Phoenix Rising

Oh My Wandering Thoughts...

I Love It When We're Cruising Together...11 days and counting til the peace and quiet of the open seas! I am looking forward to not doing anything but eating, sleeping, loving, sunbathing and reading trashy novels.Our ports of call are Belize, Honduras, Grand Cayman and  Cozumel.  GABUNNY!! Can you suggest some great beach reading for me? Nothing taxing. I don't want to think about theme, characterization, the elements of fiction and any of the other shit they pay me to teach the kids.

"The most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous." -Carrie, SATC... this is one of my favorite quotes from a show or movie. I'm well aware that I am staring 30 in the eye.  At this point of my life I am so THRILLED to be at a point where I am satisfied with my career, my house, myself, my life, and my relationship. It's almost Valentine's Day and for once I am looking forward to the simple holiday and I am in a way better situation than a year ago.

My favorite white boy pulled it off...While I was a smile turned upside down when the beloved Pats lost the AFC game, I was thrilled that Peyton Manning finally made it to the SuperBowl. My favorite white boy, two Black coaches and Black History month? Well hell... color me PURPLE...so I have been in a Prince redux lately. Diddy and Keyshia Cole's "Last Night" has been setting me off. The beat is so reminiscent of Prince, you know the song "Wendy is the water warm enough? Yes, Lisa." Anyway, so I have been annoying the cuddlebunny by calling randomly and singing snatches to him. He's learned enough to just sing along with me. So we had a Superbowl gathering and the cuddlebunny and I brucked out our Manning jerseys. I sang and danced to Prince. He encouraged me. A match made in heaven, i tell ya.

And February...can i just say that 21 days to go and we can stop faking the funk with Black History Month?! I am so sick of advertisers thinking they can reach the coloreds by having some slam poets in a commercial. I HATE SLAM POETRY and SLAM POETS...NEWSFLASH...YOU ARE NOT THAT DEEP! All that snapping and incense-burning, and half said phrases, shit just because you are being obtuse doesn't mean you are smarter than the average bear. JEESH.

I am 100 percent certain that I am forgetting something that I wanted to talk about, but I'll have to talk about it after the cruise. Ta-ta.

In the Meanwhile...

The day started off in an interesting fashion. The Boston Teacher's Union is in stalled negotiations with the school committee, so we did an informational picket outside of school before sign in time. It was heartening to see the members out in force with blue signs, just asking for some basic rights. How about you NOT increase class size to 33 kids? And umm, let's not increase employee contribution to healthcare by 20 damn percent. Jeesh. It's amazing how some think it is OK to treat teachers. It is HARD work people and the work is not constrained to the school building. It is not constrained to simply teaching these kids their AB3's. One of my students gave birth in November and came to school the first time in January. She has no support, so I pick her and her son up in the mornings so she can come to school and hopefully pass the ninth grade. And there are teachers that do amazing things like this daily, but the respect for the profession is lacking.

I've been really tired lately, so I am counting down the days until vacation. I simply cannot wait to be unplugged and have nothing to do but eat, sleep, drink, read and sunbathe myself black...er. Packing is always a conundrum for me. I like to be prepared for all situations, not to mention the shopping I will do at the ports of call. I like to be turned out. The girls at school have adopted a "fierce like Ms. Phoenix day". That day they wear the fashion jewelry, slacks and heels. It's cute, but I tell them it is an everyday thing. No slacking allowed. Looking less than your best or rough-dried may be an affectation for some folks, but it is not acceptable. Especially for grown folks.

Off topic - Why do i want to see that Eddie Murphy movie Norbit? I laughed out loud at the commercial.

On the Beauty Beat: On these cold, dark winter mornings, it takes a little oomph to get me on and poppin' in the mornings. What helps me? PEPPERMINT!!! I am addicted to Bliss' Shock Therapy super concentrated minty body wash. Jeepers Creepers! This is such an intense feeling in the morning, you have no choice but to wake up and shout a little. Take care when washing the privates, though! A quick wash and rinse works for the delicate areas. I enticed the cuddlebunny to take a shower and use it and I got cussed out a lil because he told me I should have warned him to rinse his balls. His discomfiture was too funny to take serious though. He's addicted to it now.

