Part 1: Dr. Cornel West APHA Opening Session 2010

The opening remarks of Dr. West at APHA remind me why I'm in this field. This was so passionately and provocatively delivered, if this doesn't stir up your senses about the reality of our society, nothing will. I love that he stands up for the fact that he is a Christian.

A sign of the times

I have not posted anything in a while. School, work, motherhood, relationship in no particular order have consumed my life. BUT most importantly I get a nice reward-a warm Christmas!! Oh my the very thought. In the meantime I have to accept that winter is here. What is pissing me off most this season is that with the new job, I have to walk about 10 minutes from the parking lot to get to the office....definitely not working out. See, there are many other garages and lots but the parking office claims that they are all occupied. Word from many co-workers is that they got to get into the nearest lot by a)literally stalking the parking office b)-and most common-telling a white lie of some sort-medical issue, etc.
The dilemma. On a serious note, I could possibly get a doctor's note since 2 winters ago my toes have not been very friendly with cold weather and actually start acting up all swollen and itchy if I get super cold. I just need a doctor's note for that but the process..aish.
I saw someone(a grown-up) on a scooter today and considering my son has one too, that thing works quite well in minimizing transportation time...but dang I'm trying to be professional and all so that might ruin my image.
Seriously, I need to know someone in the parking office.

one nice room

I just finished week 2 of my new job and I can’t complain. It’s a bit slow because I have to learn how everything works but I’m sure that it won’t stay like this, at least I have been warned. Today I visited my old office while at lunch. You may ask “Why” multiple times considering the circumstances of my departure, but there are valid reasons. For one, the only thing separating me from my old boss is a block walk and an elevator ride up to the 7th floor! Luckily they are so busy on the days she is there that chances of ever running into her are pretty much nil. Back to my valid reasons for going back to the office-I left my precious sweater hanging on the hook behind the door so I called in one of my co-workers on the day the big boss was not there. I immediately felt sorry for my co-workers when I got in because I could see piles of work which will take them forever to complete mostly because there hasn't been a replacement for the two of us who left. Almost immediately, my pity turned into a big sigh of relief and a happy dance that I didn’t have to deal with this workload and the fact that they hadn’t mutilated my sweater.

All in all, I’ve realized that one of the only things I miss most from my old job was the ladies' room. It is spacious with a nice coat of paint, bright and airy. There is a counter with all sought of goodies like tampons, pens; samples of Metamucil (don’t ask me why). I suppose you might be on your period, constipated and needing to write something while you are in there?? I don’t think the Metamucil works that fast but as I was saying, you don’t know a bad bathroom until you have been in one and vice versa! I can tell you our current bathroom should fail the code of bathroom appearance. Don’t get me wrong, it’s clean and smells fresh, but the first thing you see when you open the door is a wall, squeeze past the drier to the only two stalls painted black. The lighting so off such that you cannot really see your true state of appearance. You may start to feel color-blind while looking in the mirror. Forget about putting on make-up in there because in real life you may come out looking like a clown. You can’t have two people at the sink at once, the paper dispenser does not work but luckily there is a hand drier-those things are so loud and irritating! While you are using the drier on your way out, you would be blocking someone from coming in.
The worst of it all is that you need a key to get into the bathroom!! For the fact that this bathroom is locked, you would think it has a plush lounge or something fancy to prevent people from wanting to spend all day in it. Luckily, the employees get their own key so they don’t have to ask for it at the front desk like the guests do. I don’t look forward to going in here unless I have to and it always happens that I need to go when I’m out and about but my keys are in the office! It would make more sense if there was a code key type of entrance but nope, that would make too much sense for a government office. Yes, now it all makes sense-I work for the state and we can’t waste tax-payers money to beautify the bathroom. Who ever said the state wastes money was wrong! The bathrooms are practical nothing fancy schmancy here. I have fond memories of the old bathroom, but like the serenity prayer goes, I have accepted that I cannot change this bathroom, after all there are many things I like about this place, but that’s yet to be written.

