Kickin' it old school

A few bits of brilliance that feel like a blast from the past.

1. "Unpretty" by TLC

The 90s were so the time for "girl power", cheesy as that might be. The result? Sharon singing "Revolución femenina" in the early days of reggaetón, the Spice Girls, and this song by TLC, among others. Who didn't love TLC back in the day? This song is just so good. Every woman can identify with it at some point in her life, but it's the the kind of thing that gives you hope. It reminds you that your worth as a woman is in something so much deeper than your looks. Even pretty girls need to hear that.

2. "When Can I See You Again" by Babyface

Oh, the crush I had on Babyface growing up.... I remember singing my little heart out to this one. Now, with more experience and more reasons to connect with the lyrics, it's taken on a new meaning. "What if I'm not truly over" and "When does 'you'll get over it' begin?" - mmmm. I feel ya. Besides, there's something about a stripped down r&b song that's refreshing.

3. At risk of totally embarrassing myself on the world wide web: "Missing You" by Amy Grant"

Obviously, it's not Amy Grant, but the one version of her actually singing it on youtube is in six parts or so. If you can get past the rambling at the beginning, the girl sings it pretty well. That song was on repeat when I was in high school and on-again-off-again with good ol' F. Haha. I still think that in spite of, or maybe because of, the cheese factor, it's a good song. That part about the "hopeful thrill" of the phone ringing is just so right, you know?

4. "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover" by Sophie B. Hawkins

I used to belt this one out when it came on the radio when I was about, oh, ten. I remember that I felt oh-so-bad-@$$ singing it because she said both "damn" and "lover" in the chorus. What I didn't realize then is how incredibly bold she is in the song.

5. "Under the Bridge" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers

This song.... This song was the beginning of my love affair with music. I was in fifth grade and it was the first song that I loved that my parents hadn't already preapproved for me. Does that make sense? It was my first completely independent musical selection, not, of course, that I was allowed to buy the cd (Blood Sugar Sex Magik? I wasn't stupid!) but I fell in love with the Chili Peppers then. The thing is: they're still flippin' brilliant. Even then, I knew this song was hauntingly beautiful; now that I know what it's about, it's even more amazing. Plus, I was able to appreciate the sexiness of Anthony Kiedis then. ;)

6. "Peaches" by The Presidents of the United States of America

Yeah, it's crazy random. Crazy, crazy, crazy random. And hilarious! I got a can of peaches for my fourteenth birthday, that's how much this song influenced my life. But come on now: "Peaches come from a can, they were put there by a man in a factory downtown"?! Brilliant! And ninjas in the video before ninjas were even that cool. Bonus.

7. "Fight For Your Right (To Party)" by the Beastie Boys
What's not to love about The Beastie Boys?! They mixed up every kind of music I loved, wrote clever lyrics, and were so awkward that it was perfect. Everything they did was pure genius. This song pretty much sums up the teen experience, plus they give themselves a shout out in their own song. That always struck me as pretty stinkin' funny.

8. "This is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan

Just so stinkin' CATCHY! It's still the kind of song that makes me wanna get up and dance, just like it did back in the day.

9. "Crossroads" by Bone Thugs N Harmony

This song is just so beautiful. It was one of the first of the more - let's say urban - songs that I could really appreciate. When songs are true, there's a connection that transcends barriers of age and generation and socioeconomics. When this song came out, I'd only lost my great-grandmother. Ten, eleven years later, I've lost so many more people and I feel this song more deeply. It's such a good one - as are "Days of Our Lives" and "First of the Month".

10. "Jane Says" Jane's Addiction

I remember listening to this on Q101 back in IL - which I was totally NOT allowed to listen to, by the way. It was on several of the mix tapes that I was obsessed with making at the time. I didn't really understand that it was a song about a drug addiction - I was obviously a naive kid in that area (see number 5), but the lyrics and that plaintive quality really got to me. The lines that I most loved then are the ones I most love now: "I've never been in love, I don't know what it is. She only knows if someone wants her. I want 'em if they want me." I can't even put words to how good those lines are.

11. "Mr. Jones" by Counting Crows

I was going to leave it at ten, but then I remembered this gem. I've always been a sucker for a story song - hence my love for country music - and for songs about wanting to be more than what you are. I guess that's the running theme in all of the above (with the exception of "Peaches" perhaps). This song is just so GOOD.

Hard to

Finally: The aforementioned poem comes out of hiding.

