Words of the Week

Sunday - "I decided it is better to scream. Silence is the real crime against humanity." -Nadezhda Mandelstam

Monday - "The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities." -Ayn Rand

Tuesday- "We are all pencils in the hand of God writing love letters to the world." -Mother Theresa

Wednesday- "I make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes."-Sara Teasdale

Thursday- "Fashion is architecture: it is a matter of proportions." -CoCo Chanel

Friday- "But out of limitations comes creativity." -Debbie Allen

Saturday- "But out of limitations comes creativity." -Dorothy Height

Weekend in D.C.

*Post 600

Listening: Ayiesha Woods "What You Do To Me"

Watching: Conversations with Michael Eisner on CNBC

Feeling: A tad bit overwhelmed, content, tired, exhausted.

I am oh sooooo tired.

Saturday:

I left Bmore for D.C. at 6:10 a.m. on Saturday morning but in order to be there on time I woke up at 4:30 a.m. to shower, iron, get dressed, and finish packing. I got picked up at 5:30 a.m. to make sure I got the train in time.

I got to D.C. at 6:50 a.m. and I made it to the place where I would be interviewed by 7:20 a.m. so I had ten minutes to spare.

I had my interview at 8:00 a.m. The interview went alright the interviewer expressed interest in me possibly pursuing another position within her organization, meaning one other than the one I applied for and I still don't know how I feel about it. On one hand I feel like I'm being picky. On the other hand I feel like by holding out for something which I really want to do I'm ensuring my ability to give 110%.




After my interview was over I took the subway to American University to spend time with my friend B.

I met up with her. We chatted and caught up. I saw her roommate Cori whose fab and funny. I also met a few of other friends. We ate. We napped. LoL I don't generally do naps but that one felt oh so good. Then because I am a 35 year old in a 21 year old's body we went to this place B. felt would be right up my alley. The place is called Bussboys and Poets. When we got there I liked the feel but the wait would be 45 minutes. We were also entertaining the option of going to visit my friend at Georgetown University so we didn't want to risk it. We'll do BB & P on my next visit.

So we went to Union Station and ate at Uno's.

Then we went back to American started watching a movie and I fell asleep.


Sunday:

We woke up.

We watched T.V. "Celebrity Fit Club".

We showered.

We went to eat.

Then we took the bus to Georgetwon.

B. left me to see, visit, and spend time with my "little sister" La.

We talked and caught up. Talked about our shared "crazy" friends.

Then we walked around G-town in part so she could think about whether or not she wanted to pursue a part-time job.

We ended up at Johnny Rockets which is one of her places, and has now been dubbed our spot, because we always end up there when I visit her.

I ended up having the Apple Pie shake which was muy fabuloso.


We acted up like we always do when we're together. We ended up having so much fun we lost track of time.

Because I had left my phone in her room I had to walk back to her campus. It was at this point that I knew I wouldn't be making the 8:30 train. I still had to go back to Tenleytown to get my things from AU.

I made it back there via bus and then checked the train schedule. I decided on the 10pm train. After getting my things I headed back to Union Station and made the 10pm train.

When I got back to Bmore I spent 20 minutes talking to my co-RA who is the RA for the other end of the hall.

Then I went and talked to some of my residents.

Then I called my mother.

Then I e-mailed my boss to ask for a day off from my internship to finish my grad school app.

Now I'm about to go to bed since I've updated you all about my life.

I have a 6:30 wakeup call. Yay for 5 hours of sleep.

Nikki

Nikki Giovanni came to my school on Wednesday.

She was good.

I liked this YouTube vid of her so I decided to post it because I don't have time to blog about what she said specifically white at LoCo but enjoy. :-)

Since I'm Not

Since I'm not willing to give up my position on the board of the org for a part-time position with no benefits the job offer was rescinded.

So it's back to square one.

And I'm ok with it.

The wheels keep turning. Life keeps moving, just as long as I keep breathing.

Not My Cup of Tea

So last night best friend #3 (*not in order of significance but in terms of order friendship was acquired)and I had dinner. We went to one of our fav places.

