Reflections on 2007

Whew, it's almost the end of 2007. I feel like I should be listening to that 1980's Europe song, "The Final Countdown"! Can't you just hear the synths?

When I lived in Chicago I spent a bunch of New Year's Eves down at the Hyatt on Wacker Drive. I'd roll in there, all nineteen or twenty years old of me, wearing jeans and black Dr. Martens. I'd sit in the bar drinking coffee and eating strawberry cheesecake, enjoying watching all of the sparkling, glittering people.

It always seemed like there were way too many folks desperate to have a good time but looking like they weren't enjoying themselves so much. There was too much pressure put on the evening. And truly, no evening can measure up to all that hype.

One year I was really mischievous and...shh...I stole two packs of cigarettes and some cash out of the pockets of a drunk I found passed out in the hotel hallway. I don't know why since I don't even smoke.

Alas, times have changed and I stayed home on New Year's Eve last year. The first moments of 2007 found me dancing in my living room with my sons while watching one of my favorite bands, AFI, play a cover of Blur's "Song 2" on MTV.



It was definitely a rockin' start to 2007. In fact, it wouldn't be far-fetched to say that 2007 is one of the best years I've had in awhile. It's the year I got a life again.

I started to dream once more. I got real friends again because I stopped saying I was too busy. It's the year I realized that I don't get along well with people who lack integrity, and that's okay.

I tried some new things this year. My friend Jenny taught me how to make sushi. And I went to my first professional soccer game. Yes, I saw David Beckham play...and lose. Too bad. But he looked good doing it. Thank goodness for binoculars.

This is the also the year I got back into reading a couple books every week. I revisited old favorites like the book a whole bunch of us wish we'd written, Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye". I always felt like this book does such a heartbreakingly good job showing what racism does to people on a psychological level. Sadly, society frequently ignores the psychological effects of oppression, and I need to be reminded that I am not crazy when I feel the way I sometimes feel, when I see the things I see.

I also fell in love with new novels such as "The Journal of Dora Damage" by first time novelist, Belinda Starling, who is now, sadly enough, deceased. And on the flip side, I finally read Phillipa Gregory's "The Other Boleyn Girl" and really, I just do not understand the hype. I felt empathy for neither Mary nor Anne Boleyn. The whole time I was reading it, I just wanted to sing this classic house tune. I know. I'm gonna be struck by lightning.

I've done lots of writing this year, which is probably why 2007 ended up being such a happy year for me. I took another writing class, got my first paid writing job and did my best in both NaNoWriMo and NaBloPoMo. Most of this fall has seen me tapping away on a keyboard, meditating on what should happen next and jotting down the scenes and dialogue that come to me. I've also written a boatload of total crap, but that's okay because I feel like I'm getting closer to something profound.

I definitely stepped up my eavesdropping game. I overheard some really crazy things this year, particularly in Starbucks. In case you weren't reading this blog last January or February, here's a couple of posts that make me smile a bit every time I read them. This one details an attempt to spit game gone wrong and this one is about a couple of confused, girl crazy teenage boys.

One of the best things I did this year is deciding to stop straightening my hair. It's been six months since I straightened it and I'm not missing being attached at the hip to a flat iron. Interestingly enough, since I first wrote about this back in October, I get more search engine hits to my post about doing my hair in a straw set than any other topic.

It goes without saying that music was huge for me this year. According to my iTunes play count, I listened to "Cities of Night" by Blaqk Audio a whopping 739 times this year. Actually, come to think of it, that's only since mid-August since their album wasn't even released till August 14th. I also made a custom ring-tone of this track. Obsessive, I know, but when I like something, I really like it. I write to this song a whole lot so if I listen to it 50 times in a row on repeat, it just sort of fades into my subconscious and things flow from there.



I also saw Blaqk Audio perform live back in September at the Mayan in downtown LA and it was a fantastic show. I was only a few rows back from the stage and it was so much fun. I'm still so surprised that the opening DJ posted in the comments on that entry, mad that I didn't like his set. He's probably made a voodoo doll of me by now.

