vegan hot chocolate

soyful and soulful
blended dark chocolate with
cinnamon pleases!

another school example

today i went to
the loo. i used the kid's loo.
i'm equal to them.

time to flush. perhaps
the plunger should have been a
sign - bad toilet here.

why pee with caution?
this is the bay area!
We have the pee rights!

Unless the toilet
is bad. And this one was bad.
No flushing at all.

The plunger didn't
help, either. Water level
rose higher. Oh no!

the alien me

radio beckons
her always. mind's eye, boxed sound.
it always tells stories.

goings on...ballet and
festivals and dancing and
meditation groups.

creating on the
stove and reading lemony
snicket -- also cool.

moon-watching and
flower-smelling and farmer's
markets--essential.

likes doing dishes.
needs water. lots of water.
and plants. digs on plants.

alien me is
here on the planet to see
what it can offer.

people are strange when
they are her. she laughs too loud.
she's too ironic.

she needs a mirror.
alien me needs to see
herself more clearly.

lock down

we were locked in to
our school yesterday because
there were gun shots. nice.

a beautiful day
ending in fear just because
the neighbors had guns

one of the suspects
was seen running on school grounds
locked down and waiting

luckily it was
only b.b. guns. but still.
it's hot. tempers flare.

near the middle school?
students shouldn't have to fear
for their lives at all.

wth?

i've seen bad photoshop jobs before...but this is just sloppy...

just me...I expect more from Comedy Central...

how many breaths

you are born with but
so many breaths for your life.
how do you use them?

will you hold them or
will you breathe with gusto and
savor the essence?

do you breathe sweet air?
do you breathe air filled with dirt?
how do you clean it?

what plants filter your
air? what plants flower your air?
what machines soil it?

at the end of your
breaths, will they have counted for
anything? or not?

liberty hill

nina took me on
a walk this morning in the
mission. beautiful.

it's summertime in
the city, even by 8.
the sun and a dog.

we walked and i saw
small trees and beautiful homes
and noticed new streets.

Chattanooga has
lovely homes on it that seem
placid and well-kept.

The city view of
San Francisco amazes:
tree swaths to downtown.

A posted sign said
"Liberty Hill". I had not
heard of it. Hidden.

Above the Mission
on a Sunday morning I walked
as Nina guided.

my friends

i am now listed
on a huge variety
of friend-sites and why?

since the early days
of friendster i've noticed my
social life inverted

more time online and
pimping the profile has changed
my real face time

friends have become these
two-dimensional lists of
their preferences

i miss their voices
and actual presence. we
used to hang out, yo!

now my friends are their
thumbnails, up-to-date goings-on,
pokes and online nows!

if the internet
crashed for a day or two or
even three what then, folks?

would we make a call?
would we hang out? might we hike?
i dare ask. i do.

bad email

oh yes, how funny!
the ads in my spam are weird!
don't they know my sex?

Clearly no research
is done. I don't have a male:
part or partner. DUH!

So, no, I don't need
to make mine longer or to
make it wider. Nope.

In fact it scares me
to receive email with a
subject line like this:

"Bomb her womb from your
huge cannon!" WHAT? Okay, let
me set this straight now...

My womb is a strong
muscle. It can pass a kid
and snap back just fine!

But in no way should
any sort of weapon be
near her! She is flesh.

So, dear Spam people,
please find copywriters to
entertain me. Please!

öröm (a list)

just out of curiousity, I looked up joy...

öröm/vidámság - hungarian
glæde - finnish
歡樂 - Traditional Chinese
yorokobi - japanese
furaha - kiswahili
радость - russian
sevinç - Turkish
khushi - urdu
Wonne - German
hêdomai - Greek
فَرَح شديد - Arabic
kegembiraan - Indonesian
prieks - Latvian
alegría - Spanish

Marjane Satrapi and cheb i sabbah

I was charmed, SO pleased
to enjoy an evening with
Marjane Satrapi.

She's an amazing
comic artist and speaker.
Funny, frank, and French.

She speaks about her
experiences as a
true Iranian

No, not the Muslim
not the terrorist and, no,
not defeated at all.

She's a woman with
stories and a painter who
decided to share.

She smokes and creates.
She's honest and so funny.
I loved her every word.

And I dared ask her
what it was like to have her
work on black market

and if she would soon
release an album of songs
to hearken 80s.

(Her version of Eye of
the Tiger rocked in the film.)
She said no album.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Post Marjane I
wanted to check out Nickie's,
an old haunt sans friends.

My friends and I don't
often dance anymore and
it has saddened me.

