HELLO

Wow. I can't believe this blog is still open. I had almost forgotten about it. I've tried reading some of my old entries. Whoa....I was young, wasn't I? Well. While I'm here, I might as well enter an update on our lives. My husband and I are in our forties. Nicolette is now 21, Maya is 18,and Angela is 16. I've had four jobs since my last entry, I believe. My husband is working his second one. Both jobs pay a decent wage and have benefits, and we are grateful. We've had some very trying times since the last time I posted. Nothing I would consider major, like health or anything like that, but definitely some humbling experiences. They were hard, but necessary. Have we learned anything from them? Only time will tell. My husband and I are still together, and he still loves me very much. I'm grateful for that. My oldest daughter tried going to culinary school, but didn't fare too well. She's currently working a part-time job, and is still trying to find her way. My middle daughter, after taking a year off once she graduated from high school to rest, is starting college in the spring. She wants to be an occupational therapist. My youngest daughter is gifted artistically, but isn't motivated enough to do something with it. She does want to go to college with her sister, but doesn't know what to major in yet. She still has time to figure things out. Me? I'm just tired, that's all.

Well, Hello There!!!

Wow! It's been six months! And it looks like I have gained some Japanese readers! (Or spammers, who knows...LOL)

Well, as anyone can guess, a lot has happened since then. My two older daughters have started hitting their stride in school, and are doing extremely well! Maya is on the merit roll, and Nicolette wend from average grades to nothing but A's and B's, mostly A's!!! I am especially proud of her, because Nicolette has worked the hardest out of the three. Angela passed the TAKS test, and though she has to go to summer school for math, it's promotional, which means that she will be joining her friends in the fourth grade this year!!!!

Matthew and I are still going strong. Our relationship is strengthening, and we are becoming better friends to one another. We are much older now, and have been together since we were teens, so we are beginning to drop a lot of the pretenses that we have developed toward one another over the years (WITHIN REASON, LOL). I have more respect for him each day, and he is really working hard to try to understand me better. We still disagree at times, but we don't forget the important thing between us, and that's we love each other very much, and don't want to be with anyone else! When you know that you are truly loved, and loved just for being you, you work hard to keep that love alive.

We are getting ready to host our mother-in-law and her youngest daughter for the 4th of July again. The girls are leaving with them for the rest of the summer, which will give Matthew and I our much-needed (and much anticipated) break.

I've started working out regularly, and although there isn't much of a change weight-wise, I am leaner, my clothes fit better, I have much more energy and stamina, and am a lot healthier. I am doing this for my health and strength, not to look a particular way. I am pleased with the results so far.

I will blog more often, but I will only disclose what I wouldn't mind anyone knowing or finding out. In the age of public disclosure, there's still something to be said about discretion and keeping some things to yourself, pondering things in your heart, if you will, you know what I'm saying?

It's Been Three Months......

since my last post. I am seriously re-thinking the whole blogging thing. I mean, I really don't have much to talk about now. We are kind of settling into our lives...the girls in school, Pop and I in our jobs, and life is pretty...well, uneventful. The most exciting thing that has happened lately is that we bought a Wii for Christmas.

I'm not saying that I WANT chaos and confusion in my life.....I have prayed long and hard, and pursued peace in my life with all of my might, and I love it! It's jus that there isn't much going on that even I think anyone else would be interested in.

I also know that this can change. A natural disaster (which was the inspiration for this blog), trouble with the kids (I have a 14 year-old daughter whose interest in boys is peaking), maybe trouble in my marriage (who knows what the future holds?) can happen at any time. But even if those things do happen, I don't think that it would be wise to disclose those issues in a public blog, you know? I don't know who is reading this!

Yes, yes, I know....I should blog for me and no one else. But when I think that I don't have anything interesting to blog about, maybe it's time to call it quits. For now, anyway.

The ACORN Fiasco: Part 2

I love it when I find others that think the way I do, even if it's out here in cyberspace! Here's another wonderful commentary, from the Chicago Tribune:

How ACORN Helped Its Enemies

The ACORN Fiasco

This is insane.

This is clearly another attempt to discredit the President. Remember, President Obama has ties to this organization, and their "get out the vote" work (which many allege that Obama may have helped fund himself) quite possibly have made a substantial difference in his election.

Now, this college kid makes this stupid video, and now ACORN is fighting back (read here) in order to keep its federal funding.

