Ali's Sun

I havnt been blogging lately mostly because its been so nice out. That hot humid Georgia heat is starting to creep in and i walk around in shorts and tanks, my brow wet with sweat, the stearing wheel burning my hands. It isnt hot enough for that air condition but just give me a few weeks.
My skin is starting to get that black girl summer glow, and being someone who is a (not-so) undercover nudist, its giving me an excuse to walk around in nearly nothing.

Last week we jumped in the pool with Alysia. Floated on our backs and let the water hit our hair. My(our) hair is starting brush the top of my back and i can even put most of it back..(okay 80%- im still working with the bobby pins.) They've come a long way. Sometimes i contemplate coming them out then i remeber my natural hair and how much maintenance it took to keep it out my face. I really hate hair being in my face- sometimes i used to swat at my bangs thinking they were bugs flying in my face...

Work is lovely. I find myself enjoying teaching classes- its not so bad. I taught a class in East Point Atlanta to 8 seniors who were crunk as hell to be on the computer. They were a great bunch 7 ladies 1gentlemen. Since school is out, i been looking for another job. This morning i had an interview for a postition(another library) that i semi want though the pay is good and there are benefits. There were 100 applicants for 2 positions and they finish interviews on Monday. My interview went alright, they asked me like 4 questions, ( what do you plan to do with your degree? how do you go about establishing credibility within your new work enviroment? give an example of a time you were detail oriented? and two more about previous jobs i had.) I gave answers, i was excitied because i had a similar position at the Berkeley Public Library so most of what the job required i had already done before. One of the interviwers seemed interested, the other one, looked like she was not feeling me at all. So i dont know how well i did. I hope i didnt come off as insincere or a know it all. I talked more than i usually do.

The Gemini JAM Birthday party turned out to be a lot of fun. i was stressed as usual, hoping that the BBQ pit wouldnt blow up or someone break a window or some other freak accident. Alysia and I started the evening with a watermelon seed spitting contest though we promptly ended when we realized that the white people were eyeing us suspiciously.

the rest of the night was music, spades and bbq boca burgers. It was great seeing people and i have a few pics to put up.

So thats been my week

i'll be in cali soon-seeingfamily and old friends

life is good today

TO MY FAVORITE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Until I can save up for a new one, ol trusty by my side

If you cant be with the one you love

Love the one your with

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone...

so shes gone again. Washinton DC stole her for the weekend, Its quiet, its lonely- great time for introspection. I guess.

Moya has about 200 friends(exagerration but not really)- thats about 195 more than i do. I've never had many friends, i usually pick up maybe 1 or two good ones whenever i move. Moving to Atlanta proved to be interesting. In a 4 year college with 2000 other black women. A bit overwhelming.

So in January of 2005, I wandered into her room like a stray dog looking for some company. I knew her only as the girl who had been nice to me at lunch despite my ackward attempts at small talk. She invited me in and we talked and i knew i had a friend...

So i had one whole friend. I was happy. And besides, with my one friend i had already met 50% of my friend quota.

time went by, i went from being nobody to 'that girl whose always with Moya'. Her friends had their suspicions about me...(um moya, who is this girl and does she actually talk??)... A few befriended me- like Alysia. Some were just nice to me out of politeness. But they were still and always will be, her friends. I have never consdeed her friends to necessarily be my friends but sometimes being around all the time them gives me the illusion that they are.

I guess what im trying to say is that when moya leaves, its like she takes all her friends with her. Like the Verizon network. And sometimes i get lonely. Like today when the phone never really rang, exceptmy mom. I sat and watched some tv, ate and thought about the 4 friends i really have and called them.

theres no point to this blog entry except to say that i really miss her. and that i need to make some friends- though im not really great at it. When i asked moya how to make friends, she laughed her usual gentle laugh and replied, 'well you can start by answering your phone when one of them calls you'.'and if by chance you actually talk to them, stop putting the phone on speaker and saying uh huh every 7 seconds while watching tv'

really moya..that easy?

ain't no sunshine when she's gone/ and she's always gone too long/anytime she goes away

I interrupt your day to announce...

