Toni Braxton & R Kelly Define Me

Happy Holidays everyone!

I instantly recognized the first song as "Unbreak My Heart" by Toni Braxton. For Christmas that year (1996), I asked for Toni Braxton's and Keith Sweat's CDs because I loved the songs "Unbreak My Heart" and "Nobody". I loved them because they reminded me of Craig and Doug and Mike and all the other boys that didn't like me... or pretended they liked me just to shut me up and then dumped me after a two week limit. After I got those CDs for Christmas, I'd put the songs on repeat and bawl my eyes out thinking about how lonely and heartbroken and loveless I was. I soon grew to hate Toni Braxton and Keith Sweat. Why did I want those stupid CDs just to torture and depress myself?

A few years later, I tried to get rid of the CDs by selling them to a CD/Game Exchange store and the jerks wouldn't take them. Ugh. I think I may still have them somewhere back home. Who wants them?? Any takers? Word of warning: they will not help you recover from a recent breakup, they will only make you feel worse.

HOLD UP-- Apparently I never really listened to the lyrics of "Nobody" by Keith Sweat. Certainly Santa didn't preview this CD before giving it to a 13-year-old...

And who can love you like me
Who can sex you like me
Who can treat you like me now, baby
Nobody, baby
And who can do it like me
And who can give you what you need
Who can do you all night long
Nobody, baby

What in the WORLD? Who knew? To little 7th grade me, the message of this song was simply "I'm the best person for you and we belong together." The sexual stuff was wayyy over my head. Weird.

Anyhow, I didn't recognize the lyrics of the second song. Turns out it's "I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)" by R Kelly. I listened to it and honestly, I don't remember it. Maybe if I would have asked for the R Kelly CD instead of the Keith Sweat CD, it would be a different story. As a side note, who would have thought that the sensitive and respectful-looking man in the "I Can't Sleep Baby" video would go on to create such musical gems as the "Trapped in the Closet" series and "Sex in the Kitchen"... oh not to mention that whole child porn thing...

Here are some links in case you want to go back in time and re-live those classic 90s songs...
Toni Braxton
Keith Sweat
R Kelly

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“11-29-96 Dear Yraid, Hello. Thanksgiving was great. Really good food. We ate at Nana’s. Today I went to see “Jingle All the Way” with Lianna, Seth, Abri, & Mike. That was a good movie. Arnold Schwarzenegger was great in that movie. Mom I sick. She has a migraine & she’s throwing up. They (Mom & Dad) went to the hospital this morning. The doctor gave her some shots & she’s been sleeping all day. She says she’s feeling better- I hope that’s true. Even though Craig & I broke up (& we only went out for 2 weeks) I still really like him. So maybe I’m a little bit mad at him for dumping me, but I don’t hate him. I only want him back. I really love him. He means everything to me. I still have his picture in the heart frame by my bed. I’ve cried every night since. Just to think about how he cared & acted like he loved me the very day before- before he dumped me. Remember how he gave me that Hershey Kiss, that Hershey KISS. I wish I wouldn’t have lost it. “Unbreak my heart, say you love me again. Undo this hurt you caused when you walked out the door, walked out of my life. Uncry these tears. I’ve cried so many nights. Unbreak my heart.” Why did that perfect life have to end? And he thinks I don’t care. I don’t have feelings for him anymore. Well, I do. I do. Who could get over him? “I can’t sleep, baby. I can’t think, baby. I can’t live baby without you in my life. Don’t wanna go on baby. This is my soul baby. Don’t wanna do anything without you.” Those songs are so true. I can barely listen to the radio anymore because most of the songs I can somehow relate to me & Craig & then I start to cry. I start to cry like I’m crying now. I wish I could turn back time – Batman. Don’t ask. If you want to know, ask one of my friends.”

I'll Leave Craig Something in My Will

Before I start, there's probably two things you're wondering about. First of all, I used to write the names of all the guys I liked in the back of my diary... so that's what I meant when I said I didn't like Richard "enough to write his name in the back". Secondly, I guess I went through a phase when I called myself "Batman". Yes, I had moved on from Supergirl to Batman. I don't understand or remember why.

Okay, now that that's out of the way...

I'll leave Craig something in my will??? Where did that come from? What does that even mean? I like him, I want him back... so I'll leave him something in my will. That will SURELY win him over... once I'm dead. WTF?

And then Mike and Kara started dating and I gave up on Mike just like that. I guess I must not have liked him that much after all. Well, clearly, considering my only basis for liking him was that he was nice to me at the dance.

I first met Richard in 4th grade when my math teacher introduced him to the class. As the new kid, he was a big deal because he had just moved from Australia which meant two things:

1. Since Australia's seasons are opposite ours, he was on summer break from school back in Australia but when he moved here, had to start up classes right away, cutting his vacation short. Bummer.


2. He had a cool accent. Which was super rare in our town. That is, unless you count the kid in 7th grade that my friend Jaime said had a cute accent, but I didn't have the heart to tell her that really, he just had a speech impediment and couldn't say his r's.

Anyhow, when Richard was introduced to us in 4th grade, show-and-tell-style, my friend Stephanie whispered to me, "Ohmygosh, his accent is soooo sexy." I was like, "Um, yeah. It sure is!" Yeah right, I was 10 years old, I didn't know what the hell "sexy" was. Nothing was "sexy" to me. I couldn't have described "sexy" at that age if you would have asked me to. But I just played along because I figured if she used that word, she must have known what she was talking about.

