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.
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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