for its next hit. Over and over again it was getting high. Then killing folks. And getting high again.
I am unsure how this bear didn’t fall to its death from all the cocaine it ingested. I imagine it was pretty damn pure. Looked uncut. Still packaged. From the Columbians. I’m just sayin’ this was some potent shit.
All those years of binging drug crime shows and movies has paid off, eh?
By the end of this movie the bear was still standing. She (yes, she) and her cubs was addicted to coke. They had duffel bags just hanging in their cave and the cubs was just playing all in it like it was a fresh river stream.
I was thoroughly entertained by this Hollywood version of events, I wanted to see how this story played out for real. I am watching the documentary as I type this. Not gonna lie, it’s hella boring. But I suppose this is to be expected given how action packed the movie was. Like it’s only a 51 min doc but they spending a whole lot of time talking about Andrew Thornton, which is the man who jumped to his death with a failed parachute and a shit ton of coke just falling all over the damn forest.
It’s exceptionally boring though. There’s a lot this man did that was the stuff of film and television (man of privilege, liked to live on the edge, corrupt ass cop, murder, mayhem, mystery, etc.) but it is so very boring. Perhaps it’s how they’re telling it? I don’t know. I guess I assumed a documentary called “Cocaine Bear” should be more about the Cocaine Bear.
But nah, they giving us far too many minutes of background on Thornton. I want to know what was up with this bear. Did it snort/eat all the coke? How did they know she ate all the coke? Have they found more of the coke? Did the bear actually kill people when high on the coke? Was it actually a lady bear? Like, more about this damn bear okay?
That’s what the people are watching for! Or at least that is what I am assuming that is what the people are watching for. I am sticking up for y’all, okay?
Listen, I can’t even finish this damn documentary. It about the background of Thornton, the logistics of smuggling cocaine, what may or may not have gone wrong on that flight, etc.
I mean, it’s a dazzling operation they were running. But, damn more about this fuggin’ cocaine bear though!
Alright, I am moving on.
Let’s move on.
Things that made me smile this week:
Hella press, yo!
Okay, this made me both smile and experience extreme overwhelm. I wrote a children’s book, y’all. A picture book. 48 pages. 600 words. Picture. Book. I didn’t expect for it to receive the attention it has. I didn’t expect people to want to talk with me more and get to know me and my story more. This has been one wild ride.
I made Essence! Seriously!
This is something I could only dream about as a little Black girl who had stacks of her Grandmama’s Essence, Ebony, and Jet magazines. And I got a little feature in it. Incredible. I wish Biggie (my grandma) could be here in the physical to see this. But I know she’s watching me, smiling and cheering me on.
Good Morning America out here making whole book trailers for ya girl. And I also got a print article from them as well. So, one interview, two different ways they told my story.
ABC News, Upworthy, and Yahoo! picked up the Good Morning America pieces and added them to their sites. Making this even more amazing and spreading my message even further. I am floored at this point. And it’s only going to get more hectic. And more widespread as it gets closer and closer to release date (May 9th for those of you who do not know).
Additional press includes a piece with Cafemom.
This train is chuggin’ along and sometimes, admittedly I want to hop off and get a snack, some rest, and some solitude…I am incredibly stoked that this story and our message is getting out there.
Jojo getting his MasterChef on.
The kid loves to cook. Has been since he was four years old. He can make damn near anything. And his food is really the only thing that his brother will eat whole plates of. My kids really be throwing shade at me whenever they can.
He made some pickle fried chicken courtesy of Lexy Rogers’ “Break Bread on a Budget” cookbook. Thrifty recipes for the family looking to save some coinage. That’s us, for real. I need to save money on the groceries and food I buy to make the meals so that I can afford DoorDash on the days I don’t want to.
Just sayin’. DoorDash is a privilege, but also a fuggin’ necessity for this family.
