Top 10 (Something Different/New)

Hey, so I decided to give something new a try...well not entirely new cuz I'm pretty sure I've done this before, but I;m gonna try to make this a more consistent thing on this blog. Lists...lists are so interesting for me at least...buzzfeed, bleacher report...I'm always clicking the lists of lists for favourite foods, highlights, whatever it might be. So I'm not sure how this'll work...hopefully I can branch it off to something other than like just music (as this is what today's list will focus on). Again, I'm not too sure of the format...it might not always be top 10, maybe tpp 5 if I can't think of that many for whatever list I'm creating...but yeah, I'm gonna try my best to crank these out consistently, hopefully each week Today's list is a top 10 songs on my playlist...music is such a big part of my life and I truly enjoy a real wide range of music...moreso R&B and Rap/Hip-Hop of course...but I dig and can get down with a lot of kinds of music...as I hope this and future lists will show. So anyways...here are the top 10 songs on my playlist, feel free to check them out if the artists or titles seem appealing, but these are the songs I can't stop listening to, to they're pretty banging...imo at least lol.

1) SZA - Love Galore feat. Travis Scott
People assume I'm like a hard Rap/Hip-Hop guy,but I think my true love is R&B and slow, sultry jams. SZA's voice is so alluring, it's soft but it's different...then the beat kicks in and man...vibes. Then of course Travis Scott, who's quickly become one of my top 5 artists comes in with a dope and catchy verse. He's like a Nate Dogg where any song he's on...you know his verse/chorus is gonna be fire.

2) Majid Jordan - One I Want feat. PARTYNEXTDOOR
IF you know Majid Jordan, you know their (or his I should say) voice is dope, typical crooner, slow jam, serenade your girl kinda voice. And Party, well he's just dope in general...so these 2 combined, mixed with a slow and head bobbing beat is definitely a hit.

3) Amine - Wedding Crashers feat. Offset
Shoutouts to the boy for showing me this song. Amine is one of those dudes who succeeds in both rapping and singing on the same song. The beat sounds kinda like some sort of cartoon theme song at the beginning, but it really grows on you...especially when the chorus hits...and of course, Offset, OFFSETTTT does his thing.

4) PARTYNEXTDOOR - Freak In You feat. Drake
I mean it's Drake...do I really need an explanation? He's like the Lebron of music, he's widely criticized, but look at all he's done and is doing, it's crazy...just gotta appreciate it. If you like it when Drake sings, this song is probably for you, mixed with a slow Party kinda beat, Drake fits in seamlessly.

5) DJ Khaled - Down For Life feat. PARTYNEXTDOOR, Future, Travis Scott, Rick Ross, Kodak Black
Khaled really is out here assembling some next level Justice League on his album...he has pretty much everybody on it. This song is dope cuz it gives you a little bit of everything...some bars, autotune, mumble rap, there's a little something for everyone.

6) Khalid - Coaster
The first time I ever heard Khalid's voice was on this song...I was in the car with my boy and I was like bruhhhh...this makes me wanna cry...but like happy tears, but also kinda sad because it makes you think about the one that got away...LOOOL. He has that Weeknd, unique kinda voice...so this slow, somber, melodic beat really allows you to just take in his voice...geez.

7) NAV & Metro Boomi - Held Me Down
Again, NAV has a very distinct voice, but I feel he's hit or miss...and by that I mean you either like him or you dislike him...for me, he's a hit. His first album was on repeat for a long while. This album, I still need to take some time to listen to, but when I was scrolling through the album quickly, this song automatically caught my attention and was a banger from the start.

8) 21 Savage - Numb
21 is someone who will take some time to grow on you. It goes into the debate of like mumble rap and if it's dope or not lol. It's weird because his voice is very soft, so he doesn't necessarily go HARD, but like...something about his voice, it flows you know lol, but the beats on his song are always fire that's for sure.

9) Brian Puspos - Starting Line
So he's actually a dancer, like choreo, I never knew he could sing, but maaaan can he sing. If you like that typical, slow song, love jam, play for your girl kinda ting...this is for you.

10) Lecrae - I'll Find You feat. Tori Kelly
When I first heard the song, I vibed with it immediately. Tori Kelly's vocals are on another level, her voice is soooo good. Lecrae's flow comes through in this song, it's complimented with a slow beat, definitely a song that kinda makes you sit and have a moment of introspection and reflection.

