The Adventures of Kinky Reggae: A Vagabond for Beauty

I feel like I should at least explain how this got started. I started to work on this PowerPoint presentation for grad school, but got bored and thought I would take a break and work on my studnets' act for the Black History Program at school. My principal wants them to dance, so I went to YouTube and searched for Motown dances. Somehow, I ended up finding first dances at wedding receptions. I always wanted to do something like this and had no idea it was so popular! Here are a few of my favorites. This is something I would want to do In this one, you have to make it past 1:45 I think this one's kinda tacky, but still funny... I wish I was that good of a dancer

This weekend was the big snowboarding trip I'd been looking forward to. Nina and I went to the Sunburst Ski Area in Wisconsin on Saturday. As soon as I stepped on that snowboard, I knew it was going to be a disaster. Even after a lesson, I was too scared to go on the beginner's hill. There was a little slope (not even a hill) near the beginner's hill, so I just practiced there for a while. And fell almost every time. After about an hour, I gave up and found the bar. Nina joined me, and after several drinks I felt ready to tackle the bunny hill. Except I was nervous about the rope tow, so I walked up it. I think the hardest thing about snowboarding is getting up. You have to sit down in the snow, put your other foot in the binding, and somehow stand up without going flying down the slope. So Nina braced her snowboard against mine, and I got up, but I got off to a bad start. Instead of my snowboard being perpendicular to the hill (which makes you go slower), I was

1. Ugly Betty "Tap That"... Oh my goodness, I just about died laughing. What a great episode tonight. I'm glad there wasn't anything too emotional. A few weeks ago, Sarah actually screamed, "I can't handle this emotional rollercoaster!" But I noticed that Lost is going to be on next week instead of Ugly Betty! And I went on the website to see when it would be one next, and it said TBD!!! Why can't this writer's strike just get settled? First The Office, now Ugly Betty... just give the writers what they want! They deserve it! 2. History I realized lately just how much I love to read about history. Not all history, just certain things, especially stuff that happened in Chicago or Illinois in general. I still haven't finished Sin in the Second City, but I'm about halfway through. I'm just slow when I read nonfiction. Also, I kind of took a break and have been reading from "Haunted Illinois." Not only is it a grea

I don't mean to be a whiner (or a weiner, as my former student thought it was pronounced, which made for a pretty hilarious game of pseudo-charades), but I'm so tired of being cold. And I'm not just talking about it being so cold outside that it hurts to breathe. I am cold inside, too. First of all, I don't think my heat works all that well. When it gets super cold out, I have to crank it up to 80 in order to feel warm. Maybe that's just me being a freak. Sometimes I turn it up to 85, sit on my couch in a cami and shorts, and eat popsicles. I try to fool myself into thinking it's summer. Anyway, the thing that really upsets me is that there's a problem with my pipes, so I can't take hot showers or baths. This has been going on for over a month now. There was a phase where I got no hot water at all; it just came out as a trickle. Then I got a little bit of hot water, but not enough for a whole bath or shower. Then I only got lukewarm water. Af

I have this constant need for adventure. I have for as long as I can remember. When I was in high school, I fulfilled this need by lying to my parents and doing crazy stuff, like going to raves and hanging out with guys in their 20's and partying at their apartments, and doing other really unhealthy and illegal things I'd rather not post on the internet. But now I'm older and more responsible and have common sense, so this need for adventure is manifesting itself in other ways. It's not always healthy (like the whole Brian thing), but it is much better than in high school. I've gotten more creative with coming up with things to do. My idea of adventure is not going out to a new bar, or getting really drunk. I like to come up with crazy new things I've never tried before. This weekend, Nina and I went to DC's Country Junction in Lowell, IN. It is a barn with live music and line dancing. I was afraid she'd hate it, but she didn't seem to miser

Ok, here is the new night light that will be adorning my room in the very near future. The fireflies even blink like real fireflies. It's not too obvious, is it? It will just look like another cute item on my dresser, right?

Tonight will be night 3 of sleeping with the light on. That stupid show on Discovery Channel terrifies me. I am so stupid, though; I know what will happen if I watch it, but I can't turn it off. I'm fascinated. And I'm not usually scared while I'm watching it, so I tell myself I'll be fine at night, but I never am. There was a two hour episode on Sunday that was especially disturbing. It's scary enough when it's just a ghost, but this episode dealt with demons. And since I'm a Christian, I do believe that stuff exists. And when the Catholic church approves an exorcism, you know it's not pretend. This episode was so scary I had to actually change the channel at certain parts. That night, I slept with my light on and my Bible under my pillow. I woke up around 3 a.m. and was too scared to go back to sleep (because that's the hour when all the bad stuff usually happens). I kept imagining the demons pulling the cross off my neck, or pulli

Well, the big question has been asked, and I've accepted. Charity proposed. And I told her I would love to spend the rest of my life with her. There are just two things that will hinder our lifetime of happiness: 1. Charity is already married 2. We are not lesbians. Too bad. But it was nice to be asked. Speaking of proposals, I've decided where I want my real one to happen. Keep in mind, this is a long way off since I'm not even dating anyone at the moment. But I think it would be perfect to be proposed to at the California Grill at the top of the Contemporary Resort at Disney World during the fireworks. Wouldn't that be amazing? But I guess it doesn't have to be Disney World. There just have to be fireworks.

