Mama told me about days like this

People say they were never warned, but I know I was. My mom told me early. She didn't tell me a huge amounts of details, but she warned me. She said that my problem was I never learned how to enjoy the roller coaster.

She warned me of days of great feelings. She also said that sometimes, those days can turn around so quickly on you. As I got older, she would remind me. "You gotta enjoy the ride. The ups with the downs." That's how she put it.

The past weekend was an great example of the roller coaster she was telling me about. I had recently been getting attention to things I just started doing for fun. I like telling stories and YouTube allows infinite ways of doing so. I started by posting a response to a common question.

I got a bit more attention than I expected. Even folk from across the Atlantic noticed. Not a lot, but it crossed borders. A friend suggested that I reach out and try to create some dialogue with other bloggers. So I did.

Nothing happens over night and I'm no exception. It took three nights for a slight rise in notice. Dumbonyc.com liked my video showing places I go in Dumbo. They posted it on their website and the response surprised me. I got about 250 hits in a 24 hours period. That's not an instant success but it surprised me. Then, the biggest shocker happened.

But by the end of the week, the New York Times had took notice of my video. It didn't sink in at first for me. Hell, I even thought someone was pulling my chain. It took a few friends congratulating me to realize it. I was excited and wanted to celebrate.

But times are tough and I stayed home for the night. I shared it with my friends over the internet. I even joked about being broke by saying I wish I could afford some champagne. I woke up the next day excited and wanted to share the good news with more people. I got online and posted the link to my link on a few sites. I went on twitter and felt on top of the world.

It was like that moment when you are on a roller coaster, when you reach the top. You are looking around, enjoying the view. The difference, though, is you are expecting a fall. The ride is a build up of excitement about that fall. I, on the other hand, was not expecting a sudden drop.

You see, I got news of an old friend passing. It started as someone saying it better be a rumor. Then, everyone was tweeting RIP Baatin. I made a few phone calls to mutual friends and got nothing. You see, they were doing the same. It wasn't until Saturday afternoon that I talked to Mike. He said to me that it was true, with a cracking voice implying he was struggling to hold it together. I was feeling pretty much the same way.

Just when I felt as though I was coming out of shock, I had another heavy blow. My father had told me about his sister being assaulted (not by her abusive ex-husband but a neighbor) and then arrested for clocking him with a bat. I then called and talked to my cousin, her son, about the situation. People in the area said he was a bully and was asking for it. She called the police and played by the rules. Apparently, he knows how to skate around the rules.

All in all, I went on a crazy ride this weekend. It started like a great one, too. The tallest peak was up there, give me a nice view. The fall was fast and sharp, almost nausiating. Maybe it wasn't a great ride, now that I think about it. There was only one up this weekend.