OK, this post is going to be short and sweet. I've stayed up a bit too late looking around my first 'classroom' for my University of Phoenix Management MA, but I must say I'm scared and excited all at the same time. Six weeks long, I can tell it's going to be an intensive course, but that's good. Hopefully I won't suffer the mid-term slump that always used to grip me in college.
Tomorrow's blog will definitely include a few tidbits on how my 'first day of class' went and also the results of the Florida Driver's License written test that I'm heading to the DMV at lunch time to sit.
Wish me luck!
PS, this if fun (thanks Tav!) Every woman has had a nail girl like this one...
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8126430922330991484&q=genre%3A
(sorry, couldn't figure out how to embed this vid)
Sleep is good
I actually took a nap today. Believe me, I have to be near the end of my rope to take a nap and the one I took today was like a tall drink of water on a sweltering summer's day. One of the things I remember from towards the end of my pregnancy and right after Moo was born was how hard it was for me to take a nap! I knew I should, my body was screaming that I needed it but for as long as I can remember I've always been the type of person that when I'm up, I'm up.
An article I just read has eased that thinking a bit though. It talked about a recently concluded study that shows women who sleep five or less hours per night are 32 percent more likely to gain 1-2 pounds per year. Now that might not sound like much, but the article pointed out the negatives that could happen five or so years down the road when the total weight gain is in the region of 10 pounds.
More sleep for the win!
An article I just read has eased that thinking a bit though. It talked about a recently concluded study that shows women who sleep five or less hours per night are 32 percent more likely to gain 1-2 pounds per year. Now that might not sound like much, but the article pointed out the negatives that could happen five or so years down the road when the total weight gain is in the region of 10 pounds.
More sleep for the win!
The Saturday Shuffle
It's done by Mom's all over the world. Wake up early to get a head start before the kids are up. Do whatever chores are needed (i.e. picking up after the kids and the husband). Then get ready for the probably lengthy list of other things you have to do that day. In my case I get the baby's food ready and fold whatever laundry I might have dried from the night before. Then I clean out the fridge, write down what we need at the supermarket and go through my coupons. If I'm lucky then I'll have time to plan the dinner menu for the week and scribble on my shopping list appropriately.
Depending on J's schedule, I get to leave Daddy and baby to play together while I zip off to the supermarket... thankfully, that's more often that not. Any one (Mom or Dad) knows it's murder to do any form of proper shopping with an inquisitive baby in tow. On that note, single parents you have my utmost respect, because most of you have no respite and manage to do everything with all the children right there with you.
Then it's off to the bathroom, which I clean before I shower - actually if I was too tired to clean the kitchen on Friday night, then that's a pre-Saturday Shuffle chore as well - and then I get going. By the time I'm out the shower Moo has usually heard all the shuffling and is demanding to be let out to explore and be fed.
Depending on J's schedule, I get to leave Daddy and baby to play together while I zip off to the supermarket... thankfully, that's more often that not. Any one (Mom or Dad) knows it's murder to do any form of proper shopping with an inquisitive baby in tow. On that note, single parents you have my utmost respect, because most of you have no respite and manage to do everything with all the children right there with you.With that said, it's time to get going. I'll have some Mommy time later today, going to get my hair relaxed and go to a baby shower sans the baby (7p.m. is a bit too late for the Miss).
Note: Yesterday's 'blog' was more blog maintenance than anything else. I deleted broken links from the menu on the right and also added a counter at the bottom.
Perfect fit
My song of the moment.
I love how dark yet sexy the video is... fits my mood these last few weeks to a tee.
(Thanks for finding it for me, J')
Worthwhile or worthless
How do we decide whether something is worthwhile or worthless. I was telling my boss earlier today that I've managed to blog every day except one since making my daily blog promise (challenge?) and that led into a discussion about how many blogs in the blogosphere are worth reading. He reads mainly political blogs. I mainly read the blogs of my friends and others in the Caribbean Bloggers circle. We both agreed that most of the millions of blogs out there are crap. He doesn't blog yet but since I do, here's the question - how do I know my blog isn't part of the blog-garbage cluttering up the net?
