Jan 30, 2026: seat at the table

I was in the most impactful meeting of my life this morning. Life altering impactful. It was so impactful that I spent a good two hours explaining to nikkigirl how proud I was of myself. A deeply personal and emotional moment shared between lifelong partners. I've never done that before. Ever.

I realized just how much every moment in my life prepared me for today's meeting. I was ready. I was confident. I was funny. I deserved to be where I was.

I earned a seat at the table.

After the first section written today, I spent some time with program design for a bit, did a bit of housework (I needed me time), and had my favorite music on shuffle. Typically, I am a full album, front to back kind of guy. After a while though? I need the choas of random ideas to flood my brain and snap me out of the monotony of it all. Well this random moment aligned with today's theme and here we go......

First song? Live and Let Live by Souls of Mischief. The chorus:

Next item up for bid - The Truth (feat Common & Talib Kweli) by Pharoahe Monch. I absolutely ❤️ this song. First released in 1999, this is a direct hit for me. Full bulls-eye. This song speaks to my soul. A few key lines from each player:

Third is the turd. Ever heard that terrible 2nd grade joke? First is the worst.......second is the best......third is the turd. We will also accept.......third is the nerd. I love terrible 2nd grade jokes.

Anywho, third song on the list is Cecilia by Simon and Garfunkel. Okay, so this one won't really fit the theme here so we are going to skip over this one because I couldn't find a good idea here. Or did I?

As "The Truth" was 4told - get it 4, uh, told, fourth song. Eek, moving along.

Point being, the next song is American Terrorist by Lupe Fiasco. Now, here we pause to make note of the absolute disaster that this country is. Think about the words American Terrorist for a moment. How relevant is that today? How long has it been that every day feels like today? America was born on terrorism.

Within the sadness that is the last paragraph, Lupe starts the song with this simple ideal:

How about a play on the number 5 for our fifth song?

What a great movie. As somebody who talks to computers for a living, I can assure you: Johnny 5 Is Alive.

We jump back into the music with Game Theory by The Roots. After a detour into Cecilia, who's breaking my heart, we jumped into American Terrorist and the shit show that is today. With Game Theory we get back on message. Hit that last link if you are unfamiliar with the concept in this context.

If I was to simplify how I ended up with a seat at the table into one idea, it would be Game Theory. While I'm not perfect, I've also played my cards right.

Quick batch of lyrics from Black Thought:

I love Knight Rider. Full stop.

I'm bored with the number games so we jump right into Starin' Through My Rear View by 2Pac. This song aligns with what my day has been like. In my most vulnerable moments today, I mapped the where I am today all the way back to my earliest memories. Everything has mattered. I'm where I should be.

2pac can take it away from here:

Last, but certainly not least, we close with the feminine voice found within Every Single Night by Fiona Apple. Take it away m'lady:

I know it's taken us awhile to get here so let's summarize. TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read):

That TL;DR was originally written as a summary paragraph and then I decided to chop it into pieces to fit the previous formatting and lyrics from my favorite song writers. It wasn't written to rhyme, but as Nas would tell you: It Was Written.