Run for your life!

self-portrait in Gatorade cups

Yes, someone ran 26.2 miles in THIS.

Vaseline anyone?

Sunday we bundled up to go cheer the NYC marathon as the runners passed through our neighborhood. This year approx 40,000 runners ran, and for the first time they implemented a staggered start. When my friend Julia and I ran it in 2002, we spent the first 12ish miles weaving our way through the crowds and trying not to lose each other. This time there was plenty of elbow room for all, a beautiful sunny and cool day, and the race seemed to spread out FOREVER. But the cheerleader in me waits for this one day per year, and Adam and I managed to rally our 16 month old to stay out for almost four hours cheering. Incredible.

Our first position was right after a hydration station (H20 & Gatorade)and a Red Cross Station (volunteers handing out gobs of Vaseline on tongue depressors). This made for quite an interesting morning. First of all, if you have run a marathon, you know that after you drink fluid, you THROW the cup to the side of the road. This resulted in us getting splashed by lots liquid and baby girl desperately trying to pick up and drink the cups of thousands of runners. She was successful on several attempts. We're awaiting the onset of multiple diseases. Glad we vaccinated.

But the best part was the Vaseline. Chaffing is the worst part of running, esp. when you chafe in those regions that are most delicate (yes, THOSE parts). Many employ the use of Body Glide b/c it will wash out of your clothes, but Vaseline does the job, too. We unabashedly watched runners of all ages, both genders, and different sizes remove clothes and shove hands into bodily cracks and crevices loaded up with petroleum goo to prevent that horrid burning sensation when you get in the shower post-race. It was slightly perv-y, but also fascinating.

The crazies we saw: a man dressed as Marilyn Monroe, a fish, the same old Asian guy we see every year that runs with bells on his ankles (it was his 70th marathon!), a juggler, and, last but not least, a guy running in the infamous Borat bathing suit!

The poor Borat man didn't stop for Vaseline. I can't bear to imagine the chaffing of his man parts after 26.2 miles of running in that....ouch!

Bodega Dreams for Brooklyn Students

Ahhhh....teaching in the NYC DOE is always an adventure.

As much as you might plan curriculum, give your administrators the lists of the books you need months in advance, etc., there is always an excuse as to why those books can't be ordered: budget cuts, waiting for another teacher/subject to get their lists in b/c they're a higher priority than you, oh--yes, we said we had $8K and wanted to buy books, but then the history teachers needed textbooks and they're $90 a pop,` sorry....

So, I am left to my own devices.

Besides my students begging me to buy the Twilight series as well as The Coldest Winter Ever for my classroom library (my husband refuses to let me spend our budgeted money on my classroom), I am in need of a class set of Bodega Dreams for my 11th grade curriculum.

I have posted a grant proposal on Donors Choose in an attempt to get these books myself. If you can even buy ONE book, that'd be super helpful. Or, if you need a tax deduction , shoot, buy me all 30 of 'em!

And, if you're a fan of The Great Gatsby and like an urban setting, you should read Bodega Dreams. It's a fantastic book to teach.

You'll get a handwritten thank you from one of my lovely kids. Promise.

Gracias!

(Self portrait of me and my 8th grade ESL kids on my first field trip ever as a teacher, spring 2001. I took them to Central Park and we had a picnic. They had never been, and their highlights of the day were making fun of the joggers, picking up men twice their age, and riding the carousel...Good times.)

Wassup

i am so obsessed with this election.
this made me happy today. minus the white power asshole on youtube who commented on it calling for obama's assination. W!T!F?!

Race and the Race

Listening to NPR last night (no surprise there), I was saddened by some comments made by Virginians regarding Obama--as a Black man--running for president. The moderator was asking a small focus group of individuals what they thought might happen if Obama were to be elected. One woman, a teacher, talked about the profound affect it would have on youth of all races to see a Black man as president and how that visual representation might spark hope, or ideological shifts regarding race, from a young age onwards. Then the moderator asked her sister what she thought.

This woman stated that although she "was not racist," she felt if Obama were to be elected that Black people all over America would seek revenge for past wrongs. She gave the example of how Black people used to have to get out of the way of a White person if they were walking down the street and expressed fears on how--if Obama were elected--the situation would be reversed. How "those people" would want pay back. How Obama would listen to "his people" only. It went on...

