Yes. We. Can.

The DNC Continues

I said I wasn't going to write about the DNC everyday, so I'll try to make this entry short. (I swear...from staying up late watching the Olympics to staying up late watching the DNC and after chatter...I need a nap!)

I made it through most of Hillary Clinton's speech before dozing off. I thought she did a great job. It's funny because watching the analysts breaking down her speech afterwards, they were searching for anything to attack. So they said, hey she never actually said that Barack would make a great president. Seriously? I mean, Hillary could have gotten an Obama tattoo on her neck and that wouldn't have been enough for them. Politics is a business and she's a business woman. She made it clear that she was down for the cause. She let people know that this was not about her, but about something greater. And for all those who voted for her, she called them to recognize that (what she hopes) they were voting for were her beliefs and goals for the country. And if they were, then Obama has those same beliefs and goals, so it's time to transfer that vote.

I was watching CNN and someone interviewed this one black woman who was a delegate (can't remember from where). But, this woman was so emotional and adamant about Hillary. Like her life was over because Hillary was not on the ticket. I understand the hardcore support. But, I think this is where we get stuck. We stay trying to hold on to some stuff long after the relevancy of it has passed. The bottom line is that there will be two candidates running for president. Obama and McCain. And while your preferred candidate may not still be in the running, it is important to vote between the two that remain. We must choose the one who is closest to what we believe and what we want for this country. Withholding your vote in protest because someone else isn't there is a waste of time and cutting off your nose to spite your face. Because either way, one of those two men is going to end up in the White House.

So, let's get ourselves together people. Evaluate the two final candidates. Watch the Democratic National Convention this week and the Republican National Convention next week. Do some research.

Barack Obama - http://www.barackobama.com/index.php
John McCain - http://www.johnmccain.com/

Try to look through all of the rhetoric and tom foolery of the ads and the spin of the political analysts. Look for where they stand on the issues most important to you...the economy, healthcare, Iraq, education, poverty, foreign policy, humanitarian efforts - domestic and international, HIV/AIDS, etc.

And after you do that, most importantly, VOTE for whichever one most exemplies how you want to live for the next four years. Come on folks, let's get it.

Okay...*stepping down off my soapbox*

Great week...and it's only Tuesday!

Why this has already been a great week....

1. Sunday afternoon my kickball team (yes, my grown folk kickball team...lol) had our first game of the fall season. (Don't sleep...the game is back...check it out...www.kickball.com) This is our third season in the league and the first two definitely were our 'building' seasons...lol. Sunday, we put it down! Not only did we play well, we won by a nice healthy margin. Victory!!! After the game, the team hung out at a Mexican restaurant for lots of good conversation and laughs. Yay team!!



2. Yesterday I had a dentist appointment. Now...that in and of itself did not bring joy to my day...lol. But, what did was when I walked into my dentist's office and found all of the staff in the reception area participating in their very own...office Olympics!!! They were in the middle of a basket toss type game when I came in...and this was the final event that would decide who took the gold. At the end, there was a medal ceremony, where each of the teams was awarded either a gold, silver or bronze (plated) medal (light plate cover on a ribbon). :) I was privileged enough to witness the moving ceremony and even take a picture for the participants. Long live the Olympics!!!! :-D



3. Last night a few of my girls came over for dinner and some catch-up conversation. Good food and good company. We caught up in between the speakers at the DNC. Which leads me to the final excitement for the week this far...



4. How about Michelle Obama????????????????!!!!! I'm always proud to be a black woman, but last night let the rest of the world know why. I mean, Michelle put it down, absolutely. She came out there, made the message plain and showed America that she is what so many of us are...woman-daughter-sister-mother-wife-professional-activisit-caregiver....all in one. I have no doubt that some, if not many, have cast Michelle Obama in the same stereotypical light of the 'angry black woman'...for the same reason that many of us are. Because we are professional. Because we are serious about ourselves and our business. Because we decided some time ago, that we don't have time for the silliness. Because we are strong. Because we will defend and stand strong for our loved ones. Because although we are ladies, we will always have the fight in us. Because we are capable of filling so many roles at one time that folks may think we're schizophrenic. And this is why I think Michelle Obama is great. Not because she is the exception. But because she is the rule. She is representing for so many of us in such a wonderful way. Yes America, put it down in history, THIS is how WE roll.

