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Coalition to Unchain Dogs Benefit

The Coalition to Unchain Dogs is holding their first ever benefit concert on October 15, 2007 in Durham's Central Park. This is a great cause to support, and the event will be a blast, I'm sure. There is a great line-up of bands, and local vendors will be selling snacks and drinks. But a ticket in advance for $10 or at the door for $12. I already got mine - go buy yours!!!!

http://www.unchaindogs.net/buytix.html

Three Words

My friend Darrah passed this on to me. Viewers were asked to send in a video displaying three words. What are your three words?

Shocking, BUT......

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/14187801/detail.html

Yes, if one had witnessed this event, it would be shocking - given the context anyway - one man kills one animal in the middle of a hotel lobby.

But, I invite you to think about this a tad differently. This duck lived a pretty posh life in a hotel lobby. It was killed quickly, and to feed a starving man (supposedly). Why is this a felony if we kill thousands of chickens, turkeys and cows every day and it is seen as completely legal? Is it because we just don't SEE the executions of these animals each day? These animals live terrible lives in factory farming situations and are slaughtered in very, very different ways - ways in which you may cringe at more than just being decapitated. Just some "food" for food thought......

Play by Play

I don't feel like writing long sentences, and something tells me this week will be super busy. I will therefore update you, point by point, on what is going on with my life. Because that is so oh important. ha.

- Mom is recovering well from her surgery. Thanks for everyone's good thoughts.
- I take my first site visit to a construction site this week in Winston-Salem. yay!
- I have been notified I am not welcome to participate in Campout for Duke basketball tickets this weekend due to my part time status. Even after two years of service to the graduate student council and actually DOING something (like planning 5 community service events, attended by more than 120 graduate students) in the organization, my appeal was denied.
- I will still go party at Campout and be able to go home and sleep once I am tired. I guess that's not so bad.
- I hope to have a second draft of my MALS proposal done by week's end. Big surprise in store once I get that approved.
- Mike is awesome, as always, and I love him a ton.
- Lauren and I may have settled on Halloween costumes, which is great.

That's it for now. Peace out, folks.

Lived through the first week

I made it through my first week - wow. I am exhausted. I was so used to being at work and not having to really "think" all that much because I knew everything backwards and forwards. Now, every little thing is mentally challenging. When I get home in the evening, I am absolutely wiped. Last night, Mike and I went to dinner and ran a few errands. We got home, laid down upstairs, and next thing I knew, we were waking up in the morning.

It is all Greek to me right now, but everyone in the office is really supportive. No question is stupid. I was sent to a conference Thursday and Friday, and next Tuesday I get to go on my first site visit. I will learn how to evaluate construction sites! woo hoo!

Okay, I am going to rest some more. More fun stuff coming soon, I promise.

I'm back! (for a minute anyway)

SO sorry I haven’t blogged in a while. The first official day at my new job was this past Monday, September 17^th. Although I have been working rather normal hours, learning all this stuff is quite exhausting. I have been successfully orientated to Self-Help (or as Mike says, I “drank the Kool-Aid.”) During orientation, there was a huge emphasis on the values of the organization, which are:

1) Mission* Before Self

2) Achieve Results, Deflect Credit

3) Celebrate Our Diverse Perspectives

4) Embrace and Promote Change

5) Financial Sustainability Gives Us Strength

* The mission of Self-Help is to create and protect ownership and economic opportunity for people of color; women; rural residents and low-wealth families and communities.

I can 100% commit to those values and that mission. I have found a great organization to work for. As for work though, right now I am just trying to learn the language. I am doing a lot of manual reading and watching other people do stuff. Tomorrow and Friday, I will be attending the NC Charter Schools Conference, and next week I will probably do more reading and more watching other people. We are supposed to close a couple loans next week, so I am hoping I will get to play an active role in the few coming up after those. Next Friday is also moving day on our floor – renovations are just being completed, and we all move into our correct offices next week. I am looking forward to having my own space rather than squatting in someone else’s office (although I will miss this great view of downtown Durham from my current office).

