Here's to You

I have just returned from an enlightening and inspirational meeting with a very dear friend of mine, one who I consider a sister. It was'nt something we planned, but within moments of sitting across from her I was sure that it was ordered.

There are a fair few people who I am sure I can speak the truth to. Not that I lie to people (not on purpose at least) but I dont let everyone know what is on the inside. With her it's easy because she already sees inside me, so there's not much point in trying to hide what's there.

We had such a conversation. I wont write about the details of it, but it was moving. She shared a bit of her writing with me, and being deeply flattered I shared mine with her. We shared our thoughts about ourselves and each other. There was alot of learning, and alot of laughing. A beautiful exchange of ideas and love. It's really hard to describe in words how she makes me feel inside, but there's comfort in knowing I wont ever need to describe the feeling to her.

She tells me that she's ready to start being smart and stop being impressive. I would say she's halfway there. Some people leave you wanting to change the world...she leaves me wanting to change myself.
Here's to you Tash

Volley Follies

Im sore. Want to guess why? I'll just go ahead and say before your mind wanders too much. One word. Tennis.

Its Spring Break here at UNC-G and my friends and I are trying to make the most of being on campus. For the past two days I have been playing tennis with them. First it was my friend Kiya on Tuesday, then we added two more, Shari and Herb, last night. It was fun (and funny) enough Tuesday, but Wednesday night is when it got interesting.

Now I like to play the game, but that doesnt mean Im a pro. And the same goes for my friends. Im sure the sight of just Kiya and I alone could inspire a lifetime of laughter. But when the four of us got out there at once, it was really something to behold. The running, the jumping, the full on leaps and twirls. It looked more like a gymnastics competition than a doubles match at times. I started off with Kiya but later we switched and it was girls against guys.

It was pure comedy. All the mock competitiveness. We got more fake insults over the net than tennis balls. We intended to keep score at one point, but that idea went right out at 15-Love. If the way my body feels is any indication of how long we played, we must have been out there since last week. But Im not complaining. We didnt keep score but if laughes are points, then both teams won!

To Capture a King

Part I.
He tells me he likes Chess…
I’m more intrigued now than before,
I’ve only known him for a few hours but I’d like to know him more.
We met easily enough, like eyes across a room.
We learned one another, and laughed with ease at our new knowledge.
Throughout the night we flittered around each other,
Bugs around a streetlight.
Sharing stories and barbs, we learned one another.
He learned I was interested, but in no way was I pressed.
I learned he was the same, and plus, that he liked chess.

Part II.
“So you like playing games?”
“No. Devising Strategies.”
“To get as many pieces as possible?”
“No. To win.”
“You mean… to get the king?”
“Yes.”
“So are you looking for a king?”
“…Yes”
Yes!

Part III.
From across a board they have been placed, each spying his counterpart.
Pieces move around them, caught up in the game.
The two sit, peering across the expanse, crowns atop their heads.
Some mistake them for queens, but they know their truth.
They know they are kings. Limited but sought after. The prized pieces.
Everyone wants them, but they want each other.
There is distance between them, but they come close together for a short time.
They meet, but like eyes meeting across a room, it is only for a moment.
The connection is brief but lasting.
Now they move away, back to their respective kingdoms,
Perhaps they plan how to capture the other,
And after that…where to set up their castle.

Heart 1 to Heart 2: Checkmate

Spring Break So Far

*3/8/08

I’m here in the Jackson Evers International Airport in Jackson, Mississippi with my fellow NAACP members (all 2 of them) waiting for our advisor to come and pick us up with the rental car. We flew out of North Carolina at 6 am and got here in MS at 8. Because he had a different flight, we were faced with the decision to either wait for him or to pay for a taxi to take us to our hotel. Now entering into the fourth hour of waiting for him to arrive with the car, we are beginning to feel the gravity of our cheapness.

We’ve already eaten. We had breakfast all around. We were looking over the entire menu but when we were told that they were only serving breakfast here at the On Stage Bar and Grill, that quickly narrowed our selections. The food was great. Or it could possibly be that we had all been up since about 3:30 without anything to eat. We were starving, and a nice leather boot might have done the job, as long as it were topped with shoelaces.

And we’ve slept. Right here in the restaurant we closed our eyes and curled up…or stretched out (whichever worked for the respective person). I caught some sleep on the first flight out, before our layover in Atlanta. It’s sad really. I don’t even remember takeoff. One moment we were on the runway going through all the boring preparations (that’s probably what put me out) and the next, we were up in the air and my mouth was wide open. The sleep was refreshing, but still I needed more. I slept again on the next flight here, this time nudged awake by one of the other members. Apparently my head was about to sail into his ribcage. Thankfully, he saved me the embarrassment of coming to in his lap.

Now, waking from a longer, more fulfilling sleep in between a booth and a table, I feel energized and ready to get out and do something…like go sleep in a bed.

*The date this actually happened.

The Great Weight Debate

Two of my friends are currently trying to lose weight. One of them is on a regimen, has cut meat out of her diet, eats loads of fruit and bread, and exercises regularly. The other just doesnt eat. Ok...he eats maybe once a day and goes to the gym, but Ive walked around campus on an empty stomach before and I know what torture that can be. So I cant imagine how it must feel after working out. Surely suffering through headaches and fatigue in order to lose some inches from his waist. Naturaly, I expressed my concern but he insists that he's done it before and it will work again.

Of course he will lose weight, but there are better ways. Like the route that the other is taking. It takes more work but I think thats the positive aspect of it. I know it feels rewarding to start something and stick to it, work through it until reaching your goal. I havent experienced that with losing weight, but in other areas of my life. I just wouldnt want to attain something so passively. Sure the gym is providing exercise but that's not going to make anyone any smaller, that's just going to turn the fat into muscle. Which brings up an interesting item that two of my other friends were discussing.

One mentioned how he read that a large percentage of Black women were overweight. The other countered that we have to ask "What is considered overweight?" She pointed out that the organization who did the study did not take into account athleticism. Which means there are women who are considered overweight becasue they are not the ideal weight for their height, but who are actually quite healthy because they are not fat but muscular. Women who engage in sports like boxing or rugby fall into this category.

Its important to put information in perspective when we hear the results of these studies that bounce around on tv or in magazine articles. If a study shows that 70% of Black women are overweight but leaves out that 25% of those women are athletic and actually relatively healthy, it skews the truth to an extreme. The problem of Black women being overweight is still there, but 45% doesnt sound as compelling if you're trying to sell something, or scare someone. So they leave out some facts and put some things in small print. Nobody reads that.

What people are reading are things that give them the desire to be less heavy rather than more healthy. Some people take up more space than others, and thats not a bad thing as long as both groups have the same amount of space in their arteries.

Blog-napped

Thanks to my friend and co-worker, Randi, I have created a blog. Up until last year I didnt even know what a blog really was, but since then Ive been slowly creeping into the world of online expression. I probably should have done one of these earlier but since I was keeping a journal, I felt this would be secondary, and therefore no-good. But now that Im only keeping a journal for private things, I can give my time to this (all 2 seconds I have after school, work, org's and my social life-not to mention sleeping and eating).

Anyhow, here it is...my blog. And I really think the people who run the "internet[s]" should think of a new word for this wonderful invention. Blog sounds like something that has appeared on my face the day of the prom, or a big presentation, and is going to force me to focus on it more than dancing or speaking clearly. Or perhaps minute, mystical men of myth, who steal children from their homes...or so your parents say. "Be sure to behave. You know the Blogs take children who are naughty."

You know, I didnt believe in Blogs at one time, but I guess I just had to get taken...