Of lil men and necklaces

Let’s talk about the “most awesome necklace” that was ever made. It started with a piece of yarn sometime the first week of school. Then several beads later, a knot and voila! The yarn is green and the beads are multicolored. It hangs just perfectly on the chest and magically goes with just about every outfit. It looks cool and makes an identity statement. This necklace has not left my son’s neck for the past month! I’m talking about not even at shower time. I gave up after initial protests that yarn dries very quickly, which it does- so there was no argument. I also sought of have an attachment to this necklace, because I made someone reach in high places literally for this necklace. The story goes..we were at the grocery store happily shopping in the fruit section. Or I should rephrase that I was happily shopping away while lil man was keeping himself busy with the necklace that he had made at school the day before. We don’t do too many crafts so he was particularly attached to this piece of work. He was tossing the necklace up and catching it-which is apparently what 7 year-olds do with just about everything..clothes, cups, your favorite mug, the remote which now has tape on it…. But I digress. I had bumped into a parent from his class and was chatting away when he tugged at me saying that his necklace was stuck.

He pointed up and sure enough, way up high-we are talking grocery store ceilings high-dangled a green piece of yarn with some beads on it. My response was that we can make another one if it didn’t fall down soon. This necklace does not have any metal anything so the fact that it was attached to the ceiling was puzzling. I venture to guess that it was probably hanging onto some spider webs or a spider itself. Needless to say that necklace was just dangling and had no intentions of getting back down.
My lil man looked at me “I worked really hard on that necklace..” with that mommy-do-something look. I headed to the customer service desk and let them know I had an unusual request, we had a necklace stuck on the ceiling above the bananas-I mean that’s pretty common right? I tried to explain that it was my son’s necklace, not sure if that made it better or worse because if it was mine, I would look crazy but then it would be worth the effort, but again a boy necklace?…well you get my drift. The look on the customer service rep let me know that it was probably not the craziest request she had had. She just called in for someone with a ladder to show up at the counter. This guy was gracious, we just pointed him in the right direction and right over the bananas he rescued our dear necklace.

I am happy that lil man has been wearing the necklace after that daring rescue but I think it has run its course. Now I can see that the beads have been chewed on so they are not as smooth and it’s just plain beginning to concern me that he may NEVER take this thing off. I have offered to replace the yarn or beads but he is fine with his creation as is. Oh what’s a mother to do? Buy him a replacement? Bribe him with a toy? Maybe I’ll just let him be. He is getting his fall pictures taken at school, and he has no intentions of taking it off. I think it will make for good conversation when he is 17 about the time he had a yarn necklace..that is if he is not planning on keeping it that long! I have to think about the consequences should anything happen to this dear necklace, gosh he might need mommy therapy to cope! Let’s just hope it makes a gracious, unremarkable exit off his neck and into the memorabilia box. Long live the necklace-until Christmas at most!

The power of motherhood….beyond the basics

Being a mother is fantastic, most days that is and I really love it. But I have realized that it has given me a certain edge that I wouldn’t otherwise have in my field. See I look younger than I really am so I’m conscious of people not taking me seriously and I try to dress mature. Now that I have a new job, I have to schmooze, be nice, come to work on time (sigh), not leave early, basically build my trustworthiness all over again. Most of my co-workers are women and majority are older than I am. I have been here for a week today and I have bonded over my son on four separate occasions. First with my supervisor who has a 10 year-old daughter, the assistant to the director let me know that I could adjust my schedule if I needed it for my son’s school and finally two of my co-workers who have boys about the same age as my son. Believe it or not this morning we bonded over the joys of having boys and they happily accepted me in their ‘club’ because I can relate. Who knew? The untold perks of motherhood.

Let the mind wander

My random thoughts for this week..