If the Shock Therapy is too much for your pockets, there is an alternative...When my pockets are a bit overextended, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap in Peppermint is an invigorating experience as well. The large size is about $7 (shock therapy is $23).

I have to admit the Bliss products are all that. Their Plum Plum Soap in a Jar and Body Butter...wow, all I can say is when I showered with the soap and then used the body butter, I climbed into bed and was eaten alive. LOL! The cuddlebunny just kept sniffing and touching and rubbing. It is NOT a scent to wear if you want to get some sleep! The body butter is so thick and rich, your skin literally is soft as silk. You'll drift off to sleep and have deliciously scented, plummy dreams!

Well all this talk about bath and body is making me long for a tub of hot water...so one last beauty tip for the soul... when you are feeling blue and not up to snuff... Ginger Root Tea. Purchase whole ginger root, cut up and boil in a pot for about an hour and a half on a slow, rolling boiling. Add lemon and honey and blast off.

Cheers!

Freaky Friday

Best Laid Plans - I finally get my kids back after two days of standardized testing. So, i am ready to stun 'em, right? Objectives? Set. Do nows? Good to go. Agenda? All laid out. Then, a fucking bird flies into my classroom. Yes, a bird. And as i wish the bird would have done, my lesson for the day flew out the window. People, this was not ordinary bird. It had to have been a pissed off extra from the Hitchcock movie. This shitty bird dive-bombed all over the class, flying to and fro, people were running and shrieking. I had the guys throw open all the windows and the doors, hoping the bird would evacuate. No dice. All it did was draw attention to our commotion and had everyone laughing at us. Then, when the bell rang, I swear that fucker flew calmly out the window. Stinking bird.

Gettin' Grown - Our Professional Development was all about shaking off the O'Bs immigrant-step-foster-sister image among the other BPS exam schools. While our facilitator claimed that it is the people that create the good images, I respectfully dissented. I know some stinkers that work at both schools, teachers and administration. What would a child or parent think , what could they help but think when they find out that their child doesn't have access to computers, or their own books, updated facilities, etc. Those things don't happen at BLA (Go Dragons!) or BLS. The O'B will morph into Latin the same time UMass Boston turns into Harvard. Being a member of the English department, i tried to put out several things that will garner school support from students and get some press. I haven't had much support from the rest of the English department. I shan't say fuck it...just yet.

What's Bumpin'- I have a confession. I love Cassie. I do. I know the poor child can't sing but she has one slick lil CD that keeps me jammin' in the morning. My current fave is "Long Way to Go". In addition to the beat being sick, I feel the lyrics on so many levels. Too bad the song came out a few months too late. I also bought Justin. "My Love" ft. TI is hot. I'll get Janet on Tuesday. I am not buying Beyonce because last time I checked Hell had NOT frozen over.

And one last comment. What the fuck happens to women when they get an engagement ring? I was in the salon last night with a definite bridezilla. She was so obnoxious, i started commenting about other bridezilla behavior and i think she and her mom were a little embarrassed. She was getting a trial run. For two hours. And since she wasn't satisfied, she didn't think she had to pay. And didn't tip the man. And then complained about him to the salon owner. Lady, look. You were here when I got here, my hair is done for the week and I am leaving and you couldn't manage a play hairstyle? All i kept hearing was "more volume" Umm, do you want a cake on your head? Jeesh, some people.

We're Not in Kansas Anymore...

So, i've survived my first full week teaching. I am pleased to say that I only had to go Brooklyn style twice. Once on a gentleman who felt he had to tell me i had a "donkey" and was only apologetic when he found out that I was a teacher, not a peer. I proceeded to tell him that not only was he corny, but his comments bordered on sexual harrassment and if he would like to stay on the basketball team he would shape or or I would have him shipped the fuck out. The second was on my 4th period class. In the midst of my lecture, one group of girls were passing notes, a group of guys were in discussion. Now, I set up my class in tables of 4 and 5 because I workshop with them. I could see that that wasn't working, so after i stopped the lecture, gave them a writing prompt instead and warned them that I was lecturing as a courtesy because they wer failing to grasp the fine points of iambic pentameter and the art of a sonnet. I was well within my rioghts to present the information and leave them to sink or swim, as it is done in other exam schools. Then at the end of the day, I changed the seating arrangments. LOL. I think that hurt them the most. whatever.

