Monday, March 28, 2011
And then there's those days again...
...when you are forced to look at how this choice produces a ripple effect in your life. #sighs!
RECESS!
They say home is where the heart is, so I've spent a few weeks following my heart around the country. First, (about four weeks ago now), the Megabus chariot took me to the foundation; fresh off the double-decker coach, I inhaled the stench of the familiar fast-paced life that lets me know I'm home. I was met by the always comforting face and arms of Lawrence and later got to enjoy the inside jokes and love of the Clinton-Henderson crew. We celebrated the beautiful 11 years we've had the blessing of knowing my twin nieces and caught up on severely missed hugs and kisses. There's no place like home. I reluctantly returned to school to finish up a week and a half of classes, and anxiously awaited the sweet sounds of the bells announcing SPRING BREAK!
...let's not talk about the dreaded 10 hour greyhound bus ride where a guy named Rambo tried to share his pillow with me and encourage me not to become alarmed at the sight of his wedding band because his wife was dead.....
And then I was in Charlotte! Welcomed by the half-sleep smiles of my baby sister who did the unthinkable and woke up before 8AM on a SATURDAY to pick me up from the bus station (to which I arrived nearly an hour late!). To start off the trip I did the most un-vegetarian thing thinkable and had her take me to Bojangles so I could sink my teeth into a deliciously buttery biscuit; I tried hard to deny the contents of the delectable treat and simply ride the high of the savory memory of childhood visits to the since closed Queens location of this establishment where my father used to take us to for Chicken littles after business at the Black Spectrum theater....mmmm, sooooo good, but ohhhh sooooo bad! The remainder of the stay rode the wave of this high; we shopped, had sister spats, and toured her new home. I was excited and proud to spend this time with her and see the life she created all from a vision of a chance at a new beginning.
After three awesome days with my munchkin, I flew to Tallahassee for a reunion with my college girls. Here I got to live it up while reconnecting with women who have become such an integral part of my life. In a matter of 6 days, I got introduced to EVERYTHING TWILIGHT, melt-in-your-mouth beignets, poolside paradise, the sharp teeth of alligators, and to the stark reality....that I'm definitely not a card carrying member of the 'young" crowd! To capture the fun and reality checks I'll let you in on a little list that surfaced as a result of this trip:
Top 40 Ways You Find Out You're Old On Spring Break --
(some are inside jokes)
1. You get excited once you arrive to your lodging and it looks like a retirement community.
2. You debate over the age-appropriateness of 13 yr old girls watching Bella and Edward embrace in passionate kissing.
3. You don’t make it pass the warm up of the West African Dance class.
4. You arrive and begin to ask your host about good elementary schools and real estate.
5. When your girlfriends come over, you teach them how to quilt.
6. When your spa pedicure calf wrap reminds you of icy hot.
7. After eating a big Cajun brunch, you demonstrate to your girls how you now have to assume a special position in order to burp.
8. You stopped at the store for two six packs of ginger ale; one organic brew.
9. You cruise the town on wheels that have a car seat and family bike rack attached; you need a parking lot traffic controller to help you park and tell you when your bike rack is cleared for landing.
10. You request to ride in the back seat so you can watch Eat, Pray, Love with the children’s headphones.
11. You pass the mall and request a trip to the Good Will store; you can point out items on your person that you got from the Good Will fall collection.
12. You take a midnight trip to Target for flip flops after you’ve informed the group that you “need to take off your Mary Janes”.
13. You opt to go to a place called “Wakulla Springs” 30 min away to take a boat tour down a river to see plants, trees, alligators, turtles, and birds instead of driving 2.5 hours to a pristine blue water beach.
14. You want to buy a walking stick from the souvenir shop.
15. You pack homemade popcorn in little sandwich bags and soy ice cream sandwiches to take with you poolside.
16. You admire the porcelain fixtures at the pool area and envision them in your future family home.
17. Instead of swimming, you sit at the pool with your homegirl and spark a conversation about whether or not anyone’s invented beach chair pillows.
18. When you invoke democratic principles to decide whether or not to go to the club.
19. You try to override the suggestion to go to the club by suggesting a late night game of Taboo.
20. You blow out the candles on your birthday cake and then you and your girls take a nap before heading out to the “grown and sexy night” at the local club.
21. You think that the “grown and sexy night” at the local hot spot is for distinguished 30 and above professionals.
22. You didn’t pack club shoes in your Spring Break luggage so you went to the party in the flats you planned on wearing to Sunday worship service.