My uncle died, my cousin texted, “Dad is dead”….I can’t imagine what it takes to write that. I feel sad and I'm in denial. I mostly feel bad for my cousins-they are now orphans twice...they were adopted.

My parents take on a lot of burdens for the whole family and this worries me.

I think I’m going to like my new job very much. I love working with documents.

I plan on going home in Dec. Thank you Jesus!

There’s a pregnant teenager in my neighborhood. She is on baby #2; she has no bed, no clothes for her kids. It has made me think on another level. It has given my school and future work meaning.

You can’t be friends with everyone; I have learnt that in the last few years. You will be disappointed by many, be true to yourself, it’s the only thing that will count, don’t get swept up by the friendship current.

I have friends whom I barely see or talk to, but when we get to talk even if it’s once or twice a year; we laugh or cry like the time never passed. Even if I didn’t speak to them for 2 years, I know they would have my back instantly. I have ‘friends’ whom I laugh with regularly, I don’t think they are willing to cry with me. I need to do something about that.

I’m juggling a lot lately, new job, school, soccer mom, regular mom, fiancé, I’m overwhelmed.

I don’t like it that our society is so fragmented. I have to make time for church friends, co-workers, parents at school, my son’s soccer team friends, single friends, married friends, school friends, African friends all in 24 hours!

I don’t understand why we all just can’t get along. I once heard on radio the story of this guy who invites 50 people to his house for dinner on Sundays, anyone can come so long as they rsvp, it’s somewhere in Europe and I plan on looking him up if I’m ever that way. I wish I could do a Sunday dinner for even half that number for people to just let loose…without worrying about time, race, just enjoying the company of each other.

With that said, Criminal Minds is my all time favorite show so I know they are many crazy people. Did I say how much I looove some Shemar Moore? Fall premier did not disappoint.

"Jesu witu niwe watuonire,hindi iria tuorete agicoka agituonereria njira ya muoyo-ini". One of the songs we sang in elementary school. I don’t know why it’s been in my head. It means Jesus found us when we were lost and showed us the way to eternal life.

Without God, my life would be meaningless.

I have lived long enough to know that money is the root cause of very many evils. It takes some serious discernment, wisdom and Godliness to use money wisely when you have it in plenty. It seems to me the more money people make, the greedier they get, the less generous they get and the more arrogant and selfish they become. It’s just paper! The saddest part is that it disappears and if happiness and money go hand in hand for you, woe unto you!

I really enjoy my community health classes. If we addressed racism, we would significantly improve health outcomes.

I love my family so much and the greatest dilemma of my life is that I don’t get to spend much time with them. I have seriously been re-thinking my role in the diaspora and if it is worth it. At the moment, I’m arguing that it is because of my career prospects but with my son growing up without extended family,so not worth it…sigh.

ants are blind

Yesterday was monumental. Two weeks ago, Lil man had asked what a coconut looked like to my horror. Being the great and amazing parent I am, we went to the store and bought a coconut. I explained to him that we can't just cut into it,we would wait to go 'drop' it in our backyard since it's wonderfully created as concrete.

Yesterday was that day, I let him do the honors and it went very well, the coconut broke in half. I managed to grab it before all the water spilled. Lil man was very surprised that it was water and not 'milk' because he had been looking forward to tasting coconut milk. I use coconut milk quite often(from the can)in my cooking but I don't know where he got the idea that the one in the coconut would taste like cow milk.

He tasted the coconut water-that was ok. I explained that the milk comes from squeezing the white part of the coconut. I demonstrated by crushing some in my mouth and spitting it out-gross I know. He tried to eat some of it but he kept spitting it out, finally he begged me to 'squeeze' some in my mouth so that he could taste it-I didn't do it, that will be the work of my handy garlic crusher yet to be accomplished.

A couple hours later we came back to the backyard and each of the little pieces of coconut we had thrown around was surrounded by an army of ants.
So lil man in his wisdom " Why are the ants eating these pieces, they have my spit on them, can't they see the spit...man, ants are blind!"