I have a gray hair!!!

I was washing my hair just getting ready to pin it up and i ran across this little sucker. I am 23 years old! not 73. I immediately called my dad to complain. ..he just laughed like it was the funniest shit in the world. He claims he never saw a gray hair on his head until he was well into his 30's. I then called my mom to see if she gave me the defective early silver gene. no luck there. As i continued pinning my hair, i found 3 more!

Well are you gonna pluck it? she asked...

Naw,

it's kinda cute. sittin up there all by itself. Looking all confused. she is the wise one. and besides gray hair is like natures highlights...

:)

thats all,

me

Up above ma' head, I hear music in de air

There must be a God somewhere...

Moya left for the week. I forget how much of a friend she is to me sometimes, and when shes gone, I'm lost fumbling around like a lost monkey. A pathetic site to behold. But she came back...small miracles.

I was driving my friends car the other night. The tire blew out on Peachtree. After arguing with crackheads for 25 minutes as one of them picked it up and tried to resale the hubcap back to me for 5.00, I managed to get the car into a drivethrough. Lucky for me- there were two lovely young men around 22 years of ag (complete with white tees and gold teeth)who helped me crank the car up high enough to change the tire. Sometimes in the midst of things, I forget about that good southern comfort. And thanlks to my dad who again bailed me out of a potential disaster..

Alysia graduated and treated us to maggianos. Yum yum. I'm so very happy for her as I await my own march down that isle...

This blog aint finished but i gotta go.

peace

Take that David Blaine

Awww early Georgia spring

so yes im late to get on the bandwagon

my coworkers/teammates managed to get me onto ebay.

Thus began the end of my life.
Skeptical at first(um how do i know these fools are going to send this shit?, and exactly how does the payment work? ) I called my dad to get the go ahead. ( I trust that he wouldntset me up to be the victim of identity theft)

-I have purchased a set of balls to
juggle with $.99

-a pair of abercrombie khaki pants that actually fit my short legs 1.59

-11 pairs of stud earrings from claires $.99

-Block Party SDTK for $.99(and i never buy cd's...thats what limewire is for)

-a spelman shirt for$.79

-a brandnew navy blue polo shirt $9.00

not doing so bad. This solves a few of my problems...not having money, my intense hatred of malls. I like the idea of paying 5 dollars to some 13 year old white girl who shoplifted a polo from the hollister store in colorado. Its an industry i dont mind supporting.

Now im searching around my house looking for stuff to sell off...

So i have this job which puts me on the computer for about 5 hours out of the day and gives me ample time to follow auctions. I've learned the art of getting on ebay and stealing something 15 seconds before the auction ends. Evil villain laugh....

im pleased to say, everything came in under 6 days...usually 3 days. Nothing looked like it had been malled(sp). The clothes generally fit. No complaints yet...well maybe the shipping charges.

So ive dedicated this year to stepping out my comfort zones. Why not. When my friends and I were talking along the pool, my diving coach, used to walk behind us and push usinto the water talkin bout the water is yout friend.
Muthafucka
but the 6 times in gym were enough to demystify the water. At least for me to dive into it backwards


Since January ive been trying to remove the word 'can't(usually disguised as im not the kinda person who will...") and just going for it. Today was another step. I facilitated a discussion at school. 4 students. Small step.

I'm have patience for days yet when it comes to myself...

This month has taken me all over the place. From female breakers, to Spelman's 125th. From down jackets to a bikini. Agnes Scott to Emory to Pam's bros house. My first anti war march followed by the march for women. I went to a Common concert, helped Dr. McFadden cook Tofu and sipped wine and absolut vodka. Taught 3 different classes at the library, went to a pool party and tanned at Candler Park. And all that shit was free.

April- makes me feel so aliiiive!

For the first time iin a long time im feeling optimistic.

misunderstandings

I'm not quiet. Moya will tell you thatI talk to much. That i never shut the hell up. Funny how that is.

