Después de la tormenta siempre sale el sol

This made my day and totally makes up for yesterday's craptacular-ness.

Dance overload

I <3 this show and Youtube for letting me enjoy it.

Twitch and Kherrington's contemporary routine


Twitch and Katee's contemporary routine

That Mia Michaels! Unbelievable!

Joshua and Katee's lyrical routine


Twitch and Kherrington's Viennese waltz


Finally, Will and Courtney's hip hop routine

Things I wish people knew

• The opposite of "democracy" is NOT "communism", the opposite of "democracy" is "dictatorship"; the opposite of "communism" is "capitalism".
  The first pair describe political systems, the second pair refer to economic models.

• "It's" means "it is", "its" is a possesive pronoun meaning that something belongs to "it". It's a mouse. That's its tail.

• I know this is not the first time I've mentioned this here, but it bears repeating: an apostrophe DOES NOT make anything plural, for the love of all things holy! Stop telling me to "buy book's" or whatever. Buy book's what?! What belongs to this book that I must buy?!

That's the end of my rant for today.

¡Sí se puede!

Yes, we can. Yes, we did. People showed up, people voted, and Barack Obama is our president-elect. I watched election coverage and waited for the results. They trickled in, and just when I thought it couldn't possibly be that easy, it turned out that they called the race. Who knew? The polls were pretty much on point. I sat on that couch next to B., wondering which states had tipped the balance, watching the crowd in Grant Park cry and cheer, and I just shook. I shook because I knew I was watching something so much greater than me, greater than B., greater than Barack Obama himself. This is another step in that march towards a more perfect union, towards equality and justice in this nation. This is part of the history of this nation - a point on the broken road - and a step towards the future. It's taken me a while to put my thoughts in order. I mean, of course, I'm thrilled that Obama won because I voted for him, but this goes beyond that.
I feel like I'm standing on the verge of this swell of public participation, like there is this lovely hope visible on the horizon, like I'm part of this unbelievable mobilization to make this nation MY nation. Does that make sense? I'm a part of this. Besides my $25 contribution to the campaign, my attendance at a rally, my Obama t-shirts, and my vote; I am now expected to participate in this change. It's an invitation that resonates with me as I'm studying community development; I mean, this is what I want to do. I want to participate and I want to invite others to do the same. Barack Obama makes me feel like I can do just that - like it's my patriotic duty to do so. This is my nation, my government: by the people, for the people....

And then there's the obvious: this issue of race, of knocking down this barrier, of making me believe that this country can really begin to heal the deepest wounds of race and ethnicity.... This is the idealist in me talking, I'm sure. I don't by any means believe that this proves that race is no longer an issue. I'm too smart and too brown to believe such foolishness; this will not change overnight with Barack Obama, but there's something visionary about it. This is the nation taking the steps necessary in a post-civil rights movement era - an era characterized by a change in demographics. Power is not going to be centralized soley in the hands of the old money, WASP establishment. The outsider has found his way into the White House. It's the kind of thing that brings hope to a fellow outsider.

This is a beautiful thing, the verge of something greater.



Four years ago, a coworker told me that at church they prayed for candidate that they were supporting and also prayed for the opposing candidate. Today, post-election, I remember that story and I pray:

I pray for Barack Obama and his beautiful family. I pray that he will have the grace and humility to create relationships and partnerships that will benefit the nation and the world at large; I pray that he will have the wisdom and discernment to make sound decisions; I pray that he will have the strength and courage to stand by his convictions. I pray that God will keep him and his family safe.

I pray for John McCain. I pray that he will continue to be a man known for working across party lines; that he will continue to be gracious; that he would have the foresight and the vision to keep working for change in Washington. He is a good man, too.

I pray for Bush. I pray for wisdom in these final months of presidency. It struck me today that he can't possibly feel very good about himself in light of record low approval ratings, so I pray for him....

Girls with curls....

So, according to this article, guys won't find me as attractive, but employers will perceive me as confident, independent, and low-maintenance.

The bottom line: I heart my curls, I hate to spend more than five minutes on my hair, and I'll rock my natural sexiness anyday over the straight look that takes so loooong for me to achieve.

Dang, that's some big hair! She might not be that pretty, but she sure seems independent and low-maintanance! ;)

I <3 books

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been reading a lot, and remembering how nice it is to have time to read. I went to Borders today after to work to look for a few books that folks had suggested, but was unable to find them. I did, however, find three more books to keep me busy for the rest of the summer (Check them out under "Currently Reading").
I'm thisclose to finishing News of a Kidnapping, which I seriously can't recommend enough. If you're not a fan of non-fiction, this book reads like a novel. It's unbelievable that it's based on a series of true stories.

Anyway, the point is, I'm taking any and all reading suggestions right now, so if there's something I need to read, let me know.

PS I heart bookstores. There's this beauty in the shelves, the scent of so much paper and ink, the therapeutic weight of a book in your hands.... I love it.

Girly moment.

I was stuck in traffic on my way home from work today. It was warm and lovely out, so I had the window rolled all the way down, and was crankin' Juanes.
So there I am, at a red light, surrounded by cars, but feeling good, because it's Friday, I'm finally heading home, and it's gorgeous out. I've got this great song on, and this shower of dogwood blossoms just floats down over the cars and in through the window.
Unbelievable. It's rare that so many lovely things intersect like that.

Please STOP!

Grammar police alert.

1. Good is not an adverb. An adverb describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. You don't do things "good" - you do them "well". You sing well, you play well, you dance well, you cook well. Please, people, get it right!

2. Conversate is NOT a word. Seriously. It's not. The word is converse. Save a syllable and sound smarter.

3. An apostrophe denotes possession, NOT plurality. Leave the apostrophe out unless it's a contraction or a possessive. If you simply want to say that there is more thatn one, add an "s" or "es", and forget the apostrophe.

That's all for my grammar rant.