Why can't our "leaders" get it together? Always a power struggle.
"And it’s very unlikely the Republicans in Congress who have vowed to repeal the health-reform law can succeed, because all laws have to pass the Senate and Democrats who support the law control the Senate. And President Barack Obama would veto any such repeal, of course. Even some Republicans point out that the Supreme Court has ruled Obamacare constitutional and it is now the law of the land." - NBC News
If the government shuts down, it could impact over 800,000 government workers. Personally, since I am not a government employee, but my non-profit gets contracts from the government, a lot of our work could be halted.
I'm going to need them (Congress, Senate, Republicans, Democrats) to figure it out. Like today. Like before midnight.
How the possible, impending government shutdown could impact us:
http://news.msn.com/us/how-will-you-be-impacted-by-a-government-shutdown
More info: http://www.nbcnews.com/health/why-bother-other-burning-questions-about-obamacare-8C11284516?ocid=msnhp&pos=1
Feel free to comment.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Friday, September 27, 2013
Fashion Fridays
Fridays are for FASHION! Really everyday is for fashion, but I liked the alliteration with the name "Fashion Fridays"....ha! This is only my opinion and my idea of style, so take it or leave it!
Ladies: Still wear your short-sleeves or camisoles, but layer up with a cardigan or blazer and cute pumps. Don't be afraid of color (belt, jewelry, shoes)! Pops of color here and there will work just fine.
For work, a pencil skirt or pants will do the trick with this look. For Casual Fridays or weekends, jeans will work. Blazers can dress-up or dress-down an outfit. Love them!
For Fellas: Same principal, more subtle colors. Jeans, a lightweight sports jacket, button-up shirt, and boots is always fly. Motorcycle jackets are awesomely sexy too. ;-)
Fashion Tip for Fall - Layer Up! We all know fall is a little on the cool side in the mornings and warms up in the afternoon. So, you want to have the option of removing clothes as it gets warmer.
Ladies: Still wear your short-sleeves or camisoles, but layer up with a cardigan or blazer and cute pumps. Don't be afraid of color (belt, jewelry, shoes)! Pops of color here and there will work just fine.
For work, a pencil skirt or pants will do the trick with this look. For Casual Fridays or weekends, jeans will work. Blazers can dress-up or dress-down an outfit. Love them!
For Fellas: Same principal, more subtle colors. Jeans, a lightweight sports jacket, button-up shirt, and boots is always fly. Motorcycle jackets are awesomely sexy too. ;-)
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Poetic Interlude: The Epitome of Oppression by M. Abla
The Epitome of Oppression
Holding on to six letters modified to five,
When our ancestors were alive it was not a joke
Provoked and put down, yoked up by tattered collars
Fast forward to present time…
I know! Why don’t we embrace the word that
degraded yours and mine.
Hold onto the word for dear life,
Caress it regardless of the inner strife.
Let’s decorate it and put on bows
Of killing the “er” and adopting an “a”
Let’s put it on a pedestal and use it
To just say “hey”
Let’s justify its use because it is OUR word not theirs
Because it is a term of endearment
Because by not using it we give the power back to them
Because why not use it…it sounds cool, doesn’t it?
I’m excited! We are using a word that was wrongly righted
To describe our family and friends
Constantly including it in songs and slang till the end
Oh no but it is different this time,
We dismissed the “er” and added the “a”, didn’t we?
Of course! 'Brotha', 'sista', and 'my love' aren’t good anymore
So let’s use a derogatory word and change them...
Make our minds like closed doors!
Oh yeah and let’s say no one else can use it
Even though there is nothing wrong with it
It is a term of endearment, right?
But they cannot say it because then it is offensive.
That makes so much sense, we are so smart
We figured out a way to take back an insulting word
And set it apart.
But, wait a minute…
Saying nigga instead of nigger,
Isn’t that like changing sister to sista?
It is the same word with the same meaning
If we are so proud of it, why when others say it,
Oh now it’s demeaning?
That doesn’t make sense, there is nothing right about that
It doesn’t fit the facts
The word was used for oppression
And it should stay in the past
If we continue using the word
Are we really, like Martin said, “free at last?”
Holding on to six letters modified to five,
When our ancestors were alive it was not a joke
Provoked and put down, yoked up by tattered collars
Fast forward to present time…
I know! Why don’t we embrace the word that
degraded yours and mine.
Hold onto the word for dear life,
Caress it regardless of the inner strife.
