I am deeply convicted of my own beauty.
Sometimes, other people help make it more real.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Making Hard Choices
Today is a day for reflection; actually, it's tomorrow, but I'm pre-empting it.
It's Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, the Day-Before-Ash-Wednesday-and-the-Beginning-of-Lent.
Also, President Obama has just stated, "Nobody messes with Joe [Biden]."
It's his first address to the joint session of Congress, "the prose that was lacking in the poetry of his Inaugural address". And, of course, he's talking about making hard choices.
Sacking up. Reflecting on how we got here. Developing creative solutions for how to get out of this mess.
Today is the first time in a long time that I've been able to see my spiritual self and my patriotic self working in tandem. In order to do my part for this country, as an American, I have to be my best self. I have to be accountable for my passions, my responsibilities, for the people about whom I care.
I have got to be the best teacher I can be.
How do I even know how to begin?
It could begin concretely, with small steps that I can take during this Lent:
- I am forgoing those things that keep me away from being an excellent teacher,
- specifically long, lazy sessions of reading fiction or napping
- I am being proactive about making a daily connection with each of my students
I can work on my mindset about teaching and continue to instruct with compassion, hard work, and intelligence.
The next forty days starts now.
It's Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, the Day-Before-Ash-Wednesday-and-the-Beginning-of-Lent.
Also, President Obama has just stated, "Nobody messes with Joe [Biden]."
It's his first address to the joint session of Congress, "the prose that was lacking in the poetry of his Inaugural address". And, of course, he's talking about making hard choices.
Sacking up. Reflecting on how we got here. Developing creative solutions for how to get out of this mess.
Today is the first time in a long time that I've been able to see my spiritual self and my patriotic self working in tandem. In order to do my part for this country, as an American, I have to be my best self. I have to be accountable for my passions, my responsibilities, for the people about whom I care.
I have got to be the best teacher I can be.
How do I even know how to begin?
It could begin concretely, with small steps that I can take during this Lent:
- I am forgoing those things that keep me away from being an excellent teacher,
- specifically long, lazy sessions of reading fiction or napping
- I am being proactive about making a daily connection with each of my students
I can work on my mindset about teaching and continue to instruct with compassion, hard work, and intelligence.
The next forty days starts now.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Like me, Sean Penn is Awkward, yet charming.
Also, check out pictures of the protest signs that greeted the gliteratti as they crossed Hollywood and Highland.
Guys I will definitely not be dating:
Even though I do have well-shaped, beautiful male anatomy, I don't think this guy and I are going to make it work. Even if it is before he hits 30.
Scary: I have all the life experience to totally be in the head of this guy. He, like I, resists definitions that do not fully describe how he would like to see himself. Also, he's brazen enough to defend his perceptions in public. I'm afraid, however, that I won't be appearing on Tyra any time soon. Sorry for getting your hopes up.
Scary: I have all the life experience to totally be in the head of this guy. He, like I, resists definitions that do not fully describe how he would like to see himself. Also, he's brazen enough to defend his perceptions in public. I'm afraid, however, that I won't be appearing on Tyra any time soon. Sorry for getting your hopes up.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Bagels!
Nothing is more satisfying than making something with your hands and holding it, saying "That, I made it!"
I can't stop thinking about bagels. Fuck law school. Only productive debt will exist in my future!
I can't stop thinking about bagels. Fuck law school. Only productive debt will exist in my future!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Poll:
What do you do when life hands you a crock of shit?
a) eat shit.
b) rinse out the crockery and re-use it for leftovers.
c) count your blessings.
d) throw the crock back and break life's face.
e) all of the above.
a) eat shit.
b) rinse out the crockery and re-use it for leftovers.
c) count your blessings.
d) throw the crock back and break life's face.
e) all of the above.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Things have changed, and change is no longer a hopeful game-winning dogma
Sometimes I listen to Bach toccatas. This you would only know if you have lived with me or knew me in high school. Toccatas, from the Italian to touch, are generally virtuosic pieces written for clavachord or organ. The most famous Bach toccata is the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, a brooding organ work often heard in conjunction with Halloween. While some of these works are joyous, it is no stretch to say that in these works I find an ominous complexity that suits my darker moods. I inherited a desire to hear similar forms by Chopin and Shostakovich who pen, respectively, newer and newer incarnations of the form. It is possible that I went on to become a hearald of the apocalypse in the vein of this musical tradition.
