While we have ended here, check out my collections of thoughts at dcbuppie.com!

Loyal Readers and Friends,

Buppietheblog.com is transforming as we know it. The truth is, it has definitely fallen off. Life around me as I know it has changed and I honestly am struggling to keep the blog going.

Thanks for sticking with us this far. Nonetheless, before you totally unsubscribe…

My contributors have been the best and I want to make sure you continue to support them.

Find Up&Coming here, she is beginning  a new road in life.

Dr.J who is a mainstream recognized blogger. Support his book when it drops. Keep up with him here.

And JaDee who is amazingly awesome writer with a fresh perspective. Check her out!

Last but not least , My Designer, my second opinion, my creative director. She designed everything for this site!

So we could not leave with out giving away some parting gifts!! You all have absolutely been so awesome! Leave a comment- make sure you enter your email address. We are raffling off 3 Buppietheblog American Apparel Unisex Tshirts!!!

So what is next for DCbuppie and buppietheblog??

Well I enjoy writing as my outlet so the site will still be up. All the old blogs will still here. But the focus will be returning to how it began. If you have been following for awhile, this began as EXPRESSIONS of  a Buppie. So back to the randomness and things that I find of interest…it will be a bit  tumblr, like.

Thanks for being apart of buppiedom! Don’t forget leave a comment. The raffle ends 7.10.2011!

I have been hella ghost. Well, I started a new position about a month and a half ago.

I love it!!  Finally I am in position where it is a new challenge, excellent potential for career growth, and with an awesome and diverse team.

But I have to say I am becoming the buppie I hate. That chick that all she do is work.  That buppie that misses all the blissful moments in life, because she or he “gotta get that paper”.

It is not just work that consumes me, OH NO.

I’m a buppie,  so that means, that at any one time,  I am signed up for at least 3 extra activities. This can range from Church, Sorority, Alumni, Entrepreneurial ventures,  Services organizations, Degrees…etc.

On top of that, at some point you got to work out. So add that 2-3 times a week. And other physical upkeep things, such as haircuts, spa, etc.

Ever just think, why am I doing the most?

It is amazing to have opportunity, to seize the day.. But damn where is the balance? Is there a balance?

Why is it that we are impelled to do more and add more to our plate?

So, did you hear? They caught Osama bin Laden. No, no lie.

When I heard this Sunday night at work, I was shocked. I didn’t know what to think. Then I saw people on CNN cheering, hugging, and grinning like they’d won the lottery. Maybe “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson? That celebrating is creepy as hell. Am I the only one who thinks celebrating death like that (unless you’re celebrating someone’s life, in the spirit of a jazz funeral) is bad luck? I’m just saying.

The last few weeks have been all about Obama’s birth certificate. Because surely one of those people can’t be our president LEGALLY. So while Obama is hearing all of these details of his location and being actively involved in decision making that actually found our very unfriendly version of Carmen San Diego, the right is demanding to see our president’s birth certificate. I can only imagine the president’s thoughts right now. Probably something like “Bow down, bitches?” (Thank you, American Idol reject Rhonetta for that quote. I knew it would come in handy someday.)

Almost ten years, and the mission is finally, truly accomplished. What the hell? How did we get here? Well, I’ll say this. If you’re going to say things like “bomb them to the stone age,” “smoke them out of their holes,” “dead or alive,” and putting bounties on your suspect’s head like it’s some kind of twisted Tarantino western, show some fidelity and do it.

But this chapter ends instead with a tale of someone who was all talk and no (real) action, running all up and through Iraq…while bin Laden is laid up in Pakistan having a grand old time (so to speak). Someone so focused on his own personal pocketbook/business instead of truly accomplishing some mission. And it took our supposed incognito alien, Muslim president to take care of business.

BOOM! How’s that for an ending?

Via Colorlines

America is getting more and more diverse — for instance, our Hispanic population grew by 43 percent in the past decade alone — but you’d never be able to tell it by looking at our Congress. Here’s what the House and Senate look like today, alongside what they would look like if they were demographically representative of our nation. Spoiler alert: There’s not a lot of color on the Hill.