My other favorite show of the year was Muse. Folks are always so shocked when I say I went to go see Muse. It's like they look at me and assume I only listen to Jill Scott and Anthony Hamilton. Um, no. I love those two but for real, roll with me, get ready to rock, m'kay? Here's some footage from the Muse show I went to. Totally off the hook, particularly if you fast forward to the 3:27 mark. See if you don't do a little head banging too when you listen.



In case you weren't feeling it, my husband was right next to me having the WTF moment on your behalf.

On New Year's Eve last year, I wouldn't have predicted I'd end up visiting New Orleans' 9th Ward back in March or that I'd be so inspired and moved by love and loss that I'd write a sonnet for the first time in years.

On the other hand, I haven't been surprised by all the dancing around Barack Obama's racial identity.

And I'm not surprised that we have a media that overwhelmingly ignores black women who've disappeared while making white women acting a fool in Hollywood the center of the universe.

Who could have predicted the Don Imus debacle? The Jena Six? Michael Vick? Every baseball player under the sun taking steroids? And that the Iraq war would continue to drag on?

I take that last one back. The war dragging on was pretty predictable.

And finally, as 2007 draws to a close...

Thank you to everyone who read this blog over the past year, and I especially thank all of you who have engaged me with your comments.

Thank you for those of you who encouraged me, prayed for me, and challenged me to be a better person than I was on December 31, 2006.

Thank you to everyone who pursued truth and wasn't afraid to tell the truth. God willing I will see you tomorrow in 2008.

Put the "P" in Percolator

I think I've finally recovered from the awesomeness that was last Friday night's Muse concert. It was a really good show. In fact, Muse is so good that watching them for an extended period of time is mentally exhausting.

My husband described the experience best. He said Muse is a little like the genius elements of Prince, Smashing Pumpkins, Rachmaninoff, Jimi Hendrix, Depeche Mode and Queen all in one band. Seriously out of control. Seriously legendary. Go see them if you get the chance.

The only downer was the pot-head sitting next to me. He got mad when I politely asked him to put his joint out. "What are you gonna do, call the police?" he snarled.

Ugh! I can't stand drug use and I didn't go to the show to get a contact high so I told him, "If necessary." He was probably ten years younger than me and I gave him my "teacher / black momma" look so he'd know I wasn't playing.

After 30 seconds of cussing, huffing and puffing, he finally put the joint out and then ended up leaving early...missing over half of a Muse concert to go smoke a blunt. What an idiot.

We got home at around 2 in the morning because the drive home from Irvine took an hour and a half. We were having a torrential downpour and I thought we might die because folks out here either drive 80 mph or 5 mph when it rains . It was our first rain since spring and the first September rain in Los Angeles in over 25 years. Does this mean El Nino is coming again? Do I need to buy another umbrella?

Anyway, even though I'm recovered from the show, I've been sort of brain dead today. I'm sure part of it is that I have a really bad cold. Kleenex is my new BFF!

So I figure it's perfect timing that I've been tagged by the wonderful Ian over at Or So I Thought. My task? I must come up with seven subjects beginning with the letter "P" that are meaningful to me. So, let's get it on and poppin' with my seven "P" subjects.

1) Prayer: I have this picture up in my kitchen. It always makes me think about how I can't figure it all out by myself. I don't have all the answers. And I need to improve myself infinitely. So, I pray.

I remember how when I was a little girl, I was absolutely afraid to go down into the basement of our house. The only way I could get down those stairs was to say one of the first Baha'i prayers my mother taught me.

"Is there any Remover of difficulties save God? Say: Praised be God! He is God! All are His servants, and all abide by His bidding!"

I believed that God would remove my difficulties and protect me, so I said that prayer on every single step, all the way down, while I was getting clothes out of the dryer, and while I was going back up the stairs.

I've taught this same prayer to my children and my eldest son says it before he goes to bed every night. He tells me that he's asking God to protect him from having bad dreams.

Of course, prayer is infinitely more than asking God for stuff. It's not about closing your eyes and mentally reciting the fantasy material possessions list, as in, "God, I need a new car. Can you help me get a new car? Oh, and I need some new Chanel perfume too."

