wings

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the other day i took my first flight since the miracle on the hudson. of course it was a us airways flight. out of laguardia. some of you may have seen a little video i made about the cause of my flying anxiety. well, this has added a whole new dimension. that plane in the water spoke to so many of my irrational fears! i have to do it again on wednesday. i find it mildly amusing that i select a seat in a row closest to the wings so that i can be first in line to stand on them. i no longer want the exit row tho. too much pressure.images-20

games

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so you know how i mentioned that i was feeling over-saturated in “biracial” the other day? well, that evening i went to visit some friends that i hadn’t seen in a long time. i was excited not only to see them, but to leave “biracial” at home and just enjoy the night. about 15 minutes after I got there my 6 (almost 7) year old friend, Ben goes to get something to show me. he comes back with the game “othello”. now Ben and his younger brothers might have more toys than any kids i know. i just could not believe that of all of things he’s acquired in the year since I’ve seen him the first thing he wanted to show me was this game where one person “is black” and one person “is white” and you make strategical moves to overtake the board with your color. i guess there’s just no escaping it.

after othello we made an origami ball. Ben is already a master origami-ist (i am sure that’s not what it’s called), and he taught me how to do it. He made four sides in the time it took me to make two. that being said, i think i did a pretty good job. and it was really fun!

names

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i have been so consumed with being biracial lately, that i don’t even know what to write about it. instead i will share another comic (don’t worry, this won’t become a comic strip blog) that my mom emailed me yesterday…image001someone recently messaged me on youtube to ask if i think that her “blackified” name may hold her back when she gets out into the real world. i’m not really sure, a. if i think it will or b. how to respond. i suppose that i think  it could pose a problem, or i would not hesitate to write back.  hmmm…

sunday comics

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I have always loved Sunday comics. The first thing I ever read all by myself was a comic strip called “Henry.” I think. From what I recall, Henry usually didn’t speak. It was a “silent” comic strip. But on occasion there were words. And on one such occasion, I was “reading” (i.e. looking at the pictures) the comics by myself at the dining room table and I surprised myself by reading what Henry said that day. It was awesome. All of that to say, this popped up on my yahoo homepage today and I couldn’t resist sharing it. I can totally relate.

 
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I notice it’s a little fuzzy. It says, “(sigh) _  I hate humidity.” And, yes, I read that all by myself 🙂

claiming

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img_0717I recently read a blog post that ruffled my feathers a bit. Basically it was the same old “all black americans are mixed with something somewhere down the line, and these self-proclaimed ‘biracial’ people are no less black than us, and to top it all off they’re always so negative about black people.” I had to leave a comment. I kind of liked it, so thought I would post it here…

When you said “there is no need to go back and claim the Native American and European American ancestry that does not claim me” you made a point that encourages me to continue to defend my biracial identity. Your Euro ancestry may not claim you, but mine does claim me. It claimed me every time my white dad picked me up from school, took me to work with him, took me to Europe on family vacations. When my white grandparents took me to the doctor or to the mall. When my father calls me on the phone, sings with me at weddings, and watches my videos because he wants to know who I really am and what parts of himself he sees in here. THAT is the main, and perhaps only, difference between 1st generation biracials and intergenerationally mixed “blacks”. But it’s a big difference. Someone commented about having a fair relative who could pass for white, but doesn’t. She identifies as black. Her parents are black. She is steeped in black culture- whatever version(s) of it she was surrounded by. It would feel weird for her to claim anything else no matter what she looks like. Same for me. I could pass for black, but it doesn’t feel right because I know even if no one else does that I come from white too. I love white too. Even if most white people don’t know it. I know it. It’s who I am. And who I say I am has got to have more validity than what most people say I am. I don’t live with most people. I live with me.

firsts

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so this week was full(ish) of firsts for me.  i “washed” my hair for the first time this year. that doesn’t sound like a big deal i’m sure, and i suppose it isn’t really. 13 days and 7 work outs into 2009 i had to give up the (relatively) straight hair that i was enjoying, not only because it was dirty, but because i wanted to have fresh curls for my meeting with heidi. of course there was no hot water when i needed to wash my hair, but i was not going to let this ruin my master plan for curly-headed-ness that evening. i mean the water was luke-warm so how bad could it be? well, after i wet one side of my hair the water became ice-frickin-cold! but there is really no turning back after one side has been watered so…. i “washed” and rinsed and “washed” and rinsed then conditioned one side, repeat on the other. it was miserable. out of the arctic water with chattering teeth i applied product and made about 14 two-strand twists hoping to be rewarded with awesome curls. i had about 4.5 hours til the big meet-up. (p.s.the hot water came on about 45 minutes after my experience.) before i left i took the twists out and thought the curls were good. i was happy with them. fast forward to me getting home after spending a fantastic couple of hours with heidi and i noticed that my hair felt weird. it just wasn’t the normal first day of curls bouncy fresh feeling i was expecting. oh well, maybe it was the cold water? NOPE! i “washed” my hair with leave-in conditioner! it hit me as i noticed the mixed  chicks shampoo was still on top of the medicine cabinet where it has been sitting all year. omg! i still haven’t washed my hair this year!