When I reminisce over you/Someone take my cell phone away

So this is one of those days where I've spent a little too much time staring out the window, stuck in past thoughts and flashbacks...doing a little skipping down memory lane. This is one of those days where I woke up thinking about an old him who used to make me...smile. We don't talk anymore...haven't talked to him in more than a year now. But today, I was at work thinking, damn. That old him. Had to remind myself...he's an old him for a reason... Had to call my girl to have her talk me off the ledge and talk me out of a random text or phone call. Lol. Man, reason #657 that I love me some Jill Scott lyrics...her song was in my head all day...explains it so perfectly...




Old him. O' him. I swear these days come out of nowhere. Okay, if I can make it through the rest of today without unauthorized communication, I think I'll be good. Whatever...forget him...I'm a grown A woman with strength and will power...he don't got nothing on me...he's old news...I got this.

(...er...was that convincing enough?????????) Keep your fingers crossed for a sista, would ya!?

Victory is Sweet...sometimes...

If the Olympics don't end soon, I'm going to be a walking zombie!! But, hey, it's worth it.

After these Olympics, I am a grand fan of beach volleyball! I have been following the US women's team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh since the games began and they are fierce! Last night, in the pouring rain, they beat the talented Chinese team for the Gold medal. Yes! They played two great matches to win the set on a spike by Walsh. These ladies apparently have not lost a match since the game was invented...lol...okay, maybe not that long, but they have a serious winning streak. And I'm sooooo glad it continues!

In the men's 200-m race, that quick-footed Usain Bolt shut 'em down again. It's amazing to watch. He did seem to work a little harder in this race and hold off the celebration until after the race was done, but he still took it by several strides. Good stuff. Unfortunately for the US, Wallace Spearmon, originally taking the bronze, was DQ'd for stepping on the lane line several times. Shortly after that, the dude from the Netherlands (I think), originally taking the silver, was also DQ'd for the same thing. This moved the other two US runners - Shawn Crawford and Walter Dix, into the silver and bronze positions, respectively. I don't know...the athlete in me feels that if I'm at the Olympics and win a medal, I don't want it to come from two other folks getting DQ'd on a technicality. I don't want to tell my grandkids...yea, I actually came in 5th, but uh, that bronze was all mine! But, I know Crawford and Dix didn't have a say in the matter...and I could even tell that Dix, in his after race interview, wasn't it feeling it too tough either. But I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles or the way the race ends. Congrats to them all nonetheless!

Good Black Man Day - OOOOOWEEEEE!

Some days the brown men get me down. And some days they make me want to sing...lol. Yesterday was one of those days.

• --I was on my way out of the building to go to lunch. I got on the elevator and this tall, slim brotha with locks complimented me on my facial features...asked me where my people were from and I told him...Maryland and Alabama...lol. He laughed and I told him beyond my grandmother, some of my people are from the West Indies, to which he said, Aha...that's what I see in your face. I smiled. There's nothing like a unexpected compliment on an elevator from a man with beautiful locks. Anyway, everybody got off the elevator and I ended up chatting with him and his coworker who were both at the building to handle some business. They were breaking for lunch and asked if I'd like to go. Normally I say...umm...I don't know you like that...lol...but instead this time I said, sure. (But we still took two separate cars...lol) The three of us went to lunch, did some networking and I particularly enjoyed my conversation with Slim about art and doing what you have to do in parallel with life passions.
  
• --I spent some time talking with one of my male friends. He's such a good guy and never ceases to have be doubled over in tears from laughing so hard. He's my constant reminder that the truly good ones are out there. (He's married, but I'm still believing that there are others like him who are not!)

