Got the ABBEY MAGNET?

I have no clue what to do with myself these days people. No essays to write, no deadline to beat, nothing...just work, tutoring and volunteering. That sounds more than enough right? But the thing is that I only tutor once a week now and volunteering is also only on Saturdays so the rest of the week is just...BLAH! I technically don't even need to tutor any more, thanks to a surprise 50% raise I got at the end of the summer. 50% of not much, is a little less than not much but add that to not much and it's still better than what you started with, you follow? Thank GOD for little mercies. But like I said, I need to keep busy if not I'll really begin to go crazy. I'm already checking my email every 20 seconds for any kind of news from the med schools and if I stay at home too long, I might just begin to sit by the mail box and slide tackle the poor mail man to find out what he has in the bag for me. If that doesn't spell emerging insanity, I wonder what does. OK I realize I'm just blabbing right now, but there really is a point to this post. REALLY.

In all this free time I've been blessed with lately, I've been looking back on my short life and trying to think of everyone that inspired me in some way or the other. Most of the people on the list might be familiar to many of you but others might not. I know you are probably expecting a long list of Neurosurgeons, Cardiologists and such but ironically, only a few if any make my list. Each person on this list has a certain quality I call the ABBEY MAGNET. It is something that makes me remember them in certain life situations and thinking of what they'll do in these scenarios usually comes in only second to "WWJD?". I'm hard to please so for me to actually list a name on here, the person has gone through various screening processes. So sit back, relax and maybe edumacate yourself...

(PS: I decided to go multi-media on y'all today so seriously ENJOY cus putting up these pics were a pain, maybe I'll get better at it)

THE HOLDERS OF THE "MUCH COVETED" ABBEY MAGNET:

ELLEN DEGENERES:

Isn't she something? She is more than just the gay woman in the pant suit and white sneakers tickling your funny bone at a 100 tickles/min on day time TV. What strikes me is her desire to be different. In an interview with one of them magazines(sorry I don't remember which, but I can never forget what she said), the interviewer asked her something in the line of why she never cursed or used loads of sexual innuendos when trying to be funny, you know, like the numerous other stand up comedians on TV today. Her answer? Taking that road was too easy. All you had to do these days was throw in a few four letter words and go into details about your sexual escapades and people burst out laughing. Creativity, optional. She didn't long for easy/cheap laughter. She took the high road, the path less travelled and she's bringing her audiences to tears daily with her dance steps and creative humor. And that my friends, is her ABBEY MAGNET.


DENZEL WASHINGTON: Yes the brother is fine, but so are Blair Underwood, Morris Chestnut and arguably Samuel L. Jackson. And yes he is as charitable as they come, donating money and more importantly, his time, to numerous charities world wide. But his ABBEY MAGNET is his SELECTIVITY. People have argued that Samuel L. Jackson is just as good an actor as Denzel, and the latter's greater popularity can be attributed to his killer looks. Every time I am just starting to get convinced about this fact, Samuel finds a way to screw it up. I mean...Snakes on a freaking Plane? Every movie of Denzel's has been on point, he has drawn me into whatever character he plays. I remember the first movie of his I watched, it was his potrayal of Malcolm X. I fail to disclose my age at the time I saw this movie, but I went on with my life thinking Denzel was actually Malcolm himself. Is that some good acting or me just having a very long Jessica Simpson moment? I like to think of it as the former.

MOTHER DEAREST: How many women, actually, AFRICAN women, go back to school at age 40 to get a Law Degree? This woman has given me no excuse to do any thing but follow my dreams. No matter how many of us "bundles of joy" come between.
ABBEY MAGNET: Her reputation for whooping lives into shape since 1982 and simultaneously following her passions. Nuff said?

SHONDA RHIMES: Let me use this opportunity to explain a few things. Even though many people might see my profile picture and assume I am an ardent Grey's Anatomy Fan, I really am anything but. It takes a bit more than residents sleeping with their attendings to catch my attention. I actually enjoyed the first season (watched the DVD this summer) but this season so far requires me to switch off all higher thought processes to allow myself be entertained. What other way would I be able to watch two grown men agree to vie for one woman's love and attention, on her orders? What chivalry. So am I just listing Shonda on here to bash her show? NO, I am well aware of the topic of the post. Her ABBEY MAGNET comes from her ability to REBOUND. No not that kind of rebound...hopping into that new guy's arms isn't going to cure the pain the last one caused...but let me not divert. After many trials and a few errors, movie scripts that never went into production and other tv show ideas (source: The NY Times) Shonda finally came out with a winning formula and and about 23 Million Americans say AMEN to that every Thursday night. She has got me too, maybe more out of curosity than anything and I have to give her credit for that.