Back to this boy’s chicken that was fried to perfection. Juicy and crispy and full of flavor. Whose kid is this? For real. This sandwich was so good. And hella affordable to make as we had everything we needed in the pantry. We didn’t have the chicken, but chicken don’t cost that much. Well, cost more than it used to and breasts are more than thighs, plus if you get organic and cage free and all them other fancy-like package designations that make you feel good about eating super fresh, chemical free (ish) chickens…then that adds to the cost, but compared to meat products out there, chicken be cheap.
Somewhat figuring out a work/life balance.
I really feel like I have made some progress with figuring out what I want from this little business of mine. I have been saying for months and months, I need to figure out how to balance work with rest and tending to my family’s needs, as well as my own.
I’m like 30 percent of the way there, and that is up from the “don’t know what the fuck I’m doing” it was a couple of months ago so…progress. And that is definitely something to smile about.
I have been trying to diversify my revenue streams.
Damn, that sounded real smart, didn’t it?
Seriously though, one cannot simply be a content creator on social media. The income is too inconsistent and can be ripped from you at any time. Also, I don’t like to think of myself as a content creator but since I have to curate my messages in a way that people can understand and connect with, guess that makes me one.
I am a writer who tells stories to challenge people, make myself and my family more visible, and inspire thought leaders who want to work towards meaningful, tangible change for us all. That is a lot and it take a lot to make it work. I have been focusing on balancing the right amount of free content to that which is paid. I have sorted that part out. I have narrowed in on what my income streams will look like: Substack, Patreon, Speaking, Consulting, Royalties from my books (yeah, books *wink*), and brand partnerships. That last one is about as consistent as social media pay, so I don’t put too much weight into that last one.
So, all of that is my 30 percent. The rest is my damn schedule, lol. I spend too much time doing something and that leaves not enough time for something else. Then I am worn the hell out. That is the part I am working on. But since this is a section about things that made me smile, I’m going to focus on the parts of this balance I did figure out.
Book Tours!
This is the fun part of this whole book thing. Well, kinda. The super absolute fun part is the travel of it all. The not so fun part is funding it. Major publishing houses will typically fund book tours if they feel they are integral to the book’s success. I did not sign with a major publishing house, though my book is doing massively well in presales, and my distributor is Simon and Schuster. I am self-funding my own book tour. This is actualized in part by my own monies from consulting, speaking, and partnerships coupled with securing events with libraries and schools that pay for my attendance.
That is key right there.
How do y’all want me to visit y’all if you ain’t trying to pay me to come visit y’all? Once I got out of my own way, things started to make sense for me. And cents.
So, in working with my manager, we have begun to secure some paid opportunities around the country in addition to free events with local bookshops and small organizations. I have some mini tours shaping up. The first will be in June when we travel to the midwest. I will add the event dates and details here. After that, in the fall, we are going to head out west. I am looking forward to that one because I want Aidan to visit them big ass trees, Jojo and Hammy to go to Disney Land, and me to hit up Washington and maybe spot a whale on one of them whale watching tours.
I will also be doing ticketed virtual Author events. I don’t know when those will happen but they will happen.
Smile mode activated for alladis.
In closing,
feels like something super important should come after that. But nah, I just couldn’t figure out a way to transition from book tours to ending this post.
This will have to do.
I hope y’all have the most pleasant weekend ever. I’m off to cash some checks I didn’t know were in my mail. Felt like Christmas up in here. My mama is also here so she’s is probably going to eat all my food and have me take her forty places.
Let me know what y’all are getting into this weekend. Any new shows y’all gonna watch? Some new places you’re going to visit? New laundry hacks you about to try? Anything, let me know.
I loved all of this! I laughed, I smiled, I loved it 🥰 all!!
Definitely looking forward to your Midwest book tour, because I'm about 90ish minutes from Chicago and I'm really hoping to get there!
My only laundry hack is stuff goes straight from my body to the washer. No sorting, no hamper. When the washer is full, I do a load of laundry. It never gets backed up that way. Always wash in cold water, colors don't run. It's not for everyone, but it totally works for me.