I've also managed to be volunteered for not only the Yearbook's student/teacher dance off, but also the rap battle sponsored by the Journalism club. It should be interesting. Both faculty advisors are known to me from education courses, so I felt obligated to help them out. My students have already bought tickets to the shows to a) see me embarrass myself or b) cheer me on. I have quite a few darlings already. They are genuinely good kids and I am happy to work with them.

Funny how the thing you want falls into your lap and you are not sure if you are ready to handle it. I made it no secret that one of the main reasons I wanted to teach in an urban environment was to mentor young Black women. Well, one student in my 1st period class is going to test that. She's a repeat 9th grader and since she'd shown up to school on the 11th (first day was the 7th), I haven't seen her since. I made it a point to find her today and tell her that I expected her in class ON TIME and if she couldn't wake up to get to school that I would pick her up. I've talked to Guidance and she has a lot of issues with her dad passing and her mom shacking up with a new man. I just hope that we can establish a relationship and I can help her care about school again. The general consensus is that she is a smart girl, but just beat down by life right now. I'm in prayer on this one.

My son's school had open house last night. When you put the time and effort into your kids, it shows. I was stopped constantly by person after person telling me how intelligent and personable he is. He received countless invites for host family opportunities. The classroom is large, bright and nicely decorated. I was able to see what he was working on. We wrote letters to them about our third grade memories and were able to learn about the curriculum and the methods of instruction. The only dim spot was he did open a can of whup ass on the bus that morning. He's small for his age and wears glasses. So when people fuck with him, they aren't aware that he throws blows like Mike Tyson in his prime. It was funny to watch the 5th grade parent complain and get nowhere with school staff. Bullies DO get what's coming to them.

And finally, I went to my first union party tonight. I'm still shocked at seeing the majority of my colleagues dropping it like it's hot while double-fisting drinks. I hit the dance floor to the band and the DJ, had some good food and of course some drinks. I was able to see a lot of folks I hadn't seen in a while, catch up with them and where they are teaching, and just shoot the shit. And best of all, it's looking like there are a lot of good looking black male teachers out there. I will say that all union parties are must attend events. For sure.

School Daze

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

School starts tomorrow and I AM NOT READY!!!!!

OK, i am ready, but i am a bundle of nerves. I have 4 classes of 31 kids and my administrative duty is lunch. Bwahahahaha. Works well since my classroom is right off the small lunchroom. I've been in and out of the school for the past week and a half, cleaning, moving, scavenging for furniture, and setting up my class. I must say I am pleased with what i have so far. I may take some pics and post them here.

The kids don't come til Thursday. Tomorrow is part administration and contractual time to set up classrooms. We have a nonmandatory English department meeting, which is bullshit because you get to pick the book rotation at that time, so I say it's pretty mandatory. But according to the union, tomorrow is our time. I can only imagine if I had not been in the class previously. Tomorrow damn sure wouldn't be enough time to get anything ready.

Wednesday, we have a speaker coming in to workshop with us about race and prejudice. All damn day.

But the bigger question is: what am i wearing tomorrow? Tee hee.

Can You Hear Me Now?

Is it a requirement that you hate your cell phone company?

I mean I've had them all. Sprint, VoiceStream, AT&T, Virgin, Verizon and now I've signed on with the asshole of all asshole companies Cingular. I'd been wanting to shake my Verizon and that number, so I decided to take advantage of the tax free weekend and get a nifty new phone and a better contract. I was assured by the manager of said Cingular branch that I had 30 days to try and but til I was satisfied.

First I got a pocket PC phone. Lots of whizzbang, but everytime i put it in my bag, something would press and all kinds of crap would be running without my knowledge. So I traded that in for a Nokia that flipped open with a full keyboard. I figured that would satisfy my texting craze. I swear that damn phone weighed 5 pounds, looked like a phone from '92 AND i couldn't download ringtones. You know I was off that bitch right?