The paramount issue is upward mobility for diverse communities. Running for Public Office is not cheap. When we begin to look into income levels and backgrounds, I think we will find the reflection accurate. Another factor, I would have liked to see in this study is age.  How old is our country vs our congress?

Buppies, What can we do to elevate our people into this type of servant leadership?

Today’s Buppie Don’t…You know what..let me let this video speak for it’s self.

Word. Does Chris Rock have a point?

I’m one of those people who believes that the large majority of Black people do not tip, but only because they do not know how to properly tip.  This isn’t a pass, most of your etiquette questions can be solved by a simple Google search.  However, I asked eleven questions about tipping to seven Black folks, here are their answers:

The Black Folks:

Lashawn, Female, age 28, living in NJ and working in Marketing.

Ness, Male, age 25, living in NYC and working in Advertising.

Chris, Male, age 27, living in Philadelphia and working as a Bartender.

Cara, Female, age 27, living in Tampa and working in Public Health.

Morris, Male, age 29, living in NYC and working in Advertising.

 Lia, Female, age 25, living in VA and working in Event Planning.

 Jeff, Male, age 30, living in NYC working in IT Consulting.

1.  What is the appropriate amount to tip for a meal?

Lashawn, 20%

Ness, 10-15% depending on the price of the meal

Chris, 20%

Cara, 20%

Morris, 20%

Lia, 20%

Jeff, Double the tax of the meal. If no tax in your state, 15%

2.  What is the appropriate amount to tip for alcoholic beverages?

Lashawn, 18%

Ness, I really don’t agree with tipping more than $2 a drink for someone who pours beer in cups. I know how to pour beer in a cup without spilling it. A waiter has to balance trays and get yelled at for the cheese not being melted. A bartender normally is a good looking chick that just has to wear a low cut shirt and pour without spilling. No homo but I know a male bartender works harder for tips so I’ll tip them better maybe if i got it.

Chris, $2 per drink, 20% for a tab over 5 drinks

Cara, 10-15%

Morris, 20%

Lia, 50%

Jeff, $2-$3, $5 if the bartender made MAD drinks.

Dr. J – The proper way to tip according to Gentleman’s etiquette is $5 for the first drink and $1 for each subsequent.

3.  Do you tip the bathroom attendant?

Ness, Hell no, but that job sucks. You gotta smell people piss and $#!* all night.

Chris, $2 for the night

Cara, Only when I have cash, which is never. One time at mansion in Miami I was so schmaammerd I gave the bathroom attendant a $100 bill. I’m pretty much paid up for life.

Lia, If they are helpful, not if they just stand and greet me.

Jeff, RARELY.

Dr. J – In order for me to tip a bathroom attendant, he’s got to know his role.  Don’t take the paper towels and put some Softsoap on my hand.  You’ve got to make my bathroom experience better, that includes being cordial.

4.  Do you tip your hairdresser or barber?  If so, how much.

Lashawn, Yes, my hair usually costs $25 at max, so I tip $5

Cara, Depends if they own their own salon or if they’re at a commercial salon. If they own they’re own salon I’ll tip between 5-10 dollars. If they are part of a commercial salon I’ll try to tip 10% of the cost of the service.

Morris, Yes. Lineup costs $7 so i pay him $10. cut cost $13 so I pay him $20.  Pay him double for Christmas.

Lia, Depends on how much I like their work. Usually 20-50% range.

Jeff, I tip $5-$8, make it an even $20 for a $12-$15 haircut. He’s cut my hair since 9th grade!

5.  Have you ever avoided a gratuity by splitting the group up into smaller groups?

Lashawn, No, most places I visit won’t allow you to do so.

Ness, Yeah but that’s more so I don’t have to partially pay for someone’s meal not avoid a tip.

Chris, Preposterous.

Cara, No, that is the cheapest sh*t in the universe. Adults with jobs just split the bill.