Let’s decorate it and put on bows
Of killing the “er” and adopting an “a”
Let’s put it on a pedestal and use it
To just say “hey”
Let’s justify its use because it is OUR word not theirs
Because it is a term of endearment
Because by not using it we give the power back to them
Because why not use it…it sounds cool, doesn’t it?
I’m excited! We are using a word that was wrongly righted
To describe our family and friends
Constantly including it in songs and slang till the end
Oh no but it is different this time,
We dismissed the “er” and added the “a”, didn’t we?
Of course! 'Brotha', 'sista', and 'my love' aren’t good anymore
So let’s use a derogatory word and change them...
Make our minds like closed doors!
Oh yeah and let’s say no one else can use it
Even though there is nothing wrong with it
It is a term of endearment, right?
But they cannot say it because then it is offensive.
That makes so much sense, we are so smart
We figured out a way to take back an insulting word
And set it apart.
But, wait a minute…
Saying nigga instead of nigger,
Isn’t that like changing sister to sista?
It is the same word with the same meaning
If we are so proud of it, why when others say it,
Oh now it’s demeaning?
That doesn’t make sense, there is nothing right about that
It doesn’t fit the facts
The word was used for oppression
And it should stay in the past
If we continue using the word
Are we really, like Martin said, “free at last?”
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Shots, Hotspots, and Whatnots
So, we decided to go to Ghana (March 1 - 11, 2013)!! So much to do, so little time.
Anyone who comes from a good sized family knows that it is extremely difficult to plan a family vacation. Everyone has their own schedules, their own agendas, and their own sense of deadlines. When you come from a good sized West African family, there is only one way to describe it: Wahala.
But, we'll get to that later.
So, when going overseas what do you need?
Airplane Ticket
Ok, so you're thinking it's a flight, what's the big deal? Right...we initially thought we would use a travel agent. The thing with travel agents is that they get a profit so sometimes they jack up the price of your flight. This particular agent said we had ONE WEEK to decided if we are going to purchase the flights he found. Please direct your attention to the second paragraph above. Not happenning.
After a week the "agent" tells us the tickets are sold-out. Mmmhmmm. I do a quick search online, find airplane tickets FOR THE SAME EXACT FLIGHT THE AGENT WAS TALKING ABOUT, for a little over 1k round-trip and that's done! Why didn't I open a travel agency? Umm...let's keep it movin'.
Shots
After a little more research, I realize we all need Hepatitis A, Tetanus, Typhoid, Yellow Fever, and we have to take Malaria pills. Are we going to war or going on vacation?!?! I mean, really (later, I realized we were doing both). On top of all that, most insurance companies don't cover travel immunizations. It's as if they are saying, "Oh, we care if you get sick, but not if you leave your country." AND not every clinic offers all the shots you need. Needless to say, this was an ordeal. Moving on...
Passport
This was one thing that wasn't a headache. Most of us had up-to-date passports.
Visa (and not the spending kind)
Ai yai yai (as my number one stick girl would say)...all I can do is shake my head when I think about getting our visas. First of all, when you go on their website to see what you need to mail in or bring with you to the Ghana Embassy, it's like going through a maze that makes you think you are going the right way and then you end up in a dead end. Looking at a wall. Except it's your computer screen.
Yeah, like that guy. Anyway, I digress. Some of us decided to mail in our applications. Some of us decided to go to the Embassy. The ones that mailed yours in...good job. For the rest of us? Team TOO MUCH. I get there and everyone is standing in the lobby staring at a counter with a glass wall up and nobody behind it. The Embassy closes at 5. I have been there since 1. The line hasn't moved at all. They tell us to come back the next day. We are leaving for Ghana in 2 days. Not an option. People start raising their voices. People threaten to fight. The guy shows up behind the counter and tells us 3 different things all of which I think he made up. Everyone was looking at him like my friend to the left. This should have been a foreshadowing of the trip.
Supplies to survive the conditions (I'm soooo not being dramatic)
SUNSCREEN. BIG FLOPPY HAT. SUNGLASSES. Enough said. Mosquitoes are deadly in certain parts of Ghana. Even if you are taking the malaria pills. To the extent that they eat through clothes. Oooo, our blood must be TASTY. So we needed some extra crazy strength mosquito repellent. That we had to spray on our clothes. That we couldn't spray directly onto our skin. That we can't inhale. I use it as mace now. :-) We also found DEET that we could spray directly on our skin. No mace there.
