You're Not the Boss of Me Verizon Wireless

When did we lose the ability to choose the right phone plan for ourselves? I have a huge beef with the idea that you cannot get a decent phone without a data plan. And what erks me even more is that other people think I’m nuts for not wanting the data plan and I am the crazy one for questioning this cell phone company bullying that takes place every single day in this country. People should think the cell phone carriers are nuts. Not me.

Here’s the thing. I don’t NEED a data plan. So I won’t pay extra for it. I don’t need to sit in first class when I fly, so I don’t pay extra for it. I don’t even take Jetblue’s option to pay a little extra for more legroom in coach. I don’t need it. My legs will be fine. I don’t pay extra for DVR, tv shows aren’t important enough to me to record. I don’t pay extra for bottled water at restaurants. I’m good with the tap. So WHY should I pay for a data plan I don’t need? Has anyone asked themselves this? Or do we all just go along with what the bullies say? Or are we all so afraid not to have everything that we put up with anything?

I am not 16 so I’m not afraid someone might tease me for not having an iphone or a blackberry. But at this point I can’t get any phone more than 1 notch above a flip phone because I’m a crazy, rogue, social misfit who doesn’t need a data plan. I have a 9-5 job (for now). That means from 9am (approximately) to 5pm everyday I am in front of company internet. Then when I get home I got time warner cable internet. I even have a router so there is wi-fi.. That means the only time I don’t have internet is the 50 minutes on the train in the morning and the evening (where you can’t get the signal anyway). And if I’m not at work or home then I’m out; usually with friends, boyfriend or family. All people that I want to speak to and bond with and not be on the internet. And I don't Tweet so the only time it would help is if I need urbanspoon to find a restaurant but if we didn’t have it, we’d manage. So why should I pay for a data plan when internet is EVERYWHERE? It’s even at the Apple store, Best Buy, Starbucks, Barnes and Nobles and in parks…

So NO Verizon Wireless I will NOT give you $10 a month just to have a cool phone. You must not know who you are dealing with. I grew up in a house with no cable TV til I was 18. I have the same laptop since 2005, I have the same digital camera since 2003 that I got for free from my job, I do not have a navigation system in my car. I still print faulty directions off of mapquest and then I wing it. So if you wanna go Verizon Wireless we can GO! I’m ready.   

Review: My Infamous Life: The Autobiography of Mobb Deep’s Prodigy

The first thing that may take some getting used to about this book is that he actually wrote it. Yes he had an editor (not a great one, I found a few typos) but this book is literally in Prodigy’s words. Even if those words are ridiculously simple they are always straight to the point. Even if those words are abrasive, profane or hood, they are his (but not as profane as you might think). The words are appropriate for his life. He was shockingly candid and seemingly not afraid to expose his weaknesses and fears. If you are a fan of 90’s hip hop you will like this book. It gives Prodigy’s first person account of his entire life experience including how he got a deal, how he felt about the industry and the people that are part of it. He isn’t afraid to name names! He calls out so many people that I am sure he has new beef despite the fact that he ends off on a more mature I’m-past-it-all kind of note.

If you are from Queens it’s an extra treat just because you can picture every single street corner that he is describing from Hempstead, Long Island to Lefrak city. He talks about Sundays at the Tunnel for crying out loud. As a bonus, he includes a good amount of personal pictures of Mobb Deep with other rappers, their friends and also one pic of his kids and his wife.

He did what people wanted Jay-Z to do in Decoded (Jay-Z who Prodigy refers to as bitch boy more than once). He talks about his life and his feelings, he clears up what was or was not behind certain rap beefs, he talks about his woman and whoever else he may have boned. He talks about other rappers and he doesn’t sugar coat anything. I like the candidness and the straight forward delivery.

As far as how much he has matured my expectations and standards for him were a little too high after the book signing interview. I don’t know why I was trying to make him a dude I would really like. I like the music. That should be enough. His lifestyle and his behavior don’t have to become acceptable to me. It’s not about that.

• Yes he has a wife, but yes he is a cheater (maybe so was she. and I had a hard time getting over all these women being into him when he is so darn pequeno).
• Yes he began to read and gain higher awareness about society and his own health but it took a long time and a few relapses before he could put his learning into action and make real changes.
• Yes he has kids but I can’t paint him to be some awesome father (because whose version of “good father” am I referring to?.. and because he was way too young, immature and reckless in most of the book to be who I would call a good father).
• Yes he had loyalty to Havoc and his brand, but loyalty almost to a fault, loyalty that compromised his own goals in some ways.

Needless to say there are layers. There is no “all bad” and there is no “all good” for anybody I guess. Prodigy’s life is a perfect example of the specific shades of gray that color the lives of young, black, rappin-ass-negroes of the hood. Not necessarily from poverty but of a hood mentality. It’s an entertaining read to say the least.