Dr. J – The only time it’s appropriate to split a group is in the interest of time.  Smaller groups are usually sat quicker than larger groups, especially larger than six patrons.

6.  How do you feel when someone in your party decides to skim or not tip at all?

Lashawn, Livid because we then have to pick up the slack.

Ness, It makes me tip because I don’t want to look bad. Even though I’m not the BEST tipper I will tip.

Chris, Unless the service is horrible, they are horrible human beings.

Cara, That they are an embarrassment, and maybe they should’ve went to Subway.

Morris, I don’t ever go out with them again or I specify exact cost including tip & gratuity beforehand.

Lia, Infuriated.

Jeff, I look down on them for having no class, unless the service was horrible.

Dr. J – As a person who overtips, if we have this problem, I’ll speak up.

7.  When is it appropriate to not tip?

Lashawn, When service is absolutely unacceptable.

Ness, When they ignore your table for mad long and take forever.

Chris, Never.

Cara, When you get bad service or there’s something in your food. If the service is good, I’ll tip even if things are free sometimes.

Morris, Terrible service.

Lia, Bad, Bad, Horrible service, or lack thereof.

Jeff, Bad service or counter service at a diner.

Dr. J – Never.  If you feel that your service has been horrible to the point of not tipping, ask to speak to the manager and have the meal price adjusted for the price of “on the house.”

8.  What are some places that you think people tend to forget to tip?

Ness, You can’t forget, some people just don’t got it. Sometimes people say “don’t go out if you don’t got it” but I think that’s unfair to say I can’t get a good steak to eat just because I don’t got extra money. That’s like saying the lower class should just stick to Wendy’s.

Cara, The bathroom, and my nail salon only accepts cash tips. I never have cash.

Morris, Mailman.

Lia, Spa, Nail Salons, Bowling lanes, Coat checks…

Jeff, Valets at Hotels and curb side check in at airports, hotel attendants.

9.  Do you tip at an open bar?  If so, how much?

Ness, Yea same rule applies, not more than $2 a drink they still pour beer in cups.

Chris, If you want stellar service and your drinks on time, tip $20 at the beginning of the night.

Morris, $1/drink, more if i like the bartender. when i was younger, id give the bartender $20 at an open bar & tell him to make sure my glass never empty

Lia, 20-50% of the price the drink would’ve been.

10.  Worst horror story about tipping.

Lashawn,  I was at a restaurant and no one gave a tip, so I decided to put the tip on my card, It was only 15% but the waiter came back and looked at the bill and pointed to the tip line. He was probably not too enthused by the amount of his tip, but he definitely wanted to discuss.

Ness, Last weekend the owner of this bar I’m a regular at lectured me about tipping his bartender who according to him “doesn’t make shit.” I didn’t dispute because I planned to tip but I didn’t tip him because he was the owner. He makes all the real money.

Chris, Five difficult drinks mixed and served, no tip.

Lia, My cousin tried to tip a waitress 50 cents… after 20 minutes of arguing she decided to tip a WHOLE dollar. Very embarrassing.

Jeff, Big group of people, bill arrives, everyone ONLY paying their exact amount, leaving tip nil. It took like 25 minutes to finally squeeze the money out of people. Never again.

Dr. J – While celebrating a friend’s birthday, I decided to buy several shots from the bar.  Upon receiving the tab, I hurriedly added a 20% tip and signed my life away.  Later I would find out that tip & gratuity were included in tabs over $100.

11.  Personal success stories about tipping, or general words of advice.

Lashawn, You should always tip anywhere you go as you don’t know how your tip can help someone. Many places don’t pay well, and tips comprise the bulk of an employees pay, so please keep that in mind when you are out and about.

Ness, I tipped this bartender to the point she gave me a free drink, me being naive thought she was trying to get at me. I ended up striking out. So don’t get gassed fellas.

Chris, Always tip black people, especially because you are not expected to. Your poor service maybe the result of someone before you not tipping, it’s a vicious cycle.