I think Mike and I are off to Charlotte this weekend for a housewarming party, and next weekend is campout for Duke basketball tickets. The week after that is Dad’s visit and BEERFEST! Yay!

Okay, lunch is over and I have a 1pm meeting. Will try to write more soon!

Update on the Jena 6 - from today on CNN

(CNN) -- A Louisiana appeals court Friday vacated the remaining conviction of a teenager accused in a violent, racially charged incident in Jena, Louisiana, his attorney said.

Mychal Bell's defense team will be filing a motion to get him out of prison.

Bob Noel said the 3rd District Court of Appeals in Lake Charles threw out the conviction for second degree battery against Mychal Bell, saying the charges should have been brought in juvenile court.

"We're happy now, but tomorrow is another day," Noel told reporters.

The future of the case against Bell is up to the district attorney, who must decide whether to refile the charges in juvenile court, Noel said.

"We have to wait and see what the other side's going to do, how they're going to react," he said. Watch CNN's Susan Roesgen explain the case »

Bell's defense team would be filing a motion to get him out of prison, where he has been since his arrest in December, Noel said.

"The primary concern is to get Mychal Bell out of jail and into school where he needs to be," he said.

Bell, who is now 17, was 16 at the time of the fight in December 2006.

Earlier this month, a district court judge vacated a conviction for conspiracy to commit second degree battery, saying that charge should have been brought in juvenile court.

He left standing the second degree battery conviction, however.

A sentencing hearing that had been scheduled for September 20 is now off, he said.

The Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton had been planning to join a rally in support of Bell on that date, The Associated Press reported. Listen to Jackson and Sharpton react to the thrown-out conviction »

Bell and five other members of what has become known as the "Jena 6" were initially charged with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit attempted murder in connection with the December 4 beating of a white student.

Don't Miss

• Residents: Nooses spark school violence, divide town

Charges against Bell were reduced, as were charges against Carwin Jones and Theodore Shaw, who have not yet come to trial.

Robert Bailey, Bryant Purvis and an unidentified juvenile remain charged with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Racial tensions had simmered at Jena High School and in the small town for the first three months of the 2006 school year after a black student asked the vice principal if he and some friends could sit under an oak tree where white students typically congregated.

Told by the vice principal they could sit wherever they pleased, the student and his pals plopped down under the sprawling branches of the shade tree in the campus courtyard.

The next day, students arrived at school to find three nooses hanging from those branches.

"I seen them hanging. I'm thinking the KKK, you know, were hanging nooses. They want to hang somebody. Real nooses, the ones you see on TV, are the kind of nooses they were," Bailey, 17, one of the Jena 6, told the syndicated radio show "Democracy Now!" in July.

The school's principal recommended expulsion for those behind the nooses, according to The Town Talk newspaper in nearby Alexandria. Instead, a school district committee suspended three white students for three days for hanging the nooses, the newspaper reported, a gesture written off as a "prank."

"Toilet paper, that's a prank, you know what I'm saying?" Bailey told the radio show. "Nooses hanging there -- nooses ain't no prank."

The district attorney was summoned to address the student body. Off-campus fights were reported. On November 30, someone torched the school's main academic building. The arson remains unsolved, but many suspect it was linked to the discord.

Four days after the arson, several students jumped a white classmate, Justin Barker, knocking him unconscious while stomping and kicking him. The charges against the Jena 6 resulted from that incident.

Parents of the Jena 6 said they heard Barker was hurling racial epithets. Barker's parents said he did nothing to provoke the beating.

Barker was taken to a hospital with injuries to both eyes and ears, as well as cuts. His right eye had blood clots, said his mother, Kelli Barker. He was treated and released that day.

Bail for the Jena 6 was set at between $70,000 and $138,000. All but Bell posted bond. The judge had refused to lower his $90,000 bail, citing Bell's criminal record, which includes four juvenile offenses -- two simple battery charges among them.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

A few of you may grimace and say, "What?" but my Jewish friends know what the deal is. Today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Unlike the traditional US version of "New Year's" that involves raucous parties, the Jewish New Year asks its followers to think back about the past year, their life in general, and where they see their life going. It is a day of deep introspection. A friend posted the survey below on MySpace, and I thought it was a good exercise. I am not going to post my responses here, but I promise I have actually taken some time today to ponder each of these questions. I encourage you to do the same. We don't talk to ourselves enough to know what we want in life and what we want to leave behind. Take a few minutes and think of some answers to these questions. L'shanah tovah tikatevi v'taihatemi (for all my ladies) and L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem (to all my guys).