She likes people- Im sort of indifferent to them. I dont always understand why we get along.

Its been so warm out. I'm starting to tan. I got my first mosquito bite.
Took another journey through Atlanta on a bus. Ended up at a pool prty with 400 pther people. But I left after realizing it wasnt my scene. Theres much power in realizing that you dont want to be someplace and leaving. Not that i'm one to stick around or linger...

My insomnia is back which is why im typing this

There isnt a such thing as news anymore

I've had to take a lot of pictures off my site because its taking too long to load. Its unfortunate because I cant write.

I revisited my past today because Boston is smaller that Atlanta.

The tetris game on my phone is more addictive than crack/myspace

Sometimes the hardest thing is dealing with myself.

Easter is tomorrow. When i was younger I told my Sunday school teacher that I didnt understand Jesus. To this day, I've never gotten a good answer. Easter doesnt make any sense to me. And i know it should.

I need to get my eyebrows done. I look like a grizzly bear.

Its 3am

to Spelman on her 125th

Pearl Cleage began her poem asking the sudience to reflect on their first day of Spelman. To remember coming in as first years and walking through the gates. Moving into their first dorms. It was a beautiful poem. My first day of Spelman involved me wandering around Five Points MARTA station asking how to get to Spelman. Which bus to take. I remeber it was a cold January morning and all I had was a flier that said come to orientation. I didnt have housing, or a place to live, just the admission letter and 1000 my dad had given me to find a place to live. The bus driver missed my stop and gave me a pass to turn around and go the other direction. I wandered through what I thought was Spelman which was actually Clark. School hadnt started so the campus was ghost. I squeezed my tiny body through the gates and found Cosby.

I found my way to lower level Cosby- hte girl politely handed me a transfer packet. 6 pages long and handed me a folder for my parents. I told them my parents werent able to come and she was like 'well thats okay'. I walked in the room with 15 other girls and their parents and sat in the back row. I was sad, though not that much. I was grown. For the first time I was anxious. With no place to live or my parents I was suddenly scared of getting lost. When the nurse pulled me aside and said i needed health clearance. I told her that I had no idea where my vaccination record was. She looked at me and told me that I would not be able to stay on campus in emergency housing until I retook those 12 shots. Thr shouts were going to cost 500.00 if i got them done at Spelman. She suggested I go to College Park and get them all done for 200.00. Yeah, but where the hell is College Park and I dont have a car.

Thats not what stands out in my mind about my first day. Another girl from Ohio needed to get some shots too. she and her entire family had driven down from Cincinatti to drop her off. Her mother saw the nurse talking to me and she asked me if i needed a rided to the clinic in college park. I said, sure. We squeezed in her car and drove down to the first clinic. They were closed. Droce to the second clinic, they didnt have the meningitis shot. Drove to the third, and the mother ,a pharmecutical saleswoman for Merck, somehow managed to talk the nurses into staying just a little longer so that we could get our shots. When she saw me counting cash, she instructed me to pay as much as I could and she would pay for the rest. I put down 100 she put down 200. And she didnt even know me

Spelman College turned 125 today. 5 generations 9 presidents. Still educating Black women. 125 thats old but thats young. in 1981- the school turned 100. I look at old pictures in the archives, stare at Harriet Giles old faded journals and listen to the hollow steps of Rockafeller. I see pictures of my old dorm room in old pictures and think about the women before me. Maybe thats just me- I am in love with history. But it means something to me....

Spelman College, this is not the Oscars
Yesterday the college hosted its grand celebration at the Ocean Ballroom of the brand spanking new Georgia Aquarium. It was 250.00 a head. Moya, with some strategic planning, managed to sneak me in through the backdoor and seat me at a table in the front row between Susan Taylor and Mc Lyte.
Words cant describe the venue.( I'll try my best to describe it in words becaue my shoes made my feet hurt and low batteries made it impossbile to walk around and get good images) The walls were actually fishtanks to the aquarium so every so often a big beluga whale or giant sea turtle would float past. The stage had a cascading waterfall with the Spelman logo projected onto it. The ceiling would change color throughout the night while maintaining this beautiful sea Blue. There were video feeds and closed captioning. A five course meal with wine. I recieved a gift bag with signature Spelman pen and other goodies.

