Ford was in Atlanta for a carpet industry mixer sponsored by J’Adore magazine and Grey Goose vodka. Even though Ford appeared almost an hour after this event was over — an event that she was supposed to host — the remaining media members who did not bail out recorded the haps of a woman who is obviously operating with California sensibilities [meaning she was unapologetically late and acted like there was nothing wrong with it].

The woman who co-starred in flicks like Good Hair, Three Can Play that Game and Love for Sale said she was in Atlanta to participate in Hosea Williams' Feed the Homeless at Turner Field on Thanksgiving Day.

How have you been able to transition from video star to credible actress when others failed?

I kind of think about life in terms of chess instead of checkers. I’m always thinking five steps ahead. And just maintaining my level of ambition and a strong belief in self [and] keeping a strong core of friends around me that uplift and encourage and support my dreams. I return the same thing. Just being around people that help encourage my intellectual curiosity and my creative curiosity.

What kind of men are you attracted to?

Honest ones. I’m a very physical person. I work out a lot. So I need somebody who understands that, and who takes care of themselves. We’re all getting older. I just like somebody who I can share a lot of things in life with — and working out is a large part of my daily activity. So I like somebody who I can partner up with and do different things with

What is your workout routine?

I listen to my body and whatever my body tells me I do it. If my body wants a big plate of fettucini with shrimp, I’m eating it. If my body tells me that I want nothing but vegetables, I’m eating it. But now I’m on this hiking tip. I live in L.A. now, and there’s nothing but mountains and canyons. I’ll hike 15 miles a day. It’s good for the calves and the ass. I’ve been getting incredible feedback. I just finished filming a movie with Meagan Good and Ruby Dee. I was wearing a dress that I made for the character. It was very form fitting, very dramatic, it’s got a whole bunch of chains in the back. And people were saying that the canyon was really paying off. They were really like ‘calves are looking right.' The whole package is looking right.

You have a VH-1 reality series, “Single, Sexy and Starving” coming out in 2010? Since you are branching out into different areas, why not try to replace Oprah since she’s retiring from the talk show?

Funny that you mention Oprah. I don’t think that I’m [the] first in line to take here throne when she’s done. I think that it’s [going to be] Tyra or someone else. But I think [a] talk show is in my future. It’s something that I have a natural thing for. This reality show, 51 Minds production company is doing it, and he has a lot of discussions with the cast, just to get to know us better. Over the course of the last year he said, 'I really see that as your future. You have a way of speaking to people.' –terry shropshire