1. When do I most feel that my life is meaningful?

2. How often do I express my feelings to those who mean the most to me?

3. Are there any ideals I would be willing to die for?

4. If I could live my life over, would I change anything?

5. What would bring me more happiness than anything else in the world?

6. What are my three most significant achievements since last Rosh Hashana?

7. What are the three biggest mistakes I've made since last Rosh Hashana?

8. What project or goal, if left undone, will I most regret next Rosh Hashana?

9. If I knew I couldn't fail, what would I undertake to accomplish in my life?

10. What are my three major goals in life? What am I doing to achieve them? What practical steps can I take in the next two months toward these goals?

11. If I could give my children only three pieces of advice, what would they be?

12. What is the most important decision I need to make this year?

13. What important decision did I avoid making last year?

14. What did I do last year that gave me the strongest feeling of self-respect?

15. When do I feel closest to God?

16. Do I have a vision of where I want to be one, three and five years from now?

17. What are the most important relationships in my life? Over the last year did those relationships become closer and deeper or was there a sense of stagnation and drifting? What can I do to nurture those relationships this year?

18. If I could change only one thing about myself, what would that be?

19. If I could change one thing about my spiritual life, what would it be?

Baby news!

No folks, not me - I am thrilled to announce that my good friend from high school, Jacqueline, just had a little baby boy on Sept 6. His name is Beckett. Congrats, Jacqueline and John!!!

Quick update

1) My mom is having her gall bladder removed this morning. Please think good thoughts for her!

2) I'm sick, so I will not be writing much today. All congested, feverish, and icky.

3) I have almost completed my proposal for my MALS final project. yay!

4) The first day at my new job has been moved to next Monday - which is good because it gives me more time to recover from reason #2 listed above.

5) I am going to rest now. bye!

Time Flies When you're Saying Goodbye

It is 6pm the day before my last day at the Center for Leadership and Public Values. It has flown. I looked up this morning and it was noon. I looked up 5 minutes ago, and it was two hours later. How does this happen?

Even as much as one prepares themselves, saying goodbye is difficult to do - even when you know the goodbye is necessary. The is not the first time in my life I have had this feeling. I thought I would be cool and calm all day. In fact, when I left the house this morning, I told Mike, "I often have this problem. A momentous occasion presents itself, and it doesn't phase me. I know I should be emotional, but I am not. Then I feel bad for not being emotional and instead become emotional about not being emotional." Although it makes little sense, I have faced that a lot in my life, too. Graduations, big life events, etc - I know it is a big deal, but it feels so common place to me by that time that I don't get too flustered by the events as they actually happen.

Well, I normally think that anyway. Just like today. Then, this afternoon, Ambassador Joseph got up in front of the Sanford Institute staff and said the nicest things. My throat got that big lump in it, and my eyes started to well up with tears. I had to say thanks to everyone, so I pushed it back down and proceeded to thank everyone for six great years of service. But I can already tell that tomorrow will be emotional. My office is cleared of my personal belongings, my bulletin board is empty except for generic Duke information, and my name won't be on the door after tomorrow.

It's hard to leave something and someone(s) you love - even when you know it's time. Although growth, new opportunities and new happiness are waiting, it is hard to say goodbye to so much that you hold dear.

Jena Six Petition

If you are interested in signing the petition regarding the handling of the Jena 6 case, please click below:

Jena Six Petition

The Jena 6

Thanks, Tim, for the tip to this video with a summary of the Jena 6 case. If you haven't read about it, check it out here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jena,_Louisiana (Go down to the "Racial Tension" section)
http://www.snopes.com/politics/crime/jena6.asp
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-School-Fight.html (Today's most recent update - Mychal now faces up to 15 years in jail after the conspiracy charge was dropped rather than 22 years)



Although this video is a tad on the dramatic side, I feel it has a right to be. Racial tensions are not a thing of the past - especially in the deep South. We've seen this from the continued problems in Katrina ravaged areas, and we still see these attitudes in places that have just never caught up with the times. Many of us live in metropolitan areas where it seems racism is a thing of the past. But in rural areas, racism is still very visible and very dangerous.