I'm still well within my 30 days and I tried to return the stupid phone to the store that i got it from. They wouldn't take it back. They stated I needed to take the phone back to where I originally signed the contract. I told them I had already been there when i tried to have the ringtone issued addressed and they said I needed to take the phone back here.

So pet peeve of all pet peeves that I have...this bastard turns to the other minimum wage ass worker in the store and starts speaking Spanish. That shit is so rude. And I told him so. I mean, I am not one of those people who have a huge chip on their shoulder and go into every damn establishment being so nitpicky. You know the ones, you eat dinner with then and you are sure the waitstaff is ejaculating in your soup? Yeah, i'm not her. But some shit is just verboten. Anyway, he calls the first store back and surprise of all surprises the person that helped me isn't there. So he calls his manager at home and starts speaking Spanish again. By this time i am fucking HOT. didn't i just tell you that shit was RUDE? Especially since I know you are talking about me???!!!

Basically, they refused to take the phone back. So i did what I do best. Took numbers and grabbed one of those "how are we doing?" cards, so I can fire off an email to explain exactly why i am displeased. I told the dumb fuck, the money is in the contract, not the phone, so I still have time to let this 2 year at $90+ per month (i am known for talking over my minutes) contract go. Do you really think the powers that be will be pleased about that? Over me trying to return a shitty phone I was not happy with?

I finally returned the phone today and got this lil number in party girl pink.

Viva la raza, bitches!

Update You

Alrighty, so my homeboy who visits my blog like he attends my parties (hem, hem) told me that he wants to come to my blog to catch up on me and not read about TV shows and the like. I guess I can be accommodating. Here's the lowdown on what I'm doing or what's happening in my world.

My baby daddy just had another child. If anyone should not be allowed to reproduce, it's that negro. If matters weren't bad enough, the girl is still in her teens and a friend of my youngest brother. She asked my brother if I was mad at her. I fell off my damn chair. Mad at you? Honey, I feel bad for you. I feel so bad in fact that I've decided to make her my new BFF and school her in Abusing Your BabyDaddy 101 She just better not ask me to babysit. I don't like kids. I'm embarrassed that I even have a child with that dude. But hey, I was young and this was before he wasted all his potential. My son wants a little brother, so that works out. But it will give me perverse pleasure to mess with baby daddy's mind. I know it's NOT  What Jesus Would Do, but hey.

I had my annual gyn appt today. Does that count for sex? LOL. My doctor is funny as hell though. She needs to slow down on those referrals to behavorial health though. I'm all about preserviing the crazy. I really like her, she's so personable. She was amazed that I cut my hair. But she had to admit I was looking fabulous.

I succeeded in teaching my son his times tables before he hit the third grade. He's such a smart boy. We had the help of some game called Timez Attack. A troll clubs you if you answer the problem wrong. Fabulous incentive.

The weekend approaches again. I have to get my hair done, get my eyebrows waxed and a pedicure and then I'm hitting the streets.

Something New

Damn, this month has been running me ragged. I was hoping to kinda ease into September, slide in when no one is looking. But alas, that is not to be. I'm ok with it though. My mom has to have knee replacement surgery. She's been in the hospital for about 3 weeks now prepping for the surgery and she has a long road to recovery after the surgery. It's annoying because I am the 'can-do' child and I am running back and forth to the hospital, running errands so on and so forth. My youngest brother will be living with me as he completes his last year of high school

I celebrated one of my male friend's 29th birthday with him. We had a great time reconnecting, having drinks and getting my pants beat off in mini-golf. Oh well, I can't be perfect at everything. I did lose a homecooked meal. He's been harassing me for one of my lasagnas. I'm world famous with him and his roommates because of that dish. However, I have been prefecting my shrimp scampi and my chicken marsala, so I may whip that out on him. Anyway, I did sucker him into moving my stuff into my classroom. Well, not so much sucker. He just has a sincere desire to see me as a naughty teacher. He wants to see the setting to enhance his fantasy. It intrigues him. So far, he's the leading candidate to father my unborn child.