When I hear statements like this, I am not surprised. I'm from the South (VA & NC), and believe me, I know how certain groups of people think down there, but it makes me sad nonetheless. For your typical White girl, I feel I know a large amount of Black people of all ethnicities--African American, Caribbean, African--it comes with working in a public school in New York. And let me honestly say that not ONE person of any age or political persuasion, even the most radical and disgruntled and "White people suck!" student or co-worker that I know, has EVER mentioned that Obama = payback time. That is simply ludicrous.

The vilification of Black people of all backgrounds in this country is surprisingly alive and well. Though not a religious person, I fervently pray that Obama will get into office so that perhaps some folks might see that regardless of our skin color and our political parties there is quite simply more to us as people that we can unite beneath.

Clip from "Bowling for Columbine" that parodies the White man's fear of Black people in a historical context.

Updos for Obama

I have never before donated money to a political campaign nor have I ever attended a political fundraiser, so Saturday night's festivities were a first for me. My fabulous hairdresser suggested the Updos idea back in September, after the RNC, when Sarah Palin seemed to be lighting the GOP on fuego and we were all terrified. Thankfully (and hopefully), it seems like things have taken a turn for the better, but we gathered regardless in our attempt to be ever vigilant.

The premise was to come and pay $75, get your hair done in one of three Palin-inspired updos (the maverick, the reformer, or the huntress), drink wine, eat cookies made from scratch, hear some good music and writing---all the money goes to the Obama campaign. The best Sarah Palin won a basket of goodies (hair products, gift certificates from local venues, and a free haircut!), and I WON!

Now, let me be the first to admit that I was not the best Palin look alike. Yvonne, my runner up, had her cheekbones and jaw line and physically looked more like Palin. So much that some teens who obviously didn't understand irony came in, handed her a plastic moose,and thought she was the REAL Sarah Palin. But ladies and gents, this is story about props.

My costume = business attire, Republican pearls, a baby bjorn with Trig (baby doll) in it, a recorder (flute unavailable), my Bible (with passages conveniently marked about women being silent and the apocalypse from my undergrad papers), God stickers for my fans, binoculars and a map of Russia. It was a lot of work carrying all this crap around--especially while drinking vino. But in the end, it came down to a rough and tough game of paper:scissors:rock which sealed my victory.

Overall, what a hilarious night. Almost $2000 raised for the campaign. Woot!

The Crucible Essay Concluding Paragraph

This just gave me a giggle:

In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the story of the Salem Witch Trials was told. The author uses setting and tone, theme, and conflict to tell this complicated tale. Abigail was a real hoe, and she caused many people to die, including the one she loved dearly.

Fear of a Barack Planet

Since school reopened, my students and I have had many conversations about Obama. These conversations range greatly, but one thing the majority of my students agree upon is that if Obama were to become our next president, that he will be assassinated.

At the beginning of the school year when they spat out this idea, I poo-poo-ed it. What, are you crazy? Nobody is going to assassinate Obama! I wrote it off as a fear that was partially substantiated from being part of one or many disinfranchised groups in America (all my students are Black, Hispanic, or Arab and 80% of our student body lives below the poverty level). Their skepticism and fear seemed fueled by their complete distrust in government, period, and I didn't take their statements seriously. (Nor, did I take their "We're going to die by 2012" kick seriously, either.)

But now, six weeks later, with Palin urging folks to believe that Obama is a terrorist and McCain rallies chanting, "Kill him! Kill him!" I am beginning to feel my students' fear. What is happening? WHEN has this EVER happened before in an election--when has one party's people rallied the crowd to chant for the MURDER of the opposing party's candidate? Why aren't more people outraged by this? As much as McCain seems to be trying to set the record straight by claiming Obama is a "decent man" and "not an Arab," isn't the damage already done? There are groups of individuals out there who actually believe a presidential candidate is DANGEROUS and a TERRORIST, and while some of these people may have believed this before the Mrs. McCain and Sarah Palin smear campaign went into motion, I feel a great number of these haters (or their intensity of hate) are recent recruits.

How can everyone not see that this is totally absurd?!?!

And, again, I can't help but pull the race card again here. If Barack Obama were some White dude, would he be receiving this fear and hatred? Would people be so quick to believe that a Senator could be a terrorist? That a presidential candidate could be dangerous? Or does this just go back to White America's fear of Black men?

Where are people's critical thinking skills?!