They tell me I'm hard to forget
that I can't be shaken off,
that I'm the one they fall in love with,
the question mark,
the "What if?".
But what I'd like
is not only to be remembered,
but to stick around awhile.
I'd like to climb out of this
fear of forever
take love for what it is
and what it's not
and just live it.
A little surrender might be good
for me.
A little surrender and a little abandon.
I'd like to throw this
fear to the wind
and know that this could break me,
could cripple and kill me,
but that it is worth
that risk.

They tell me I'm hard to forget.
I'd like to be a little easier to keep.

Hypothetical

So, it's been forever. I've had a few things kickin' around in my head that I wanted to blog about, but I haven't quite gotten down to it yet. Among them:
1. Info on the upcoming move to PA
2. The movie "American Gangster", the allure of organized crime, and violence among minorities (that was going to be a deep one)
3. The kids from camp, the issues at the rec, our field trip to the zoo, and being told I have a "donk" (on the lighter side)
4. A review of "Killing Pablo" (Read it!) and an update on "The Rape of Nanking" (chilling)
5. Immigration - the Latino perspective and the European perspective - common themes in music
6. The movie "Caramel" and how badly I now want to go to Lebanon because they made it seem like the most achingly beautiful place in the world
7. A poem I wrote months ago but was afraid to post because I was worried one particular person would take it the wrong way. I just kind of love it....


Of course, today, you have none of the above, except that you also have all of the above. Just a glimpse into my head - we'll see how I elaborate on this at some other time, when I have more time to get my thoughts together and online.

Más vale vivir llorando que morir sin saber cuanto

Mujer de 26 años (Hey! That's me!) by Tony Croatto and Fiel a la Vega


Love that song, the bittersweetness of settling for stability and the pang of regret all those years later and the determination to let her daughter live without all the pressures of el qué dirán. It's so Latin.... My parents are old-school Puerto Rican, and that qué dirán is such a huge deal in the family, that I can totally identify with the woman in the song.

A little clarification for non-Spanish speakers: el qué dirán is the fear of what others will say about the decisions we make and the things that we do. We live public lives, us Latinos, and that fear is a huge part of traditional Latino culture - it was one of the recurring themes in all of the texts we read in A2....

Anyway, on a different note, I have a place to live and roommate for next year. J and I secured a cute little apartment five minutes from Eastern which I'm excited about. We even have a front porch! I heart porches. I'm a little (ha!) worried about money, but I'm trusting God to provide for me.

I went to ICC last night and saw a lot of the folks from the retreat. I really enjoy spending time there, even though I am pretty much the only one who's not Korean.

Well, as long as I'm up so early, I should get my booty in gear and work out. I've been so laaaaaazy this summer!

"Just tell 'em I'm your kid!"

So I've kind of fallen in love with one of the little girls at the rec center - she's not even in my camp because she's too young. Anyway, this little girl, we'll call her A., went swimming today when I took my group out to the pool. She is FEARLESS and feisty and TINY which is why I love her so much, I think.

Anyway, today, after allowing the big kids to toss her into the water and swimming around like a champ, she came over to me and collapsed on her towel next to the pool. She talked to me for a while, and I told her I was going to steal her and take her home with me. She was like, "Okay."
I said, "No, the police would come and I'd go to jail for stealing you from your mama."
She didn't miss a beat: "Just tell 'em I'm your kid!"
I laughed and asked, "Do you think they'd believe us?"
"Of course."

Oh, kids.



A. with her brother, B.

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.

Pros

Since I've already made a list of what I don't like, here are the things I do like about commuting:

1. Time to read. I've already read "Malinche" by Laura Esquivel, "The Bolivian Diary" by Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and am halfway through "News of a Kidnapping" by Gabriel García Márquez.
I've enjoyed all three, but would have to say that "News of a Kidnapping" is hands down my favorite. García Márquez's fiction is brilliant, but his nonfiction is better in my opinion. You can see how the journalist and the novelist in him combine to weave together this seamless story, talking about the real experiences of these Colombian hostages and their families in 1990. What a time to read it, too, because of the recent release of hostages in Colombia! Granted, this situation was different because the hostages I'm reading about where held by Pablo Escobar, while the others were held by the FARC, but it still seems to relevant.

2. The stretch of track between L'Enfant Plaza and the Pentagon.
You go from a tunnel to the brilliance of day over the Potomac. The sun paints the surface of the river with silver light that makes me think of Río de la Plata in Argentina. You can see the cars on the 14th Street Bridge as they come into the city from VA or vice versa. And it's a nice long stretch, with all this beautiful natural light and the river below. I love it.

3. People watching
'Nuff said.

So I guess there are only three, but they should count. ;)