Top 5 Reasons I Love White People

Looking at my facebook friend list the other day, I came to the realization that I have A LOT of white friends. My black friends may think I've gone Carlton Banks on them, but that is far from the case. In the 5th grade, my mother moved me from Rena Ct to Sugar Hill. If you live outside of Conyers, GA then that statement means nothing to you. Now-a-days, Sugar Hill is predominately black but in the mid-90's, Sugar Hill was predominately white. Rena Ct. is, was, and forever will be predominately black. My observation is that white people and black people are totally different. You can make the argument that we are all God's children but at the end of the day, everybody is unique or odd depending on how you look at em. With my old job, I traveled to Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, & Virginia, so I've met my share of white people. Below are my top 5 reasons why I love SOME white people. Some white people get on my nerves, but that's another story!

#1: White people know how to party: I prefer black parties over white parties only because of the music & entertainment selection (i.e. I don't like beer, so I don't play beer pong). My homey B-rob throws the best parties because he has the best basement in the country. (Hit him up at http://summitdesignandbuild.net) Poker table, pool table, fire pit, hot tub, & a theater. What more could a brotha ask for!

#2: White people pay you back when they borrow money: This really doesn't need explanation. I know some of my homies that are reading this blog probably owe me money now, but its all good! I loan black people money not expecting a cent back. White people give you your money back with interest and you didn't even ask for it.

#3: I don't feel like I owe them anything: if I go over a black friend's house, I feel like I have to have something in hand in order to feel welcome. Bag of ice, salt & pepper, bootleg copy of Madea Goes To Jail, Its always something! You go to a white friend's house, you may leave with stuff and never brought a thing. If I ride with a black person in the car, they bring up gas money like we drove across country or something. White people would drive you across country and give you gas money.

#4: They give the best gifts: In middle school, Katybeth Crow bought me a humongous teddy bear. I have no idea where that bear is (sorry Katybeth) but that gesture taught me that white people give excellent gifts. Nobody beats Pam Giles-Jones (my mother) but whites is definitely up there. I had a girl buy me a gift for my birthday and I returned the favor on her birthday and she bought me a gift for buying her a gift the day after her birthday. I couldn't believe it!

#5: They are overall friendly: I say overall because you still have your racists out there (admit it) but if I walk through a black neighborhood and I wave, I'll probably get a mean mug or a "do I know you" face. If I walk through a non-racist white neighborhood, I'll get invited to church, get yard tips, & probably get invited in their house for dinner.

Moral of the story is.....if you're black: get you some white friends!

The Little Things That Count

Women are a strange breed! Men are stranger! Fatdreek is the strangest!

This blog goes out to all of my fellas. I know a lot of my fellas dont read blogs. Shoot, some of my fellas cant even read, but nonetheless this is for you...

When it comes to romance, most woman love it and most men hate it, but I tell you this my brother, if you dont show your romantic side, than your significant other will find that romance somewhere else.

Now, I'm not talking candlelight dinner everynight, or staring at each other's eyes in front of a fireplace with Boyz II Men playing in the background. What I am talking about is giving a compliment here and there. Showing appreciation when she cooks an excellent meal and not complaining when she cooks a not-so-excellent meal. Telling her that she makes you happy! If you take care of your business @ the crib, you don't have to worry about your woman blushing when a man says she looks nice or smells good. Women love to feel praised and adored and who better to praise and adore your woman than yourself.

Find ways to incorporate your woman into your "me" time. I love to watch football on Sundays @ Buffalo Wild Wings. Instead of ditching my wife, I just tell her to come on with me some Sundays, and while she admires the player's backsides or fills me in on which player is dating which housewife, I can sit back and enjoy some football.

I encourage my fellas to do something out of the ordinary this week to let your woman know that you still care for her, and you'd be suprise the level of devotion you will get in return!

Signing out,

Fatdreek

NFL Picks Week 7

I was 9-4 last week. Lets see what I can get this week!

Carolina over Washington: Killa Cam let me down last week, but Washington is far more inferior than the Dirty Birds!

Seattle over Cleveland: With Peyton Hillis questionable with a hamstring injury, I dont see Colt McCoy leading his team to victory.

Atlanta over Detroit: I hope Detroit loses, so Coach Mike from Atlanta can lay Detroit's coach out. It wont be a replay of last week with 49ers coach running away. Coach Mike is gonna lay em down.