Mostly alums in their shimmery dresses. Felt like a bougies ass prom. It was supposed to run from 7:30-10pm. yet it didnt start until 9pm and lasted until 12am. I'm sure theyll have pictures on the website soon. but here are a few of my own.

Don't save her, she dont wanna be saved"

Ooooh its sooooo hot.
I'm burning up down here.

(As I put down my glass of sweet tea while sitting on my porch)

Let me cool down and jump in a pool.

naaaw

Ill just listen to the birds chirp, the bees buzz and call all my friends in the 50 degree areas and ask them to send some sunscreen.

Is that mean?hehhehehehhe

So i went to my first protest. Despite living in the bay where the anti war marches can easily top 500,000 people, i have never actually participated in one. Being the crab that i am, i decided to ditch my shell and join in. Of course my camera had to come along.
Overall the march was good. Eye opening. It went through low income areas which was real difficult for me to deal with. On the one hand- us, the marchers were marching through the streets yelling 'this is what democracy looks like!!' while some o the poorer residents stood outside and watched us. Some marchers ignored the residents, while others waved at them like they were in a parade(white people be killin me sometimes!). Part of me wishes we hadnt marched through those areas while another part of me feels like we needed to see that area. But while were yelling stop the war in iraq, there were problems as close as the uneven pavement we walked on.

If you are wondering what some of these pics are.
Mostly friends and other BLACK people(i want to make sure to note that WE were there.) If you were wondering what happened to Ms. Scott-King, she is resting peacefully at the king center. Some pics are of us marching through the neighborhoods. One is of Sarah making a speech. and the rest you just gotta figure out for yourself.
-alii

My camera be misbehavin

and im pissed because it was during toni cade when it decided to break.

So i didnt get those good papparatzi shots

some i was able to salvage.

(aren't we just a colorful bunch?)

Toni Cade

is over
big sigh of relief.
Tired, wore-out, jaded.

New faces, old faces. Family reunion style complete with the kids.

So what does Spelman mean to me? What does activism mean to me? Havnt quite figured it out yet. Another stop on the road?
Yawn...I'm so sleepy.

:)

Retracting my statement

So after a heart to heart with Angelita-who told me i needed to go ahead and calm down about waering professional attire, i have reached a happy medium. I mean- can you really be taken seriously in a pair of jeans? ( i think so but hey, what does society think). I still need to invsest in a pesonal shopper. THe kind that will shop for me while i stay home and watch bad reality tv.

or maybe someone can submit me to what not to wear- i would not be offended- all them free clothes.

I really dont have much to say today

Since were ever growing.here are some things i did this week for the first time.

Went to Sonics (Apparently they are all the rage in Ark., I never been to one)
Watched a tape of the Big Mama convocation that i keep hearing about (made me smile)
Drove to a part of Atlanta I have never been, in the pouring rain
Discoved a new route through Atlanta
Ate Pizza at Leroys on Edgewood
Went to the nerdiest AUC party...it was so great
Drank grey goose and coke, (yeah i dont know what i was thinking either)
bought my lunch to work
Got called out on wearing jeans to work
Ran into India at a healthfood store during one of my toasted seaweed binges




not very exciting but thats really whats going on with my life.

Other than that- the weather is beautiful, the cicadas(sp?) are busy humming again and im finally beginning to get some sleep! I filed my tax return and now im getting a little pocket change, Moya made it back safely from Cali and they have new MARTA machines that wont spit out my dollar!

Small pleasures

Rent-A-Negro

The animated Ms. Ayo
O' girl came to school

she was cool. I wasnt crazy about the book( i found it a bit repetitive, i think her website was good on its own) but I did enjoy listening to her talk about interactive art.


for more info visit www.rent-a-negro.com (though im sure everyone who is reading this already has)

This concludes my blog entry for today