Perfect Timing

Hey, I know it's been a while, too long...doesn't this feel like deja vu...like I always have to say something along those lines because I always go a long while without posting. Sorry...I've been lacking a lot of motivation as of late. But back to the post...I feel like there's no such thing as perfect timing. In terms of things like asking a girl out, telling her you like her, or even things like saying sorry and apologizing...I feel there's no perfect time for those things. But yet we...or at least me for the longest time...we try our best to wait for that perfect time...for all the stars to align. Let's take asking a girl out for example...we wait for all the perfect signs...she smiles at you, she touches you a lot, she's dropping a lot of hints...we wanna make sure that everything is right and perfect. But there's really no such thing as perfect timing I feel. Take like asking your parents for something for example...say you wanna go out for a sleepover or something...you wanna make sure they're in a good mood, they're not busy, that you've been good for last little bit. One thing I've been learning a lot lately is that there's no such thing as perfect timing...and that sometimes you just gotta go for it...even if you aren't positive of the end result. Sometimes we want things to be perfect so we know that they'll turn out the way we want it. Let's focus on relationships and asking girls out for example. We wanna be sure that all the signs are correct, that we're 100% sure that she likes us before we take that leap of faith. We ask her friends what she thinks about us, creep her social media and try to read all of her tendencies and social cues lol...bruh do you have any idea how stressful that is on the brain. That...not to mention the fact that you'll keep going back and forth with little things she does wondering if that's a sign or not. Oh, I said this, she laughed...but she gave a short reply...what does that mean? Fellas...sometimes you just gotta go for it, there's no such thing as the perfect time to ask her out or to tell her you like her. Ladies, same thing I feel. Sometimes you just gotta go for it and deal with the result. With me at least...with the previous girl I was dealing with...I was hella stressing...does she like me, what does this mean, what does that mean...she likes me right, naaah but she said this, but she took this long to reply, maybe she doesn't like me. My boy was like yo...why don't you just ask her...be straight up. It's a load off your plate...that way you have your answer, if it's a yes...dope, move forward. If it's a no, then you move on. The worst she can say is no...and that hit me hella hard, true...the worst she can say is no...that and I move on, I don't stress about the signs, the timing and all that jazz...so yeah, that's just me...cuz I feel like I've been talking to a lot of friends about timing...perfect timing...to ask her out, to apologize, to ask for a favour and what not...there is no perfect time to be honest...there's better times than others...but no such thing as perfect time...so yeah, till next time, whenever that is...peace out.