Miami over Denver: Both of these teams are garbage to me. I look to Miami to get their 1st win of the season!

New York over San Diego: This is the return of LT to his old stomping grounds, and I dont think the Jets will let him lose! Coach Ryan always finds a way to win those close games!

Chicago over Tampa Bay: Its all about defense and Chicago will prevail!

Tennessee over Houston: I think Chris Johnson is going to go off with 200 beaners!

Pittsburgh over Arizona: No explanation needed (NEN)

Oakland over Kansas City: Even though there is a new QB, the RB is still the same. RUN DMC!

Dallas over St. Louis: NEN

Green Bay over Minnesota: NEN

New Orleans over Indianapolis: Hurts me to not see my boy Peyton back yet!

Baltimore over Jacksonville: Best Defense in the league!

Hole In A Sucka

I dont live in the slums or projects or 'hood' by any means. My neighborhood is 99% black, and to my white friends, this may classify as a 'hood', but I've never been shot walking to the mailbox, so a neighborhood? YES! A 'hood'? NO! Within the last year and some change, there have been two break-ins in our neighborhood. Its a little nerve wrecking to know that somebody can break in your home while you're at work and take things that my wife and I work very hard for. I just want to give a fair warning to anybody who has ever thought about taking a red penny from Fatdreek. I will put a hole in ya! It may be a small hole. It could be a large hole. Depending on what I shoot you with. But you will get shot! I would hate to take the life of one of God's creation, but I turn into another person in these kind of situations. Thank God, our house hasn't been 'hit up" yet, but I guarantee if someone takes a peak in my mailbox, I'm unloading!

Love you all!

Pick Your Battles

I've been married for 2 years, so by no means do I consider myself an expert, but I have been with the same woman (dating & marriage) for 8 years, and the greatest piece of advice that I can give couples (dating or married) is to pick your battles. Life is shorter than we tend to realize (Im attending my 10 year high school reunion next year and that's scary!). Why waste life with being angry at the person that you want to spend your life with. Thinking about some of the things that my wife and I have argued about over the years are just silly! Ego is a no-no when it comes to the game of love, and if you let your ego get too big, you can miss out on some great time with your loved one. Now this doesn't mean that when you have a disagreement that you just sweep things under the rug and act like nothing happened. You need to have a HEALTHY argument. I put an emphasis on healthy, because adults have healthy arguments, and children have unhealthy arguments.

Lets give examples of each:

A healthy argument would consist of a sit down between a couple and instead of yelling and finger pointing, one party would voice their problem and then listen to the other party's problem. Feelings may be hurt during this process, but if love is presented with the problem, then hurt feelings wont last that long.

An unhealthy argument involves raised voices and name calling and finger pointing. It usually involves a healthy dose of disrespect, which usually leads to hurt feelings that last for weeks.

Respect is not just an Aretha Franklin song, but it also is a vital organ in the body of love!!! If you want respect, you have to give it. The next time your partner pisses you off, try like my homeboy Jerry told me "Dreek, take 3 deep breaths and then address the issue". This method works!! Instead of flying off the lip at my wife, I take 3 deep breaths and proceed. It saves a lot of headaches and a lot of hurt feelings which is a red flag in the audit of love!!!!

Thats it for now, and if you're having "relationship problems", just think about the couple that just filed bankruptcy, or had a miscarriage, or is dealing with infidelity, and then your "problems" wont seem so big!

-Fatdreek

NFL Picks Week 6

Carolina over Atlanta: With Julio Jones missing Sunday's game, that means more attention to Tony Gonzales and Roddy White. Unless Harry Douglas has a monster game, I dont see them surpassing Killa Cam!

Indianna over Cincinatti: I feel like Painter will finish the job. The injuries in the secondary for the Colts have shown over the last few weeks, but I dont see the Bengals as much of a threat

San Franciso over Detroit: Its Upset Season in week 6, as that explosive defense and running game of the 49ers put a one in the loss column for the Lions.

Green Bay over St. Louis: Need I say anything else!

New York Giants over Buffalo: Im not believing the hype of these Bills. Giants defense is still strong, and I think Eli will bounce back from a horrible game last week.