23. You try to encourage your girls to wear Depends to the club so they don’t have to go to the bathroom.
24. Instead of showing skin, you walk through the club holding your sweater closed tight around your neck and ensure that it fully covers your bottom simultaneously.
25. Instead of “E”, you and your girls pop Eclipse breath mints en route to the car.
26. You bring pashmina scarves in case it’s an air conditioned night spot.
27. Before you enter the club, you huddle to discuss the prime standing locations to accommodate your fear of strange people in crowded spaces and identify exit strategies
28. The bouncer at the club loudly announces that he needs to see the “duffle bag” you’ve brought to the club as your party purse.
29. People keep running into your bright red “mom bag” on the way to the bar.
30. You walk the room in search of seats for you and your crew to cop a squat for the remainder of the evening.
31. You immediately talk about whose momma should beat them once you sit comfortably in your club chairs.
32. You want to tap the brolic gentlemen standing in front of your club seats and request that they put out the weed and cigarettes so the odor doesn’t seep into your hair and clothes.
33. You almost choke on your cranberry juice and sprite on the rocks at the sudden onset of the stripper gymnastics that spontaneously erupts on the club stage.
34. You debate the ethics of making twerk videos on youtube that get posted at the club versus viewing in the privacy of your home
35. You spend most of your time ignoring the music that you never heard of and trying to figure out how to get this tweet thing to work so you can see your grammatically perfect tweet on the big screen.
36. At the end of the night, your face hurts from squinting to protect your eyes from the strobe lighting.
37. You considered asking one of your girlfriends if they had sunglasses in their bag to wear in the club to dim the effect of the strobe lighting.
38. You have a full-fledged scientific conversation about how the twerk girls were able to roll their left butt cheek while keeping their right perfectly still.
39. When you come home from the club, you get out your iPad to get the latest social studies updates and commence a conversation with your girls about current events and international affairs.
40. You wonder why some hooligan in the apartment complex put a flier on your car, forgetting that you were parked outside of a club the night before.
After a harsh, yet hilarious run in with reality, and a really great time, the bell sounded and recess was officially marked O-V-E-R. :(
Now, I'm back for the final round of this school year...waiting patiently for the sounds of summer to take me away to my next adventure!
...let's not talk about the dreaded 10 hour greyhound bus ride where a guy named Rambo tried to share his pillow with me and encourage me not to become alarmed at the sight of his wedding band because his wife was dead.....
And then I was in Charlotte! Welcomed by the half-sleep smiles of my baby sister who did the unthinkable and woke up before 8AM on a SATURDAY to pick me up from the bus station (to which I arrived nearly an hour late!). To start off the trip I did the most un-vegetarian thing thinkable and had her take me to Bojangles so I could sink my teeth into a deliciously buttery biscuit; I tried hard to deny the contents of the delectable treat and simply ride the high of the savory memory of childhood visits to the since closed Queens location of this establishment where my father used to take us to for Chicken littles after business at the Black Spectrum theater....mmmm, sooooo good, but ohhhh sooooo bad! The remainder of the stay rode the wave of this high; we shopped, had sister spats, and toured her new home. I was excited and proud to spend this time with her and see the life she created all from a vision of a chance at a new beginning.
After three awesome days with my munchkin, I flew to Tallahassee for a reunion with my college girls. Here I got to live it up while reconnecting with women who have become such an integral part of my life. In a matter of 6 days, I got introduced to EVERYTHING TWILIGHT, melt-in-your-mouth beignets, poolside paradise, the sharp teeth of alligators, and to the stark reality....that I'm definitely not a card carrying member of the 'young" crowd! To capture the fun and reality checks I'll let you in on a little list that surfaced as a result of this trip:
Top 40 Ways You Find Out You're Old On Spring Break --
(some are inside jokes)
1. You get excited once you arrive to your lodging and it looks like a retirement community.
2. You debate over the age-appropriateness of 13 yr old girls watching Bella and Edward embrace in passionate kissing.
3. You don’t make it pass the warm up of the West African Dance class.
4. You arrive and begin to ask your host about good elementary schools and real estate.
5. When your girlfriends come over, you teach them how to quilt.
6. When your spa pedicure calf wrap reminds you of icy hot.
7. After eating a big Cajun brunch, you demonstrate to your girls how you now have to assume a special position in order to burp.
8. You stopped at the store for two six packs of ginger ale; one organic brew.
9. You cruise the town on wheels that have a car seat and family bike rack attached; you need a parking lot traffic controller to help you park and tell you when your bike rack is cleared for landing.
10. You request to ride in the back seat so you can watch Eat, Pray, Love with the children’s headphones.
11. You pass the mall and request a trip to the Good Will store; you can point out items on your person that you got from the Good Will fall collection.