(In?) voluntary segregation
I would never have believed this if I hadn't read it with my own two eyes:
Students attend school's first integrated prom
April 23, 2007
Story Highlights
• Students of Turner County High School voted to have school-sponsored prom• In the past, parents have organized private, segregated dances
• Principal Chad Stone says the official prom will become a yearly event
• Senior Class President James Hall led the movement for the integrated prom
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/23/turner.prom/index.html
It is completely mind-boggling that in this day and age this is the first time that black and white students at a high school in America were holding a joint prom. But then, when you realize that the school is in a small rural southern town, it's not that surprising at all. Perhaps that's because I've lived in the south for almost three years now. In the south, it's not about whether racism exists or not. Differences based on color are simply ingrained in the psyche. Much the same way we expect to see on-coming traffic on the right hand side of the road in Jamaica but on the left in America, it's the same way certain things are expected and taken for granted when it comes to race relations in the south.
So much so that I can't even think up any examples because I'm so used to what I see and experience. The only thing I can say is that in many respects, my husband and I (and many other West Indian immigrants) break the mold. If we call ahead to store whether to order take out or request a part, I've seen literal shock on the faces of cashiers and store clerks alike when we walk into their establishment.
Hmm, I think I should take back my earlier comment. It's not mind-boggling. It's saddening but at the same time uplifting to see that yes, this kind of attitude still exists, but that the next generation is attempting to build a bridge.
Funny, I used to be the next generation... I guess it really is downhill after you hit 21, huh? :)
Students attend school's first integrated prom
April 23, 2007
Story Highlights
• Students of Turner County High School voted to have school-sponsored prom• In the past, parents have organized private, segregated dances
• Principal Chad Stone says the official prom will become a yearly event
• Senior Class President James Hall led the movement for the integrated prom
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/23/turner.prom/index.html
It is completely mind-boggling that in this day and age this is the first time that black and white students at a high school in America were holding a joint prom. But then, when you realize that the school is in a small rural southern town, it's not that surprising at all. Perhaps that's because I've lived in the south for almost three years now. In the south, it's not about whether racism exists or not. Differences based on color are simply ingrained in the psyche. Much the same way we expect to see on-coming traffic on the right hand side of the road in Jamaica but on the left in America, it's the same way certain things are expected and taken for granted when it comes to race relations in the south.
So much so that I can't even think up any examples because I'm so used to what I see and experience. The only thing I can say is that in many respects, my husband and I (and many other West Indian immigrants) break the mold. If we call ahead to store whether to order take out or request a part, I've seen literal shock on the faces of cashiers and store clerks alike when we walk into their establishment.
Hmm, I think I should take back my earlier comment. It's not mind-boggling. It's saddening but at the same time uplifting to see that yes, this kind of attitude still exists, but that the next generation is attempting to build a bridge.
Funny, I used to be the next generation... I guess it really is downhill after you hit 21, huh? :)
Foreclosures
Scary...
Rising foreclosures have widespread fallout
Filings in the U.S. were up 47% from a year ago, leaving a wake of vacant homes and overgrown yards for state and local governments to contend with. Even lenders are trying to help troubled borrowers.
http://realestate.msn.com/Buying/Article2.aspx?cp-documentid=4734564>=9323
Rising foreclosures have widespread fallout
Filings in the U.S. were up 47% from a year ago, leaving a wake of vacant homes and overgrown yards for state and local governments to contend with. Even lenders are trying to help troubled borrowers.
http://realestate.msn.com/Buying/Article2.aspx?cp-documentid=4734564>=9323
On your mark...
I completed my first assignment today. Apparently for each course you take at University of Phoenix you post a short biography of yourself as your first assignment. So while J dozed on the cough and Moo snored in her crib I got to it. Thankfully my new job has me back into the swing of things with writing so it didn't take me too long to hammer something out.
Other than that I also bit the bullet this weekend and paid the fees for my first course. The nice thing about being a cash student and not being dependent on financial aid is that I can set my own pace for the degree program. What I plan to do is save during the six weeks of each course and if I have enough to take the next course immediately afterwards then I'll do that, if not I'll be allowed to take as much time as I need to amass the necessary money. Now that is flexibility.