Three years later, even though Richard's Australian accent was long gone, I was starting to see the attraction. I still wouldn't have used the word "sexy", but instead "slightly cute and funny".

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“11-27-96 Dear Yraid, The day after I wrote this entry I couldn’t ask Mike out. Why? Because he asked Kara out. They’ve been going out since then. I don’t like Mike anymore. I still love Craig. I want him back. I need him back. I’ll leave him something in my will. Okay? Anyhow, I want to ask him out again but I don’t want to beg. We’ve been pretty good friends since the breakup. I HEART CRAIG! I kinda like Richard. He’s slightly cute & he’s funny. I don’t like him enough to write his name in the back. He might be too weird for me though. I noticed today that his first and last initials are the same as Riders! Maybe we’re destined for each other! -Batman”

Pure Heaven

Okay, if you had trouble following that, the "D's" were our family friends who lived next door to the "F's" (Mike's family). Jessie's family lived behind the "D's" so all three of their families were pretty good friends. Make sense?

I'm not sure if the topic of CCD came up in my diary entries before, but in case it didn't... CCD = Catechism... the classes we little Catholic kids had to go to every Sunday to learn about our faith. Some folks called it Sunday School. My friends here in Ohio called it PSR. I have no idea what all those acronyms stand for and I have no idea whether there's a difference between the teachings. I'm guessing they're all the same.

I love how Jessie flat-out told me that Mike agreed "hell no" to going out with me and my reaction was... "I might ask him out tomorrow." Gotta love my resilience.

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“11-24-96 Dear Yraid, Today I went over to the D’s for Kory’s B-Day party. Their whole family was over & we were going to have a big dinner. They ran out of room in their refrigerator so they had to keep some of their food in the F’s fridge. Ashleigh & I went over there to put milk in their fridge. Mike was home alone. And Jessie & her friend were over. We stayed & talked with Mike, Jessie, & that girl for about a half hour. It was heaven, pure heaven. Mike ripped on Rachel some of the time. Then we had to leave. At CCD, Jessie told me Mike told her that I asked him out. She said that she said then, “Hell no!” Jessie said hell no to us going out. She said Mike said, “I know” or something. Did he really mean it or was he just saying that? I might ask him out tomorrow. –Krista I LIKE MIKE. DOES HE LIKE ME?”

My Life is Like a Puzzle

Last time, my life was "so confused" and now it's "so deformed." Haha what interesting words to describe LIFE.

So let's get this straight:

• Even though Mike is really immature and dating him could hurt my 'rep', now I like him... mostly because he offered to dance with me when I cried over Craig.
• But Kara likes Mike too... and he danced with her to stop her from crying too.
• AND Mike is currently going out with Rachel but is breaking up with her soon.

Where the hell was Rachel during all of this???

Poor Ryan. He liked me so much and I was so mean to him. I was far meaner to him than Doug or any of my other crushes were to me. It probably took him half the dance just to get the courage to ask me and then when he did, I always turned him down. One time when he nervously asked me to dance, I ran away, arms flailing, claiming I was a lesbian. Back then, homosexuality was a new and mostly foreign concept to me... "No! I'm a lesbian!" was about as reasonable of an excuse as "No! I'm a Jehovah's Witness!" or "No! I have Restless Leg Syndrome!" (meaning I could somehow tie my minimal knowledge on any of these things to a reason why I couldn't dance with a guy).

I wonder if I ever wrote him that note. I wonder if he ever knew how bad I felt afterward or how guilty I still feel to this day. I'm glad I'm not as big of a bitch anymore. At least I don't think I am?

Of course, I can't end this entry without calling attention to my "really depressful weekend" comment. Haha.

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“11-23-96 Dear Yraid, My birthday party wuz fun but I’ll tell you about that later. DANCE. Worst dance in history! I cried over Craig when ‘I Swear’ came on. Then Mike asked me what was wrong. I said nothing but then he wanted to dance with me (so I’d feel better) before I could say yes, the song was over. Then Kara was crying. Kara likes Mike & Mike danced with her so she wouldn’t cry. Mike was hanging around me for the rest of the dance. He was showing off for me! Does he like me? Well, at that moment, I realized I like Mike. He’s dumping Rachel. I want to go out with Mike! I really like him! Most people think he’s really immature & sometimes he can be. But I found at the dance the other side of Mike. The sweet, considerate side. He’s totally different when he’s not around Jessie. See, if I go out with him, a lot of people will think I’m stupid. Kara will be mad at me & Rachel might be mad at me. I really like him but will it hurt my rep? I know he’s not bad, but most people think he’s a jerk. I’d be much better off with Craig, Ray (if I liked him), or even Doug (if I liked him). I still like Craig a little though. My life is so deformed. It’s a puzzle, just the pieces are scattered. Most of them shaped like a broken heart, my broken heart. I need some reason, sense, I need to be led down the right path. God can you help me? I’m just really confused & I believe this is going to be a really depressful weekend. Something that also ruined the dance was Ryan asked me to dance. I refused. I must have made him feel like shit. I’m crying! I never meant for this to happen! I promise that I will dance with him at the next dance. I have to write him an apology letter. I’m going to. –Krista I HEART MIKE & CRAIG!”