I am so glad I signed up for Big Brothers/Big Sisters. What a great organization. Khalia and I had our second "playdate" tonight, and we had a blast. We started off with ice skating at one of the park district rinks. Her reaction was hilarious; she thought I was taking her rollerskating. She'd never been ice skating before and was scared to death. She is like a little old lady! She clung to the side for a while, then got brave enough to let go as long as she held my hand, and finally did it on her own. She was still having trouble when we left, but she only fell once, and afterwards said she thought it was fun. One thing that made it really nice was that there were only three other people there. Then they left, and we had the whole rink to ourselves for a while. How fun! After we turned in our skates, Khalia wanted to swing at the playground for a few minutes. We tried to see who could swing higher, but the little old lady kicked in, and she thought I was swin

I'm being observed on Monday, and I'm doing my lesson on Figurative Language (similes, metaphors, and idioms). I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I want to do, but I want it to involve song lyrics so it's relevant. Does anyone have ideas for song lyrics that have examples of those things? I'm especially looking for hip hop songs.

Sugarland has been my favorite band for while now, and I loved the song "Stay" the first time I heard it. The first thing I loved was the simplicity of it; she has such a beautiful and unique voice, I could just listen for hours. Then I listened to the words and loved it even more, since I've been in that situation. Granted, I didn't know for sure like she does, but I still felt the same things. Then I saw the video yesterday. So perfect. I have to wonder if she actually has been in this situation? I know she wrote the song. So anyway, I'm posting the video here (which I hope is not like, against the law or something) so all my friends who are not country fans can see this video. I think you can appreciate it even if you don't love country. Okay, I just had it posted but it doesn't work anymore. So here's the link if anyone is still intersted: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIyxkZod2cM

My problem is solved. The only reason I was reluctant to go to Governor's State was because it is a bit of a drive from my place. Well, and I would have liked the experience of living somewhere new for a while. But anyway, I thought UIC didn't have the program I wanted, but I was wrong. It just falls under the Instructional Leadership category (which I thought meant administration). Also, I talked to my friend last night who used to teach at the crazy middle school, but has taught 6th grade with me for the past 2 years. She thinks I would be fine at the middle school and is thinking about going back there herself. So, next year I will be working on my master's at UIC and teaching 7th or 8th grade at the middle school in our district. I'm really happy with this decision because it doesn't have to be permanent; after I get my reading master's, then I can do the overseas teaching or move to a different city or district. I guess I should start getting ready

Last year around this time, I had the Kenny Chesney attitude- "I'll just sit right here and have another beer in Mexico..." meaning, "I'm not going to worry about where my life is going." Well, that's not working for me anymore. I need to make a change. I won't go into all the details, but I'm having a really difficult time deciding what to do next year. My priority is to get my master's in reading so I can teach reading at the middle school or high school level. I would also like to get married and have babies at some point. Soon. So, after a lot of thought and prayer, it's come down to two options: going to a state school (like Southern) and getting a job there for a few years, or transferring to the middle school in my district and doing my master's at Governor's State. I don't have to transfer to the middle school in order to go to Governor's State, but that's what I feel like God wants me to do. It sounds silly wh

Florida was everything I wanted it to be. I drank Cherry Limeades from Sonic every day, laid out and worked on my tan almost every day, and read 5 books. I met a pop star's grandma (she lives next door to my aunt and uncle). I had dinner with my aunt, uncle, and cousin almost every night, and I haven't eaten so well in a long time- homemade mac and cheese, vegetable paella, fresh fruit from the farmer's market, fresh-squeezed orange juice from the oranges in my uncle's backyard... it was amazing. I did not wear my favorite flowy skirt (I couldn't find it before I left!), but I did buy some cute new shoes from Dillard's that I wore on New Year's. Also, I did not do shots of Patron and make out with random boys. But I did do a shot of something else (for Tim; I did the same thing last New Year's right after I found out he died), and I had offers from a few boys; I was just not interested. I danced, too, which everyone knows is rare. I was grinding