My other encounters were much more superficial, but you need that sometimes, too. :)

• --I was driving out of a shopping center and there was a man SO FINE standing on the sidewalk with his shirt tie on that I momentarily turned into a redneck cause all I could say in my car was... OOOOOOOOOOOOOWEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! LOLOLOL!
  
• --I had to take my company car over for servicing. There was this extremely attractive gentleman standing at the door on my way out. He spoke, asked me how I was and when I said good, he said, you certainly are...and followed me out the door to watch me walk to the car. Somedays it makes you roll your eyes and other days it just makes you giggle. Yesterday I giggled. ;)
  
  
• --When I got back to work, I got on the elevator and this cute guy who works somewhere else in the bldg got on with me. We chatted, I gave him some witty conversation. As I got off on my floor, I left him laughing and smile. (hi-five to self!)
  

And last but not least...

• --When I got home, Slim had found me on Facebook and sent me a message. Nice. :)

Oh those brown men. Gotta love them. At least some days. LOL!

Functional Faith

We had a guest preacher yesterday at church - Rev. Michael W. Palmer, Sr. of New Friendship Baptist Church in Baltimore, MD.

The title of his sermon was 'Functional Faith' and he was coming from the text of Mark 10:46-52. He spoke a lot about what faith actually means and how it is very much an action word, because as we know, faith without works is dead.

The point that he made that summed it all up and really stuck out to me was regarding the blind man in John 9. The man had been blind all his life at the time at which he met Jesus. Jesus spat on the ground, made clay and anointed the blind man's eyes with this clay. Jesus then told the man to go wash in the pool of Siloam. The man went, washed and was able to see. Pretty straight forward situation, right?

What Rev. Palmer brought to our attention was this - this man not only had to have faith to receive his sight, but he also had to put in some type of action to make manifest of what Jesus had blessed him with. According to Rev. Palmer, when the Bible says that Jesus 'anointed' the man's eyes with clay, that implies that upon the clay being placed over his eyes, his sight was restored immediately. However, because his eyes were covered with the clay, he still could not physically see. Jesus had blessed him with sight, but he could not use it until he went and washed the clay off. Had he not both faith AND action, he would have continued through his life with the gift of sight, but the obstruction of the clay preventing him from using it.

The translation for our lives today is clear. God blesses us in so many ways so many times. And while we believe He does, we do not always ACT in conjunction with His blessings. Faith without works is dead. He could bless us all day long, but if we don't make the simple step to wash the clay off of our eyes, we will still be blind to all of the great things He has set out for us. I mean, there's no reason to let good blessings go to waste, right?!? So, my prayer is that we be moved to action to make manifest of the blessings that He has already sent our ways. Let the washing off of the clay begin!

You might be an Olymics junkie if...

• ...you've been late to work everyday because you stayed up too late watching the games.


• ...you now know the official rules of beach volleyball, water polo & international basketball.


• ...you know that the US men's swimming relay team was disqualified in a world competition because Crocker entered the pool too early...and you were thinking...he better not...while watching the Olympics relay earlier last week.


• ...you watched Greco-Roman wrestling, badminton or table tennis. Period.


• ...you didn't think silver was good enough for Dara Torres.


• ...you referred to the guys on other teams as punks just because they were beating the US team in the sychronized diving competition.


• ...you're still waiting on ol' girl from the Chinese gymnastics team to get stripped of her gold cause there ain't NO WAY she is 16 years old!!


• ...you not only know who Michael Phelps is, but you know who Cullen Jones is...and that he almost drowned when he was 5.


• ...you were on the internet looking up 5 countries that you had never heard of before the opening ceremonies.


• ...you sat in a roomful of folks on a Saturday night screaming as the US men's swimming relay team won the gold, giving Michael Phelps his 8th gold medal.


• ...you don't know how to swim, but you know how many laps 1500 m are!


• ...you couldn't turn the channel, even when they were showing the women running the marathon...lol.


• ...when the US is out of any competition, you adopt another country to cheer for.


• ...you think folks who just watch US men's and/or women's basketball are Olympic amateurs!