I really believe that prayer is a process of making yourself better, having a conversation with God, and becoming more humble. We all think like to think we're "the bomb" so when we pray, it's like admitting, "No, I am not the end-all, be-all of this existence. Plus, true prayer needs action. I can have my conversation with God, humble myself, and then I need to decide what action I'm going to take. God doesn't just solve everything for me. Nope, I have to make things happen and make decisions based on something other than my own ego.


2) Parenting: If I'm not a parent to my kids, then MTV, peer pressure, drugs, alcohol, gangs, promiscuity and materialism are all too happy to step in and help raise my sons. I'm clearly not trying to have that so I have to be vigilant about being a good parent. Now that I'm working from home, I have the joy of spending more time with my little boys. Being around my three year-old is such an ego check. He told me earlier today that my earrings are ugly. Then he sniffed my socks and said my feet smell. But he's coming along nicely in Pre-K so that's putting a smile on my face.


3) Peace: I read today that violent crime in this country is nearing a five-year high. That has nothing to do with Al Qaeda.

Then again, there's a whole lot going on over in Iraq that has nothing to do with Al Qaeda...

Yes, peace takes more than letting some doves out into the sky and singing Kumbaya. It takes more than fancy speeches and treaties. Clearly, we need to stage some interventions on our world leaders. Their wars make money for their friends and cause misery for the rest of us.

As far as our own personal peace interventions, we can start off making peace with our families and with our own neighbors. After all, how many of us have some relative that we can't stand? How many of us hate the neighbor next door or the girl who sits in the cubicle next to us. Granted, there may be good reasons to hate the person but sometimes, we have to just let it go. I think I'll challenge myself to make peace with someone I don't like too much. How about you?


4) Please: I am a big fan of people asking for stuff politely. I hear too many demands for service these days and folks just seem to leave the word "please" out. How many times have I heard someone say, "Can I get another Coke?" to a server?

Hello, folks! It's, "May I have another Coke, please?"

Even Britney Spear's latest song is "Gimme More". I don't think I heard the word "please" anywhere in there. Then again, I might have missed it since I haven't listened to her song other than hearing it every time I turn on the news.

Really, I think our entire country needs to go on a manners and politeness binge.


5) Poetry: I've been writing lots of poetry lately. Sonnets have been my favorite form over the past couple of months. I hadn't written any poetry in years, and then, two days before Memorial Day, I got inspired. I've posted two sonnets to this blog. You can read them if you haven't already:

A Sonnet For Dreamers

A Sonnet For Remembrance and Love

I might be posting more in the future. I'm not sure yet.


6) Percolator: All you Chi-town house music heads know this one. It's been FIFTEEN years since this song came out and folks all over the world are still working it out to Cajmere's monster house hit. I will forever associate this song with a particular time and place in my life, one that was heavy on the going out and dancing, especially to home-grown favorites like this. It's impossible not to dance to this song. There are a great many clips on YouTube of folks dancing to this song. This girl breaks it down though.

I don't think my old behind is moving like that anymore!


7) "Personal Jesus: No list on this blog would be complete without a mention of Depeche Mode! And, in case you think that my extolling the virtues of Muse means that they've replaced DM in my heart, um, no. Never.

Luckily, there are several "P" named songs by Depeche Mode that I really enjoy. I was tempted to pick "Policy of Truth", "People Are People" or maybe "Photographic". But the live experience of "Personal Jesus" is truly something to behold.

The song came out in my senior year of high school and even though I'd been a Depeche Mode fan for many years at that point, hardly anyone else I knew listened to them. "Personal Jesus" changed all that. It was Depeche Mode's first really really big hit. And no, the song isn't literally about Jesus. The title is a metaphor for Priscilla Presley's relationship with Elvis. So if you think about what you know of that relationship, you'll understand it.

We've probably all put our faith in people in ways that we shouldn't, elevated them to a status they don't deserve, pinned all our hopes on them when we should've known better.

Or at least if you've never done that, I know I have.

So there are my seven "P"' related things! I can't remember how many people I am supposed to tag for this. But, I think I'll pick three lovely ladies living in the Chi because I'm missing home today and I miss you all a bunch:

1) Mamita Umita

2) Ready, Set, Blog

3) If I Only Had A Blog

If anyone else wants to take this on, go for it! Let me know and I'll come by and read your responses.