I used to just go,
defiantly dancing on
my own. Lately? No.

But last night I went
to see cheb spin and to see
if the music would seep...

I wrote for an hour.
Sat at the upstairs bar and
wrote some dreams and wants.

Not an easy task
to write what you want because
for me? It scares me.

I don't KNOW what I
want. Let alone write it down.
Do I want too much?

But I did it. I
wrote down skills and wants and good
things about myself.

My head nodded and
my feet tapped. But would I dance?
I wasn't so sure.

I let the bhangra
slip by me. Usually
I get up for it.

Some arabic song
came on and I thought "Maybe
now." I stopped me.

Finally I put
away my journal and things.
I slipped off the stool.

STILL in my shoes I
began to move. My shoes still
on my feet. Dancing?

I saw the joy on
others' faces. They danced and
I was stopping me.

So I just let go.
I stopped to remove my hose
and my sweater, too.

From the bathroom I
emerged ready to enter
with the muse. She came.

I let the music
sink into my pores. I smiled and
I imagined dance.

I remembered the
times our friends danced once upon
a time. It felt good.

And my family?
They gave me music and dance
and I honored them.

For my grandmother.
For my parents and siblings.
For my good people.

The magic didn't
come easily. I was still
conscious. But I danced.

And I sweat some and
I smiled, the first real smile in
well over a month.

perspective weirdness

sometimes a logo just
makes your eyes wide. take a look.
"organs r us" is real!

147 lbs

I have been feeling
not myself lately. The clothes
haven't been fitting.

Since my grandmother's
death in January I
haven't been healthy.

I've been eating more
crap than usual. And I
notice it. Snacks BAD!

So when I put on
my pants for that time when I
retain water last week?

Oooo...I cringed. They were
TIGHT. Normally they fall off
the hips...now they're tight.

And other pants are hard
to put on. The chins expand.
Time to be mindful

I'm supposedly
training again. Thirteen miles.
I haven't done crap.

I've been depressed. And
that means no movement. Just sleep.
And eat. And it shows.

No surprise to step
on the scale and see it's face.
1-4-7. I gained.

I gained what I lost.
And that's sad for me. So
here we go...water!

Drink water. Eat better.
These are simple choices. And
I can walk more. Sure!

Anyone else?

I first learned April
4th from the U2 song in
1984.

I was 12. In 8th
grade in Pennsylvania. I
didn't know Martin.

I hadn't heard of
him. I didn't know his words.
Clueless of impact.

Bono sang of the
shot in Memphis and it sang
to me human Pride.

I learned of Jesus
in school. Raised Catholic and
knew His sacrifice.

But I didn't know
of modern prophets. Now I
know. And I have learned.

So it began, my life
of learning about social
justice. It's my life.

I'm ashamed, somewhat,
that it began so late for
me. I will make good.

Forty years ago
today he was shot dead and
the world changed forever.

Pay Your Teachers More

Here's the deal-i-o:
Just TODAY there have been two
bio-incidents.

This morning something
menstrual was mis-handled
They called a meeting.

This afternoon during
math a poor soul vomited.
The students stayed focused!

But, still, there is puke
on the floor in the classroom.
This is our future.

In a medical
profession, bio-hazards
are compensated.

As a classroom teacher?
Not so much. Plus you must teach.
Imagine it. No?

Invest in a classroom.
Provide it paper, pens, tools
for success, even.

Expectations you
have for YOUR workplace provide
for in the classroom.

You want the future
to work with technology?
Then fund technology.

Improve facilities.
Fix broken windows. It makes
a HUGE difference.

Google would not be
so successful if it was
in a broke-down place.

Medical science
would never explore if it
had dirty labs, right?

Kids feel this, adults.
They remember how things are.
They know adults, too.

Kids hold us to our
promises. They remember.
Invest in a classroom.

Como Pasa el Tiempo

Me levanté y
pensaba yo, "Mañana".
¿Que hago hoy yo?

Pues, tenía que
tomarme vitaminas
con agua. ¿Y más?

Pensarme bien en
el día. Hoy trabajo
dos trabajos. ¡Ay!

¿Mentalmente? Yo
quiero largarme de mis
trabajos...¿y que?

Quiero un buen
masaje. Quiero nadar
en una playa.

Quiero estar
en la cocina de mi
mamá. Su magia.

Quiero estar
feliz en mi mismo pi-
el. Con fe. ¡Ay, si!

Quiero dejar
dolor, pobreza y lo
malo. ¡A volar!

Quiero volar
mis chiringas al aire
en la playa. ¡Si!