Annoying person in my office (APIMO):  "I see you're rockin' your 'strong black woman' hairdo today."
Me:  ::blank stare::
APIMO:  "...but it looks GOOD on you!"
Me:  "Uh huh"
APIMO: "So call me so we can go out to lunch, okay?"
Me:  ::gives fake smile::

Seriously people, for real?

IT'S JUST MY HAIR.  IT'S NOT A POLITICAL STATEMENT.

Last year I made the conscious decision to stop chemically straightening my hair.  I thought about it for a long time and I decided that I was fed up with the upkeep, ready for a change, and really concerned about the long term affects of altering the natural state of my hair.

I now wear my hair in it's natural state.  Sometimes twisted.  Sometimes in a curly crown on my head, usually pulled back with a headband.  I like it (which is what matters most.)  I love my hair, and so do most people.

So the fact that I let my hair do what it does (groomed well of course) translates to me somehow sending a message to the world that I am not to be fucked with?  For reals?  You got all that from my hair?

I could see if it was spiked, or shaved into a mohawk, or going every which way but neat.

And...just...

::sigh::

Forget it.  It doesn't even matter.  

I've no time for this ignorance.

So...cheers!


  
(me and valkyrias on nye)

Man today was all over the place for me.

It started out with a toothache from hell which made me call in way late this morning. I ended up dagging in around 11:30am with a throbbing jawline and a bag full of Thai food. Why is it that you seem to get really hungry during times when it's probably best that you avoid eating?

Anyway, I managed to eat a good deal of food and actually get some work done. A very productive work day for such a late start.

After work I picked up the kid and dropped him by my mom's job then headed off the the DSG idea generation meeting at WSU. That was good and a lot of great ideas got tossed out in the mix. I enjoyed meeting new folks and catching up with the ones I know. One woman got a little agitated when she witnessed another woman "cheating" by voting for more than 1 idea. Although it really wasn't the right time to bring it up as an issue, I could kinda sympathize with her. People of color are so used to being cheatted, disenfranchised, and otherwise dissed that the issue of "fairness" is a really sore topic for some of us. And when we see things that aren't fair, we take it to heart and that can manifest itself in any number of ways. At any rate, I think we can safely say that any good and feasible idea will be explored and for that I'm happy. Detroit can always use more people with ideas and people who care. I was glad to see that so many came out tonight.

And what did I do after all that at around 9:45pm? Well, I went out dancing of course! Yep, my sis-in-law along with some of our dance classmates and our instructor hit the Sky Bar in Royal Oak. It was dark, packed, and a little disorienting at first, but the night picked up quickly and I think we were all a little surprised at how much fun we wound up having.

Thank you Eric, Alan, and Alejandro for the dance. Espero que bailaramos otro vez.

Tomorrow Night....we shall rock the yacht.

That's the lesson I came away with from today's Discussing Differences Session.

Sometimes It's so easy to put off community work, or exercising, or starting that new financial plan that you know will put you on the path to better quality of life.  That first step is often so daunting and just thinking about it makes our heads hurt.

But more often than not, once you've gotten started, you're oh so glad that you did.

Sometimes my intentions get way ahead of my brain, and I end up overcommitting myself and scrambling to accomodate my hectic scheduled, but to tell you the truth...I wouldn't have it any other way.

Facilitating and participating in diversity dialogue keeps me connected to the world in a way that makes me happy and hopeful.  It is so easy to lose faith in the world and in humanity. 

However I have discovered that the more I talk to people, the more I want to talk to people.  I want to know their stories.  The histories, the dreams, the heartbreaks, and the beliefs. 

It keeps me grounded, and it's one of the reasons why I keep trying to make things better.

There will those who just won't get it and don't want to ...and that's fine.  I guess I just keep hoping that someday we will reach a collective consciousness  as human beings and start dealing with each other based on a univeral sense of what's morally right, regardless of religion, sex, color, or sexual orientation.

It's a tall order, and most days it seems as likely as pink elephants.

But I still have hope.

So whatever it is that you've been putting off or avoiding for whatever the reason, I say "Get to it!"

Time waits for no one, and your time is now.

Tonight is Detroit Synergy's popular supper club and we will be dining on French-American cuisine..at Cuisine!

I'll be hanging out with angiej and other synergizers. I'm anticipating a night of good food and good conversation.

In case you're interested, here's the menu for tonight:

• Assorted California greens with Mandarin oranges, candied almonds and strawberry juice -or-
• Trio of cold soups - gazpacho, carrot and English pea

• Roasted Norwegian salmon with lobster risotto -or-
• Roasted beef tenderloin with salsify potato salad and green beans -or-
• Melange of Vegetables - A "virtual tour" of Chef's vegetarian culinary creativity.

• Assorted Sorbet

Personally, I think I will go for the California greens and the Salmon/Lobster risotto main course.

The diet will be shot to hell for the day, but whatever. I'm eatin'!

...but I will be on the treadmill tomorrow.

Today started off crappy.

No gas in the car when I left for work. The traffic was horrible and my bank account is about to plunge into the single digits.

( ...but today was a good day. )

All in all, I was really pleased with the turnout and the discussion. I'm always amazed and relieved when we plan these meetings and people keep coming. Sometimes I wonder if we're making a difference at all, but at the very least I know that we are giving people an opportunity to converse with each other as stakeholders in the future of Detroit.

As anyone who keeps a journal/blog knows...

...sometime just talking about it makes you feel better.