Several things bother me about all of this. First off, this kid targeted the ignorant, the under-educated or uneducated, the weak, and the simple-minded in order to accomplish his goals. Anyone who has a job anywhere knows that these kinds of people exist in every working environment. He even stated himself that he has visited many offices, and most of them kicked him and his friend out. (Read his interview here.) So, like most journalists (if it bleeds, it leads, and he is a journalism major), he took advantage of the ignorant in order to get his point across. This happens every day across the country, but this time, this tactic is being used to undermine an entire organization, and has hit pay dirt.

Secondly, the government moved swiftly to disassociate themselves from the organization. Prior to this idiotic video, is there any proof available which proves that ACORN has granted assistance to others who wanted to use government-funded grants to purchase homes to be used in order to conduct illegal business practices in the past? If there is, I'd like to see it!

Finally, I cannot believe that these people, our government officials, those who are responsible for running this country, and who enact laws and policies that affect every American, can take such nonsense so seriously, without any pause; they wasted no time in laying down the law, if you will, against a grass-roots organization. They didn't even take the time to examine the legitimacy of the accusations being made against the organization. They also didn't question the kid's credibility, his background, or his motive for doing this. Clearly, they didn't recognize the "fakeness" (This kid a pimp? Are you kidding me?!?)

Now every Republican or 'conservative' has jumped on the ACORN-bashing bandwagon, with spit flying, eyes blazing and teeth gnashing, spewing vitriol towards this organization, and of course, Obama, with a renewed vigor.

Makes you wonder: Who funded this kid's project?

(More insightful takes on the video, and the foolishness of it all here and here.)

IT'S BEEN AWHILE........

I have been very, very busy. The kids are in school, and it seems that I have been running non-stop ever since. So far, the school has voluntarily enrolled Maya into its Gifted & Talented program, Nicolette is a cheerleader for her junior high school, and Angela's grades are improving, thanks to summer school, and everyone in the family helping her over the summer. The girls are doing well, even though everyone in the house, with the exception of my husband, has come down with a cold. Flu vaccines keep you from getting the flu, but don't help with other germs and seasonal illnesses. Nicolette had to stay home last week, and Angela's home with a fever today.

My car was broken into this month. My CD's, my bag with all of my work equipment and some personal papers, and even my bible were stolen. The ignition and lock to the driver-side door was damaged. I have to spend time and money that I really don't have to get that fixed, as well as replace the documents that were taken. What would anyone want with a cheap bible that has been all marked in and highlighted is beyond me. I managed to get the headset replaced at work, but I am still waiting for another training manual. I'm working on replacing my bible, too. Luckily, most of the CD's were homemade, so I just have to download some more copies of my favorites when I have time. I just pray that something good comes out of this, and I am grateful that I can still drive my car. Heck, I'm still grateful that I have a car. My neighbor's truck was stolen a few months ago, and he had to buy a new vehicle. I wasn't very compassionate in my attitude towards him when it happened, and I think that the Lord wasn't pleased with me at all, which is probably why He allowed this to happen. I learned that I have to work on being more empathetic and less cynical, and be very careful what I say and think about people, even when I think I am "alone." The Lord is always with us, and He hears and knows everything. (Ecclesiastes 10:20 NKJV)

Work has been fine so far. My last evaluation rating was a 99.87. Not 100%, but still pretty good. I am always striving to do and be my best!

Now I must catch up on some rest, and finish watching 300 before Nicolette's game starts this evening. And I have to bring Angela to the doctor, before starting a seven-day workweek tomorrow. Hooray. Well, at least I am getting paid Friday!

NEW ORLEANS, 2009

My husband and I went to New Orleans this weekend. We wanted to see how far things have progressed since Hurricane Katrina, and catch up with some old friends.

I did not expect to see what I saw there. Downtown New Orleans, the French Quarter, and the Central Business District, all of the areas that make money for the city, are still thriving. We visited some of our old stomping grounds (the 'hoods), and white folks have actually bought houses and moved in! The houses that my husband and I lived in before the storm have been rebuilt (white folks live in them now). I am surprised, because those neighborhoods (Uptown New Orleans close to the CBD, and the Fifth through the Seventh Wards) have always been off-limits to white people. Not meaning that they weren't welcome there, but those have always been unsavory areas for them to live in. The whites in New Orleans always migrated to the suburban areas of the city (Chalmette, St. Tammany, Slidell, Kenner, the Westbank). But I guess that they were forced to re-think their options since those suburban areas were wiped out by the storm.