12. You take a midnight trip to Target for flip flops after you’ve informed the group that you “need to take off your Mary Janes”.
13. You opt to go to a place called “Wakulla Springs” 30 min away to take a boat tour down a river to see plants, trees, alligators, turtles, and birds instead of driving 2.5 hours to a pristine blue water beach.
14. You want to buy a walking stick from the souvenir shop.
15. You pack homemade popcorn in little sandwich bags and soy ice cream sandwiches to take with you poolside.
16. You admire the porcelain fixtures at the pool area and envision them in your future family home.
17. Instead of swimming, you sit at the pool with your homegirl and spark a conversation about whether or not anyone’s invented beach chair pillows.
18. When you invoke democratic principles to decide whether or not to go to the club.
19. You try to override the suggestion to go to the club by suggesting a late night game of Taboo.
20. You blow out the candles on your birthday cake and then you and your girls take a nap before heading out to the “grown and sexy night” at the local club.
21. You think that the “grown and sexy night” at the local hot spot is for distinguished 30 and above professionals.
22. You didn’t pack club shoes in your Spring Break luggage so you went to the party in the flats you planned on wearing to Sunday worship service.
23. You try to encourage your girls to wear Depends to the club so they don’t have to go to the bathroom.
24. Instead of showing skin, you walk through the club holding your sweater closed tight around your neck and ensure that it fully covers your bottom simultaneously.
25. Instead of “E”, you and your girls pop Eclipse breath mints en route to the car.
26. You bring pashmina scarves in case it’s an air conditioned night spot.
27. Before you enter the club, you huddle to discuss the prime standing locations to accommodate your fear of strange people in crowded spaces and identify exit strategies
28. The bouncer at the club loudly announces that he needs to see the “duffle bag” you’ve brought to the club as your party purse.
29. People keep running into your bright red “mom bag” on the way to the bar.
30. You walk the room in search of seats for you and your crew to cop a squat for the remainder of the evening.
31. You immediately talk about whose momma should beat them once you sit comfortably in your club chairs.
32. You want to tap the brolic gentlemen standing in front of your club seats and request that they put out the weed and cigarettes so the odor doesn’t seep into your hair and clothes.
33. You almost choke on your cranberry juice and sprite on the rocks at the sudden onset of the stripper gymnastics that spontaneously erupts on the club stage.
34. You debate the ethics of making twerk videos on youtube that get posted at the club versus viewing in the privacy of your home
35. You spend most of your time ignoring the music that you never heard of and trying to figure out how to get this tweet thing to work so you can see your grammatically perfect tweet on the big screen.
36. At the end of the night, your face hurts from squinting to protect your eyes from the strobe lighting.
37. You considered asking one of your girlfriends if they had sunglasses in their bag to wear in the club to dim the effect of the strobe lighting.
38. You have a full-fledged scientific conversation about how the twerk girls were able to roll their left butt cheek while keeping their right perfectly still.
39. When you come home from the club, you get out your iPad to get the latest social studies updates and commence a conversation with your girls about current events and international affairs.
40. You wonder why some hooligan in the apartment complex put a flier on your car, forgetting that you were parked outside of a club the night before.
After a harsh, yet hilarious run in with reality, and a really great time, the bell sounded and recess was officially marked O-V-E-R. :(
Now, I'm back for the final round of this school year...waiting patiently for the sounds of summer to take me away to my next adventure!
Thank you Ms. Mark!
When I was interviewing for this program and speaking to other advanced students from the department, most forewarned me of the dreaded Statistics courses. At the beginning of this semester I braced myself for the expected challenges of the class. Nonetheless, week by week I have been making it through. While completing problem set assignments, and preparing to take quizzes and exams in this course, I realized that I owe significant gratitude to one woman who shared mathematics with me nearly TWENTY years ago! Ms. Ann-Mariea Mark, I take a moment to say THANK YOU! All of the time that you invested in me in math class and after school has made a significant difference to me and continues to help me achieve greatness. So, thank you! May God continue to bless you as you have been a tremendous blessing to the lives of sooooo many, often while expending much time and energy and asking little to nothing in return.
Thank You!
P.S.
To anyone reading who happens to live in New York, if you are interested in getting your child or someone you know superior mathematics support I'd be happy to share her information with you. Over 25 years of teaching and she continues to help children prepare for excellence!
Thank You!
P.S.
To anyone reading who happens to live in New York, if you are interested in getting your child or someone you know superior mathematics support I'd be happy to share her information with you. Over 25 years of teaching and she continues to help children prepare for excellence!
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