Other than that I also bit the bullet this weekend and paid the fees for my first course. The nice thing about being a cash student and not being dependent on financial aid is that I can set my own pace for the degree program. What I plan to do is save during the six weeks of each course and if I have enough to take the next course immediately afterwards then I'll do that, if not I'll be allowed to take as much time as I need to amass the necessary money. Now that is flexibility.
Regrouping
Okay, I may have to change that promise to everyday during the week and optionally on the weekend. I'm bushed at the moment. Just reeling from the shock that one of the Blue Angels crashed and died during an air show in South Carolina. They were just here a few weekends ago. The formation they were doing when the pilot veered off and died? My neighbor and I saw that at eye level when we were coming over the bridge that leads from Panama City over to the base.
Surreal.
Mark Almond, Birmingham News / AP
The Blue Angels perform the last maneuver Saturday before the accident. The No. 6 plane is seen just above the center of the photo.
The Blue Angels perform the last maneuver Saturday before the accident. The No. 6 plane is seen just above the center of the photo.
Where's my brown bag?
Well, I'm not doing too hot at the moment. Feel like I'm in a fog, with a migraine and a slight cold. Won't bore you there, but I wanted to lay it out just in case this comes out all disjointed. Anyway, I was on the Burnie Thompson Morning Show on Talk Radio 101 earlier today. It went well, my boss and the executive editor said I did good. My boss even said that I sounded "polished and poised." That's amazing considering that I was shaking like a leaf afterwards and it took forever to calm my nerves.
Here's the link:
http://www.talkradio101.com/archives/AM/AM-Thu-04-19-hour_03.mp3
Here's the link:
http://www.talkradio101.com/archives/AM/AM-Thu-04-19-hour_03.mp3
Yet to go
On the air that is. Monday's mass shooting at Virgina Tech obviously eclipsed anything else short of World War III on Tuesday. We rescheduled to this morning, when I was supposed to joing Thompson in the studio, but then we had to take Moo to the clinic. The poor little thing has both ears infected and a bad congested cough.
So I'm due on tomorrow morning at approximately 8am. I'm quite tired tonight so this entry is going to be more of an update than a conscious discussion of a particular topic. Answering emails at the moment and enjoying a psuedo-Mojito. Wondering when hubby will realize I finished the last of the Bacardi :)
So I'm due on tomorrow morning at approximately 8am. I'm quite tired tonight so this entry is going to be more of an update than a conscious discussion of a particular topic. Answering emails at the moment and enjoying a psuedo-Mojito. Wondering when hubby will realize I finished the last of the Bacardi :)
I did start...
As you can see this entry is very short. I haven't broken my promise though because saved as a draft to my Blogger account is the very reason why I started this exercise in the first place. On the way home from work I came up with a topic that I'd explore, and while fleshing it all out in the blog create box I realized that I'd struck on my column for this Saturday :)
So I'm going to have to keep it under wraps, but you'll be more than welcome to check the News Herald archives on Saturday when (if? LOL) it's published.
So I'm going to have to keep it under wraps, but you'll be more than welcome to check the News Herald archives on Saturday when (if? LOL) it's published.
Shaking in my... hmm, heels?
I'm due on the air tomorrow morning at around 8:15 am. I've been invited to participate on the Burnie Thompson Morning Show on Talk Radio 101 here in Northwest Florida. It's not that I've never been on the radio before - I had my own show during my year at W&L - but I'm just a bundle of nerves. This is exactly how I felt last Friday waiting to see my first column published in the Saturday paper. Definitely not the first time I've written a column, or anything for a paper. And I'm not selling Jamaica short either. But I am from Jamaica, I know the nuances of Jamaican society as only someone who has been born and raised there can understand. The first time I'd ever been to Panama City was last March, and now a scant year later I've had my first column published and I'm going on the radio tomorrow.
To be honest the thing that has me all choked up is the fact that I know I'm a compulsive rambler. Yes, if you were waiting to exhale, let that breath out now, it's nothing deep and dark. I just know that sometimes it's a task for me to reign myself in, especially when I've warmed up to a topic.
I'm not even going to tease the topic (did you notice that I hadn't mentioned it yet?). Take a listen to this segment of the Burnie Thompson Morning Show to get an idea of what's going on :)(Start at around the 55th minute.)