Uptown New Orleans from South Broad Street and Washington Avenue to Tchoupitoulas Street are still in good shape, but most of the homes out there are for sale. Oschner Hospital purchased Baptist Hospital and opened its emergency room. This and Tulane are the only hospitals in the Metro Area, but they are still severely understaffed, and cannot serve every patient that needs care.

City Park is open, but most of those old oak trees that framed the park are gone.

Most of the grocery stores are gone. Rouses bought most of them, but the only Winn-Dixie that survived seemed to be the one on Veterans Memorial Boulevard in Metairie. The Wal-Mart where I used to work (on Tchoupitoulas Street) is still open.

The Gentilly area is only a shell of its former self. The former home of the 'Creoles', most of those homes are now empty, torn down, or for sale. Many people just didn't return.

New Orleans East, home of the prosperous, middle to upper-middle class African-American and Asian population, is wiped out. Street after street, row after row of homes, apartment complexes and businesses lie desolate and empty. An entire shopping mall, Lake Forest Mall, is gone. Nothing there but a huge, empty lot. The Read Road Wal-Mart, the first in the New Orleans area, didn't re-open. Probably for every house that is occupied, 6 to 8 in the same block aren't.

Many of the housing projects, including the one I grew up in, The Calliope (Or B.W. Cooper) have been destroyed. Ironically, the city decided to destroy the development with the history of the fewest crime problems, the Lafitte Project (the one that ran along Orleans Avenue, and sat right across the street from Dooky Chases' restaurant), and left the troubled Iberville housing project, the one that sits in the middle of the New Orleans' Central Business District, open.

We did not have a chance to drive through the lower Ninth Ward, and were advised by some members of our church not to do so. There weren't many people out and about, and this was a weekend. Most of the 'hooptie' cars, a signature feature in New Orleans, are gone now. But what really managed to bring me to tears, though, was the state of the Lakefront.

Lake Pontchartrain was this beautiful, serene place that everyone, whether rich or poor, could go and just enjoy the sunset (or sunrise), listen to the waves, and get away from all of the noise and the dysfunction that was New Orleans. I remember bringing my kids there to play. Watching the fish jumping in the water. The speed boaters showing off their new toys. My husband and I always went to spend quiet time together. We ate a lot of good food together out there. Lots of picnics, barbecue, kicking it with friends and just good times.

Half of the Lakefront now is closed off, unfit for anyone to go near. What's left is overgrown with grass, and unkempt. The benches and picnic areas were never restored. They are now just heaps of bricks and piles of wood and debris. Most of those beautiful Lakefront properties lay desolate. Many of the property owners were too afraid to return. It's like a ghost town there. It's just awful. Oh, the Lakefront was so beautiful. How can anyone let such beauty waste away is beyond me.

We did manage to enjoy some good eats while we were down there. My husband and I ate our first "Po'Boy" sandwich in almost four years (I had a catfish sandwich, and he had a hot sausage and cheese sandwich). That french bread is the best bread in the world, in my opinion. And it was fresh! Like they had just taken it out of the oven that day! We also managed to get some beignets and cafe' au lait, some pulled pork, barbecued baked beans and homemade rolls from Corky's barbecue, some sweet treats from Gambino's Bakery, and Big Shot Sodas! I am so full! LOL

The people that are left in New Orleans are still as friendly as ever, easy to smile and give you a great, big hug. The love is still there, but you can tell that they are fragile. So much has happened to try and break their spirits. I have seen and heard more depressing things this weekend then I care to admit. But I am glad that I went. New Orleans is my home, always will be. It's where I came from, and I will never forget that. My husband and I are already talking about going back again. We need to do what's best for the family right now, but there's no harm in staying connected.

Thanks for the comments to my blog about Professor Gates. Here is another article that supports the point that I was trying to make here. It is my desire that the citizens in this country strive to start respecting one another as individuals. I believe that the only way that this can happen is when we start letting go of past hurts, pains, and injustices, start respecting and loving ourselves (insecurity and self-loathing plague the African-American community in this country), stop with all of the seperatism and biases, cease the infighting, colorism, and racism that is present in ALL races (it's not just black vs. white; there are racist and colorist black people, too), and start accepting one another. And if we want others to respect us as individuals, we must show respect, too. Put your character and integrity on display. Behave in a manner that draws attention to your personhood, not your race. This can be done, but we have to rise above the pettiness that is prevalent in this society. Let's grow up already!