Like the music, in its indifferent exactitude, I find the circumstances of my life inspiring a deep, sullen contemplation. I turn to the music to reflect my perception, and now too, my life has ventured into a sort of dark cave, where organs play in minor chords and resolutions come rarely at the end of phrases.
I considered moving home today, the first time since I left a year and a half ago. Instead of panic-stricken, the notion engenders a horrifying resignation; it is the sense of defeat that moves one to inaction; it is the kick in the ribs you feel when you're already down for the count.
There is always hope, but that now too is a term bankrupted by dogma.
Like the music, in its indifferent exactitude, I find the circumstances of my life inspiring a deep, sullen contemplation. I turn to the music to reflect my perception, and now too, my life has ventured into a sort of dark cave, where organs play in minor chords and resolutions come rarely at the end of phrases.
I considered moving home today, the first time since I left a year and a half ago. Instead of panic-stricken, the notion engenders a horrifying resignation; it is the sense of defeat that moves one to inaction; it is the kick in the ribs you feel when you're already down for the count.
There is always hope, but that now too is a term bankrupted by dogma.
Friday, February 6, 2009
POLL!
"It's the kind of dancing that people do to worship."
WHAT DOES YOUR EASY-WEDNESDAY-SUNDAY DANCING LOOK LIKE?
WHAT DOES YOUR EASY-WEDNESDAY-SUNDAY DANCING LOOK LIKE?
Doesn't fuck on the first date...
... because first dates don't usually happen.
Other news:
1) Main event date postponed 'till the morrow.
2) My high school students will shortly be convinced that I've a secret husband.
3) Bruce secretly likes my music, under the condition that it's played body-vibratingly-loudly.
4) Removed about a pound of fur off Luna's body today. Waiting for Bruce in the trash.
5) Had a brilliant idea for a semi-autobiographical play; its hero hasn't got personality disorder.
6) Wondered why.
7) Have read more Agatha Christie works than I can count on my two hands since the new year.
8) Easily.
Home: it's a trap.
Other news:
1) Main event date postponed 'till the morrow.
2) My high school students will shortly be convinced that I've a secret husband.
3) Bruce secretly likes my music, under the condition that it's played body-vibratingly-loudly.
4) Removed about a pound of fur off Luna's body today. Waiting for Bruce in the trash.
5) Had a brilliant idea for a semi-autobiographical play; its hero hasn't got personality disorder.
6) Wondered why.
7) Have read more Agatha Christie works than I can count on my two hands since the new year.
8) Easily.
Home: it's a trap.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Mystery date
Dick is going on two dates. A friend date and a mystery date.
We don't know if these are men or women.
We don't know anything. And we means me and Andrew ______.
So here is my speculation:
Suspect one: the friend date
Je met this person when she worked picking cotton ol' Virginie. S/he was hauling huge bags of freshly picked cotton, which made Je wonder, "what is s/he thinking?" So Je pulled some moonshine out of her over-alls and they shared the secrets of their inner selves. S/he moved to Benton City in December, and s/he responded to Je's missed connections add on craigslist.
Suspect two: the main event
He will offer his hand in marriage, due in large part to her beauty, but mostly with the goal of exploiting her abundant resources. The marriage will feel great until he discovers she was already engaged.
We don't know if these are men or women.
We don't know anything. And we means me and Andrew ______.
So here is my speculation:
Suspect one: the friend date
Je met this person when she worked picking cotton ol' Virginie. S/he was hauling huge bags of freshly picked cotton, which made Je wonder, "what is s/he thinking?" So Je pulled some moonshine out of her over-alls and they shared the secrets of their inner selves. S/he moved to Benton City in December, and s/he responded to Je's missed connections add on craigslist.
Suspect two: the main event
He will offer his hand in marriage, due in large part to her beauty, but mostly with the goal of exploiting her abundant resources. The marriage will feel great until he discovers she was already engaged.
Monday, February 2, 2009
A shout out
I saw this guy perform in a very intimate setting in San Francisco, and I thought I'd give him a shout out. He had a friend with a flute. On friday nights, this particular club is the chosen den of SF's many rice queens.
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