Retreat 2017

Retreat 2014

Retreat 2015

Retreat 2016

Wow, so it's super crazy and interesting reading retreat posts over the years...my mentality going in and stuff...remembering exactly what I did, who I chilled with and such. Lemme say first of all...after a long weekend of being around people all weekend all the time, it's nice to just be by myself and have some alone time to kinda balance my insides lol. Bro, so I read last year's retreat post and I apparently got a combined total of 8 hours of sleep...fam, this year I only got a total of like 6 hours of sleep. So lemme go ahead and say that this year...going into retreat, I was excited and looking forward to it. I was more comfortable with all the people going and as well I had some close friends to fall back on and chill with if everyone was busy. Going into retreat this year, I was excited for many reasons...the speaker we had was dope, overall all the people going were hella chill and fun to be around, people I'm comfortable with. The first day is always kinda eh cuz you essentially go there just to sleep. We had our first session and some small group time, very general and warm up stuff since it was only the first day. The first night I didn't end up sleeping till 6 am...I ended up just chilling with a couple of different people, having some real good conversations...it ended up being a super emotional night...and weekend in general...not for me...I kinda just sat back and took everything in and listened whenever people needed me to listen. It was cool cuz by the time it hi like 5 am, the sun started to rise so my boy and I went outside and kinda just walked around for a bit...until all the bugs started coming for us that is LOL. Day 2 was a real long day...I had to gt up at like 8 ish for breakfast...but the fatigue and lack of sleep didn't really hit me till nighttime. Throughout the day, it was pretty standard stuff, our second session, group photos, some group games and free time. I will say this...I had a conversation with my boy during dinner and we were talking about past retreats...how sometimes it was kinda boring because the people around us weren't really bout it...they would sit around during games, wouldn't participate and stuff. But this year he was like man...these kids are really contagious...their energy, happiness and excitement...made me really wanna get into the games and all that stuff...and I was like yeah bro, I'm telling you, these kids are hella fun to be around. So that was really dope to hear from him. So the last night session was when the lack of sleep finally started hitting me...bro every time I blinked or had to close my eyes, it felt like I was gonna fall asleep LOL. Come nighttime, it was dope to see like a good 20-25 people chilling in one room playing board games and just being around each other...how often does that get to happen? OHHHH...on that note...bro, so our church was like...do not bring board games or card games this year...they made that an actual rule...saying it distracts from fellowship and stuff...BRUHHHHHH. All I'll say is...do you think the same thing would happen if there weren't any cards or board games at retreat? Tbh, I think everybody would be doing their own thing...watching movies on their laptops, playing pool, taking walks, maybe even sleeping earlier. Shout out to my dude the milk man tho LOL. But forreal, even that first night before the cards and games were brought out...after the first session a bunch of us were sitting in the common room looking at each other like so guys...what do you wanna do? So yeah...it's like any party right...you gotta have games of some sort...so people at least have an option to do something if they want...talking with each other is always going to be an option, but when it's the only option, it's like shoot...you feel forced to find someone to talk to otherwise you're on your own. Games at least give you that icebreaker to talk to people you might not normally talk to. Sorry for this kinda mini rant...I'm just not a fan of rules that don't make any sense or have no logic behind them you know...but are expected to be followed simply cuz they're rules...yeah I sound like some sort of anti-authority figure right now don't I lol....whoops. Before I went to be the second day tho...a couple of us guys just chilled in someone's room and had some good conversations with each other...you know, guy talk...it was dope because I got to hear from this one guy I don't normally talk to on a personal level. Other than that, I ended up sleeping at like 4 am that night...literally I somewhat had an intention of just staying up all night LOL...but most people ended up sleeping earlier, so I was like alright, better sleep than be completely dead tomorrow. That last day...few of us had intentions of going to mcdonalds for breakfast because the breakfast that they serve is kinda lame lol...I ended up sleeping till like 9 ish and went straight to the first session. The last day, you could really see everyone just super tired and exhausted lol, all the lack of sleep finally caught up to me cuz I was so out of it the entire day. But overall...I'm thankful for retreat this year...it almost didn't happen fro what I heart. (I'm glad I got to have the conversations that I did with the people that I did. I'm thankful to God for giving me the energy to get through the weekend and the messages. Out of everything that was said, the one thing that will stick with me is when the pastor said that "failure is part of the journey" because it resonates with me so much. In our small groups, he was with us and he talked about how it's all about baby steps...like you're in the darkness and you have a flashlight and can only see what's in front of your feet....but we as people want to shine the light on the whole thing and what's like super far away from us...to be sure we're on the right track, not going the wrong way and such...but either way...you're still going towards the same destination. He gave a good analogy about using the stairs vs the elevator...how they both go to the same destination...but we take the elevator because we wanna get there quicker, but the stairs still leads you to the same destination. He was saying how lies always take the elevator, but the truth takes the stairs...so in the end, despite how slow it is...the truth always catches up with the lies. I dunno, it was just real cool to be able to talk to him one on one, hear from him and get to know him as a person and have him pray for each one of us individually. Definitely a retreat I won't forget anytime soon...till next time, peace out.