the other firsts were taking the subway. i always enjoy doing this for the first time after a break from the train. i love the efficiency of the system. i love all of the people. yesterday i especially enjoyed being surrounded by people reading all sorts of things. the girl sitting in front of me (i was standing) was reading her script for thoroughly modern millie, the guy next to her was reading a theology textbook, the lady next to him was reading a chapter of something entitled “a stake in ownership”, and the woman standing next to me was reading suze orman. i just thought that was so cool. i am currently reading “the shack”, but wasn’t going far enough to need it on the train.

i got off the train and went to a starbucks to conduct my first interview of ’09. i initially met ms. sara alloy online and i had a great time meeting her in the flesh and hearing about her biracial experience and her take on things. i’ve got some editing to do, then it’ll be on youtube. thanks sara! mixed chicks productsimages-151

meeting of the biracial minds

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heidi and me!two of them anyway. tonight i had the great pleasure of meeting ms. heidi durrow of lightskinnededgirl.typepad.com and the mixed chicks chat. wow! i have come away from this encounter so energized and optimistic and happy. the time flew by as we talked about everything biracial. we went over the things we’ve divulged in our respective mediums and the things we haven’t. we made plans for the future and, to me anyway, everything seemed possible. and still does. thanks, heidi!

I’ve been tagged! 6 little known things about me…

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the light-skinned-ed girl, lightskinnededgirl.typepad.com, has tagged me! thanks heidi! i think it’s kind of fun. now that i’ve thought of six things, that is.

here goes…

1. i won $32,000 on who wants to be a millionaire. daytime millionaire. with meredith viera. over 5 years ago, so the money’s gone, but the memory lives on.

2. aretha franklin caught me singing “freeway of love” in her kitchen when i was 10 years old.

3. i broke my neck on my 24th birthday.

4. i LOVE mcdonald’s. but don’t eat it often.

5. i wore heart shaped glasses from the 2nd thru the 9th grade. to make up for that i had lasik surgery and have 20/15 vision.

6. i feed my dog chicken or egg with broccoli for dinner. and i take him to the park in a stroller. he walks once we get there.

i feel weird about that now that it’s out there. i understand you now, heidi.

Now I am supposed to tag some folks.  Here are the rules:

1. LINK TO THE PERSON WHO TAGGED YOU
2. POST THE RULES ON YOUR BLOG
3. WRITE SIX RANDOM THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF
4. TAG SIX PEOPLE AT THE END OF YOUR POST AND LINK TO THEM
5. LET EACH PERSON KNOW THEY ARE TAGGED AND LEAVE A COMMENT ON THEIR BLOG
6. LET THE TAGGER KNOW WHEN YOUR ENTRY IS UP
7. DON’T BREAK THE CHAIN (not actually a rule)

i tag

karen at thinkvirtue.com

ri’chea at musicpoetryme.wordpress.com

teri at  formermushroomhairedchild.blogspot.com

yayoi at watermelonsushiworld.blogspot.com

analeigh at sdvanaleigh.wordpress.com

martine at artsywings.blogspot.com

and ehav at hochmaumusar.blogspot.com

no pressure to comply ladies and ehav 🙂

Liza!!

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I can’t let another second go by tho without telling y’all that my friend Jim (to whom I will be eternally grateful for this experience) took me to see Liza Minelli at the Palace on broadway! From the womb of Judy Garland- Liza Minelli! Now I really didn’t know what to expect. Liza’s been through some stuff and I thought “this could just be a crazy train-wreck kind of show…but I really want to see it!” Well, Liza seems to be safely on the other side of crazy! I just can’t say enough about how marvelous the performance was. People just don’t give it to you like that anymore! And it really seemed to be all for us, her adoring audience. I myself could not – not scream after every number. I wasn’t alone in that tho. Everyone just loved it! There was a standing ovation after almost every song. The energy she brought! The outfits! The jokes! The stories (some about “momma”)! Just perfect!  Truly one of the most magnificent things I have ever seen and I know I’ll never forget it. I feel so lucky to have had the experience! I think she’s one of the last performers of that caliber out there. They don’t make ’em like that anymore. I really admired Liza Minelli before I saw her perform live. Now I adore her!! Definitely

 a highlight of 2009!