PS: I found out a few years back that Gray's Anatomy, emphasis on the 'A' in grAy was actually the holy grail of human anatomy in medical school hence the name of the show.

Dr.K aka Mr.Miyagi:
You met this character a few posts ago. He taught me not to look for 'cool' bosses, but instead, the ones that supposedly can never be satisfied. Cus let's face it, no boss is really that cool, the 'cool' mask usually comes off the minute they step into that board room to "recommend" you for a promotion with the powers that be. Dr.K's ABBEY MAGNET? This one took me the longest to discover...but I eventually did. It was the importance of patience and TOUGH love on a learning child.


NATASHA BEDINGFIELD: Was introduced to this aussie by a very dedicated Ghanian Fan and gradually acquired a taste for her music. One of her songs "Unwritten" actually inspired this blog and everytime I listen to it, I feel empowered to make a difference in my future. Pardon the "clicheness" of that sentence...but there really is no other way to describe her effect on me. Here is a small part of the song:

"Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words you cannot find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitons
Feel the rain on your skin..."

You just have to listen to it to appreciate it.

MARK ZUCKERBERG: 22 year old Creator and CEO of the second most popular social networking site -Facebook.com. This cultural phenonmenom has had some of the biggest .coms saying Yahoo! at an opportunity to purchase it for a $1 billion price tag, awww...if only Mark was selling. ABBEY MAGNET? His ability to nurture an intsy-bitsy idea that started in the walls of Harvard to a 10-million-member global phenomenom and still be humble enough to interact directly with his customers from his tiny one bedroom apartment. Mark will you be my friend...please?

MIKE ADENUGA JNR: Arguably one of the richest men in Nigeria, this man has a holding in almost all of the country's major sectors-telecommunication, banking, oil, you name it.
ABBEY MAGNET: His ability to recognize a good business opportunity and take educated risks. Another person with a similar ABBEY MAGNET is Donald Trump. Watching his show, the Apprentice, is equivalent to obtaining a 1 hour MBA degree. Init?

WILLIAM "BILL" GATES: How many people will have as much money as this guy does and decide to use a good percentage of it to cure a disease that he had almost a 0% chance of acquiring. He is one of those people you know deserves every penny he has to his name, all 5.5 trillion of them.

WILLIAM "BILL" CLINTON: Slightly different from the other Bill. Less money more personality. This man is a true people person. How else would one describe a president that got two families all the way in Nigeria praying that he did not get impeached despite his gravely misguided escapades during his term? Even in the fight against AIDS in Africa, Bill Gates provides the capital but Clinton connects with the people, even little kids that never saw him before are drawn to him for some weird reason. During one of his recent trips to Zambia, he actually stopped the tour van him and Bill Gates were riding in to spend some time with the people on the sidelines cheering him on(source: The NYTimes). Now that's a people person right there not some celebrity signing autographs on the red carpet.

The moment I post this up I'm going to remember a hundred other people that I should have added to this list, but that's OK it is a dyanmic list. Some people may lose their ABBEY MAGNET as time goes on and others might acquire it. OK just remembered some people for my honorable mentions list:

KIRK FRANKLIN: For being brave enough to show that christians are real people struggling with various recurring addictions too.

A CERTAIN GUY: For instilling in my brain the concept of "Human beings make the rules, so every one of them can be changed/bent". Once I finally imbibed this concept, getting a "NO" response from a person/company/med school has come to mean nothing more than a "Show us how badly you want it".




ANDERSON COOPER: For his self motivation. Even though everything was laid down to him on a platter of gold, Ivy League Connections, huge family name, etc he left it all behind and created a name for himself.




SYDNEY SHELDON: An amazing story teller. I love his ability to convert you into a recluse for a day or two all in an attempt to find out how his stories will end. The diversity of each of his stories is also spell binding...unlike John Grisham...an example of someone that lost his ABBEY MAGNET.

Who holds your "insert your name here" magnet?