SPENDING MONEY
One American dollar is equivalent to 2 bucks. They are called cedis. We had fun with that. I'M RICH B!+*H!
Research on Hotspots
It was fun trying to see what trouble we could get into. Nightlife in Africa? Nothing like it. Stay tuned for more...
Anyone who comes from a good sized family knows that it is extremely difficult to plan a family vacation. Everyone has their own schedules, their own agendas, and their own sense of deadlines. When you come from a good sized West African family, there is only one way to describe it: Wahala.
But, we'll get to that later.
So, when going overseas what do you need?
Airplane Ticket
Ok, so you're thinking it's a flight, what's the big deal? Right...we initially thought we would use a travel agent. The thing with travel agents is that they get a profit so sometimes they jack up the price of your flight. This particular agent said we had ONE WEEK to decided if we are going to purchase the flights he found. Please direct your attention to the second paragraph above. Not happenning.
After a week the "agent" tells us the tickets are sold-out. Mmmhmmm. I do a quick search online, find airplane tickets FOR THE SAME EXACT FLIGHT THE AGENT WAS TALKING ABOUT, for a little over 1k round-trip and that's done! Why didn't I open a travel agency? Umm...let's keep it movin'.
Shots
After a little more research, I realize we all need Hepatitis A, Tetanus, Typhoid, Yellow Fever, and we have to take Malaria pills. Are we going to war or going on vacation?!?! I mean, really (later, I realized we were doing both). On top of all that, most insurance companies don't cover travel immunizations. It's as if they are saying, "Oh, we care if you get sick, but not if you leave your country." AND not every clinic offers all the shots you need. Needless to say, this was an ordeal. Moving on...
Passport
This was one thing that wasn't a headache. Most of us had up-to-date passports.
Visa (and not the spending kind)
Ai yai yai (as my number one stick girl would say)...all I can do is shake my head when I think about getting our visas. First of all, when you go on their website to see what you need to mail in or bring with you to the Ghana Embassy, it's like going through a maze that makes you think you are going the right way and then you end up in a dead end. Looking at a wall. Except it's your computer screen.
Supplies to survive the conditions (I'm soooo not being dramatic)
SUNSCREEN. BIG FLOPPY HAT. SUNGLASSES. Enough said. Mosquitoes are deadly in certain parts of Ghana. Even if you are taking the malaria pills. To the extent that they eat through clothes. Oooo, our blood must be TASTY. So we needed some extra crazy strength mosquito repellent. That we had to spray on our clothes. That we couldn't spray directly onto our skin. That we can't inhale. I use it as mace now. :-) We also found DEET that we could spray directly on our skin. No mace there.
SPENDING MONEY
One American dollar is equivalent to 2 bucks. They are called cedis. We had fun with that. I'M RICH B!+*H!
Research on Hotspots
It was fun trying to see what trouble we could get into. Nightlife in Africa? Nothing like it. Stay tuned for more...
Why Start a Blog?
I always get the question, "What inspires you to write?" It's simple really: LIFE. Life inspires everything. Life is everything. I write about what I see, hear, or feel. I write about places I've visited or lived. I write about love, politics, and the beauty of nature. I write about life.
But, why not go deeper? In my journey to write more and document my experiences, I've decided to create a blog.
Don't expect structure or consistency though...because they are mere acquaintances. Randomness is my BFF.
If I feel inspired, I will write about it (via Poetic Interludes). If I travel somewhere interesting, I will share. If I have a random fashion tip, I will post. If I want to vent, so shall it be. Let's go!
Snapshots of 2013 (blogs to follow) -
January - March: Shots, Hotspots, and Whatnots
Early March: Wahala: A Family Vacation
Sidebar: Rose turns 1
June: Rooftop Day Party: Nothing Like ATL
August: No Longer Newlyweds
Early October: Miami!
But, why not go deeper? In my journey to write more and document my experiences, I've decided to create a blog.
Don't expect structure or consistency though...because they are mere acquaintances. Randomness is my BFF.
If I feel inspired, I will write about it (via Poetic Interludes). If I travel somewhere interesting, I will share. If I have a random fashion tip, I will post. If I want to vent, so shall it be. Let's go!
Snapshots of 2013 (blogs to follow) -
January - March: Shots, Hotspots, and Whatnots
Early March: Wahala: A Family Vacation
Sidebar: Rose turns 1
June: Rooftop Day Party: Nothing Like ATL
August: No Longer Newlyweds
Early October: Miami!
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