I had the Sweet & Sour (with the options being chicken, shrimp, or beef):
Crispy Chicken, Cantonese sweet and sour sauce, red ginger, onion, green bell pepper, pineapple

I usually get the sweet & sour chicken or shrimp

Sometimes I spice it up with

Honey Seared (again with the options of crispy chicken, shrimp or pork)
Crispy Chicken or Shrimp, Honey soy sauce, garlic, chile, rice sticks

On the way there we had a discussion of my former C-B aka Cuddle Buddy.

B.F. doesn't care for her as of late. He says he can't bear to be around someone who in his words "has so many issues" (many of which centered on failed relationshipos b/c she hasn't messed with C.NEL but I digress), "whose generally not happy", and whose more atrociously "clingy." He said to me "because of her I know I don't want a clingy girlfriend." Huhlarious.

But his words reminded me that I shouldn't be offended that she's all but severed ties with me this year. Whereas before she would call me, make the effort to see me, now we see each other in passing, or on the bus as she heads to work and me to the internship.

Even though she's my physical complement, a generally nice person, bright, and funny, it might not be enough.

Like the B.F. the longer I see her the less I want to be involved with her. Her actions tell me she's not my cup of tea, nor is she my HONEY...

A J.O.B.?

Mood: Chills

Listening/ Watching:








So I had my interview at the T.V. station today.

I was up front with the interviewer told her I don't have a car so was unsure of how I would get there at 4am three days a week.

She interviewed me anyway.

It turns out she knows one of my mentors, and a guy who works at the current internship.

That says to me it is about who you know, so you can show what you know.

After talking to me about my experiences, she gave me a tour of the newsroom. She also let me sit at the assignment desk, showed me their computer system, and let me listen to the scanners.

She really liked me and wanted to give me the job but I don't have a car. That sucks.

She even said to me, "I'm not even worried about you learning the stuff...a lot of the time I get resumes from people who've never been in newsrooms and you well have some experience."

Fingers crossed something works out.

I'm playing the lotto tomorrow.

Paying My Dues

Mood:

Contemplative

Listening/Watching:



So Monday I have an interview for a part-time desk assistant position at a local T.V. station. As the desk assistant I'd work the desk from 4:00am to 8:30am three days a week. I'd then run the desk Saturday and Sunday's from 3:00pm to 11:30pm. There goes my already non-existent social life.

It's amazing to me how many reporters and anchors started their careers off this way. Shoot some producers worked overnights when they first got into the business. I have no problem with paying my dues. The only thing about this prospective gig is that I don't have a car. I therefore have no clue how in the hell I'd get to work on those mornings. Maybe a cab, but then I get to hoping that they pay me enough to offset the cost of that.

Ok but maybe I'm jumping ahead of myself. I don't even have the job yet. But I like to be the man with the plan. The whole things spring up thing is not for me.

So here's hoping I have something figured out before my interview on Monday.

"Redemption Song"

The songs of the city are the melody.

The voices of the people, the lyrics.

It's all about the "Redemption Song".

At work yesterday I talked to one of my colleagues about the verdict in the MTA Bus Beating Trial. If you don't know back in December 9 African-American middle school students beat a Caucasian woman (note I removed allegedly because 5 of those students were found to be guilty) on a MTA bus. Prosecutors had contemplated charging the students with a hate crime, saying the women's race is part of the reason why she was attacked. Atleast one student accused the woman and her boyfriend of assault of hurling racial slurs.

Well like I said a judge found them guilty. Throughout the course of the trial I've been made to think about what this story signifies. Does it signify that we have lost or are losing our young people? These are middle schoolers accused of such a crime. Earlier today while listening to talk radio I heard a commentator say, "I've had a defense attorney say to me there's nothing more dangerous than a 15 year old with a gun."

It made me go back to a comment made by Dr. Julia Hare, "They did a grand thing when they took that discipline away from us. Because when they made our parents afraid to discipline the children, then what happened? We found out that the teachers were afraid of the principals; the principals were scared of the superintendent; the superintendent was scared of the school board; the school board was scared of the parents; parents was scared of the children, and the children ain't scared of nobody."
-Dr. Julia Hare

She was so deep in that comment. Taking away discipline in many respects takes away people's connections to others, and more importantly to their community.

So how can we redeem our young people.

How can we ultimately in the context of everyday life with the "melody" and with the "lyrics" create a redmeption song.