More Than Meets The Eye

I'm pretty sure that in any and every friendship, relationship or circle of friends...there's gonna be hard times, arguments, disagreements, so and so. What's more interesting is the perspective you have when you're looking at a certain thing. Let's take a random group of friends for example...outside looking in, they look super close, super happy, everybody gets along and everybody is best friends with everybody. But once you get inside that circle, you start seeing little cracks, minor disagreements, this person isn't as close to person A as they are to person B.. You kinda see what I mean? It's just interesting when you go from an outside perspective to a first hand/direct perspective. I've been seeing a lot of groups of friends who I believed were like hella close, talked everyday, super friendly and chummy with each other...but the more I get closer to some people, the more I see that the opposite is true. People in the so called circle aren't really close, don't really speak to each other that often, don't even see each other that often. It just kinda made me think about my own circles of friends you know...one question I asked my friend in her own little circle of friends was could you see yourself chilling with each girl one on one...and she said yes. Then I asked her, now do you think each of those girls could say the same...that they would be cool and comfortable with chilling with each of the girls in that group individually...and she said probably not. It's interesting isn't it...even in the tightest of circles...sometimes you're just not comfortable with everybody...sometimes, one person in a group acts as a link or a bridge and if they aren't there...things don't usually end up happening. It's just interesting to see I guess...how even the smallest, most intimate groups can have cracks and may not appear to be as 'perfect\ as an outsider would see them to be...so yeah, that's all I really have on my mind atm...peace out.

Rules For Dealing With A Friend's Ex-Girlfriend

Hey, it's me, Rodmond...RTtheRealest? LOL, yeah sorry that was me trying to copy 13 Reasons Why. Any ways...it's been...a while. Where have I been, what have I been doing? All that will be answered on the next episode of Dragon Ball Z. LOL okay but seriously tho. I've been meaning to post these past couple of days...but things always end up happening at night like I go out and then I come home and it's too late to post. Well Rodmond, why can't you just post in the day...doesn't work like that fam LOL. I dunno, just slips my mind I guess...like I just like posting at night, more people are at home, on their phones, they'll see it. Sometimes when I have time and I remember, I'll write an early post, save it as a draft and post it later on at night...that's what I did during the months where I would post everyday and I knew I would be going out of something. Anyways, I apologize, let's move on and move forward shall we?

You can read a very similar post here... Rules For Dealing With An Ex-Girlfriend

This is something completely different but also eerily similar as well, so I'm kinda linking them together.

Rule #1: DON'T DO IT
Rule #2: REFER TO RULE #1, WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW

LOL but honestly tho...I guess it depends on your personality and the person you're dealing with and whoever your friend is. To each his own right...every circumstance is different, but it's a dangerous game. Obviously the main question to ask yourself is how close you are to that friend and how much do you care about that friend and friendship. I'm talking like if this is a friend in your inner circle...not like a random acquaintance or peer you've had a class with. Someone you actually care about. For me...refer to rule #1. But Rodmond, you can't fight feelings  what if you fall for him/her. Honestly fam, don't even put yourself in a position to fall for him/her. Don't talk to them in that kinda way, definitely no one on one meet ups, it's pretty simple to be honest. Don't give me that oh but they messaged me first...if that's the case...set boundaries immediately. Trust me...is it really worth ruining a friendship for a girl? YOOO the worst is I know siblings who've dated the same girl...;like wait, hold up, pause, red light, stop sign...how does that work???? Like a friend is one thing...but a sibling? Bringing home a girl to your house that you know your brother has dated and brought home himself...man I just can't wrap my brain around that. And I don't understand the whole...but I just fell for him/her, it just happened...no it didn't 'just happen'...clearly things were said and moves were made in order for it to happen. Which is why you gotta take precautions with these kinds of things and not put yourself in that position in the first place. Again tho, it depends on you as a person...some people believe t's okay as long as you ask your friend for their blessing, which I guess is okay...but I guess just me as a person would feel super weird. Especially if they dated for a real long time and had strong like ties you know. But yeah...so that kinda happened to me once where my boy and his girlfriend broke up like a while ago...don't ask me when lol. A couple of months later, she like hit me up and kept trying to start conversation so I kinda just went with it. She then kept asking me to hang out and go for dinner and stuff and I already knew that was a bad idea. We weren't friends keep in mind, so there shouldn't be a reason for her to ask me out. So I was like uh, it's probably not a good idea. She kept pushing it, like hey let's chill and stuff...long story short, I went out with her like once, but during I told her like yo, you're cool and all but I can't do that to my boy, like we can be friends but I don't think it's a good idea to push it any further. So that was that, she would still hit me up to chill occasionally but I politely declined and kept it mostly to casual conversations. Again tho, to each his own. Totally depends on the kinda person you are, the other person, your friend and the circumstance you're in. This is kinda just how I dealt with it and feel about the topic in general. With that, I'll see you soon hopefully...peace.