Pittsburgh over Jacksonville: Ben Rape-n-murder looked great last week, and I think his run will continue over a weak Jacksonville secondary!

Philadelphia over Washington: I'm looking for Vick to bounce back in a major way, or he'll be replaced by Vincent Young.

Baltimore over Houston: Baltimore has the best defense in my opinion and with Andre Johnson still out, I dont see Houston getting too far.

Oakland over Cleveland: 2 words! Darren McFadden! In my opinion, the 2nd coming of Bo Jackson! + The Ghost of Al Davis is lurking among us!

New England over Dallas: This will be the game of the week. Tom Brady and Welker are just too good! Its going to be a shoot out though!

New Orleans over Tampa Bay: Tampa Bay has received too much hype with that A.C. Slater looking QB of theirs. N.O. will show em why they are the best in the South!

Minnesota over Chicago: The Bears have too many issues, and A.P. has too much strength. It will be close, but Minnesota will prevail.

New York Jets over Miami: I like the Jets as a unit. They will end up in the playoffs, even though they are struggling at the moment.

My Latest Doctor Visit

My wife pressured me enough to go see the great Dr. Abbasi yesterday, and I was diagnosed with high blood pressure because of my poor eating and lack of excercise. I ask that everyone hold me accountable or you just may be holding my casket if you're asked to be a paul bearer (GET IT???) This post coincides with my post yesterday about my weight-loss journey, so hopefully along with the weight, so will my high blood pressure diminish! I want to give a special shout-out to my gorgeous, informative, caring wife, my butt-hole co-worker Eric who orders me salads and smoothies at work, my Mama for reminding me how big I am all the time, & Rex Ryan for reminding me that I could be a whole lot worse off!!!

Signing out,

Fatdreek

Papa Lowder

Today is the birthday of an important father figure in my life, Mr. Carl Lowder. Papa Lowder passed away this past summer, and I am still shocked over the loss of not only a father figure but a true friend. I met him when I was 10 years old when I moved to Sugar Hill (We'll get to that another day). His son, Jack Lowder, had invited me to his church's youth group @ Belmont Baptist Church, and through that invite, Jack and I became best friends. Hanging out with Jack, I came to realize that his household was ran a lot differently than most households in America. There were no televisions, no alcohol and no swearing. Free time was occupied with reading books (mainly the Bible), discussing politics & history, and for Jack & I, playing basketball in the backyard. When my family moved from Sugar Hill, I needed to crash at someone's house after school until my mother got off of work, so I could continue my education @ Heritage High. Papa Lowder always welcomed me in his home with open arms. He also let me eat dinner with  his family whenever my mother had to work super late (my mom is a work-a-holic, and we'll get to that another day as well). I always felt like I was one of his own, and I appreciate the talks that he had with me about being a Christian man, and a leader : not a follower. I remember Jack and I working on his bread route with him during the summer and me just admiring a man that worked hard every day for his family, and made great decisions when it came to his family. Even after I got older and out of college, he would call and leave me a voicemail saying that he was thinking about me and praying for me. I knew that he wanted the best for me, even inquiring about an accounting position with Flowers Bakery's where he worked. I owe a lot of my success to Papa Lowder and I can only hope that I can one day impact someone's life, the way he greatly impacted mine. I love you, Mr. Lowder and see you soon!

Fatdreek

"Food is a Drug"

If you know me, then you know why I call myself Fatdreek. Over the last 2 years, I've been working on the first 3 letters of my nick name. When I was traveling with my old job, I found it easier to hit the gym, because it was more entertaining then sitting in a hotel room every evening. When I got a job that didn't require me to travel, I was home eating more "soul food" then I ever was on the road. I also find it easier to come up with excuses to not go to the gym. Excuses like "I have to work too late" "I need to see my grandmother" "I need to watch the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion" have become repetitive in my life.

I have come to the realization that this weight-loss battle is all a mind game. Food is a drug and it can become addictive if you dont keep the elbow dropped on it. I will keep you guys updated as I travel down this road called Weight Loss.

The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship

This blog was inspired by my new co-worker/office-mate/best red head friend/ Leah Peck aka "Thats what she said" I have no set purpose with this blog but just to vent and hopefully when I die all of my family & friends can look back on this blog and determine that Dreek was a swell guy. So let the journey begin!!!!