My Inspiration

So I copped Raheem DeVaughn, Erykah Badu, and Jill Scott's latest last week. I really need not have spent money I do not have, but I decided to treat myself. Better than developing a more destructive vice. For the record I have both Raheem's albums as well as every single Jill Scott album. I haven't really fully delved into Erykah's. I'm stuck on Raheem right now. Between "Customer", "She's Not You", "Can We Try Again" and "Four Letter Word" I just cannot break free.

Anyway as I sit up way past my bedtime listening to music. I am as always thinking.
I developed an idea for my next short story. Mind you I haven't written seriously in a minute. I don't know if I still remember what it takes. I used to write on the regular. So we shall see how it turns out. I may start it tonight even though I need to sleep. I doubt my boss wants a half dead, half dazed intern showing up in the a.m. I do have a story idea for my unit though LoL.


Post Note: I love the little "Love Jones" moment in the "Customer" video.

Words of the Week

Sunday - “Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness.” - Marianne Williamson

Monday- "If you wait until you are wanted, then you will never accomplish anything." - Nikki Giovanni

Tuesday-“No matter how far life pushes you down, no matter how much you hurt, you can always bounce back.” -Sheryl Swoopes

Wednesday-“I believe in growth, but right now I'm feeling terrific growing pains.” -Meredith Vieira

Thursday- "... rhetoric never won a revolution yet." -Shirley Chisolm

Friday- "I am a writer who came of a sheltered life. A sheltered life can be a daring life as well. For all serious daring starts from within." -Eudora Welty

Saturday- "Viewed narrowly, all life is universal hunger and an expression of energy associated with it." -Mary Ritter Beard

Just Thinking

So...

As I think the picture illustrates I am often thinking about something. I realized earlier today that hyper people throw me, and by throw I mean make me hella uncomfortable. I will literally start to create some distance between me and an overeager, extra-hype person. I don't know they just scare me,work my nerves, plain old irk me. Some might actually consider me hyper though because when I super amped up a) I talk a lot and I talk fast b) I am really energetic c) I'm persistent as hell d) I'm even a tad aggressive. So I'm glad I realized this so I can calm the hell down, and when need be so I can sit the hell down.

Now on to other bits

A few weeks ago I was watching an episode of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" when Uncle Phil was giving a lecture and said to either Will or Carlton I can't remember who but more than likely Will. I "Intimacy requires a real commitment."

Whew this really hit me when earlier today I was talking to two of my closest friends who I went to high school with. We were talking about how people change their names on Facebook, are engaged on Facebook, married on Facebook. I don't think Uncle Phil quite meant pseudo commitment. But it is what it is.

Something made me smile today. I got this great note from a kid I met at the diversity conference that I help co-facilitate. It made me smile. It's moments like this that let you know you're good for something. Good for a lot of things.

"hey, whether u realized or not what you said about me doing what Im passionate about really had an effect on me and after thinking about it for a while I have completely changed my goals so that I am doing what I love."

Like whoa.

Words of the Week

Sunday- "You are the one that dispenses love to us when the world turns to hate us. Yes, you are the one that lets us in when others shut us out." - Bishop Vashti McKenzie

Monday- "I wanted to write stories for myself. At first it was purely an aesthetic thing about craft. I just wanted to become good at the art of something. And writing was very private." -Amy Tan

Tuesday- "I grew up in a house where nobody had to tell me to go to school every day and do my homework." -Constance Baker Motley

Wednesday-"Know from one who has traveled it, the road not taken may lead you to some troughs and valleys, but it will also lead you to having a real life." -Charlayne Hunter-Gault

Thursday-"I have to understand what my strengths and limitations are, and work from a true place."-Sandra Cisneros

Friday-“I try to believe like I believed when I was five... when your heart tells you everything you need to know.” -Lucy Liu

Saturday- "I never intended to become a run-of-the-mill person." -Barbara Jordan

I Hate, Hate, Hate

I hate, hate, hate.

Politics.

I think it distracts people, allows them to take their eyes off of the prize, and leads to game playing.

Let's not play the game!

I hate, hate, hate.

Deception and lies. Red tape. Improprieties. Cover ups. Nonsense. A lack of common sense and fairness. A lack of reason. A lack of equality. A lack of respect. Dare I say it? A lack of civility.

So why do I call myself a leader?