Cara, Don’t be an asshole.

Morris, Tip or stay home.

Lia, Always leave a tip when another person provides any type of personal service for you.  Good service = Good Tip — Bad service = Bad Tip — No Service = No Tip… Simple

Jeff, Remember that the same people you meet on the way up are the same people you’ll see on the way down. We’ve all done tip based work before. Remember how you felt, and tip accordingly!

Dr. J –  When on vacation, tip everyone.  You never know who might have some words of advice for you, or be able to help you out.

I hope everyone enjoyed the article and the insights.  Don’t be those people who don’t tip, and don’t embarrass your associates or friends by not tipping.

A double whammy for the Buppie Don’t files…

Recently a friend of mine invited a guy she likes to a local concert. This came after 8 months of semi-stalking him at his place of work (a restaurant, so she simply upped her patronage to an average of twice weekly….since August). They have been flirting for the duration, and he’s made a point of actively telling her how awesome, gorgeous, and essential she is whenever he saw her. For some reason, they never connected. After three months of flirting, I told her someone needed to shit or get off the pot. Months later, the time had finally arrived. 

He said he didn’t have money for the tickets (mind you, this is almost a month in advance). She said she’d be able to pick one up for him if he could pay her back on the day of the show. He hesitated.  Finally he agreed. Then asked if she could pick up two for him. The other would be for the girl he’s been dating the last couple of months. Oh, and he’s moving to Maryland in a month.

Um, yeah.

My friend is not the most assertive one in the bunch, so she agreed. Oh, yes, she did.

So, as of right now, she is at a concert with her crush and his girl.  This probably would have been more appropriate for the February “Played” series. Red flags all over the place, and trifling on all sorts of levels, right? Yes, my friend was at fault, but dude was just wrong for that.

Anyway, I couldn’t help but think of this:

“April First- This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three-hundred and sixty-four.”-Mark Twain

So in that spirit, wouldn’t it be nice if Valentine’s Day were more like April Fools?

And this, because I can think of at least 5 Rufus Wainwright songs right now that would fit this situation:
April Fools

I have been meaning to write this blog since the week that this album released but I couldn’t get through the whole thing. However, on my way back from a weekend trip in DC I decided to give this album a thorough listen. And boy am I glad I did. When I originally tried to listen to this album I lost interest after track 5. For some strange reason once I got to that point the album just lost my attention. However, this album is raw emotion and talent and I applaud it. Marsha is honest, passionate, sexy, and souful and her vocals are unmatched. Yes, she can sing but the style and fervor of her voice is refreshing which sets her apart. She spills out the contents of her heart on this album and I am very appreciative. I have been a big fan of Marsha Ambrosius since she was part of the duo Floetry. I also really enjoyed her mixtapes so I was heavily anticipating the release of her first solo album. And she did not disappoint.

The first single of this album “Far Away” generated a LOT of buzz due to the video depicting the trials and stigma of a black man dealing with his homosexuality, based on the true story of Marsha’s best friend. In case some of you haven’t seen it here it is:

The fearlessness and honesty in which Marsha chose to present this topic was admirable and made me anticipate this album in its entirety that much more. The album begins with some very sultry ballads, “With You” and “Late Night Early Mornings” that are seductive yet tastefully done. Very grown and sexy. It then has songs that delve into heartbreak in many forms such as “Far Away” and “I Want You To Stay”. What I like about the heartbreak songs are that they have many tempos. They convey anger and sadness in different forms other than the slow and sad. To top everything off there are the classic love songs that one can relate to and enjoy (Your Hands). My only criticism is that I may have changed the track order. I do not think the album flows as well as it could which is the reason why I originally couldn’t get through the whole thing. However, aside from that I feel that Marsha has not at all disappointed her fan base with this debut solo album.

If you are a fan of genuine, soulful, and mature music definitely give this album a listen. You will not be disappointed! Bups any other recent albums that you suggest we listen to??? Please tell us in the comments. All genres are welcome!