To be honest the thing that has me all choked up is the fact that I know I'm a compulsive rambler. Yes, if you were waiting to exhale, let that breath out now, it's nothing deep and dark. I just know that sometimes it's a task for me to reign myself in, especially when I've warmed up to a topic.
I'm not even going to tease the topic (did you notice that I hadn't mentioned it yet?). Take a listen to this segment of the Burnie Thompson Morning Show to get an idea of what's going on :)(Start at around the 55th minute.)
I did promise, but....
I did say that I'd blog every day but I didn't specify the length, now did I? Had to leave myself an escape clause somewhere else this would become too taxing and defeat the purpose of getting my writing skills back up to scratch.
Today was a slow day. Went to a baby shower, where for the first time Moo was the oldest baby there. Very humbling experience. I was also ashamed but at the same time grateful when another new-mom implied that I must already be back to my pre-pregnancy weight. "I'm not," I said, "I just hide my stuff well." And that's the truth. These days it's more about showing my body to the best advantage and contrary to society's belief today, that doesn't mean baring most of my breasts and belly. I can look quite sharp in a pair of tailored pants and an Oxofrd shirt, thank you. Or at least I think I look pretty decent.
Anyway, today I'm going to lean on someone elses blog. I was surfing through the blogs in my network and came across this entry that had me in stitches. We Jamaicas are a very hilarious lot.
Enjoy.
Panty thief stalks residents
There is a pervert running loose in Milk River, Clarendon, and according to the residents, not even the police can stop him.
Click to read one resident's experience
Today was a slow day. Went to a baby shower, where for the first time Moo was the oldest baby there. Very humbling experience. I was also ashamed but at the same time grateful when another new-mom implied that I must already be back to my pre-pregnancy weight. "I'm not," I said, "I just hide my stuff well." And that's the truth. These days it's more about showing my body to the best advantage and contrary to society's belief today, that doesn't mean baring most of my breasts and belly. I can look quite sharp in a pair of tailored pants and an Oxofrd shirt, thank you. Or at least I think I look pretty decent.
Anyway, today I'm going to lean on someone elses blog. I was surfing through the blogs in my network and came across this entry that had me in stitches. We Jamaicas are a very hilarious lot.
Enjoy.
Panty thief stalks residents
There is a pervert running loose in Milk River, Clarendon, and according to the residents, not even the police can stop him.
Click to read one resident's experience
Chat bout...
I was on my way home from the base supermarket, cycling through my programmed radio channels because I didn't feel like listening to my Daft Punk CD anymore. I ended up listening to some rap song (sad, but I can't even remember the name right now - no, wait, it was We Fly High/Ballin'). That got me thinking about the whole Imus deal.
Then something else struck me - amazing that I hadn't driven off the road into a ditch yet, huh? -I'm raising a daughter. What am I going to do if she goes beyond the catchy beat and identifies with the lyrics and starts seeing herself as one of those ho's from the hood trying to get a n----'s money, to paraphrase how Snoop put it. I know I'd feel like I'd have failed her. So what can I do? The music is all over the airwaves, and I still am a big hiphop/rap fan. Not necessarily of the stuff nowadays, but I love my Biggie with the best of them and I know I won't stop buying/listening to the music.
These days that's what we're all talking about. Don Imus and rap music that trashes women. One syndicated columnist thought the backlash from his "nappy headed-ho's" comment was just going to be a storm in a tea cup. Instead advertisers started pulling out from Imus's radio show and before you knew it his show was dropped and he was fired. Others are now using the shock jock's comment as a way to focus the spotlight on the way rap music denigrates young black women.
Back to me and Jim Jones and when it struck me that maybe I was part of the problem. Okay, I know I'm just one person and in the grand scheme of things I don't matter at all, but it's me and people like me who are the problem. The people who one hand don't like the denigration of women in these songs but on the other hand like the beat and dance/sing along to those very same songs without missing a beat. We're all complacent because most of us know what we're about and believe that: "Is not me dem talking 'bout".