Why am I considering applying to grad school for a master's in political reporting?

I have no clue.

Maybe I think I can help bring decency back.

But then it'd leave me with an agenda? Journalists aren't supposed to have agendas. They're supposed to be neutral third parties, the fourth estate reporting on all good things good, bad, and in between.

But to give up would mean I don't care and we all know I care sometimes too much.

Being in those positions where I know I don't want to be, but no I wouldn't want no one else there on my behalf LoL, the story of my life.

My Life, My Love, My All

My Life:

This week is LoCo's spring break. I haven't really had a break. Every time I want to take a breath something comes up. There have been a gazillion conference calls for the journalism org. You all know about our beloved org we gots to serve our members. I guess that's what happens when your schedule is not the same as everyone else involved. Damn these professionals and their outrageous schedules which either wake me up early or send me to bed late. I thought I'd catch up on some sleep. You know sleep, sleep, sleep to have some in reserves when when school resumes. I know, I know being on the board means I have be available so I can help handle the people's business. I guess losing the vaca is an unintended consequence and a required sacrifice. Sacrifice one of the things I love least about my life.

My Love:

One of the only consolations has been that I saw my first best friend Epsi last week. Then one of my two "little sisters" visited briefly on Monday night. One of the things I love most about my life are my friends. One of those great friends my dear "little sister" Lauren Patrice. That's what I call her. She says little gems like this, "So yea, I can't solve your and my problems at the same time. let's be reasonable, make a compromise or something. " But even though she can be a little shelfish she's still one of my aces.



This reminds me I must still call my other "little sister". She's all the way in Florida convinced I should consider moving there because she has two more years of school in J'ville, that's what we call Jacksonville. I don't know about the hurricanes. I don't know about the hurricanes.



My All

I've spent the last few days thinking on something Eps said when he was here. As you'll note below he says all kinds of outrageous things. He said and my former crush, yeah you're former when you co-sign any of Eps outrageousness. No, he also agreed the other crush was sexier. But anyways the two fools said, "You have a superiority complex. You always have to be superior." Uh no I don't. Sheeit. It beats feeling inferior. But at the same time I give 110% to things and don't tolerate people that can't atleast give 99%. Syke. For real I'm just a realist I don't disillusion myself and pretend people are what they're not. Don't be mad at me if I tell it like it is.

Oh I Think They Like Me

So sometimes I kind of ask myself whether some of what I do is in vain. I think it's somewhat natural in a society when people just don't give an f. Cause sometimes you just can't tell. Thank God for those people who will implore you to keep doing what you're doing. We all need those ego boosters to keep us keeping on. These people were mine. These excerpts came from letters of recs I asked for. Some shocked me cause sometimes people don't quite say all of this, but the sentiments were definitely welcome.

Person 1 wrote in part:

"In 20 years of independent education, four students stand out for their leadership ability. One of those is "insert Chris's full gov't name here"."

" Chris instinctively ... gives a hundred percent and at least another fifty percent on top of that ... He is also a wonderful motivator of others, who can't help but respect Chris's natural enthusiasm and charm."



Person 2 wrote in part:

"There are dozens of superlatives that come to mind when I think of Christopher... honest, respectful, committed, mature, knowledgeable, capable, and hard-working, just to name a few."

"Christopher brings a deeper element of "pureness of purpose" to the table."

"No child or adult can leave his presence without being impressed or challenged by his passion."



Person 3 wrote simply:

"Chris is reliable, hardworking, and trustworthy."

"I think Chris will succeed at anything he puts his mind to."



Person 4 wrote in part:

"He has an excellent perspective, informed by his own experiences and the knowledge he has gained ... He is very clear about his own mtivations and aspirations."

Words of the Week

I have no idea who said or wrote any of the following, but I do know that at some point I wrote them down, because they resonated with me.

Sunday- "Give a man fire, he'll be warm for an evening. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. " -Unknown

Monday- "Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can't change."-Unknown

Tuesday- "Love is essentially a yearning for something that remains absent; that is why so much of our human love remains disappointing." -Unknown

Wednesday- "The road to success is always under construction." -Unknown

Thursday- "The wold's greatest waste is the difference between what we are and what we can become." - Unknown

Friday- "The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity." -Unknown

Saturday- "If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague." -Unknown