My girlfriends and I had a Girls Nite In last weekend. We ordered take-out, yummy drinks, great convo and a movie. We decided to watch Sanaa Lathan in Something New. Of course, we've all had man trouble at some point in our lives. After the movie, it was like we all had the same idea. We've got to get a white man! LOL. Seriously, we like nothing better than to diagnose each other's problems. My last relationship was categorized as Rebounditis. I guess that is why I didn't have the usual post breakup sadness and ennui. I don't want much. I want a man I can trust; one who isn't all over the internet like one of the FOL chicks; one who practices what he preaches; one I can like and unquestioningly love; one who is childless; and most importantly of all, one who positively adores me.

Lately I've Had the Strangest Feeling

Random Thoughts

*Sometimes, I wish I had an older sister. You know someone a tad bit wiser, a little more experienced, with the same genes in her body. I make decisions and I vacillate wondering if I did the right thing, or thinking maybe I should have held on a little bit longer. It would be nice to call up a big sister or drop by her house at these times and just shoot the shit, nahmean? But then the universe rights itself and I hear or see something that lets me know my instincts are on point.

*Aside from that...I feel great. I got a new hairstyle. The ill fated bangs grew out a bit and I have wavy romantic curls. Very feminine and very pretty. I'm in love with myself.

*Boston is just coming out of the grips of a heat wave (thank yahweh). I took my son to the beach last weekend. He called himself skipping rocks and skipped a big ass rock and the accompanying muck right into this lady's eye. Wow. The lady's eye bubbled up and I just knew it would blacken horribly. Thankfully, she wasn't a super bitch and realized it for the accident it was. I took her to get ice from one of the strip restaurants. I did take her address and number down. When I called to see how she was, she did go to the doctor for her eye. Yikes. I dropped off a check for her copay, a gift certificate to a spa that gives awesome pedicures and my son wrote her a letter apologizing...again.  I still felt horrible though.

*I watched High School Musical with my son because apparently that is what the kids are watching. The. Gayest. Shit. Ever. I wish I could have that 90 minutes of my life back.

*Shakespeare on the Commons begins this weekend. This year is Taming of the Shrew, which behind Othello, is my favorite Shakespeare. I have to make it there. The only thing is I hate going to shit that I can't drive and park.

*My girlfriend and her husband hosted their annual ghetto bbq last weekend. It was... umm...something. She's better than me. Ain't no damn way I would allow a husband of mine to invite all kinds of trash from the streets of Boston into their home. You know, chicks that think a catsuit is acceptable bbq wear. Chicks that when the sun goes down and the drinks start flowing still think it's cool to let their slow ass kids run around. (((shaking my head))) Anyway between the crazy guy who kept running his fingers through my hair,  the one who said he'd give me a baby (ugh), and the assorted weirdos I was all set.

Don't Mind Me, It's Just BS

There is something liberating about not having anywhere to go during the day. Summertime and the living is right, you know what I mean?

Granted, I just graduated from college and accepted a job that pays less than what I owe on school loans.

Getting a substantial pay raise in this job means more education...which means more school loans.

The first day on the job, I will meet more than 120 young men and women and be responsible for them in more ways that I can imagine.

This new job requires that I know my shit back and forth, think on my feet, be a substitute mother, cheerleader, motivator et al.

In other words, I'll do more before 9am than most muhfuckas do all day.

I'm a teacher, bitches.

Not just a teacher, a highly qualified teacher according to the Massachusetts Dept. of Education standards. And no, I didn't take my "highly qualified" and run for the suburbs or the private schools.

So, I'm using my summer to read extensively. Not only the curriculum, but other literature so that I can not only allude to it, but motivate the girls to read something other than Zane and the boys King magazine. My summer is going towards shopping. Scouring discount stores, flea markets and the goodwill for books to stock my classroom library. My summer is going towards lesson planning, rule setting, web space creating and trying to plan my year so that my kids don't experience the "freshman slump". Too many first year teachers come out of their first years feeling like they didn't teach the kids shit. I don't want that to be me.

Yeah, but I guess this is all just BS.