Back to me and Jim Jones and when it struck me that maybe I was part of the problem. Okay, I know I'm just one person and in the grand scheme of things I don't matter at all, but it's me and people like me who are the problem. The people who one hand don't like the denigration of women in these songs but on the other hand like the beat and dance/sing along to those very same songs without missing a beat. We're all complacent because most of us know what we're about and believe that: "Is not me dem talking 'bout".
Then something else struck me - amazing that I hadn't driven off the road into a ditch yet, huh? -I'm raising a daughter. What am I going to do if she goes beyond the catchy beat and identifies with the lyrics and starts seeing herself as one of those ho's from the hood trying to get a n----'s money, to paraphrase how Snoop put it. I know I'd feel like I'd have failed her. So what can I do? The music is all over the airwaves, and I still am a big hiphop/rap fan. Not necessarily of the stuff nowadays, but I love my Biggie with the best of them and I know I won't stop buying/listening to the music.I've thought about it and I think all I can do is teach her by example. Show her that she doesn't have to be a gold digger to gain acceptance, and that being intelligent and educated isn't something to be ashamed of. That whole line always sounded so terribly cliché to me but now that I'm a parent it makes sense, perfect sense.
My Promise
While it hasn't been too terribly long since I last blogged it has been a considerable length of time since I last blogged consistently. All that is now going to change. I made a statement to my boss when I was leaving work today and during the drive home the sentiment took the shape of a promise that I've now made to myself.
I am going to blog every day.
Every day, you might say? What happens if one of those crazy drivers where you lives crashes into your car and lands you in the hospital? Should that happen - and it very nearly did this morning - then no, I won't be blogging... well, not on Blogger. Just in my head.
Bet you're wondering how this all came about? Well, Monday was my first day on the job as Assistant Editorial Page Editor at the local newspaper. And I truly can't remember the last time I was so proud of myself. Today while discussing my first week my boss said that he was amazed at how smoothly I fit in and I couldn't help but grin, I was thinking the same thing - it was like putting on an old shoe. And while that might seem strange to any man reading this, all my ladies will know exactly what I mean. I actually dug out an old pair of shoes today, my beloved strappy black heels and I felt like I was walking on air.
Nowhere is ever going to be as vibesy as the Observer, but you know what the News Herald doesn't have to be. My newsroom is the perfect blend of the vibes and streamlined order. Mind you, I also said that the honeymoon period is drawing to an end, so it will be interesting to see what this second week holds.
This all has me thinking how as much as we might try not to, humans do validate their self-worth based on the job they do - men especially. As a wife and mom, I also have another set of criteria and I've got to say, juggling all the various balls is hard work (take your mind out the gutter, it's an expression!).
I just hope that I can find some closure in other areas of my life, well no, just one. It has me feeling quite helpless and at a loss, but working on it is also teaching me a valuable lesson - that some things take time.
I am going to blog every day.
Every day, you might say? What happens if one of those crazy drivers where you lives crashes into your car and lands you in the hospital? Should that happen - and it very nearly did this morning - then no, I won't be blogging... well, not on Blogger. Just in my head.
Bet you're wondering how this all came about? Well, Monday was my first day on the job as Assistant Editorial Page Editor at the local newspaper. And I truly can't remember the last time I was so proud of myself. Today while discussing my first week my boss said that he was amazed at how smoothly I fit in and I couldn't help but grin, I was thinking the same thing - it was like putting on an old shoe. And while that might seem strange to any man reading this, all my ladies will know exactly what I mean. I actually dug out an old pair of shoes today, my beloved strappy black heels and I felt like I was walking on air.
Nowhere is ever going to be as vibesy as the Observer, but you know what the News Herald doesn't have to be. My newsroom is the perfect blend of the vibes and streamlined order. Mind you, I also said that the honeymoon period is drawing to an end, so it will be interesting to see what this second week holds.
This all has me thinking how as much as we might try not to, humans do validate their self-worth based on the job they do - men especially. As a wife and mom, I also have another set of criteria and I've got to say, juggling all the various balls is hard work (take your mind out the gutter, it's an expression!).
I just hope that I can find some closure in other areas of my life, well no, just one. It has me feeling quite helpless and at a loss, but working on it is also teaching me a valuable lesson - that some things take time.
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