I just wanted to give a heads up to all of you about this important case.

CHICAGO

CHICAGO - On a beautiful summer afternoon.......

Chicago was fantastic - I am going to give you the uber-brief rundown of the events of the trip. If you want details, ask.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon, and after dealing with a minor work crisis, the games began! Mike checked into the conference, and I got settled into the hotel. We attended a welcome reception for grad students at APSA, then Mike and I headed off to Second City for an improv show. Really great show, really crappy waitress.

The view from our room on the 11th Floor of the Sheraton

Next day, Mike was off to the conference, so I started off on my wandering. I started the day with the much recommended Chicago Architecture Foundation River Tour. Priced at $26, the cost may seem prohibitive, but it is well worth it. I took a ton of pictures that came out like postcards. I am not the best photographer in the world, but with the absolutely gorgeous weather we had, as well as the excellent views of the city from the River, the pics were priceless. I have a ton of these if you want to see 'em - just let me know in comments, and I will send you the link to the full album.

One of the many pics I have of the Sears Tower from the River Cruise

After the tour, I did some serious shopping. I hit H&M as well as the Nordstrom Rack. I did a bit of shopping damage - like buying a pair of Juicy Couture jeans - what was I thinking? I don't know! Okay, so I was thinking "IT'S VACATION!" Anyway, after the shopping, I met my friend Laura at a great place called Rivers after she got off work. We had a few drinks and a great time chatting and catching up. Yay for seeing friends!!!

Laura and I

That evening, Mike and I had dinner with Meredith, Stefan and Dave at a great vegetarian/vegan restaurant called the Green Zebra. It was pricey, but the food was absolutely amazing. The place has been ranked one of the best vegetarian restaurants in the country. It is easy to see why. Even the two meat eaters in the group chose all veggie dishes (they normally have 1-2 non veggie dishes on the menu), and they were very happy with their meal. Bon appetit indeed.

Tammy and I at WICKED

Afterwards, we attended the Duke University reception at the conference. When we left that at about midnight, a few of us jumped in a cab and headed out to the Wicker Park area. Stefan found a place on line called "Plan B," so we tried that out. Turns out it was a good enough place, so we stayed there til 2am.

Stefan, Ann, me, Mike and Brendan at "Plan B"

When that closed down, we inquired about what was still open - and there was a place right down the street called The Tavern that stayed open til 4am. Thanks to Brendan asking a door guy if we could go in the back, we avoided a very long line and went right in. The five of us stayed there til almost 4, just drinking and talking. A great Chicago evening.

Saturday was a great one - Mike was off to the conference again in the morning, but I had big plans that day myself! I met Tammy that afternoon, and the two of us went to see Wicked. It was absolutely amazing. Fantastic. Perfect. Touching. I LOVED it. Afterwards, she, Efren, Mike and I headed off to Gino's East for some real Chicago Deep Dish. We waited in line for almost an hour to even get in, then it took about an hour for the pizza - but it was well worth the wait. We were so very full - and it was so very late by that point, we headed back to the hotel and went to sleep. Unfortunately, we missed what I am sure was a lovely reception at Jill's house, but with Mike presenting the next day, we had to pass. Next time, Jill and Carlos - we promise!!!!

Deep Dish Spinach Pizza from Gino's East

Sunday, Mike presented his paper on his panel, and he came back up to the room after 12ish. We did a bit of wandering, grabbed some lunch, then headed home. I loved wandering around Chicago. If the weather stayed like it was this past weekend, all year around - I wouldn't hesitate making the move. But that brutal winter that last months is just too much for me. I will visit any other time though! Yay for Chi-town!!

Mike and I taking a requisite "Bean" picture!

The Bean

And that folks, was Chicago......