only in chicago...

will you experience the joys of all the 4 seasons in one day. Rain and spring-like in the morning, sunny and warm mid morning...windy and chilly in the afternoon..making room for sleet and snow by midnight...Tis' the winter that refused to go away!

I so need to go on a vacation...BLAH!

Picture from Flikr

two weeks notice

I will not be put down
By you & your status quo
Not again
For, Like the sun
I will rise
Think again
Cuz there will be no demise
Of my soul...
Can't you see
Through conformity and obedience to you
I fail me
I am more than your depiction of a pale reflection
I got soul
I got heart
I got mind
Robustly beautiful and refined
All to which you were blind
I stand before you
Unafraid to be me
and I’m proud of what I’ve grown into
I’ve left a woman...
Strong to the core
A female who won’t take this shit anymore...

catchy song for Barack

This morning on the way into the office I heard this catchy little tune from a Jamaican artist called "Cocoa Tea". The song serves as a unique endorsement for the Illinois Senator (did I mention it was catchy??!). I swear, the hook will be in my head for the rest of the day!!

Cocoa Tea - Barack Obama
Uploaded by jahsensie

it was a lovely day!

This weekend was utter bliss: it was sunny, in the mid to upper 60's and perfect in every way. It's about time! Chicago's winter has been long and brutal and I felt deprived of all sun and warmth. I had to get out and enjoy being alive.

This afternoon - Mike, the mutt, and I walked through Humboldt Park as I snapped the below pictures. This is just a sample of over 75 pictures I took...each which has it's own story. They are a portion of my final research project in Urban Sociology, where we have to research a Chicago neighborhood's social/economic state and observe how residents use public space. Obviously, my neighborhood of interest is Humboldt Park, where I spent large chunks of my childhood. It was a beautiful 2 hours, where I got to meet many interesting people!

Remembrance of a dream

Today is a very symbolic day for me, a day which holds bittersweet significance because of it's ties to two of my biggest heroes of all time. Today marks the 80th birthday of Maya Angelou, whose words and soliloquies mesmerized me as child. It is because of her writing that I began to pick up the pen to write over twenty years ago. And it is because of her eloquent yet harsh words, the flame inside my heart continues to burn to forever mark me as a poet.

Yet today also marks the 40th year anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, whose words were just as powerful to me and the nation at large. He preached and dreamt of change via peaceful processes and despite all odds, stood up for everything he believed in.

The fact that an African American man and a White woman are both serious contenders for the White House serves as proof of progress in this country. And even though there is still much to be done in terms of obtaining 'true' social justice for all and his dream has not fully been realized, I believe Dr. King would be proud of where we stand as a nation today. (apart from the war and Bush's stanky ass that is)

"Take the blinders from your vision,
take the padding from your ears,
and confess you've heard me crying,
and admit you've seen my tears.
Hear the tempo so compelling,
hear the blood throb through my veins.
Yes, my drums are beating nightly,
and the rhythms never change.
Equality, and I will be free.
Equality, and I will be free"

~ taken from Maya Angelou's poem titled "Equality"