• ...you've been at work secretly trying to figure out if you have enough leave or money to still get to Beijing.

AND....

• ...you can now identify the opening bars of the national anthems of more than 10 different countries!!!!!

Aren't the Olympics GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

The Road Trip Analogy

I hit the road this weekend to head down to visit some friends in NC. I knew that I'd be going down a few months ago and planned it out, as much as was necessary. I thought about leaving Friday afternoon, but because of the traffic I've faced before, decided to wait until Saturday AM. I packed Friday evening. A friend of mine came by that evening and told me he was going to ride down with me for the weekend. Cool. So, I went to bed at a decent hour, got up and dressed in the morning. Called my friend and in less than 12 hours, he had changed his mind and decided he'd stay here and get some work done. Okay. I'm not a fan of folks commiting to one thing and then un-commiting to it, but, it wasn't going to change my trip.

I hit the road before 9 and hopped on I-95. Thinking to myself...I'm out early enough, I should be able to roll down my windows, turn up my music and ride out. That's how I planned it. Well, despite the planning, I had gone about 45 miles and ran into the back of silly traffic congestion that had no cause - no accident, roadwork, etc. - other than too many folks on the road. I was first annoyed at the audacity of the traffic to mess up my plan. After so many minutes of creeping along on the 95, I got off, and hopped on a smaller roadway - US 1, hoping to fare better. US 1 of course had traffic signals, fewer lanes and a lower speed limit...but at least it was moving. So, I stayed on 1 for awhile, tried to make up some time and then hopped back on 95. That went well for all of...10 minutes and then I hit the backup again. Thoroughly frustrated, I said, later for this, got back on 1 and took it all the way to I-85. This time when I got on 1, I was okay with it and then began to enjoy the scenery, the little towns and all the things I would not have driven by had I stayed on 95. I have been making this drive for many years and this was the first time that I saw some of these gorgeous places. See where I'm going with this...lol...

In taking this little journey south, it occurred to me that this was just like life. You can make the best plans. People can both support you and disappoint you with their participation or lack thereof in your plans. But, you never know when you're going to hit unexpected congestion or road blocks. And you can either wait it out patiently, which is fine, or you can get pissed off about it. Or, you can decide to try another way. And in trying another way, you can continue to be mad about the first attempt that met with resistance. Or, you can choose to let that go and appreciate the things that this 'alternate' plan has brought you. You can accept that your plan, although altered, is still good and is still worthy of much excitement. And by doing so you get to enjoy so many beautiful things that you hadn't even planned on initially.

As I've heard...plan for the worst, hope for the best and be flexible with everything in between.

Oh...I got your b*tch...

Okay, so...I was minding my business on Friday, driving to lunch. I was driving straight through a signalized intersection when a car from the opposite direction started to make a left turn in front of me because they didn't see me coming. I honked my horn, slowed down and swerved around them...thus avoiding an accident that would've been the other driver's fault. As I drove around them, the sista in the passenger seat yelled 'bitch' out the window. Sometimes I think I have a strong fighting alter ego, as my first reaction was to whip the car around and pursue her...to do what...I don't know...lol.

So, I'm thinking...'bitch' even? I swerve to avoid the car that you're in, that would be at fault if the accident were to happen. I save your boy who's driving, the hassle of having to call his insurance company and report it and pay for the repairs on my car because he wasn't paying enough attention while he was driving. I save you some pain, as it would be your side that I would've hit, t-bone style. And that qualifies me as the 'bitch' in this situation, huh?

I mean...if I'm going to get the title...at least let me have done something to deserve it. Let me have taken your man, stole your bike or run over your pet hamster. But, to have saved you pain, saved your boy money and saved us all time...how about a 'thank you, girl!' instead? Just a suggestion.

Ladies...let's be a little less loose with the 'bitches'. There is life and death in the tongue. Because let's face it car girl, you don't know enough about me to call me a bitch anymore than I know enough about you to call you a hot ghetto mess. Just a thought.