My Fashion Blog

I’ve never claimed to be quite fashionable. I’m quite happy in jeans, a fitted tee and my favorite thong sandals, but recently things have started to change. So below is the link to The Fledgling Fashionista, my new fashion blog. Feel free to peruse it, leave comments or give me things to write about.

http://fledglingfashionista.wordpress.com/

Summer Project

On top of my new blog (a fashion one!) I have charged myself with a new summer project. For all intents and purposes, right now it seems I am going to have a lot of time on my hands and will be on a budget this summer.

That being said I’ve been on a book shopping spree. Spurned by a person I admire, I have moved from purchasing books here and there to building my library actively with purchases from large chains and thrift stores. I’ve found some amazing things, but coupled with my lack of pleasure reading during my two years in grad school and my lack of reading anything except student papers this semester, I now have a massive amount of books to get through.

Ah! I remember those days I’d read up to six books at a time and knew everything about them. I need to learn to be quiet like that again. So now onto my grand plan. I plan on finishing at least one (but hopefully upwards of three) book a week until the fall semester starts on September 3rd. I think I can do it (if I can pry myself away from gaming and those addictive judge shows on during the day!)

So I’ll keep a running list here and maybe even do a review or two. It will be interesting to see how much reading I actually get done.

I’m off to a meeting (*sad face*)

Uno…Dos…Tres

That’s right. School #3 is set for the fall. I’ll be teaching English 101 and English 102 at this one. If I hear back from #2 I will be teaching at all three this fall.  *tired happy dance*

I ended my semester at #2 tonight and just got done entering my grades. One I felt genuinely bad about because this person did so well this semester, but the school has a rule I can not change about the final paper.

#1is done on Monday and then I have about a week before I teach my seven week web course for #2. Both #1 and #3 start up for the fall in September, so really I have this summer to get back into my writing and maybe take up a hobby or something. I was set to teach a 102 course at #2, but it was 1 1/2 hours one way to teach a two hour course four days a week. Gas is $3.42 here and Mingus is guzzling it right now.

I’m still hoping to hear back from #4 about the fellowship I applied for. As well, I am waiting to hear from Cave Canem about this summer’s retreat. I have my fingers crossed.

I’m kind of tired, but I just wanted to share my news.

A battle finished…

So many moons ago in a land called 2007 I submitted two poems to the literary journal of Howard University and was graced with an acceptance of my poems in October. Here, about seven months later, the issue is finally up (minus my Nina Simone poem). See the link below.

http://www.coas.howard.edu/english/Amistad/Spring08/index2.html

Stuff

I think I’m becoming a design junkie. I’ve fallen in love with a website called Apartment Therapy and it’s all I can do to stop myself from rearranging things and wanting to run out to furniture stores. I think when the times comes for me to have my own house, I’ll have more than enough ideas in my head to furnish it.

I’ve also fallen in love with book and album shopping at the Goodwill. I’ve always loved thrift stores, but the Goodwill near my house is the first one that I’ve gone to strictly for books and albums. I’ve gotten everything from an original pressing of the Dreamgirls soundtrack to a copy of Up From Slavery in plastic to a collection of critical essays on growing up in the projects in the 1960s and 70s. I can’t wait to go back.

As much as I love my students (some of them are excellent writers), I am getting tired and I’m ready for the semester to end. There just seems to be a never-ending loop of lectures to write, papers to grade, e-mails to answer and handouts to make. Now that I have this first semester under my belt, there are some changes I am going to make in order to make things go a little smoother next time around. I want to rearrange my syllabus by adding some things, removing others and making things a little more clear. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve worked towards this for many years and now I’ve gotten here, I just need to make it work for me.

The Sonics Wonders of Kick, Push by Lupe Fiasco

Last year when I first heard Kick, Push I was amazed and this entry has been rolling around in my head for the last few incarnations of this blog (all three of them).
I’ll admit I’m a bit of an orchestra nerd. I played cello for many years and it’s still on my wish list of things to get myself. I fell in love with the strings and horns on Kick, Push so much that every time I hear the start of it, I turn up the volume. I get lost in the music of the song. It’s not the lyrics (nothing against them, however). It’s just the music. I had a burned copy on CD in my car and seriously I listened to it on repeat for weeks on end without blinking.

Why did I love it so much? Maybe it reminded me of growing up the daughter of a dj and tapping back into that love of music and feeling like I was a little girl in a basement full of records learning how to use turntables and a mixer for the first time. Maybe it made me realize, I’ve become an “oldhead”, that I miss ATCQ, Leaders of the New School, De La Soul, Pete Rock and CL Smooth, Brand Nubian, LL Cool J, MC Lyte, Kid N Play, Salt N Peppa, Eric B and Rakim, and a whole crew of others. I missed music and Lupe’s song took me back.

I’m listening to it now. I was sitting here writing a lecture of Argumentation and Persuasion essays and it came on random on Sekou (my mp3 player) and it’s now once again on repeat.

So thank you Lupe for opening the floodgates and making me remember how hip hop impacted my life.

Rising Up b/w More Good News

A few things:

I’ll be the first to admit that I have an undying love for The Roots, but recent albums have not completely grown on me, but I think Rising Down, their upcoming album, may change that if the single they posted on their site the other day is any indication. If you haven’t listened to it, go to www.okayplayer.com and listen to the song Rising Up on the news entry for 3/28/08. I really have listened to it 5011 times since Friday.

Next, I have been ripping and running the last three weekends in a row and for as tired as I am, I think it was well worth it. I got to see my family for the first time in almost 4 months and my little sister got to spend time here in NJ with me. I didn’t get to do everything I wanted to do with her, but we still had a good time.  I saw my oldest friend and my godchildren when they came to visit two weeks ago and I got to be part of a nice family weekend with my cutie and some of his family.

Now onto the the good news! So I was offered a summer class by one of the schools I teach at and hopefully I’ll be offered one at the other. Also, the last day to apply for the diversity faculty fellowship I applied for is tomorrow.  I’m thinking in the next few months they will be announcing who won. I’m not quite sure how many are being given out, but I’ll stick to what my mom said. When I told her about it she said, “That’s already yours.” I really am going to stick to that and wait for the news to come.

Despite getting back to back journal rejections, I do have a bit of good news when it comes to writing. I answered a call for writers for a literary magazine called Mosaic. After a few e-mails and a couple of samples, I received word yesterday that I am going to be added to the writer’s roll to write book reviews. I need to send a pitch in for the first one and I’m still waiting on the editorial call, but I am very excited. I also still  have a few poems and reviewer pitches pending so maybe those will come out well too.

More later!

Stairsteps

That’s what I’m doing, climbing the heights of my dreams bit by bit. As of tomorrow night I will be teaching for another college here in New Jersey.  The only thing that could make this even better (besides more money) is if I get the diversity faculty fellowship I applied for. 

*happy dance*

I have an interview Monday to teach another English Composition course at another local college here in Jersey. If all goes well I will be teaching there starting Tuesday night. I’m very excited. Two colleges in two months? *does happy dance* Cross your fingers for me y’all.

*smile*

My little sister just called me to say she got into college! I am so proud of her. She has worked very hard on her art and she is very good at it and I’m glad she is going to be able to follow the path she wants to.

She’s going to be going here starting in the fall:

http://www.saacollege.com/